Prue walked out of the high school with her friends and saw that Piper was ready and waiting for her. They would always walk home together and meet Phoebe at the junior high on the way. Piper looked annoyed, and Prue figured it was because she was with her popular cheerleader friends and she was late. Prue quickly said goodbye to her friends and she and Piper started walking.
"Took you long enough," Piper said in an annoyed tone. Prue noticed that Piper's annoyance seemed to be about more than just her being late. "Phoebe hates it when we're late."
"Let her wait," Prue said, trying to ignore Piper's attitude.
"So, why did I have to wait like a half hour for you? Was there a cheerleader crisis?" Piper asked sarcastically.
"We had to talk to the coach about our new routine," Prue said. "What's up with you? There's more to this than your usual 'I hate popular people' tirade."
"It's nothing," Piper said sharply; she also sounded slightly embarrassed about something. They continued their walk in silence, meeting up with Phoebe at the junior high. Once they arrived at the Manor, Piper immediately went up to her room and closed the door.
"What's up with her?" Phoebe asked Prue. Prue shrugged her shoulders.
"How should I know? It's probably just the usual," Prue said. "I'm going over to Andy's."
"Didn't you just see him at school?" Phoebe asked.
"Tell Grams where I'm at," Prue said, ignoring the question. She was out the door before Phoebe could say anything else.
Up in her room, Piper was sitting on her bed staring at a note she had intercepted in geometry class. It was to Missy Campbell from one of her little cronies. Piper couldn't believe everything it said about her. How could people be so mean? And this was one of Missy's nicer friends. Piper almost liked the girl who wrote the note. But it seemed that this particular girl was two-faced, something worse than the blunt and open teasing that Missy subjected her to. There was even a little stick figure drawing of someone being hanged with an arrow pointing to it from Piper's name. Piper's focus was drawn to a few particular sentences:
"Did you see how she was staring at Billy Morgan the other day? Yeah, like a four-eyed freak like her would ever have a chance with him."
'I'll show you a four-eyed freak, you two-faced little bitch!' Piper thought angrily.
She threw the note down and marched over to her closet, searching through her wardrobe for something not as tame and plain as what she normally wore. No luck there. So she made sure Prue wasn't home and then began searching through her closet. She chose a really short skirt and midriff top, but then decided against it. As much as Piper wanted to show Missy and her friends that she wasn't a freak, she didn't think she should go that far. So, Piper settled on some tight black pants and the same top she had picked before. Then she sat at Prue's vanity and began doing her make-up. There wasn't much she could do about her braces or glasses, but Piper did the best she could. When she was finished, she stood and checked herself out in Prue's full-length mirror.
"Not bad," she said to herself. She frowned. "Could be better." Piper shook her head and then left Prue's room, summoning up all the confidence she could find within herself as she headed out of the house.
Phoebe was in the living room when she saw Piper walk by. "Hey, Piper, what are you up to?" she asked. But Piper had already grabbed her jacket and left without a word. Phoebe sat there, confused, then worried. "Grams is not gonna be happy that she left without saying where she was going."
The place where all the popular people hung out had always intimidated Piper, and today was no exception. It was just a youth center, meant for all the kids in the neighborhood. But the popular people took it over one day, and everyone else just stopped going there. The place wasn't much. A couple pool tables, ping pong tables, foozball, and darts were in the recreation room. There was a big screen television in another room, with old, comfy chairs, and there was also a basketball court. Piper took a deep breath and walked towards the youth center. When she grabbed the handle of the glass door she almost turned and ran. Missy and her friends were in the lobby chatting while they got sodas from the Pepsi machine. But Piper didn't run away. She had come here to show Missy and all of them what she was made of, and she was going to do it. Prue and Phoebe would accuse Piper of being a glutton for punishment, but Piper thought she was being extremely brave, facing up to these people. She pulled the door open and strode into the youth center like she always came there.
She walked past Missy and her friends, who were staring in shock, and went straight into the TV lounge. There were a bunch of guys from the football and baseball teams sitting around the room watching basketball. Piper laughed at the irony of that, but stopped suddenly. She momentarily forgot why she was even there when she saw Billy sitting on the back of the couch with his feet on the cushions. He was watching intently and smacked a couple of his friends high fives when his team scored a three-pointer. Again, she had the thought of running away, but she pushed it away and started to walk towards the group of guys. There were a couple girls watching as well, but Piper could tell they were only watching because their boyfriends were.
Piper grabbed a folding chair and was about to take it over to join the group when someone grabbed her arm. She turned. It was Missy Campbell.
