Disclaimer: This story is just that… a story. It's called fanFICTION for a reason. As much as I hate to say it, I don't own anything related to The Covenant. This is just something that happens in my head…
A/N: The photo album for this story can now be found on my photobucket account
No one even knew they were friends. No one, not even Sabrina, knew just how badly he wanted her...
Caleb lay back on his bed, one arm covering his eyes as he sighed deeply. He had just gotten off the phone with Sarah Wenham, his girlfriend… make that ex-girlfriend. For some reason, the fact that she was now an ex didn't bother him as much as he thought it would have. Frowning, he moved his arm and stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out why he wasn't bothered by it at all.
"Caleb, get your lazy ass over to your computer." He smiled at the voice as he glanced over at his clock. It was 7:40, and she was right on time, as usual. Caleb stood and walked over to his desk where his computer sat, switching on the screen and his camera.
"What are you doing?" he asked with a laugh when the picture of his good friend popped up, showing her leaning over slightly with one leg pulled up on her chair.
"I'm painting my toenails. And trust me, this takes talent so shut your mouth," she laughed, setting the bottle down and getting comfortable in her seat. "So, anything new?"
Caleb filled her in on his new status as a bachelor and after convincing Sabrina that he was okay and she didn't need to go 'smack some sense into the bitch' as she put it, they moved on to their English project. The whole time they were working he tried to figure out a reason for why he wasn't as upset as he should be about Sarah. Try as he might, he couldn't come up with anything and three hours later, after saying good-night to Sabrina, he went to bed without a reason.
He opened his eyes suddenly and sat up, looking over at his alarm clock as he tried to catch his breath. It was 2 o'clock and, breathing in deeply, Caleb looked around his room to make sure his dream was really just a dream. The room was empty and silent, with the exception of his heavy panting as he tried desperately to calm himself down. His entire body was covered in sweat and he was painfully aware of how into the dream he had been.
Everything had seemed so real and the way he had reacted to it made him wonder if he'd been dreaming. When he closed his eyes, Caleb realized his mistake immediately as images from his dream appeared unbidden in his mind. The dream had centered on Sabrina, about how the tough and stubborn brunette would feel underneath his body. As he tried to rid his mind of the images, more slid from the back of his mind and caught his attention.
Caleb had never realized he'd even had feelings for Sabrina but now that he was older and he was no longer with Sarah, he explored that possibility fully. He may not have thought about her that way before, at least not consciously, but as he sat in bed he realized just how much he actually did think about her. Ever since they had first met he had been protective of her but as they grew he remembered thinking about her when they didn't have classes together, when she was out alone, when she would disappear on weekends with no reason.
Caleb tried laying back down to go back to sleep but he was too aroused and every movement made it even worse. Sighing, he rolled out of bed and went to his bathroom, glad that his mother wouldn't hear him moving around at two in the morning. He turned on his shower before shedding his clothes and stepping into the water, letting the water wash away his thoughts as he relaxed.
The shower gave him time to think about what had happened and it took all of his will to keep his thoughts from continuing the dream. He suddenly realized just how important Sabrina was to him and he knew if he ever lost her his life would never be the same. Caleb knew he needed to tell her but he was nervous about how she would react. Sabrina was stubborn and wasn't a fan of serious relationships ever since her parents had gone through a rather messy divorce settlement. He needed to tell her, though, and he hoped that she wouldn't freak out once he told her.
She knew something was wrong with him the moment he walked in the room, he had seen it on her face. Sabrina frowned slightly as he walked in with his friends but she kept her eyes on the board as the boys took their seats a few rows behind her. Caleb knew he would be bombarded with questions in English and a sigh slipped out before he could stop it.
"What's up, Caleb?" Pogue asked quietly, glancing at the older boy out of the corner of his eye.
"Nothing," he lied, moving his eyes from Sabrina to the teacher as he began talking.
"Who is she?"
"Dude, that's his English partner," Reid put in, seeing where Pogue was looking. Caleb mentally slapped himself as Reid watched Sabrina, too interested in her for Caleb's liking. The thought startled him slightly but it was just further proof to him how much he cared for her.
"The Howe girl?"
"Yeah, they've been paired together for every project this year," Reid put in for Pogue's sake, since Pogue wasn't in their English class.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Caleb asked his friend, copying down a few notes before glancing at his friends.
