Chapter 35

Bri POV

When I left Dri alone in our apartment this morning I was worried, I could tell something was bothering her and I could only make a guess as to what was bothering her and when I brought up all those options she lost it and almost bit my head off.

The only thing I could do was give her the silence and peace she obviously wanted, so I did. It was obvious she wasn't willing to talk to me just yet, so instead I left and went looking for Damon and Josh hoping they had something fun to do for the day so I could pull my thoughts from Dri, it worked until we returned.

Damon and Josh had the idea of coming back to the apartment with me in hopes of seeing Dri and the four of us spending the night together before everything starts changing because tomorrow, it all begins. The first lot of meetings happen, the one with Moroi so they can make their picks of Guardians.

"Where's Dri?" Damon questioned when we entered and noticed it was too silent for her to be here.

"Obviously not here Damon," I snapped back.

"No need to snap at me because you and your girlfriend are fighting." Damon joked but all I did was walk over and punch him in the arm, I would have gone for the face but old habits die hard I guess.

"Don't make jokes Damon, you honestly can't tell me that you aren't worried about her as well. So much has happened in the last couple of days, remember what happened the last time Dri pushed us all away." My last comment caused both of the boys to frown, we were all worried when Dri spiralled out of control.

Dri is like a sister to me and when I saw her unconscious in the hospital like she was, my heart broke at the sight of her. For weeks leading up to that moment I could see her breaking a little more each and every day but no matter how hard I tried to get her to open up to me or even Damon or someone it wouldn't work, she just pushed me further away.

I'm just hoping her reaction this morning won't be another point leading up to her eventual break down, I'm worried that it might be more than her body could take and we might lose her and I couldn't have that.

It didn't matter if after the next couple of days I may not see her for a long time, as long as I know she is perfectly safe wherever she is and she is healthy that's all I want because I know phones were invented for a reason.

"Hey Bri, don't cry." Damon wrapped his arms around me as my eyes welled up and I leaned against him. "We have no idea if Dri is going to spiral this time, for all know she just needs to process and she may come to us again at some point. We just need to let her know that we are here for her."

"Damon's right and Dri has to know that we are always going to be here for her, but something tells me there's something going on with Anastas. I believe that meeting where her feelings toward him were questioned didn't just involve her, remember she was questioning what Spencer saw and next thing we know she's in the headmistress' office because of something Spencer said and then Dri's sessions with Anastas are being watched by Lord Ivashkov. Bri there is something we haven't been told." I wasn't looking at Josh but I was shocked that he had worked it out, normally the boys don't pay attention to things like that or they don't care but this, they must have seen things or spoken about it behind our backs.

"What you think those two have been having sex all along like Spencer believed?" I scoffed in response and it caused the two of them to laugh.

"As much as I love being right, no Bri. Both Josh and I believe that feelings did develop between the two of them and they came to the light of day in that meeting, I have a feeling that those two are trying to work out what can happen between the two of them and honestly for Dri I think that needs to be sorted out first."

All I did was nod in response, Damon was right even though I have no idea how they worked it out. I knew if I was in a similar situation to Dri then I would want to find out if anything was possible with the guy I had fallen for, especially if he felt something back towards me.

"Dri will come home eventually and then hopefully after that she will willingly talk to us or she is at least talking to someone else." Josh spoke and I nodded again in response before pulling away from Damon and heading towards the kitchen looking for some food.

I was sitting in the lounge room with both Damon and Josh watching T.V when I heard the front door to the apartment open and slam shut followed by Dri's voice, "just drop it and leave me alone. When are you going to get it through your head that I don't see the point in talking about that?"

We never heard a response but Dri did enter the lounge room and looked shocked at all of us sitting there staring at her trying to work out what happened.

"Dri please…" Anastas spoke as he entered the living room and also stopped at the sight of us sitting on the couch.

"What's going on here?" Damon spoke and when I looked at him he had a massive grin on his face.

"I should be going anyway, Dri please think about what I said?" Anastas spoke looking at Dri before looking at us all and it was then I noticed something I've never seen before on his face, worry and I don't know if it was about Dri or the fact that we were all sitting in here.

Dri nodded at Anastas before he turned and left, Dri came over and sat beside us on the couch.

"What was that Dri?" I questioned hoping she would finally talk to us about what was going on in her head. She was silent at first and no one said anything, we just turned back to the T.V to continue watching our movie.

"Everyone keeps wanting to talk about me freezing during the trials." I watched as Dri took a deep breath and closed her eyes before resting her head back on the couch, this was all a good sign and I hoped it continued.

"What did happen during your trial Dri? You know you've going to have to talk about it at some stage."

"I know Damon, it's just hard because during the fall I actually thought I was going to be badly hurt or worse, dead, but then when I landed I was panicking. I couldn't feel anything to begin with and I was worried that I was alive but I wouldn't have any bit of the life I wanted, I honestly thought it was all over before it began." Dri's voice broke at the end of it and my heart broke with hers, I didn't realise she thought and I hated she thought her life was over because of one mistake.

I wrapped my arm around her and she leaned into me, "Your life isn't over, even if your placement isn't what you want we aren't slaves Dri, we get a life of our own and holidays to match. We have the chance at a future we want, you can the future you want even if it includes having Anastas in it."

I spoke my last sentence carefully, she may have been opening up but me throwing something out about Anastas in front of the boys may push her away.

"Dri we just assume something is happening, it was obvious that a piece of information was being kept from us after your meeting thanks to Spencer." I felt Dri relax in my arms at Damon's comment and I was grateful that the boys said something.

"You three honestly don't care that I fell for a teacher and he fell for me back?"

"Why would we? We're Guardians now and we don't get a say in our life or how it plays out, so why would we have a problem with something that will essentially make you happy if it works out?" Josh was the one that spoke first and I was shocked, I didn't think he was thinking along those lines even though he was right.

I knew all I did want was for all of us to be happy with the future we had no choice in and if that was for Dri to have a potentially controversial relationship with her mentor during the final two years of our schooling then I won't say anything against, hell I didn't even have a problem with it when Dri was trying to work out her feelings towards I always thought he would be good for her.

"But the fallout is going to be bad, everyone is going to be like Spencer, they are going to assume things happened while I was his student and considering how close I am with Rose and Dimitri."

"Dri as long as your friends and family don't care about the relationship between you and Anastas or how it started, why should you care what strangers think?" Dri pulled away from me once I finished speaking, I didn't know if she was going to storm off or hear us out.

"But what if it bothers him?" Dri's eyes welled and I hated seeing her like this.

I leaned over and cupped her face forcing her to look at me, "you won't know unless you talk to him about it. It's obvious he cares about you, he wouldn't have followed you back here if he didn't. Dri talk to him, work out what you both want from whatever is currently between you and go from there. Guardians have made relationships work even if they aren't placed near each other because Rose and Dimitri proved that love isn't a weakness for our kind."

Dri nodded in response and pulled away before getting up and leaving me alone with the boys, I just hoped she took in my advice and spoke to Anastas to find out what he wanted. I didn't want Dri to push away a chance at love because she was afraid of what could happen.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, it means a lot to me.

jpitt thank you for reviewing, it means a lot to me. I'm glad you are enjoying it and the way it is going.

brookletp thank you for reviewing, it means a lot to me. As for Nik's assignment, just wait see what I have planned for him, Dri and a possible future I have between the two of them.