Quote of the Chapter

"And somehow, against all reason, we were kissing. I closed my eyes and the whole world around me faded."

- Richelle Mead

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Song of the Chapter

  It's you babe
And I'm a sucker for the way that you move babe
And I could try to run but it would be useless
You're to blame
Just one hit, you will know I'll never be the same  

I'll never be the same by Camila Cabello

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Cast of the Chapter

Unavailable at the moment

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EDITED

Rose's Point of View

I wasn't myself. This body was no longer mine. The temptation to kiss him was alluring and indescribable. I let my eyes fluttered close when I felt his lips on mine. His hands found its way around my waist pulling me closer to him. My heart was beating wildly in my chest. A colorful mixture of excitement and fear ignited in me. Was this how a first kiss suppose to make you feel?

Is it normal for my heart to beat at this abnormal rate just because of my first kiss?  

My head felt light and I was on the verge of passing out. We pulled away from the kiss and Dimitri chuckled when he saw my face. I could literally feel the blood draining from my face.

"You look pale as a ghost, Rose."

I nodded and suddenly my legs just gave out on me. If it wasn't for Dimitri, I would have fallen on my knees. I grasped my head and tried to steady myself. I stood up and looked at Dimitri frowning.

"Does this happen to all the girls you kiss?" I asked, without thinking.

He looked amused as ever at my question. "No, you're actually the first. And for the record? I have only kissed two girls in my life. The first one seemed to enjoy it way too much and the second one was on the verge of passing out. I think you can pretty much figure which girl is you," he said, taking the key from my hand and unlocking the door. He gently guided into my apartment and told me to take a seat.

Hello? This apartment belongs to me and not you?

Sighing, I dropped myself onto the couch and closed my eyes. "If this happens every time I kiss you, I better not do it at all," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. I could hear Dimitri's laugh from my little kitchen around the corner. 

I opened my eyes to the sound of Dimitri's footsteps. He came back with a glass of water for me. I gratefully took it from him and drank the whole glass. After a few minutes, I finally felt like myself again. That first kiss was weird and I knew exactly what I was going to do afterward. I was going to call my best friend Lissa. She was going to freak out and probably come over to my place asking millions of questions. I rolled my eyes at my thoughts and focused my attention on Dimitri. And that boy was busy typing on his phone like his life depended on it.

I couldn't help it, but wonder how many hours he spends on his phone. I knew that he had his own companies and co-working with his parents. Did his work require a lot of his time? I was not a dummy. He probably worked all day long sometimes, remembering those days when he did not show up at school and all the girls were talking about him. I just wondered if he had time to enjoy his teenage life. He had everything. Expensive fast cars and pretty girls, even though, he never dated the girls at school. There were rumors that he was engaged. I was curious about which rumor was true.

It was impossible to go to school without hearing his name spoken by the girls there. Some even said he was engaged to a Bristish model and the other friend would object saying he was engaged to a royalty, in which, I found to be absurd. It was hard not to roll my eyes at their stupid theories of his personal life.

"You're thinking hard," he stated, still tapping on his phone.

I sighed and said, "Yep! And you're typing on your phone."

"It's the annual report."

"I was thinking about all the crazy things the girls at school say about you."

"Which one? Being a Russian spy is my favorite out of all." 

I burst out laughing not really believing that someone could come up with something that crazy. Saying that he was engaged to a royalty was pretty much the craziest one I've heard. But him being a Russian spy was just lit. 

"No way!" I laughed, shaking my head.

He looked up from his phone and said, "I even heard them say that I was selling information to America."

"That's just crazy."

"That would make an Oscar-deserving movie."

We both laughed. People had the craziest ideas. But Dimitri was right. That would definitely make an Oscar-deserving movie right alongside James Bond. These girls would make great screenwriters, judging from their ability to turn reality to fantasy in such a way. There was no denying that it took talent.

Then Dimitri stood up and slipped his phone into the pocket of his pants. I frowned and asked, "You're leaving?"

"Wow, you sound hopeful," he said teasingly.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. He stepped closer to me and asked, "You'll trust me no matter what, right?" I couldn't understand why he was asking me that, but I did trust him. I knew he'd protect me no matter what. If there was one boy who dragged me to the police and helped me put my abusive parents in jail, that boy would be him and he did that exactly. So, yeah, I trusted him with my life.

"Yeah, I do." 

Somehow I felt like something was going to happen soon. I didn't know what it was, but it was going to happen. He nodded and quickly kissed me on my lips making my world spin again. With a smile, he walked to the door and said, "Practice makes perfect." I grabbed a pillow and threw it in his direction. His playful statement left me blushing red.

I walked over to my bed and unplugged my phone from the charger.

"Hello?"

"Vasilisa Dragomir, we need to talk."

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My apartment door burst open revealing Lissa in her pink pajamas and her blonde hair was going in every direction. In her hand was her sleepover bag. She was panting as if she just had run here. I blinked my eyes not believing that she was here. Seriously, we could've talked on the phone. But she just hung up on me and left me confused.

"Did I hear you correctly?" she asked, still panting as she made her way to my couch.

I nodded to confirm what I said on the phone.

*Flashback

"We kissed," I said.

BEEP!

*End of flashback

Lissa looked dumbfounded as ever. Her mouth was hanging open welcoming a swarm of flies into her mouth. I waited for her to say something, anything. She closed her eyes and mouth. Then she opened them and asked, "Did you enjoy your first kiss?"

"Despite feeling lightheaded, it was a world-spinning kiss."

