***Dimitri’s POV***

“I know I’m young but if I had to choose her or the sun, I’d be one nocturnal son of a gun,” I sang along with the music.

“Take a look at my girlfriend, she’s the only one I got,” Kim sang, turning the music up.

I glanced in the mirror. “Thalia dear, you’re being too quiet. All occupants of my car are required to sing their hearts out to the music, even if you sound like a dying whale while doing so.”

“I don’t know the song,” she admitted. “I mean, I’ve heard Theo listening to this song before. But I don’t know the words.”

“Then we’ll find something that you do know. Kimberly darling, shuffle through my songs,” I said, nodding down at my iPod.

Kim picked up my iPod and unlocked it. She began to shuffle through my songs, waiting for my approval of one. Hm, now what would a girl like Thalia listen to?

“Stop. This song. Thalia is definitely a fan of The Kooks,” I said as Tick of Time started to play.

“How did you know I like The Kooks?” Thalia asked curiously.

I smirked. “Girl, I am just that damn talented at reading people.”

“He’s far too innocent to be a part of such a cruel world. And it is, and it is, and it is,” we all sang along as I pulled into Kim’s driveway.

I got out of the car and slid across the hood, going to the other side of the car and pulling the doors open for Kim and Thalia. They climbed out.

“Such a gentleman,” Kim said, pinching my cheek.

“I am forever at your service Kimberly darling,” I said, sweeping her a bow.

“You need to shave,” she said, poking the stubble on my face.

“It’s fashionable. You wouldn’t understand,” I said with a dramatic sigh. Well, actually, I was just far too lazy to shave. But stubble made me look older and messily sexy, so it worked out for me.

“Dimitri, I have to ask you. Why are you wearing a belt made out of paperclips?” Thalia asked as we started up Kim’s driveway.

“Isn’t it wonderful? My little brother made it for me,” I said, patting my paperclip belt fondly.

“I’m just going to take a wild guess and say that it doesn’t actually hold your shorts up,” Kim said.

“And right you are, Kimberly darling! But you know my brother. Galen would be devastated if I had refused to wear it,” I said.

Kim rolled her eyes and opened her front door. We followed her into the house and kicked our shoes off, going through the hallway and into the living room.

“So, what do you guys want to do?” Kim asked.

I went over and flopped down onto her couch. “Make us food, Kimberly darling. I am absolutely starving.”

“Thalia, are you hungry?” Kim asked.

“Yea, I kind of am,” Thalia said.

“Alright. I’ll go grab us something to eat and drink. Be right back,” she said and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Thalia dear, come take a seat,” I said, tapping the end of the couch with my foot.

Thalia came over and sat down. I folded my hands behind my head and propped up on the arm rest of the couch.

I took in the sight of Thalia, who was so incredibly similar to Theo that it was almost a little creepy. They had the same wet green eyes, the same brown hair with blond highlights, and the same facial structure. It was eerie.

But there were subtle differences about them that intrigued me. I was very good at picking out little features on people. I ached to draw Theo and Thalia, to see if I could capture their similarities and differences on paper.

“You’re staring at me,” Thalia said, laughing.

“Well, you’re a beautiful girl. How could I not stare?” I shot her a charming smile.

She really was a beautiful girl, and with a beautiful name to accompany her looks. She radiated a strong independence and confidence in herself.

Then there was her brother. Theo had a sort of fragility to him, something that his sarcastic nature and short temper distracted most people from. There were small things about him that I so longed to draw. The way one of his eyelids dropped slightly lower than the other, making him look tired all the time. The way one side of his mouth pulled up before the other when he smiled.

“Dimitri, you’re kind of scaring me. You’re never this quiet,” Thalia said, sounding curious. “Are you alright?”

“Perfectly fine,” I assured her. “Just a little thoughtful.”

The front door opened and I heard someone making their way down the hallway. They stepped into the living room and I didn’t even have to look over to know it was Kim’s mom, Heather.

“Hi Dimitri,” Heather greeted. “Honestly, where on earth do you get those kinds of clothes?”

“I have my resources. Heather, this is Thalia. Thalia, this is Kim’s mom Heather,” I said, lazily gesturing.

“Hello Thalia! Nice to meet you,” Heather said.

“Nice to meet you too,” Thalia said.

“Is Kim in the kitchen?” Heather asked.

“Yes ma’am. Kimberly darling is making us food,” I said.

Heather disappeared into the kitchen in search of her daughter. I let my eyes wander back to Thalia.

“Hey Dimitri, I have a question,” Thalia said.

“I might have an answer,” I said.

“Why do you always go around my brother? He’s so mean to you,” she said with a frown.

“Ah, the million dollar question. Well, I’ve grown quite fond of my little Theodore,” I said cheerfully. “Besides, he is an amazing kisser.” I licked my lips and smirked.

“Do you like him?” she asked.

“If you’re asking if I have a crush on him, no. I don’t. It’s quite tragic, really. If I were to fall in love with your brother, he and I could get married and we would be in-laws,” I said, twirling a loose stand of purple hair around my finger. “But sadly, the only one my heart cries out for is my darling cat Hugo.”

