Okay, I'm super busy with homework this week but I really wanted to get Chapter 9 done because Dimitri getting in Jesse's face is one of my favorite scenes in Vampire Academy.

Let me know what you think.

-Thanks Val

Chapter 9

I checked the dorms several times, attempting not to look suspicious. I had to purposely avoid the matron. I didn't want to get Rose in any trouble. She actually had spent the entire time after classes locked in her room so far, luckily not permitting Jesse's plan to work. Unfortunately, Jesse was in the novice dorms apparently working on a homework assignment with another novice, Meredith. I couldn't exactly tell him to go.

TAs I was waiting to see if any changes occurred, I received a call, Alberta wanted me to come meet her. Great, how was I supposed to keep tabs on Rose? ебать – I swore in Russian. I considered telling Alberta what was going on with Rose but it wouldn't really do any good. Rose would get in more trouble and who knows, Headmistress Kirova could even expel her over something as futile as Jesse. I tried to walk as fast as I could, trying to get this over as soon as possible so I could get back to Rose.

"Alberta," I called as I met her.

"Hey Dimitri. I just wanted to know if you found out what it was that Princess Vasilisa and Miss Hathaway are hiding."

"Oh, that," I responded, "No, not yet, I'm working on it though."

"Do you have any idea who could have done such a thing?"

"No not really," I answered, a little annoyed she was asking me at this time. Thinking about what Jesse could be doing to Rose was making my heart beat faster, ready to take him on. I think she sensed my tension, judging from her next words.

"Are you okay?" she asked, clearly noticing my uneasiness.

"Yes," I responded, "I'm fine." I tried to put on a calm facade, but I doubted that she believed it.

"Are you sure, you look a little agitated. Does this have anything to do with Rose? Is she being too difficult –I could talk to her…?"

"—No, nothing's wrong," I answered quickly, too quickly, realizing she wasn't buying it, I decided my best option then was lying, not something I enjoyed doing, but something I wasn't exactly bad at, "I'm just concerned about Princess Vasilisa."

"Oh, yes. We'll get to the bottom of this, don't worry."

"Yes, of course," I answered.

"Alright then," she continued, "you're free to go."

With that, I returned as quickly as I could to the commons. Since I had left, I hadn't been able to keep an eye on Rose and after looking for a little while I decided to go knock on the door, figuring I'd just make up an excuse since I couldn't be sure she was in there. As I did this, I was especially wary so that the matron wouldn't see me.

I knocked several times.

No answer. My heart sank a little then.

After a few moments I turned the knob and walked in. She wasn't in there.

Dammit, I cursed silently. I decided to try to look for her. If she was caught, she'd throw away everything she just worked for and would be kicked out of the Academy.

I tried to search through the commons, room after room I went. Then I remembered there were a lot of empty rooms on the fourth floor that no one really went to. Rooms Rose would probably be aware of.

I tried one of the doors, but no one was in there. I hadn't braced myself for what I saw after I opened the second door.

In it, I found Jesse on top of a half-naked Rose. No shirt on.

I lost it.

Suddenly, I didn't care anymore what I was supposed to do and how I was supposed to act.

That bastard had put his hands all over her.

Whatever self control I had faded from me and I think I was going to rip his head off.

They sprang apart as they saw me coming, but they weren't fast enough. Within the blink of an eye, I held Jesse up by his shirt, nearly holding him off the ground.

I realized the similarities between Lord Zeklos and him then, and I had to discard whatever menacing threat I was just thinking, and go for something more rational, I managed to growl, "What's your name?"

"J-Jesse, sir. Jesse Zeklos, sir."

"Mr. Zeklos, do you have permission to be in this part of the dorm?" I asked, putting on as fierce a look as I could, I didn't need to try very hard.

"No sir," he replied, voice breaking a little.

"Do you know the rules about male and female interactions around here?" I asked him bitterly, knowing that he did.

"Yes, sir."

"Then I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you over to someone who will punish you accordingly. If I ever see you like this again," I warned him, pointing towards Rose, who was half-dressed, "I will be the one to punish you. And it will hurt. A lot. Do you understand?"

Jesse swallowed hard, his eyes widened and he looked petrified, "Yes, sir!"

"Then go," I released him, more for my own good than his I think. I was walking a very fine line with my self-control right now. Jesse ran out as fast as he could.

I had so much rage –it was almost animalistic.

I looked at Rose, disapprovement painted all over myself.

Then –all of a sudden –I noticed her. I mean really noticed her. Her long and thick black hair was down, her tan stomach exposed, as well as her black bra which showed how voluptuous her breasts were and I could see some of her curves. Suddenly, suddenly, all that animalistic passion I'd just felt against Jesse switched into a passion towards Roza.

