The last chapter... for now! Updated because of this special VA day and because you wanted it :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

We'd been in the hall for about 2 hours, and the snack buffet had been wheeled away to make the dance floor bigger. A couple of people were starting to show the effects of the alcohol they'd stashed in hip flasks under their dresses. I'd even see one novice with a bottle of vodka strapped to her thigh in a stake holster she'd probably stolen off a Guardian. I didn't know where to roll my eyes or congratulate her on the ingenuity of it.

A slow song had just come on, one that Sophia had requested, so I'd left the dance floor to have a break. There was a cluster of tables and chairs at the back of the hall, and I took a seat in the corner. Putting my feet out on the one opposite, I started to people watch.
Sophia and Jet were revolving slowly on the dance floor, both sets of green eyes glowing as the coloured disco lights flashed above them.
Lily had reluctantly agreed to dance with Mason, and was standing awkwardly in front of him with her hands on his shoulders whilst he shifted from foot to foot with a stoic expression on his face. When Mason took anything that seriously, you knew it was a joke.

Marina and Angelo were standing off to the side of the hall, not dancing, but apparently making the most of each other's company. I turned away from the missing couple to see Ash lounging in one of the few couches, soda in hand. Even he looked pretty content. I had been glad for the break in seeing couples; Ash on his own hadn't stirred up any of the feelings the others had. But that changed when I saw a certain lone Dhampir leaning against the wall by the DJ booth, looking right at me.
I tore my gaze away from Aleks, fiddling with my bag strap and checking the time on my phone. When I looked up again, to my relief, he had gone.

That relief dissipated a moment later when I heard my name.
"Anya."
Slowly, I looked up at the person who had spoken. Aleks stood in front of me, expression wary, but determined. He held his hand out, and I stared dumbly at it for a few seconds. "Dance with me." He smiled cautiously, and for some reason I couldn't quite explain, I found myself taking the offered hand, dumbly allowing him to lead me to the dance floor.

Just as we reached the centre, marked by a small pattern on the wooden floor, the song changed. I recognised it, and my eyes shot up to meet Aleks'.

"I'm so sorry, Anya." He sighed. "I never wanted to hurt you, I just... things started going wrong, and I felt like I was losing control of my life. I tried to compensate for that, prove that I could make the best of things and that I didn't need anyone. Then something else happened, but I didn't know how to tell you. We'd gone too far already, and I couldn't come running back the first time I needed you. I thought I was being strong, but I was just hiding from my problems instead of confronting them-"

I shushed him, taking his hand. "Come on, let's get out of here. Then on can tell me exactly what happened." I wasn't going to forgive him so easily, but didn't want to make a scene in front of everyone- I'd had enough of that already. If he had something to say, I'd listen, if only to get him to shut up and leave me alone for the rest of the night.

Aleks let me drag him over to the Dhampir dorms, and after almost bumping into 2 sets of people making out in the shadows, I realised there was only one place we could go to talk.
Navigating the route to the rooftop wasn't easy in a full-length dress, but is done it so many times in the darkness that the dawn light made it possible.
When we got to the rooftop, I stood at the edge and looked out over the school, hearing the music drifting from the hall, filling the clear air. Last night's storm had passed, leaving the air refreshed and cool in its wake.
Aleks came to stand beside me, and I felt something soft and heavy drape over my shoulders. I hadn't realised how cold I was until Aleks gave me his warm suit jacket.

"So, are you going to tell me this secret? Or do I have to guess and wait another 3 months for the answer?" I asked without looking.

Aleks sighed, leaning forward to rest against the wall. "Before I heard about this exchange trip, mama had been acting strange for a couple of weeks. That's not too unusual, when my brother hasn't called in a while. But she seemed even more uneasy, always on edge and jumping every time the phone or doorbell rang. When I asked what was wrong, she'd just tell me it was nothing. Then, next thing I knew, she'd spoken to my teacher and I was coming here.
It was fine for a couple of months, until I got a got a call from her. She said she couldn't keep it from me any longer, because he'd been without contact for six months."

