Author's Note : Still working on True Damnation, no worries. I'm just feeling Covenant-y.

Timeline : I'm mixing it up a bit. They were all juniors when Chase showed up and did his bad mojo. Now, they're all seniors.

Chapter 1;

You know the worst thing about moving to Massachusetts? The cold and the rain. Back in Texas, it was never cold, and the rain was warm and light and enjoyable. Here? It was cold and the rain fell in sheet, and I couldn't see a damn thing, and I was wet and cold – did I say cold already?

I hate the cold.

However, I think I'd hate dying a bit more, so here I am, suffering the cold and swallowing my complaints. Well, okay, maybe not swallowing the complaints. I'm known for speaking my mind, which is ironic, considering the secrets I carry.

I slid the key into the lock, and was satisfied with the light click that I heard. I returned the key to back under my shirt, where it hung from a long necklace, opened the door and picked up my other suitcase. I only had two, each a black color with hot pink cursive scrawled across the front. They read 'Christine'; my name is Tiffany.

Well, Tiffany Daniella Silver, but whatever. Point is? I'm a girl whose own mother forgot her name. See, when my mom bought the luggage, she bought with my step-sister's name on it. Kinda embarrassing, but again, whatever. Its functional and durable, and that's all I care about.

I hefted both bags onto the bed and then spilled onto the mattress myself, pleasantly surprised when I didn't break my ass on it. The last boarding school I was at was, well, not nearly as nice. The room I was in now had two beds, two dressers, two desks and a bathroom with the door wide open. Two vanities and two sinks were visible from where I sat. The closet looked to be big, so no reason for two.

Someone had left their side of the room a mess. Clothes were tossed on the bed, which was unmade, its bright pink sheets half on and half off the bed. A few texts books were sitting on my desk, and a phone, a lamp, and a laptop were on the other person's desk. The closet was open, showing there was, indeed, a need for two.

Since I'm a neat freak, it was the second worst thing at the moment.

The first?

Everything was fluffy and furry and friggin' hot pink.

All. Of. It.

I was tempted to flick the too-large black sunglasses back over my eyes, but figured it'd be a bad first impression for whoever my new roommate was. Instead, I stood, took the text books off my desk and put the on the other girls. Then I slipped the leather laptop strap other my head and set it on the desk, though I didn't get out the actual laptop.

Then I made my way back to my suitcases and opened the one that held things other than clothes. The first thing I saw was the picture of myself, Jesse and Joy. Jesse and Joy were twins, brother and sister, and my two best friends. Rather, they were my best friends. Now they were kinda dead, which was the reason I'd moved. Correction, the reason my mother made me move; I'd have rather stayed and hunted down they're killer.

I set the picture up on the bedside table, then pushed the smaller suitcase under the bed. Nothing in there that I wanted except books, more pictures and jewelry that was passed through the family. I opened the other suitcase and began pulled out my clothes. Everything was rolled up, even my underwear – have I mentioned I'm a neat freak?

I made the trip fast, pulling open one of my drawers – the bottom one – and depositing the underwear on the left, the socks on the right, and the bras as a barrier in the middle. I closed it and opened the middle on next, then took a trip to and from the bed to put my sleep wear in the drawer. All silk shorts and tank tops. So sue me, even I like to be a girl sometimes.

My jeans and regular shirts, which consisted mostly of tank tops, short sleeve shirts, went in the top drawer. The clothes I owed just demonstrated how used to the warm Texas climate I was. I owned one jacket, which was currently on me because I was cold in the tank top I was wearing. I owned one pair of leather gloves, and only because sometimes, like one month out of the year, the winter was cold.

Damn, I missed home.

I dropped the boots and tennis shoes over the bed, and debated whether or not to change from the flip flops I was wearing into the shoes. Nope, took too much work. Instead, I collected my purse from the bottom of the suitcase, shoved said empty case under the bed, and left the room. I locked it on my way out, then made my way towards my car.

