A/N (TW): Thank you for your feedback. I loved it. I already wanted to update on Thursday, but just as I was proof reading the chapter my neighbor from downstairs told me that the woman living in the apartment next to mine committed suicide after her boyfriend died of cancer and that shocked me. I was down for some days, even though I barely knew her. Sorry for telling you something like this, but it really kept my mind busy. Anyway, now on to happier things, I hope ;) So here is the next chapter. Please read and enjoy :) And remember to all keep safe!

Chapter 8

The days flew buy, just like they always do when you enjoy yourself. Even with the hard work, I couldn't complain. We've finished the breach and today worked on the fundament before we could start building the walls for the bedroom. While we were working and talking, Dimitri decided to also add an additional bathroom next to the bedroom. That way you wouldn't have to use the one on the far side of the garden.

Finally at home I looked forward to a hot shower and a long sleep, until I had to get up early in the morning again. I never would have guessed it, but I actually got used to the early morning hours. Before I got to the bathroom after this long, tiering day, Lissa caught me.

"Hi, Rose. I haven't seen you in a few days. Wanna talk for a while?" she asked, apparently a little shy.

"Sure, let me just take a shower real quick and we'll meet in my room, okay?" nodding she headed into my room to wait for me. Honestly I just wanted to go to bed, but she was right, we haven't seen each other for quite some time and I missed spending time with her.

"I'm done." I declared fifteen minutes later and hopped down onto the bed next to her.

"How is it to spent so much time with Dimitri? He always seems so strict and stern." Shuttering a little she looked at me expecting and I couldn't help but laugh. "No Lissa, he actually is kind of funny when he's more relaxed. We have a lot of fun renovating. All of this in fact is not as bad as I thought, but don't tell Baba, or I might have to eliminate you." Laughing at me she shook her head.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, at least a little bit. These are our school holidays after all." Right, and I couldn't think of a better way than to spent them with Dimitri, even if we weren't doing any of the things I imagined doing with him.

"What about you, Liss? What have you been up to?" At this question she blushed and smiled. "Spill!" I demanded.

"Okay, you know how I spent the Sunday after your parents' party with Adrian and our family?" How could I forget anything that happened these days? When I nodded she continued. "Well, one of our uncles brought a friend of his and she brought her nephew." Knowing where this lead to I smiled brightly. It had been too long since Lissa had a boyfriend. The last one, Aaron, couldn't handle us being so close. Even though I wondered if we still were this close. I haven't told her about Dimitri yet, and I didn't plan on doing so in the near future. In the past we never wouldn't have gone so many days without talking to each other. We occasionally texted while I was at Dimitri's, but nothing major. Maybe that's just the way things needed to progress, as you turn older, I told myself.

"His name is Christian, he looks just damn good and we got along from the beginning. Promise me you won't tell anyone about what I'll tell you next."

"I pinky swear, Lissa." Dead serious we both nodded and shook hands.

"Apparently his parents committed homicide before they died in a car crash while fleeing the police." That sounded horrible. "The rest of his family turned away from him, as if this would have been his fault and he continued to live with his aunt. She was there and discovered his parents after they killed everyone in their home. Jumping in front of her brother to protect Christian she got a scar over the left half of her cheek. He's the only one I met who gets me. He understands what it is like to loose his family." Gulping hard she looked down and I took her hand.

"Sorry Liss. But this way if you would ever happen to marry him, you wouldn't have to invite too many people. This is going to be a cheap wedding. That way you can even make the honeymoon trip to Europe, the way you always wanted to do." Winking at her, I gladly noticed she smiled again. Mission accomplished.

Talking for an hour we both fell asleep on my bed. Thankfully Lissa haven't woken up when my alarm ringed. This wouldn't have been pleasant. A tired Lissa was a cranky Lissa. We had that in common.

Saturday morning and I was on my way to work. If you could even call it work, since I wasn't getting paid. Getting off the bus, I noticed this guy from one of my classes. Emmett, I guess, kind of cute, he obviously noticed me as well and walked over.

"Hello Rose. What are you doing here? Especially at this time of the day on a Saturday?" he asked, smiling sweetly at me.

