Vampire Academy

Evanee

"Are you sure you're-," "Again," Jarek snapped, before his friend could ask him if he needed a break. Jarek didn't want a break, he wanted to get better, he needed to. He could see the slight doubt in Charlie's eyes as she held up the cushion again, but she did it nonetheless. It was one of the many reasons Jarek liked her so much as a friend. 
After Charlie gave him a slight nod to let him know she was ready, he swirled his fist towards the cushion again. It gave a soft thud as he hit the surface, and he gave Charlie just enough time to adjust her grip before he punched again. And again. And again. 
His teacher had said his techniques were practically flawless, and he was top of the class when it came to almost any combat subject, but it still didn't feel like enough. 
When he looked at it from a distance, or at least tried to, he knew it would never be enough. He had seen his parents die at the hands of a strigoi. Jarek would probably never get over that completely. He had decided, however, that he would do all he could to be able to protect the moroi he would get assigned to. He didn't want anyone else to go through the same things he had went through, not if it was in his power to avoid such a thing. 
"Jarek, I really think you shoul-," Charlie was just in time to jump to the side, before Jarek's fist would hit her jaw. "Jesus, Jarek," she cursed, and he gave her a apologetic look. "Sorry," he said, and only then realised how out of breath he was. "I guess I- maybe I do need a break," he muttered, staring at his knuckles. They felt sore, even though he had made sure they were strapped in tight with bandages. "I don't think a break is enough, Jarek," Charlie pointed out dryly. "Really, don't you think you've done enough for today? Everyone else is probably already getting ready for dinner." Jarek's stomach immediately started rumbling when hearing the word dinner. "But I could-," he started, but Charlie held up a hand. "No, you're done for today. If you go on like this it won't take more than a few days before you work yourself so hard you get a burnout or something, and who will listen to my complaints then?" She pointed out. Jarek cracked a grin at her. "Yeah, alright, I get it. You'd miss me terribly," he said, draping his arm around her shoulders. Charlie shrugged him away, laughing. "Don't let Isabel see you touching me. Imagine how terribly jealous she'll get," she said, and Jarek grunted. "Well, all the more reason to hug you, then," he said, pulling her a little closer. "I still don't get it. I'm not even that amiable," he muttered. Charlie gave him a playful push before walking out of the gym. "It's probably because of your looks, as a girl I can tell you that personality doesn't even matter when a guy's hot," she said. Jarek fluttered his eyes at her. "Does that mean you think I'm pretty?" He asked in a girlish tone, giving her a shy smile. Charlie laughed. "No, it means I think Isabel thinks you're pretty. I still find you horrendous to look at," she assured him. "Such a wonderful friend you are," Jarek muttered, but he had a smile on his face. He liked that Charlie always seemed to sense when he needed distraction like this. 

