Quote of the Chapter

"When two people really care each other, they always find a way to make it work. 

No matter how hard it is."

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Song of the Chapter

Heaven only knows where you've been /But I don't really need to know/I know where you're gonna go/On my heart, where you're resting your head/And you just look so beautiful/It's like you were an angel/Can I stop the flow of time?/Can I swim in your divine?/'Cause I don't think I'd ever leave this place/Oh, turn the lights turn the lights down low/Yeah, now I'm feeling you breathing slow/'Cause, baby, we're just reckless kids/Trying to find an island in the flood/Oh, turn the lights, turn the lights down low, 

Lights Down Low by MAX

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Cast of the Chapter

Unavailable

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EDITED

Rose's Point of View

I took some medicine and sat at the dining table ever since Olena left. My tears were long gone and unanswered questions occupied my mind. I looked at the clock and realized that school had just finished. I wanted to class Lissa badly and vent out my frustration. She would know what I should do.

I sighed and picked up my phone calling Lissa. But she couldn't pick up her phone,so I sent her a voicemail. 

"Hey Lissa, call me back whenever you have time. Something just happened and I-I really need your help. If you can come over, that would be great," I recorded my voicemail and hit 'send'. Feeling drowsy, I made my way back to bed and heard the echoes of Olena's words in my head. It felt like a slap to my face. Numbness.

Oh gosh..........

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Lissa called back and told me she was coming over. Ten minutes after her phone call, she arrived looking frustrated as well. Well, looks like we're both having a bad day.

She dropped her bag and folders all on the floor with a tired sigh. Then she threw herself on my bed, her platinum blonde hair covering her face. I looked at her and asked, "What the heck happened to you?"

She sat up looking angry. "Can you believe it?! Our beloved principle decided to put Christian Ozera in my 'Meet&Greet' group! I'm the president and I didn't even have a say in that. Of all the people, it had to be him. And we're supposed to organize a one-week camp for the freshmen. I can't even talk to him without getting frustrated," she said, running her fingers through her hair. Christian Ozera was the black-haired, blue-eyed brother of Natasha Ozera. Fate was throwing all of my friends and I into the bad boys of our school. One by one.

I gave her an apologetic smile and said, "Dimitri's mom came over today." She snapped her head to me looking alert. "What does she want?" Lissa asked, tucking her hair behind her ears. Just thinking of her words could easily make me cry. A tear slipped down my face and I quickly wiped it away.

"She wanted me to grow up and face reality," I answered, looking at my nails.

Lissa got off my bed and asked, "What the heck did she mean by that?" 

"Dimitri and I will never work out. We're from different worlds. That's reality, Lissa. I'm not Cinderella," I said and laughed humorlessly. My own words stung and the cuts from Dimitri's mom were still fresh from earlier today.

She scoffed, flipping her hair back dramatically. "You're right. You're not Cinderella, but you're Rose Hathaway. She's probably scared that her only son's reputation is going to be tainted. All she can do is fill your head with doubts. Talk to Dimitri, Rose. You guys gotta work together if you want this blooming relationship to work out," she said, looking at me with her jade green eyes. Then she made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.

Her words of encouragement was nice, but........

"He's getting married after graduation."

POOSH!

Lissa spat out all the water looking at me as if I grew a second head. "He's what?!" She screeched, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. I shrugged and said, "Getting married." The truth was heavy and if he was getting married after graduation, he must have a fiancée. I felt my face pale at the thought of his fiancée. 

"Okay. This is a lot more complicated than what I thought at first. But she hasn't announced the engagement yet, but be smart, Rose. I think you should ask Dimitri about all of this first. Like I said before, talk to him."

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My hands shook as I made my way to Dimitri. I stood behind him and he turned around smiling at me. My heart fluttered and for a few seconds I forgot what I was going to say. I swallowed and asked, "Can we talk?" I haven't fully recovered, but I felt the need to sort things out as soon as possible.

He nodded and we went into an empty classroom. I faced him and quickly asked, "Are you getting married after graduation?" My first question caught him by surprise, and it slowly turned to anger. His body tensed up and I knew from his reaction that it was true. "Who told you that?" He asked, frowning deeply.

I twisted of the straps of my backpack and said, "You didn't answer my question. Are you getting married after graduation?" He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Rose, please tell me who told you this."

I shook my head and said, "After you answer my question." He threw his hands up in frustration and said, "I don't know! I don't want to, but I don't really have a choice-"

"We all have a choice. Just like when I was with my parents. I thought I was stuck there forever, but then you came and pulled me out. So I really think otherwise," I said, feeling tears swell up. My parents were a sore subject for me. In my darkest times, Dimitri held my hand and guided me into light. I was hoping I could do the same for him.

"My mother told you this," he stated, and a look of anger and pain crossed his features. I remained silent. 