"Mr. Danvers…"
"1763, sir."
"Is there something going on between you two?" Pogue asked, his eyes moving between the professor and Sabrina as he watched her curiously.
"Other than our English project? No." Caleb's attention suddenly turned to Aaron when he leaned forward to touch Sabrina's shoulder. She shoved his hand away and went back to her notes but Aaron smiled and leaned forward again, dropping a piece of paper over her shoulder. Sabrina ignored the paper, sweeping it underneath her notebook but sat up slightly when another piece of paper was dropped over her shoulder.
Caleb watched as she opened it, wishing he could see her face to see what the note said, but her reaction told him enough. She jabbed her elbow back into Aaron's shin, making him jump and wince in pain as he tried to hold in a yelp. He chuckled silently at his friend and inadvertently drew his brothers' attentions.
"What?"
"Aaron's in pain," he said simply, and his brothers smiled with him as they watched Aaron nursing a bruised shin.
"What happened?"
"I'm pretty sure he was trying to convince Sabrina to meet him someplace tonight and she's not a big fan of that so she hit him."
"Sabrina, huh? How do you know what she likes and doesn't like?" Caleb mentally slapped himself and cursed Pogue for being so attentive.
"She's my English partner. We don't just work the whole period."
"I think Miss Sabrina and I should have a little chat today in Latin," Reid said, a small smirk on his face as he watched Sabrina flip Aaron off.
"Miss Howe!"
"Yes, sir?"
"Any particular reason why you flipped off Mr. Abbott?"
"Yes, sir." Aaron started to panic as she lifted her notebook and stood, walking up to the professor's desk with the notes he had given her. "I received these from said boy I flipped off during class." Caleb felt his anger bubbling over when he saw the look on Professor Smith's face as he read the two notes.
"Mr. Abbott, to the provost's office with you." Sabrina turned around, leaning on the professor's desk, as she watched Aaron stand with a satisfied smile on her face. Caleb let his eyes run over her body, taking in her strong legs, lithe body, his gaze lingering over her neck and face that were shown since her long hair was pulled back.
Sabrina pushed away from the professor's desk and walked back to her seat, passing Aaron as she did so. Aaron whispered something to her as he passed and she rolled her eyes as she went back to her seat. She had seen Caleb watching her as she walked back and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before tugging on her earring, her 'secret sign' for him to meet her at lunch.
Sabrina walked into her Latin classroom two hours later and almost walked back out when she saw who was sitting in the seat next to hers. Reid was leaning back in his seat, watching her debate on whether or not to run while she still had the chance but the look on his face told her that he would follow. Sighing, she walked up to the stairs and walked down the row to where Reid was sitting with his feet up on the desk in front of him.
Sabrina stopped next to him, placing one hand on her hip as she waited for him to move his legs. When it was obvious that he wasn't moving, she sighed and attempted to crawl over his legs to get to her seat. Reid shifted slightly and she lost her balance, falling into his chest. His arms immediately wrapped around her and held her against him when he saw someone in the doorway.
Caleb glared up at him but he just smirked, running his hand slowly down Sabrina's back and feeling her stiffen against him. The next thing he knew he was holding his shoulder and glaring at the girl in his lap. Sabrina sat back, a satisfied smile on her face, as she pulled her leg over him and plopped rather ungracefully into her seat.
"Do that again and I won't be so nice."
"That was being nice? Damn, girl," Reid said, still rubbing his soon-to-be-bruised shoulder. "Okay, let's try this. Hi…"
"I'm not sleeping with you."
"And there goes Plan B."
"Your reputation precedes you."
"Hey, I'm trying to be civil. You wanna work with me here?" He saw her sigh and when she didn't say anything he continued, "thank you. Hi, I'm Reid Garwin."
"Sabrina Howe," she said with a heavy sigh, glancing at him and then taking his offered hand.
"Sabrina… pretty name."
"Thank you."
"And an equally pretty girl…"
"What do you want, Garwin?" she asked finally, turning to look at him as she turned away from her notebook. He was startled for a moment, thrown off guard at the fact that she seemed impervious to his charm, before jumping into the reason he was there.
"It's about Caleb."
"Danvers?"
"You know of any other Calebs?"
"At this school, I don't know. Other schools, yes."
"Well, Caleb Danvers."
