Hey, sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER!!!! My bad. Cross Country is just soooo time consuming, not to mention student council & tennis. There's a HUGE competition coming up Saturday, so I might not update until another week or so. I really want at least 30 reviews!!!! R&R, thanks! (Check out my new Fanfic. I really don't like it, but whatev.)

Oh yeah, this is about a VERY jealous Dimitri. Seriously. He needs to get a grip. (P.S. Jealous=HOT!!!!!!)

DPOV

"Rose," I said again. She didn't answer me. Her face was blank of any emotions now, but that scared me even more. The only sign of her being alive was her steady breathing. I grabbed her shoulder and shook it gently. Her body was like putty, allowing anything to topple her over with the slightest push.

I held her upright as she sagged forward. Her eyes were empty and dark, devoid of anything she was feeling at the moment. I tried calling her name once more. "Rose? Rose?"

My body slumped with relief as I saw her blink cautiously. "Are you all right?" I wanted to ask more than what I just said, but this time, I decided to go with the mentor-type relationship. She took in her surroundings and looked at me.

"I…yeah. I was…I was with Lissa…." She touched her forehead gently. "I was in her head.

Well, that really cleared things up. What the heck? Was I missing something here? "Her…head?" Okay, I felt pretty stupid right now, but I was also worried about Rose. Maybe she hit her head a little too hard with Ashford. Or maybe I was just paranoid.

"Yeah. It's part of the bond," she informed me. She didn't bother explaining, so I didn't push it. I was still worried about her, but my charge was Lissa, not Rose, so I decided to make sure that she was safe.

I asked, "Is she all right?"

"Yeah, she's…" Rose hesitated, which made my alarm flare slightly. Finally she said, "She's not in danger." I wanted a better answer, a firm confirmation, but according to Rose's face, it was the most I was going to get out of her.

Now I turned my attention back to Rose. "Can you keep going?" I knew my face was full of concern and distress, but I didn't try to hide it. A large part of me wanted Rose to know how much I cared for her already, even though she probably thought it was in a teacher-like way. But I knew that it was way more than that. I just had to hide it from Rose. She probably wouldn't appreciate a twenty four-year old guy crushing on her, as 'god-like' as he may be.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." Emotion now showed on her face, but not the kind I'd like to see. It was pain and apprehension. I winced, knowing that she was tired and apprehending how much torture I would put her through.

I watched her disappear through the dressing room. After a few minutes, she reappeared, dressed for workout. I noticed her hair was down, so I made a mental note to talk to her about that. It would distract her in a lot of different ways.

Her face suddenly looked pained. She unconsciously rubbed her shoulders and arms, which were probably hurting like hell. She turned to me. "Hey Comrade, how 'bout you let me off today?"

I laughed, thinking that she was joking. She couldn't actually think that I would let her off. It was her fault for running away. She glared at me. "Why is that funny?" The laughter died away from my face and my smile disappeared. Wow, she was actually serious. I resisted rolling my eyes at her naivety.

"Oh," I said, feeling embarrassed for her. "You were serious."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I was! Look, I've technically been awake for two days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed. It's just one hour." She pouted, but that had no effect on me, as cute as she looked. I shook these thoughts away and looked down at her over my nose.

I crossed my arms across my chest. She had obviously recovered from getting sucked into Lissa's head, so I felt no pity or concern for her. It was time to turn back into the hard, ax murderer mentor Ashford had described me to be.

"How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?"

"I hurt like hell," she admitted.

"You'll feel worse tomorrow," I pointed out. She looked confused and slightly suspicious.

"So, better to jump in now while you still feel…" I looked for the right word. I gave up after a long pause. "not as bad," I finished lamely.

"What kind of logic is that?" she demanded. I ignored her and, instead, led her to the weight room. She didn't protest, which I was grateful for. I showed her how to lift some lights weights and do some reps. She looked at me in disbelief as I collapsed in the corner of the room and flipped open the Western novel I was reading.

I caught her eye and shrugged nonchalantly. She shook her head and muttered to herself. I laughed silently from behind my book.

After finishing her reps, I went over to her and demonstrated some easy, cool-down stretches. She copied me before asking a question. "How'd you end up as Lissa's guardian? You weren't here a few years ago. Were you even trained at this school?"

We were sitting down, stretching with one leg tucked in and the other out in front. I turned my head to find her staring at me quizzically with her dark, bottomless eyes. I swallowed. She made me so self-conscious sometimes.

I answered her hesitantly. "No. I attended the one in Siberia."

