Vampire Academy (tamaracorine & goldcat)

[tamaracorine]

"Next break, it is. I'll talk to Anna later." Lukas told her, leaning back to sip his coffee. He sighed happily and looked over at her. "I think it'd be great. There's this one beach Anna and I talked about visiting, so maybe we could take you there... But uh, be warned, sometimes we drive and neither of us are great drivers... And... would we have to meet your family? I have no problem, if we do."


Anna chewed her lip as she thought, "Let's go to breakfast. I've got testing today so I should eat something..." she mumbled, sliding her hands up and down his back briefly before sliding them around to the front of his torso, eventually pulling away and taking his hand. She began to walk towards the dining room, the small smile that had been on her lips all the night before remaining there.

 

[goldcat16471]

Serene nodded to his words, and laughed softly about his driving comment, then thought about his question. "Probably... But don't worry, they're usually pretty friendly. And you guys are both too awesome anyway, you'll have to make a good impression!" She smiled at Lukas reassuringly.


Nick smiled and nodded, and felt his face heat up ever so softly from the movement of her hands, and he wrapped his fingers around hers, walking with her to the dining room. Casting a glance at her, he noticed her smile, making him smile more. As they arrived at the dining room, he opened the door for Anna and gestured her in, "After you..." He grinned softly.

 

[tamaracorine]

Lukas raised an eyebrow, "Ah yes, because Moroi family love to meet their children's Dhampir friends.. especially when the Dhampir are obviously romantically interested in the Moroi. It's a foolproof plan." he smirked at her. "I don't want to make life harder for you, you know. If... If you'd rather tell your family we're friends or...whatever.. it's totally okay. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry." he laughed nervously.


"Thanks." Anna laughed, keeping her hand in his as she walked inside. She got herself breakfast and found a table by the window overlooking the grounds, settling in with her legs crossed underneath her. Her breakfast was fresh fruit, oats, and green tea. She began to eat, twirling the fork in her fingers between bites. "Hey, Nick... Just... I..." she sighed. "I know I said it before, but it's totally okay if you don't want to be too obvious about... us... I know I'm not exactly popular."

 

[goldcat16471]

Serene smiled reassuringly at Lukas and cast a glance around the dining room. She wasn't even sure how her peers would react about her and Lukas. Of course she was nervous, but she had high hopes that everyone would be accepting. Including her parents. Serene had no idea what would happen, but she wanted to be with Lukas, so she had to tell her parents, "I see you point, but... It's better to just tell them the truth from the beginning." She grabbed his hand from across the table, "I don't know how they will react, but I'm not afraid Lukas."


Nick followed Anna inside and smiled, sitting down across from her. He ate as well, and looked at her healthy breakfast compared to his doughnut. He watched her slightly as she spoke then looked at her serious, "Anna, it's okay. I know I have this reputation as being a party boy, but I couldn't care less about what other people thought of me. And besides, I really don't think you'd drag me down Anna. You're amazing. And anyone who can't see that is blind." He smiled softly at her, then glanced at her breakfast again, "... Do you want just a bite of my doughnut...?" He asked her.

 

[tamaracorine]

Lukas squeezed her hand and nodded. "Okay. If you're sure." he smiled at her. "If you're sure, then I'm sure." he told her, then sipped his coffee with his free hand. He sighed contently, "Now, I've got to get going... I think I'm one of the first for the grading, but I'll see you later, yeah?" he stood up, looking down at her.


Anna laughed, shaking her head. "No, thank you. I like my breakfast, as weird as it is. I like fruit and I like oats and I really, really like green tea." she popped a strawberry between her lips and bit into it, some of the red from the fruit staining her lips. "My biggest treat, though, is chocolate cake. I have it every now and then."

 

[goldcat16471]

Serena smiled at him and nodded, "Okay. I'll see you later." She stood up as well, and gave him a hug. She smiled more, "And I am sure, by the way." With that she turned away and threw out the remainders of her meal. She waved goodbye to Lukas and left the dining hall beginning to head to her first class.


Nick grinned softly as he looked at her lips. They were slightly stained from the juice of the strawberry. He took a napkin and gently wiped her lip, while smiling and looking into her eyes. "Chocolate cake is delicious. But you say every now and then. Does that mean like once a week or once a year for you?" He chuckled softly.

 

[tamaracorine]

Lukas walked out and headed to his test, casting one last glance back at Serena. He sighed as he walked away, content and excited.


Anna blushed as he wiped her lip, the colour creeping all the way to the tips of her ears. "Maybe twice a year? For Lukas' birthday, and maybe one other time? But it's just cake, right?"

 

[goldcat16471]

As Serena walked to her class she noticed some glances from the other royals again. Glances towards Ozera's weren't unusual, but something about these ones unsettled her. They were different from before. Before, they were cautious and wary. Now they were more concern and somewhat annoyance. Serena looked down and crossed her arms, until she arrived at her class, breathing a sigh of relief.


