Disclaimer : Ah shucks, would you look at that. I don't own Charmed, not even a fraction of it! Well dang -SNAPS FINGERS- I was hoping I would at least own Chris and Wyatt by now. I mean, it's a new year! Cut me some slack! But I don't own it, I will people! Mark my words, someday I will own Charmed. At least I hope. Although, the plot to this series, however, including its characters and story line is mine. Steal it, and I will kill you. If you run, I will hunt you down - bringing my hell hounds and assassins with me. You have been warned. Now, enjoy your reading! Also, a review at the end would be nice.

Author's note : Here you go, story number seven. And I have gotten some feedback on the whole Chris x Hazel thing, and don't worry all you Bianca fans. She will be in this series, but come on! Chris being with someone else and then Bianca showing up, that could add some drama. -rolls eyes- because we know we haven't been getting enough of that recently.

1x07 : Blood Is Thicker Than Good.

Summary : A family that slays together, stays together. When Henry Jr gets a new charge, he can tell there is something different about her. He doesn't listen to his instincts though and now his life hangs in the balance. Can he be saved?

Please remember to review.

Chapter One : The Walls Between You and I

Wyatt sighed as he flipped another page to the book that Emily had insisted he read, meaning that she had forced the book in his hand and said she wasn't talking to him until he read it. At first he had laughed at her, but after two days he had learned the Emily was in fact serious about not talking to him. So, for the whole day he had been sat down reading the novel, and it wasn't terrible, but he was trying to absorb as much information as possible because he knew Emily. She wasn't forcing him to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen without a reason. Emily was setting him up for a debate, and he knew what angle he was going to take. Emily may have won the debate earlier about how women have been oppressed and suppressed by men for centuries, but he had this one. He knew it.

So, that was why he was here, sitting on the small balcony attached to his and his brother's apartment. He was on the last chapter, and it was only a matter of time before Emily showed up. Wanting to talk to his friend wasn't the only reason he was reading the book either, Wyatt Halliwell needed to clear his head. He didn't know what had sparked it this time, but he and Chris had gotten into yet another fight, and he still didn't know what it was about. All Wyatt knew was that it had been a stupid fight. Sighing, Wyatt squinted as he looked up and glanced into the apartment, the fight had been the night before and he hadn't seen his baby brother since, and Wyatt was worried about him. Something was going with Chris, hell he had known that for a while, but confronting Chris hadn't helped.

So Wyatt was doing the only thing he could, he was waiting for Chris to come to him. Wyatt sighed, he just wished he could remember what the fight had been about. Frowning, Wyatt laid the book down on his lap and looked out into the city as his mind flashed back to last night.

Chris took a deep breath as he sat at the dining room table frowning as he skimmed through his books for his history class - not even absorbing the knowledge. Normally he was like a sponge absorbing whatever he was reading, at least that was what his family told him, but tonight he wasn't absorbing anything at all. And he knew why he couldn't concentrate on anything, his mind was filled with something else. Or if he was being honest, it was being infested with thoughts of Hazel Masters, the younger half-elf he had met six days ago, and the person that he had been avoiding.

It was as if the heaven's were playing tricks on him, trying to make him suffer. He needed to get his thoughts of the Hazel situation out, but he didn't know how to talk to anyone about it. How could he explain to people that she was identical in almost every way to the fiancée he had had in an alternate reality that he remembered. Somehow, he didn't see that going well with anyone. Hell, the way Hazel was Chris could almost swear that she was Bianca, only in another body under another name. But how crazy was that?

Sure, he could talk to his Grandpa about it; but he didn't like the idea of running to him every time something from the other timeline got to him. It was just as well for him to pack his bags and move over there right now. Chris wouldn't though, call it stubbornness but he was not allowing this to run his life.

Hearing the door open, Chris' frown when he heard his brother walk into the apartment after pulling another shift at the hospital - something Chris thought Wyatt would have taken a break from after their recent crisis at the hospital that had included an angry ghost. Hearing his brother open the fridge and then walk over and pull out a chair, Chris didn't even bother to look up as Wyatt flopped down into the chair and opened his soda. "Hey baby bro," Wyatt said simply, frowning when Chris failed to acknowledge him. Sure, when his brother was studying it was near impossible to get a response out of him, but Wyatt could tell from the look on his brother's face that he wasn't absorbing what he was reading. "You okay little brother?" Wyatt asked. "Something wrong?"

