Hi everyone! Sorry about not updating, but I've been busy with school and finals. I'm finally on summer break though, so you'll probably get more updates. I offer this chapter as a peace offering! Also, thank you to all my reviewers, both for this story and my other stories (Check those out and review too! Subjects are: Supernatural (T.V show), Tamora Pierce's Immortals series (books), and more Vampire Academy! Also, vote on my poll (even if you don't know anything about it!))

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, or any other subject mentioned above. Only for entertainment purposes and the betterment of my writing/typing skills.

Forever Yours,

Creativity Incarnate

For Better Or For Worse

Chapter 3: Bad Day For Everyone!

Rose's POV

The next morning (around 8:15 pm) I went to see Lissa. Arriving at her apartment, I walked in without knocking. Lissa and I were as close as sisters, and I had the bond anyway, so what did it matter, right? What I saw would have been funny, had it not terrified me first. Scattered everywhere in the small living room were cheap dollar-store pillow which had been shredded to no more than lumps of nylon and polyester. The scratchy stuffing was everywhere, clinging to the curtains and couches. Lissa was nowhere to be found. I ran to her bedroom, hoping I wasn't about to find my best friend unconscious and hurt on her bedroom floor. Instead, I found her lying on her queen mattress singing along to Fall Out Boy's "Dance, Dance". She jumped up when I came in, shutting off her iPod to give me an alarmed look.

"Rose?" she said, sounding as surprised as she looked.

"Liss? Are you okay? What happened to your living room?" Realizing I sounded like a worried mother, I added "You didn't get a pet cat, did you? Those things hate me." I gave her a joking smile at the end. She blushed and shook her head.

"They hate you because you pester them. They don't like people pulling on their tails!" She replied defiantly, avoiding the story about why it looked as though a hurricane had passed through. I sat next to her on the bed.

"Seriously though, what happened?" I asked. She just shook her head.

"Nothing, really." She tried.

"Liss, I know you charmed the stake."

"Oh." She gave me a sheepish look. "In that case, I was, um, practicing on pillows." I gave her a confused look at first, then I realized what she meant. She was staking pillows? I could have laughed.

"Liss, those poor harmless pillows are not anything like what a real staking is." I began.

"I kno-"

"No, Liss! You don't know! Strigoi are super powerful and super-fast! Assuming you could even get close enough to one, you still have to have enough muscle to get through the skin, fat, pectoral muscles, between the ribs through both sets of intercostal muscles, up through parts of the thymus and lungs, the pericardial sac, then deep enough into the heart to actually kill the Strigoi! And they are not going to just stand there while you use up all your energy trying to push a very painful object into them to kill them! So no, you don't know!" I almost yelled, cutting her off. Normally, I would be proud of my superior knowledge, but this was my best friend going on a suicide mission after having a stupid pillow fight. And maybe a little bit of darkness had slipped through…

Lissa's POV

I sat there in stunned silence, staring at my irate best friend. I had known staking was hard, but all that? It was almost a science. I felt my resolve plummet a bit. As a Moroi, I was already lacking in muscle. After all, guardians spent years just toning their bodies and learning ways to fight and kill. They were taught to be lethal while Moroi were simply taught English and math, and how to run and hide. I found myself with a new respect for our protectors, and Rose.

"Ros-" I tried, but she shook her head, cutting me off without words.

"No, Lissa. I am not going to risk your life like that. Dimitri is gone, as good as dead. I tried, but now it's time to let go. Give me the stake. I'll hand it in." Rose held out her hand, not looking me in the eye. I felt my anger rise a little bit. She expected me to just give up? It was obvious to me that Dimitri wasn't just 'gone' to Rose. I saw the sorrow she carried with her, despite her attempts to hide it. I could do something; give my best friend and sister something back. She had risked everything for me. Every time I went somewhere, she risked her life to protect mine. Now was my turn to repay her, by bringing back Dimitri Belikov. I stood up.

