AN: Here's it is, the second one for the night, or early morning actually, where I am at least. I hope you guys are liking where this story is going. It began a while ago as just a whim I made up for a friend of mine. I'm glad others are enjoying it as much as we have been. As always I hope you will read and review.
Branwen opened the door for the other girls. They sat their things down in the front room as they laughed at the comment Aria had made about the guys seeming more high maintenance than the girls were, needing their guy time. Branwen knew why the guys had really been meeting but didn't want to say anything in front of Hayley. Besides, the guys were kind of high maintenance.
"Oh," Aria said, "let me run upstairs and grab that bracelet for you." She had told Hayley she could borrow a bracelet that would work perfectly for her Thanksgiving dress. Branwen knew the bracelet and had to agree.
No sooner had Aria disappeared up the stairs when Tyler and Pogue came in the door behind them. Tyler smiled at Branwen but turned to Hayley. "Are you ready to go? We should head back."
Branwen knew even Hayley picked up on the sudden mood. "But Aria's bringing me a bracelet for tomorrow night." Hayley looked at Branwen, obviously in distress about the sudden change from their happy outing to the boys' tense moods.
Branwen glanced at Pogue but he was leaning against the fireplace, looking into the crackling fire, not even paying attention. Turning back to Hayley she smiled. "I'll make sure you get it tomorrow. Aria and I will come over and help you do that thing with your hair we saw in that magazine."
Hayley smiled, a little strained and gave Branwen a hug before picking up her things and leaving with Tyler. When they were gone, Branwen slowly made her way over to Pogue. She touched his shoulder and could feel knots of tension. "You okay?" She asked.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before looking back at the fire. "Yeah. Fine. Just a little tired."
Branwen nodded like she understood but the only thing she really understood was that things with Caleb obviously hadn't gone well.
"I'm probably going to spend the night at my place, but I'll come back over for dinner tomorrow." He finally stepped away from the fire, rolling his shoulders but still appearing stiff. He headed for the door and she went after him.
"Pogue."
He turned at the door to look at her. "Yeah."
"We're friends, right?"
He smiled a little. "Yeah."
She nodded, weirdly she felt emotional for him. Clearly he was very upset. "So you know if you ever need to talk about anything, and I do mean anything, I'm here for you."
His smile slowly faded. "Yeah."
Three different 'yeahs' and not one of them sounded the same as another.
He opened the door to leave but she called his name. "Pogue." This time when he turned around, he just raised a brow at her. "I'm here when you want to not talk too." She had meant to say she was there if he just wanted to sit in silence. "I mean…"
Letting go of the door handle, he turned and walked back to her, not giving her a moment to think before he cradled her face in his hands and pulled her in for a kiss. It was firm but tender and she curled her fingers into the front of his jacket. She shouldn't be doing what she was doing but if there was a way to stop herself, she wasn't aware of it.
When he finally pulled away, he looked into her eyes. "I know what you meant, friend." He kissed her lips lightly again before letting her go. In a few steps he was out the door, Branwen standing transfixed.
"H'awkward." Branwen turned and looked up at the top of the stairs to see Aria standing there.
A little while later, when they were sitting on Branwen's bed, looking through what they had bought, Branwen was trying to explain what had happened.
"So explain to me why Hayley had to leave." Aria said. Aria had been kind enough to skip over the moment she had witnessed between Branwen and Pogue and Branwen was grateful. Because she didn't entirely understand what all had happened herself.
"When Tyler and Pogue got back, Tyler was in a hurry to leave."
"Apparently so was Pogue. I thought he was going to stay here."
Branwen sighed and set aside her purchases to look at her best friend. "The reason we went shopping with Hayley today was because the guys needed time alone to confront Caleb about using his powers."
Aria dropped the dress she had been holding and stared at Branwen. "Did Pogue admit that?"
"Of course not! He said they needed to talk to Caleb about something. I drew the obvious conclusion. Anyway, when they got back they were both visibly upset and so I told Hayley we would go over with the bracelet tomorrow and help her with that hairstyle she liked."
"Wow." Aria shook her head, almost looking more sad than shocked. "So Caleb really is addicted to his powers?"
"The guys seem to think so. Enough to risk their friendship trying to save him."
Aria definitely grew sad and Branwen realized her friend was just realizing the boy she liked was addicted to something that could kill him. Branwen reached over and took Aria's hand, squeezing it. They laid back on the bed in silence for the rest of the night.
The next morning the girls ate breakfast with Evelyn, none of them really saying anything. Branwen assumed Pogue had informed Evelyn of what had happened because she gave the girls tense smiles whenever she accidentally stumbled upon the topic of Caleb.
