Dear readers-

Yes!Guess who's still back!! I'm pumping out chapters like whoa! I'm almost finished with a new Saving Ana chapter!! Yes, that's right, I'm amazing. And I'm still trying to decide how to continue Hilarity and Madness, so if you have any ideas, PM me and let me know. r leave me something in a reveiw, whatev. And if you've never read either of them, you should. I like input. Thanks!

-SDSL

Disclaimer:

Don't own the covenant. Sorry...

Pogue

It was Monday morning, and I was waiting outside for Alice and Caleb like I did normally, leaning against my bike.

Caleb finally pulled up, parking, Alice slipping out of her passenger seat, throwing her dark blue messenger bag over her shoulder. She wore the school uniform, her hair pulled back into a half-ponytail, the purple gone from her hair at Caleb's command yesterday. She looked somber… melancholy almost. I felt horrible for her after everything that happened Saturday.

"Hey man." I said, doing our normal handshake.

"Sup dude?"

"Nothing. Hello Alice." I said, directing my attention to her.

"Morning Pogue." She said, giving me a kiss on the cheek like she always did when she greeted our little group.

Caleb and I walked towards the classroom, him motioning over his shoulder for Alice to follow. She lagged behind, keeping to herself for the most part, not really focusing on anything or anyone in particular.

"Caleb…" I said in a low voice, "Is Alice alright?"

"I dunno… she's still pissed at me over Saturday morning." He said under his breath.

"I don't blame her." I said, earning myself a glare.

"It was for their own good." He said, sounding unconvinced himself. I'm sure Reid's words were currently reverberating through his head right now.

"If you say so." I said.

"Well, dude, how are… things with you?" He asked me, looking at me with concern.

"Um… fine?" I said, faltering a step. He'd caught me off guard.

"Well I was talking to Sarah yesterday… she said that you and Kate are on a 'break'. Are you okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm the one who called it." I said, feeling his stare on me. "I don't want to talk about it." I said with a grimace as we climbed up the rows of our first class; American Literature. Yes, Alice had class with us. She was damn smart.

We passed Reid on our way up, and he grabbed Alice by the arm, pulling her back to talk to her. Either Caleb didn't see this, or he saw it and chose to ignore it.

Before Caleb did notice, or before he chose to notice, I grabbed Alice by the wrist and pulled her up to the row that Caleb had already taken a seat in. Normally, she would've fought me off or pulled away, but today she just followed me silently. This struck me as odd, worrying me all the more.

Alice sat down on the end seat, forcing me to sit in-between her and Caleb.

The class started, and suddenly, my phone vibrated on the desk. I snatched it up and flipped it open, causing Caleb to give me an odd look. But I didn't have time to care. It was Reid.

'Pogue, dude, you gotta say something to Caleb. This whole thing I fucking ridiculous.'

'I KNOW IT IS, BUT YOU KNOW I CAN'T.' I typed quickly, being sure to do so in a way that neither Alice nor Caleb would notice.

I watched him as he frowned unhappily at my message. He texted me back, and then flipped his phone shut again. 'Oh, come on, man. That's a load of bullshit, and you know it. I mean, have you talked to Alice lately? Come on, dude, just look at her! She's the one who's taking this all so hard.'

I looked to my left at Alice, her head, looking down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. It was true, she did seem to be depressed. And I was worried. But still. 'AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?'

'Come on, Pogue, don't be like that! Don't even go there. I mean, come on, this is not my fault, dude!'

I snorted a laugh. Of course it was. 'REID, YOU WERE IN HIS SISTER'S BED... YOU SLEPT WITH HER. AKA I CAN'T HELP BUT TO AGREE WITH HIM.'

'But I wasn't going to! You don't understand! We didn't… we weren't going to… it just kinda… happened! Please just talk to him.'

'WHY SHOULD I?'

'Because, it wasn't just another random fuck Pogue, it's different with her. I love her. It's… dude, I'm begging you. I wouldn't beg for anyone but Alice- you know this. Please just do it for her sake. Please, Pogue."

I glanced at Alice, and then shook my head. 'I DUNNO DUDE. LEMME THINK ABOUT IT.' I typed to him, tucking my phone away.

I looked at Alice again, and realized that tears were falling from her eyes. I wanted to do something, but I knew she wouldn't have it; she hated it when people felt sorry for her. So I sat silently, waiting for the class to end, turning a blind eye to her tears.

After school, we were at swim practice. Caleb and Reid still weren't speaking. Tyler was on Reid's side. I was staying out of it.

A new guy was currently swimming, and, by the looks of us, would join the team. Evan something or other. Suddenly Alice walked in, dance bag over her shoulder, hair pulled back into a pony tail, in black jazz shoes, gray dance pants and a tight purple sports bra underneath an un-zipped black sweat jacket. All the guys stared at her; she was toned and muscular, definitely the most inhuman beauty anyone has ever seen. They were hormonal teenage boys, and they way she moved her hips, swaying them with unconscious rhythm, should've been a felony. She moved with graceful ease, all of the boys practically drooling, and she didn't' even know it. Everyone except the Sons and myself.

Reid smiled at her, and she smiled her broken smile. She hadn't truly smiled since Caleb banned Reid and her from hanging out.

