Being in a relationship was weird.

Good-weird, but weird nonetheless.

To start with, Hope had always assumed that dating meant being in a relationship, but apparently dating just meant going on dates, which then led to an awkward conversation about whether or not you were in a relationship.

As it happened, they were, and Roman had also assumed the same as her, so she decided not to take any more advice from Penelope, even if she and Josie were nauseatingly adorable.

Her relationship with Lizzie, which was just about hovering at 'icy civility', had deteriorated again, and Hope found herself on the receiving end of anger-filled glares and pointed remarks once more. She took to spending as much time away from Lizzie as possible, helped by the fact that Roman enjoyed the outdoors as much as she did - or, at the very least, he was a good boyfriend who pretended to.

One evening, as they let themselves back in through the kitchen door, Hope paused, her head tilting to one side.

"What's wrong?" Roman asked.

Hope frowned. "Do you hear that? Un-triggered wolf hearing is not really on the same plane as vampire hearing."

Roman was quiet for a second. "I can hear … people talking in the rec room … Miss Tig and Mr Williams are … Never mind."

Hope grimaced. "Okay, I did not need to know that. I think I can hear Lizzie."

"Oh, I can hear her," Roman said. "Honestly, Hope, she's in this kind of state so often I've learned to tune it out."

Hope frowned, fetching a saucepan from under the sink. "It's not her fault."

"I know it's not," Roman said. "But when you hear something often enough, it just becomes part of the background noise."

"Can you pass me the milk please?" Hope asked.

Roman did as she asked. "I thought we were going to watch a movie."

"We will," Hope said, brushing a kiss to his cheek as she took the bottle. "I'm just making hot cocoa - there's a packet of cookies right at the top of that cupboard, do you mind?"

Handing her the cookies, Roman watched as she set them out on three plates, before pouring the hot cocoa into three mugs. With a murmured spell, one batch vanished.

"Where have they gone?" Roman asked.

"Lizzie's room," Hope answered. "It's a thing."

"Hang on," Roman said. "You and Lizzie hate each other."

Hope sighed. "No. Lizzie hates me."

Apparently sensing he'd touched a nerve, Roman picked up the tray and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her upstairs.

Once they were safely ensconced in her room, Hope placed the privacy spell on the door automatically.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Roman asked.

"Not really," Hope said with a sigh.

"Is it my fault?" Roman asked.

"No," Hope said with a smile. "It's been going on longer. I mean, you're not helping, but you're not the reason for it. I don't even know what the reason is."

"Something must have happened," Roman prompted.

Hope shrugged. "You'd think. We used to be best friends. When we were about twelve, there was a fire in my dorm and I had to go home early for summer break. After a week or so, Lizzie stopped answering her phone or returning my texts, and … She'd only just been diagnosed, so I figured that had something to do with it, and she was away with her dad so it wasn't like I could just come here and talk to her, and then when I got back to school, she wouldn't even look at me."

She paused and managed a small smile. "Shit happens, I guess."

"You've never asked her?" Roman murmured, taking one of the mugs from her.

Hope sighed. "I'm fairly sure I know. I think she's heard one too many stories about my family. It's not like her dad doesn't have enough fodder."

"Dr Saltzman likes you," Roman said.

"Yeah, but it still doesn't change the fact that he has loved three women in his life and my father murdered two of them," Hope muttered.

"Okay." Roman put his mug down again and sat down on her bed, leaning against the headboard. "Come here."

Hope sat down beside him and he tugged her into his arms.

"You have not inherited that from your father," he said quietly. "You got some things, but not that. You got art, and loyalty, and a protectiveness so strong that you're still protecting Lizzie even though she's pushing you away. And if I could see that after a few weeks, and Lizzie couldn't after 12 years, then she's not the friend you thought she was."

His words cut deep, however gently they were said, but she knew he was right.

"She stopped being my friend," she murmured. "I didn't stop being hers. Please don't tell her what I'm doing."

"She doesn't know?" Roman asked. "Never mind, of course she doesn't."

"It's easier if she doesn't," Hope said. "And I don't really want to talk about it anymore."

"Well, I can take your mind off of it, but the cocoa might get cold," Roman said teasingly.

Hope smiled, tugging on his collar to bring his lips down to hers. "I don't care."

Three months, almost to the day, of their first kiss, Roman turned up at Hope's door with an expression that made her heart sink.

"What's wrong?" She asked immediately.

"Can I come in?" Roman asked in response.

Hope nodded, stepping back to let him in, bracing herself for whatever bad news was to come.

"Don't do that," Roman said.

