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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 4

RPOV

"Just talk to her already!" I said, nudging Christian's shoulder. "I didn't ask her name for nothing, right?"

We were sitting in the cafeteria, having lunch. Lissa had walked in ten minutes ago with her clique of friends and Christian had been staring at her since then – at least, until Lissa had looked his way for a brief moment.

"No," he said adamantly. "I'm still mentally preparing myself."

I rolled my eyes. "You've been mentally preparing yourself for two weeks now!"

"It's not that easy," he mumbled, looking down at his lap. "And she probably has a boyfriend."

"You mean that blond dude sitting next to her?" I asked, looking at the table where Lissa was sitting. There was a guy sitting next to her, looking at her with adoration clear on his face. Lissa didn't seem to notice, though. "I don't think so. It looks more like he's got a crush on her. So if you want to be her boyfriend, you gotta swoop in now before it's too late."

Christian grumbled something I couldn't understand and got up. "It doesn't matter. I'm probably not her type anyway." I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off. "I've got to go to class. I'll see you later."

I sighed and watched him leave. After a few minutes, I got up too and left the cafeteria. It was almost time to pick up Liam from school anyway.

I'd been babysitting Dimitri's kids for the past two weeks now, and so far everything was going well between his kids and me. Especially with Liam and Alisa. It was a little harder with Inna, though. Mostly, she just spent her time in her room and only talked to me when she had to. I just let her be, figuring she needed more time.

"Hey Liam!" I greeted as he came running towards me. I picked him up and twirled him around, which made him laugh. "How are you today?" I asked as I put him back on his feet.

"I'm great!" he said grinning, sliding his hand into mine as we started walking back home. "It was David's birthday and the teacher let us eat cake for his birthday!"

"Was it good?" I asked.

He nodded. "David gave me another piece to take home so I can eat it later."

I smiled. "That's great. You gonna share it with me?"

"Alright, if you want some," he said reluctantly. "Not all of it, though," he added quickly.

I laughed. "I was just joking, Liam. You can have it." He smiled wickedly. "But first lunch," I said. "Afterwards, you can eat the cake."

"Okay," he agreed.

After lunch, we watched a movie together and then he went off to play with his toys. Just then, Alisa and Inna came home from school. The bus stop was less than half a mile away so it was not necessary for me to come and pick them up there.

Like always, Inna just went upstairs before I could say hi to her. Alisa gave me a sad smile and then walked to the kitchen. I followed her and sat down at the kitchen table.

"So, how was school?"

"It was okay," she said shrugging, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. She plopped down next to me and took a bite of the apple.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. Normally, she was more talkative, but today she seemed a little down. "Did something happen?"

"I'm fine," she said between bites. Then she frowned. "I just got a lot of homework to do."

I nudged her gently. "You want some help?"

She looked up at me and smiled. "That'd be great, thanks."

A few hours later, the homework was done. Alisa was starting to get hungry again, but I didn't think it was a good idea to make her a snack because Dimitri would be home soon and then she couldn't eat her dinner.

"It's too late to eat a snack now," I said to Alisa as she moaned about how hungry she was. "Your father will be home any minute now anyway."

Just on cue, Dimitri walked in. Alisa jumped up from the couch and ran toward him, hugging him.

"I'm hungry, Dad!" she said. Then she looked up at him with an excited glint in her eyes. "Can we go to the Pizza Hut?"

He smiled. "Sure, Alisa."

Liam, who'd been playing with his toys, exclaimed, "I wanna go to the Pizza Hut, too!"

Dimitri chuckled. "We'll go in bit, okay?"

I got up from the couch and took my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. "I would've made them something, but it was already kind of late and I figured if they'd eat a snack now they wouldn't be able to eat their dinner anymore."

"That's okay, Rose," Dimitri said, giving me a small smile.

I smiled back. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"No, don't go!" Alisa protested, taking my hand. I gave her a questioning look. "Can't she go with us?" she asked, looking up at her father again.

"Oh, um, that's okay, Alisa," I said quickly. "I don't want to disturb-"

"Can Rose come?" Liam asked excitedly, taking my other hand. "Please, Daddy?"

Dimitri shrugged. "I'm okay with that. That is, if Rose wants to go," he added, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, sure," I said, hesitating only for a moment.

Dimitri smiled. "Great. Where's Inna?"

"She's upstairs," I answered.

"Can you go get Inna for me?" Dimitri asked Alisa.

She nodded and practically ran out of the room.

"So, did they behave?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah, they were all good. Isn't that right, Liam?" I said, ruffling his hair.

He grinned, nodding. "We were very good, Dad."

"That's great, son," he said, lifting him. "Why don't we go get you ready so we can go to the Pizza Hut, huh?"

"I can get him ready for you," I said quickly.

Dimitri glanced at me, uncertain. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I don't mind," I said, offering him a smile.

"Thanks," he said as he put Liam back down. "I'll go check on Alisa and Inna, then."

Fifteen minutes later, we were all piled into Dimitri's car and on our way to the Pizza Hut. It was crowded, but after waiting for a few moments we managed to get hold of a table.

"Well, well, look who's here," I heard a voice saying behind me.

I turned in my seat and saw Adrian looking down at me, a huge grin spreading across his face. I groaned inwardly. Off all the people, it had to be him who'd come here to embarrass me.

