Reid sat up on the couch, his eyes on the ceiling. The other three Sons' eyes went to the stairs. Sarah and Kate watched the boys' reactions as a feeling of unease settled over the group.

"What's going on up there?" Reid asked, concerned.

"Why do you care?" Caleb snapped. "Or are you not done with my sister yet?"

"Damn it, Caleb. I didn't do anything to her," Reid growled angrily. "If you took your head out of your ass, you'd realize that I'm capable of caring for someone."

The oldest Son stared at the blonde. "Care?"

"Yes, Caleb. Care. I care about Rylie," Reid snapped. "Believe it or not, I have a heart."

Caleb looked dumbfounded. "Since when?"

Reid paused, thinking back, his mind riffling through his memories. Memories of Rylie growing up, trying to tag along with their group. The way her eyes always seemed to glow when she was mad, and how she stood her ground in a fight. She could be so stubborn, was always on the defense, and only let her defenses down at certain times. Like when he kissed her. He'd felt her let her guard down just to let him in. His memories flashed to the night of the lightning storm and it replayed in his head. He watched her run into the rain, watched the lightning shoot from the sky and strike her, saw her lying on the couch, dying. And then it hit him. "Since the night of the lightning storm."

* * * * *

Rylie sat up on the floor, inhaling deeply. Leila knelt beside her, rubbing her back. "You okay?"

Rylie nodded. She looked at her friend and gave her a small smile. "Nice aim."

"Wasn't like you were trying to avoid me," Leila replied, returning the smile.

Rylie stood and stretched. "We get to do this everyday. Yay."

"Are you sure you don't want to come up with another plan?"

"Positive." She let the Power wrap around the dagger and wipe the blood away, and then stashed it beneath her pillow. "Do not tell the Sons."

"Don't you think you've kept enough secrets from them?" Leila asked.

Rylie looked away. "It's for their own good."

"Ry—"

"Leila, don't. I finally have the courage to fight Devon. Don't take that away."

Her friend nodded. "What are we going to tell the guys?"

"We'll lie. Say that I beat Cassandra and she got pissed and disappeared. Each day, you and I are going to spend a few hours in my room practicing our powers for when Devon and Cassie attack again, and the boys are not to disturb us during our sessions. That's half the truth, with enough of a lie to keep them from being too suspicious."

* * * * *

The next two weeks were a little stressful. The Sons, Sarah and Kate returned to Spencer Academy, giving Rylie and Leila plenty of time to practice their plan. Caleb and Reid barely spoke while Pogue and Tyler tried to talk some sense into them. Reid and Rylie couldn't hang out or have a conversation without being eyed by the group, making any time together extremely awkward, so they stopped trying. Unknowing to Reid, Rylie hoped that the more distance between them would make his feelings for her die, as well as hers for him. If the plan didn't work, she wanted the blonde Son to be able to move on easily and be happy.

Leila constantly checked the future, but the vision of Rylie never changed. With each passing day, Rylie grew tenser. The closer her birthday came, the snappier she became. The two girls practiced constantly, going over the possibilities and outcomes, if Rylie survived, and if she didn't. As the dreaded day drew closer, the more Leila insisted their plan would work.

"We've gone over it hundreds of times. We got this. It'll work," were her constant words.

But Rylie's hope slowly died each day as Leila's vision remained the same. Part of her felt bad for snapping at her friends and family, but another part of her knew it had to be done. If their last memories of her would be of a bitchy girl, then they wouldn't miss her as much and could go on easier.

But when she crawled into bed every night, she cried silently. Why hadn't she let Reid take her at the bottom of the cliff that night? Give her some peace before she died. It was too late now. If she went to him, she wouldn't be able to go through with the plan, and then the people she cared about would suffer. Life wasn't fair.

* * * * *

Rylie opened her eyes, looked around her room, and wiped the dry tears from her face. She climbed out of the bed and went to shower. She let the warm water beat down on her, easing the tension in her back, before washing her hair. After, she turned the water off, wrapped a towel around herself, and slipped back into her bedroom. She changed into a pair of sweats and a tank, pulled her hair back into a messy bun, and sat on her bed, staring at her reflection in the mirror on the wall.

The door opened and Leila walked in, closing it behind her. "Happy birthday, Ry."

Rylie forced a smile. "Thanks." She swallowed back the lump in her throat.

Leila slid onto the bed and handed her a chocolate cupcake with white frosting. "Here."

Rylie chuckled and accepted it. "Did Caleb ask why you had a cupcake?"

"No. He's at Spencer."

Rylie frowned. "What time is it?"

"Eleven," Leila answered.

Rylie nodded and took a bite of the cupcake and closed her eyes, savoring the sweet treat.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just enjoying the cupcake," Rylie answered, taking another bite. When it was gone, she looked at her friend. "Have you checked the future yet?"

Leila shook her head, and then her gaze became distant. Rylie watched, studying her friend's expression, waiting. The blonde blinked and when her gaze focused on the Danvers, her eyes were sad. "The only thing that's changed is the time of day. It happens at night now."

