Nephriel

Vampire Academy ~ Rememberance

He smiled, understanding her nervousness. "Oh... Kenzie isn't really allowed upstairs without adults because of all the stairs and as far as my parents go... they never come to my room. They have their own quarters... East wing is father and mother... west wing belongs to my two sisters... Upstairs is mine." He tucked her hair behind her ear and tugged her to set on his bed with him. "We don't have to do anything, though I'd be a liar to deny I was thinking about it a moment ago... but I don't want to push you." He shrugged, "I can wait."

He kissed her cheek, "Being with you, JUST being with you, makes me happy. We've got who knows how long to worry about the rest."

~*~

Anna grinned, "You missed."

She eyed the balls and took another shot knocking the white one into a color and knocking it down the hole successfully... but it was followed by the white one, so ending her turn. "Crap..."

Vampire Academy

Jace had been in the middle of conversing with Rae when Gunner had come over and shouted at him... All it succeeded in doing was amusing Jace who arched a brow, "You're not wearing it Guardian, so what's the problem?"

Anna saw the trouble even before it began and immediately headed over, forgetting all about her drink. She stepped in between Jace and Gunner nervously, "Stop it... it's just a costume Gunner... let it go. If you cause trouble with a Moroi you'll get a mark on your records... please don't."

Jace's amusement dropped away immediately, Anna was more defending Gunner's record than she was him and it was making him look bad in front of Rae and the others. "Don't worry about it Angel..." he said annoyed. "He's just jealous."

Jace pulled her back into him and, just to taunt Gunner, kissed Anna's neck... flashing fangs. Anna jerked away as chills broke out across her entire body, "Jace!"

Jason sighed, "Sorry sorry... didn't think it would bother you." There was an obvious barb there... Jace's perfect mask was slipping, maybe because he'd been drinking. Either way, she suddenly felt ashamed and took off her mask and threw it on the floor.

"Forget this!" She yanked the halo off and tossed it on the table on her way out and pulled the wings off shortly after, they were attached to the jacket she'd worn over the dress. Once outside she took quick gulps of air, her hands shaking... Gods... She'd WANTED him to bite her... right there, in the middle of the ball with everyone looking... she hadn't cared... Gunner... Gunner had been the only reason she'd even begun to think clearly, his look had been like ice in her veins and she couldn't STAND that look. Her whole body shook and she jerked off her heels and threw them viciously into the night with a short scream of frustration... She was spiraling out of control.

~*~

Sebastian was almost knocked over when he saw Serena, she was gorgeous yet again and the bunny ears made him feel more like a wolf than a cat. He pushed those thoughts frantically away. Serena was too good to be treated like a piece of meat, even if she did look... well... delicious. He coughed and straightened his tux, "Hello beautiful," he greeted. He kissed the back of her hand with a flourish of a bow. He chuckled at her joke, "Mmm... for a very important date at that. What shall we do with you?"

He hooked his arm in hers and then smiled again, "Hmmm... Only if you ask nicely," he teased her.

He was about to lead her out onto the dance floor despite what he'd said when he'd spotted Gunner headed over to Jace, "Shit..." He looked at Serena, "We may have to break up a fight momentarily..." As Anna stormed off outside Sebastian frowned, he'd seen the look in her eyes... her gaze had glazed over for a moment and her lips had parted right before she'd jerked away. "Oh no... it's worse than I thought." It was one thing for Anna to be being bitten... it was another thing for her to start becoming addicted to it. Sebastian considered staying out of it for now, he'd wanted to have a good night with Serena... but their friends were equally as important.

Vampire Academy ~ Rememberance

Anna bit her lip as she tried to copy what he was showing her, but admittedly... it was a little distracting having him behind her like that... She pushed that thought away and focused... She finally managed to hit the ball and break decently. "Woohoo!"

~*~

Sebastian chuckled, "I don't know if you'd call me an artist... I just doodle." He shrugged, feeling a bit nervous about having her in his room. He took a breath and ran a hand through his hair before walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist from there. He rested his chin on her shoulder and hesitated a moment before kissing along her neck. He didn't push his luck, he didn't want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for... but having her in his room was a bit too much temptation for a guy that was used to falling into bed and this was someone he really cared about... So the desire was there, more intense than it had ever been with anyone else... but he wasn't sure what to do with it... Push his luck or... keep taking it slow. He decided he'd let her set their pace.

