Chapter One
Phoebe Halliwell hurried toward her sisters and Leo, who were sitting at the bar at P3. Leo stood behind the bar, talking to Piper and Paige.
"Hi," she said, coming up beside them and leaning on the counter, clutching a magazine to her chest.
"Hey, Pheebs. What's cookin'?" asked Piper.
"Oh, if you're talking about Spencer Ricks, not him. I turned him back into the pig he was and, unfortunately, he won't remember any of it," Phoebe said, shaking her head in mock-disappointment.
"Glad to see you're not competitive anymore," said Leo, smiling slightly.
"Yeah, no. I don't think I have to worry anymore about him taking my readers," Phoebe said, bringing her hand to her chin as she spoke.
"And why would that be?" questioned Paige.
"Well...because, uh..." Phoebe slowly held up the magazine in her hands, turning it so her sisters could see it.
Phoebe held up the copy of 415 Magazine she was holding. On the light blue cover was a picture of Phoebe, lounging in a beach chair, a copy of The Bay Mirror -- the newspaper she was the advice columnist for-- in one hand.
"Whoa," Paige said, looking at the cover.
"Oh, no," Piper said. Paige took the magazine from her older sister and held it so she and Piper could see. Her mouth widened at the headline.
"Oh yes," Phoebe replied, smiling at her sisters' reactions. She pressed her left hand to her cheek.
"'Why Ask Phoebe When You Can See Her?'," Piper said, quoting the magazine's headline. She turned her head to look at her younger sister as Paige began flipping through the magazine.
"Talk about journalistic ethics, right?" Phoebe said.
Paige found the center of the magazine and noticed that it was tri-fold picture. A full body picture of Phoebe. She unfolded it and found a full-length body shot of her practically naked sister.
"Oh!" Piper gasped in surprise when she saw the photo. Phoebe laughed and covered her face with her hand.
"No retouching," Paige said, nodding her approval. "Good times."
"Okay, okay. G-gimme that," Phoebe said, gesturing for Paige to give the magazine back.
"No," her sisters said simultaneously. Paige shoved the magazine at Leo who took it, grinning widely, and followed Piper and Paige's back-to-back orders to run.
"No! Leo!" Phoebe called, starting to run after their Whitelighter, while her sisters laughed. "LEO!"
Half an hour had passed. Phoebe had finally gotten the magazine back from Leo, after having to jump for it few times. She now clutched in tightly against her chest again, as she sat in the alcove with her sisters.
"Piper!" Leo called, waving from the bar.
"Oh, looks like we're heading home," Piper said. "You two coming?" Phoebe and Paige exchanged a look.
"Nah," Paige replied. "We'll stick around here for a while."
"All right," said Piper. "We'll see you at home, then." The two that were remaining behind stood to hug the oldest before she went over to Leo, grabbing his hand, and they left for the parking lot.
"So, what do you wanna do?" Phoebe asked. Paige turned to her, her lips curving into a small smile. Phoebe laughed. "Good luck, sweetie." Paige grinned and slipped into the crowd on the dance floor, searching for an available guy to dance with.
One of the bartenders, Chuck, came up to Phoebe and handed her the drink she'd asked for. She thanked him and gave him a smile. He smiled back and made his way carefully through the crowd back to the bar.
She took a sip from the drink before setting it down on the table in front of her. She stared up at the DJ, who was putting on a slow song. Phoebe looked down, reminiscing about her first kiss with Cole, in this very club.
"Mind if I sit with you?" Phoebe looked up and met a pair of icy blue eyes. The owner of the eyes smiled a little shyly. She was holding a martini glass in her hand and wearing an elegant black dress similar in color to her long hair.
"Oh. Yeah, sure," Phoebe replied. "Please, have a seat."
"Thanks. There's not much available seating left," the raven-haired woman said, emphasizing her point by gesturing widely at the crowded club. Phoebe looked around and nodded her agreement.
"Hey, do I know you?" the other woman asked. Phoebe turned to her and grinned.
"I don't know, do you?"
The woman set her drink down beside Phoebe's and stared at her for a few minutes. When she finally got it, through her obvious drunken haze, she snapped her fingers and pointed at the brunette.
"Ask Phoebe!" she proclaimed. "You...are Ask Phoebe."
"I am," Phoebe said, smiling widely and chuckling slightly. "Phoebe Halliwell." She extended her hand. The other woman took it and they shook hands.
"Prue Matthews," she said. "I was actually hoping to run into you."
"Yeah? Why's that?" asked Phoebe, taking another sip from her drink and looking at the woman she now knew as Prue.
"Well, I'm interviewing for a place as a photographer at 415 Magazine. The magazine you're holding onto right now, actually."
Phoebe set her drink down on the table and carefully placed the magazine down beside it, making sure that the cover was facing down.
"You didn't like the photos?" Prue asked.
"I think the full body, tri-fold shot was a bit much, honestly," Phoebe said. "I-I-I wasn't quite myself when those were taken, that's all."
"If it helps, I saw it and I thought you were beautiful. Seeing the real thing just convinces me I was right." Prue smiled at the brunette.
Phoebe blushed. "Thanks. So, uh, you were saying. About interviewing at 415?"
"Oh, yeah. Well, Mr. Corsoe, the editor, wanted me to take a few shots of you. They're planning on doing an exclusive interview. Sound...familiar?"
"No. But I'll probably find the memo on my desk when I get to work tomorrow morning," Phoebe said, sighing.
"Well, I was hoping to set up a time and place to take some shots. Not now, obviously. It's still fresh. But, um, if I could give you my card..." Prue slid her bag off her shoulder and began to dig through it. She finally found what she was looking for.
