A/N: For those of you who had comments about the unbalances between the fathers and the current Covenant, to answer your observations, I wanted to make these guys to be nothing like their children. It makes it more interesting that way, I think, rather than making copies of Caleb, Pogue, Tyler and Reid's characters. After all, personality isn't hereditary. However, the comic book states that what IS hereditary is one trait typical to each family line, and is as follows:
Danvers: Knowledge
Parry: Passion
Sims: Strength
Garwin: Anger
That's what I'm drawing these characters from. If I ever fall out of sync with any of those, be sure to let me know ASAP.

Also, for those of you who have read my story The Covenant II: Ipswich Curse, I have decided to keep the mother's names established in that story, to keep my sense of symmetry between all of my Cov stories. It was hard to come to that decision, since it will reveal the pairings to you all. But, I think some things might still be a surprise, so we'll just roll with it.
Alright… Read on:

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Chapter 2:

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James parked his car in front of his elite high school and sighed. He hated it in there more than any other place. Sure, he was pretty popular, but that was only because he was so famous around these parts. James could never really tell who his real friend was anymore, besides those few who had been with him when he wasn't rich and charming.

Like Joe, he thought with a smile, spotting the boy waiting for him in front of the school, even though the bell had just rang, making them both late.

"Thanks for waiting up, Joe." James knew the guy hated his proper name, so he always avoided the urge to call him 'Joseph' and just stuck with the shortened version. Joe said it sounded too formal, and there was no need for formality between brothers such as them.

Joe just nodded back in acknowledgement, and they stepped inside together. James tried to be quiet as he stepped inside the classroom, but the teacher was too observant.

"Late again, you two?" Mr. Munch said. "And you are always late together-- can you tell me why that is?"

"Perhaps we just wish to keep you entertained," Joe replied nonchalantly. James was surprised Joe spoke out; it wasn't like him. The morning's event had probably gotten him in a bad mood. James had to admit he would be cranky as well if he was stripped of his leadership because of something he couldn't control.

"Perhaps you would like a lesson in humility, Mr. Garwin," the teacher threatened with a frown. "Detention, perhaps?"

"No lesson necessary," Joe replied smoothly. "Except the lesson you are about to teach us in this classroom, perhaps."

"A wise answer, Mr. Garwin. I suggest you and Mr. Danvers take a seat."

-

When classes were over, James, Glenn, Wayne and Joe headed down the hall toward the lunch hall together. The halls were cluttered with boxes and kids moving back into the dorms. Thankfully, James didn't have to suffer living in a dorm, but rather crashed at the Danvers Mansion. Glenn also stayed at his own home, while Wayne and Joe were stuck in one of those rooms. With Using cautiously though, moving in proved simpler than was common.

"Well, look who it is," Wayne said with a broad smile, gazing fondly at a woman before them struggling with her own boxes. The boys followed behind Wayne as he swaggered over to the familiar face ahead.

Beatrice Foxx had been their friend since grade school, and thus she became like a fifth member of the Covenant. Beatrice was definitely one of them, a tough-as-spikes girl, hardened from a harsh life given to her. She was the only non-family member they had broken the 'Silence' for, since she spied them Using back in the day, and thus they had to let her in on the deal by default. Though, ever since, she was as a sister to them, and in turn she bonded with Glenn, Joe and James as well…

"Oh, hey boys!" Beatrice said in surprise, hugging the three each in turn. When it came to be Wayne's turn, he smiled broadly and spread his arms open wide for her, but she only glared in reply.

"Wayne," she said with obvious contempt.

…The ladies-man, of course, was another story entirely. Wayne had been all over her for as long as anyone can remember, but she was the one girl that refused to fall for his charm, and James knew that just drove Wayne crazy. To everyone who knew her, she was the untameable shrew, a bitch to everyone but those accepted in her circle, so even though her beauty brought the guys coming, that sharp tongue would send them packing in the very next minute.

But not Wayne. Every time she denied his flirts he would want her even more. The boys figured Wayne was just being superficial as ever with her, since it was a widely known fact that she had one of the hottest bodies in school… but lately, James was beginning to think that Beatrice just might be that One to reel Wayne into a monogamous relationship-- if she ever stopped hating his guts long enough to give him a chance.

"Did you miss me over the summer?" Wayne asked, slinging an arm around her shoulder affectionately. She roughly shoved him away to express her dislike.

