Why, hello there. I'm back! (Tell a friend [if you have any!]) Sorry for the long wait. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It alternates between Lissa and Adrian and Christian (I will indicate when) and is on the longer side.

Disclaimer: I do not own VA, sadly…

Onward!

N.B. There is an F-Bomb in here, just a heads up.

Lissa POV

"So, Adrian," I said, stressing his name. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, um, well, I just, er, was wondering if anyone in Rose's family died recently," he says awkwardly.

"Mmmhhmmm, now, let me rephrase that, cousin. Why are you here?" I wasn't usually sarcastic, but when I didn't get my way, or when I was fueled by liquid courage, my inner snarkiness (read: inner Rose) showed through. Adrian looked a bit flustered from my sass.

"I was, er, worried."

"Sure you were, cousin. Worried about Rose's ass, you were," I retorted lightly. Hey, I couldn't help it, I was a little drunk!

"Okay, Yoda. You're right. I was worried about Rose," he caved. "It's been some time since she had The Dream, and she never really asked about it. Hell, she wasn't even suspicious of us spirit users!"

I raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to sit down. Obeyed Master Yoda's commands, he did. Good boy. Wait. He was talking about something just now. Oh, yeah, my friend.

"Lissa, are you okay?" he asked.

"Wha—yeah. Of course I am. Continue talking, cousin." I said the cousin thing because I knew it infuriated him, slowly but surely. And, well, Adrian looked cute when he was infuriated.

"You think I'm cute when I'm mad?" Adrian asked randomly.

I looked up at him and nodded. His eyes were so beautiful. We both had green eyes, but his were emeralds. Mine were just pale and dull.

"Liss," he took my chin over his two fingers. I swore I felt a zap, a tingle. His eyes widened fractionally as if he had felt it, too. "Your eyes are stunning. They're this delicate, pale jade green."

I started to get lost in those shining orbs of his. I felt like I could continue staring into them forever and remain completely content…

"They're enchanting, your eyes," he said like Yoda. "You're enchanting."

My breathing hitched and then became faster. Adrian.

His hands caressed my face and neck. Oh, that felt amazing! Mmmmm…

Adrian, go to Adrian…

"Adrian," I whispered.

Go to Adrian and stay there…

"Lissa," he murmured just as quietly.

Adrian. Just Adrian. No one else is important now…

"Adrian, I lo—"

The front door crashed open.

And in came in…

Adrian POV

"Liss," I placed my two fingers under her chin. I felt a spark of electricity—maybe it was spirit reacting with spirit. "Your eyes are stunning. They're this delicate, pale jade green."

I gazed into her glittering green eyes that she had just now called "pale and dull". They really were something else, and I felt like I could keep staring into them forever and remain completely content…

"They're enchanting, your eyes," I told her. "You're enchanting."

I knew it was really cheesy, but her breathing became faster. All I could think of was Lissa.

My hands explored her soft neck, her smooth cheek. So beautiful, my cousin.

Lissa, go to Lissa…

"Adrian," she whispered.

Go to Lissa and stay there…

"Lissa," I murmured just as quietly.

Lissa. Just be with Lissa. No one else is important now…

"Adrian, I lo—"

The front door resounded as it opened.

And in came in none other than the blue-eyed, black-haired Christian Ozera.

He eyed our compromising position on the sofa and his nostrils flared. I watched as his face became progressively closer to a shade better known as 'tomato red'. I gingerly came off of Lissa's lap, accidentally placing my hand on her thigh. To make it worse, she moaned when I applied pressure without meaning to. Dammit, she moaned, for Christ's sake.

"And what, exactly, do you think you are doing?" Christian bellowed.

Fuck.

Lissa POV

I wanted to feel his hands on my body again.

But there was this guy in the doorway glaring at me.

This guy just so happened to be Christian Ozera. My current boyfriend.

Adrian… go to him. Forget Christian.

His hands felt so…nice.

But Christian was yelling now. I didn't like it one bit.

So I started to cry. I just wanted to see what it was like to have Adrian's arms around me. When Adrian turned to look at me, I saw the intensity of his stare. He took me up in his arms and plopped me down beside the toilet. Ew…

"It's not ew, Lissa," Adrian said, his voice silky as ever. "You had too much to drink. Vodka, that is," he clarified.

Christian stormed into the bathroom shortly after and decided to ask the sixty-eight million dollar question. Adrian muttered something under his breath, and received a death-glare from him.

"Where is Rose?"

As soon as I heard her name, I snapped back into the present. Ten, twenty minutes before was all a haze. Jeez, what did I do?

"You drank too much vodka," someone said.

I yawned, but not before dry heaving into the toilet. I could swear I felt both Adrian and Christian cringe at the sound of my magnificent retch.

Assholes.

Adrian POV

I carried Lissa to the toilet, and the way she felt in my arms almost sent me over the edge. Her warm body pressed up against mine…

No! Have control, Adrian, I berated myself mentally.

"Ew!" she practically shrieked. I sighed.

"It's not ew, Lissa. You had too much to drink." I felt the need to explain further. "Vodka, that is," I added.

Just then, Christian barged into the room, looking as peed off as ever.

"Where's the fire, Sparky?" I breathed quietly. I knew he heard me, because then he asked us something.

"Where is Rose?"

Rose. Her name brought me back into reality. Everything that happened fifteen minutes ago was all a blur.

"Ugh, what the hell did I do?" Lissa complained.

"You drank too much vodka," Christian pointed out.

Poor Lissa heaved into the toilet once more and Christian and I tried to not make a face at the horrid stench.

