A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it!
PhoebeColefan: I plan on more Cole/Phoebe moments, as well as Piper/Leo and Prue/Andy. Hope you like this chapter!
Draco's-Loyal-Longing: Thanks! Hope you like this next chapter!
Emmelie: Thank you, glad you like it!
Lyra Cullen: Thanks. Hope you like this chapter!
xcgirl3: Thanks! I tried to make this story a little different and make it believable at the same time. Hope you like this next chapter!
Chapter Two
"Hey Paige!" Glen, Paige's best friend exclaimed as soon as she loomed into view. "Nice skirt."
Paige laughed. "You're always the first to notice."
"Just don't let Miss Bradley see it. She has it out for you," Glen pointed out, referring to the principal of Baker Middle School.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Last year was all about learning to avoid her. You don't think I forgot that easily, do you?"
Glen smiled and walked beside her up the steps to the main building. Paige suddenly wished she had decided to ditch. All around her, students and teachers alike were giving her looks of sympathy. Some looked as though they wanted to go up to her and offer their condolences for her loss. But none of them did, which made her even more grateful for Glen. At least he wasn't treating her any differently.
"So, I got my cousin to hit me up with cigarettes last night. Want to smoke one during lunch?" Glen asked.
"No thanks, Glen. Aren't we a little too young to smoke? Most people wait until they're at least in high school first," Paige pointed out, disgusted.
"Well, I just thought you could use something to take your mind off...everything."
Paige smiled. "Thanks, but I don't need to fill my lungs with smoke in order to take my mind off my problems."
They were interrupted by the bell ringing, signaling that first hour was about to begin. Glen took Paige's hand in his and led her to their English class, the only class they had together.
Paige intentionally avoided everyone's gaze. She knew they were all trying to catch her eye so that she might know just how sorry they felt for her. It was bad enough she'd received those looks when Grams was still alive. Now that she was gone, it was like she was one big pity party.
Glen and Paige took two seats near the back, doing their best to remain conspicuous. First hour hadn't even started yet and already Paige wanted to go home. She hoped her teachers wouldn't assign them any homework because she so wasn't in the mood to do it. Her mind was still in summer mode, and as depressing as this summer had been, at least she could go off and get away from it all. When she was at school she was trapped.
"Good morning, class!" the teacher exclaimed once the last bell rang.
Hardly anyone answered her, but the teacher didn't seem put off by it. "Welcome to English. My name is Mrs. Harding, and I think that once we get to know each other, we're going to get along just fine."
They were interrupted by the door opening and a girl entered holding a piece of paper. She handed it to Mrs. Harding, who read it then looked to the students who were waiting with baited breath to see who was already in trouble.
"Paige Halliwell?"
Paige closed her eyes and suppressed a sigh. Somehow she had known this was going to happen. She just didn't think it was going to happen so quickly.
She tentatively raised her hand,and her English teacher smiled warmly at her, her way of saying there was nothing to worry about. "The school counselor would like to see you. Go ahead and take your things."
Paige got up and cast a furtive glance in Glen's direction before getting up, humiliated that she had been summoned on the first day to talk about her problems.
Did the whole world know my life story? Paige thought bitterly as she accepted the syllabus Mrs. Harding handed to her, and followed the girl to the counselor's office.
The girl didn't talk to her, and Paige was glad for that. She definitely wasn't in the mood for chit chat, and that was exactly what she would tell the counselor.
When they got to the guidance counselor's office the girl went to sit at an empty table and read a book while Paige sat down on the waiting room sofa, feeling awkward and annoyed. She wondered whether Piper and Phoebe were getting this kind of treatment at the high school.
Probably, she thought. They're just as messed up as I am.
"Paige Halliwell?" a young woman's soft voice said from the entryway to the hallway that led to other offices.
Paige looked up and saw a woman who looked to be in her late twenties with her long dark brown hair up in a tight bun. She wore a simple white blouse and a black skirt that went to her knees. She was beautiful, and Paige wondered what she was doing being the guidance counselor at some middle school.
