A/N: Last update of the year! Woohoo! Happy New Year's everybody! Hope you like the flashbacks. Rose's POV is coming back next chapter, promise.

Read and enjoy, and don't forget to review!

~Star

XXX

Tom

The first time I met Rose, she dashed across traffic to get to me. I'd had no experience with little girls, had no idea how to deal with her. So I settled on treating her like she was older than she really was.

This turned out to be perfect.

We were instant friends, had an immediate intangible connection to each other. During that summer, Rose helped me more than she'll ever know.

It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, leaving Rose and Indigo behind in England while I went back to America. I visited whenever I could and wrote emails practically every day, but it just wasn't the same.

And then I got to study abroad. My whole senior year of high school was spent with the Cassons, one long, blissful year. Babysitting Buttercup, going to Caddy's wedding, watching Saffy and Sarah fight, playing guitar with Indigo, helping Eve try to learn to cook. Seeing Rose's surly face every morning at breakfast, helping Rose with her homework after school, shopping for brand-new paints with Rose, watching Rose's face light up when I came into a room… It was truly perfect.

And then things changed irrevocably.

Rose was in a particularly bad mood that day; it was clear something had upset her. She stomped up the stairs shouting "Nobody had better come follow me and if they do I will Make Them Sorry." She slammed her door, leaving us staring after her in stunned silence.

"Mad," Saffy said, picking up her backpack.

"Totally bonkers," Sarah agreed. "Come on, Saffy, I know you have some math to do and don't you want to impress that cute math professor at uni?" They trucked out the door, headed for Sarah's house.

I, too, had math problems to solve, but I decided solving Rose was more important. I went upstairs and quietly opened the door. I couldn't see Rose at first, until—

"Go away, Saffy." The muffled order came from a small form huddled behind the bed. Rose sat in the corner, knees drawn up and face buried in her arms. I walked over and slid down the wall to sit beside her.

After a while, she looked up. "You're not Saffy."

"No." Silence. "Tell me what's wrong, Rosy Pose?"

"No." She turned away again. "Ask Indy."

"But what if Indy tells it wrong? What if her leaves out parts or skips parts or doesn't tell the important parts right?"

"Fine! I will tell you." She lifted her head and glared at me, not answering.

"…Rose?"

Rose sighed. "Indy said you're too old for me. I told him that five years wasn't that much, but he said not to count on it. Are you too old for me?"

I thought about it. Yes, she was only thirteen, a whole five years younger than me. But still, there was something about her that was… special. "No, I'm not too old for you."

"Good," she murmured, laying her head on my shoulder. "I knew it."

And that was the day I knew I was in love with Rose Casson. Permanently.

It took another couple of years before I kissed her, though.

I flew to England as a surprise for Rose's sixteenth birthday. It was also the night of her school's Halloween dance. David and Indigo were arguing about letting Rose go alone when I showed up, dressed nicely, with a bouquet of roses. "I'll take her," I offered. It was all part of my plan.

I heard light footsteps on the stairs, so I picked up the bouquet (sixteen of the most beautiful roses I could find) and looked up as Rose descended. I realized she put them all to shame.

First her shoes came into view. Black high-heeled sandals, they looked amazing on her. The shoes were followed by long beautiful legs, pale and unclothed to the mid thigh, where they were covered by her dress.

That dress. As I could see more and more of it, I liked it even more. Made of soft, clingy material, it hugged her suddenly apparent curves with loving ease. The sleeves seemed to be spun out of cobwebs, soft and shimmery, and the neckline dipped dangerously low, accented by a necklace.

I smiled when I saw Rose's sole piece of jewelry. It was the rose pendant I had given to her last year.

But as her face appeared, I forgot all about the rest. She was exquisite, as usual. Her face was dusted with just enough pink to highlight the paleness of her skin, the redness of her lips, the darkness of her eyes and lashes. A cool expression graced her face, until she caught sight of me. It was the most gratifying thing, to watch her eyes light up and her mouth pull into a smile as she charged down the remaining stairs and crashed into me.

I laughed delightedly, spinning her around, loving the feel of her so tight in my arms.

"Tom!" she gasped. "You're here! You're really here!"

"I am, indeed," I chuckled. "And now, my princess, your carriage awaits." I gesture to the door, offering her my arm.

She took it, wide eyed, allowing me to escort her out to my rental car. "Where are we going, Tom?"

I just smiled. "You'll see."

Halfway to her school, she figured it out. "Tom? You're taking me to the dance, aren't you?" I nodded, watching her reaction. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then remarked happily, "My friends will never shut up after this."

"Shut up about what?"

"You. You're a college student from America, and you're taking me to the high school dance. That's Rather Devoted, they will say." She grinned. "After all the times they laughed at me for not having a boyfriend, this will be a shocker."

"A shocker, hm?" I raised my eyebrows.

A tinge of pink infused her cheeks. "That's what Saffy said. She said if my friends ever met you, it would be a shocker."

I wasn't sure I liked this. Saffy's comment left too many meanings open. I sighed, and put it out of my mind, resolving to dance with Rose a few times before I took her to the real party.

An hour later, I decided that enough was enough. I pulled on Rose's arm, tugging her away from the dance floor and off near the back of the gym. Time to make use of all the knowledge I gained in that year I spent here.

"Where are you taking me?" Rose looked reluctant to be removed from the safety of her friends' company.

"Someplace we can be alone."

She now looked a bit apprehensive, but was no longer resisting. I led her up the stairs, up to the third floor janitor's office. Behind that door was a corridor and a set of keys, and at the end of that corridor was the door to the roof. Grabbing the keys, I walked down the hallway, hearing her following close behind. I opened the door onto the roof and spun around, covering her eyes with my hands.

She laughed. "What are you doing?"

I moved behind her. "It's a surprise," I whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver against me. I guided her to the center of the roof, then uncovered her eyes.

Rose gasped, momentarily stunned. She spun in a circle, taking in the scene on the rooftop: bright stars in the sky echoed by Christmas lights lining the roof, a blanket spread out to cover the rough tiles, and roses scattered all around. She turned to me, eyes alight with joy, and leapt into my arms. Really, what else could I do but kiss her?

Thinking back on how happy she was that night, I am once again mystified. That night was perfect.

But the next time I saw her, less than three months later, she was in someone else's arms.

What went wrong?