She continued studying my face. I flushed slightly, but managed to keep my face clear of any emotion or heat. "Whoa," she responded, "That's got to be the only place worse than Montana."

My lips almost curved into a smile. I usually never smiled, but there was something about Rose that made me grin and laugh. "After I graduated, I was a guardian for a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently." All amusement disappeared from me. "They sent me here because they needed extras on campus. When the princess turned up, they assigned me to her, since I'd already be around. Not that it matters until she leaves campus."

Rose's face turned thoughtful. "Did this lord die on your watch?" Ah, that's what she was interested in. My past charge.

"No," I answered morosely. "He was with his other guardian. I was away." I stopped talking, thinking about the kickass times Ivan and I had together. Rose studied me even more closely. I turned away from her searching gaze. She rolled her shoulders.

"Hey, did you come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that." Her voice was cheerful and uplifting. I knew it because I was so depressed, and I have to say, it definitely lightened my mood. From what I know about her, Rose Hathaway trying to cheer someone up is about as absurd as pigs flying.

I raised an eyebrow, trying not to seem as elated as I felt. She looked at me admiringly for a second before it disappeared. I had no idea why, but frankly, I didn't care. I asked, "You're complimenting me on that?"

She shrugged. "Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried." Okay. I was stumped here. What did she mean by 'last one'?

"Last one?" I said, still puzzling over her words.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "In Chicago. With the pack of psi-hounds." I slanted my gaze at her, wondering if she was pulling my leg.

"This is the first time we found you. In Portland." She sat up and crossed her legs, Indian-style.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Um, I don't think I imagined psi-hounds. Who else could have sent them? They only answer to Moroi. Maybe no one told you about it." She rolled her eyes in a dismissive manner.

I let it go. "Maybe." Shrugging, I stood up. I reached down and pulled her to her feet. Her hand was warm and soft, and I held it a moment more than I should have. By her face, I could tell she hadn't noticed. I mentally scolded myself before turning to her.

"Okay," I said. "Practice is over. You can g–" She was heading out the door within moments. I laughed quietly. She waved goodbye without even turning around and left. I sighed. I left the gym and headed towards the guardian dorms.

Exhausted, I climbed up the stairs and entered my neat tidy room. By the time my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

******************

Rose stumbled in the next morning, rubbing her eyes tiredly. This time, I simply pointed her towards the weights and read in my corner. I could hear her grunts of pain and effort as she bench-pressed some weights.

We didn't talk much afterwards, which I was slightly disappointed in. Whenever I talked with Rose, I felt calm and peaceful, despite the bantering and teasing we did most of the time we were together.

After doing her stretches, Rose asked if she was done. I nodded and followed her mad dash out of the room. What she didn't know was that Kirova had ordered me to follow her around and watch her, making sure that nothing was being planned. I entered her first period class, making sure that I was the first one there and had the best hiding spot.

I could tell no one noticed me, especially Ashford and Rose. Everywhere I looked, they were laughing and talking to each other. I watched Ashford sling his arm around Rose's shoulder and smile at her. My breathing quickened slightly and I felt my throat tighten up in a defensive way. I coughed, trying to get rid of the snarl that was rising up.

Rose shrugged his arm off good-naturedly, which made me extremely happy. My mood didn't last long. Ashford waved his hands dramatically and said something which made Rose crack a soft, genuine smile. My heart raced and tightened in my chest at her grin.

She whispered something in his ear and slid her arm around his shoulders. I felt my face heat up. I wanted to kill him, especially when I saw him snake an arm around her waist. I waited for Rose to pull away, but instead, she leaned in and murmured in his ear.

My blood simmered in my veins. I couldn't stand Ashford's flirting, so instead, I slipped out of room before I could knock Ashford off his feet and drag Rose away, preferably to somewhere far, far away and more private.

************************

I rejoined Rose at lunch, taking my post by Natalie Dashkov's table. Rose pulled Lissa away from the table after they ate and began to talk to her with a not-so-friendly look on her face. I edged along the wall, wondering if they were talking about escaping again.

Lissa had on an angry, disbelieving look. "You were in my head again? For that long?"

Rose was defensive. "I didn't do it on purpose. It just happened. And that's not the point. How long did you hang out with him afterwards?"

"Not that long. It was kind of…fun." I had no idea who they were talking about, but it obviously related to what happened by the pods yesterday. I strained to catch the rest of their conversation.

"Well, you can't do it again," Rose declared, decisively. "If people find out you're handing out with him, they'll crucify you." Her eyes suddenly slanted questioningly as a thought struck her. "You aren't, like, into him, are you?"