"What are you doing here?" Missy asked.
"It's public property. I can be here if I want to," Piper said, trying hard not to let Missy see how intimidated and nervous she was. "I came to watch the game."
"You watch basketball?" Missy asked. She didn't have any good insults to throw at Piper at the moment because she was so shocked that Piper had even set foot in the youth center.
"Yeah, sure," Piper said, pushing out a little more confidence. "I like Michael Jordan." It was the only basketball player she could think of.
Missy glanced past Piper at the TV. "The Bulls aren't playing."
"Really? I could have swore they were," Piper said, quickly recovering. "Well, I guess I'll just have to watch this game."
"Can't you watch it at home?" Missy asked.
"My sister's hogging the TV," Piper explained. She pulled her arm away and took the chair over to join the group. She sat down and everyone looked over at her, waiting for some sort of explanation. "Hi," she said, not offering any explanation. "Who's winning?"
For a minute, Piper thought nobody would answer. They all looked at her like she had two heads or something. Her confidence started to wear thin, and she was almost ready to take off when Billy provided an answer to her question.
"The Lakers," he said, obviously confused but seeming not quite as annoyed by her presence as everyone else. "I never knew you were into basketball."
"Well, I just started watching recently," Piper said with a smile, her confidence returning. "I like Michael Jordan, but I thought I'd check out the other teams too."
"The Bulls are okay, I guess," Billy said. Now everyone was looking at him like he'd sprouted a second head. "But the Lakers are my team."
"Then you should be happy now," Piper said. She couldn't believe she was holding a conversation with Billy Morgan, let alone a conversation about basketball. "Who are they playing?"
"I guess I'm sorta happy, but they're playing the Jets. The Jets suck," Billy said. He laughed and Piper giggled along with him.
"Yeah," she said. She was starting to get into unknown territory. Everyone else was watching Billy and Piper like they were watching a tennis match.
"Have you gone to any of the school's basketball games?" Billy asked.
"No, not yet," Piper said. She wasn't even sure of the schedule for this year. "I was thinking about going to the next one. But I think I might have a paper due the next day." She didn't have a clue what she was talking about.
"Oh, you must have Harris for British Lit, right?" Billy asked. "Yeah, I think she makes it a point to schedule due dates around all the sports games. I remember I had to pitch a double-header last year and I had a ten page paper on Hamlet due the next day."
"Yeah, I've heard Harris likes to make the sports people suffer," Piper added.
"Yeah," Billy agreed. "Well, maybe if you go to the game we could meet up and I'll teach you the finer points of high school b-ball."
"Maybe," Piper said with a smile. She couldn't believe this. Billy practically just asked her out. And everyone in the room knew it, too.
Billy looked at the TV then looked back to Piper. "You know, this game is as good as over. You feel like going to DQ and getting some ice cream? I've got this killer craving for an Oreo Blizzard."
Piper didn't have a chance to answer because the sound of several people coughing loudly interrupted the conversation. Everyone else looked to the doorway to see Missy and a few of her friends apparently choking on their sodas. Piper's smile was so big it could only be compared to that of the Joker from Batman. No one saw it though. Billy turned back to Piper waiting for an answer.
"So, you wanna go?" he asked again.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Piper said, almost too excited.
Billy grabbed his jacket and hopped off the back of the couch. Piper stood and the two of them walked out together. As they made their way through Missy's group, Piper shot a smug smile at Casey, the girl who had written the note. Casey just glared at Piper. But Piper didn't care. She was going to get ice cream with Billy Morgan and at this point it didn't matter what Missy, Casey, or anyone else thought.
Piper's bubble deflated a little when she got home just before dinnertime. She came into the kitchen, and everyone was there, even Andy. Grams was not happy.
"Piper Jayne Halliwell, where on earth have you been?" she said sharply. "When Phoebe told me you had left without saying where you were going…what are you wearing?"
"My clothes, that's what she's wearing," Prue said in realization. She wasn't very happy either.
Piper was suddenly guilty and defensive. "I just went to the youth center and then I went to Dairy Queen with this guy."
"A guy? What guy?" Phoebe asked, suddenly really interested in the conversation.
"Billy Morgan," Piper said with a smile.
"You're kidding!" Prue and Andy said at the same time.
"Piper, you know better than to go out without leaving a note or telling anyone where you're going," Grams said, causing the smile to disappear from Piper's face. "And you know the consequences."