He kissed along her shoulders, guarding his fangs but letting them brush her skin just slightly... playfully. He sighed and stepped back a moment later, turning her around so he could kiss her lips. "Are you.... okay with this?"

Vampire Academy

Sebastian didn't step away as she leaned into him, it was... a pleasant surprise. He actually put his arms around her, if a little hesitant that he would scare her off by doing so. As she explained Seb felt ice coil tightly in the pit of his stomach... Anna was letting Jason bite her?! That wasn't like her at ALL and it was something that had to stop... he wouldn't let someone take advantage of his friends distress. Anna was depressed enough without being addicted to the bite... it was easy to get that way when you were in a bad place in your life anyway but he'd never expected it of Anna... She was constantly going on and on about how nieve a dhampir girl would have to be to believe that a moroi male would bite her for any reason more than his own satisfaction...

He looked back down at Serena as she pulled away and frowned, taking her hand and feeling it shake. He knew what that was... and even if he couldn't completely take it away, he could help her feel better. He pushed the light and warmth that was the healing part of Spirit at her and eased the edge off the withdraw... "Easy Little Dhampir... that's never going to happen to you again... and we're going to help Anna... somehow..." He grimaced, if he approached her about it he knew Anna would just get defensive. If Serena went to her about it then it put HER in a bad position what with her past... He saw another way... but not a way he'd have chosen if there was another one.

"Anna isn't going to be happy but I'll tell her I read it from you, that's not a lie... I did read something... but... I think I'm going to have to talk to her.... Either way, we should avoid telling Gunner about this." He took a breath, "I'll try talking to her first, hopefully that will help... if not... this could get ugly fast... I know Anna is going to the dance tomorrow night." He'd already meant to ask Serena but had been nervous about it... Maybe he should feel guilty but this gave him the perfect excuse to do so. "Will you go to the dance with me...? Not just because of Anna... I think you'd make a wonderful date. If... I'm not too forward."

~*~

Anna laughed, "Maybe..." She considered what Basil would look like as an angel and shook her head with a grimace. "Too sweet... Hmmm... You'd make a good devil though," she teased.

She paused in the woods and indicated how Basil should stand, Anna took her stance as well... She took it slow starting off, letting Basil get the hang of the back and forth of sparring... and then actually picked up pace.

~*~

The day ended, it wasn't very eventful after they all retreated to their dorms... Plus, most everyone was excited for the dance the next day. Everyone had spent their time talking about what they'd be going as. Since it was a weekend, there would be no classes and so Anna spent most of her day brooding and trying to decide what she was going to do as far as make-up. It was a good thing she'd warned Basil off of being an angel or they both would have ended up as one. Apparently, Jace had thought it clever to use a costume that went with her name 'Angelina'. It was also what he'd been calling her the past month... Angel instead of Anna... or Ross.... The remembrance of those nicknames hurt and she pushed it away, pulling on the long white and silver gown that clung to her like a second skin and slit up the side all the way to the hip. She wore silver heels and the silver necklace and earrings that Anya had given her. The feathery wings were attached to the dress and her halo attached to a silver headband. She didn't think that the halo or the wings looked right on her... She wasn't really 'angel' material... but the way the dress was made did accent her curves beautifully.

She wore a corsage over her wrist... which had a fresh bite on it from when she'd seen Jace earlier to get her costume. She wondered what he was going to be... She headed out of her room after doing her makeup and headed towards the gym where the ball was being held. She slipped the white and silver paper mache mask on and stepped inside... spotting Sebastian who was dressed as a cheshire cat. He had purple and pink cat ears poking out from his fedora, a purple and pink cat tail that poked out from the tails of his tuxedo vest. He wore pink and purple striped fingerless gloves and he'd used black face paint to paint a 'stitched' grin onto one side of his face, the upper half of the other side saw his eye covered with a vivid yellow 'cats eye' contact with slitted pupil and the same black face paint used to give that eye an almond cat shape to the shape of his eye as well. The upper part with the eye was colored purple, the lower part with the mouth was colored pink. It was... pretty epic actually.

What seemed like forever ago they might have all dressed in a theme to match... She could see Gunner being the Mad Hatter, herself maybe being the red queen.... Anya being Alice... She sighed wistfully and spotted Jace with Rae. He was dressed all in black, eyeliner under the already intense blue eyes. He wore his own fedora tipped low over eyes that she could now see were actually covered in red contacts. He had dark circles colored under his eyes and blood at the corner of his mouth and Anna... didn't think it was funny at all because obviously... he was supposed to be a Stigoi. He was getting lots of complements from everyone else but Anna felt... sick... instead of going to him she headed to the drink table and avoided the spiked punch in favor of ice water.