Lissa rolled her eyes and laughed. "No. Of course not." I didn't know if Rose heard it, but there was a hint of uncertainty under Lissa's calm exterior.

Rose obviously bought it. "Good. Because if you're going to go after a guy, steal Aaron back." Her face was thoughtful and satisfied. Lissa giggled.

"Mia would claw my eyes out," she said. Rose scowled.

"We can take her. Besides, he deserves someone who doesn't shop at Gap Kids." That was pretty mean of her, but whoever this Mia was, she obviously deserved it. I was guessing that Mia was the small, blond girl Rose was beating up on before.

Lissa smacked Rose on her shoulder. "Rose, you've got to stop saying things like that."

"I'm just saying what you won't," Rose said, shrugging.

I wanted to catch the rest of their conversation, but my watch beeped and reminded me that lunch was almost over. I sighed and left the commons, walking towards Rose and Lissa's next class. I checked their schedule. Science.

Jake was already there, standing in the back. He acknowledged me with a nod. I nodded back and took my place next to him. Students began filing in. I scanned the room.

A few royal Moroi was screwing with non-royal. They were air users and they were blowing the non-royal's papers around the room. I wanted to step in, but they were royal and I really didn't want to get mixed up with them. The best I could do was to shoot the poor guy some sympathetic looks. After a few minutes, Rose and Lissa came in. I subconsciously straightened and cleared my face of any thoughts or emotions.

Rose scanned the room with an uneasy expression. They two girls must have had a strange conversation or fight, judging by the look on her face. She trailed Lissa, pausing to look at the bullying going on with the air users. She looked like she was about beat them up until she glanced at Lissa. All the tension relaxed out of her and she glared at them instead. She walked to her desk.

Jesse Zeklos caught her arm. My eyes narrowed and I took a step forward, not knowing what I was going to do to him. Jake looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face. I stopped and took a deep breath.

They were close enough for me to hear them. "Hey," Rose said, smiling flirtatiously. "Hands off the merchandise." She raised her eyebrows coyly. I stopped breathing.

Zeklos grinned, showing off his straight, white teeth. He didn't remove his hand, which made me angry, even though I didn't show it. "Rose." I hated how he said her name. "Tell Pail about the time you started the fight in Ms. Karp's class." Ah, Ms. Karp. She had turned herself Strigoi willingly, something almost unheard of.

Rose tilted her head and flashed him a teasing smile. "I started a lot of fights in her class." She bit her bottom lip, smiling and looking at him from beneath a curtain of eyelashes. My fists clenched. I flexed my arms tensely, feeling the muscles ripple underneath my jacket.

"The one with the hermit crab," Jesse said. "And the gerbil."

Rose let out a soft laugh. "Oh yeah. It was a hamster, I think. I just dropped it into the crab's tank, and they were both worked up from being so close to me, so they went at it." I chuckled silently.

The boy, Paul, asked, "Who won?"

Rose wrinkled her brow. "I don't remember. Do you?"

Jesse shrugged. "No. I just remember Karp freaking out." He turned away from her to face Paul. "Man, you should have seen this messed-up teacher we used to have. Used to think people were after her and would go off on stuff that didn't make any sense. She was nuts. Used to wander campus while everyone was asleep." Jesse and Paul laughed, but Rose didn't join in. She smiled, but was obviously uncomfortable about this topic. My curiosity sparked.

Rose's eyes suddenly blanked, as if remembering something. I watched her face, slightly worried. Jesse, the idiot, and Paul didn't notice her. They continued talking about some party tonight. I perked up, planning on the perfect way to catch them.

Finally, Jesse noticed Rose. "Hey Rose," he said, "You've got to slip your leash tonight." I swung my head around to glare at them. "We're going up to that spot in the woods around eight thirty. Mark got some weed." I gritted my teeth. Drugs. Great. Just what Rose needed. I turned to look at her reaction.

She sighed regretfully. "Can't slip that leash." I smiled. "I'm with my Russian jailer." My smile disappeared.

Zeklos frowned, disappointed. He let go of her arm and smoothed down his sun-browned hair. "Can't you ever get off for good behavior?" he asked, joking.

Rose sat down in her seat and flicked her head around. Flipping her hair over her shoulders, she gave him a man-eating smile that stopped my heart. "Sure," she said, seductively. "If I was ever good." Somehow, I doubted that.

I really liked writing this chapter. I think it was my best one. What do you think? R&R!!! Remember, 30 reviews!!!

~Leena