Hello all! Okay, so this is Chapter 3. Sorry for not updating sooner, but I was busy reading Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Plus, I had to handwrite and then type this chapter since I hadn't thought of it yet...hope it's as good as the first two chapters. There's some serious drama in this one, and a tad more cussing. Sorry 'bout that!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Covenant and all that good stuff, and I don't own the little bit of dialogue I used from the movie. BUT, I do own the characters Astaire and Chad.

Nicky's was the embodiment of a lot of things Astaire wasn't a big fan of: alcohol, smoking, crowds, and "the wild party" vibe. But somehow, she loved the establishment and a boatload of things about it. Pulling up to Nicky's in her red Audi finally helped her that fuzzy feeling one gets when they're home.

As soon as she stepped out of the car, she could hear the music blasting from the place. She shook her head. It was a wonder no one had gone deaf.

Humming along with the music, she made her way to the door, pulling her black peacoat a little closer in an effort to keep out the cold. It was useless of course, for the cold and Ipswich went hand in hand. But being in L.A. had caused her to momentarily forget the chill feeling of the air in her hometown.

Once inside, she pulled of her coat to reveal a purple thermal shirt with holes for thumbs. The silver stars on the shirt matched with the silver necklaces she had on and her silver flats. Snug fitting jeans completed the image, but she found herself wishing she'd dressed up a little more. Scanning the room, she had forgotten how Nicky's was the "in" place to be and therefore the theme for females was "dress to impress." Who exactly? Well, Astaire figured anybody and everybody, with the other theme being "less is more." It was just the way these girls thought. She was never that way, preferring to keep her body covered, but she did like to make an impression.

" Mm…good to see that ass back in town."

Astaire didn't even grace the guy with a glance, though her eyes widened a tad. She had, however, been fighting off the urge to throw up from the second he came within two feet of her.

"Chad."

Chad was one of Aaron Abbot's friends. He figured that he was a tough guy, and God's gift to women besides. He had hit on Astaire constantly since the day they met. She was sick of it, and he took a perverse kind of pleasure out of her obvious disdain.

The boy smirked, looking her up and down hungrily. " You've got nice assets, babe. You've definitely grown up over the years." He raised is eyebrows suggestively. " And so have I. Wanna see?"

She held back a disgusted groan and settled for rolling her eyes and quickly walking away. Shuddering slightly, she made her way towards a tiny table in the corner. She sat her stuff down and took a seat, shutting her eyes to regain her composure. Chad truly freaked her out. He scared her, no matter how much she tried to act tough.

" Want some company?"

Astaire opened her eyes, smiling at the boy in front of her who was a stark contrast to Chad.

"Of course."

Tyler sat down across from her. She noted offhand that he'd gotten taller like the rest of them. He grinned.

"Checking me out Montgomery?" he asked with a playful grin.

She chuckled slightly.

"Nope. Just noticing how much you've grown. Guess they can't call you Baby Boy anymore."

"Oh, yes they can," he laughed. " And they do."

She laughed slightly, smiling. It was so easy to get back in sync with Tyler. It was almost as if she had never left.

"So where's Reid? As I recall he always bummed a ride off of you."

Tyler shrugged, acting nonchalant about it. He was trying not to think of how much of a jerk Reid was going to act around her.

"Found another mode of transportation I guess. Here he comes now."

Astaire turned and saw Reid heading their way. He was purposefully not looking at her, his eyes on Tyler. The only indication that he even noticed her presence was his clenched jaw.

"Hey Baby Boy, Aaron and them are by the pool tables. Feel like hittin' some suckers up for cash?"

Tyler glanced at Astaire questioningly. She didn't miss the worry in his eyes.

" Go ahead," she said waving off his concern. " I'll be fine."

" Nice to know he has to have your permission to do something fun," Reid sneered, leaning into her face. " You've turned into a real killjoy."

