She's lonely now, but she doesn't want to admit it (she doesn't have anyone to tell it to anyway and isn't that a pathetic little problem) and nobody notices.

Faye is alone and she is lonely, two things she never thought would coincide. She was telling the truth to Melissa: she doesn't mind being alone, she even likes it most of the time – but in the wake of the Circle's potential murderer she's…scared. And she wants someone there.

Melissa has always been the tail to her kite and now she's not. Faye has orchestrated this but in her darkest moments she regrets it. In one move she has removed both Melissa and Nick (as much as he was a sleaze, he was her friend) from her personal equation. The honeymoon phase has been thrown upon her formerly rational, Faye-worshipping friends like an impenetrable cloak.

Even if she considered Cassie as an option, Faye has managed to push the girl so far away her fingertips can only brush the edge of friendship. Saving Cassie's life has helped some, but Faye is not about to show her weakness to the blonde now.

And Diana…Diana has always been circling an orbit that doesn't remotely match Faye's own (larger and more erratic) path. It's funny because she's known her longest but they don't really know each other at all.

So maybe it's not that surprising that Adam's the one she goes to, even if the boy himself is pretty shocked when he opens his bedroom door and sees Faye.

"Your dad let me come up." Faye says in lieu of an explanation, brushing past him into the room without waiting for permission. When he turns around, she's sitting on the edge of his bed with her legs crossed as if she belongs there.

She likes to sit like the world is her throne.

"Shut your mouth, Adam, you'll catch flies." Faye says, honeyed sarcasm leaking from her lips. She angles her head and bats dark eyelashes at him innocently. He rolls his eyes like a knee-jerk reaction. This is a typical routine for them: except she hasn't been in his bedroom since they were thirteen years old.

"What are you doing here, Faye?" He asks, perpetually irritated with her, and crosses the room to his desk chair. Her eyes follow him slowly.

"Oh, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything…private." Faye wiggles her eyebrows and he takes a deep breath. She frowns abruptly. "God, Adam, calm down. What is your blood pressure anyway? It must be constantly skyrocketing –"

"Faye." He interrupts, tone firm. No nonsense. He hasn't got the time.

"I'm bored." She opts for this excuse instead of telling him she's lonely; he's not going to believe her either way and it's better than getting hurt.

"You're always bored." Adam sinks into his chair, body half turned away but his attention is still with her. Faye smiles.

"I missed you." She tries again, this time going for playful. A smirk traces out her lips.

"I saw you Friday at school." He's not having it.

"Adam – " She's almost whining, begging him to cooperate and play her game, but his sharp glance cuts her off. Faye may be proud, but she knows when it's futile. "I…don't want to be alone right now."

His whole expression softens and his eyes cut to his lap.

"I'm sorry, no one thought to ask…you were almost killed too." His sensitivity shouldn't surprise her so much; it's who he is – infinitely kind and generous – but she didn't expect him to feel pity for her.

"I'm not weak." Faye says sharply, offended. "I can take care of myself – I mean obviously I would be better without this stupid binding but I – that… guy came after me and there was nobody to come to my rescue – " Her tone has taken a turn for the bitter, but she stops abruptly when she feels a hand on top of hers. Adam's reached out and quieted her like throwing a blanket over a fire.

But she's serious. She's not weak – this isn't who she wants to be, crawling to Adam because he's the only one nice enough to have her and crying into his shoulder like a child. It won't come to that, not if she has anything to say about it, so Faye rips away and stalks towards the door.

Inevitably, Adam plays the hero and comes after her. And when she swings around meaning to berate him, furious with him for all his perfection, he's not quick enough to stop himself and they crash together. They're shifted backwards and her back hits the door, makes it shake. He throws out his arms for support and traps her within the frame of them; she's breathing harder than she probably should be.

The room goes quiet and still as they wait for his father to come up the stairs asking about the noise – but this is Adam's father, and of course he doesn't.

With no distraction coming they're both forced to face their proximity. They haven't so much as hugged in years and now Adam's pretty sure he can feel Faye's heartbeat from where her chest meets his – and he probably shouldn't thinking about her chest but – it's right there.

And because Faye can't be this soft creature and it is so easy to be this other, dark and twisted thing, she launches forward and kisses him. Her arms wrap around his neck. Adam stumbles backwards, hits the bed. He bends backwards and she pushes and pulls and somehow gets him fully onto the bed, open to her (not so tender) mercies.

Faye's thrown restraint into some dark corner where her softness and compassion already lie dead, and she climbs on top of him without hesitation. She doesn't even look at him. Her dark hair brushes against his face as she kisses his neck; her hands are wandering and it's not hard to imagine where this might be going.

But he doesn't stop her and he can't say why, exactly.

He wants to think it's not because Diana wants to stay a virgin until she's married and he's horny and he wants Faye he's always wanted her; he wants to think this is the only way he knows how to comfort the other witch and it just got out of control - but even if that's what he says out loud he can't lie to himself. And he can't lie to her.

Faye can feel his hands on her lower waist, at the just the place where her shirt brushes the top of her jeans, and she rolls her hips experimentally. She sighs a little at the feeling of it – not just the physical sensation but also the power – and Adam's answering groan only makes it sweeter.

She sees no point in wasting time. She sits up, straddling him, and rids herself of her shirt in one smooth motion. Faye doesn't let their eyes meet (she can't because that's where she left her guilt) but she smirks and shifts deliberately.

There's so much warmth between them when they're both down to just their underwear. Before either of them knows it they're locked together in a heated kiss and suddenly Adam is the one hovering over Faye. He knows why he's there, he just can't understand how this became his reality. If anybody, he'd thought, Cassie –

But that's a whole lane neither of them can go down.

Yes, he's seen her looking at Cassie but it's him she's touching now and he doesn't care if they're both substituting. He thinks in most ways they're really not. After all, there's always been this sort of…chemistry between them.

Impatient, Faye's hands dive into his boxers and he groans, head bowing down and pressing against her shoulder. Quick as a fox, Faye pushes the last of his clothing off and he's not sure – what to do –

But she is. It takes some wriggling that is, frankly, almost too much for Adam but she divests herself of her own underwear and well. That makes things pretty clear.

"Are you su–"

"Shut up and do it." She's a virgin too, yeah (she's not a slut, despite what people think), but she's not going to let him do that to her. He's not going to coddle her.

Adam hesitates but she grips his hand, hard, and he can't wait any longer –

He looks up and their eyes finally meet, just as he enters her. She's gasping, unable to avoid him in the rawness of the moment, and they're both surprised by it all. Their clasped hands tingle and every light in Adam's room shorts out.

It's dim but Adam can still see Faye's eyes in perfect clarity. It hurts and it shows on her face, so he leans down and plants a tender kiss on her lips. She'll deny it later.

It takes some time but they both adjust, and when he begins to move again she definitely isn't in pain anymore. Neither of them last very long after that; her head is thrown sharply back, his mouth against the crook of her neck.

They're both out of breath, and they don't speak as they lie there together. It's silent for so long Adam eventually gives in and drifts off.

When he wakes up he tells himself that he's not surprised (not hurt) to find himself alone.

But he knows he's lying.