A Kiss of Fate: Chapter 4: I'll Be There For You
"Hey, sweetie, how's it going?" Piper asked me, as I, excitedly, walked into the solarium.
"I'm great today! Awesome!" I exclaimed. I walked up and hugged her.
"Are you on drugs? Have you been drinking?" she asked me, nervously.
"No, of course not! The sun is out and...I've got a date!" I said, chuckling at her.
"Congratulations. With who?" she asked, closing the book. I hadn't noticed Chris was in the book. He walked up from behind me, startling me.
"Alright, Piper, I've gotta get back. Leo said he wanted me to meet him at P3 to talk about something." he said, walking past me.
"Chris, did I mention I have a date, tonight?" I asked him, smiling, walking fast to catch up with him.
"Once or twice. Congrats. Gotta go. See ya." he said, walking out the door. I was confused at his reaction, but quickly grew excited when I thought about my date. I walked back to the solarium and Piper was now thumbing through the book.
"Piper, how come Chris didn't seem excited or happy for me? I mean, he's practically my best friend/brother, I would've thought he'd be happy for me." I told her. She looked up at me.
"Chris just has a lot on his mind, you know with protecting Wyatt, and his issues with Leo." she said. I nodded, remembering how Chris told Leo he was never there for Chris.
"You were there for everyone else: Mom, Wyatt, half the world, but you were never there for me. You didn't have the time." he had said. It had hurt me to see him in such pain. I had found him later at P3 and his eyes had been red, my guess was from crying.
"What are you doing?" I asked Piper, walking over to where she was sitting, reading the Book of Shadows.
"Researching the demons on this list that we haven't seen yet, ones that could potentially be THE demon that's after Wyatt." she said, sighing. I sat down next to her and also looked into the book. She was currently looking at the Banshee, a demon they had fought three years ago.
"I don't think you have to worry about banshees, Piper, you haven't seen one since Prue was a dog, remember?" I asked her, nudging her with my knee. She grinned, and I could tell she was thinking about her older sister.
Later that evening, half an hour before my date, I was trying to pick between two dresses, but I was stuck. I heard voices in the hallway, and came out to see what was going on. Chris was walking, tiredly, to the attic stairway.
"Chris, what's going on? Another demon hunt?" I asked him, teasingly. He turned around, and he didn't look very happy, which I took for a yes. I took his hand, softly, and led him into my room. "I need your help for a quick second." I said, hopeful.
"Is it a demon problem? Did you get attacked today?" he asked, his voice rising.
"No, no, I'm fine. It's not a demon problem." I said, closing the door, chuckling at how easily he got worked up over demons. I took the two dresses I liked, and propped them up so he could see. He sighed, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"The red one," I said, holding, up a red satin dress, "or this one", raising a black strapless dress, with rhinestones scattered across the front. His brows furrowed, he shifter his weight again.
"Why are you asking me?" he asked me, confused.
"Oh come on, Chris, which one looks better?" I asked holding one to me, then the other.
Truthfully, she'd look beautiful in either, but I couldn't tell her that, without raising suspicion.
"They both look great, really." I said, headed to the door. I couldn't stay here, and pretend I was fine. As I closed the door behind me, I thought of how much I hated the idea that she was dating someone, but then I knew part of that was my fault. I wasn't sure of how she'd react to me liking her that certain way. I didn't even know how I was gonna tell her, or when for that matter. I just don't know. I ground my teeth together, heading for the attic.
As Chris walked out the door, I was confused at what was going on with him lately. Then I thought back to what Piper had said earlier this afternoon.
"He's just got a lot on his mind, with protecting Wyatt, and his issues with Leo." she had said to me, which made perfect sense to me. The poor guy was going through a lot right now. He probably needed someone to talk to.
I finally picked the red halter dress, and went up the stairs to the attic. Chris was still up here, with a disturbed and focused look on his face. I knocked on the door, and cocked my head to the side when he looked up.
"Knock, knock" I said. He looked back down at the book, and flipped another page. I walked over to the couch and sat down, gazing at him. He finally looked up, and saw me staring.
