Richelle Mead owns the VA and Bloodlines series.

First, I'd like to let everyone know that I'm currently working on finishing Of Magic and Misery. I know there isn't much time left before TIS so I'm probably going to be uploading the last chapters (I'm thinking there are 3 left) in the last few days leading up to its release. So, I might not be uploading this story for a little bit. I've got some of these already written out or half written, so I might upload, I might not. It depends. But after OMM is finished expect some fun updates for this story.

Hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a silly little story. Review and let me know what you think!

"So," Lissa said slowly, awkwardly. "How are things with Adrian? The bond... Are you adjusting?"

Jill seemed just as awkward, regarding Lissa shyly before she nodded. "Yeah. It took a little getting used to, but it's not so bad. It's much better now, actually."

She lowered her gaze to the floor and bit her lip.

I huffed, internally, of course. This was ridiculous. They were sisters! They both needed to get used to it already. I knew it was a big adjustment, a huge one, but I couldn't take it anymore. I loved Jill, and Lissa was my best friend, but if I had to watch them tip toe around each other for even one more second—

"Have you learned more control?" Lissa asked, breaking me out of my silent tirade. At least she had asked this question with a little bit of real emotion behind it. Curiosity was a real emotion, right?

"Not really," Jill admitted giving Lissa a small smile. "But Adrian's not as—" her eyes shifted to me quickly before glancing back at the floor, "—not as... emotional... as he used to be. Or, well, he is, but it's not as negative, I guess. He's been... happier, you know? That makes it a lot easier to control, or, well, not control, exactly. But I don't get dragged into his thoughts as much as when he was upset."

Jill dragged in a much needed breath after her ramble and I smiled a little. When I looked over at Lissa I noticed she was smiling too, but I wasn't sure if it was at Jill's adorable babble or because Adrian was, apparently, happy.

I was glad to hear that, though. I'd felt terrible every day since I'd gotten back together with Dimitri. Not because I didn't love Dimitri, because I did, but because I'd selfishly hurt Adrian by handling things the way I had. I never wanted to hurt him, and I'd seen how crushed he was, how angry, how right he was to feel those things. If he was happy, if he'd moved on, maybe we could work through what I'd done. Maybe we could even be friends again at some point.

"It is harder to control when the emotions are strong," I told Jill. "It's good he's doing better. For you and for him."

Jill nodded. "It is. You know, he's back in school. And he's doing really good. His teacher wants him to paint a piece for this student gallery he's putting together. It's at an actual art gallery and everything! It's so cool and Adrian's really excited. He's been working on an idea for it and he's come up with this really great—"

"Whoa, there Jill," I said. "Take a breath. Slow down."

Jill took a deep breath and smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry. I just get excited when he's excited."

"He's that excited about a painting?" Lissa asked, curiously. "Right now?"

"No, he's excited because..." Jill closed her mouth abruptly and then smiled and looked away, shaking her head. "He's just excited, that's all."

"I saw him earlier and he looked anything but excited," Lissa said. "He was visiting his dad today, wasn't he? I think he'd rather hop on a plane and fly back to Palm Springs than see his dad."

"Well," Jill said slowly, choosing her words. "He did see his dad, but they didn't fight or anything. It wasn't as bad as he thought. His dad told him what prison his mom's in."

I nodded. "That's why he's excited?"

Poor Adrian. If I'd have known his dad was being such a dick I would've found out where his mom was being held for him.

"No," Jill said and then looked like she wanted to slam her palm into her face. "I mean, yeah. That's a big part of why he's excited."

Now this was becoming interesting. I exchanged a look with Lissa that said she was feeling the same. All of a sudden we were playing Guess What's Exciting Adrian? and I think Jill knew it.

"He's excited about the painting and the gallery," Lissa listed. "And his mom."

Jill pressed her lips together and stared at us in silence.

"Is he..." I said slowly, thinking. "Is he going to a party or something? Did he meet a girl or...?"

Lissa laughed. "Did he walk by a liquor store having a clearance sale?"

Jill scowled. "You guys don't understand. You think he's one way and he's not. You can't understand him. Not the way S—"

She stopped herself again. This time cutting herself off mid-word.

"Not the way... who does?" Lissa asked. She leaned forward and smiled sweetly. "Come on," she said. "I'm your sister, right? Sisters share secrets?"

