**Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns VA**

Summary: Sex, drugs and alcohol. That's the life seventeen year old runaway Rose Hathaway has given into. But there is man, dark, brooding and handsome, who is determined to change her. The question is can he change her before it's too late? All Human.

*Warning: Context may include drug and sexual references as well as explicit language.*

I felt naked. The skimpy, dark maroon, satin dress clung to my flesh like another layer of skin. It fell loosely down to an uncomfortable level on my thighs. The dark, opaque stockings with bows at the end rolled up to the middle of my thighs, stopping just a few centimetres below the dress.

Sighing heavily, I turned to look at the mess I've become in the mirror.

My first thought of the woman staring back at me was, dangerous. Her chocolate eyes were almost vixen like, highlighted by thick eyeliner and dark eye shadow. Her dark hair spilled down in waves to her shoulders. Her cheeks glowed the gentlest shade of crimson there was.

She was beautiful, flawless almost but if you looked closely, underneath all that flawlessness you see sadness cloud her dark eyes. Her face echoed a look of hurt, anguish and hopefulness for the road that lay ahead of her.

"You're going to kill it tonight, Rose," Mia's voice came up from behind me. I turned around at the sound of her voice.

She looked like a doll. A perky porcelain doll with wavy blond hair, soft blue eyes and skin that appeared almost translucent.

To be honest, we never liked each other to begin with. She initially seemed like the daddy's little girl type but underneath that she was almost... friendly. She lost her mum in a tragic accident a few years ago leaving her with her dad now.

I guess that's one of the reasons we got on so well. It was like we'd both been burned by the same flame.

"Hope so," I replied, swallowing the bile that had built up in my throat.

"Hey, you're smart, sexy and one badass bitch, so what's to say you won't?" She challenged with a small smile.

I managed to break a smile in reply.

Rayne, my boss, called out behind the closed doors "Rose, you're up!"

I glanced at Mia through the corner of my eyes catching her nodding her head at me, giving me thumbs up.

I pushed open the heavy metal door that lead out into the club. The strong smell of alcohol mixed with smoke and sweat caused my insides to burn. I looked around frantically, making sure there was a bathroom ready in case of emergency. I spotted one at the back and said a silent prayer.

"Any last minute words of advice?" I asked Rayne, who was scanning the room with her hawk like eyes.

She didn't even look at me when she replied, "Yeah. Don't fuck up." Her voice was rough and unfriendly just like personality.

"Thanks," I raised my eyebrows, breathing in and walking out towards the stage that held a single silver pole in the middle.

"Hey," someone behind caught my hand, stopping me and almost causing me to nearly trip over due to the six inch heels that held me up. "Here, you earned it." Rayne held out her lace, glove covered arm to hand me a few bills. Beneath the fabric I could see her scars.

I frowned unbelievingly, "Thanks?"

"You're welcome," she almost smiled, "Now go out there and show them what you've got."

I nodded, hastily stuffing the bills between my breasts before walking up to stage. I felt hands reaching out and fingers brushing against my skin as I made my way through the drunken crowd.

I climbed each step with caution, trying to remain steady and upright as I reached the lifted platform that they called the stage. I could feel all eyes on me causing me to shake inside and out. What made it worse was this dress. I felt like I was standing in front of a crowd that mainly combined drunk and gaping men, stark naked. And I tell you, it was uncomfortable.

The steps came to me once the music started blaring threw the stereos. I started with my legs apart just like I was taught. Starting at my neck I dragged my hands down my chest to the area between my thighs. People howled, whistles coming from the crowd.

This was my moment. It was now or never.

No one could save me now.

"I love you, baby." Those were the words my boyfriend told me on the day I turned sixteen.

Jesse was one of them golden boys who were born into a family who was drowning in wealth. His parents were well known around town and always expected the best from their son. Jesse wasn't that type though. He got sick of being under spotlight and constantly feeling the burden of his family laying on his shoulders.

