Hey everyone, thank you all for the reviews and the feedback :)

Just wanted to wish Danila Kozlovsky a happy 35th birthday - the wonderful actor who played Dimitri in the movie.

This chapter is a little crazy, but I hope you still like it.

"I can't believe I'm going to this stupid party," I muttered, tossing the tube of lipstick on my counter. I had debated putting more makeup on but decided to just keep whatever I had on. I wasn't trying to impress anyone and I wasn't very enthusiastic about going anyway.

Eddie shrugged, leaning against the frame of my door. "Christian and Lissa are going. You might as well."

"Do you think we'll get in trouble?" I asked, grabbing my phone and slipping it into the pocket of my leggings. I paired it with a black long-sleeve, deciding to wear something simple. Unlike how I used to be at parties, I didn't like attracting attention to myself anymore.

"Guardians tend to be lenient with students socializing in the dorms at this time of the year as long as alcohol isn't involved," Eddie reminded me as we left my dorm. "Although I think we all know nobody follows that rule."

"Ugh. Everyone's going to be throwing up all over the place."

Eddie elbowed me in the arm. "Hey, you were doing that in my washroom not too long ago. Dimitri was pissed that night. I'm surprised he's letting you go to this."

I was a little surprised too, but Dimitri didn't want to control everything I did. He wanted me to have fun and be with my friends like any other person and he trusted me to make my own choices. He just didn't want me to get drunk for obvious reasons. He still worried about people taking advantage of me, but either way, I didn't plan on getting drunk.

We headed to guest housing and snuck into the basement where the lounge was. It was a lot bigger than a common room and had other rooms attached that had couches, tables, a kitchen and a washroom. Anyone who lived in guest housing could come down here, but tonight, it was full of students from the university campus. The music was loud and I could see red cups everywhere. Half the people here were already drunk, making a complete mess of the place.

"Rose!"

Avery strutted to the doorway, wearing tight shorts and a cropped tank top. I wasn't one to judge how people dressed, but it was a little odd to be wearing something so revealing in the cold winter—especially in the basement where it was colder than usual.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" she squealed, throwing her arms around me. I could smell alcohol on her breath and she looked a little tipsy. Behind her, I saw Adrian with a bottle of vodka in his hand. He gripped the top, taking large sips.

"Make yourself at home," she said, grabbing Adrian by his shirt. She practically dragged him around to the kitchen and I eyed them dubiously as Avery poured a drink into an empty red cup. She handed it to me before focussing on Adrian again, running her hands on him. I didn't want to stick around to watch, so I left them, rolling my eyes with Eddie. I started drinking the heavy liquid before Eddie put his hand on the cup, tipping it back down.

"Easy on that. If you get as drunk as you did last time, Dimitri's going to kill both of us."

"Nah. He'll probably just tell you to be more alert. I'm the one who gets my ass busted. Literally."

"What?"

"Nothing," I laughed, trying to hide my already blushing cheeks. For the next half hour, Eddie and I stayed together and socialized with people we had grown up with at the academy. He agreed to let us part but told me to stay in his line of sight so that he could keep an eye on me. I would have argued that I didn't need a babysitter, but I had to remind myself that he was only looking out for me and that he was technically like a secondary guardian.

When I found Lissa, I nearly choked on my drink. She was hiding in a closet with Christian and it seemed like I had just caught them being intimate.

"Seriously? A closet?" I asked.

"Rose!" Lissa cheered, leaving Christian's lap. She was a little drunk and it seemed like Christian was too. It was unlike them to get drunk, but maybe it was just the excitement of the new year.

"I'm surprised you guys even came to this," I said as Christian stood up, throwing his arm around Lissa's shoulders.

"Honestly," Lissa began, putting her hands on my shoulders, "I have absolutely no idea why I'm here. Avery just told me to come, so I did, but like..." she looked over at Christian with a confused stare. "Why are we here again?"

I reached into Lissa's mind for a moment, discovering that she was genuinely confused and had no idea what she was doing. The buzz from the alcohol was strong and I couldn't exactly figure out why she was so confused, but I assumed it was just the alcohol that caused her to feel that way.

"I think you guys need to go to your dorms before a guardian catches you," I warned, bringing them to the front door of the building. Christian wasn't as bad as Lissa was, so I told him to make sure they both got some rest. I stayed outside watching them walk to the moroi dorms as I sat on the steps to get some fresh air. It was a bit of a relief after being stuck in a room full of sweaty people.