Chris sighed and looked up at his brother, he needed to talk to someone about this. It had thrown him for a loop when he had met Hazel, and she had looked so much like the woman he had loved - wanted to marry - in the other timeline. He couldn't tell Wyatt about the other timeline, and he couldn't tell Wyatt about the reason he was avoiding Hazel, but he could tell his brother about the actions that had followed six days previous. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. "I kissed Hazel," he said simply, hearing his brother choke on his soda, Chris nodded. "Pretty much," he agreed.

Wyatt furrowed his eyebrows together, he had nothing against the half-elf, but for some reason he was getting bad vibes off of her, vibes he didn't like. But that wasn't what was in his mind at the moment, for almost a week Chris had always had a thoughtful expression on his face, and doing the math Wyatt realised it had been there since they had met Hazel. But at that moment there was only one thought on his mind, "you kissed her," he repeated.

"Yep."

Wyatt nodded starring at his brother in shock, but on the inside he was quickly coming up with revenge against his brother. He had been waiting since he had started dating Ashley Smith in his senior year, he had sworn the day that Chris had embarrassed him in front of her that when Chris was serious about a girl he would tease his brother constantly. But over the years it had seemed as though none of the girls Chris had dated had really caught his attention, but something was different about Hazel. Especially if his brother was this hung over the girl. "When was this?"

Chris sighed, and leaned forward, rolling his eyes at the grin that had appeared on his brother's face - and if his brother started something, when he and Emily finally saw the light, Wyatt was going to get 3x worst the treatment he gave his brother. Chris would make sure of it. "At the club," he admitted, sighing when he heard his brother laugh.

"You kissed her at the club."

Chris rolled his eyes and sent his brother an annoyed look as he began nodding slowly. "Yes Wy," he said as slowly as he could. "I … kissed … her … at … the … club." Causing a smirk to reappear on the older brother's face once again. Chris shook his head and looked away, "don't start."

Wyatt raised an eyebrow, searching his brother's face for what was wrong, but seeing something lurking in his brother's eyes the smirk disappeared from his face. "So, what happened little bro, this was almost a week ago, you've at least talked to her, right?" Seeing his brother shake his head, Wyatt winced. "Oh, either you're a terrible kisser and she's ignoring you," seeing Chris sigh, Wyatt frowned. "Or maybe you're the one ignoring her."

Chris nodded, "yeah." He said simply, and he really did feel awful about it. He had kissed her, and then orbed out before they could talk, there was no doubt in his mind that Hazel was pissed at him.

Wyatt smirked, "yeah you're a terrible kisser," then his expression went serious when his brother sent him a look of death. "Or yeah you're the one ignoring her?"

"Yeah, I'm the one avoiding her," Chris said, he wasn't ignoring her. She had been the one thought that had been swamping his mind since that night, but he didn't know how to talk to her. On one side he was afraid to get close to her, afraid he would end up leading her on because of who she looked like, not who she was. And then another part of him, knew that by not giving her an explanation he was still hurting Hazel.

"Why?" Wyatt asked simply, he had seen the looks his brother had been giving Hazel when he had met the girl, and he could tell then that his brother had been attracted to the girl to say the least. So Chris admitting that he was avoiding Hazel, well that made this one of those times he didn't understand his brother.


Chris sighed, "because," he paused, "it's hard to explain." He said, but actually it wasn't, he was just making it difficult. If he told Wyatt about the other timeline, well then the whole Bianca/Hazel situation would be easy for his brother to understand, but Chris still wasn't going to risk hurting his brother. Not for this, not for anything. "I've just been having this weird feeling since I met her, and I don't know why."

"Maybe Cupid's arrow missed its intended target and hit you, giving you a case of the love bug," Wyatt said simply, holding up his hand when his brother gave him a look. "Sorry." Chris sighed and Wyatt studied his brother suspiciously, and his bad vibe began to resurface. "I've never seen you act like this," he commented, "did she do something to you?" He asked.

