Hey, guys. Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows. It made my day a little better. I've been stuck at home for the past two days with Strep Throat. Not fun. But since you probably don't care, I'll get on with the story. ;)

Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns all characters in this story unless marked otherwise.

Rose P.O.V.

I sat down at the lunch table, taking a bite of my pizza. To my left, Christian and Lissa were making googly eyes at each other. Across the table, Tasha and Mia were making plans to go shopping Friday night, while Eddie and Mason were discussing "the really cool game that just came out on Playstation 3."

"So what's this about a new guy?" I asked no one in particular. I had heard multiple people talking about the new student earlier today and I was curious.

Tasha's head swiveled over to me at the mention of the new guy. "You haven't seen him?" I shrugged. "Oh my God he's so hot. He's like stop-in-the-middle-of-traffic-and-get-hit-by-a-semi hot."

Mia nodded her head in agreement, then looked over to Tasha. "Dibs!" They both screamed but Tasha beat her by a millisecond.

"Yes!" She shouted in victory, while Mia looked dejectedly at her food.

She then looked at me pointedly. I held my hands up in a defensive gesture. "Relax. You got dibs." She breathed out a breath of relief. "But of course it doesn't mean I won't flirt with him." I told her with a wink.

Mason looked over to me, jealousy not very well hidden from his features.

"Rose!" Tasha said in protest.

"What?" I asked. "I said you can have him! That doesn't mean I can't have some fun with him first."

"Oh God. Don't screw with him too much, Rose. We all know you have mad flirting skills." Eddie sounded.

I chuckled. "No promises. It isn't everyday that I get a new-"

"-victim?" Christian cut me off.

I glared. "They aren't victims if they are willing."

"Look at you, Rose. Who wouldn't be willing?" Mason teased, but I knew he meant it.

Mason Ashford is one of my best guy friends, along with Eddison Castile, but like Adrian, he too was in love with me. Though he never told me straight out like Adrian does, he drops not so subtle hints all the time. He was also someone I had thought about giving a chance, but with his messy red hair and freckles, he reminded me more of a brother. A brother that I liked to flirt with from time to time.

Eddison Castile, or Eddie, was also like my brother, but unlike Mason, I knew he didn't feel anything but friendship for me. This made our relationship a lot less complicated than mine and Mason's. He was a little more handsome than Mason, with short light-brown hair and a tall build. He completed his image with a muscle capacity that Mason didn't have. Eddie also took martial arts and he was really good. But not as good as me. I have taken him down every time we sparred, but he never gave up. With my badass reputation, he was often the only person willing to fight with me.

I gave him a flirty smile and a wink. He swallowed and looked away from my gaze quickly.

"Whatever." Tasha retorted. "As long as you promise to keep your hands off him."

Natasha Ozera, Christian's cousin, wasn't one of my closest friends, but I hung out with her sometimes. It wasn't that I didn't like her, I did. It was because she felt threatened by me. She was really very pretty with sleek, raven-black hair, a petite frame, and a gorgeous face, only marred by a scar she obtained when she had gotten drunk one night and passed out in a pile of broken glass. She was also competitive, wanting to challenge me to see who could hook in a man. I always won, so eventually she gave up and decided to just keep me from trying at all. Like I would do that. Best friend or not, I wouldn't steal someone's man.

Mia rolled her eyes at Tasha's comment. "You'll see him at the end of the day. Rumor is he has 7th period Gym."

Mia Rinaldi was a short, pretty girl who looked a lot younger than she really is. We hadn't always gotten along, but after about a year or so, I decided to give her another chance. We hit it off the second time around and she was often the person I would go to when lissa was busy with Christian.

I grinned. "Excellent. A fighter."

It was no secret that Gym in 7th period was strictly for experienced fighters. That being said, I was the best one in there. Even though I was the only girl in a room full of men. Once, I even took down all of them at once. I might even be able to trick him into sparring with me. That is...if I can get to him before the guys warn him of me.

Lissa laughed. "Rose, you sound like a serial killer."

Everyone at the table laughed at that.

I groaned when the bell rang, interrupting the bliss of me eating my brownie. Deciding to just take it with me, I muttered my goodbyes to everyone but Eddie, who had the same class with me this period.

Xoxo - BelikovLover

"Are you serious?" I asked him incredulously. "But I did do anything wrong!"

"You heard me, Hathaway. Office. Now." Mr. Alto demanded.

I gave Eddie an exasperated look and slung my backpack over my shoulder, storming out of the classroom.

I took my time walking to the office, wanting to waste time. When I finally reached the double-doors of the front office, I pulled one side open, without a word.

"Hey, Rose." Ms. Petrova greeted.

"Hey, Alberta." She frowned at my use of her first name.

Having been banished to the office by Mr. Alto so many times, I was familiar with every teacher and intern in the place.

"Why are you here?" She asked. Being the behavior specialist, Alberta is usually the one who has to deal with my punishment.

