Sarah awoke from a dream that made her smile irrationally hard.
If only she could remember it.
She sat up, still smiling and looked at her roommate. "Morning," she greeted the other girl brushing her hair.
Kate didn't turn away from the mirror. "Morning," she replied half-heartedly. She turned around finally once she noticed her friend's dopey expression reflected in the mirror. "You look happy today," she said, grinning despite of herself, the blonde's joy infectious.
Sarah shrugged. "I just feel like today something magical will happen."
Kate laughed. "Knowing our boys, there's a big chance of that happening."
Sarah and Kate arrived at the Cafeteria and dropped into the empty seats next to their respective boyfriends. Sarah pressed a chaste kiss to her boyfriend's cheek, nodding to the rest of the Sons. She did a double take when her eyes slid over Reid.
"Late night, Reid?" Sarah asked.
Reid smirked and fingered the hickey he knew the two girls were now both looking at. "You have no idea, Sarah," he said, drawling when it came to her name.
Sarah had to shake herself to fight against the slight shiver he gave her when he said her name. That's weird, Sarah thought to herself, rubbing her arms. She gave Caleb a grateful look when he put his arm around her.
Pogue laughed. "We don't either," he told his girlfriend. "But apparently it's the same girl from last week."
"What?" Caleb asked incredulously.
Reid shrugged. "She's irresistible," he said offhandedly.
Tyler smirked. "What? A hot bimbo with no brains?" he guessed.
Reid rolled his eyes.
"I'm sure she has some substance," Sarah argued before she realized she had somehow taken offense.
Reid nodded. "Thank you, Sarah," Reid intoned. "I'll have you know she's smart, beautiful, funny -."
Caleb snorted in disbelief.
"What? You don't believe me? She's on the Dean's List and everything," Reid declared.
"That sounds impossible," Caleb replied. "If she's smart she should know not to get into it with you."
Reid gave a bitter laugh before getting up and walking away, not even bothering to bring his bag with him.
Sarah gave her boyfriend a disappointed look.
"What?" Caleb asked obliviously.
Shaking her head, Sarah got up as well and followed the other blonde out.
"Reid," she called.
Reid stopped for a millisecond before continuing walking away.
"Wait up," she pleaded, having to run to keep up with his long legs.
Sighing, Reid stopped. "What?" he asked. "Why'd you follow me, Sarah?" An inflection in his voice told her that she was disappointed she had.
Sarah knew he wanted to be alone but she still felt bad for what Caleb said. "He shouldn't have -."
"Don't," Reid ordered, holding up a hand before walking away.
Sarah's eyes narrowed, angry that he would treat her in such a way after she had cared enough to follow him out. She huffed before pivoting and walking away.
"Wait," Reid said after a few of her strides.
Sarah stopped, slightly triumphing. She had known Reid had to be a good guy underneath his rough exterior.
Reid jogged to get next to her once more. "Look, I'm sorry," he turned her.
Sarah looked at his hand on her arm and then back at his face.
Reid withdrew his hand and lifted both his arms up in a nonthreatening gesture. "I'm sorry," he repeated, eyes moving over her face.
And then he walked away.
Sarah made her way back to the Cafeteria by herself, sitting gracefully next to her boyfriend and not mentioning anything that happened.
Sarah rolled her eyes as she and Kate watched their boyfriends play foosball from a table a few yards away. She had thought Chase would make the four boys change their routine but no such luck. Sarah soon found herself just giving up and sitting complacently with Kate at their small round table, making idle gossip.
"I'm going to the bathroom," Sarah told the other girl.
Kate gave her an absentminded nod before giving a nameless boy across the room another flirty look.
Sarah sighed and began dodging teenagers so she could reach the bathroom. Reaching for the doorknob, she frowned when it wouldn't budge. Locked? That didn't make sense – there were numerous stalls in the lavatory, so why would anyone lock it? It was probably just stuck.
Sarah began to jiggle the lock before nearly falling into the room when it opened suddenly. Luckily, a hand reached out to steady her.
"Careful," Reid said.
Sarah gave him a quizzical look before her eyes widened in understanding, looking between him and the girl carelessly fixing her hair. She couldn't help the hurt, disappointed look she gave Reid.
Reid looked at her for a long moment before leaving.
Sarah stared at her reflection in the dingy mirror for a long time, forgetting what she came to the bathroom for.
Sarah walked into the library, her eyes perusing to see if anyone she knew was there so she could sit with him or her. She lit up and smiled when she saw a familiar blonde head pouring over a text and began to walk over. Midway to him, she faltered, remembering what had happened at Nicky's a few days ago. Biting her lip in nervousness, she wondered if she should sit with the boy or not.
As if feeling her hesitation (or probably her relentless stare) Reid looked up from his book. He gave her a brilliant smile.
Sarah almost dropped her bag – she had never seen that expression on his face before. Ignoring her rapid heartbeat, she calmly walked over to the boy and slid into a seat next to him. "Hey," she greeted, smiling despite the warning bells going off in her mind. She looked at the scattered study materials around him and gave him a questioning look.
"I'm trying to turn over a new leaf," Reid stated. "Trying to make her proud of me. I am not going to start anything unless I deserve her."
"I'm impressed," Sarah said, which was true. She was, however, also jealous. Who was this amazing girl who made the great Reid Garwin try to do what no one – male or female – had failed to convince him do before: change?
Reid's smile grew wider and Sarah's heartbeat increased in reply. Thankfully someone took pity on the confused girl and the boy turned back to his book and began scribbling down the answers to his homework.