Piper became frantic. She certainly knew the consequences. Not from experience, but from watching Prue and Phoebe experience them. "No, Grams, please. I'm sorry. Billy and I were going to go to the basketball game together on Friday. Please."
But Grams didn't budge. She uttered a line that the girls knew by heart. "For all I knew you were lying in a ditch somewhere."
"Grams, you don't understand," Piper pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. It was a reflex when she argued with anyone. She started crying. That's why she rarely won arguments.
"No, dear, you don't understand," Grams said. "Your safety is more important than some basketball game or some boy."
"He's not just some boy," Piper said. "You're just going to lock me up? This is the first time I've ever broken your rules."
"And now you won't break them again," Grams said. "This discussion is over, Piper. Now, go change. You look like a hussy."
"Hey!" Prue said, taking offense to that comment, considering Piper was wearing her clothes. But she quickly forgot about it as Piper turned and rushed out of the kitchen crying. Grams turned back to the food cooking on the stove. Phoebe and Prue looked at each other, made sure Grams' back was turned, and then did rock, paper, scissors to see who would go talk to Piper. Prue had rock; Phoebe had paper.
"Better you, anyways," Phoebe whispered. "You know who Billy Morgan is."
Prue nodded her head, gave Andy a peck on the cheek, and then went up to talk to Piper. She went to Piper's room, but she wasn't there. She had already changed out of Prue's clothes. Prue heard water running in the bathroom and went to investigate. She knocked on the door.
"Piper, can I come in?" Prue asked. She heard a muffled 'yes' and opened the door slowly. Piper was wearing her pink terry-cloth robe and scrubbing the make up off her face. Prue leaned against the counter with her arms folded across her chest and watched Piper wash and dry her face.
"I'm sorry I borrowed your clothes without asking," Piper said quietly as she placed the towel back on the rack. She put her glasses back on and headed back to her room. Prue followed.
"So, you got a date with Billy Morgan?" Prue asked, ignoring the comment about her clothes. Piper flopped on her bed and clutched a pillow to her chest. Prue moved her clothes and sat facing Piper.
"Yeah, well not anymore," Piper said in disappointment. She was on the verge of tears, but determined not to let them spill.
"How'd you swing that?" Prue asked.
"What? Do you think I can't get a date with Billy Morgan?" Piper asked defensively.
"No, it's not that," Prue said. "Well, okay it is that, but not because of you. It's just that I've seen him around school and he's never seemed interested in you."
"Well, maybe you just weren't looking hard enough," Piper commented.
"So, you went to the youth center, dressed to kill, covered in make up, nothing like your typical self," Prue said. "And a basketball game? I thought you hated basketball. What brought all this on?"
Piper just sat there for a moment, ashamed that she had gone to such lengths to change herself just for people that she couldn't really stand. She reached over and handed Prue the note Casey wrote to Missy. "I intercepted it in geometry class."
Prue read it carefully and then looked up. "Piper, you're not a four-eyed freak."
"Yes I am," Piper said, sniffing back her tears. "I'm a four-eyed freak, and nobody likes me."
"I like you. Phoebe, Andy and Grams like you," Prue said. Piper rolled her eyes as a way of saying that doesn't count. "Hey, and Billy must like you or he wouldn't have asked you to go to Dairy Queen or the basketball game with him."
Piper just sat there hugging the pillow. "Now I'm under house arrest."
"I'll talk to Grams," Prue said. She reached forward and hugged Piper. "Let's see if I can get you paroled. Get dressed for dinner."
Piper nodded her head and watched Prue leave. She really hoped Prue could get Grams to change her mind. She didn't want to have to call Billy and tell him she was grounded.
Prue was somewhat successful, but there were conditions. Since Prue was a cheerleader she would be at the game, so Piper had to ride with her and meet Billy at the game. She would also have to leave with Prue. No post-game hanging out, no real private time with Billy. But Prue managed to fix those problems, too. She made up an excuse that the cheerleaders were going to get pizza after the game, and that she wouldn't have time to take Piper home. But obviously the cheerleaders weren't going to get pizza. Prue was going to meet up with Piper and Billy an hour after the game was over.
When Piper called Billy to explain the situation he was surprisingly understanding.
"House arrest sucks," he said. "Can't say I'm a stranger to it. I totally understand."
"Really?" Piper asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'd need to borrow your hands to count how many times I've been grounded," he joked. Piper laughed. "I'll see you at the game."
"All right. Bye," Piper said. She hung up the phone extremely happy.
