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 Angel of the Night Watchers, sixthson, J-21Way, Nikki, Teekanne2210 and Kenny for their reviews!
Chapter 3
Good Times, Great Friends
"Are you sure I look okay?" Bethany asked Peyton and Rae as they made their way to the parking lot outside the dorm building.
Peyton glanced at her new friend's outfit that consisted of a pair of straight legged black pants, a white v-neck T-shirt that hung loosely from her body, and black high heels that gave her a few more inches of height. "For the last time yes," She answered with a smile. "Who are you trying to impress anyway?"
"Nobody," Bethany said too quickly. She stumbled over her words hoping the other two didn't notice. "No one, I mean…um, I was just wanted to make sure." Rae rolled her eyes as she opened the passenger door to Peyton's Jeep Wrangler and jumped into the back seat, allowing Bethany to sit shotgun.
Only after fifteen minutes of driving, Peyton pulled into the gravel lot in front of the popular small bar. She noticed Cameron's car parked a few spots away as she hopped out of her Jeep and pocketed her keys. "Looks like the boys are already here."
Bethany stepped out and helped Rae out from the back, her heels hit the gravel with a soft crunch. Similar to Bethany, Rae wore a T-shirt, though hers was tight to her body and a deep purple, dark jeans hugged her hips comfortably. She grinned, turning to Peyton as she tossed her blonde curled hair over her shoulder.
"Peyton Brianna Parry why did you change!" Rae yelled, suddenly noticing her best friend was no longer sporting the cute skirt and off the shoulder shirt she'd picked out for her earlier that night.
Peyton shrugged and held out her arms to show off her loose fitting jeans hanging low on her hips and the navy blue tank top that revealed her toned and California tanned stomach. She grinned as she opened the doors, leading the girls into Nicky's. Rae sighed and stepped in behind them as music and loud conversations assaulted their ears.
"Wow," Bethany said over the noise as she scanned the crowded bar in amazement. "This is awesome!"
Rae grinned and guided Bethany and Peyton to the area near the pool tables where Tristan, Cameron, Rome and Kelsey were sitting.
"About time you girls showed up," Rome greeted the three girls, his eyes running over Bethany twice. "You look nice." He said as she took the empty seat across from him. She smiled and turned her attention to Kelsey who sat next to her.
"I was going to order for you guys but didn't know how long you'd be," Kelsey said, her hair falling in her face as she looked at each girl.
"It's okay, I'm not that hungry anyways. But I'm gonna get a drink, you guys want something?" Peyton asked Rae and Bethany. The two girls shook their heads before jumping into the conversation with Cameron and Kelsey.
As she headed to the bar solo, she noticed many people from Spenser and other surrounding schools. Everyone must've had the same idea, she thought as she waited patiently for the bartender to take her order.
From her peripheral, she saw someone approaching. "Can I buy you a drink?"
She turned to see an older man in a gray business suit leaning against the counter with a drunken smile on his face. Peyton sighed and turned her gaze away from him. "No, I can get my own, thanks." Finally getting the waitresses attention, she ordered her drink then purposefully ignored the man standing next to her.
"Then how about a dance, sweetheart," He moved in closer putting a hand on her hip. The stench of alcohol lingered on his breath, floating across the space between them and onto her face. Slightly annoyed and disgusted, Peyton stepped away from him.
"You can leave now." She said, hoping he got the hint that she wanted nothing to do with him. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, and him hitting on her was seriously creepy.
"Or you can leave with me." The old man made to stepped toward her but was stopped by an arm catching him across his chest, halting his advancement.
A young man, seeming to be a few years older than Peyton, stood next to the business man, his eyes intense and serious. "Obviously, your not getting the hint, pal," He said in a low, deep voice that made the older man shiver. "She's not interested."
Peyton, whose eyes were on the stranger, shifted to the drunken man and watched him stumbled away. The stranger turned to face her fully and she noticed that his once serious eyes were soft and kind, the color of hazel. "It looked like he was starting to get pushy. I'm Quinn."
"Peyton," She replied, offering him her hand. His blond hair hung in his eyes as he looked down at her from his six foot frame. "So, do you come to Nicky's often and rescue girls from creepy middle aged men?" She grinned at her new acquaintance, who gave her an amused smile in return.
"I come here occasionally, but you're the first one I've rescued," He paused to lean in closer to her, his grin mirroring hers. "I think you might be the last one too."
