A/N: Thanks to Booth-Bones4life, Niffer01, and guardian music angel for their reviews of the last chapter. Tal's car is introduced in this chapter and surprise, surprise, it's the Metallicar. No there will be no Supernatural cross-over, I just like the car, so neh. I don't actually know if Impala's are stick or automatic shift, but I love driving stick, so it's stick.

I'm posting a picture of Alex on my blog, and I'll put a direct link on my profile page for y'all.

Review and Enjoy!

To say Talia was relieved would be an understatement. She hadn't realised quite how much her new friends meant to her until she heard they weren't the bad guys. Willem had heard it direct from the source; the Sons weren't working with the rogue, which meant she wouldn't have to kill them.

There was still the nagging doubt that they wouldn't understand when she revealed the truth to them, but she didn't have to worry about that until the Council got off their collective asses and gave them permission.

At least they knew who they were dealing with now, sort of. They still didn't know how Collins had managed his disappearing act; it wasn't something they had ever seen. They had called Alex over to discuss the matter and by default, get ready for the party together.

She had explained that most witches had a specialised area, and although some really powerful telepaths could make people believe that they had disappeared, they couldn't actually vanish into thin air. And although he had obviously messed with Tal's memory somehow, he hadn't done anything to her brother and Nicky, not that he should have been able to in the first place. Shifter minds were too foreign for witches to be able to control like they could humans.

Which lead them to the conclusion that the only people who could tell them what the Sons were, were the Sons themselves. But the Council was notoriously reluctant to reveal their existence to outsiders and had yet to give them the go-ahead. So they were still playing the 'normal' students. Alex seemed happy enough to help however she could, but was the first to admit the limits of her knowledge.

As soon as Voids were discovered, the magical training ceased. Though officially they were still considered witches, they were usually shunned by their kind. It struck Talia as a cruel life, being neither human nor witch, unable to be truly a part of either world. Alex had been cold towards the three of them to start off with, but when she had discovered that they shared none of the prejudices her own family did, she began to open up.

The girls had been digging through the bags of clothes Talia had left at the motel. As soon as Will had decided she needed to go undercover, he'd sent Jess out to buy her suitable clothes, and had insisted she leave all her old stuff behind, even her underwear. Alex, who had attended Spencer since she was a freshman, knew exactly what kind of clothes people would be wearing, and had started piling possible outfits on one of the beds.

Will, after arguing for two hours straight with Talia, had finally given up and was sulking in the corner, eyeing the growing pile of clothes as though someone was going to make him wear it. He still wasn't happy about Tal being 'herself', but she had countered saying that if they were already suspicious, lying more was just going to make it worse.

So she'd just say that she'd got kicked out of her last school, and that her brother had made her promise to try and fit in at Spencer. It wasn't a lie exactly, more a stretching of the truth. She had been kicked out of her last school, however she'd been thirteen, had had been homeschooled by Jess's mom since.

After they had gone thought the outfits, picked the best, insisted that Alex came too, found something for her to wear (from Jess's stuff), showered, styled their hair, and done their make-up, they were already late for the party. Big surprise.

Tal grabbed her keys and the girls made their way to the door, Tal and Jess giving Will a peck on the cheek as they passed the grumbling man, and made their way to the party.

Reid had been waiting for an hour. He'd been on time for once, nagging Tyler to hurry up, and in they end, they showed up before Pogue, Caleb and Sarah, almost giving the eldest Son a heart attack from shock.

Tyler had laughingly explained Reid excitement; causing Reid to frown at the sceptical looks the others gave them. Tyler for some reason seemed to think it was entirely possible that there was another side to Tal, but the others obviously couldn't.

They had to wait a while for the main show however. In the meantime, Caleb and Sarah danced in the pit together, while Reid and Tyler stayed at the mounded sides that over looked the dancing students, watching for new arrivals. Although he, Pogue and Tyler got a slew of invites to dance, Pogue was the only one that accepted any.

Reid had a feeling that if Talia showed up and saw him dancing with another girl, it might not be too beneficial to whatever burgeoning relationship they were having. Tyler seemed happy enough to keep his best friend company rather than dance with random girls, although Reid suspected that it had more to do with the fact that Jess was still in town and had called to say she'd be coming to the party too.

It was about an hour and a half into the party that Reid's walking wet dream appeared, although it was actually Jess he saw first, standing on a rise with two other girls. It took him a moment to realise that one of them was the brunette from the hallway, Alex, wearing faded jeans and a pink camisole, and the other girl was…Talia?!

