A.N:Hey Guys!!!

Firstly let me thank you once more for the support you are giving me. You are really awesome do you know that?! You are so dutifully reviewing my chapters and I really appreciate it, much more than you think.

Anyways I really hope you're going to like Chris…I know I do lol! Body wise he is (for me) a bit the same that Dwayne "The rock" Johnson (as he is now uh which is a lot nicer and leaner than his younger self)

Well don't forget to review and tell me what you think. *pout**Using Adrian Compulsion on you*

Love to you all. Xoxo

Steffy2106

Chapter 12:

I made it back to Christian's room in a daze. When I woke up this morning I didn't intend for all that to happen. I didn't intend on becoming that close to Adrian, of him being such a cornerstone in my life, but I didn't regret it, not even for a second.

I probably will have to recognize out loud what my head and heart was screaming to me but I just couldn't. It was too terrifying at least for now.

I opened the door and was surprised to find Christian sitting on the bed. I was so sure he would be with Lissa right now and not completely out of it sat on his bed.

I walked and stood in front of him locking eyes with him.

His familiar icy blue eyes where so much darker than usual.

"What's up buddy?" I asked seeing his worries.

"You've put your life into my hands Rose." He said raising his hands showing me his palms. "At first I was so happy to see that our team did work but…" He shook his head and stood up. "If I had missed just one of them you would be dead by now." He said with some remaining fear in his voice.

"But you didn't and I knew you wouldn't." I said trying to appease him. I was so happy right now that I think nothing could have brought me down. "I mean, you need another smartass to keep you straight."

He chuckled a bit. "I just…" He walked to me. "I'm so happy you're okay!" He said giving me a bear hug.

"Thank you for helping me." I said sincerely hugging him back. "We're one hell of a team aren't we?"

"Totally!!" He said breaking the hug. "Oh, by the way, Lissa knows about you and Adrian," he added sitting back on the bed as I sat in the little armchair in the corner.

"You told her?" I asked not reproachful. She saw how we reacted and she knew me well! There was no way she didn't make the connection.

"Yeah right!" He snorted. "Nah, I was about to, but I was pretty sure she would have kicked my ass if she knew I was aware of that!"

I laughed. "Oh my God, the big, badass, fire boy who fights off strigoi is scared of his girlfriend!!" I said teasing him.

"You bet I am!!" He said with an evil gleam in his eyes. "If I told her, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get any for months." He added with a grin.

"Ewwww…" I said raising my hands in surrender. "T.M.I dude really!"

"You asked for it!" He said chuckling. "But honestly just think about it… The one who is going to go through hell now it is Adrian! He has a meeting with Lissa in 10 minutes that's why I'm here."

"Oh, poor Adrian…" I said grimacing. "Was she preparing the full police interrogatory?" I asked standing up.

He nodded bursting into laugher.

"You know what dude? I'm going to be super nice. Just let me take a shower and then…" I sighed and pointed to the playing cards on the desk. "I'll give you another chance to beat me playing poker."

"Oh, you are so gonna regret it!" He said jumping off the bed. "I did some research on the Internet and I'm pretty sure I can beat you now."

"Yeah well.." I took some clean clothes from the wardrobe. "Whatever help you sleep at night 'drool boy,' " I said chuckling walking into the bathroom.

"You said you wouldn't call me that anymore!" He shouted behind the door, but I knew he wasn't mad.

As soon as I was under the water I started to get very, very curious about the little meeting between Lissa and Adrian and I knew that what I was about to do was definitely wrong, but I brushed my conscience away… Take a break, damn conscience. I won't listen anyways! I thought, as I slipped into Lissa's head.

She was sitting at a table with four plants ranging from pretty healthy to totally dead.

She was tapping a mental beat with her fingers on the table. She was completely expectant and excited to talk to Adrian.

She was a mix ball of emotion. She was annoyed that she didn't see anything before, slightly hurt I didn't confide to her and super excited to see where it could go.

