Beginning of a New Year
The next morning was the first morning of the school year. Reid, Caleb, Tyler, Pogue, Sarah, Kate, and Chase were seniors. Kaitlin and Lauren were juniors. The entire group had one class together first thing in the morning, AP English. When they walked in, Pogue and Caleb sat together, with Kate and Sarah in front of them. Tyler and Reid sat a couple of rows away with Lauren. Chase was sitting the row in front of Kate and Sarah. Kaitlin ended up pretending she didn't see the others and sat with one of her friends near the front of the class. Everyone thought it was weird and she was able to control looking around the classroom, even though knowing that her friends' eyes were on her. When the bell rang for class to be dismissed, Kaitlin said goodbye to who she was sitting with and took off out of the classroom. Reid grabbed his stuff and ran out looking for her.
"Kaitlin! Hey Kaitlin!" Reid yelled down the hallway, but she didn't hear him. Or she was ignoring him, either way, she didn't stop and turn around to look at him.
"What's her problem?" Tyler asked when they caught up with Reid in the hallway.
"I don't know," Reid answered. "She's probably still mad at me."
"She has AP US History next," Lauren told Reid coming up behind them.
"What room?" Reid asked.
"Mr. Connelly, don't know the room number," Lauren answered. "Well I have to go, see you later," she told them and kissed Tyler before walking in the opposite direction.
"See you later," Reid told Tyler.
"Where are you going?" Tyler shouted after him.
"To talk to Kaitlin," Reid responded. He found Kaitlin's classroom and walked in pretending he was in the class. He saw Kaitlin sitting and laughing with some of her friends on the other side of the room. He walked up to her and she seemed surprised to see him.
"Reid? What are you doing here?" Kaitlin asked knowing that he didn't have the same class as her.
"Didn't you hear me yelling for you earlier? Or are you just gonna ignore me all day?" Reid asked her.
"I had to get to class," Kaitlin made up an excuse.
"Well we need to talk," Reid told her.
"Wow. Reid Garwin being serious for a change. That's a real switch," Kaitlin said sarcastically.
"I…" Reid started.
"Good morning class and welcome back for a new school year," Mr. Connelly greeted the class when he walked in. He spotted Reid standing in front of Kaitlin. "Mr. Garwin, wonderful to see you again. But I see you're not on my roster," Mr. Connelly told him looking at the attendance.
"What can I say? You class was so much fun last year I though I'd come back," Reid grinned.
"As amusing it was to have you in here, and I'm sure you can track Ms. Danvers down outside of my classroom. But for now, I have a class to teach, so please, run along," Mr. Connelly told Reid. Reid obeyed, amazingly, and left. But not before using to cause Mr. Connelly's chair to make a fart noise when he sat down. Ok, so it was a little kindergarten, but it was a nice little prank. Reid looked back at Kaitlin and she looked at him, not happy, but not too mad. Reid mouthed 'I love you' to her, but she didn't reply.
"So you ever gonna talk to him?" Lauren asked Kaitlin as they were walking to sit down in the mess hall during their lunch period.
"What are you talking about?" Kaitlin asked.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about Kaitlin Leann Danvers!" Lauren told her.
"I haven't decided yet, Lauren Gail Williams," Kaitlin replied.
"Hey! I told you to never say my full name in public!" Lauren laughed. Kaitlin just smiled at her. "So, are you?"
"I don't know. He walked into my history class and Mr. Connelly kind of pointed him out," Kaitlin told her.
"Good or bad?"
"Neutral?" Kaitlin asked not sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Hey there," Tyler smiled walking up and sitting down next to Lauren.
"Hey to you," Lauren replied and kissed Tyler's cheek. Reid sat down next to Kaitlin.
"Hi," Reid told her.
"Hi," Kaitlin replied. Tyler and Lauren were watching them carefully.
"Will you two please talk?" Lauren begged.
"Yeah, we need some entertainment during lunch," Tyler joked.