Rylie simply nodded. "Okay. Then I have a little more time." She stood and headed for the door. As she descended the stairs, she heard Leila run up behind her and fall into step beside her. At the bottom, they went to the living room and flipped on the TV. During the next few hours, they reminisced over their lives, swapping stories of their childhoods and remembering times in Ireland.

Around three thirty, the front door opened and voices flooded the foyer.

"Don't give anything away," Rylie said calmly.

Leila simply gave her a tight nod.

"I mean it. No comments. No tears. Nothing." Rylie waited until her friend nodded again before getting up and following the voices into the kitchen. Caleb was leaning against the sink with his arm wrapped around Sarah, laughing about some unknown joke. Pogue was sitting at the table, Kate occupying his lap. Tyler was sitting across from the couple, and Reid was leaning against the fridge. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously.

"Reid and Aaron almost got into a fight," Tyler smiled.

"Why?" Leila asked, appearing in the doorway beside her.

"He's still mad about Rylie's comments," Pogue chuckled.

Rylie forced a small laugh. "He deserved them."

"Oh, trust us, we know," Tyler replied happily, his eyes flitting to the blonde girl in the doorway.

Rylie held back a smile, but used a little Power to gently shove Leila toward the table. Leila slid into the seat next to the brunette before shooting a quick glare at her. Rylie's eyes briefly scanned the kitchen before landing on Reid, who was watching her intently. He smiled and mouthed, "Happy birthday."

Rylie's mouth fell open, but she quickly recovered as Caleb looked at her.

"What'd you two do today?"

"Us two?" Rylie asked, a little surprised.

Her brother raised an eyebrow. "You and Leila."

"Oh, us two. Um, we just relaxed and watched some TV."

"You didn't do anything for your birthday?" he asked.

"I… we… what?"

Caleb gave her a half smile. "Did you really think we'd forgotten what today was?"

"Yes… no… I don't know," Rylie babbled. "Sort of?"

"Gee, sis. Nice to know you have faith in us," Caleb said, rolling his eyes playfully. He nodded to Tyler, who left the kitchen, reentering a few minutes later carrying a large cake. "Chocolate, right?"

She couldn't speak, and simply nodded. Tears pressed into her eyes and she forced them back, not wanting to cry in front of everyone. They were supposed to be mad at her, hate her, forget her. Not celebrate her birthday. Her last day. Leila stood and walked over to her and grabbed her arm, tugging her toward the stairs.

"Come on, Ry. You can't celebrate your birthday in sweatpants," she laughed and looked at the group. "One sec. Let her change into something suitable for an eighteen year old."

Murmured agreements followed the two girls out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Rylie silently thanked her friend for pulling her away before she broke down. She could feel the tears pushing against her will, trying to spill over. As soon as they were inside her room, she let it out. Let the tears roll down her cheeks as quiet sobs shook her body. Her friend respectfully stood by the door, letting her cleanse her system.

Once the sobs had ceased, Rylie changed into dark hip huggers and a black tank top, and cleaned up her face. She turned to her friend. "They weren't supposed to do this."

Leila smiled. "You would have liked them to forget?"

"Yes," Rylie answered. "Thinking that they didn't care would make it easier to go through with tonight."

"Like it or not, people love you," Leila said.

"I don't know why."

"Me either, 'cause you're a complete bitch. I'm still trying to figure out why we're friends."

"Shut up," Rylie said, a small smile pulling at her mouth. "Guess we better go back down."

They reentered the kitchen and took the remaining two seats at the table. Caleb handed his sister the knife, and she cut the cake. For the next couple hours, they stayed in the kitchen, joking around and laughing. Around six, the group moved into the living room to watch Rylie' favorite movie, Sweet Home Alabama. As time went on, Rylie realized that this was exactly the way she wanted to spend her last day. Laughing with her family.

Rylie cast her gaze out the window and into the night. She knew she should feel sad, or scared. Instead she felt calm. She had lost most hope of living until tomorrow, but knowing that she would somehow take the witch and warlock down with her gave her comfort. Perhaps that was why she was laughing when she should have been up in her room crying.

Nine thirty came around, and she excused herself and went to her room. She needed a little time to herself to mentally prepare. Standing by her window, she stared out at the night sky and the full moon. It was a beautiful, clear night. A night that promised sweet dreams to most, and death to her.

"What are you hiding?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "You always think I'm hiding something."

"You always are."

She felt him approach her and stand behind her. But she couldn't face him. She didn't trust herself to be able to pull away from him when it was time. So she remained still, facing the window. "You're too suspicious."

His hand touched her shoulder and his fingers trailed down her arm, sending shivers through her body. "For someone who's now eighteen, you don't seem too happy."

Rylie shrugged. "The only thing eighteen year olds can do it vote. Twenty-one's the fun birthday." Too bad she wouldn't make it to that age.

Reid gripped her shoulder and turned her to face him. His bright cobalt blue eyes locked with hers, stealing her breath. "Rylie. What are you planning?"