Disclaimer: I do not own any content or characters related to The Covenant, nor do I have any intention of trying to make any money off of this strictly recreational work of fiction.

Chapter 2: Feels Like Home

The next day came quickly and far too early and Sarah wanted to beat her new roommate with a pillow when she realized she was a morning person. A hair away from dozing back off, she was snatched cruelly from Morpheus' arms as Kate called her name from the foot of the bed. Reminding herself that Kate had been really nice and that they hadn't known each other nearly long enough to bite her head off, Sarah forced her eyelids apart to look at the dark skinned girl.

"I was going to grab breakfast and then swing by the store for a few essentials. Wanna come?" Kate asked from her seat at the vanity. Loathe though she was to get out of bed and with the proviso that she needed a cup of coffee ASAP, Sarah hauled herself up and into the bathroom.

Later in the morning, fed and sufficiently caffeinated, Sarah was in a much better mood as she and Kate picked Chase up after breakfast and headed for the store. They'd only met him last night, but he seemed like a nice enough guy. He was cute and funny and seemed to have his eye firmly on Kate. Though he didn't make any overt moves on her, the day was young and Sarah could sense a storm brewing there. Pogue more than likely had the ability to do some serious damage to any guy sniffing around his girlfriend, so she was hopeful that he had more self-control than someone like Reid.

Walking down the aisles of the store, Sarah felt her stomach flip flop as she rounded the corner and found Kate chatting with Caleb. In an effort not to sound any different than she had the night before, her greeting was maybe a little too enthusiastic. Either he didn't notice or he didn't care, because Caleb visibly brightened as he returned her greeting. She was momentarily captivated by his beautiful smile and his dark eyes, before Chase broke her from staring by jumping out at Kate like a dork. If that wasn't flirting, she wasn't sure what it was. Caleb's eyes tightened almost imperceptibly as he watched the interaction, but the smile didn't leave his face as he shook Chase's hand.

Kate invited everyone to a Brad Pitt movie and before she knew what was happening, Sarah had agreed instead to accompany Caleb on his errands. She spent the walk to his car berating herself, because hadn't she just said that she wasn't going to get involved with another witch (no matter how well he filled out a t-shirt). She sighed internally as he led her to a beautiful grey Mustang convertible—of course he had an amazing car. So far, she was struggling to find anything wrong with him. He opened the door for her like a gentleman and some of her reticence melted away at the small act of chivalry.

The drive out of town didn't take long and they were soon winding down smaller backroads with the top down. "So, Chase and Kate…" Caleb's smooth voice interrupted her thoughts. "Do you know if there's anything going on there?"

"Not that I can tell, but that doesn't mean Chase doesn't want there to be." Sarah was in no way trying to gossip about her roommate, especially not with her boyfriend's best friend, but she was relieved to know she hadn't been imagining things.

"Pogue won't be happy with that." He murmured quietly. "He's head over heels for her…Has been for years." She'd noticed that everything that came out of his mouth was said with a quiet intensity, like he was used to getting his point across without raising his voice. She vaguely wondered what he sounded like when he did.

"Like I said, I'm pretty sure it's one-sided. From what she's told me about him, Kate seems to be completely in love with Pogue." Sarah felt the need to a) defend her roommate and b) wipe away the frown line that had formed between Caleb's eyes. On cue, his face brightened and he let it drop. Several minutes later they had settled into a comfortable silence, when she broke it wistfully, "I wish I'd brought my camera. This place is so beautiful." The leaves were a fiery orange and reminded her of the year her mother had moved them to the Blue Ridge Mountains and had insisted they spend the weekends camping out just off the parkway in order to commune with nature. Witch or no witch, her mother was always a hippie and had wanted to instill a love of nature in her only daughter.

Caleb said nothing, but smiled as he watched her wide eyes taking in the scenery. A few minutes later, he was the one to break the silence as he described the Putnam barn, explaining, "This whole place, for miles around, was the original Ipswich Colony." Not letting the conversation lull, he followed up by asking why she'd come to Spenser Academy. So, she told him about her scholarship and her desire to attend Harvard. "My father was class of '81," he responded, grinning.

Delicately, she told him, "Kate told me he passed away."

He deflected flirtatiously, "You and Kate talk about me?"

She was bashful and a smidge embarrassed. "Well, you know, just girl stuff." She waited a beat, wanting to say her piece, before she told him seriously, "I lost my mom a couple years ago, so when I say I'm sorry—I truly mean it." He didn't say anything, just glanced at her with a tight expression and nodded once. Her message received, Sarah settled back in the bucket seat and enjoyed the remainder of the ride.

When they finally reached their destination, Caleb explained the aged wooden structure, "It's our family's first colony house."

"Wait…somebody lives here?"

"Just our caretaker, Gorman." Right as the words left his lips, a shot rang out and echoed off the trees. Though Sarah jumped, Caleb seemed relatively unphased as he hollered across the small field in front of the broken down house. "Gorman, it's me! It's okay!" His voice quieted down as he explained, "He doesn't see that well anymore."

"You think?" Incredulous, she raised both eyebrows at him and he shrugged in return. She kept her eyes on him as he walked away and idly noted that he filled out a pair of jeans just as well as he did a t-shirt. Once he was out of sight, she turned her attention to the colony house. If there had been any doubt in her mind that Caleb came from a magical lineage, it was dashed as she concentrated on the house. Residual magic from generations before clung to the area like the smell of ozone that came with a heavy summer rain. Unlike the tugging that occurred when magic was performed nearby, this kind of lingering magic surrounded her soul like a down blanket and reminded her of the country villa that many of the women from her line had called home over the years.

Closing her eyes, she felt the magic stretch away from the house and fold itself around her. The trees, though not quite the same as the building, still held echoes of the ages and their magic wound around her like cats seeking attention. If she reached out and tried to touch them, they might push into her hand or they might skitter away. Unsure of how she would be received, Sarah refrained. Another reason to hold back was that reaching out would turn her passive magic into active magic, which would draw attention that she wasn't ready for.

Most witches weren't as attuned to environmental magic as she was, often preferring the flamboyant acts of using instead of feeling. Her sensitivity came from her mother's weekend trips to the great outdoors and the teachings of her various aunts, telling her to feel the trees and to feel the lake and No, not with your hands, Sarah. Her eyes flickered open as she felt rather than heard Caleb leave his ancestral home. She wondered if he could feel it waving goodbye as he got back in the car.

"Okay?" He asked as he settled in the driver's seat.

"Yeah." She smiled as she felt the home waving at her, too. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"So, you wanna shower or change first?"

Huh? "For what?"

"We're going to Nicky's." He said, like she should have any idea what that was.

"What's Nicky's?" The smile that lit his face was wide and genuine and without prompting, she felt a smile stretch across her face as well.