"What about him?" she replied, turning back to her notebook and continuing to copy down what was on the board as she waited for him to continue, though inside she was jumpy and not at all as calm as she was presenting herself.
"I saw him watching you in class earlier.
"Your point? A lot of people were watching me earlier."
"And he seemed to know a lot about you."
"That's a crime now, is it?"
"I didn't know he knew you. Well, other than the fact that you two are English partners."
"So, just because we're partners in a class that means we aren't allowed to hang out and get to know each other?" she tried, hoping he didn't ask if they had a history.
"I didn't say that. It's just that he's never mentioned you to us. Okay, he has, but very briefly while we were discussing our projects and I'm sure he didn't tell me your name because I would have remembered it."
"Really? What's the girl's name you took to dinner last night?" She looked up at him when he didn't answer immediately and smirked at him when he couldn't come up with an answer. Reid glowered at her but deep down he found her amusing and refreshing.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Her name was Sam. And if you can't even remember that, I doubt you'd remember my name if someone mentioned it to you in passing."
"Okay, fine. But when Aaron was bothering you earlier… by the way, what did he want?"
"What do you think he wanted?" Sabrina asked him, surprised he even asked that question. Hadn't it been obvious?
"No, I know the basic idea of what he wanted. But what did he want you to do?" Sabrina looked at him like he was insane when the bell rang, signaling the start of class. She turned back to her notebook and looked at the professor as he started talking but Reid was persistent. He nudged her arm and when that didn't get her attention he reached for her hand. Sabrina turned her head towards him, an eyebrow raised with a look that said 'are you really going to try that?' before she spoke.
"I'm not telling you because it would give you ideas," she finally whispered.
"Trust me, babe, I'm sure I've already done whatever he wanted." He smirked when she closed her eyes and shivered, shaking her head disgustedly. Reid straightened slightly when the professor turned around to see who had been talking but as soon as his attention was back on the board he leaned towards her again.
"Your original question? The one about Caleb when Aaron was sending me inappropriate notes?" Reid frowned for a second before he caught on to what she was saying.
"Why was Caleb watching you two like he wanted to kill Aaron just for looking at you?"
"Are you sure you weren't just misjudging his intention?"
"Of course I'm sure. He's my best friend, my brother."
"Then go ask him. I'm not a mind-reader, genius."
"Mr. Garwin and Miss Howe, is there something you wish to share?"
"No, sir. Mr. Garwin simply had a quick question regarding the usage of verbs in the past tense so I answered it for him."
"Well, thank you, Miss Howe. But next time please allow Mr. Garwin to ask me his non-existent question." Sabrina blushed slightly at being called out in her lie and nodded shyly. Reid smirked over at her and she sent him a glare before ignoring him. He tried nudging her again but she was stubbornly not looking at him. Finally, he settled on pulling out a piece of paper and wrote a note to Sabrina.
They sent notes to each other for the remainder of the hour, Reid trying to get information out of her about why Caleb had been ready to murder Aaron on the spot and Sabrina refusing to give out anything, insisting that she had no idea what he was talking about and that he should simply ask Caleb himself. He had her giggling to herself as he sent her a few suggestive notes but the look on his face told her it was all for fun.
At the end of class he offered to walk her to lunch and she agreed, packing up her things and taking his arm when he held it out for her. Sabrina felt the eyes of some of the girls in the class watching her and knew that there would be rumors flying around the school by the end of the day about her and Reid. She just hoped that Caleb wouldn't believe them. When they reached the lunchroom, she scanned it quickly for Caleb and not seeing him, knew that he was already waiting for her.
"Thanks for escorting me to lunch, Mr. Garwin," she said, smiling at him as she gently pulled away.
"You're welcome. You wanna eat lunch with me and the boys?"
"No, thanks. I can't today; I have a lesson I have to go to."
"Another day, then?"
"Another day."
"Promise?" he asked, and she laughed at the pout he sent her way.
"I promise. Now quit doing that and go explain to Tyler and Pogue that I am not getting in your bed tonight."
"You sure?"
"Positive, Garwin," she laughed, shoving him towards the cafeteria. "I'll talk to you later." Reid waved as she walked away and she shook her head, heading for the Fine Arts department. The door to the band room was unlocked as usual for her and she went to her practice room, opening the door and frowning slightly when she saw the lights were off. She shrugged off her sweater and sighed as she closed the door and flipped on the lights.
