Woohoo...two chapters in two days! Am I awesome or what? lol...just kidding! Anyways...here is my next chapter... I hope you like it... the next chapter is when things should get even more interesting!

I wrote a one shot early called When She Was Bad... I think its okay...not my best work but you should check it out! I have been in a one shot mood lately and it has helped me want to write more for this story as well. Hopefully I will update 4th of July Fun soon... I have the last chapter about halfway done...give or take.

I am amazed at all the reviews I have been getting. Thank you to everyone who has read my story! I hope you are continuing to like it... thank you also to all the people who have favorited me! It's crazy and awesome!

If you haven't read Final Sacrifice Blood Lust by BelleCeline then you should check it out... I stalk my email waiting for updates!

I own nothing and it is unbeta'd as always...

Stop Being a Coward!

Chapter 12

Rose laughed as she changed the radio station she had been listening to. Dimitri had caught her listening to country music. She had hoped she covered it up though. Something about it made her feel closer to him. She half expected herself to go to the library and check out a western book as her next attempt to bring him back to her but she honestly had no idea where the library was located there at court.

She had however heard a song on one of Dimitri's stations called "Cowboy Take Me Away" by the Dixie Chicks. Something about that song got to her and she had listened to it over and over again on her IPod. She longed for Dimitri to come back and take her with him but she knew that wouldn't be happening today.

Today, she had agreed to go to the movies with Lissa. They had already had breakfast and lunch together. Rose was lucky to sneak away from her for a few hours to get a nap. She had rested okay for about 45 minutes before another one of the horrible dreams decided to materialize in her brain. She hadn't been able to sleep after that so she had turned on the radio and lay in bed waiting for Dimitri to call. She was sure he had to be in Baia by then, unless something had happened but she refused to let her mind wander down that path.

Sure enough, Dimitri had called her and encouraged her to go out with Lissa. She had been around her friend everyday for months but somehow, she felt as if she hadn't really been seeing her lately. Lissa was definitely making up for the lost time as she had a whole schedule of events planned to keep her busy while Dimitri was away.

Tonight was a movie. At least it was a comedy that she had actually wanted to see but she wasn't very comfortable with Christian and Adrian tagging along. She wasn't comfortable with Christian tagging along because she was sure that as soon as the lights went down, Christian's tongue would permanently be glued to Lissa's mouth. She wasn't comfortable with Adrian tagging along because she hoped he didn't expect her tongue to become glued to his mouth.

She had to break up with him tonight. She had been around him a couple times since Dimitri had left. He had given her a kind of puppy dog look and it had been awkward. Tonight she had to make things right again.

She stood from the chair she had been lounging in while talking to Dimitri and went to open the door. She knew exactly when Lissa was about to knock and beat her to it.

"Hello Lissa."

Lissa just smiled, "Rose. Are you ready?"

"Give me two minutes, I gotta pee."

"Thanks for sharing!" Lissa called after her as she ran into the bathroom.

"No problem friend!" Rose called out as she washed her hands and returned to Lissa. They excited the room and walked towards the lobby.

"Christian went to get Adrian and Eddie." Lissa said, looking at Rose.

"Eddie is coming?" Rose said, visibly relaxing. Eddie being there made this much less like a double-date.

"Yep. I thought it would be easier."

"Thanks Lis." Rose said as they stepped out of the elevator and onto the lobby floor. The guys were all waiting and looked relieved when Rose and Lissa showed up.

"Bout time," Christian said looking pointedly at Rose. "We are going to be late if we don't hurry."

"Yeah, cuz we will miss all of two minutes of the previews." Rose rolled her eyes but walked towards the front doors with her group of friends.

The movie was funny and Rose found herself enjoying that company. She also noticed that Christian and Lissa had actually watched the movie, for which she was thankful. She had a feeling that it was to make it less weird for her. Lissa really was a good friend. She felt bad about the things she had thought about Lissa when Dimitri had claimed his servitude to her. She knew it wasn't anything she should be jealous of. Lissa really had done a miraculous thing and Dimitri was only trying to show is gratitude. Rose felt that she owed Lissa the same adoration for saving the man she loved.

The only uncomfortable part of the movie was when Rose and Adrian had both reached for popcorn at the same time. Their hands had brushed and Rose looked up to find Adrian looking back at her. His gaze wasn't weird per say, there was no love or lust shining in his eyes, just friendship and compassion. Rose really felt that everything with Adrian would be okay. She had shyly smiled at him and turned her attention back to the big screen.