During school, he always had his eyes on me, watching me like an animal watches its prey. Like many girls in our year, I found him ridiculously hot with that gorgeous golden hair and hypnotizing deep, blue eyes of his.

When I was fifteen, it was a school project that brought us together. Of course to start out with I was thrilled that out of all the girls, I was given him as my partner. But my excitement died when I we ended up spending a lot of time together in and out of class.

I never wanted to fall in love. It didn't work out between my parents so what's to say that it would work out for me? All I knew about it was that it was overrated and unnecessary.

But it was too late to stop myself from falling when Jesse and I finally made it official on my sixteenth birthday. We made a pact swearing never to leave each other's side.

I felt sweat damping my forehead and the palms of my hands when I looked up at him from under my eyelashes. His arms were on my hips, his fingers fiddling with the hem of my lace skirt. I pressed my hand to his face, standing on my tip toes to kiss him.

When we pulled away, I laid my head against his shoulders, breathing in the strong smell of his cologne. "I love you too, Jesse."

He smiled before tipping my chin up to press his lips to mine. "That's my girl." His kissed me softly before pulling away, "Let's do it, Rose. Let's make a run for it, just you and me. Let's find a world of our own."

I pulled away so I could meet his gaze, "I don't know, Jesse-"

"We don't belong here, Rose." He cut me off, his captivating blue eyes boring into mine, "You and me, this isn't who we are and you know it just as much as I do."

I sighed, knowing he was right, "But you're saying that we are running away, leaving our family-"

"What family, Rose? Huh? We have no family. My parents are total fucked up as it is so is your mum who by the way is never even home for you-"

I felt anger burning through my veins, "Don't take this out on them, Jesse-"

"This is all about them, Rose! Can't you see that?" His voice was raised, resentment obvious in his tone, "They can't even take care of their own kids even if their life depended on it. You're worth more than this, Rose. You really are."

I looked down at the ground, letting silence separate us for a few minutes mainly because I couldn't think of a reasonable argument to continue.

"I don't want to fight tonight, Jesse." I whispered, kicking a rock to the side of the road.

His shoulders slumped and he held me closer to his body, "I'm not asking you to, baby. I'm just saying that we should take a chance. Who knows where we'll end up but we'll never know unless we tried."

"There'll be consequences if we don't manage to make it."

He nodded, "I believe we'll make it though."

"Look Jesse, I love you but-"

He cut me off, "Rose, if you really loved me, you do it."

That was two years ago.

Growing up, I never wanted my life to go this way. Running away from home at the tender age of sixteen and abandoning my mother- if you could call her that- to live in a one room apartment with my boyfriend. Now I'm on the verge of turning eighteen and work in a down town strip club and I hated it. I hated what I'd become but I knew there was no other option because Jesse was right. We didn't belong in their world. We had no real family or a place we could call home and anyway, considering the situation, I probably would've left home eventually.

"Oh baby, baby." Jesse breathed, a look of desire written all over his face. He was leaning against the passenger seat car door, his hair appearing a dark bronze colour under the dim, white street lights. It fell over his forehead, the ends just touching the arch of his eyebrows. Those blue eyes swept up and down my body as I walked toward him.

"Is that a compliment?" I whispered when I reached him. His body was so close to mine, his presence engulfed me causing my blood to gush down my blood speed at full speed. He smelt intoxicating, a mix of cigarette smoke and cologne.

"Only if you want it to be, baby." He leaned forward, pushing me back against the car so that he was looking down at me. My legs were in between his, our hips grinding against each others. He trailed his fingers down my shoulders, slipping two of his fingers between my breasts to catch the bill of notes. He pulled them out, counting the notes before letting his expression turn smug. "Babe," he paused, "I'm so fucking proud of you right now," He leaned in, placing a kiss to the soft skin below my ear. He rested his hands on the curve of my waists, pushing his hips further into mine. "We should celebrate," He nipped the lobe of my ear with his teeth, playfully tugging at it.

