Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the Covenant.
I do however own Rae, Rome, Peyton, Tristan, Cameron and any other unfamiliar characters.
Thank you for the reviews! I'm very excited about this story and I'm glad you guys like it as well!
sixthson- You flatter me, Thank you! =) Enjoy this chapter!
Angel of the Night Watchers- Thank ya, thank ya darling! It's starting slow I know, but it'll pick up soon. ; )
J-21Way- Wow you guys are just full of nice things to say! Thank you very much! I'm happy you liked "Four by Four" and that your enjoying the sequel so far!
And to answer any confusion, all five are in their Junior year of high school. Peyton, Rome and Rae are 17, and Cameron and Tristan just turned 17 before school started. Alright peoples here it is! Chapter 2! Please enjoy!
Chapter 2
Welcome back to Hell
"Home sweet home," Peyton sighed as she lugged two boxes and a suitcase through the door. Rae came in right behind her carrying her own possessions, a few boxes already sat on the floor from their previous trip. "Well, more like a home away from home."
Peyton set down what she carried onto the bare twin bed mattress on the right side of the dorm, nearest to the half-bathroom.
On the other side of the room, Rae dropped her two boxes on the ground and one onto her bed. "I can't believe school starts tomorrow. I wonder if we'll get any fresh meat this year." She grinned at her best friend and roommate, wiggling her perfectly arched eyebrows.
"You know Rae, I really thought you'd grow out of the whole insanely boy crazy thing," Peyton said as she started to unpack her belongings and put them away. "But I think it's gotten more intense."
Rae stuck her tongue out at her green-eyed friend but didn't protest. Sure she really, really liked boys but she wasn't obsessed…that much. "Let's just get settled in so we can relax for the night."
At half past ten, Peyton plopped down on her dark blue comforter and stifled a large yawn. "I forgot how tiring moving could be."
"Me too. Should we call it an early night?" Rae asked fighting back her own yawn when the sound of high pitched giggles reached her ears.
Peyton's eyes widened as she stared at the door. "You don't think…" She let the sentence fade as she crawled off her bed and opened the door. Rae scrambled after her, peaking her head out the half-open door. "Damn it!"
Near the very end of the hallway stood the three Snider girls, laughing and tossing their heads back, finding something extremely amusing. Their laughter sounded like nails on a chalkboard to the Rae and Peyton as the sound drifted to them.
"Give it back!" They heard someone else shout. It was then they noticed that a girl stood in the doorway across from the triplets.
"You'll have to come get it," Taunted Lacy, her full lips turning up in a sneer. The unfamiliar girl glared but made no move to go after whatever they had of hers.
"School hasn't even started yet and they're already picking on new students." Peyton huffed as she strode from the room and toward the redheads, Rae followed suit.
"Oh, look who it is, Slut one and Slut two," the oldest, Kacy said when she noticed the approaching girls.
"Aw, Kacy that's not a very nice thing to say about your sisters," Rae retorted sharply when she stopped next to Peyton, a few feet away from them. "But then again, it's pretty close to the truth."
Tracy scoffed. "Whatever, Garwin. We're out." She rolled her eyes and tried to make her way past the Daughters of Ipswich but was stopped by Peyton. "Give back whatever you took. Now."
Tracy glared at the girl blocking her way and with reluctance, tossed what she had taken from the new girl before hurrying down the hallway.
"Thanks for that." The girl said with a smile. "They were really starting to piss me off."
Rae shrugged, it was almost an everyday thing that her and Peyton had a disagreement with the Snider Triplets. "They need to be put in their place every once in a while." She smiled and offered her hand to the younger looking blonde. "I'm Rae Garwin and this is Peyton Parry."
The blonde smiled back as she shook each girls hands. "Nice to meet you, I'm Bethany Marcus."
"Nice to meet you, too and welcome to Ipswich, the town where pretty much the only thing to do is go to Nicky's and party when there's a party…which is pretty much every weekend." Peyton grinned, leaning up against the wall as last minute students carried their belongings to their own dorm rooms.
