Dear Readers, thank you so much for the lovely, lovely reviews. I'm glad everyone's enjoying the story so far. I will endeavour to not leave too much time in between updates. Here's the next chapter as promised and I hope you enjoy it as much as you did, the others. :)

The usual disclaimers apply, and without further delay, happy reading. x

Chapter 5

Rose's Point of View

I finally woke up at midnight with a throbbing headache. I should really control my alcohol intake. I groaned and laid in bed, head under the covers. Last night's event flashed through my head and I groaned even more. I hope Lissa performed some kick ass compulsion on everyone, otherwise I didn't know how I was going to face them. There are perks to being best friends with a Spirit user.

I heard a knock on my door. 'Go away!' I groaned, wanting to be left alone, wanting the bed to swallow me up so I could escape my headache, my heartache and my embarrassment. Thankfully, whoever was knocking left me alone.

After lying in bed for another 15 minutes, I decided to drag myself out of it and face the music. I looked at my calendar. It was the 31st of December; it was New Year's Eve and Lissa and Christian's engagement party. I made my way into my ensuite bathroom and quickly showered before changing into clean clothes. I made my way downstairs and I wasn't surprised to see Lissa bustling about the kitchen as usual. A paper was spread out on the kitchen table and Christian and Dimitri were both poring over it.

'Feeling better?' Lissa asked testily and I nodded my response as I walked into the kitchen, my hair wrapped in a towel, taking in the smell of Lissa's famous pancakes.

'Looking beautiful as usual, Little Dhampir,' Adrian entered the kitchen behind me. I was wearing a white singlet with my favourite black laced bra. My bra was semi visible through the thin fabric of my singlet, not that I cared. I was used to flaunting my body. Besides, I was sure the citizens of New York appreciated it. I couldn't thank central heating enough – I hated being rugged up in layers of clothing.

I felt Dimitri's gaze linger on me. Fuck him; he doesn't know what he's missing. Adrian let out a low whistle and I winked at him.

'Stop being a cock tease Rose,' Christian joked.

'I didn't think you had one to tease' I shot back at him. Adrian laughed, Christian grinned and shook his head, whilst Dimitri kept staring. Seriously, he should just get over it. He should have known better for choosing Tasha over me anyway. I wondered if he ever thought of me in bed… Stop it! What happened to moving on?

'Liss, you overwork yourself in the kitchen,' I turned my attention to Lissa as she plated up the pancakes.

She grinned before walking towards me and whispered, 'I can see your bra'

'So?' I reached out for a pancake and stuffed it into my mouth. It was delicious and I was starving. Since when did Lissa have a problem with what I wore?

She nodded her head discreetly at Dimitri. His dark brown eyes were full of jealousy, lust and longing. I met his eyes and smiled bitterly. He seemed guilty and embarrassed and immediately looked away. Lust. He was more interested in my body than in my heart. I felt something bitter rise up in me but I swallowed it down. It was nearly the New Year, I will control my temper. I got up and went into my room to change into something slightly less revealing.

I changed into indigo blue skinny jeans and pulled on a white jumper, hoping that it would be good enough for Lissa. As I was pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I heard a knock on my door. 'It's open,' I yelled out.

I was surprised to see Tasha standing in the doorway, 'Rose…'

'Hi Tasha,' I forced my brightest smile at her.

'Rose… I want to talk to you,'

I froze. I was so not in the mood for talking. I forced a smile at her again, reminding myself to be polite for Lissa, 'I'm not in the mood for talking, I'm starving. Let's go eat; I'm sure everyone's waiting for us,'

I walked quickly out of my room. 'Rose…' Tasha started again but I was already power walking towards the kitchen. I was not in the mood for a confrontation or any sorts. Besides, she won. She has Dimitri. What more does she want from me?

Breakfast passed by uneventfully and thankfully no one said anything about last night. Either Lissa compelled them or they knew better than to try to push any of Dimitri or my buttons. Soon it was time for me to give everyone their belated Christmas presents and vice versa. Adrian insisted that I opened his first. It was a small box, neatly wrapped with Christmas wrapping paper. I raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't think anything of it. 'If this is another diamond ring, I am going to throw it back in your face,' I warned. Adrian chuckled and Lissa shook her head, exasperated at my constant bravado.

I hated presents from Adrian, especially expensive ones. I always felt guilty if I accepted something from him, and not be able to return his feelings for me. I ripped the present paper open. It looked like a jewelry box and it looked like I was going to have to throw it back in Adrian's face. I opened the box reluctantly and a snowflake pendant sat in it, with an inconspicuous diamond set in the middle. It was beautiful. There was a note inside the box. I looked at Adrian, confused. I know how much you hate roses. I hope you like snowflakes more. Merry Christmas. Love, Adrian. I laughed.

