AN: Please be advised: this story will eventually deal with some very mature/adult content, so fair warning in advance. Thank you.

~One month later~

The shrill blast of the whistle pierced the air, the sound echoing off the high-tiled walls of the pool hall.

"Good job, ladies," Coach Riley announced as the most recent group of swimmers exited the pool. "Alright, heat five. Remmington, Howell, Johnson, Parker, Andries: line up!"

From his place along the sidelines of the pool, Tyler Simms crossed his arms, watching as the next group of girls stepped up to the mounting blocks in their matching navy blue swimsuits. Even though the boys' swim team had been dismissed fifteen minutes ago, none of them had actually left the pool hall. At Spenser Academy, there was an unspoken rule amongst the members of the boys' and girls' varsity teams: as a sign of respect, every swimmer stays until practice has ended for both teams. After all, it wasn't only the boys who'd earned spots in state finals the past few years. The girls representing their school were also genuinely good swimmers, and they deserved the recognition they deserved from all their teammates.

"...it's more addictive than I ever could have imagined," Caleb Danvers had been talking at his side ever since the girls' practice had started. "You can feel it; the Power surging inside you, pulsing through your veins all the time, begging you to use. There's no way to stop it, and you can only ignore it for so long before you just…have to give in."

Tyler sighed audibly for the fifth time. As the youngest of the Sons of Ipswich, he seemed to be taking the brunt of Caleb's lectures lately. It wasn't that he was trying to ignore his friend, but ever since his Ascension in September, Caleb seemed hell-bent on making sure that the rest of them heard his cautionary tales over and over again. He'd always been like an elder brother to them—old man, Tyler mused silently—but that particular role seemed to have been magnified ten-fold since coming into his new powers.

His eyes darted around while he reluctantly listened. Somewhere off to his left, Reid was chatting up two of the girls from the team, that trademark cocky grin of his, visible even from afar, working its own kind of magic on them. Pogue was noticeably absent from practice yet again, no doubt ditching to spend time—very intimate time—with Kate. Something about surviving the spells Chase had cast on them had caused a greater sense of attachment between them, and whenever they needed each other, they didn't let anything get in their ways. Good thing Pogue was such a good swimmer; Riley had yet to give him any kind of punishment for blowing off another practice so close to their next meet.

He and Reid would Ascend before year's end; Tyler wouldn't turn eighteen until March, which meant Caleb had more time to reiterate his warnings to him. Tyler understood that he was simply trying to forewarn him before his own powers matured, but Jesus, he didn't need to hear about it every God damned day.

"You hearing me, Ty?"

"Yeah, Caleb," he answered evenly. "Every single time."

"Hey," he pressed, giving him a stern look, "I only tell you this for your own good."

"I know," Tyler kept his voice low, running a hand through his dark hair. "You're looking out for me. For all of us; I get it. But do you really have to do it here?" He held out a hand to indicate the pool area.

Caleb's brow furrowed as he looked at him. "I'm not trying to make things hard on you; you know that."

He huffed out a breath, leaning back against the wall behind him. "Yeah, I know."

Caleb released a slow breath, running a hand over the back of his neck. "It's just harder to deal with than I anticipated. And it's not just me it's affecting."

Tyler gave him a sympathetic look. He wasn't only referring to his brothers-in-witchcraft with that statement. It wasn't lost on any of them that he and Sarah had been on the outs as of late, and it was obvious that it was taking more of a toll on him than he wanted to admit. She was having a hard time dealing with the fact that he was already becoming addicted to his Power, and Caleb had to fight himself every day to keep the urges under control. Not just for him, but for Sarah's sake. Someone he was practically already in love with.

Tyler wouldn't lie; it sucked seeing him hurt like that. "I know, man," he said quietly, his eyes lowering slightly. "I know."

He could see Caleb give him a sideways glance from the corner of his eye. "You seem a lot quieter than usual. Anything I need to know about?"

"Alright, heat six!" Riley called. "Callahan, Murphy, Meyers, Nettles: line up!"

At that announcement from Riley, Tyler lifted his head, one of those names in particular catching his attention. His eyes instantly honed in on the swimmer stepping up to the block for lane three, and even with her swim cap and goggles on, he'd be able to pick Lily Callahan out of any crowd. It didn't escape his attention, though, that she didn't even bother to glance in his direction.

At his side, Caleb seemed to know where his attention had suddenly drifted. He sighed knowingly. "She still not talking to you?"

"Swimmer's take your marks...!" Riley's whistle blew, and Lily and the other three girls instantly dove into the water, emerging only seconds later to begin their breast-stroke.