"Like a fly in my soup," she said as-a-matter-of-factly, then turned back to the other three. "You guys meeting up later to catch a movie?"

Glenn quickly checked his daily planner to see if he could fit in an outing, while James nodded for them.

"I thought we might check out that new place— that one that has the grand opening tonight that everybody's going to-- what's it called?" James looked to the others for help.

"'Nicky's', I think," Joe replied sullenly. "Yeah, that might be amusing."

"I'll meet you all there after I'm done unpacking," Beatrice promised. She motioned to the large boxes stacked up by the stairway. "This might take me all day."

"I could help for a small fee," Wayne offered. Beatrice raised an eyebrow at him.

"Seeing as you're rich as hell-- and that you're you-- I'm guessing you don't mean money," Beatrice guessed, then grabbed the box herself. "In which case, I'll take my chances on my own."

Wayne's smile stayed firmly in place, and he shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

"Have you seen Evelyn yet?" James asked Beatrice with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, she's just down the hall," Beatrice replied, nodding in that direction. "She's been asking about you."

James perked up in excitement.

"You serious?"

"Room 312, Jimmy," she encouraged him onward, giving him a slight shove. James's heart began to race in anticipation of the girl that everyone knew he had been crushing on since last year when she transferred in. They had become fast friends, but she seemed completely unaware of his true feelings for her. They had lost contact over the summer since she had gone away to Paris, but James had vowed to ask her out as soon as she came home. Now seemed as good a time as any.

James was no coward when it came to women, but for some reason she was different. As he walked down the hall alone, he could hear his heart thumping in his ears, his hands going wet and clammy, and his breathing heavy.

He tried to stifle his nervousness, and bravely knocked on the door that bore the numbers Beatrice had said. He held his breath as the door opened.

Instead of Evelyn, Beatrice answered. James hadn't realized that they were roomies.

"Hey, Jimmy!" she said with a smile. "What can I do you for?"

"Hey Bee, I was looking for Evelyn?"

"Of course you are," she joked with a smirk, then left sight, yelling: "Evie!"

Soon Evelyn came into view.

"Hi!" Evelyn said with a warm smile, embracing James in greeting. "How are you?"

The conversation consisted of meaningless chitchat about their summers, until James finally realized he was still standing outside her doorway like a salesman, and decided it best to get to the point.

"Hey listen," he said naturally. "Um… there's this new place opening tonight downtown…"

"Yeah, I was planning on going," she said with a nod.

"Great!" James said excitedly. "Did you want to catch a ride with me?"

She bit her lip and James sensed immediately that wasn't going to end well.

"Well, see… I already promised my roommie I'd go with her…"

James immediately cast his eyes downward in disappointment.

"Oh," was all he could manage to say. She seemed genuinely sorry, as if she sincerely wished she could mend the situation to make him happy, but was crippled on how to do so.

"I would if I could…" she said gently. "But she's new here, and--"

"No, no problem," James lied through his teeth, shrugging it off like it didn't bother him. "I'll see you there."

After that, all James wanted to do was to get out of there. Fast.

"Alright, I'll catch up with you later," he promised, then stalked off hurriedly, not even waiting to hear her reply.

-

James straightened his collar as he exited Joe's car, and stared at the glowing restaurant/bar ahead of him, booming with loud music on the inside. Joe came up and stood beside him, put his hands in his pockets, and stared at the place before them as well, the neon's boasting the name 'Nicky's' in orange letters.

"I don't like it," Joe announced.

"Too bad," James replied with a warm smile. "You're going in."

"I'm not impeached from leadership yet, James," Joe said with a smile, as he followed his friend inside. "For now, you watch who you're bossing around."

It was so loud with rock music you could barely hear yourself think, but James found himself immediately fond of the place because of the adolescent atmosphere. Obviously the local teens had already decided to claim this place as their own.

He quickly spotted Glenn saving a table for them, and made their way through the crowd to his general direction. They passed by Wayne on their way, sitting at the bar and talking to a pretty brunette in a short skirt. Wayne showed them big smile and a thumbs-up to tell that he was scoring with her.

James just shook his head and continued on to Glenn, who was trying hard to get some homework done in the midst of the loud music and even louder teens, which, needless to say, was quite an effort indeed.

"Could you get any geekier, Glenn?" James scolded, closing his book for him. "All work and no play, you know?"