I moaned, tightening my grip around his neck and pressing our mouths together. His mouth moved with mine, the taste of alcohol burned strongly on his tongue. "And how do you propose to do that?" I whispered under his lips.

He grinned, reaching into his back pocket to pull out a tiny silver packet.

I gulped, "Baby, um, look can we go home?"

"You are my home." He kissed my lips, tracing his tongue along the shape of it.

I pressed my hands to his chest, pushing him away, "I'm being serious."

"Feisty." He hissed, placing his hands on my butt. "I like it." He smacked my ass before letting me go so that he could open my door.

Once he started up the car, we backed out of the parking lot leaving the sign boards still glowing behind us.

Jesse reached his arm out, switching on the radio before resting his hand on my knee, taping out the beat with his fingers. He inched his hand upwards to the inside of my thighs, lingering so close to the place I wanted him to be.

I sucked in a breath, wanting to change the topic before I end up doing something stupid. I cleared my throat, "Jesse?"

"Hmmm?" He turned his head briefly towards me, one eyebrow cocked upward. Damn. I hate how men could do that.

I breathed in heavily, laying my hands flat on my knees, "What are we going to do?"

Through the darkness, I made out a crease form in the middle of his forehead, "With what?"

"Our lives," I sighed exasperatedly. "I mean, we can't live like this. I can't handle having a hundred guys gaping at me dance wearing nothing for the rest of life and you can't keep trying to get drug deals and sell them around town to some messed up teens. We just can't survive like this."

His hand clutched the steering wheel tighter, pulling his hand back and I shivered at the loss of his touch. I knew this wasn't the best topic to switch to, knowing that it was kind of a sticky area for him but we had to wake up one day. "It's not so bad-"

I crossed my arm across my chest and let out a sarcastic laugh, "Oh so you're okay with guys ogling at me dancing around a pole in practically nothing?"

"Baby, I know it's not ideal-"

"I want a future, Jesse." I argued, my voice echoing through the car.

I could almost hear his body tense as his breathing become short and ragged. "So, you want a family now? Kids?"

"No, I want a future. There's a difference." I swallowed, "And maybe eventually, I guess, someday along the way we can think of having a family and-"

"Shit, Rose, we haven't even had sex yet and here you are talking about kids?"

"I'm not ready, Jesse and you know that." Okay, that was lie. I was ready as I'll ever be to give my body to Jesse but yet, I didn't want to lose my innocence to someone like him. It was almost like something in me was urging me to wait, telling me the moment- person- wasn't right.

He looked at me and I caught the feeling of hurt flash through his eyes, "That's been your only answer for the past two years, baby, you're gonna' have to come up with something new."

"Well, what do you want me to say, huh?" my finger nails dug into the skin of my palms and I felt tears brim the edge of my eyelids, "That I don't want to have sex with you? Because that's the truth."

I felt the car speed increase as he stepped on the gas. "So now, you're telling me that I've waited for two fucking years for nothing?" The car swerved, slipping into the lane next to us, nearly coming in contact with a car.

"Shit!" I gritted my teeth together, bracing my hands against the dashboard as he got control of the car again. "Jesse, keep your eyes on the road!"

One hand clutched around the wheel, he reached into his back pocket throwing me the small silver packet onto my lap. I looked down at it, my heart racing in my chest and blood gushing through my veins.

"I've carried that with me for the past two years, waiting for you." He said, "Wanting you and now you give me some shit about not wanting me back. Stop acting so naive, babe-"

"Rose." I said before I could stop the words, "The name's Rose."

"You're name's what I want it to be." He pressed down on the accelerator, the car racing through the night.

"I'm not you're toy, Jesse. You don't control who I am-"

"You're mine, you swore it to me."

"I swore it to the man who I was stupid enough to think that I loved." I spat the words at him, not caring how much the words hurt him.

"I gave up so much for you, Rose." He growled, his focus obviously shifting to the road and to me. "And this is your repayment?"

