Hello my dear comrades in Comrade
A very Happy Easter Sunday to you all – I hope you guys have a great day and since I can't give you all Easter Eggs, have a chapter on me ;)
I would like to say a big thank you to all who reviewed. Those being: The cat with the blue eyes, yunacarman, deangirl (Guest), readingaddict-loverA, Beansontoast95, SadisticallyDelicious. Ginevra Annabeth Herondale, Ims86, ilovesos9467, Leokat24, anya (Guest) and 1, 2, 3 – 4! Guests! Thanks to all your heart-warming and inexplicably helpful advice and comments we have OVER 200 REVIEWS! :000000000000 Can we just…. AH! This is the BEST feedback from a story I have ever gotten and I am so glad that you are liking this one so much.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
And to anya (Guest), I will defo put that one under consideration. I think he should too it is just how he would do that I am still brainstorming :3
Also, MASSIVE shout out to my beta SarahBelikova. As usual, you are an absolute star :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or anything surrounding it (but I do own this plot :D)
RPOV
I was finding this way too amusing.
"How was that comrade?" I grinned smugly and was met with a playful scowl. He – ever the gentleman – had insisted on paying for our lunch but it turned out that his Nando's 'virginity' had gotten him awfully confused about how he went about doing it.
"Why can't it be the same as any other restaurant; I don't understand?" he said staring confoundedly at the check-out where he had just spent the last twenty minutes trying to negotiate the ordering system.
"Hey, if you are so insistent on being chivalrous, I am not going to make it easy for you." I raised my arms in surrender. He shook his head humorously and chuckled.
"You really are one of a kind, Roza." He said meeting my eyes.
I grinned at him. "The one and only!" I declared. "I don't think the world would have enough food if there was more than one of me." I added, eying up the chef who was assembling my chicken burger. I licked my lips before realisation daunted upon me. "Oh my God!" I exclaimed causing some people to look around and Dimitri's head to perk up with concern.
"What is it? What's wrong?" His voice was panicked and his eyes swept over my body, leaving a warm trail in their path, as he tried to locate possible sign of injury.
I quickly brushed the tingling sensation that he eyes had made in their wake away and got back to the point. How did I forget? "Dimitri, I have completely forgotten to ask you about how your pitch went." What the hell was wrong with me? I felt really embarrassed.
Dimitri, mercifully, released a sigh of relief before the smile returned. My fingers had started inadvertently drumming against the table as I tried to channel the nervous energy – I wanted him to have won. I wanted him to have what he wanted. "I don't think I would be paying for our meal if I hadn't…" he let the words sink in and I stopped drumming.
"You won!" I exclaimed gleefully, launching myself from my seat and wrapping my arms around his torso in a grip that could have rivalled Lissa before he could respond properly.
"Roza…" He wheezed from under me but I only gripped him harder. I felt his body eventually relax and he sank into the embrace, positioning his hands so that I would not fall.
I'm not sure how long we were there but a brisk clearing of throat propelled me out of Dimitri's wondrous hold and back into my seat. A young, male waiter stood awkwardly by ore table holding the food on two plates. He quickly placed the plates on the now vacant table and hurried back to where he came from.
"Rude…" I muttered before feverously attacking my chicken burger. Dimitri watched me with an amused grin so I scowled at him. "Bite me." I threatened teasingly.
He only laughed. "Would you like a drink?" He asked with the intention of rising but I beat him to it, pushing him back down into his seat.
"Nuh-uh comrade." I said pointedly, making sure he stayed put. "If you pay for the food, I'll get the drinks." If had asked me about a month ago if I would be telling Dimitri Belikov off for being too nice, I would have directed you to the nearest mental asylum. As it was, Dimitri just smiled and shook his head again. Taking this as another Rose Hathaway win, I hummed self-righteously and marched over to the drinks machine wherein, I ran into a problem:
What did he want?
Urgh. I was not going back – I would not admit defeat – so he would just have to deal with coke. After successfully managing one glass, the machine decided it had had quite enough and just let out a grumbled groan when I smacked the button. I poked my head over the top to see that Dimitri was carefully eating his burger and, thankfully, not witnessing me loose to a piece of technology. I huffed and put my arms on my hips, hoping that my infamous glare would force it into working.
It would not.