"Lucky me." Peyton flirted, then asked. "But why the last? I'm sure there'll be plenty more damsels to rescue in the future."
Quinn kept quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Why rescue more when you've already found the one you want." His statement caught Peyton off guard, making her blink a few times in surprise.
"Peyton!" She heard Kelsey's voice call to her.
Peyton looked over her shoulder to see her friend waving at her from the middle of the dance floor with Rae, Tristan and Bethany. She laughed and turned back around to ask Quinn if he wanted to dance, but was startled to find that he was no longer there.
Feeling a little put off by his sudden Houdini disappearance, Peyton made her way past her dancing friends and plopped down at the table with Cameron and Rome.
"Who was that you were talking to?" Cameron asked, pointing to the bar where Peyton was seconds ago.
She shrugged as she sipped her Pepsi that the girl behind the bar handed to her before she headed back to her friends. "Some guy who saved me from a creeper that was hitting on me. Well actually, he saved the guy from getting a very ugly rejection…or a knee to the groin."
Rome smirked at Peyton from across the table, pleased that he never had to worry about protecting her from guys. She was able to protect herself, with or without her powers. She was the only girl that Rome knew who could handle a guy without getting her heart broken. How she did it, he had no idea but he was thankful that it was that way. Protecting Rae from guys was enough trouble.
An hour later, Rae walked over to the table, her blonde hair sticking to her forehead from dancing most of the night. She panted and waved her hand like a fan over her flushed face.
"Damn, Bethany's got some moves. I would have never thought that little miss Delaware would be able to move like that." Rae laughed, bringing the others attention to their new friend on the dance floor.
"If you'll excuse me," Giving Cameron a devilish grin, Rome stood from his chair and strode to the dance floor where he quickly found Bethany and gathered her in his arms. Rae rolled her eyes, a little annoyed that her brother did not take her warning about leaving Bethany alone seriously.
About a half a dozen more songs and several games of pool later, Rae rested her head on Cameron's shoulder. "I'm tired," She yawned, closing her eyes. "Do we have to go to class tomorrow?"
"Yes, we have to go to class tomorrow." Cameron chuckled as he glanced down at his watch, seeing how it was past midnight. "It's late. We should probably head back to the dorms." Peyton and Rae nodded, standing up from their seats along with their dark haired friend.
"I'll get the others," He said to them before heading off the wrangle up the rest of the gang who were scattered throughout Nicky's.
"I have to pee," Rae announced to Peyton and grinned when she rolled her eyes. "Wanna come?"
"No, you go ahead. I'll meet you outside." Winding her way through the tables and people, Peyton stepped outside and into the summer night air, shivering as a cool gust of wind swirled around her. Feeling as if she were not the only one outside, Peyton looked to her left and the sight of a man confirmed that she was not alone. She smiled to herself as she recognized the blonde hair that shone from under the street light. "First you rescue me, now your following me…Are you stalking me?"
Quinn smirked as he pushed himself from the wall he leaned against and walked closer to her. "I would say you are stalking me. I saw you looking for me in there." He jerked his head towards the bar door.
Peyton felt her face grow hot. He saw me looking for him? "So what if I was looking for you? You did a disappearing act. One moment you were there, and the next moment, poof, you're gone."
He gave her a crooked smile, his hazel eyes holding amusement. "I rescue you from that creepy old man, and now I'm a stalker and magician?"
Peyton shrugged with a playful smile on her lips. "Seems to fit."
"I should go," Quinn said, taking a sudden step backward. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime. Bye, Peyton." And before she could say bye back, he turned on his heel and strode around the corner of Nicky's.
The door to the bar opened and Peyton looked over her shoulder to see Tristan, Rome and the others walking towards her. "You ready, girly?" Rae asked as Peyton nodded, grabbing her friends hand who stifled a yawn as they headed to the Jeep.
"Rome seemed pretty interested in that Bethany chick," Tristan ran a hand through his hair as he opened the door to his dorm room he shared with Cameron later that night.
"Yeah, cause she's hott." Cameron said bluntly, pulling his shirt over his head before throwing himself down onto his mattress.
Tristan rolled his eyes. "True, but I meant actually interested, as in he likes her." He replied when a soft beep from his phone grabbed his attention. He pulled it from his jean pocket and smiled when he read the message Kelsey had left.
Cameron groaned and rolled his eyes as he watched his roommate text his almost-girlfriend back. "Dude, seriously when are you going to ask her out? You guys have been talking for forever. I think it's safe to say that I'm sure Kelsey is ready for you to ask her out officially."