Evanee

He and Charlie walked back towards the dining hall, and when they reached the doors they were almost running. "I am starving," Charlie said in her usual dramatic tone of voice. Jarek gave her a theatrical look of concern. "My poor little dove," he said, because it had been the nickname one of her ex boyfriends had given her and she had absolutely hated it. In fact, it was part of the reason why she had broken up with him. At least that was what she had told Jarek.
"Watch out, or I will have you for dinner," she growled, and Jarek laughed. "You do know that sounds like an innuendo, right?" He noted, and Charlie pulled a face. Just as she gave him a slight push to the shoulder, Isabel walked by, causing him to bump into her. 
Of course. Just his luck. 
She looked up with what was at first a pure look of annoyance, but as soon as she recognised him, she smiled. "Jarek," she purred. Jarek frowned a little. "Erm- hi," he greeted her, because even though her flirtatious remarks always made his skin crawl, he wasn't mean. Not to moroi at least, he wasn't stupid. Most of them were so rich he was sure they could hire an a whole squad of assasins to take him out if he annoyed them. 
"Have you been training?" She asked him, a little surprised. Jarek frowned. "How do you kn-," he started, but she already brushed her fingers across the little hairs in the nape of his neck, probably wet with sweat. Isabel let out a giggle when seeing his stunned face. "It's fun to see you're not always that- manly," she said. Jarek fronwed again. "I'm not manly," he said. "Hmmm, you've been kicking my ass the whole afternoon and you squashed a spider with your bare hands this morning. Yes, you are," Charlie pointed out, standing a little behind him. He gave her a murderous look. Isabel seemed to notice his friend now too, because her face changed back to annoyed. "Oh," she said. "Hi Charlie, how are you?" She asked, making it obvious with her tone of voice that she didn't care on bit how Charlie was. "Oh, I'm great. You should see Jarek in his tight shorts when he's practicing, it's wonderful," she said. "We're off to dinner now, bye!" she added, dragging Jarek along before he could assure her he did absolutely not own tight shorts. "Really, Charlie, one day I am going to kill you in your sleep," he said under his breath, which only made his friend laugh. They sat down at the table where their other friends were already enjoying their dinner, and Charlie immediately started telling about their meeting with Isabel. 
Jarek got distracted when two girls entered the dining hall. Okay, yeah, Evanee and Monique, there was no need to pretend he didn't know their names, since everyone was always talking about Evanee. It was impossible not to hear about the story of her father. Jarek felt bad for her, because at least half of the academy was speculating about the moment where she would snap and turn into a strigoi herself. Jarek himself was aware that theory was bullshit. He had seen the strigoi with his own eyes, and he didn't believe something like that could just be genetics. It was more evil than that.
He sometimes wondered if she had seen her father kill someone. It was a little weird. He wanted to talk to her badly, since not many others were able to talk about something like that, but at the same time he desperately wanted to avoid her. He feared that talking to her would only bring up unwanted memories.

Evanee

He quickly focused his eyes on the plate filled with food in front of him, but his mind kept wandering off, mostly towards the moroi girl and his own parents. Charlie, knowing him better than most of his friends, seemed to sense he was in one of his mods again, because she made sure the conversation didn't need any input from Jarek.
He had grown hungry after the intense training, so it didn't take him long to empty his plate. "Sometimes I wonder if you're not some werewolf or something, Jarek," he heard Charlie say, and he gave her a quick smile. "Yeah, don't tell the others. Let them believe it's just my period that makes me grumpy every month," he joked. Charlie pointed her fork at him and squinted her eyes a little. "No period jokes unless you really have 'em," she warned him, not for the first time. He stood up from the bench, collecting his empty plate. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm going-," he started, but wasn't sure how to finish his sentence, since he didn't know where he would go yet. Charlie waved his words away. "Just do whatever you have to. I'll see you tomorrow morning," she said. Jarek gave her a quick, thankful smile before he dashed off. 
Because most of the others were still enjoying their dinner, it was mostly empty in the hallways. As he put his hands in the pockets of his trousers, he realised he was still wearing the clothes from training. He made a face and turned around, thinking it was probably a good idea to take a shower.

He came out of the shower, wearing fresh clothes and his still damp hair sticking to his forehead. He stretched the muscles in his back by raising his arms above his head and let out a sigh. It was one of those times where he couldn't stop thinking, and he didn't really feel like talking to anyone. He considered going to his room, but he didn't sleep alone and knowing his roommate Jesse, he was probably already there. 
So instead he walked towards the library. At this time it was probably empty, and if just sitting in silence didn't help he could always mute his thoughts by reading some dusty old book - some habit he had developed over the past few years. Sometimes it was even fun to read them; since they were practically antique, they were full of weird theories already proven wrong, or even better - forgotten knowledge.

He opened the door, expecting the room to be completely empty, and he even let out a sigh of relief - which he regretted terribly not more then two seconds later. "Hello, Jarek is it?" His eyes went to the window, where - of all people - Evanee was seated. "Oh," he said, for a moment not knowing what to do. "Erm- yeah." He frowned a little, ready to ask her how she knew his name, when he realised it probably weren't just dhampirs talking about him. After all, he knew her name as well. "You're Evanee," he said therefore, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. "I'm sorry, I thought- I didn't think anyone else would be here," he added, not sure how to hold himself. He thought about muttering some excuse and leaving again, but he didn't know any other place where he could relax a little. "Can I- do you mind if I stay here?" He asked, a little insecure.