Sarah turned away to do the same. It was only a few minutes later when her studying was interrupted by Reid's sound of frustration to her left. "You okay?" Sarah asked.
"I don't get this problem," Reid admitted.
Leaning over, Sarah looked over the Calculus problem. "Okay, this is how you," she faltered when she caught him staring at her. "What?" she asked.
Reid shrugged, lips beginning to turn up in the corners in a style she was starting to recognize.
"What?" she pressed.
"You bite your lip when you solve a problem," he answered, remarking on her habit almost fondly.
Sarah nodded. "Yeah, I do," she stated unnecessarily. Their eyes locked for what seemed an eternity before Reid broke her gaze.
"I got to go," Reid muttered, gathering his belongings and stuffing them carelessly into his backpack.
Sarah watched him go.
Shaking her head, she turned back to her open book and forced herself to start studying again. It was harder than it should've been.
Sighing, Sarah closed her book, knowing her focus was nowhere where it should be and it would be impossible for her to study now. She cleared the table slowly before noticing Reid had left one of his books. She worried her lip as she held the book, before deciding to drop it off to his dorm. They were friends weren't they? So she had a slight obligation to help him out every now and them.
At least that's what she told herself. Sarah ignored the feeling deep inside her that said in a sibilant, tempting voice that maybe she didn't want to be just friends with the charming boy. Maybe she was dating the wrong Son of Ipswich.
Sarah eyes narrowed, her determination etched on her face vividly. She was going to prove that voice wrong and show it that she could make just friendly gestures towards Reid without being tempted. She stomped away towards the dorms.
Reid chucked his book at the wall in irritation once he reached his room. Tyler gave him a strange look before standing up and pocketing his keys.
"See you later, drama queen," Tyler said, leaving their room.
"See you later, drama queen," Reid mocked in a high-pitched voice when the door closed. "This is fucking ridiculous." He plopped onto his bed gracelessly and began flipping through a magazine just to be doing something. A few minutes later a rapid knock interrupted the silence. Getting up, Reid opened the door to reveal a stubborn-looking Sarah. Seeing her expression, Reid wordlessly let her in.
Sarah walked in and was silent for a minute, taking in the room before looking at its owner. "You forgot this," Sarah declared shortly holding out the book.
Reid blew out a long breath of air, all the steam leaving him. He took it away from her gently. "Thank you," he said softly.
Sarah nodded, sitting down on his bed. She gave him a pointed look and Reid followed suit. Crossing her legs, Sarah gave him an expectant look.
"What?" Reid asked after a few moments.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Talk," she ordered.
"Why?" Reid asked. "You and I aren't friends. You're Caleb's girlfriend." He tried to ignore her hurt look.
"Why can't we be friends?" Sarah asked.
Reid shook his head. "We just can't," he answered helplessly. He looked at her face with his penetrating stare again and Sarah would've shied away at any other time. "I should go," he said, getting up.
Sarah stood up quickly, face turning angry. "No, stop leaving!" She demanded adamantly, pulling on his arm. "You always leave!" She nearly fell when Reid whipped around.
"You want me to stay?" Reid asked almost cruelly, enclosing one of her dainty arms in his hand, shaking her harshly. "Fine, I'll stay!"
Sarah made a distressed sound, eyes unable to leave his face.
Reid stopped and gave her a horrified look. "I'm sorry, Sarah," he stated, letting go of her arm. "I'm sorry." He backed away from her.
"Reid, I'm fine," Sarah assured him.
He shook his head. "I hurt you." He turned away, ashamed.
Sarah stepped forward and did the only thing she could do: wrap her arms around him.
Reid's shoulders tensed before relaxing. He sighed and lifted a hand to press against hers.
"We should be able to be friends," Sarah stated sadly.
Reid turned in her arms and shook his head. "We can never be friends," Reid told her, hand settling on her shoulder.
Sarah arms fell to her sides and she closed her eyes. "Why?" Her eyes remained closed but she knew he bent down slightly, his warm breath hitting her face.
"Because we can never be just friends," he answered (somewhere inside of her, Sarah already knew this). He palmed her face.
Sarah opened her eyes and kissed him.
He allowed her that brief, perfect kiss for a moment before pulling away. "We always end like this," he said sadly, caressing her face.
Sarah's eyes narrowed as she got over the passion he had surprised her with and she registered his words. "What do you mean 'always'?"
Reid gave her a benevolent smile and she couldn't help but be breathless once more at the sight of the expression. It didn't help when he slid his mouth over hers again.
After a few moments, Reid pulled away. He chuckled when she made a noise of disappointment and tried to follow his mouth with hers. He pushed her bangs out of her eyes and gave her another heartbreaking smile.
Sarah couldn't help but return the expression. So this is what had been missing – Reid.
Reid fingered her hair some more before sliding his hand against her skin, pressing a finger against her temple. He looked at her wistfully before his expression became unreadable. "Forget," he commanded, eyes flashing black.
Caleb would never know the lengths Reid went through just to ensure his leader's happiness everyday.
Sarah awoke from a dream that made her smile irrationally hard.
If only she could remember it.
Her eyes drifted on to a photo on her nightstand next to her alarm clock. She's surprised that, out of the entire group, her gaze lingered on a smirking blonde.
And she couldn't help but wonder.
Her eyes went back to the flashing numbers and she almost groaned at the late hour - three in the morning. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.
Soon, her breath evened out and the dream started over once more.
Fin.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Covenant.
A/N: I love writing Selfless!Reid so much and as a result have lots of bouts of random inspiration featuring him.