Branwen could only imagine how worried she was. As far as Branwen knew, Caleb hadn't come home. So not only was he in denial about his addiction, but he was also being a selfish prick and putting his mother through hell.
The girls offered to help Evelyn set up for dinner that night but she just told them that guests didn't serve dinner. So the girls gathered their things and went over to Tyler's. This time they did so in a shiny black sedan they found in the actual garage. Aria suggested they take one of the classics just to punish Caleb for being a jerk.
Branwen was quickly realizing that Aria was taking Caleb's problem as a personal let down. Because of that, Branwen tried to talk about Caleb as little as possible. So Branwen had simply told Aria she doubted Evelyn would appreciate them taking one of the classics.
When they got to Tyler's they were greeted by, what else, a butler. The butler led them to Tyler, who then took them upstairs to Hayley. But before Tyler left, Branwen watched his face as he received a text.
"Sorry, Ladies, that I can't stick around. Hayley, I'm going to have to slip out, I'll be back in time for dinner."
"You still here?" Hayley asked.
Tyler smiled at her but by the time the door closed Tyler's face had been serious again.
Branwen made sure to be pleasant and to enjoy her time with the girls, but she couldn't help wondering about the text Tyler had gotten. She knew it had to be from one of the boys. There wasn't anyone else he would go running out the door for, at least not in Ipswich.
She was tempted to call Pogue. She would know as soon as she heard his voice, if something was wrong. The problem being there could always be multiple things going wrong at a time. Sighing, Branwen stared at her phone. She also didn't want to call Pogue after everything that had happened the night before. She was going to have to act her ass off to pretend things were nothing out of the ordinary at dinner.
That kiss… it was emotional. And not just because she could feel how upset Pogue was at the time. It was also because Branwen had a whole rainbow of emotions about Pogue that she really didn't have time to overcome her fears about at that time. It was the cowards way out to sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn't happen, but for once in her life Branwen was going to be a coward.
"Earth to Branwen." Aria said, waving a hand in front of Branwen's face.
"What?" Branwen asked, realizing her preoccupation had been found out.
Hayley smiled. "I think something was daydreaming about a certain motorcycle-driving, broody young man."
Branwen rolled her eyes, smiling. "More like stressing over why he and Caleb aren't getting along." She lied, fishing. "Has Tyler said anything?"
Immediately Hayley's demeanor changed and she leaned towards Branwen, lowering her voice. "I was going to ask you about it. Last night Tyler was so stiff."
"Over-share." Aria said.
They all laughed before Hayley shook her head. "I meant tense. After we got back he seemed distracted and upset. Reid was supposed to come over last night but he didn't even call. Tyler said it was fine. But I don't know what is fine when you're not talking to your friends."
So much for getting insider information from Hayley. Clearly Tyler hadn't had the 'magic' talk with her. Or she just hid it really well.
When it got closer to dinner, Aria and Branwen packed up their things and said goodbye to Hayley, promising to keep in touch if they didn't see her before they left. Aria must have known Branwen had other things on her mind because she didn't disturb her thoughts on the way home. Branwen didn't mean to be so distracted, but now that she was in the middle of the Ipswich thing she had all sorts of theories running through her head.
Still, she shouldn't let all that ruin Evelyn's dinner. Branwen could put her thoughts aside for one night. So, parking the sedan and going into the house, Branwen pushed all her distractions out of her mind and smiled at her best friend.
"Let's get through this last night just as girls, okay?" She said, "No magic, no coven, no drama. We are just two girls staying at a friend's house for thanksgiving."
"That sounds great. I've always wanted to just be a girl." Aria said as they walked into the sitting room.
And then they looked up and saw Pogue and Caleb glaring at each other and realized that even as just girls, they still had a lot of drama.
"H'awkward." Aria whispered.
Caleb had spent the night driving around, trying to be any place that the others wouldn't be. He didn't want to go home and run into Pogue so he'd stayed out all day, too. Then he comes home to freshen up and maybe get a moment alone with Aria and the first thing he does is walk in the door and see Pogue standing there.
Luckily, not too long after, Aria and Branwen had walked in. They both looked amazing. Branwen was wearing a dark blue dress that went over one shoulder and fell to her mid-calf. Aria was wearing a green silk number that was strapless and went to her knees… showing off those gorgeous long legs.
He smiled at her as he approached and motioned to her outfit. "You look wonderful."
He'd expected a little smile or a knowing smirk, even a glittering glance, but she just looked at Branwen before looking past him. "Thanks."
