Thanks you for your answers! You guys have helped me a lot in deciding where to go from here. If the pace of the story has slowed down a bit, I'm sorry about that. But I'm sure you all know that there have to be some parts that aren't as exciting as others. There can't be nonstop action. So just bear with me when we get to some of those parts. I promise that things will pick up again soon.

Also, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get this chapter up sooner, like I usually do. I was sick and basically slept all day. I'm still feeling bad today, but I wanted to get this chapter up. Hopefully being sick won't interfere with my writing too much. If it does, just know that it's only temporary. That's it for now.

"Rose," my mom addressed me, a cup of coffee in her hands. "Would you and Adrian mind going upstairs to your room? Leave the door open, though."

I sighed, exasperated. I knew that I had to do as she asked. I could tell that this was one of those times when she wanted to speak to Dimitri alone, so she needed to kick me out. Dimitri didn't seem happy about this at all, but he kept his face blank when my mom flashed him a quick smile. Adrian, on the other hand, was having the exact opposite reaction, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, I can assure you, Mrs. Hathaway, that leaving the door open isn't necessary. But, of course, we'll do as you say." Adrian replied, the smile never leaving his face.

I shook my head, grabbing Adrian's hand as I did. "C'mon. Let's go."

As soon as we were in my room, I turned on him, keeping my voice low so my parents didn't hear. "In case you haven't noticed, now isn't a really good time for you to be here. Why don't you just go and I'll call you later?"

Adrian put a hand to his heart, sighing dramatically. "I drive all the way over to selflessly do you a favor and this is the thanks I get? I'm heartbroken, Rose, truly."

"Your heart isn't going to be the only thing that's broken if you don't keep your voice down." I hissed, praying no one had heard him. "Thank you for bringing my shoes. I appreciate it. But if you really want to do me a favor, you'll leave. There are…things going on that you don't know about." I lowered my voice further, almost dropping it to a whisper. "Things that I can't let my parents know about. You being here complicates things."

Looking at him, I could tell I'd wasted my breath. If anything, I'd only succeeded in making him more curious about me. He walked over to my bed, sitting down without asking permission first. He gazed around my room, taking everything in. "I like the pictures, young one. Can't say I'm into the wall color, though. It looks like Barney exploded in here."

I scoffed. I'd painted my room lavender with a darker purple for the trim. "It does not." I sat down next to him, taking a deep breath. How could he have gone from so charming the other night to so annoying right now? Oh, right, alcohol. "Just tell me, what are you really doing here?"

"I already told you. I came here to give you your shoes." He turned to face me, smirk still on his face. When I crossed my arms without saying anything, he sighed. "Like I said, you didn't call me yesterday like you said you would. I came to see what happened."

I thought back to Saturday night. Had I really told Adrian I would call him? I guessed the best way to tell if he was telling the truth was to get my phone and see if I had his number in it. But I couldn't do that right then. I didn't want him to know I couldn't remember. "Trust me, there is way too much going on for me to tell you everything right now."

"You can try."

I looked at him, debating. I couldn't tell him what had really happened yesterday, but I didn't know if I wanted him to know everything that had been happening to me lately. I had just met him. Then again, he did live an hour away. It wasn't like I'd be seeing him all the time or anything.

"Okay, fine. The short of it is that I got sick, so I couldn't call you." I told him, hoping he'd leave it at that.

No such luck. He leveled his gaze at me and I couldn't help but notice how green his eyes were. "That still doesn't explain why you're grounded."

I shrugged. "I wound up somewhere I wasn't supposed to be. That's all you're going to get, so you can stop looking at me like that."

It was his turn to shrug. "That's all I wanted to know." He got up and went over to my vanity, picking up and smelling each of the perfumes I had on it. He nodded as he smelled each one, apparently liking the scent. When he got to the last one, though, he grimaced. "This one isn't right for you. It smells like something an old woman would go to church in."

"Oh, because you're an expert on me and perfume."

He looked back at me, a smile on his face. "It certainly seemed that way Saturday night."

I stopped myself from frowning. "Listen, about that –"

He took two long strides back over to me, leaning down so that we were face-to-face. He looked into my eyes for a moment, making me uncomfortable. Just when I was about to squirm away from him, he said, "Huh. Really didn't peg you for that type of girl. You just continue to surprise me."

