Vampire Academy (tamaracorine & goldcat)

[goldcat16471]

Nick grinned, and looked up at Lukas smirking, then back down at Anna. "Sounds like a plan, let's do it!" He stood up and held out a hand for Anna too. He was thrilled for her words. He hoped they had taken Lukas aback. Nick knew she was capable of handling herself in the social conversations, she probably just needed some actual support for it.


Serene giggled softly, and opened her eyes, and looked at Lukas. She whispered to him, "I think they might have you this time." She grinned and patted his cheek gently, in a joking matter, then sat up as well. She gave a thumbs up towards Anna.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna hesitated for a second, taking Nick's hand. She waited until they were away from the dim light that the buildings cast over the edge of the lake to the darker area by the water, releasing Nick's hand and sliding her skirt off with her back to Nick, then her singlet. She was still as covered as she would be were she wearing a bikini, but that didn't stop her from diving quickly into the cold water to cover herself. A squeal left her mouth as the water covered her, a sudden shock from the cold.


Lukas laughed, "My sister is a little bit crazy." he told Serene. "Or maybe Nick is starting to bring out the crazy in her. Who knows? Do you feel like swimming?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick followed Anna to the darker edge as well, and took off his own shirt, and shoes. He heard Anna squeal when she jumped in, and laughed, "Is it cold!?" He asked her. He didn't wait for an answer, though, because he quickly ran and jumped and did a cannonball into the lake. "Whoa! That's cold" He laughed more and shivered sightly, but he slowly started to get used to it, and made his way beside Anna.


Serene laughed from his words, then nodded, "Yeah, let's go!" She started off over to where Anna and Nick were, and dipped her toe into the water. "Hm..." She bit her lip smiling. "It feels kind of cold. Oh well..." She repeated what Anna did, taking off her dress, and covered herself instinctively. She was planning on jumping into the water, but she got nervous from the cold temp before. Instead she stood, looking down at the water, as if about to jump, but not moving.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna couldn't help but glance at Nick as he took his shirt off, watching when he jumped in. The splash got some water over her hair, but she didn't mind too much. She swam closer to him, awkwardly floating about a foot away, as if she wanted to get closer but wasn't exactly sure how to.


Lukas grinned at Serene's hesitation. He removed his shirt and ran to Serene, putting her over his shoulder and sprinting into the water with her, dropping her in once he couldn't stand in the water any longer because it was too deep. "Sorry. Couldn't resist." he smirked at her, ruffling her hair.

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick grinned at Anna, then started swimming circles around her. "Hm, so Anna, have any water games you like to play? By any chance have you heard of Marco Polo?" He smirked softly and continued swimming around her.


Serene yelped when Lukas picked her up and she started laughing hard, "No! No! Stop it's cold!" She screamed out in laughter. Then once he got deeper he let her drop in and she looked at him laughing, then swatted his hands from her hair. "How dare you!?" She grinned.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna spun around in circles to try and keep looking at Nick. She couldn't keep the smile from her face, or hide the fact that she was enjoying this game he was playing with her. She heard Serene's squeal and glanced towards she and Lukas for a moment, but quickly diverted her attention back to Nick. "The one where someone closes their eyes and has to try and find the other person by yelling out 'Marco'?" she asked.


Lukas smirked, pulling her into a quick hug before releasing her. "How dare I? I only did what you wanted, dear. Admit it. You enjoyed that... And you liked checking me out a bit, didn't you?" he teased playfully.

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick grinned even more as she followed him, with her smile. "Yes exactly, that one." He continued, but turned the circles more into stars. "Would you want to play? It could be fun." He tried to appear graceful, but when he felt seaweed against his foot he quickly jerked back. His blushed softly and laughed at himself, then pointed at the spot in the water where he felt the seaweed, "Don't swim there. There's seaweed." He told Anna in laughter.


Serene laughed in disbelief, then shook her head in amusement, "Boy, you sure got a big head!" She joked. Then she rolled her eyes, "But yeah. It was kind of fun!" She said in a matter-of-fact tone. She grinned at him, and looked over at Nick and Anna, and they made her smile even more, as she looked back to Lukas.

 

[tamaracorine]

"Scared of seaweed?" Anna grinned, diving down into the water and picking some seaweed from the bottom of the lake. She tossed it at Nick, then turned and swam away. "We can play marco polo now!" she grinned, "I'll even be in." she closed her eyes. "Marco!" she called out.


Lukas sighed happily, "I think this year could be really good. I think it could be my best year yet." he told her sincerely, "And I forgot how much I loved this lake. Anna and I used to come down here all the time. Then, things changed in eighth grade and... well, yeah. Anyway..."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick dunked under water when he realized what Anna was doing, and he gladly dodged the seaweed. He came back up and laughed, "Hey!" He looked at the seaweed, thinking for a moment then smirked. Then he prepared himself to play, and swam back a little. "Polo!" He called to her and swam backwards, picking the seaweed up as he did so.


