As Rose entered the cafeteria with her food tray, she noticed two very important things: Mason Ashford and Dimitri Belikov, both on opposite ends of the room, roughly facing each other. Instead of sitting with Lissa, Rose carried her tray over to where Mason was sitting and put her tray down beside him.

"Hi Mase," she said, putting on her best man-eating smile, "Is this seat taken?"

Before Mason even answered, Rose sat in Mason's lap, placing his hand provocatively on her bare thigh, just below the hem of her school uniform skirt. Rose ran an arm around Mason's neck and nuzzled up to his neck with her nose.

"Rose," Mason coughed out, "I thought you weren't interested in being more than friends anymore."

Rose whispered in Mason's ear, "Maybe I am and maybe I'm not." She placed a small kiss in the sensitive spot just under Mason's earlobe, looking out of the corner of her eye to see Dimitri staring, then put her tongue on his earlobe and ran it along the edge. "We have twenty minutes left of our lunch hour," she told him, running her fingernails through the short red hair at the base of his neck, gently massaging the thick muscles there, "I'm suddenly hungry for something besides food. I found a janitor's closet that's unlocked down the east corridor. Care to join me?"

Mason was hardly able to find his voice. He gulped and nodded as Rose stood up and took his hand, lacing their fingers together and pulling him to follow her. Rose led Mason down a dark deserted hallway that was far outside the area where students were supposed to be during lunch. As they arrived at the janitor's closet and Rose opened the door, Rose leaned in and began kissing Mason's lips while standing in the open doorway. Mason started unbuttoning Rose's shirt, pulling it out of where it was tucked into her skirt as he unbuttoned. Rose aggressively pushed her tongue into Mason's mouth, wanting to move as quickly as possible, gripping his face close to hers. The two of them heard the sound of an unmistakable very deep voice clearing his throat in the hall behind them. Mason and Rose broke the kiss and turned to the sound.

In a very unprofessional manor, Dimitri crossed the hall, stepped between Mason and Rose, and jerked Mason up by his shirt, holding him off the ground. As much as he wanted them to be, Dimitri was unable to get his feelings in check when it came to Rose.

"What's your name?" barked Dimitri.

"M-m-mason, sir," he cowered, "Mason Ashford."

"Mr. Ashford, do you have permission to be in this part of the school during lunch?" Dimitri asked.

"No, sir," Mason replied.

"Do you know the rules about student interactions at St. Vladimir's?"

"Yes, sir," said Mason.

"Then I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you over to someone who will punish you accordingly. If I ever see you like this again" - Dimitri pointed at Rose, with her shirt almost completely unbuttoned, in the open doorway of the janitor's closet - "I will be the one to punish you. And it will hurt. A lot."

"Yes, sir." Mason looked like he was about to cry. Or wet himself. Mason had never been in trouble before and - living with his single mother - was counting on scholarships to get into a good college, now fearing he could kiss those all down the drain. Even if Mason hadn't valued his reputation as citizen of the month, he still had a lot to fear. No matter how muscular and tall Mason was compared to the other seniors, Dimitri was still a lot bigger than him. And he was holding Mason up off of the floor, helpless.

Dimitri released Mason, saying, "Then, go."

As soon as Dimitri finished the words, Mason had run off, leaving Rose standing there in the dark hallway with Dimitri, her shirt open.

"You know, Comrade," she began, after Mason had gone, "just because you can't have me doesn't mean no one can. Whatever happened to being with boys closer to my own age?"

Dimitri took a moment to just stare at Rose, transfixed by her beauty and by the longing for what he chose to give up, remembering the feel of her skin there. Rose noticed his stare, feeling a flush over her entire body as his eyes brazenly wandered her exposed torso. Then, Dimitri schooled his features and turned his head to look away from Rose, saying, "You know that this was against the rules, Ms. Hathaway. And you're out of uniform. Button up your shirt and go back to the cafeteria. I'll see you in detention."

Rose had a witty retort on the tip of her tongue, but before Rose could even start to talk, Dimitri had turned his back and walked away.

-=o0/&\0o=-

As soon as he got home to his apartment, Dimitri picked up his phone and found the contact for Adrian Ivashkov. He paused for a moment, finger hovering over the button, not sure if he wanted to call or not. Reluctantly, he pushed the button. With Dimitri teaching and Adrian in college, it was a school night for both of them, but Dimitri knew he needed to find out more.

Dimitri regretted ending things with Rose so abruptly, but he was just too afraid of the consequences of letting it continue. Seeing her with Mason had just made it all so much worse.

After the third ring, Adrian answered the phone. "Dimka!" he said, "Dude! Just the guy I was wanting to talk to!"

"Hey Adrian," replied Dimitri, "I thought I called you. But what's up?"

"My frat's having a Halloween party on Saturday the twenty-eighth. I thought you might like to come."

"I don't have to wear a costume - do I?" Dimitri asked.

"Nah," said Adrian, "Not unless you want to. Leave that to the girls."

"Message me the details. If I'm free, I'll be there."

"Great! Now, what did you call me about?" Adrian asked.

"It's actually about Rose," Dimitri began.

"Is she okay?" Adrian asked, immediately starting to panic.

"She's fine," replied Dimitri, "I was just hoping you could shed some insight into her personality and how to deal with her in detention. Why would you be wondering if she's okay, though?"