Bethany laughed and shook her head. "It's not much different from my hometown. It's very small so the fun factor was limited."
Within the time they talked, the girls found out that their new friend was from New Castle, Delaware, had recently broken up with her boyfriend because of the move, and was a grade below them. "It's scary to move and have to make friends all over again. It's very intimidating, and it doesn't help that this place is huge and like, really creepy."
Rae grinned, knowing how she felt. She remembered how intimidated it was walking into the front doors of Spenser Academy her freshman year, but unlike Bethany, she had her brother and three friends with her. "Well how about tomorrow morning we come get you. We can help you find your way around and we can introduce you to some people." She offered kindly as she reached into her back pocket where her phone was and checked the time.
"Oh shit, it's nearly midnight. I don't know about you two but I need some beauty sleep." She stretched and yawned loudly, suddenly realizing how tired she was.
Bethany backed into her room, bidding farewell to her two new friends. She held up the silver charm bracelet that the triplets had stolen and smiled. "Thanks again."
The next morning:
"Okay, this is harder than I thought it'd be," Bethany said as Rae and Peyton led her to her first class at Spenser Academy. She peaked inside the almost full classroom, seeing the other students who were dressed in similar uniforms and bit her lip nervously. "I don't know anyone. I'll be all alone. What if I don't make any friends?"
Rae gave her an encouraging smile, nudging her gently towards the door. "You'll be fine. Just relax and don't be intimidated."
Bethany took a deep breath and shook off her nerves. "I can do this." She said more to herself then Peyton and Rae. "I'll see you guys at lunch?"
"Of course, and you'll get to meet everyone." Peyton nodded, her dark brown hair falling into her face slightly. "Good luck."
As Bethany walked into her class, Rae and Peyton made their way to their own classes. Rae had Chemistry with Cameron, and Tristan and Rome had English together while Peyton had Pre-Calculus by herself.
By the time lunch came around the students were dying to mingle and catch up with their friends. "Halfway through the first day of school and surprisingly, it's not so bad." Tristan said as he took a seat in between Rome and Peyton. His eyes wondered around the cafeteria, taking in the loud chatter and laughter of the other students.
"Looking for me?" A flirty voice said from behind the youngest Son of Ipswich. Tristan turned to see his almost girlfriend standing behind him with a grin on her face. "Hey, Tristan Simms."
Tristan stood quickly and grabbed the girl, pulling her into his arms. Grinning, he said, "Hey Kelsey, how're your classes going?"
"Awesome! Mrs. Garwin's class is going to be great! And I met this new girl Bethany Marcus, she's from around where my mom grew up. I feel so bad for her because she's rooming with Tracy Becklin." Kelsey answered then waved hello to the Sons and Daughters of Ipswich who sat around the table, talking animatedly about their first three classes of the day.
Rome and Rae's mom, Paige, was a teacher at Spenser and has been since they first moved back to Ipswich. During her time at Boston University, she earned her teaching degree and is now teaching the sophomore Creative Writing class.
"Thank God Bethany made a friend," Rae sighed as she shoved a fry in her mouth. "She was freaking out this morning."
"You know her?" Kelsey asked as Peyton moved over to make room for her so she could sit next to Tristan.
Rae smiled as she watched Tristan wrap his arm around Kelsey's waist. She thought they were the cutest couple ever. It's strange to think Kelsey's dad, her parents and her aunts and uncles had despised each other in high school. Rae laughed inwardly as she remembered a story that her mom once told her about breaking Kelsey's dads nose one time after a date they had. Peyton's dad, Pogue, had said that Aaron Abbot was a changed man now, thanks to wife Laruen.
"Yeah, she had a little trouble with the Terrible Trio last night. They stole something from her so we got it back for her." Peyton grinned, remembering the scared looks in their eyes while they tried to play cool.
Cameron bit into his cheeseburger, and with a mouth full of food, said, "So naturally you felt the need to play the knight in shining armor and rescue the damsel in distress."