"Wait, -?"

"Yes. It turns out that Pavel had gone on a secret Guardian mission where they didn't have a set time for return. But a month after the last time of contact with the Head Guardian, they declared the team missing. They were looking for them, but they'd only found one member, and they didn't remember anything except that it had gone wrong. When mama realised she couldn't hide it from me much longer, she decided to send me here to protect me until they found Pavel- dead or alive. But once the date passed, and the Guardians stopped searching, she had to tell me. Missing, presumed dead," he added bitterly.

I remembered Aleks' thick file from when I'd broken into Kirova's office, the Guardians'' official documents. "Oh Aleks..."

"It gets worse. The day mama called me was the day before the room transfer. Tom's mom was killed on the day of the last check of the area where they disappeared. With everything that was happening, I didn't get a chance to tell you what had happened."

My hand shot to my mouth, and I felt a burn in my eyes that told me tears weren't far behind. Though a few years older than us, I'd always counted Pavel as a friend. He'd always had time for me and treated me like family whenever I was in Baia.

Aleks turned to look at me then, and his face was hard and guarded. "It was easier to spend time with Hayden, because I didn't feel like I had to hide things with him. None of them cared about me, couldn't tell when something was wrong. You knew something was the matter, but I couldn't tell you what.
I couldn't believe he was dead, Anya. I tried to deny it, and as long as I didn't believe he was dead, I couldn't mourn him. I knew that you'd think that not being able to cry for my brother was unhealthy, and you'd try to help. I didn't want help, I'm a Guardian. Death is a part of our lives, and I wanted to be able to move on from it. But that would mean admitting it happened, which I didn't want to do. So I drowned it out with alcohol and parties and people who didn't know me."

I felt that pity for him again, and wanted to reach out and take his hand, but something held me back. He still had things to explain, and though what had happened was awful, it didn't excuse what he'd said to me.
"Go on."

"Then, I got another call. Mama had heard from Pavel. For a moment, I thought it was going to be okay. But before I had time to feel any relief, she told me something else. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive either. And he was looking for me."
I gasped.
"He wanted to turn me, have me with him as a Strigoi. Mama left Baia so he wouldn't be tempted to go and search for her, and went to stay in Omsk- get lost in the crowd. So she could keep me and everyone in Baia safe. She's still there, but moves around the city." Aleks' emotionless mask finally began to slip. "I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell you that you might be in danger because of me, couldn't admit I'd been lying for months. This was just before your birthday. Then we went to Rhonda, and she told my fortune, and I knew you would figure it out. So when we got back to school, I stopped taking to you, so I wouldn't have to lie. Then listened to Brooke and Hayden's stories, and I thought that you had been keeping things from me too. After everyone trying to hide things from me, my trust in everyone was fragile. So then I snapped, and said that shit to you. And by the time I realised how wrong I was, how pushing you away was the worst thing I could have done for anyone, it was too late. I'm so sorry, Anya, and I understand how much I hurt you. I won't blame you if you never forgive me. I let my own..."

"Emotional-fuckwitness?" I supplied.

"Yeah, that. I let it cloud my judgement and lose my chance, ruin what we had. I spiralled out of control, I didn't recognise myself, and didn't care enough to stop. But when you told me you'd given up on me... I remembered. If you had given up, if I'd changed into something so terrible that you couldn't love me anymore, then I didn't want to be that.
I cried after you left me here. How could I cry because of something you said, when I couldn't for my brother's death?" He asked rhetorically. "Because you're more important to me than anyone else in the world. I love my brother, and I've always loved you like a sister. But the only way you leaving could hurt that much is if I was in love with you." His voice cracked a little. "I love you, Anya. I know that now."

This was so surreal. So long I'd waited for this, but now it was happening I wasn't so sure what was going on. It was like a dream, a memory. Since then, I'd changed, I'd grown up.
When I'd walked away from Aleks, given up on him, I'd given up on a part of me. But who I was then would always be a part of me. And that part of me would always love him.
But was it enough?