When she and Prue arrived at the game, Billy was waiting outside. He approached Piper and put his arm around her shoulders. When he wasn't looking, Prue and Piper both gave each other shocked looks. Then Prue had to rush off to change.
"You want anything from the snack bar?" he asked Piper. "I'm gonna get some nachos."
"Nah, I'm fine," Piper said. Billy bought his nachos and the two of them went into the gymnasium.
The first thing Piper noticed was the weird looks she and Billy were getting from Billy's friends. The second thing she noticed was Missy Campbell and her cronies sitting together, laughing at them. Piper couldn't quite catch on to what they were laughing about. She assumed they were all laughing about the fact that Billy was dating a four-eyed freak. But Billy seemed content with the situation. He and Piper sat with his friends, and he didn't seem phased at all by the looks he was getting.
As the game went on, Piper managed to ignore everyone else around her by concentrating on Billy and everything he said. He explained the rules of the game to her, and she was really learning a lot about basketball and starting to like it. At half-time the cheerleaders came out and Billy and Piper made fun of them together, even Prue.
"Which one's your sister?" Billy asked. "It's hard to tell from here."
"That would be Little Miss Head Cheerleader," Piper said sarcastically. She pointed to the top of the formation. "Right there at the top."
"Oh, well I guess she's better than most of the other ones," Billy said with a laugh. "I'm not much for cheerleaders. Everyone just thinks I am because I'm a jock."
"So what are you for?" Piper asked.
"I like girls that are smarter than the clothes they wear," Billy said with a smirk.
"Prue's not stupid," Piper said defensively.
"Oh, yeah, I know," Billy said. "But some of them…they wouldn't know the difference between a sonnet and a limerick if it bit them in the pom pom."
Piper laughed. She couldn't believe how comfortable she felt with Billy. She had always been so nervous about being around him, but now they were having fun. She wasn't nervous at all.
Later after the game, Piper and Billy just sat in his car and talked—about the people at school, some of the teachers, the killer workload they had in their literature classes. They almost forgot that they had to meet up with Prue. Piper saw the clock and became nervous.
"Ooh! I better go, or I'm going to be late meeting Prue and I'm going to get in even more trouble," she said frantically, reaching for the door handle.
"Hey, hold on," Billy said. Piper turned back and he reached forward. She was a little confused about what he was doing. But then he reached back and placed his hand on the back of her neck, gently pulling her forward. She let him pull her forward. He pulled her so close and paused. Piper thought he wasn't going to go through with it. But then he did. He pressed his lips softly against hers and kissed her. He wasn't forceful at all, and he didn't even try to do anything more than this. When they pulled apart, Piper was speechless. He smiled and she just continued to stare at him. He glanced at the clock.
"Well, you better go, or you'll get in trouble," he said. Piper nodded her head, coming out of her daze. "I guess I'll see you at school on Monday."
"Yeah," was all Piper could say as she backed out of his car. She closed the door and watched him drive away. Prue was watching in the car from across the parking lot. She was a little nervous because Piper was just standing there watching Billy's taillights disappear. She was afraid that maybe he had done all of this as some big joke. But when Piper turned Prue could see the huge grin on her face. Piper's whole attitude and appearance had changed. She walked with confidence and with her head up. She walked quickly. Prue watched Piper get in the car, but she didn't start it. She just stared at Piper, waiting for information. Piper noticed this and smiled. But she wasn't going to indulge Prue too much. She was only going to say one thing.
"He kissed me."
Piper used her punishment to her advantage. She did as much schoolwork in advance as she could so when she finally had freedom she could spend her free time with Billy. Some would probably say she was a little too confident, that the kiss threw her into some naïve fantasy world where it meant she and Billy were meant to be. But Piper didn't care. She wasn't thinking at all about what she might feel like if Billy changed his mind and rejected her. She only cared about seeing him again. Being with Billy in her free time motivated her to get two English papers written and ready to turn in. She also wrote half of her history paper and did three days worth of geometry homework. She barely came out of her room all weekend. For a while, Grams thought it was because Piper was upset about being grounded, but relaxed when she saw Piper hard at work.
Monday rolled around and Piper's nervous tendencies kicked in again. What if Billy changed his mind? It was one thing to be around Billy with his friends and Missy Campbell around, but it was a totally different thing to walk up to him calmly with the whole school watching. When Piper got to school she saw Billy talking and joking with his friends. She started to walk towards him, but was quickly intercepted by Missy and Casey.
