All recognizable Covenant characters, places, and events belong to Sony Pictures and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

A grateful thank you to Misty Glow for permission to use some of the plot devices in the initial chapter(s). Her fic, "Age of Temptation" is a great inspiration.

Warning: Chapter contains some homosexual overtones; if you have something against that then GTFO. If it makes you uncomfortable then I suggest you skip the first half of the chapter. Otherwise, enjoy!

Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are my own.

After U.S. Government, the boys convened in front of their lockers and tried to think of a battle strategy.

"OK, I know we had like two months to think of something to do when she got here…but did anyone actually think of anything?" Tyler asked the group as he put a heavy textbook away and exchanged it for another. All males nodded "no" and it was apparent that it was something they were going to do but never got around to it.

"I kind of thought things would just happen naturally…I mean it's obvious there's an attraction. I know I felt it when she got to campus," Reid explained himself.

"We're not attracted to her, we haven't seen her. Being aware of her is not the same thing," Pogue said defensively.

"Whatever…what should we do?" Reid asked pointedly to Caleb.

The raven haired warlock was at a loss because this was never something he had encountered before. He had no idea how to approach a new girl without the help of someone introducing them, much less a new girl that happened to be a witch.

"I'm not sure either…I think we might overwhelm her if a bunch of guys just up and introduce themselves to her for no reason…"

"I don't think it'd be totally weird though if it was just me and Reid," Tyler commented. "We can just be nice guys welcoming a new student. Plus, there's no reason for you and Pogue to introduce yourselves right away since you aren't going after her."

Both of the aforementioned warlocks nodded their head in agreement. They didn't see the need to get involved when they didn't have to. If the witch became involved with Reid or Tyler…or both then they'd probably see her everyday but initially they felt it was best if they kept their distance.

"Maybe Kate can talk to her first since she's such a social butterfly…"

"No way. I'm not having my girlfriend make friends with a girl…" Pogue couldn't quite articulate what he was so afraid of but he was certain getting his girlfriend involved with a girl he may or may not be attracted to was a bad idea.

"You want to bone?" Reid finished for his friend.

"Shut up Reid."

"Anyway, I think the bigger issue is explaining to her that she's a witch. How do we break it to her there is such a thing as magic?" Tyler said to redirect the conversation.

Each teen looked at each other expectantly as if someone should have a definite answer. No one seemed to have the slightest fancy and Tyler asked exasperatedly,

"Come on guys, no one has an idea?"

When they all shrugged, Tyler tried a different tactic.

"OK, how did our moms find out?"

"She was part of Pogue's family," Caleb replied.

"I don't know, never thought to ask," Pogue admitted. He wasn't particularly close to his mother and it never occurred to him to wonder how his parents got together. As far as he knew, they were always married and his mother always just knew.

"My dad lost control of his powers during sex and she was cool with it," Reid said with a disturbing calm.

"What? Are you serious? How did that even come up?"

"My mom caught me having sex one day and afterwards told me to be careful because that's how she found out. Not a big deal man."

Tyler shook his head and couldn't believe how cavalier the blonde was when it came to his sex life; Tyler couldn't believe how cool Mrs. Garwin was with her son's promiscuity. Every time the subject was even hinted at being broached with Tyler and his mother, he wanted to die in shame.

"Anyway, if we're having a vote on how to tell her then mine goes with the sex idea. I mean it's like bam! Over and done with in the funnest way possible."

Caleb held back the impulse to correct Reid and tell him "funnest" wasn't a word but he instead gave his advice on power flair ups during coitus.

"That's not a good idea. While your mom might have been cool with it, others might flip out."

"Speaking from experience eh? Sarah not dig black eyes while bumping uglies?"

"Shut up Reid," Caleb simply said, not taking the bait.

Reid smiled as he knew he hit a nerve with the eldest Son.

"OK, lets just worry about telling her about us later. I want to meet her," Tyler said anxiously.