"Caleb!" She called to him, walking over.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed, obviously not happy. He didn't want Alice and Reid in the same room unless absolutely necessary, like in classes; let alone actually in physical contact with one another.

She was a bit taken aback, confused why he seemed angry. "I just… I… I wanted to see what time your practice ended. I don't have a car, Caleb. I need a ride home."

"Are you sure you didn't just come here to see your boyfriend?" Caleb spat nastily.

"Caleb." I said in a warning tone.

"Caleb, why are you acting like this? I just came here to ask you a simple question." She said, and then added, "And Reid isn't my boyfriend. You saw to that yourself, remember?" She said, dropping her bag to the ground, moving forward as if threatening or challenging him.

"Are you saying I was wrong in doing so?" Caleb snarled, excepting the challenge, moving forward.

"Yes! Not that you care what I have to say, but yes!!" She shrieked, finally loosing her cool with him, pushing him backward a bit. Her shrill tones caused Reid and Tyler to look up at her… at us.

"Well then, what do you think?" He said condescendingly, crossing his arms.

"I think I don't know what the hell is wrong with you these days! You're acting like a fucking lunatic! Why can't the fact that I love him and trust him be enough for you, Caleb?" She said, now completely hysterical.

"Because, don't you see, Alice? You don't know what you want. Now do what I say, and stop acting like some common whore!" Caleb shouted, the entire pool going silent. Tyler was holding Reid back as Alice's mouth fell open. She then closed her mouth, setting her jaw in a hard determination. She pulled her arm back, slapping across the face- hard.

"What has happened to you?" She said in a harsh, angry whisper, turning on her heels, storming out of the pool.

Caleb looked at me, "What did I do?" He said with dread, almost as if he didn't remember his actions… or didn't have control over them.

"You are a dick." I said to him, shaking my head.

Evan stalked up and suddenly socked Caleb in the jaw. Caleb fell back and I grabbed him to keep him from falling. "What the fuck is wrong with you? I told you not to call her names! She doesn't fucking need it from you." Evan said angrily.

"Stay the fuck out of this. It's none of your goddamned business! We have enough problems without you butting in." I said even angrier.

Suddenly, Reid was in front of Evan, and they were nose to nose. Baby boy ran up next to me as Caleb stood. "We can fucking deal with this thanks. Just stay away from us… and Alice." He said, pushing Evan roughly, until Evan moved back to the pool, where the couch was yelling for more laps. Not having seen him and Reid almost kill each other. Reid glared at Caleb as Tyler pulled him away from us.

"Now, I'm calling Sarah. Hopefully, she and… Kate will help me." I said, turning to go change in the locker room and then running out the door. I dialed Sarah's number, putting the phone to my ear, standing under the awning of the pool building, considering it was now raining.

"Hello?"

"Sarah, hey it's Pogue. Where are you and Kate?"

"Well Kate's… not here. I'm with this girl, Amy. She's new here. Kate's um… out with Amy's brother, Alex." I grimaced. "But Amy and are getting the rest of me and Kate's stuff from our dorm room. It's all in my car. You know, because we bought that loft? We're moving in today."

"Okay, well, could you take a tiny detour? Caleb and Alice got into a tiny tussle. Caleb called her a whore, blah blah blah. Point is she ran out an utter mess and now she's outside somewhere. Please, can you help me find her?"

"… where are you?" She asked.

"By the pool building."

"We're on the way."

Alice

The rain soaked through me in a matter of minutes as it washed down over me, making it totally impossible for someone to be able to tell I was crying. I was running fast and hard, away from it all. I suddenly tripped and fell into the soggy grass, splattering myself with mud. I pulled my legs to myself as I cried violently, the sobs racking my entire body.

Suddenly, I heard people calling my name. I looked up to see a girl I had never met in front of me. "Alice?" She asked.

I nodded. "Who-who are yo-yo-you?"

"SHE'S OVER HERE! I FOUND HER!" The girl shouted. She then turned to me, "I'm Amy Catrel. And I'm part of the search and rescue party. I'm new here. But I am glad you're okay, even if we don't know each other." She smiled, and I nodded numbly, still very confused as Sarah and Pogue ran towards us, stopping in front of me.

"Alice." Pogue breathed, out of breath. "Thanks, Amy. You're a lifesaver." He said, causing her to blush for some odd reason.

I shivered, still hugging myself. "Wh-wh-what are yo-yo-ou d-doing her-he-here?" I said, my teeth chattering.

"Good lord, Alice." Sarah said as her and Pogue exchanged a wide-eyed look.

"You're freezing yourself out here." Pogue said.

"N-n-no I-I-I'm n-no-not." I said, stubbornly.

"Don't lie to us." Pogue said, putting his leather jacket around my shoulders, pulling me up into his arms, holding me tight. "Come on."

YES!! I'm soooo proud!! R&R please. Oh, and the next chapter Moving Out, Moving On, and the one after that, The Lunch Date Hysteria, and the one after that, Sleepover Gone Extremely Wrong, and even the one after that Bound: The Women Of The Covenant will all be up in a few hours!! Thanks!!

-SDSL