"Hey Pied Piper, I've got a little message for you," Missy said. She dropped a piece of folded paper on top of Piper's stack of books, and she and Casey stood there grinning. Piper just looked at them confused as she shifted her books and unfolded the paper. When she finished reading it she was crushed. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Sorry, Pepper," Casey said with a grin. "But as your classmates we felt it was our duty to inform you that Billy sees you as nothing but a joke. Sad but true."
Piper looked over at Billy and they made eye contact. He noticed how upset she looked and started to walk over, but Piper turned and ran. Billy was confused and ran after her, but she went into the girls' restroom.
"Piper? What's wrong?" he asked through the door. When he didn't get an answer he walked over to Missy and Casey. "What did you say to her?" he asked angrily.
"The truth," Missy said simply. Billy realized what was going on and went back to the bathroom door.
"Piper! Please come out. Let me explain," Billy yelled through the door. He got no response. "If you don't come out, I'm coming in there!" A couple of students nearby laughed at him. "All right, ready or not." He pushed the door open. He let it shut behind him and then locked it. Piper's books were strewn on the floor and she was standing against the wall, tears streaming down her face.
"What are you doing?" she asked through her tears.
"I want to explain. I know what Missy told you," Billy said. Piper shook her head and went into one of the stalls, locking the door behind her.
"Just go away! You think I'm a freak! You think I'm a four-eyed, zit-faced freak!"
"No, Piper," Billy said. He leaned against the wall in front of her stall. "I admit that's what I thought before. And it was all a joke at first. I was going to go to that basketball game with you and embarrass you in front of everybody there. I was going to be a total asshole to you. That was my plan when I asked you to go get ice cream, and then everyone would have a good laugh. I'd be Mr. Popular, funny guy for picking on you." Piper just kept crying. "But when we were talking and having ice cream at DQ I saw the side of you nobody at school gets to see. My plans changed because I realized what a jerk I would have been for doing something so mean to you. I saw the real you."
"Bullshit!" Piper spit out through her tears. "I can name five movies where you could have taken that speech from. I'm not stupid!"
"I know, and that's exactly what I like about you," he replied. "I told you at the game how I feel about girls like Missy and Casey. Do you think I would have spent all that time with you Friday if I thought you were a freak? Would we have talked for an hour after the game, and probably longer if you weren't grounded, if I was playing a joke? Would I have kissed you?"
"A kiss doesn't make it better," Piper said throwing the door open and gathering her books. She set her books on the counter and started to wash her face off at the sink. The bell rang, but Billy ignored it.
"I know, but it should prove to you that I'm being honest here," Billy said. Piper grabbed her books, but Billy stood in her way. She tried to get around him, but he moved when she moved. "Piper, if you run away from me, you're never going to prove to everybody else that you're not a four-eyed freak. You're never going to prove it to yourself."
Piper just glared at Billy. She cleared her throat and then said, "I'm going to be late to class."
Billy looked defeated and let Piper pass. She unlocked the door quickly and left the restroom. Billy just stood there trying to think of some way to make things right with her.
Piper thought after that her day couldn't get worse. She was wrong. At lunch the second she walked into the cafeteria Missy's crowd and all the jocks started snickering and staring at her. She started to walk to one of the tables in the back when one of the football players called out, "Hey Halliwell! You wanna go get some ice cream with me!" The whole group started laughing, and Piper dreaded the fact that she would have to walk past them to get to her table. "Hey, Piper," another jock called. "Let's go to a football game together!" More laughter. Piper just walked quicker. But as she passed the table someone stuck their foot out and Piper tripped, her tray clattering to the floor and her food spilling everywhere. The cafeteria erupted with laughter and applause. Piper bent to clean up the mess. Prue had been on the other side of the room and was about to stand and beat the crap out of whoever tripped Piper when silence fell in the cafeteria.
Piper didn't understand how the cafeteria became so quiet all of the sudden until she saw a pair of tennis shoes in front of her. She looked up to see Billy starting to bend over to help her.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Showing them what they're missing out on," Billy said with a hopeful smile. "The lunches my mom makes are huge. We can share. You'll just have to get something else to drink."
The janitor showed up with a mop then and relieved Piper and Billy of clean-up duty. Billy led Piper to a table in the back and pulled out a chair for her. Unlike Billy, though, Piper was totally aware of the fact that everyone in the cafeteria was watching them in awe. Even Prue couldn't believe it. News traveled fast and even though she hadn't seen Piper all day, she knew what had happened that morning.
"How do we get them to stop staring at us?" Piper asked in a hushed tone as Billy sat next to her.
