A/N: So I'm rearranging the order of events a little. Nikki's will happen ... next chapter. Don't worry. I know what i'm doing .. I think. Also, I didn't know the name of their English professor. I looked up the cast but ... yeah. Could be wrong. Just bear with me. I'm sticking with it. Don't have a beta so mistakes are my own. Oh and I plan to get quite graphic with this later on. Be warned ... or excited.

Also to my lovely sister princess-sakimi. I totally posted this before 9 o'clock. Booyah! Now let's see how quickly I can get the next chapter out. Gosh, this is so hard.

Thanks to the people who have reviewed: XxLunerMoonxX and f4abeautifullie! I really appreciate it. You have no idea how happy you made me. I'm so glad people are actually reading my story. And thanks to those that have followed and favorited as well!

Side Note: To any Naruto fans, I'll probably be reposting my old Naruto fics (though rewritten), so heads up!

Disclaimer: Still not mine :(

Now read on!

Reid tossed around in his bed for a few hours before deciding that sleep wasn't happening for him tonight. Whenever that happened, he liked to wander around, to clear his mind of whatever was keeping him awake. In this case, it was thoughts of Caleb that troubled him. But not just Caleb. Chase seemed to be plaguing his thoughts as well. There was something about him that just didn't sit well with Reid. He didn't mind being hit on, and Chase was a decent-looking guy. But still, something wasn't right.

He began roaming the halls, heading to the back of the dorm. There was a courtyard out there with a couple of benches and some low hanging trees that provided a peaceful cover from the outside world. On the few occasions where he felt like being alone and relaxing, maybe with a book or to do some studying, he would go out there. It was a pretty secluded area so not many people went there or even knew about it.

He pushed open the door to head outside. In the middle of the U-shape created by this section of the dorm a large weeping willow stood tall, its branches spread to cover a large area. Its leaves draped like a curtain completely concealing the picnic bench Reid knew was there. He parted the leaves and moved to lie on the table part of the bench. Looking up at the willow from underneath like this always gave him pause. It made him feel as if the leaves were falling like rain, but parting around where he lay. It was a cool effect he had enjoyed on multiple occasions since he came to this school.

Chase had been looking out from his dorm window on the second floor which happened to overlook the very same courtyard Reid now occupied. He had seen Reid exit the dorm and disappear under the tree. He smiled to himself. He could get Reid alone. What a wonderful opportunity. How could he ever pass this up? He began to make his way out of his dorm to confront his beautiful blonde.

Meanwhile, Reid was contemplating all the things that were on his mind. He needed to sort things out or he would never be able to sleep. Ever. Again. Okay. His mind was really messing with him. He was being all … dramatic and stuff. He thought he had accepted his feelings for Caleb and laid them aside. He thought he could handle them. But then whatever had happened tonight seemed to bring them back to the surface. And Caleb had acted so strangely. Reid still wasn't sure he understood what happened.

As Reid was still turning the events of the night over in his mind, he heard a quiet swish of movement over to his right. He lurched to a sitting position and looked over.

"Woah! Sorry, Reid. You're really jumpy, aren't you?" Chase said as he let the curtain of leaves fall back into place. Reid let out a sigh. It was just Chase. Sure, he wasn't put completely at ease, but at least it wasn't a monster or his feelings come to confront him right now. He wasn't ready for that yet.

Chase was making his way over to Reid and sat down on the bench so he was looking up at Reid still seated on the attached table. For a moment, he just watched. Reid looked distracted. He had his hand to his chest like he was still calming himself down from the slight scare, but his eyes looked distant, like he was still withdrawn into himself. Chase reached over and put a hand on Reid's knee.

"Reid? I didn't mean to scare you." Chase said.

"I was not scared," Reid said through clenched teeth.

Chase snorted. "Could have fooled me." Chase grinned. "But seriously, are you ok?" he inquired gently.

"Why do you care?" Reid asked.

"I said before … I can't stand to see a beauty distressed." Chase put on a winning smile. Reid scoffed.

"Time and place, dude," he said. Then he sighed. "Nothing really, just a lot on my mind."

"Anything you wanna talk about?" Chase persisted.

Reid considered Chase for a moment. "Nah, man … but … thanks," Reid said sincerely. He hoisted himself up off the bench. Eyes closed, he stretched a little and prepared to head back inside to his dorm.