They had all gone to dinner after the movie, finding a new pizza place that had just opened the previous week. There was a buffet there too and Rose had eaten till she could hardly move. Lissa had only had a couple of pieces and Rose had told her it was a waste of money to eat at a buffet and not take advantage of all they had to offer. Rose had certainly partaken in the pizza, cinnamon rolls, brownies, and even the salad that the buffet provided. Fortunately Eddie had almost kept up with her so she didn't feel too bad about all she had eaten. She had even made fun of Adrian and Christian saying that they were men, even if they were Moroi, they should eat more than that. Rose had always had a big appetite and she, along with Lissa, was glad to see it was returning full force

After they left the dinner, Adrian asked if he could speak with Rose in private. She had been prepared to ask him as well but the fact that he beat her to the punch, made her nervous. They walked to a small part that was halfway between guest housing and the pizza buffet they had stopped at in an uneasy silence, neither knowing quite yet what to say.

Once they reached their destination, Adrian began.

"Rose?"

"Yes?" She tried to calm down her racing heart, sure that Adrian could hear it beating in her chest.

He let out a small chuckled, "Calm down, I'm not going to bite you. Unless you want me too…"

Rose laughed and just like that the tension dispersed. "I forget you have better hearing."

Adrian nodded, "I think you might be having a heart attack."

"I'm fine, just nervous I guess. I don't want to hurt you Adrian, you are such a great guy."

"I know, but you can't help who your heart wants and while I don't like Belikov, I know it has always been him that you needed. I was just biding your time while he was….away."

Rose felt tears come to her eyes. Adrian was really a great guy and would make some woman very happy some day. Who would have thought that the playboy that smoke and drank all the time would turn out to be so considerate? "You deserve better than me Adrian. You are going to find the woman that is all about you."

"I hope you are right Rose. It's not every day that we meet our soul mate though. I understand that Belikov is yours. I tried to deny it. When he was dead, I thought that I would get a shot at making you love me. And I think you did love me. But it could never compare to how you feel about him. I can't stand in the way of that. Hell, you almost died because you thought he didn't love you anymore. That's some serious shit. It's like you are two halves of a whole."

"Can we still be friends? I have come to depend on you and I don't know what I would do without you in my life."

"We will always be friends Little Dhampir. Just try to stay away from me." Adrian laughed and pulled Rose into a warm embrace. "Thank you for giving me a shot. I didn't think you would when you came back so thank you."

Rose nodded, "I didn't think I would either. But somehow you wormed your way into my heart. I really do love you Adrian. You have no idea how much I wish it was enough."

"I know. I love you too."

"You are going to find someone so amazing, someone that deserves you. And now that you are drinking and smoking less, it should be a piece of cake to find the right girl."

"I'm not going to go looking for her anytime soon but I will find her someday. May I walk you back to your room?"

"I would love that." Rose took Adrian's arm and allowed him to escort her back to her room.

"Do you think you could visit me tonight? I kind of miss having you in my dreams." Rose sheepishly looked up at Adrian. Why hadn't she thought about it before? If Adrian was in her dreams, then she wouldn't have her nightmares.

Adrian looked at her a little suspiciously, "but you hate when I dream walk."

"When had that stopped you before?"

"Never I guess."

"So will you?"

"If you would like. I would hate to interrupt your dreams of Belikov though."

"Oh no, it's fine Adrian. I have just missed you the past few weeks."

"Alright then." Adrian agreed but was still wondering why Rose would request this. She hardly ever wanted him to visit her dreams. She had to be hiding something but what was it? And why did she want him to help?

"Thanks Adrian." Rose almost sounded relieved when he had agreed. She kissed his cheek then turned to open her door. "Oh, by the way, I really owe you an apology. I am glad that Lissa could fix your nose. I am sorry that I broke it twice!"

"No problem Little Dhampir, I am sorry that I couldn't help you." Adrian really did feel bad about that. He felt as if he had forced himself into the situation and then made things worse by confronting her. He had probably deserved the broken nose by not staying out of it when she had asked him to.

Adrian also felt bad about being so enraged when Dimitri showed up. He was still upset that Belikov could help her when he couldn't but maybe he should have been happy instead of upset and yelling at Lissa for letting him try to help. The changes in Rose had been dramatic since Belikov had come back into the picture. He just hoped that everything would remain okay while Belikov was away.

He decided to pay special attention to Rose and make sure that she was really coping well. He would start his little investigation tonight when he visited her dream.

"Thanks again Adrian." Rose left him then and went into her room.

"Anytime Little Dhampir, anytime."

So...what'd ya think? Please leave a review so I know if you are liking it or not :)