Although, was that entirely true? I had kissed plenty of people before, but never once felt the way I had when I had kissed Theo.

It had sent a jolt through my body and left my lips tingling. And I could tell from the look in Theo’s eyes that he had felt something as well.

Oh Dimitri Ivanov, you are getting feelings for that boy. I nearly smirked to myself at the very thought of getting feelings for Theo, who so vehemently despised me.

I glanced down at my tie-dye tank top and my bright pink shorts. I really didn’t understand why people disliked me for the way I dressed. It wasn’t disrupting their lives if I wore brightly colored clothes.

“Well, I’m really sorry about the way Theo treats you,” Thalia said, looking honestly apologetic.

I sat up and shifted so that I was closer to her. “Thalia dear, there is no need for to apologize for little Theodore,” I said, gently stroking her cheek. Like Theo, her skin was smooth.

She blushed a little. “Still. I feel bad. He’s always such an asshole to you.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” I said with a smirk. People always treated me like that, and it had never once bothered me.

Thalia looked up and her eyes met mine. She started to lean a little closer to me, and I let her.

“Food’s up,” Kim aid, stepping into the living room.

Thalia hastily shifted away from me. “Uh…thanks Kim. Hey, where’s your bathroom?” she asked, standing up.

“Right through the kitchen,” Kim said, pointing.

Thalia mumbled something and hurried out of the room. Kim came and sat next to me, a bowl of pizza rolls in her hands.

I laid down, resting my head in Kim’s lap and letting her set the bowl of pizza rolls on my chest. I took one and tossed it into my mouth.

“Dimitri, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said.

“I’m not going to choke. I can lay down and eat, Kimberly darling,” I said.

“Not that! I meant kissing Thalia. You kissed her brother, didn’t you?”

“Indeed I did, and it was wonderful. But it was part of a bet.”

Kim sighed. “Dimitri, all I’m saying is that I think it’s a bad idea. I know how you feel about attraction, but don’t go kissing twins like that. It’s going to make them both mad at you. I like Thalia. She’s fun and nice. And I can tell you like being friends with her. Just…don’t ruin that. Not everyone thinks of a kiss as just a kiss like you do,” she said.

“Kimberly darling, you’re getting serious. I’m not sure I like that,” I said with a sigh.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to wreck your friendship with Thalia over something like this. You have to admit, you’ve lost a lot of friends because what you considered to be just a kiss or just sex meant more to them than that,” she said.

“Girl, calm yourself,” I said, snapping. “I’ve got this under control.”

“You are so hard to deal with,” Kim said with a sigh.

“You love me,” I said, smirking at her and tossing another pizza roll into my mouth.

Thalia came back in the room and sat down with us. We spent the rest of the night playing Quelf in Kim’s living room before it got late and I had to drop Thalia off home.

“Bye Dimitri,” she said, blushing lightly as she got out of the car.

“Goodbye Thalia dear,” I said, giving her a short wave as she shut the door. I pulled out of her driveway and made my way home.

I opened my front door and started into my house. A blur of movement came from my right, and then I was being tackled against my refrigerator.

“Dimmy you’re home!” Galen cried joyfully. “And you’re wearing the belt I made you!”

“And it’s quite the accessory,” I said, patting Galen’s head.

“Galen, don’t just tackle him into the refrigerator. You’re going to hurt him,” my dad said, entering the kitchen with a glass of water and glancing at us.

“Daddy, look! He’s still wearing the belt I made him,” Galen said proudly, pulling me away from the refrigerator and eagerly pointing at my belt.

“I see that. Very nice. Dimitri, were you at Kim’s house?” dad asked.

“Yes. Kimberly darling wanted me and Thalia to go to her house,” I said.

“Dimmy, will you wear that again tomorrow? Please?” Galen asked, poking my belt.

“Of course. I just look simply fabulous in it, don’t you agree father?” I asked.

“Yes, yes,” he said, laughing a little. “Now, Dimitri, go put Galen to bed. It’s late, and he was just waiting for you to get home.”

His cell phone started ringing and he pulled it out, flipping it open and answering in Russian. I took Galen’s hand in mine and pulled him out of the room.

Both of my parents had incredibly thick Russian accents, which had rubbed off on me. I actually had to work very hard to keep the accent out of my voice so that people could understand me. When I forgot to speak without my accent, my voice got deeper.

“Dimmy, mommy said you’ve been bringing a girl home from school this week. A girl that’s not Kim. Are you dating her?” Galen asked curiously as I led him into his room.

I shook my head as he crawled into his bed. I pulled the cover up to his chin and sat on the edge of his bed.

“Nope. Although, her brother has my interest,” I said, picking up Goodnight Moon and flipping it open.

“Oh. Well, just don’t pick anyone over me. Okay?” he said seriously.

“Now why would I ever pick anyone over my wonderful little brother?” I asked, slapping a hand over my chest. “I’m offended that you would even think that!”

Galen giggled and nodded at me to read to him. I did so, reading until he had fallen asleep. I set the book down and carefully crept out of Galen’s room and down the hallway to the bathroom.

