Does Love Really Fade? {Vampire Academy}

End of a Journey

Mhmmm not so soon. When I originally attempted to map out this fic, I told myself not more than twenty chapters. Whelp. It's gonna be longer than that. Whoops.

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Unsurprisingly, Daniel answered quickly, his face filling my screen, "Rose! This is the second time this week you've been up this early. How come you don't get up this early when I ask?"

I let out a small laugh, "I haven't exactly been sleeping on a regular schedule, so this doesn't feel that early."

"Mhm." He pursed his lips, clearly disapproving, "You're getting enough sleep though, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

He frowned, "Are you okay Rose? You seem...down."

I shrugged, "Kinda. It's been a bit crazier than I expected when I agreed to hang around for a month. I've just got a lot to think about."

"Are you...Are you considering staying for longer?"

If he has asked me a few days ago, I would have had a definitive answer. But now? "I don't know. Being with all my friends has made me realize how much I missed them. I grew up with these people, you know? And I left without any kind of goodbye."

Daniel nodded, "I mean, I don't want to tell you what to do, but didn't you leave for a reason?"

I sighed, "I'm starting to think I might have overreacted when I left. It's not that I regret it, not exactly, but I've missed a lot."

He smiled sadly, "Which means you need to stay."

"What?"

"Rose, I love having you here and I miss you like crazy, but it's clear that you're not going to be ready to come back any time soon. And even if you think you might have made a mistake, you need to stay there until you're absolutely sure."

"You realize what that entails though, right?"

He nodded, "I know."

"I don't want to string you along for who knows how long while I figure myself out. Especially because I've been really confused ever since I got here. Well, excluding the first day or so when I was just mad."

He chuckled, "I know. And I don't want you to be constantly having to worry about our relationship instead of focusing on yourself. I can't say I'm happy about this, but I hope you figure it out."

"Thank you for being so understanding, Daniel."

"We've been friends way longer than we dated. I'm not about to lose that because you're going through something. Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Please call Evelyn and Jacee more often. I don't want them coming after me when they find out you might be gone longer than expected."

I grinned, "I can probably do that."

He smiled back, "Well, I better get to my run. Guess I really gotta keep in shape now that I'm back on the market."

"Ass."

He winked at me before saying a real goodbye and hanging up. I leaned back at focused on the sun warming my face, relief spreading throughout my entire body. I'd figured Daniel would take it well, he was able to see the good in everything. Even so, that had gone better than expected. I looked to the front door, wondering where this left me. What, I walk up to Dimitri, say "I broke up with Daniel" and start making out?

The thought made me laugh out loud. No. I'd let Lissa know but besides her, I needed to process the break up by myself for a little bit. I took in one more big breath of warm morning air and went back inside. John and Emily were standing in the kitchen making a massive breakfast (it seemed they were aware of dhampir appetites, thank god.) and Jill was drilling Mikhail about Court life. He answered best he could, but he was a pretty low ranking dhampir, so he could only give her the basics. Jill's eyes lit up when she saw me, "Rose! There you are! I was just asking Guardian Tanner about Court, but maybe you could tell me more about it? I mean, I know that you and Lissa..."