Vampire Academy ~ Rememberance

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Guess we'll find out, Marks." She lifted the cue and took a moment to figure out how to hold it before attempting to 'Break'.... and failing miserably. She grimaced, "Oops... Come on Pretty Boy... take mercy on me. Show me what the hell I'm doing wrong."

~*~

Sebastian laughed, "No... they really like you. You're too sweet for them NOT to like you... plus they think you'll calm me down... maybe you HAVE."

He kissed her forehead and then kissed her back as she kissed him, "Thank you for coming... I hate coming here, you make it... almost pleasant." He tugged her down on the seat of the piano, next to him, and placed her hands on the keys and his over hers. He used his fingers to push hers down and showed her how to play the first few notes of the melody from earlier.... Then, he kissed her again... longer this time and more deeply... a hand slipping into her hair.

When he pulled away he resisted the urge to ask her to his room, instead... He decided to ask her to his room for another reason. "Come on... I have something to show you."

He took her hand and led her up the stairs and to the first room on the right, pushing the door open to reveal his room. It wasn't anything fancy really... it was actually pretty quaint in comparison to the rest of the place... but there was a drawing desk in the corner and white plaques hanging on the wall with charcoal pictures on each one... all of them hand smudged. "I...um... do this in my free time. They aren't very good but..." He shrugged, "I know you like art..."

Vampire Academy

Anna smiled at Basil, usually she did run off with Jace but today... Well, Serena seeming to catch on to her secrets made her feel a little less like seeing Jace and a little more like spending time with someone who wouldn't treat her like dinner.... Woah, where had that come from? Jace didn't treat her like dinner... he was always kind to her, right? Sweet even... She shrugged, "Not today. I figure we need practice and by we I mean I... You're good enough at blocking and dodging attacks now that I could probably spar a little with you and... today's training class didn't go so well. I've been slacking off too much I think."

She walked with Basil towards the woods, "That dance is tomorrow night isn't it? Are you going? Please tell me you are...don't abandon me to Rae, Gabby, and Jace. I don't think I could take it for the whole night on my own."

She thought about it, "Also, what are you going as?"

~*~

Sebastian spotted Serena as she headed over, she looked decidedly upset about something. "Hey Little Dhampir," he'd taken to calling her that lately. "You okay?"

Over the last two months he'd noticed that around Serena the darkness didn't bother him as much, not even really at all unless he did something with Spirit that triggered it and even then she hung with him through the moods and often made him laugh in spite of them. It was good to have someone around that could do that, especially since Anna and Gunner... who were usually the ones cheering him up, were being such downers recently. Gunner was stuck on duty and bitter with Anna for pointing it out and for spending time with another guy when that couldn't happen between them and Anna was down because Gunner was so angry and she was still hung up on him despite Jace.

Her change in behavior, however, bothered him. It wasn't just a result of her depression, it was something else too.... Seb was pretty sure that Jace was compelling her but he couldn't prove it and knew that even saying he MIGHT be to Gunner would set the guy off and suggesting it to Anna would only make her defensive. Serena had been his light in the dark in their place and honestly... he'd started seeing her... REALLY seeing her... and she was beautiful. It made him feel guilty, beyond guilty even, because Anya hadn't went Strogoi (if she WAS strigoi) willingly. Still, he knew what not being honest had cost him in the end so he'd been flirting... subtly for the past month or so. Spending more time with her and buying her little things... like an inexpensive charm bracelette that wouldn't make her feel awkward which he'd said had been for training him and putting up with his crazy self for so long.

He put an arm around her shoulders, "You look upset..." and he didn't just mean her face. He could hear a hum of something, this close... with their auras touching. The background noise of her thoughts that if he tried hard enough he'd be able to hear but he kept his walls in place most times. Now, however... he could FEEL there was something she didn't want him knowing... something about Anna. He frowned, he didn't want to push her but... it felt important. "Everything okay with you and Anna?"

Vampire Academy ~ Rememberance

Anna laughed, "No actually... Air hocky or fooseball, those I could hand your ass to you on... Pool, I've never actually played." She looked at the cue and tested it's weight, "I just... poke the balls and make them go in the holes right?"

