AN: Merry Christmas Eve my FanFic Friends! I hope you enjoy your holidays and this chapter. Please Review.

Pogue had sat outside that condo for more nights than could be rationalized as healthy. A couple times he had seen her coming and going, but for how long he had spent looking for her, he didn't feel ready to approach her. Her friend had said his girl had a lot going on and he didn't want to be more on her mind.

So he kept his distance. But keeping his distance also meant he couldn't see much of her. He knew that her black hair, unlike her red-headed roommate, was natural, or at least not just for work. He also knew that when she wasn't bartending she dressed warmly, not revealing in the least. He wondered if she was compensating for work.

Work that she didn't seem to be at anymore. Not once since he found her had she gone to work with her friend. She got home around ten and stayed. He wondered if his pursuit of her had caused her to quit. The pressure that might put on someone was hardly something he wanted to cause. So after a long night of sitting outside her condo, Pogue decided he had to let his unhealthy interest in her go. Sure she was a mystery, but not all mysteries were meant to be solved. At least that's what he told himself every day for the next two months.

Instead he channeled his restlessness into watching Caleb. Once Pogue had stopped sneaking out every night he had realized that Caleb was. Having honed his stalking skills, Pogue had followed Caleb on multiple occasions. But Caleb didn't always go to the same place and he didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary for a college student. Unless you counted using.

It only took two nights before Pogue called Tyler.

"What do you mean he's using?" Tyler asked.

"Like for anything. I've said stuff to him when he's done little things in front of me but he just brushes me off. But now he's using all the time, for every little thing."

"You mean this has been going on and you didn't tell us?" Tyler sounded offended and Pogue felt bad for not calling as soon as he suspected something.

"I didn't know it was this bad and I didn't want to offend him by making a big deal out of something that wasn't."

Tyler sighed and Pogue could picture the youngest of their group running his fingers through his hair. Pogue had done the same thing when thinking about the trouble Caleb was getting himself into. "This is a really bad time for this to come up. I mean, we would drop everything and be there for Caleb. I just wish he could self-destruct after semester finals."

Pogue tried not to be pissed off at Tyler caring more about finals than Caleb, because he knew that wasn't the case, Tyler had always been dedicated to his schoolwork. Tyler was the only one whose father was still alive and despite the gift that was, it also meant that Tyler had a father at home, riding him about his grades and his chances of early entry into medical school. Not to mention that if Pogue had said something when he first suspected it they could have dealt with it by now.

"Maybe we should find a way to all feel him out at Thanksgiving. We'll all be home then."

It was true, and it wasn't that far away. "Fine. I guess that's our best option right now. I'll try to keep an eye on him until then."

So when Pogue wasn't attending his own classes he was trying to subtly follow Caleb. After about a week, Pogue was getting the feeling that Caleb knew. He was eluding Pogue more frequently. One day Pogue was trying to trail Caleb through a busy hallway when he rounded a corner into a classroom and Caleb was nowhere to be seen. He was gone. Poof, like smoke.

Pogue looked back out into the hall but before he could leave the room he heard his name.

"Ah, Mr. Parry."

Pogue pulled his head back in the door and looked over to the front desk where the only two other people in the room were standing. One was Professor Lewis, who taught Pogue's Criminal Justice class. The other seemed to be a young girl who was facing away from him. Reluctant to end his search for Caleb, Pogue slowly came into the room as his professor beckoned.

"Mr. Parry, I read over your essay and I enjoyed your somewhat rebellious viewpoints." Professor Lewis said. Despite teaching Criminal Justice, Professor Lewis seemed to enjoy that Pogue had an attitude about life that had him walking the fence-line when it came to the law. Pogue didn't know if that worked in his favor or not but he wasn't going to complain as long as he was getting good grades.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it sir." Pogue said, making it to the desk and looking down at the girl the Professor had been talking to. She looked familiar but Pogue couldn't put his finger on what it was about her.

Noticing his gaze, Professor Lewis laughed. "Forgive my bad manners. Mr. Parry, this is Miss Argall."

