Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to Richelle Mead.

Not having a mirror made getting ready in the morning a real bitch. I hadn't had one for over three weeks and you'd figure I'd be used to it by now, but no…I wasn't.

I was running on hope that Dimitri would keep his promise, and if he did, I'd have my nice giant-sized mirror back in my bathroom by the end of the week. That was, if I behaved.

I couldn't believe it had been nearly a month since arriving here at St. Augustine's.

I hadn't earned any badges yet, and sadly I wouldn't until the end of the year. Dimitri had informed me of this on the second week we'd started training. Apparently, earning badges was like earning credits at school. You had to pass certain tests and exams, and by the end of the year, the academy would add up the points and give me my appropriate badges and metals.

Dimitri had also explained that if I worked extra hard in my training sessions with him, he'd add extra points to my record and I could be one of the best cadets attending the military academy.

That's what I was striving for. I wanted to be the best of the best. And I would be.

The only price I had to pay was spending time with the Russian jailer. Well, it wasn't really a high price…I actually enjoyed spending time with him—thanks to the stupid crush I'd developed.

I hated myself for taking a liking in him. Dimitri was seven years older than me. The general of the academy, and completely off limits.

He hadn't even shown any interest in me—not that I expected him to, but it would sure boost my ego up a few notches. The only response I got from him—if you could even call it a response—was his half smiles. Only half smiles. Nothing more.

And those only came once in a blue moon.

But God, how I loved those half smiles. The ones that showed his perfect white teeth and made his whole face light up. He was fire red hot when he smiled, kind of like hot tamales.

Sometimes he'd catch me staring at him, and I'd look away blushing like an idiot. I never blushed. Never!

What was this man doing to me?

Since my asthma attack—something Dimitri and I still kept secret between the two of us—I'd gotten acquainted with Lissa. And I liked her allot, which I found surprising considering I didn't play very well with other females.

I found myself drawn to her, and I couldn't figure out why. I guess it was her kindness and her want to help other people out. That was one of the many reasons she loved her job as a nurse here at the Military Academy.

Basically, Lissa had a good aura to her and a genuinely nice personality. I found talking with her to be easy and refreshing. Like a cool breeze when you step outside. I'd felt like I'd known her my whole life. And ever since I spotted her in the mess hall two weeks ago, we'd become really close. Almost like best friends.

The only thing I disliked about her was her boyfriend. His name was Christian Ozera, the loner I'd met on the bus the first day I'd came to St. Augustine's. The one with homicidal parents. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd turn out to be a psycho just like them.

How could someone so sweet be with someone so dark?

It was beyond me.

But then again, opposites attract.

And that's exactly what Lissa and Christian were, opposites. Yin and yang, sun and the moon, good and evil, water and fire.

The alarm screeching brought me out of my reverie. I looked at the clock, 5:05AM.

I was five minutes late for morning practice.

Shit.

With one more growl, I ripped the brush through my chestnut hair and tied it into a long braid that traveled down my spine and tickled the top of my waist.

I ran out the door with lighting speed.

I could see Dimitri out on the track, wearing his usual uniform—a black cotton t-shirt, olive green camouflage pants, and leather combat boots.

I had to take deep breaths and steady my breathing. The fantasies inside my head were running wild with the dirty thoughts of ripping his clothes off and tackling his naked body to the field—

Stop it! I scolded myself.

Was I loosing my mind? Was it all because of Dimitri?

Sure he was drool-worthy sexy, but that had never affected me with any other guy before.

He's not like other guys. A little voice in my head sang.

I immediately clubbed that little voice to death with an imaginary tennis racket.

I needed to get a grip. I was Rose Hathaway, tough as nails, and a total badass cadet. I will not let Dimitri get to me this way.

Yeah, it was easier said than done.

"Good morning, Comrade," I greeted him with a friendly wave.

He acknowledge me with a sharp nod, never glancing my way, he was kneeling and studying a cannon—the same one I'd ran into when I'd had that asthma attack two weeks ago.

"Geeze," I placed my hands on my hips. "What crawled up your butt and died? I usually at least get a half-assed good morning…what's wrong with you?"

Dimitri's dark eyes flickered over to me. The edges of his mouth twitched, almost like he was having a difficult time not smiling.

"Nothing is wrong with me." He paused. "Well you didn't greet me by my appropriate title, but I'll let that slide…I'm used to it."

I giggled. "So where's my 'Good morning Rose, you look absolutely wonderful this morning.' ?"