"I didn't peg you for what type of girl?" I asked, genuinely curious.

That annoying smirk was put back in place. "Oh, you know. The kind who makes up excuses. 'It was the alcohol! I swear I've never done anything like that before!'" That last part was done in a high tone, obviously meant to sound like a girl's voice. He missed it by a mile, sounding more like a little girl with a British accent.

"Hey! I'm not that type of girl. I knew exactly what I was doing, thank you very much." I informed him, my tone defensive.

"And what was that?" There was twinkle in his eyes.

I didn't even think about what I was saying. Everything was just rolling right off my tongue from the look he was giving me. For some strange reason, I didn't want Adrian to think I was just some little girl who'd had too much alcohol and been too entranced by the fact that he was older and was really pretty. "I was having fun."

The gleam in his eyes increased and the smirk turned into a smile. "Fun, indeed. I wouldn't mind having 'fun' with you again."

Before I could answer, my mom yelled at me from downstairs. I grabbed Adrian's arm as I headed for the door. "No way am I leaving you here by yourself."

"That's probably for the best." Adrian replied, letting me drag him out. "Wouldn't want me to find your memoirs of our time spent together."

I rolled my eyes, ignoring him. When we got down the stairs, the very first thing I saw was Dimitri's glare. I looked down, wondering what could've stirred up those emotions in him, and realized I still had my hand around Adrian's arm. I promptly let go, leaving my arms at my sides. "Something you needed?" I asked my mom, realizing I sounded like a maid.

"Mr. Belikov is leaving. I think it's best for your friend to go to, too." she told me.

I nodded. "Okay. Come on, Adrian."

I led him to the front door, opening it when we got there. I should've known better than to think he would leave without another word. He turned to me in the doorway, a smoldering look in his eyes. "When can I see you again?"

Never, I thought. "I don't know, Adrian. I have a lot of stuff going on right now."

"Oh, so that's the thanks I get for bringing your shoes back? Harsh, young one."

I had to admit that he had a point. He had driven an hour just to bring me something I'd forgotten in his Jeep. He was going to have to drive another hour to get back home. I sighed and leaned over, intending to give him a hug.

At the last minute, Adrian bent over a little so that our faces were at the same height. He crushed his lips to mine before I could pull away. You would've thought that I'd be so surprised that I wouldn't have felt anything but shock, but that's not what happened. The feelings that coursed through me were nothing like the ones Dimitri made me feel when he kissed me, but they weren't really bad feeling. Nevertheless, I immediately broke apart from him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I shrieked. I had half a mind to slap him, but my mom's voice rang out, stopping me.

"Rose!" I looked over to see that she was just emerging from the kitchen, but that wasn't what held my attention. Dimitri had come into the living room ahead of her, now standing about ten feet away from Adrian and me. There was a mixture of anger and hurt in his face, making my heart thump harder in my chest. "That is no way to talk to a guest."

I assumed she hadn't seen what just happened. I had no idea what to do. I didn't want to apologize to Adrian; I wanted to apologize to Dimitri. But there was no way I could do that right now. I spared Dimitri one more glance, noting that there was no trace of hurt left. It was all anger and it was directed straight at Adrian. When I turned back to Adrian, he wasn't looking at me or my mom. To my surprise, he was looking straight back at Dimitri. He was smiling, but there was a glint to his eyes, like he knew something no one else did…

And that's when I realized that Adrian – a guy I'd just met – had figured out that Dimitri and I had something going on. I was baffled. I'd assumed that Adrian was just some guy who partied all the time and didn't pay much attention to the world around him, but I couldn't have been more wrong. He actually paid more attention to his surroundings than my parents, which was saying something.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Adrian. I'll, um, see you later. Thanks for bringing my shoes."

"Your shoes?" my mom asked, completely confused.

Crap. It looked like I could take some lessons from Adrian and pay more attention to my own surroundings. "Uh, yeah. Adrian went over to Lissa's earlier and she gave him a pair of shoes I'd left over there. I must have forgotten them because I was sick."