I stripped and showered, washing off the glitter and make-up I had on. I got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist and going into my bedroom.

I pulled on a pair of boxers and crawled into bed. That kiss with little Theodore rose in my mind and I sighed, staring up at my blank ceiling.

“How obnoxious. I’d rather not get feelings for him,” I mumbled sleepily.

Something crawled onto my chest and I reached out, stroking the soft fur. Hugo purred in content, his body vibrating on my chest.

“Honestly Hugo, if I have feelings for little Theodore, it will be such a pain. He tries so hard to hate me. I suppose I’ll have to help him stop being so stubborn,” I said.

Hugo meowed out his response and I chuckled and shut my eyes. Nothing could be done about it tonight, so I might as well sleep.

***

I stepped into study hall, about ten minutes later. Hm, I kept coming to class later and later as the days went by.

I sat down at my usual table, where the kids around me were chattering excitedly. I pulled out my notebook and began to draw aimlessly.

“Shit Dimitri, that’s a really good drawing,” one guy, Jake, said, leaning over to look at my notebook.

“It’s just a doodle,” I said dismissively.

“Jake, you know Dimitri’s basically an artist,” another guy, Nate, said and laughed.

I sighed and shut my notebook, stuffing it in my bag. I looked over at Thalia’s table. Alek was sitting there, and she and Theo seemed to be engaged in awkward conversation.

I fought back laughter. Well, I wonder what happened between those two to make things so awkward.

My gaze slid over to Thalia. She was talking to that one boy who was really just unimportant to everything.

Kim’s words came back to me, and I mentally sighed. It was just a kiss. If I kissed Thalia, it didn’t mean I had to like her.

I stood up and made my way over to their table. I sat on the edge of it, smirking when little Theodore shot me a glare.

“Go away,” he snarled.

“Good morning little Theodore!” I greeted brightly.

“He said go away,” Alek said coldly, glaring at me.

“Indeed he did,” I said, nodding in agreement.

“But you’re not going to listen to me, are you?” Theo asked with a miserably sigh.

“I never listen to anyone little Theodore,” I said, reaching out and gripping his chin. I brushed my thumb against his bottom lip.

Theo smacked my hand off and stared at me in terror. “Don’t touch me!” he cried, his voice coming out angry.

But the look in his eyes confirmed my suspicions. Little Theodore had himself a nice little crush on me.

I smirked at him. “I don’t think you mind me doing that, little Theodore.”

“Stop calling me that. My name is Theo,” he said,

“Theo is your nickname. I rather enjoy full names,” I said. And it was true. I just didn’t like when people went by nicknames. I only allowed my family to call me by a nickname. Kim was the only person who I would usually call by a nickname.

“Make him go away!” Theo said, turning his gaze to Thalia.

“Oh, quit being a baby,” Thalia said, rolling her eyes.

“I agree with Theo. Go away Dimitri. No one wants you here,” Alek said coldly. “You stupid man whore.”

“Ouch. Harsh,” I said, placing a hand over my heart and sniffing dramatically.

“Danni O’Dell. I still can’t believe that,” that little background character said, shaking his head.

“Her and half the school,” Alek grumbled.

“Now, I wouldn’t go that far,” I said, chuckling. I just didn’t understand why they cared so much. Sex was a natural instinct.

“Guys, come on! Leave him alone,” Thalia said angrily.

“He’s just trying to get in your pants Thalia,” Theo said, also getting angry.

“He uses people for sex and then drops them,” Alek said, shaking her head in disgust.

“Actually, I rarely make the first move. So if I do have intercourse, it’s because the other person wants it,” I said with a shrug. I didn’t understand why everybody had this strong opinion that if you had sex with someone, it meant you had to stay with them.

“You sick pig,” Alek said. “Glittery freak.”

“All very original insults,” I said, hooking my thumbs in my pockets. “Anyways, little Theodore, I came over here because I need to talk to you.”

“About what?” he asked suspiciously.

I hopped off of the table. “Follow me and find out,” I said with a wink.

“Just go,” Thalia said, gesturing at Theo to follow me.

Theo reluctantly got up and followed me out of the cafeteria. I led him to the empty boys’ restroom and locked the door.

“What are you doing?” he asked, staring at the locked door.

“Just accept it,” I said, moving closer to him.

He backed up until his back was pressed against the wall. “Stay away from me. I’m straight.”

“You’re questioning, and you know it,” I said, stepping even closer to him.

“No,” Theo whispered, but he made no move to stop me as I stepped up to him. “I’m straight. I know I am. I like Alek.”

“No. You like me,” I said, placing my hand under his chin and tilting his head towards me. I began to run my thumb on his bottom lip again, and this time, he let me. “You like me, and I’m beginning to believe that I like you, little Theodore.”

I pulled my hand away from his chin. He looked at me with desperately confused eyes, and I smirked before leaning down and pressing my lips against his.

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A.N.- So, what do you guys think of Dimitri now that you have his POV? :D And also...AWWW SNAP HE KISSED THEO AGAIN ;D