"Wanna walk and talk?" Reid asked her. Kaitlin looked at Lauren and Tyler.
"Well unless you want these two to announce it to the rest of the gang, I'd say be better get going," Kaitlin said as she stood up.
"Hey! You're taking away our amusement!" Tyler retorted.
"That's the point Ty-Stein," Kaitlin laughed. Reid and Kaitlin got up and walked out to doors that went out to the courtyard.
"So, I need to know," Reid started. "How come your eyes turned black?"
"I don't know. I told you that," Kaitlin told him getting a little annoyed.
"It just doesn't make sense," Reid told her. Kaitlin stopped and turned to look at him.
"And you think I understand it? I'm just trying to start junior year without any problems and it seems problems are all I keep getting. I don't have the answer to why I can do that," Kaitlin told him trying to keep her voice down so nobody heard her. Thankfully they were far enough away, no one seemed to notice.
"It's weird, everything that's been happening to you," Reid told her with a saddened look in his face.
"Yeah, it has been. But I'd rather have you supporting me than interrogating me," Kaitlin told.
"I'm not interrogating you," Reid defended himself.
"Then what do you call it?"
"I'm just…worried," Reid told replied.
"Don't be," Kaitlin told him and started to get a weird look on her face.
"Are you ok?" Reid asked concerned.
"Yeah, I gotta go," Kaitlin told him and took off towards the dorms. Reid followed, but wasn't fast enough, especially since Caleb stopped him.
"What'd you say to Kaitlin?" Caleb asked him.
"Nothing," Reid told him trying to get past.
"Then why did she run away?"
"I don't know! She just said she had to go and if you'd excuse me I'd like to go find out why," Reid told him and pushed past him and took off for the dorms. He tried Kaitlin's dorm first and the door was cracked open. He knocked but there was no answer. He pushed it open and stuck his head in. "Kaitlin?" He heard the toilet flush and about a minute later Kaitlin walked out. "You alright?"
"Yeah," Kaitlin answered.
"Did you just get sick?" Reid asked concerned.
"Yeah. One of the joys of being pregnant," Kaitlin told him with a little laugh. Reid seemed a little confused. "You fell asleep during the sex talk didn't you?" she laughed.
"Probably," Reid smiled and put his arm around her as they sat on her bed. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, I can throw up by myself," Kaitlin answered a little confused on why he'd want to help with that.
"I meant in general. With anything at all?" Reid asked her.
"You can start with walking me to class," Kaitlin told him looking at her watch.
"Ok," Reid told her taking her hand and they walked out back towards the school building. Reid dropped Kaitlin off at AP Algebra.
"Thanks. So I'll see you later?" Kaitlin said when they got to her classroom door.
"Yeah, see you," Reid told her and kissed her. He took his time and softly kissed her. Kaitlin smiled at him.
"Bye," she told him and walked into her class. Reid heard the warning bell and decided he should probably get to his own class.
The first day of school went by well without any problems really. Aaron was still being a jerk, and all students ending up getting homework. Kaitlin went back to her dorm room, while Lauren went with Kate and Sarah to go to watch the guys' swim practice.
"So, have you talked to Caleb since last night?" Kate asked Sarah knowing full on the two of them had a thing for each other.
"Not really. A little bit, exchanging hellos in the hall or class," Sarah answered. "Does he have a girlfriend?"
"Nope, he's been single for awhile actually," Lauren answered.
"Why? He seems like such a great guy," Sarah replied.
"Caleb's not the type of guy to just hook up with a girl or to date a girl just because. He wants to actually like the girl and have a relationship, not a casual month fling or whatever," Kate answered. "Plenty of girls here are willing to go out with her, but he's into you."
"And how do you know that?" Sarah asked.
"Because of that," Lauren said and pointed over to Caleb, Pogue, Tyler, Reid, and all the other members of the swim team coming out of the locker room. It looked like Chase would be trying out for the team too. Caleb was smiling at Sarah and Sarah couldn't help but smile back, and blush.