Evanee

She seemed as surprised as he was, which made him feel a little better. "The one and only," she said, after he had recognised her as Evanee. "Unless there are more, but I really do doubt that." Jarek flashed a quick smile. He watched her close her book and put it down next to her, and wondered for the second time if he really wasn't disturbing her.
"Don't you be sorry. I am just as surprised as you are to find someone else who knows this forgotten place. Somehow it actually feels good to know that I am not the only one with such a busy mind that I have to find a place that is empty of all else," she said. He hadn't looked at it from that angle yet.
She seemed surprised when he asked her if she minded him staying. "Of course you can," she said, and even blinked. Suddenly Jarek found it hard not to start grinning. "I.. ah.. Pardon me, but why do you ask?" She asked him, and jumped from the windowsill. Jarek frowned, thinking it was obvious. "Well, you were here first, right? And I'm guessing you didn't go here to walk into friendly strangers," he said.
He wanted to add a smile to his words to make sure they didn't sound too dry, when she suddenly changed the subject. "You know," she started, and he already knew what was coming before she even had the chance of saying the rest of her sentence. He knew that tone of voice; he had heard it way too often.
"I am sorry for your parents," she said, and Jarek looked away. He still didn't know what to say to people telling him they were sorry for his loss.
She wasn't finished, however, to his surprise. "Not that I knew them or anything but.. sometimes you hear things and.. I... never mind," she said, and walked past him. Jarek stood still, not knowing how to react to her words. He could hear how she came to a stop before she reached the door, and he turned around, watching her. "I- I'm sorry for your father as well?" he said, the words sounding less secure than he had wanted them to, which made them sound as if he had felt obliged instead of as if he meant them. 
"I am sure you've heard about me," she whispered. "Hah.. everyone knows." 
Jarek suddenly realised how completely different this all was to her. Everyone talked behind her back, probably to her face as well, about when she would turn into a strigoi herself. 
They had both lost at least one of their parents, but Jarek was treated like a hero instead. He was one of the few dhampirs who had seen a strigoi, though he wished people would stop making such a fuss about it.
"If it was him... I just... I know I cannot undo what he has done. Trust me, if I could I would... but because he chose his fate doesn't mean I am like him..," she continued talking.
Jarek still didn't move, too surprised to act. "What- no, of course not. No," he said, when her words finally dawned on him. Did she really think he would blame her?
Before he could do anything more to talk the idea out of her head, she disappeared out of the room. "That was- weird," he said out loud in the now empty library room. He stared at the door, not sure what to do now. He did know, however, that just sitting here and reading old books wouldn't do.

He was walking through the hallway, feeling like some sort of hobo who had accidentally entered the white house. 
He spotted a girl walking at the end of the hallway, who raised her eyebrows until they disappeared behind her fringe when seeing him. "I'm sorry," he said, feeling even more out of place. She blinked. "Do you- know where Evanee's room is?" She blinked again. "Evanee?" She repeated, clearly not knowing what to do with this situation. "Erm- she's- end of the hallway, right there," she said, still blinking, as she pointed towards one of the doors. Jarek cracked a nervous grin and muttered a thanks before hurrying down the hallway. He wanted this to be over as soon as possible. He wasn't even sure what he was doing in the first place.
There had just been something about her face. He was probably slowly growing insane. The so-called trauma was finally catching up on him. He couldn't explain this any other way. He was walking through the hallway of the girls' dorm rooms. And he wasn't even going there to see another dhampir. He was visiting a moroi. He could already hear the rumours that would probably dominate the breakfast hall next morning. When he reached the room, it took him another few seconds to find the courage to knock. He took a quick, deep breath. "There goes," he muttered, before raising his hand and placing two rapid, short knocks on the door.