"I have to. I'm helping a family friend to renovate a garden house. And what brings you here this early?" I smiled back at him.

"That sounds interesting, but also hard. My mother needed me to drive her here so I decided to go have breakfast while she has her appointment." Looking at me intently he lightly bit his bottom lip. "You want to join me and eat something?"

"Sorry, but I really have to go, or I'm going to be late. I would have loved to have breakfast though." For a second he seemed disappointed before his face grew hopeful again. "How about I pick you up then and well eat some dinner together?"

"Like a date?" Unsure whether to agree, I stalled for a little more time before I had to answer.

"Sure, if that's okay?" looking away, he glanced around.

"If it's okay I won't look good after working the whole day, then yeah, I would love to." This made a smile grow on his face. "Fine then. I'll give you my number and we'll meet here at, let's say eight?" he suggested and I agreed readily.

On my way towards Dimitri's I questioned if I made the right decision. Agreeing to this date didn't feel as good as it should have. Some part of me felt like this was wrong. Nonsense, it's not like Dimitri and I could be a couple and he had been the one to demand that nothing would be happening. The one to say that our feelings meant nothing, that they couldn't mean anything. So this shouldn't stop me from going on this date and enjoying myself.

Nearing the garden house I heard his country music playing and my guilty conscience spoke up, but I shut it down before it could get too powerful.

"Morning, Roza." He greeted me, smiling.

"Morning, comrade." With that we started working.

An uneventful day, it was until Dimitri suggested to order something to eat for lunch that I remembered my upcoming date with Emmett. "I can't." was all I said, not wanting to explain why. Of course though, he left me no choice by asking me what the reason was.

"Oh, why is that?" One could see the moment his neutral face turned into a grim mask, before turning impassive again, as soon as he heard my next words. "I have a dinner date." Holding my breath I didn't dare looking at him. "Oh." Was his only response.

Oh. That's all? Dimitri resumed working, the lunch break suddenly forgotten.

The rest of the day was uncomfortable. Twenty minutes before eight I started getting ready to leave.

"I'll just go to the toilet to freshen up a little before going." Not acknowledging me he continued working.

My inner voice wanted to chastise me for being so dumb, but the other part of me was trying to convince myself that this was his own fault. Not wanting to realize that he was just as powerless in this case as me. Because of my age and my parents, we had no future. I successfully avoided thoughts about how much it must hurt him to see me go on a date with another guy. Washing my hands and face, I refreshed my deo and headed back to the cabin. "Where are you meeting this guy?" Dimitri asked all of a sudden.

"Emmett and I are going to meet at the bus stop I usually take my bus getting home." Gaging his reaction, I saw he simply nodded before announcing that he would still escort me to the bus station. Ever since the talk and that day I missed the last bus, he accompanied me to the bus station to make sure I got there safely. Everyday. "You don't have to." I tried to protest.

Somehow I suddenly didn't want him to walk me there. I wanted to go alone. Most importantly I didn't want him to meet Emmett, not that I was afraid he would do something to that guy, but better safe than sorry.

That is exactly the reason why I shouldn't even go out with him to begin with. This showed me that I knew full well that I was doing a bad thing. But I was right with one thing as well. Dimitri had been the one to demand we couldn't be anything other friends to each other. I owed him nothing. And that is how I found myself walking to the bus stop, not saying a word, while Dimitri walked next to me. With his tall figure he towered over me and I thought I would have been afraid if I would meet him at night on an almost empty road alone in the dark.

The closer we got to the bus station and therefor the city, the more people were on the streets. It was the weekend after all.

Spotting the bus stop and Emmet standing there, I stopped and turned towards Dimitri. "Thank you, you can go now, and I'll see you tomorrow." I intended to leave him, but he showed no intentions to walk back home, so I turned around and put a hand on his chest. "No, really Dimitri. I'm fine. Thank you and now go home."

"I have to make sure, you're safe. I owe this much to your father." He added quickly.

"Not necessary. So go home comrade. I mean it. Seriously." Giving him one stern look I turned and walked towards Emmett.