Nick laughed softly and grinned at her as he noticed the blush. Then he shook his head slightly smiling more, "Twice a year...!? Anna!" He looked at her, "I can barely go a full day without some sort of treat... I do not know how you can only have cake twice a year! Maybe I'm being a bad influence for saying this, but girl, it's okay to have treats once in a while!"

 

[tamaracorine]

"A Dhampir, huh?" One of the boys asked. "Just a fling, I bet. You're trying to get out of Christian's shadow, aren't you? I get it. But there are better Dhampir out there."


"I know! But I like different treats. Like, fruit. I like fruit and I like smoothie and I like making the time to go for long runs..." Anna mumbled, the blush persisting. "I don't know... Is it horrible that I don't?"

 

[goldcat16471]

Serena looked up at the boy quickly and narrowed her eyes. Usually, at times like these, she shrunk into her shy shell, and just turned away. However he angered her. "Excuse me? Okay first of all Christian doesn't have a shadow. You all need to lay off of him!" They may not have talked often, but family still defends each other. "And second, why do you care about my love life?" She questioned the guy.


Nick smiled at her reassuringly and shook his head, "No of course not Anna. I just don't know how you do it. You must have an amazing amount of self control...!" He said to her, then gently reached out and grabbed her hand. " He thought for a moment then laughed softly, "You're in really good shape Anna. I probably need to get better eating habits." He chuckled softly.

 

[tamaracorine]

"Because everyone cares about everyone's love life here. You know that. I've heard you talking when two people start dating." He raised an eyebrow and sat back. "What a strange choice."


"You look good." Anna assured him, then blushed again. "I mean, you... You're in good shape, not good looking. But I mean, you are good looking... I just meant... I meant that... Damnit. Damnit." She groaned, hiding her face with the hand Nick wasn't holding.

 

[goldcat16471]

Serena sighed softly, her anger diminishing slightly, "Okay fair enough reason. But... I don't know Lukas is really nice, and I like him a lot. He makes me happy and that's that. No royal can make me feel the way he does. And neither can another Moroi or any other Dhampir. Just him. And it's not just a fling." She watched him.


Nick laughed softly and squeezed her hand gently trying to reassure her, "It's okay Anna, I know what you mean, and thank you." He grinned then looked down and back up at her, "It's so cute when you do that." He smiled then reached across the table and kissed her cheek softly. Then he leaned back and smiled at her.

 

[tamaracorine]

The boy nodded, shrugging. "Yeah. Alright." He paid attention as the teacher walked into the room, occasionally glancing at Serena.


Anna groaned again, nodding. "Thanks." She sighed, moving her hand and looking at him. "I have to go. But I'll see you later, Nick... I mean, if you want..."

 

[goldcat16471]

Serena turned away from him, and began to pay attention to the teacher. Every now and again she would sense the boy glance at her, and she bit her lip softly, nervous. She tried to ignore him, and not to return the glances.


Nick smiled and nodded, "Of course I want to!" He started to stand up and clean up their plates. Then he turned towards Anna and kissed her softly, "Good luck today Anna. I know you'll do amazing."

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna and Lukas spent their day being tested - from their eyesight, to their combat skills, to their physiological knowledge of Moroi and Strigoi, and then finishing with their endurance. The tests ran all day long, with only short breaks between each stage. Anna walked with Lukas back to his room after the testing finished, sending Serena a message and asking if she wanted to come hang out before dinner. She walked into the room with Lukas, talking animatedly about something, wearing her running shorts and crop top.


"Avert your eyes, Nick. Or offer my little sister one of your sweatshirts to cover herself with. That'd make her happy." Lukas told Nick, grinning.

 

[goldcat16471]

Serene went through the rest of her classes, occasionally getting a few more interruptions like the boy. She did her best to ignore them, and gave the same answers she did to the first kid. Some were more accepting of it then others. Most of the time, no one really meddled with Serene Ozera's life, but when something to gossip about came around, everyone will become interested. That's how St. Vladmir's worked. No one was free entirely from the rumors, drama, gossip, or anything. It was just another high school. With vampires of course, only complicating things more. Serene was relieved at the end of her last class to hear the bell ring. She received a text from Anna about hanging out, she happily replied that would love to. She went back to their shared dorm, and got ready a little bit.


Nick's school day had been an exciting one of sorts. Stories about William's party was coursing through the Moroi students. It turned out that after the teacher's arrived, majority of the party had broke up, but a group of students managed to stick together and had finished the party in their own rooms. William had been given detention , but the kid never learned anyway so it wouldn't do much good. As Nick walked from class to class, he was fairly sure he heard some talk about "Moroi and Dhampir couples that were more than hook-ups." Nick rolled his eyes from that, thinking it shouldn't be such a big deal.


At the end of the school day, Nick went back to his dorm. Lukas came into the room, and he was happy to see Anna was there as well. He admired Anna then chuckled from Lukas's comment looking away, and blushing ever so softly. Then he grabbed Anna a sweater and held it out for her, "Are you cold at all?" He asked her smiling.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna took the sweater and tugged it over her head, "Not cold, but if I refuse the sweater, Lukas will get annoyed at me." she pushed her arms into the sleeves, hiding her smile with the edge of the sweater before looking between the two boys again. She sat down on Lukas' bed, hugging one of his pillows and peering over at Nick with a small smile. "Lukas did brilliantly in his testing, you know. I mean it. He was so good. I'm proud of him, I think."


