Forever for Rose

Chapter Seven.

Fallon and I spent hours laughing in our room well past time for us to have been asleep.

She was actually super funny. Plus, every time a boy would walk by us in the meal hall she'd suddenly clam up and go totally silent until they walked away, then she'd fire right back up and start obsessing over which guy she was going to date.

We met the other girls and guys in our group and I was surprised at the age differences. I was the youngest being only nineteen, but there was a woman in our group who was forty two and a guy who was twenty six. They seemed nice and like maybe our group outings around Castrum wouldn't be too bad.

When it came to the conversation about Lance and Dalton, I kept it short and sweet.

I explained to Fallon that though Lance and I have definitely got some history and I've known him forever, we haven't ever taken our friendship past that. The last time I'd seen him before he made the change we'd almost kissed on the pier at the lake but the moment passed. Since that we've spent like five minutes together, all of which he was pretty forward about holding my hand and putting his arm around me.

"Cleary he is being handsy because he wants his intention known." Fallon told me as we laid in our beds late last night. "He isn't leaving any room for you to doubt it. He totally wants you."

I'd tried not to let that soak in too much. The last thing I wanted was to start overanalyzing a relationship with him on my very first day here. I'm not here for that. I'm here to learn about where I come from and to make a final decision on what I want to do when my birthday comes and I can officially make a choice about whether or not I take the change.

"What about the other one?" Fallon had whispered as I was falling asleep. "The broody dark eyes and that body, my oh my." She giggled softly in the dark.

I'd been quick to shut that down.

"You have no idea." I told her. "He is a major jerk."

"The hot ones sometimes are."

I nodded. "Well, this one is literally like...he totally hates me."

"Why does he hate you?"

"I don't know...he just does."

A long while went by without a word, then right as I was at the edge of consciousness she whispered again before rolling over in her own bed.

"He can say whatever he wants, but his eyes tell a different story." She yawned before we both fell asleep.

"WAKE UP!" Dalton's deep baritone shakes me from my dreams.

"Would it kill you to be polite for once in your life?" Lance's voice flitters through the room too.

"Honestly, the two of you bicker like a couple of brothers." Pedro sighs and I snap my eyes up and sit up in bed. "But a little subtly wouldn't kill you Dalton."

All three of them are standing at the foot of my bed. Pedro in his standard blue suit, Dalton dressed in a slick black t-shirt and dark cargo pants with boots, and Lance has his blonde hair tied back and a black guard's uniform on with patches on the breast pocket that signify his rank.

"Good morning, Rosie." Pedro smiles and I toss the blankets aside and jump down from the bed to run and give him a hug.

Fallon stirs in her bed, opening her eyes to see them and then she jerks beneath the blankets with a gasp. "Oh my god." She mutters in embarrassment. "I can't believe we over slept."

"That's ok, dear." Pedro tells her while he hugs me to him then kisses the top of my head. "I know my Rosie can be quite the talker. She has always been bad about getting to bed on time, and even worse about getting up on time." He winks at me.