Disclaimer: I don't own squat from the Covenant… although if I did…

PLEASE RR! This is my first one for the Covenant, so tell me what you think!

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Rebeka checked her schedule again. "English," she muttered to herself. It was on the other side of the school. She sighed, and walked quickly through the busy halls of Spenser High School.

Rebeka's parents had divorced when she was eight. Her mother had gotten custody and they had moved down the coast to North Carolina. The divorce, no matter how many times she'd said 'it was for the best', had hurt her mother, Barb. They didn't have a lot of money, having spent much of it on the lawyers. They lived in a rundown condo, and mostly lived off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Once Rebeka was fifteen, she got a job as a waitress in a small bar, to help pay for the schooling at the public school. The job didn't pay much. Her mother worked two jobs – one during the day as a janitor at the elementary school, and the other at night as a bartender at the same bar Rebeka worked at after school.

Many nights, Barb would come home late from the bar, drunk, to forget about their dismal situation. Sometimes she would yell, blaming Rebeka's father, Tom. Rebeka would go quietly into the bedroom and shut the door to block out the screams. Other nights, Barb would cry – cry for Tom, for the life they had lost. Those nights, Rebeka would comfort her mother as Barb sobbed long into the night.

Rebeka was seventeen when Barb died in a car crash. The police said alcohol and excessive speed were involved.

Rebeka was sent to live with her father, who lived in Massachusetts, in the historic Ipswich colony.

Tom Aarons had done better than they had. He set himself up in the real estate business and made enough money to live comfortably in a large townhouse outside of town. He could afford to send Rebeka to Spenser for her senior year.

Rebeka stepped into the English class. The many-tiered levels, while they weren't so shocking anymore, were still intimidating. The professor greeted her kindly and pointed her to an empty seat. She climbed up the stairs and sat in her aisle seat. The boy next to her was talking to another boy. When Rebeka sat down, the dark-haired boy smiled warmly at her. Rebeka smiled nervously back.

"I'm Caleb Danvers," he said, holding out his hand. He had kind brown eyes, and was very cute, Rebeka decided.

"Rebeka Aarons," she replied, taking his hand. It was warm and smooth.

"Oh, the Aarons' kid," said the boy next to Caleb. He had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair and a brilliant smile. Rebeka wondered why she had never seen these boys before; it wasn't like the town was big, and they would stand out in a crowd.

"That's me."

The boy elbowed Caleb out of the way and extended a hand. "Pogue Parry."

Rebeka shook his hand. "Pogue? That's an unusual name."

"Hand-me-down from some great-great ancestor." He shrugged.

"Alright everyone, welcome to the start of the new school year." The professor waited until the class settled down. He turned to the small chalkboard behind him. "This semester, we will be studying the works of Aldous Huxley, Kurt Vonnegut, and George Orwell." He scrawled the names on the board.

"Oink, oink!" someone called out.

The professor sighed as if this happened regularly. "Yes, very good Mr. Garwin. We will be studying Animal Farm." Caleb put his head in his hands.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Rebeka walked through the town to her father's work. She smiled at the woman behind the front desk. "Hello Allison."

"Hi Rebeka. Your father's almost done with his last meeting."

Rebeka sat down in the hard chair against the wall. Fifteen minutes later, she heard Tom Aarons' voice saying goodbye to his latest clients. He spotted Rebeka. "Hey Beka, let me go get my things and we'll go."

Rebeka threw her bag in the back seat, and climbed into the front.

"So, how's your first day at Spenser?" Tom asked, glancing at her as they drove down the country roads, leaves swirling behind them in their wake.

"Fine. I met some nice boys today." Tom raised his eyebrows. "As in they said 'hi' to the new girl, Dad." Rebeka rolled her eyes.

Tom visibly relaxed. Rebeka wouldn't say that Tom was a strict or prying parent. She knew he meant well, but he was pretty much out of his depths when it came to mentally nurturing his seventeen-and-a-half-year-old daughter – there were just some things he couldn't understand. "Who're these boys?" he asked, trying to keep up the interested father role.

"One was Caleb Danvers, and the other was Pogue Parry."

"Ah," said her father knowingly.

" 'Ah'? What's 'Ah'?"

"Oh, nothing. They're good kids; don't get into much trouble. There are four of them, actually. The other two are from the Garwin and Simms families.

"You say that like they're some kind of gang," Rebeka remarked.