"Little dhampir," I heard from behind me. I recognized who it was in an instant and turned over my shoulder, watching as Adrian took a seat next to me. He offered me his flask which I took, sipping the drink slowly.

"Aren't you supposed to be inside with Avery?" I asked. Adrian sighed, resting his elbows on his knees.

"What am I doing, Rose?" he asked, taking me by surprise. "I feel like I'm falling for this girl but there's something else going on and I can't put my finger on it. One second, she wants me, and the next second, I'm a stranger."

"Well...do you think she likes you back? Does she respect you?" I asked.

"I don't know. She's complicated. I'm just wondering if she likes me for who I am or if she just wants me for money and looks. Not to sound cocky or anything."

I chuckled. "No, you're fine. Honestly, Adrian, I'm not an expert on relationships, but I'd be careful with letting my feelings slip if I were you. You haven't known her for that long."

"Right," he said, nodding his head. He frowned, dropping his head a little. "Something happened between us the other night."

"What? What happened?" I asked. Adrian went quiet again as his face turned more serious than I expected it to, but he pushed whatever was bothering him away.

"Nothing. Let's go back inside. It's getting cold."

I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but it seemed like he didn't want to talk about it, so I dropped it and followed him inside. We could hear the music pounding even from up here, but in the basement, it was so much louder. Back inside, I saw Eddie looking around in a panic. He rushed over to me when he saw me and I immediately felt a little guilty.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked angrily, snatching Adrian's flask out of my hand. "Were you two getting drunk together?"

"Eddie, relax. We were talking and I needed fresh air," I assured him.

"Well, if you're going to leave like that, you need to tell me. I'm supposed to be watching you. I turned my back for one second and you were already gone."

"I'm perfectly fine," I snapped. "I don't need a babysitter, okay?"

Eddie looked frustrated now. My attitude was never pleasant and I felt bad for using it on him of all people, but I couldn't help myself. I was getting frustrated from constantly being watched all the time.

I didn't have any more time to think about it as I could now smell blood coming from one of the rooms. That wasn't a good sign. "Can you guys smell that?" I asked over the music, sniffing the air again.

Adrian narrowed his eyes. "Smell what?"

I took his arm, seeing Eddie follow us. I was getting closer to one of the private rooms which were closed off and abruptly opened the door. The sight in front of us was disturbing.

Avery sat on a couch, kissing another guy who I recognized to be Jesse Zeklos while another girl—a fucking high schooler—laid on the couch beside them, almost unconscious. I took a closer look, realizing it was Chloe—the poor girl from the brothel who had been abused so many times. I had no idea what she was doing here, but it infuriated me that she had been fed on. Avery's eyes widened when she saw us walk in and pushed Jesse off of her, realizing she had been caught in a horrible act.

I had no words. I was both disgusted and surprised that she would do something so...wrong. Wasn't she a sex slave once? Did this not affect her at all?

"What the fuck is this?" Adrian blurted out beside me. Oh god, he looked so angry and hurt. He liked Avery and I couldn't even imagine what was going on in his head right now.

"Baby, wait! I can explain!" Avery said desperately. Adrian only pushed her away and ran out of the room. His footsteps sounded angry, and although I wanted to go after him to see if he was okay, I also wanted to give him space.

"This is wrong!" Eddie shouted, grabbing Chloe from the couch. She was out of her mind, completely dazed from losing so much blood and barely noticed him carrying her out. He came back only a second later and grabbed Jesse by the collar, shoving him through the doorway.

"Get out," he growled. If there was anyone else who could intimidate people as much as Dimitri did, it was Eddie. He was intimidating when he was angry. No wonder people called him a mini-Dimitri.

"Eddie, can you please take care of her?" I asked him, cocking my head at Chloe. "I'm fine here."

For once, Eddie took my advice and decided to take care of the nearly lifeless girl. He left me alone with Avery who didn't even look remotely ashamed.

"What the fuck are you doing, Avery?" I shouted. "Do you even realize how wrong this all is? That girl you just fed on is fourteen fucking years old! She's been through hell!"

"She asked for it," Avery said shamelessly. "She told me to make the pain stop, so I did. I gave her a good time. Don't you get it, Rose? It's what we do. We're vampires, we're supposed to feed." She came closer, backing me into the corner while wiping some blood off the side of her mouth.

"You're supposed to feed on willing humans who are old enough. She's a child and she just started high school! You're insane!"

I could now smell the blood in Avery's mouth. My back hit the wall as she raised her hand—the one that had the leftover blood—and put it towards my mouth. "Don't you want a taste?"