Dimitri raised an eyebrow in amusement, and the smile suddenly unleashed on his face, showing his blinding white teeth. My heart skipped a beat and the butterflies in my stomach danced.

"Good morning, Rose," his voice was light and airy. I liked when he was this relaxed and not all up tight.

"And the other part…" I trailed off.

Dimitri outright laughed. The sound was smooth like velvet and rich like chocolate. God, I loved his laugh.

"That's all you're getting from me." He said.

"I could always get someone else to compliment me…" I teased.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," Dimitri's voice was sarcastic. "Go ask one of your many so called men, I'm sure they'll be happy to compliment you."

"Naw," I made a dismissive motion with my hand. "I don't feel like running back to the dorms, and waking Mason up just so he could tell me how wonderful I look."

"I wouldn't say wonderful," he muttered, still studying the cannon closely.

"Hey!" I picked a tiny pebble from the ground and chucked it at his head. "Not cool!"

Dimitri shook his head and glanced at me. "Not wonderful with that dried-up drool spot on your cheek."

I gasped. My hand flew to my mouth, embarrassed. I began scrubbing at my cheek like a maniac. "It's your fault! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't token away my mirror. Now I can't see myself in the morning!"

I was flushed with embarrassment. I felt my cheeks heating up.

Dimitri came to stand right in front of me. His dark bottomless eyes gazing into mine with such an intensity that it made my knees feel like jelly. I felt so alive when he looked at me that way, more alive than I'd ever felt with any guy before. The feeling was exhilarating.

"Relax, Rose," Slowly, so slowly, those long graceful fingers of his brushed along my cheek bone. "I was kidding. There's no drool spot, your face is smooth as silk. Perfect."

I swallowed hard. I could practically feel my pulse beating erratically in my mouth. His warm fingers trail up to my temple and tucked a lock of dark hair behind my ear.

"I don't want to cut my hair," I blurted out.

"It's not required." His dark eyes were a blazing fire.

"Yes, I know that…but all the other female cadets do it. It makes them look more professional."

Dimitri suddenly pulled away and cleared his throat, as if here were breaking through a daze. He looked almost…embarrassed.

"It's not required," he shrugged, never making eye contact. "Just wear it up. As long as it fits under your military cap, you shouldn't have a problem."

"Thanks." I smiled.

He nodded and returned to the cannon.

I sighed.

"Whatcha' doing?" I asked.

Dimitri pulled out a box of matches and lit one. "This."

He put it to the little string on the back of the cannon, and it sparked.

BOOM.

"What the fuck!" I dropped to the grass and covered my head. "Take cover, Dimitri! Take cover!"

"Rose, get up."

My ears buzzed from the explosion. "Did you seriously just launch that cannon?"

I stood on my feet and brushed off the dirt.

"Go do your usual stretches," His voice was calm and serene as he lit the next cannon.

"HOLY FUCK!" I dropped to the ground again and slapped my hands over my ears.

Dimitri lit one after another calmly, like he was doing something as simple as retrieving the morning newspaper.

"What are you doing?" I glanced up to see Dimitri standing there, a smirk plastered across his face.

Yeah, my mentor was insane.

"Saving my self from getting blown into tiny, bite-size pieces! What the fuck are you doing?" I screamed at the top of my lungs, it wasn't necessary though; Dimitri looked like he was done lighting cannons. Thank God.

"Mandatory monthly testing," he shrugged. "Haven't you heard them go off before?"

"Yes!" I scoffed. "But I was in my room. The booms are still loud, but there not as bad as being five feet away from them!"

He shrugged again.

"Doesn't it hurt your ears?" Dimitri helped me off the ground.

"No, not really," he shook his head. "I've been doing it for years, it doesn't really bother me."

I rolled my eyes.

"Have you done your stretches yet?"

I shook my head. "No."

He sighed exasperated. "Alright, we'll start with hamstring stretches."

I nodded eagerly and lay down onto the cool grass. Dimitri hovered above me; I stared into those chocolate brown eyes as he lifted my leg up and brought it towards his chest.

"It burns," I groaned after some time.

"That's the point." Dimitri's voice was neutral and blank; much like it always was when he was on duty.

"Can we switch to the other leg?" I asked hopeful.

He nodded and carefully grabbed my other leg, that same tingly feeling returned when his fingers touched the bare skin of my thigh. That feeling was wonderful, exhilarating, amazing…what ever you want to call it, I liked it.

I never wanted his skin to leave mine.

Dimitri must have sensed what I was thinking because he quickly pulled away, my leg landed to the ground with a soft thump.