I growled and made to put the glass back but – in the process – I knocked over the original glass: the one full of coke. The carbonated liquid, that once occupied the volume, spilled all over the tiled floor and the glass shattered on impact. The whole restaurant went eerily quite. It was at that moment when the machine decided to respond and, because I had hit the button a couple more times than they recommended, fizzy drinks started pouring out and flooding the floor.
"Ah!" I cried my foot skidded on the liquid and crashed into the neat pile of glassware that proceeded to smashed against the hard floor. I closed my eyes and froze as the noise of my clumsiness echoed in the building.
After the last glass was reduced to nothing more than shards I opened one eye and saw everyone staring at me with an open mouth. Oh shit. I was frozen in a state of panic when a strong hand clasped my own and an accented voice whispered in my ear: "Run."
And we ran.
I am not sure if I had ever laughed so much in my life than on that day. Dimitri and I bolted from the scene as various members of staff started screaming at us. We elected to ignore them and continued running through the crowds of people. We must have been quite a sight: 6"7" hunk of a man in duster trailing behind a 5"6" laughing maniac who is running through the streets of Manhattan. Since it was midday, many people were out for their lunch break but most were still locked away in whatever job they had got themselves roped into so it wasn't too busy.
We slowed our sprint to a gentle jog and then right down to catch our breaths as we entered the park. I paused only for a moment before the hysterics got to me.
"Remind me never to let you get the drinks." Dimitri said smiling. I leaned against a nearby tree and held my abdomen, trying to sooth a rather extreme stitch.
"Oh I would have to disagree; I think I handled that superbly." I grinned. He sighed and hung his head down before running his hands through his long hair.
"You okay?" He nodded towards my hand resting on my stomach.
I smiled at his concern but shrugged him off. "I'll be fine, just give me a minut-" I cut myself off as I spotted something I very much didn't want to deal with right now. Lissa. She was wandering through the park, phone to ear, and looking around everyone. Shit. I knew she was looking for me; my mother had probably informed the whole crew that I had bolted and, since it was Lissa's day off, she was probably sent to find me. Bit harsh considering her condition – harbouring a mini Christian would not have been easy – but nothing would stop Vasilisa Dragomir when she was on a mission.
"Roza?" Dimitri's concerned voice filled my head but I had devoted my whole attention to watching Lissa like a hawk. She was currently pottering about in the middle of the park, looking from place to place and speaking into her phone. All of a sudden, she frowned and began to walk towards the exit of the large green area…right towards me.
Holy fuck! I did not want to be found right now. I needed to think of something quick. Anything! There was no time to run: she would see me. Shit, shit, shit! What do I do?
"Rose!" Without really thinking, I turned back to Dimitri and grabbed his face and pulled it down to my own so his lips met mine and BAM!
The electricity that had buzzed between us before crackled and exploded on one touch. The world melted around me; it was like it had never existed in the first place. The sensation of his mouth against my own was indescribable and I sank into his embrace. He responded almost instantly, moulding his mouth with my own with a passion that I had never experienced before. His hands snaked round the curve of my waist, sending jolts of electricity with every gentle glide, and rested on my hips, bringing me closer to his tall frame. My hands traced their way through his hair as my lips continued to battle with his in a sweet and blissful war.
I became completely lost in him; he was like a never ending sea of comfort and security – something truly real, truly dependable, in my unpredictable life. My hands delved deeper into his long and beautiful hair and as I stood in that peaceful, City Park – surrounded the amber and orange glow of dying autumn leaves – with my lips interlocked with an omni-magnificent God, I felt purposeful, cared-for and beautiful. But above all, I felt wanted.
I reluctantly gave into the need to breathe but kept my lips lingered near his own – the ones that had exposed emotions that I long since thought had vanished. My breathing had become laboured but I did not care. Dimitri rested his forehead against my own and I slowly opened my eyes to see that Dimitri still had his closed. Ever so slowly, he let his eyelids rise and I became lost in the depths of his dark, brown eyes: they were like a soothing hot chocolate on a frosty winter's day sprinkled with highlights of gold, like cinnamon floating on the sea of chocolate heaven. They were like a locket, holding more secrets than the mind could tell, but with such a gentleness that made me melt like the coco in the depths of his iris.