She truly thought that Adrian was a good guy and that we could be good together. I sighed. I loved her, but she wasn't realistic. I was a dhampir and he was a royal moroi, just saying that was enough to understand that nothing could really be built between us, but she seemed totally oblivious of the fact.

Adrian walked into the room with a bright smile on his face. He had this light in his eyes, probably the same that I had right now. The light that only the two of us could comprehend.

"Hey cousin!" He said cheerily. I could see he changed, probably took a shower. He sat across from Lissa. "So…. Want to work on dead plants today?"

"Uh huh…" She trailed off. She was looking at him in every detail, like a scientist studying something under a microscope. He really looks happy. I knew it!! They are meant to be!! She exulted. Should I wait for him to mention it or… She bit her bottom lip.

I could see a small smile playing on Adrian's lips as he looked at Lissa. He knew what was coming his way but it didn't seem to bother him.

"So…" Said Lissa.

"So…" Said Adrian resting his chin in his hand smiling wider.

"You seem happy." Said Lissa genuinely pleased.

"I am happy…more than I thought I could be." He added with a wink.

Oh screw delicacy! Thought Lissa getting annoyed. "So, you and Rose huh?"

Adrian nodded

"You guys are together?" She asked really decided to get it out of him.

"I…think… Guess…" He was really thinking about that one. "I suppose we are…at least as far as I am concerned."

Oh, he serious about her. That's good! She thought marveling. "How long have you been together?" She asked curiously leaning in as I could feel the excitation increase in her. She was preparing her questions and couldn't wait to hear the answers.

"Not that long…" He said evasively. As for me, I knew it has been 3 weeks since we kissed by the gym.

"Come on!! Give me more!" She asked getting exasperated by Adrian's lack of cooperation.

He smiled to her. "Listen, you better ask all that to Rose," he said gently. "I mean, she is your best friend and I think she has the prerogative on that, don't you think?"

"Humph…" Said Lissa with a small pout that made both Adrian and I chuckle. "But…I can ask questions concerning you right?"

"I guess you can…" he said warily.

"Do you care about her?" She asked feeling like an evil puppet master, as she perfectly knew where she was going with her questioning.

I felt a bit bad to listen to them but not bad enough to stop.

"Of course I do!" He said and I could see he wanted to add something, but stopped himself before doing so.

Lissa was totally oblivious to the fact, which already confirmed, that I knew him better than many people.

Lissa nodded. "Are you serious about her?" She asked again.

"As serious as she allows me to be." He said with just a slight note of pain in his voice but once again Lissa missed it.

"Do you love her?" She asked directly. She didn't want to play around anymore.

Adrian stared straight back at her, but didn't say anything.

"So do you?" She pressed him.

"Well, I don't say I do or don't, but…" He shrugged slightly and leaned in like if he was about to share a secret with her. "Don't you think that if I did love her she should be the first to hear about it?" He asked teasing.

"I guess so…".Said Lissa twitching her mouth as she knew it was right, but she couldn't help but be curious. "But you are not playing her right?" She asked trying to ease the worry, as she didn't want me to get hurt.

"I won't hurt her," he said, so sure of himself. "I'm not playing any games… I'm just me, Adrian," he said and I could see again that he was restraining himself to add something.

Lissa nodded. He loves her! She thought. He so does!! Does she love him too?

At this instant I got out of her head, for two reasons.

Firstly, because I didn't want to know if Adrian could love me. If he did and if I knew about it then it would make me fall over the edge and it wouldn't end well. He was a Montague and I was a second class Capulet… Better stay away than becoming a pair of star-crossed lovers who died. I mean if Juliet would have said 'ok Romeo, better stop there. I won't go back to Paris and i will always be yours but it's better if we part now and stop the civil blood to be spilled,' they would have made it passed 18! I shook my head.

Secondly, I snapped back because Christian was banging at the door.

"Are you ok Rose? You've been in there forever!! Scared to get your ass kicked?" He added trying to tease, but I could hear the real concern.

"Yeah, yeah fire boy. I just waited a bit you know to let you hope for victory a bit longer." I said as cheerily as I could, quickly getting out of the shower.

