Chapter 54

Adrianna POV

It had been a week since Dimitri turned up and attempted beat up Nikolaus, I hadn't heard anything from dad so it made me think Dimitri didn't say anything or dad didn't care about the two of us having sex but somehow I didn't think so.

My sessions with Nikolaus had become awkward and filled with tension, James and Stefan would joke that it was all sexual tension and one day we were just going to give into and have sex again. This then resulted in me yelling at the two of them and Emily threatening to beat Stefan up for me.

But the truth was there were moments where I wondered what the hell was going on and what the hell was going to happen. Things would start out fine and then one of us would be pinned to the floor and then it would change to being awkward and this afternoon's session was no different.

This afternoon we were going over silver stakes again and I was stabbing the practise dummies with one, Nikolaus was standing to the side and watching but he moved out of my vision before I felt him standing behind me.

"Dri stop doing it like that" his arm reached out and grabbed my own. "You're short and most of the time you will come across someone who is taller then you, you have to go up not down with the stake"

I went to turn around so I could question him but he placed his hand on my waist and stopped me, so I tilted my head up and around so I could face him but I didn't expect him to be so close.

"Dri concentrate" he whispered "Dri please concentrate, this will help keep you alive one day"

"Sorry..."

"It's fine, as I was saying you have to go up through the ribs to get to the heart. It will be easier for you that way"

"But it's hard when the dummies are a similar height"

"Alright, hang on" he let go of my arm and my waist and stepped away from me and I instantly missed the heat. Everyone was still bugging me as to if I felt anything towards Nikolaus, was this a sign that I did? Was my body physically telling me that I wanted to be close to him like this?

He walked over to where the gym equipment was in the corner before picking up something and walking back, he did this a couple of times until a step was made and then he placed the practise dummy on it.

I walked up to it and then turned and faced Nikolaus with a frown.

"What now?"

"Now it's too tall, I would be lucky if I could reach its heart"

"It's not that bad"

"Oh come on who do you know is 8 ft?"

"It's not that high" I laughed at him before standing in front of it and reach up with the stake. The tip only just reached the heart.

"I get it, I'm short but I'm not that short" he grinned at me and I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's not funny fix it" he was the one telling me to concentrate but yet he was doing this like this on purpose

"Fine, I will but it is a little funny"

Once he fixed the dummy and it was at an appropriate height for me, I didn't know how I was going to do this. "How do I go up with the stake?"

"You just have to adjust your arm position this will also work if they have you on the floor and you can manoeuvre yourself to gain access to their heart" he walked over so he was standing behind me and he grabbed my wrist again. He moved the position of my arm and guided it so the stake hit aim with the heart.

"Thanks" he dropped my wrist

"You just have to practise that way to get the strength and power behind it"

I turned around to face him and I had expected him to step away when he let go of my arm but when I turned I found him still standing directly behind me, I bumped into him and stumbled. His arm instantly went around my waist to steady me.

"You aren't really the most graceful person Dri"

"Jee thanks"

Standing like this was awfully familiar, it was almost like when we were in the club and he was trying to steady me after I turned too fast and the room spun or even when we were outside after I got slapped.

"What happened to your face?" his other hand reached up and softly touched my cheek, I flinched and pulled my head away from his hand. "Sorry" his hand rested on my neck

"It's fine, it's just tender. Lindsay managed to get a punch in" James had offered to heal it but I said not too, I couldn't let her know that I was weak. Most novices were regularly seen sporting injuries and I wouldn't show Lindsay I couldn't handle one of her punches.

"But you didn't fight her in class this morning"

"Right because we only fight in class, she started on me just after lunch"

"Yes I've heard that you two fight in classes, your normal classes end up in you two yelling at each other while your novice classes normally end in fist fights"

"Yeah but you should know I can usually get one over her and she backs down or she gets dragged away kicking and screaming" the look on his face made me almost believe that he had witness a fight or two of these.

The two of us standing like was starting to be too much, we were too close and the urge to lean up to kiss him was increasing. As much as I knew these moments were wrong and they shouldn't happen I was beginning to enjoy them too much and as always he pulled away, almost as if he could see what was about to happen.

"You should keep practising with the dummies" he stepped back even further. I didn't say anything but did as he suggested and turned around to practise staking the dummies.

It was the following Friday night and a group of the senior novices were throwing a small party in one of the empty lounges. I had no idea where Stefan and Emily were, chances are Stefan was off with the boys while Emily was off with a boy. There weren't many girls in our novice class, so these parties weren't the place where they hoped to get laid instead it was more of a way for us to blow off steam before we were forced out into the world after graduation.

I was sitting in one of the arm chairs on Aiden Thorne's lap, he was in Carter's usual group of friends and we shared a few classes over the years. As soon as I entered the party he grabbed my hand and asked me to join him, I looked at Emily and she gave me a wink letting me know she wouldn't care if I went off with him.

"This dress makes your legs look amazing" Aiden spoke as he ran his fingers along my leg. The dress I was wearing was incredibly short and did show off my legs, it's why I wore it.

"I've heard the jokes you've all made about my legs, why not wear a dress that shows them off"

"If only your school uniform showed them off as well as this dress"

"Aiden, you and I both know what would happen if did that. We know that you for one would never be able to concentrate in class and I would kick your ass in class every single time" I flashed him a smile and he grinned.