"Dimka, it's me," said Adrian, "You know me, dude. You know I read people like a book. I've known Rose for almost three years. Dated her for two of those. Rose is ... well, there's just no one like her. On the surface, she might seem really tough, but underneath ... she's pretty fragile. I mean, yeah, she's got a temper like you wouldn't believe. Her fire is incredible, but she cares like no one else. If she had to, she would fight for - or die for - the people she cares about. And she's got a heart like you wouldn't believe."

"It almost sounds like you still have feelings for her."

"Dimka, I do still have feelings for her. Of course I do. I've been in love with Rose since the first day we met. Still am. And - goddamn - that woman is easily the best lay I've ever had."

Don't I know it, thought Dimitri, fighting back the erection as he was recalling her body writhing beneath him in his bed.

"But she didn't love me back," said Adrian, "She broke up with me four times while we were together. I tried to let go of her every time she left me, but I couldn't. Even after I knew that she didn't love me back, she was the hardest thing to just give up. Finally, I realized that Rose is just not meant to be mine. She's meant to be with someone else. I think I knew that all along. Then Sydney came along and I just knew who I was meant to be with. Rose will always be in my heart. If she'll let me, I'll be her friend as long as she wants me to, though. She's a beautiful person, inside and out. She deserves to be happy."

Dimitri cringed at the thought of the emotions he saw rolling off of Rose when she got out of his car at her house. 'Happy', Adrian had said. Rose wasn't happy. And Dimitri felt he was the reason for her unhappiness. "Well," Dimitri said, "I guess I should probably get going. Thanks for your insights into Rose. This'll help me in detention."

"Not so fast," said Adrian, "She's not the only one I'm good at reading. I've seen the way you've looked at her. I know you're not calling about her because of detention. You like her."

"What?" asked Dimitri, "You've gotta be crazy. Rose is my student. I don't like her. Not like that, I mean."

"It's not all one-sided, either, Dimka. She looks at you the same way. Remember that fire I told you about? She looks at you like you set her on fire."

"So, what? You expect me to have sex with your ex-girlfriend? Adrian, she's my student! Getting laid isn't worth losing my job - no matter how good she might be in bed!"

"Dimitri, I'm not just talking about sex," said Adrian, "Remember how I said she's meant for someone else? I think she's meant for you."

"I'm not sure I believe that," said Dimitri.

"Well," said Adrian, "give it some thought. I'll send you the details for the party. I hope you can make it."

"Thanks, man," said Dimitri, "I'll talk to you later."

"No problem. Talk to you later."

As soon as Adrian had pressed the 'End Call' button on his phone, he texted Ivan and Dimitri the details of the party. Before he could set it down, the phone rang again. Adrian looked at the screen to see that it was Rose.

"Little vixen!" he said, as he answered the phone.

"Hi Adrian, I need to ask you a favor," Rose said.

Adrian grinned. "Are you calling about a certain cousin of mine? Maybe one whose name you were calling out the last time you were in my bed?"

"No," she replied, "I want you to give Jesse Zeklos my number."

Adrian thought for a moment. Just then, he got a text message from Dimitri. Adrian glanced at the screen. It said, "Count me in. I'll be at the party."

Adrian told Rose, "I have a better idea. Our frat's having a party on Saturday the twenty-eighth. How about I give him your number and set you and Jesse up on a date for the party? I know you've got some sort of sexy costume all planned out. He'll love it."

"You know me too well, Adrian," Rose laughed.

Adrian laughed, too. "Well, after the Catwoman in skintight leather and Princess Jasmine with a bare navel costumes, I figured you had to have something in mind."

Rose grinned a knowing smile. "You'll see."

"I think it's going to be great," he said.

"Thanks, Adrian. Set it up with Jesse and send me the details."

"Okay," said Adrian.

Once Adrian and Rose had wrapped up their call, he walked out into the living room of his frat house. Jesse was sitting there playing video games again.

"Hey, Jesse," Adrian told him, "You wanna bring Rose as your date to the Halloween party?"

"Fuck yeah, dude," Jesse replied, finally pausing his game and looking up from the couch, "Set it up!"

"Sure. I'll let her know and text you her number. Just promise me that you won't go out with her before the party."

"Why's that?" Jesse asked.

Adrian chuckled and quickly came up with, "You haven't lived until you've seen a Rose Hathaway Halloween costume."

Jesse laughed. "Deal. Maybe I can manage to get the costume off of her, too - if you know what I mean. But I can still call her first - right?"

"To your heart's content," Adrian said, "As long as she is still willing to go with you to the party."

-=o0/&\0o=-

Author's Notes:

The second part I borrowed that I mentioned in chapter 4b would be the section where Dimitri caught them near the janitor closet (from near the middle of VA, originally Jesse Zeklos in the lounge).  Again, pretty sure I changed it drastically enough, but let's give credit where it's due - am I right? 🤷‍♀️

Sorry for the angsty temperamental chapter, but I promise you there'll be some more Romitri lovin' coming up soon! Never fear, I will bring our couple a happy ending eventually.

As for the Halloween costumes mentioned in this chapter, those were both actual costumes I had. I wore the Catwoman costume when I was eighteen. Princess Jasmine, I was nineteen - it was the maybe smallest top, including swimsuits, that I've ever worn in public, too!

If you liked the chapter, please comment and/or vote!