Evanee

It stayed silent at the other side of the door for a few seconds, before he heard someone walk closer. He could hear two girls muttering under their breath behind him, and he considered explaining to them that this was not what it looked like. He didn't though. He was clever enough to know they wouldn't even think about listening to anyone's side of the story except their own.
He looked up when the door opened, and somehow he still felt surprised when he saw Evanee's face. However, he wasn't as surprised as Evanee looked. Without saying anything, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside, before closing the door again.
"What were you thinking?!" She hissed, and Jarek blinked. "Why would you come here? Have you any idea what the rumours will be tomorrow at breakfast?" 
It wasn't until he heard her words that he realised it wasn't just him that would be topic of the rumours. They would just as much talk about Evanee. "Oh," he said, feeling silly. "I- sorry, I didn't think about that," he admitted. He watched her pace around the room and he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. "Look, I'm really sorry, I didn't really think this through. I just- it was stupid, sorry," he said, not looking at her.
"Why are you here actually?" She suddenly asked, and as he looked up something about her had changed. She gestured towards a chair and he sat down, feeling a little uncomfortable.
He rubbed the palms of his hands over the farbic of his trousers as he tried to come up with a way to say what he wanted to say. "Earlier, you looked-," he hesitated a little, looking at her, "- a bit as if you blamed yourself for- you know. What happened. With my family." 
He cleared his throat, wondering how it could be that after so many years his head still felt ten pounds lighter as soon as he talked out loud about what had happened. He tried not to fidget by stuffing his hands between his knees. "I just- I wanted to tell you that it couldn't have been your father," he said slowly, trying not to think too hard about the past. "I saw the strigoi that ki- entered the house. It was a woman." He gave her a weak smile. "Besides, even if it had been your father, you shouldn't hold yourself responsible for his acts."
He didn't know what to say after that, so he just sat there in silence for a while.

Evanee

She didn't respond to his words at first, so he kept on talking. When he told her the strigoi that had found a way into his old house had been a woman, he could see her mouth drop open. It would have been funny if he hadn't been talking about his dead family. He could almost see the thoughts passing through her mind as she tried to work out what he had just told her. Jarek didn't often talk about what had happened, so he should've known she wouldn't know this. In fact, he thought the only one he had told were the dhampirs that had saved him, the head mistress and Charlie. 
Her next words surprised him, and he wasn't able to hide it. "Then why do I feel responsible?" It took her another few minutes before she looked at him, while Jarek tried to think of what to say. Before he could find the right words, she spoke again and the moment was gone. "You should go. They will be checking the rooms in a few minutes. The best and fastest way to get out of here is the window," she told him. 
"How did you find out? You get a lot of dhampir boys entering here?" He asked, jokingly. The words had left his mouth before he could've stopped them. He bit his lip, thinking it wasn't exactly the right time for jokes. "Sorry," he muttered, before opening the window and swinging himself onto the roof.

To his surprise, he fell asleep almost immediately when he laid down in his bed. Jesse was already snoring- as usual.
He woke up the next morning a few seconds before his alarm went off, and he jumped to his feet. Jesse pulled the pillow over his head and grunted something Jarek couldn't fully hear. "You'd think you would get used to these mornings eventually," Jarek said, which earned him a pillow in his stomach. He laughed and walked towards the closet to find his clean uniform. 
Just as he was ready, Charlie knocked on his door. As soon as he opened it, she tumbled into his room. "You went to Evanee's room?" She asked incredulously. "What?" Jesse said, finally getting out of his bed. "Really, Jarek, you should hear the stories they're telling. Some girl claimed she could hear you- moan," she said, mouthing the last words. Jarek's eyebrows shot up. "What? I didn't- It wasn't like that, jesus," he said, already cursing himself for thinking no one would think anything weird of it if he'd just go to Evanee's room late in the evening. 
As he looked over his shoulder, he could see Jesse already opening his mouth to ask more questions, so he grabbed Charlie by the arm and pulled her out of the room with him. "You have some explaining to do," Charlie said in a stern voice. "I swear, it wasn't- not even one bit. I mean, I barely know her," he defended himself. "Some people would say knowing someone isn't a necessity to do the frickle frackle," Charlie pointed out, wiggling her eyebrows. Jarek felt some of the tension leave his body and he pushed her away, laughing. 