As he glanced back up, Reid's breath caught in his throat. Chase was directly in front him, less than a foot away. They were so close. Reid could feel Chase exhale against his mouth.

Chase leaned in even closer. "Breathe, Reid," he said softly. Reid could feel Chase's lips brush against his with each word. He reached up and brushed his knuckles along Reid's jaw. Reid took a stuttering breath. Chase felt it to his core.

He felt a jolt of arousal shoot through his body. He tilted his head. It would be so easy, so perfect. Chase thought as he imagined what it would be like to kiss those perfect lips. He closed his eyes and inhaled Reid's scent. Damn, I want him.

Chase opened his eyes in shock. He hadn't expected his desire for Reid to become so overpowering. He needed to get himself under control, or his plan wouldn't succeed. He focused on Reid. Reid had already been looking at him, like he was studying him.

Reid was staring intently into Chase's eyes. He blushed as he realized that Chase's pupils were blown wide with obvious arousal. He felt a shiver run through him at the thought. He glanced down to Chase's lips, still an inch away from his own. Reid's tongue darted out to wet his lips as unsavory thoughts entered his mind. Why am I so turned on right now? I know it's not gonna work with Caleb, so why shouldn't I have a little fun? What harm could one kiss do? Chase grinned as if he knew Reid's thoughts.

As Reid's tongue brushed out to wet his lips, his tongue brushed against Chase's mouth, causing Chase to gasp. Chase had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from pouncing on Reid right then and there. He would have Reid. But now was not the time. With a shuddering inhale, Chase closed his eyes and steeled himself against Reid and his desire. He took a halting step back. As he calmed himself, the moment passed. He opened his eyes again and glanced at Reid.

"Well, have a good night, Reid." Chase said the last part, his name, so quietly, so sensually, that Reid had to close his eyes and bite his tongue to stop a moan from escaping or to allow Chase to know the affect he was having on Reid.

As if I don't already know, Chase thought, knowing what Reid was doing, having had to do it himself several times throughout this encounter.

"Yeah, good night," Reid responded quietly. He turned to leave, parting the curtain of leaves with his hand. Chase followed him out from under the tree and watched Reid head into the dorms. As he watched him disappear into the building, one thought crossed his mind. You are mine.

Then Chase thought, Maybe I'll send you a nice little dream tonight to remind you, my dear Reid. He laughed to himself as he headed back to his room.

Damn, what is going on? Reid was asking himself as he walked back to his dorm. I must be giving off some kind of pheremone.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel this weird energy all around him. It set him on edge. Something wasn't right.

The sky was black. Not because it was night. He couldn't even tell what time it was here. He got the feeling that there was no 'time'. The sky was covered by rolling black clouds. They looked menacing and seemed to be closing in on him.

"Caleb?"

He turned to look over his shoulder. Reid was standing a few feet off looking nervous. His shoulders were hunched a little, and he was looking around and up at the sky. Caleb felt an unexplainable urge to protect Reid. Don't get him wrong. He was the oldest of their group. He had naturally become their leader and defender. He had defended and looked after his brothers on numerous occasions. But this desire to protect Reid felt different than that. And despite the ominous feeling this place gave him, there was nothing here that gave him cause to worry for Reid's safety.

Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to protect Reid from something. Suddenly, a rumbling began in the distance and seemed to travel quickly towards them. At the same time, the clouds began moving more vigorously, and the air seemed to become even more charged with … whatever it was than it had been before.

The clouds converged and crashed above their heads. They coiled and writhed within each other, then shot straight down. They enveloped Reid, and he disappeared from Caleb's sight. The clouds had calmed and settled in a thick void around them that reminded Caleb of fog. Except this was pitch black. He could barely see a foot in front of him.

"Reid?" he called. There was no response. He slowly began making his way in the direction he last saw Reid. He walked with his hands out in front of him, feeling for whatever he could.

He tripped over something in the dark. On the ground, he turned to see what it was. Reid was sprawled out, unconscious. Caleb quickly scooted over to him, gathering him in his arms. Reid was cold and clammy to the touch. His hair was sticking to his forehead. As Caleb held him, he brushed the hair from his face then stroked his hand down to cup his cheek. Reid was breathing very shallowly.