"To be honest," I said. "I don't really know."

She laughed. "Just sit in my office until this next period."

"That's it? Not until the end of the day?" I asked suspiciously.

"I can't hold you back from Gym every time Alto sends you here. You'd be failing, which isn't very fair considering you're by far the best fighter this school has ever had."

I smiled and walked into her office without another word.

After about a half hour of having nothing to do in her office, I was beginning to go a little crazy. I jumped up from the chair that was placed in front of her desk, I walked around her desk, trailing my fingers across the mahogany. I sat in her big, comfy chair, spinning it until I felt dizzy.

I stopped when something atop the filing cabinet caught my eye. Getting up, I walked to the other side of the room, taking the folder into my hands. Must be the new kid's, I thought to myself.

I opened it, but couldn't find a single picture. So I decided to read it.

Sex: Male

Age: 18

Name: -

Before I could read his name, the file was yanked from my hands by a very angry Alberta Petrov.

"What are you doing, Rose?" She scolded. "This isn't your business."

I frowned, not used to being yelled at by my favorite teacher. "I just wanted to see what all the hype was about. Who the hell is this kid anyway?"

"You'll meet him next period. The real him. Not his file." She told me, placing the file into the cabinet and locking it.

"Whatever." I told her. "The bell is going to ring in a minute, can I leave now?"

She sighed but nodded.

I frowned, more curious than ever about the new boy. I sighed, walking into the girl's locker room to dress. I took off my jeans, shirt, and heels only to replace them with a crop top, a pair of sweat pants, and sneakers. Even in an outfit that isn't normally considered "hot," my appearance often distracted the boys in the class. I smiled, walking out of the locker room to see the boys sparring already. Mr. Tanner wasn't here yet. I was assuming this was because he had to talk to the new kid. I hope he doesn't take too long. I want to get a chance to spar with him before the end of the day today.

"Hey, Eddie." I walked over to him. "Want to spar?"

"Figured you'd be sparring with the new kid." He responded. "But okay."

I smiled, getting into a defensive position. I was faintly aware that a crowd was gathering on the other side of the Gym, but I let it go, watching Eddie as he mirrored my position. We circled each other for a while, waiting each other out. Eddie must have had enough waiting and he lunged for me. I threw my hands out in front of me, knocking him away from me. I spun around and ducked low, my leg sweeping his out from beneath him. He recovered quickly. Too quickly. He jumped up and punched me square in the stomach. I didn't let it affect me as I feigned left and kicked him in the chest before throwing one punch after another, not missing a single time. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Or so I thought. In reality, he was faking me out, making me believe I had won the fight, but instead he used his arm to swipe my feet from under me, successfully knocking the wind out of me as I landed on my back. I didn't have enough time to get up before he jumped on top of me, struggling to hold me down and pin me. I elbowed his face, stunning him enough for me to roll over, switching our positions. I pinned him after about four minutes of trying to hold him down.

I jumped up. "I win." I sung.

Eddie took my hand and stood up, eyes focused behind me. Confused, I turned around to see the boys creating a circle around a fight, each taking turns going in, but never coming back out.

"A group fight?" I asked, a smile on my face. "I have got to get in on this."

I jogged to the other side of the room, pushing Jesse Zecklos out of my way so I could see the fight. He grunted in protest but didn't comment. In front of me was a boy. No, a man. He was tall, muscles all over. His chin-length brown hair making it impossible to see his face while he was fighting. And by God was he fighting. He was amazing. Godly, even. He took on man after man, making it look easy. I knew by experience it wasn't. But he didn't let that show. He fought one after another, not faltering once. A formidable opponent. After he dispatched the entire class, and I was the only one left, he finally looked up, allowing me to see his face.

Tasha and Mia were right. He was hot. He was breathing heavily, a sheen layer of sweat clung to his body. Brown eyes met mine and I gasped.

"Dimitri." I murmured.

He seemed to notice it was me too as he looked into my eyes, allowing me to see those familiar brown orbs. "Roza?"

A smile made it's way to my face. "Dimitri." I said again. "Dimitri!"

I ran to him like when we were kids, and jumped into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist like a monkey. His face was buried in my hair. "Roza, Roza" He murmured softly.

"I never thought I'd see you again." I whispered, hurt displayed on my face.

He cupped my cheek, disbelief written all over his face. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Someone cleared their throat and I quickly detached myself from Dimitri, finding myself looking at none other than Eddie.

The guys in the class had never seen me show so much emotion, so they stood stunned to silence. I noticed that Mr. Tanner had arrived, but didn't know how long he'd been watching. A smile adorned his face as he watched our reunion.

I smirked. "Guys, this is Dimitri Belikov. The guy who just kicked your asses."

Someone shouted from the back. "You try fighting him! It's like he's a male version of you! It's impossible!"

I heard a round of yeah's.

Dimitri raised his eyebrow, clearly questioning my ability to fight. I laughed shaking my head. He doesn't know what he's getting himself into.