Chapter 4

*Adrian's POV*

I never realized how much hate you can get if your phone starts blowing up in the movie theater.

It was a rainy day in Palm Springs. And by rainy, I mean water falling from the sky at the speed of light, making it impossible to see more than 2 feet in front of you. Perfect day to get in the car and risk your life trying to drive to the movies, right? If it was up to me, I would be at home painting or doing something fun. But when Sydney got to my apartment with Eddie, Jill, and Angeline in tow, I should've known they would make me go.

"Adrian, you have to come with us! You'll really love this movie, and you get to eat popcorn and a ton of candy! Please Adrian, please!" Jill begged. Sometimes I swear she's a 6 year old trapped in a teenager's body. That thought earned me a punch in the arm. "I am not! I just really want you to come! It can be a family day!" She said with a large smile.

"Jill, you do remember we're not really related, right? So it wouldn't be a family day, it would be just some friends going to the movies. Sage, back me up on this." I begged. I looked over at Sydney Sage, who instead of her normal calm demeanor, looked like she was seconds away from killing someone.

"Adrian, just say you'll go before Jill starts to scream and give me a bigger headache." Sage said.

I looked back and forth from Sydney to Jill. Sydney looked like if I said no, she might burn me to a crisp with the hatred in her eyes. Someone's on her period, I thought, making Jill giggle. I looked at Jill next, and she was pouting. So I either say yes and have to endure a movie and the monsoon outside, or I say no and have Jill be said, which will make Eddie and Angeline upset, and Sage will kill me.

"Fine, I guess." I grumbled. "But no chick flicks Jill."

With that, we all braved the outside and piled into Sage's car. Sydney was driving, as always, Jill, Eddie, and Angeline were in the backseat, and I got shotgun.

The whole time we drove, I feared for our lives. I doubt Sage could see out the windshield any more then I could. Thankfully, the theater wasn't a far drive from my apartment.

"Thank you Adrian." The blonde in the seat next to me whispered.

"Thanks for what?"

"For giving in and saying yes. My head feels like it's going to burst, and Jill whining if you didn't come would've made it worse."

The pain she was in was clear on her face. Her face was scrunched up in pain. I hated it. I hated seeing her hurt with every fiber of my being. I wanted to take her hand and heal her, but I knew her opinion on magic.

"No problem Sage." I said as I got out of the car. The rain hit me hard, instantly re-soaking my clothes. "Damn it." Eddie, Jill, and Angeline got out of the car and ran to the building, I followed.

The 3 teens were already looking at movies.

"I want to see 'Listen to Your Heart'! I heard it was an adorable movie!" Jill said.

"How about 'Floor 13', it's a horror." Eddie suggested.

"Yeah, let's see that! None of use besides you want to see a chick flick, Jill." Angeline agreed.

"Sydney, what do you want to see?" Jill asked, looking over to me. I looked behind me, thinking Sydney was there. She wasn't.

"Sage?" I asked. "Where's Sydney?" I looked around. The Alchemist was nowhere to be found. I looked at Eddie and he was instantly in guardian mode, hand in his coat pocket, probably reaching for his silver stake.

"Eddie, relax." Jill said softly. "I don't think she left the car."

"Get 5 tickets for the horror, I'll go get Sage." I yelled as I ran from the theater. The rain pelted me again. I really should've brought an umbrella. Running to the car, I almost got hit by another car, which resulted in me flipping off the car and saying a few choice words.

Opening the car door, I heard a noise I didn't expect to hear. Sobbing.

"Sydney?" I said softly, sitting down in the seat. Her head snapped to look at me. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Adrian, I-I thought you were inside with the others." She stammered, wiping away a few stray tears.

"I was, until we noticed you weren't there. What's wrong? You're crying."

She was hesitant to answer, almost like she was questioning if she was able to trust me with her problems. "I-It hurts so much Adrian." She whimpered. Just like that, she started crying again.

I have a lot of experience with girls. And I mean a lot of experience with girls, but not with crying girls.

"Sydney…" I sighed. "Please let me heal you. You're killing me, seeing you cry."

"No." She answered immediately. Her face and eyes were red, but she still managed to look beautiful. "I-I'm fine, let's just go in to see the movie."

And business Sydney was back. She wiped away her tears a grabbed her umbrella. She got out of the car and opened it. Almost as soon as she was out, she started to stumble. I jumped out of the car and over to her. Her face was no longer red. It was ghostly pale. I should be the good friend and take her home and make her rest, but everyone else was already inside. Also, she is so stubborn, she wouldn't let me.

So I decided to be a good friend another way. I put my arm around her, steadying her, and held the umbrella for her. I pulled her body closer to mine. She stiffened slightly at the closeness, but after a few seconds, relaxed. I kept my arm around her even when we were inside. If she had any color left, she would be blushing.

Once we found the group, I took two tickets and entered the real theater. I didn't want anyone to bother Sydney. I found us a decent seat right in the middle of the theater.

As we waited for the movie to start, I watched Sydney from the corner of my eye. Her golden lily tattoo was uncovered. Most likely it's because of her tears and rain which washed away the makeup. She is gorgeous. She really is the most beautiful thing. I love her.