"Shut up," Tristan laughed as he tossed a pillow at Cameron's head who easily dodged it. "Stop worrying about my life with the ladies and worry about your own. How many girls do you have lined up for this weekend already?"
"A fair few," He answered with a smirk. "But I'm thinking about chilling out on the dating thing. Girls can have so much drama to deal with, especially girls at Spenser. It gets annoying."
"That's because you're picking all the wrong girls, man." Tristan pointed out as he fell onto his own bed. Being too lazy to get up, he let his eyes flash to a glowing golden-yellow, and with a soft murmur of electricity, the lights flickered off.
"So who was the hottie you were talking to at the bar last night?" Rae asked as her and Peyton walked down the hallway at the end of the school day. "I've never seen him before."
Peyton shrugged, stopping in front of her locker. "Me either, but apparently he's been there a few times. The only info I got on him was that he graduated already and his name is Quinn."
"Very mysterious, a man with no last name," Rae grinned as she waited patiently. "Well, last name or not he seemed very interested from where I was dancing."
"Who's interested in who?" Kelsey asked excitedly as she bustled up to the two girls, her blue eyes flicking back and forth between them.
"The mysterious Quinn No-Last-Name who Peyton met at Nicky's last night." Rae answered quickly before Peyton could.
Kelsey turned her gaze on Peyton. "When are you going to see him again?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Kels," She replied as she closed her locker then turned to the two girls whose eyes were intently on her. "So, where's Tristan at? Shouldn't you two be…I don't know, somewhere together."
"Well swim practice starts today, so he and the others are there," Kelsey explained as the group of three strolled out of the schools front doors. They found a picnic table in the middle of the courtyard and sat down, enjoying the warm rays of sun that fell onto their faces.
Rae watched other students as they walked around the campus. A small group of freshman girls laughed obnoxiously from across the courtyard, trying their hardest to gain the attention of a few jocks who were hanging out only several feet from them. Among the group of jocks, Rae spotted her ex-boyfriend, Alex Montgomery. As if he knew he was being watched, Alex looked directly at Rae and gave her a cocky wink.
With a scoff, Rae turned her attention back to Kelsey and Peyton. "So, I've decided I'm never going to date again." Peyton and Kelsey stared at Rae with their eyebrows raised, a look of doubt on each of their faces. They've heard this speech before. "Swear. All of my relationships end up bad. All of them."
"You just have to pick the right ones, not the jerk-faces. For example, Alex was a horrible choice. So was, Kyle, Sean, Vin, and-"
"I get it," Rae interrupted Kelsey irritably. "I suck at choosing guys." She shifted in her seat, suddenly falling into a sour mood. She couldn't help but think that everyone around her had someone. Tristan had Kelsey, Peyton had her mystery guy, Cameron has a line of girls waiting for him, even Rome had a potential. He seemed very taken by Bethany which is unusual for him, and she knew her new friend had a crush on her brother. Guess I can't stop that from happening now, she added bitterly.
Peyton watched her best friend think, getting little snippets of her emotions through the connection they shared. "We'll find you someone. He'll be nice, sweet, and hott. No more jerk-faces. I bet Kelsey and I can find you a guy in two weeks." She grinned confidently, her eyes already scanning the surrounding area.
Kelsey nodded enthusiastically. "Right! Two weeks and you will have a boyfriend, sooner possibly."
Rae knew that if she said no, Kelsey and Peyton would throw a fit, so with reluctance she sighed. "Fine. Since I am horrible at my love life, I place it in your hands."
A slow grin crossed Kelsey's face as an idea struck her. "Hey, uh, let's go watch the guys practice." She grabbed Rae's hand and waited for Peyton to follow before leading the girls back into the school.
The smell of chlorine hit their nostrils as they pushed open a pair double doors that lead to the pool. The boys practice was only halfway through so the girls took seats at the bleachers near the front. Tristan spotted them and grinned at Kelsey. She waved back and blew him a kiss from across the room.
"God, too bad I think of those guys as my brothers. 'Cause they are hott." Peyton said, eyeing Rome, Cameron, Tristan and their muscled bodies, dripping wet with chlorinated water.
"Speaking of Tristan, do you know when he is going to ask me out already?" Kelsey asked with a frustrated huff. Her long sandy blonde hair was up, pulled into a ponytail but little stray hairs fell down into her face as she eyed her two friends.
