"He WHAT!?" 17-year-old Wyatt Halliwell shouted, "I'll kill him. Absolutely kill him..."
"Wy, calm down," Chris hissed at him "you'll wake her up, and Tim and Mel just got her to lay down." His brother could be such a pain in the ass when it came to her. So could he, of course, but that was beside the point ...right now, he had to try to stop his brother from going after Mark. He did not succeed in stopping her brother. He took off the second she was asleep.
"Let me get this straight," Wyatt struggled to get his temper under control. "Mark Wilson took her to a party, and..."
"Wy, get it together, bro. Seriously. You getting into it with Mark, not gonna help her at the moment. So, I'll say it for you. Yes. Mark took her to a party. Yes, he put something in her drink, and yes, when I got there, she looked pretty out of it." One look at his panicked brother confirmed what Chris had been sensing for months --- he liked her. Really liked her...
Mark was dead meat.
When Alicia woke up a few hours later, the first thing she noticed was the MAJOR throbbing in her head. Why was she in Wyatt's room?
Right, she thought. Parents. Out of town. She got up to get a glass of water, and felt herself falling to the floor...
"whoa, there. Having a little trouble standing, are we?" Wyatt smiled at her as she clutched his arm for support, trying not to let his anger show.
"Matty?" She tried to shake the foggy feeling out of her head. "What the hell..."
Wyatt smiled at the nickname. She hadn't called him Matty for years. She must really feel like shit. "Yeah, it's me. You ok?"
"Uh-huh. Sure. You wanna tell me why I feel like I got hit by a truck? Oooh, let me guess. Demon attack?" She glanced at Wyatt, who was staring at her with wide eyes.
"You don't remember? You were at..." He was interrupted by a loud ringing.
"Oh my God, make it stop. Just break the damn thing. My head is about to explode...please, Wy, just make it stop." She scrunched up her nose, and Wyatt laughed as he orbed the phone to himself.
"I can't break it, Kit. What if it's your parents, or Tim calling? At least see who it is first."
"Can you just get it? If it's mom and dad tell them I'm sleeping or something. Was I drinking? Cause I gotta tell ya, this feels like a hangover to me..." She sat down on the bed so he could answer the phone. He looked at the caller ID, and saw...Mark.
With a quick smile at Alicia, he walked into the hall, careful to shut the door behind him.
"Hello, Mark."
"Uh...Wyatt?" shit.
"Do. Not. Call. Her. Again. Ever. If you come near her again, you'll have to answer to me." Chris stepped into the hall just in time to hear the last part of the conversation, and see his brother snap the phone closed.
"Nicely done. So...you gonna tell Kit you're in love with her?" He grinned as Wyatt turned a little red.
"What? I'm not...I don't...ok, maybe I do, but now is not exactly the best time...Toph."
"Uh-huh."
Wyatt shook his head at Chris. "Smart ass."
"Who, me? Never." Chris glanced back at his brother as he headed downstairs, "She need anything? Food? Water? Aspirin?"
"Water. Please," said Alicia as she leaned on the door frame, and looked pointedly at Chris. "And why are you being called a smart ass this time?"
"Do I need a reason?" Wyatt asked, giving Chris a look that clearly said 'speak and you die'. Alicia smiled at Chris as he stuck out his tongue and proceeded down the stairs.
"Who was on the phone?"
Wyatt's jaw clenched. He couldn't keep it from her...could he? Nope, he thought. She always finds out.
Always.
"It was Mark Wilson. You know, from school, the guy from the football team, dark hair, blue eyes..." He stopped at the look she gave him. "What?"
"You have a crush on the guy or something?" she laughed and said dramatically, "Dark hair, blue eyes...I know who Mark Wilson is, Wy."
Apparently not.
"What did he want?"
Oh shit. "Homework assignment?" Good cover.
She raised her eyebrow. "Homework?"
Idiot, thought Wyatt. When was the last time anyone saw Mark doing homework? ...Never.
Chris sauntered up the steps with a sandwich and a glass of water. "Here you go. Mom made me come back with a sandwich. She says, and I quote, 'Eat it, or I'm coming up there to find out what's going on.' " He grinned at his best friend, "And you know she'll do it, too."
"Gimme the sandwich, smart ass."
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Alicia closed her eyes, panic setting in.
Get off me, asshole, she wanted to scream, but the words wouldn't come. What the hell...
Mark was kissing her neck, and had both her hands pinned against the wall with one of his own. The other hand roamed smoothly across her body as he pressed himself against her. She stared at the grouping of family photos on the wall across from her, willing her eyes to focus.