Caleb began to panic. He had no idea what had happened to Reid or how to help him. Reid's eyes fluttered open.

"Reid! Reid! What happened?" Caleb exclaimed. "Are you alright?" Reid groaned. He sat up and held his head.

"I … I don't know," Reid gasped. All of a sudden, they heard a loud rumbling sound. It seemed to be traveling around them in circles. Soon, the clouds began to swirl around them in a vortex. They began to gather into one area. They condensed into a human-like form. It radiated pure evil. It began to stalk towards them.

"Come on! We need to move!" Caleb shouted as he hoisted Reid up. He was supporting almost his entire body weight. He felt worry seep into him at Reid's weakness. Caleb began to pull him along, but Reid was not moving well at all. He stumbled every other step. Caleb looked back. The figure was still advancing on them. Caleb tried to move faster, but for some reason it was so hard to move. Whatever movements he could make were sluggish. As he pulled forward, he felt resistance from Reid.

The figure was suddenly right there, holding Reid back. It lifted its hand, and a blast of some kind of power launched Caleb backwards and off his feet. He scrambled to a standing position and glanced back to where the figure still had Reid in its embrace. Reid was still so weak that it looked as if the figure was completely supporting him. It moved its hands all over his body. Caleb was disgusted and wanted to put an end to it, but he couldn't stop watching.

Then, the figure thrust his hand through Reid's chest. Reid's eyes opened wide, and Caleb could hear the breath catch in his throat. Caleb tried to move, but he was frozen to the spot. He needed to do something, say anything, but all he could do was look on in horror as he saw the life begin to drain from Reid's eyes.

"Cal…eb," Reid choked. "I'm … sor…ry." The figure twisted its arm, and Reid began to scream in agony. It was the most terrifying and heartbreaking sound Caleb had ever heard. Time seemed to slow. And just as Reid's shout was cut off, and Caleb knew what it meant…

He jerked awake. He had felt something, and he knew exactly what it was. There was only one thing it could be. Someone had Used. Goddammit Reid, he thought. He took a moment to collect himself. That dream had thrown him off. It had felt so real. He was covered in a fine layer of sweat. It clung to him everywhere and caused him to chill.

He glanced over at his nightstand. His alarm clock was still vibrating with the after-effects of the Power. Strange, he thought. Reid shouldn't be able to use that much power. But there was no one else who could or would Use. The answer was obvious.

He looked over at Pogue's sleeping form in the bed across from his. It didn't look like he had felt the Power at all. His alarm said 5:30. He only had a few hours until class began. Oh well, might as well get up. I'm not getting to sleep again after that anyway. With that, Caleb got up and headed to the showers.

As Caleb and Pogue walked through the halls heading to their English class, Pogue could tell something was bothering Caleb.

"Hey, what's up, man?" Pogue asked. Caleb smiled to himself. Count on Pogue to notice when one of them wasn't feeling right. Anyone of them could tell that about another. Came with knowing each other forever, he guessed. They shared a deep secret. It bound them together in ways they could never share with anyone outside the covenant. When they were younger, they all knew everything about one another. But now, Caleb felt like they were drifting. Or at least, he didn't feel like he knew everything about Reid anymore. And he wished he did. Caleb sighed. Man, did he have it bad.

"I felt something last night," Caleb confessed, stopping and turning to Pogue.

"Ok, woah, man! I mean, I don't need the details. You can keep that to yourself –," Pogue cut off.

"No – what? What are you talking about?" Caleb looked at Pogue in confusion.

"Look, I don't mean to pry but maybe you can keep those 'feelings' to yourself," Pogue laughed while making air quotes. He was just messing with Caleb. He knew something was serious to bother Caleb like this, but he wanted to lighten the atmosphere.

Caleb realized what Pogue was doing and rolled his eyes. "Dumbass. Come here," he said while dragging Pogue out of the middle of the hallway and over to the wall so they could have some semblance of privacy. Caleb glanced around discreetly, making sure they were being ignored.

"I felt Power last night. It was strong. It woke me from a dead sleep. Someone Used." Caleb looked at Pogue seriously. Pogue was smart. He and Caleb being the older of the group, they tended to work together to protect the younger two. If Caleb was Captain, Pogue was Commander. He was a strategist. If anyone was going to help Caleb figure this out and make a plan, it was Pogue. Pogue was always the one Caleb consulted when it came to important matters of the covenant.