Jill smiled a little and rolled her eyes. "Nice try," she said, sarcastically, but I think she really liked that Lissa had said they were sisters. The two hadn't really talked much about their new found family bond.

"So he's dating someone?" I asked. I was curious. I had no right to be, I admit, but I was. "Are there other Moroi at his school? I didn't think any other Moroi lived in Palm Springs."

"No. No other Moroi. But she's not... well, she's not Moroi and they're not dating." Maybe it was just me, but I sensed a little sadness in her voice when she said that. I wasn't sure if it was his sadness coming through the bond or hers, but either way she definitely sounded wistful.

"If they're not dating then why is he so excited?" Lissa asked. "I mean, he's excited about her? Whoever she is?"

Jill looked indecisive. She bit her lip, looking like she wanted to tell us something, but knowing she shouldn't. Finally she said, "She's kinda like his best friend. And he's talking to her, right now actually, so he's excited."

I know I must have looked confused, but I was confused. Adrian didn't really seem like the type to have a best friend. I mean, everyone should have a best friend, but he just didn't strike me as they type of person who'd care about something like that. Especially not with a girl.

"Is she here?" Lissa asked, looking equally confused. "Is she at Court right now? Who is she?"

I wanted the answer to that, too. We were being very unfair right now, I knew. Pumping Jill for info through the bond wasn't the right thing to do, it was gossiping but with first hand knowledge. And it was impossible to stop.

Jill, Adrian, Eddie and Angeline had gotten to Court yesterday. Jill had needed to come and sign a few papers now that the hereditary laws were abolished. She'd decided she wanted to stay in Palm Springs for the rest of the school year and, even though we'd all thought that was strange, we'd agreed to it. Lissa and Jill's parents didn't want to add more shock to her system by ripping her out of school mid-year and I'd totally agreed. Nothing sucked worse than starting a school in the middle of the year, even one you'd been to before. All of the others had agreed they'd like to stay in Palm Springs with her.

So, while Jill needed to be here, Adrian hadn't really needed to come at all. He'd mentioned something about checking in with Sonya about her spirit research, but I'd thought he was just saying that so no one would question his real reason, which I'd figured was so he could be here for Jill. Adrian wouldn't admit it, but he really cared about Jill and he was a good enough guy to come all the way here with her just for moral support. But now I was starting to question that idea. Was there some girl here who he was friends with and I'd never known about? But... Jill said she wasn't Moroi. Was she a dhampir?

"No," Jill said. "She's not here."

"So she's back in Palm Springs then?" I asked.

Jill bit her lip again and I got the impression that she was keeping a secret that she really, really wanted to spill. She shook her head slightly. "Not really," she said with a funny emphasis on really.

Jill suddenly stiffened, her eyes going wide. I was just about to ask what was wrong when I heard the footsteps in the hall. I tensed, my senses kicking in, listening for the threat. But there wasn't one.

"Yeah," a familiar voice said, as he walked down the hall outside the sitting room we were in. "I know. I have to go see her tomorrow. I looked it up. Visiting hours are from 10pm to 3am. It's not that far from here. I'll leave late afternoon and get there in plenty of time." Adrian paused, both talking and walking. The door to the sitting room was open and he took in me, Jill and Lissa sitting together with a smirk, then started talking again as he walked in and took a seat next to Jill. "I'll be back in time for the flight."

Jill smiled at him, but when she glanced nervously over at us, I could have sworn she looked a little flushed. Could Adrian be talking to Mystery Girl? I saw Lissa pretending not to listen to the conversation going on on the other side of the phone. I knew she could hear everything, but all I heard was a girl saying... something. Not for the first time, I was a little jealous of Moroi super hearing. It would be totally awesome to eavesdrop with!

Adrian smiled wide. "So how's it going with your sister? Was progress made or are you going to need me to buy you some gelato when you get home?" The girl said something and Adrian laughed. "I know, I know." More girl talking. "That's good. I told you, she just needed time. It's understandable she'd be mad. She didn't really understand the situation at the time." His voice became low and gentle as he said, "She didn't know what you were protecting her from."

Lissa and I exchanged a look, one I'm sure Adrian noticed, but if he did he didn't say anything.

