Jane laughed along with Tyler as they walked to class.

Stopping at her classroom door, she smiled at the blue-eyed boy. "See you at lunch," she promised.

Tyler laughed. "Duh."

Jane pouted. "Watch it, or I may just sit with someone who jumps at the thought of sitting with me," she jokingly warned, hands on her hips.

"Jane," a male voice said and both she and Tyler looked. Johnny gave a nervous smile and gestured next to him. "I saved you a seat," he said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jane smiled brightly up at him. "Thanks," she said. "Bye, Baby Boy," she said, turning away and missing the smile fall off Tyler's face.

Tyler glanced back at the other blue-eyed boy and Johnny almost flinched at the look in his eyes. Eyebrows furrowing, Johnny wondered if he had miscalculated. Did Jane in fact have a boyfriend?

Jane touched his wrinkled brow before sitting down. "Hey, Einstein, chill," she stated. "Class hasn't even started yet."

Johnny gave her a hesitant smile.

Jane tilted her head, contemplating his expression. "Are you okay?"

Johnny couldn't help but ask, "I'm not stepping on any toes by expressing interest in you am I?"

Jane laughed. "Damn, what an old school way to ask whether I'm single or not." Her face turned serious. "I hate to say this but," she trailed off.

"You're dating Tyler Sims," Johnny filled in. Of course she was. Tyler was one of the most popular guys in school. So, of course, he was surprised when she burst out into laughter.

"No," she answered.

"Reid Garwin?" Johnny asked. He had seen her in the company of the two constantly and heard rumors, but hadn't thought the scandalous things were true.

The girl scoffed. "No," Jane repeated.

Johnny's face broke out into a wide grin. "Good," he said in satisfaction.

"I'm dating both of them," Jane declared as if he was supposed to know.

"What?" Not Johnny's most intelligent reply.

Jane shook her head. "It was a joke."

"I knew that," Johnny said, scratching his head.

"Sure, Einstein."

Johnny opened his mouth to say something, but the arrival of the teacher prompted him to close it immediately.

-

"So," Reid said, scooping some rice off of Tyler's plate. "Who was that guy?"

"What guy?" Jane asked, feigning ignorance. She bit her apple but couldn't taste the crispness she had just relished in before Reid has asked her his question.

"The one Tyler said you sat with in English," Reid said. "The goofy looking one," he added as if it would jog her memory.

"He's not goofy looking!" Jane argued. Too late she realized her mistake – she had just admitted there was an actual guy. She gave a guilty look at the table's occupants. Kate and Sarah were looking at her in surprise and Reid and Tyler were eyeing her with that strange look that she sometimes caught on their faces. The reaction that surprised her the most was that of the older Sons – Caleb and Pogue looked utterly panicked. "He's just some guy I met on Friday when I was with Ashley." She didn't understand why she felt so ashamed.

"Well, maybe we should just tell him that he's 'just some guy' and doesn't have the right to ask you to sit next to him in class," Reid said menacingly. His words rang with the edge of truth.

"Um, no, that's alright," Jane stated. "But thanks for offering." She placed her half-eaten apple down, losing her appetite.

She wasn't even angry that Tyler hadn't even defended her and had even been the one to rat her out.

For some reason, the only feeling that she seemed to be able to feel right now was the ominous flutter in her chest that felt like she had just broken something.

TBC.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Covenant.

Author's Note: Concerning the previous chapter - Um, apparently, I'm the only one who has sleep-overs with her guy friends. My bad. I just want you guys to know that it does happen in real life. Concerning this chapter – Johnny is the necessary catalyst to get Reid and Tyler going, so I actually need him and Jane to date for the story to be able to continue. DON'T HATE ME.