"Here it is!" she said triumphantly. She pulled a pen out of her purse and jotted something down on the small piece of paper before handing it to Phoebe. "Here's my work number and extension and my cell number's written in there, too, if you can't reach me at the office."
"Great," Phoebe said, glancing down at the card. "I'll give you a call tomorrow after I get that memo."
"Great," Prue said, smiling. "Great." She picked up her glass, drank the remaining liquid and stood up. "All right, well...I have to be going. It was nice to meet you."
"You, too," Phoebe said. "I'll give you a call later."
"Fantastic. Bye, Miss Halliwell."
"Oh, Phoebe, honey. Just Phoebe," the brunette corrected her.
"All right. Well, Phoebe, then," Prue said. She grinned one last time before vanishing into the crowds.
Phoebe looked down at the business card in her hand and smiled. She found herself looking out for the other woman, watching to see if she had left.
Phoebe smiled slightly as she slipped the card into her purse. She looked up just in time to see her tired-looking, baby sister coming back over to her. Of course, Paige was never too tired to tease Phoebe.
"Whatcha got there, sis?" she asked, collapsing on the couch at Phoebe's side. She rested her head on the brunette's shoulder.
"I just met an aspiring photographer," Phoebe said. "And I have to call her. To set up a time and place for a photo shoot."
"Another? Wasn't this," Paige grabbed the magazine off the table and waved it in Phoebe's face, "enough for you?"
"It's not gonna be another one like that," Phoebe said. "At least, I don't think so."
"You better hope not. What's she want you for?"
"Apparently, I'll be getting a request for an exclusive interview from 415 when I get to work. They need photos to accompany it. That's her trial job."
"Well, have fun with that," Paige said, letting out a long yawn.
"Are you tired, baby girl?" Phoebe asked softly, slipping her arm around Paige's waist.
"Yeah," Paige breathed, her warm breath tickling the skin on her sister's neck. Phoebe tilted her head a bit and saw that Paige's eyes were closed. She smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Wake up, Paigey," Phoebe whispered. "We've gotta get you to the car."
"Oh, that's easy," Paige said, opening her eyes halfway. She began to orb out, but Phoebe stopped her, pulled her back.
"No orbing," she said, softly but firmly. "Unless you want the entire club to know we're...not normal."
"Oh. Right," Paige murmured sleepily. She yawned again and rested in Phoebe's embrace. Phoebe sighed, wondering how she was going to get Paige up the stairs and to her car by herself. Luckily, Paige wouldn't have to drive her own car since she'd gotten a ride with Piper and Leo.
A gentle laugh came through the crowd and Phoebe looked up to see the owner of the laugh: Prue. She smiled sheepishly.
"Hey. Again." Phoebe rolled her eyes and Prue smiled.
"Hey. Need some help?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah, actually. I need to get her to my car," Phoebe said. "I gotta get her home." Prue nodded and slipped her left arm around Paige's waist and gently pulled the redhead's right arm around her shoulders.
"Wha...?"
"Paigey, shh," Phoebe said. "My friend's just helping me get you to the car. Are you awake?"
"Mm-hm," Paige muttered.
"She's barely in there," Phoebe said. "I think she had some guys buying her drinks. She probably went a little overboard."
"It's cool," Prue said. "We're almost to the stairs. And that's the easy part. Wait until we get outside."
"Oh, I know. So many people, so much noise."
"Well, it'll wake her up," the raven-haired woman pointed out, "and make it a hell of a lot easier for the two of us to get her to your car."
"Good point," Phoebe said, laughing lightly at the other woman's comment. "Okay, c'mon, Paigey girl. Up the stairs." The two of them helped Paige onto the first stair and they slowly made their way up both sets of staircases and out the door. They made their way quickly to the parking lot, since all three could now walk on their own. The loud talking outside the club had temporarily snapped her awake.
"Thanks for helping," Phoebe said, turning to Prue. "I'll give you a call tomorrow morning."
Prue smiled. "I'll be waiting," she said softly. Phoebe opened her mouth to speak but stopped and just smiled.
"Bye," she said simply.
Prue grinned. "Bye." Phoebe watched the other woman walk away, her eyes trained on Prue's back.
"Pheebs, let's go! You woke me up so you better drive me home!" the redhead exclaimed, beeping the horn twice.
"Fine, fine," Phoebe said. She glanced back to see if Prue was still nearby. She was already gone. Phoebe sighed and climbed into the driver's seat of her car, tuning out the annoyed Paige as she drove back to Halliwell Manor.
"What took you so long?" her sister complained.
"Nothing."
"No. Not nothing. You were staring at that girl." Phoebe kept her eyes steadily on the road, avoiding her sister's glare. "Do you think she's attractive?"
"She's very pretty, Paige," Phoebe said. "Are you happy now?"
"Yep. Phoebe's got a crush! On a girl!" she exclaimed childishly. Phoebe smiled slightly and swatted at her sister with her right hand.
"I said nothing about a crush," the older woman protested. "I just said she's pretty."
"You were staring at her ass," said Paige. "I may be kinda tired but I'm not completely blind." Phoebe turned and glanced at her sister.
"She's pretty. That's it." Paige nodded and grinned.
"Yeah. That's it," she said. "She's just some pretty chick you met." Paige suddenly grinned really big and hugged her sister.
"Whoa! Paige! Driving here!" exclaimed Phoebe. "Hands off! What're you so excited about?"
Paige smiled. "She's the photographer, isn't she?"
Phoebe blushed and nodded. "She's the photographer."