A/N: I apologize as the first couple of chapters are just setting the scene and there is not anything new but this story is complete so there will be constant updates. Once every other day probably depending on my schedule. It's not terribly exciting since it wasn't my intention to be dramatic but it has a lot of information. I hope all those little references I made in my season two will make more sense put into context lol. Enjoy!
Before There Were Four: There were Three
Phoebe Halliwell, the youngest Halliwell sister, was popular in her own right. Her group was kind of shady. They liked to wear black, though Phoebe always got angry at everyone's stereotyping just based on the color they wore, and they were the troublemakers of the school. Most were guys but there were a generous number of girls. By now, every guy had "dated" (as much as middle schoolers could) every girl in their group and they just kept switching around. Phoebe imagined herself as the fun one of her sisters. She was up for anything. Rules were meant to be broken and you should try everything at least once before deciding against something. She made a habit of getting sent to the principal's office and a week wasn't over without getting detention and being yelled at by Grams and Prue. So far this year, she'd been sent to the office for pranking, cussing at a teacher, and punching a guy in the face after he wouldn't leave her alone. She went to school for the socialization, not the grades. Her grades were downright embarrassing to her family and she had already skipped class on several occasions. Granted, her idea of skipping a class wasn't the same as say, if Prue decided to skip class. She was still only twelve so most things were pretty harmless but she was definitely heading in the wrong direction. At least, so said everyone else.
Phoebe had mixed feelings regarding her family. As hard as it was to admit, Prue was probably the most fun of her sisters. Prue was out there making something of herself and, of course, she had her own rebellious streak that intrigued Phoebe. The thing was, the two could never have fun together. Prue treated her like a child so Phoebe made a point to show she wasn't, usually by doing things she shouldn't be doing. Piper just didn't really do anything. Phoebe enjoyed talking with her when she needed some help and maybe watching a movie that they could laugh over but when it came to anything social, Piper was a stick in the mud. Grams was just way too strict and that was all there was to it.
The one thing Phoebe really enjoyed in school was gym. She loved sports, especially if she could show up the guys. It made them interested in her and she was happy to be the center of attention. Today's sport was soccer, Phoebe's best. She had just made a spectacular goal and her team exploded into cheers when a whistle was blown. Everyone fell quieter (mostly) as the coach approached. She wondered if she'd done something wrong but couldn't remember even cussing at one of the other students. She decided to strike a defensive stance anyways since he was getting closer to her instead of veering to another student.
"The principal would like to see you," the coach explained, pointing behind him where the familiar face of her principal stood at the edge of the gym.
Phoebe scowled as that was never a good thing for her. The problem was worse because she couldn't even remember what she'd done this time. She didn't offer her coach a word or her peers a glance as she stalked over to her principal.
"You're not in trouble," the principal assured her, obviously knowing exactly where the attitude was coming from.
"Oh…" Phoebe mumbled in surprise. She hastily took off after him as he led the way out. She thought they were heading for his office but he turned down a different hallway. "Where're we going?" Phoebe demanded suspiciously.
The principal glanced over at her and chose to ignore her attitude. "To pick up your sister," he answered shortly.
That lightened Phoebe's mood considerably. If Piper was going to be there it couldn't be that bad, right?
~PO4~
Piper Halliwell, the middle sister of the three, was much different than both her younger and her older sister. Whereas, Prue was known for her popularity, her grades, her personality and Phoebe was known for her free spirit and her crowd, Piper was known for… really nothing. She was shy, sat in a corner of the room, and tried to keep from being noticed. A part of her always wanted what Prue had or even Phoebe, but she didn't fool herself into believing she could have it. She didn't have the looks. Prue was naturally beautiful while Piper was stuck with large, thick glasses that hid her brown eyes. She kept her messy hair pulled back and wore clothes that had been Prue's that had gone out of style. Her hand-me-down clothes were always in good condition (Prue loved her clothes) and Piper could even pull off wearing them if she tried. But she didn't. She didn't think she could. Phoebe could do it but not her. Her grades were stellar, better than Prue's and most definitely better than Phoebe's, but outside of class she was lucky if anyone knew her name. Her 8th grade year was almost halfway over and then the next she would be in high school. Piper was already dreading it. Missy Campbell, a girl in her year, had taken to making fun of her and it was only 8th grade. What did anything matter in 8th grade? Piper could only imagine how much worse it was going to be in high school. Her only saving grace was that Prue would be there too.
