CHAPTER 10

AN: Sorry for the wait! Please enjoy!

CHAPTER 10: VPOV

It had been a day since I told Dimka to get his head out of his ass, and so far, he and Adrian were acting somewhat civil towards each other. I was getting ready to go to dinner with my family, Dimka, Rose, Adrian, Lissa , and her boyfriend, Christian Ozera.

I had not been assigned to anyone yet, so I was just had to patrol a lot. It was nice, I had a lot of free time to spend with my friends and family. I had gotten to know Rose a lot better and had long since forgiven her for our quarrel in Russia. Her best friend, Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, was very kind as well.

I looked up at the clock and ran out of the room cursing. I ran through Court, which got me some suspicious glances. When I finally got to the restaurant, I was only five minutes late. The waiter led me to the table where everyone except Dimka and Adrian were waiting. Even Rose was on time.

"Sorry I'm late!" I huffed out, taking my seat next to my mother.

"It's fine," Rose said, grinning. "Dimitri and Adrian aren't here either."

"Wonder who's fault that is?" Christian muttered.

I cocked my head and looked at him questioningly.

"Adrian has a bad record for being on time." Lissa explained.

"Ah. Why is that not hard to believe?" I said.

Lissa and Rose laughed, just as Adrian and Dimitri walked up to our table.

"Why do I get the feeling you were talking about me?" Adrian asked.

"Maybe because we were." Rose said, cockily. Dimitri tried not to smile.

"Hmm…good things, I hope."

"Just telling Viktoria here about your bad punctuality."

"Like you're any better." He retorted.

"I was on time."

Adrian grunted. "And what about every other time you went out to meet people?"

"It wasn't every time! That was you!"

"I was on time for some!" He said defensively.

"Suuure."

"I was and you know it."

"Nope."

He sighed in exasperation. "I fold. You win. As usual."

Rose grinned brightly. "Yay!"

I laughed, while Lissa tried to hide her grin and Christian rolled his eyes. Dimitri looked triumphant. Dear God! Apparently he isn't totally over his dislike/venomous hate for Adrian. He needed to hurry up and get the fuck over it. It wouldn't do him any good, especially if he was to stay as Adrian's guardian. Maybe I should talk to Rose. Maybe she could talk some sense into him.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Adrian's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I'm sorry. Yes?" I said.

"We were wondering if you were ready to order?"

"Um…one sec."

I looked over the menu, wondering what I should get. Everything was so expensive!

"The steak is awesome! And don't worry about the price, Adrian's buying." Rose said, winking at me.

"I am? Eh, whatever. Sure. Get whatever you want. No worries." Adrian said, and I wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"I'm serious." he said, amused by my confused expression.

"Okay…I guess I'll get the steak, then."

"Good job!" Rose exclaimed. Dimitri and Adrian laughed.

The waiter soon came and took our orders. We chatted about random things, Dimitri

Was glaring at Adrian, but I didn't know if it was because he was flirting with Rose or hitting on me. He and Rose got in a few arguments, but they always ended in the same way: Rose won.

After dinner, I asked to speak with Rose and pulled her to the side.

"What's up, Viktoria?" She asked, smiling.

"Can you talk some sense into Dimitri?" I blurted out.

"He doesn't hate him."

I just stared at her, confused.

"You mean his behavior towards Adrian, right?"

I nodded.

"He doesn't hate him. He knows Adrian is a good guy, but he hates how Adrian acts. And that's all it is. It's an act. His bad boy-playboy façade. He respects people, just doesn't show it. That's what Dimitri is doing. He has a lot of respect for Adrian, but not his act. So he refuses to show it." She shrugged.

"But they need to get along. They respect each other, but they won't show it. It's ridiculous. They both need to get the hell over it!" I exclaimed.

Rose smiled. "I know. I'll talk to Dimitri if you want…"

"Please!"

But," she continued. "You have to talk to Adrian."

"What? How am I going to talk to him if Dimitri is guarding him?" I asked.

"Escort him home tonight. That will give you enough time. You take him home, I'll talk to Dimitri."

"Fine." I sighed. "I'll escort him home."

"Good. I'll talk to Dimitri."

We walked back to our friends and started chatting with everyone.

"Dimitri, let's go." Rose said.

"I have to take Lord Ivashkov back to his hou-" He started.

"No, Viktoria is covering for you."

"What? Is that what you were talking about?"

"This was actually at my request. She wanted me to speak to you about something, so I suggested that she walk Adrian home so we can talk."

He hesitated. "Alright. Let's go." He turned to Adrian. "If you do anything, I swear to God-!" he got cut off as Rose started dragging him away.

Lissa laughed and said "I guess Christian and I should go, too."

"Us as well." my mother spoke up.

"Bye!" I yelled after them.

"Shall we go, then?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So what are we gonna talk about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Rose suggested it, so I'm assuming that she wanted you to speak to me as well."

"Ah. Yes. You and Dimitri need to get along."

He chuckled. "Really? I didn't think it bothered Rose that much…"

"It doesn't. It bothers me. He's your guardian. You need to get along if that is going to work. I know he respects you, and I know you respect him. His only problem with you is your façade. And your problem with him is he has Rose." I said, looking down at the last part.

His head snapped up. "My problem with him is he killed himself because he thought he had lost her when he was the one who let her go! She loves him and he keeps letting her go! That's my problem! And who says my behavior is all an act?" He yelled, now pissed.

"Rose." I said softly.

He grabbed my wrist and shoved me against the wall, pinning me. His eyes were so intense, drawing me in. There was love, anger, and confusion swirling in his beautiful eyes.

"Adrian!" I whispered. "Let go!"

"No." he whispered fiercely.

"Adri-" I was cut off when he crushed his lips against mine.

AN: OOOOOOOOHHHH! Development! Hope you liked it! It was pretty long (For me)! I don't know if I'm doing all the characters right, especially Viktoria, but the books didn't go into her very much, so I don't know how to adjust. Let me know! Thanks for reading!

-Haru