Teaser: Paige, after a messy break-up with Glenn, tries to find a new love, but will the new man's love be more than Paige could have anticipated?

Dedicated to all the FOP's (fans of Paige) out there. There isn't really a big market of Paige-friendly fics, and I've done a series for all the other sisters, so why not her too?

Disclaimer: Don't own anyone/anything except Adrian, and I almost wish I didn't own him. Aaron Spelling can have him. He's icky.

Rating: PG-13, for adult language, content, and some violence later on.

Ties That Break

Part 1: The Fish

"Shameless" by Garth Brooks

Song Edited to fit by Dimples

Well I'm shameless

When it comes to lovin' you

I'll do anything you want me to

I'll do anything at all

Five months. That's how long it had been since she'd gotten laid. Sure, it was a crude term, but at the time it was the only way she could refer to her lack of… just her lack of. It wasn't that she was an addict or something, but there was always that little nagging voice in the back of her head that was poking fun at her for being the complete relationship-failure that she was.

"Get you act together, Paige. You're never going to find Mr. Right by being so picky. Go out and meet new people. Glenn isn't the only fish in the sea…"

Glenn had been her only fish for a while. Almost too long, now that she looked back on their relationship. Elementary school seemed far away now that she hadn't seen him for a few months. He was off on another one of his adventures again. Although she used to know exactly where he was all the time before their break-up, it was different now. He had left with a rift the size of the Grand Canyon between them, and it hurt to know that he'd gone off thinking that she hated him. The truth of it was that, despite their long history and messy separation, she still loved him as much as she always had, just in a different way. He was too much like her brother for her to be sleeping with him. She wanted someone who made her feel like Jell-O, not someone who gave her the tingles, as Glenn often did. Although tingles were okay with him, tingly Jell-O would be better with someone else.

And I'm standin'

Ever on the world, it seems

Baby that's what's left of me

Don't have very far to fall

Paige sat at the bar of P3, drowning out her troubles in root beer and sparkling cider. She's been scoping out her possible catches of the day since she had walked in wearing her tight coral dress with the ruffles along the hem and neckline, but after turning down three perfectly respectable suitors, she found herself longing for Glenn. She had questioned her decision to break up with him ever since he had left, but suddenly she began comparing every guy she met to him. This guy wasn't as tall as he was, that guy didn't have his deep brown eyes. He doesn't have any adventures, he doesn't wear enough T-shirts, the list went on. P3 used to be the hub of the male population for her, but now it seemed like nothing more than slim pickings.

"Another round?" Piper appeared at the counter and waved an ice cold Barq's in front of her. The condensation that had collected around its slim glass bottom splashed onto the napkin where Paige had written "Glenn" over and over. The droplets made the ink run until the name was no longer visible. She crumpled up the napkin and tossed it into her purse.

"Hit me, barkeep," she replied, handing her sister her glass with all the melted ice in it. "I could use a stiff drink right now."

Piper grinned as she dumped the water and refilled the glass. "Still bummin' over Glenn, huh? Well I know what will take your mind off the guy."

Paige swirled the root beer around until it was frothy before she looked up and let her lower lip stick out. "Weally?"

"Yeah, he's right over there," she pointed to a guy at the other end of the bar. He was handsome, well built underneath a wife-beater that was half hidden by a red Hawaiian shirt, which accented his tan, chiseled arms. He had light brown hair which was cut short and spiked ever-so impeccably, and a crooked smile that only came up on one side as he gave her a feeble wave. "He said he wanted to buy you a drink, and I didn't have the heart to tell him you got them for free. He was too cute."

"I don't know, Piper," she said as she continued to slosh her drink around. "He could be a stalker or something. What if he-"

"I don't want to hear it, Paige. He seems like a great guy. His name is Adrian, he's twenty-eight, he's not a smoker, and he thinks you're beautiful. What more could you possibly ask for? Now get over there and get to work! You'll never find anyone by sitting here and bumming drinks off me." Piper took the root beer glass out of her hand and dumped it in the sink behind her. "If you ever want another drink from me, you'll get your ass up and talk to him… now."