"We ignore them," he replied. He started to unpack his lunch and sure enough he could probably have fed a third person. He split his sandwich in half and offered half to Piper. She just stared at him, so he placed it in front of her.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I want to know you," Billy said. "With all the time that I'm stuck around cheerleaders and jocks I feel like I'm stuck in this role, just like you probably feel stuck in yours."
"Don't preach to me about the pressures of being popular," Piper said in slight annoyance.
"When you walked into the youth center, even though I had the idea of playing the joke on you, I still admired you a little. I thought, 'This girl's got guts.'"
"Right," Piper said. She tore off a small piece of bread and put it in her mouth.
"I'm serious," Billy said. "I was really shocked to see you in there. Everyone knows how Missy treats you, and everyone knows that Missy always goes to the youth center after school. I thought you were extremely brave to go in there knowing that Missy would be there. And you didn't let anything phase you. I admired you for that."
"But you still went ahead with your plan," Piper said, her feelings still hurting from what she found out earlier.
"I know, but I gave up on it once we got to talking at DQ," Billy said. "I felt horrible for just thinking such a thing. But one thing I did enjoy about it was seeing the looks on the faces of Missy and her friends when we left."
Piper giggled. "That was pretty funny."
"That's not the only thing I enjoyed about it," Billy said.
"If you say meeting me was the best thing that ever happened to you, I swear to God I'll throw this sandwich at you," Piper said. Billy laughed.
"Okay, how about this? I've enjoyed getting to know you, and I want to know more," he said. Piper smiled. "If you'll let me know more."
"Maybe," Piper said coyly. "But I'm still grounded. And don't think you've totally made up for what you did."
"Of course not," Billy replied. He smiled at Piper, hoping to get a smile back. She tried not to, but she couldn't help it.
Homecoming came but once a year, but Piper had never noticed it until now. Because before she had never had a date. This time she did. She and Billy had been dating for two months, and Piper couldn't remember any time in high school when she was happier. Prue's disbelief of this relationship just increased every time she saw Piper and Billy together. Prue was happy for Piper, but Billy surprised her. He had never seemed like the type of guy that would go for someone like Piper.
"You are going to blow Billy away," Prue said. She and Piper were shopping for dresses for homecoming. They stood facing each other admiring the dresses they were wearing. "You know, that is really your color." Piper turned to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a baby blue ankle length dress with an off the shoulder, satin bodice. She turned back to Prue, who was wearing a sleeker, more form fitting red, strapless dress.
"You look great, too," Piper said with a smile. She looked back in the mirror. "I'm going to get this one."
"Good choice," Prue agreed. The two of them changed out of the dresses and took them up to the counter. Once they had paid they started to head out of the store when Piper spotted Billy outside the store. She hid behind a rack of dresses. Prue was confused.
"Piper, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Billy's outside. He can't see my dress!" Piper said urgently.
"That's weddings, not homecoming, silly," Prue said. She grabbed Piper's arm and tried to pull her along. But Piper wouldn't budge.
"I want to surprise him!"
"But he needs to know the color so he can match his tux," Prue said. "And he has to get a corsage."
"I'll tell him the color, but I don't want him to actually see the dress till I'm wearing it!"
"All right, fine," Prue gave in. She watched outside until Billy left. "Okay, he's gone. Can we go now?"
Piper carefully peeked around the dresses she was hiding behind. "Okay, we can go."
"Thank you!"
The night of homecoming arrived and Piper was extremely nervous. She was pacing back and forth across her room with Phoebe sitting on the bed watching.
"Piper, you're making me dizzy," Phoebe said.
"What if he doesn't like the dress? I've never been to homecoming. What if something goes wrong? What if everybody decides to start picking on me again? What if I spill something on my dress or what if I spill something on Billy?"
Prue had been standing in the doorway, listening to Piper's ranting. "Take a breath!" she exclaimed. "He will love the dress. Nothing is going to go wrong. Nobody is going to pick on you because you look beautiful, and Billy and I would slaughter them if they did. And you're not going to spill anything."
"But…"
"No! Don't say another word!" Prue ordered. Phoebe grinned and tried to offer encouragement to her older sister.
"You are going to have a great time tonight, Piper!" Phoebe said. "I wish I could go to homecoming."
"You'll get to go next year," Prue said. "You can wait."
The doorbell rang and Piper looked like she was going to faint. Prue took Piper's hand and pulled her toward the door. "Piper, calm down. You look like you're going to have a heart attack!"