Peyton shrugged and continued eating her food. "Naturally. Plus, those girls need to know they can't piss off people when I'm around."
"Hey guys!" They saw Bethany jog up to the table with a glowing smile. "Oh hey, Kelsey! I didn't know you knew them? Is this the guy you were talking about in class?" She asked pointing to Tristan who smirked as Kelsey's cheeked turned pink.
"Yeah, I know them. Who doesn't? They are the Sons and Daughters of Ipswich after all." Kelsey answered, her eyes on Bethany instead of on the amused boy sitting next to her. Bethany pulled her eyebrows together in confusion and looked at Peyton with a questioning stare.
"Long story," she answered then pointed to Rome who sat next to her. "Bethany, this is Rome, twin brother of Rae if you can't already tell, and that's Cameron and this is Tristan." Peyton pointed to each Son in turn. "You already know Rae of course, and Kelsey. Everyone this is Bethany." Tristan and Cameron gave a friendly smile while Rome sneakily allowed his eyes to look her up and down. He noticed that her skirt fell at mid-thigh on her toned legs.
"Nice to meet you, Bethany." Rome said in a flirty voice, his usual smirk on his lips. Bethany gave him a small smile then shyly turned her attention back to Rae and Peyton. "Well, I'm off to class. Just wanted to say hey. I'll see you guys around? Bye everyone." She added as she walked away from the table, heading to her fourth hour class.
"She's a real sweetheart. We should invite her out to Nicky's tonight!" Kelsey suggested happily as she pulled a strand of her dark blonde hair behind her ear.
Peyton and Rae grinned at each other. Nicky's was their favorite spot to hang out and they were sure Bethany would like it too. It was everyone's favorite place to hang out at after all. The bar had never lost it's popularity over the years and hadn't changed much since their parent's days apparently.
"She seems sweet." Rome added as he watched Bethany walk out of the cafeteria doors, his eyes on her backside.
"No, Rome." Rae said as if she were talking to a dog instead of her brother. "Though I've only known Bethany for, well, less then a day I can already tell she is a sweet, innocent girl and you will not be corrupting her." Tristan and Cameron laughed, Kelsey seemed to agree with Rae.
Rome shrugged and smirked. "Hey, if she wants to be corrupted, I'm not going to say no."
Peyton snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, Ro. Not everyone wants to sleep with a Son of Ipswich. I, for one, am in the category of not wanting to sleep with any of you." Rae raised her hand too, saying that she was not up for that either. She'd never sleep with one of them. First off, Tristan had Kelsey and he was like a brother to her, and second Cameron was, well…Cameron. Besides Peyton, he was Rae's best friend.
"Damn straight, you'll never sleep with one of them." Rome spoke to his sister firmly as he pointed to both Cameron and Tristan. With that he stood from the table and made his way from the cafeteria, acknowledging the girls with open stares or a smirk.
He walked into his fourth hour class, internally dreaded the fact that he'd been put in a Senior level class without any choice in the matter. Though he was only a junior, Provost Bolton insisted that because of his high scoring during last years finals that he be placed in the senior AP History class. He might have been his father's son but unlike Reid in high school, Rome tried to apply himself.
A few people had already taken their seats, including a girl with thick brown hair who sent Rome a flirty smile. The Son of Ipswich smirked in return and continued his way to the back of the class where he slouched in his chair.
When the final bell rang, signaling the start of class, the Professor stepped forward and immediately started taking roll call. He was a large man with pot-belly; a thick gray mustache sat under his nose and had a thin amount of hair on his head. The glasses he wore hung on the slope of his nose, threatening to fall off as he looked down at the list of names.
"Allison Adams?" The brunette who flirted Rome raised her hand studiously, but Rome could that she was more into the study of anatomy than the study of books.
"Drew Caldwell?" The professor's aged voiced called out to the class. The students looked around curiously, they did not recognize the name.
"Here," said a shaggy haired brunette who sat a few seats away from Rome. A soft murmur of chatter escaped the girls in the class as they took in the handsome face of the stranger. The Professor didn't seem to mind or care about the gushing girls as he kept reading the names.