But she stood up anyway and walked up to her.
The woman gave her a large, warm smile. "I'm Julie Walker, and I want to talk to you for a couple minutes. Is that okay?"
What am I going to do, say no? "Yeah, that's fine."
Paige followed her down the hall and into the last office on the left. Ms. Walker offered her the stiff plastic chair in front of the desk while she took her place behind the desk.
"I know you've probably been getting this a lot, but I wanted to give you the chance to express what you've been feeling. That is, if you're comfortable doing so. I know we don't know each other, but I'd like to change that, and I want to offer you a comfortable environment to speak your mind and remember that nothing you say will leave this room," Julie Walker began, sounding truly sincere in her words.
Paige considered this. She looked up into the woman's big brown eyes and actually wanted to tell her just how she felt. How lost and confused she felt, how scared she was. But it just felt strange to confess all this to a woman she'd just met.
So she stayed silent.
Ms. Walker looked down. "I lost my mother too. When I was five-years-old. She got into a car crash. The other driver was drunk and ran a red light. I was never quite the same after that. My father did his best by me, but he was so lost without my mother that he immersed himself in work. I acted out when I was your age trying to get his attention, but all I did was get myself into a whole lot of trouble. I want to spare you all that."
Paige frowned, wondering if the counselor was actually telling her the truth or if she was making all this up in an attempt to reach out to her.
"I lost my mom when I was a baby. It's not the same thing," Paige admitted.
"I know. But I do know what you're going through, especially after your grandmother..."
Paige cut her off. "No, you don't. You don't know the first thing about me. What happened to Grams...Whatever. I don't want to talk about it. Please just leave me alone."
And with that Paige grabbed her backpack and left the office, heading for the school gate.
"Hey Phoebe!"
"How was your summer?"
All around her people were giving her fake smiles as though they were all her best friends. Phoebe didn't even give them a second glance as she strode by, her friend Ramona at her heels.
She was looking for one person, the one person who could actually succeed in making her feel better.
When she spotted Cole Turner, her heart gave way and she had to try really hard not to break out into a run to meet him.
He was standing by the last row of lockers with his arms crossed, his usual black leather jacket draped across his finely tuned shoulders. He looked too old to still be in high school much less a sophomore, but it just made him appear even more mysterious. He had that element of danger about him that made Phoebe drawn to him even more.
He flashed her a toothy grin as she came up next to him. "Hey."
"Hey." He leaned down to kiss her cheek and she looked sharply at Ramona to see if she was watching them.
She was, but quickly turned away when she noticed Phoebe looking at her.
Phoebe rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Ramona was always following Phoebe around. Cole didn't even pay her any attention, so Phoebe decided that she wouldn't either.
"So was Prue awake when you got home?" Cole asked as they pulled away.
Phoebe sighed. "Yeah. She was making out with Andy and caught me. But what's she gonna do, ground me?"
Cole laughed. "I'd love to see her try."
"That's the problem. She thinks that now that she's our guardian she can boss us around. But she grew up with us, you know? She never listened to Grams when we were growing up, so how can she expect us to listen to her?"
She was rambling, but she couldn't help it. She needed to rant to someone, and Cole never missed an opportunity to join her. Especially when it came to Prue.
"You've only got two more years with her. Then it'll just be us," Cole reminded her, wrapping his arms around her stomach.
Phoebe sighed. "I wish I could speed up time."
The bell chose that moment to ring, and Phoebe groaned. "What class do you have first?" she asked Cole.
By this time Ramona had long since left, probably to find Todd or Rick. She reluctantly pulled out of Cole's grip and unfolded her class schedule from her pants pocket.
Cole grinned mischievously. "A free period."
Matching his grin, Phoebe stuffed her schedule back into her pocket. "I like where this is going."
Taking her arm, he led her away from the mob of students. "Just follow me."
