***Theo’s POV***

Dimitri pressed his lips to mine. I struggled against him at first before giving up and kissing him back.

My lips melted against his and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, wanting him. With my eyes closed, I could him dressed normally. I could imagine him in plain blue jeans, with a regular solid colored T-shirt. The stupid purple fohawk gone, leaving only his light brown hair.

As if following my thoughts, my hand slid up and tangled into his soft brown hair. My finger brushed the hard gel from his fohawk.

Dimitri parted my lips with ease, and his tongue rubbed against mine, exploring my mouth. His hands slid down, gripping my hips and drawing my body closer to his.

I like Dimitri Ivanov, I like Dimitri Ivanov, I like Dimitri Ivanov…

Again and again, it repeated in my head. I liked Dimitri, and I couldn’t deny that anymore. As much as I hated it, I knew it was true.

Dimitri drew away from my mouth, pressing his forehead against mine. “Just admit it, little Theodore.”

“Yea,” I mumbled, dropping my gaze and glaring at the floor. “I like you.”

He tilted my chin and pecked my lips. “I could tell. Then again, I can’t blame you. Everyone could fall for my fabulous self,” he said with a smug grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Just don’t tell anyone.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He gently stroked my cheek, his frosty eyes staring into my wet green ones.

“You were flirting with Thalia yesterday,” I said.

“I flirt with a lot of people, little Theodore. I’m a flirty person,” he said, laughing.

I pushed his away from myself and ran a hand through my hair. “I really just made out with Dimitri Ivanov in the bathroom. And I like you. What the hell is happening,” I said, shaking my head.

Dimitri leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and watching me. “Why are you acting like it’s such a big deal, little Theodore? Attraction is part of life. You don’t chose who you’re attracted to. It’s just a feeling. And in this case, it’s a mutual feeling.” He smirked.

“So now what?” I asked helplessly.

Dimitri shrugged. “Oh, can we secretly date? I’ve always wanted a secret relationship.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

“Can you take this seriously?” I snapped.

“Little Theodore, I don’t take anything seriously. It’s how I get through life,” he said, chuckling.

I slid down against the wall and buried my face in my hands. “This is a nightmare.”

Dimitri slid down next to me, putting an arm around me. “Oh, it’s not that bad little Theodore!”

I pulled my face away from my hands and glared at him. “Dimitri, I don’t even like you. Which sucks because of how much I like you!”

“That doesn’t quite make sense,” he pointed out.

“I don’t know what to do now,” I groaned, banging my head against the wall.

“Well giving yourself brain damage probably isn’t the smartest activity. Instead, why don’t you try to stop hating me?” he offered. “Look, I promised my little brother I’d take him for ice cream after school. Come with us. Get to know me, little Theodore. I’m an interesting person.”

“What about tutoring with Thalia?” I asked.

“I already told Thalia and Kimberly darling that I wouldn’t be able to tutor tonight,” he said, smirking and standing up. He offered me his hand, and I took. He pulled me to my feet, not releasing my hand. “So, what do you say?”

‘Fine,” I grumbled. “But we don’t tell anyone. Not even Thalia.”

“Deal,” he said, leaning in and kissing me before turning and strutting out of the bathroom without another word to me.

I shook my head and groaned again. “This can’t be happening.”

But if I was being honest with myself, I did like Dimitri. Even his personality didn’t disgust me as much I claimed it did. I find him interesting and unique.

Alright, I’d give it a try. I’d try to get to know the guy after school today. I wasn’t going to keep fighting against my own feelings for him.

I left the bathroom and went back to the cafeteria. Dimitri was sitting at his usual table, casually talking to his friends like nothing had just happened in the bathroom.

“What happened?” Thalia asked as I sat down.

“Nothing,” I grumbled.

Thalia shrugged and got up, leaving to go to her locker. Alek was over talking to her friend, but her stuff was still at the table, so I was assuming she was going to come back.