Running a hand through his blond hair, Rome gladly stood from his chair at the end of class, happy that the boring talk of War and his Professors life was over. He noticed the new guy looking a little lost as he made his way into the hallway. Feeling a slight wave of sympathy towards the guy, he headed toward him. "Hey," Rome offered his hand to Drew. "I'm Rome Garwin. I'm guessing you're new around here, seeing as how I've never seen you before."
Drew laughed and shook Rome's hand, giving him a relieved smile. "Yeah, hey. I moved into town over the summer. It's a lot different from Houston. This place is more…secluded? I guess that's a good way to put it."
Rome nodded in agreement, knowing how boring Ipswich could be. "It'll get better. It's not so bad once you get into the swing of things. School's started so there will be parties about every weekend, at least that's how it was last year. And the girls here aren't too shabby either." He eyed a group of junior girls who strolled by and winked at them. They giggled as they continued their way down the hall to their next class, a few looked back at him over their shoulders.
"Not shabby at all." Drew said as he caught sight of a cute blonde at the other end of the hallway. "You know that one?" Rome followed Drew's gaze to see which girl had caught his new acquaintance's attention. His mouth fell into a frown as he recognized the girl.
"Uh, yeah. That would be my sister." Rome tried not to sound to brotherly-like when he said, "She's off-"
"Limits." Drew finished his sentence with a grin. "I understand that. I have a sister, too." Rome clapped him on the back, liking the guy already. "Well, I better head out. It's not a good thing when the new kid is late to class the first day of school. I'll see you around man."
"Later," Rome replied, heading off to his own class. The hallways quickly dispersed, leaving only a few straggling students left in the hallway with him, most of them being lost and confused freshman. Just as he was about to step through the door to his class he heard a muffled cry and a chuckle that sounded all too familiar.
Steering off his original course, Rome followed the sound and turned the corner just in time to see a small boy being shoved into one of the many lockers. "Haven't I told you once before to pick on people your own size, Montgomery?"
A tall boy with dark, sandy blonde hair turned his head to Rome. The smile that had once been on his face fell into a scowl. His nostrils flared as he puffed up, turning to face Rome on squarely. "Mind your own damn business, Garwin."
Rome continued to walk towards the lone man and the poor kid inside the locker, only stopping when he was in front of the locker that occupied the freshman. "Alex my old pal, you know me better than that. Why would I go and do that when getting into everyone's business is so fun?" He pounded his fist against the metal box and watched it swing open. The small boy muttered a quick thanks before practically racing down the hall, disappearing around the corner.
Alex Montgomery shifted his stance trying to tower over Rome which only made the Son of Ipswich want to laugh. Though Alex was a big guy, standing at 6"2' and pretty built, Rome was not intimidated. "Tell me, why do you like to pick on people smaller then you? Make you feel like more like a man?"
The bell had rung for the start of class, so both guys knew they were late but neither one backed away. Alex took his time before answering. Soon, a grin slowly appeared in his face. "Because...they're easier to pin down."
Instantly Rome tensed and clenched his jaw tight. He knew that Alex's sentence had a double meaning. He knew that he was talking about his sister, Rae. Last year she dated Alex Montgomery. "Oh, did I hit a nerve? Man, your sister was good." He grunted, sounding very much like a cave man. With each word he spoke, Rome felt his blood boil as he hastily tried to fight the urge to Use. "I mean, for it being her first time and all."
In less then a second, Alex was on the floor holding a hand to the side of his face where a large black and purple bruise started to appear. He quickly stood up and launched himself at Rome, succeeding in knocking the wind out of him. With a loud 'oomph' the pair fell to the hard, tiled ground. Rome's fist collided with the side of Alex's face just as Alex punched Rome right in the mouth, busting open his bottom lip.
Just as fast as the fight started, it ended. Rome was pulled off of Alex, arms still flailing by Cameron. Tristan grabbed the collar of Alex's shirt roughly and shoved him away so he stumbled back a few feet. "Get the hell out of here, Montgomery." Alex smirked at Rome, taunting him before turning around and heading out the front doors of the school.