"So, you and Reid, huh?" Sabrina jumped and spun around to find Caleb leaning against the piano, his coat off and his arm sleeves rolled up as he watched her.
"God, Caleb! Don't do that to me!"
"He just has to sleep with anything in a skirt, doesn't he?" Caleb muttered to himself, looking away from her.
"What's that supposed to mean? That because maybe Reid and I got to know each other in Latin and girls are jealous of that I've all of a sudden lowered my standards?"
"How well did you get to know each other?"
"Oh, my god, Caleb! What is wrong with you? You honestly thought I was sleeping with Reid?"
"I don't know," he sighed, pushing himself forward.
"Well, I'm not." She turned away from him and reached for the door but stopped when he placed his hand against it, holding it shut.
"I'm sorry, Rina," he whispered, looking down at her, his eyes gentle. She was caught off guard by the sound of his voice, usually low but now was even lower with an emotion she couldn't recognize, and her anger towards him dissipated.
"It's okay," she told him, her voice shaking slightly.
"Am I scaring you?" Caleb asked, hearing the tremor in her voice.
"Startled? Yes. Confused? Definitely. Scared? Hell, no," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood but they both could hear the nervousness in the laugh.
"Sorry. Let me make it up to you."
"Make what up to me?"
"Thinking that you were sleeping with Reid."
"You don't have to, Caleb. Though, after that little stint, I am curious as to why you were planning on murdering Aaron in the middle of class for his notes to me."
"You're my friend, Rina. He's not good enough to even be thinking about touching you." She smiled at the anger and concern in his voice as she pulled away from the door, taking a seat on the piano bench.
"What was up with you this morning? You looked tired, and really confused about something." Caleb was quiet for a moment as he thought about how he would answer. He knew what she was talking about but wasn't sure if now was the right time to tell her how he felt.
"I don't know, I was just thinking about some things," he responded, hoping she would drop the subject.
"What things? Are you second-guessing your break-up with Sarah? I will totally go talk to her and make her see just how good you two are together." Caleb saw the hidden meaning behind her words and smiled, shaking his head as he laughed.
"No, I was just thinking about my life in general. Hey, will you let me make up for the fact that I thought you were with Reid? Please?"
"Caleb, you don't have to, I already told you that. All you need to do is not believe every rumor that you hear floating around the school. You know what those jealous bitches are going to say when I start hanging out with all of you tomorrow? That I'm sleeping with all four of you."
"What do you mean, 'start hanging out with us'?"
"Well, since Reid and I are sort of friends now he wants me to eat lunch with you guys tomorrow and 'officially' introduce me to you," she said, holding up her fingers as she put quotation marks around 'officially'.
"At least it'll be easier for us to hang out," he said, moving to sit next to her on the bench.
"Easy for you to say. Do you know how much shit I'll be getting now?" He laughed and slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him as he rested his head against hers.
"Sorry in advance. Now, about how I'm…"
"No, Caleb."
"Just let me do something for you? It'll make me feel better about the whole thing," Caleb said, pouting at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Fine."
"Anything?"
"Yes, anything."
"You swear?"
"I… what is it exactly?" she asked, now suspicious of what he was making her promise.
"You swear?" he repeated, pulling back slightly to look her in the eyes.
"Alright, I swear to let you do whatever you want to make up for the fact that you thought I was sleeping with Reid. Happy?"
"Yes, thank you. Now, at the dance tomorrow a superhero will want to dance with you."
"The costume dance, are you kidding me?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?"
"Why do you want to torture me? What have I ever done to you?"
"Just humor me, Sabrina. Besides, you already swore you would go."
"I could just lock you out of my house."
"Then I'll pick out a costume for you and kidnap you from school."
"Oh, god," she said, sitting up and looking at him with cautious eyes. "No way in hell I'm letting you pick out my costume."
"Hey, I could let Reid pick it out."
"Alright! I'll go! Just keep him and his costume ideas away from me!" Caleb laughed at her and stood stretching out his arms as he reached for his jacket.
"Not like I couldn't get in your house, either. Even if it was locked."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I have my ways," he said simply, leaning down with a smile as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Are you going to Nicky's tonight?"
"Probably. Reid won't shut up about it until I say yes," she laughed before motioning towards the piano. "Now, are you going to help me practice or not?"