"Love is in the air," Kate started to sing causing both the girls to laugh.
"So when are you gonna ask her out?" Pogue asked him.
"What?" Caleb asked clueless.
"Sarah! When you gonna ask her out?" Tyler told him.
"And what makes you think I'm into her?" Caleb asked him trying to play mysterious, it only worked with the ladies, not his friends.
"Come on, you drool every time you see her," Reid told him.
"She's into you. Kate told me," Pogue told him.
"Really?" Caleb asked happily.
"Awww! You're into Sarah!" Chase joked.
"Yeah, yeah. Who are you into?" Caleb asked him. This made Pogue listen carefully because he didn't care for Chase all that much because he seemed to always be flirting with Kate. Chase noticed this and decided to play a little game.
"I don't know. Met this girl that seems pretty cool, but I think she's taken," Chase replied. Caleb, Reid, and Tyler didn't seem to notice he was making a reference to Kate. Only Pogue did, but didn't say anything.
"Ok, get into your teams and let's get practice rolling," the coach yelled blowing his whistle.
Kaitlin was doing her homework, when she decided to go see if her friend Erica down the hall was in to ask about one of the assignments.
"Hey Kaitlin," Erica smiled answering her door.
"Hey, could you help me with this problem?" Kaitlin asked her. When Erica had finished helping Kaitlin, Kaitlin started back towards her room. Kaitlin remembered having closed her door, but it was partly open. "Lauren?" Kaitlin asked opening the door. Nobody was in there. Kaitlin looked around and saw a picture of her and Reid, the frame broken on the floor. "Damn," Kaitlin let out and picked it up and the glass to clean it up so nobody stepped on it. When she threw it away in the bathroom trash can, and looked up, she saw someone had written something on the mirror in red marker. "It's not over till you are in your grave!" Kaitlin read. She looked around her room and went out to the hall. Who the hell was doing this to her? Kaitlin took off for the pool to get the boys after having used her cell phone to take a picture of the mirror just in case the person came back to take it off.
"Get practice, hit the showers!" the coach yelled. All the boys headed off, the girls got off the bleachers and left the pool area to wait for them outside. The boys came out not too much later, back in their school uniforms.
"Hey," Sarah smiled at Caleb.
"Hey," Caleb smiled back. Everyone could see the chemistry between them. Kaitlin walked up to them, trying to act normal.
"Kaitlin! Where have you been?" Kate asked her and everyone turned to look at her.
"Uh…homework," Kaitlin answered.
"You're such a bookworm!" Lauren told her.
"Hey! Us bookworms need to stick together!" Sarah laughed and this made Kaitlin laugh.
"Actually I need to borrow you for a minute," Kaitlin told Reid.
"I'm all yours," Reid smirked.
"The Bookworm and the Pervert," Tyler said. "What a great title for a book! But I'd probably only go see the movie," he laughed.
"Not sure you could, ya know seeing as you have to be in bed with your foot-pajamas by 8:30, and plus it would be over an R-rating," Kaitlin told him and this caused Caleb to look at both of them. "Get over it. Little sister is growing up!" Kaitlin told him. "Let's go," Kaitlin told him and pulled Reid away from the group.
"So, this must be pretty urgent," Reid laughed thinking it was something completely different.
"Reid, he's at it again," Kaitlin told him when they were far enough from everyone.
"What do you mean?" Reid asked her.
"Come on," Kaitlin told him and they went back to her dorm. Kaitlin unlocked the door to her room and they walked inside. Thankfully, whoever had come into the room and left the message, hadn't come back to erase it. "Look," Kaitlin pointed to the bathroom mirror. Reid got worried when he read it.
"Did you find this when you got back from classes?" Reid asked her trying to piece everything together.