"Didn't expect to see you here tonight, cupcake," he said, squeezing my shoulder.

I groaned and Alisa giggled. "I thought I'd said you should stop giving me nicknames," I said with clenched teeth. I glanced at Dimitri to see him looking at Adrian with a small frown on his face.

"You know I like to tease you," he said winking.

"Well, not now, please," I grumbled.

"Oh really? You used to love it when I teased you," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Adrian!" I hissed, feeling my cheeks heat in embarrassment. I looked at him pointedly, silently telling him to go away.

Adrian glanced around the table and I could see he wanted to make another comment, but he refrained himself and said, "Fine, fine. I'll see you tomorrow…sweetheart."

When he saw the look on my face, he laughed quietly and then walked back to his friends, who were sitting a few feet away from us.

Clearing my throat, I said, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay," Dimitri said, giving me a small smile.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Alisa said, giggling.

"He was," I admitted, "but not anymore."

"Why not?"

It was probably too complicated to explain this kind of thing to an eight-year-old, so instead of trying I just said, "Because boys are mean. Stay away from them as long as you can."

"Not all boys are mean!" Liam said frowning.

"That's true. You're not mean," I said, smiling at him.

He smiled back, seeming satisfied with my answer.

"Well, I'm going to check out the buffet," I announced. I was pretty hungry by now and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the pizza. "Who's coming with me?"

Liam and Alisa immediately followed my lead. I took a slice of everything and then returned to our table, digging in. By the time Dimitri and Inna were back, I'd already eaten three slices. I went back for seconds and when Alisa said she couldn't finish her pizza anymore, I ate her slice too. I wasn't really hungry anymore, but it would be a waste to throw it away.

"What?" I asked after swallowing my last bite. They were all staring at me weirdly. "Do I have something on my face?"

Liam and Alisa both giggled.

"No," Dimitri said quickly. He cleared his throat and continued, "I've just…well, I've never seen a girl eat like that. You sure have an appetite." I frowned, wondering if that was a bad thing, but then he smiled and said, "I like that."

I just smiled back before averting my eyes quickly, a little shy all of a sudden. Maybe I had eaten a little bit too much. But I'd been so hungry and pizza was my favorite food. Well, I guess Dimitri would think twice next time before asking me to come to the Pizza Hut.

"So, how much do I owe you?" I asked Dimitri as we left.

"Nothing," he said.

I stopped walking. "No, I can't let you-"

He smiled and interrupted gently, "Yes , you can. It's my treat."

"But-"

"Seriously, Rose, it's fine," he said, still smiling.

"Thanks," I said, smiling tentatively.

"You're welcome."

"Ugh!"

I stopped walking when I noticed Adrian making out with a girl against the wall, outside the Pizza Hut. Of course, he'd abandoned his friends again to find some girl, in the hopes of getting laid tonight. Typical Adrian.

Dimitri glanced up and noticed them, too. Luckily, the kids had run ahead of us and already gotten to the car so they didn't have to witness Adrian sticking his tongue into some random girl's throat.

Apparently, Adrian had heard my disapproval, because he looked up and when he noticed me, he grinned.

"Didn't know you were still here," he said, turning away from the girl.

"Yeah, we're leaving now," I said. "And here's some piece of advice: you might want to continue that-" I nodded at the girl, who was glaring at me now "-somewhere private. Not everyone wants to see you ravaging some girl in the parking lot."

"Jealous?" Adrian said smirking.

I snorted and started walking again. "Bye Adrian."

Dimitri followed me and asked, "You alright?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah sure. I just feel sorry for those girls he's using. They always think they'll be able to hold onto him, but Adrian never stays with one girl for too long. She'll be lucky if he's still in bed with her tomorrow morning," I said, looking back at them. They were making out again.

"Was he like that with you too?" he asked hesitantly.

I laughed softly. "No, actually he wasn't. I guess I was the exception, but it didn't work out," I said shrugging.

"Oh. Well, maybe it's better this way," Dimitri muttered, looking over his shoulder at Adrian again. "I think you deserve better than that."

I looked at him, surprised.

"I mean – well, actually it's not any of my business," he stammered. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," I said quickly and I offered him a smile. "I appreciate it. Thanks."

Dimitri smiled back tentatively. "We'd better get back to the car," he said, clearing his throat and looking away.

"What took you so long?" Liam said in a whiny voice when we finally reached the car.

"Hey, don't whine. I'm not as fast as you are," I said, tickling his sides which caused him to giggle. Quickly, he freed himself from my hold and climbed into the car.

Dimitri dropped me off outside my dorm building. I climbed out of the car, but before closing the door, I said, "Thank you for dinner and for driving me home, Dimitri."

He smiled at me kindly. "You're welcome, Rose. Good night."

"Good night," I said. Then I looked at his children in the backseat. "See you tomorrow, kids!"

"Bye!" Alisa and Liam said in unison.

Inna just looked out of the window, with her arms crossed. I suppressed a sigh and closed the door before stepping back and watching them drive away. When the car had disappeared into the night, I turned around and went inside.

So, everything seems to be going well between Rose and the kids. Except for Inna, she's a little stubborn. Do you think that'll change? For the people who are curious about Dimitri's and Tasha's story, you will have to wait a little longer. Sorry :P

I'll update as soon as possible. It's probably going to be sometime during the weekend. Have a nice day/evening! :)