Paige frowned, but stood and gave Piper her patented sneer before turning to the guy at the bar and smiling halfheartedly. "Adrian?"

Adrian gave her another crooked grin and stood offering her a seat next to him. "Yeah…?" He trailed off, and Paige realized that he didn't know her name.

"Paige. Matthews. I guess Piper forgot to tell you." She sat and let her crocheted handbag fall to the floor with a soft thud.

"The bartender? Yeah, I guess. Do you know her?" Adrian leaned on the countertop and took a sip of his Corona. His gray eyes were large and full of curiosity as he searched her with them. This guy was genuinely interested.

"She's my sister, I ought to know her. At least I think I know her. We just met a few months back."

Adrian's eyebrows arched and she laughed as she proceeded to explain the details of her home life. How she was given up by her birth mother, and was adopted by her parents who were later killed in a car crash, and how she was reunited with both of her sisters the year before. She kept it short, but tried to get all of it in without boring the guy to death. She did, however leave out one important piece of information: she was a witch. Despite this, he remained enthralled up until she had finished.

I don't break easy

I have my pride

But if you need to be satisfied

"Wow," he whistled as she completed her tale. "My life pales in comparison. I was an army brat, so we moved around a lot, my parents and I. They were killed in a crash too, just last year. It was an airplane though. My dad was taking my mom to a Vietnam reunion in Buffalo. They never found out what happened."

"Really? That's horrible. It's so hard to lose your parents, even after a year it still must hurt." Paige laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and he grinned.

"Yeah, but it's been a while. I mostly like to remember the good times that we had together." He began to regale her with his adventures in the Kaibur Pass in the mountains of Pakistan and the uncharted regions of the Arctic wilderness in Russia. She found herself drawn to that crooked smile and his stormy eyes which looked beyond her creamy skin and slim figure and delved deep into her heart to find out who she really was. She spent the night laughing at his jokes and the quirky sense of humor which he used to describe the places he had been to with such eloquence. He had been to more places than she could count, many of which she couldn't even pronounce, and he had this way of making her see each sandbar and each jungle inside her head. It was… poetry.

The night flew by and the crowds dissipated in the wee hours of the morning. Paige remained on her stool, drowning in the depths of stories of the South China Sea and Adrian's near-death experience in a Taiwanese prison camp. The only thing that turned her attention away from his thin but perfect lips was an impatient cough from behind the bar. Paige glanced over her shoulder at Piper as she cleared her throat. The older sister tapped her bare wrist where the tattoo wrapped around it, signaling that she too wanted to leave. Paige sighed and looked up at the clock on the wall. It read half past three.

"Oh my God," Paige leapt off her seat and grabbed her purse, frantically searching for a pen. "I have to go. I have to work in the morning. Er, today, in a few hours, whatever. Adrian, it was great meeting you." She reached into her bag and pulled out the first thing that resembled paper. She scrawled the number to the manor on the wet, wrinkled napkin and handed it to Adrian. "Please call me. I'd like to finish our conversation sometime."

"Then I'll take you to dinner tomorrow," he replied as he put the napkin in his pocket without looking at it. "I'll pick you up here at eight."

It was more of a statement than a request, leaving little room to argue. All or nothing. Paige bit her lip, knowing that she had a meeting with the foster family for a child at social services the next night, but also knowing that she was about to let this amazing guy slip through her fingers. "Okay. Right here at eight. See you then. Bye, Piper." Paige turned to leave but felt a firm hand clamp down on her wrist. Adrian spun her around with ease and pulled her into his lap. Paige fought for a minute, frightened to be held so tightly, but melted like butter on a hotplate as he pressed his lips against her own with just enough force to make her head spin. He released her and helped her to her feet.

"See you tomorrow, Paige," he winked at her and headed up the stairs and out of the club.

"What was that all about?" Piper gave her little sister an inquisitive look as she leaned her elbows on the bar, the dishtowel that she had been holding abandoned on the floor.

"I think I'm in love," Paige sunk back onto her stool and rested her chin on her hands. "He's so amazing, Piper. And that kiss… hook, line, and sinker. I'm gone. There's no turning back now."

