A/N: Hello! To make up for the short chapter last time, I've made this one especially long. Hope you like it!

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The ground smelled of rubber. The red carpeted floor had recently been vacuumed and no trace of its former filth was left to be found. And how did I know this, you wonder? Well, let me explain: The turbulent state that my mind had been in while I'd stormed out of my room, disoriented my senses and left the girl, lying in the hallway just outside, unnoticed. Thus, making her an excellent object for me to trip over.

"Adrian! Adrian!" Jill exclaimed. "Are you all right? I'm so sorry!" I felt two hands desperately pulling at my shoulders, directing my upper body off the floor.

"I'm fine" I groaned. "My elbows hurt a bit, 'cause I tried to break the fall with them. But besides that…" I mentally checked my body for other injuries"…I'm fine."

Jill sighed in relief. I realized now that my head was in her lap, her dark and curly hair tickling my face. Our eyes met and I quickly broke away from her gaze. It was there in the back of my head, an unsettling thought. I focused on the rest of Jill's face and now I understood it. Her eyes held such power, stability and knowledge that they had me forget; she was only fifteen. Her cheeks were pink and round, her features as soft as a Moroi's could get, but nevertheless soft. 'What the hell am I doing?'

I rose up from her lap and settled myself in sitting position, leaning against the wall, opposite her. I cleared my throat. "Jill-" I began, but only her name made my heart skip a beat, forcing me to start over. "Jill, do you know how old I am?"

She lifted her left eyebrow in suspicion. "Twenty-one."

I nodded in approval. "Right, so you do know there's an age difference between us."

Jill frowned. "Well, I'm not stupid, if that's what you mean." She said annoyed. "I know that Eddie's been putting whatever you're thinking in your head, and I also know that you don't care."

I was taken aback at the ferocity in which she'd just expressed herself, but tried to compose myself. I took a deep breath and tried again. "Of course I know you're not stupid, but that's not the point. The point is that while I do care about you, we can't start something. I'm too old for you."

She glared at me. "Please don't." She said. "Don't pretend like you're protecting me from you, just so that you can feel better about yourself."

I stared at her and felt my temper rising. "Jill, I'm just saying that for your own sake, you should stay away from me."

This sent her flying up. She stood and looked down at me with anger. "Don't you dare tell me what to do, Adrian! Don't you dare act like I'm some defenceless little royal you have to protect because I'm too damn lazy to learn how to! I'm not weak and I'm not a pretty doll that you can dress up and play around with!" She cried. Unshed tears sparkled in her eyes and she quickly blinked them away and turned away and started for the stairs.

Reality hit me, I stumbled up on my feet and tried to catch up with the girl who had just screamed at me and was going away. I had to stop her, so I ran up to her, caught hold of her tiny wrist and swung her around. She was crying now and as one of her tears slid down her cheek, I lifted my right hand and gently wiped it away with my thumb. I tried to meet Jill's eyes but her face was turned away, the jade green focused on the floor in shame. She had slipped. She had said that she was strong but still the tears had made their way through.

Despite that, I couldn't help but to admire her bravery. She had finally let her true feelings about becoming a royal, burst out. I wanted to praise her for it, but it was kind of hard when she kept staring at the floor.

"Jill." I said and felt that silly tingly in my stomach as I said her name. "I'm sorry, okay? You were right, you're not weak and it was stupid of me to tell you what to do." Her eyes were still firmly focused on the ground. So I continued. "You've probably had enough of that already from everyone else."

This made her jerk her head up, and just like the click of a newly turned lock our gazes were locked in place. You could basically hear the click as our eyes were in the position they were supposed to be: facing the others. Her tears were once again making their way through and her eyebrows were pulled together in despair.

"I'm so sick of it, Adrian. I'm so tired of pretending to be something I'm not. Nowadays, I have nowhere to go. No one to talk to. Because if I do tell someone how I feel, I'll be weak. I have to support Lissa. I have to support my mom, otherwise she'll worry. And most of all, I have to…" She put her hand on mine that rested on her cheek. She gently squeezed it.

She bit her lip to stop herself from sobbing. "'Most of all'…what?" I asked her.

She let out a cry. "And most of all…" She continued. "Most of all I want to support you. I can't be weak if I'm going to help you. I can't."

I felt as if someone had stabbed me in the chest. I had been causing her to suffer. I had been weak and so consumed by my own problems, relying on her to help me that I had done absolutely nothing to return the favour. 'Okay, maybe not nothing. I've tried, but perhaps not enough.'

I pulled her in my arms and held her. "Hey, now you insult my manliness." I said with an air of pretence hurt. "I'm thankful, so, so, thankful, but you've already helped me more than you can imagine. You've given me so much." I pulled my head back so that I could lean my forehead against hers." So, let me give you something."

Her face immediately flushed red and she said with a stammering voice "I only want you."

This sent my blood rushing, my breath heavy and my lips against were both outcasts among our own. Both imposed with obligations and expectations we'd never asked for. It was childish, it was selfish to whine about it, but that was who we were. We were weak on our own. We tried but we still couldn't make it. It was crucial for us to stay together, otherwise we'd break.