Peyton smiled. "Be patient. Or better yet, why don't you do the asking?"
"Oh good thinking, P!" Rae agreed. "You should ask him after practice."
Kelsey grinned, her eyes growing wide. "Peyton, you're a genius! I'll do it. I'm going to ask Tristan Simms to be my boyfriend!"
A hour later, the practice ended and before they went into the locker room to get changed, Rome, Tristan, and Cameron made their way to the waiting girls.
"Hey babe," Tristan greeted Kelsey with a sweet kiss, his dark hair still dripping wet from his last lap in the pool.
"Hey, we need to talk. Come with me." Kelsey grinned as she grabbed Tristan's hand and pulled him off in the direction of the double doors that led to the hallway.
Cameron gave Peyton a questioning look. "You'll find out soon enough." She answered with a smile then turned to the unfamiliar face that had walked up behind Rome. "Who's this?" She asked, eyeing his washboard abs and well muscled arms.
"Hey," The handsome, well built brunette smiled and offered his hand to Peyton. "I'm Drew Caldwell."
"Hi Drew, I'm Peyton Parry and this is Rae Garwin." She pointed to her blonde best friend who now stood beside her. Drew gave each girl a charming smile, his dark eyes lingering on Rae a little longer than need be. Rome cleared his throat, gaining Drew's attention.
"We better get changed. See ya later girls." Rome said before strolling into the boys locker room. The girls said their goodbyes before making their way into the hallway. When they passed through the double doors they found Kelsey and Tristan in a heated kiss.
"Excuse us." Rae grinned as the two pulled apart, Kelsey bit her lip and blushed. Tristan smirked and placed one last kiss on her lips before passing the Daughters of Ipswich, disappearing through the doors.
"So are you guys official now?"
Kelsey beamed as she nodded her head vigorously. "Yes! He was kind of taken aback that I asked him before he could ask me, but as you could see…he didn't mind."
"Well it's about damn time you two got together!" Peyton laughed as she leaned against the row of lockers that lined the hallways. The blonde shrugged before turning to Rae.
"So what do you think?" She asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Rae raised her eyebrow at her obviously excited friend. "What do I think of what?"
"Drew. What do you think of Drew? I met him after class today. He's in Rome's AP History class. He's seems really sweet, clearly hott and isn't a jerk-face from what I can tell." Kelsey smiled as she glanced at Peyton who was also watching Rae, waiting for her reply.
Rae laughed and rolled her eyes, now knowing why her friend wanted to watch the boys swim practice so bad. "You are unbelievable. Okay, yeah he's hott but I don't know."
"Well why not?" Kelsey pouted as Peyton kept quiet, this was Kelsey's argument.
"Because…" Rae paused trying to think of a reason. "Because he's Rome's friend, and you know Rome doesn't approve of me dating his friends." Kelsey gave a frustrated huff knowing Rae was right.
"There you are, Simms. We thought your almost-girlfriend had stolen you." Cameron grinned as Tristan entered the locker room just as the others had finished getting dressed.
"Actually, she's not my almost-girlfriend anymore," the blue-eyed brunette said with a smile. "She, uh, she asked me out in the hallway. She's my girlfriend now."
Rome and Cameron exchanged quick looks before bursting into laughter. "Dude, seriously? She asked you out first?"
"There's nothing wrong with a girl who likes to take charge." Drew smirked as he headed for the locker room door. "See you guys around."
Tristan pulled his blue shirt over his wet brown hair. "Hey Cam, can you give me a lift to my place? Mom wanted me to come back home for dinner tonight."
Cameron nodded as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "Sure man, I have to stop at my place anyways. See ya, Rome." He added to Rome who lifted his chin in farewell as the two left the locker room together. The schools hallways were now completely deserted and quiet, the only sound came from Cameron and Tristan's feet hitting the tiled floor.
A few moments of silent walking, the pair stepped into the unusual sunny afternoon, both squinting from the brightness of it.
"This is odd," Tristan mused, looking up at the crystal clear blue sky. "We haven't had a rainy day in so long…not that I'm complaining or anything, but it's strange."
Cameron agreed as he unlocked the door to his black Mustang and slide into the driver's seat. He unlocked Tristan's door and waited for him to get into the car himself before replying. "It's different that's for sure, and like you said I'm not complaining. But if you jinx us and it rains I'm kickin' your ass." Shifting the car into gear, he pulled out of Spenser's parking lot and headed home.