Her sisters… she got along with both of them which she thought was rather lucky considering how Prue and Phoebe clashed all the time. She was the one that could calm them down and even led their bonding moments though all three of them were hardly ever together. Prue being a Sophomore in high school didn't find much interest in the "childish" antics of their twelve year old sister. She preferred Piper and Piper actually enjoyed the times she spent sharing secrets with Prue. Piper didn't really know why Prue spent time with her. She was only a year older than Phoebe but she wasn't going to complain.
Her day was going perfectly normal and she was trudging through the hall with her backpack slung over one shoulder. She was at her locker trying to put the combination in when a shadow passed over her. Instinctively, Piper glanced over her shoulder and was surprised to find the principal standing there with… Phoebe. At first, Piper thought that Phoebe had gotten herself in trouble and the principal couldn't get the right number for Grams from the feisty younger Halliwell but a look at Phoebe showed that she wasn't in trouble. She was too laid back and she was smiling. The principal said something about following them and Piper reluctantly did so. She had a strange feeling and she didn't think it was good. Phoebe was chattering on about her day, probably gloating that she wasn't in trouble, when they walked into the office.
"Call Nancy at Baker High and arrange for Prudence Victoria Halliwell transport down here," the principal ordered to the secretary.
Piper frowned more at that and even Phoebe seemed to get that something was strange. They were silently sitting in the principal's office waiting for their older sister to make it down here.
~PO4~
Prudence "Prue" Halliwell, the eldest of the three at the age of fifteen, was the only one to attend Baker High. She had a group of giggling girls and handsome boys trailing after her from the moment she stepped onto the school campus and until she left after cheerleading practice. This day, a chilly November morning, was no different. Having an October birthday, she was one of the first of her class to get her driver's permit. She had gotten it over the weekend and it was still the talk of her group despite it being Thursday now. Her on and off boyfriend (currently on), Andy Trudeau, was the only one she really paid attention to. The others were content to just appear as if they were friends with her. Andy lived next door and had been her best friend since they were four. He was almost always seen walking to and from school with Prue and her two younger sisters, much to the disdain of the guys that wished to date Prue and the girls that wished to date him. Prue and Andy had generally the same schedule, only splitting up for one class out of four and it was before lunch. The day dragged along as every Thursday does for school kids. It wasn't until they returned to their third class right after lunch that something changed. Andy sat on one side of her in their history class, taking notes every now and then as the teacher lectured. Justin Harper, a boy that was infatuated with Prue, had managed to steal a seat next to her (how he had done it with Prue's group always surrounding her, no one knew) and was attempting to talk to her even as the teacher droned on. Prue, however, ignored him and focused on furiously taking notes. Knowing Andy, he would probably need them later. The classroom phone rang, interrupting the lecture and their teacher moved off to answer it. Everyone dropped their pencils and began whispering excitedly about who was getting checked out. They listened intently, hoping to hear their name as a surprise check-out.
"Prue, you're wanted in the office. Take your stuff," the teacher called after hanging up the phone.
Prue looked surprised but shrugged and gathered her bag and notebooks together. She waved at Andy and started for the door. She couldn't help but notice her teacher was watching her with a … pitying expression? That made her a little nervous but she pushed it away as an overreaction as she dragged her stuff to the office. As soon as she got there, she was hurried down to Baker Middle as if her life depended on it. She immediately assumed Phoebe had gotten herself into trouble again but she couldn't think of a reason why she would need to be down there. Prue started to worry that one of her sisters had gotten hurt. Other people might not know it, even her sisters, but Prue would be devastated if anything happened to either of them. She and Phoebe may not get along but Phoebe was her baby sister and without their mother, Prue almost felt it was her responsibility to take care of her. Scratch that, she did feel it was her responsibility. And Piper? Piper was the one that kept her sane, the one that understood, the good sister. Of course, her worry was needless as once she walked in the door of Baker Middle's office, she saw both Piper and Phoebe appearing perfectly unharmed. Her temporary moment of relief was shattered by the next words out of the principal's mouth.