I'm shameless

Honey I don't have a prayer

Every time I see you standin' there

I go down upon my knees

Piper rolled her eyes. "What are you babbling about?"

"He's Mr. Right, Piper! My new fish in a sea of not-so-great fish! And YOU found him for me!" Paige leaned over the counter and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck, squeezing solidly. "Thank you!"

Piper patted Paige's back in surprise and waited until she was half way out the door before calling out a feeble, "You're welcome!"

***

Paige didn't sleep that night, and she was too busy rearranging her schedule for Adrian and filling out paperwork the next morning to think that perhaps she looked like the walking dead. She kept her long, straight hair pulled back in a low ponytail at the nape her neck and flashed her wide smile to compensate for her lack of preening. By the time the end of the day rolled around, she was sick of the strange looks and whispered questions, but remained cheery as she dashed out the door in order to prepare for her date.

"Phoebe met her at the door when she pulled into the drive of the manor a few minutes later, the cordless phone in her hand. "You had to give the guy your home number, didn't you?" She handed Paige the phone and a slip of paper. "He's been calling nonstop all afternoon, insisting that you call him the second you get home. So call him for pity's sake!"

Paige took the paper in confusion and glanced at it. "Why didn't you just give him my work number?"

Phoebe scoffed. "Don't think that I didn't try. The guy just said, 'No, she'll call me' and hung up. Talk about a basket case. Where'd you find this one, a back alley behind Bellevue?"

"P3, actually. And he's not a basket case. He's perfectly wonderful. Thanks for the message, but I gotta go get ready. Big date tonight." She sprinted up the stairs and into her bedroom before Phoebe could make another remark against Adrian.

And I'm changing

Swore I'd never compromise

But you convinced me otherwise

I'll do anything you need

After a long, leisurely shower, Paige wrapped a fluffy towel around her body and another around her hair before she dialed the number that Phoebe had given her. Adrian picked up a moment later, his voice thick and heavy as though he had been drinking.

"Yeah?"

"Adrian, it's Paige. My sister told me to call you." She waited in awkward silence while he hacked up an organ on the other end of the line.

"Well, it's good of you to make room in your busy schedule for me," he said while Paige almost laughed at the irony in his sarcastic comment. "Are we still on for tonight?"

"Absolutely," she replied, not wanting him to think that she was avoiding him or something. "We're meeting at P3 by the bar, right?"

He was silent for another minute. He coughed before he said, "Actually, my car is sorta dead, so you have to come and pick me up."

Paige hesitated at the finality in his tone before nodding into the phone. "Okay. Where do you live?"

"I live at…" he trailed off, as though he'd forgotten his own house number.

"You don't know where you live?" Paige asked with a giggle.

"Don't be stupid," he snapped back. "Of course I know where I live. I'm just trying to decide which house I'm going to be at tonight."

"You have more than one house? How does that work?" Paige drummed her fingers on her vanity and unwrapped the towel from her hair while she spoke.

"It's my parents' house. They left it to me when they died and I use it sometimes. Do you have a problem with that?"

Paige faltered and let her towel fall to the floor. "Maybe I should call back when you aren't so… upset."

She was about to hang up when she heard his voice. "Paige, wait… I'm sorry. I just didn't get enough sleep last night, you understand. I didn't mean to blow up at you. Why don't you just pick me up here." He gave her and address in the socialite district of San Francisco and she wrote it down on the same scrap as his number. "If I'm a little late, wait in the driveway, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Paige responded calmly. Adrian seemed genuinely sorry, and it was understandable that he hadn't gotten much sleep, considering that they had been talking all night. "Eight 'o' clock, your place. See you there."

"Thanks, Paige. See you tonight." He hung up.

You see in all my life, I've never found

What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down

I could walk away from anyone I ever knew

But I can't walk away from you

***

At 8:15, Paige was a little impatient. At 8:30, she was a little angry, but by the time 9:00 rolled around, she was royally pissed off. When the digital clock in her lime green Volkswagen Beetle clicked over to 9:15, she revved her engine and slammed it into reverse. Not a moment later, a bright red, rusting Mustang swerved around the corner, it's horn blaring as it pulled up behind her, blocking her in. Adrian jumped out of the car and ran to her door. He grabbed her open window and stopped to catch his breath.

