Never Too Late: A VA Fanfiction

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don’t own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does.

RPOV:

Just as Dimitri had told him, Jesse left me completely alone in the following days. It was a nice change, since he would constantly make flirty remarks that tended to be downright vulgar and annoying. Dimitri now almost always walked me to my room after every training session, and was always a little ways away from my table, watching for trouble. Ordinarily, that kind of overprotective behavior would irritate me, but with Dimitri, I knew that he meant well, and that nobody would bother me if he was around, which was a welcome change. For the first time in months, I was able to relax, knowing Lissa, my baby, and I were safe.

This peace lasted for the next week or so, until Janine decided to visit.

~*~

I walked into training one morning about a week after the Jesse incident, to find Dimitri talking to a tall Moroi guy about his age. The guy had light brown hair and beautiful blue green eyes like a stormy sea. He was a couple inches shorter than Dimitri, and it was clear by the way he was dressed that he had money.

The two of them were talking like old friends, so I came to the conclusion that this was Ivan, Dimitri's best friend and former charge.

Dimitri looked up when I dropped my stuff on the ground and smiled.

“Rose! There you are, you're ten minutes late!” he called out, not moving from his spot. I took this to mean that it was my move; if I wanted to get closer to this new guy, I was welcome to, but I didn't have to.

“Sorry, Comrade, my alarm clock was having difficulties this morning,” I joked, walking slowly toward them.

“Oh, really? Did it have another battle with the wall?” he challenged, his voice teasing.

I looked at him seriously and nodded. “Uh – huh; this one lost too.” I sighed dramatically. “I can't find a worthy opponent for my wall – they all lose no matter what.” I pretended to be sad.

Dimitri laughed his beautiful laugh. “Don't worry, Roza, I’ll find you an alarm clock that will withstand even a beating by the wall – one that's caused by you,” he promised. I had never seen Dimitri in such high spirits. Yes, he was usually fun to be around, but he was also slightly guarded. That's not to say he wasn't now, because he was; he watched the entire area, since there was a Moroi around, but his personality was more open than usually. He laughed much easier, and I knew it was because his friend was here. Speaking of...

I turned to the Moroi. “Are you the infamous Ivan Zeklos Dimitri talks so reverently about?” I joked.

Ivan raised an eyebrow. “He talks reverently about me? Really? Huh. Is there something you're not telling me, Dimitri?” he played along.

Dimitri rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’ve been waiting for this day for many years, Ivan!” he exclaimed dramatically. “I love you with all my heart, my dearest Ivan. You're the only one for me!” he pressed his hands to his heart to emphasize his point.

Ivan struggled to keep a straight face, while I was practically dying with laughter. “You feel that way about me Dimitri, really? Oh, I’ve waited so long for you to say those words! I thought you never would!” he cried out in a girly voice, then threw his arms around Dimitri, like a lover would. By this point I was rolling on the floor from laughing too much.

Ivan pulled away from Dimitri and took a step towards me, but Dimitri stopped him with his arm, and shook his head. Instead, Dimitri walked over to me and stood as close as he could.

“You alright there, Roza?” he asked his voice filled with amusement. I noticed that this was the second time that he'd called me Roza today. I knew he only called me that on rare occasions, when he was feeling affectionate, or when he was trying to make me feel better. Sometimes I don't think he even realized that he called me that, but I felt a thrill go through me every time he called me that.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, doing my best to not show him how that name affected me.

We joked around for a few minutes, before the gym door opened.

Janine Hathaway walked in.

A/N: Okay, so I was planning on making this chapter much longer, but once I reached this part, I saw it as a perfect place to stop.