"Who do you think it was?" Pogue asked. Already knowing where Caleb was going.

"Who else could it be? It had to have been Reid," Caleb said, frustrated.

"Ok, look. Calm down. We have class with him right now. Maybe we can talk with him about it after. Or he'll probably be a Nikki's tonight. Either one," Pogue reasoned.

"Yeah, alright. It's just – he knows he's not supposed to Use. He knows what it will do to him, to us? Why does he do it when he knows what it means? What it means to me?" Pogue knew Caleb was referring to his father, then.

"Maybe he's just jealous that you're ascending first. Don't beat yourself up, man it's his life."

"No," Caleb insisted. "It's not his life. It's ours. What would we do without Reid? What would we do if we lost our baby boy? If we don't stop him now, when he ascends, we won't be able to. He'll die. I can't let that happen."

Pogue was smiling at him. "And that's why you're our leader. Don't worry. We'll figure this out. We're not gonna lose Reid. You won't let anything happen to him, and I really believe that. Now come on. Bell's gonna ring soon." They continued walking, but Pogue turned around to offer one last thing. "He'd kill you if he heard you call him that, you know?"

Caleb just smiled.

When Caleb and Pogue walked into class, they noticed Reid and Tyler were already there. They were already seated in their seats a couple of rows up and to the left of Caleb's and Pogue's seats. Caleb noticed Reid looked tired. He had dark circles under his eyes. He felt his heart clench. Despite being mad at him, he was worried. And he could tell Tyler was worried too.

Reid glanced up then, and Caleb felt his stomach flutter as their eyes made contact. How could Reid have this much of an effect on him? They seemed to be locked in their stare, unable to look away. Time slowed. Nothing else mattered.

Pogue and Tyler exchanged a glance, both smirking. Pogue mouthed to Tyler that they would talk about it later. Meanwhile, Caleb's and Reid's moment passed when the teacher walked in and called for the class to get settled. Caleb and Pogue headed up to their seats.

Tyler turned to Reid. "You look like shit, dude." Reid laughed, catching the attention of the entire room, heads turned in the direction of the beautiful sound. Caleb clenched his fist against the onslaught of desire that coursed through him.

Tyler was smiling. "What's up?"

"Couldn't get much sleep last night," Reid answered. The teacher had begun his lecture in the background.

"Yeah, I heard you tossing and turning for a while."

"Sorry, and then when I did get to sleep, I had a weird dream. A really weird dream," Reid said the last part mostly to himself.

"Anything you wanna talk about?" Tyler asked, ever the helpful and supportive friend.

"Yes, please is there anything you boys would like to share? Perhaps with the class?" The teacher cut in from the front of the class. "I was unaware that you were Mr. Garwin's personal therapist, Mr. Simms. Do you take appointments?" Knowing Professor Hoffman had a knack for wit and sarcasm, the boys knew reprimand when they heard it.

Tyler answered, "Sorry, no sir."

"Very well then," Professor Hoffman finished.

Caleb could feel Reid's eyes on him as the class commenced. He chanced a look over, and Reid was indeed staring at him. When Reid noticed he'd been caught, he focused again on the front of the class where the professor had begun writing on the board. Caleb wasn't sure if he imagined the blush painting Reid's cheeks.

"Now, we are going to study four American contemporary writers of fiction. First is Cormac McCarthy, then Tim O'Brien… Kent Haruf, and last but not least … Stephen King."

"Yeah," Reid cut in. "Dreamcatcher was the shit!" The class burst into laughter. Tyler was looking at him incredulously. He looked as if he wanted to voice the thought running through his mind, Do you want to get in trouble?

Caleb and Pogue were also looking at him. Reid sat back with a smug smile. Caleb rolled his eyes. "Idiot," he said to himself.

His thoughts were cut off, however, when Professor Hoffman responded. "Really, Mr. Garwin? Well, you can tell me all about it in detention today after class." The teacher was now wearing a smile of his own.

"And, no," Professor Hoffman continued. "My choice is The Shining." Reid just smiled and shrugged.

Pogue turned to Caleb. "Well, I guess that rules out talking to him after class."

"Yeah, we'll just catch him at Nikki's," Caleb answered.

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