She slowly turned to look at Pogue and he was struck again by the feeling of knowing her from somewhere. But had he met her before, there was no way he wouldn't remember those eyes. They were a blue so light they bordered on being more gray and white than blue. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Parry." She said in a voice that he only half heard.

Snapping himself out of whatever trance her eyes had put him in, Pogue nodded. "Yeah, you too." He looked at his professor and back to the girl. "Are you enjoying criminal justice?"

She smiled and looked at Professor Lewis. His Professor laughed. "Criminal Justice is not the only class I teach, Mr. Parry. Miss Argall is one of the applicants for the honors degree in the Philosophy department. She's trying to do the impossible and condense over a decade of education into a few years."

She smiled at the professor. "Impossible is but a theory." She said, and this time her voice caught his attention.

"Yes well I will be the first to say that if anyone can pull it off, it will be you. You've already surpassed what most could do."

"Thank you, Professor Lewis. And thank you for your support. I'm much more confident walking into that meeting today after having spoken with you."

The professor smiled and bowed his head. "I would wish you luck but I doubt you need it."

"I'll take it anyway." She turned to Pogue and held out her hand. "See you around, Mr. Parry."

He looked down at her gloved hand and glanced over her outfit. She looked like a stuffy librarian in a full suit and dress-coat. It hid the natural beauty that he was certain was under there somewhere. You couldn't have eyes like that and not have a body to match.

Picking up her bag she left the room and Pogue still wasn't quite sure where he knew her from. But that voice…

"She's an interesting specimen, that one." Professor Lewis said as he gathered up his papers. At first Pogue thought Professor Lewis had read more in Pogue's glance than was there, at least that he thought was there, but the Professor continued. "I've never met anyone so determined to do everything in their power to succeed. When I first met her I wasn't sure if it was the challenge that drove her or blind ambition."

"And now?" Pogue asked.

The professor laughed. "Well, I'm still not sure why she's so determined, but she has a dedication and passion for it that makes me tired for her. She's accomplished more in the six months I've known her than some of the students I've had in my classes for four years."

Six months? "Classes only started three months ago, did you meet her before?"

"Well I'd spoken with her both via phone and email about two years ago but I met her in person back at the end of April. She wanted to meet me and discuss her coarse load."

"At the end of April? She took summer courses?"

The professor leaned on the desk and looked at Pogue seriously. "Miss Argall took her GED when she was fourteen. She completed and almost perfect S.A.T. score when she was fifteen and has been fighting to get accepted into Harvard ever since. They were granted the opportunity to complete pre-qualification classes and have been exceeding everyone's expectations ever since. This will be their first year attending classes in the school environment but even here they seem to be surpassing what's expected."

"They?"

"Miss Argall and her cousin, Miss Belmonte. They are both here this year, though Miss Belmonte is reaching for a Doctor in Education, instead of Philosophy."

So they were like geniuses. Pogue nodded and went to leave.

"Mr. Parry?" Pogue turned to face his Professor. "Next time you see Mr. Danvers, can you please let him know that I need to speak with him about his essay."

That didn't sound good at all. Still, he nodded at Professor Lewis before leaving.

The moment she had heard his name Branwen had felt like the walls were closing in on her. The last thing she needed before her meeting with the Honors Board was a run in the Pogue Parry. Her body hadn't forgotten him and the tingling feelings he'd caused. Branwen didn't know how he had caused them but they had haunted her every night since. She'd even gone out on a date to try and distract herself but that had just been a mess.

Thankfully she hadn't seen him anywhere but in her dreams since that first night at the club. The last place she had expected to see him was at school. She had looked into his schedule to make sure they wouldn't meet up. She had no idea what he had been doing, but the moment she knew he was near her body had reacted.

Professor Lewis hadn't noticed, at least. And by the time either of them looked at her she had composed herself. When she'd had to face him her heart had raced again, but other than a slight narrowing of his eyes, Pogue gave no impression that he remembered her. Thank god for small miracles. And that she had been wearing gloves to protect her fingers from the cold weather. She had realized that the tingling sensation that night had only happened where their skin touched. She didn't know about Pogue, but that only happened to her when she touched him, so if it was the same for both of them, it would have been a dead giveaway.

