I do not own The Covenant, but I do own any OC I create and any content unfamiliar from the film

a/n: Thank you for the views, favorites, and follows! I really appreciate it. Special thank you to my first reviewer: kaileylopez15.

Before…

"What's it like?" Aubrey was stretched out on the ground; the soft blades of grass tickling her back through the fabric of her white, cotton Oxford shirt. They had been outside for the last hour enjoying the day to themselves after a long day at school earlier.

She rolled onto her stomach and rested her chin on top of her elbows. "You know, receiving The Power. Caleb never explained it to me, and you haven't had the chance to tell me either."

Pogue, who was sitting across from her, did not speak right away. He and the other boys were informed of The Power as soon as they were able to comprehend unlike Aubrey. Their mother never even considered that Aubrey would even receive The Power since she was not a boy so, it was not necessary to educate her about it.

The truth was that he never wanted his little sister to ever find out about The Power and what it was capable of. They were groomed to grasp the concept of the seductive nature of The Power, and the consequences of that.

Aubrey let out a small, frustrated noise when he did not respond to her. Getting on her knees, she crawled closer to him and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Pogue! Were you even listening to me?"

Her big eyes were staring him incredulously and Pogue did his best not laugh at her tone of voice.

"Yeah, I heard you, Aubs. Calm down." He focused his attention on her and shrugged nonchalantly. "It isn't a big deal, really."

Aubrey got to her feet then and hovered over him. Standing or sitting, she was still taller than her brother. His behavior astounded her more often than not. While she was a bundle of energy half of the time, he was usually not and never came close to her energy level. Sometimes their conflicting personalities resulted in fights, either physical or verbal. Aubrey did not believe in letting her brother think she was weaker than him in any way.

"Sorry, but I don't think I have had a calm moment in my life. I just don't see why you don't want to talk about this. It seems so cool," Aubrey pressed on. "To be able to do so many things."

Tilting his head up, Pogue narrowed his eyes slightly at his sister. Naïveté could not have been demonstrated more than in this moment. Aubrey did not understand. It was not her fault. To Aubrey, it was a superpower, but to those who knew the true burden of The Power—it was a curse. Aubrey did not even know the truth about their father.

"Aubs, it is not as amazing as you think. You don't know what it is like at all."

"Then tell me about it! No one ever does. Is it because I'm a girl? I can handle it! It isn't fair!"

"You know that it isn't about that. It's for your own good."

At some point, Pogue had gotten up from the ground and was standing directly in front of his sister. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she just recoiled from his touch.

"Aubrey, c'mon," he pleaded.

"I don't need you to watch out for me. None of you," Aubrey murmured, looking away from him.

Pogue sighed. There was no getting to her when she got like this. He considered giving her some space, but thought against it. She was upset and he understood that.

He put both of his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him in order that she could not look away from him. Pogue smiled at her, waiting for her to return the smile. Aubrey twisted her lips to keep the smile from happening, but her efforts were fruitless, because she gave way to her brother's goofy smile.

"I hate you," she said through her laughter. She did not mean those words in the slightest.

"I hate you, too, brat," he responded, playfully. While she was off guard, Pogue seized the opportunity to ruffle Aubrey's curly hair and earned a squeal as she tried to escape, and soon they were running across the lawn.


Beatrice stood by the window of the master bedroom with a glass of water in her hand. She had been watching her children for a while now, as she seldom did. It brought a small smile on her face when she saw them enjoying each other's company.

It almost made her forget her troubles. Almost.

She never regretted having her daughter. In fact, Beatrice cherished her little girl. She worried about her immensely and it was slowly consuming her with each day Aubrey grew in front of her eyes.

Pogue had just turned thirteen and received The Power. The siblings were only a year apart in age, which meant unknown things for Aubrey. Only boys were able to gain access to The Power so far as she knew. That scared her more than anything. She did not know what scared her more: her daughter getting The Power or something worse. She did not want to say or think it out of fear of acknowledging the possibility.

Beatrice drew the curtains over the windows, blocking the sun from entering the room, and then moved away from the window and further into the room.

She took in her surroundings and was immediately hit with nostalgia. The room contained a mixture of both good memories and bad memories. The opulent vintage design failed to create an image of security for her anymore. It only made her sink deeper into despair.

From where she was standing, she could hear the ring of the telephone in the hallway. Beatrice placed the half empty glass of water on the nearest surface then went into the hallway to answer the call.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Beatrice, it's Meredith. I'm just calling you to let you know that we made plans for Reid's birthday. Will Nicholas and Aubrey be able to come?"

"Yes, of course, Meredith. They will be excited to go," Beatrice answered. "But what time will it be?"

Meredith Garwin knew exactly what Beatrice was really asking when she heard the change in her voice. "Don't worry, Beatrice. It will be after Reid receives his powers and we will firmly remind him to not show off in front of her."

Beatrice breathed out an audible sigh of relief.

"Thank you. How have you been?"

They continued their conversation on the phone for at least thirty minutes. Meredith was what Beatrice needed to remind her that the sky was not falling anytime soon and she valued her friendship with her, because of Meredith's compassionate personality.

Everything would be okay. It had to be.


Now…

"Caleb, man, I know you said you'd be late, but this is a little more than late for you," Pogue said through the phone. "What's going on?"

