4. Truces

Sheridan stood silently looking down on the now bleeding Aaron Abbot. "Are you okay?" she asked flatly. "What happened?" No emotion entered her voice as she spoke.

"By dose." he whined.

"Wow, that doesn't look so good." Sheridan told him not moving a muscle.

Lilith heaved a large sigh and moved away from her reclining position near the pool table. She moved over to him grabbing a cloth off of the bar and filling it with ice. "Here." she said handing him the make shift ice pack. "Put this on your forehead and then press your first two fingers against your upper lip under your nostrils." While he did this she wiped away the excess blood with another towel. Then she slapped him on the back...hard. "You'll be fine. Gotta watch where you're putting your feet big guy." Finally she stood and grabbed Sheridan's hand. The two girls made their way over to the table where Quin and Meredith sat.

Caleb and Pogue were eying the four girls with suspicion. Meredith didn't seem too concerned though. "Are you okay Sheri?" she murmured.

Reid and Tyler made their way to the table. "What the hell happened out there?" Reid demanded.

Sheridan looked at him through innocent brown eyes. "He must've tripped."

"What'd he trip on?"

"Don't know. I didn't see." she told the blonde boy. Her cheeks were starting to flush with anger.

It looked as though Reid might say more, but Caleb sent a hand out and silenced him with a touch on the arm. "We thought we might have to head over and rescue you." Caleb said lightly. "Looked like Aaron was getting grabby."

Sheridan shrugged. "Yeah, but nothing I couldn't have handled if he hadn't have tripped. The boy should really watch where he's going."

An uncomfortable silence filled the small area. "I think I'm gonna go play a video game." Pogue finally muttered.

Lilith stood and stretched. "Another game of pool boys?" she asked Reid and Tyler. "Sheridan and I weren't done cleaning your clocks." Quin went with the foursome to watch the pool game leaving Caleb and Meredith alone.

"That trip was quite opportune." Caleb spoke.

"Wasn't it?" Meredith answered.

"I can honestly say I've danced out there many times and never had a problem."

"Must be more graceful than Abbot."

"We know." he told her bluntly.

Meredith leaned forward with a slight smirk. "And what exactly is it you know?"

"That you four, you're all different." his voice was low and intense

"Sort of like you all?" her tone matched his intensity.

"I highly doubt we're the same."

"You got that right." her mouth twisted wryly.

"You gonna tell me what yall are? Who yall are?"

Meredith leaned back and smiled. "Just as soon as you tell me about The Sons of Ipswich. That gonna be any time soon?"

Caleb looked at her silently for a moment. "Doubt it."

"Well then, there you have it." She took a drink of her soda and blotted her lips with her napkin. "Guess we're not all up for show and tell."

"I don't know if we should trust you." Once again his voice was blunt. Sensing his friend's growing anxiety Pogue had made his way back to the table and sat down quietly.

"And we were all getting along so well." She said dryly. Meredith looked around the room and sighed. "Look, we didn't come here knowing about you. Believe it or don't. And obviously, you didn't know anything about us. You don't feel like sharing, and I'm not much for telling long stories either, so why don't we just agree to keep doing what we've been doing?"

"That's fine unless it attracts trouble." he told her. "Like broken noses."

"That sounds like an accusation? Got proof?" She snapped. "I doubt you've never broken someone's nose before."

Caleb's jaw clenched. Pogue finally spoke. "Look, we're just concerned. This is where we grew up. It's our town. Suddenly you all come to town and it's...different. It wouldn't be so bad if a lot of bad shit hadn't gone down last year, but it did and now we're extra cautious."

Meredith relaxed and nodded slowly. "Okay, I can accept that." She looked over to where her cousins were playing pool and laughing with their new friends. "We're just here for the year. Just for school." Meredith looked down at her hands and then looked up at the two boys and smiled. "It's odd for us too ya know. Feeling that tug. That whisper whenever one of you four comes around. Scared us. It's nowhere near the same feeling as when we sense each other. I don't know what you guys are, and I don't need to know. Hell, a part doesn't ever want to know. As long as you aren't threatening us...well, that's it really. If we're threatened we will fight."

"We aren't a threat to you." Caleb murmured meeting her navy eyes.

"I can say the same to you." she told him sincerely.

"You people are far too serious over here. Looks like someone just stomped on your favorite bug." Lilith told the three as she approached. "Come on Danvers. I've been told you're a foosball genius. It's time I kicked your ass at it."

Caleb quirked an eyebrow at the girl. "Ya think so?" He stood, looked at Meredith one more time, and then walked away with Lil.

"Did you think I was going to rip his face off?" Meredith asked the quietly brooding Pogue.

He looked startled. "No. No, I didn't. He just seemed to be getting upset, and he's my best friend."

"Well, crisis averted." she laughed lightly. "You don't have to sit here. Go back to your game."

He gave her a grin and was off. Meredith sat at the table thinking about what had just transpired. No one had admitted anything, but they'd hopefully come to an understanding. It did make her wonder what had happened the year before though. Normally she and her cousins weren't much for gossip, but this might be a time where it would come in handy. She'd leave it to Quin. That girl could ferret out gossip like a cat for catnip.

The air around Meredith became cool and she shivered. Looking up she caught the gaze of a boy across the bar. He was perhaps a few inches taller than Meredith with dirty blonde hair that was cut in a crew-cut. Dark eyes graced a face that would be considered attractive by a lot of girls. He raised his glass to her and nodded. Meredith felt a slight sinking in the pit of her stomach and it was not pleasant. She looked away from the boy quickly. When she looked up again he was gone.

"I would ask if you come here often, but it sounds like such a line." a deep voice murmured from her right.

Turning she found herself getting an up close look at the boy who'd nodded to her. "Yes, it does." she agreed. "But no I don't."

"That's a shame." he grinned. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Go ahead."

"I'm Jacob Mather." he told Meredith as he took a seat.

"Meredith Harris. Do you go to Spender Jacob?"

"Oh no." he laughed. "It was public school for me; now I go to VoTech for machinery repair. I take it you go to Spencer?"

She nodded. "This year for prep. Next year I'll be going to college. Did you grow up in Ipswich?"

"I did. Born and bred. Did you want something to eat?" he asked charmingly.

Meanwhile...

"Who's that guy talking to Merry?" Quin asked Tyler.

Tyler looked up and frowned. "That's Jacob Mather. He's a local. Works at Joe's Plumbing."

"He's kind of cute." she murmured.

"Dude's trouble." Tyler shrugged.

"Yall aren't friends?"

Reid, having heard the conversation, snickered. "Let's just say our families have always had issues. ALWAYS." He turned to Caleb and Lilith. "Caleb, look who's chatting up Meredith."