A/N: I've written many other fanfics on this site but this is my first contemporary and Covenant fanfic, so bear with me please. I'm starting with freshman year, and I'll probably end up splitting this into four parts up to their senior year. I don't know how long each will be, I'm just cruising here. There will be more backstory on Hunter, Nana, and why Rowan has a godmother in the South. As for her powers, think Practical Magic meets The Craft. She's not all powerful, she's still learning, but what she can do she does *very* well. And there will be (hopefully) more on why Nana said the Brothers would *need* Rowan with them at school.

There is going to be romance. I flipped back and forth in my head from Tyler to Reid, but I decided on Reid because of the disparity of his and Rowan's personalities. But this story isn't all about just them.

*Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from The Covenant*

I. Whispering Corridors

~It isn't what they say about you,
it's what they whisper. –Errol Flynn

Freshman Year

Rowan Faith Danvers approached the building of Spensers Academy with her best friend and boyfriend Hunter Alexios Mercer at her side. At orientation the previous week she had felt the same claustrophobic feeling she felt now. The weight of the building settled on her shoulders like the Earth had surely done to Atlas. There was something about this school that was unclean, Rowan knew; for corridors whispered and walls did talk. And she could hear it all. Rowan was born with an extrasensory perception, born with magic in her veins like her brother Caleb and the rest of the Danvers line before him. She would not Ascend as Caleb, Pogue, Reid and Tyler would, her powers had simply always been with her.

She was broken out of her grim thoughts when Hunter's arm settled around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. They had been dating since the winter of seventh grade, although they had met in the fifth. He was a little over a year older than her, his birthday one week after Caleb's. Rowan had skipped two grades, her grades surpassing even those of Tyler's and Caleb's.

Rowan looked up at Hunter who was a good six or so inches taller than her. He was muscular with olive skin, raven hair that fell over his forehead in the perfect bed-head hairstyle; his eyes were a jade green brimmed with dark lashes. The only jewelry he wore was a small talisman necklace Rowan had made for him when he'd found out about the Covenant. Consequently, the Powers had a nullified affect on him, which irked Reid to no end.

"You ready?" Hunter asked with a half-smile on his face. He knew she was nervous, not to mention she looked like she was about to puke. Her normally light brown skin was blanched, and her natural cherry-hued lips were set in a straight line of discomfort.

"Eh," she replied, absently tugging on her earlobe, one of Rowan's signs of nervousness.

She hoped like hell Nana was right about the guys needing her close by. Graduating from high school early or home-schooling would create a divide between them. Nana was her godmother who lived in Louisiana. A descendant of Marie Laveau, Nana was a Mambo, and a powerful one; blind, with a far-seeing second-sight.

As they walked up the steps into Spensers Academy, words were uttered quietly from her lips, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Hunter laughed, but quickly sobered. "Don't worry, Row. If you have to go through hell, you know I'm going to be right there with you."

----

Rowan was mentally exhausted after her final class, she was more than ready to go home and spend time with Bubbe and Ernie in her apothecary, otherwise known as her sanctum sanctorum. And she was pretty sure she had spotted a ghost in fifth period Biology.

"Hey, Rowan, wait up!"

At the sound of Tyler's voice Rowan stopped.

"Hey, Ty," she said. Rowan was tugged to his side by his wide arm over her shoulders. Tyler was a good few inches taller than her too. "How was your first day?"

He shrugged, but was smiling. Truthfully, he'd been stoked to the start of high school. He and Reid were planning on joining the swim team, and Caleb and Pogue probably would too. Almost everyone knew the Sons of Ipswich, and it was only their first day.

"Good, I can tell by that dimpled grin," Rowan said.

People tended to underestimate him because he was the Baby Boy out of the four Brothers. Tyler had blue eyes and a face that lit up beautifully when he smiled. He had wavy brown hair and looked innocent, but he was tough when it counted and was one of the nicest people you could ever meet.

