Still don't own VA. Did anybody like the show? I think I would have if they had called it something different and just said it was inspired by these lovely books but it was WAY too different for me to really enjoy.
Thirteen
Chapter 9
RPOV
A few weeks had passed since mine and Dimitri's little fight. I was still pretty frustrated that he kept trying to tell me what to do and he was a lot quieter than usual. Well, around me, anyway; he was always pretty quiet around everyone else, only speaking when spoken to or when he had something important to say. I was really the only person he actually talked to. It used to make me feel special, but now that I didn't get the special treatment, I was getting irritated. I turned that irritation into more flirting with Greg. That only seemed to make Dimitri retreat more into himself. I ignored that and focused myself on the task at hand; getting all dolled up for the royal party Lissa and I had been invited to. I invited Dimitri too, both to try to make up but also to show him that I could do what ever I wanted. Sure, it was bitchy, but I really was tired of always getting told what to do. A sudden loud knock on my door startled me and I opened it to see Lissa beaming at me, already dressed in a sparkly pale pink cocktail dress. She'd paired it with silver strappy heals and left her pale blond hair hanging straight. She looked every bit the regal party girl she was trying so hard to be.
"I guess I'm getting better at blocking your thoughts," I told her, pulling her into the room by her slim wrist. "I knew you were close but you still scared the hell out of me when you knocked." She laughed but her eyes were off. I tuned more into her and knew she was nervous.
"Maybe your own thoughts were too interesting this time," she teased but her heart wasn't in it. I squinted, studying her face. She wasn't giving much away, and I was honestly impressed. She could have been a Guardian, hiding all emotion if it wasn't for the tinge of fear in her eyes. I smiled weakly.
"Not really, I was just thinking about Dimitri," I brushed her off but something flittered through her mind at my mention of our friend. It was gone too quickly for me to tell what. "What's wrong?" I pressed, not wanted to pull it from her head. I would much rather her tell me.
"I think I've finally worked up the courage to dump Aaron," she admitted, averting her eyes. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"That's good," I told her, sincerely. "You deserve to be with someone that actually makes you happy." Her eyebrows furrowed and more scrambled thoughts flickered through her mind, eyes turning stormy.
"So do you, Rose," she whispered, so quietly I barely heard her. I smiled weakly, not knowing what she meant, then turned to my closet.
"I really don't want to wear a dress tonight," I announced. "So which top is cuter?" I pulled out two, holding them up to her. One was a deep maroon halter top that showed off my chest beautifully, and the other was a tightfitting black lace tank with a high neck and racer back.
"The black," she answered easily. I nodded, putting the other one away and dancing into my skinniest dark wash jeans. I tossed my sleep shirt I'd been wear aside, tugging the silky black top on. I shook my hair out and dabbed some mascara on my lashes.
"All set?" my best friend asked me. I shot her a smile.
"Let's go break some hearts," I joked, linking our arms and leaving the dorm with her. The party was already in full swing when we arrived, fifteen minutes late. Dimitri caught my eye immediately, pulling his arm away from the already drunk Moroi that had been trying to flirt with him. He cut through the crowd, stopping briefly to grab a couple cups off the refreshment table along the side wall. He made it across the room to us quickly, handing each of us the drinks he'd grabbed. I was slightly surprised they smelled strong. Maybe it was a peace offering. I beamed at him and Lissa politely thanked him, excusing herself to find Aaron.
"Hi, Comrade," I finally said, softly. His lips twitched into a half smile.
"Roza," he all but whispered. I started to tell him I was sorry, but somebody else caught my arm, pulling me towards them.
"Rose!" Greg basically shouted in my face. I resisted the urge to wince, smiling at him instead. "I wanted to show you something." I looked over my shoulder, shrugging as I met Dimitri's now stormy eyes and mouthed 'later' to him. He gave one quick nod and blended back into the crowd. Greg pulled me over to a chair in the middle of the room, plunking down and pulling me into his lap. I was surprised so I didn't resist, regardless of the fact that I definitely could have.
"You wanted to show me a chair?" I asked, slightly annoyed.
"No," he laughed. "I wanted to show you this." He placed a hand behind my neck and pulled me down, crashing our lips together and immediately shoving his tongue down my throat. I was shocked for just a second, then returned the kiss eagerly. When an older royal Moroi wanted to kiss a lowly dhampir, you let him. And for a while, that's how the night went. I went back and forth between making out with Greg and refilling my drink. I caught Dimitri's eye a couple times, seeing him grow more frustrated with each time I filled my cup. Something about his annoyance fueled my desire to drink and kiss, so on it went. Until Lissa appeared next to us, making me jump about a foot when she firmly said my name. With all the alcohol in both our systems, the bond might as well have not existed.
"Wade brought a feeder," she said, voice hard and cold. "Someone needs to stop him." I followed her gaze, seeing a group of boys gathered around a dazed but pretty human girl. Her neck was splattered with bruises, as well as fresh puncture wounds.
"Royals can do whatever they want, Liss," I told her, gently. "But Dimitri is probably a better bet than me right now." Her pale eyes were sharp; she was definitely starting to scare me. She shook her head twice, eyes never leaving where the boys nudged the human girl around, taking turns biting and kissing her. It made my stomach turn too, but there was nothing that could be done. Royal Moroi could get away with almost anything.