Tyler shook his head. "No. Won't take any of my calls, either, and I think she's just deleting my texts whenever I send them." It bothered him more than he was willing to admit out loud. A junior at Spenser, Lily Callahan was intelligent, beautiful, and one of the most talented swimmers on the girls' team. It was no wonder he'd felt so inclined to ask her to the Fall Fest dance last month. Unfortunately, that little incident with Chase threatening their lives had led to him and Reid promising to look after Sarah that night...and, like an idiot, he'd neglected to call Lily and explain to her why he wouldn't be going to the dance with her after all. Justifiably, she felt she'd been stood up. There had just been so much danger going on between him and his friends that week that it had truly slipped his mind. However, that was hardly a reasonable excuse—especially for Lily—a fact that she'd made painfully clear to him.

"Do you want me to talk to her, man? Maybe it would help if I—"

But Tyler was already shaking his head. "Reid tried; she didn't want to hear any of it."

"It was a life or death situation, and you were doing me a huge favor. She needs to understand that."

Tyler looked at him. "If Sarah thought you'd stood her up like that, you think she'd be willing to talk to you afterwards?"

Caleb pursed his lips, the ensuing pause giving Tyler the answer he'd expected.

"Callahan, pick up the pace!" Riley bellowed, causing Tyler's head to snap around. "I will not have you half-assing it any longer!"

Tyler's brow furrowed. Damn it, not again...

In the pool, Lily was lagging far behind her other teammates, and anyone who was watching could see that she was definitely struggling.

"Come on, Lily," Tyler hissed through clenched teeth. Despite a promising start during today's warm-up, she was barely keeping up with the third-place holder. It was a shock to see this happening to her yet again. Lily had transferred to Spenser on a swimming scholarship, and had always been one of the strongest swimmers he'd ever known. Over the past month, though, something had been causing her performance in the pool to falter, and as a result, she was finishing poorly compared to the rest of her team.

"Let's go, Callahan! We have three weeks until Parkwood; don't expect me to let you compete if you can't keep up!"

He wished he could have decked Riley for that one. Everyone could see that she was giving it everything she had, and that alone was admirable. It wasn't so much her ability as a swimmer that had Tyler feeling uneasy, though; it was why this was occurring to her all of a sudden that had him walking right up to the edge of the pool, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

"Come on, Lily," he said, a little louder this time, "come on..."

His voice was drowned out by the clapping and cries of encouragement from many of her other teammates. Soon enough, Caleb came up right beside him, traces of his Power making his concern almost palpable as he watched on. Even Reid, who apparently became distracted from the girls he was talking to, came to stand next to his best friend. Of all people, he knew how much Lily meant to him, and Tyler quietly appreciated his gesture.

From where he stood, Tyler could see the distress marking her features as she struggled to keep pushing herself through water. Don't give up, he silently pleaded to her. You can do it.

It was the longest ten seconds of his life before Lily's hand finally touched the wall of the pool, and as soon as she lifted her head from the water, he could hear her gasping breaths as she clung to the pool's edge, clearly exhausted from the efforts of her swim. Riley knelt by her, asking questions Tyler couldn't discern from afar, the man's previous frustration appearing to have abated for the time being. Lily shook her head, and Riley offered his hand to help her out.

"Again?" Reid asked succinctly.

Tyler gave him a sideways glance, but could see by the look on his face that there was no malicious intent behind his inquiry. Shaking his head, he released a sigh, seeing Lily pull off her goggles before wrapping a towel around herself, then taking a seat on one of the benches. "I don't get it. She always starts out just fine, but somehow completely over-exerts herself as soon as she starts anything that resembles competition. It's not like her at all."

"This has been happening, what? Since sometime after Fall Fest, right?" Reid asked. Tyler nodded. "Think she could be intentionally sabotaging herself so she can get out of swimming?"

He looked at Reid. "She's here on a swimming scholarship; why would she do that?"

He half-shrugged. "As dumb as it would be, it could be a way to distance herself even more from you."

His jaw tightened, but he didn't object to Reid's hypothesis. As much as wanted to adamantly deny it, maybe he had a point. If she lost her scholarship, then that would mean Lily would have to leave Spenser. Would have to leave Ipswich and return home to Michigan. That would certainly put some distance between them, but maybe...maybe that was what she wanted...

"I don't think that's the case, Reid." They both looked at Caleb, who crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to observe Lily from across the pool, his brow deeply furrowed. "Something more might going on with her that we're just not seeing..."

When he trailed off, Tyler blinked, concern flickering in his chest. "What are you thinking, Caleb?"

He gave his head a shake. "Not what I'm thinking, but what I've been sensing at every practice we've had lately."

