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Adrian POV
Today is the first day that the Offensive Magic committee is meeting. The only reason I'm here is to represent the Guardians since I am head of guardian assignments. That's why none of the male guardians will ask Rose out knowing I can easily assign them to a rather unpleasant location. The thing is, I've never said I would do that, but when a guardian that Rose went on a date with moved to a little town in Greenland, they all assumed it was because of me. The fact is that his charge was from there and moved back to be with family. I never corrected this rumor, though, since it worked in my favor and didn't have to watch Rose dating someone else.
I see Tasha at the meeting and figure I better be cordial since it's important to Rose that they be friends. "Good morning, Tasha. How are you doing this morning?" I ask nicely.
"Good morning, Adrian. I'm well. Can't say the same for Dimka after your girlfriend broke his nose yesterday." she chuckles. Wow, I'm surprised she thinks Rose beating on her man is funny. I thought it was freakin' hilarious, so I laugh along with her. Hey, I'm just being polite.
"Yeah, you gotta watch out for the little ones. Rose can take down a Strigoi twice her size. She's pretty amazing." I tell her thinking about watching Rose take down Strigoi like it's nothing. She is undoubtedly the best in our world, and she's my guardian. I always get a feeling of pride when I see her fight. I hope she likes the flowers I sent her this morning. She deserves to be treated to something nice for everthing she does for me. I must have a strange look on my face by the way Tasha's smiling at me right now. "What?" I ask.
"I can see how much you love her when you were talking about her just now. How long have you two been going out?" Great. Are my feelings for Rose that obvious? Why is it that Tasha knows I love her and Rose seems to be clueless, even though I've told her a million times. Rose can be very frustrating some times.
"Rose and I aren't dating. We're just friends." I don't know Tasha well enough to pour my heart out to her, so I just leave it at that. Tahsa looks at me with a knowing smile.
"Oh, well the way you act around each other, it's like you've been a couple for years." Huh? That's interesting. I wonder how Rose would react to that?
"Yeah, well, like I said, we're good friends. If you'll excuse me, I see someone I need to talk to." I tell her and walk to the other side of the room, just to end the conversation with her. Is that how other people really see us? Maybe if Rose knew this she would just give up and finally be with me if everyone thinks we're together anyway. Can't think about that now, Tasha is calling the meeting to order. Hopefully this won't be too mind numbing.
That was the most boring day ever. Six hours of my life I'll never get back. I get up from the table and stretch. I feel like a zombie. Man, I need my Rose fix, she always makes me feel better. Tonight is chinese food and movie night. I love movie night because she puts her guard down and lets me snuggle up on the couch with her. I gather my things and start to head out the door when I bump into Tasha, literally bump into her. I can be a little clutzy when I have Rose on my mind. "Oh God, Sorry Tasha. Are you alright?" I ask her as I steady her on her feet. Luckily she didn't fall down, being pregnant and all.
"Yes, I'm fine. You're sure in a hurry to get outta here." she comments. She has no idea.
"I'm going to meet up with Rose at the gym." She smiles at me and nods.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then. Say hello to Rose for me." she says as she walks out the door ahead of me. I start thinking on the way to the gym about mentioning to Rose what Tasha said about us looking like a couple. I wonder what she'll say. I walk into the gym, and it's empty. She must be in the shower. I lean up against the wall and wait for her to get out when I hear some noise coming from around the corner. When I take a peek to see who's being naughty, my heart stops. Rose is kissing Dimitri, and it isn't some innocent 'just friends' kiss, either. They are all over each other. Both of their auras are glowing red. I need to get out of here. I can't breath. How could she do this? She was so adament about how she didn't love him anymore, how she just wanted to be his and Tasha's friend. Some friend.
I need a drink to calm down or I'm going to kill somebody. I can't believe she lied to me like that. I guess I really can't say anything since technically we aren't together. I have no claim on her, no matter how much I wish I did. My heart feels like it's shattering into a million pieces. Why do I let her hurt me like this? Maybe I need to finally realize that Rose and I are never going to be together. She keeps telling me this, but I don't want to believe her. Well, I believe her now. She's still in love with him and I'll never be able to make her feel that way about me.
I walk into the bar and pull up a stool. Sam looks a little concerned to see me here tonight. I haven't come here to drink on a weeknight since Rose became my guardian. "Tequilla shots, Sam. And keep 'em coming." I tell him. He sighs and shrugs his shoulders, but then sets up five shot glasses with Jose Cuervo. I down the first one and feel the burn go down my throat. Ahh, that his the spot. A few more rounds like this and I'll feel much better.
As I sit here, drowning my problems with alcohol, I get an idea. I need to find out how she really feels about me. I'll give her exactly what she says she's been wanting all along, for me to finally get over her. I'll start dating someone and see how she reacts. If she gets jealous, I'll know she does care for me more than just a friend. And if she gets hurt, than that is just an added bonus for what she did to my heart tonight. And if she doesn't really care if I have another woman in my life, well then at least I'll be getting some. I haven't been with a woman since I met Rose a couple years ago. No other women interst me with Rose in my life. I take a shot glass and down another drink.