Astaire reached for the band flyer on the table and said calmly, " And you've turned into a real jackass. Time changes people I guess."

Reid scowled and ripped the flyer out of her hands. Then, smirking, he balled it up and threw it at her head.

" I heard Pogue's talking to you tonight. I just can't wait…I love a good train wreck."

He sauntered off to the pool tables, a devilish grin plastered on his face. Sure, he felt a little guilty, but so what? Guilt meant nothing in the long run, especially to a seasoned badass like himself. Why should he feel bad if she ended up crying later?

Hell, tears would add fuel to the fire.

When Pogue walked into Nicky's that night, he felt like he had, emotionally, been hit by a truck. He made the mistake of stopping first at Kate's to try to resolve things. It hadn't worked, and things got worse when he told her he was going to talk to Astaire. Pogue sighed.

Crash and burn. But at least I tried.

" Pogue!"

He turned to find Sarah waving him over to a table.

" Hey Sarah."

" Hi."

" Where's Caleb?"

Sarah didn't answer right away. She sipped her Sprite for a moment then looked at Pogue seriously.

" I asked him to come later. I need to talk to you."

Shrugging out of his jacket, Pogue raised his eyebrows.

"What about?"

"Kate."

Pogue ran a hand through his hair slowly.

" I just talked to her, Sarah."

Now it was Sarah's turn to raise her eyebrows.

" Really? Well, did you guys sort things out?"

" Not really."

" I thought so…"

Pogue stopped moving and stared at his friend's girlfriend.

"What do you know that I don't know?"

Sarah closed her eyes briefly, thinking back to the conversation she had with Kate when Chase was in the picture. Before they even thought he was evil...

" I hate him when he's like this," Kate huffed, getting ready for bed. "He's been jealous since the day we met. It drives me crazy."

Sarah looked up from her book.

" You don't hate Pogue," she gently reminded her friend. " You guys are perfect for each other."

Kate looked at Sarah while putting her ebony hair into a ponytail.

" Maybe not. Maybe it's time to check out something new." She climbed into bed, pulling up the covers in agitation.

" And maybe that's what Pogue is picking up on." Sarah responded.

Kate glanced at her, not arguing with her, yet not willing to take some blame off of Pogue.

Kate's phone rang, interrupting the silence. Sarah knew it was Pogue, and she knew Kate wasn't going to answer. Because really, Sarah had the sinking feeling that Pogue wouldn't be the main man in Kate's life for much longer.

" That was the first time she mentioned anything like that to me," Sarah said looking down, " But she's talked about it a few more times since then."

Pogue stayed quiet his eyes unfocused. Part of him was livid. If Kate felt that way, why were they still together? She shouldn't drag their relationship on when her heart wasn't one hundred percent in it.

Another part of Pogue was sad and more than a little confused. Kate was a big part of his life. It hurt that she seemingly wanted to cut herself out of it. What had he done wrong? He was always there for her.

The last part of his emotions, however, was battling for control. It freaked him out a little because within that part he felt relieved. Relieved that he now knew the actual problem, and relieved that he hadn't told Kate his secret. But mostly, he was relieved that because now, it felt over. All the ups and downs, the jealousy, and every single bit of arguing were over. Pogue was surprised to find that he had, miraculously, received a little closure from Sarah's revelation. Now, all he had to do was go have a conversation with Kate that was long overdue.

"Pogue? I'm sorry…I just thought you should know." Sarah scrambled for words, feeling guilty for telling Pogue such bad news. " I probably should have let her tell you, but---"

"Sarah."

She jerked her head up to look at Pogue. She was taken aback by the calmness in his voice. Pogue patted her hand, looking at her warmly before turning his head.

" It's better to know. I'm grateful that you told me. Shows that you're a real friend, not only to Kate, but also to me. This is better for both of us… a little painful, but better."

He stood, grabbing his jacket.

" See you around."