Serene smiled at him from his words , then tilted her head slightly, "You stopped coming over here? How come?" She asked. If Lukas didn't want to tell, she wouldn't pry, but she did sincerely want to know what happened, that would make him and Anna stop coming here.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna swam carefully towards the sound of Nick's voice, the smile still plastered to her face. She seemed to have relaxed over the last few minutes, the running and swimming making her feel all the more free and easy. She began to get closer, her arms and legs moving quickly.


"Uh, you can't tell Anna I told you..." Lukas sighed. "Our parents died. They were guardians when there was an attack on the royal family, and they both died defending them. We were at school here when it happened, and Anna totally retreated into her shell. People used to call her Annie. She was one of my most popular Dhampir when she first started, but after that... well... she changed a lot. I did too, I guess. But I had to take care of her more than anything else."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick tried to swim further away from Anna, but she continued to get nearer. Once she got close enough, Nick threw the seaweed onto her, "NO! Back away, you sea monster!" He joked with her, and quickly swam backwards again. He grinned watching for the Dhampir's reaction.


Serene gasped softly and put her hands to her mouth and shook her head, "I'm so sorry..." She looked down and watched the water, and it's movement. The moonlight shone across the water and Serene watched it, "It must be horrible... I couldn't imagine the pain you must have went through..." Serene told Lukas

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna giggled as she seaweed hit her, swatting it off and opening her eyes. She swam quickly towards him, diving at him when she got close, her arms instinctively wrapping around him. She froze as soon as she was there, as if unsure of what to do with herself next, meeting Nick's gaze and biting her lip. "I... uh..."


Lukas shrugged, "It was horrible, but it's part of life. Especially ours. Dhampir die. It's... sort of why we exist. We live to be willing to die for someone else, and our parents did just that. It's hard, and still is, but it means that Annalise and I are close. And it's why if Nick hurts her, he'll regret it."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick laughed hard as she dived closer, then blinked in surprise, as she wrapped her arms around him. She seemed nervous, and Nick was as well, but it was in a good way. He smiled at Anna softly, and his smile grew. He wrapped his own arms around her. He glanced at her lips, but quickly diverted them back to her eyes, not wanting to push her to do something she didn't want to do.


Serene nodded, listening. Again, she felt the wish that Moroi would stop taking Dhampirs for granted. Then she glanced over at Anna and Nick then smiled softly, looking back at Lukas, "You don't really trust him, do you?" Serene thought for a moment. From all the things she has heard about Nick, he was generally very nice to most people. A little playful at times, but around most others he was just thoughtful and mature.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna relaxed as he smiled at her, moving her head forward to rest on his shoulder. She had noticed his eyes looking at her lips, "Not yet." she whispered, her heart beating hard in her chest as she held onto him. "Not while my brother is here." she added, laughing slightly. "That's a moment I'd rather him not see."


"I don't trust anyone with my sister." he admitted, shrugging. "There was this one guy before my parents died... a Dhampir. He treated her like a trophy. I know Nick wouldn't do that, but I'm wary of anyone who gets close to her." he wrapped an arm around Serene's waist. "Sorry to dampen the mood. I figured you'd find out about my parents eventually."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick flushed softly and held her closely. He could lightly feel the beat of heart against him. He laughed softly from her words, and nodded in agreement, "You're right. It was just one of those moments.." He smiled softly thinking of how in movies, before characters have their first kiss, they always make a little eye contact, and sometimes they're nervous, then the guy usually makes the move. Nick chuckled softly from his thoughts.


Serene smiled at him, and shook her head, "You didn't dampen the mood. I'm glad you told me." She glanced back over at Anna and Nick, and found herself smiling once more from them, "I don't think Nick will hurt her. I think they'd be really cute together." She laughed softly then look at Lukas. She kept close to him.

 

[tamaracorine]

"I know." she whispered, lifting her head for a moment and planting a shy kiss on his cheek before returning her head to his shoulder, her body relaxing more and more. "I can trust you, right?" she asked softly. "You're not... going to hurt me?" she played with his hair absent-mindedly. "Because I don't... really trust people... and trusting you would be huge..."


Lukas returned the smile. "I'm glad I told you, too. It's nice to talk about it every now and then. I thought about telling Nick earlier, but I figured it'd be best to let Anna tell him when she felt ready to. Do you, uh, want to sneak back to the room with me? I'll make you a hot chocolate and lend you a sweater."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick smiled and blushed from the small kiss, and he hugged her. Nick listened to Anna and looked at her sincerely. "I will do all I can to never hurt you Anna. I promise... You can trust me." He looked at her genuinely. He chuckled softly as she played with his hair, and hugged her once more.


Serene smiled and nodded, "Yeah I'd like that." She thought about what he said, and agreed with all of it. Then she started to swim back to shore. "I hope the teachers aren't still there..." She laughed softly from the thought and looked over at Lukas.

 

[tamaracorine]

"Hey, Anna, we're heading back. You two behave!" he called out before following Serene to the shore and climbing out. He walked alongside her back towards the dorms. "So, tell me more about you. I've heard rumours about your family, but I've never heard the important information about you. What do I need to know?"