"You gave up nothing for me! I was the one-"

The car swerved under us, Jesse's hand flying back from the wheel. I gasped, having no option but to lean back against the seat and watch. My head banged to the side against the glass window when the car swivelled in the middle of the road. The end of my ear came in contact with a crack in the glass causing a scratch to break the flesh.

Abruptly, we stopped moving, our whole bodies swaying to the side when we hit a tree.

I couldn't breathe. Adrenalin and shock coursed through my veins. I craned my head slightly to the side to see if Jesse was alright. It was his side that came in contact with the tree.

His bottom lip was cut deep, blood dripping down his chin and falling to the shirt he wore creating dark stain on it. The driver's window beside him was shattered; the fragments of broken glass lay on his lap. Dark scratches ran their way down his face an arms.

Jesse caught me staring and shifted his gaze to me, "I'm so sorry, Rose." His voice trembled, body shaking with shock.

I didn't know what to say. It was as if the words were caught in my throat and I couldn't speak. I started to panic realising that it was very plausible that I did.

Posttraumatic stress disorder, that's what it was called. You could lose any or all of your five senses in very serve cases of trauma. Surely that couldn't mean just minor car accidents, could it?

A light in the distance caused me to squint and cringe at the sudden brightness. The shape looked like a truck with cargo attached at the back. It was speeding towards, obviously with no intention to stop. Maybe they couldn't see us.

I pressed down on the buckle of my seat belt, my heart doubling in speed when it didn't unlatch.

Using my second option, I looked frantically at Jesse but eyes were half closed like the energy had just drained from his body. I wanted to scream for him. Tell him that we had run but all the screams and words were caught in my throat just as the truck came crashing into us.

My eyes fluttered, instantly blinded by a sudden burst of light. I couldn't see anything. It was like my vision was blurred entirely.

I could hear voices around and the soft beeping of a machine coming from somewhere near. I realised that there were tubes stuck into my skin, pumping some sort of liquid into my blood stream.

It made sense, the whiteness of the place. It was a hospital.

I hated hospitals ever since I was a little girl when I got in a fight with a boy in my grade that nearly cost me an arm.

Hospitals, they reeked of blood and medicine, the screams of patients muffled the air. It made me want to vomit.

"Oh!" the silvery voice of a woman brought me back. "You're up, sweetie."

Her skin was pale like the rays of the moon. Her body seemed slim in that white nurses outfit. Her hair was the colour of sunshine, her eyes the deepest shade of jade I'd ever seen. She reminded me somewhat of Mia to be honest.

"Wh-what happened?" I stuttered, looking down at the white sheets that covered my body.

"You came into an accident, sweetie. A bad one," She said softly, checking the metres on the machine next to my bed. "You're lucky, the man with you... he- he didn't make it."

The man with me? The only man there was-

"Jesse," I breathed, a pang of numbness hitting me. "What- what are you saying? He didn't make it- what? I- I- I don't understand-"

"Shhhh." She whispered, "You need to relax. Deep breaths, honey, it's going to be fine."

"No! No it's not! Don't you see-" The moment I sat up, the pain hit me. It was my ribs. The pain scorched my insides. Something in me told me that it was too late to hope that nothing was broken. "Shit." I gritted my teeth.

She looked at me, "Told you so. Relax." I did as she said, breathing in and out. She sat down on the end of my bed. "What's your name?" she held up the notepad in her hand so that she could write in it.

"Rose." I answered. "Rose Hathaway. Care to tell me yours?"

"Lissa. Lissa Dragomir" she nodded, "And how old are you?"

My mouth dropped open. Great, we're playing twenty questions now. Why couldn't I have just died in the crash?

"Just answer the question." She noted my expression.

"Seventeen going on eighteen."

She nodded again, "Family?"

"Don't have one." I tried to shrug but the pain that hit me told me that wasn't the wisest of choices.

"What about your mum?"

"She's good as dead."

