Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Bloodlines, or any of its characters. All rights go to Richelle Mead.

Thursday could not have come soon enough. Our classes had started to pick up and I was drowning in textbooks and assignments. I would need to remind Mynor or Hans that I couldn't protect Lissa if I was too busy trying to understand what sticks and carrots had to do with political science.

Our last class of the day was World Religions. It was interesting enough, but I was mentally burned out. I had no idea what the professor was even talking about. At least I had finally convinced Lissa to sit in the fourth row as opposed to the first row. Baby steps.

"Hey," some one to my left whispered.

I had been been cradling my head in my hands and rolled it to the side to glance at whoever was trying to get my attention. To my surprise, it was a guy. He wasn't unattractive, I guess. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a tank top that displayed a bunch of Greek letters I didn't recognize. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a week, and I wasn't sure whether or not the patchy hair that grew on his chin was intentional or not. It certainly didn't qualify as a beard in my book.

"Hi," I whispered back.

"You a freshman?"

Dear god, I thought to myself. I nodded my head in response.

"Cool, I'm guessing your friend is too," he said, nodding in Lissa's direction. "No one works that hard after their first year."

I could tell he was trying to sound jaded and cool, but his whole demeanor was starting to rub me the wrong way. I tried to end the conversation by returning my gaze to the front of the lecture hall. Apparently he didn't know how to take a hint.

"So listen, I usually don't ask freshman this, but you guys look like you know how to have a good time. My big is supposed to hook me and a few of my brothers up with a keg later, if you give me your number, I can text you so that we can all meet up."

I had to bite back my laughter. There had been a time in my life when I might have flirted back, but this guy was a joke.

"Um, does this usually work for you?" I asked.

He blinked back his surprise, "What?"

"That whole 'I don't usually ask freshman this' thing, does that really work?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I was trying to be nice, show you guys around."

"I think we can manage," I told him flatly.

He was still looking at me like he couldn't comprehend what I was saying. However this time, when I turned my head away from him, he didn't try to get my attention again. The professor was talking about indigenous religions in Africa. I let out a small groan and rested my head on my desk.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. When it finally ended at 2:00 PM, my heart felt significantly lighter. As soon as we made it back to the parking garage, we would get into the SUV and be on our way back to court. I waited impatiently for Lissa to pack up her things. As soon as her bag was zipped I grabbed her hand and we both practically ran for the door. She giggled and I knew she was just as excited as I was to go home.

"Rose!" Lissa called after me breathlessly. "Slow down, Mynor is going to think something is wrong!"

I realized she was right, I could see Mynor and four other guardians beginning to pick up the pace a little bit. They wouldn't move in completely and give away their positions unless I hit the panic button that I wore tucked into my shirt. I slowed down a little and the others backed off, realizing that nothing was amiss. I didn't let go of Lissa's hand as we made our way across campus, I was too excited. The campus was thriving, students every where were milling about. A few sat on blankets and read books, one kid even had a guitar. The parking garage was less serene, I had come to regard this as my least favorite part of college.

After a little maneuvering on my part, I was able to guide Lissa safely to the car. We piled into the SUV. Lissa always sat in the middle seat of the middle row, surrounded by guardians and bullet proof glass. She had insisted that we pack everything we would need for our weekend trip home before class, that way we could leave as soon as our schedule permitted.

Once we were settled in and on the highway, Lissa decided to bust out a textbook.

"You're joking right?" I said, snatching the book away from her. "It's the weekend."

"So!"

She made a play for the book, but she was entirely too slow.

"You win," she grumbled. "What would you have me do instead? We've got like four hours of driving ahead of us."

I thought for a moment, I guess she had a point.

"Fine," I conceded. "But as soon as we get back, I'm hiding all of these."

She took the book I had been referring to and buried her nose in it. I let out a long sigh and tried to think of something that would distract me for the remainder of the car ride. My real motivation for keeping Lissa from her homework had been selfish. I had wanted some one to talk to. It didn't matter what we talked about, I would take anything that would keep me from worrying about Robert. Under normal circumstances, I would have jumped at the opportunity to snatch a few hours of sleep before returning to Court. Especially since we would be jumping right into life on a nocturnal schedule. Sleep, which had once been one of my favorite activities, no longer held the same allure for me. The only reason I had been able to rest at all the past three nights was because I had spent most of them on the phone. Dimitri had been more than willing to stay on the line with me until I fell asleep. I smiled to myself. Tonight there wouldn't be any good night phone calls; only good night kisses, and good night…other things.

"Rose, gross!"

I snapped my head in Lissa's direction and realized she had been studying me.

"What?" I asked evasively, there was no way she could possible know what I had been thinking about.