"Alright, I'm gonna let you go bond with Zoe some more. Have fun today at your car show." He smiled and it struck me for the first time that... I'd never seen him smile like that. I'd seen him laugh and smirk and grin sexily all over the place, but I'd never seen a truly content smile. It looked good on him. "Yeah. I'm gonna hang out with Jailbait, Lissa and Rose for a bit and then get to bed. Text me tonight, though." He pulled the phone away from his ear and said, "Say bye."

It took me a moment to realize he was talking to us. Jill jumped in with a bright smile and an enthusiastic goodbye and even Lissa joined her though she looked confused.

Adrian put the phone back to his ear and laughed at something the girl said, "Bye, Sage. I'll talk to you later." He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket, ignoring the look I was giving him. "Sydney says bye."

"Sydney Sage," I said incredulously. "My Sydney Sage? The Alchemist?"

Adrian smirked and Jill giggled a little, but then coughed to hide it.

"I didn't know you'd called dibs, Rose," he quipped. "But yeah. She's in Utah, visiting her family while we're out here." He smirked at Jill and Lissa. "You two aren't the only ones trying to do a little sisterly bonding this weekend."

I shook my head, still stuck on the fact that Mystery Girl was Sydney. "I just didn't realize you guys were close. I mean, Sonya said you were friendly, but..."

"But what?" Adrian asked, seeming a little insulted. That was the last thing I'd meant to do, especially when he was actually talking to me again. "Why wouldn't we be friends?"

"Not that you wouldn't," I said quickly. "I just didn't know that..." I looked toward Jill and then back to Adrian. It was a quick glance, but Adrian had seen it and turned toward Jill.

"What?" he demanded, a little more anger than was necessary lacing his voice. Or... well, it almost looked like panic in his eyes as he questioned her silently. I was pretty sure there was some message passing through their bond right now.

"Nothing," Jill swore, answering the unasked question and raising her hands in front of her. "Just that you were friends. Like, best friends."

Adrian leaned back, relaxing a little. "Oh." He smiled easily, his air of nonchalance coming back immediately. "Yeah, I guess we are, kind of. We've gotten to know each other the past few months. It's only natural..."

His phone buzzed and he looked down at it. That real smile formed again, big enough that his fangs were visible. He typed back a reply and hit send.

"What was I saying?" he asked when he was done. "Oh yeah. It's only natural we'd be friends. I mean, we've been stuck taking care of everyone for so long now—"

"Taking care of everyone? You?" Jill laughed. "Oh, Sydney's going to love that. What about—"

"Jailbait, Jailbait," he said. "That was then. This is now, and you know how helpful I am. You've seen... you know, the way I help."

Jill smiled warmly at him. "The way you help Sydney. When was the last time, or first time for that matter, you helped me, Angeline or Eddie? Huh? I mean, besides letting us cook dinner for you in your apartment. Because that was such a huge help to us," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Adrian grinned again. "I know it was. The privilege of cooking for Adrian Ivashkov will not be diminished with your words. You know that was a great night."

The two of them bickered back and forth for a little while before finally calling it quits, but I'd already seen what I needed to see. I exchanged a glance with Lissa, silently asking if she'd seen it too. She had.

Adrian was happy. Really, honest to goodness happy in a way I'd never seen him before. I realized that it was probably a combination of a lot of things that helped him out of whatever funk he'd been in, a funk that had existed long before he'd met me. The biggest one being Jill. He had Jill, someone to take care of because of the bond. That made him aware of his actions in a way he hadn't been before. Then there was living in a different city and going to school and having his own place. It was the same as with Jill. He had responsibility and that made him better. He also had freedom in Palm Springs. Freedom from his father, from Court, from me. But maybe the best thing for Adrian was Sydney. I hadn't even seen them together, but the look on his face when he'd talked to her on the phone, that look of pure contentment, that spoke volumes.

I wasn't sure what their relationship was like. If it really did stop at friendship. Was it more than that? It seemed like it, at least on Adrian's side. I couldn't be sure about Sydney, of course. I mean, I knew how scared she was of vampires and even dhampirs, but she had been laughing when she spoke to Adrian on the phone. I'd been able to hear that much. And she'd been talking to him about personal matters, like her family. So maybe she had changed since I'd last seen her.

Whatever the case was though, it seemed like it was good for him. For both of them.