Legacy: Star Crossed Lovers
by Lady Dawson
Chapter Two: An Unexpected Meeting
Ethan sat on the couch of the Connelly Mansion, all the while waiting for his friend to come down so they could head out. It had been a long while since he had seen Bobby and truth be told, he had missed the kid. Things had changed since his father had died; Ethan had changed. No longer was he the evil, murderous fiend that he had been for over two centuries. His milder half had taken over and the soul that his mother had given to him gave him back his conscious, reminding him of what his other half was.
Human.
He glanced up as Bobby finally descended the stairs and joined Ethan, giving him a wry smile. "Ethan! It's been far too long," he said brightly. "How have you been?"
"Not to bad," Ethan replied with a smile. "I'm just in town for a job and thought I would stop by. How are your parents doing?"
"They're all right. Both of them are out of town on business right now, so you should stay here while you're in town. Besides, then you could tell me everything that's been going on with you? My father hinted that there might be a marriage between you and that vengeance demon Constance."
A sad smile spread across Ethan's face, a ghost of what it used to be, before his demonic half had been surprised. "It was not meant to be. She fell in love with another, of greater power."
Bobby frowned in sympathy, but brightened. "My girlfriend Patty and I are going to be headed to a college party tonight," he told Ethan. "Come with us. There'll be plenty of girls there and I'm sure you'll forget all about her and find someone else."
"Not likely," Ethan grumbled, thinking of the beautiful temptress that had ripped his heart out and stomped on it. "But I'll go, just to prove to you that there'll be no one better."
"Good enough," Bobby said cheerfully. "But I can't wait for you to meet my girl, she's probably the last person on earth that you would have expected me to be with."
Ethan laughed then. "I've already heard the rumours and I have to say, I'm astonished that your father is actually letting you date one of the Halliwell witches."
"All Dad needs to know is that she's powerful and that she's a witch," Bobby said seriously. "And as long as he doesn't find out who her parents are, then that lack of knowledge won't hurt him. Besides, if she found out that my dad was the Source of All Evil, then I probably wouldn't survive prom."
"How exactly did you get into a college party anyway? You're not even a junior in high school."
"Patty's cousins are in college, though, and they got her invites, so long as we assured them that we wouldn't be touching any alcohol. Plus, there's always magic," Bobby pointed out.
Bobby chuckled, suddenly very glad that he had come here. It had been far too long since he had sat down with old friends, even though their families were still evil, and just chatted.
And who knows what tonight would bring? Maybe Bobby was right and amongst all of the beautiful women that would all be swooning over the men, calling them like sirens, there would be a rare rose amongst them. And if he wasn't careful, he could be pricked by it.
--
"I just don't see why you won't even consider it," Brandon called to his charge as she was changing in the next room. He heard her heave a sigh, but otherwise didn't acknowledge that she had heard him. "There are far worse witches that you could end up with in this world. At least Chris is a decent one. You can't argue with that."
"And I don't understand why everyone's in such a rush for me to get married now," Susan retorted as she came out of her bedroom, dressing in a nice, pale blue dress and was applying some light, barely even seen lipstick. "I'm nineteen, Brandon. I have years for marriage and besides, I have no desire to marry Chris. More importantly, I will not marry a man who is clearly in love with someone else." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to a party with Brooke, so try and find out why Peter Connelly's after us, won't you?"
"You know I've been trying," Brandon assured her. "The Elders don't know anything more than They did when you first moved here. Is it someone else?" he pestered. Susan rolled her eyes, heading towards Brooke's door. "It is, isn't it? You've met someone else?"
"No, I have no met anyone else, I just don't want to get married to that neurotic, annoying, jealous, sarcastic witch!" Susan snapped, losing her temper with her Whitelighter as she pounded on Brooke's door. "Brooke, are you almost ready? We're going to be late!"
"No, my dear, we will only be fashionably late, which is never a crime. In fact, it's only the best way to go," Brooke said cheerfully as she came out of the room dressing in a short leather skirt and a leopard print shirt. Brandon's mouth actually dropped when he saw her. "So, as we discussed, there will be no discussion of any marriage between you and Chris tonight, right? And I'm to start in a coughing fit so you can get away from them if it starts?"
"Yes, that's correct," Susan said, pleased that someone was taking her side as she picked up her jacket and headed towards the door. "There's some sandwiches in the fridge if you get hungry, Brandon."
"You'll make someone a great wife someday!" Brandon called after her and Susan sighed as the two girls climbed down the steps and into Brooke's car.
"Okay, so now that we're alone, you mind explaining to me why you're so dead set against this marriage?" Brooke asked her. "I'm not pressuring you, I just want to know. And don't give me that 'he's in love with Faith' thing, because while it may be true, it's not the only reason."
"It's the only reason that anyone will let me go on," Susan said softly, gazing out into the starry night. "Brooke, I don't want a simple, cut and dry marriage. If I do get married, I want it to be for love. I want to feel free and wild and passionate . . . I want some guy to look at me and say, 'You're the only one that I could ever dream about' or 'I won't ever let you go.'" She smiled dreamily. "I want someone who loves me for me and not because I'm a Cromwell witch."
Susan looked at Brooke. "Like you did with my brother."
Brooke smiled. "Yeah, I did forget all about that when we were dating," she mused. "And seriously, Sue, you should major in writing, not art."