With his new Power, he finished the thought for himself. "And what exactly are you sensing?"

He sighed. "Nothing that I can't put my finger on yet, but I have a feeling her performances have not been intentional on her part."

"Think there's some foul play going on?" Reid offered, lifting an eyebrow.

Riley's whistle blew again, signaling the start of the heat for the next group of swimmers. Turning to his friends, Caleb said, "I think for now, we just need to keep a close eye on her whenever we can."

Tyler frowned. "A lot easier said than done, I'm afraid."

"I know," he clapped a hand on his shoulder, "but if she means anything to you, Baby Boy, you'll find a way."

He rolled his eyes at the nickname, but at the same time gave a fleeting half-smile. He'd always be the youngest of their coven; that was his curse, and he accepted it.

Glancing across the pool, he saw Lily leaning back against the tiled wall, watching her teammates forlornly as they practiced for their upcoming meet without her.

...if she means anything to you...

She does, his mind whispered in reply. She does.

"Want me to try talking to her again?" Reid offered.

"No, man," Tyler shook his head. No. If there was going to be any further talking with her, then he wanted to be the one to do it himself.

Lily stood under the steady spray of water, her hands firmly grasping the back of her neck. She'd long since washed away any traces of chlorine from her body, but couldn't bring herself to leave the shower just yet. Eyes closed, she felt the warmth of the water flowing smoothly over her skin, letting it wrap her in its warmth and soothing the muscles that were surprisingly sore, considering her short time in the pool today. Then again...the fact that the same thing had been happening so often the past few weeks...

Damn it, she cursed to herself. Once again, practice had been an utter disaster, and it only seemed to be getting worse each day. She'd tried appealing to Coach Riley to let her swim her stroke one more time, but he wouldn't hear it. He wasn't convinced that she was well enough to compete, and so she'd been benched for the remainder of practice. Again. God, she hated this; swimming had always been such a crucial part of her life, and to feel like she was failing at something she loved was frustrating her beyond belief. She couldn't understand why this was still happening to her. Doctors had given her a clean bill of health, as well as a structured diet to follow, but were otherwise baffled as to a root cause behind her ailment. So then why? Why was she becoming exhausted at the most inopportune moments? Why was it making her feel weak when she needed her energy the most?

Why was she feeling less and less like herself with each passing day?

With a sigh, she reached down to cut the spray of the shower nozzle, wiping the water out of her eyes before retrieving her towel from the nearby support-bar. Drying off and wrapping it around herself, Lily exited the showers, relieved to see that only a few of her teammates still remained, chatting amongst themselves while changing into their after-school clothes. Good; that's what she'd hoped for. As much as she appreciated her friends' concerns, she was hardly in the mood to answer the same barrage of questions all over again.

While she changed at her locker, her brows knit when she caught site of yet another bruise on her leg, this one a vibrant purple compared to the fading yellow of the other three. She sighed, lightly running a fingertip over the sore mark. After every practice, this was happening, and if one healed, another one seemed to crop up to take its place. This was no doubt due to the fatigue her body was experiencing, and with a shake of her head, she pulled her jeans up over her hips so she would stop looking at them.

"Burned yourself out long before your time, huh, Callahan?"

She spun around at the voice of Renee Meyers, one of the senior girls on her team. Her arms were crossed as she leaned against the locker next to hers, her green eyes narrowed at her. "Guess Riley's finally starting to see that you're not the golden child he thought you were."

Almost instantly, Lily gave a sigh of bored annoyance, and proceeded to button her blouse over her camisole. Ever since transferring to Spenser last year, Renee had been less than discreet about her displeasure at Lily making the varsity team as a sophomore. But more than that, she knew she was jealous of her because they both swam breast-stroke, and until recently, Lily had been the better swimmer of the two. "What do you want, Renee?"

She didn't have to look at her to know she was glaring at her. "The meet with Parkwood is in three weeks, and if we lose because of you, it'll cost us a chance at quarterfinals this year. You're never going to hear the end of it."

Great. Another empty threat. She slipped her silver bracelet back on her wrist. "Is that all?"

From the corner of her eye, she could see Renee uncross her arms, and if she had to guess, those slender hands of hers were clenched tightly into fists. It was hard to say where it suddenly came from, but the barest trace of amusement touched one corner of her mouth. "Trust me: it'll be no skin off my ass to see you get kicked out of Spenser if you blow your scholarship. Probably got it by screwing one of the school's sponsors, anyway."

Lily paused, her fingers tightening on the locker door. Shut up, she thought.

"And judging by the bruises we've seen on your legs, those little rumors about you screwing the boys at Weston must not be too far off."

Shut up...