"What?" he asked, curiously. I looked away, deciding it was probably better to avoid it.
"Nothing," I said, casting a downward glance to the floor. He moved away from the book, and came to sit by me. Great, I thought, now he's peeked.
"What's up? You've been acting weird around me since I got back from the club. Tell me." he said. I turned my head to the side, and looked at him, my eyes narrowed and a small grin on my face.
"Piper told me. I know what you're thinking about." I said, laying my hand on top of his. His eyes grew wide.
"She did?" he asked, his eyes going back to normal.
My hands grew sweaty as the girl I liked told me she knew my secret. How could Mom do this? I was gonna tell her, I didn't want her to do it. But again, that was partly my fault. If I'd wanted to tell her so badly, I should've.
"Look, I'm fine. Really, I'm okay, or at least I will be." I told her.
"Chris, what you're going through is normal for someone in your situation. Coming back to protect your brother from all this evil, and then to have to worry about him turning evil. Talk about pressure. And then the whole mess with Leo, I'm sure it's hard. But you'll get through it, okay. I know it...Oh, and I heard about Piper. Don't blame Victor, it was an accident. It slipped out, and I could see he said something he shouldn't have." she said. I looked at her, confused. I thought she knew how I felt, I had no idea she was talking about my other problems. And then Gramps tells her about how Mom dies when I turn fourteen. I flinched at the thought of having to go back where she isn't. She saw it, and took both of my hands into hers.
"Chris, it'll all be okay. Get close to Piper while you can. You won't regret it, I promise." I said, holding both of his hands in mine. I laid my hand on his shoulder, and he smiled at me. I smiled back, sympathetically. I moved to hug him, and he didn't seem to mind. He snaked his arms around my waist, holding me tightly. I rubbed his shoulders, and I could feel the tension in his body. Poor guy, I thought, he's going through so much.
"I'll be here if you wanna talk, you know. If you need me, I'm always here, you know that, right?" I asked, still in his arms.
"Yea, yea I know." he said, softly. I leaned back, and he let go.
"I gotta go. I have a date to get ready for." I said, smiling, not really all that excited. A part of me wanted to stay, to be here for Chris. How could I go out and have fun, when I knew he was back here with so much on his mind?
"By the way, you'll look beautiful no matter which dress you wear. Have a great time tonight." he said, smiling. I smiled back.
"Thank you." I said, then I walked back to my room.
I finally got back to the manor around nine pm. The date had been fun; we talked mostly, then when we left the restaurant, we walked on the beach a little bit. I couldn't help but feel guilty that I'd left Chris, when I knew that he may have needed me.
When I walked in the front door, Phoebe was flying through the air and I heard her crash through the railing going up the stairs. I threw my stuff down, and ran into the sitting room, just in time to see a demon turn towards Paige behind him. I waved my arm, and he went flying into the grandfather clock standing against the wall. The demon groaned in pain, and sat up, an energy ball in his hand. He threw it at me, and I deflected it, the energy ball bouncing off my hand and back on him, destroying him in the process.
I wasn't used to my new power yet, but I was getting there. Especially now that I could control it. Phoebe was still upstairs, laying on the stairs. She looked at me, like she wondered where I'd come from. I ran up there, kneeling beside her. She was alive, but her pants were stained with the blood from her wound.
"Nice work, you looked really confident down there, and you're getting the hang of your power. You seem to really be in control. Good for you." Phoebe said, grinning.
"Thank you. LEO!" I yelled. Leo orbed in downstairs, and looked around. He saw us on the stairs, racing up as soon as he did.
"What happened?" he asked, leaning over her, his hands over her wound.
"A demon attacked us, but Cara stopped her, using her new power. She's as in control as Prue had been with hers." Phoebe said, proudly. I smiled at the compliment; it meant a lot to be compared to the oldest sister and strongest of the Charmed Ones. Chris orbed in, and looked around like he was lost. I whistled, and he came up to us.
"What happened?" he asked. Phoebe watched as Leo healed her, the glowing light going down after a minute as he finished.