"I'm so *pant* glad you're still *gasp* here!"

Paige flicked his fingers off her door and put the beetle in park. "Yeah, well, I won't be here much longer. You asked me to meet you here at eight. I was here at eight, while you didn't show up until quarter past nine! And your car doesn't exactly look dead. I think that just about screws any plans we may have had for tonight, or ever for that matter. I'll see you around." She rolled up her window and attempted to back out around the still-running Mustang, but Adrian pounded on the glass, his hands clenched into tight fists.

"Come on, Paige! There's a good explanation for this!… Stop the car, goddamn it!" His eyes were blazing, the color in them seeming more black than gray. She could almost see lightning flicker behind his lashes. It scared her, but she heaved as though nothing was wrong and hit the brake, rolling down the window again.

"This had better be good."

"Hey, get off my ass. I told you my car was dead, and it is. I may be bad with time, but I'm not a liar, dammit. A buddy of mine lent me his after we tried for two hours to get mine working and nothing happened. I'm sorry I was late. I should have called your house or something… forgive me?" His eyes, now clearing of the storm that had been brewing in them, pleaded with her in the dim light from the street lamps, and instantly her knees weakened. He smiled at her crookedly and she felt as though she might slide right off her seat. She was Jell-O.

"Alright, you're forgiven. But just this once. You can't get away with being this late. Next thing you know you'll be standing me up or beating me with a stick or something." She flashed him a smile and laughed at her own joke before shutting off her car.

Adrian opened her door for her and extended his hand, all the anger receded from his body. Paige placed her fingers in his palm and he pulled her from the car. He kissed her knuckles lightly as he slammed the door and offered her his arm. "There's a first time for everything," he whispered.

I've never let anything have this much control over me

I worked too hard to call my life my own

I made myself a world and it's worked so perfectly

But it's your world now, I can't refuse

I've never had so much to lose

***

Weeks went by and the dates continued, although Adrian was never late again. He remained as sweet and as good-natured as he was when they had first met, but that was only around other people. When they were alone, it was like he was an entirely different person. Paige saw more of his temper as they grew closer, each time something got in his way. If someone cut him off in traffic, he went nuts. If they didn't have the right kind of deli meat in the supermarket, he flipped out. And he took it out on the person who was closest to him: Paige.

"Dammit, Paige. I told you we shouldn't have come here. What the hell is your problem?"

But she shrugged it off. Sure, he had a bad temper, but who didn't? Otherwise, he was amazing, and she could handle his outbursts. She was a witch, wasn't she? The thing of it was that, while she was with him, she almost forgot who she was. She almost forgot that she was a witch. He made her lose herself, but was that always a good thing? She thought he was The One, but he kept… holding her back. She would have to wait and see.

Unfortunately for her, however, once Piper and Phoebe had met her new beau on a more personal level, they instantly found him to be far from acceptable.

"Paige, look at him! He's practically a psycho killer!" Phoebe said one night after he had dropped her off. "I bet he's got whips and manacles in his basement."

"Really, Paige," Piper put in as they cornered her in the foyer. "He's possessive, irritable, and scary. You should have seen him pacing while he was waiting for you to come down earlier. I though he was possessed. Hey, you don't think-"

"He's not possessed. He's not a demon-" Paige shot a glare at Phoebe, "he's not a warlock, and he's not going to try to kill us! For the first time since Glenn, I've found a guy who likes me for me. Can't you guys see that? Just get off his case, okay?"

Both sisters gave her the "I-don't-know-about-this" look before they shrugged in unison and took off for opposite corners of the manor. "Thanks for your support, guys," she mumbled under her breath as she headed off to bed that night. She needed her sleep. She had another date with Adrian the next day.