"I'm sure you have a fiancée," I said, looking at him. 

"Doesn't change the fact that I love you," he snapped. His words caught me in a breathless moment. He loved me. But was it fair to his future spouse that he was in love me and not her? 

"If you're thinking that she cares about what's going on between us; she doesn't care at all. She even has a boyfriend and even if we did get married, faithfulness is not going to be one of the qualities of the marriage between her and I. But right now and right here, I love you. I don't care what my mother told you. Now since that you brought all of this up, will you be my girlfriend?"

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After that talk with Dimitri, I felt much better even though I felt this bad feeling nagging at my sides. I agreed on becoming his girlfriend not knowing how long it was going to last. We decided to do our best and as long as nobody knew of the engagement between Dimitri and his fiancée, we were fine. If the news broke out, hell would break loose. 

"Did you talk to him?" Lissa asked, joining me in the hallway.

I smiled at her and said, "Yes, thank you." She threw me a proud smile and draped her arm over my shoulders. Then I saw Sydney climbing into the back of a car with Adrian right behind her. I frowned and asked, "Do you know what's going on between Adrian and Sydney?"

"No. I tried talking to her yesterday, but she kindly told me to mind my own business."

I looked at Lissa not believing her. That did not sound like the Sydney we knew. Surely, something must have gone wrong. I was worried about her. I sighed and said, "At least we tried. It's just she looked so tired today and she didn't even talk to me." Her bright innocent eyes were now dull and she had dark circle around her eyes. 

As we were heading out, Christian Ozera came and stood right in front of Lissa, not acknowledging me at all. The smile immediately fell from Lissa's face and an angry scowl replaced it. Man, she really hated his guts. I believed it was because of the way they work. Lissa was uptight, a bit bossy, and fully embraced the fact that she was the president of her 'Meet&Greet' group. Maybe she embraced that fact a little too tight and did not allow room for others to breathe as well.

"Christian."

"Lissa," he said with a sly smirk on his face.

She glared at him and asked, "What?"

"We need to get together and plan out the camp for the freshmen," he stated. His blue eyes were twinkling and I knew he was tempted to drive Lissa insane. 

Lissa forced a fake a smile to her face and said, "Don't worry, Christian. I already planned it all out." Every year, Lissa would hold her meetings at her home, but I had a feeling that this blue-eyed boy was the reason why she didn't this time.

"Did you forget again that we're supposed to plan this together? Because the last time I checked, my parents own Lake Sunny Hill and the cabins."

Lake Sunny Hill was the most beautiful lake in our area. I went there only once and for a short time. Everybody loved going to camp there, but the property belonged to the Ozeras and the expenses were a bit high. Not very many schools could afford to organize a camp there. Lissa narrowed her eyes at him and he continued, "You know how excited the freshmen would be if they were to camp there."

I glanced at Lissa who looked like she was one inch from exploding with anger. Her hands were balled up into fists and she said, "I will consider your idea. But remember, Christian, I can easily manage everything without you." Translation: You are not needed here. With that, she walked ahead of me to her car. Christian smirked and walked off leaving me. I followed Lissa to her car and found her leaning against it.

She turned to me and said, "It's so frustrating." 

"Why does he make you so frustrated, Lissa?" I asked, wanting her to open her heart out to me. We were best friends after all.

She ran her fingers through her hair and said, "He just knows how to push my buttons and make me so angry. I just hate his blue eyes and that stupid smirk!" She threw her hands up and got into her car. I got into the passenger seat and buckled in my seat belt. To be honest, I had never seen Lissa this frustrated. She usually doesn't lose her cool like this.

"Does ice cream sound appealing to you?" I asked, looking at her.

She sighed and said, "Yeah, that actually sounds great. Let me text my mom first." She took out her phone and sent a text to her mom and started her car. We had this little ice cream booth that was not very popular among the high school kids, but held sweet memories. It was cheap and incredibly simple. 

Lissa parked her car near the booth and we got out. The booth was looking a little rundown, but the ice cream was still good. Once we got our ice cream, Lissa ate hers in silence probably thinking of a certain black-haired boy. "Lissa, relax. He's not going to pop out and take your ice cream away," I said, smiling a little.

She scrunched up her face and said, "I can't believe him. Lake Sunny Hill.......gorgeous place. Who wouldn't want to camp there? I have always wanted to camp there and stay in one of the cabins. Hate to admit this, but my pride is a pain in my butt right now."

I laughed and said, "Just talk to him." She scrunched up her face.

"Great, now you sound like me."

I smiled and bit into my cone. "I just don't know how to approach him and not seem desperate for the beautiful campsite his family owns," Lissa said, pouting. She could actually be really sweet, but sometimes the bossy side got the best of her. She was confident and very determined when she has a goal. I just thought her goal didn't include Christian Ozera. Something was definitely going on. I couldn't help it but feel giddy about it, though.

