Faith's heart leaped into her throat, preventing her from screaming as the huge demon lunged towards her, talons raised in the air. Pain erupted on the left side of her face and the sickly smell of blood filled the air.

Her door slammed open, her parents rushing in to find their only daughter cowering under the fury of a demon. Mr. Cullen watched in terror before throwing himself onto the demon's back, effectively distracting it and allowing Faith to crawl her way across the floor.

Faith watched in horror as her father was thrown into her bookshelf, books sliding in all directions. He got up unscathed but now the demon had re-directed its interest back to Faith and her mother. Mrs. Cullen gestured with her hand, momentarily pausing the demon in its tracks before it resumed the attack.

Words and texts were jumbled in Faith's brain as tried to remember a spell or charm she had read from her mother's magic books when she was little. But all she could recall were simple spells for repair and cleansing. One passage ghosted through her memory.

Any witch can summon Whitelighters at any given time. While it is a stronger call if the two have some connection, any witch can find a whitelighter's aid.

Chris could help her. Or Wyatt. They were both part whitelighter. At the current time she was not going to be particularly picky.

"CHRIS! WYATT! HELP!" she screamed to the roof of her room, feeling slightly stupid.

The demon reached her halfway through her second call, throwing her like a rag doll across the room, sending her helpless body crashing into the empty bookshelf. Black spots dotted her vision, which began to slowly dim before darkness enveloped her completely.

Warmth was flooding through her veins, a dull throbbing pain dimming to nothing. Muffled voices filled her brain as it slowly processed each word.

"Projection… power…didn't know… drawings…to life…"

All of the words made no sense in her brain but the voice was familiar. Warm and soothing but with a hint of knowledge and seriousness behind it.

"Leo?" Faith rasped painfully, her throat sandpaper.

"Oh Faith, thank God!"

Warm arms embraced her strongly, forcing Faith to open her eyes to see what was going on. Her mother held her in a tight embrace and Faith peered curiously over her shoulder. She was in the living room on the couch while Chris, Wyatt, The Charmed Ones and their husbands and her parents all sat around her.

"Mom I can't breathe!" Faith choked.

The grip loosened, air flowing into Faith's lungs again.

Faith struggled to sit up, very much aware of the attention she was getting. A blush began to burn on her cheeks but she forced it down. It didn't help that she was currently wearing a pair of blue, loose pyjama bottoms and a white top, both spotted with her blood.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Piper asked worriedly.

Faith screwed up her eyes for a moment and groaned.

"I… think I'm okay. What… How… I mean- I drew a demon?" she stammered confusedly.

Leo looked at her and ploughed out an explanation that really only half-made sense to Faith's still uncooperative brain.

"Some witches are given a power known as projection. It is where they can take an object and, as the name suggests, project it into real life. It can be achieved in many different ways from bringing toys to life," his eyes flicked to Wyatt, " to drawing images and concentrating on them enough that the witch can bring them into reality."

"Oh."

"It's not very complicated. And it is quite easy to get a handle on as well. But I'm guessing that was your first time using your power?"

Faith's eyes widened, "NO! Well, yes, but I didn't MEAN to! I was just looking at the pictures and I thought that that one I drew looked so real and then… it was there."

Leo nodded slowly, his lips pursing.

"Well it is quite common for accidental magic use when someone is just starting to use their powers."

Faith squeaked embarrassingly loud and she covered her mouth.

"C-common? This could happen AGAIN!" she gasped.

Leo raised a hand, "Yes, but now that you know it should be rather easy to be aware of what you are doing. But if anything does happen all you need to do is to rip up the paper you were drawing on and the image will disappear."

"Is that how you got rid of the demon?" she whispered, blush staining her cheeks.

Chris stood up, removing two torn pieces of paper from his jacket.

"Sorry. But I recognized the demon from your picture so I figured you might have the projection power. I ripped up the paper and it faded."

Faith shakily accepted the two pieces of paper, her mind going into overdrive at the news.

Paige watched the young woman's face drain of all colour (not that there was much to begin with).

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

Faith mouthed soundlessly before slumping in her chair.

"I have no idea!" she moaned.

