I stood with Kate and Sara, close to the fire where it was warm. I blamed my tiny girl body for its inability to retain heat. And the fact that I'd only recently received the power made it twice as difficult for me to heat up. Girls were much different than guys when we got the power. A female birth in one of the Coven lines was so rare that no one really knew the specifics; we just knew that it was dangerous. My mom put a lot at risk for the entire Coven when she had me, but I can't blame her. If I was pregnant and my closest friends were telling me to give the baby up for adoption because the gender wasn't right, I'd be just as stubborn; I'd have done no different.

As my body began to warm to the pleasant fire, I overheard Kate explaining the dos and don'ts of Spenser Academy. The dosbeing my brother and his friends, the don'tsbeing Aaron Abbot's group. This is precisely the reason I didn't like Kate Tuney. Not only was she extremely shallow, but I'd overheard her telling Sara that she was interested in the new guy. Kate was supposed to be dating Pogue, not the new transfer. It made me angry and I had to turn away to keep from using on her. It wasn't the first time I'd considered it, though it was the first time I'd thought about using to make her choke. But I couldn't because Pogue would never forgive me and I didn't want that.

"They're here," I heard Kate say from behind me.

"Who are they?"

"The Sons of Ipswich."

This particular comment made me want to bash Kate's face against a wall. She could've said something along the lines of "oh it's just my boyfriend and his buddies. I'm so happy to see them!" But instead, she made them sound intimidating and impressive, as if the only thing she cared about was their title and all their money. Come to think of it, that might've been the reason she was with Pogue. Though I'd wanted to voice my opinion, I stayed quiet as usual and turned away when the boys got close in hopes of them not recognizing me.

"Cherry, is that you?" Reid taunted, cocking his head to the side. "You look good enough to eat."

"Reid!" Caleb warned in his big brother voice. "Don't even think about it."

"How 'bout I think it, but I don't tell you?"

"Reid!"

I rolled my eyes and suppressed the urge to groan as they began bickering. That's when I'd decided to leave. I saw Tyler being his usual quiet, reserved self and gave him a wave before heading out. Contrary to popular belief, walking a few miles to the next town didn't tire you if you'd done it enough times. I ran track a few years ago, so I had more stamina than most people when it came to walking or running long distances. In primary school, distance had been my strength. I'd had much longer legs than most of the others so I'd gone faster and further than anyone else. Then, I'd inherited the power. None of us thought I'd get an ounce of it, let alone a full-out power. Mine was quite different from the guys' in many ways, though I wasn't sure they knew it yet. I hadn't really tested it out in full, though I knew I should soon. Women weren't supposed to be born into the four families - that wasn't how it worked. I was the exception for whatever messed up reason. I'd been born a full two years after Caleb, not expecting everything to be so weird. I guess no one expects things to get weird until they do. We never thought of the powers our families spoke so intimately about as if their very existence could change us. And it could. The women who inherited the power, as I'd so vaguely discovered, were dangerous. When I officially turn sixteen, I will be dangerous and I don't want that. But I do have to accept it. I'll have abilities none of the others could ever dream of, and that scares me.

I hadn't been walking for long when I saw the Hummer speed past. Stunned, I stopped walking and stared straight ahead at the slowly disappearing vehicle. If they'd run into trouble and had to flee, then I wasn't sure how I was getting home. I sighed and sat near the crossroads. If they wouldn't come back for me, I'd simply use to get home and it'd be on Caleb when my drunken mother started yelling.

"Miss me?"

"Agh!" I screamed, feeling the familiar gloved hand slip around my waist. "Reid, you scared the shit out of me! Why aren't you with the guys?"

"We couldn't find you, so I told them I'd stay behind. I figured it was the least I could do for pissing Caleb off." He sounded serious, but I felt his other arm slip around my back to support the weak spot where I'd had my surgery when I was younger.

"You're sure that's the only reason?" I asked, giving him a disbelieving look. "You're not here to try and get in my pants?"

"Would you believe me if I said it really was the only reason?" He half-grinned, leaning his forehead against mine.

"No," I laughed, placing my hand on his cheek; fully ready to lean in. "You're full of shit."

He chuckled and came in for the kiss. And as our lips just barely touched, we were suddenly flung apart. I landed rather safely in the grass, though I could hear Reid's body slam into a tree. Groaning, I rolled onto my back and looked up to find a very sympathetic looking Tyler offering me a hand. I glared and helped myself up, brushing him off. The leather on my jacket was torn and I was pissed. I'd stood up too fast, causing my over reactive vertigo to momentarily blind me. Although I couldn't see, I had no doubt in my mind that Caleb hand been the one to step in.

"Goddamnit, Caleb! I'm not a baby!" I screamed, slowly reaching my arms out and trying to feel around. "You can't control every freaking thing I do!"

"Ahem," Pogue cleared his throat and I felt movement in front of my eyes, but I couldn't see it. "Caleb's that way."

"What? Where?" I asked, not seeing anything but black. "Damn eyes."

"I-uh, would somebody please just help me already?" I winced, still trying to regain my vision. I'd had an episode in school last year where I blacked out due to lack of blood circulation and ever since, I'd gotten horrible vertigo. I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm and felt someone else shift behind me. They obviously figured out what was going on as I felt them leading me toward the road. I could hear Caleb yelling at Reid in the distance and knew it had been a setup. He let Reid come get me so he'd have reason to keep us apart even more. What a complete ass. I also knew that once my vision came back, he'd want to talk with me. I was not looking forward to that particular conversation.

"Just take me home, please," I pleaded, holding my free arm out to judge where to walk. "Is the Hummer around here somewhere?"

I got no real response and was led to the Hummer in time to hear my brother and Reid climb in. The silence was deafening and I couldn't wait to be home. Not even five minutes into the ride home and my sight had come back. Relieved, I grinned but stopped when I saw the look on my brother's face. The rest of the way home, I glared silently at the Hummer's door handle to avoid my brother's gaze. It wasn't just Reid he'd threatened when they came near me, it was anyone without a vagina. I used to think he was just protected others from my powers, but now I was certain he was the crazy overprotective type. When we arrived at home, my mother went nuts and slurred on about how late we were out. I didn't care though, I just ran to my room and locked the door, prepared to sleep for at least a week.