Okay, I'm back in the swing of this story now. Over 3,000 words :) I'm sorry for the late update, but I had a huge panic when I thought I'd deleted my master copy of this story :O Luckily I found it hidden in some completely random school folder :3 If I'd lost it, I would have cried, since it's over 100 pages and has almost the whole story completed. Hopefully updates will be more frequent again now :)

Disclaimer: Richelle owns VA.

The 2 weeks after Mason and Marina's birthday were spent messing around and generally having fun. Most nights, Aleks and I would go up to the roof and talk, or just sit and enjoy the companionable silence. It was perfect.

Then, 2 weeks later, came the news that there had been a Strigoi attack. It hadn't been a large one, and had been in Romania, but the consequences were felt at St. Vlad's.

The Guardian mother of one of our classmates had been killed.

Tom was heartbroken. The news flew around the school whilst he refused to leave his room that he shared with his prospective future charge. The change came 3 days later when he was summoned to Court to meet with his father. This Moroi wasn't Royal, and didn't have a new family, so it was understood that Tom would stay with him for a while.

This meant that there was an unguarded Moroi in the room that Tom had just vacated, meaning that one of the Dhampirs that shared with another novice would have to relocate there.
This wouldn't have been such a huge problem, if the Moroi left behind wasn't such a grade-1 asshole.

The novices desperate to kiss ass and get in with the Royals had already been assigned to a room; those who were sharing with other Dhampirs wanted to stay with their friends. There were only 3 male novice/novice rooms this year, 2 of the wrong age group.

That left Aleks and Jet. One of those guys would be forced to leave their dorm and share a room with Hayden Szelsky.

Ah, Hayden. Now there was I guy I'd love to hi-five. In the face. Hard. He and I had a pretty complex and ugly history that I wished could be re-written. Or even better, deleted entirely. Once upon a time, he hadn't been so bad. He'd even been into me at one point (if he still wasn't). That was the root cause of the present-day animosity.

Long story short, I'd rejected him, and he hadn't liked it. Or taken no for an answer. So I'd had to prove my point with a little more force to make sure he got the message. His nose was still a little crooked.

As a result, he thoroughly hated our group. Secretly wanted to get in with Sophia and Ash because of who they were, but hated us none the less. Which is why he flat-out refused to have Jet as his new roommate.

That left Aleks to take Tom's place in his room. I think actually we made a bigger deal out of it than he did; but then again, he hadn't seen his new roomie in all his creepy glory. When the whole gang found out what had happened, there was outrage.

"No way! You cannot be sharing a room with that asshat!" Mason shouted incredulously.

"If you share a room with that pile of shit, you'll smell so bad we'll have to wear nose plugs whenever we see you! Metaphorical nose plugs. The worst kind!" Ash lamented.

"You'll catch his grossness!" I'm not sure who said that one, but it was a lame, if simple, way of displaying the horror that was sharing a room with Hayden.

Aleks looked around at us all, red in the faces from shouting obscenities for the last 10 minutes.

"What is so bad about Hayden? I mean, I only have one class with him, but he doesn't seem too bad. A bit of an idiot maybe, but you can't hate a guy for that."

I snorted. "Believe me, it's not that. We have nothing against idiots, we let Ash in here, but Hayden takes being a dick to a whole new level. He should wear a condom on his head to protect the rest of us from being impregnated with his absolute dickiness."

Aside from Ash's initial protest and a couple of strange looks at my analogy, everyone seemed to agree.

"But what has he done that is so bad?"

Oh, that was such a huge question with so many answers. Everyone began to speak at once, about to launch into an anecdote pinpointing just one time that Hayden Szelsky had tried to make their life miserable. As much as I would have liked to join in this hate-fest, after all, it was me who Hayden had it in for the most, I was aware of Aleks looking a bit uneasy at the prospect of sharing a room with someone who was on the verge of being put into the same category as axe-wielding maniacs and people who boiled puppies.

"Okay, okay. Simmer down." I interjected. "Remember that Aleks is going to have to share a room with this guy. Hold off the horror stories or he'll have nightmares, if he's not too scared to close his eyes at night!"

Everyone grumbled at missing out on the chance to have a Szelsky-slating session.

"Let's allow Aleks to come to his own opinions about the scumbag. I'm sure they won't be too different to what we've discovered." Especially after what I heard him saying about Aleks and his 'blood whore' mother last week, I added mentally.

Aleks flashed me a grateful smile.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll still be spending most of my time with you lot- when I'm in my room, I'm either reading, sleeping or listening to music." Aleks reasoned. "And I'll try and get away as often as I can to report back on his latest despicable behaviours."

Jet clapped him on the back. "You better. I'm gonna miss you, man."

Aleks looked sympathetic. "At least you still have your bear. Teddy's always up for a hug."

Jet blushed whilst I hi-fived Aleks.