"Avery—" This was making me so uncomfortable. "I don't drink blood. I'm a dhampir."

"Are you sure about that?" she taunted. Something was definitely wrong with her. She was drunk, but regardless, she was straight-up crazy. I was beginning to think she might have known about my secret. It was a dangerous thought.

"I've always wondered what your blood would taste like. It's a shame I never took advantage when I had the chance," she slurred, pinning my shoulders against the wall. I started pushing her away, but she was unusually strong. She was as strong as me—built so solidly that it took a lot of effort just to move her even the slightest bit.

"Everything about you is so intoxicating, Rose. Since the day I came to this academy, I've been watching you. You really were the perfect little doll. Out of all of them, you were just so...perfect. And those lips...god, those lips. No wonder they liked you the most," she whispered, bringing her face closer to mine. Her lips touched my neck as she held me there and I tried pushing her again.

"Avery, stop. Get off of me! You're not thinking straight!" I felt her fangs graze my skin and a pang of fear shot through me for a moment before I composed myself and gathered my strength to shove her off. She was awfully strong for a moroi, but I was still stronger.

Avery gasped, looking both shocked and angry from my rejection and stormed out of the room. "God, you really are as difficult as they said."

I had no time to process what that even meant as she took off angrily. What was up with her mood swings?

"For fuck's sake!" I yelled, running after her. "Avery, what you did was wrong on so many levels!" Even as I spoke, she didn't stop. Her strides were fast despite being a little clumsy.

"All you sorry little prostitutes from that whorehouse can go cry in each other's rooms while I go out and have fun!"

"And what do you plan to do? Are you going to hook up with the whole school now?" At this point, we were outside of the building and it looked like she was heading for the parking garage.

"Avery, what are you doing?" I asked her, but she ignored me and walked through the door. I stopped it before it could close and followed her to the back where she picked up one of the car keys hanging on the wall.

"I think I'm going to take one of these for a spin," she said maliciously, stumbling over to one of the SUVs. She pressed a button on the key, jump-starting the car before she even got in.

"Don't you dare!" I quickly ran over, grabbing her by the arm, but what she did next stunned me. She yanked her arm away and punched me in the side of the head, knocking me to the ground. I didn't even think it was physically possible for a moroi to punch someone so hard, but I was sure she had given me a mini concussion. It wouldn't last long with my fast healing capabilities, but it still hurt and my vision clouded for a moment. Before I even got up, Avery already started driving away.

"Avery, wait!"

It was too late and clearly no use. She was drunk driving and if I didn't stop her now, she might get herself or someone else killed. I could either go after her on my own now or report it to a nearby guardian. I wasn't sure how long they would take and I could still see Avery at the doors of the parking garage, so I pulled myself up and grabbed one of the car keys.

I shouldn't be doing this. I'm under the influence too.

I pressed a hand to my face before getting into one of the vehicles that matched with the key I was holding. Taking a deep breath, I started the car and took off.

Avery must have compelled the guard at the front to let her out because the gates were open as she went through. I was still getting out of the garage when I realized they were starting to close and hit the gas, speeding down the long driveway and seeing the guards freak out as I passed through the closing gates. I felt them scraping the sides of the car and shut my eyes, realizing I'd probably have to pay for the damage later on.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," I muttered to myself. Not only was I a terrible driver, but I had also been drinking and didn't have my seat belt on.

"Stupid indeed."

I screamed, nearly running off the road. Beside me, I saw Damian's ghost in the passenger seat with a smile on his face. I realized I could see him now that I was past the wards.

"Damian?" I gasped. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm sitting in this car. What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked. He could talk now.

"You know what I mean!" I rasped, keeping one hand on the wheel and pressing my other hand against my forehead. "In case you didn't notice, this is really bad timing!"

Damian laughed, moving his eyes to the dark road. "No, I think this is perfect timing. New drivers shouldn't be on roads without another experienced driver accompanying them."

I looked over at him, scowling. "I have my license, idiot."

"By default. Did you even pass your G1? Or did your friend have to use compulsion for that too?"

I closed my mouth, looking away as I was clouded with embarrassment.

"That's what I thought," Damian said smugly. "Damn. If I was still alive, I'd wish I was dead. No offence, but you're a terrible driver."

"And you're not helping," I snapped. "I'm trying to catch this bitch in front of me. She's drunk. I'm dead once the academy finds out."

"You mean when your boyfriend finds out," Damian corrected. I looked at him again.