When she finally managed to escape the room, she had been relieved that not only had he not caught on to who she was, but the stress of hiding her identity had made her upcoming meeting with the Honor Board feel like a walk in the park. When she came out of said meeting she actually felt relaxed. She had pictured Pogue Parry relieving her stress before, but never like that.

Not that he would ever know that.

She knew now more than ever that she had to stay away from Pogue Parry. Not just because she was within reach of her Doctor in Philosophy but she could sense the coven. That meant someone was watching them. She didn't know how closely but she knew that the Sons were off limits. Even conversing with them could get her in more trouble than she could risk.

Shaking her head, she vowed to push away all thoughts of Pogue Parry, at least the ones she could control while conscious. She needed to focus on her future. Her thesis was almost complete. By the end of the semester she would be doing her oral exam. It would take her maybe two years to finish her Doctorate and then she could get away from the coven. She and Aria could disappear. If they hadn't been so determined to finish what they had started to long ago with their educations they would have disappeared already. Poof, like smoke. No sign of them but a shadow on a breeze.

When Branwen got home she rushed up to Aria's bedroom. It was Aria's night off so Branwen knew Aria would be in her room studying. As Branwen burst in, Aria held up and finger as she typed on her computer. Branwen smiled and walked around the room while Aria finished her thought process.

Aria had done her room in reds, whites, blacks and silvers. Branwen liked to tease Aria, saying it looked like someone had fought with a demon. Probably one requiring silver bullets. Aria just rolled her eyes at Branwen's imagery.

"Okay, so how'd it go?" Aria asked, sitting up on her four-poster bed.

Branwen smiled. "Really well. I don't think it'll be long now."

"That's awesome. With any luck we'll be out of here in a couple years."

Branwen nodded, not surprised Aria jumped to their departure as well. They had both been smothered in the life of the coven, with its laws and idiosyncrasies. The coven liked to believe it was preserving its freedom by constantly enforcing rules that had nothing to do with what the coven was really supposed to represent and everything to do with the agenda of the head council. Branwen didn't understand why more people didn't walk away.

When Branwen and Aria had announced they were leaving there had almost been a riot. Only six people had left the coven before. Only one wasn't confirmed dead. You didn't leave your coven; they were your protection. At least until they became the thing you felt threatened by.

When it came down to it, the others hadn't been so surprised. After all, Aria's aunt had left the coven. She'd almost made it ten years before the coven got word of her death. She had been killed in a fire. It had caused a panic in the coven. Fire always had them running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It was probably one of the reasons the Sons of Ipswich were so villainized. Because of their ancestors witches had burned. Their arrogance in the belief that they could use their powers to punish those who came after them had been not only their downfall, but the persecution of many who hadn't made the choice for themselves.

When it came to Branwen leaving, there had been a lot of gossiping. After all, both Branwen's grandmother and her father had left the coven. Her father had left but came back a year later saying that someone was after the Sons of Ipswich and they needed to help. The suggestion of helping their enemy had led to his incarceration. His escape, disobedience and attempt to use the coven's resources to carry out his 'blasphemous' plan to assist the Sons had led to his death.

Branwen had managed to get a few moments with her father before his sentence was carried out. She'd wanted to blame the Sons for his situation, but he'd pleaded with her to understand that the Sons weren't responsible for his suffering but rather the coven was responsible for theirs. It hadn't taken long after her father's death to decide to leave the coven, and when she said she was going to leave, Aria said she was going too. They had told Aria's parents first. Aria's father, not being magical, had never had the same kind of loyalty to the coven that the witches did and was proud of his daughter for wanting to follow her own path. Aria's mother, though skeptical, understood and agreed that the coven was becoming single minded. They had supported Aria and Branwen, who had always been like a daughter to them.

Branwen's mother was a different story, after all, she was second in charge on the head council. That fact had made the sentencing of her father so much worse. Branwen had never been close with her mother, so when her mother hadn't said anything beyond the speech about the coven being the only thing that should matter to a witch, Branwen hadn't been surprised. After all, the woman had sentenced the father of her child and the supposed love of her life to death because he wanted to help someone.

