Sorry for the mix-up with the last chapter! Again, I have no idea what happened, since it was acting wonky for me, too. I think it's okay now—it shows the right chapter all the time now, instead of half the time—so if you haven't checked it out, you might want to...

Sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed. I might be busy all next week and weekend, so I have no idea if I'll be able to update.

Dimitri didn't say anything about what had happened the next day. Or, really, for the next few days. In fact, he hadn't said much at all to me ever since we'd almost kissed.

I felt a curious mix of both relief and disappointment at his silence as the days wore on.

However, I hadn't had much time to obsess over the his recent muteness, as two other things slowly prioritized themselves: Stan's slow downfall, and Homecoming.

The hubbub about The Stan Incident had mostly died down, but things had changed. Stan wasn't as nasty as he had once been, probably because he knew that if he was, the other students would just talk back. And while people had stopped shouting "Rosie the Riveter!" in the halls, I was still called it sometimes. I'd permanently earned their respect.

The more prominent issue, though, was Homecoming. Both girls and guys were busy obsessing over dates. Christian ans Lissa were going together, and, from what I'd heard from Mason and Eddie, Adrian was trying to get up the nerve to ask Sydney. Eddie was planning on asking Jill. I'd been surprised initially, but the more I thought about it, the more obvious his regard for her was. It was really more about whether or not Jill liked him back.

And Mason? I was only hoping that he wouldn't ask me. Mia shared my sentiments, claiming that she wasn't looking forward to such an awkward situation, but I was pretty sure she had ulterior motives. Such as secretly crushing on him.

Not that she'd admit it.

I was contemplating subtly hinting at Mason to ask her out—which, knowing me, probably wouldn't be subtle at all—but I wasn't sure if interfering was such a good idea. After all, I wasn't sure if Mason liked Mia back, since as far as I knew, he still liked me. Also, Mia wasn't even confirming my suspicions, so my intervening on her behalf was not necessarily something that would be met with gratitude.

In fact, I had just about ruled it out when Mason came up to me with a question during study hall.

From his nervous expression, I already knew it would be about the dance. Asking girls to dances seemed to be one of the only two things that got him nervous.

The other was One Direction, but I couldn't blame him for that. Watching Lissa freak out over them was a pretty scary experience.

Anyhow, I watched Mason walk over to me, trying not to look just as nervous as him, because believe me, I was. Only, it was for a slightly different reason.

He awkwardly stood there for a moment, shifting his weight, before saying, "So, Rose..." and trailing off.

It was, in that moment, hard to believe that this was the boy who, in first grade, had demanded I play tag with him every day and whenever he was it, would chase me, calling, "Hath-a-way, don't run away!"

And yet, here he was.

He cleared his throat. "About the dance..."

I grimaced slightly. "Mason..." I started, my heart sinking.

He looked up, hopeful, even though my tone probably indicated that he was about to be let down. "Yeah?"

"Mason," I tried again. "I'm sorry, but I just don't like you in that way. You're great, but—"

His eyes widened. "No! No, believe me, that ended last year. The feeling is mutual."

"What?" I said stupidly. From the way our conversation had started, you'd have thought he was trying to ask me. I couldn't help the relief that washed over me as my surprise subsided.

"No! It's about...something else." And surprise gave way to confusion.

"Spill, Mase."

He sighed. "I really like this girl..." he started.

"And you're too chicken to ask her to Homecoming," I finished. He tried to glare at me, but couldn't, probably because it isn't really a good idea to glare at the person you're trying to get to help you.

It was my turn to sigh. "And you're assuming that I'll automatically know what to do, because all girls are the same and therefore will all do the same thing," I deadpanned.

He fidgeted. I tried to help him. "Unless it's Camille or Jesse or Stan, I won't judge," I offered. He gave me a look of befuddlement.

"Rose, Jesse and Stan are male," he said.

"Really? I couldn't tell," I said innocently. He tried not to smirk.

I turned serious. "Mason. Spill."

"—a," he mumbled so quietly that I only caught the last part of her name.

"Who?"

"—a."

"Mason, if you don't speak up, I refuse to help you," I said.