Okay, Operation Get Rose Jealous is on. The next time she fixes me up on another date, I'll fake interest and get myself a girlfriend. Be careful what you wish for Rose, you just might get it. I hear the stool next to me slide out and someone sit down. I don't have to look over to see that it's Rose, I can smell her scent wash over me. I swallow another shot down and slam the glass down on the bar in a warning not to talk to me right now. "Adrian.." she starts, but I'm not in the mood for her lame excuses, so I don't let her finish.
"You don't have to say anything, Rose. If you want to get back together with Belikov, that's none of my business." I tell her without looking at her. I can't. Seeing her will just break my heart further, if that's possible.
"There's nothing between Dimitri and me. We're just friends." she says. Does she think I'm stupid? I can't help but give a small laugh at her denial.
"You forget I can see auras, Rose. I saw the lust and love beaming from you. You can't fake that." God, I wish I could forget it. What I saw will haunt me for life. I take another shot.
"Adrian, yes I wanted him to touch me and kiss me and whatever, but I stopped it. How long were you watching us? Did you bother to hear what I told him?" She admits wanting him. That's a start. I could care less about what they talked about afterward, I don't want anymore of them in my head so I wave off whatever she was going to say.
"I don't care what you said to him, I know what I saw." Seeing is believing and I believe I'll have another drink. I down the last shot in front of me. She doesn't say anything, but I can feel her gaze burning a hole in the side of my head. She can sit there and stare forever for all I care, I'm done talking.
"You know, you can be the biggest ass in the entire world, you know that?" She yells at me. Did she really just say that to me? I laugh at the thought that she is calling me an ass. I turn my head in her direction, still not able to look at her face though.
"So you've said. Now why don't you leave me alone and get back to your boyfriend." I'm so done with this conversation. I just want to be left alone. I go to take another shot, only to see that I already finished the ones I started with. Well, time for round two. I motion for Sam to set me up again and realize she's still sitting there, not getting the hint I want her to leave. I guess I need to be more direct. "Go!" I yell at her. The next thing I know, very cold soda is dripping down the sides of my face, icecubes stuck in my hair. I can't believe she just did that. I hear her stomping out the door, obviously pissed.
For the next how many hours I go over in my mind all the times Rose and I spent together over the last couple years. Some were great, but there are also some that I wish I could never remember again. When Dimitri left her and I was with her letting her cry on my shoulder. All the times Rose got hurt protecting me from Strigoi. One of us must be a magnet for those guys, because it seems that every time we leave the Courts, we get attacked. I think that's why my Aunt, the Queen, has insisted that Rose keeps upgrading her training. I don't know how many rounds of shots I've had, but I can't even remember why I came here in the first place. I think I'll have one more round, just for the hell of it. "Sham, wa mo wown." I tell him.
"Sorry Lord Ivashkov, but I think you've had enough." he tells me. He might be right. I don't feel so good. I guess I'll just go home and go to bed. Yeah, sleep sounds real nice right now. I go to get off the stool when someone grabs my arm and pulls me off the stool and helps me stand up and walk out the door. Whoever it is smells just like Rose, well Rose's blood to be precise. I don't say anything because I'm afraid if I open my mouth, I might throw up. We get into my place, at least I think it's my place, and go into my bedroom. Oh, the bed looks so good right now.
"Do you need to pee before you sleep?" Hmmm. I better do that first. I nod and walk in the bathroom and head to the toilet. Ah, that feels so much better. I'm glad the Rose like person suggested that. I walk back out and almost fall over. Luckily that person caught me before I took a face plant on the carpet. The last thing I remember is falling on the bed.
I start waking up the next morning with the world's worst headache. Shit, it hurts. I can hear someone in the room with me. I slowly open my eyes to see who it is, and see Rose sitting on the end of my bed, her back to me. I try to sit up, but my head starts throbbing and I groan in pain and fall back to my pillow. Ah, holy hell, make the pain go away. I feel Rose get off the bed and walk over to me. I hear her place something on my night stand. "Drink that. It'll help with your headache. You have an hour to get ready for work. I got your dry cleaning yesterday, it's in the closet and there's chinese food in your fridge if you want that for lunch." she tells me. I lie back in my bed and just look at her. Memories from a dream I had last night coming back to me in flashes. Rose was laying here next to me holding me tight and confessing her love for me. If only it weren't a dream and she really did love me like I love her. But the way she was kissing Belikov yesterday, I know where her heart truely lies, and it kills me. I can't believe after everything that happened last night, she's still here helping me, but she doesn't look happy. I notice that both of her hands are bandaged, though she's trying to hide them. "Can you get up by yourself, or do you need help?" she asks. I must have been laying here looking at her longer than I thought.
"No, I got it." I say as I push myself up and sit on my bed with my legs over the side. I take the glass and down the hangover cocktail she always makes for me. I stand up from the bed and go to take my shower, walking right passed her. When I get out, I expect to see her, but the room is empty. I get dressed and go into the living room and see she's not there either. In fact, she isn't anywhere. She left without saying goodbye or even good morning. This is our biggest fight yet. I hope we manage to work something out, but I don't think we'll ever be like we were before. Our relationship is either going to be better when this is over, or worse. I pray it's better.
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