When they reached the breakfast hall, he had told her about what happened. Unfortunately, the rest of the whole academy still seemed to think he had went to her room for something involving a little less clothing, or - even worse - to whore himself out. He sat down at their usual table, and a murderous look prevented his friends from asking any questions about the rumours. Charlie would fill them in later, he hoped. He didn't even have the chance to take one bite before he saw Evanee rise to her feet from the corner of his eye. On a normal day, he wouldn't have thought anything about it, but there wasn't a chance now this was not about last night. He dropped his sandwich on his plate, forgotten, when he saw how she attacked another moroi - something like Mirana he believed. 
"Jesus christ," Charlie breathed, and Jarek already rose to his feet, thinking maybe he should do something. He didn't, though, because the headmistress had already appeared. "Miss May! To my office immediately! You as well Mister Vancura, NOW!"
"Wha- I didn't-," Jarek started, but seeing the look the headmistress gave him, stopped his protests. They wouldn't do anything good anyway. "G'luck," Charlie muttered, and Jarek walked away from his table, ignoring the people muttering behind his back. Though, he may have clenched his fist when he walked past a group of giggling moroi girls. And, well, it may have looked like a threat. 
When he reached the doors, two guardians showed up next to him, and he pursed his lips. As if he would do anything like running away, really, how much of idiots were they?

Evanee

They told him he had to wait in the small room next to the headmistress' office. He could hear the muffled sounds of Evanee and the mistress through the wall as he kept his gaze fixed on the ground. He didn't bother talking to one of the guardians. He had no idea why they had taken him to the office, and not Miranda or whatever her name was, and he didn't know them anyway.
He knew the headmistress however, better than most. Nevertheless, after all these years he still hadn't figured out if he liked her or not. She was nice to him most of the time, but it seemed to him as if she did it more out of obligement than friendliness. She had known his parents and the moroi they had worked for.
Jarek felt restless in a chair that didn't feel comfortable at all and time passed way too slow. When finally the door to the office opened, he looked up, only to see Evanee's face. Her cheek was bleeding, and his eyes immediately flashed towards the headmistress standing behind her. He considered asking what had happened, but quickly dismissed it. It wasn't as if someone would answer him.
"Mister Vancura, please enter," she said, gesturing for him to come him. He threw Evanee a hesitant look before disappearing into the office.

When he sat down in the chair opposite her, she leaned her elbows on the desk. "Jarek," she said in a warm tone. "I heard- rumours about you and miss May." She looked at him questioningly, and Jarek clenched his fists. "I'm sure most of them aren't true," he assured her. "I had walked into her earlier, and she- I just stopped by to tell her something," he said, not feeling at ease enough to say out loud what it had been about.
The head of the Academy stayed silent for a few moments before leaning back in her chair. "So you didn't-," she started, but seemed to hesitate about the last few words of her question. Jarek frowned, before realising she was asking him if the bloodwhore rumours were true. "What? No! No, I wouldn't- I would never- no. Besides, even if I had wanted to, I don't think Evanee is anything like that," he said. The woman pursed her lips. "Well, you barely know her," she pointed out.
She let out a sigh, as if all of this pained her terribly, and folded her hands. "Since you didn't actually do anything apart from entering a girl's room at night, I won't punish you too hard. I understand you normally go to the gym in your free time, so I think it will be a fair penalty to say you won't be allowed to go anywhere except your room outside of your schedule for the rest of the week," she said. 
Jarek opened his mouth in protest, but she shut him up easily by raising her hand. "Don't argue with me, Jarek. I can make your punishment a whole lot worse if you give me reason to," she warned him. Jarek closed his mouth, but made sure she knew what he thought of all this with the look in his eyes. 
The door of the office opened and he could see one of the guardians entering to bring him away, but he quickly stood up from his chair and brushed past him. "I can find the way myself, thank you very much," he snapped, not paying them any more attention after that.
It wasn't fair. He was sure there were a dozen others who sneaked into rooms at night, and he was sure the headmistress' knew that well enough herself.
Besides, wasn't he supposed to train as hard as he could? What other point was there about this whole academy?