"Honestly girl, if I don't have hot water later I'll be pissed." He said walking back to the room.

"Yeah, well… You're fire boy! If you're cold you can set yourself on fire." I said chuckling to my own lame joke.

And a little note, I won …again!!

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The next morning I had been called in the guardian hall for my Molnija. They didn't do a big thing, like they did for my first 2 marks and I was glad as I considered that the only person that really ought to be here was not allowed…Christian. It was sure that I wouldn't have made those kills without him to assist me, but we had to keep it a secret for now… Damn Society.

This time there was only Lionel (the guardian tattooist), Dimitri as my loyal and beloved mentor and Alberta who was, I presume, the head guardian of the Academy.

I closed my eyes tightly. I thought it would be better since I already got 2 other tattoos, but nope that bitchy needle still hurt like hell.

"So…she is getting 4 Molnija today" said Lionel as he worked on my neck.

"Yeah," said Alberta from behind me. I guess she was looking at him work.

Lionel whistled. "Wow 6 before reaching 18, that's impressive." He then chuckled. "I guess the student caught up with the teacher… You've got 6 marks too no?" He teased.

Dimitri chuckled too. "7 actually (Poor Natalie), but yeah well, I always knew Rose would be impressive… It's good for me, at least I get to be the one who taught her! I can still brag." He said with a lot of pride and fondness in his voice.

Once Lionel was done, he repeated his instructions concerning the tattoos and Dimitri walked me back to the class, where Christian was expecting me.

"Well, I'll see you later." I said to him with a small smile. It was my last session with Dimitri tonight, as Chris Walker will make it to the Academy sometime today and I knew it was silly, but it felt like goodbye.

"Yes," he said standing straight. "I'm very proud of you Roza… I always knew you were one of a kind," he said with sadness before walking away.

Okay that was odd… Why would he be sad ? I asked myself before walking into the room. Maybe it will feel like a goodbye for him too, but I needed him to know that I was thankful for everything he did for me. He was the best mentor anyone could dream to have and, well, even if it was hard to admit, I understood now why he was always trying to keep his distance with me. It was better for everyone and I was finally detaching myself.

When I made it to the gym after class, I was surprised that Dimitri was not there yet. He was never late.

I shrugged it off and started to do some warming exercises.

I was maybe exercising for about 5 minutes when I heard the door closed.

I laughed. "Well… How come you're so late?" I asked turning around.

"Sorry. I got lost" said a very husky voice.

"Holy Shit! Oh my God!" I blurted out when I saw the man walking toward me. All the rumors were true! Chris Walker was really the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He was actually so beautiful that it was unfair.

"Nah, you can call me Chris… God is too formal" he said with a bright smile flashing a full set of perfect white teeth. He reached out to shake my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose Hathaway."

I looked at him speechless for about 2 minutes detailing him. He was tall maybe 6'4 and half native American. He was very muscular, but it was very tasteful. He was (a lot) larger than Dimitri, with thick wiry muscles but he still seems very graceful, fast… deadly. He had jet-black hair, cropped short arranged in a very stylish mess. He had a copper skin, thick lips, a strong jaw but what was completely dazzling were his eyes. He probably was genetically linked with the Ozera as he had the same icy blue eyes than Christian but it was a completely stunning, magnetic combination with his skin and hair.

Ok I could admit it now… The man was sex on legs! No wonder he gets into girls pants faster than it took us to stake strigoi. I chuckled at the thought.

He raised his perfect eyebrows probably surprised by my chuckle.

I brushed it off with a gesture of the hand. "I'm sorry it's very nice to meet you guardian Walker," I said formally.

"Oh no. Don't act like that with me!" He said shaking his head.

I looked at him with confusion.

"I accepted to train you because of who you are Rose." He said with a bright smile. "Don't go all formal with me!! You are not like the other novices and I don't want a different version." He took off his zipper hoodie sweater and he was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and his muscles were even nicer than I thought.

Focus Rose Focus!! Damn it!! I was pretty sure that the lust factor right now, on a 0 to 10 scale, was at about…30.

