Chapter 3

Her first night in her Aunt Libby’s house had been a restless one. Faith wanted to blame it on the unfamiliar surroundings, but somehow she knew it was more. She couldn’t remember the dream, but she could still feel the fear that had laced it. Rubbing her eyes, trying to get some focus, she fought to find some trace of what she had seen in her sleep…nothing. Throwing the blankets back in frustration she got out of bed and walked over to one of the boxes she had yet to unpack. After rummaging through it for a couple of minutes she found what she had been looking for, her bag of stones. She poured them out onto the bed so that she could find the one she was looking for. Picking up the milky almost-white stone she rolled it around in her hand. A moonstone is just what she needed to help clarify her dreams. She put the stone on the bedside table and then headed for the shower.

****
She could hear them as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. Quickly stopping herself before she could be seen she pulled up close to the wall and angled her head to hear what they were saying.

“Your cousin is here? What for? This isn’t anything we can’t handle, Alex. Besides, she’ll only end up getting in the way just like she used to,” voice number one said.

That would be Chase, Faith thought and strained her ears some more to hear Alex’s hushed reply.
“My mother and hers are convinced that I need a family member here to… I don’t know, act as some sort of therapist for me. With her being family they thought she might be able to help me out somehow. Not that I need it.”
“Seriously. That’s what we’re here for,” voice number two said. That would be Nicholas, Faith grumbled to herself. Figuring this would be the perfect time to walk in, Faith stepped away from the wall and entered the kitchen where she saw the three musketeers sitting at a table in the breakfast nook.

“Hello boys,” Faith said breezily has she strolled in.
“Hey,” was the bland reply of all three.

She grabbed a bagel and broke the halves apart. As she sat debating whether or not to toast them the three boys watched her, two of them with intrigued and surprised looks in their eyes.

Faith was no longer the gawky and awkward fourteen year old they remembered. Gone were the braces, the gangly legs, and the pigtail braids. Instead, Faith had grown into an attractive young woman. She may have thought of herself as plain, but Nick and Chase were thinking just the opposite.

Noticing the gleam in their eyes, Alex quickly started the introductions.
“Faith, you remember Nick and Chase, right?”
Of course she remembered Nick and Chase. Nick, with his midnight black hair and matching eyes, was the always loyal side kick. Ready and willing to do whatever Alex asked of him. Not that he was push over, it’s just that he had always thought of Alex as the leader of their group; and in a sense Alex kind of was, much to Chase’s chagrin. The sentence starts as Nick and finishes as Chase – it’s just messy. Chase was the rebel of the group. He was constantly pushing the limits and trying Alex’s patience. He forever had a gleam of mischief in his cloudy grey eyes and his tousled dirty blonde hair just added to his debonair look.

Faith spoke up, “How could I forget? I still have the scars from when they tricked me into falling into that thistle bush.”
Laughing nervously, Nick spoke up, “That was years ago…So, you’re going to be coming to school with us, eh? You’re a junior, right?”
Pleased with the change of subject Alex answered for Faith, “No, Faith is going to be a senior like us.”
“Do you have your schedule yet?” Nick queried.
Alex answered once again for Faith, “It was sent home with me on Friday, she has all of the same classes as I do.”
“Exactly when did you plan on giving it to me, Alex?” Faith asked giving him a glaring look.
“You just got here. And today is Sunday anyhow. You won’t need your schedule until tomorrow. So chill.”
“Hmph.”
Faith finished smearing her bagel with jam, placed it onto a plate with a little too much force and then flounced out of the room in disgust.

“Still as snobby as ever I see,” Chase voiced aloud.
“Give her a break. I’m sure she isn’t happy with having to switch schools during her senior year and she isn’t nearly as annoying as she used to be. Besides, I saw the look you were giving her.”
Chase laughed. “I can like how she looks and still detest the attitude.”
“You two never seemed to get along. Nick and I would get along with her fine until you’d pull us into one of your schemes.”
Nick nodded in agreement.
“I just think she’s a snob. That’s all.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
They all got up from the table and headed for the door.
“Where to?” Nick asked.
“Where else?” was Alex’s reply.

****
Faith looked out her back window and saw the trio moving towards the woods. Good riddance.

She had started to unpack some of the things after her shower, but then her stomach had growled, so she had gone to find breakfast. Now her task was to finish unpacking so that she could settle in before her first day at Chatwick. She nibbled on her bagel while she slowly found places for her belongings. Her makeup was placed on the vanity, her clothing all fit into one of the armoires, and her herbs and other ‘witchy’ paraphernalia were hidden away in her suitcase at the bottom of the armoire. Her mother had told her that Aunt Libby was vaguely aware of her ‘gift,’ but Alex and his pals weren’t and she’d like to keep it that way.

It would be one less thing for Chase to rag on her about.

He had never liked her. Ever. When she was younger she tried everything in her power to try and fit into their threesome, but just when she thought she’d won Alex and Nick over, Chase always found a way to make her feel left out again. He was the main reason she didn’t come back for three years. She felt enough like a freak the last time she was here three years ago. Not only had she been going through adolescence, but she also had to learn to control her power. Unlike Alex and her friends, she came into power at the age of thirteen, right after she had visited Alex’s house one summer. She had been excited to be able to share her secret with Alex that last summer with him, but she never had the chance; Chase made sure of that. Faith had come looking for companionship and understanding, and Chase had given her practical jokes and teasing. She only stayed for three days that summer and hadn’t returned until now.

“Ugh. He’s such an ass,” Faith said out loud and looked out the window toward the subject of her ire. She was about to look away when she noticed a light. It was faint, almost a glow, coming out of the woods.
She moved closer to the window. “What the…”
She knew then what they were up to.
“Those boys and their…magic.” She grabbed a hair elastic and pulled her hair into a ponytail as she left her room and headed for the circle in the woods.