"Do what?" Hope asked.

"Shut down," Roman answered. "I need you here with me."

Hope narrowed her eyes, then sighed. "Sometimes I hate it that you can read me so well. What's wrong?"

"Dr Saltzman offered me a job," Roman answered.

"That's amazing," Hope said, breaking into a smile. "You've been saying you don't feel like you fit as a student; that's … You don't look happy about it."

"The job involves finding potential students and letting them know about the school," Roman said.

"That sounds like something you'd be good at," Hope said cautiously. "What's the catch?"

"The job is based in Europe," Roman answered.

Hope hesitated, trying desperately to think of something to say. "Oh."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly.

"Are you going to take it?" She asked.

"I don't know."

Hope swallowed. "Do you want to?"

Roman hesitated. "I don't know."

Hope closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "Don't take this the wrong way, because I think you'd be amazing, but … My dad didn't have a hand in this, did he?"

"I already asked," Roman said with a small smile. "Dr S pointed out that if your dad didn't want me near you, he wouldn't be nearly as tactful about it."

Hope chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, he's probably right." She took another deep breath. "I think you should go."

"I know - What?" Roman asked, clearly taken aback.

Hope smiled sadly. "You'd be really good at this. You can't throw that away for me."

"You make it sound like you wouldn't be worth it," Roman said.

"This isn't about me," Hope said. "Look, if we'd been together several years, it would be different. If I was older, it would be different. But we haven't and I'm not. I'm sixteen. I'm not ready to stand here and say that I want us to be together forever, and that is the only kind of relationship you should let dictate your life." She paused, closing her eyes against the burn of tears. "So if you want to go, don't turn it down for me."

"Hope …" His fingertips brushed her cheek and she turned her face into his touch. "A long-distance relationship …"

"I know," Hope murmured. "If it's meant to be, we'll find our way back to each other. If not, at least we'll still be friends."

He was silent for a few minutes, then he tilted her face up to kiss her gently. "I love you."

Her eyes flew open, meeting his before she really had time to process the words. "I …"

"You don't need to say anything," Roman said. "I just … I have some thinking to do. And I need you to know that, because I don't want you thinking for a second that you're not worth it, okay?"

She knew he was going to say yes.

The news reached her through the grapevine before he'd had a chance to tell her. She was sitting with Penelope and Josie at the time, when Lizzie wandered over.

"I hear your boyfriend's leaving."

Hope froze. It was the first time Lizzie had said anything somewhat civil to her in months. "He is."

"Driven him away already?"

And they were back to normal.

"You don't have to be such a bitch," Penelope said sharply.

"Stay out of this, Satan," Lizzie retorted. "Europe's probably the safest place for him; I'm sure there's a coffin for him in the French Quarter."

Hope bolted to her feet, causing Lizzie to jerk back in surprise. "You're wrong, Penelope," she said, cold eyes fixed on Lizzie's. "I'm fairly sure it's ingrained by now."

Brushing past her former best friend, she stalked out of the room. She found Roman in his room, packing his things.

"You're leaving already?"

"Not quite," he said with a weak smile. "I was going to come and find you."

"Didn't doubt it," Hope said, wrapping her arms around him.

His arms encircled her automatically. "What happened?"

"Lizzie," Hope muttered.

Roman pressed a kiss to her head. "My flight leaves early tomorrow morning, so I'll be gone by breakfast."

Hope nodded against his chest. "Can you … Can you come and stay in my room tonight?"

"If you want," Roman said. "I'll wake you up though, when I leave at an ungodly hour."

"Good," Hope said. "Make sure you do - I want a chance to say goodbye."

"Okay then," Roman said. "I'll meet you there after dinner."

Hope paced her room, irrationally nervous.

Maybe he'd left early.

Maybe he just wouldn't come.

But of course he hadn't, and he would, a familiar knock sounding - not on her door, but her window.

Hope smiled, running over to let him in.

"Hey, beautiful." Roman kissed her, setting his duffle bag down. "Bag's are all packed and in the car, so I am all yours until 2.30am."

Hope pulled a face. "I don't envy you that."

"I guess we're not watching a movie," Roman said, glancing at her laptop, closed and switched off on her desk.

"Wasn't planning on it," Hope whispered, rising up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

His hands settled on her waist, tightening for a split-second before they moved, faster than she could process, her back hitting the mattress and his weight landing on top of her, comforting rather than oppressive.

His hand shifted up, brushing against the sliver of skin that had been revealed as her shirt rode up and she broke the kiss to suck in a breath, his touch sending shockwaves through her. He took the opportunity to trail kisses down her throat.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured against her skin. "So kind. So funny. So … I am going to miss you so much."