"No, I was in here and then went down the hall to ask my friend a homework question. When I got back I found this picture broken and the message on the mirror," Kaitlin told him handing him the picture of them together.
"Did you close the door when you left?"
"Yeah, I thought I did, but I didn't lock it," Kaitlin admitted. "Reid, I'm scared." Reid hugged her.
"Do me a favor. Lock the door behind you everytime and look through the peekhole when someone knocks," Reid told her.
"Ok," Kaitlin told him. "We should probably let Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler know," Kaitlin told him looking up.
"Probably," Reid told her still looking at the mirror. He grabbed a towl and wet it and started to take it off the mirror. It smeared as if it were blood. When he was finished, he put the towl in the hamper and looked over at Kaitlin. He saw how scared she was, and with how everything had been lately, he didn't blame her. "Let's get out of here."
"What?" Kaitlin asked.
"Let's go, we'll take a drive," Reid told her and took her hand. Kaitlin grabbed her dorm keys and put them in her pocket. They walked out to the parking lot and got into Reid's truck. Both of them kind of on the lookout for someone watching them. They drove in silence for awhile. Reid parked the car just before the bridge and they both got out and walked down the hill to the shore of the river. Reid started to skip rocks and Kaitlin stood watching him. He seemed a little tense.
"Are you scared?" Kaitlin finally asked him.
"What?" Reid asked her.
"Are you scared?"
"Of what?" Reid asked pretending to be tough, even though he was scared to death of what could happen to Kaitlin.
"Of everything. The baby, ascending, the guy after me," Kaitlin named things. Reid just shrugged his shoulder.
"Should I be?" Reid told her and turned to look at her. Kaitlin was just staring at him. "What?"
"Nothing," Kaitlin told him and turned away to look down the river.
"What do you want me to say Kaitlin? That I'm scare to death! Of everything! I'm not ready to be a father, but I will be in about eight months! Caleb and everyone won't stop nagging me about ascending, but I won't become addicted like your father! And whoever is leaving you all these messages is starting to scare me to death because I don't want anything to happen to you!" Reid started to raise his voice.
"So say it! What's the problem with admitting your scared?" Kaitlin retorted.
"Because I want to be strong for you! Not some guy that is a scared little shit!" Reid let out. Kaitlin went over to him and held his hands.
"I'd never think of you that way," Kaitlin started and Reid turned his head to look somewhere else. "Look at me," she told him and Reid looked at her. "You are strong. Whether for me or not. You are willing to defend me and be there for me. And it's ok to be scared. You'd be an idiot if you weren't," Kaitlin told him.
"I just don't want to let you down and I feel like I have so much," Reid told her.
"You haven't, you've been the greatest boyfriend a girl could ever ask for," Kaitlin told him. "I don't know, if I've said this enough, but I love you. And I hope you know that."
"I do," Reid told her and kissed her. "I love you too. That's why I don't want anything to happen to you, or our son," Reid told her with a smile.
"And what if it's a girl?" Kaitlin asked him.
"Either would be good. But if it's a girl she's not dating until she's 30!" Reid laughed.
"Ok," Kaitlin laughed and agreed. Reid hugged her and Kaitlin looked past him and saw something. "Reid."
"Yeah?"
"Look," Kaitlin told him and made him look back behind him. There was a person standing on a ledge looking down at them. They couldn't make out the face, but could tell he was watching them. Reid's eyes turned black. "What are you doing?" Kaitlin asked him.
"I'm gonna get rid of this guy," Reid told her. "Get in the truck and lock the door," Reid told her and started to turn to leave.
"Reid you don't know if that's the guy," Kaitlin told him. That was true, sure the guy was watching them, but maybe he was hunting or just walking around, on a ledge.