"Yours didn't go so great?" Tyler asked, his brow wrinkling with worry. Rowan was a little sister to him, to all of them really, and they were protective like any older brother would be.

Rowan hadn't voiced her concerns about the oh-so-illustrious establishment that they would be attending for the next four years. Caleb would end up hearing it and her brother didn't need to hear her ill-bodings on their father's alma mater. So there were ghosts here – so what? There were ghosts everywhere.

"It was okay," she said.

"You feeling okay? You look kind of pale."

Rowan headed that one off before it could spiral out. "I'm good, don't worry." Her health was always a major concern for everyone. She'd had leukemia at age four which had weakened her to this day, although it was in remission. Consequently her illnesses had delegated her to many sedentary activities as a child – piano lessons, knitting, reading, sewing, stitching etc.

Reid then gladly provided a distraction. Coming around the corner he was flashing a straight-toothed smile, a gaggle of girls around him. Upon seeing Tyler and Rowan the girls lost his attention.

"See ya around, ladies," he said, winking at a particularly buxom one, but his arm was already around Rowan's waist.

The girls walked away adding more nasty whispers that would absorb into the crevices of Spensers Academy.

"Already making the rounds, huh?" Rowan teased.

"Since we moved in the dorms," Tyler quipped.

"Good, then you can quit pawing at my girl," Hunter said, coming up behind them, smirking at Reid as he kindly nudged him away from Rowan.

Reid sneered in return. To anyone on the outside it would have seemed like there was a competition going to accrue Rowan's attention, but that was just the way it had always been. Affectionate, playful, sincere. Reid had dubbed Hunter an honorary member of the Covenant years ago. When Hunter had found out about them, Hunter in turn told them about him being a telekinetic and coming from a long line of them, too. His position in their circle only stronger when Rowan had told them Nana said Hunter was an integral part of their circle.

Tyler laughed at the sour expression on his best friend's face.

"You guys still joining the swim team?" Hunter asked as they continued to wind their way down the halls, down some flights of stairs. Spensers was a labyrinth.

"Hell yeah," Reid said. "Why don't you join?"

Hunter snorted. "I don't think so."

"Oh yeah, you prefer turning tricks, right?" Reid grinned.

Hunter was taller than the blond by two and a half inches, so he enjoyed tipping his head ever-so-slightly down at him. "Tricking, my blond friend. It's called tricking."

Rowan let the three boys babble on as her mind wandered. The temperature went down, the chill breaking through her blue blazer. She wore her uniform a size too big. She'd asked Caleb to lengthen the hem of her gray skirt by an inch, which he was only too glad to do even if he did have to Use. So now her skirt ended mid-kneecap, her sweater vest and white button-down, long-sleeved shirt were mediums when a small would have been better.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of blue. Upon first glance the young boy would have looked like any other student, but there was an aura of age around him. The young boy was standing expectantly at the end of the hall, hands in his pockets. He wore a Spensers uniform too, only it looked a bit outdated. Their eyes locked, and the boy smiled.

"Holy crow!" he yelled, and ran up to her, the cold he brought with him hitting her in the face like a cold wind.

Rowan stopped still in the middle of the hallway. "Wait," she said quietly, not wanting hold the inevitable conversation in front of school.

"You can see me?" the boy said excitedly.

Rowan nodded.

"Holy crow, you can see me!"

Hunter, Reid and Tyler couldn't see what Rowan was, but they felt that supernatural chill to a certain degree.

"Who is it?" Hunter asked.

Rowan shrugged.

"Holy crow!" the boy yelped happily, drowning out all the other whispers.

TBC...

==Okay, there it is. I have pics of Ernie and Bubbe on my profile which is connected to photobucket. And a general picture of Rowan's apothecary shop, it's not exactly as the pic shows, just trying to give you an idea. I'm still thinking of an image for Hunter and Rowan, I'm sure someone will come to mind.

==Also, for the definition and description of "Tricking" (the sport Hunter participates in) is also in a link on my profile. You can also look it up on youtube, there are some cool videos of tricking on there.