The Shooting Star That Destoryed Us All Chapter 5, a covenant fanfic

Title: The Shooting Star That Destroyed Us All
Author: ramen.scurge
Rated: T for Teens
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Covenant. All original characters are mine.

I got away with murder last night in the parking lot;
In cold blood I have murdered parts of us that we forgot.

Tyler thanked the counter's only barista as she handed him his venti caramel machiato before he found his way to the back of the town's only Starbucks, his math textbook tucked neatly under his arm. He dropped down into the soft couch and spread his book open on the table, retrieving the ballpoint pen from behind his ear.

Though he promised himself he would focus on his math homework and nothing else, Adelaide was still fresh in his head. She hadn't spoken to him in three days and he was starting to get a little anxious. He supposed he was strange for putting up with her and her bad attitude but he was a glutton for any punishment she dished out at him. At least when she was biting his head off and kicking him when he was down she was acknowledging the fact that he was alive.

And that was enough for him.

Not really, but he would take what he could get. Reid seemed to think he had a crush on Adelaide and though he would deny it until the end of time, maybe it was true. Why was he following her around like a little lost puppy, avoiding his friends to be in the company of someone that didn't want him around, laying in bed all night wondering what she was doing that very moment? He supposed he was worried about her; her anti-social nature was a bit peculiar but the excuse of worry can only be used so much before it turns into something more.

Obsession.

He pressed his pen to the notebook book making his page and scribbled down the date at the top of the page as he took a small sip from the steaming cardboard cup in his hand. He sighed. If he wanted to get any of his math homework done and make it home by his curfew, he would have to start now. Reid hated it when he came in unannounced, especially when he had a "friend" over.

He placed his coffee beside his textbook and hunched over, about to tackle the first problem, when a dark shadow loomed over him. He looked up and nearly choked on his own spit when he came face to face with Adelaide, her expression a mixture of irritation and . . . regret? He couldn't be sure.

"A-Adelaide," he stammered as he straightened out.

She was silent for a moment, her lips tightly together before she let out a quiet, "Hello."

She looked almost awkward standing there with one of her hands shoved into the pockets of a tight black zip up hoody while the other clutched a tall chai tea frappacino. Her hair had been straightened and was swept into a neat side ponytail that rested gently on her slim shoulder. Her fang gauges had been replaced with black disks and her pale blue eyes that were normally covered in layers of eyeliner were bare but beautiful. Tyler swallowed.

"What . . . what are you doing here?" he asked tentatively, waiting for her to snap at him with some curse filled remark about how stupid he was for asking her for something like that . . . but it didn't come.

He saw the corners of her lips twitch and he watched her visibly tense, but the words that came out of her mouth were not her own. "I . . . I was walking back from the bookstore and came to get a drink. You happened to be sitting here so I though I'd stop by and say hello." He watched her swallow, fighting her with herself to keep in a character she never thought she would have to play. "Can I sit with you?"

Tyler couldn't help the smile that crawled onto his face no more than he could help shifting over and patting the empty cushion beside him. Was this her way of apologizing for all the wrong she'd ever done toward him? Was she taking the chance of being hurt for him? Though the gesture was more than appreciated the idea of her becoming something she wasn't to win his approval, to win anyone's approval, did no sit well with him.

But that would come later.

He watched with blurred fascination as she sipped at the cold drink in her hands, her eyes almost nervously darting around the small café. "So, um, what's up? I haven't really talked to you in a while, what's new?" he asked, trying to distract her before he became unnerved as well.

The dark haired girl tensed even more if possible. "Nothing, y-you?" she stammered.

"Nothing much," Tyler answered as he rested his hands in his lap. "I've been coming here everyday for the past couple of days to do homework," he jerked his head toward his math textbook. "If I knew your dad was such a slave driver I wouldn't have taken his class."

That earned a snort from Adelaide. "He's bit of an asshole, isn't he?" He watched as she continued to sip at her drink, her eyes finally training on the mound of whip cream slowly melting in her cup.

Tyler chuckled softly. The real Adelaide was trying to fight her way out. Good. "Sometimes," he agreed. "Is he like that at home too? I've always wondered that about teachers. I mean, are they as anal and prudish at home as they are at school?"

He watched her relax a little. "The old man never really stops being a teacher. If anything, he's more of a teacher at home than he is at school . . ." He could tell she wanted to say more but stopped herself. "How . . . are you finding your classes this year? Mine are horrible."