"I bet you're doing it to get back at Tyler for blowing you off-" "

Slamming the door shut, Lily turned on her, her face burning with anger as she all but screamed, "Get out of my face, you stuck-up bitch!"

"Hey!" Another girl called out—Alyssa Nox, senior captain of the girl's swim team—her dark bob of hair appearing around their set of lockers. "What are you doing?" She said pointedly to Renee.

Renee, looking coolly at Alyssa, pushed her straw-colored hair over one shoulder. "Whatever's going on with her must be really making her really touchy about—"

"Save it, Renee," Alyssa cut her off sharply, coming to stand beside Lily. "I heard what you had to say as I was coming in, and I'm sure Coach Riley will have a few choice words with you when I tell him what happened."

Lily's nostrils flared. Oh boy; Coach Riley had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to bullying on his teams. He'd bench her for sure at this next meet.

It was Renee's turn to go red with restrained fury. "You wouldn't."

"Yeah, I would. And I will."

"Alyssa—!"

Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "I'm captain; it's my job to keep the team together. And after hearing how cruel you just were to your one of your own teammates, I'm sure we'll get along just fine without you at Parkwood."

Wow. Apparently, being a fellow senior hardly gave her the immunity she'd expected.

Renee scowled at her, then directed it at Lily one last time. "Don't expect Tyler Simms and his friends to come to your rescue when you need it most." Then her face twisted into a mocking smirk—as if she'd gotten her with a real zinger that time—and Renee stormed from the locker room, intentionally bumping Lily's shoulder on her way out.

Alyssa waited until she was gone before she turned back to Lily, and Lily had to blink at the unexpected pride in her eyes. "Look at you growing a whole new set of cojones," she grinned. A moment later, though, she frowned. "You okay?"

It took her a moment to realize she'd been holding her breath, and Lily let it out slowly through her lips, letting her shoulder sag against the lockers beside her. The confrontation had taken more out of her than she would have ever anticipated, and the image of Tyler's face lingered in her thoughts long after Renee had first mentioned his name to her. She hated that she'd brought him up to her like that. How dare she. Thinking of him caused a mixture of humiliation and hurt to flood her heart all over again, although she couldn't deny the mild thrill she still felt following her inspired outburst...

"Lily?"

She gave her head a shake, raising a hand. "I'm fine. I just..." She hesitated, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Don't listen to her," Alyssa said. "One: she has a big mouth, and two: you have a witness. I highly doubt she'll do anything to make herself look like an even bigger asshole."

At that, Lily finally managed a weak laugh.

Alyssa gave her shoulder a pat. "Finish up and go back to your dorm, Junior; you should get some rest. We'll do a few light laps at practice tomorrow, see if that helps at all, okay?"

Lily nodded. The fact that she didn't prod her with questions made her feel a bit more at ease. Just further proof of how good a person Alyssa was. "Thanks."

With one last reassuring smile, Alyssa turned and walked away, leaving Lily alone in the locker. In the ensuing quiet.

Alone at last.

Exhaling heavily, she retrieved her hairbrush from her gym bag, taking a seat on one of the aisle benches and started combing through her long, dark hair, still damp from the shower. In the quiet of the room, her mind automatically drifted back to what had just taken place only minutes ago. The way she'd spoken to Renee when she made that hideous insinuation. She'd heard plenty of whispered rumors from the others, many speculating on what was possibly effecting her ability to swim lately. Drugs; partying after curfew; dealing with some kind of eating disorder. All lies, of course, but…it didn't make hearing them any less insulting, any less painful to endure.

Especially when they started to speculate about whether she was having sex with boys from rival academies. She paused her brush mid-stroke, thinking of Tyler yet again. It made her heart ache to think about him: his smile, his dark hair, those impossibly gorgeous blue eyes that had her captivated from the very first day she'd run into him. But Christ, even if she'd hated him, she'd never be so cruel as to sleep with someone just to get revenge. Her mind didn't work that way, and it just wasn't in her nature.

Of course, becoming so enraged that she practically screamed in someone's face was also far from her nature. And yet, she'd done it. Her brow furrowed at the thought.

I've...never spoken to anyone like that, she whispered to herself.

Felt good, didn't it?

A gasp tore from her throat and she dropped her brush, her body going completely rigid as soon as the words had entered her thoughts. Then she heard someone's faint, dark laughter echoing through her mind.

Her eyes were wide, chest rising and falling a little heavier with every breath. That voice…It wasn't the first time she'd heard it whispering inside her head…but what really chilled her was the fact that the voice was clearly not her own. One she didn't know at all. Part of her was tempted to search the locker room to see if someone was playing a mean-spirited prank on her, but deep down, she knew she'd find no one.