She kept her eyes on me a little bit longer than necessary, but she nodded. "Okay, then. Thank you, Adrian, for doing that. You didn't have to. It was nice meeting you. You're welcome to stop by again."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hathaway." Adrian said, smiling. I wanted to hit him. How was he able to charm people so well? "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Goodnight." He turned to me, grabbing my hand and lifting it to his lips. I was going to pull away, but caught sight of my mom in my peripheral vision. "Goodnight, Rose. I'll call you later."

I couldn't help but notice his quick glance at Dimitri. That annoying smirk was back on his face, but there was something in his eyes that made him look as if he'd just been slapped. Again, I thought about how strange it was that someone I'd just met could be so observant. What did he think of all this? Would he keep my secret? I felt my palms break out in sweat.

As Adrian walked to the street, I heard Dimitri address my mom. "Thank you for the coffee, Janine. And for the visit. I'll let you know how Rose progresses."

I turned around as my mom replied, "Of course, it was my pleasure. And thank you for keeping me informed. Have a good night."

He nodded at her, giving her a small smile as he wished her the same. I was still in the doorway, so I had to move aside as he started to leave. For a stricken few seconds, I thought he would just leave without saying a word to me. It felt like I stood there forever, waiting for him to address me in some way, whether it was with words or body language. Just as he stepped on the porch, he turned to me. "Oh, and goodnight, Miss Hathaway. Keep practicing those maneuvers I taught you."

I couldn't say a word as he turned and left. He'd called me Miss Hathaway, something I only heard from school, and even then, I only heard it from the faculty on occasion. Most of them just called me Rose. I watched as he got in his car and sped off, wondering if there was any way I could fix the damage that had just been done.

[BREAK]

It turned out that I didn't have to do anything at all. Dimitri didn't bring Adrian up the next day, to my surprise. I was sure that he would be furious with me, but he avoided the conversation about that kiss altogether. I thought about bringing it up – mostly because I wanted to assure him that I hadn't been the one initiating anything – but chickened out every time.

The week rolled by, nothing exciting happening except that I talked my parents into giving me the hundred and twenty-five dollars I needed to get Eddie's camera. I'd already placed the order, finding a site that had a discount on the camera. Because of that, I was able to get it rush delivered. It wouldn't arrive until Friday at the soonest, but I had them delivering it to the school so I could get it to Eddie faster.

They called me out of fourth period class on Friday to the office. I figured it was the camera and had a giant smile on my face as I walked to pick it up. As I did, though, a thought occurred to me that wiped the smile off my face.

Lissa was still mad at me for breaking my promise. She was still helping me look out for anyone who might be following me, but she hadn't talked to me since Monday, except in passing. I'd hoped we could settle things and get back to normal before giving Eddie his gift, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

Mrs. Stepp's glare was what greeted me in the office. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Miss Hathaway, why in the world are you sending packages to the school?"

I gave her the most innocent expression I could muster. "I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I bought a present for someone and wanted to give it to them as soon as possible, so I had it delivered here."

"Well, I suppose the damage has already been done," she said with a sigh. "Go ahead and take it, but do not do this again."

I grabbed the package sitting in one of the office chairs, promising Mrs. Stepp I wouldn't be a nuisance anymore, just as Dimitri's office door opened. From where I was standing, I couldn't see who was coming out, but I could see the door opening. Camille walked out, arms wrapped around herself.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as she walked by me.

She gave me a glare even though her arms stayed around her. "What do you care?"

I shrugged. "Hey, I'm just trying to be nice. You don't want to tell me, don't. Not my problem."

"Well…" She hesitated, clearly not wanting to confide in me. Apparently, whatever it was that was bugging her was enough for her to tell me. "Don't tell anyone, but I think I might be moving."

I felt my eyes widen. "Where? Why? I thought your family has lived here forever."

She nodded, her face turning red as she tried not to cry. "We have. We were the second family to settle here, right after the Blakes. That's why it's so hard for us to move. I mean, my dad will have an even better job where we're going, but my mom still isn't convinced it's enough to leave here. They've been fighting like crazy. You'd think it wouldn't bother me since they've been fighting my entire life, but it does."