He barked out orders. "20 set of leg crunches, 30 chin ups, 100 crunches, and 3 miles in 25 minutes. Go."

I nodded and did as I was told.

By the time I was finished with my morning work outs, my whole body ached and burned, but it was nothing compared to the way I felt when I first began training with Dimitri. By now, I was almost able to suck up the pain and keep going. Almost.

I had noticed a minor change in my body, a good change. My slight jelly belly had become more toned, my arms were more defined, and my bum had become plumper and toned.

I wonder if Dimitri noticed.

Of course, curiosity getting the best of me, I had to ask.

"Hey Comrade," I sauntered over carelessly where he stood. Dimitri had been taking a swig of water, sweat covered his entire body giving his tan skin a glistening glow, his black t-shirt clung to his body and was damp in certain areas.

One word: Yum.

I swallowed hard and shook my head vigorously, like a dog drying off after stepping out of a lake. This was a way of clearing my R-rated thoughts and getting a grip on my libido, though…this method hadn't worked very well for me the past few weeks.

It was the best I could do.

"Hmm?" he hummed. Taking one last swig of water, he dumped the remaining contents over his head. The water drenched his face, soaked his shoulder length hair, and traveled down his neck and chest.

"Oh god," I bit my fist hard.

What was he trying to do to me?...Surely, his good looks had to be a form of torture.

"What are you doing?" Dimitri eyed me strangely. Extending his long muscular arms, his fingertips touched the metal of the pull up bar, he grabbed on and began resuming his chin ups.

"I-I-I," I stood there watching his body moving up and down gracefully. He made it look effortless, when I knew it was anything but. Chin ups were a bitch, but Dimitri made them enjoyable in this form. Watching was much better than doing.

"I—"

"What do you want Rose?" his voice was strained. "It's difficult to talk while I'm doing this."

"Pfft," I laughed. "You go through chin ups faster than a fat kid goes through cake. And that's fast."

Dimitri ignored me. I huffed.

"I just wanted to ask you," I paused and turned around, showcasing my back side. My head was twisted so that I was still able to see his face. "Do you think my butt looks better?"

"What?" He grunted. I didn't miss his dark eyes flickering down towards that area very quickly.

Bingo.

"I said," My voice was confident now. "Do you think my butt looks better? It's bigger now…almost like I've been eating corn bread or something. But I haven't. I hate corn bread…"

Dimitri coughed; his face was filled with surprise and shock. I don't think he ever expected me to ask such a question.

I continued on with my reasonable argument. "I mean, it's more firm now. I can feel it," I patted my bottom. "I like the change. I think it looks good. It looks even better when I'm naked—"

Dimitri suddenly fell to the sandy ground with a loud thud. His back was to the ground. Ouch. I knew that hurt like a bitch.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned. I automatically went to kneel by his side.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he replied gruffly. "Just give me a minute; I need to catch my breath."

"What happened?"

"My gripped slipped, that's all."

I stepped into the mess hall, the dark green chalk board read: Ham sandwich, side salad, fruit bowl, and your choice of drink.

"Damn it, damn that cafeteria lady to hell." I hissed under my breath.

Lissa chuckled beside me, her angelic voice filling my ears like music. "What's wrong?"

We grabbed our red trays and began filling it up with food.

"There's nothing but healthy items on the menu," I complained. "My day just turned sour—like a warhead."

"A warhead?" she looked puzzled.

"A warhead, you know," I gave her a sideways glance. "The sour candies you get in those shiny packages. They're so good, but so damn sour…it's a love hate relationship."

She stared at me.

"Uh," I stuttered. "Never mind."

Lissa rolled her jade green eyes at me. "You should see what we have in the staff room for lunch; the place is loaded with goodies."

I eyed the staff workers and Dimitri's statue-like figure against the far wall. "Those sick sons of bitches. They're holding out on us."

She nodded, her platinum blonde hair swinging with her bubbly movements. "I agree—minus the whole swearing part."

"Why do you eat with me?" I asked curiously. Lissa and I sat at our usual table way in the back of the cafeteria.

She shrugged. "It's not only because of you—"

I pouted, my eyes watered and my bottom lip stuck out. This expression was so easy to do, and Lissa was such a softy that she couldn't stand it. She said that I looked like a sad puppy dog. I liked that. Maybe I could use this look later on Dimitri and he'd let me out of running or maybe he'd let me sleep in.

I didn't hold my breath.

"Well you are a big part of the reason why, Rose," she said hastily. "A really big part."

I smiled satisfied. "Thank you."