He glared at the floor. "Mia."

I grinned like a little kid on Christmas morning. "Mia? Mia Rinaldi? Our Mia? Ashford, you have until lunchtime to ask her to the dance before I chop off your dick for chickening out."

"But what if—?" he started, but I cut him off.

"No buts. You are asking her out."

"But—"

"And she won't reject you. Trust me."

"But—"

I glared at him exasperatedly. "Mason Ashford, you have until lunchtime to ask her to homecoming before you begin losing body parts. Capische?"

He sighed. "Capische, caposche."

"Good. Now go back to your desk and start planning, Ashford."

He walked back, but stopped when I said, "By the way..."

He turned and I grinned. "When she says yes, you so owe me."

By the time lunch rolled around, I was the only one without a date. Eddie and asked Jill before classes, and Adrian had managed to rope Sydney into going with him in the Bio class they were both in. And, of course, Mason had manned up and asked Mia, whom I would definitely have fun teasing over her initial denial of her own feelings.

I was planning on going stag, since there wasn't anyone I really wanted to go with. Well, there was, but I couldn't really show up with my teacher, so it was a moot point.

All that was really left was dress shopping, and we quickly decided to go this weekend. Unfortunately, we needed two teachers to accompany us. Alberta volunteered for one. That left one empty spot, and no one else had agreed yet.

"We could ask Mr. Tanner. Or Ms. Karp?" Lissa suggested.

Mia shook her head. "Nah, they only get weekends off, and they're going out."

"Yuri?" suggested Sydney.

"Busy," I said glumly. We all sat in silence for a minute before Eddie popped in.

"Belikov," he suggested ominously.

Jill gave him a look. "Eddie, do you really think that would work?"

Eddie grinned at her, gaze softening. Jill had managed to get her counselor to switch her schedule around so that she got moved into our lunch period, a fact that had Eddie jumping for joy.

"Get Rose to ask," he said. All heads swiveled to me. I sighed.

"I can ask, but I don't think he'll go."

That was enough for the female population of the table, and Lissa, Mia, Sydney, and Jill all squealed, conveniently forgetting that a 6'7" Russian was not likely to say yes.

I popped the question during dinner.

"So you know how you need two teachers to accompany you if you go off-campus on the weekends in a group?" I started. He raised an eyebrow.

"I am aware of that fact, yes," he said, nodding.

"Me and Lissa and Mia and Jill and Sydney were thinking of going dress shopping this weekend for Homecoming, so could you...maybe...gowithus?" I stammered, hoping that he wasn't laughing internally and thinking, Wow, this girl is stupid.

His lips twitched in amusement. "You want me to go dress shopping with you?"

I blushed. "No one else could go with us, besides Ms. Petrov."

He still looked like he was trying not to laugh. "And what's in it for me, Roza?"

I secretly did a happy dance at the nickname, although he'd said it plenty of times before. "Um..." I racked my brain, trying to think of something.

"How about you stop complaining about the drills we do, including the running, diving, and conditioning?" he proposed.

Of course, that was easier said than done, but as a teenage girl, it sounded worth it to me.

I smiled. "We have a deal, Comrade."

It was the most conversation we'd had in days.

"Why are you going stag to the dance, Rose?" asked Lissa that night after I told her that yes, we now had Dimitri to accompany us. I froze.

"Um...I don't like anyone," I said.

She rolled her green eyes at me. "Sure. But you could go as friends with someone."

I made a face. "That's what people do when they decide to be rejects together."

"You've never had a problem with it before. Seriously, is there someone you like?"

"No," I said, although in all honesty, it sounded false to my ears.

She looked at me gently. "Rose, you're a terrible liar."

I sighed. "Lissa, there's nothing to tell."

She sighed in exasperation. "Just because I have a date, that doesn't mean I'm oblivious, Rose."

"I don't like anyone, Lissa," I replied.

She gave me a dubious look.

Luckily for me, the lights turned out then, and we both groped our ways to our respective beds and climbed in. Her voice floated through the darkness.

"Don't think I'm letting this go, Rose..."

Uh-oh, Lissa's onto something. Should Rose spill or not? Review and tell me what you think!