Chris frowned and looked at his brother. "Did she do something to me..?" He repeated not quite getting where his brother was getting at.

"Hit you with a potion, cast a spell," Wyatt named off, not noticing how his brother was narrowing his eyes. "You know, the basic stuff."

"No, she didn't do anything to me," Chris said, his voice rising. He cringed as he realised he was once again about to snap at his brother, looking away he silently counted to ten and then forced himself to look at his brother. "Wy, this isn't magical," He said, but his mind was screaming at him, calling him a liar. It had everything to do with magic, Hazel reminded him of his once fiancée. "Believe me, she did nothing to me."

"Are you sure?"

And that was when Chris' temper won over and he snapped.

Chris jumped up from his chair, "yes Wyatt," he spat, "I'm sure. I'm not that gullible, I would have noticed if she done something to me!" He said as he stalked out of the room, his older brother following him.

Wyatt pulled himself out of his thoughts, oh so that was where that fight had some from. Like he had thought earlier, stupid fight. Actually, that was an understatement. There was no words to describe how stupid that fight had been. Rolling his eyes, his eyes drifted back to the book as he began reading the last few pages.

"What ya reading?" A voice asked from the door, causing Wyatt to jump when he heard the voice and then he turned to look at an amused Emily who was walking out onto the balcony.

"Pride and Prejudice," he commented dryly as Emily nodded.

"Good choice," she said, a small smile on her face, causing Wyatt to roll his eyes.

"I hope you think so, you are the one that forced the book into my hands and told me you weren't talking to me until I read it," Wyatt said, seeing Emily shrug as she sat down, he frowned. "I'm not finished, so why exactly are you talking to me?" He asked.

"Well from the look of it you have one page left," Emily commented as Wyatt's eyes drifted back to the page, "so I figured you have gotten far enough for me to occasionally talk to you, but once you have that page done, I can go back to my chatterbox self that you've missed so much," she said simply, watching as Wyatt laid the book down on his lap and looked over the city. "Why'd you stop reading?"

Wyatt sent her a smile, "I don't think I'll finish it," he said, seeing Emily's confused face he smirked. "I think I'm starting to like the peace and quiet," he said as he clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back. "I could get used to this, it's nice," he said, jumping when Emily smacked his shoulder. "Hey, what ever happened to respecting your elders?" He demanded, "I'm older than you!"

"By a month," Emily fired back, but looking into Wyatt's eyes she frowned. "What's wrong," she said, frowning. She could see the look in Wyatt's eyes, it was the one he got whenever something was bothering him.

"Why would there be something wrong?" Wyatt asked defensively.

Emily rolled her eyes, "okay that's not going to work because I've known you longer than that," she said simply, seeing Wyatt's defensive look she sighed. "And it just seems like there's something on your mind that's bothering you."

"Oh." Wyatt said slowly, feeling a little guilty for snapping at his best friend. Looking into her eyes for several moments, Wyatt gave up on contemplating and he spoke again. "It's Chris." He needed someone to talk to, and he had always went to Emily before because of her talent for being an objective person, so why not talk to her now?

"Is he ok?"

"Yeah, he just snapped at me last night when I asked him if the person he kissed cast a spell or something on him," he said, wincing when he saw the look on Emily's face. "I know, I know," he assured, "it was wrong and I deserve his anger."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, frowning when she saw Wyatt look away, "okay," she said slowly. "Chris kissed somebody and we're only finding out now?" She asked. Wyatt nodded. Emily nodded, "I'm surprised Prue hasn't been over his ass."

"I don't think anyone but us and Chris knows he kissed someone."

"Who did he kiss exactly?" Emily asked, her frown deepening when Wyatt sighed.

"Hazel."

Emily nodded, she would admit she was suspicious about the half-elf too, but she would have never said that to Chris. Probably because she knew how defensive Chris was, but she had also pushed her feelings aside, thinking it was nothing more than resenting the younger girl for finding her way into the group - especially since it was so soon after loosing Kelsey. But even then, Emily knew that was no reason to hold a grudge against the girl. "Chris will come around," she said simply, and then a smile lit up her face. "Anyway," she said, instantly coming to life causing Wyatt to chuckle. "The first line in the book is, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," Emily said simply, frowning when she saw Wyatt's look. "What?"