Branwen reached out and took Aria's hand and they walked down the hall towards the dining room. Caleb watched them go wondering what was going on. Pogue went to follow them and Caleb caught up with him and grabbed his arm.
"What did you do?" Caleb demanded. "Did you tell them I'm some kind of monster or something?"
Pogue pulled his arm out of Caleb's grip before glaring at him. "I didn't tell them anything. I haven't been here since last night. If they think you're a monster they came to that conclusion on their own."
And with that Pogue continued down the hall. Grinding his teeth, Caleb followed from a distance. When they went to sit down, Evelyn sat at the head of the table and Caleb took his own seat on her left, but instead of Aria sitting next to him, Branwen took that seat. Pogue seemed to be confused by the action as well but he just pulled back Aria's chair for her.
Evelyn, ignoring the tension, made a toast about friends and family coming together at Thanksgiving and asked the girls to come back and visit whenever they wanted. And then Caleb sat through one of the quietest dinners of his life. Every so often his mother would strike up a topic but they would quickly die out. It went on like that for two full hours before Aria got up and dismissed herself, saying she had a headache and was going to go lie down.
Caleb waited a few minutes before dismissing himself as well. Branwen looked at him with an accusing glare but he continued upstairs, trying to catch up with Aria. He made it to her room just before she closed the door.
"Hey." Caleb said. "Are you okay?'
She nodded, still not meeting his eyes. "I'm fine. It's just a headache."
Caleb smiled at her, trying to charm her. "Why don't you let me give you a neck rub? Maybe it will help."
Aria started shaking her head before he even finished. "No thank you. I'm just going to lie down." She went to close the door but he put his hand out, stopping her.
And like that, she was staring up at him, but not with the look of desire he so badly wanted to see. "What's wrong?" Caleb asked. "Why won't you talk to me? Things were fine yesterday morning. You were quite happy stringing me along then."
Her eyes narrowed. "Stringing you along? It's called flirting. And that was before I knew you were the kind of guy who is a jerk to his friends and stays out all night, worrying his mother, without even a phone call to let her know you were okay. I really like your mom, Caleb, and that was a really douchy thing to do. I don't want to flirt with a guy like that."
She shoved him, making him stumble back a few steps before she closed the door in his face. Caleb punched air in frustration. She was right, dammit. He had been angry at the guys and he'd let that turn him into the kind of jerk that doesn't let his mother know he's okay.
Groaning, Caleb returned to the dining room but no one was there. He found them in the sitting room. When he walked in they all looked up and before he could say anything Pogue stood and looked at Evelyn. "I should be getting home. I'm heading back early in the morning and I have a few things to take care of."
Evelyn stood and hugged Pogue. "Thanks for coming, Pogue. Drive safely and call me when you get back tomorrow."
Pogue let her go and nodded. "I will."
"I'll walk you out." Branwen said, glancing at Caleb darkly as she walked out ahead of Pogue.
When the door shut behind them, Caleb looked at his mother. She narrowed her eyes at him and he felt horrible. "I'm sorry I didn't call last night. I was angry at the guys for attacking me and I wasn't thinking."
She raised a brow. "You were angry at the guys for attacking you? The way I heard it, most might think it was the other way around."
Caleb ground his teeth together. "Is that what he told you?" Caleb asked, pointing to the door Pogue had just gone out.
"No. Gorman was at the house yesterday doing some repairs. I've asked him to see what he can do to get the original settlement back into shape."
Caleb was surprised by that. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wanted you focusing on school. That's not the point. Gorman told me what happened and I was tempted to call him a liar. The person he spoke of was not the son I raised."
"They tricked me and teamed up on me!"
"OUT OF LOVE, CALEB!" She shouted back at him. At her raised voice the son in him cringed. The man in him bristled. "They love you and are worried about you. They don't want to lose you and the way you're using they're afraid they're going to. You're out of control."
"I've told you before, I'm fine." Evelyn just shook her head and went to walk past him. "Now you're not going to talk to me?"
She turned and looked up at him. "No. I'm not going to stand here and watch the person I love most in this world lie to me because he's in denial. I can't stand to look into your face and see what using has done to it." She sighed. "You know, Caleb, I would kick you out, or disown you if I thought it would make a difference. But I've seen using like this and I know that nothing I do is going to change it if you don't see it." She touched his face before letting her hand fall and shaking her head. "You're not a child anymore, Caleb, it's not my place to chastise you, but I won't watch you fade away. I love you and I will never stop worrying about you but I'm sorry to say I'm washing my hands of you. You make your own decisions and live your life the way you want to. I can't stay here anymore."
Shocked, Caleb never got a word out before his mother disappeared up the stairs.