"But I also like eating in the mess hall because this is where Christian eats," Lissa giggled, getting that light in her eyes only the love of her life could bring. I sighed internally. "Plus, I'm only 18…I fit in here. Unlike that staff room, everyone is so much older than me."

"General Belikov is not much older than you." I noted.

Dimitri had made it clear that he hadn't minded me calling him by his first name, so long as we weren't around other people. Supposedly, it was disrespectful not to call him by his appropriate title, or hierarchy, or sir.

The hell with that, those names got really old after a while.

Lissa smiled. "Well no, I suppose not. But he's so dang intimidating…I really don't like being in the same room as him. He's not mean or anything—he's actually quite nice to me—but, he's just so overpowering an- and—"

"Badass," I filled in the word she was having difficulty finding.

Lissa laughed, a melodious bells and chimes laugh. "Yes, badass,"

"You sound weird cussing, it doesn't fit you." I said.

"I know!" she gushed. "I hate it! I hate to swear…it feel so unnatural coming off of my tongue. I don't know how you do it so much."

I chuckled. "Probably for the opposite reasons you do. Swearing feels so natural to me, it'd be hard to stop if I had to."

"Maybe you should," Lissa suggested.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "That would be impossible."

"Maybe I could smack you every time you swear…that ought to get you to stop."

I giggled.

"I'd love to volunteer for that position." Came a male voice behind Lissa. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey babe," Christian placed a lingering kiss to her lips.

I looked away.

"Hey Rose," He greeted.

"Hey hott stuff," I said.

Christian was wearing the usual male cadet uniform—navy blue jacket, matching pants, and a military cap. If I didn't dislike him so much, I would have said he was cute. His jet black hair and ice blue eyes gave him that edgy look.

I didn't entirely know why I disliked him so much. Maybe it was because his parents were homicidal psychopaths', or maybe it was because he was a psychopath, or maybe it was the sarcastic repartee we always exchanged between one another, or maybe it was because he stole allot of Lissa's time and I was jealous.

Maybe it was a combination of all of those.

Lissa had instantly perked up the moment he came in. Her pale face was luminous against her rosy colored cheeks and matte pink lipstick. She looked beautiful, like an angel.

"So," I said about halfway through lunch. "How does it feel to date an older nurse?"

"Empowering," Christian answered. "There's nothing like going down to the clinic, seeing her in that cute little white outfit, and bending her over the desk—"

"Christian!" Lissa chastised, her cheeks were a blaring red.

I laughed and made a gagging noise.

"What?" Christian grinned widely. "You have to admit it's kind of hot. Me in my military uniform, you in your nurse outfit, the two of us making love on one of those cot thingys."

"Kinky." I noted. "Remind me to never go to the clinic again."

"Don't worry," Christian murmured. "We clean up after wards. Ammonia is a wonderful house cleaner and wipes up sweat amongst other things extraordinarily well."

"Does it kill 99.9% of germs?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Okay," I breathed a sigh of relief.

Lissa shook her head and looked down embarrassed.

"I'm sorry babe," Christian chuckled, placing soft kisses along her neck. "I didn't mean to, I just love you so much that I want to express our love to the world."

"Did it have to go into sex details?" she said sex like it was a bad word.

"Of course," he scoffed. "Sex is a big part of our love life—an amazing part—and I'm not ashamed to go into details. I love everything about you."

I rolled my eyes and looked away. I heard Lissa's shrilling giggle followed by soft smacking noises. Kissing.

"Wow," I said. "You guys don't fight for very long, do you?"

"There's no reason to," Christian shrugged. "And you know what the best part of dating a nurse is?"

"The kinky sex?" I guessed.

"Besides that," he said.

"I don't know, I give up."

"That we can have an open relationship. Normal female and male cadets wouldn't even dare sitting in the same seat. But Lissa and I—since I'm 18 and she works here—we get to do whatever the hell we want. Though you can tell it irritates the staff workers when we're lovin' one another in the cafeteria. That's the fun part."

"That's nice," I mumbled. "I wish I had that kind of luxury."

"Where's Mason?" Lissa asked curiously.

I shrugged. "With Sergeant Petrov, supposedly he had an assignment that needed to be worked through lunch."

"Has he eaten?"

"No," I took a bite of my ham sandwich. "I'll bring him something to his room, I want to surprise him."

I looked at the clock hung above Christian's head.

"It's five minutes until the bell rings," I shoved a sandwich, bag of chips, brownie, and a soda into my back pack. "I gotta get this to Mason. Bye guys."

"Bye Rose," Both Lissa and Christian waved.