Her presence could not be ignored and every fiber of his being urged him to find her. He didn't know how Caleb and Pogue would be able to resist her call and he didn't envy their position at all; he couldn't imagine being in a relationship and having such temptation. If he were either Pogue or Caleb, he would break things off with Kate and Sarah respectively before things got complicated. A part of him was glad to not have the competition though. They were all like brothers to him but he wasn't sure how he felt about sharing a female, even one he was just using for sex. He could see the situation getting out of hand quickly but he also wasn't sure what to do. She was the only witch and there were four warlocks. If any of them were to put a claim on her then they'd be effectively dooming the other three. If she chose one of them on her own volition then she'd be condemning the other three to a life half lived and he knew that wasn't a fair situation to put her in.

"Nothing about this situation is fair though," he thought logically to himself.

They were all caught between a rock and a hard place with no clear solution that could work in all their favors. All he could do was "go with the flow" and wing it. He stopped himself from getting too excited like Reid because he couldn't help but think of what to do if the plan didn't work. He spent most of his life thinking his powers would be the end of him eventually and he couldn't put all his hope on one girl. The need to find her told him that the passage was true but there was still the chance she wouldn't want to be with him; he constantly went over scenarios where she either rejected her heritage and the situation or the more likely outcome would be that she chose to be monogamous with one of them.

His ideal situation was one where she would consent to being with him and Reid. The blonde was exasperating at times but the blue eyed brunette couldn't imagine his life without the tattooed teen. They had always been close and there had been times when they flirted with takings things closer but neither of them was ready to breach the thin line of friendship and becoming something more. He knew that the light haired warlock was bi-sexual; something Reid had not explicitly told the others but he had an inkling that they suspected but his own feelings were a bit more complicated. He was definitely attracted to women but he couldn't say he was attracted to men as well; he could only say that he was attracted to Reid…so he had no idea what that made him.

Tyler shook his head, trying to get all his mixed feelings and jumbled thoughts out of his head. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, worrying over possibilities that might be a moot point because he hadn't even met the witch yet. For all he knew the girl could be a lesbian and none of them had a chance. There was no point in worrying since there was no way to know what Hannah Takalua would choose unless they asked her.

"I'm with Ty. We're heading to the girl's dorms and checking things out. She probably needs help moving stuff or something and what better way to introduce ourselves than being friendly neighbors?"

"Yeah I have a free period so I'm good to go…don't you have pre-calc?"

"Pssph! Like I care on a regular day…I'm certainly not going when the possibility of sex is involved."

"Reid, she just got here. I think you're getting ahead of yourself planning sex already."

"Hey, for all we know she's a super raging nymphomaniac that can't wait to have sex with us…don't ruin my hopes and dreams man," Reid implored.

Normally Tyler would give a heavy sigh at his friend's immaturity but given the situation, the blonde's hopes were actually warranted. It would make things a lot easier if the witch would jump into bed with them without much provocation.

The four friends went their separate ways, Reid and Tyler heading towards the dorms while Caleb and Pogue went to class.

The two warlocks got to the girl's dorm floor and realized they didn't know which one would be hers. They had a gut feeling and followed their instinct to one of the single dorms. Not many had the privilege of a private room but it made sense since she was coming so late into the year.

The door was innocuous and looked like all the others. There were no outward signs that the room belonged to the witch but both Sons' senses told them it was hers. An underlying current of energy that came alive inside of them told them she was around or had been there. They knocked but there was no answer and knew she wasn't in the room.

"Shit she just got here, where could she have gone?" Reid wondered, slightly frustrated.

Tyler shook his head, not sure what to tell his friend. The blonde was too impatient to take the time to look for her or go on a wild goose chase so his eyes briefly lit their unearthly glow and he sent out his power to find her. He knew that Caleb was in the west wing taking A.P. calculus and Pogue in the north wing taking world history. All he could sense was weak residual traces of the witch and he knew she wasn't on campus.

"Fuck, she's not on campus. Where would she go?"

"Calm down Reid; Caleb said her family was here so she's probably having a last meal with them or something."

Reid's patience had worn out and he impulsively used his powers to unlock the dorm and reached down to open the door. Tyler's strong hand held his fingerless gloved hand in place, stopping him from entering.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tyler demanded.

"What?" Reid defensively asked and pulled his hand from the youngest Son's grip.

"I just want to take a look…get an idea of what we're dealing with."

Only part of that was true. Reid had other motives and it had to do with the desire to be close to the witch. He knew she wasn't in her room but she had probably spent the most time there so far and her essence saturated the room. Her mere presence resounded through out the school and tension built within him ever sense he first felt her.