Hope bit her lip, blinking back tears, her nerves finally settling. She pushed on his shoulders and he hastily moved back, allowing her to sit up.

"Sorry - I …"

He trailed off, as she grasped the hem of her shirt and tugged it up and over her head, tossing it somewhere behind him.

She laid back down, basking for a few seconds in the heat of his gaze. "Are you just going to look at me?"

Roman cleared his throat. "Hope … are you sure?"

Hope nodded. "I love you."

Roman broke into a smile. "If you're trying to talk me out of this, you're leaving it a bit late."

"I'm not," Hope said, reaching out to touch his face. "I can't promise that I'll love you in three years. I can't even promise that I'm in love with you. But I can say with certainty that I love you now, in this moment. And I want this. I want you."

"I'm a dead man," Roman murmured, his hand skimming across her stomach.

Hope's breath caught. "You're a vampire; kinda in the job description."

Roman chuckled. "Not what I meant."

Hope rolled her eyes. "I do not want to think about my father right now - I'll protect you; now get down here."

Hope's eyes flickered open, landing on the clock on her bedside table, ridiculously small numbers blinking at her. She rolled over with a groan, her body pleasantly sore.

"Sorry," Roman whispered in the darkness. "I was trying not to wake you."

"I told you to," Hope replied, flicking the light switch and wincing in the light.

Roman was already fully dressed and returned to her side, touching her neck. "You've healed."

"Freak baby, remember?" Hope asked with a weak smile. "Disappointed?"

"Well, it's probably a good thing," Roman said. "I wasn't exactly gentle and you're seeing your mom this weekend."

"Don't fish for compliments," Hope said with a smile. "I think it was obvious I enjoyed it. You've spoiled me for other men."

Roman kissed her. "You've caught on," he murmured against her lips. "I'd better go; I need to grab a blood bag first."

"Feed from me," Hope said.

Roman froze. "Absolutely not."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Come on; I'll heal. If you feed from me, we get an extra five minutes." She watched him struggle with the idea. "I know you want to."

Roman groaned. "Of course I want to; I'm only human. I know that's a contradiction," he added hastily.

Hope swung her legs out of bed and sauntered over to her chest of drawers to pull on some clothes.

"Cute jammies," Roman commented.

Hope rolled her eyes. "Feed."

"Alright," Roman conceded. "I will - if you promise me that you won't wait for me."

Hope hesitated. "Why?"

Roman crossed the floor to cup her face. "You said it yourself. You're sixteen. Maybe when you graduate, you'll come to Europe, and we'll pick up where we left off. Maybe we won't. But I don't want you putting your life on hold in the meantime, okay?"

Hope sighed. "I promise I won't wait."

"Good." Roman's fingers trailed down her throat, his eyes darkening. "You're sure?"

Hope nodded, tilting her head to give him better access. His fangs pierced her skin, but the pain turned to pleasure almost immediately. The pressure sent a shockwave through her body and she gasped, shattering in his arms.

He pulled back with bloodstained lips, watching her skin knit over. "Did you just …?"

"Yeah, yeah," Hope grumbled. "Smug bastard."

Roman smirked. "Never had that reaction before."

"Good." Hope reached into her drawer again and pulled out a small box. "I want you to hang on to this."

"What is it?" Roman asked.

Hope hesitated. "It's five vials of my blood. It cures the effects of werewolf venom. You cannot tell anyone else," she added urgently. "Or tell anyone I told you, for that matter. I'm sure Dad would send some, but you'd have a nasty time of it before …" She broke off, silenced by a deep kiss that made her toes curl.

"It's safe with me," he said hoarsely. "Thank you."

Hope smiled weakly, "You've got to go, haven't you?"

Roman checked the time. "I do."

"Message me when you land," Hope said, reluctantly untangling herself from his arms. "And send me photos. Europe's my post-graduation trip, so I want good ideas, okay?"

With one last kiss and a whispered goodbye, he was gone.

Hope sat on her bed, listening until she heard the car disappear into the distance. Only then did she allow herself to cry, falling sideways to bury her face in her pillow to muffle her sobs.

Distantly, she was aware of a whispered spell, of her lock clicking, of the door swinging open and closed.

"Oh honey."

Penelope's voice just caused her to cry harder, her heart slowly breaking into tiny pieces.

"Move over."

Hope did as she was told, feeling the mattress dip as her best friend climbed in beside her, wrapping her arms around her.

"It's okay," Penelope murmured. "Just let it all out. I'm right here."