Sarah nodded, relieved that he had taken the information with such maturity. She had kind of expected him to yell. Not at her, per say, but in general. Now, all she could do was wait and see what would become of her two friends.

Tyler had offhandly watched the conversation between Pogue and Sarah, waiting for a chance to talk to his brother. He saw his chance when Pogue picked up his jacket and headed for the door.

"Pogue!"

Pogue turned to see Tyler weaving through the crowd towards him.

"What's up, Baby Boy?" he asked when the youngest made it over.

Tyler shoved his hands in his pockets.

" Astaire's here, you know. Caleb mentioned something earlier about you wanting to talk to her." Tyler narrowed his eyes in slight confusion. " He asked me to keep her here until you got in, but it seems like you're bolting."

Pogue winced, looking down at the floor. Shit. He had completely forgotten that he was going to talk things over with Astaire.

Lifting his head up, he searched her out. She was sitting at a table in the corner, eating some fries and looking around for someone. Him, probably. Pogue was debating what he should tell her when a tall guy in Abercrombie and a letterman jacket came up to her. The guy leaned into her, pinioning her between his arms.

" Oh, no," Tyler whispered, running a hand over his face. "That's Chad."

Pogue was moving through the crowd before Tyler could say anything else. His face was turning slightly red with anger as he made his way over to his ex-girlfriend.

Chad, you bastard…

"Get away from me, Chad!" Astaire said forcefully, scooting farther away from the guy in front of her. She felt he back hit the wall and she internally panicked.

Calm down. Assess the situation.

She tried to calm herself down as she thought of the facts.

Fact one: Chad was slightly drunk.

Fact two: Chad was horny.

Fact three: Chad was a teenage boy with raging hormones.

Oh, god. No.

This situation was painfully familiar to Astaire, and she wasn't going to lie---she was scared. But this time, she wasn't going to act completely helpless. Grabbing her coke, she threw the liquid quickly into his face. Then, grabbing he things, she tried moving towards the door.

Taken by surprise, Chad stumbled backwards. Slowly, he wiped his face off.

" That all you got, babe?" Chad taunted, chuckling at her actions. " You know I like it when you get feisty."

He came towards her again, the alcohol in his system fueling his ego and desire.

" Back off!" Astaire shouted loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Through her chaotic whirlwind of thoughts, she realized she needed help. She couldn't beat him in hand to hand, not with his height and muscle. She could've incapacitated him using another method, but there were too many people around. They would ask questions, which would create another problem. Besides, with her emotions so out of control, she might do more damage than intended.

But maybe that would be the best thing here…

"You heard her. Back off."

Astaire blinked as Pogue stepped in front of her, effectively shielding her from Chad. She couldn't relax, though. She wasn't out of the woods yet.

" Parry?" Chad said mockingly, moving closer to Pogue. " I'm surprised you, of all people, came to her rescue."

" Shut up, Haggerty." Pogue hissed menacingly. He could feel the Power within him rising, begging to be used, but he forced it down. He couldn't lose his temper completely.

"You can't be her knight in shining armor now," laughed Chad, "Not when you just about cussed her out when she was in this situation…how long ago was it? Year and a half, isn't it?"

"Shut up."

Chad just laughed again, never taking his eyes off Pogue.

" Déjà vu's a bitch, ain't it Parry?"

WHAM!

Pogue's fist collided solidly with the left side of Chad's face, sending him crashing into a table. He slumped to the floor, out cold.

" I just bet it is." Pogue retorted, taking a small step back.

" Care to explain?!" Nicky's voice thundered. He was suddenly standing next to Pogue, baseball bat in hand.

" I punched---"

" Oh CRAP!"

Everybody turned to look at Tyler, who was kneeling urgently on the floor. " She collapsed!"

Pogue snapped his head to Astaire, who was now lying motionless on the floor.

No offense to you Kate lovers out there...but I saw her character as a bit of a flirt and not a good match for Pogue. I'll try to update soon. Have a good day/afternoon/evening!