We carried on like that until curfew, tearing chunks out of each other and laughing at others' weaknesses, devising crazy schemes to get Aleks back into Jet's room.

I loved those easy, carefree moments with my loyal friends and the guy I loved. I couldn't believe how lucky I was, even if things were changing.

But if I'd known how numbered those happy times were, I'd have treasured them even more.

"Hey, where's Aleks?" Marina asked, directing the question at me.

I shrugged. "He said earlier that he would be here. He warned he may be a little late, but he should be here by now."

We'd all met up in mine and Sophia's room for a movie night. We'd already rescheduled once due to Aleks bailing on us when something 'important' popped up, and he'd already skipped last week's Bourne-athon.

It was 3 weeks since Aleks had moved into Hayden's room, and over the last 10 days, I'd noticed him become more withdrawn from our group. I guess sharing a room with a sociopath did have an effect on you, but this was a bit more than I'd expected. Even when he was with us, he seemed... distant.

We'd still been meeting up on my rooftop, though not as regularly. Obviously Aleks couldn't sneak out of his new room like he's used to leave Jet's, so this I could understand. But what I didn't get was why he was busy before curfew, when Hayden wasn't even in his room.

Ash sighed in annoyance. "We'll have to start without him, or the movie won't finish before curfew. And I don't want to miss the end- I haven't even seen this one yet."

I checked my phone again anxiously.
"Just give him 2 minutes, then we can start."

Exactly 80 seconds later, my phone chirped.

Sorry, can't make it for film. Still on for roof tonight? Hayden staying out after curfew.

K, yeh.
Was my curt reply.

"Is he not coming?" Sophia asked, seeing my face, or reading the disappointment in my aura.

"No," I sighed, "He says he's sorry but he can't make it. Just put the stupid film on already."

Ash got up, grumbling. "He could have told us earlier that he was going to ditch. Seriously, we're stuck at a boarding school and we're his only friends. What else could he possibly be doing at this time of night?"

"Oh, shut up and put the movie on. It's better than hearing you ranting." I told Ash. Privately, I was agreeing with what he had said. What was Aleks doing? There was no answer, even with my powers.

Mason saw how upset I was and moved closer to me, dragging a bowl of popcorn and a huge bar of chocolate.

"Hey, more food for us, right?" He said cheerily, trying to make me feel better.

The sentiment helped, but as I took a bite of the dark chocolate that I'd got especially for Aleks, I couldn't fill the hole that seemed to be eating me from the inside out.

When I got to our meeting place that night, Aleks was already waiting. We stayed silent as I unlocked the door and we climbed to the roof.

Still neither of us spoke as we sat down with our backs against the cold brick wall.

The sunrise had cast long, distorted shadows of our bodies onto the tiles before he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry for missing the movie, Anya. I wanted to go, but..."

"You had things to do." I finished, voice sounding colder than I had meant it to.

"Don't be like that." Aleks asked, a pleading edge to his voice. But there was also annoyance in there, too. It irritated my even more.

"Like what, Aleks? Was I being short with you, did I sound resentful that I was here instead of somewhere else."

Aleks looked at me, frowning. "What? What's that supposed to mean?"

I picked at a broken bit of tile. "I don't know, Aleks. I feel like there's a lot I don't know lately."

"Look, I told you. I'm sorry that I missed you earlier. But I'm here with you now, trying to make amends. It's not like I was off having fun without you or something." He finished.

I arched an eyebrow. "What were you doing, then? Enlighten me."

"I was helping Hayden with his calculus." Seeing my disbelieving face, he laughed humourlessly. "Not the glamorous alternative you were expecting?" He said sarcastically.

"No. I'm just... surprised, I guess. Never thought that Hayden would actually look for help outside of lessons. Figured he was just the roll with the pass-mark type."

"Maybe that's how he is because that's all people expect of him."

Now I was truly stunned. Aleks was standing up for Hayden? And spouting Zen-wisdom back at me?! I was the resident Zen-Master of the group!

Deciding it was just too weird to think about right now, and waste this precious time alone with Aleks, I allowed us to drop back into our old comfortable routine. It worked fine, until it became time for us to leave.

"So, are we on for next Tuesday night? Or are you going to bail on me then too?" I teased.

But when I saw Aleks' guilty face, I dropped the light tone to my voice.

"What? Seriously? I thought that it was one night you could absolutely guarantee you'd be able to do? I know Hayden's having his party in the woods that night, so you'll have the room to yourself and be able to get away easily. So what gives?"

Aleks looked uncomfortable, kicking at a loose piece of cement.

"Well, it's sort of because of that I can't make it."

I immediately understood why he looked so sheepish. "You're actually going to one of Hayden Szelsky's parties?!" I asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. Hayden said that I've been here a while now and have had time to settle in, so it's time I should meet some new people, and that a party will be a good was to do that. Plus, you know, it'll be fun. I haven't been to a party in ages, and I want to try going to an American one."