Tom laughed. "Well, you could say that. But it wouldn't be the gangs like you see on TV or in the movies. No, these boys are good. Known as the Sons of Ipswich."

"Nice gang name."

"They're descendants of the original Ipswich families that settled the colony in the sixteen hundreds," Tom explained. They pulled up to the house and got out of the car. "So, any plans for tonight?" Tom asked as he unlocked the door. They stepped into the house and Rebeka headed to the stairs.

"I don't know; didn't really have plans."

"Well, I was thinking, you don't really hang out with kids your age –"

"I've only lived here for a couple months," Rebeka pointed out.

"I know. Say, why don't you go to Nicky's? That's where all the other students are, I hear."

Rebeka nodded. "Alright, I'll check it out; I can tell you want me out of the house." She smirked.

"No, not at all!"

"Right. Well, next time Dad, don't write your dates with Sandra on the calendar. I mean, anyone can see them!" She winked and ran upstairs to her bedroom as her father reddened.

Rebeka closed the door and dropped her bag on the floor. She crossed to her dresser and pulled various drawers open. She ruffled through them, searching. Spenser was fine, but the uniforms were going to drive her nuts.

She pulled a pair of light blue jeans on, and threw her uniform skirt to the floor in a heap along with the rest of the uniform. She chose a plain black tank top; it was practically skin tight, and it showed off the form of her body nicely. She pulled her strawberry-blonde hair back into a simple pony tail, giving her a slightly sporty look.

Rebeka went back downstairs and found her father in the kitchen. Tom raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on his daughter's appearance. "Why don't you grab a quick bite before we go?"

"Okay." Rebeka went to the stainless steel refrigerator and took out some turkey and mayonnaise. She slapped some turkey on a mayonnaise-covered slice of bread, and then covered it with another slice of bread. She finished her sandwich in ten bites. Her father pulled on his nice black jacket and ushered Rebeka out to the car.

"So, ground rules," Tom began as they entered town. Rebeka groaned. "Beka, I'm serious. No drinking, no… other stuff…"

"Yes sir," Rebeka intoned mockingly. "Don't worry, I don't do that stuff," she added more seriously.

The car pulled up in front of Nicky's. Rebeka thought it looked much like the bar she had worked at in North Carolina. But the similarities ended at the physical appearance. She waved to her dad as drove away and entered the bar.

The slightly smoky atmosphere was alive with the din of the many patrons – most of which were indeed students from the school. Rebeka walked through the throng of moving bodies to a clear space near some small wooden tables on the other side of the pool tables.

A hand fell on her shoulder, and she stiffened. Memories of the many drunks that had tried to hit on her in North Carolina flashed in her head. "Hey," said a familiar voice. She turned.

"Caleb!" she said, relieved. She let him lead her to a couple of tables that were grouped together in the corner. There were two girls and Pogue already sitting there. "Hi Pogue." Pogue waved.

"Rebeka, I'd like to introduce these two lovely ladies: Sarah –" A blonde girl smiled and waved. "—and Kate." The other girl with dark hair and skin waved cheerfully. "Girls, this is Rebeka Aarons." Caleb sat down next to Sarah and gestured for Rebeka to make herself comfortable in one of the open chairs. Caleb wrapped an arm around Sarah, and, almost simultaneously, Pogue did the same to Kate.

Damn, Rebeka thought.

"Reid and Tyler hustling pool?" Pogue asked. Caleb rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Are those two the other half of the Sons of Ipswich?" Rebeka asked. Caleb and Pogue smiled. "My dad told me," she added.

"Yeah, they are. You can see them over there." Pogue pointed to the nearest pool table where a blonde-haired boy and a brown-haired boy were leaning nonchalantly on their pool sticks. A curly-haired boy took a shot and missed. The blonde smirked. He walked around the table and made a show of aiming. Then he shot.

Rebeka gasped. "What's wrong?" Caleb asked.

Rebeka pinched the bridge of her nose. "Uh, nothing. Headache." Her eyes wandered over to the pool table again. The blonde aimed again, and took a shot. A sharp pain shot through Rebeka's head again. She held her head in her hands and tried to ignore the noise of the bar.

"Rebeka?" She was vaguely aware of Caleb leaning towards her. The pain stabbed again, and black spots began to bloom in her vision, obscuring parts of the table in front of her. Caleb's voice seemed very far away. "Get Reid and Tyler. We need to get her out of here."