~*~

Sebastian smiled, "Oh... they more than like you I'd say. My father might seem all smiles and laughs but he actually hates being corrected and my mother is a horribly jealous person..." He bit at his lip, "Come here..." He pointed at an old grand piano in the corner of the room, "My mother made me learn... I'm actually pretty good."

He gestured for her to take a seat on the chaise lounge and kissed the back of her hand before moving to the piano and glancing at her nervously, "Though... it's my first time playing for someone else since I was twelve..."

He lifted the cover off of the keys and experimentally poked at a few of them before running a hand through his hair, "I'll play my favorite for you first... Lacrymosa... by Mozart." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8hFssMaNu0))

Vampire Academy

Serena's words made her heart lurch and when she reached for her wrist she went to jerk away but wasn't fast enough... Still, instead of yanking it off her Serena just pulled her sleeve down over it. Suddenly, she felt very very dirty and ashamed. Anna rubbed the back of her neck, "Serena... I-" but the other girl was already tugging her upstairs... Probably expecting her to bail on class again. Honestly, she'd been bailing because she couldn't deal with seeing Gunner looking at her the way he did... Angry and hurt, like it was HER fault that they couldn't be together. She could deal with a lot of things... but not with Gunner hating her. So, she'd abandoned class on quite a few occasions and practiced in the woods instead... when she wasn't with Jace.

As they passed Gunner and he spoke Anna cringed, her head dropping and her hair dangling in her face to guard her and keep him from seeing how much his words stung... Though it was probably evident in the way her shoulders sagged. As Serena tugged her away from Gunner Anna decided she didn't want to be here after all, but Serena's words made her focus on the fact that if she didn't try to make up for lost time she would never have a good Ward... She was no longer set on it being Seb though, that would be Gunner's go to and she... didn't think either of them would handle having to work together well anymore. Better that she let Serena take her place on that one... maybe she could guard Jace or Basil instead.

Anna sighed, "No, you need to NOT take it easy on me. I need to take this seriously again... for my family. Time to quit moping... at least in this much..."

Anna squared off with Serena and they began. The dizziness wore off, Dhampir healing taking care of it quickly enough since Jace hadn't taken much anyway. She managed to block a few blows but one nasty one caught her in the ribs and she stumbled back with a grimace... it had been sloppy of her to let the attack through. "No worries, just rusty... Keep going." After a bit Anna fell back into her old rhythm but her ribs, arms, and legs were going to have some very very nasty bruises. Serena was good, and unlike Anna she hadn't been missing out on practice. After being 'staked' at least a dozen times Anna had still only managed to 'stake' Serena a grand total of three times.

"I'm sorry... I can do better... I'm just, not quite all here at the moment. You deserve a better sparring partner, Old Anna would have given you a run for your money."

She rubbed her wrist where she'd blocked with it a couple times... it was hurting and she was sure the bruised skin was only just now fading back to a normal shade. Multiple bites in the same place could leave some nasty discoloration and bruising after a while. She'd had to take to wearing wide thick bracelettes because the bruising was pretty bad. "Let's go again..."

She took her stance once more and they went at it, fake stakes in hand. When the bell finally rang Anna caught Serena's arm, "Hey um... don't... don't tell the others okay? It's just a thing... between Jace and I. I don't want to, y'know... have sexy time and this is kinda... a substitute. Others would think he was using me or something... and it's... it's not like that..." Except she sounded like she was trying to convince herself. "I... better find Basil..."

Anna headed out of the class and as she past Gunner she again ducked her head and let her hair block him out, she didn't feel like being judged... she wanted to feel pretty, competent, and not so damn guilty again... and she knew who could make her feel that way.... who could help her forget it... forget the way Gunner's comments and that disapproving look had made her feel. She almost ran chest to chest into Basil in her haste to escape Gunner and Serena, "Sheesh! Oops, sorry Basil..."

Vampire Academy ~ Rememberance

Sebastian couldn't help but smile and he slid his hand around in hers so he wasn't just holding it... he was lacing his fingers through hers as he gave them another happy squeeze. He definitely loved her. Anna even seemed to be trying to hide a smirk behind a glass of what appeared to be his father's best wine. They really WERE trying to impress Anya. Sebastian's father caught them all off guard though... He laughed out load, an actual laugh... good natured and hearty.

"Very good, very good... she's quite a spirited one you have there Sebastian. Take good care of her lest she slip away while your attention is diverted."

Mrs. Lazar smiled at her husband's words and squeezed his hand, "Now... time for McKenzie's birthday cake."