I slammed open the cafeteria doors and ran towards Mason's room. His dorm was located in the male high school/ college campus.

When I arrived there, there were men scattered everywhere. Imagine that.

I pushed and shoved my way through until I got to the stairs and booked it up three flights. I got to Mason's hallway. I was running so fast, that I felt rather than saw myself crashing into something hard.

I feel to the ground and groaned.

"Watch where you're going!" I snapped.

The man held out his hand for me but I ignored it and got up myself. "Sorry, my fault. I didn't see you there. But geeze little cadet, you got some force behind you. You came charging down that hallway like a bull!"

I laughed and mumbled an apology.

"No need to be sorry, you probably got distracted by my stunning good looks, it's understandable."

I looked up to his face for the very first time. The man had bronze colored hair, define cheek bones, developed lips, and hypnotizing emerald green eyes.

He was good looking, but I wasn't going to tell the cocky bastard that.

"My names not little cadet, it's Rose!" I corrected.

"Hmm, Rose," The man look thoughtful. "Beautiful, sexy name. But I'm going to call you little cadet, it suits you amazing well."

"Whatever." I snorted and began walking away.

"Wait," He grabbed me by my forearm. I shrugged him off. "Aren't you going to ask me what my name is?"

"Don't know, don't care." I shrugged.

"It's Adrian."

"Andrea?"

"Adrian."

"Adrianna?"

"A-d-r-i-a-n." he pronounced each syllable. Ah, how I love to get people frustrated.

"Nice to meet you, Adrian." I offered a genuine smile.

"You too, little cadet," Adrian gave a sexy boyish smirk. "See you later."

"I wouldn't count on it!" I shouted after his retreating form.

"Oh," I could barely hear his words. "I will definitely be seeing you later."

I barged into Mason's room and chucked the lunch onto his bed. He looked startled.

"Why are you putting on bug spray?" I asked puzzled.

"Uh," Mason shoved the bottle of off into his bag hastily. "No reason, just paranoid about getting stung or bitten."

"Okay, weirdo," I said slowly. He did look paranoid, like I'd caught him in the middle of something bad. "Here's your lunch, I'll see you later!"

And then I took off towards drill class.

"Thanks!" I heard Mason's voice echo through the hallway.

After Drill Team practice, dinner, and evening practice with Dimitri I was exhausted. I headed to my room and shut the door behind me. Thank God, I have a door.

I peeled off my sweaty workout clothes and stepped into the steaming shower. I hissed at first when the water made contact with the black and blue bruises covering my naked flesh, but eventually relaxed and let the scorching water massage the knots out of my back.

I carefully filled my hands with my favorite strawberry shampoo and lathered it into my dark hair. The scent floated around me, and massaging my scalp helped get rid of the pounding head ache.

After I rinsed out the shampoo and conditioner, I poured some lavender onto a poof and began scrubbing my skin clean. The scent floated around and had a calming affect to my senses, I wobbled in the shower and fought to keep awake. I was so damn tired.

I quickly rinsed my body and stepped out of the shower. I grabbed my plush red towel and wrapped it around my body.

And that's when I heard and saw the door bust open. I screamed.

"Rose?"

That velvety accented voice belonged to the Russian.

"Dimitri?" I yelped in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I heard his sharp intake of breath as the dim light from the hallway cast an illuminating glow over my body. I suddenly remembered I was only in a towel.

Dimitri face was blank and guarded. He just stared at me, and stared and stared and stared. Perhaps that was saying something all in it self. His dark eyes never once looked at my face, and I felt like I was naked under his intense penetrating gaze.

"See something you like?" I felt on fire from his warm bottomless eyes roaming my body. I needed to cover up my emotions with attitude.

"Get dressed," His voice was strained as he turned to face the other way.

I hurriedly put on my underwear and bra. "You better not be peeking!" I silently wished he would.

"Miss Hathaway, don't speak to me that way. I am your General and I will not tolerate it." And here comes asshole Dimitri again, I was wondering where he went.

I shoved on a pair of white sweats and a comfy blood-red tank top.

"Okay," I breathed. "I'm dressed. Now can you get out so I can get some rest?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"NO?" I exclaimed. "Why not? I've done everything that's on my checklist: Morning training, chemistry, liberal arts, Drill class, and Evening training! I've even cleaned my room perfectly, give me a break."

I lay down on the bed. Dimitri abruptly grabbed my by the waist and pulled me into his body. It was warm, and hard like rocks. My body filled with desire and I immediately scolded myself for it.