"No. So what if it's hard? I'm not just going to give up Rose. I'll train, just like you did. I will find a way to do this." I held my chin up, totally stubborn. Rose gaped at me.

"I won't let you jeopardize your own life. I will sacrifice my own before you ever get near a Strigoi, willingly or not." And with that statement, she stood up and left my apartment. I sank onto my bed, wanting to cry from the hopelessness of it all. Couldn't Rose see that I was trying to help? Why wouldn't she believe that I could do it? Her earlier words came back to me, the list of parts of the body which would be in my way. Grabbing the stake, I straightened my appearance and set off to the library. Time for an anatomy lesson.

Christian POV

My day (or night to humans…) was going well. I was relaxing, sitting around in Court's giant library. I had found a few books about magic, what it used to be used for, etc. I had a new idea about how to fight with fire, and I would call Aunt Tasha later to talk about it. Stretching, I let my gaze wander. Across the room, I saw Princess Vasilisa Dragomir. I refused to call her by her preferred name, Lissa. She was Princess to me. I would not think about her in any other way, despite her being my ex, despite how much I still loved her, how beautiful she still was… She looked up, swinging her gaze and catching mine. I snapped my eyes away, put down my book, and got up to leave. When I looked up again, Liss- Princess Vasilisa was walking towards me. Not wanting to get into another fight (lately, that was all we did), I ran out the library. No one ever paid attention to me; I was just the guy whose parents turned Strigoi. My running out of the library wouldn't cause a stir. My fighting with Li- PRINCESS Vasilisa (I had to keep telling myself to stay formal) would.

My mood suddenly gloomy, I walked back to my dorm. I was looking at my feet when I ran into something solid. Glaring up, I found myself face to face with Rose. She was giving me a strange look.

"Dude, are you okay? I've been calling your name for like, the past five minutes. Going deaf?"

"Shut up." I mumbled. I was in no mood to deal with my ex's annoying best friend. She frowned.

"Seriously. Are you okay?" She seemed sincere, and I realized she was actually concerned. She wasn't just my ex's friend, she was mine to. Ever since our trip to Spokane, we had come to an understanding. Our relationship was that of a brother and sister. We would bicker constantly, but when things really got serious, we could always depend on the other. I gave her a weak smile.

"I'll be fine." I said, thinking 'just as soon as I get over Lissa'. She gave me a sympathetic smile.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, but you really should give her another chance. Hell, maybe you could put a stop to her crazy plans."

Crazy plans? What had Lissa gotten herself into now? Rose must have seen my questioning look, because she proceeded to explain that Lissa thought she could save a Strigoi by staking it herself, with a spirit-charmed stake.

"Your right, that is crazy. But she is gonna take a while to charm a stake anyway." I said.

"That's just it. She's already charmed the stake, figured the damn thing out recently. Now she wants to train herself to fight. You should have seen her apartment. Do you think you could try talking to her? She won't listen to me."

It hit me then. Here I was, talking about Lissa like I had any say in her life. Rose's words echoed around me 'you should have seen her apartment' and 'try talking to her'. If I was still her boyfriend, I would have seen her apartment. And talking? Lissa and I hadn't talked without yelling in weeks. No, we were done, and I was out of her life. I shook my head, cutting Rose off mid-sentence.

"No. I don't have anything to do with Lissa anymore. We are done, over. Sorry." And with that I pushed past her, continuing along the path to my apartment.

"Christian!" Rose called to my retreating form. I ignored her. My good day had been ruined. I finally reached my apartment, and upon entrance, noticed that the only light bulb in my living room had died. Perfect, right?

Hey! Another chapter written! I am so sorry that I took so long to update. I'm gonna try more! It was kinda hard with this story, I know what I want to happen, I just don't know how I want it to happen. But, once I get writing, I got caught in the flow of the words! Yay!

Thanks! Review! And vote on my poll, it's on my profile page.

Creativity Incarnate