Tyler let out a low whistle, "Is that…?"

"Yeah," Reid said in awe.

"I guess Pogue owes me twenty bucks, then," Tyler replied.

She was stunning. Black jeans hugged her long legs, and purple-flame New Rock Reactors shielded her feet from the gritty ground. Her top half was in cased in a Led Zeppelin tank top that moulded perfectly to her full breasts and slim waist. Her black hair was pinned back haphazardly from her face, and her eyes were rimmed in black eyeliner, not too thick, but enough to make her unusual grey eyes stand out. She was wearing several silver earrings and had arm warmers on her forearms.

She was dark enough to be edgy, but still feminine enough to be sexy. Perfect.

The others had obviously noticed the girls' arrival too, as they appeared just as the three made their way over to where Reid and Tyler were standing in shock. Pogue silently handed Tyler a twenty-dollar bill, which caused Talia to laugh, breaking the spell.

Reid spun to Caleb and Sarah, saying, "Told you so."

Sarah looked at Talia for a moment then nodded, "It definitely suits you better. Why were you wearing the other stuff?" she asked.

Talia took a deep breath obviously steeling herself for something. "I got kicked out of my last school, and my brother made me promise to try and fit in," she shrugged.

Not waiting for their reaction, she held out her hand to him and said, "I believe I owe you a dance?"

Nodding, he took her hand led her to the pit. The song was just changing, and he didn't recognise it immediately, but Talia did, as a pleased smile crossed her face. As Moby's 'Landing' pounded through the speakers, she looped her arms around his shoulders, leaning back enough that she could look at him, but didn't complain when he pulled her hips closer to his, grinding softly against her.

"So? What do you think?" she asked him, a teasing smile curving her luscious pink lips. He answered by crushing his lips to hers, and pulling her body tightly against his, letting her feel every inch of how much he liked her look.

Pulling back, it was his turn to smile teasingly as he said, "What do you think?" She licked her swollen lips, flashing the tongue stud he had felt before, and he had the desire to kiss her again. So he did.

"Well, that was quick," Jess remarked casually, looking away from where her best friend was kissing Reid in the middle of the dancing crowd.

"Yeah," replied Tyler, smiling at his best friend's antics. He looked over at the beautiful redhead. She was wearing a pair of low-slung jeans and a red peasant top that looked a lot like the one Tal had worn the first night at Nicky's. Well, at least we know where Tal got her old look from. Her hair was braided to one side, trailing over one shoulder. She was beautiful.

When she'd called him to casually tell him that she was still in town and would be attending the party, he whooped with joy. After hanging up the phone of course. He didn't know how, but he fallen head over heels with the petite girl. Yes, she was beautiful and exotic, but that wasn't it. He'd only spent some time talking to her at the party at Reid's but he'd been quickly struck by her cheerfulness and good humour.

Then when she'd stayed with him in the hospital, chatting away about nothing in particular, he seen just how kind-hearted she was. But the kicker had been when they'd been planning the prank. He seen this mischievous side to her that had him captivated.

He was no idiot, though. He knew she was attracted to him as well, but if he just blurted out how he really felt, well, that was going a little too fast. He was likely to scare her off. He was going to take thing slowly, 'court her properly' as his Grams would say.

He was about to start by asking her to dance, but she beat him to it.

"Care to dance?" she smiled. He grinned back and followed her to the pit.

Pogue soon found himself alone with the not-drunk-just-singing girl from the hallway. The others were all dancing. Reid and Talia were alternately kissing and groping, Tyler and Jess were talking and laughing, and Sarah and Caleb were staring lovingly at one another, occasionally leaning in to whisper something in the other's ear.

"It's Alex, right? I'm Pogue," he held out his hand, which she shook, grinning. "You want to dance?" he said nodding his head toward the crowd.

"Actually, I'm not much of a dancer. I only came because Tal and Jess threatened to hog-tie me if I didn't," she shrugged apologetically.

"How can you like The Stones and not be able to dance?" he asked disbelievingly.

"'Cause they're classic," she said in an uh, duh! voice.

"True," he replied, assessing the slim girl. "What other music do you like?"

He spent the next couple hours talking to Alex. Not flirting, but having an honest-to-god conversation about music, arguing the pros and cons of acoustic vs. electric, praising bands they loved, and trashing the bands they didn't. Their tastes weren't exactly the same, but it didn't matter. It was like when he went to the garage and could talk for hours about motorcycles. He felt free.

