On The Rocks, With A Twist (Vampire Academy) *Adrian/OC*

03. First Round

And Joey was totally okay with that. The moment Ray hit the wall, she was punching him again, this time closer to the temple. He attempted to block, but she twisted his arm round across his own chest and grabbed her practice stake with her other hand in the same movement. The hold allowed her the valuable second she needed to get the stake positioned over his heart. The exercise was over.

"Well done, Miss Hatcher," Ray commended her politely, remarkably calm considering the situation. "You've passed the first test."

Joey lowered the stake, a little breathless, but feeling pleased. "Not bad yourself."

Any other guardian would probably have felt patronised to be complimented by a novice, but newbie Ray didn't seem to mind. "Thank you," he said graciously. He took a small notepad and pen from his pocket and quickly jotted down several notes. "Good luck with the next test."

Adrian watched him walk off with a bemused look on his face. He seemed mildly entertained by the whole event. Most Moroi would have been at least a little shaken, even by a fake attack. Adrian had clearly already had enough to drink to dull the excitement down.

"Well, that was fun," he remarked. "Who knew you had that in you, Hatchet."

"Just get moving," said Joey, tempted to put her boot somewhere where the sun most definitely didn't shine.

Her first success was the only highlight of the day. Adrian was as aggravating as ever to be around and apparently, waking hours weren't enough time to annoy her in anymore. Because when she finally managed to sleep that night, she received an unwelcome surprise.

Whatever she'd been dreaming of before, it had dissolved until she was standing in a large lounge with dark furniture and red window hangings. It was a lot more stately-looking than what Joey had been used to, but she was sure that this was one of the rooms at St. Vladimir's Academy. She'd never been into any of the rooms like this before – how had she managed to dream this one up in such good clarity?

"Bet you didn't have a room as nice as this, did you?"

Joey turned, a growing sense of dread inside her. "I should have known not to eat pizza before bed. They always say it gives you nightmares."

Adrian looked mildly amused by her comment. "What are you talking about? I'm quite literally the man of your dreams."

Joey groaned. That was cringe worthy even by Adrian's standards. "Please don't go there," she said, looking around the room again.

Adrian watched her, the amused look still on his face. "Looking for something?"

"I'm hoping there might be a gun lying around so I can shoot myself in the head and wake up," replied Joey, only half sarcastically.

"And after I went out of my way to surprise you with this," said Adrian, shaking his head.

Joey ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "Urgh... Seriously, what was in that pizza? Why are you in my head even when I'm asleep?"

Adrian gave her a wide grin. "You know, there are a million things I could say to that, but I'll admit that this..." He gestured around him. "Is actually thanks to yours truly. Meaning this isn't your everyday dream."

"What are you talking about?" Joey frowned. "Are you saying I'm not dreaming? Does that mean I died and went to hell instead?"

"Cute," said Adrian appreciatively. "But no. I guess you could say this is a little talent of mine."

"I don't get it."

"Well, this is still your dream. I'm just visiting," explained Adrian. "But I do have a certain amount of control over it."