In that moment, I completely forgot where I was. Hell, I completely forgot what had possessed me to kiss him in the first place but I had never experienced anything like that before: and I had kissed quite and few guys in my time. But all of those boys paled in comparison to the God that stood before me. And then came reality…
Oh. My. God.
I had just kissed Dimitri Belikov.
Worse still, I had just kissed Dimitri Belikov and liked it!
"Sorry, Lissa, she was just over ther-I didn't mean…" I was not sure what I expected to achieve from embarking on that particular sentence.
I thought I saw his face fall a little but the soft smile I had come to know and adore made a heart-warming appearance.
"Do not apologise." He interjected softly. "I know you don't want to be found right now, it is okay." He reassured and smiled a little; I had a rough idea of what he thought of the situation and whilst I did not like it, he was probably right.
"I really should talk to them, huh?" I sighed and he nodded a little. "You know I am starting to not like you being right all the time." I teased a little and his smile only grew. "Thank you, Dimitri, for everything." I expressed my gratitude and brushed my lips against his cheek, feeling the crackle of electricity even in that simple gesture. My eyes lingered on his stunning body a little longer than they probably should have before I finally turned my back on him and walked towards the Shadow Kiss Inn with a very contented smile on my face.
DPOV
She kissed me.
Whilst I knew her intentions were of keeping herself from a rather difficult situation the fact very much remained: she kissed me.
As I watched her walk away the thought lingered in my mind and seemed to diminish any other thing that dared to make itself known in my head. I could no shake it but then, I wasn't really trying.
But what a kiss it had been. I had kissed plenty of girls – and done a lot more – but I had never experienced anything like that. Rose held some inexplicable force over me that made me melt – and she probably didn't even know she was doing it. Truth was, I was falling hard and fast for this girl and the transparency of the futility in denying it had become unbelievably clear to me.
Oi! You there! Are you going nuts? She only kissed you to remain hidden from her friend – nothing else. She doesn't like you like that. She is your friend.
My subconscious was now screaming at me but I was having a hard time listening to it. I mean, I couldn't have been the only one to feel something from that particular action.
She is just your friend – friends kiss each other all the time.
This was true. I always though love was stupid, unreal and fake. A simple fairytale made up by a lonely man in need of a quick buck. My rational, cold mind could not fathom such a thing existing but yet… Was this love? Was I, Dimitri Belikov, in love?
It couldn't be possible. I couldn't love. I was cold, unrefined and merciless. I was my father: the man who beat his wife dry and was resented by all. I slept with a girl for the hell of it and drowned myself in a sea of alcoholic shame. I was not worthy of companionship, let alone love. Perhaps I was over-thinking it. It was just a friend in need of a kiss; I've seen friends kiss each other all the time, it didn't mean they were in love. No, I needed to shut this nonsense down. I was not in love. I repeat, not in love. Rose was just a friend, an acquaintance. Nothing more.
But even her name excited me… No! Reason yelled at me. She is just a friend. You have no right to think any more of her.
Before World War Three could officially commence in my head, phone buzzed and I sighed in relief when I saw the number.
"Ive, I really need you man, I am going mad." I said looking around the park but no reply came. "Ive?" I questioned before muffled sounds filled the radio waves from the other end of the line before they rested on one voice…
"Hello is that Dimitri Belikov?" … that was most certainly not Ivan.
"Yes, who is this?" I asked, or rather demanded.
"I'm so terribly sorry," the voice said in full remorse, "there's been an accident. Your friend, Ivan, he- he has been shot."
Everything stopped
*small voice hidden behind a tree* please don't hurt me :3
I really want to hear what you guys have to say on this – I am not really used to how relationships progress as I have never been in one myself: I am pretty much going off what I have previously read in books and other stories xD I actually loved the idea put forward by a Guest about someone walking in on their kiss and was contemplating doing it but I thought that this way would be firstly, more entertaining and secondly, easier to show that Rose is getting more than bargained for from Dimitri ;)
In other exciting news, this chapter is more the 2500 words long! I am aiming to elongate my work soooooooo I will be trying to reach around 2500 words per chapter – maybe fluctuating in and around that word count.
But yeah! Please tell me what you think and please, if anything is bothering you or I got something wrong technically, please don't hesitate to tell me. All this is helping improve my creative writing and all your comments are also aiding this plea too :D
Also your reviews might lead you to hearing what has happened to Ivan…
As ever, all the best
Mariarty