"I have a paper due--" he tried to protest, but Joe slapped a hand over his mouth.

"We all have papers due," he reasoned. "We are in off time. Enjoy yourself."

"I'm starving," James declared, glancing hungrily at the menu hanging over the bar. "I'm gonna get us some chow—I'll be right back."

He scanned the room as he waited for his order to come up. His radar was set on finding Evelyn. She was still nowhere to be found.

Then, he felt a light tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see her warm smile and sparkling eyes.

"Hey, look who I found," she said with a laugh as she quickly hugged him. He loved it when she did that. She nodded a 'hello' to the others. To add to his anxiety, his friends just stared back with great interest, even though they couldn't hear their conversation over the music.

Evelyn was wearing a dull blue dress that looked wonderful on her pale skin. Her eyes were lit with excitement, and seemed glad to see him, which sent his heart racing.

"You look grood," he stumbled. "I mean, good. And great. Great and good."

He could've kicked himself.

Evelyn laughed again, such a cute little giggle.

"Thank you," she replied. "Same to you."

A dark-haired girl standing next to her coughed loudly in interruption to the staring contest between Evelyn and James. Evelyn got the message quickly, and snapped out of it.

"Sorry," she muttered. "James, this is my friend Rosalind."

James politely shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you."

-

Joe lingered against a nearby wall, in a dark corner, just watching his two friends play. Wayne moved from the bar to the pool tables with the girl, who surveyed his game (and him) with great interest. Glenn was with him and apparently very disgruntled at his losing streak. He must've forgotten that Wayne was near impossible to beat at pool, even without Using.

As Glenn took his turn, Joe smirked at Wayne slipping a lollipop into his mouth, a lesson he had learned from watching too many episodes of 'Kojak'. It did seem to help him with his chain-smoking habits though, but he forever had a paper stick poking out of his lips, which, to Joe's opinion, made him look ridiculous.

As Wayne sized up his next shot, the girl left to go retrieve drinks, then got distracted by friends. Glenn watched the girl go, looking to Wayne with love in her eyes. No matter how much Wayne played them, they always ended up wanting him all the more in the end.

"She's quite a kisser," Wayne announced to his friends.

"Do you even know her name, Wayne?" Joe snickered.

Wayne paused, realizing that Joe was right.

"Hey," he defended himself. "Don't be jealous just because I get all the action and leave none for you."

"I can get a girl anytime," Joe countered in his calm way. "I simply choose not to."

"Spoken like a true wallflower," Wayne said, and Glenn laughed behind him.

Joe said nothing, just walked over to the nearest female. In a few minutes, he came back, and slapped a paper napkin on the pool table on which a name and seven digits were written, just like that.

"I rest my case," he said decidedly.

Wayne and Glenn looked down at the white napkin, impressed.

"Damn," Wayne was the first to speak. "Even I'm not that fast."

"I just don't get how you both do it," Glenn said, shaking his head sadly. "You make it look so easy. I go up to a girl and I make a fool of myself every time."

"It is easy," Joe retorted. "Just give her the 3 C's: Confidence, Compliments, and Chivalry."

"No way," Wayne said, shaking his sucker at Joe. "Women are more complex than that. You can't standardize them—they each have their own way of succumbing."

"I'm guessing you're just waiting for the right moment for Beatrice, then, huh?" Joe teased. Wayne shot him a look, but let it go.

"Glenn," Wayne said. "You go ahead and take your pick of any girl here and I'll tell you best how to get her."

"Alright," Glenn said, scanning over the room.

-

James came back over to Wayne and Joe just as Glenn was leaving them with a brave and determined look on his face.

"Where's he off to?" James asked his friends, but they were too busy watching Glenn head towards a blond on a barstool.

"Head's up," Beatrice said suddenly, coming from behind them. "Jerk-alert."

She motioned toward the front door. Three rough-looking boys were just coming in the bar, ones the four Covenant members knew all too well. The three boys at the door surveyed the scene before them, and James couldn't help but glare as their eyes met.

"Damn Concordats," Joe growled under his breath. "What are they doing back in town?"

James sighed in frustration.

"Just leave them alone and maybe they won't bother us."

"Yeah," Wayne retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "And I'm Mary Poppins."

-

Hope you liked it! Please review.
Signed,
--RedRogue