Lukas rolled his eyes, "She's exaggerating. She's just trying to embarrass me. She, however, got the highest marks in all places. But, she did something else. She requested that she be given choice in who she's assigned to. I think I've got a hunch about what family she's going to ask for."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick laughed softly as Anna took the sweater and he watched her, smiling softly. He grinned hearing the good news about Lukas and smiled at his roommate, "Good job." Then he smiled more hearing that Anna scored the highest marks. A surprising amount of pride surged through him, and Nick knew who he was rooting for. Anna of course. He kept these thoughts to himself, and continued listening. He looked over at Anna, curiously. "Oh? And who might that family be?" He secretly hoped it was him. However, for all he knew, Anna had a really good Moroi friend she wanted to protect over him. Or else, since she was the top of her scores, the Guardians would make her protect a royal. Nick scowled inwardly, but continued to look at Anna curious.


Serene finished getting ready, and noticed that Anna hadn't stopped by the dorm yet. She had a theory that Anna'd be with her brother, at his dorm, or with Nick. Serene decided to head over to their dorm. Whoever she ran into over there, would be a pleasant surprise anyway. She walked out of the girl's dorm and made her way to the boy's.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna turned bright red and shrugged. "I, uh, I haven't put in my request yet... I just, uh, I asked to be allowed to choose and they said yes..."


Lukas grinned, "I like how my sister stutters when you're around, Nick." But his face lit up at the sight of Serene. "Hey! How was your day?!"

 

[tamaracorine]

(Sorry about length - busy day!)

 

[goldcat16471]

(Don't worry about it, I understand! )


Nick smiled at Anna and nodded. He was still wondering if the guardians would let her pick a non-royal. Lukas's comment made Nick roll his eyes slightly. He smiled again at Anna and sat down beside her, grabbing her hand gently.


Serene entered Nick and Lukas's room and smiled at all them. Her eyes met Lukas's and she grinned, "Hey!" She thought for a moment about his question, "Oh... It was interesting. I'm glad school's over." She told him, walking over to him.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna leaned against him and closed her eyes. She had the exact same concern. "I don't know how much freedom they'll actually let me have to choose. I don't know." She shrugged, opening her eyes to peer up at him. "But I want to choose you..." She whispered.


Lukas raised an eyebrow, "what happened? Are people causing problems for you? I can take care of it, you know..."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick nodded from Anna's first comment, understanding what she meant. With her such great scores, there was no doubt many royals would be asking for her when she graduated. He found himself starting to blush softly when she said she wanted to pick him. Nick glanced over and looked into her eyes, smiling softly, "Really?" The thought of almost always getting to have her by his side made him extremely happy. Yeah, he really liked her. Nick blushed a little more from these thoughts, and to cover it he teased Anna, "What makes me so special? Why me?" He asked her jokingly and winked at her.


Serene smiled reassuringly at Lukas and grabbed his hang gently, "It's no big deal really... You don't have to worry about it, I'm okay." She told him convincingly. In all honesty, having people getting this much involved in her personal life freaked her out some. It never really happened before. The incident with Christian Ozera's parents happened when she was in middle school, and before that, these type of things didn't happen much at those ages. So this was all kind of new and scary for the Moroi. Serene figured it was best not to get Lukas worried about her like that though, she guessed it would blow over soon.

 

[tamaracorine]

Anna rolled her eyes, wrapping both her arms around Nick's waist and cuddling close. She didn't know why she felt so comfortable with him, but she did.


Lukas smiled at Serene and nodded, "okay. I'll stop being so protective... At least while people aren't being too bad." He squeezed her hand. He glanced over at Nick, "I might be too busy beating this guy up..."

 

[goldcat16471]

Nick chuckled from her eye roll and smiled wrapping his arms around her as well, and kissed the top of her head. "I'm just kidding Anna. I would love to have you as my guardian. I really hope that you can be..." He looked stared at the wall, lost in thought, all the while keeping his arms around her.


Serene smiled relieved that he didn't pry, and felt a comforting feeling fall over her. It was the first time in a long time she felt she had people she could count on. Even though she hadn't known the others in this room that long, she felt she could trust them. Lukas's comment about Nick made her look over at him and Anna, and she giggled softly. They were cute together.


Nick blinked out of his thoughts and looked at Lukas, with a small smirk on his face, "If you tried anything, I bet Anna would beat you up." He joked. Nick was definitely stronger among the Moroi, but against a Dhampir, it would probably be an easy fight for Lukas. Unless... Nick used his powers, but no one knew about his offensive/defensive practice in magic. That was one secret not even his own parents knew about. He wasn't about to bring that up. Anyways, he surely would never actually attack Lukas. They were just joking around.