Author's Note : If anyone is all like, 'but the secrets spilled out wayyyy too fast', think for a moment. Reid would have no problem wiping Tiffy's mind if need be, and really, he's smart (at least my version of Reid is), which means that he knows Tiffy wouldn't spill. Why? Because they know her secret, which doesn't involve mind wiping, which means she's more likely to be outed as Not Normal, rather than them, if anything happened. That's my reasoning, at least.

As for Tiffany's side...you might have several problems. So far, she hasn't been the type of girl to just break down, or at least I hope not. I've been trying to paint her as emotionally tough, if physically weak, which she is, despite the crappy way I've described said aspects of Tiffy (I'm better at bad ass characters with kick ass ability). She's also really closed mouth about her past, which you haven't seen in action, but that's the way she is.

Well, she's half in love with Tyler at the moment (or is it Reid...hmmm...), and wanted to prove that she wasn't out to kill them all, that she wasn't using them. Plus, she trusts Tyler and Reid (if not Caleb and Pogue), which means she felt she could spill, even if unconsciously. Now, imagine all those memories, and then a girl who's been forced to be tough, but is a big softie inside. Add in the fact that NO ONE, not even her mother, knows what happened, and put her in the arms of someone who actually listens, rare as that is, and you've got the formula for a mental breakdown of massive proportion.

On a personal note...is my writing style distinctive, or is it pretty normal?

Chapter 8

I took another deep breath and focused, pushing back the angerfearsadnessterror and centering my mind. My eyes opened and I pulled back from Reid's chest, only to push closer into Tyler. I was twisted sideways in Reid's lap, so that my legs hung off the bed and my face was pressed into him. Tyler was at my back, hands passing through my hair and twisting my hair into braids. The feeling was comforting, as was the song Reid was humming under his breath, though he'd probably deny humming it later. Still, as comforting as it was, I was also confused. Tyler I understood – he was the compassionate one, the one who gave out candy to kids and hugs to crying girls.

Reid, though? He hit on crying girls, punched out people's light without a second thought and was generally Not a Nice Guy. He didn't even treat Sarah and Kate (or me, for that matter) with the respect that the rest of the boys treated them with. He was more than likely to slap one of us girls on the ass if he thinks he can't get away with it, or if he wants to irritate his best friends (Brothers, I guess). Why, then, had he stayed in my room and let me cry into his shirt? Well, shake, not cry, but whatever.

"'S 'cause you're important to me, idiot." Reid muttered, shifting his gaze from the door, which he'd been staring blankly at, to me. "Also, I'm hoping to get some suga' for this." He added the last as a joke, though it was half-hearted at best.

"Stop being so crude," Tyler grunted, "Now, how're ya holding up, princess?"

I twisted my head from Reid to Tyler, giving the younger boy a long look, followed by a slow blink. "'Princess'? Freaking 'princess'? You choose a darn nickname for me, and you choose 'princess', despite the fact that I'm the least feminine person in the group?"

Reid chuckled and I was close enough to feel the vibrations travel along my spine. It made me shiver. "No, I think you're the most feminine person in the group – or, well, maybe you're right. Tyler is kinda a girl, isn't it?'

Tyler scowled and I snickered. "I'm not the one who has a full closet and twenty hair products on my side of the sink, Reid."

"I have to look impressive for the ladies," Reid defended himself, a pout in his voice. "Not that you'd know anything about that – you're still too young for that, aren't ya, baby boy?"

I was out and out smirking now, my giggling being held back by sheer strength of will. "Ya know, here's where I bring up a, you have to spend hours getting ready for the girls. I just roll out of bed and they love me." Tyler smirked, "And b, Tiffy's younger than me, so she's the one that's too young for that kinda thing."

I lost the battle and began giggling out loud, which was probably what they'd wanted, those manipulative bastards. Oh well; it felt good to laugh after days of being miserable. "You've accomplished you're goals, guys. No need to go on any longer."

"Aw, but I was just about to hit my stride," Reid whined, and I turned to roll my eyes at his pleading expression.

"Darlin', you hit your stride a few years back," I pointed out, "And it didn't do you much good then. What makes you think it's gonna make a difference now?" And here was the beauty of Reid and to a lesser extend of Tyler – I'd have to explain my insult and the double meaning behind it to most people. Reid? He just got it. It was like we thought the same way. Most of the time, Tyler caught it too, but sometimes, like now, it escaped him. Reid, on the other hand, gave a small laugh.

"You know what?" Tyler asked rhetorically, "I'm not even going to ask about this one."

This caused Reid and me to lock eyes and smile at each other again."So, to answer your earlier question, Ty, I'm doin' perfectly fine, or as well as can be expected." And I swear, it had nothing to do with the fact that a gorgeous blonde was facing me and an equally sexy brunette was at my back.

…

Yeah, I don't believe myself, either.

Reid's POV

"The key phrase in that sentence is 'as can be expected'." Tyler stated, "And that's just not good enough for the two of us." Then baby boy yanked on her forming braid. "And sit still, will ya? I can't finish this up if you keep squirming."

Tiffy turned back around to face Reid, who moved closer and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Tyler could still reach her hair from there and Reid wasn't about to fight the urge to have her in his arms, at least for today. After all, it might just be the last time he'd get to touch her as anything more (if only a little bit) than a friend. "Reid's right – you're such a girl sometimes."

Tyler rolled his eyes at his best friend (Reid, not Tiffy, in this case). "Yeah, well, I started it, and I like to finish things that I start, even if it's just a brain." There was the sound of a rubber band popping and a small surge of Power. Tyler musta've transformed something into a rubber band for Tiffy's hair. "There. Done."

