It's been a very long time since I have submitted any fanfiction, but this one just wouldn't leave me alone. Additionally, it's always bothered me that there are so few Covenant stories that star Sarah Wenham, so I felt the need to change that.
Disclaimer: I do not own any content or characters related to The Covenant, nor do I have any intention of trying to make any money off of this strictly recreational work of fiction.
The First Night
Sarah Wenham was hoping for normalcy when she transferred to Spenser Academy and for a short couple days upon moving into her dorm, she had it. She'd made a friend in Kate Tunney, her new roommate, who was as nice as she was beautiful. Though she was in no way obligated, she'd been the most welcoming person Sarah had ever met and had been showing her all that the tiny town of Ipswich had to offer.
On her second night in town, there was an elaborate bonfire that was just the scene she'd imagined bored rich kids would indulge in. With the ridiculous DJ setup, the close dancing, and free-flowing drinks Sarah was positive that she had stepped into the middle of a teen movie set. That feeling only intensified when she caught sight of the most attractive group of high school boys she'd ever seen. The Sons of Ipswich, her roommate informed her. There was something about the title (seriously, what kind of teenaged boys actually had their own title? the Backstreet Boys? the Ninja Turtles?) that tickled the back of her brain, but she dismissed it as Kate introduced them. That half of the group seemed to take an interest in her made her giddy, especially when Caleb Danvers flashed her a smile with those beautiful pearly whites of his.
Things were going swimmingly with Caleb until Kira, a snobby rich bitch with a riot of curls on her head, stepped between her and the man who would surely be starring in her dreams from this point forth. It didn't appear that Caleb wanted anything to do with Kira, but Sarah was willing to take a wait and see approach. A sneering face soon turned its cold gaze in her direction and Sarah flashed a winning smile as Kira made a not so subtle dig about her lack of social standing. Things escalated quickly and soon turned into a fog of testosterone, as boys in lettermen jackets attempted to pick a fight with the Sons of Ipswich (seriously, though…really?).
The wonderful melodrama of the elite teenage lifestyle that she was basking in was quite suddenly pulled out from under her when she felt a tug at the edge of her consciousness. She had felt it before and she knew what it meant, but was unable to pinpoint where it had come from. This was followed immediately by one of the letterman jacket-wearing Neanderthals suddenly projectile vomiting all over the other. The abrupt awareness of someone other was pushed away as they all made for the hills in order to avoid incoming law enforcement. When they made it to the cars and hers wouldn't start, the tug happened again and Sarah zeroed in on Reid Garwin. If she hadn't been aware of how he'd done it, she probably would have been more grateful for his well-timed assistance. As it was, she thanked him and peeled out of the parking area, all while internally freaking out.
Sarah Wenham had come to Spenser for normalcy. Within two days, however, she had come to realize that certainly wasn't going to happen in little Ipswich, considering its big history. As she stood under the hot shower spray later that night, she thought about what she knew. Reid Garwin was a magic user. Bearing in mind that he was one of four in the boyband-esque Sons of Ipswich, she had to assume that the other three were as well. This sent her happy little fantasy of climbing Caleb Danvers like a tree straight to Hell, because she had no intention of mixing it up with a witch (even if said witch was the finest male specimen she'd ever come across). Sarah Wenham had come to Spenser for normalcy…not to find others like herself.
Later that night, as she pondered the status of her life and rinsed the conditioner from her hair, the tug at the edge of her mind came again and something shattered outside of her shower stall. She quickly turned off the water and fought down the burgeoning sense of panic churning in her gut—there was no way that they knew about her already. The foreboding feeling of a user within her immediate proximity niggled at her as she began checking the premises. Whereas before the tug had happened and abated, it was now an extended feeling, like someone had tangibly grabbed ahold of her attention and was refusing to let it go. Someone (Reid?) was using and his magic was still sustaining a spell that was humming quietly in the back of her mind. As she examined the broken lightbulb on the tile floor, Sarah subtly reached out with her sixth sense and tried to pin down where it was coming from. She didn't want to give herself away this early in the game, but she wasn't about to let some little shit scare her running from the bathroom like a horror movie victim.
Just as she felt the presence behind her, a hand touched her between the shoulder blades and she shrieked. When she whirled around there was no one there and the tug of magic was gone. As she cast her senses out, ears and eyes and magic wide open, she found nothing lingering. The hair on the back of her neck had stopped prickling, but she decided to check the hallway outside just to be safe. Naturally, when she'd moved back and forth down the hallway, seeing no one and then suddenly turning to see Reid fucking Garwin standing two feet from her, she screamed. The little prick had the gall to act amused as he said, "Didn't mean to scare you. Just got back." There was laughter in his voice and his eyes ran over her towel clad form.
Still breathless, Sarah bit out an apology, "Sorry, I'm just a little freaked out. It felt like someone was watching me in the showers." She watched him closely for any sign that it had been him hovering around her earlier, gritting her teeth as he nonchalantly stepped around her and gestured for her to follow him back to the bathroom. Like a knight in shining armor, he offered to "take a look" with her. Tapping his chin with his fingers, he took a cursory glance around the bathroom and gave her the all clear, as though she didn't have eyes of her own. There was now little doubt in her mind that it'd been him. When he bid her goodnight and strolled away, Sarah rolled her eyes and glared at his back.
Asshole.
She got little sleep that night and was grateful that school didn't start for a couple more days. Her thoughts were running a mile a minute as she tried to figure out how to handle her discovery of the Sons. She had lived in Boston for two years with her Aunt Ines and had spent the previous fifteen bouncing from place to place with her mother, both of whom had shared the same abilities she did. Unlike the boys in this place, she had descended from a long line of female witches in France, with whom she had spent every summer of her seventeen years. As far as she could tell from what little Kate had told her, the Sons of Ipswich had always lived here, as had their ancestors for as long as the colony had existed.
This was supposed to be the first time she would experience life without another of her kind and the quick discovery of an entire coven (if that was actually the case) was a kick in the stomach. Her mother and various aunts had drilled into her that she must be careful if she ever encountered witches outside of her own coven. Especially when it came to male practitioners. She had been raised in an Amazon-like matriarchy that valued the magical edge they had over men—no man was ever stronger than their members, so none of them could ever be physically harmed by one. Sarah always thought it was a bit extreme, but understood the logic. The unfortunate side effect of this ultra-feminist view was that she'd never known her father and could think of only one man that had managed to make things work with one of her aunts.
The idea that there were several boys close by who could potentially overpower her made her nervous. What made her more nervous, by far, was how quickly her coven would snatch her out of Spenser Academy if they ever realized. Though still a little anxious about the whole thing, Sarah decided that she would withhold judgment for when she had more information. Unlike her aunts, she tried not to live life feeling like she had to be on guard 24/7. She tried to have some faith in humanity, which included the Sons of Ipswich. Kate's relationship with Pogue Parry and her high praise of Caleb indicated that at least two of them were decent guys…even if Reid Garwin was a creep.
That settled for the time being, Sarah attempted to fall asleep. When she finally drifted off, her dreams were filled with black eyes and Caleb Danvers' snow white teeth set behind a pair of lips that made her tremble.