I stretched my arms out in front of me, popping my shoulders. Oliver’s eyes widened a little and reached out, catching my wrist in his hand and examining my hand.

“Theo, is that glitter?” he asked in shock.

I pulled my hand away, blushing. “I guess a little of the glitter got on me.”

“You were touching his hair, weren’t you? Why were you touching his hair?” Oliver asked suspiciously.

Think, Theo, think. I had to come up with a lie so that Oliver wouldn’t know I had just made out with Dimitri in the freaking boys’ restroom!

“I wasn’t touching his hair. When he shakes his head, it gets on his shoulders. I was gripping his shoulders,” I lied.

Oliver looked over, squinting at Dimitri. My heart hammered a little as I followed his gaze, and I instantly relaxed, realizing that there was, indeed, a good deal of glitter on Dimitri’s shoulders.

“Okay. Whatever. So what did he need to talk to you about?” he asked as Alek came back over and sat down with us.

I shrugged. “He was just being his usual obnoxious self. Look, can we not talk about him?” I asked.

“Yea, let’s talk about something pleasant,” Alek said.

We fell into conversation about Now You See Me until the end of the period. We went off to class, the day dragging by uneventfully until it was time for our ninth period study hall.

I sat down with Oliver and Thalia in our usual seats. I hadn’t talked to Dimitri since the bathroom incident, and I wanted to keep it that way. I didn’t want anyone to know, or even suspect, that I was going out for ice cream with him after school.

“Theo, I don’t have to tutor after school. Do you and Oliver want to hang out and do something?” Thalia offered.

“I can’t. I have things to do after school,” I said, smirking to let my friends know that I wasn’t going to tell them what those things were.

Thalia rolled her eyes. “Well, Oliver? Want to come over and swim or something?” she asked.

“Sure!” Oliver said eagerly, nodding.

“So tragic that you and I will not be tutoring today, Thalia dear.”

We looked up at Dimitri. He was leaning against a chair in front of us, his arms crossed over his chest and his usual smirk in place.

“Tomorrow,” Thalia said with a friendly smile. But there was a look in her eyes that I didn’t like as she gazed at Dimitri.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Dimitri said, flicking that loose stand of purple hair out of his face with his long fingers. “It’ll be a fun time. Perhaps we can hang out with Kimberly darling again when we’re done tutoring tomorrow.”

“I’m down for it!” Kim called from her seat a few feet away from us.

Thalia blushed a little and nodded happily. “Yea, sure, it sounds like fun!”

Blush? Why the hell was Thalia blushing at the thought of hanging out with them? I mean, it’s not like she liked Dimitri or anyth-

…Oh hell no. Thalia liked my man, who I mostly hated but also really had feelings for! Ugh, my sister was such a little slut bag.

Dimitri clapped his hands together in an extremely girlish gesture. “Fabulous! It’ll be a fun time, I’m sure,” he said cheerfully.

“Dimitri, come here. Help me draw a triangle for math class,” Kim said, pouting.

Dimitri sighed. “Oh Kimberly darling. You’d be truly helpless in the world without me, you poor little creature.”

He turned and made his way back over to Kim, who playfully hit his arm once she could reach him. He sat down, taking Kim’s pencil from her and talking to her as he effortlessly doodled on her homework.

“Hey Theo. I have to go talk to my English teacher, but I was wondering if I can sit with you in study hall again tomorrow?” Alek asked, coming over to me.

“Sure,’ I said, smiling at her.

“Great. Thanks,” she said happily before leaving the room.

“Get your woman Theo!” Oliver said, smacking me on the back, apparently forgetting about the glitter that had been on my hands earlier.

I just smirked at him and pulled out a book. I read until the period was over. When the bell rang, I tossed Thalia my car keys and told her I was catching a ride with some friends. I waited until I saw her and Oliver leave the school before going off in search of Dimitri.

“Hello little Theodore,” he said, coming up to me. “Ready to go?”