Once Rome had calmed down, Cameron shook his head disapprovingly. "Jesus, Ro, it's the first day of school and you've already gotten into a fight…and with Alex of all people."
"He talked about Rae and how…" He couldn't even finish the sentence. Adrenaline still pumped within his veins mixing with the Power, it urged him to continue what he had started. He wanted nothing more than to run after his sister's ex and beat the living shit out of him, but he knew if he tried that, Cameron and Tristan would be right behind him to stop him. He also knew that his sister would be furious with him for starting a fight with Alex. "Don't tell her."
Tristan handed Rome a wet paper towel that he grabbed from the bathroom across the hall. "Dude, you know we wouldn't…but you know she'll find out. Rae always finds out."
"Not always." Rome said unconvincingly to the guys.
"Rome Parker Garwin!"
Rome didn't need to turn around to know who was calling his name. The only people who called him by his full name were his mother and his sister, and since he knew his mom wasn't on campus at the moment, he knew it was Rae. When he looked over his shoulder to confirm he was right, he noticed her cheeks were red which only happened she was extremely angry. Shit.
Once she was in arms reach of him, she punched him hard in the shoulder. Rome tried not to rub his throbbing arm, he didn't want everyone to know that being hit by his sister hurt more than when he was when punched by a guy. He cursed the fact that the girls had gotten extra strength along with the ability to talk telepathically with each other. "You just had to start shit, didn't you?" Rae glared at her twin brother and crossed her arms tightly over her chest, restraining herself from hitting him again.
"Rae, he's lucky I didn't beat him to death." Rome growled through his teeth. He still hadn't fully calmed down from the brawl with Alex. "He talked about you guys sleeping together."
Rae's face flushed. She never told anybody but Peyton about her losing her virginity to Alex, but the guys still seemed to know about it. "I don't care if he said I was the best he's ever had and told you about it in detail, Rome. You shouldn't have been fighting."
"God, you sound like mom." Rome responded as he looked around the school yard, thankful that most of the students had already left campus. He hated when people saw him and his sister or any of his friends fighting.
"Ro," Rae closed her eyes trying hard to calm down. "You can't be getting into trouble. You just got back into good graces with Provost Bolton. You're a fool if you think he won't put you right back on the list of insubordinate students." Rome avoided her gaze, knowing she was right. He shouldn't be fighting.
"I just wanted to protect you and I really hate that guy." Rome said to Rae though his eyes were on the ground.
Peyton, who stood next to Tristan and Cameron, grinned to herself. To everyone at Spenser Academy, Rome was the guy who made all of the girls hearts flutter and didn't care if he hurt them. He was known as the bad boy of the group and he never tolerated anyone messing with his sister or friends. But Peyton knew Rome could be sweet when he wanted to be, though he played to bad boy role well.
"I know and I appreciate that I really do, but I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself." Rae opened her eyes and sighed. She knew she shouldn't be mad at him since he was standing up for her, and that Alex deserved what he got but her ex was not worth the effort. "Promise me that you won't fight Alex again even if he says horrible things about me. He's not worth it, trust me."
Rome nodded stiffly, reluctantly making the promise to his sister.
"That includes you boys as well." Peyton pointed to Tristan and Cameron who gave short nods, agreeing to keep the promise. "Now, I'm off to get ready for Nicky's, maybe get a little nap in. See you guys tonight." She headed in the direction of the dorms, leaving the guys behind her in the now empty courtyard.
"It's only the first day of school and Rome's fighting. I haven't even seen Alex yet and I'm ready to drop kick him in the face for messing with my brother. Ugh, I can already tell this is going to be a fantastic year." Rae said sarcastically as she jogged to catch up with her best friend, her blonde hair flowing behind her.
Peyton grinned and linked arms with her. "Welcome back to the drama of high school. This wonderful reality includes jackass ex-boyfriends, slutty whores and the best friend who can help you survive this place I'd like to call Hell."