Branwen was determined to get out. And when she got out, she would look for her grandmother; the only unaccounted for witch to leave the coven.

That night Branwen tossed and turned in her sleep, and not in the pleasant way. There were no dreams of Pogue, no hot fantasies about running her hands all over his body. No passionate love-making. There was heat of another kind. Branwen dreamed that she had been sentenced to death, like her father had, for leaving the coven. When she died, she went to hell. In her dream, hell was a party filled with crowds of drunk co-eds mingling with notorious villains from history. She searched for a way out but the walls were crawling with flames and every time she tried to get past them she would get burnt and everyone would laugh at her.

Slowly Branwen came to realized the fiery hell party was in her and Aria's condo. She ran up the stairs to Aria's room, looking for her best friend and praying she wasn't there. Before Branwen made it to the bedroom door she was grabbed from behind. She kicked and swung her arms but the person holding her let her fight until she calmed down. When they turned her around Branwen saw that it was Pogue.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. "You shouldn't be in hell. It's not your fault your ancestors were pretentious ass-hats." Despite the humor in her words, her voice revealed her panic.

"Branwen, listen to me!" he shouted at her. "You need to get out."

"What the hell to do you think I've been trying to do?" She asked him suddenly annoyed that he was here but no help at all.

He shook his head. "No, babe, you need to wake up. You have to get out of here. The house is on fire. You need to wake up and you need to get out."

She went to argue with him about how hell would always be on fire and she couldn't find a way out but as soon as she went to speak he slapped her and she sat up in bed.

She gasped for breath and then coughed as smoke filled her lungs. She squinted through the dark room as she made her way to the light switch. She flicked it but it didn't work. Feeling the door with the back of her hand and feeling warmth but not burning, she reached around on her vanity chair for her robe and put it over her face.

When she opened her door more smoke flooded past her and she could see the distinct orange glow of fire lighting the stairwell. She made her way to the top of the stairs and could see flames licking the walls in the dining room below. Trying not to panic, Branwen rushed to Aria's door and felt it before thanking god it was cool and making her way inside.

Aria's light didn't work either so Branwen closed her eyes and navigated from memory, thanking whatever thought process had made Aria pick up the things that usually littered her floor. When she made it to the bed, Branwen patted her hands around until she found Aria's sleeping form face down in the middle of the bed. It would have alarmed her if Aria hadn't slept like that since they were kids. Shaking her friend while trying to keep the robe over her face, Branwen called out Aria's name. It seemed like ages before Aria groaned and rolled over.

"What the hell, Branwen?"

Hell was exactly what it was. Aria went to sigh but coughed and Branwen put part of her robe over Aria's face. "The condo's on fire. It's already to the bottom of the stairs. We need to get out." Pogue's words and the concern on his face flashed through Branwen's mind but she pushed it away and pulled Aria out of bed.

Aria got up as sleepiness faded and understanding dawned. "Where the hell are the fire alarms?" She asked.

"Can you please stop using the H-word. None of the lights are working. I don't know what happened to the fire alarms but I'd hazard a guess the batteries didn't all fail at once by coincidence."

Aria stopped on their way to the bedroom door. If they could get to Branwen's bathroom they could climb out the window to the roof of the second floor balcony and onto the front porch from there.

"Are you suggesting someone set this fire?" Aria asked.

Branwen looked at her. "You think that this fire started itself?"

"No but all sorts of things start fires. Candles, stoves, bad wiring…"

"We don't keep candles in the house, we ordered pizza last night for dinner and the power's out."

"But,"

"Aria, now is really not the time." Branwen didn't mean to snap at Aria but she couldn't make time for the shock to wear off.

Together they made their way through Branwen's bedroom and over to her bathroom. Climbing over the tub, they managed to get the window opened and lowered themselves onto the roof. They were standing outside the railing of the second floor balcony when the buildup from the fire became too much for the windows, shattering them and blowing burning hot air and glass out at the girls. It was by pure luck that they managed to grab each others' hand. There was a faint glow to their eyes before they were suddenly transported from their fall towards the pavement to the soft grass across the street.

Taking deep breaths of clean air, they watched their condo go up in smoke. Poof.