When I woke up the next morning, I was sprawled out across my bed in the most uncomfortable position that you could possibly imagine. When I sat up, my entire body ached; I moaned as I looked down and realized I hadn't even gotten the chance to change. I was still wearing bloody clothes from last night's fiasco. I got up, and went into the bathroom, showering a little more thoroughly than normal. When I got out, I quickly dressed and headed downstairs. I was already an hour late for practice, not that I thought we were practicing anyway after last night. When I got downstairs, Dimitri was at the table with a bowl of oatmeal.

"You were late for practice." He said, smiling slightly.

"I didn't think there'd be a practice."

"There you go, thinking again." He said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm a little sore, but I'll live. You?"

"Same." I said, rubbing my neck as I sat down across from him.

"Did I thank you for taking care of me last night? I don't really remember much from the exhaustion." He said. I nodded, and smiled.

"Yeah, you thanked me." I told him. He just nodded. "Have you checked on Adrian this morning?" I asked.

"I went down there, but he was still sleeping. I didn't want to wake him, so I left him alone." He said. I got up.

"I'm gonna go see if he's awake yet." I told him, walking out of the kitchen and down the hallway. I knocked on his door, and heard what sounded like him groaning, and then mumbling come in. I opened the door, and walked in to find him sprawled out on his bed.

"Adrian, are you alright?" I asked. He groaned and rolled over to look at me.

"I feel like I got ran over by a steam roller."

"But you're alive and that's what counts." I told him, smirking. He smiled slightly. I helped him sit up, him moaning and wincing as he moved.

"I guess you're right." He said. I sat down on his bed, and met his eyes.

"What happened last night?" I asked him.

"I went outside to smoke a cigarette. That was it. I didn't hear anything, and when I did, it was too late. He'd bit me, and then knocked me out." He said, reaching up and touching the bandage taped to the side of his neck. I frowned.

"I'm sorry." I murmured.

"It wasn't your fault. You did what you could. You got me out of there before he could actually kill me." He said, placing his hand over mine. I smiled and nodded.

"You want something to eat? I'll make you something and bring it to you." I said. He shook his head.

"I need to get up. My bones ache from sleeping so long." He said.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should stay here, I'll get you something. You don't have to get out of bed." I told him. He smirked.

"Careful Hathaway. You keep talking like this; I might actually start to think that you care." He teased, winking at me. I narrowed my eyes.

"Well, I can't have that." I said. He shook his head at me. I helped him up, and down the hall to the kitchen. I fixed him breakfast, and sat down at the table with him and Dimitri as they spoke.

"So, do you think more strigoi will come back now that that one is dead?" I asked.

"It's possible. We'll be ready this time though." Dimitri said, nodding at me once. I looked at Adrian.

"No more going outside without a guardian, or me understood."

"I love how you totally just put yourself in the category with the guardians." He said, smirking. "Confident… I like it. It's sexy on you." Dimitri's face shifted slightly, before I watched the stoic guardian mask fill his features. I decided the best way to reciprocate was with a witty Hathaway quip.

"Any emotion or state of mind is sexy on me. You should know that." I said, smirking back at him. I looked at Dimitri to see a small smile spread over his face, before he shook his head slightly. I giggled, and stood up; washing the few dishes we'd all three used. After that I helped Adrian back to his room so he could shower. I walked back downstairs, and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Going somewhere?" Dimitri asked. I shrugged.

"I think I'm gonna go run the track. Just so I can say I did something productive with my day." I told him.

"I'll go with you." He said.

"You're not in any condition to run. You need to rest." I said. He smiled and shook his head.

"I'm fine." He told me.

"Yeah, that huge black spot on your jaw and your limp says different." I said harshly. He sighed.

"I'm a big boy, Rose. I don't need to be babysat." He told me.

"Well, it's quite obvious that you don't know what's good for you. You need to be ready for the asswhoopin' you're going to get a practice tomorrow, so you need to rest up." I said, smirking. This got a laugh out of him, which was what I'd been aiming for. I felt accomplished. He shook his head.

"I told you, it won't happen again." He said.

"We'll see." I said, walking out the back door. He followed me out obviously. He sat down on the sidewalk, and watched as I took my place on the fence. He counted me off, and when he said go, I took off around the track. I ran it about five times before I slowed to a jog, and then a walk before walking over to him.

"I've never noticed how graceful you are when you run." He said.

"Thank you?" I said, making it sound more like a question. He chuckled.

"It was a compliment." He assured me. I nodded.

"Okay." I said, not really sure what to say. I sat down on the sidewalk a little ways away from him. A comfortable silence fell over us. After a few minutes of sitting there, I was sucked into Lissa's head. This time, for a different reason. I gasped, because it caught me off guard. When I realized what was really happening though, I calmed slightly. This time it wasn't fear or pain gripping her; it was happiness, pure bliss. It was almost as if I could feel it coursing through my own veins. She was kissing someone, and she was obviously thoroughly enjoying it. I was sincerely wondering who it was, until she pulled away, and I… I mean, she was staring into a set of electric blue eyes. Ozera. Oh my god, she was making out with Christian Ozera. What the hell was she thinking?

"You're so beautiful, Lissa. It's hard to believe that you're real." He murmured to her. I thought I might throw up. He ran his hands up her body, as he unbuttoned her shirt, one at a time. She didn't stop him either.

"I'm not that beautiful." She said back, her voice teetering on the edge.