As they made their way down the hallway toward the double doors, Phoebe caught sight of Piper, examining her schedule to figure out which way she needed to go. Piper looked up at that moment and caught Phoebe's eye. When Piper saw them moving the opposite way towards the doors she frowned and gave Phoebe a knowing look.
Phoebe winked to her older sister and turned away. She could only imagine what Piper was thinking, but she knew that she wouldn't rat her out. Piper may have had some popularity issues, but she wasn't a snitch. She was the sister that Phoebe trusted the most.
Cole managed to get them to avoid the teachers and administrators who were monitoring the hallways watching for any ditchers. They hid out by the storage closet, praying that the janitor wouldn't show up and bust them.
Luckily he didn't, and when the final bell rang the teachers and office administrators dispersed, leaving the hallways empty and clear.
"C'mon." Cole grabbed her hand once again and led her quickly and quietly out the doors.
They waited until they were a few yards away from the school grounds before stopping. When they realized they were away from the prison that was school, they laughed.
"Thanks. I didn't think I would've been able to get through the day," Phoebe said, realizing this was the truth as soon as she said it.
"My pleasure. I never turn down an opportunity to get out of school."
"Well, I'm grateful that you did. With all those people giving me looks of sympathy and fake smiles all day I think someone would've been punched by the end of the day," Phoebe went on. She knew she was rambling again, but Cole was the only person she felt comfortable doing it around. She was the only person she truly felt comfortable letting her guard down with.
Cole laughed, touching his hand to her cheek. "I don't doubt it. Let's go, I have the perfect place to take you."
Piper read the syllabus for her first period calculus class and wanted to kill herself. She'd had the misfortune to get the hardest and meanest math teacher at Baker High School. It was only the first day and already he was going over limits and giving them as much homework as possible without getting into trouble.
She had taken out her notebook and began to take notes. She was the only person who seemed to be. Most had their heads in their hands, appearing to pay attention when in reality they were drifting off into unconsciousness.
One of those people happened to be Piper's long-time boyfriend Leo Wyatt. He, unfortunately, was sitting at the back of the class since the teacher had put them all in alphabetical order. Piper had lucked out and gotten a seat up front so she figured that she might as well take notes so that she wouldn't get grilled her first day. That and she wanted to do everything in her power to get into college and away from her family once and for all.
By the time the class was over Piper already had enough homework to last her the entire year. The fact that she would just be even more tomorrow depressed her to no end. She stuffed her notebook and math textbook into her backpack and stood up, nearly bumping into someone in the process.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, only to feel even more like an idiot when she realized it was Leo.
Leo laughed. "It's okay, Piper. It's just me."
Piper breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she hadn't at least made a fool out of herself in front of Missy or some other person who had it out for her.
"Where are you headed next?" Leo asked, helping her to straighten up and walking her out of the classroom.
Piper glanced at her schedule. "English. What about you?"
Leo's face fell. "History."
Disappointment filled Piper for a moment, but it was replaced by a feeling of relief that they at least had one class together.
"Want me to walk you to your class? They aren't that far apart," Leo offered.
Piper nodded and smiled. "That would be great."
They made their way amidst the hoards of students scrambling to get to their classes on time, and Piper hadn't realized just how much she'd missed Leo. He had been away visiting relatives over the summer, but he'd come rushing back when he'd learned what happened to Grams. She honestly didn't know how she would get through this school day without him.
"How are you coping?" he asked.
Piper shrugged. "As best I can."
"And your sisters?"
Piper let out a bitter laugh. "Well, Phoebe's ditching, and I wouldn't be surprised if Paige was doing the same thing. That's how they deal with their problems now. They run away from them."
Leo gave Piper's shoulder a tight squeeze. "Come on, Piper, cut them a little slack. They've lost a lot. You all have."
"Yeah, but you don't see me running away," Piper pointed out.
They came to a stop by their classrooms and Leo smiled. "That's because you're one of the bravest people I know. You can get through this, Piper. I know you can."
He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before disappearing into his history class.
His words echoing in her mind, she entered her English class, her newfound courage the only thing still keeping her strong.