As the cake was brought in no one sang except Sebastian, and then Anna picked up on it too because darned if she'd let a little girl's birthday go without the song... even if Seb's parents were too stuck up.

As the cake was placed on the table Kenzie clapped her hands, "Yay I'm 10, I'm 10!" She closed her eyes tightly and blew out the candles.

After dinner was over Seb took Anya's hand and decided to take her to show her his father's art room after all, meanwhile he'd told Anna and Gunner where to find the pool and the game room where there was a pool table, a fooseball table, and air hocky.

Vampire Academy

Two months went by and where that might seem like a short time, for Anna it seemed to drag on and on. She and Gunner weren't the same, she suspected they'd NEVER be the same, and that knowledge left her hollow and hurting. Seb had discovered what had happened, there really wasn't any way to keep something from him that he REALLY wanted to know so she hadn't seen the point in keeping her and Gunner's mutual misery a secret. It wasn't that they were torturing each other, not like Seb and Anya had, it was that they really and truly didn't see a way they could make it work... Anna could see a way, but not without forcing Gunner to let go of the honor that made her like him so much... She'd never make Gunner change for her, there was just no way.

As time went on the awkwardness that was their friendship got worse and worse till Anna wasn't sure what to say to him anymore and because Seb was spending most of his time training with Serena, that left Anna on her own so to speak. Jace was the only thing filling the holes in her time and making her feel less miserable. She started spending more and more time with him and in turn that meant spending more and more time with other Moroi like Rae... She wasn't sure how or why it happened but slowly she stopped feeling so tense around all of them and started loosening up, if you could call it that. She started skipping out on some of her classes, going to parties, wearing clothes that were completely NOT her style... but Jace liked them and so she'd TRIED liking them too and slowly... Well, she'd discovered she liked feeling like a girl... like she was sexy... desirable... but still there was that ache because even if she was desired it wasn't by the one person she WANTED to desire her.

She told herself she was happy with Jace, that because he made her laugh and gave her butterflies that maybe it'd grow into something more... intense... something like what she felt with Gunner... when she looked at Gunner. Still, even at her most passionate with Jace... he still only managed butterflies, heat, and a little tingle along her skin that was mixed with a nervousness and discomfort she couldn't place. She'd pushed the nervous discomfort aside till she hadn't felt it anymore, or she told herself she didn't and if she did that it was just because she was a virgin and any kind of passionate activity made her nervous. Still, she was getting headaches more and more often lately... and sometimes she couldn't remember short bits of the day before. She put it off on the bites... Oh... right...

Jace had started biting her... Oh, it was only on occasion and only in the heat of the moment during one of their make-out sessions. It was just a substitute, she told herself, a way to not have sexy time just yet because she wasn't ready for that this early in the relationship... The idea made her queasy and anxious and she wasn't sure why being bitten didn't make her feel dirty... like it used to... even when she'd done it to help her family. Maybe it was because of the way Jace looked at her afterwards, the way he smiled... She told herself that's what it was, it was because Jace cared about her and that made the difference... but she wasn't sure. Honestly, as ashamed as it made her feel... she was pretty sure that part of the reason she was letting him bite her was the way it made her forget about everything else... the way it made her not feel so hurt and empty... the way it made her feel like someone else... Someone powerful and pretty...

She and Basil had become very good friends, the Moroi girl had been a quick study and she was now pretty good at defending herself against Anna's attacks. They spent most of their time gossiping and Anna TRIED not to get jealous anytime Basil brought Gunner up. It appeared the girl had a crush on him and though it KILLED Anna... she tried to be supportive of it. It would be good for Gunner... it would be good for her so she could move on.

"Anna... I asked you a question," the voice was amused and it belonged to Jace.

"Huh?"

He chuckled, "Still in lala land? I asked you if you wanted to go to the Halloween Ball with me?"

Anna WAS still a bit groggy, she pulled the bracelette back on and bit her lip... "I don't know if it's really my thing..." He smiled and she felt herself cave, "Yeah... of course."

"Good, I have just the gown for you."

She smiled indulgently and rubbed at her tender wrist beneath the thick velvet of the bracelette as the bell rang for lunch to end. They'd been around the side building of the dorms, in the shadows. "Shit... If I'm late again I'll get detention!"

"Go go!"

She took off at a sprint and made it into the gym's locker room JUST in time before the late bell rang seconds later. She spotted Serena still a bit dizzy, "Hey!"