Why...do I keep hearing that?

It scared her. Made her start to tremble uncontrollably, and she brought a shaking hand to her forehead. Taking a deep breath in through her nose, she let it out through her mouth. In, and out. In, and out. One, two.

Easy, she told herself, recognizing her own voice this time. At least that was a small comfort. Get a grip on yourself; you have to get it together if you going to through this. You're okay. You're going to be okay…

She only wished she could make herself believe that.

Shouldering her bag a few minutes later, Lily finally made her way out of the locker room, trying to distract herself by making a mental checklist of the assignments she needed to complete that night. Chem test first period; I put those flashcards on my bookshelf, she reminded herself. Should get those out and go over them. Need to read the next thirty pages of Wuthering Heights for tomorrow, too. Don't worry; you have time. Just make sure you remember to take a break so you can get dinner this time—

As she exited through the open doorway, she cried out in surprise when she bumped right into someone, whose strong hands gripped her arms to steady her. Looking up, her lips parted slightly on a gasp as she locked eyes with none other than Tyler Simms himself. She stared. For a moment, the world around her seemed to come to a stop, those blue eyes of his captivating her all over again. He'd already changed into his casual-wear, and Lily couldn't stop herself from scanning his appearance. That handsome face with those chiseled features; the thickness his eyebrows, one of his more prominent features; that green cargo jacket he was so fond of wearing; and she couldn't be sure, but she thought she detected a faint hint of Irish Spring emitting from his skin. It had been weeks since she'd spoken more than five words to him—or been in such close proximity to him—and being so close to him now suddenly had her heart pounding a little bit faster.

"Tyler," she said almost breathlessly, "w-what are you…"

"Waiting for you."

She stared at him, blinked slowly. The memory of the hurt he'd caused her was still there, still itching at the back of her mind…but at the same time, she couldn't deny that the grasp he had on her arms made her feel more at ease than she had in quite some time. "Why?"

"Because I want to talk to you," he said, his eyes never leaving hers. "I want to explain what happened at Fall Fest that night."

She blinked again. Yes, the feel of his hands on her was comforting, but the instant he mentioned the dance, a sudden wave of fatigue seemed to wash over her, and she shook her head with a sigh. "I don't…I can't talk about this right now," she began to pull from his grasp.

"Wait," his grip tightened on her, though not enough to cause her discomfort. "I really want a chance to talk to you about this. You need to hear it from me."

"You hurt me," she asserted, her voice quiet, yet firm.

His eyes saddened slightly, and he sighed, letting his hands slip away. "I know," he said, sighed, "and I'm sorry. But what you don't understand is that there was a reason why I couldn't be there that night. Will you just let me—"

"Tyler," she cut him off, bringing a hand to her rub at her forehead. With all that had occurred in the past two hours—on top of everything she was still trying to cope with physically and mentally—there was far too mach already weighing heavily on her mind, and she could feel herself starting to sway slightly on her feet. Tyler's brow furrowed in concern, and that only served to affirm that she couldn't deal with this right now. The last thing she wanted was to drag him into her problems, especially when she was still trying to get over the humiliation she'd felt at his hands. "I don't…I'm really not up for this right now, okay? I'm—I'm not feeling all that great. And I've got homework to do, so please, just..." She didn't bother finishing, just started to walk away.

"Lily—"

"I need to rest."

"Lily, please," he moved in front of her quickly, blocking her path and gripping her arms again.

His hands; they were so warm. Her breath shuddered on an exhale, and she kept her eyes cast downward so she wouldn't be drawn into his piercing gaze again.

"Lily," he repeated, softer this time. Almost pleading. "I'm worried about you. Please."

God, his voice. The way it seemed to rub against her ears like velvet. She missed talking to him in AP Lit class; that was for damn sure. Missed talking to him in general.

And yet...

He ditched you for his friends, remember? Don't forget that.

She huffed out a harsh breath. Clenching her teeth, she lifted her head to lock eyes with him again, trying to ignore the way the intensity in them seemed to bore straight into her. "I don't think I can talk to you yet."

"Lily, come on. I swear, if you just—"

"I have to go," she said more abruptly than she meant to, as she pulled out of his arms, but she didn't relent. "I need…need to go rest."

"Can I call you?"

"I need to rest…"

And with that, he made no further attempt to stop her as she walked away, feeling the warmth of his hands leaving her skin. Part of her was relieved, feeling too drained to continue this conversation with him...but at the same time, she couldn't ignore the way she yearned for his closeness again.

No, she told herself. No.

She didn't have to look back to know he was watching her until she walked out the heavy doors of the pool hall.