'Thank you,' I breathed. The pendant was truly beautiful. It sparkled but not in an attention grabbing way, it looked expensive but not in a way that screamed thousands. For once, I didn't have a smart remark for Adrian.

Lissa gasped, 'It's beautiful! Oh, you've really outdone yourself this time Adrian,' through our bond, I could tell that she was really pushing for the Rose-Adrian union, especially after my showdown with Dimitri last night. She thought by being with Adrian, I'd be able to get over Dimitri quicker.

Maybe she's right, I thought to myself. I decided to keep the pendant. It was the first time I allowed myself to accept anything from Adrian. This is a good start, I told myself. Maybe I should really give him a chance. 'Thanks,' I said again, flashing him my brightest smile.

Adrian looked surprised when I accepted the gift but his expression slowly changed to joy when he realized that I was serious in keeping it. 'You're welcome,' he whispered and we shared a rare special moment together as our eyes met. I felt Lissa's encouragement pulse through our bond and for once, I didn't mind it.

'Okay, okay. Who's next?' Christian interrupted impatiently. He was always one to ruin moments. One by one, the presents were exchanged. There was a lot of laughing and screaming as we each unwrapped our presents, delighted at each gift. I tried my hardest to ignore Dimitri and Tasha the whole time. I didn't get them presents because they came at such short notice, but Tasha bought me some make up. Amongst the expensive blushers, mascaras and eyeliners that she bought me, I spotted an inconspicuous tube of lip gloss. The sight of it tugged painfully at my heart strings as it was the same one that Dimitri bought me on our first Guardian training outing at St. Vladimir's. A part of me hoped that Dimitri had picked it, as if it was some kind of secret code between the two of us, but a part of me knew that I was just being hopeful. It was probably just coincidence. I thanked Tasha and Dimitri for the present and quickly closed the box, willing myself not to think about the lip-gloss.

Finally, everyone finished unwrapping their present and Lissa decided that it would be a good time for her to go over the party plans again for the thousandth time. I saw Christian and Lissa kiss and felt a sudden pang of sadness. I decided to sneak outside for some fresh air. Tonight would be the night they officially announce their engagement. I was happy for Lissa, I truly was. But it meant that I would be seeing Tasha more often. And that meant that I would be seeing Dimitri more often. So much for keeping him out of my life, I sighed.

I heard the backdoor open and turned around to see Eddie, 'Hey, what are you doing out here?'

'Just wanted a smoke,' he grinned, lighting up his cigarette. I made a face at him. I hated smoking habits, and hated to see that Eddie had picked it up. Adrian was a bad influence. 'What are you doing out here?' he asked, taking a puff.

'Oh, just wanted some fresh air,' I avoided his gaze. I stared out at the snowy landscape. It was so quiet out here. We stood in silence for a while.

'You're dreading it aren't you?' Eddie said, breaking the silence. I looked at him, confused. He smiled, 'You're dreading becoming family with Tasha,'

'Am I seriously that obvious?' I was astounded. I thought I was good at hiding my feelings.

He shrugged, 'Tasha's a good woman Rose,'

I rolled my eyes, 'If you're trying to score points for her, quit it,'

He chuckled, 'You only feel this way about her because of Dimitri,'

Damn. I grunted, 'Yeah alright. She's okay. I'll get over it. She's good for him anyway. They can have a family, which makes me wonder why they're not already married. It's been more than a year,'

Eddie shrugged and put out his cigarette, 'Don't feel too bad. If you need to talk, you know where I am,'

I smiled at him, 'Thanks,'

'Come on, they're waiting for us,'

--

I avoided Dimitri and Tasha as much as possible for the rest of the day, choosing to work out in the gym and hang out with Adrian instead, much to his pleasure and surprise. I always wondered if my aura betrayed me, but Adrian never brought it up. I couldn't believe that Dimitri and Tasha were going to be around for another few days.

Soon, it was time to get ready for the party. Lissa's excitement was spilling over; I didn't blame her. How often does someone get engaged? I was damn excited for her too. With a guest list of 200 people, the party was bound to be a blast.