"We're going camping out in the woods," he whispered in my ear. "You've got five minutes to pack up what you need and meet your fellow cadets out on the field."

Dimitri abruptly released me. I stumbled and nearly fell but his hand shot out and steadied me.

"Thank you." I whispered.

He nodded and walked away, disappearing as fast as he'd appeared.

I reluctantly packed my things: A hair brush, tooth brush, clean clothes, a bag of chips, and a TMNT comic book.

It might get boring out there, you never know.

"Oh my GOD!" I gasped out of breath. "How far do we have to go in the woods, Dimitri? I'm tired and my feet hurt."

"Well now your back's going to hurt." He placed his camping pack onto my back.

"OW!" I exclaimed. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"You complain too much."

Dimitri and I were leading the cadets to some secret spot in the woods. I'd been informed this was part of our cadet training and a mandatory test for all senior students. It was called survival 101…or something like that. Whatever it was, I didn't like it.

"Hey," I tapped Dimitri's shoulder. "Can I hold the lantern?"

He shook his head.

"You're no fun." I stepped over a giant rock that was in my path.

"I'm not here to be fun," He opened up his map and studied it carefully for several moments. "I'm here to teach you how to survive, and I'm here to teach you self-respect and self-discipline—"

"Because a cadet with no respect and no discipline is hardly a cadet at all," I mimicked his Russian accent. "Yes, I know the drill. You don't have to repeat yourself; I've heard it a billion times."

"Well then listen to it." He stared down at me with a small smile playing at his lips. "And you're horrible at doing Russian accents."

I giggled. "Yeah, that was pretty bad."

"General Belikov, we have reached our location. Over." The radio buzzed. I recognized that high-pitched female voice. It belonged to Tasha Ozera.

"Copy that. Over." He stuffed the radio back into his pocket.

"I nudged his shoulder with my elbow. "Are you mad that a girl beat you to the camping grounds first?"

"No," he said simply.

"Why?"

"Because she didn't beat us," Dimitri pointed to a small light in the distance. "We're here."

30 minutes later:

We found a perfect flat plane of dirt lying right beside a creek. Dimitri and half of the senior cadets met with Tasha, Alberta, Stan, and the rest of the remaining senior cadets.

By now, most of the students had pitched up there tent and were sitting by the roaring fire. I wasn't having so much luck; I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to put the poles and metal springs right.

When I'd asked Dimitri for instructions, he simply shook his and said that I needed to figure it out on my own. It was a part of the survival class and I needed to pitch a tent in order to pass.

It was beautiful out here in the middle of the woods. The smell of rain, mud, and pine trees flooded my senses. I loved that smell. It was the smell of nature. The smell of freedom. The midnight blue sky hung above us with a million little stars that floated around like a bee buzzing around a flower. The moon cast a beautiful glow all around us and made it much easier to see without a fire or lantern.

The early fall temperature was perfect, settling in around mid 80's. The night was perfect…well almost.

I gave the campfire a wistful glance. Christian and Lissa snuggled under a cover roasting a marshmallow. I watched as Christian blew out the tiny flame, pulled off the sticky goodness, and carefully raised it to Lissa's mouth. She giggled and bit down half of it while Christian stuffed the remainder of it into his mouth.

I smiled. I loved how happy he made her.

My eyes traveled to Mason's form. I was able to point him out easily with his blazing red hair. He was joking and talking animatedly with his hands to his buddy Eddie. The two smiled and fell into a fit of laughter. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I imagined it was funny.

My eyes traveled further and finally settled on where Dimitri sat on a giant log. I growled under my breath. Tasha was practically glued to his side; her head lay against his arm.

My stomach dropped with dread at the thought of them being more than friends.

The two laughed and smiled, chatting up a storm. Well, Tasha was. Dimitri would respond with a few words, a smile, or even a head nod. He looked happy around her, and I didn't like it one bit. I wanted to walk over and slap Tasha across the face when she took a bite of his smore.

Instead, I smacked myself across the face. Hard.

"Stop it, Rose!" Great, now I was talking to myself. "He seven years older than you. He's your mentor! Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it!"

I stomped on my own foot and hissed in pain.

"Okay, you can do this," I took in deep calming breaths. "You don't have to act like a needy, jealous girlfriend. Dimitri doesn't even want you. Why are you getting so worked up over nothing?"

After some of my boiling rage had vanished, I was determined to get this tent pitched up so I could go join my friends and have some fun…even if the way I put it up is not the correct way.

It only took me a minute or two, but I found four thick, long wooden sticks that had fallen from the trees towering above.