His power was reacting to her and it wanted more. He felt like he was breathing fresh air when the past three years all he had was pollution. The Power had done more damage than he realized as just a place a witch had been created relief. Using had been fun and it felt right to use it but he couldn't deny the toll it took on them. They all looked older than their rightful late teens, especially Caleb. His body urgently craved her and he was at a point where he didn't even care what she looked like.

"No, Reid. We are not going to just invade her privacy like that."

"Come on, don't be such a pussy. She's not going to know and I just want to take a quick peek."

"Reid, we felt her when she just stepped on campus. We found her room because we can sense her…don't you think she'll be able to sense we were in her room? Do you want to risk alienating her? I don't want to mess this up."

Logically Reid knew Tyler was right but his control was wavering. He had never been one to reign himself in but he knew this was a delicate situation. Tyler's concern for his well being stirred his own feelings of protectiveness for the brunette. They had always been close, even before they developed their powers; before they had discovered their sexuality. Tyler was first and foremost his best friend and he couldn't bear the thought of the girl denying them her healing powers. Beneath his bravado of being a letch, he was terrified that if she refused them then it meant possibly losing the most important person in his life.

Intense cobalt eyes met soft cornflower blue and Reid promised himself that he wasn't going to let anything happen to Tyler.

The youngest warlock was surprised when Reid stared at him with an unreadable expression but more serious than he'd seen the blonde since the Chase incident; the blonde joked around a lot but when it came to the Covenant, he was all earnestness in protecting them and having their back. He was caught completely off guard when the older warlock surged forward and caught his lips in a searing kiss.

Reid pushed Tyler against the wooden door, paying no mind that they were intimately embraced for anyone who happened to walk by. He wanted to be as close to his best friend as possible. The blonde didn't care, he only wanted Tyler to know how he felt; he didn't know the words but he was always more of a man of action.

Tyler felt a blazing heat surge through him as his best friend kissed him. He had never felt such fervor from anyone he'd ever been with and he was surprised at how natural it felt. How right it felt to run his fingers through short baby soft blonde hair and wrap his arms around firm lines instead of soft curves. He relaxed into the blonde's touch and responded with just as much intensity. This was not their first kiss together but it was the first outside of their dorm and the cautious experimentation they've done before.

As soon as the kiss started, it stopped and Reid laid his forehead against Tyler's; looking intensely as he had before.

"I'm not going to mess this up for us. And if she won't be with you then I'm not going to touch her. I don't care what happens to me but I'm not doing this without you," Reid said impassionedly, desperately wanting the brunette to understand he couldn't heal on his own; that he couldn't imagine a normal lifespan if Tyler wasn't a part of it.

Tyler was deeply touched with Reid's selfless statement. His throat slightly constricted and his heart filled with an unfamiliar emotion he didn't have a name for. He didn't trust himself to speak without his voice betraying exactly how much Reid meant to him. He was feeling overwhelmed and slightly confused at the turn of events so he kept silent. The blue eyed brunette simply nodded his agreement and kissed the blonde again.

They were in this together.

Hannah didn't stand a chance.

The Takalua family had a nice last lunch together and Hannah was confused at the empty feeling that emerged in her as she left campus. She had the urge to return as quickly as possible but wasn't going to leave her family so soon; she was going to be gone three weeks and it was the first time in years she would be away from them for so long and it was the furthest she'd ever been. The lunch was spent quietly as was most meals with the family. The children knew not to speak unless spoke to by their father or another adult. The only time the children talked was when their father went to the bathroom.

"You seriously can't leave us with just dad and Aunt Becky, Han," Jonah said when it finally hit him that his sister wasn't coming home with them.

Hannah was in the middle of cutting up Asher's chicken fingers when she heard her brother's lament. She sighed as the guilt bubbled in her at the thought of leaving her siblings in the care of their judgmental aunt and stoic father.

"I'll only be gone three weeks and then I'll be home for Christmas break," she replied trying to pacify her brother.

"I don't get why you don't just stay until next semester...I thought that was the original plan."

"Aww are you going to miss me?"

"You know I am...I mean...who's going to help us with our homework?"

"Or help us get through quests on WoW?" added Elijah.