"Please just get in the truck," Reid told her and gave her a little push towards the truck. Kaitlin shook her head ok and headed towards the truck. Reid turned to find a way to the top of the ledge. After finding his way, he started looking but didn't see anyone. There weren't footprints, no place for someone to hide. Reid looked all around, but didn't see anything. He looked over the ledge to look down. There wasn't anybody down there, so he backed away from the ledge. He didn't see anyone so he made his eyes go back to normal and started to walk back towards the truck. When he got there, saw Kaitlin sitting there looking around worried. Reid went around to the driver's side and knocked on the window for her to unlock the door.
"Are you ok?" Kaitlin asked him when he got in.
"Yeah, but there was no one up there," Reid told her. "He comes and goes and it's starting to annoy the hell out of me!" Reid told her getting angry. Kaitlin took his hand in hers. Reid kissed her hand. "Let's go back, this is starting to get out of control." Reid started the truck and they were off. Nothing weird happened for the ride home. When they got back to Spenser, it was around 4:30 and most of the students were outside walking around and hanging out.
"Should we call Caleb and get him to meet us?" Kaitlin asked Reid when they parked. Reid didn't answer her. "Reid?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, ask him to meet us at your dorm, but not if Lauren's there," Reid said as he sat there thinking. Kaitlin pulled out her cell phone.
"Hello?" Caleb answered.
"Hey, where are you?" Kaitlin asked him.
"Right now with Pogue and Tyler wondering where you and Reid went off to," Caleb answered. "We're in their dorm."
"Where's Lauren?" Kaitlin asked.
"In your dorm."
"Fine, Reid and I will meet you guys at their dorm," Kaitlin told him and hung up.
"Let's go," Reid told her and they got out of the truck. Reid took Kaitlin's hand and they walked together to the steps and inside the dorm building. They went all the way up to Reid and Tyler's dorm and found all three of the boys in there.
"Where did you two go?" Pogue asked them.
"We went for a drive," Reid answered and looked over at Kaitlin.
"Did something happen?" Caleb asked.
"He left a message on the mirror in the girls' bathroom and then I think he followed us out to the bridge and was watching us," Reid told them.
"What do you mean you think?" Tyler asked.
"We're not sure it was him, but one second you see him, next he was gone," Kaitlin explained.
"What did he write on the mirror? How'd he even get in your dorm?" Caleb asked.
"It's not over till you're in your grave," Kaitlin told him a little quiet. "I went down the hall to my friend's dorm to ask her a question, and I didn't lock the door."
"From now on, don't go anywhere by yourself! At all Kaitlin!" Caleb told her sturnly.
"But Caleb…" Kaitlin started.
"Nowhere!" Caleb raised his voice.
"He has a point. I don't want you going anywhere without one of us," Reid told her. Kaitlin was outnumbered.
"Look, we each see you between classes, we'll walk you to class. At the end of the day wait for someone to go with you to your dorm or just sit on the bleachers in the pool area and wait for us to get out of practice," Pogue told her.
"Does Lauren know about this?" Tyler asked her.
"No. All she knows is that I 'supposedly' saw someone standing in the road when I got into the accident. Reid wiped off the mirror earlier," Kaitlin answered.
"I don't want her knowing about any of this," Tyler told them. "Not until I'm ready to tell her." Everyone shook their heads in understanding.
"Same thing goes for Kate," Pogue told them.
"And Sarah," Caleb added. "Nobody outside of us is to know!"
"What about Mom and Dad?" Kaitlin dared to ask. Everyone looked at her.
"No. Mom will just drink more than she already does and Dad can't do anything so there's no point in telling him," Caleb responded. Kaitlin shook her head ok.
"We're just trying to help protect you," Pogue reminded her.
"I know. I just don't understand why all of this is happening," Kaitlin told them.
"None of us do, but now we have to be extra careful about using, we don't want anyone finding out and we don't want anything to happen," Caleb said and looked at Reid.
"I won't, I promise," Reid assured Caleb.
"Nobody, nobody at all, can find out!" Caleb told them. It was understood that the Covenant's secret was to be kept within the group and about Kaitlin's stalker. If anything got out, it could cause a huge mess.