The look on her face actually made me feel bad for Camille. Sure, she'd done some horrible things to me and my friends over the years, but she was still a person. Thinking back on it, maybe this is what had made her do all of those bad things to us. Having constant fighting around you – especially from your parents – is bound to take its toll on you.

Without thinking, I reached forward and pulled her in a hug. She was tense at first, but she relaxed a little when she realized I wasn't trying to hurt her. That didn't mean she wrapped her arms around me, too, though. "I'm really sorry, Camille." It was all I could think to say.

"I guess I'm sorry to. For what I said about Mason and Eddie, for what I've done to you and your friends, for…" She trailed off and I felt her tense, but it was only for a second. "Well, for everything."

I was going to tell her that, although it wasn't okay, I forgave her. But she pulled away from me with lightning fast reflexes. I stepped off to the side and saw one of her friends, Julianne Masters, coming back from Fink's office. She was giving us a weird look.

I turned my attention back to Camille, whose arms were again crossed. "Think about that the next time you try to lay a finger on me again."

Her words confused me at first, but then I got it. She didn't want Julianne to know about what had just happened. She probably hadn't even told her she might be moving yet. I crossed my arms right back, painting an irritated look on my face. "That was the lamest excuse of a threat I've ever heard. What are you gonna do next, threaten to sick your dollies on me?"

She flashed me a quick, thankful look before flipping her hair over her shoulder. "They could probably do a lot more damage than you could."

"Oh, really? That's not what you were saying when I was kicking your ass in the hallway."

"Rose."

It was only one word, but I would know that voice anywhere. Before even turning around, I knew Dimitri was behind me. There was a chastising look on his face and I figured he'd just stepped out of his office and heard the last of our exchange. I wanted to tell him that we weren't serious, but I couldn't do that with Julianne here, who was now next to Camille. "What? It's true."

He shook his head, using one hand to hold his door open and the other to point inside. "In my office. Now."

As I walked I heard Julianne behind me. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know. She just came up to me and started talking about the founding families of the town. I told her to get lost, but she just went all psycho on me. You know how she is." I smiled at Camille's response.

I didn't hear Julianne's response because I'd stepped into the office and Dimitri was closing the door. I turned to him. "Listen, it's not what it looked like. I –"

"I know. I heard everything." he interrupted, walking over to me. He slipped his hands around my waist and leaned down to kiss me. I didn't think I'd ever be able to stop myself from shivering when he did that. "That was a very nice thing to do, Roza."

I shrugged. "Hey, I'm not a bitch all the time. People just think that."

He chuckled. "I can think of a lot of things to call you, but 'bitch' doesn't come to mind."

He sighed, letting go of me as he did. He went behind his desk and sat, which I didn't take as a good sign. Most of the time, he sat next to me when he wanted to talk. The only time he sat behind his desk was when he wanted to talk about something serious. I sighed, too. "So, what grim thing do you want to talk about this time?"

I expected some sort of reaction from him – mostly a head shake – but his stare remained level. "Adrian."

Okay, I hadn't expected that. It had been days since he'd come over and Dimitri hadn't brought it up, so I thought I was off the hook. I guess he actually just needed some time to get over it so he wouldn't overreact. "Yeah, I was wondering if you'd bring that up. Look, it wasn't me who did anything. That was all Adrian."

"I know. That's not what I want to talk about. He knows about us, Rose. What are we going to do about that?"

"You noticed, too?" That was a stupid question. Of course he did.

He nodded. "Yes, I did. It was hard not to, the way he was looking at me."

I tried to give him the same level look he gave me. "He won't say anything, if that's what you're worried about. Adrian…well, I haven't known him that long, but I don't think he'd go that far to get to me."

"You obviously didn't see the way he was looking at you." Venom oozed from the tone of his voice. "Like you were some sort of…conquest. And that was nothing compared to the look he gave me. I wouldn't have been surprised to get home and find holes burnt into my forehead."

I got up and walked around his desk, sitting in his lap. His arms automatically went around me. "I'll talk to him if I have to. I don't think he'd say anything, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

He groaned before planting a kiss on my forehead. "That's the thing, Rose. I don't want you to talk to him, even though I know it's best. I don't trust him. I don't like the way he pines after you."