"You memorized the first line?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "I've memorized the entire book," she said proudly, causing Wyatt to roll his eyes. "It's a good book," she defended. "Now, why did the author use that line as the first line to the novel?"

"To introduce the fact that marriage is basically the main point of the novel," Wyatt said simply, laughing full heartedly when Emily clapped her hands together happily - all thoughts of the dilemma with his brother long gone.; little did he know that had been Emily's point in changing the subject.

"Okay, that would be correct. What was the importance of wealth and class in the novel?" Emily asked, seeing Wyatt's confused expression she sighed. "Wyatt, Wyatt," she scolded. "Okay, I'll give my opinion. In the novel, everything is about wealth," she said, seeing Wyatt open his mouth, she gave him a look. "Not until I'm done," she said simply, dancing on the inside, knowing full well this was going to become a debate - and that ad been her intention. "Ms. Bennett and her daughters, hell everyone only looks to marriage for wealth. What ever happened to love?" She asked, "and not to mention when Jane was in love with Mr. Bingley, everyone focused on his money. That's why I like Elizabeth for being able to see through all the shallowness," her face contorted as though she was disgusted by something. "I hate Darcy."

Wyatt smirked, "I think you underestimate Mr. Darcy. You misunderstood him completely," he said simply while he clicked his tongue in disapproval, causing Emily to lean back and raise an eyebrow. "He knows about her class and her wealth, and yet he falls in love with her," he defended. "How is that shallow?"

"But honestly, Wy! In the whole book its all about how he is an arrogant ass, and then he's all like "I love you" and Elizabeth hates him, and then later on she realizes she's in love with him," Emily disputed bitterly. "It's a delightful story, but it's so unrealistic! There is no way they would ever fall in love with each other; not in real life."

"Give the poor guy a break, it's a love story after all!" Wyatt defended, "and in the end they show up the wealth doesn't matter." He said, grabbing Emily's hand as she went to slap him again. Holding her hand in his grasp, Wyatt gave her hand a tug and smirked as Emily fell into his lap, "now, say I won."

"Never!" Emily declared.

"Well, it appears as thought you have sealed your own fate," Wyatt said, his eyes sparkling, "say I won, or I'll start tickling you," he said simply, knowing full well that Emily was seriously ticklish.

Emily's grin widened, "you wouldn't dare," she said smugly, seeing a mischievous flame alighted in his eyes, Emily chuckled wryly. "You wouldn't," she said, but the tone of her voice indicated that she wasn't as sure this time.

"Wouldn't I?" Wyatt said, as he quirked an amused eyebrow. Emily raised one right back at him, and without anymore notice, Wyatt began tickling her fiercely before she had a chance to flee. That was when the normally passive look that rested on Emily's feature evaporated as she began laughing as Wyatt tickled her so hard that tears sprang into her eyes, but her attempts to shield herself were pointless.

"WYATT!" She screamed, "don't Wy!" She shrieked, "stop!" She panted as she tried to the best of her ability to breathe, noticing Wyatt stopped, she laughed. "I give, I give," she said quickly, "you won, just stop." Wyatt's look instantly softened and he gave Emily an award winning smile.

"Told you I would win."

"My eyes are covered," a voice called and Emily and Wyatt turned to see Prue walking into the apartment with her eyes covered. "I don't want to see whatever is going on out there, so my eyes are covered," Prue stated. "I just came to get Chris, carry on!" She said, "ouch!" She hissed as she walked into a wall and fell back on her rear. Frowning, Prue opened her fingers slightly so she could see, "where did that wall come from!?" She complained, causing Emily and Wyatt to chuckle as they got up and walked into the apartment.

"It's not our fault that you're completely unobservant, Prue," Chris stated as he walked out, his book bag thrown over his shoulder as he offered his hand to Prue and pulled her to her feet. "Why did you walk into the wall anyway?"

"I had my eyes covered and I couldn't see it," Prue said simply in a 'duh' tone.