Phoebe coughed, nudging her husband in the side. She made eye movements between Faith and Chris and raised her eyebrow. Coop gave her a 'you-know-I-can't-tell-you-and-even-if-I-could-I-wouldn't' look. Phoebe pouted and crossed her arms.

"Um, Faith? Not to be rude or anything but why did you call for Chris and Wyatt? They said they heard your call and then they called us a few minutes later."

Once again eyes burned into Faith's body.

"Well I remember reading somewhere that any witch can call a whitelighter at any time and I knew that Chris and Wyatt were at least part whitelighter and they knew how to fight off a demon. So I called them."

Phoebe nodded and the room lapsed into silence. Mr. and Mrs. Cullen stood up, warmly shaking hands with Chris and Wyatt, along with the Charmed Ones and their husbands.

"Thank-you so much. Our Faith could have been seriously injured tonight. And thank-you for helping us with her powers, we always knew they were there."

Faith's cheeks painted with a fiery glow. She stood up and walked over to them, saying her thank-yous. As she moved to back off, her vision dimmed again and the familiar feeling of dizziness rushed over her.

"Woah!" she gasped, staggering unsteadily.

Warm hands settled on her waist, effectively holding her up while Faith clutched at her head.

"Are you alright?" a velvety-smooth voice asked into her ear.

Wyatt's blue eyes bored into hers when she raised her head.

"Yeah. I think my body might be going into delayed shock. I'll be fine. Don't mind me."

Faith gently removed his hands, skillfully avoiding his adorable blue eyes.

Chris watched his brother with narrowed eyes. Wyatt was hitting on Faith. Again.

Everyone said their goodbyes, before the Halliwell clan disappeared in sparkling orbs. Faith looked up at her parents, both of whom were beaming at her for her power. But she could see the worry behind their eyes. Things were now slightly more complicated.

The clocked clicked to 1:19AM and Wyatt's door opened silently, casting a glow onto Wyatt's desk where he was studying. The blond raised his head curiously to find his baby brother standing beside him.

Knowing what he was about to discuss with him, Wyatt gestured for Chris to sit down beside him.

"What did I tell you about flirting with her Wyatt?" Chris said stonily.

Wyatt rolled his stunning blue eyes, "Chris, I'm not just doing it because I can! Faith actually seems pretty cool; I would like to get to know her. Besides, she is cute when she blushes."

Chris's jaw set into a clench, "Wyatt! Faith doesn't need you going out with her once and then not ever speaking to her again! I told you how she feels about attention from people, and excessive attention from the school's ex-most popular jock since 2002 is not going to help her if you just dump her!"

Wyatt's gaze softened, "Chris, I would never do that to her. I'm just saying that she is a nice girl with a brain that she uses. Not some airhead 'Joy-ette' who is forever giggling like a maniac after every word."

Chris seemed to calm down considerably at these words but Wyatt still had more to say.

"Besides, she isn't really my type and she seems more into you anyway."

Wyatt narrowly dodged Chris's open-palmed whack to the back of his head.

"Faith and I aren't dating. I'm tutoring her. That's all."

Wyatt sighed, "Chris, it is time you moved on from Clara."

Clara Stevens had been Chris's longest relationship, which had ended last year when she had moved away for her father's new business. She and Chris had been dating since they were fifteen and five months before Clara left the two had slept together. Something only Wyatt, Chris and Clara knew about. Wyatt had found out when Chris came home the next morning after a date and told his mother that he had stayed the night at Wyatt's apartment. When Wyatt found out he had questioned his brother for hours about hoew safe it was and if he was sure Clara was okay with what had happened.

"Wyatt I HAVE moved on from Clara! But I haven't known Faith that long!"

Wyatt nodded reluctantly, "Okay, fair point. But how about you get to know her? Maybe you will see something in her you didn't see before."

Chris nodded slowly, raising from the chair and leaving the room.

Maybe his brother was right. Maybe there was more to Faith then what he thought.

Once again, the school day dawned a dark and stormy gray. Joy was already issuing orders to anyone who would listen at lunch break, informing each of them of what they had to do. When her eyes landed on Faith, calmly sitting beside Chris, she smirked.

"Well, well, well. Faith it is good to see you out of the art room! You should really get out more though, your skin is getting a little pale."