"The usual: we're talking and a random ass demon drops in and attacks us. Its just a good thing Cara came in when she did." she said, bragging again. Chris looked at me, his eyebrows raised. I rolled my eyes, and shook my head.
"It was no big deal, all I did was deflect his power back at him." I said, shrugging.
Chris smiled, impressed, as did Leo.
"Nice work, Cara. You seem to be in control of your new power." Chris said, repeating what Phoebe said earlier. I threw my hands up in the air, giving up. It was obviously a bigger deal than I thought. I stood and walked down the stairs, warily. Chris sat next to me, and Phoebe on the other side. Paige in the chair over in the corner, and Leo standing.
"How was your date?" Chris asked me, sighing. I shrugged.
"It was fun." I said, not all that excited.
"And you sound so happy about it. Is the guy really that boring?" he asked me, one brow raised. I looked at him, wondering why he was so interested.
"Well, first dates can be awkward, especially when the guy's head is somewhere. I mean when he asked me out, he was actually kinda charming. But this guy is like a shirt you see in a store. At the store, it looks pretty cool, worth buying. But once you get it home, you realize you liked it better on the rack." I said.
"At the store?" Chris asked. I nodded, stifling a laugh. I looked at him, and he was trying not laugh either. Phoebe turned her head, and her body started to shake. I looked at her, confused.
"Phoebe, what are you doing?" I asked, trying to see her face. She looked back at me, and she was laughing. I shook my head.
"Alright, you crazy people, I'm headed home." I said, standing. I turned towards the door, when I felt someone grab my hand. I turned and Chris stood up, a serious look on his face.
"Phoebe, don't you guys have an extra bedroom here? Or, there's an extra room at P3 that has a bed in it. Come back with me, we'll talk. That way, you're not all alone in that big house of yours." he said. I looked at him, smiling, confused at why he cared all of a sudden. Maybe he'd let me in, talk to me. I looked at Phoebe, Leo, and Paige. Phoebe's jaw was dropped, as was Paige's. Leo looked from Chris to me, his eyebrows raised.
"Sure, yea, I'd like that." I said, my smile getting bigger. He smiled back at me, and turned to them.
"Night guys, see you guys tomorrow." he said, taking my hand into his. They were all too stunned to say anything, so they waved. Chris smiled at their reactions and we orbed out.
We orbed into P3, and it was dead silent. When there was no people or music playing, the place looked abandoned. Chris still had my hand and he pulled me into the room he's been staying in. He motioned for me to sit on the bed. I chuckled, and sat on the edge. He sat down next to me, and looked at me.
"Tell me about..." he said, curiously. I laughed that he couldn't remember the guy's name.
"Alex?" I finished for him. He nodded, smiling.
"Well, he works at the local law firm, Baker and McKenzie, but he's not much of a lawyer. He's like a tax consultant, or something. He's smart, funny, charming. He has black hair and green eyes." I said, yawning.
"Are you tired?" he asked, grinning. I looked at him, my eyes narrowed.
"No, just a yawn." I replied, looking down, then back up at him.
"You want something to drink? We are at the club" he said, standing up, and offering me his hand. I laughed, and took his hand, his hand warm as it touched mine.
"What would you like?" he asked as we walked out of the room, and he jumped over the counter, bringing out cups and drinks.
"Ummm, won't Piper be angry?" I asked him, still laughing. He shrugged, and smiled. I chuckled, this was actually more fun than I thought. Chris was very easy to be around, he was funny, young, and...charming. He wasn't the same guy who fought demons, and had the stern look in his eyes. His eyes were soft, like an emerald green, and they sparkled.
We stayed up for hours talking about nothing and everything. It was two am when I'd finally had enough. I yawned, and Chris noticed.
"You're exhausted, maybe we should turn in." he said, leaning across the counter. I nodded, and jumped off the stool I'd been sitting on. Chris jumped over the bar again, and saw how tired I was. I must've been really tired, cause he took my hand and elbow, gently, and helped me into bed. He tucked me in, and I didn't think I'd ever felt safer than that moment. He said goodnight, and I'm pretty sure I said it back before the darkness washed over me.