Soon, Cameron stopped his car in front of the Simms Manor. "Just call when you need a ride back. I'll be at the house." Tristan nodded as he stepped from the car and jogged to his front door that was unlocked.
"Mom?" Tristan called through the large house. He peeked into the first room on his right to see that his father was not in the small room he used for his office. "Dad?"
"In here, honey!" He heard his mom's perky voice coming from the dining room. He smiled as he strolled into the room where both of his parents already were. "You made it just in time, dinner is ready."
"Hey Tristan," his dad, Tyler greeted with a hug, his azure eyes identical to his son's. "How was the first swim practice?"
Tristan grinned, remembering that Tyler and all the other Covenant father's had been on the swim team while they attended Spenser. "It was great. I think it'll be a great season this year."
"That's my boy," Rylee made her way to her son so that she stood before him. Her being only 5'3, Tristan bent his head down to kiss his mother's cheek. "So how are things with Kelsey?" She asked eagerly as she stared up at Tristan. She loved Kelsey and every chance she had, she would ask him questions about how their relationships is going. "Have you finally asked her out yet?"
"Things are good," he answered, laughing as he replayed the scene from the hallway in his head. "She actually asked me out instead of the other way around."
Tyler smirked from where he now sat at. "That a girl. It's about time you two got together."
Rylee turned to her husband and playfully narrowed her eyes at him. "You have no room to talk Tyler Simms. If I remember right, it took you a very long time to ask me out." She smiled gently as she walked towards him and placed a kiss on his lips.
"Ew, come on guys," Tristan laughed and covered his eyes at the sight of his parents in a lip lock. "Not in front of me."
Tyler rolled his eyes, letting go of his wife who took her seat next to him.
Tristan loaded his plate full of the delicious meal of chicken, broccoli and rice his mother made.
"I talked to Kevin and Lucy today," Rylee said.
Tyler paused from drinking, his eyes looking over the rim of his glass, a look of worry and slight panic on his face. Realizing that a visit or being contacted by either of the pair usually ended up with bad news, Rylee shook her head.
"Oh, no, no, honey, everything is fine," she reassured him with a smile. "No prophecies, riddles or anything like that this time. They were just checking up, seeing how the kids were dealing with their powers."
"Thank God," Tyler took a deep breath and sighed in relief before returning to his drink.
"You told them we have them all under control, right?" Tristan asked, his eyes on his mother. Up until about a year ago, the new Generation of the Covenant had troubles with controlling their magic and powers because they received it all at once instead of gradually. Unlike the past Covenant members who received their full powers at 18, the five kids got theirs at the young age of 13 instead. "Even with her advanced doubled power thing, Peyton has it under full control."
"Yeah, Tristan. I told them exactly that," Rylee answered with a smile. "You kids have definitely learned to control your powers faster then us." Her gaze flickered from her son to her husband. "Well, at least for Paige, River, Blake and I."
Tyler chuckled softly as he remembered the many times he and the other Sons had lost control of their Power when learning how to manage it properly. "No, we probably had more problems then you and the girls combined. You should ask your Uncle Caleb about Spring Break our freshman year at Spenser." He added to his son.
Rylee raised her eyebrow curiously and made a mental note to ask Caleb about it later. Tristan looked just as interested. He always knew of his uncle to be the cool, level headed one that always had things under control. He was going to make sure to ask what had went down that Spring Break as well.
"I'm sure Uncle Reid has a bunch of stories too, huh?" He asked with a sly smirk just as he finished up his dinner. Rylee snorted in laughter and almost choked on her water, giving him a look that said: Did-you-really-just-ask-that?-Of-course-he-has-stories…he's-Reid.
After dinner, Tyler and Rylee walked with their son to the front door where Cameron was already waiting in his Mustang. Tristan said goodnight to his parents, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and his father a hug. He jogged across his dark front yard that was flooded with the moon's light.
"Hey man," Cameron greeted his best friend as he jumped in the car. "Mike called me. He's having a party this weekend and said if we didn't come he'd punch you in the face."
Tristan laughed at the weak threat from their buddy on the swim team. "Why do I get punched? Why not you?"
"Cause he knows I can kick his ass if he tried." Cameron smirked as he took a left hand turn, heading toward Spenser Academy. "You up for the party?"
"Of course, Danvers," he replied as Cameron sped down the road. "No party's a party without the Sons and Daughters of Ipswich. We're just going to have to let the girls know about it."
The dark haired boy grinned. "I don't think Rae or Peyton will object to a good party."
