RPOV
After going into my dorm, and after Dimitri explained that I'd have my first session in the afternoon, I threw myself on my bed. Kirova hadn't given me my schedule yet, so I didn't have to go to any classes, thank God. During my time alone, I slipped into Lissa's head.
"I'm so happy you're back!" a girl squealed. Lissa, I'm assuming, gave a sheepish smile.
"Thanks, Natalie," she said. "Has anything changed since we've been gone?"
The girl—Natalie—thought about it. "Well Mia Rinaldi is dating Aaron," she replied. "That's about all I know." She shrugged halfheartedly. She smiled warmly at Lissa. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you back! There were so many rumors going around. A lot of them about Rose getting pregnant. Some of the other kids said Rose is such a whore she'd just abort the baby." I felt Lissa's anger and frustration through the bond. "I knew the rumors weren't true!"
I slipped back into my own head, grumbling angrily. I definately was not a whore, but everyone thought I was. I rolled onto my side and pouted. The sudden knock on my door made me jump a little. When I stormed over and opened, I was surprised to see Mason Ashford, one of my other good friend and a dhampir as well.
"Hey, Rosie," he said jokingly. I laughed and playfully punched his arm. "Mind if I come in?" I moved aside and he stepped in. He laid himself down on my bed and I rolled my eyes. "I heard you and Lissa came back, but I wanted to see it for myself. Can't go to the Moroi dorms without getting caught. Good thing you're a dhampir." He winked at me. I laughed.
"You never change," I said.
"Everyone's saying you got escorted by Belikov," Mason said, suddenly serious. "Did you?"
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" I said a bit defensively.
"The 'big deal' is that Belikov's basically a god around here," Mason said. "From what I've heard, he's Strigoi-killing machine. He's strict, emotionless, and totally antisocial. But everyone respects him."
"Dim—guardian Belikov told Kirova that he'd be mentoring me," I said nervously.
Mason grimaced. "I feel bad for you. He's really hardcore. I mean really hardcore."
I felt my heart drop a little.
Mason and I continued to talk until he had to go to class. I had a female guardian, Celeste I think was her name, tell me around noon that I could go to lunch. When I did, I felt everyone's eyes on me, but I tried to ignore them. I got my lunch and found Lissa sitting with some of our friends.
After lunch, I walked Lissa to her dorm, hugged her, and was about halfway to mine when I bumped into Dimitri.
"Oh, sorry," I stammered, blushing.
"It's fine," Dimitri reassured. "I was just going to check on the Princess."
I felt a little twinge of disappointment, but brushed it off. "She's fine," I said. "I just walked Lissa to her dorm."
Dimitri nodded. "How are you?" he asked.
"Me? Oh, um— I-I'm fine," I stuttered. "I'm fine, thank you." My cheeks turned a deep red.
Why am I blushing? I thought harshly. I never blush!
I heard Dimitri chuckle softly. I look up at him. He had a small, but warm, smile on his face. Those deep, melted-dark-chocolate brown eyes twinkled and danced as they looked at me. My heart beat faster.
"You look nice when you blush," Dimitri said, almost inaudible. In an instant, he became aware of what he said and put on a blank mask. "I'll see you at our training session," he said flatly.
"Um, okay?" It came out more as a question. He had seemed so relaxed, so calm, when he was around me. But when he said that, it was as if a switch was flipped or something. Giving me a nod, Dimitri hurriedly walked off, leaving me confused.
DPOV
Roza, Roza, Roza—she's all I think about, and I only met her hours ago. She looks so familiar! Her big hazel eyes, tanned skin, her hair— God I just want to run my fingers through her beautiful, silky looking hair. I just want to hold her close to me and kiss her and, and— And what? Why do I suddenly feel for Roza? She's my student now and she's a dhampir. I'm fully aware that it's illegal for two dhampirs to be romantically involved, but why do I suddenly have feelings for a dhampir I just met? I went to the guardian wing of the school and found my room. Closing the door behind me, I locked it and sat at the foot of my bed.
Does she even feel that way about me? These unexplanable emotions? I doubt it. She's still young, she'll find someone she truly has feelings for and she'll pursue them. I'm too old for her. I'm a twenty-four year old man, I shouldn't be feeling for a seventeen year old teen. But she's more than just a child, just seeing how much she looks out for the Princess, how she spent two years with the Princess, in the real world, and was able to evade Strigoi detection—unbelievable.