"I can't believe you kissed him."

"Twice. Well, the first time I was half way to kissing him and he leaned in. The second time he did," I mumbled, pulling the split-ends of my hair.

I could still feel his lips on mine. Lissa was looking at me with a small smile on her lips. I couldn't help it, but smile and hide my red face behind a pillow. We both giggled and talked about the upcoming competition. I was excited and a bit worried, though. It was going to be my first time performing in front of so many people. 

"New York is going to be blown away, Rose. You're gonna do great," Lissa said.

The competition was going to be held at Crimson Theatre in New York. We have been preparing ourselves for this competition for a long time.

I nodded and said, "I hope I will. It's my chance to get into Trinity College of Performing Arts. If I blow this up, I'm gonna have to apply to another college." Lissa gave me a gentle smile and held my hand.

"You'll win, Rose. I know you will," she said, looking at me with her jade green eyes. 

I really did have the best of best friends. She was amazing and understood me. I felt so alive knowing that nothing was going to hold me back. No one was going to stop me from doing what I loved. I had people that loved me and I loved them. Nothing was greater than that. My old shadowy life was almost gone. I felt like a normal girl. I had the girl best friend and had my first kiss. All the things that normal girls got to do, I was slowly getting mine. 

The fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach was foreign, yet, beautiful at the same time. I loved every bit of it.

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I opened my eyes to the bright sunlight and smiled. I used to hate waking up to a new day. I hated waking up and live my life all over again; going to the same places, doing same things, and enduring the same beatings. But all of that was gone. Sometimes I often wondered how my parents were doing. Were they missing me? Even for a little bit? Even for a split of a second, did they think of me? 

The familiar pain settled heavily on my chest making it hard to breathe properly. I swallowed and closed my eyes.

"It's over, Rose. Forget them," I told myself.

I finally dragged myself out of bed and got ready for school eager to see Dimitri for an unknown reason. Just the thought of him made me happy. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I looked so different. I was wearing a pain of skinny jeans and a white blouse. I suddenly felt like I did not look presentable. With a tired sigh, I walked to my closet and pulled out a burgundy dress. It reached my knees and I felt absolutely beautiful in it. I loved the dress. It was the first dress I bought for myself after my parents' trial.

I grabbed a white sweater and slipped it on. Then I decided to wear my favorite black flats with ankle straps. Looking at the clock, I realized that I only had twenty minutes to get to school. I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the door locking it on the way out.

When I arrived at school, as usual, my friends were waiting for me. I knew that they were going to ask about my dress. I have never worn dresses to school, but we always have our first times, right? Mia, Sydney, especially Lissa, all raised their eyebrows at me.

"What's with the dress?" Mia asked, looking up and down at me.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "When did it become illegal to wear a dress to school?"

Lissa, on the other hand, had this sneaky smile plastered on her face. I gave her a hard look and said, "Don't." She let out a small laugh and shook her head.

"You look great in burgundy," Sydney said, offering me an encouraging me. I smiled and thanked her. I did not plan on telling the girls about Dimitri yet. I was not ready and things weren't that serious between us. Nothing was for sure. 

Then we walked into the school and many eyes were on me. Many of them were curious on why I was wearing a dress to school. Well, things have changed and so have I. I was free to do whatever I wanted, and that included wearing a dress.

As we walked down the hall, my eyes landed on Dimitri who was leaning against the lockers talking to his friends. Our eyes locked and that same lightheaded feeling overcame me. Our staring competition broke when I walked past him. 

"He couldn't take his eyes off of you," Lissa said quietly.

I blushed and elbowed her playfully. "Shut up, Vasilisa!"

We had to part ways because our lockers were away from each other. I opened my locker and was about to take out my books when a tall boy came over to me. He had black hair and dark brown eyes with high cheekbones. I did see him around, but never paid much attention.

He looked so nervous to be standing in front of me. Did I look scary?

"H-hi," he stuttered.

I smiled and said, "Hi."

"My name is Seth Maverick. I'm, uh, majoring in music too. I love hearing you sing. I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out with me after school today. You know, maybe at the ice cream parlor a few blocks from here," he said, looking at me with this spark in his eyes.

I crossed my arms and asked, "I do see you around here but not very often. I don't see you in music class."

"Oh, I'm in the school's orchestra. I play the violin," he said. 

That explains it........

I nodded and said, "I'll give you an answer later. Is that okay, Seth?" He nodded and held out the red rose.

"This is for you," he said. I took it from him and thanked him. I watched as he walked away and joined his group of friends. I turned back and closed my locker.

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It was lunch time and I haven't talked to Dimitri at all. It was a bit frustrating for me and I felt a bit edgy seeing Natasha there with them. I looked across the canteen and saw Seth. He caught me looking and smiled at me. I smiled back waving at him. I looked back down at my food and wondered why Dimitri did not talk to me yet. 

Maybe I should go up and just talk to him. But would that make me look desperate? No, Adrian Ivashkov was there and I was in no mood to put up with him.

I stood and walked to the table where Seth sat with his friends. He looked at me and immediately stood up. he cleared his throat and said, "Rose."

"Um, about the hang out after school, I would love to go to the ice cream parlor with you," I said, smiling. The most boyish grin was plastered on his face when I agreed to hang out with him. He nodded and said, "Okay, meet me outside of the music room."

"Okay."

2.4 k words. Phew! I am happy with this chapter and the upcoming chapter. Thank you for all the comments and understanding me. It is very late now. I need to go to bed. Good night and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thank you!

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