She giggled and flounced away, swaying her hips in a lucrative manner. Tears pricked at the corners of Faith's eyes but she ignored the jibe.

Chris led her to the gymnasium where the dance would be help and showed her how much space they had to work with and what sort of decorations Joy wanted.

The art room was empty once again when Chris entered after Faith, following her lead as she grabbed paintbrushes, paint and a large roll of paper.

"We can start now. We both have spares so anything we get done now will be pretty good."

She began to busy herself with the paint, carefully drawing the outline of what she was going to do before filling in the white spaces with paint. Chris followed her lead, though his own drawings nowhere near matched the standard of hers.

It occurred to Chris that when she was painting, Faith was entirely absorbed in her work. He paused in his (rather pathetic attempt) at drawing and watched as she precisely slid her paintbrush around the outline of the character she was drawing before casually dipping her paint into a colour two shades darker and doing it again. Her hair fell into her eyes, causing Faith to brush it away and continue her work as though she was uninterrupted.

A smile crept across Chris's face as he watched her. She looked so peaceful compared to the usually pale and quiet girl he was used to seeing.

"Chris? Chris? CHRIS!"

Chris jerked back into reality to find Faith with one hand on her hip and a paintbrush in the air.

"Why were you staring at me?" she accused, eyes narrowing dangerously in a way Chris had never seen before.

"Nothing, nothing. You just looked really into it that's all. Very focused."

Faith's eyes moved away from him and back to her work. They had already managed to finish eight of the twelve posters and one of two banners.

"So," Chris began, dipping his brush into the forest green and trying to strike up a conversation, "are you going to the dance?"

"Nope." Was the clipped reply he received.

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't been to a school dance since I got here. Why break my tradition now?"

Chris laughed softly, "Want to go with me then?"

Faith nearly dropped her brush onto the page, quickly catching herself, "W-what?"

"Just as friends!" Chris quickly amended, "I mean, Emmalee and Mary are going with Ben and Jackson and Harry and Carolyn are going so why don't you and I go? We can torment Joy and whichever poor soul she dragged to the dance with her by adding salt to the punch when she isn't looking."

Faith looked up at him with dull green eyes, "Okay. I guess."

Chris was momentarily taken aback at her acceptance but masked his surprise well.

"Okay then. But- um- could you pick me up? Wyatt and I went demon hunting last week and mom found out so besides driving to and from school I am not allowed to use my car. Mom is only letting me go to the dance because I helped organize it."

Faith nodded slowly, her eyes once again trained on her work when the bell rang to change periods. Faith had another spare but Chris had to make his way to Advanced Physics.

"So, I will see you in English."

Faith shook her head and ran her brushes under the tap.

"Sorry. I'm leaving school now. Family stuff."

Chris sensed a lie underneath her words but knew it was too early in their friendship to pry unless she wanted to tell him.

"Oh. Okay. Well then I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Maybe." She mumbled vaguely, watching as the red paint washed down the sink in crimson streams.

Chris exited the art room with one question weighing heavy on his mind. Now he was sure there was something different about Faith. Something lying beneath the surface.

But he didn't know if it was good or evil. Faith was a nice girl, but she had that vibe about her that not all was as it seemed. Some of the looks she gave, the harsh and accusing stares definitely were a far cry from her shy and reclusive self.

But for now Faith was his friend. And he wouldn't judge her without a fair trial. And a trial never worked without evidence.

Faith stood in front of the bathroom mirror that night, examining her small frame. The new mark on her arm throbbed uncomfortably from where the sharp point had pierced the soft skin, drawing copious amounts of blood. The area around it was tinged with greens and purples that faded to yellow around the edge.

Today had been very painful. Multiple wounds covering her body from places where sharp points had been pushed repeatedly through her skin. Older marks were finally beginning to fade but Faith knew that by next week the new scars would be the old ones and new purple marks would decorate her skin.

Her slender fingers traced three long, thin scars across her stomach and she was thankful that they blended in against her pallid skin.

The mark on her arm seared when she moved but she knew better then to ask Wyatt or Paige to heal it. They would ask questions she couldn't answer. Questions that if she didn't answer would lead to suspicion. Which would eventually lead to an answer.