"Who's going to read me bedtime stories or explain Mendelian distribution of traits in the garden?" Asher asked in a small and innocent voice.

Hannah rued the fact they were all raised Catholic and knew how to play the guilt card mercilessly.

"You guys, come on. You knew I was leaving for a while and we can always talk on Skype," she replied.

"I still don't understand why you couldn't wait until next semester. I think you left to skip out on helping us move into the house." Jonah accused.

"Yeah there's that..." she admitted "But Spencer had just installed an entire research greenhouse and offered to move my experiments there. I couldn't say no."

"You and your stupid plants."

"They aren't stupid...they're three years and counting of research and development. I'll be entering the Siemens competition in math, science, and technology in the spring and could win $100,000. I know we've been poor for a while in case you didn't know that's a lot of money and prestige."

"We're rich now so you don't have to do all these science fairs and studying."

Hannah rolled her eyes at her younger brother's short sightedness and apparent lack of motivation.

"Yes we have come into some money but that doesn't mean I'm going to throw away years of work just because I don't need the prize money anymore. I love what I do and I have the opportunity to change the world with my research. Please try to understand."

Jonah didn't understand his sister's ambitions but assumed it was some "nerd" thing and dropped the subject as their father came back to the table.

Lunch was over and it was time to say their goodbyes. Little Asher cried and Hannah did her best to stay strong. The older two gave her warm hugs but teased her saying they were glad to be rid of her.

She stood in front of her father, not moving to hug him as it was not something that was done in their family. He simply told her,

"Again, be good and don't get into trouble. I don't want you falling behind or making the same...mistake your mother and I made."

He was referring to her conception and she had long grown numb to his tactless treatment of the circumstances of her birth. She was well aware she was unplanned and largely unwanted. It was something she had grown up knowing and hearing all her life. Just as emotionless she replied,

"I won't"

"If you have any issues with your...condition. Let me know and I'll come get you."

Mr. Takalua never referred to her schizophrenia by name; it was a taboo subject in their family and they would all rather pretend she had an odd quirk that everyone accepted but widely ignored. That was OK with her because she didn't want to tell them about her illness as much as they didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to talk about how the swirl designs on the carpet at the restaurant came to life and moved on the floor like thousands of snakes. She didn't want to tell them that sometimes their eyes grew ten sizes too big for their head or how sometimes when they spoke, the words would appear to fall from their mouths like a waterfall.

She was more than happy to pretend she was fine if they were willing to pretend nothing was wrong with her.

The Takalua men left in the white Uhaul and headed back to D.C. She waved goodbye from the dorm steps and waited until they were out of sight before she headed back in.

The empty feeling she felt when she left was replaced with a slight buzzing sensation she felt earlier. She didn't know what it meant and hoped it wasn't a new development in her illness. She had never had a tactile hallucination and wrote it off to nerves. She was in a completely new environment by herself and it was the most independent she had been in her life. It was natural that she would have reactions to such a major change in her life.

As she crossed the threshold of her door, a wave of heat enveloped her; almost as if she caught a sudden fever. There was a tightness in her stomach and a yearning she never knew before grew between her thighs. Her heart beat was slightly elevated and she checked her eyes and saw they were dilated. She recognized her symptoms as arousal and wondered where it could have come from.

She lay down on her bed, trying to gain her equilibrium. Another hallucination appeared at her door; it was two males in a heated embrace. From their positions it was obvious they felt strongly about each other and she had a yearning to be between them. She couldn't see their faces but could tell they were tall and imagined they were handsome.

It was certainly the most enjoyable hallucination she ever had and it was the first time she didn't say her confronting exercise right away. Still she knew it wouldn't be good for her treatment to indulge in her voyeuristic tendencies so she closed her eyes and said,

"You're not real...but I really wish you were."

Oddly the apparitions did not disappear when she opened her eyes. They stayed together but they were no longer kissing. It seemed as if they were talking and sharing an intimate conversation. The ghostly beings didn't disappear until they left seemingly on their own volition.

It was certainly a new development in her illness but told herself that there were no set standards for hallucinations and it was nothing to worry about.

"I probably need to stop reading so much Wincest," she told herself as she shook her head and began to set up her electronics.

A/N: Thanks to rebr for encouraging me to update and everyone who's reviewed. They are like crack and I appreciate each and every one of them!