So. I hope you guys I liking this story so far, but again, this is only the beginning.

Please review if you do read. I'd really appreciate it.

.Lysa.

"I'm leaving at 2. Are you sure Elena's going to take you home with her?" Dimitri asked as they pulled into the teacher's car park. They always had their usual angry banter between brother and sister, but he still cared a lot about her as her older brother. He had to ask.

"Yes, Dimitri. For the last time. Go and enjoy your Viktoria free afternoon," she added as she slid of the back and handed him back his helmet.

"Always. See you later! In fourth period! No jigging! Bye!" Dimitri yelled after a retreating Viktoria, who managed a hurried wave and jerk of her head.

Dimitri, unlike his sister, took his time walking up to the school, seeing as he didn't have a first period class.

"Belikov!" A dark, accented voice called behind him. Dimitri turned in surprise. A heavily perspiring, plump teacher who he vaguely remembered was running up the stairs after him.

"Ryan?"

Ryan huffed and puffed when he finally caught up to him and placed a clammy hand on Dimitri's shoulder to steady himself. Lucky it was leather.

"You have a first period class?" Dimitri shook his head slowly, both surprised and wary. Ryan shook his head as he tried to catch his breath.

"Good. New teacher. Art teacher. Needs help moving easels into her new classroom in the E-block. Has a truck out the front with all her supplies." He gestured with a thumb, revealing a saturated area of perspiration under his arm.

"Tried. To. Help. But. Couldn't. Keep. Up." He looked like he was going to have a hernia and was trying to breathe slowly through his nose, madly ruffling the great amount of nose hair he had crammed up there.

Dimitri mused. Free time. Help. Free time. Help. Damn it. He was a good person.

"Yeah. I got it buddy. You go….rest." Dimitri patted him cautiously on his sweaty back. Ryan managed a weak thumbs up and stumbled up the stairs to the staffroom.

"Thanks Belikov. You the best. You the best." He continued to mumble this as he headed up the ascending stairs.

Dimitri meanwhile, ran down the few steps he had made up, and raced around the building and back into the parking lot. He found the truck easy enough. It was big enough to hold two cars and had the word Artline patterned across the right side. The man outside the truck looked annoyed and glad that somebody was finally here to "move all this crap" and announced he was leaving in 10 minutes, with "her shit" if she didn't collect.

That's how, 5 minutes later, Dimitri stood with 5 boxes of acrylic paints, 2 containers of thin brushes, two boxes of pastels and 2 easels. He tracked down a passing boy on the street and negotiated to pay him if he carried them for him. The boy happily agreed with a nod and grabbed most of the boxes, leaving Dimitri with the easels and brushes.

He managed a little small talk with the boy, asking him his name and asking him a few other choice questions. Very teachery of him he had to say. Once they reached the E-block, Dimitri handed over the money and bade him goodbye with a smile.

He turned. A door was inched open at the end of the corridor, the only one with light or any other indication of human activity.

As he drew near, a voice muttered, "Oh, crap. This isn't what I ordered! I better call them…."

Dimitri cautiously stopped outside the door and poked his head around the door.

"Excuse me?"

The art room looked like it did any other day- two rows of desks covered in newspaper, walls adorned in pieces of art and lino, canvases of paintings lining the edge of the windows and the teacher's desk situated right at the opposite end of the room. The only difference was, that there was young woman standing near the window, examining a handful or paintbrushes.

The woman who had spoken earlier.

"Hey, can you please put those over on one of the desks? I'll move them later," the woman called, turning around to finally face him full on.

Holy. Mary. Mother. Of. God.

The woman in front him….well…there wasn't even a word for it. A few words drifted through his mind. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Sexy. Yeah. That last one really hit the spot.

She had to be….what…21? The best 21 year old woman he had seen in a while.

She wore a simple, silk white shirt, stretchy and collared at the neck. She had accompanied a pencil skirt with the shirt and a black engraved belt cinched at her waist. To finish off the look, she wore shiny, probably new, black high heels.