I opened up my tent and crawled inside. I shoved once stick in the ground—not caring if it punctured the tent; I would deal with that later. The top of the stick touched the roof and held up one corner of the tent.

Bingo.

I did the rest of the three sticks and stepped out of the tent.

I grinned deviously. The tent looked perfect, just like the 40 other ones pitched up.

I quickly hid the metal poles and ran over to join Mason, Eddie, Lissa, and Christian.

"Hey guys," I snatched the smore out of Eddie's hand.

He made a noise of protest but I quickly shoved the treat into my mouth before he could take it back from me.

"Did you finish assembling your tent?" Mason asked.

I nodded and snorted. "Yeah, how else could I be over here?"

We all sat there and talked, roasting marshmallows' and making chocolaty smores. Well they talked; I sat there staring at Tasha with the evil eye. I'd grit my teeth every time she'd touch his arm or touch his leg; she made it seem like a casual gesture…but I knew better. That bitch was after my man.

Your man?

I laughed internally. I really was going crazy.

"Hey Liss," I tapped her shoulder. She ripped her lips away from Christian's.

"Hmm?"

"Can you go with me to the bathroom?" I asked. "I really have to go."

"You're SOL, Hathaway." Mason called.

"Why?"

"Because there are no bathrooms out here,"

"Not even outhouses?"

"Not even outhouses." Eddie shook his head.

"Son of a bitch," I cursed. "Just my luck, come one Lissa, let's go."

Lissa planted one more kiss to Christian's lips and stood up. He smacked her butt as she walked away, Lissa yelped in surprise and giggled.

I rolled my eyes and began walking towards the creek.

"Where should I go?" I asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Just make it quick, I don't like being out here alone. There could be bears, and lions…or some other predatory animal."

"What about serial killers?" I pulled down my pants and crouched down to do my business. "They could be lurking out there, hidden by the shadows. They'll wait until we're asleep and then slice our throats open—"

"Rose!" Lissa cried and shivered. "Please stop! You're scaring me."

I laughed. "Don't worry…your knight and shining armor will save you."

She smiled.

"Did you bring any toilet paper?" I asked.

"No."

"What am I supposed to use?"

"I don't know," Lissa hugged her arms tightly. "A leaf, a branch, a rock…just use something. I want to get out of here."

I used a leaf.

"Let's go," I waved her on. Lissa looked happy to be getting back to the camp site.

"Wait, wait," I stopped abruptly.

"What?" she squeaked in fear.

"I want to catch a fish from the creek." I said

"What?"

"I want to catch a fish from the creek," I explained. "Imagine the points I would get if I caught a fish bare-handedly. I'd ace that survival 101 class."

Lissa rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

I nodded and ran down towards the creek searching for a stick.

"I thought you wanted to catch a fish with your bare hands," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I do."

"Well then do it."

"It'll be easier if I stab it with a stick first. I'll just tell General Belikov that I caught it with my bare hands. This stays between the two of us." I whispered.

"How are you going to cover up the wound on the fish?" Lissa looked amused.

I shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

She laughed.

"Ah, perfect!" I exclaimed. I dropped to my knees and pulled at the branch, the fucker seemed to be stuck to the ground.

I felt something tickle at my calves and feet but decided to ignore it. I pulled at the branch with all my might but it wouldn't seem to budge. I was drenched in sweat.

And that's when I felt it.

A sharp pinch on my leg. I gasped and turned around to sit on my bottom.

"Lissa!" I was unable to keep the fear out of my voice. "Hand me the lantern, now."

"What's wrong?" She ran over and flashed the light above me. I was able to see everything clearly now.

Lissa gasped. I screamed.

That pinch earlier had been a fire ant. And not just one fire ant, hundreds of them. Apparently, I'd fallen right onto their hill.

The little red bugs crawled all over my legs and feet. There was so many of them covering me that they looked like blood splattered against the bright white of my sweat pants.

I screamed and started brushing them off frantically.

This pissed them off.

The fire red ants began biting my feet and legs. Each bite stung terribly as they released their venom into my body.

"Get up, get up! Get off the hill!" I was distantly aware of Lissa shouting at me.

I dove into the creek. When I got out, the fuckers were still holding on. I screamed as I continued getting covered in bites.

"What's wrong? What's going on here?" I recognized that deep voice. Dimitri.

He grabbed the lantern out of Lissa's hands and ran over to me.

Dimitri picked me out of the water effortlessly and set me onto the ground.

"Get them off of me!" I screamed. "Get them off of me, get them off of me!"