After a long shower that relaxed my muscles, I slipped into my dress. It was midnight blue and the bodice was a tube top that exposed my shoulders and hugged me perfectly. There were tiny sequins that snaked from my left bust all the way down to the bottom right side of my hem. It was simple but I had decided that I wouldn't go for something too loud. I had a matching facemask but one could easily tell it was me when I wore it. Adrian's snowflake pendant hung dangerously close to the valley between my breasts. It contrasted beautifully against the midnight blue of my dress. I smiled to myself as I secured my mask. Tonight's going to be fun.

'ROSE!' Lissa yelled for me, 'Hurry!'

'I'm coming!' I felt all eyes on me as I descended down the stairs, Dimitri's especially. It took all my effort to not look at him. Instead, I stared ahead at Adrian and smiled. He looked elated when he saw that I was wearing his pendant. He stepped forward and offered his arm to me.

I took it and grinned, 'You're looking pretty sharp yourself,'

--

The catering was spectacular and the music ranged from slow and romantic to fast and upbeat. There was free flow of alcohol all night so Adrian made sure he took advantage of that. I, having learned my lesson from the night before, stuck to water and the occasional punch every so often.

Lissa and Christian announced their engagement and they danced a slow dance together. I didn't know Christian could waltz but he had apparently taken lessons. As to-be best man and maid of honor, Eddie and I both gave speeches for the loved up couple – I decided that I would treat an appreciative audience to some embarrassing misadventures that Lissa and I had been involved in when we were young; not too embarrassing though as I was saving that for the wedding! Lissa tried to pretend that she was upset with me for sharing those stories, but failed miserably at it.

Throughout the night, so many men asked me to dance that I quickly became confused as to who was who. They were all dressed similarly – black or dark blue coats, dark 'Phantom of the Opera' type masks. I would hate to be a man; there would be no variety in fashion at all!

Closer to midnight, I took a break from all the waltzing and decided to get myself some fruit punch. I looked out towards the dance floor where Christian was spinning Lissa around. Lissa was laughing. I smiled, they looked good together and Lissa's joy was pulsating through. It must be nice to be engaged to the one you love.

It was then that I noticed a tall, dark haired man walking towards me. The lights were dim and I couldn't make out who he was. It couldn't be Adrian because he just told me he's going to ask Alberta for a dance. He thought it would be funny. I smirked at the thought. Alberta was on Guardian duty and was likely to snap his head off. The man stopped in front of me and smiled. There was something incredibly familiar about the smile. Dimitri? No, I mentally slapped myself. It couldn't be him. I would recognize him anywhere. He bowed low and offered his hand out to me, offering me to dance but avoiding eye contact. What an intriguing person. I stared at him, mesmerized. He was the same height and build as Dimitri. He even had the same hair colour but I couldn't make out his face. Stop obsessing over Dimitri, I told myself.

I gave him my hand and he spun me around. He didn't say a word as we danced, he just held me tight. Everytime I tried to look into his eyes, he would spin me around and once again, I would fall into the immense sense of protection he emitted. I felt like a princess. It was amazing. I never thought I would feel this way after Dimitri. I wondered who he was. He was strong. Strong and protective. I don't know how long we were dancing for but before I knew it, he was waltzing me towards the balcony.

'Wait. They're starting the countdown soon,' I protested, still not knowing who my handsome stranger was.

He smiled serenely; his eyes directed at a spot behind my head and without saying a word, led me outside. The cold air engulfed me but this mysterious man held onto me and led our dance. Despite the near zero temperatures, my skin was hot under his touch.

Then, I heard the emcee holler into the microphone, 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have ONE minute to midnight! To the New Year!'

This was followed by loud cheers. We continued to dance, despite the lack of music.

'30 seconds!'

'29,' the crowd hollered. A part of me wondered whether Lissa and Adrian were looking for me. I wondered whether Dimitri had his arms around Tasha, ready to kiss her at midnight. I quickly pushed that thought away.

'10'

'9'

'8'

'7'

'6'

Is he really going to kiss me at midnight? My heart thundered. What is wrong with me? I've never felt this flustered since Dimitri. Who was this man?

'4'

'3'

'2'

'1'

'HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!' The emcee hollered and the ballroom erupted in cheers. My stranger tilted my head up and smiled at me. For the first time, I looked into his eyes and I gasped.

I do apologize for leaving you guys on a bit of a cliffie - I know how frustrating it can be - but it seemed like the best place to end without making this chapter too long. On the other hand, the good news is that I will be updating the next chapter very soon and I'll make sure that it's a relatively long one. :)

Until next time, let me know what you think of the chapter and the story thus far. Also, if anyone has any ideas as to adventures the gang should have during their stay in Australia, please let me know. Have a good week everyone! bluestarberry, x