Evanee

It had taken him less than two whole days to decide that, no, he definitely did not like the head mistress. Yes, he still had been able to train during the lessons, but it hadn't felt like enough at all. Spending his afternoons alone in his room had never made him feel as restless as it had that week. Of course, on the last day, he had snapped when some of the less likeable dhampir guys had muttered something about him and Evanee and, well, let's just say he gave the headmistress enough reason to give him another two weeks of detention.
After two months the rumours finally had simmered down, and he had been able to spent the whole day training in the gym without being disturbed by anyone. He had taken a long shower, and was now walking back to his room. He felt tired, and was just thinking about skipping dinner and just collapsing on his bed, when he saw someone standing in the door opening of his room.
"Erm- you are- Jarek is- erm, are you- do you-," he could hear Jesse stutter, who had probably just opened the door. He frowned a little when he recognised Evanee. Someone stood at the end of the hallway, staring at the moroi standing in the hallway. When he caught Jarek's eye, he sent the boy a warning glare. He didn't feel like any more rumours being spread around, not now they had finally cooled down. "What Jesse means is, do you want to come in?" Jarek said, appearing behind Evanee. Jesse threw him a relieved glance. "Yeah, that," he muttered. Jarek walked into his room and tossed his wet towel on the desk. He acted more sure than he truly felt. Why could she possibly be here? He hadn't heard a word from her since they had both been sent to the head mistress, and he didn't know why that had suddenly changed. 
Jesse was still standing next to the door, and Jarek threw him a look. "Jesse," he said slowly. "Isn't it time for dinner?" Jesse looked at him a little confused for a few seconds, before it dawned on him. "Oh- right, yes. Okay, I'll just leave you-," he didn't finish his sentence, but dashed off into the hallway. Jarek closed the door before he said anything else. He leaned against the wall, massaging his own shoulder for a second - mostly to just give his hands something to do. 
"So," he said slowly. "I take it you've lived through your punishment then?" He asked. 

Evanee

He suddenly felt a little self conscious about his room, as he watched her take it in. He and Jesse weren't exactly neat, and he had to scan the room for dirty pants lying around before he could take a breath again. No underwear in sight, fortunately.
She laughed at his words, though he didn't really see how she could find them funny. "Live, no, got through it, yes," she said. "What do you- what even was your punishment?" He asked.
"I am not planning on making this a very long talk, Jarek," she suddenly said, which only made him more confused. "People will get suspicious again and this time it will end badly." She looked at him, and he crossed his arms. "So I will just tell you this as fast and... well. I'll just tell you," she stammered, and Jarek's thoughts whirled through his mind, trying to think of what she could possibly tell him. "I have been through some things lately and for startes I uh... I just want you to know that you don't have to worry about that woman anymore. I can assure you that she is gone. For good this time."
He blinked.
His ears were filled with a buzzing sound as he tried to work out what she meant. She couldn't- how did she know? Jarek took in a sharp breath, trying to keep his attention focused. He felt a little dizzy. "How-," he started, but couldn't seem to find any other words. "That is all I suppose," she said, sounding distant. He wasn't sure if that was truly how she sounded, or that it was just because his mind was spinning so much.
She said something else, but he couldn't make the words out anymore. 
He watched her walk past and leave the room, doing his best to keep breathing.
As soon as she was gone, though, he collapsed on his bed. To be honest, he had thought less about her than he liked to admit, since it was mostly his fault she got punished. 
Now he couldn't stop wondering what she had been up to the past two months. What did she mean, the strigoi that killed his parents was gone? How did she know? Why did she know?
He rubbed his eyes as the pale face of the woman appeared in his thoughts and he clutched his pillow. 
He still didn't understand, but at least he was sure about one thing now. He wouldn't go to dinner this evening.

Evanee

The next morning his alarm went off twice, and after that Jesse had to shake him by the shoulders to wake him up. It had taken hours for Jarek to fall asleep last night, and as soon as he opened his eyes he felt the consequences of his lack of sleep. "Jarek, you have five minutes left to go to breakfast," Jesse warned him. Since he had skipped a meal the day before, he didn't think he'd live without breakfast today, so with a lot of effort he managed to get out of bed, put on his uniform, and hurry towards the breakfast hall.
Charlie was waiting for him with a plate already filled with food. "I love you," Jarek breathed, accepting the meal and stuffing the food into his mouth. "You look like you barely slept last night," Charlie noticed, as she watched him eat. "That's probably because I did," Jarek answered between two bites. She gave him an odd look, because most of the time Jarek didn't have any trouble at all with falling asleep, and Jarek let out a sigh. "I'll tell you when I'm finished," he promised her, and when they walked towards their classes together he did.
Charlie seemed just as confused as he felt, because for a while she didn't say anything. "So she- did she kill her herself?" She asked slowly. Jarek shook his head. "I don't know," he said, feeling the frustration he had felt last night come back again. "I don't know anything. I don't even know why she bothered telling me," he scoffed. 
He looked up, a little surprised, when Charlie laid her hand on his arm. "You'll sleep during English classes, I'll make sure the teacher doesn't notice. You get way too grumpy when your tired and you need a clear mind, especially right now," she said. Jarek gave her a quick thankful smile.