She eyed me, "You know what! Your aura is practically blinding me. I can always tell when you're thinking about Guardian Belikov."

My cheeks flushed and I leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Can we not?"

She shot me a taunting look and then returned to her book. It wasn't like my relationship with Dimitri was a big secret or anything, but we were still colleagues. Hans had not been very excited about it, but had let it go when he realized that we weren't technically breaking any rules. Some of the other Dhampirs didn't like it either, but most were pretty supportive. In fact, after we had made our feelings for each other public, a lot of other Dhampir couples had decided to move their relationships out into the open. Still, I didn't like the idea of discussing the more intimate details of anything that transgressed between Dimitri and me in front of the other guardians. They made a good show of not paying attention, but our current seating situation would make not overhearing something impossible.

I leaned my head back on the sleek leather seat and closed my eyes. My lids felt heavier now that they were shut. I was more tired than I had realized. With a few more hours still to go, I decided to try my best to sleep. I steadied my breathing and concentrated on keeping my entire body still.

My efforts paid off, because four hours later, I awoke with my forehead pressed against the window and a little bit of drool on my chin. I looked out the window, recognizing a few of the landmarks that lay outside of Court. I was suddenly nervous. I started running my hand through my hair, cursing myself for trading an opportunity to brush it this morning for a few more minutes in bed. I had also decided that track pants were more than appropriate to wear to class. I was a mess, I realized. I was grateful that our arrival at Court would be relatively early in the vampiric day. I hoped that Dimitri would still be in bed.

We pulled into the parking facility and I was practically out of the vehicle before it came to a complete stop. Lissa was right behind me, causing the other guardians to scramble out after her. I knew my luggage would be lumped in with Lissa's and would eventually find its way to her suite so I didn't bother with it. There was only one place I wanted to be. We were so desperate to return to palace housing that we had even opted for using the underground corridors despite the fact that Court would be pretty much empty at this hour.

"Thank God," I told Lissa, as we climbed the stairs into our building.

"Do you think Christian's still asleep?" She asked me as we made our way to her suite.

"Probably, but I'm sure he would enjoy a little wake up call from your majesty."

She looked scandalized and began rifling through her bag for her keys. She put the key into the deadbolt and rolled her eyes at me.

"Try to get a little rest," she told me. "You've been on duty for almost a week straight now, and I know you haven't been sleeping well. Now that we're back, I can get my hands on some silver and I'll starting working on that charm, okay?"

"Thank you, I'll come find you later."

She smiled before letting the door click shut behind her. Now that I had seen Lissa safely to her room, I was finally free to return to my own. I fought the urge to skip the rest of the way to my apartment, but stopped when I remembered that security cameras could be found at either ends of the corridor.

I tiptoed into the living room. Noticing that the lights were still off, I guessed that Dimitri was still in bed. I slipped my shoes off and crept down the hallway with guardian stealth. The door was cracked a little, and I slipped my hand into the gap and pushed it open slowly. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him.

He was shirtless and his taut chest rose and fell with every breath he took. I smiled when I noticed that he slept on the far right side of the bed, despite the fact that he was the only one in it. I stepped forward just a little, wanting to get a better look at him. His dark hair was unbound and a few strands covered his face, but nothing could hide the perfectly contented expression on his godlike face. His lips were parted slightly, and even looking at them made my heart race. I glanced over and noticed the evil alarm clock on the table. Every second bringing it closer to going off, closer to ruining my morning, or evening, or whatever it was. It was a threat, I decided. So I did what any guardian would do when faced with a threat: I neutralized it. Dimitri would probably chastise me later for winding it back six extra hours bit I didn't care.

I almost tripped on something as I attempted to slip into the bed. So much for guardian stealth. I looked down and realized it was one of Dimitri's T-shirts. I looked at it thoughtfully, deciding that it would suit me better than my current attire. I shimmied out of my track pants and tossed my own T-shirt on the ground. I knew instantly that I had made the right decision, it smelled just like him and I could practically feel his arms pulling me into an embrace. I would need to pack a few of these to bring back with me to Lehigh.

I peeled back the blankets and climbed in next to him. I laid my head on the pillow, relishing the feel of returning to my own bed. Dimitri stirred slightly, but that was all. My original plan had been to wake him up and to get a more physical reunion underway, but looking at him now, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I still wanted him, but he looked so peaceful. I scooted closer to him and managed to lay my head gently in the crook of his shoulder. I laid on my side and wrapped one arm around his waist. This was enough. I needed to be with him like this, just as much as I needed to be with him in other ways. I closed my eyes, drifting almost immediately into the best sleep I had gotten in weeks.