Her hair was a gorgeous dark brunette, streaked with red and gold and flowing in gentle waves over her shoulders and down to her waist. Her observant almond shaped brown eyes were carefully outlined in gold, complimenting the liquid honey colour of her irises. Her skin, so delicious and dazzling from where he stood, looked buttery and wholesome and almost edible to his eyes. Desert princess like features on a body like that…..well….she was a knockout to any living man on the planet.

Once he had put his eyes back into his head, Dimitri noted the fact that the woman was doing the same exact thing he was doing. Giving him a clear once-over. Her eyes suddenly clicked up to meet his in a hard, territorial glare. Several words passed through his foggy mind. The words "Mad dog" seemed to summarise it all pretty well. He was surprised he hadn't dropped the things in hands. She gave him a weird look and crossed one leg over the other. He hoped he didn't have some awed half-assed look on his face. He never let a woman see him like that!

"I'm sorry. But you're not the man who was helping me earlier. Ryan, was it?" She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and frowned.

"Yeah. He, uh, he couldn't do it. So he sent me." She nodded understandably and smiled sadly.

"Knew he wouldn't make it. But he was eager." Wonder why. "I didn't want to dampen his spirits," she added as she moved forward to greet him. Her sharp, flowery scent suddenly enveloped his surrounding environment and he had no choice but to inhale it like some sedated animal.

"Rose." Nice. "New art teacher." She held her hand out. The silver bracelet on her wrist jiggled slightly. He took it. "But you probably got that."

"Dimitri." A raised eyebrow. "History teacher."

A smile lit up her sultry features. "Ahhhh. Hated history when I went to school," Rose announced, grabbing the brushes and paints in his hands.

"Hated art when I was at school." Rose laughed again, an enchanting smart laugh that issued from her small, petite body.

Dimitri took a seat down on one of the desks and asked, "So where did you come from? Before you came here."

She had her back to him now and was rummaging through a box. "America. I went to Brown." She sighed and turned around. Probably noting the confused look on Dimitri's face, she went on to describe that it was a college she had went to to get an art degree. She had just finished and was sent over to Russia for some overseas program her Professor had signed her up for.

"I don't even know the language. Or the culture. Or the history," she added with a glance at me. "I do know a lot about its art though. Some of the best come from Russia."

Dimitri nodded appreciatively. She was so right. "You got any classes today?"

She shook her head. "Not today. I've been given the day off to get settled." She paused and ran a hand through her hair. "Just got off the plane actually. The principal told me to go and rest, but I've got it. The jet lag will come to me soon though."

"How about you? Haven't you got a class?" Dimitri followed her out the door to collect the supplies from outside.

"Nah. I actually only have a period after lunch. Then I'm out. Normally I stay after school to wait for my sister, but she's going to a friend's house today."

She grabbed one of the boxes of acrylics and a few other things and headed back inside. Dimitri grabbed the rest. "You have a little sister?"

"Yeah. I have other siblings, but she's the youngest. Still at school. Sucker!"

She laughed. "You're so mean. But so sweet at the same time. You wait for your little sister after school! That's adorable. And so big brothery of you."

Dimitri shot her a quizzical look. "Is that even a word?"

"Is now."

"So you got annoying, little siblings on your tail?"

She opened the boxes of paints and acrylics and moved about placing them in cupboards.

"No. Nobody. Just me. Brought up by my mom actually." Rose paused, looking quite wary of what she was saying. "Dad….wasn't really part of the picture."

"Neither was mine," Dimitri said, jumping up to put the paints in her hands away. When he reached out to grab them, they met eyes. And she smiled. For like the thirteenth time.

But oh, that smile. It would be the death of him.

She broke the trance first. "Listen. Thanks for all your help! I've got it from here. You go and….whatever it was you were going to do for the morning! Go!" Rose shoved me out the door with a determined get-out expression. Little hands on such a little woman and yet she was so powerful.

Dimitri stopped just outside the door. "Nice to meet you Rose."

She beamed and waved from the window. "Nice to meet you Dimitri."

Review? Please? Helps me improve as a writer- which I really need.

Next chapter is already typed and ready to publish. So don't worry about waiting!

.Lysa.