I, Adrian Ivashkov, am actually in love with Sydney Sage.

My thoughts were cut short by the movie starting. It turns out that while I was thinking, the rest of the gang found us and found seats.

The movie was just a generic horror movie. This is the kind of stuff that doesn't scare me. When you live in a world like this, you can't be scared of this stupid stuff. I could tell Sydney felt the same. At times when most people were screaming, she just rolled her eyes at the screen. Surprisingly, Eddie seemed to be the one mostly afraid.

The movie was halfway finished. The blonde bimbo on screen was walking down the hallway holding a knife, asking in anyone was there.

"Seriously," Sydney whispered. "If some psycho killer was in your house, would they really just come out and say that they're there? No, they would kill you. I swear, they make blonde girls look like idiots."

Her comment made me laugh very loud, earning me a loud shh from the rest of the theater. Of course, something worse decided to happen to make the theater hate me more.

At a very silent part, my phone decided to start ringing loudly, making some people scream.

"Damn it." I whispered. After muttering a few apologies, I left the theater and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Adrian Ivashkov, I'm going to ask you a question and you better give me the truth or I will fly to Palm Springs and kick your butt."

You would think that the person saying that to me would be Rose. Nope. It was our precious queen Lissa.

"Lissa, you really need to not hang around Rose that much, you're starting to sound like her. The world doesn't need two Rose's." I joked.

"Adrian, did you sleep with Rose?"

"What? Just… What?" I couldn't comprehend what she said. I haven't seen Rose in months.

"Answer the question!" Lissa yelled through the phone. Her voice was something I've never heard.

"No, I didn't! Why the hell are you calling me, sounding pissed, asking me this stupid question?"

"Because Dimitri just told me that Rose was pregnant!"

My jaw and phone dropped. Rose. Pregnant? Once I picked my jaw off the floor, I did the same with my phone. "What the hell do you mean she's pregnant?!"

Lissa was quiet for a second. "I shouldn't have told you that… Oh god, Rose probably doesn't even know I know!"

"How is Rose pregnant? She cheated on Dimitri?" I asked, befuddled. That's when I realized why Lissa called. "You think the kid's mine…"

"I don't know Adrian. Dimitri said Rose said that the baby's his, but we all know dhampir's can't have kids together. I just had to be sure…" She said. She sounded so confused and probably hurt. She probably hated having to hear this news from Dimitri and not Rose, her best friend.

"I'll get to the bottom of this Lissa. I'll call Rose and figure this out."

"Don't tell her I told you! I don't want her to know I know yet! And don't tell anyone else!" Lissa begged.

"Okay, okay. I'll call you later with more information. Bye." I said, hanging up.

Next, I called Rose.

The phone rung for a few moments, so I used them to prepare whatever I was going to say.

"What!"

Or I'm just going to wing it.

"Rose." I growled.

"Adrian?" the female on the other line asked.

"Why the hell did I get a call asking me if I'm the father of your kid?" I questioned.

I heard a gasp through the phone, than all noise paused for a few seconds. "How did you know I'm pregnant?"

Crap. How am I going to keep her from finding out it was Lissa. "I got a phone call from an anonymous source."

"Adrian Ivashkov, you will tell me right now or I will kick your ass next time I see you. Then you can be known as the guy who got his ass handed to him by a pregnant chick." Rose threatened.

"Wow, second time my full name was used today. But Rose, you can't hurt me when I'm across the country. And I'm not scared of you. We both know you wouldn't hurt my beautiful face." I replied.

"You should be scared of me, because I am fully capable of flying out there to kick your ass."

I rolled my eyes. "No more threats. I'm not telling. My secret source will tell you when the time comes. Don't worry, it's not like it's someone who will ruin your life."

"Whatever Adrian, just shut up. But Dimitri is the father of the child, in case you wanted to know."

"But how, is the question." I asked.

"I…I don't know. But I have 9 months to figure out." She said confidently.

"I could ask Sage to do some research, find out all she can."

She sounded hesitant. Well, why wouldn't she? Being a teen and pregnant probably scares the crap out of her. "I guess so. Just… Don't tell anyone else, please."

"I won't." I promised. "Take care of yourself Little Dhampir."

I closed my phone and leaned against the wall. This is going to be a crazy 9 months.

...

Oh my gosh, I am loving the feedback I'm getting! People are reviewing and helping give me so much ideas. You guys are making me really want to write more to this. Please, I would love if you left more constructive criticism, it's really helpful! School's starting up again, so I will write a bit less. But I am going to try and upload as much as I can, hopefully 2-3 times a week. If you check my profile, I posted a poll on the baby's gender! Go vote! I love you all, and I'm sorry this chapter is a bit boring, I just wanted to include some Adrian and Sydney. Would you guys be okay with a bit of a Adrian/Sydney sub-plot. Like, a few things going on in Palm Springs? I really want to write more about them. Thanks for reading! And now, this is the end of the really long authors note.

Love,

Kaitlyn xoxo