“Yea. Just…don’t let anyone see,” I mumbled in embarrassment.

“Well of course. I was thinking we could walk the hallways until the parking lot cleared out,” he suggested.

I nodded and we began to aimlessly walk around the hallways. I was awkwardly silent, while Dimitri seemed to be completely at ease. I struggled to keep up with his long legs as we walked.

After a few minutes, we left the school, going down to the nearly deserted parking lot. I got in Dimitri’s car with him, and he started it up and left the parking lot.

Chris Webby’s LaLaLa played out of the speakers, which were hooked up to Dimitri’s iPod. Dimitri mumbled the words under his breath as he drove.

“Shit’s leaving you in disbelief, I’m that monster at your door bitch trick or treat,” he sang along cheerfully as he pulled up to a pick-up section of an elementary school.

He changed the song as the backdoor of the car opened and someone slid in. I twisted in the seat- and froze as I stared at a mini Dimitri.

The boy looking back at me looked exactly like Dimitri. He had the same light brown hair, the same nicely tanned skin, and even the same frosty blue eyes. Unlike Dimitri, though, his hair was lying flat against his head with no random color in it. He was wearing faded blue jeans and a red T-shirt with Pikachu on it.

“Dimmy, who’s he?” the boy asked curiously, his voice stringed with an accent and sounding extremely familiar.

“Why, this is my friend little Theodore,” Dimitri said brightly as he pulled away from the elementary school.

“My name is Theo,” I told the kid, trying to keep my patience.

“Oh. I’m Galen. Dimitri’s my big brother,” the boy informed me with a firm nod.

“I can tell,” I said, almost disturbed by how exactly similar the boys looked. Galen’s face was much rounder and younger looking, but other than that and Dimitri’s flamboyant style, there really wasn’t a difference between the two.

“Don’t you have a sister, too? Does she look exactly like you?” I asked.

Dimitri shook his head, chuckling. “You’d be in for quite a surprise if I introduced you to my sister, little Theodore. She doesn’t look like me. Only Galen.”

“Dimmy, are we still getting ice cream?” Galen asked.

“I promised you we would, didn’t I?” Dimitri asked.

“Yes, you did! But why is Theo here?” Galen asked, sounding curious. He was eyeing me with curiosity and a little suspicion, as if he expected me to kidnap Dimitri away from him.

“Why, he’s joining us!” Dimitri said, smiling brightly as he pulled into the parking lot of an ice cream place.

He got out of the car and Galen and I copied him. Galen hurried over to Dimitri, gripping his arm and shooting me another suspicious look.

“Galen, dear, you’re crushing my arm,” Dimitri informed him patiently.

“Sorry.” Galen released Dimitri’s arm and gripped his hand instead, never taking his eyes off of me.

“Oh, I sense a little green monster,” Dimitri said, his eyes flashing in amusement.

“No!” Galen said, setting his jaw stubbornly. “It’s just…What if he’s like that last boy, Dimmy? He was mean.”

“I can assure you that little Theodore is nothing like Kayden,” Dimitri said, chuckling.

“Well, don’t worry. If he is, I’ll protect you,” Galen promised, smiling up at Dimitri lovingly.

“Well thank you, my little guardian angel,” Dimitri said, ruffling Galen’s hair affectionately before tugging him along and gesturing at me to follow them.

We ordered ice cream, Dimitri paying for all of us. Once we had it, we went and sat down at a table under an umbrella.

“Here, keep an eye on this Dimmy. I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back!” Galen promised, setting his bowl of ice cream down in front of Dimitri. He shot me a look before hurrying inside to go to the bathroom.

“Deeply sorry about my brother, little Theodore. He doesn’t like to share me,” Dimitri said, laughing a little and sliding closer to me.

“Who’s Kayden?” I asked flatly.

“He was a partner of mine,” Dimitri said with a shrug.

“What did Galen mean when he said he was mean?” I asked.