"Kiss me," he breathed into her ear. His breathing was getting quicker and his free hand was slipping under her shirt as she tried to get her bearings.
"Wha..." She tried to push him away, but tripped over her own two feet as he caught her mouth with his.
"Just finding out what all the fuss is about, love," He whispered through his kiss, "Those Halliwell boys can't seem to get enough of you...thought I should find out for myself."
She tried once more to push him away, tears streaming down her face, and as he kissed her again, she bit down on his lip. Hard.
"Ow..." he hissed, slapping her across the face, "You little bitch."
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"GET OFF!!!" she yelled into the darkened room.
All at once, it seemed, the Halliwell household orbed into Wyatt's room, noticing her shaking hands and teary eyes.
"What the..." Paige.
"You, ok, kiddo?" Leo and Piper.
"Where's the demon?" Phoebe, Mel, and Coop.
"Are you hurt?" Henry, Jr...
"I'm gonna kill that bastard." ...Wyatt and Chris.
"Sorry, guys...just a nightmare, I guess..." Alicia said, trying to calm her breathing.
Or a memory, Chris said telepathically to Wyatt, who looked like he wanted to hit something.
Piper noticed the look between her boys, and decided it was time to intervene. "Ok. Phoebe, you and Mel, stay here with Alicia. Everyone else, downstairs. Now."
"Mom.." pleaded Wyatt.
"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, don't even try it. Down. Stairs. NOW."
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She was terrified. Phoebe could feel it rolling off her in waves. Whatever the dream was about, it was scaring the crap out of her.
"Alicia?" Phoebe started, but a movement from Mel caught her eye...oh, yeah. Something major was going on here. Her daughter had that look. Like the cat that swallowed the canary.
Downstairs, Piper was not doing much better. "So, who would like to go first? Chris? Wyatt??"
Wyatt bit his lip, while Chris looked at his shoes...and then at Wyatt.
"Something you would like to share with the class, Chris?" Piper was quickly losing her patience. This was bad. She could tell.
"Well..." Chris started, "Alicia had a date tonight, with a guy from the football team..."
Piper nodded. She knew this already. But it did not prepare the room for what he said next.
"...We think he tried to force her to...you know..." Chris fumbled with the words he did not want to think about.
Piper gasped, and Coop sank into the nearest chair as he finished the sentence with the words neither of the boys could bring themselves to say, "...you think he tried to rape her."
Back upstairs, Phoebe was beginning to come to the same conclusion.
"So, Alicia, you remember going to the party...and flashes of Mark kissing you...but no memory of getting here afterward? And Mel, you and Tim and Chris found her at the party, with this Mark kid, and he was kissing her?"
"Yeah, Mom. And she seemed pretty out of it at the time...sorry, Kit." Mel said sheepishly.
"Why? You pretty much saved my ass, there, pal. Thanks," Alicia said, glancing at Phoebe. "What is it?"
"Well, it's just that, you weren't drinking, right?"
"Right."
"So...the question is, why were you so out of it that you couldn't even push him away from you?"
Noooo...he couldn't have...could he? "He put something in my drink...he had to have...so, my dream, you're saying it's real?"
"I dunno, sweetie, I think it could be." Phoebe said quietly.
Great. Just great.
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It was rare, at 8:00 on a Saturday morning, to find no movement in the Halliwell manor. But, given the previous night's events, it was pretty much called for. Alicia slid quietly out of the bed, past Wyatt, who was sleeping in the chair across the room, and crept down the stairs. She started some coffee, and looked through the fridge for stuff to make omlettes. Eggs...cheese...bacon...mushrooms...peppers...she piled things into her arms and closed the door.
"Morning, sunshine..." Wyatt began, "Want some help?"
"Sure, if you think you can avoid setting the house on fire," she deadpanned.
"Hey. I only did that once. I was 11, and it was really Chris' fault anyway." Wyatt protested.
"Okaaaay, if you say so," Alicia smiled, remembering that day, and suddenly she found she couldn't meet Wyatt's gaze.
He knows...about Mark. About you. And he is going to hate you... The words came to her in a whisper, making her cringe.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Wyatt touched her arm, and was surprised when she flinched.
"Nothing, Wyatt, I'm fine. Just tired, I guess."
Uh-oh. She never called him Wyatt. Usually it was Wy, or Halliwell, or Matty. She only said Wyatt when she was mad. Or scared...wait, she flinched when he touched her arm...was she scared of him? What the hell?