Hello! Yes, I've been incredibly slack and have not yet updated 'too late'.

I will though, eventually =D

I know everyone hates author's notes and rarely reads them (even i never do, shhh ;] ) but there are some things you need to keep in mind for this story.

1. Rose is a royal Moroi. (Rose Mazur)

2. No, she did not specialise in Spirit.

3. Dimitri (Dhampir) is two years older than her.

4. The first chapter starts when Rose is 15 and in grade 9. Dimitri is 17.

5. The next chapter will start as Rose being 17.

6. I'm not sure how old she'll be in the chapter after that.

7. Lissa's parents are alive.

8. Tasha is the same age as Dimitri.

9. Ivan is alive.

Whoa, huge list! ahahaha. Remember to review! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. Still, a girl can dream =]

"Ouch! Stop it, Jesse! You're starting to hurt me!" My cries rang out, each one getting louder.

He laughed and tightened his grip around my wrists. "Relax, Babe. It only hurts 'cause you're stressing."

I kept struggling. "Let me go, you bastard!"

"I thought you wanted this. Didn't you want this, Rose?" his voice had dropped dangerously low.

"No," I choked out, struggling to hold my tears back. "I didn't want this."

"You led me on. You teased me. You're the reason you're backed up against this wall."

My threatening tears began to stream down my face. This was it. He really was going to rape me. My Dad had been right when he had told that one day my flirtatious actions would catch up to me. I'd believed him too; I just hadn't realised they'd catch up so soon.

"Jesse, please! I-I'll tell my D-Dad."

Again his grip on me tightened. "Then what, Rose? It'll be too late. The damage will be don-"

"The hell it will."

I watched, both relieved and shocked as Jesse flew across the room. A tall, lean but masculine figure swooped after him, pinning him roughly against the peeling wall by the collar of his shirt.

"What's your name?" he barked out.

"J-Jess-ss-e."

"Jesse who?"

"Z-Z-Zek-klo-los."

"Well, Mr. Zeklos, I suggest you get out of here right now," the guy growled out menacingly at Jesse. "If I ever find you in a situation like this again, or even if I see you near her," he nudged his head back in my direction." Again, I will make you pay. And it will be painful. Do you understand me?"

Jesse nodded and guy let go, allowing Jesse to scurry out of the room.

The guy turned to face me. Shoulder-length brown hair, long leather duster, dark blue washed out jeans, black button down shirt, dark brown eyes, light layer of stubble.

Dimitri Belikov.

Dimitri was one of the older dhampirs at my school. I didn't know him very well, but then again, barely anyone did. I only knew him from the stories and the rumors that had been circulating around for almost two years.

He was two grades above me and totally anti-social. He used to have friends, but there was this one guy who was his best friend. Ivan Zeklos. Ivan was a typical royal – rich, good-looking, powerful, womanizer, a little bitchy at times, etc, but he still remained good friends with Dimitri, overlooking the fact that Dimitri was dhampir.

But then Dimitri and Natasha Ozera started going out. Tasha was another royal, one of the nicer ones. She didn't like politics and bitching about others as much as most royals. Her and Dimitri were a good match, even though others didn't like her dating a lowly dhampir. Still, their relationship didn't faze…until he caught her cheating.

With Ivan.

From then on, he pushed everyone away. Even his other friends. Although he didn't let it affect his exterior and just carried on with life as usual, he must have still been hurt. If Lissa had done something like that to me, I would have killed her.

I felt for Dimitri. He wasn't a bad guy. He was just a good guy who bad things happened to.

After the whole Ivan/Tasha incident he'd also gone and bashed up his royal Moroi father who had apparently been physically abusing his mother for years. I couldn't blame him – if Dad hit my mom, I'd beat him up too. Actually, I'd burn his mobster ass. Unfortunately, hardly anyone saw it the same way as i did. Moroi students, and a lot of the dhampirs too, were now afraid of him. They didn't want to be anywhere near him.

His whole situation was pretty tragic.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I stared at him for a couple of moments. Who would've thought that he'd be the one to save me? I sure as hell didn't.

Not entirely sure what I should do, I did the first thing I could think of:

I ran to him and hugged him.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me while I sobbed for a while. I refused to actually think about what would have happened if Dimitri hadn't turned up on time to save my ass, and quite possibly, my virginity too. As I clung onto him, I kept thanking him while he just stroked my hair and murmured to me in Russian. It soothed me a little.

Eventually, I pulled back and swept my hand across my eyes to wipe away my remaining tears. "Thanks, Dimitri. I-I mean it. If you didn't come…"

He nodded slightly, understanding my unfinished sentence.

"Come on, Rose, I'll walk you back to your dorm," he told me. I leaned my head against his shoulder, taking comfort from him. He slipped his arm lightly around my waist and pulled me slightly in the direction of my dorm.

I vowed to myself then, that I would straighten out my life. I would not take the chance of being raped again. Dimitri had saved me this time, but who would save me the next? I'd been lucky, but I wouldn't take that chance again. Ever.

Well, bye for now, not forever!

xx