"I'm so sorry, Asya. I know that I've missed my chance, and that this is probably too little, too late. But I swear, if you'll let me back into your life, I'll spend forever being whatever you need me to be. I just miss you so much, I wish you knew how much, but-"

"Ssh." I closed my eyes, trying to make sense of what was happening. There was something... I could feel...

"-more than anything-"

"Ssh!" I laid a finger against Aleks' lips, and he fell quiet. Something was happening, and I reached out my senses to try and let it in. "I know." I whispered. Before he could say another word, I continued, "I can feel it. I can feel you."

Aleks looked startled. "You mean..."

I nodded. "Yeah."

"But you never could. I was 'quiet'."

"I guess you're no longer an emotionally constipated fuckwit." I teased.

"Romantic," he replied sarcastically.

"No, but this is." Then I reached up and pressed my lips to his.

Just because I'd let go of Aleks, I hadn't yet moved on. I had been telling the truth- my love had faded. But like the sunlight dimmed as it was hidden behind clouds, once those obstacles passed, the light could return. Like a picture faded by too much sunlight, with care and work, it could be restored.

He'd hurt me- badly- and I wouldn't forget that. He'd made so many mistakes, but I appreciated he'd been through a lot. And he'd admitted to those mistakes, the stubbornness and flaws that had led to everything going wrong were flaws of the real Aleks, the one I'd fallen in love with. Bad circumstances had created a perfect storm, and though he hadn't weathered it well, he'd left that behind. Realising what he'd done wrong and admitting to it were things that Aleks hated doing. The fact he'd just done that, and apologised profusely, proved that he was trying to be better.

The music changed to another slow song, and I broke the kiss, dropping my head to rest on his shoulder. We rotated slowly, half-dancing, half just getting lost in the embrace.
"So does this mean I'm forgiven?" Aleks asked.

"...think of it as being on probation. We'll have to see how this goes for now. Just don't screw up this second chance." I let those words sink in for a minute. "But yeah, I forgive you. And I love you."

His breath caught as I said that, and he kissed me again.
When we broke apart, I kept a hand on his face. He sighed, but it wasn't completely happy.
"It's not perfect, there are still things we need to fix, but we'll get through this, Aleks. We have each other."

This forgiveness wasn't a choice, but letting him back into my life- and my heart- was. It wasn't weakness to forgive someone- sometimes that took more strength than anything. Aleks needed me right now, and wouldn't let him down.

"And I promise I'll help you with your brother. If he comes for you, we'll be waiting. You're not the first to lose a loved one to the Strigoi, but we know that it doesn't have to stay that way. It's still a taboo, but... well, it's one I'm willing to break. After all, I wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Are you saying..."

"Yeah." I paused. "It might not be possible, it could be too late, but if we get the chance, I'll help you. If he comes to you, or if we have to search for him. It's a couple of years until we graduate, but if you want, we can look then."

Aleks smiled as he covered my hand with his, before dropping our now entwined hands to rest above his heart.
"Thank you, Asya. We'll we how it goes, but... it means so much to me that you would do that for me. That you'll give me another chance."
I smiled, pressing myself closer. He wrapped his free hand around my waist, pulling me against him.
"Just remember that, yeah? Because if you ever pull something like that again, I'll kill you myself."

"Understood."

Above us, the sky had grown lighter, it was late in the Moroi night. The sun was climbing steadily higher, but the moon had still refused to fade. They hung side by side, content to coexist in this moment of peace. A warm breeze blew across the rooftop, and the raven that had come to be a familiar sight coasted along on an updraft.

Things had changed, and so had I. But maybe, after everything, it had been for the better.

I was looking forward to finding out.

That's all for now! But the next story is in progress, albeit the early stages, but hopefully you won't have to wait too long.
Thank you all for this taking this journey with me, we'll be on the road again soon!

Reviews are love :D