"Girls! Your dates are here!" Grams yelled up the stairs. Prue and Piper descended the stairs, Piper smiling nervously. Billy, Andy and Grams stared in awe at the sisters. Phoebe watched from the top of the stairs.
"Wow!" Andy exclaimed.
"What he said," Billy added.
"You both look like beautiful angels," Grams said, hugging her girls.
Billy nudged Andy, and loudly whispered, "She said it better than us."
"You look gorgeous," Andy said, slipping Prue's corsage on her wrist.
"It's rare that I'm at a loss for words," Billy said to Piper. "So, please accept this corsage from your big, dumb jock."
"Your four-eyed freak accepts," Piper said with a smile. Prue and Andy were staring at them in surprise. Piper tried to explain. "It's okay. We're just accepting who we are."
"This can't be a healthy relationship," Prue joked.
"It's definitely weird," Andy agreed.
"Oh shut up!" Piper said, smacking Prue on the arm.
"All right, I need to get a picture of you four before you leave," Grams said, pulling out a camera.
The four of them clustered together. "All right, but hurry, Grams," Prue said. "Our limo is waiting." Grams snapped a quick shot of the four and then waved goodbye as they climbed into the white limousine for a night to remember.
Piper was having a great time with Billy. So far nothing had gone wrong. Billy liked her dress, no one had teased her and she hadn't spilled anything. Of course, it was only a half hour into the night, but Piper wasn't taking anything for granted. After a few dances, ballots were passed out to vote for the homecoming king and queen. There was a write in slot, and just for fun the Halliwell sisters and their dates put down Billy and Piper. It's four more votes than they ever thought they would get.
After that was taken care of everyone continued dancing and forgot about the king and queen for a while. As usual somebody had spiked the punch, so Billy and Piper avoided it. Prue and Andy seemed to like the punch though, and they were sillier than usual. Billy and Piper just laughed. As long as Prue and Andy were still standing and didn't have to drive they figured it was okay.
Finally, the coronation time rolled around. The chair of the homecoming committee, Clayton Burgess, stood at the microphone and prepared to announce the king and queen.
"It was very close and believe it or not our runners up weren't even on the ballot. I think this is one that deserves to be heard. With 246 write-in votes the first runners up for king and queen—who must take over if the king and queen cannot fulfill their duties—are none other than Billy Morgan and Piper Halliwell! Talk about a shocker, folks!" Everyone clapped, and Prue and Andy cheered, but Piper was utterly stunned. 246 write-in votes for her and Billy? It wasn't possible. Piper couldn't believe it. She expected 4, not 246. But she was quickly drawn back to the matter at hand when Clayton began to announce the king and queen.
"The king and queen tonight were actually on the ballot. With 255 votes, Jakob Mitchell and Missy Campbell are this year's homecoming king and queen!"
Everyone cheered as Missy and Jakob headed for the stage, well everyone except for the Halliwells and their dates, who politely clapped. Missy made a corny acceptance speech while Jake just stood behind her like an ornament. Then they began the music for the king and queen coronation dance. Everyone left a space open and Missy and Jake danced to "Open Arms" by Journey. Piper just stared at them, thinking that only 10 more write-in votes and she would have been there dancing with Billy. She had been so close. She had never been that close to anything associated with the popular people in her life. It was starting to annoy her that she had been that close. Why couldn't she ever beat out Missy? Piper suddenly felt very much like how she used to feel before she was with Billy. She leaned over to Billy and told him she was going to the bathroom. She told Prue that she didn't need to go with her and then left the room.
She looked in the mirror and allowed her old insecurities to creep up on her. She stared at her reflection, not understanding what Billy saw in her. 'Why does he like me?' she wondered. Piper lost track of time as she became wrapped up in her thoughts. She was dragged back into reality when Prue threw the bathroom door open.
"Piper, get out here now!" Prue said. Piper had no idea what could possibly be so urgent, but she followed Prue out. The dance hall was practically empty and Piper could hear people outside in the parking lot chanting "Fight! Fight!" over and over again. 'How long was I in the bathroom?' Piper wondered, not understanding how a fight could break out so quickly.
She and Prue finally made their way to the front of the crowd. Andy was kneeling on the ground holding his hand to his nose. Prue knelt to help him up. But Piper was awestruck. Billy was fighting Jake Mitchell, and she had no idea why. They were throwing blows left and right. Billy would get a few good hits in and then Jake would throw some good hits of his own. Piper couldn't believe it. She didn't know why they were fighting, but she knew it had to stop. She yelled over the chanting for the fighting to stop, but Billy and Jake continued. She stepped forward hoping Billy would hear her better if she was closer. But she got too close. Jake fell away from Billy and knocked Piper out into the street. She fell on the concrete and didn't have any time to move herself before she heard Billy yelling her name and then she was thrown out of the way. Piper fell on the concrete again, feeling the rush of wind from a car as she fell. She heard absolute silence behind her. Piper turned and died inside when she saw the scene.
