Hi!

I'm back once again with another chapter. I owe a huge thank you to my faithful readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters. You are the very people that inspire my inner author. I love you! (Not in that way!).

So... oh hang on.

Disclaimer: Yeah, do I look like a guy called Anthony Horowitz? Wait, you can't see me! Oh... em... ah, this is kind of awkward... I DON'T OWN THE POWER OF FIVE! READ AND REVIEW!

Matt rested under the oak tree, breathing heavily. He'd enjoyed that game – it made him feel happier. He hadn't played in forever, but he still had skill.

That afternoon, everyone decided it would be a good idea to go outside and enjoy themselves. The boys decided to have a game of football (much to Pedro's delight) and Scarlett went for a swim in the lake. Richard refereed the match. Matt had been happy to let off some steam and do something that other teenage boys did, something that didn't involve powers or Old Ones or witches or gates, something normal.

He saw Scarlett climb into the grass and stand. Her light blue swimsuit was sticking to her skin and her hair was dripping water. She grabbed a towel from the grass and wrapped it around the dark strands of her hair, rubbing furiously. She pulled it away, her hair now frizzy. She wrapped the damp towel around her body tightly.

Matt inspected her slender figure without realising it. She was small and slim, but strong. He had seen her swimming a little and noticed that she was very good at it. Her skin was very pale brown and her hazel-green eyes narrow. He thought she was very attractive. Wait – what? Attractive? Matt, what's wrong with you?

Scarlett caught him staring and smiled a little. Matt's eyes widened and he ducked his head. His face was burning. He heard her laughing and was momentarily pleased that he had made her laugh. Then he remembered why. Now his face was surely crimson.

Luckily, she left and he leaned back again, kicking himself. Why was he staring at her? What the hell was wrong with him? In fact, why was he so goddamned embarrassed in the first place? She was just a friend, right?

He kept telling himself that, trying to ignore the disappointment he felt when he thought that. She's just a friend.

Richard flopped down beside him, after forcing the Tyler twins to stop mind-controlling Pedro. Pedro had been forced to swing upside-down from a tree branch. It hadn't been pretty. He looked at Matt's red face quizzically. 'What's wrong?'

Matt just shook his head. He closed his eyes, trying to think of anything but the incident. But of course, the more you try not to think about something, you can't think about anything else. Richard watched as Matt's cheeks went a deeper shade of crimson, if that's even possible.

Scott walked by the lake and saw Matt. He smirked. Scott had gotten easier to be around, but he still had a hostile attitude towards Matt, and wouldn't waste a chance to piss him off. 'Hey, Matt, what's with the tomato face?' he called. Jamie came over and shot his twin a warning look. Jamie didn't know why Scott kept picking on Matt. It was stupid.

Matt looked at Scott. He sat up and glared at him. The red faded. His blue eyes glowed.

Richard reached out and squeezed the boy's shoulder. Matt had lost his rein on his telekinesis – just last night a jug smashed because he was angry. Richard needed to calm Matt down before he did something to harm Scott. 'No, Matt,' he murmured.

Matt reluctantly slumped back, the glow leaving his eyes. He kept them on Scott though, his anger not leaving. Scott looked smug. He walked away, leaving Jamie shaking his head and looked apologetically at Matt. He went after his brother.

Matt shrugged off Richard's hand. 'I wasn't going to do anything.'

Richard snorted. 'Yeah, right. You were angry, and we both know what happens when you're angry.'

Matt sighed. 'I have more control.'

'Last night, you got mad and a jug exploded. Is that what you call control?'

Matt flipped over to look at his guardian. 'Look, I'm trying, okay? I'm trying to get control, but it's hard. So hard. You don't get – you... how hard...' his voice choked up with concealed emotion. He stood, avoiding Richard's surprised gaze. He rubbed his left forearm with his right hand; something Richard had recently learned Matt did when he was upset. 'I need to be alone.' He whispered.

Richard stood. When Matt got like this, it was better to let him do what he wanted to do. It often calmed him. Richard reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. 'Okay. If you need me, I'm inside.'

Matt nodded silently, giving the man a small smile. He began to walk away.

Scott walked into the twins' bedroom, Jamie on his tail. They were fighting telepathically.

Why can't you just lay off him? You and I both know he's going through things he doesn't understand.

You talk about him like you actually care.

Of course I care. Matt is my friend, and he has tried his best to keep us all safe.

Yeah, and that worked really well.

You never-

Jamie and Matt sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

Shut up.

First, comes love, second comes marriage-

SHUT UP, SCOTT!

Fine, I'll be- wait, what did you mean when you said "he's going through things he doesn't understand"?

Oh, never mind.

Jamie...

Look, just leave him alone, okay? You'll both end up getting hurt.

Jamie turned to leave.

Jamie, wait...

Think about what I said. Maybe you should get some sleep after that nightmare last night.

Jamie walked out and closed the door. Scott growled and kicked the wall. He hated Matt, but he couldn't vent that without fighting with Jamie too. There was only one real answer, and that was to leave Matt alone. For now anyway.

He yawned. Jamie had told him to get some sleep. Maybe he should. No. He can't. Not when... not when...

The nightmares were really getting to him. He always dreamt about the same thing – the Nightrise torturing. He always got scared when he dreamt about that, and he could always feel the pain, the control leaving, his mind not obeying him... He raced to the bed. He was tired, he had to sleep. He pulled a drawer and rooted in there until he found the packet Jamie gave him that morning. Sleeping pills. He hoped that they worked.

He ripped the small cardboard box open and popped two of the white tablets out of their packaging. Sitting on the bed, he put them in his mouth and swallowed them with some water. He retched at the sickening taste.

He lay down on the pillow. It was already taking effect. His eyes felt heavy. He couldn't keep them open. His legs and arms were felt like they were made of heavy metal. He couldn't lift them. His eyes closed. Soon, he was asleep.

Scarlett came to her bedroom door. She started to open the lock. She hated the lock. It reminded her of school, since it was exactly like the one on a locker. She entered the code and the door clicked open. She tiptoed in and bolted the door again.

She showered and dressed in a light green knee-length dress with a flowing skirt. She looked in the mirror, shocked that the dress actually looked nice. She never wore dresses if she could help it, but she was annoyed to find that her wardrobe only had two pairs of jeans. Everything else was skirts and dresses. She was forced to wear them and found herself more comfortable wearing them.

She threw her swimsuit in the wash basket. She remembered Matt. He'd been staring at her, not like he was shocked. She'd seen that look on his face. He was checking her out. It should've freaked her out, but she felt slightly flattered, for no clear reason. She had smiled and he'd seen. He went so red. It was quite cute, if she thought about it. She'd laughed when he hid his face from view, but then went so he could calm down. She smiled when she thought about it.

She knew he hadn't realised what he was doing. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew. She hoped he wasn't too embarrassed about it. She'd hate it if he was. Maybe she should talk to him, find out if he was okay. Yes, that's what she should do. She pulled on a pair of sandals, careful to lock the door properly behind her as she left.

That's the end of chapter three! Hope you enjoyed it!

Until the next time,

CharmedGatekeeper.