Tyler shifted on the sofa. She was leaving herself open, vulnerable to him. "Mine are horrible, too. But not for the same reason as you, I'm sure. I've always liked school, but this year, not so much." He looked over at her to find her cheeks slightly flushed. "You look nice by the way," he added. "The Spencer uniforms don't do you any justice."

"Keep your insults to yourself," he heard her mutter.

Tyler chuckled softly. "I'm serious!" He defended. "In that uniform you look lumpy and obtuse, like when you were assembled in the baby factory God got lazy and just used a bunch of scraps. But in these clothes, I'm the envy of every man in this room." He reached out an uneasy hand and ran his fingers through the end of her ponytail. "You're hair looks nice too. I think you should wear it like this to school tomorrow. I like the attention I get when I walk with you."

He felt her tense under his proximity and slowly drew his hand away, her features darkening slightly. She swallowed visibly, an almost determined expression marring her face as she looked over at him. "And I . . . I like it alone, but you make it impossible for me to retain my habits. What are you?"

Tyler sighed, his hands resting in his lap once again. "I'm human." He spoke softly now. "In being human, I'm obligated to feel desire once in a while. And right now my desire is to be friends with you."

"Why?" Adelaide demanded, her voice taking on a fierce tone. "What's so special about me?"

"You're the embodiment of everything I'm not." Maybe if he was honest with her, maybe if he told her how he really felt instead of something he rehearsed in front of the mirror she'd forget about her fear and just let go. "You're loud, rude, obnoxious and defiant and I like it. I like it when you push me around, I like it when you yell at me for the dumbest of things and though you don't do it often, I like it when you smile because it makes me feel like I'm doing something right."

Adelaide's turned away from him, back to her frappacino. Her face fell slightly. "All my whip cream's melted." She murmured with a frown that looked absolutely horrible on her face. Tyler smiled, just a little. He was getting somewhere.

His eyes travelled down to her cup and though he should have been focused on the swirling mess of white liquid in cup, his eyes became looked on the edge of the tattoo sleeve that peeked out from underneath her sweater. "I've been thinking about getting a tattoo and I'm really worried about it. Can I see yours?"

She looked over at him with confused eyes but placed her melted frappacino on the table and gently rolled up her sleeve a little more before pushing it in his face. Tyler carefully lowered her wrist, his eyes raking over the designs.

"It must have taken you a long time to get these done. They're really beautiful. Did you design them yourself?" Tyler asked almost tentatively.

Adelaide snorted. "The only thing artistic about me is my personality." She rolled her eyes. "Edward designed them." Tyler wanted to ask who Edward was, afraid it might be her boyfriend, but decided against it. They were doing so well. "I . . . you shouldn't get a tattoo until you're really sure about what you want. And it shouldn't be something you've seen on someone else. It should come from the heart and should be for all the right reasons." There was more to what she was saying, but he didn't push.

His fingers lightly danced over her inked skin. He felt her shiver before she pulled her arm away. "Fall's coming early this year." He commented lightly.

Adelaide rolled her sleeves down. "Or you were just getting fresh." Tyler chuckled, his skin burning. She cleared her throat. "Now that we're all buddy-buddy again I think I can come clean with my real motives for coming here."

Tyler's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Oh?"

Adelaide sighed, her hands balling into small fists of discomfort. "I wasn't really at the book store tonight. I, was driving all around Ipswich looking for you to ap . . . to apo . . ."

"Apologize?" She nodded. Tyler shook his head. "You don't have to. I understand."

Adelaide's face slacked and for the first time ever, a warm expression lit up her features. The frost bitten intensity of her eyes seemed to melt away to reveal something a lot more profound. He couldn't decipher it, and new it would haunt him for many sleepless nights to come. Her cheeks were dusted a rosy pink and her ruby lips were warm and inviting. Quickly, Tyler committed it to memory.

"Good," she scowled immediately, collecting herself. "Because I wasn't going to anyway. The old man threatened to take my x-box away if I didn't but since you said it was alright, I'm sparing myself the humiliation."

"Your father made you come and apologize to me?" he asked, a little crestfallen at the fact that she hadn't come to see him of her own free will.

"Yes, because for some God awful reason, he likes you." Adelaide huffed.

"And you don't?"

"Of course I don't. You're clumsy, wimpy and too sympathetic. I bet if I didn't step in and put that Abbott basturd in his place you would have just taken that beating. I don't like you very much as a person, but if you're willing to work on your self esteem, I'm willing to give this friend ship thing a try." She seemed sincere for the first time since they met and couldn't help the swelling feeling that erupted in his chest at her words.