Billy was lying on the road, having been hit by a car that would have hit Piper. Everyone was just staring silently in awe. Piper crawled over to Billy, not caring how dirty or torn her dress got. Tears were streaming down her face. Billy was barely breathing.
"She called you a four-eyed freak," Billy said weakly. "Only I can call you that."
Piper laughed and sobbed at the same time. She looked over to the motionless crowd desperately. "Don't just stand there, dammit! Call an ambulance!" This got people moving and someone ran back into the building to find a phone. She looked back to Billy.
"Why were you fighting?" Piper asked through her tears.
"Nobody talks about you like that," Billy said with great difficulty. "You're not a freak."
"And you're not a stupid jock," Piper said with a tearful smile.
"I called her a bitch, and he started punching," Billy said.
"You called Missy a bitch?" Piper asked.
"Yeah, it's true," Billy replied. He coughed and started to close his eyes.
"No, Billy, don't close your eyes," Piper pleaded. "Please don't go. Don't leave me. I'm nothing without you."
"You're not nothing," Billy struggled to say. "You're everything. You are more than anyone at this school."
Piper sobbed harder, not really hearing the person that said the ambulance was on the way. Everyone was just standing there watching this. No one knew what else to do. Missy had a severe look of guilt spread across her face. She had to be guilty for both herself and Jake, because Jake was too drunk to feel anything.
"You're the best girlfriend," Billy said. His eyes began to close again and this time Piper couldn't stop him.
"Billy! No, come on. Wake up," she pleaded with him, but he didn't open his eyes and his breathing began to slow. Piper's sobs were choking her. She couldn't talk anymore. She just knelt there, sobbing and shaking her head. Sirens came closer. As the paramedics blocked off the street with their rig, Prue pulled Piper away from Billy. The paramedics began to work on him. Piper couldn't watch. She just let Prue hold her as she sobbed. Billy had saved her life, and now Piper was about to lose the best boyfriend she believed she would ever have.
"Is this the box?" Leo asked. He set a box full of photographs and albums in front of Piper. She opened it and started sifting her hands through the pictures.
"Yeah, this is it," Piper said. Leo sat on the sofa next to her as she started pulling out pictures. Prue entered carrying a tray with a pitcher of iced tea and three glasses.
"Hey, did you find it?" she asked.
"Yeah," Piper said. She looked through the pictures, but suddenly stopped at one. "Prue, check this out."
Prue sat on the other side of Piper and looked at the picture. "Oh, wow."
"When was this picture taken?" Leo asked.
"This was twelve years ago," Prue said. "My senior year in high school, Piper's sophomore year. Homecoming."
"Who's that?" Leo asked, pointing to the guy standing next to Piper.
"Billy," Piper said quietly. "He made two months of high school bearable for me."
"Really?" Leo asked. "I don't remember seeing him at your reunion."
"He wasn't there," Piper said.
"He died. He was hit by a car," Prue said.
"They both died protecting us," Piper said, looking at the two young men in the picture. Prue simply nodded her head.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"There was a fight. Billy was fighting this guy, Jake, whose girlfriend had made fun of me," Piper explained. "Everyone was outside. I tried to get them to stop and I was knocked into the street." Piper paused, remembering too well what had happened.
"There was a car coming," Prue continued. "Billy just reacted. He pushed Jake aside and then pushed Piper out of the way of the car. He saved her life."
"Wow," Leo said, for lack of anything better to say. They all sat and stared at the picture for a few moments. Then Leo noticed the expressions on Prue and Piper's faces. "Are you two okay?"
"I think I just remembered something I need to do," Prue said. Piper looked at her and grinned.
"Yeah, me too," Piper said.
"Am I missing something?" Leo asked. Before Piper or Prue could answer though, he was called away. "Well, now I am. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Okay," Piper said. She kissed Leo and then he orbed out.
"I'll drive," Prue said, and she and Piper left the Manor.
Piper knelt in front of the grave of William Henry Morgan, Jr. and just stared at the dates on his tombstone. Born January 22, 1973. Died October 15, 1989.
"Thank you, Billy," Piper whispered. "Thanks for never treating me like a freak."
THE END