"Dri you're forgetting the shorts you wear in combat class show your legs off already, as for that skirt your wear. Well I wouldn't say no to it being any shorter"

"It's already as short as it can be without the teachers saying something and having all of you boys drooling while following me around"

"But where is the fun in that?"

I leaned closer to him so I could whisper. "The fun is that I would rather wait until we're all drunk and then watch as you guys fight over me" he leaned closer to close the gap and kiss me.

I instantly kissed him back and placed my arms around his neck, the only reason I came to this party was in the hope of kissing someone else and having fun with someone else so I would be able to push aside the memories of what happened with Nikolaus, I couldn't get them out of my head. As much as I enjoyed what happened that night and I didn't regret it, I couldn't take it. I needed them to go away, the memories were changing things and I couldn't stand knowing what was changing, I didn't want my feelings towards Nikolaus to change or increase or even make whatever it is between us more awkward then it already is.

Sitting there in Aiden's lap kissing him and having his hands roam my body I couldn't help but compare the two off them. Even though Aiden is drunk just like Nikolaus was there was so many differences and I hated it, I wasn't even enjoying the kiss. I had kissed Aiden before and it was fine but now, comparing it to the one I shared with Nikolaus it was horrible.

"Sorry..." I pulled away and got up off his lap before leaving the lounge.

I headed downstairs and left the building heading straight towards the clearing I normally went to clear my head. My plan to use Aiden to push my memories aside wasn't working, so instead I stood there soaking up the last of the heat coming from the sun. Soon all the warmth will disappear and autumn will begin bringing the cold weather along with it and before I know it will start snowing, after being here for three years I still wasn't used to the snow.

"What are you wearing?" I had snuck out of the back doors hoping no one would noticed I had left the building but instead Nikolaus found me anyway but I couldn't help but notice the little jump my heart made when I heard his voice.

"There was a party tonight, please don't send word to the other Guardians. It should be breaking up soon anyway, it was just us novices using it as a way to blow off steam"

"And what happened so you came straight out without a jacket or even shoes" crap I had taken my heels off after I had a couple of drinks since I couldn't keep my balance, I just hoped Emily grabbed them before she left

"I don't need a jacket, the sun is giving me enough heat"

"Why are you out here Dri?"

"The same reason I'm always out here, trying to clear my head" I still hadn't turned around and faced Nikolaus but when I did I noticed he was eying me, it was the same look he gave me when he noticed me in the red dress in Melbourne.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope, what are you doing out here?"

"There are some royals visiting along with their Guardians, who are friends of mine. How did you sneak out without being caught?"

"I don't always get caught, how about you keep going to see your friends and I'll stay here before heading back in and going to sleep"

"Knowing you, you will get caught sneaking in while drunk with no shoes. Come on let me help you" he took a step closer to me and I couldn't help but take a step back.

I didn't want to be in a close proximity to him right now, I needed work out what was going on in my head. Having him close and being able to smell him, I already knew he smell incredible since I was able to smell him during every single one of our sessions.

"Dri what's wrong?" maybe I shouldn't have taken that step back, it gave away that I was being cautious around him.

"It doesn't matter but the last time I was drunk around you I did something stupid"

"Ah I see but if you remember I was drunk too, I doubt the same thing will happen twice" why did that hurt more than it should?

I turned back around looked back out across the grounds and Nikolaus took this as the time to step in beside me. I didn't want this, I just wanted to think everything through without him being here with me to cloud my judgement. I needed to know what this all meant.

"Let me help you get back inside so you don't get caught"

"I don't need your help, just go see your friends"

"Dri"

"Fine if you won't go I will" I snapped at him as I turned around and headed back towards the dorms. When I was far enough that he couldn't stop me I turned back and looked at him, I swear I could have seen him looked hurt before his mask appeared and he headed off towards the guest housing.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who keeps reading and setting alerts for my story!

GwennyDee thank you for always reviewing, it means a lot to me. I'm glad you like chapter 52, I was a little worried how people would take it since in the ended they were able to talk things through calmly. As for why Nikolaus didn't freak out knowing that James had seen what happened, I'm not too sure it could be a number things being the one you mentioned, James knows the truth about Nikolaus loving Dri or it could be that by now Nikolaus knows that James would have found out eventually, whether it be from Dri or when classes started up. Remember James is able to see memories you think more about, if Dri is having trouble forgetting the memories Nikolaus would too making it easier for James to see. Thank you for helping me reach my 100 reviews, I think everyone knew that Dimitri would be mad but for him flying out to St Vladimir's I don't think people did. I'm glad I was able to surprise some people with that one. The relationship between Dri and Rose and Dimitri gets explained in a later chapter but I always wanted the three of them to be close and I didn't want Dri to keep secrets from them. Oh Adrian does find out eventually about what happened but it's not for a while.

LilianGrace thank you for always reviewing, it means a lot to me. I've probably said this before but there are scenes that I loved from the books and I've slipped them in here as well as twisting some bits, like the bit where Nikolaus takes care of Dri's hand, for one Rose didn't snap at Dimitri. I think Dimitri is hot in general and I figured if he is protective over Rose why not other people he cares about and if he truly believed that Nikolaus took advantage of Dri why not do something like that, he's not exactly known for keeping his temper in check at all times. Thank you for saying my story is amazing, it means a lot!