I snorted. "Loud music. Sweaty bodies grinding against you. Cheap alcohol that is more likely to poison you that our vodka. Guardians ready to stick you in a month's detention cleaning gum off the bottom of desks if you get caught. That's what their parties are like. Oh, and full of Royals that think of Dhampirs as servants. Still want to go?"

Aleks narrowed his eyes. "Sure you're not just jealous you didn't get an invite?"

I threw my head back and laughed, probably sounding a little unhinged. "Oh please- you don't get invited! It's an open-air party in the woods, anyone can go with anyone! And get with anyone too! What is there to be jealous of?"

"Me?" Aleks replied, and the alarm bells rang like crazy. "Are you jealous that I'm spending time with other people, not just your little clique?"

False alarm- he didn't mean jealous as in me wanting him, at least not in the way I did.
But that didn't mean his statement was any less offensive. Or any less true.

I took a step forward, stretching up on my toes to be closer to his height.
"If your brain was as big as your ego, maybe you'd stop talking so much shit. Though, you'd have to get your head out of your ass first."

I pushed past Aleks, wrenching the door open and stamping down the stairs. I sped up, practically running back to my room. I was fuming.

How fucking dare he? I swear, if-

Something tugged me back, and I let out a yelp. Spinning around, I practically smashed into Aleks' chest.

I ripped my arm out of his grip, narrowing my eyes at him. "What? Come to insult me and my friends again? Because that's not a very wise thing to do right now. Or any time."

"Look, Asya, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, and I acted like an ass. I'm just missing home, and everyone back there. I love spending time with you, and your friends are great. I'm just not used to spending so much time with such a small group."

I took a deep breath, letting the anger dissipate. He did have a point- in Baia, there were at least 10 people our age we hung out with, and I knew there were even more at St. Basils. I should probably cut him some slack- it couldn't be easy, so far from home. I wouldn't use his Russian pet name, though, like he had for me.

"It's okay, Aleks. I get that you're homesick. Just don't take it out on me and my friends, alright? Because what you said was out of line. We're not the in clique, we're the outcast group. But that's our choice. We're happy with that, and don't want to be part of the popular crowd, but don't make it sound like we're the ones with the power to say who lives and who dies socially, well, except the Dragomirs. And even if he seems fine to you, Hayden has earned every bad word we've ever said about him."

I could see Aleks was about to reply, but just then I heard the crunch of gravel under heavy boots.
"Shit, someone's coming. We've got to go."

Before I could turn around, Aleks leaned in and kissed my cheek. It was like a firework exploded where his lips touched my skin- warm and bright and beautiful, but fading into darkness all too quickly.

"Night, Anya. I'm sorry."

As he turned to go back to his dorm, I stared at his retreating back for a second longer.
"Night, Sasha." I whispered, before heading back to my own room, and my own bed.

Up on the roof 4 nights later, I was alone for the first time since I'd brought Aleks up here. It was the night of Hayden's party, and though the music wasn't loud enough for me-or the teachers-to hear, there was an electric buzz in the air that came from drunken people having fun.

Again, I had to suppress the urge to run over there and follow Aleks. I knew it was stupid, but he was right. I was jealous, though I'd deny it again if he asked me.

I couldn't go because as soon as I set foot in the party limits, I'd be groped and grabbed by almost every male in the vicinity. It was awkward when I didn't return their enthusiasm, and then they got angry. Aleks would be proved right that I was jealous, and think I was some pathetic stalker chick. Then I'd probably get drunk, Royal Moroi girls would get pissed at me for ruining their fun, I'd lose the self-control I worked so hard to keep fold of, and hit someone. Then the Guardians would come, and I'd be stuck in a whole lot of trouble, probably with my parents getting called in from Court.

That was maybe a little paranoid, but imagining the worst-case scenario helped to convince me not to go.

Instead, I tried to expand my senses and pick up on some images from the party.

It was like walking through treacle, not the usual mist or water. Something was holding me back, but eventually I fought my way through.

The pictures were blurry and disjointed, since my gift was linked to the thoughts and feelings of others, it was like I was experiencing being drunk right alongside them.

I looked through the knot of bodies, searching for Aleks. There he was, red cup in hand, complete with a couple of skanks grinding up against him. Thankfully, he didn't seem to interested in them, as his gaze was focussed elsewhere.

Before I could see what had caught his attention, I lost the image.

I was left alone on a cold rooftop, sitting on hard tiles. It was pretty pathetic, really.

So I threw the blanket off me and headed downstairs to bed, wondering why I felt like this was just the beginning of these lonely times.

Oh well. At least I had my birthday next weekend to look forward to, when I'd be out of this insane place and back home.

So, things are changing for Anya. What's got into Aleks? Is he just becoming a douche because he's falling in with the wrong crowd, or is something more serious going on?

Reviews are much appreciated :)