Jill's lips were soft and warm. I brushed them gently with mine and she responded with a light kiss of her own. We were in each others' arms, locked tight and stood there in the hallway kissing. It was in the middle of Vampire night, but we still couldn't risk to be seen so we moved to my room.

We lay there on my bed, my arms wrapped around her tight. Our clothes still on, by the way. It was enough for the both of us to just lie there next to each other. It was enough for me to kiss her neck and feel her hand touch my cheek. Our green eyes gazed at one another, taking in everything about them. As I brushed my hand against her cheek, a realization struck me. She felt so real. I could feel her presence, hear her breathe, see her move. I could feel how warm her body was next to mine.

A vague memory replayed itself in my mind.
"What are you, Rose Hathaway? Are you real? You're a dream within a dream. I'm afraid touching you will make me wake up. You'll disappear."

I'd been in Rose's room, kissing her, touching her. Doing a hell more than I'd ever done with Jill. Yet, I'd felt that way. I'd felt like she wasn't real, like she'd been a dream. 'Maybe it was because she was never really something for me to begin with. Perhaps she was supposed existe in another world outside of mine.'

My thoughts were cut off by Jill's beautiful voice. "What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"Rose." I answered without thinking. I felt Jill flinch and I immediately gripped my arms around her, pinning her down. "No, Jill, I didn't mean it like that! I was only thinking of her because I realized how much more you mean to me than she ever did." I felt her struggling little body relax. "I'm begging you, please believe me."

I tilted my head and saw her give a small smile, which triggered forth my own. "Ok, I believe you." She said and kissed me on my smiling lips. "But if we're going to talk about other people, I might as well confess I was thinking about Eddie."

I pulled my lips from her and stared at her aghast. "What?"

She started laughing at my assumingly, horrified expression. I frowned and stared at her with a serious face. Jill stopped laughing and smiled gently. "Adrian, you shouldn't look like that. Serious expressions don't suit you, makes you look like an old man." She teased. "And I was thinking about Eddie, because he's probably gonna notice my bed is empty."

"Right." I said. "But is he always watching you? Don't you have other guards as well?"

"Well, yeah, but he's the only one I have right now at Court. I managed to sneak out because he's not around all the time, I wouldn't force him to do that." She said and added with a sigh. "Even though he'd probably want to. He's very serious about his job."

Jealousy made its way through my mind and I therefore said mockingly "He probably just wants to be around you, the pervert." Jill stared at me in bewilderment. "Eddie? God no! He's like an overprotective brother, that's all. He's been a really good friend. Besides, he cares about someone else anyway." She added a little smug.

I found myself being relieved and curious at the same time. "Eddie? Like someone? You mean, like a girl, like a person?" Jill giggled and nodded. "He told you?" I asked and she shook her head in response.

"I figured it out. ", she simply said.

"So, you mean that mister serious-can't-get-serious-enough- guardian actually likes someone. As in likes a person, as in a person at court?" I asked.

Jill nodded once again and answered with a really smug smile "As in Mia Rinaldi."

I couldn't help laughing at the idea of Eddie Castile and Mia together. They were both fighters, they were both serious and they both had determination. Eddie was tough and had helped Rose in her prison-break, so that he could keep the promise he'd made to his dead friend. I'd heard all sorts of things Mia had done, all horrible but she had done them in order to accomplish her goal.

Just like me and Jill, they were alike. Even though people might appear to be different, it's what lies beneath the surface that counts. I might smoke and drink, behave like a psycho at times, while Jill was the quiet, little girl who wanted to please everyone, but deep down we were the same.

The person who'd been first to say "Opposites attract" really needed get his facts straight.

"I really have to go now." Jill said as the twilight approached. "Otherwise, they'll send a search-party for me." We were still lying on the bed, my chin resting on her head. It was so comfortable that neither of us dared to break our embrace. Eventually, we both, unwillingly, got up and headed for the door, while kissing. We reached the door and her green eyes smiled at me as she kissed me goodbye.

As Jill departed, I couldn't help but to feel an unsettling feeling in my stomach. The dream still haunted me, it had felt so real. It had felt like spirit. Perhaps my powers were evolving, but that meant that the dream had a meaning and as long as I didn't know how to interpret it, it scared the hell out of me.

I closed the door and did my usual hair-ruffling-while-annoyed thing. I was so happy, but still there was something bugging me. My rumbling stomach interrupted my thoughts. 'I need to eat', I realized. I headed towards the restaurants downstairs (aware that Jill had already gone home, so I needn't to worry about her being seen with me) and stopped at once when I reached the entrance of the little café.

I could sense Lissa even before I entered. She was standing by the counter, holding a doughnut and passed it to the person opposite her, who was someone I hadn't expected to see. She had her dark, long hair behind her ear and wore the guardians' usual black clothes and the two women seemed to be in deep conversation with each other. Opposite Lissa stood Rose…

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A/N: Hi everyone! Please let me hear your thoughts about the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!