"You're weird." He uttered.

Adelaide rolled her eyes and shifted closer to him before leaning toward the table, her fingers gently whispering over his textbook pages. "And you have math homework to do, so let's get your nerd on."

"Oi."

Tyler stood in his doorway, his limply hanging open as Adelaide pushed past him into his room. He turned, surprise and confusion etched into his features as she dropped her tote bag onto the floor before jumping into his unmade bed and making herself comfortable. He should have asked her what she was doing here, he should have asked her how she knew where he lived but she was making at effort at making their friendship work.

He shut the door.

A soft humming sound emitted from somewhere within her throat as he padded toward the mound of blankets and gathered the dirty articles of clothing that scattered the floor before he made his way to the bathroom and tossed them into hamper and resumed his morning rituals.

"I hope you finished your math homework from yesterday," she called to him from his bed, her inquiry muffled by his pillows. "The old man said he's doing a surprise homework check today, something about need more summative marks for midterm or something. I don't understand half the shit that comes out of his mouth."

Tyler listened to her babble on about how much she hated her father as he ran his gelled hands through his hair in a vain attempt o style it. Her tone had changed considerably since the first time she'd ever spoken to him; it was still gruff and the intensity of her smoker's voice had grown as well, but she was choosing her words more carefully. She hadn't threatened or cursed at him yet, something he was definitely thankful for.

He supposed he was a little strange, chasing after someone who didn't want to be his friend but deep down he knew there was a reason for it even though he didn't quite know what it was yet.

"What are you doing?"

Tyler's head snapped around, his hands still tangled in his hair when he came face to face with Adelaide, a slightly annoyed expression plastered to her pale face. "What do you mean?"

"Your hair," she said, motioning to his head. He turned and looked in his mirror, almost gasping at the sight that greeted him. He looked like he had just run through a tornado. He groaned and was about to tackle his hair once again when he felt a different pair of hands over his scalp. Looking into the mirror, he watched with curious eyes as Adelaide worked her fingers through his thick hair, her front pressing firmly and very suggestively against his back. "You shouldn't use so much gel, you'll dry your hair out. And try to work with your hair instead of against it, it'll help in styling it."

Tyler bit down on his tongue, afraid of what would come out of his mouth if he opened it so he opted for just nodding, his face slowly taking on the colour of a ripe tomato. In a matter of minutes, his hair was style half decently in the form of the ever-popular faux hawk.

"There you go," Adelaide said as she rubbed her hands on her thighs, eliminating the excess gel. Tyler watched as her eyes narrowed in confusion as before he knew it, her lips were pressed to the corner of his mouth. He stood there, frozen to the spot as she sucked on the side of bottom lip, her teeth grazing against his skin before pulled away. "You're like a bleedin' baby, you know that?" she grunted as she wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand. "First you can't even style your own hair, next you have toothpaste all over your damn mouth, what's next? You need me to change your diaper?"

"You kissed me." Tyler said, unable to hold back his voice any longer.

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "What of it? You had toothpaste on your mouth and I like mint. It's no big deal. You're wash clothe deprived and Edward is rubbing off on me more than I'd like. Friends can kiss friends. Here, see," Tyler had no time to react as she grabbed her face between my warm palms and pressed her lips to his.

Though she had initiated it, Adelaide was the one that sighed into the kiss, not Tyler. Too surprised too do anything, her just stood there and allowed the smaller girl to take advantage of the fact that he now had him wrapped around her fingers. She moulded their lips together, and sucked on his lower lip as though it were hard candy before she gently slid her tongue between his parted lips. Gently, she massaged his tongue with hers for what seemed like an eternity and when he finally mustered up enough energy to respond, she pulled away, smirking.

Tyler's tongue darted out ran over his lips, Jack Daniels dancing on his taste buds. It figures. Something in his chest tightened, no doubt a reaction as to what had just happened. Had she taken advantage of him, or was it the other way around? "You're drunk." He lifted her hands off his face and gently placed them at her sides. "Adelaide, it isn't even 8 AM yet, are you insane?"

"Just a little," She grinned, cocking her head the side.

And something weird happened.

Hot tears started rolling down her cheeks and before he knew it, he was sitting beside the toilet, holding Adelaide's hair back as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl moaning about unicorns and sour dough.

What had he gotten himself into?

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