I ran a hand through my hair. Every time I saw Roza I felt my heart speed up and butterflies in my stomach. Like a teenager with a crush. Except the sensations I get from Roza seem far beyond a 'crush.' It's a deep emotional feeling.
I just want to kiss her, I've wanted to kiss her since I met her. I sighed.
"What's wrong with me?" I whispered.
RPOV [MANY HOURS LATER]
It was time for my practice session with Dimitri, so, since the Academy was nice enough to buy me some clothes for the meantime, I changed into some shorts (that ended to my knees), and a sports bra. I put my hair in a ponytail and clipped my bangs back with some bobbypins. When I reached the gym, I was five minutes late, and Dimitri was already in, sitting on a workout mat, looking irresistable. He wore sweats, a short sleeved T-shirt that clung to his muscles, but his hair was still in a ponytail. I was a bit weary (from his earlier emotion change) about approaching him, but I had to.
"Hey," I called. "Sorry I'm late."
Dimitri looked hunched over something, hearing my voice, he straightened up and looked at me. I could see a book in his hands.
"You're five minutes late," he called.
"I said I was sorry," I countered.
He held back a smile. He motioned me over and told me to sit down. I sat across from him, the smell of his aftershave danced around me and I tried not to focus on how good it smelled.
"How much do you remember on fighting?" he asked.
I thought for a moment. "I remember enough," I said. "Why?"
"We're going to be working on that," he said. "But first, you're going to be running. I'll be with you." The thought of Dimitri running beside me made my heart explode in my chest. But the thought of running made me irritated. When we went to the track, we started running. But Dimitri's long legs and the fact that he has the body of a god made him go far ahead of me. "Hurry up," he called. I decided to take bigger steps and go harder and by doing that I ended up tripping. I landed smack-dab on my face. I sat up, holding back any tears that wanted to betray me, and growled in frustration.
Good going, Hathaway, I thought bitterly. You humiliated yourself in front of Dimitri. Nice.
Dimitri rushed over, knelt in front of me (very close, might I add), and inspected my face. "Are you hurting?" he asked. I shook my head, out of words from the thought of having him this close. No one was out, since technically it's nighttime (or daytime in the human world). I was able to see a very light pink to Dimitri's delicious looking lips, and saw how his eyes glittered in the sun's rays. I saw how his skin was a very nice golden tan and how his those unruly strands of hair framed his face perfectly. Dimitri noticed me studying him and stopped whatever question he was going to ask. We sat (and knelt) there in a heavy silence. I swear my heart sounded like a train in the silence. I hadn't noticed Dimitri was inching forward until I felt his breath on my lips. I gasped.
"Roza. . ." he whispered. His lips brushed against mine when he spoke. I gulped.
He's going to kiss me! I thought excitedly.
I moved forward just a centimeter and I felt him kiss me. Really kiss me. His hand tangled itself in my hair, his other hand going to my waist. My hand, moving without my brain telling it to, undid Dimitri's ponytail and tangled itself into Dimitri's silky hair. I felt fireworks and explosions from the kiss. Dimitri's lips were as soft as they looked. His mouth opened slightly and I felt something brush against my mouth.
Oh my God, I thought. Is that his—?
When I opened my mouth just a fraction, his tongue bolted in. I gave a squeakish sound and I heard a chuckle rumble from him.
After about a minute or two of kissing, and Dimitri's tongue doing magic in my mouth, we separated. I felt lightheaded, like cotton balls had been placed in my head. My mouth felt a bit swollen, and I was out of breath. Dimitri, from my cotton-filled head, looked out of breath and a bit dazed, too.
"Roza," he murmured. He apparently wasn't done. He kissed my jaw, and continued kissing to my neck before burying his face into my hair. "Roza."
I was so overwhelmed I began trembling.
We were training and then. . . and then, I thought through the haze. The kissing and these feelings. How do I describe these feelings? Something through all of this seemed to have awoken some little memory in my mind. Dimitri's face was still buried in my hair, but I remembered him doing that before. He always loved my hair, didn't he?
What the hell? I thought, frightened.