"I want the Runaway, ass kicking smartass who always has trouble with authority and managed to get 6 Molnija before hitting 18. I want to train the Rose I believe is the girl version of myself." He said turning back his eyes on me. He snapped his fingers and laughed. "Eyes here Rose," he said pointing at his face and I realized I was staring at his chest.

I grinned. "Not my fault. You're a pretty boy." I said hiding my discomfort with attitude like I usually did.

"That's my girl!" He said sitting on the bench, padding the spot beside him. I sat straddling it. "We're not going to train today. I just wanted to get to know you a bit." He flashed his bright smile at me again. "I mean, I heard so, so much about you," he added with a wink.

I laughed and slapped his shoulder instinctively before regretting it but he didn't seem to think anything about it so I let it go. "Oh, I'm pretty sure that half of it is not true."

"What a shame!" He said pretending to be disappointed.

"And I heard LOTS about you!" I said with wide eyes.

"I bet it's all true… Want to check?" he said teasingly, but still slightly flirting.

"Easy here pretty boy!" I said, thanking God I had an attitude and that I was the smartass Queen. It was often a pain but right now it was my salvation. "I'm not even legal yet!"

"But you'll be on Saturday!" He said straddling the bench too so now we were face-to-face.

I looked at him and, at this instant, I realized that I had changed without even knowing or wanting it.

The old Rose would have flirted right back, maybe even imagining some make out session, but I just couldn't! I wanted to, but I kept seeing Adrian's face.

Damn it! I thought annoyed.

"Yeah, well…I'm interested in your body on a Skills training level. That's it. But thanks for the interest," I said with a smile. "But you know what…you'll be known as pretty boy."

"Nice! Worth trying right?" He said not even bothered by that. I could see that he was pretty laid back… That was refreshing. "Seeing someone?" He asked genuinely interested.

I slightly shrugged cocking my head on the side.

We then chatted a bit about his training in Japan, his badass reputation and he complimented me on my unusual method and how he liked how I acted with Lissa. It wasn't the smartest thing to say to a short-tempered girl, but it was still nice to hear.

I looked at the wall clock.

"It's time for dinner. My friends are waiting for me." I stood up.

He nodded, following my lead.

"Hey do you want to meet them?" I asked cheerily. "I bet they are dying to meet you!"

"Yeah, I would love to. I mean they have to be pretty special if you wanted them as friends" he said putting his hoodie back.

I laughed again and shook my head. "Save your breath dude!" I said joking. "I'm pretty sure there are plenty of girls that are ready to fall for that I'm just not one of them sorry." Anymore I added to myself.

"Ehhh…" He said chuckling. "Let's go meet the friends!" He added putting an arm around my shoulder.

I sighed rolled my eyes but didn't take his arm off.

"That's the spirit!!" He said apparently loving my smartass sarcastic side.

Oh boy… You didn't hear the end of it!! I thought laughing.

We were almost at the common room when we saw Dimitri. I instinctively shrugged Chris arm off of me.

"Oh, it's him!!" Whispered Chris.

"No, it's not!" I affirmed looking at Dimitri, who shot a murderous glance to Chris before waking into the Hall.

"Well, if it's not him you should tell him… He doesn't seem to be aware of that," he said chuckling. "Never mind… Let's meet the friends." He added walking beside me in the room.

As I expected, we had all eyes on us. The men were jealous and the girls envious.

"Calm down chicas… You'll have a piece of him" I whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

"See! That's the spirit! I knew we'd get along just fine," he said chuckling as we stopped in front of our usual table.

Eddie had his back at us and both Christian and Lissa were facing us.

"Guys this is Chris. Chris this is Lissa…" I said, as Lissa waved at the same time, some lust flew through the bond, which made me smile.

Chris waved back, flashing his smile.

"This one is off limits," I whispered to him. "But all the others are fair game." I said putting my hands on Eddie's shoulder. "This badass here is Eddie…" I said affectively.

"Him?" Asked Chris curiously.

