I didn't get to see Reid before he ascended on his birthday. Nervous worry ate away at my stomach lining as I waited for word that he was okay. We'd had another of our spectacular arguments the night before which had ended in a make-up make-out session in the back of Tyler's H2.

What sparked this latest disagreement, you might be wondering? I'll give you three guesses but you'll probably only need one. That's right: Chastity. I was really beginning to hate that girl.

Everywhere we went, she always seemed to be right there. Granted, she did gift all four of the guys with her own creepy, unblinking stare but it was whenever she looked at Caleb that a shiver danced down my spine. There was so much hate in her eyes that it was almost palpable. I didn't have time to ponder her strange behavior for long because she'd moved on to Reid by that time, wrapping him securely around her finger with her witty banter and sinful smiles.

Every petty, jealous bone in my body reacted with violent, territorial rage when she plopped her barely covered ass down next to him during lunch. Ironically, it was Caleb who put a restraining hand on my arm and suggested I check myself. I glanced down at his fingers where they were curled around my forearm and then back up at him. His eyes told me he felt it. Magic sizzled beneath my skin the way electricity hums along a power line.

"Okay," I said with a heavy sigh. "I'll behave."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'll talk to him."

Forgive me if I wasn't reassured. The idea of Caleb having a little "how to treat your girlfriend" chat with Reid didn't bode well for the object of the conversation: me. And I was right.

Reid stormed into my room without so much as a 'hello' later that evening. He was furious over his friend's interference and my alleged instigation of said interference. Defending myself had been pointless. Of course, my enthusiastic Chastity-bashing hadn't helped the situation either. I couldn't help it if I didn't like the way he looked at her or the way she'd draped herself all over him. She'd practically been in his lap for Danu's sake.

We were still fighting when we walked outside to join Tyler. The three of us had plans to catch a flick in the village, a pre-birthday celebration of sorts. Tyler didn't say a word. Instead, he handed his keys to Reid and shaking his head, went back inside.

The movie was eighty-sixed in favor of driving out to Marble Head where we resolved our fight the old fashioned way. Again, mind out of gutter. By 'old fashioned' I meant that Reid conceded that I was right and that he, by default and by gender, had been in the wrong. Then came the making-up. He was good a making-up, really good.

Later that night, he dropped me off at my dorm and kissed me goodnight. Naturally, we ended up making out again until someone yelled at us to get a room. Laughing, we pulled away from each other. Reid promised to call me the next day when it was over.

He was to ascend in the morning at nine thirty-three.

"Are you scared?" I asked as I toyed with the strings of his hoodie. I knew very little about the process of ascension itself. Caleb never spoke of his and I couldn't exactly blame him. No one liked to talk about that night, him most of all.

Reid smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "What's to be scared of?" Translation: he was scared shitless.

"Will it hurt?"

"Yeah," he answered honestly. "But it won't be anything like what Caleb went through. His was bad because his dad willed him his power. Since my old man isn't ready to do that it should be over pretty quick."

I wanted to be there with him but understood why I couldn't. It had been done this way for centuries among the Garwin's. Only the men of his family would be there to witness it.

After a few more minutes of kiss-laden reassurance that yes, he would be fine, Reid finally left. I hated to see him go but it was late and I was tired. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

I woke early. That much I'd expected. My dreams had been filled with all sorts of ascension-gone-bad possibilities. To add insult to injury, more than half of them had starred little Miss Way Too Friendly herself. It was little wonder then that I was far from polite (or even civil) when I bumped into her at breakfast.

Okay, so maybe I should have been the bigger person and just let it go when she rammed her shoulder into mine as she passed by. But honestly, would you?

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked heatedly.

Chastity pursed her lips and smirked. "I don't know what you mean," she said. "You really should watch where you're going, Erin. One of these days you just might get…hurt."

I couldn't believe she'd just said that. Was she really threatening me in front of everyone? I looked around then and realized we were alone in the cafeteria.

She mistook my silence for fear and began to circle me. "What's the matter, Erin? Scared? Tsk, tsk. Not so bad ass are we without them?"

"Fuck off, Chastity," I replied, refusing to rise to the bait. She was obviously looking for a fight but I wasn't about to oblige her - no matter how badly she might deserve it. Given my current emotional state, engaging in any sort of confrontation was a really bad idea.

"Now why would I do that when Reid is only too willing?" she taunted me, flipping her purple-streaked hair. "Especially since you're not giving it up."

Apparently she was out for blood, my blood and she wasn't above playing dirty to get it. Vicious, catty bitch! I suddenly felt that surge of energy climb up my back again and course through my veins. It took every ounce of control I possessed to trample it down. I closed my eyes and willed myself to calm down.

Chastity, it appeared, didn't know the first thing about reading people because once again, she got me wrong. "Gonna cry now, are we?"

"What do you want, Chastity?" I asked, dropping the animosity from my voice as I opened my eyes.

She stopped circling me and grinned. There was something familiar about the way she smiled at me, familiar and frightening. It was evil and there was a maniacal gleam in her eye when she said meaningfully, "It's not about what I want but what I need." With one final toss of her hair, she sashayed out of the cafeteria, leaving me behind, frozen.

I don't know how long I stood there after she'd gone. For several long moments I'd been unable to move. Then my cell phone rang, shaking me out of my stupor. I pulled it out of my bag and checked the caller ID. It was Reid.

"How'd it go?" I asked with forced cheer. "Everything all right?"

"Never better," he replied. "Are we still on for tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Costume party at Anderson Hall?"

"Costume? Wait, what?"

I must have sounded like an idiot because there was a touch of exasperation in his voice when he reminded me that a) it was Halloween and b) people generally wore costumes to parties on Halloween. I felt like an idiot too. I'd completely forgotten about the party. We'd decided to go as Jay and God from "Dogma" and because my mom is friends with Kevin Smith, she'd managed to score us exact replica costumes from the film. Every single detail was accurate too, from Jay's tee shirt right down to God's flowery flip flops.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm a bit distracted today, Reid," I apologized. "Are you picking me up or are we meeting there?"

"I'll pick you up at eight. See you then."

The rest of my day seemed to drag by. I couldn't stop thinking about the weird confrontation with Chastity and the nagging sense of familiarity when she'd smiled. It seriously creeped me out. I was saved from further contemplation by a loud and persistent knocking at my bedroom door.

I already knew who was on the other side.

Caleb.