Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, the wondrous Richelle Mead does :P

Summary: The Moroi world is thriving. Well, the Moroi are. All the families have plenty of members, but the same can't be said about the dhampirs. Dhampir/Moroi relationships are still frowned upon, so Prince Dragomir, Lissa's father, decides to have his daughter marry a dhampir to show it's alright and also that it won't affect the guardian's focus. It will also produce more dhampirs and encourage Moroi/dhampir relationships, something sorely needed.

Unfortunately, the dhampir whom he recruits to marry Lissa is Dimitri, who is in love with Rose, her best friend, and Rose is in love with him. Dimitri has no choice in the matter, however.

Rose and Dimitri desperately try to find a way out of the marriage as the wedding day draws closer and meddling Moroi create more obstacles...Will they find a way to be together? Or will Dimitri be doomed to a marriage with someone he does not love while Rose be forced to watch the love of her life marry her best friend?

Side note: There was no car crash, Lissa is an air user, they never escaped school, and Lissa is very innocent and naive, always protected by her friends and family. Dimitri was assigned to mentor Rose by Lissa's father, who wanted the best for his daughter.

RPOV:

I smiled dreamily at my secret boyfriend as he stood guard against the wall. We had been sending each other messages through our eyes the entire lunch period as my best friend Lissa Dragomir blabbered on obliviously.

"And then we'll have to go to court for the meeting about dhampir-moroi relationships, and - Rose are you listening?" Said best friend was clearly irritated by me from the tone of her voice

"Huh? What was that, Lissa?" I questioned, tearing my gaze away from my six foot seven Russian god.

Lissa sighed, brushing her long blonde hair out of her face. "Honestly, Rose, I don't understand how you're passing any class. You have the attention span of Dory." Lissa's emerald green eyes darkened slightly with irritation, but then lightened with amusement.

"Oooh, I love 'Finding Nemo'!" I exclaimed. "Can we watch that tonight, please, please, please?" I looked at her with puppy eyes.

Lissa laughed. "But Guardian Belikov will have to be with us, since I'm sure you'll be inviting Mason and Eddie," Lissa replied, winking at me conspiratorially.

I rolled my eyes. She had long ago decided that Mason and I were in love, but she couldn't be more wrong.

"Look at that excited look on your face! You know I'm right!" Lissa continued, laughing.

I was excited, yes, but not because my two best guy friends were joining us for the movies. No, I was excited that I would get to hang out with my boyfriend even more now. He had been called away for about three days, forcing me to go three days without seeing, talking, and touching him. It was pure torture and also pure luck that Lissa wanted to watch a movie tonight.

"Sure, Liss, whatever you say," I said jovially. I knew better than to argue, because that would lead to questions I couldn't answer at this very moment in time.

"Alright, well, you can let Mason and Eddie know that we're meeting in the lounge, okay?"

I nodded, shoving the last bit of my hoagie into my mouth before washing it down with milk.

"To class?" I asked, standing up.

"To class," Lissa agreed.

We made our way to our afternoon classes, most of which Dimitri kept watch over. Lissa was right; the fact that I was passing any class was a miracle - a miracle which was Dimitri, who helped me with my homework and forced me to study for tests or else he wouldn't so much as kiss me. He pretty much took my notes for me. It really was a good thing that he was the guard for most of my classes.

The day passed quickly and soon it was time for the movie get together. Dimitri had yet to hear of it, so I took it upon myself to inform him.

"Hey, Comrade," I said, casually walking up to him as he walked towards his room.

"Hello, Rose," Dimitri replied, ever professional, but I could see a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"So, we're going to be watching a movie in the lounge tonight," I continued, acting as if this was nothing and I wasn't jumping up and down in excitement in my mind.

"Oh, really." Dimitri had the same even tone as I. However, I could see the happiness in his eyes and the anticipation. Both he and I knew that Lissa would make him sit with us and watch the movie, which meant we would be able to cuddle together in the darkness.

"Yep," I said lightly, steering us to the Moroi lounge which we had long since claimed as ours.