Susan laughed as Brooke pulled up to a light and peered out into the starlit sky again, having the feeling that for some odd reason, everything was about to change. "There's something about tonight," she whispered. "It feels magical, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it does," Brooke agreed as she pulled into the parking lot of the dormitory that was hosting the party. "Okay, so these people are good friends of mine, so try not to do anything crazy and make me look bad, won't you?"
"When was the last time I did anything crazy?"
"The last time you said that, you got attacked by a demon halfway through the first dance."
Susan rolled her eyes as she followed Brooke into the fraternity house, looking around her as she pulled her jacket around her tighter, feeling very self-conscious and wondering how Brooke had possibly talked her into this as she saw the Halliwells up ahead.
"Ooh! There's Wyatt!" Brooke said excitedly. "Come on, let's go say hi, all right?" She looked at Susan.
"You go," Susan said, forcing a smile. "I think I'm going to go . . . mingle a little bit." Brooke shrugged and hurried over to Wyatt, who scooped her up before the two of them were heading off to find a spare bedroom, all the while kissing madly like they were on fire.
Susan sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Why was everyone in such a hurry for her to get married now? she thought grumpily. Her Whitelighter was pressuring her into it, Chris's brother was practically shoving them into a room together, and Chris . . . well, he was under the delusion that they belonged together.
And it wasn't that he wasn't a very nice boy, it was just that . . . well, like she had told Brooke in the car, she wanted to be in love when she got married and while Chris was nice and all, she didn't feel anything that girls were supposed to when they fell in love. She didn't feel her palms get sweaty or her heart beat faster or have wild fascinations about Chris. None of that happened. Just extreme annoyance and exasperation.
Susan spun around when someone touched her shoulder, sure that it was a demon and she was halfway through powering up her weather power when she came face-to-face with the most handsome man that she had ever seen before in her life.
"I'm sorry if I startled you," Ethan said, looking at the beautiful girl that he had seen from across the room. There was something about her that just drew him to her like a moth to a flame. She stared at him in surprise and lowered her hands from their defensive position. "I'm Ethan Hale."
"Susan Dawson," she replied in a quiet, yet lovely voice. It sounded like bells upon a great cathedral. Musical and mystical and carrying a hidden power. She was looking at him with an expression he was unused to seeing when girls were looking at him.
She was definitely human, he knew just by looking at her, but there was something else about her as well, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Come with me," Ethan said softly, offering her his hand. She looked at him unsurely, but apparently saw something behind him and made up her mind. Giving him a genuine smile, she took the offered hand and allowed him to lead her out of the crowded party and into the deserted gardens out back. Not sure what had startled Susan, Ethan turned to look at her.
"What was that about?" he wanted to know. Susan turned a violent shade of red and instead of answering, just looked to the ground. She was the most beautiful girl that he had ever laid eyes on, Ethan thought, drinking in her presence that made him feel more human that he had in the longest time. Despite that his human side now dominated him, he could still feel the demon's pull, could feel it drawing him back to evil.
Not with this girl. With this girl, he felt it all melt away and vanished as though it were nothing. Ethan didn't know what it meant, but he just had to talk to this girl.
"You don't have to tell me," Ethan said, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. "I'm sorry for scaring you back there. I just . . . I saw you and I had . . . I had to speak to you—"
"It's all right," she said, looking back up at him. "Ethan . . ." His heart gave a beat as he heard her say his name. Somehow, it never sounded just right until he heard it said on the lips of this beautiful angel.
Moving closer to her, Ethan reached out and touched her cheek tenderly and she leaned into the caress before he leaned in, wrapping his arms around her waist before their lips met in a perfect, passionate, tender kiss that left them both breathless.
Susan pulled back when they were done, reaching up and touching her lips in surprise, her face flushed. "I'm sorry . . . the moment, I got caught up in—"
Ethan shook his head, silencing her explanations with another kiss. She relaxed into the kiss, melting into it far easily than either of them should, her arms wrapping around his neck as they heard a female voice call her name.
Looking up, Susan saw Brooke standing on one of the balconies, looking around for her in annoyance. Knowing that she would be in big trouble if she had to explain this one, Susan pulled away from Ethan. "I have to go," she said quickly. Upon seeing his hurt look, she quickly added, "Do you know the Palace of Fine Arts at the Marina District?"
"Yes, of course," Ethan answered immediately.
"I go there sometimes, to think," Susan told him softly. "Meet me there, one o'clock."
A wide smile spread across his face and that smile made Susan feel safe and whole and protected. "I'll be there," he promised her before taking her hand, drawing her close for one last, final kiss.
Susan loved the feel of his lips on hers and wished that she could stay like that forever. Opening her eyes, she realised that he was gone and she looked around, wondering how he could have disappeared so fast as she got to her feet. Being a witch with psychic powers, she could sense demons when they approached and now she realised that the feeling that had been in the back of her head since arriving had vanished and she went white.
"Demon," she whispered, shocked and tormented by the very thought. "Ethan is a demon . . ."
Meanwhile, Ethan, who had gone back into the house to find Bobby, was suddenly confronted with his friend, who had a look of pure shock in his eyes. "Ethan, I saw you leave with that girl, don't you know who she was?"
"Susan," Ethan replied with a smile on his face, not sure when the last time it was he had felt this happy or content.
"Yes, Susan," Bobby agreed. "Susan Dawson, the only daughter of Celandine Dawson, a half-Whitelighter, and my father. She's a witchlighter, Ethan," he said, causing Ethan to freeze in shock and disbelief.