"Trust me." I said, getting up and grabbing my book bag. "I can handle Adrian. I need to get back to class. I've been gone long enough as it is. I'll see you after school?"

"Not today. Well, other than from afar. Vika's coming over to my place after school. I have to keep an eye on her while our mom goes out." he explained. "But I'll still watch you on your way home."

Vika was Dimitri's sister's Russian nickname, short for Viktoria. At least hers made more sense than Dimitri's. I wanted to meet his family – especially since he'd met mine – but he wanted me to wait a little while longer. I nodded, telling him that was fine and that I loved him before leaving.

[BREAK]

Giving Eddie his gift hadn't been as fulfilling as I thought it would. Lissa had sent me a text before school ended, telling me that she had to leave for an orthodontist appointment. It seemed a little sketchy to me – Lissa's teeth were perfect – but I let it go, not wanting her to have another reason to be mad at me. Even with her not there, I decided to go ahead and give Eddie the camera since I'd gone through all the trouble of having it delivered here. Plus, I didn't know if I'd get to see him over the weekend or not.

"Oh my God. Rose. You didn't." Eddie said, taking the camera out of the box. Everything about Eddie brightened when he held it in his hands.

I shrugged. "Well, technically, it wasn't all me. Everyone pitched in for it."

"Yeah, but Rose paid the most for it." Mia interjected. "You have her to thank."

To my surprise, Eddie came forward and wrapped me in a hug. "I know this is probably a bribe to keep me looking for that dude, but I don't care. This is one of the best presents anyone has ever gotten me. Thank you so much, Rose."

I wrapped my arms around him, too, happy to be doing something for a friend, even if it was sort of a bribe.

"Hey!" Mia exclaimed. At first I thought she was upset at us hugging, but then she elaborated, "What about the gifts I've given you?"

Eddie turned back to her, an affectionate smile on his face. "I said one of the best presents I've ever gotten. You know I love your gifts."

"Hate to break up this sappy moment," Christian sighed, rolling his eyes. "But does anyone know where Lissa went?"

"Oh, yeah. She went to her orthodontist appointment. She didn't tell you?" I asked.

They all gave me weird looks. "That's weird. She told me she wasn't feeling good and needed to go home. She looked really pale in sixth period. I think she might have a bug or something." Mia replied.

"She told me her dad picked her up early and was taking her to Helena with him on business." That was Eddie.

We all looked at Christian, who was now pale. It didn't seem like he knew we were staring at him – he was gazing off into the distance, a glazed look in his eyes – but he whispered, "She told me she had to go to the, uh, lady doctor."

A jolt of anxiety ran through my body. Why had Lissa lied to all of us? The only thing I could think of was that she was up to something. Something no good. "Okay," I said, my mind spinning, "let's go to her house. Maybe there's something there that will tell us where she went. In the meantime, we need to see if we can get a hold of her. Send her texts, not calls, that way we won't interfere with each other."

A part of me wanted to run off and get Dimitri, but I knew I couldn't do that with my friends. I silently sent a prayer up to heaven, asking whoever was listening to keep Dimitri from approaching us. We'd talked about him watching me and agreed that the only time he should interfere is if I'm in immediate danger. Anything else might alert someone to our relationship.

We were all too concerned to say much on the way there, mostly absorbed in our phones. I'd sent her two texts, but she wasn't replying. It was the same for everyone else. I could feel the tension rolling off each of us, making the air around us feel like it was filled with electricity.

When we finally made it to Lissa's house, we broke into a sprint all at the same time. If the situation hadn't been so dire, I probably would've cracked a joke about it. We all called her name as we ran up the stairs, each of us wanting to be first. When we got stuck at the top, Mia and Eddie backed off, allowing Christian and I to break free first. It was a good thing Andre was at football practice or we would've worried him to death.

The piece of paper on Lissa's bed immediately got my attention. I picked it up and read it with Christian reading over my shoulder.

Rose,

I gave that important assignment you had me look over to T.J. He's holding on to it for you.

Love,

Lissa

"What is this?" Christian exclaimed, grabbing the paper from me. "She leaves you a note about homework when she's disappeared? What is wrong with that woman?! And who the hell is T.J.?"