By the end of the day she was thoroughly exhausted, but she felt a strange surge of pride at having braved the first day of school and getting out in one piece. As she saw Phoebe and Cole emerging from the building as though they'd been there all day, she was determined not to let them bring her down.
Prue's Mazda came into sight a moment later and Phoebe went to stand beside Piper, giving her a pleading look not to tell Piper that she had ditched.
"You owe me," Piper breathed as they climbed into the car.
"Owe you for what?" Prue asked nonchalantly, turning the stereo off so that she could hear her sisters better.
"Um...for giving me lunch money. I sorta forgot to bring some," Phoebe blurted out quickly, covering up what would've been the start to a seriously loud fight.
Prue gave Phoebe a pointed look from the rearview mirror but didn't push it, which Piper was grateful for. She hated lying to her sisters, but figured this one was in the best interest of all of them.
"So after we get Paige, I was thinking that we could go to Baskin Robbins and spoil our dinner. You know, as a reward for getting through the first day. I don't know if I would've been able to do it," Prue said as she drove the two blocks to Baker Middle School.
"Cool!" Phoebe exclaimed while Piper remained silent. She honestly didn't know how Phoebe could lie through her teeth. It bothered her how good a liar Phoebe was becoming, and knew it had a lot to do with Cole. But she also knew that if she said anything negative about Cole to Phoebe, Phoebe would probably never speak to her again. Plus, she knew it would be forgotten as soon as Paige got into the car.
When they got to the parking lot of the middle school, they were shocked to find Paige and her best friend Glen kissing by the flagpole.
"Paige!" Prue exclaimed, causing the two thirteen-year-olds to jump.
Paige shot them all her famous death glare and whispered something to Glen. He nodded and walked away while Paige headed toward the car. She got into the backseat beside Phoebe and crossed her arms angrily.
"Did you have to do that?" she demanded.
To Piper's surprise Phoebe burst out laughing. "And get that reaction from you? Totally worth it."
"Phoebe!" Prue, Piper, and Paige all snapped.
But Phoebe was not put off. "What? It was! You guys agree with me!" she said to Prue and Piper.
Piper rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the passenger side window.
"So how was school?" Prue asked, changing the subject.
"Fine," they all replied.
Prue waited for them to elaborate, but when her younger sisters didn't, she sighed. "I can see that. Paige, we're going to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. That okay with you?"
Piper imagined her youngest sister nodding from the backseat. "That's fine."
The ride to the ice cream parlor couldn't have been more tense. They met Andy there, and got their ice cream. When they finished they split up on the ride home, Prue taking Piper while Andy took Phoebe and Paige.
When Prue was alone with Piper in the Mazda she turned to her. "So now that they're gone, how was school really?"
Piper sighed. "Awful. If it wasn't for Leo, I don't know if I would've survived it."
She was being a bit overdramatic, but it got her point across.
"And Phoebe? How did she do?"
"I...I didn't really see her. All her classes were away from mine," Piper lied, doing her best to keep some truth in this.
But Prue was too smart to be fooled. "She didn't go, did she?"
Piper sighed. "Prue, please don't give her a hard time. She's going through a lot. We all are. She's just trying to get through this the best way she knows how."
"By giving up her education and her future?" Prue shot back.
"No, by getting away from all the sympathetic looks. I got them all day Prue. I'm willing to bet that Paige did as well. It's hard to be around that all the time, and it's not like Grams's death is any big secret," Piper continued, fighting to keep her voice calm.
"Yeah, but..." Prue looked to be at a loss for what to say. Piper's heart went out to her.
"I know this isn't easy trying to be our guardian and our sister at the same time. But don't give Phoebe a hard time. It'll only push her further away. She needs time to deal with this," Piper went on.
Prue relaxed. "Okay. I will. But if she makes this a habit, I won't be able to ignore it."
"And I don't expect you give it time. She'll come around. We all will."
They stayed silent the rest of the way back to the manor, trying to find a way to bring some normalcy back into their lives.