"That's where you're wrong." He said. Oh. My. God. I have got to get out of her head. I kept pushing, trying to get out, but her emotion was so strong, it was like it was holding me there. I could hear Dimitri calling my name, but it was faint, like background music in a movie. You didn't really pay attention to it. He kissed his way down her now bare torso, causing her emotions to intensify. God damn it, I've got to get out of here. You are your own person, Rose. You're Rose Hathaway, not Lissa. I kept pushing and pushing, trying to get free. More and more clothes were coming off. I had to get the fuck out of here, and quick. I felt hands on my face, and heard Dimitri call my name again. I latched onto his touch, the feel of his hands on me, him calling my name to distinguish my own person. I concentrated hard for a few seconds, before I was able to pull myself out of her head. When I was back in my own head, I was caught off guard by how close Dimitri was to me. Our faces were only inches apart, causing me to gasp slightly.

"What happened? Is Lissa okay?" He asked. I shook my head, trying to get the disturbing images out of my head.

"She's fine." I said, trying to keep my eyes on his and not let them drift down his face. I think he saw my internal struggle as well because he released my face and stepped back. I stood up; rubbing my face to keep myself in the present and not letting her suck me back in.

"What happened then? You were sucked into her head like something was wrong, I thought-." I shook my head.

"I'm sucked into her head when she feels any kind of strong emotion." I said, gritting my teeth slightly. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Then what was happening that you got sucked into her head?" He asked. I looked down, running my hands through my hair.

"I'm scarred for life." I muttered, not having to say anything. He coughed a laugh, and shook his head.

"Rose, I'm so sorry you had to witness…"

"Luckily, I was able to force myself out of her head before they… went all the way." I said, wincing slightly at the thought of having to witness that. "God, I'll never be able to get that out of my head. They've permanently seared my brain." I stood, and paced the sidewalk. Dimitri chuckled. "It's not funny." I snapped, but couldn't help laugh when I saw his face.

"It is funny and you know it."

"It's funny to you because you didn't have to see it." I said.

"But you telling me was torture enough." He teased. I groaned, and ran my hands through my hair again. He smirked. "You'll be fine."

"I'm going to have nightmares." I snapped, pushing him playfully. I sighed. "I should probably go check on Landon. I haven't been back to see him since the other day."

"He was at practice this morning."

"So, his ankle must be better."I said. He nodded.

"He was fighting pretty hard, so he must be back to a hundred percent." He said.

"I should go check on Adrian then. He wasn't exactly one hundred percent." I told him. He nodded. "I'll see you in the morning." I turned and started towards the house.

"Hey Rose?" He called.

"Yeah?"

"Sweet dreams." He said, chuckling. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I hate you, Belikov." I muttered, before walking inside. I went down the hall to Adrian's room, and knocked. He didn't say come in, nor answer the door, so I knocked again.

"I'm coming." He called. I waited. When he opened the door, the first thing I noticed was that he didn't have a shirt on. Second thing I noticed was that all he had on was a towel.

"Woah… Uhm-." I said, averting my eyes to his face. He chuckled.

"Hello to your too, Ms. Hathaway."

"Uhm… I was just-." I started. There wasn't any denying that Adrian was dead sexy.

"My eyes are up here." He said, motioning to his face.

"I wasn't-. I was just coming to check on you." I told him.

"Well, come on in, so I can get dressed." He said, opening the door wider so I could come in. He shut the door behind him, and motioned to the couch.

"Make yourself at home. I'll be back." He said, walking into his room, and closing the door behind him. I sat on the couch until he finally come out fully dressed. I was thankful for that much.

"So, you were coming to check on me, huh? I already told you Rose, if you aren't careful… I'm going to actually start to think you care." He said.

"I do care or I wouldn't have saved your royal ass last night." I told him, smirking as he walked over to the table with all his liquor on it, and poured himself a glass of something expensive no doubt.

"Drink?" He asked.

"I'll pass. I have practice in the morning." I said.

"Awe, come on… One drink won't kill you." He said.

"No, but Dimitri might." I said. "I don't want to take the chance of him kicking you out because of me."

"Careful Rose, your emotions are showing."

"Shut up, Ivashkov." I muttered, rolling my eyes. I took the glass from him, and took a large gulp of it.

"Happy?" I asked.

"Extremely." He told me. I sighed.

"Well, I'm glad to see your doing better. I'm going to head back to my room and sleep now."

"I'll see you later." He said, something hiding behind his words. When I reached the door, I turned back to him and narrowed my eyes.

"Stay out of my dreams, Ivashkov." I told him. He frowned.

"Awe, come on." He started. I shook my head.

"I mean it." I told him. He nodded.

"Whatever." He said. I smiled.

"Night Adrian."

"Night little dhampir." He said, as I shut the door behind him. As I started to pass Landon's door, I stopped and knocked.

"Come in." He called. When I opened the door, he smiled.

"Hey there. I was wondering where you've been." He said.

"Sorry I didn't come back. I had some stuff to deal with."

"It's okay." He said.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"I went to practice today, so my ankles better. It hurts now that I'm off of it, but I'll live." He assured me. "I heard you were involved in some strigoi business that happened the other night."

"Yeah, Adrian was attacked. I was the one that found him." I explained.

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine now. Still Adrian." I told him. He nodded.

"Good. I'm glad you're all alright." I yawned.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Rose." He said.

"Night Landon." I said, before walking out. When I got to my room, I collapsed onto my bed, and fell into unconsciousness.