"What movie are we watching?" Dimitri questioned as we walked through the door. He nodded to the receptionist in a brief greeting.

"We will be watching 'Finding Nemo' in honor of my attention span," I replied.

"Or lack thereof?" Dimitri arched an eyebrow, making me scowl.

"That's not fair," I pouted.

Dimitri chuckled, his whole face brightening. "Of course it is, Dory," he teased.

I rolled my eyes, not able to keep a smile from spreading across my face. Dimitri Belikov had been my mentor for two years now. He had become my mentor at the request of Prince Eric Dragomir, Lissa's dad. Eric wanted nothing but the best for his daughter, and who better than the rising star in the guardian world? He was young, good looking, and a great guardian. It only made sense for Dimitri to be Lissa's guardian and give me extra training while he was at it. We began working together in my junior year, and from day one, sparks flew. We tried resisting, but after spending the summer together practically alone at Court, it was clear that we couldn't stay apart. Even though technically, Dimitri should have been assigned to a Moroi leaving Court, Prince Dragomir had Dimitri stay with Lissa and I to watch over us. Of course, Lissa had been busy learning the ropes of the Royal system and couldn't have a guardian with her 24/7 due to her age, so Dimitri got stuck with me. We had even been able to visit his family. He had the most loving and caring family I had ever seen. I had ended up crying because I had never had a family like his, or a family period. The Dragomirs were close, but they were more extended family, not like my mother and father.

"Rose?"

I blinked, coming out of my thoughts. "What? Sorry, zoned out there." I smiled up at Dimitri,

Dimitri smiled back. "I can see that. We're here," he said.

"Oh," I mumbled. I opened the door and walked in, Dimitri close behind me.

Lissa was sitting by herself on the three seater couch while Eddie Castile and Mason Ashford were in arm chairs to her left. Mia Rinaldi, a small, blonde junior moroi, sat on a cushion at Mason's feet, leaning against them.

I plopped down next to Lissa while Dimitri went to stand against the wall.

"Oh, Guardian Belikov, you should know better than that. Come sit with us," Lissa chastised him

Dimitri hid a smile and went to sit next to me.

"Wait!" Lissa cried out. Dimitri froze, looking at her. "Could you turn off the lights while you're still standing?"

Dimitri spun around and turned off the lights, plunging us into complete darkness.

"Crap! Where's the controller?" Lissa exclaimed.

"Would you like me to turn the lights back on, ma'am?" Dimitri asked, startlingly close to me. Goosebumps formed on my skin from where his breath hit my arm and shoulder.

"No, I got it," Lissa said, sounding a bit distracted.

"Alright." Dimitri sat next to me, then wrapped his arm around my waist. He pulled me closer to his side and pressed a kiss on my neck.

The TV turned on, lighting the room.

"I missed you, Roza," Dimitri breathed in my ear as the movie began.

I snuggled closer to Dimitri. The way we were sitting, no one could see how close we were. I blocked Lissa's view and Lissa blocked everyone else's.

"I missed you too," I mumbled back, pressing a kiss on his collar bone, smiling against his skin when I felt him shiver.

Throughout the movie, Dimitri peppered me with kisses and whispered sweet nothings in my ear. It was all I could do to not start kissing him. After all, we weren't actually supposed to be together, and me attacking him would be a pretty good indicator that we were.

After 'Finding Nemo' was over, Lissa suggested watching Madagascar 3, and I, like the awesome friend that I was, said yes. Truthfully, all I wanted to do right now was go back to Dimitri's room and properly welcome him back, but they come first. I was getting really tired of that saying.

A/N: Um...this is an update for Never Too Late. I know. But...well, I had this awesome idea and I was persuaded to write it asap...so I did :D Sorry! I hope you enjoyed this(: Updates will be sporadic, since I have several other on-going stories. But, Never Too Late is coming to a close, so this will be update more often once I'm done with it. This isn't the greatest beginning, I know, but it'll get better, I promise!

Readers of Never Too Late: I have a chapter mostly written, but...REVIEW! please :D

xoxoxoxo

-Tatiana