I wandered aimlessly through the empty hallways. Everyone else as at dinner, so I was free to be alone with my thoughts and feelings... And believe me, there were a lot of them. Everything was sort of jumbled like a rollercoaster and it had been bringing me down all week. I decided I'd had enough of walking down the hall and decided to go eat in the chapel.

One might be wondering why I was alone right now, since I was usually attached to Lissa's side. Lately Lissa had been M.I.A. and acting really strange. She seemed more distant than usual, and she was always blowing me off. She'd traded lunch today with me in favor of partying with her new moroi friends, the royals. I suppose I could've tagged along, but I felt more like the third-wheel.

The air outside was fairly warm despite the fact it was February. I glanced up at the stars and smiled. No matter what, I doubted I'd ever get tired of the view that the plains of Montana provided. The chapel was warmer and dimly lit with candles. I didn't really dig the whole "God" thing, so I figured this was the last place anyone would look for me.

If anyone had even noticed my absence, which was not likely. The only person here was Dimitri. Dimitri is my super hot mentor who had made it blatantly obvious that he viewed me as a child and had no romantic feelings towards me whatsoever. Or so he said, but I wasn't entirely convinced.

Sure, he was a few years older than me, and he was supposed to guard Lissa too, but what did I care? I shouldn't like him, since gaining feelings for another guardian, especially one who will be helping guard your best friend is not wise. But I guess common sense and I just don't seem to mix.

I snuck past him and went to eat in the attic. I didn't want to talk to anyone, or have to fake a smile, so hopefully this secluded attic would do the trick. It was very dusty, and there was a lot of junk crammed into the corners. Damn, this place sure was filthy. I sat on a barrel and began picking at the sandwich I had swiped from the kitchen earlier. It was sort of soggy now, but it was better than sitting alone in the cafeteria.

Suddenly the door opened, and in walked Christian Ozera. Out of all the people here, he had to be my least favorite. Now, I'm not saying I hated him... But if he was on fire and I had water, I'd drink it. His parents had willingly become strigoi, something that most dhampmirs and morois despised. Of course, I didn't judge Christian on that factor alone, since it wasn't his decision. No, I disliked him because he was rude, reckless, cocky, arrogant, and a huge pain in my ass. Judging by the glare he shot me, he felt the same way.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, arms folded, leaning in the doorway.

"Oh, you know, having tea with a strigoi. What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked, sarcasm oozing in my voice.

"It looks like you're invading my personal hideout."

"Oh, well, gee, I don't see your fucking name written on it." I point out, anger pulsing through my veins.

I wanted so badly to hit him, or the wall, or really anything would suffice.

"One sec." he says, smirking. His finger suddenly lights up in a flame, and he very carefully burns Christian into the wooden wall. "There, now my name is on it."

I return his smirk, whip out a knife, and just as quickly carve Rose into the wall. "Now my name is on it too."

"Don't you have somewhere better to be? Or something better to do than sit in my attic?" He grumbles, blue eyes fixated on me, his annoyance clear.

"First off, it isn't yours. It's public domain, and second, maybe I just didn't want to deal with people right now. So how about you fuck off, cry me a river, build a bridge, and go fuck yourself?"

"At least I don't hang around royal, stuck up snobs and stare at Dimitri like a bitch in heat."

"Excuse me? Dimitri is my guardian, nothing more. And one of those 'stuck up snobs' happens to be my best friend Lissa, who I know you have a thing for."

"Yeah, ok, keep telling yourself that. Look, I know you pine after Dimitri. It's kind of sad and pathetic. You like him, I like Lissa, so how about we make a deal?"

I glance at him warily. Forming an alliance with a self-absorbed asshole like Christian doesn't really sound like my cup of tea. Trusting people is a very dangerous game. Never fully trust anyone, even your shadow leaves you when it's dark.

"Depends on your deal."

"We pretend to date, we make them jealous, then we go back to hating each other and cursing each other's existence, deal?"

I examine his blank expression, looking for any traces of joking, but there are none. He's really serious. The rational part of me tells me that this is a very bad idea in itself, but then the thought of Dimitri having to suffer through what I did takes over and before I can stop them, that fateful word comes out. "Deal."

He holds out his hand, and I shake it, basically sealing my fate. "See you later, Hathaway. Try not to miss me too much." He calls as I push past him.

"Suck my majestic dick." I retort as I leave the chapel.

The whole time I walk back towards my dorm, I'm wondering what the hell I've managed to get myself into this time.