She looked so beautiful. So sexy. She wasn't my student anymore, she was a gorgeous goddess and it was hard to control myself. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, pin her down and show her what a real man is.

She seemed to be checking me out too.

Then she spoke, looking sort of embarrassed, "You see something you like?" she asked.

Immediately, I snapped out of my haze, ashamed at what I had just felt, and angry, very angry, I told her, "Get dressed," coldly.

She immediately put her shirt on… she looked… scared.

"How'd you find me? You following me to make sure I don't run away?"

"Be quiet," I snapped. I had no patience for this. I couldn't admit that I sort of had been following her so instead, I lied, "A janitor saw you and reported it. Do you have any idea how stupid this was? "

"I know, I know, the whole probation thing right?" she asked.

"Not just that. I'm talking about the stupidity of getting in that kind of situation in the first place."

"I get in that kind of situation all the time, Comrade. It's not a big deal." That really burned me. I didn't want to think of her getting in that sort of situation with anyone, except for, well me. It also showed me that she had no self-respect. She was so beautiful. She didn't need to get in this situation. Any guy would fall in love with her.

"Stop calling me that." I snapped, "You don't even know what you're talking about." Comrade was something you called a person in a communist party with a strongly leftist view. I was not in the mood for her jokes right now.

"Sure I do," she responded, "I had to do a report on Russia and the R.S.S.R. last year."

"US.S.S.R. and it is a big deal for a Moroi to be with a dhampir girl. They like to brag." Didn't she know what the students said about her?

She simply responded, "So?"

"So?" was she fucking serious. I think the disgust showed all over my face, "So don't you have any respect? Think about Lissa. You make yourself look cheap. You live up to what a lot of people already think about dhampir girls, and it reflects back on her. And me."

"Oh I see. Is that what this is about? Am I hurting your big, bad male pride? Are you afraid I'll ruin your reputation?"

"My reputation is already made. Rose, I set my standards and lived up to them long ago. What you do with yours remains to be seen. Now get back to your room –if you can manage it without throwing yourself at someone else," I told her harshly.

"Is that your subtle way of calling me a slut? She retorted."

I responded, "I hear the stories you guys tell. I've heard stories about you."

She suddenly looked like she was about to cry, and I immediately felt bad, "Why is it wrong to…I don't know, have fun? I'm seventeen, you know. I should be able to enjoy it."

"You're seventeen and in less than a year, someone's life and death will be in your hands. If you were a human or Moroi, you could have fun. You could do things other girls could."

"But you're saying I can't?" she asked.

I glanced away then, trying to approach this touchy situation as best as I could, "When I was seventeen, I met Ivan Zeklos. We weren't like you and Lissa, but we became friends, and he requested me as his guardian when I graduated. I was the top student in my school I paid attention to everything in my classes, but in the end, it wasn't enough. That's how it is in life. One slip, one distraction, and it's too late.

"Jesse's a Zeklos," she finally said.

"I know," I responded.

"Does it bother you? Does he remind you of Ivan?" Rose asked me. I didn't want to admit that it was the reason I had just held back on Jesse.

"It doesn't matter how I feel. It doesn't matter how any of us feel," I responded, realizing that it didn't matter how I felt about Rose. She was my student, and I was her mentor. Moreover though, we couldn't be distracted by a relationship when we were supposed to be protecting the Princess, I realized.

"But it does bother you," she continued, "You hurt, every day. Don't you? You miss him?"

I was surprised that she had noticed that. I had never really admitted that to anyone, much less her. Looking back again, I became serious, "It doesn't matter how I feel. They come first. Protecting them."

"Yeah, they do," Rose admitted.

A long silence fell between us –Rose might be a lot of things, but she took her responsibility as a guardian seriously.

"You told me you want to fight, to really right. Is that still true?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Rose…I can teach you, but I have to believe you're dedicated. Really dedicated. I can't have you distracted by things like this," I said, gesturing around the lounge. "Can I trust you?" I asked.

"Yes, I promise," she answered.

"All right. I'll teach you, but I need you strong. I know you hate the running, but it really is necessary. You have no idea what Strigoi are like. The school tries to prepare you, but until you've seen how strong they are and how fast… well, you can't even imagine. So I can't stop the running and conditioning. If you want to learn more about fighting, we need to add more trainings. It'll take up more of your time. You won't have much left for your homework or anything else. You'll be tired. A lot."

She thought for a minute, then looked me dead on and said, "It doesn't matter. If you tell me to do it, I'll do it."

I studied her hard, trying to see if I could trust her. I finally gave her a sharp nod and said, "We'll start tomorrow."