“Ah, yes, well Kayden was a violent boy. He wasn’t pleased with me when I didn’t want a relationship with him. He thought having intercourse would change my mind, and he was bitterly disappointed when it didn’t. So he turned to what he considered more persuasive methods,” Dimitri said, the smirk never leaving his face.

“He beat you?” I asked in shock.

Dimitri nodded and shrugged again. “Yes, he did. But that was two years ago.”

“And your brother was there for it? Did you fight back?” I asked, unable to believe someone would actually beat Dimitri up.

“Sadly, my poor Galen was there to witness the whole thing. It happened in my room, but the commotion had Galen coming to see what was happening. He screamed for my father dearest. My dad threatened Kayden out of the house. Although he was so angry, he threatened Kayden in Russian, which I think defeated the purpose.” He laughed, as if the story was actually funny.

“So you’re just interested in people for sex?” I asked, starting to get angry.

Dimitri reached out, stroking my cheek. “Calm down, little Theodore. I do have boyfriends and girlfriends, you know. I can tell when it’s just an instinctual sexual attraction, and when there are actual feelings involved. With you, darling, there are feelings.”

He leaned down, pressing his lips against mine. I wanted to be angry and snap at him over how slutty he sounded, but I couldn’t help it. His lips against mine sent me into an unexplainable bliss, and cleared my mind of everything except the kiss itself.

I pushed my bowl of ice cream away from myself, grabbing fistfuls of Dimitri’s shirt and pulling him closer to myself. I forgot that we were in public.

“Ahem.”

We pulled apart, Dimitri smirking and me blushing. Galen was glaring at us, his arms crossed over his chest in a stance eerily similar to how Dimitri generally stood.

“Dimmy, you’re kissing him!” Galen said.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed. Thank you for informing me Galen,” Dimitri said, calmly scooping ice cream into his mouth.

Galen sat down next to Dimitri. He tugged on Dimitri’s sleeve to get his attention, his eyes wide and innocent.

“What if he’s like the mean boy, Dimmy?” he asked, fear in his voice.

“He’s not like the mean boy, dear. I promise,” Dimitri said, wrapping an arm around Galen and offering him a pleasant smile. “He’s quite a wonderful boy, actually.” Dimitri winked at me.

“Sure, Dimmy,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah, that,” Dimitri said with a dramatic sigh. “I only allow my family to call me anything other than Dimitri.”

“And you’re not family,” Galen pointed out helpfully.

“Now, now. My sweet little brother is being quite rude to little Theodore. Please apologize to him,” Dimitri said.

Galen frowned and pouted, but obediently turned to me. “I’m sorry Theo. Wait, if you’re name is Theodore, why don’t they call you Teddy?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve always just gone by Theo,” I said, shooting a look at Dimitri. When would he understand that I despised being called Theodore?

But then I paused, glancing between the two brothers. What the hell was I doing? I was out for ice cream with Dimitri Ivanov, flamboyant freak of the world. Had I officially gone out of my mind?

“Oh girl, you have got that stubborn look in your eyes again,” Dimitri said, giving a wide snap. “Nu-uh, no way. Not after my hard work of making out with you in the bathroom. We are not going back to that. Come here, you cute little thing.”

He gripped my arm, pulling me close and crashing his lips against mine. I desperately tried to keep my thoughts from jumbling together in attraction, but it was difficult.

He pulled away from my lips, studying my eyes carefully. Seemingly pleased, he nodded to himself and scooped more ice cream into his mouth.

“Are you going to kiss me like that every time I decide I hate you?” I asked in annoyance.

“Probably,” he said thoughtfully. “After all, it means I’ll be kissing you quite a lot. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy kissing you, little Theodore.” He smirked.

I looked at Dimitri, with his confident eyes and that smug smirk of his. I tried to imagine someone beating him, and just couldn’t do it. Dimitri was always so optimistic. I couldn’t see him being beaten. Would he cry? Would he fight back? Or would he just take it?