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sure if that made her lucky or not. I wasn't sure if all the bright days I'd had with Dimitri were worth the hurt I felt now. A moment later, I knew the truth. "Of course they were."

"Huh?" asked Sydney.

I realized I'd spoken my thoughts out loud. "Nothing. Just talking to myself. I should get some sleep."

"Do you need anything else? Are you going to be sick?"

I assessed my queasy stomach. "No, but thanks."

"Okay." And in her typically brusque way, she left, turning off the lights and shutting the door.

I would have thought I'd pass out right away. Honestly, I wanted to. My heart had been opened up to too much of Dimitri tonight, and I wanted that pain to go away. I wanted blackness and oblivion. Instead, maybe because I was a glutton for punishment, my heart decided to finish the job and rip itself completely open.

I went to visit Lissa.

Chapter Ten

Everyone had hit it off so well at lunch with Avery that the group had gotten together again that evening and had kind of a wild time. Lissa was thinking about that as she sat in her first-period English class the next morning. They'd stayed up late last night, sneaking out past curfew. The memory brought a smile to Lissa's face, even as she stifled a yawn. I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of jealousy. I knew Avery was responsible for Lissa's happiness, and that bothered me on a petty level. Yet... Avery's new friendship was also making me feel less guilty about leaving Lissa.

Lissa yawned again. It was hard to concentrate on The Scarlet Letter while fighting a slight hangover. Avery seemed to have a never-ending supply of liquor. Adrian had taken to this right away, but Lissa had been a little more hesitant. She'd abandoned her partying days a long time ago, but she'd finally succumbed last night and drunk more glasses of wine than she really should have. It wasn't unlike my situation with the vodka, ironically enough. Both of us overindulging, despite being miles and miles apart.

Suddenly, a high-pitched wail pierced the air. Lissa's head shot up, along with everyone else's in the class. In a corner of the room, a small fire alarm flashed and shrieked its warning. Naturally, some students started cheering while some pretended to be scared. The rest just looked surprised and waited.

Lissa's instructor also looked a little caught off guard, and after a quick examination, Lissa decided this wasn't a planned alarm. Teachers usually had a heads-up when there were drills, and Ms. Malloy didn't wear the usual weary expression teachers had when trying to figure out how much time the drill would cut from their lessons.

"Up and at 'em," said Ms. Malloy in annoyance, grabbing a clipboard. "You know where to go." Fire drill procedure was pretty standard.

Lissa followed the others and fell in step with Christian. "Did you set this up?" she teased.

"Nope. Wish I had, though. This class is killing me."

"You? I have the worst headache ever."

He gave her a knowing grin. "Let that be a lesson to you, Little Miss Lush."

She made a face in return and gave him a light punch. They reached their class's meeting spot out on the quad and joined in the semblance of a line the others were trying to form. Ms. Malloy arrived and checked everyone off on her clipboard, satisfied no one had been left behind.

"I don't think this was planned," said Lissa.

"Agreed," said Christian. "Which means even if there's no fire, it might take a while."

"Well, then. No use waiting around, huh?"

Christian and Lissa turned around in surprise at the voice behind them and saw Avery. She wore a purple sweater dress and black heels that seemed totally out of place on the wet grass.

"What are you doing here?" asked Lissa. "Figured you'd be in your room."

"Whatever. It's so boring there. I had to come liberate you guys."

"You did this?" asked Christian, slightly impressed.

Avery shrugged. "I told you, I was bored. Now, come on while it's still chaotic."

Christian and Lissa exchanged glances. "Well," said Lissa slowly, "I suppose they did already take attendance..."

"Hurry!" said Avery. Her excitement was contagious, and, feeling bold, Lissa hurried after her, Christian in tow. With all the milling students, no one noticed them cutting across the campus-until they reached the outside of guest housing. Simon stood leaning against the door, and Lissa stiffened. They were busted.

"Everything set?" Avery asked him.

Simon, definitely the strong-and-silent type, gave a swift nod as