Chris raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she was insane, "and your eyes were covered, why?" He asked, frowning when he saw Prue grinning like a maniac. "Prue?"

"Because I had no intention of seeing what Emily and your brother were up to," Prue said simply, grabbing his hand and dragging Chris out of the apartment. "We're leaving," she called, "you can resume your previous activities."

"Prue we weren't," Emily paused when she heard the door slam, "doing anything," she finished as she looked at Wyatt. "Why do I have a not so good feeling about all of this?" She asked, frowning when she saw the calculating look on Wyatt's face.

Wyatt blinked, bringing himself out of his thoughts that were centered around his brother. Chris hadn't even acknowledged his presence in the room, meaning that his baby brother was still upset with him. Sighing, Wyatt ran his fingers through his hair. "Because it's Prue," he replied simply, heading into the kitchen.

Emily stared blankly at the door and nodded as Wyatt left the room, "yeah," she agreed, turning around and heading after Wyatt. She didn't know why Prue thought they were doing anything, they hadn't been. Besides, it wasn't like Wyatt thought of her like that. And she didn't think of Wyatt like that, did she?

Opening Credits.
Theme : In the Shadows, The Rasmus

Starring:

Drew Fuller ... Chris Halliwell
Wes Ramsey ... Wyatt Halliwell
Jennifer Love Hewitt ... Prue Halliwell
Channing Tatum ... Henry "Junior" Matthews
Steven Strait ... Caleb Johnson
Laura Ramsey ... Emily Simms

With :

Eliza Dushku ... Katy Halliwell
Rachel Bilson ... Elizabeth Halliwell
Amber Tamblyn ... Melinda Halliwell
Jessica Origliasso ... Oriana Matthews
Lisa Origliasso ... Callie Matthews

Featuring :
Kate Voegele as Hazel Masters

The camera travels along the bridge and then slowly moves along the streets until we see Prue and Chris walking along a path, heading towards the University.

"So," Prue said as she and Chris slowly headed to the University, "first of all, why the hell couldn't you orb us?" She complained loudly - causing several people that they were passing to give them odd looks, but they quickly looked away when Prue gave then a look of steel. "What the hell are they starring at?" She demanded.

Chris rolled his eyes, "Well Prue, maybe if you weren't trying to expose us," he hissed, causing Prue to wince as she realised what she had just said. "People wouldn't look at us like, you know, freaks." He said sarcastically as he continued walking, "and exposure is the reason we didn't orb," he said in a stage whisper.

Prue frowned, "someone is grumpy," she said quietly as they continue walking. Sighing, she looked at Chris from the corner of her eyes, "so, what happened?" She asked quietly, seeing Chris look intently at the ground, she nodded. "So, who was the fight with? Wyatt? Mother dearest? Daddy?" Seeing no response, she raised an eyebrow. "A certain hazel eyed half-elf?"

Chris stopped dead in his tracks, "it was Wyatt," he admitted as he began walking again and Prue had to take extra fast steps to keep up with Chris' fast pace. Damn longer legs. "And it was about Hazel," he said, causing Prue to stop and tilt her head.

"It was about Hazel?" She asked, jogging to catch up with him, "what do you mean it was about Hazel?" She asked as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a pair of thin gloves, she knew she was in San Francisco and they really didn't get seasons, but it was cold. Call her a wimp, but she carried a scarf, hat and mittens everywhere with her. With what they went through, God only knew when she was going to be shimmered somewhere she needed them. "Why dear cousin were you fighting about Hazel?"

"Wyatt doesn't trust her," came the short response.

Prue nodded, "and you do," she commented, it didn't require an answer, so Chris didn't offer one, but regardless Prue nodded to herself. "So, love struck cousin," she teased, ignoring the glare Chris was giving her. "Have you talked to her since you kissed her at the club?" She asked.

Chris froze and gripped Prue's arm, "how did you know about that?" He demanded, causing Prue to smirk as she pulled her arm from his grasp. "Prue," he warned as she walked on, "how did you know?"