"Imagine me, Vasilisa Dragomir, the president of 'Meet&Greet' group taking the freshmen to Lake Sunny Hill for a one-week camp. Sounds like a dream," she said dreamily. That was Lissa. She wanted to get the best of everything she did. Of course, she would totally gain a lot of attention and make her parents really proud. I didn't blame her. She had a good reputation among the student population. She ran groups and organized many parties for the school which reminded me of prom.

"Hey, what about prom?" I asked and licked my ice cream. Her eyes sparkled as a happy smile spread across her baby pink lips.

"It is only a few months away if we think about. We've come pretty far. Thick and thin and everything, especially for you," she said. "I haven't planned prom yet, but I'm hoping that some of the girls could throw in some ideas after the freshmen camp. But before the freshmen camp, your competition comes first. When is it?"

"We leave for New York on Saturday and I will be performing on Monday night. We come back on Friday. Three days of fun," I said, imagining myself in a city so big like that. Lissa grinned and said, "Girl, we're gonna rock this trip. I've been to New York once and the cityscape was really cool, but the people weren't that friendly. Other than that, it was great. We're gonna have so much fun. Will Mia be going with us?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she's part of the performance. What about Sydney? Do you think she wants to go?" I asked, sounding a bit unsure.

She shrugged and said, "Try calling her." 

I fished out my phone and dialed Sydney's number.

"I'm sorry, the old Sydney can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead!" 

I burst out laughing. That girl definitely had humor in her. Lissa frowned and I handed my phone to her. After a few seconds, she burst out laughing. "She is definitely a Swiftie," Lissa said, giving back my phone. I tried calling her again, but it kept putting to her voicemail. I groaned and gave up. Well, for now.

"I'll call her later. Maybe she's really busy," I muttered.

"Maybe she's really dead," Lissa said, playing on her phone.

I couldn't help it but think of Sydney and Adrian. My guts told me that something was wrong. 

Maybe she wants to take a bite out of the poisonous fruit?

But what if he really makes her happy? I should just be happy for her.

Maybe I'm worrying too much about her?

I shook my head and glanced at my watch. Dang it. I looked up at Lissa and said, "Can you drop me off? I want to finish my homework and get to work." She nodded and we quickly got into her car. She dropped me off at my place and asked, "Where are you working?"

"Jupiter Records," I answered as I made my way out of her car. 

She smiled and said, "Congrats, Rose. You should look in the internship programs that the school has so you don't have to worry about schoolwork that much." I nodded and thanked her. She really was a great friend. I quickly unlocked my apartment and finished up my homework. Once I was done, I got on a bus that took me into the city. It stopped right in front of Jupiter Records and I was greeted by Victor Dashkov, co-owner of Jupiter Records.

"Good to see you, Rose. They're waiting for you," he said, ushered me into the elevator. It was the audition for the uprising artist and many singers applied. I was just there to organize and help around. My big shot was in New York, not here. I reached the fifth floor and once the elevator's doors opened, I could hear the singers warming up. Many knew how to sing, but not many had a unique voice.

I went to the white table and poured water into glasses. I carried the tray around serving water to the singers. Some of the girls were sopranos, but it wasn't smooth and relaxing to the ears at all. Then a guitarist turned jamming his elbow into the tray I was carrying. The water splashed all over me and the glasses were broken on the floor.

No! No! This is disastrous!

My cheeks burned from embarrassment and I was totally worn out from running around. The guitarist shrugged like nothing happened and went to back to whatever he was doing. Jerk. I sighed and carefully picked up the shards of glass off the floor. Then Victor came and displeasure was plastered on his face. "I'm gonna let you go this once, Rose. You have to watch where you're going," he said and walked away calling the next person in.

I closed my eyes. That stung. I continued cleaning up until the floor was clear of glass again. I went back to serving water and making sure everyone knew their number. Hours went by and it was already eight in the evening. Victor gave me a long list of people who didn't pass the audition. I sat down at the white table and said, "I will be announcing the names of those who didn't pass. For those who did, please come back tomorrow." I had everyone's attention.

I started to read out names clearly and loudly. There were many looks of anger and disappointment. I read out a man's name and he stormed over to me. It was the guitarist who actually bumped into me. He slammed both of his hands on the white table making me jump.

He looked hateful and grabbed my wrist jerking me up to my feet.

"You, listen to me, you litt-" 

"Unhand her now."

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

&

Happy Holidays!

I'm sorry I didn't update on Christmas (I was planning to), but we had a big family dinner and I was busy decorating our place. But I hope you enjoyed this long chapter. Consider this as my gift to you. Thank you so much for being so patient with me. I still remember wishing all of you 'merry christmas' from last year. Oh, sweet memories!

Love,

Iris