"Assholes," Lissa hissed.

Christian POV

Something was wrong. Lissa would never forget our date just like that. We were dedicated and loved each other, but I noticed that we had our slip-ups here and there. It was otherwise a relationship that was envy-worthy. Liss and I were always synchronized. When she moved, I moved. And I knew she knew this, too. Where could she have gone?

Maybe there was an emergency "Project Romitri" meeting, as Lissa had nicknamed them.

My first option was to call her. If there was no answer, then I'd go to her room and check there.

I grabbed my cell phone and speed-dialed her number. Fourteen times. That's when I realized that I would probably have to stop by her dorm and check to see if she was in there.

Once I arrived there, I figured there was no point in knocking. I heard voices and figured it was Lissa on the phone, perhaps.

The door swung open more forcefully than I had intended and I wished I had knocked on the door. Because there, on the couch, sprawled across my Lissa was Adrian Ivashcov. Her cousin. His hands were roaming all over her petite body and hers were tangled in his brown hair. I internally hoped that they hadn't kissed. Please, no, not my Lissa.

I silently watched as Adrian cautiously climbed off of Lissa's lap. He put his hand on her upper thigh (hopefully by accident) and I nearly lost it when I heard her moan at his touch. What happened to her? She usually wasn't usually like this, especially not with Adrian. Their relationship was completely platonic. I think. I hoped, really, for Lissa's sake. (And mine, too, but my ego, er, dignity, prevented me from admitting that to myself).

And then, I finally processed the scene in front of me. Ivashcov draped across my girl.

"And what, exactly, do you think you are doing?" I thundered.

They both looked dazed, as if this was all an act to test my abilities and see if I could still set things in flames at my will. Which I could, I assure you. And at that precise moment, I felt like making Ivashcov's pants catch fire. It would be an accident, of course; completely understandable in this situation.

Suddenly, Lissa burst into tears. Adrian spun around to look at her crying and lifted her up in his arms. They were headed, I assumed, to the toilet.

"Ew!" I heard Lissa screech.

"It's not ew, Lissa," Adrian purred. Was it just me or did he say that with a flirtatious lilt? "You had too much to drink. Vodka, that is," he explained to her.

I entered the bathroom to ask the question I had intended to ask when I had first stepped into the dorm. Adrian muttered "where's the fire, Sparky" under his breath, and I shot daggers at him as soon as I caught it.

"Where is Rose?" I voiced.

As soon as I said her name, they both blinked rapidly and glanced around, taking in their surroundings.

"Jeez, what did I do?" Lissa grumbled.

"You drank too much vodka," Adrian replied.

She yawned, but not before dry heaving into the toilet. I winced slightly at the horrible sound that had just exited my girlfriend's mouth.

"Assholes," Lissa seethed.

After she expelled all the contents of her queasy stomach into the toilet bowl and rinsing out her mouth, Lissa promptly fell asleep in my lap.

Adrian sat across from me on the stool. I eyed him menacingly, but he seemed unaffected.

"What? So you have no remorse as to what you were doing, oh, ten minutes ago?" I said acidly.

"Huh? What do you mean? I was just going to ask Lissa how "Project Romitri" was going," he said. He sounded innocent enough, but I had to verify.

"You mean to say that you have absolutely no idea what you and Lissa were doing just ten minutes ago?"

His brow furrowed and he looked genuinely confused.

"I got ready to come here and ask Lissa about Rose and Dimitri…?" It came out as a question.

I sighed. This was going to be a long talk.

I questioned Adrian for what seemed like an eon, but was really only thirty-five minutes. And, just as my impromptu Spanish Inquisition demonstrated, he was not lying. The strange thing was that he didn't remember a thing.

Lissa POV

I woke up warm and wrapped up in Christian's arms. It was so toasty and I was so comfortable that I didn't want to get up to go to classes. And that rarely happened these days.

"Mmm, baby, get up," I mumbled to him.

He stirred a little and opened one piercing blue eye. Gah, I swear, I fell for those sapphire blue lakes of his eyes. And then, I realized, I was still falling for them.

I placed a kiss square on his mouth, and he was ready and dressed in less than five minutes.

"You sure you brushed for two minutes," I joked.

He just nodded, sort of in a dazed state. I wondered what happened.

"Do you remember?" he asked.

It was such a vague question, so I asked him to elaborate.

"Last night. Do you remember what you and Ivas—er, Adrian did last night?"

Okay, now, I was confused. "Huh?"

He looked at me expectantly.

"I just remember Rose coming to me to talk about stuff, and then Adrian coming in aswell. He said he was going to ask about something…" I trailed off, unsure.

He nodded as if that was all the information he needed to know.

"Wait, we had a date planned for yesterday, right?"

He nodded again.

"Well, let's ditch today. It's on me, whatever we do," I told him.

His face lit up in a stunning grin and I could feel myself getting a little starstruck.

That's it for now. Please review; they keep me motivated to write longer chapters and more often.

Is the anticipation for Rose and Dimitri's "date" getting to you? How about you guys give me 10 reviews and I give you their unofficial date…other stuff may happen nudge, nudge wink, wink.

Oh, and I'm also facing a dilemma as to the whole awkward Christian-Lissa-Adrian love triangle-ish thing. By the way, Adrian and Lissa are not actually cousins, as mentioned quite often in VA. He just calls her 'cousin' as a fond gesture.

Kudos to anyone who can figure out what happened to Liss and Adrian before I explain in upcoming chapters.

Until next time!