Prue shrugged, "I didn't," she admitted, "it was just a theory I had to explain the feelings I've been picking up from you," hearing Chris' mouth drop, she rolled her eyes and looked at him. "You're going to catch flies," she said simply as Chris slowly closed his mouth. "And Chris, I'm an empath and part Cupid," she said simply. "Don't look so surprised."

Chris nodded as they walked into the quad of the University, "okay," he said, but looking ahead he saw Hazel sitting down on a picnic table reading a book, and he paused, causing Prue to follow his gaze and her eyes filled with understanding when she say what, rather who they were looking at.

"Do you want me to talk to her for you?" She asked, sniffing slightly and Chris looked at her and frowned when he seen the tears building up in her eyes - tears Prue was trying to get rid of discretely.

"Prue, are you going to cry?" He asked, his voice somewhere between amusement and concern. Normally Prue got like this during that time of month, but that was it. Lately it seemed as though it was happening more frequently. Seeing her shake her head, Chris put a hand on her back and frowned, "Prue, are you okay?" He asked.

Prue nodded, "yeah," she managed to choke out, as she looked at Chris with glossy eyes. "You need to talk to her," she hissed, seeing Chris' frown she elaborated. "She's hurt," she said, smacking Chris' arm. "And I have a feeling with the fact that you've been ignoring her for the past week," she exclaimed, "has something to with it. I can only put up with so many people being blind to their feelings at a time," Prue pointed out, "and that spot is officially taken over by Emily and Wyatt, go talk to her!"

Chris' eyes once again drifted to Hazel and he frowned as he watched her from the other side of the quad, and then a thought hit him as he looked back at Prue. "Wait, you can sense her emotions from here?" He asked, seeing Prue nod, his frown deepened. "Since when does your empathy get a reading from this far?" He asked, had her powers evolved and she forget to mention it?

Prue rolled her eyes as she reached into her purse and grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes, "since her emotions are that strong and I can pick up on them from here," she said simply. Pushing Chris' shoulder, she sniffed. "Now I have to go fix my make-up, but Chris, go talk to her." She encouraged.

"But she's probably pissed at me," Chris pointed out.

Prue rolled her eyes, "of course she's pissed at you, Chris!" Prue snapped causing Chris to roll his eyes, "but she's also hurt. And the longer you avoid her, the longer you put this talk off, the more pissed and the more hurt she's going to get." Prue pointed out, "so, would you rather face the music now, or later?" She asked.

"But-"

"No Halliwell," Prue said, "whatever is going on, it's not my place, but at least talk to her." Prue told him, "I know you, and you wouldn't have kissed her if you didn't at least care about her, and the fact that you're ignoring her, it's hurting her. So, do you really want to hurt someone you care about, Chris?" Prue asked.

Chris looked over to Hazel again and sighed, "you play a dirty game Miss Halliwell," he said simply, smiling at Hazel as she began looking into the distance. "And I do care," he said, "but I don't want to hurt her."

"Well that's what you're doing."

Chris sighed, "but talking to her, it might hurt her more." He stated, but he got no reply. "Prue?" He asked, looking to where his cousin was, Chris frowned when he saw that Prue was gone. "Prue?" He hissed, but looking to his right he saw Prue's form slowly walking away from him, causing him to sigh. Then he looked at Hazel, "time to face the music I guess," he said as he readjusted his book bag and headed over to Hazel.

Walking towards the half-elf Chris felt the tension was slowly building. He didn't know what to say to Hazel. 'Hello, sorry I've been avoiding you, want to talk?' Somehow that didn't seem like it would work but he couldn't tell her the truth either. Saying you have memories from another timeline where you fiancée looked identical to Hazel didn't exactly roll off the tongue either.

It was then time to face the music.

Reaching her, he cleared his throat, only to frown when Hazel didn't look up at him. "Hazel?"

"Well, look who finally rediscovered his voice box," Hazel snipped, causing Chris to wince - especially when she didn't look up to meet his eyes. "You've been ignoring me for a week, so why exactly should I talk to you?" She asked, finally abandoning her book and looking up at Chris with a steel glaze.

"I wanted to apologize," Chris said simply, causing Hazel to look at him cautiously, "there's no excuse for the way I've been acting, and I'm sorry," Chris said simply.