He had slept a little during the morning classes, just like Charlie had told him to, and when he entered practice he had to admit he felt a little better now. He had already changed into the uniform every dhampir had to wear during training, and he stretched his arms above his head, slowing his breathing. "Five laps?" Charlie asked him, raising her eyebrows. He knew it was an invitation to a competition who would be the fastest. He grinned, wondering how on earth he had managed to find such a great friend. She knew he was still thinking about what Evanee had told him, and that he mostly needed distraction right now. "If you promise not to be a sore loser," Jarek warned her, and immediately after that he started running. "You sun of bitch!" He heard Charlie yell behind him, and he laughed.

He came to an abrupt stop, just a few seconds before Charlie appeared next to him. They were both breathing hard, and Jarek was grinning. "Told you I'd win," he said, which earned him a shove against his shoulder. He laughed, taking a small step to correct his balance, when his eye fell on Evanee. He immediately stopped laughing.
What was she doing here?
Perhaps I'll see you at training tomorrow. I have permission to return and attend my classes. Both Moroi and Dhampir.
Oh.
He felt a confusing mix of anger and something he couldn't quite place rise to the surface, and he pursed his lips. "Jarek, what- oh," Charlie said, now noticing Evanee as well. Most of the Dhampirs were looking at her, Jarek noticed. He couldn't blame them, because - well - until now these classes existed out of only Dhampirs.
Jarek was still staring, when he suddenly realised Charlie wasn't standing next to him anymore. His eyes widened when he saw her walking towards Evanee with a determined look on her face. Most of the time that look didn't promise any good things to happen.
As he hurried to try and catch up with her, he could hear what she said to Evanee. "Listen, Evanee, no hard feelings or anything, but you can't just do that." 
Jarek walked a little faster, silently begging Charlie to just shut up. "I know Jarek likes to act all tough, but you can't- just tell him stuff like that out of the blue, okay?" When she noticed Jarek walking up to her, she quickly added a few more lighter words. "Don't ruin his beauty sleep again, because he needs it." Jarek frowned. "I don't have a beauty sleep," he interjected, and immediately after that realised that was exactly what Charlie had meant to do- to distract him from what she had just said to Evanee. God, she sounded like an overprotective mother.  

Evanee

Jarek noticed how Monique tensed up as soon as Charlie got close, and as a reaction Charlie did the same. He bit his lip, fearing of what would happen if one of them lost control of their emotions. It wouldn't be the first time if they started yelling at eachother, though until now they had somehow managed not to break out in a real fight.
He hadn't really known how Evanee would react to Charlie's words, but he certainly hadn't expected this. "If he needs a beautysleep I overestimated him. But still, Charlie, why is it of your bloody concern that I told Jarek something he needs to hear?" She asked. He could see Charlie sucking in a breath, trying to supress her anger. She didn't do a very great job at that. "It's not that you told him, it's how you did it," she spit at Evanee. "Jarek is my friend, of course it is my concern. Anything you do to him is my concern. Someone needs to look out for him, after all, and it doesn't look like you're up for that," she added bitterly. Jarek laid a hand on her shoulder, but she ignored him. Wonderful.
"Listen, Charlie, no offence but I am just here so that I will not be tempted to kill anyone who yells at me in the catine, understood?" Evanee said in a sudden cold voice. "I am none of your business, you're none of mine, so shut up and let me be," she ended her speech. Charlie narrowed her eyes and took a step closer. "Just to make clear, you are my business if you hurt him in any way," she hissed, before shaking off Jarek's hand and walking away. 
Jarek stood still for a few seconds, a little stunned, before he turned around himself and walked after Charlie. He didn't say anything to Evanee, because he didn't know what to tell her. In a way, Charlie had been right. Besides, she hadn't seemed to happy to see him, so she'd probably just wanted to be left alone. He thought. He wasn't sure, Evanee was too confusing to predict what she would want. 