I wasn't listening to him. I was too busy with the flashbacks that were so vivid in my mind. Back when Lissa and I were little, we'd gone to an amusement park with our parents. They'd given us five dollars each to play this game where you pop balloons with darts, each dart being one dollar. We were trying to get this really cool looking bear that had a top hat and a tuxedo on so we could have tea parties with him, but neither one of us was able to get enough tickets.

We came up with a plan to put our tickets together so we could get him. We decided that we would share him by having him for one day and then giving him to the other person the next. It wasn't the best arrangement, but it worked. We found out about a week after getting him that he had a pouch in his stomach that you could put things in. We'd wound up pretending we were spies, leaving notes inside him that were "orders".

We called our operation "Teddy Junior", which is where he got his name from. It was dumb, but we were kids at the time. Now, I found myself automatically moving to Lissa's closet, where she kept her old toy chest. I heard Mia and Eddie follow me as Christian went on and on about homework not being more important than where she was.

I began pulling all her toys out. It would've been nice to reminisce about the old days when we played with these toys, but I couldn't right then. Finally, I found T.J. in the bottom of the chest, neatly tucked away in the corner.

I pulled him out and ripped open the pouch in his stomach, causing the bottle the "assignment" was in to fall out. I caught it before it could hit the floor, a sign of how much better my reflexes were since I'd started practicing with Dimitri. I pulled the cork out of the bottle and shook it, trying to get the paper to come out. As I did, I turned and walked back out of the closet, ignoring everyone else's comments and questions.

The damn paper didn't want to come out of the bottle. Frustrated, I went into her bathroom and threw the bottle as hard as I could into the bathtub, causing it to shatter. Some of the pieces flew out toward me, but I didn't know if any had actually cut me. I couldn't pay attention to that right now.

As I picked up the paper and began reading it, my friends crowded around me, each trying to see what it said.

Guys,

I put this here because I didn't want anyone else to find it, including my dad. I'm sorry for not telling you where I really went, but I knew you'd follow me if I did and I couldn't have that. The best thing I could give you is this note, which is why I told you all I was going different places. I knew you'd figure it out and come here.

Please don't worry about me. At least, don't worry about me until six. I should be home by then if everything works out, but if I'm not, take this and the other note to the police. Again, don't worry! I should be fine, even if I don't get home by then. This is just a precaution.

I wouldn't be telling you this unless it was important, so pay attention. I got a text from a blocked number – the same one Rose got a text from. It said that if I agreed to meet with them, they would leave Rose alone. I know you'll kill me when I get home, Rose, but it was something I had to do. I don't know where we'll be, but I can tell you where we're meeting: the park on Sunset Avenue. I hope that helps if something does happen to me.

It is very important that you don't tell anyone what's going on until six. I'm going to need time to talk to these people and I won't get it if you guys don't keep this to yourselves. I'm sorry that I had to lie to all of you, but – believe me – it's for the best. I love you all.

Lissa

I felt all the blood drain out of my face. Lissa had voluntarily agreed to meet with the people who tried to kill me. Lissa was right; I was going to kill her once I made sure she was safe.

"Fuck that!" Christian yelled when he was done reading. "I'm taking this to the police right now!"

For once, I agreed with him.

The police station was busy as we waited in Officer Blake's office. We'd sat there for hours, waiting to hear any news they had about Lissa. It was already after six and I was beginning to get nervous. Christian was a complete mess, running his hands through his hair over and over again. He couldn't decide whether he wanted to get up and walk around or sit.

Mia and Eddie were holding hands, casting worried looks at each other and around the room. Every now and then, I would hear them whispering to each other, either assurances that Lissa would be okay, or musings on how much longer it would take for anyone to know anything about her.

Finally, at around 7:30, Officer Blake stepped into his office. He grabbed the only remaining chair in his office that wasn't occupied and pulled it up to us. He took off his hat, running his fingers through his hair like Christian had. With a deep breath, he told us, "Your friend is missing."

Hope you guys liked this chapter! The reveal of Rose's attackers is getting so close! It may even be revealed next chapter…but I'm not sure about that yet… :D

Remember to review! Your reviews give me extra motivation to write another chapter and get it uploaded as soon as possible.