Hazel nodded, "you were out of line," she agreed. "And I don't want an apology," she stated as she gathered up her books and stuffed them into her oversized purse. Seeing Chris' confused expression she climbed up from where she was sitting and jumped off the picnic table, "stop looking at me like that, I don't want an apology," she said as she began walking away.

"You don't," Chris commented as he followed her, seeing her shake her head, Chris frowned. "Then what's wrong?" He asked, seeing Hazel turn around and look at him with a withering look, "what?" He asked, seeing Hazel throw her hands up in frustration and stalk away, Chris easily caught up with her. "If you don't want an apology, then what do you want?" He asked, he wasn't used to people like Hazel. The women in his family - except Callie - were all direct, and even Callie didn't act like this, she just turned her situations into hypothetical questions.

"What do I want?" Hazel hissed, looking at Chris helplessly as she tried to get her point across. "I want to know why!" She said simply, this statement caused Chris to frown. "No, I need to know why, you kissed me, and damn it!" She said, walking away from him a little bit before walking back over to him, "and then you orbed away before we could even talk about anything!" She hissed, "and I figured you needed some time, I was fine with that. But you've been avoiding me for a week, Chris!" She exclaimed, "and for the very least I deserve to know why, please Chris, just … just tell me why you've been avoiding me!"

Chris sighed. "Truth?" Hazel nodded as she crossed her arms. "The truth is," he said slowly, but a part of his mind told him he couldn't tell her. "The truth is, I can't tell you," he said simply. Seeing her look he rushed to explain, "I would if I could, but this secret doesn't just effect me," he said. "It's my family, too."

"So now you can't trust me?!" Hazel demanded as she went to stalk away.

"No, no, no" Chris said as he shook his head and side-stepped around her and stopped in front of her. "That's not it," He said simply. "I want to tell you, God, you don't know how much I want to tell you, but I just can't."

Hazel stared into his eyes and rolled her own. "Chris, I don't know what else you could be keeping from me," she admitted. "I know about the prophecy, I was there last week," she said looking into his Jade eyes. "I know who your family is. I know about the Charmed Ones and the Twice Blessed, hell I was there when the Source attacked!" She hissed, not caring if people were whispering as they walked past her and Chris. "I don't understand what else you have to hide, and I don't know why you feel like you can't trust me!"

"I do trust you," Chris said quickly, a little to quickly for Hazel. He sighed, "I do trust you," he repeated, a little more gently. "I just can't tell you," he said, and then he looked into her eyes again and found himself melting in them. "I just can't, I'm sorry."

Hazel steeled her gaze once more, "no, I am." She said, causing Chris to look at her. "I'm sorry for thinking that you were different from every other guy," she hissed as she walked away, causing Chris to frown. He couldn't tell her the truth, but at the same time, he didn't want to push her away - which was what he was doing. So what was he supposed to do, tell her the truth, or risk loosing her? And not necessarily in a romantic sense, but as a friend. How could he risk that?

Sighing, Chris readjusted the bag on his shoulder and shook his head and turned and headed in the direction his first class - unaware he was being watched.

Underworld.

Smirking as the younger Halliwell brother walked away from Miss Masters, the Source smirked. If this girl truly was the seventh member, then things were already looking up for him. Hazel loathed Chris at the moment, and Wyatt didn't trust Hazel - a sure brew for disaster, bringing the Source into high spirits once again. "You can come in," he said simply, rolling his eyes as he heard someone orb in. "It is terribly rude to hover," The Source pointed out as he looked back and saw that the dark lighter had his head bowed. "You made a wise choice in banning together," the Source commented. "I would have been rather upset if I had lost such wonderful talent, so consider this your chance to prove your loyalty." The Source said gruffly, a smirk on his face. "Do not let me down."

"Of course not my Liege." With that, the dark lighter orbed out .

Author's Note : So, should Chris tell Hazel about why he's been avoiding her? And there we go, story seven. Personally I like the Wyatt and Emily scene, especially when Prue walked in - it reminded me a little of Phoebe, and since she's her daughter, I figured they should be a little alike, right? Please Review