Anna turned to look at Lukas, nodding. "Later!" she called, turning her attention back to Nick, her hands still intertwined with his hair. "I trust you. I think." she whispered, "Clearly there's some trust... I'm with you at a lake late at night... now alone..." she let go of him and swam to the shore, sitting down on the grass. "Can I... tell you something?"

 

[goldcat16471]

Serene smiled, walking beside Lukas. "Information about me? I don't know..." She thought for a moment. "I guess you should probably know that I haven't been the most talkative of sorts the past couple years..." She looked at him, "So I am sorry if I can be... Quiet. At times." She bit her lip slightly and thought about the other important things about her or her life she could share.


Nick smiled from her response, and swam beside her to the shore, and sat down next to her. He looked over at her, from her words. "Yeah, of course. What is it?" He asked her. He watched her for a moment then looked out at the lake, glistening in the moonlight. He continued to listen to Anna, and reached his hand out for hers.

 

[tamaracorine]

Lukas led her into the dorms, taking her into the now empty kitchen. "Tea, coffee or hot chocolate?" he asked, turning to the cupboards. "And I don't mind quiet, Serene. The thing with most Dhampir girls is that they talk too much because they know that pretty soon they'll be a strong, silent guardian, so they speak up a whole lot now... I guess I like girls who think about their words, you know?"


Anna placed her hand in his and sat close by him. "You should know that..." she gulped nervously, "When I first started school here I was popular. Everyone knew me. I'd wear colourful dresses all the time and go to all the parties I could. People called me Annie. Then... I... something changed." she mumbled, "My parents were guarding the royals. There was an attack and they both died during the attack. Lukas and I found out at school, and... from then on I decided that if I wanted to survive, I needed to focus and... I don't know. I guess I'm scared to let anyone close because it feels inevitable that I'll die one day..."

 

[goldcat16471]

Serene smiled from his response, "Hot chocolate. And that's a relief." She looked down, thinking, "And I guess it really depends on who I'm with. I'll be more open with those I'm comfortable with." She looked up at him, "And I'm pretty comfortable with you already." She didn't know how Lukas got her to trust him so suddenly, most people took months for her to be like this with them.


Nick listened to Anna as she spoke and was looking down by the end of her short speech. He bit his lip softly, "I didn't know that. I'm sorry Anna. That's..." He took a deep breath, "That has to be really tough..." He looked at her, "Don't be scared to let people be close with you Anna. Enjoy the now, and live while you can. None of us know when we're going to die. However, all of us know that someday we will die. That's why we live while we can." He looked at her serious and gripped her hand tighter.

 

[tamaracorine]

Lukas set about making two hot chocolates, then led her through the corridor to he and Nick's room. "I'm not taking you to my room to try something with you. I just figured you'd want some privacy." he assured her. "Tell me about your parents... about... school... about what you want to do after you leave this place."


Anna squeezed his hand in return. She looked up at him in the darkness, and a moment later, brought her lips up to meet his gently. "I'm doing my best to enjoy tonight." she whispered as she pulled away, looking away from him, uncertain how he would react.

 

[goldcat16471]

Serene had thanked Lukas for the hot chocolate, and walked with him over to his room. She wasn't too nervous about him trying something, but the thought had popped in her head for a quick moment before. His words reassured her though. As they entered his room, she smiled softly at him. "Well my parents for one thing are really nice. I'm on good terms with them. But..." She bit her lip, "I have an older brother whose twenty-four. I haven't seen him in years, and we talk to each other maybe once every four months." She looked down. "He kind of cut himself off from us. Moved across the world to..." She hesitated, and looked down, "Well let's just say he believes in self defense and he's a Moroi..." Her older brother David secretly practiced magic for self defense against Strigoi. Serene never thought it was a bad idea, but she knew it was dangerous to show support in that.


Nick was surprised after their moment of eye contact, that she was the one to make the first move. At first a small smile formed on his face and he looked at her, then he turned her face towards him and kissed her one more time, a little bit more confident than the last. He pulled away slightly and smiled at her, "I know you are. As am I." He hoped he hadn't taken things too far, but he was in a state of ecstasy from their gentle, yet caring kiss. Nick found himself smiling a bit more and he diverted his eyes to look at the lake again and watch the water's movement and the moon's reflection.

 

[tamaracorine]

Lukas smiled as she talked, shrugging. "Thanks for telling me." he whispered, sipping his hot chocolate happily. "You can trust me, you know?" he told her quietly. "I wont share your secrets."


Anna stared up at Nick after his kiss, "I haven't kissed anyone for at least a year..." she whispered. "I forgot it felt good."

 

[goldcat16471]

Serene smiled softly at him, and nodded. "Yeah. I trust you... And thank you for being a person I can trust. Another thing about me is I'm pretty distrustful at times... But you just give off that trustworthy vibe." She laughed slightly and looked at him. "Hm... Do you have any other family?"


Nick smiled from her comment and looked down. "Well... I'm glad it felt good." He glanced at Anna, "Can I tell you something...?" He asked her slightly nervously.