Reid didn't give her a chance to move before he lifted her by the waist. Used to the drill and manhandling, Tiffy didn't struggle or make it hard for him as he picked her up and set her to face Tyler. Reid kept her in his lap, though. "So, what can we do to make you feel better than 'expected'?" Reid asked after a second, chin settling on the top of her head.

"Unless you can somehow manage to erase all my bad memories and bring Jessie and Joy and Diane back from the dead, then no." Tiffy shivered, though this time, Reid was sure that it wasn't from his sex appeal.

"I can get rid of the memories," Reid began.

"But we can do nothing about the death." Tyler shook his head mournfully. "Resurrection is something that takes a soul to do, and the Covenant doesn't practice soul transformations anymore."

Tiffy was silent for a second, then, "I was joking, but...can you really erase memories? And bring people back, if you really wanted?"

Reid sighed, taking the role of leader. Sure, he wasn't the leader of the Covenant, but he was the oldest member in the room at the moment, so everything fell to him. "I'm sure you've read books and watched movies where wizards and witches had limits, things they couldn't do. We aren't like that. There's no real drawback from the Power, except the fact that we age faster, since it's tied to our life force. If you've got enough life force – life energy – then you can pretty much do anything."

Tiffy turned a little to look at him, and Reid paused for a second, looking her straight in the eye. "I could erase your memories with merely a touch of my finger. This is my talent; a Talent is something that requires very little life energy from the user. Tyler has Knowledge – he's able to recall any piece of information, any memory, since the age of five, sometimes before then. Caleb is the leader, and he's got a Talent for War and Defense. He has a natural affinity for shields and magic blasts." Defense was from Caleb's father, had been his Talent, but now it was Caleb's. "Pogue is the Empath of the group – he feels what you're feelings and can control it."

Reid wasn't sure why he was telling her all of this. She hadn't, after all, asked about which Powers the boys could control best. She's just asked about memories and resurrections. Still, Reid felt better telling her all of it, for some odd reason. "Together, as a group of four, we could destroy the world with a mere snap of our fingers, our Power is that great. The draw-back would be that we would be extremely old, but we'd still have destroyed the Earth."

Tiffy was silent for a second, "So, for all intents and purposes, you four are pretty much the most powerful people on the earth?"

"Well, no." Tyler corrected her, and Tiffy turned her head to stare at him. "Our father's have the same Power, at least those that are alive. They have as much Power as we do; the only difference, when compared to us, is that we have a longer span of time to Use the magic." He struggled to explain, "Our ability to Use is connected to our age. Every time we Use, we age, just a little. In a fight, assuming, of course, that the members are all the same, Power-wise, the younger one would win. He has a longer way to go before his body gives out on him."

"Which means that no, our fathers are just as Powerful..." Reid summarized. "And, of course, Caleb is the most Powerful of the four of us and of the three older generation, so really, if we're the only four bloodlines able to Use the Power...then Caleb is the most powerful person in the world."

"But he'd a good guy," Tyler added in, seeing Tiffy's wide eyes, "And he wouldn't try to destroy the world." Unless, of course, Reid thought, he went insane, or something devastating happened to drive him to commit evil. He didn't say anything, though; Tiffy looked freaked enough as it was.

Tiffy gave a groan and collapsed back against Reid's chest (and yeah, so maybe that turned him on a bit, but whatever). "You know what? I'm done for today. This is way too much for me to process right now."

Tyler smiled gently and gave her hand a squeeze, "You'll get used to it, I swear." Then the younger boy smiled mischievously, "Or we could have Reid erase your memory, and you'll never have to know?" He made the last part a half-joking question.

"Not funny!" Tiffy yelped, sitting up and glaring at him.

"No fuc-freaking way!" Reid snapped at the same time, and a silence fell over the room.

Then Tyler smirked and chuckled, "Aw, look, you're like an old married couple, speaking at the same time and saying the same thing."

Reid glared at him, and Tiffy reached out to smack him across the head. Tyler caught her hand, though, and jerked her towards him, bolting out at the last moment, so that Tiffy hit the bed face first. Then he grabbed her hands and anchored them above her head, letting a now-amused Reid dance him fingers against her sides.

"No! Stop it!" Tiffy shrieked. Not many people knew it, but she was horribly ticklish, to the point that she'd wet herself after a while (well, not really, but hyperboles made everything more fun). Reid had discovered it when he'd had to get her out of his passenger seat in the Hummer. "Let me go!"

"Not until you apologize," Tyler teased, smirking as he held his head upside down and looked her in the eye. "For keeping secrets and not trusting us."

Heh, so maybe Baby Boy really was angry over not being trusted by the girl, Reid thought, then let Tiffy go when she shrieked out, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Oh God, let me go!"

Reid collapsed on the bed, shoulders propped against the wall as he waited for Tiffy to stop wiggling around and laughing. Finally, Tyler joined the wall beside him, and Tiffy tossed herself across both of their legs. "We okay now, Tiff?" Reid asked after a second, reaching down and pulling a little on her braid.

She sighed and nodded, "Yeah, we're fine now." Read, I'm fine now. "Thanks, y'all."

"Was the least we could do," Tyler added, poking her in the side once more and smiling as she shrieked.

"'Sides, we couldn't let you be in a morose mood for when we went out tonight, could we?" Reid deadpanned, making the plans on the spot. Tyler, however, was working on the same wave length and didn't ask 'what plans', like some other -cough-CalebandPogue-cough- people might.

Tiffy was silent for a second, then grumbled, "Why am I always the last to know, dammit? And why can't you two, for once, ask me?"

"That's 'cause you're the puny moral, Tiffy. Didn't you know?" Reid asked, and dodged the punch with a laugh of relief. Everything was back to normal (for them) and Tiffy was no longer moping. Despite the problems he and Tyler were going to be having from now on, at least their girl was okay.