Caleb looked at the closed bathroom door. Laurel was inside the bathroom using the facilities to clean herself up, and he hoped she was not within earshot of him talking to his friend. He did not want to be too far away from her, in case she was not who she said she was, but he did not want too be too close to the bathroom either so, he stood at the end of the hall. His mother went to bed, which meant he was the only one left to watch the girl.

"There's a small complication," he informed Pogue.

"What kind of complication?"

"I was on my way out to head to Nicky's when a girl showed up at my door. Apparently her car broke down and she walked until she found our house."

Pogue was silent for a minute.

"If you don't want to come, Caleb, I'm sure I could let it slide considering your situation."

"It's not like that. I don't even know if her story checks out yet," Caleb insisted. He could not deny that Laurel was attractive, but it did not even cross his mind until Pogue mentioned it.

"Look, I'll round up the boys and then we can head over."

"No, don't worry about it. I'll be at Nicky's in twenty minutes, as soon as I finish up here."

A sultry voice interrupted his call. It seemed to carry such an assertive aura with it when it reached his ears." I didn't mean to interrupt your night."

Caleb looked up and what he saw made him almost drop his phone. There was Laurel; wearing nothing but the beige towel wrapped around her slender frame. Water dripped from the ends of her damp hair and her exposed skin glistened under the hallway lights. The corners of her mouth curved as she casted an imploring look at him, before moving closer to close the distance between them by a few feet until he could smell the honeysuckle scent emitting from her skin.

"Don't worry about it," he managed to get out. "Didn't you see the clothes my mother left for you while yours dries?"

"Clothes?"

Laurel glanced behind her and saw the neatly folded pair of clothes that was waiting for her outside of the bathroom on the wooden end table.

"Oh, I guess I didn't hear her when she dropped them off. I hope I'm not making you too uncomfortable."

"Not in the slightest," he reassured her. He was not sure if he believed it. "Could you change and then we can see what we can do about your car?"

Laurel nodded her head. "Yeah, of course. Would you be able to take me to Nicky's? I was on my way to party, but I think I'd rather go there."

Caleb told her that he would and Laurel left his side to return to the bathroom to put on the clothes that was left for her by Caleb's mother. Once her presence disappeared, Caleb was able to breathe again. He lifted the phone back to his ear and caught the tail end of Pogue laughing, and to his torment, he heard the voices of Reid and Tyler in the background as well.

"Please tell me you are bringing her to Nicky's," he heard Reid's eager voice say.

"Yeah, Caleb, we need to see how little this complication is," Tyler interjected after Reid.

Caleb heard the sound of the phone being passed around and then Pogue's voice. "Sorry, Caleb. The vultures overheard the conversation and took my phone."

"It's fine."

Laurel exited the bathroom wearing one of his mother's old dresses. The dress was a vintage plum sundress, and though it was not a perfect fit, it served its purpose.

"I'll see you in a bit," he said, before hanging up the phone and meeting Laurel halfway in the hall.

"It's not the best fit," she noted, toying with the flare of the dress. "But it is much better than a towel."

"Do you remember where you left your car?"

"Not exactly, since I ran most of the way, but I remember seeing a sign for Graves Road, before my car stalled."

Graves Road was not too far from the Danvers estate, but it was a decent walk on foot. He would drive her out there and check out the car, and then hope that he would be able to fix what was wrong with it.

"Your dress should be dry by now. I'll go check on it and then we can be on our way."

Unfortunately, Caleb was not able to fix the car. Unlike Pogue, he was not an expert on cars. Caleb told Laurel that she could ask Pogue to check out her car for her and she expressed her thanks for helping her out.

The ride to the bar was not entirely awkward and the two exchanged a few words to each other during the ride. By the time they reached the parking lot, most of the cars were exiting the lot. This was a first for Caleb. He usually came at the height of business with the boys. Another first for him was coming with someone other than Pogue, Tyler, and Reid.

When they entered, Caleb noticed how Laurel seemed to gain the attention of various patrons. He ushered her in the direction of the table where the boys usually sat at, and mentally prepared himself to handle Reid.

Caleb introduced Laurel to the boys, gesturing to each one of them after he said their names. "Laurel, this is Pogue, Tyler, and Reid."

Laurel smiled at them the whole time, stretching out a friendly hand for each of them to shake. Tyler shook her hand first, but when Reid did, he flipped her hand over so that he could press a kiss to it; earning an amused expression from Laurel.

"I guess you're the charming one," she joked.

"And the most handsome one, but I think you already know that," Reid said without hesitation.

"And the most irritating one," Pogue added. He rolled his eyes at Reid and then reached to shake Laurel's hand. As soon as he shook Laurel's hand, a slight chill came over him. He looked at her as if he was examining an organism under a microscope.

"Are you okay?" Laurel prodded him; concerned by the way he was scrutinizing her. She slowly removed her hand from his.

Pogue snapped out of his daze when Laurel let go of his hand. "Uh…yeah, yeah. I'm good, sorry about that. Caleb told me about your car. I could take a look at if you want."

"That would be great. Thank you."

A few minutes before the bar closed, Laurel excused herself to make a phone call. Pogue's eyes followed her all the while and Caleb did not miss it.

"Something isn't right about her, Caleb."

Caleb felt the same way, but Pogue said it before he could. He was grateful that he was not the only one. "I know."

"I just can't put my finger on it just yet," Pogue continued. "Keep an eye on her."

Pogue glanced at the door that Laurel went out of, before lifting himself from his chair. "I'm going to head out. I'll talk to you later."

He said good-bye to Tyler and Reid, before he left Nicky's.