When ever he'd talked to Kate, it had inevitably turned into an argument, and while the guys were great, they'd didn't really share his passions. And even though Alex could handle any musical question he could throw at her, she didn't know anything about motorcycles, but didn't seem to mind learning.

Although his first thoughts about Alex were not about relationships or even sex, her realised he would like to get to know her, even just as a friend. It was new ground for him. He considered himself friends with Sarah and Talia, but they were involved with his brothers, so it was different. He'd never just been friends with a girl before.

When he was explaining the differences between American made and Japanese made bikes, Caleb came over to tell him that he and Sarah were headed back to his house for the evening, checking that he'd be okay for a ride home. It wasn't long after that when the cops showed up.

They had been dancing for hours, but Tal wasn't even tired. Being so close to Reid filled her with a kind of nervous energy that made her feel like the energizer bunny.

Every so often, one of them would initiate a passion-filled kiss, only parting in order to prevent passing out from lack of oxygen. When they weren't kissing, they would talk, and at the moment, Reid was going through his pick-up lines, giving her time between each one to critique. Tal had never felt so alive before, and the scent of her and Reid's combined arousal was a heady mixture, sending her head swirling.

In one of their quieter moments, Jess and Tyler came over, and Jess told them that she was calling it a night, and that Tyler had offered to give her a lift home. Tal smiled at her friend, telling her she'd call in her morning.

Tal was leaning her head back lazily as Reid nibbled on her neck when the DJ yelled, "Cops! Cops! Comin' down the old Dell Road! We got cops!"

"Shit!" Reid cursed, immediately pulling Tal towards where the cars were parked. Knowing that Tyler had already left with Jess, he asked, "Which one's yours?"

She ran over to her gleaming '67 Chevy Impala, smiling at the surprised expression on his face. Alex and Pogue were standing next to it already, fidgeting with nervousness.

"Where's Baby Boy?" Pogue asked.

"He already left before the cops got here," Reid replied quickly, "Gimme the keys!"

Tal cocked her head, listening to the sirens echoing around the forest. Deciding they had enough time, she tossed him the keys and said to Pogue and Alex, "Get in the back," Alex, having already been in the car before, immediately went to the passenger side and flipped the front seat forward, sliding into the back, Pogue following close behind. Tal however, stayed outside the drivers-side door, waiting.

"Uh, Tal?" Reid asked sheepishly.

"Can't drive stick, huh?" she smirked.

"No,"

"Move over, Garwin," she opened the door as he slid over to the passenger's seat, a peeved look on his face.

She jumped into the seat, and making sure everyone had their seat belts on, she took off, tires spitting up dirt as she peeled away, Rammstien thumping through the speakers. She shifted quickly to second, then third, staying there a little longer, before she slipped smoothly straight into fifth, shooting ahead of the police car that had appeared behind them.

The Impala obviously wasn't four-wheel drive and bumped around a fair bit, causing Pogue and Alex to grab the 'oh, shit!' handles and Reid to brace his hand on the roof of the car to stop his head from smashing it. Again.

Her car definitely had the speed advantage over the police cars, and Tal was a damn good driver, so it wasn't long before they had lost the cops and were driving back towards Spencer. Tal however, revelling in her newfound freedom, didn't reduce her speed until they pulled into the Spencer parking lot with a squeal of tires.

Once the car was stopped, she looked over to see Reid still sitting with his hand on the roof, staring at her wide-eyed. Alex was holding her handle in a cast-iron grip with one hand, and Pogue's arm with the other.

"Wow," Pogue said in wonder.

Reid blinked, then threw back his head and started laughing.

Tyler droved quietly, listening to Jess chat away about some childhood adventure she and Tal had shared. To be honest he wasn't really listening. Not that he didn't find it interesting, because he did, and Jess was a good storyteller, but he couldn't stop thinking about the beautiful girl sitting next to him. He was going to kiss her tonight, he had decided when she'd first asked him to dance. He wanted, needed to know what it felt like to kiss her.

He politely offered to walk her to her door, and she nodded, suddenly shy.

When they got there, she turned towards him, a shy smile on her face. He plucked up his courage and asked, "Would you like to go out with me sometime, like on a date?"

She smiled sweetly, "I'd really like that, Tyler,"

He grinned, letting out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. Not able to restrain himself anymore, he dipped his head to meet her lips, kissing her softly, then pulling back. Her eyes were lightly dazed as she smiled at him again.

"Good night Jess," he said, walking backwards to his car, not taking his eyes off her.

"'Night Tyler. Sweet dreams," she laughed, before turning and opening the door before disappearing inside.