"Everything alright there?" Apparently he had witnessed the scene. "Yeah, everything's good." He hugged me as a greeting and I saw the other questions on his face. But he seemed to drop them. For now.

We got a table at a diner and ordered our meals. Surprisingly it was easy to talk to him. Until now we had barely talked to each other besides the occasional chit chat in class. He told me about his family and then the food arrived, so we were mostly quiet in order to eat.

"Can I ask you something, Rose?" it was that moment that I knew what his question was going to be. Carefully nodding, I waited for him to form the question.

"Who was this guy that walked with you? He seemed kind of pissed off? Was he angry at you? Did he do something?" Looking at his fries intently, one could think they were the most interesting thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Dimitri? He is the families friend I'm helping. He wasn't pissed. Just tired, I guess. It had been a long day." I tried to sound casual. He nodded and we continued eating while talking from time to time.

"It was a nice evening, Rose." Emmett said after he drove me home. We'd spent two hours at the diner. He was right. Tonight turned into a nice evening.

However when he leaned in to kiss me, I stopped him intuitively. "Sorry." He immediately apologized. "No, I'm sorry. I really enjoyed tonight, but I'm afraid that's it. You're a nice friend and I had fun tonight. I hope you're not angry…" I trailed off and he hang his head before looking at me, smiling bravely.

"Sure, that's alright. I had fun as well. Probably I should have acted some years earlier, maybe then I would have had a shot and you wouldn't have turned me down for this tall, dark guy from earlier." My face must have said everything because he chuckled lightly. "Don't worry Rose. I won't tell anyone. It was just hard not to notice. Especially when you talked about your work together… Or the parties you always hold at his house."

"Sorry." I repeated. So he had been interested in me for years? Funny how I never noticed anything. But I guess I shouldn't be this surprised, I even convinced myself that I must have imagined Dimitri's obvious flirting.

"I'll better get home and let you get so sleep. See you at school, the latest." And with that he went back to his car and drove off.

When I walked towards our house, my father opened the door and smirked at me knowingly. "Why haven't you invited your boyfriend in?" my father asked smirking dangerously.

"He's not my boyfriend, Baba. He's just a friend from school. We had dinner and he drove me home. That's it." In this case it was better not to mention that it in deed had been a date and that he had tried to kiss me, but that I just turned him down because of my feelings for Dimitri.

"If that's what you say." The tone in his voice made it obvious he wasn't believing me.

"Okay, Baba, thank you for that entertaining talk. I'll better take a shower and head to bed, since some of us, actually have to get up early tomorrow." Smiling at me, he gave me a kiss on the head and we got inside.

Thinking about today, I sighed defeated. Life sucked. I couldn't be with Dimitri, he made that more than clear and I realized today, that I couldn't be without Dimitri either. Going on a date with Emmett showed me that I always compared everything with Dimitri in my head.

We never had a date, but just the sweet simple gestures for me made everyone suck in comparison. Emmett had been a gentlemen, he held the door open for me, drove me home, and everything, but it didn't give me the same feeling as it gave me when Dimitri did those things for me.

I was enjoying myself, but I wasn't that into Emmett. I wasn't thinking about kissing him or staring at his lips, wondering what they would feel like against mine. I wasn't daydreaming about how he might taste when I would kiss him or how he would held me in his strong arms. This spot in my dreams was occupied by Dimitri. Sure, I couldn't expect my crush to go away in an instance, but I was certain this wouldn't change. Like ever. Even in a hundred years. Especially since I knew how fantastic Dimitri smelled and tasted. How soft, warm, safe and familiar his kisses and his arms around me felt.

I would have to accept that I was too far gone to go back now. Only time would show how to manage everything. Hopefully I wouldn't end as an old spinster with cats, telling everyone about my one big love got that away because of the age difference and my family.

Shaking my head I pushed this thought away and went to get ready for bed. When I fell asleep, my dreams, of course, contained my future self, surrounded by cats, talking to anyone who would listen to me or not, about Dimitri and how no one ever lived up to him and my love for him, even though nothing ever happened between us.