"Dad?" she frowned, averting her gaze from her notepad to my face.

"Never met him."

"Okay," she scribbled something on her notepad. "What about the boy in the car with you, what was his name?"

I closed my eyes, "Jesse Zeklos."

"And your relationship?"

"He was my boyfriend. Are we done?" I sighed, wanting nothing but for her to shut up and leave me to devour in self pity.

The pixie like nurse took a time to write a few final notes on that notepad of hers, creases that indicated her concentration were drawn across the middle of her forehead. She finally looked up, her signature angel smile on her lips. "Okay, Rose. You're fine."

I snorted, "Guessed that much. When can I leave?"

"Oh, you're not leaving, honey." Her smile turned almost sympathetic. "We found traces of ecstasy in your blood tests, are you aware of ever taking that substance?"

"Must have. Once or twice, so?"

"And are you aware that drugs are against the law?"

"Me and the law, we don't go together." I said, trying to keep the old Rose's attitude the same. I've lost everything; I might as well try to keep myself from now on.

"Since you're tests didn't show as much of traces as your boyfriend's," She tapped the end of her pen against her notepad. "We believe that you can change. And we are willing to let you have another chance." She stopped, analysing my response but I stayed unreadable and silent so she continued, "We're going to take you into rehab Miss Hathaway to St. Vladimir's. Ever heard of it?"

"Rehab yes." I nodded, crossing the options off with my fingers. "The other- whatever it was called, no."

Lissa cleared her throat, "It's a rehab centre designed mainly for drug and alcohol addicts and for people who have nowhere to go-"

"Rejects?"

"Mhmm," She nodded. "Drop outs for adolescents who never made it out of high school."

"So it's a school?" I tried to cock an eyebrow upward but failed like the many times before.

"Recovery centre and boarding school for people who want a fresh start. Who want a future. We provide education and treatment."

"Wait." I contemplated what she said for a long minute, "If it's a school, how am I meant to pay?"

"Oh, your fees are already covered, don't you worry." Her words caught me off guard. It couldn't be my mum obviously... I didn't have any other close relatives or friends.

So who was it that knew where I was?

And who was it that seems to care enough to give me a second chance?

"Who?" I asked, a frown caressing my brows. "Who paid for me?"

"They asked for their name and identity to be confidential-"

"Then how do you know they aren't a fraud?" I challenged.

"We trust him." So it was a man that crosses of my mum though she was never on the list to begin with. "He's been in business with us for many years now."

"Okay," I swallowed, my throat burning when I did. I'll draw it out of her one day but for now, I just had to play along.

I'd got myself in this mess and I will find a way to get out no matter what the consequences where.

They released me from the hospital a week or two later. Most of my wounds had healed leaving dark purple bruises on my skin. My insides were still working, I prayed, but my ribs were still fragile so I was advised to 'take it easy' by Nurse Barbie.

I'd actually come to like that female, Lissa. She was alright, cool almost. She'd lost her whole family in a tragic car accident leaving her with her uncle but there was a problem, her uncle was sick too. He suffered from a rare disease, one that could not be cured, making him as useful as someone who was dead.

I walked out of the hospital doors, relishing the warm feel of the sun on my skin. Oh God I missed this.

"Shit." I muttered, closing my eyes and tilting my head up to the sky.

Lissa turned, her tone alarmed. "What? What happened?"

I opened one eye, looking at her from the corner of it. "You don't have any idea how damn good this feels."

"I think I might. She smiled, clearing her throat. "So, are you ready?"

"For what," I opened my eyes and turned to face her. For the first time, I noticed it. It stood tall and high like a château built of dark brown bricks. There were towers probably dorms on the side and front overlooking the garden. There were metal bars on the windows obviously to stop anyone for running for it.

Shit. What had I gotten myself into?

"Rehab." The corner of Lissa's lips curved to the side. "Welcome to St. Vladimir's, Rose."

A/N:

Worth continuing?

Leave a review and let me know.