HALLIWELL 2024 –Eppy 1

Inside of the rundown P3 nightclub, Tag sat cross-legged on the bar with the rest of the P3 WITCHES huddled around him. In front of him there was a large plate with hamburger and a heaping helping of fries. The group's mouths watered as they stared at the food, but surprisingly, as starving as they all were, no one reached for it. Finally, tired of waiting (and drooling), Mace turned to his brother and swatted him on the arm.

"Are you going to sit and stare at it all day or are you going to eat it?" he complained.

"I'm going. Give me a sec!" Tag responded defensively.

Somewhat tentatively, Tag reached down and picked up the greasy, delicious looking burger and brought it to his mouth, as the rest of the group's eyes grew wide with anticipation.

"OK." He informed them. " Here goes nothin'."

He took a bite and started to chew as the rest of group continued to watch and wait.

"How is it?" Jessie asked, unable to hide the excitement in her voice

"Is it good?" Nikki chimed in. " It sure looks good."

Tag raised a finger, indicating that they should wait. After all, he needed to chew the food before he could actually taste it. But when the tasted finally hit him, it was almost more than he could stand. Screwing his face in disgust and looking ill, he leaned over the side of the bar and Mace moved out of the way just in time as Tag spat his mouthful of burger onto the floor below.

"Oh man!" he said, righting himself and wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt. "That's awful!"

"Damn!" Mace said, unable to hide his disappointment. "I knew it was too good to be true."

BRYAN shook his head.

"Guys, I told you. You can't conjure food!"

Jessie tossed an old newspaper over the remains of the foul burger before responding…

"Sure you can. I read the Charmed Ones used to do it all the time."

"Alright, let me rephrase that." Bryan replied. "We cannot conjure food."

"Why not?" Mace whined.

"Because you suck at it." Tag informed him matter-of-factly and when Mace shot him an angry look he added, "Well you do!"

"Maybe it's the whole "personal gain" thing." Nikki wondered out loud.

"Nah, I don't think so." Bryan replied, shaking his head. "I think Tag is right. We just suck at it."

Mace considered this for a moment before offering…

"Well, maybe we just need a little practice."

"Practice all you want." Tag said with a chuckle. " But I'm not being your personal taste tester anymore. Forget it!"

Jessie moaned and slumped down on one of the bar stools.

"Well we have to do something. I'm starving."

As the rest of the group start whining about their own levels of starvation, Bryan rolled his eyes.

"Alright, calm down!" He demanded, clearly losing his patience. " I swear. You guys are so overly dramatic. No one is starving."

"Not yet." Mace added.

Bryan flashed him a disapproving look before turning back to the group.

"Look, I managed to scrape some money together yesterday." He informed them, trying to sound optimistic. "I'll pick some stuff up later."

As the group continued to grumble and Bryan continued to look annoyed, they heard the front door to the club slam and turned to see CHRIS coming down the steps. His face was still bruised, but definitely looked better than the last time they had seen him. Now, they noticed, he just looked depressed.

"Hey Halliwell! You're back!" Mace greeted him.

Bryan walked over to Chris.

"Hey buddy." He said quietly as he reached out and put a hand on Chris arm. "You alright?"

"Dude. You look like hell." Mace said before Chris could respond.

Jessie scowled at him and slapped him in the arm.

"What?" Mace responded defensively before quickly turning his attention back to Chris.

"Did you get any cash from your grandpa? We could really use some right about now."

This time, it was Nikki's turned to express her own disgust as she too reached out and punched Mace in the arm.

"Ouch! Would you two stop hitting me!" Mace hollered at them.

"I swear Mace, you are the most tactless human being I have ever met." Nikki informed him.

Mace, obviously not understanding what he had done wrong, merely shrugged.

"What did I do?" he asked no one in particular.

As the girls gave a collective huff and rolled their eyes once again, Bryan turned to address the group.

"Guys enough!" he said in his most authoritative voice. Turning back to Chris, he asked once again. "Are you OK?"

Chris managed a weak smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"We weren't expecting you back so soon." Jessie said, walking over to them.

"Yeah…well…this is where I belong. Right?" Chris said.

"Well, yeah. Sure." Jessie replied, "It's just…"

"We didn't think Victor and Sheila would let you leave once they got you back." Mace finished for her.

"Well, they didn't exactly let me leave." Chris informed them. "I just left."

"You mean you didn't tell them you were going." Bryan asked.

"Nope." Chris answered as he turned and headed toward the office. Before he could take more than a few steps, Byran reached out and caught him by the arm.

"Chris. Do you really think that was a good idea. They've been worried sick about you."

Chris shrugged.

"I really don't care."

As he walked away and disappeared into the office, the group just sat in stunned silence. As the door to the office slammed shut, the kids turned their attention to Bryan. Bryan stared back at them a moment before throwing up his hands.

"Oh no. Don't look at me. Someone else can deal with him this time."