They couldn't find out. Nobody was going to find out. She didn't ask to be born like this. She would have proffered to be like everyone else. But she wasn't.

Faith sighed heavily and stepped into the shower, allowing the lukewarm water to wash away all of her pain.

A smile graced her features as she thought of what was happening next week. She was going to the dance. With Chris. Granted, it was just as friends, but Chris Halliwell had asked her to the dance. Happiness bubbled to her lips and she giggled in the warm spray before it hit her that she had to inform her parents of her 'date' with Chris.

That was going to go down well.

The Book Of Shadows stood pride of place in the non-dusty non-dingy attic of the Halliwell manor. Chris stood before it, paging through the old tome at a slow speed, trying to find the demonic entity his father had described to him as attacking men all over the city.

"Phoenix, Angels, Grimlocks, Genies, where is it?"

The description he had been given by his father was… vague… to say the least.

He stared at the high roof of the attic, "I could use some help here!"

An invisible wind toyed first with his hair before flipping the pages in the Book. It landed on a page with a demon fitting the description Chris had been given.

"Thank-you!" he called with a smile, "Halex demons. Most common as females, these demons kill and feed on mainly males as their diet. Powers include black tar-like substance from fingers; energy balls and sharp, dagger-like fingernails. Halex demons are also able to transform into humans, but not for overly extended periods of time, as they are highly susceptible to human disease. These demons are widely recognizable by their pale skin, gray eyes and tribal markings. The can be vanquished using a potion listed on the opposite page."

Chris huffed and began to prepare the potion for his mom and aunts to vanquish the demon. Ever since his father had been re-instated as an Elder when Chris was fifteen, his family had gotten back into the habit of weekly demon hunts due to the Elder's wide knowledge of what was going on.

As the final ingredient combined into the potion, Chris fetched a vial and poured a generous amount of liquid into it.

Pages ruffled behind him, alerting Chris that someone was trying to draw his attention to the Book. Chris wandered over, curious to see what it was they were trying to tell him. On the yellowing paper was a title printed in bold red ink.

"To see what can't be seen." He mused.

A spell to see what was invisible to the eye.

"This spell can be used to detect anything from a spell to a lie."

The last word jumped out at him but Chris closed the Book with a snap.

"I trust her!" he yelled at the ceiling again.

The page flipped back to its position and Chris groaned. But he memorized the spell in case he ever needed it.

But he wouldn't use it on Faith unless he was absolutely sure. For all he knew she was just a girl with a secret that she was embarrassed about. Not a demon trying to kill him. Besides, she was a witch and if she wanted to kill him, wouldn't she have already tried?

His mother called his name from downstairs, prompting Chris to close the Book and hurry down with the vanquishing potion in hand.

"Faith Isabella Cullen I will not let you date this boy!" John Cullen yelled as he bashed his fist on the wooden table.

"It's not a date daddy! We're going as friends! That's it! Besides, you like Chris remember? He was one of the ones who saved my life last night?" Faith retaliated, her fork lying abandoned beside her broccoli.

"I know but he is an seventeen year old boy!"

"And I am an seventeen year old girl!" she yelled back, not understanding that it wasn't that Chris was seventeen but the fact that seventeen year old boys were… seventeen year old boys.

"EXACTLY!"

Tanya Cullen sighed, deciding it was finally time to mediate the fight.

"Okay. Faith, you can go to the dance with Chris," Tanya's husband opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off, "on the grounds that you are home by twelve thirty and you don't do anything stupid. Are we clear?"

"Yes mom." Faith smiled happily, returning to her broccoli.

Butterflies flew in her stomach and, for the first time in a long time, Faith felt like very other girl when she began to worry about what to wear to the costume party.

Maybe she was the same in some ways… but she was different from them in a much bigger way.

A/N- Hello again! I just want to say thank-you ALL for the lovely reviews and congratulations to the people who correctly guessed her power. If it seems familiar the episode 'Witches In Tights' (Season 5) features a young boy with that power. And now I know some of you are getting suspicious of Faith and I can honestly say that not all is what it seems with her. But I won't say any more then that so you will just have to wait! Please drop a review on your way out because that is what keeps me going!