"He left twenty minutes ago," she narrowed her eyes. "Something about needing to think and to find him if you ever pried yourself away from him." She jutted her chin towards Greg, as if she could've been referring to someone else. Her eyes softened slightly when she finally met my gaze, tearing her eyes away from the disgusting scene unfolding across the room. I untangled myself from Greg, standing to face her.
"I'm sorry, Liss," I whispered, leaning close so she could hear me.
"You're really not going to do anything?" she replied, shocked. "Not even for me?" That broke me. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to clear my own buzz a little. I didn't realize how bad off I was until I had stumbled as I stood. I opened them back into her pleading ones, nodding once.
"I'll try," I relented, steeling myself to march over to the royal idiots. When I got there, I put my hands on my hips and crooked my head to the side. "Seriously, Wade?" His eyes snapped away from the feeder's neck to glare at me.
"What do you want, Hathaway?" he snapped, not sharing his friend's infatuation of me.
"You have to drug girls now to get them to kiss you?" I demanded, glaring right back.
"Mind your own business, dhampir," he growled, as if dhampir was a dirty word. My glare got more intense.
"Nobody wants to see this," I snapped, gesturing at the gruesome scene. "Just take her back where she belongs; to the feeding room." He stood quicker than I expected, causing my footing to falter slightly. I stepped back, easily shaking it off, thanks to my years of training. He pulled the girl to her feet, her eyes glazed over but face happy.
"I'll just take her to my room then," he snapped back. I glared after him, then shrugged, turning back towards Lissa.
"Best I could do," I told her, apologetically. Her eyes were wide and angry.
"He can do even worse to her in private!" she practically shouted at me. I was stunned by her outburst. I blinked away my shock.
"I'm sorry, Lissa," I told her, grabbing her hand. "I'd kick his ass but with how drunk I am right now, I'd just hurt myself. Did you talk to Aaron yet?" Her eyes frantically flicked across my face, realizing how drunk I really was.
"No," she sagged in defeat. "But I should go do that. And you should find Dimitri. He seemed pretty upset." Something warmer than her earlier cold anger flashed in her green orbs. We locked eyes for a minute or so, then both nodded and parted ways. I didn't bother saying bye to Greg, now that I knew he was such a sloppy kisser and Lissa blended seamlessly back into the crowd. I knew exactly where Dimitri was. There was access to the roof in every dorm, so he'd obviously go to the quickest one; the upperclassman Moroi one we were currently partying in. I wondered to the right stairwell, taking them slowly in my intoxicated state. I emerged onto the roof, eyes taking in Dimitri's muscular back through his thin duster. He didn't turn at my approach, so I leaned my back on the concrete wall next to him.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked, meekly. He finally turned to look at me, turmoil clear in his entire face.
"How to help my best friend stop destroying herself," he gritted out, between clenched teeth. Anger shot through me.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I practically screamed. "We're fucking teenagers Dimitri! Even human teenagers drink and party!"
"Not like this, Roza," he snapped, accent stronger than normal, thanks to his emotion. "You…you're drinking to drown something out. To numb the pain. Not just to have fun. It's not healthy and I'm worried about you." Both of us were pissed now, nostrils flaring and breathing heavy. I took a step towards him, poking his chest hard and leaving no more than six inches between us. I tilted my chin up to lock eyes with his defiantly.
"And why the fuck is it that you're so worried?" I spat, poking him again. He grabbed my wrist, stilling my assault on his firm muscles. His eyes softened and anger faded to something I didn't recognize.
"Because I love you," he whispered, simply. I almost sagged, my anger leaving me so quickly. We'd told each other 'love you' plenty, having been friends so long but something was different about the way he said that. It made my stomach do back flips and my breath leave my lungs.
"What?" I whispered, thinking I was misreading things. A different kind of flame flashed in his eyes and he leaned down to rest his forehead on mine, gently.
"I'm in love with you," he said, more confidently. My own brown eyes gazed into his. I pulled my wrist from his grasp and flung my arms around his neck, lips finding each other's greedily. His arms quickly snaked around my waist, pulling me flush against him, as his tongue grazed my lower lip. I opened my mouth, letting our tongues meet with a passion I never expected to feel in my whole life, let alone with my best male friend. When the need for air became too much, we pulled away, panting. We kept our arms around each other, mine having tangled into his silky hair and one of his wrapped around my hips while the other brushed up and down my spine gently. His touch sent sparks through my whole body, as our noses brushed together gently.
"Dimitri, I…" I trailed off as I suddenly wasn't looking into his eyes anymore. I was staring absently into a very trashed dorm room. I heard Lissa's voice coming out of her, cold and hard as a dark coil of rage burned within her. Wade stood in the middle of the room with a baseball bat as the feeder he'd brough to the party cowered in the corner. I snapped back to myself, fear filling me.
"I'm so sorry," I gasped out as Dimitri's worried eyes took me in. "I have to go to Lissa." With one last wistful look, I tore away from him. I could hear his footsteps trailing me, which I was grateful for. I was going to need the help.
Weeeeeellll, they finally kissed! But of course, that couldn't just be a perfect, sweet moment. It is Romitri, after all! Please review!