Dimitri hurriedly brushed off as many of the red ants he could with his hands, only gritting his teeth when getting stung.

"There's too many," he whispered. "Take of your pants."

"What?" I asked stupidly.

He suddenly pulled at the waist line of my sweats and swiftly ripped them off my legs—I'm guessing he'd done that before. Dimitri threw my pants into the creek.

"Hey!" I protested as he began sweeping off the few stray bugs that remained. "Those were my favorite."

"They were covered in Red ants," he said. "It was necessary."

Dimitri looked up to Lissa. "Get someone to bring Miss Hathaway a fresh pair of pants, please."

She nodded and took off, leaving the two of us all alone.

"It stings," I cried.

"I know, I know," His voice was soft and compassionate. "This well help though."

He pulled out some sort of anti-bacterial ointment.

"What else do you got back there?" I laughed.

My lower body felt like it was in flames, and yet I was making a joke. What was wrong with me?

Dimitri grinned. "This." He pulled out something in a plastic wrapper.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A candy bar," he answered. "I see you eating them all the time in the cafeteria; I figured it'd make you happy."

I smiled and nodded eagerly. "Thank you."

Dimitri chuckled when I snatched it out of his hand and began gnawing on it.

"Now, lets take a look at your wounds," He flashed the light over my bare legs. His jaw clenched and his eyes went hard.

"Is it bad?" I asked in a small voice. I looked down and gasped.

"I look like I have chicken pocks!" I exclaimed. "That's not very attractive."

My calves and feet were covered in tiny swollen blistery red bumps.

Dimitri pulled out a water bottle and began pouring its liquid all over my legs. The cool water helped sooth my burning skin and it felt good.

"Thanks."

He smiled and nodded. Dimitri unscrewed the cap of the ointment and poured some into his palms.

"Alright, this may sting a little," he warned and touched his palms to my legs.

I gasped and bit my lip. The gel stung almost worse than the actual bite itself.

"Take it away." I said.

"No," Dimitri replied firmly. "If we don't do this you can get an infection."

"I hate you." I glared at him.

His long graceful fingers rubbed circles into my skin, and for a moment, I ignored the pain and concentrated on the feel of his hands on my body. It worked.

All too soon, it was over.

"Thank you." I said gratefully.

Dimitri gazed into my eyes, his dark eyes studying my face thoroughly. "You're welcome, Roza."

I was about to question him on what Roza meant, but we were interrupted.

"General Belikov? Rose? I have the clothes you needed." It was Mason.

Damn him.

Dimitri's stoic mask slipped back into place. He was General Belikov again.

He stuffed the ointment back into his pocket and grabbed the empty water bottle.

"Give her the pants," He stood up.

Mason handed me a pair of boring gray pants. I groaned.

"Get dressed Miss Hathaway, it's almost time to report back to your tents," Dimitri glanced at his watch. "I expect you two back very soon."

Mason nodded. "Yes, sir."

With another blank look at the both of us, Dimitri stalked away.

"Wow," Mason chuckled. "It looks like you got messed up pretty bad. I'm not minding the view of you in those black lacy underwear though—"

I punched him in the arm and laughed. "Shut up, Mase. You could never handle all of this and you know it."

"Oh, I could handle it." I heard him mutter but decided to ignore it.

I quickly shoved on my pants, wincing every the itchy fabric rubbed against a bite.

"I'm ready," I began walking towards the campsite. "I'm so damn tired; I just want to go to bed."

"Shall I show you back your tent?" Mason grinned at me.

I chuckled and nodded. "I would like that very much."

When we got there, the tent was still up. Thank God. I nearly did a happy dance but decided against it at the last moment.

Mason zipped open the tent. I heard his slight gasp.

"What?" I asked.

He didn't say anything. I peered over his shoulder to look inside. I froze.

There was a damn raccoon in my tent, a raccoon!

The gray furry creature stared at us unmoving. The light from the lantern showed his beady little black eyes. My bag had been ransacked.

"Oh hell no," I rushed into the tent.

"Stop," Mason grabbed my arm. "What are you doing?"

"Getting the raccoon out!" I whispered yelled. "That fucker has my Fritos!"

"No," Mason said gently. "He's probably got rabies,"

I huffed.

"It's okay, it's okay little Meeko…" he cooed, trying to calm the wild creature.

"Meeko?" I asked confused.

"The raccoon from Pocahontas." he explained.

"Oh."

The animal made a loud hissing noise.

I shoved Mason towards it. "Get him, Meeko! Don't get me!"

And then I ran for my life.