I flipped the huge sunglasses over my eyes as I left the building, even though, to me, the sun wasn't very bright. Back home, early September, late August, would have everyone in shorts and a tank top. Here, it was seventy degrees. A cold seventy, at that, because of the cold wind.

I stepped into the silver Dodge Ram, having to grab hold of the handle up at the top to get in. My eldest step-brother, Jacob, had recently gotten a new one for his twenty-first birthday, so I, the second oldest at sixteen, was gifted with it. Too bad that it was too big, too loud, and too much money to keep full of gas.

I winced as I started the damn thing. The roar, something I normally smiled at, drew the eyes of everyone nearby. The sound made me giggle a lot, or used to, but now? The eyes that the sound attracted made me feel...weird. Like I was an exhibit at a zoo or something. Didn't help that there wasn't a single other truck in the lot.

The roar continued down the road as I drove into the small town, and I swear to the lord, I'm selling this truck. Not only is it loud, but trucks didn't fit in here, and really, what five foot two girl needs a huge truck? Not this one.

I pulled into the first parking lot I could find. The town was small, which meant that I could walk to most of the stores. It took me a few seconds to jump out of the truck, because I was tiny compared to the huge thing, but my feet finally made it to the ground. Yep, the truck had to go.

I glanced behind me, shuffling the name of the building – Nicky's – into the back of my mind. I wanted to sell the truck, not lose it. Then I jogged across the street, wishing I had worn tennis shoes, and followed the sidewalk. The first thing I passed was an Inn, then next a small convenient store.

The door chimed cutely as I passed through the door, and I blinked at the neon lights that glowed bright orange. Then a glanced around and grabbed a basket, and passed by the hardware – who had hardware in a convenient store?

I grabbed a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash and floss, the first things I came upon, and soon added two brushes to my basket. There was some cheap vanilla scented shampoo and condition available, which would have to do until I got to a supermarket or something. Next came baby blue nail clippers, something I was forever needing. My nails grew fast, and I always chipped them.

I pondered what else I needed, then wandered down, looking for deodorant, soap or makeup, whichever came first. Deodorant it was, a cinnamon scented (what happened to scentless?), followed by soap, some off brand I've never heard of. Not that I, you know, know a lot of soap brands...

I found no makeup, and headed up to the only register I saw, the pharmacist. "Do I check out here?" My voice was low and accented, and he blinked, as if wondering where I was from.

Sure enough, he smiled and nodded, "Yeah, that will be fine." He unloaded the items and passed them under the scanner. "New around here, I take it?" He inquired.

Point one for Dani. "Yep, just moved up from Texas," My voice was softer than his, and my vowels different, I observed. "Going to Spencer Academy, now." I was also missing the 'g' off 'ing'.

"You just transferred in?" A voice behind me questioned, and I resisted the urge to jump and scream. Damn quiet people!

I turned a bit to look at the guy next to me, and holy shit, double take. Tall, dark and brooding, and a total piece of eye candy. Please tell me you're single. And please, please, take off that shirt and let me look...Mentally shaking the thoughts away, I responded with an intelligent, "Uh-huh."

He blinked at me, and I added, "I'm a senior this year." A charming smile on his part, and there I go melting. "Tiffany Silvers, but everyone calls me either Tiffy or Dani."

His eyebrows raised, "Caleb Danvers at your service." His smile brightened a bit, and I smiled in return. "I'm a senior at Spencer, as well."

"Cool." I smiled at him, "At least there'll be one friendly face."

He chuckled, "Most everyone there is pretty welcoming. I doubt you'll find many angry faces."

I saw about to say something back – dare I saw flirt? - when the man behind the counter cleared his throat. "That comes to seventy three, seventy eight."

Holy freakin' hell. That's a lot of money for small things. I unzipped my little jean purse and pulled out my leather wallet, another one of Jacob's hand me downs, and pulled out the 'emergency' credit card from my mother. I swiped and signed, then gathered my bag.

"See ya, Caleb Danvers." I teased over my shoulder as I left, the door chiming behind me.

If all the guys were this hot, then maybe Spencer wouldn't be so bad.