I'm shameless

I've never lost anything I've ever missed

But I've never been in love like this

It's out of my hands

I'm shameless

***

"Just one drink, Paige!" Adrian shouted over the deep pounding of the bass in the club where they had gone to dance. Once Adrian had found out about Piper's disapproval, he had stopped taking Paige to P3, despite protests that she never got to see her sisters anymore. "It's not going to hurt anything, I swear!"

Paige took the shot glass he offered her and stared at the golden liquid that bubbled inside it. She gulped and handed it back to Adrian. " I can't! I've been sober too long to quit now!" Yet her hand itched to snatch that glass back and down the bitter stuff before Adrian knew what had happened. He was too wasted to see straight anyway.

"Come on, Paige! It's one lousy drink! You're so boring! Have a little fun!" He thrust the shot at her. "I dare you!"

She shuddered and looked around. All the people on the dance floor and at the tables were doing shots, chugging beers, and they seemed happy. They look like they were having a good time. She missed the feel of the smooth liquor against her throat, the heat on her stomach as she swallowed. This was her chance to get it all back. She took the glass and swirled it around before tilting her head back and emptying it in her mouth.

"That's my girl!" Adrian cried as she put the glass back on the table with a bang. He refilled it with the bottle of vodka that he had been savoring all night and pushed it at her. "How 'bout another?"

Paige finished off three more rounds hungrily before she began to feel dizzy. Adrian continued to pour her more, funneling it down her throat with comments like, "Come on, baby!" and "I love you, Paige". Despite protests from her stomach, which retched at the thought of one more shot, she also continued to inhale whatever he threw at her. It wasn't until Adrian showed her the empty bottle that she truly felt sick.

"That was awesome, babe! Let's get outta here and do something! Something different, something we haven't dome before!" He took her hand and led her out the door. She only remembered half of the car ride, but she knew what she had done when she woke up the next morning wrapped in only a sheet with Adrian's arm slung across her stomach.

"Oh God," she whispered as her head seemed to split open in pain. She rolled out from underneath the sheet and collected her clothes from various corners of his house. She left a quick note saying that she had to work, and dashed out the door, knowing that he would be angry when he woke.

She drove in stunned silence all the way back to the manor, but silence isn't exactly was she received when she trudged in the door.

"Where the hell were you?" Piper barked as she threw on a robe over her thin satin nightdress. "We waited up all night!"

"We?" Paige yawned wearily as she looked around.

"Yes, we," was the reply as Phoebe came out of the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand. "We were worried about you, Paige."

The youngest sister snorted. "I'm a big girl, you don't need to be worried about me." She tried to stumble past her sisters, but Piper caught her as she fell.

"Don't we? We're just trying to… Are you drunk?" Piper stood her sister up and looked at her sunken eyes and more-pale-than-usual skin. "Paige, are you insane? What were you thinking? You're a recovering alcoholic, you can't be out getting smashed!"

"I was thinking about having a good time, so back off," Paige tore away from then and headed up the stairs.

"Look at what this guy is doing to you, Paige!" Phoebe called. "He's destroying you!"

Paige halted in her tracks and turned. "Adrian didn't do anything to me! I did it! It was my choice, not his. He loves me, he told me so! He would never do anything to hurt me!" Small flashes of the night before popped into her mind.

Adrian handed her another shot. "I love you, Paige, just one more…"

She stormed up the stairs without turning back, but she swore she could here one of her sisters whisper. "Wouldn't he?"

I don't have the power now

I don't want it anyhow

So I gotta let it go

I'm shameless

I just thought that you should know

I'm shameless

TBC?

A/N: Pop quiz! What was the symbolism? What was an example of foreshadowing??? There were several, and you don't really need to answer, but I was just wondering if anybody noticed them. Also, I don't know if there is a socialite district in SF, but what the hell. "Shameless" was horribly chopped to pieces, but I needed to do it. Sorry to all of you who like the song. Anyway… should I continue? I need feedback! CC welcome and greatly appreciated. I wrote this while I was on the road driving back from Tampa (BTW, I live in Michigan, so I had a LOT of time to work this out), so I didn't have a beta reader. Thanks bunches!

*Dimples*