"Nope…" I simply said as Eddie turned his head to great Chris. At least he didn't seem to have the same kind of worship he had for Dimitri which seemed so odd because Chris neck was so full of tattoos that I was pretty sure it was trailing down his back, not that I wanted to check…

"And who's the dude shooting bullets through his eyes?" He said loudly enough for Christian to hear.

I chuckled. "This is Christian Ozera. He is…."

"Lissa's boyfriend!" Said Christian looking at Chris condescendingly really like a true royal.

"Crystal clear…" Said Chris grinning.

"Chill out fire boy!" I said to Christian. "We're very welcoming remember?" I said as he jumped lightly. I got from the bond that Lissa just kicked him under the table.

"Oh right. He is fire boy," he said pointing to Christian. "And I'm pretty boy." He juggled his bottom lip pretending to think. "Yeah, I'm ok with that."

"Pretty boy huh?" Said Adrian walking to us stopping beside Chris, but he had only laugher in his eyes.

"Well…" I pointed to Chris from head to toe. "I'm just stating the obvious!" I said smiling to Adrian.

Adrian laughed as I really looked into his eyes. He was not jealous… not at all…Uh…Strange!

"Amen to that sister!" Said Lissa flushing, almost immediately mortified to have said that out loud and it didn't help that Chris winked at her.

Christian groaned and concentrated on Adrian. "Why man? Why?" He asked slightly angry. "Are you some kind of masochist? Why on Earth would you choose Calvin Klein star model for Guardian huh?" Asked Christian, completely ignoring Chris. I would need to kick his ass for that later. How Rude!!

Lissa slapped his arm at the same time that I told him to 'can it'.

Chris laughed and shook his head. "Anyways, I should go to the guardian commons they probably are waiting to meet me," he said grimacing.. "What a thrill!!" He added sarcastically. "It was very nice meeting you guys!"

"It really was!" Said Lissa with her shy smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said to him standing very close to Adrian I had to fight my itch to touch him as we were in public.

"And if you see a very tall, brooding Russian god wannabe, don't turn your back… He can be tricky." Said Adrian only half joking.

"Yeah... Belikov…I know" Said Chris in a way that meant there were a lot behind it and I couldn't wait to find out.

As soon as he left the room, under the lusty glance of the girls, Adrian and I sat at the table where my friends already had collected food for me.

"It's about to blow…" Whispered Eddie just before Christian put his fork very loudly on the table.

"Why didn't you just make-out with him on the spot?!" He asked coldly to Lissa. "And you? You're just an idiot!" He said to Adrian "I mean did you really need to add Mr. 'I-am-so-pretty' to our little group huh? Argh!" He exhaled with exasperation. "I'm going to the feeders!" He then look at Lissa "maybe if you run fast enough you can catch him before it's too late" and he stormed up.

"Geez…" Said Lissa rolling her eyes but she did feel a bit guilty. She rushed behind him.

"I love the dude, I really do, but jealous Christian?" I started shaking my head. "I just want to beat the shit out of him."

I was about to stand to go calm them when Adrian reached for my arm to stop me. "You should eat Rose." He said caringly.

"Yeah, you do that Rose… I'll deal with the golden couple for once." He said chuckling standing up.

"Ok, you do that, but just say to fire boy that if he doesn't chill out, there will be hell to pay tonight!" I added with a fake overplayed threatening tone.

Eddie nodded and strode to the feeders room.

I took a bite and looked at Adrian.

"You know he is not wrong…Christian," I said honestly curious. "How come you're not jealous?"

"Do you want me to be jealous?" Asked Adrian resting his cheek in his hand with a little smile on his lips.

"Well, no but…" I took another bite to give me time to think. "He is very beautiful and I'll train close to him."

Adrian shrugged. "I guess it means I trust you and that I think you prefer tall really white boy with green eyes." He said with a wink.

"That's... That's possible," I said giving him a small smile. "Thanks for trusting me."

"I told you… With my life," he said so seriously.

I wanted to kiss him right there, but I just looked into his eyes a minutes before eating again.

"I want it too." He whispered starting to nibble on a piece of bread.