"You know?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "About our—"

"Special relationship? Yeah. It didn't take me long to find out the last time you saw me."

The last time I had seen him, he hadn't been able to talk. All he could say was—

"Danger," I said out loud. "That's what you said to me last time. I'm still trying to understand what you meant. Am I in danger? Is it strigoi?"

Damian looked reluctant and pressed his lips together. "You have to be careful of the people around you, Rose—especially when someone new comes into your life. Don't let the wrong one in."

"Thanks, that really helps," I said bitterly.

Damian sighed. "Look at who you're following. She's a crazy, mentally unstable maniac. You don't even realize how much she's manipulated you and your friends."

"She's...not herself. She's drunk. She did a lot of bad things tonight, but she's also been through a lot. She was in the brothel."

"No she wasn't," Damian objected. "I knew every girl in that business, and she wasn't one of them. If you don't believe me, ask your father. He works with the authorities and he has the list. He has the documents and reports. Until I saw her enrolling at your academy, I had no idea who she was. All I can say now is this: be careful."

"What—"

Damian disappeared again. Great. I was stuck on my own now. I hated to admit that I somewhat liked his company. I shook my head and focussed my attention back onto the matter at hand. Avery was turning onto the major roads now, so I kept following her. If it was even possible, her driving was worse than mine. It was probably because she was drunk, but she needed to stop. I wasn't completely sober either, but I knew what I was doing. Avery was all over the place.

My phone started ringing in my pocket and I scrambled around to pull it out. The caller ID revealed Eddie's name and I swore to myself again. Not only was I getting myself into trouble, but I was also making him look bad. It was a good thing he wasn't an actual guardian yet, or this would have looked bad on him. He was probably furious with me and I felt horrible.

I couldn't talk on the phone while driving, so I put it down, hearing it ring over and over again. The next few calls were all from Eddie, but as soon as I saw Dimitri's name pop up on the screen, my heart dropped. He must have been so worried. I was outside of the wards at night with no protection and no stake. On top of that, I had stolen an academy vehicle and was driving under the influence—and a mild concussion thanks to Avery.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I said out loud. Whatever punishment I had coming would be well deserved, but I was already dreading it.

I saw something cross Avery's path, causing her to slam on her brakes. The car started fishtailing on the slippery snow, making it roll over on the side of the road. We were still in the countryside and there were no barriers, so her car just rolled down the little hill, landing upside down. I didn't have enough time to brake either and I could feel the car drifting. The tires squeaked before the front of the car collided with a nearby tree, causing my head to slam forward on the dashboard.

Yep. Definitely just made my concussion worse. I really should have been wearing my seat belt. I could even feel pain in my chest where my surgical sight had healed—or, well, I thought had healed. It took me a while to get out of the now damaged car, but I managed. There were shards of glass everywhere which had cut my arms and parts of my chest, but it wasn't anything too serious and I simply brushed them off. When I stepped out of the car, I fell right away, but it wasn't because my legs were injured. My head was spinning. I probably needed blood, but that wasn't available right now.

"Avery!" I called, walking over to the destroyed vehicle. She didn't respond, so I came closer and saw her trapped under the heavy weight of the car. She was unconscious, but I could hear a faint heartbeat from here and noticed that she was still breathing—but barely.

"Damn it!" I shouted, trying to pull her out and failing miserably. If I didn't help her now, she might actually die. With all the strength I had left, I put my hands under the top of the vehicle and lifted it as much as I could, rolling it onto its side. I pulled Avery out, falling into the pit of snow beneath us. We weren't dressed for the cold winter weather and even I was getting cold.

"You stupid bitch," I muttered, holding her head in my lap. I thought about using my blood to heal her, but when I checked her injuries, I noticed that was already healing on her own—just as fast as me.

I heard my phone ringing in the car again and managed to get a hold of myself. I returned to the car to quickly grabbed my phone before heading back to stay with Avery. There were over twenty missed calls now from Eddie, Dimitri, and even my parents. I was probably going to be lectured by every single one of them. Kirova was probably going to make me do community service and I'd probably have to serve detention too. I wouldn't even be surprised if she suspended or expelled me.

The caller ID showed Dimitri's name again. I thought about not picking up, but I had a feeling it would probably make things worse. I pressed the phone to my ear, preparing myself for his yells. "Hel—"

"Where the fuck are you?!"

Someone's not too happy. For whatever reason, I kept imagining Avery doing something like this because she's crazy. Sorry, I just had to write it down. I hope you liked it!