"Well, that was a little embarassing," he said as soon as he caught up with Charlie. "Don't. Let's just- grab a stake, we're going to fight," she responded. Jarek looked at her for a few seconds, noticing the tension in her shoulders and the angry look in her eyes. "Okay," he said, because she seemed like she needed to blow off some steam. He grabbed a stake while Charlie put on the small harness that was supposed to absorb the blows of the wooden stakes. 
"Ready?" She asked when he stepped in front of her. "Ready," he said, and before he could even finish the word, she launched at him. He was just quick enough to dive away.

Evanee

Normally he wouldn't struggle all too much in a fight with Charlie, since he practised almost every afternoon and she only joined him every now and then. This time, however, he was tired, and Charlie was really, really angry. He wasn't sure where her anger had come from, but it gave him enough of a challenge to stop worrying too much, so he was grateful for it.
He received some harsh blows from Charlie, but so did she, and for a while he was able to not even think about the rest of the people crowding the gym. 
After some time, however, he heard someone shout. Distracted, he looked to the side, and Charlie used his distraction to jump on top of him, pushing him to the ground. "Got you," she grinned, breathing hard. Jarek moaned and closed his eyes. "If I ever break my back it will probably be your fault," he muttered, but as he heard how silent the room was, he looked away again. Only now he noticed Evanee and Monique were fighting - and Evanee wasn't losing. 
In fact, it looked as if she was close to winning. He and Charlie had probably been the only dhampirs left practicing, because everyone else was already gaping.
Charlie crawled from his chest and helped him up, without looking away from the fight happening in front of them. "I didn't know Moroi could even fight," she said. Jarek cracked his shoulders and stood next to her. "Me neither," he admitted, watching how finally Monique tripped and the fight came to an end. He couldn't help but grin a little, and he walked to the side of the gym to fetch his bottle of water. He was just considering taking a small break, when the teacher suddenly told everyone to be silent.
"Monique, Charlie, you go do... something. I want Jarek fighting with Evanee in the corner, the rest mingle up and don't come too close to the bloody corner. Also, if I hear one more peep about Evanee or anything I think relevant to that you're done for the rest of the week. Are we clear?" He said, in the military tone of voice only he could do. Everyone muttered their agreement, while Jarek stared at Evanee. 
Well, no break then, he supposed.
He took a large gulp from his bottle before walking to the corner, where he faced Evanee. "So I guess this isn't your first training," he said dryly, since probably everyone had already come to the same conclusion.
He ran a hand through his hair and swung his arms back and forth, loosening the muscles in his shoulders. He was still a little tired from the fight with Charlie, but then he supposed the same must be true for Evanee. She couldn't feel nothing after such a fight.
He looked at the knife in her hand and shook his head. "No weapons," he said. "I want to see how you are without the knife," he explained. "If that's alright with you," he added, looking at her. He wondered, not for the first time, what on earth they had made her do during the last two months.
When she agreed, he made a theatrical gesture with his arm. "Ladies first," he grinned. Despite the slight anger he still felt towards her, he grew excited with the idea of a new opponent. This class had been the same for at least two years, and there weren't many Dhampirs left he couldn't beat easily. Not that he was so much better at fighting, he just had a good eye for finding patterns in the fighting style of his friends.
Evanee, however, he had only seen fighting once, and that had been a few minutes ago. 

When she made her first move, he was just quick enough to block her attack. After a few seconds, he realised his normal passive attitude wouldn't work here, and he followed up her attacks with his own.
Jarek was surprised to find they were practically even, and he couldn't help grinning during it all. "You haven't been trained by one of the teachers," he noted as he dived away from her fist. He could feel her knuckles brushing his shoulder. Okay, he thought to himself, maybe don't talk during the fight. It had been a while since he had had a fight like this, where the least bit of distraction he felt would mean a hit. It was fun.
When her elbow went to his chest, he rolled to the ground, tackling her while he did. Just as he was about to roll her on her back and pin her to the ground, his eyes locked on a small scar on her back, but an ugly scar nonetheless. He stopped moving, frowning, which caused her fist to land on his solar plexus after all. He let go of her, cursing as he gasped for a breath.

Evanee