Enter The New Housemate

A/N: I'm trying as hard as I possible can to speed things up here...You guys must be getting restless! In the mean time, here's part 8. Enjoy!

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Leo quietly slipped into the house, contemplating everything that Penny had just revealed. Prue and Paige were Charmed Ones. They were going to be legendary in the magical world along with Piper and Phoebe.

They have yet to prove themselves, Leo thought, But put that aside, I have to make them stay together.

He stopped in the hallway as Paige answered the solutions to his problems unknowingly.

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"…so that's why I got kinnda drunk last night." Paige finished off. For the last two minutes, she had been explaining to the Halliwells and Danica why she had gone drinking.

Danica played around with her food. "Where are you going to live?"

"I honestly don't know." Paige replied truthfully. "I don't know."

"You could stay here." Leo suggested, sauntering into the room and sitting back into his place. Apparently no one had heard him come in. He had listened to Paige's whole explanation, giving him the answers to her problem and ironically, his.

"How long have you been standing there?" Piper asked.

"Long enough." Leo replied. "Why doesn't she stay here. Piper? Pheebs?"

"Oh no, I've been too much trouble already! I don't want to-"

"You know, that isn't a bad idea." Phoebe said, cutting off Paige. "I mean, we have a spare room upstairs that hasn't been used in a long time. Paige can stay there until she's found a place."

Piper chewed her toast thoughtfully. "Well…Why not? Spare room not in use could be put back to use. Oh, don't worry, you don't have to pay." Piper added when she saw Paige's face express anxiousness.

Paige opened her mouth several times but closed them because she had nothing to say. She never ever depended on other people, never but now, she felt that she had to comply for once if she wanted a place to live besides; she was starting to like the Halliwells even though they had only known one another in less than an hour.

Prue watched Paige shrewdly. She knew Paige hated to include other people in her problems; she was an independent person, just like Prue but Prue doubted she would decline the offer.

Paige sighed heavily. Leo tensed. She has to accept, please accept, Leo prayed in his head.

"I don't have a choice do I?" Paige muttered looking around.

Leo loosened slightly, relaxing while Phoebe beamed. "Cool! Now we have a new housemate! Welcome!"

"How about your stuff?" Danica enquired. "Your stuff at your place."

"I have to get them before three o'clock this afternoon." Said Paige as she recalled the letter.

"I can drive you there if you want." Phoebe offered, getting up. "Today's a free day for me."

Paige was yet again lost for words. Why were they being so nice? Did they pity her?

"Good! Let's go!" Phoebe said happily, taking Paige's blank expression as a 'yes'.

Danica jumped up as well. "I have to get to tennis practice!"

Prue stood up. "I'll come with you Dani, I have to go home and change." She gestured to her wrinkled black dress. "I'll come back her Paige. Piper, thank you for your generosity. Leo, Phoebe." She nodded at them and waved and followed after Danica who was waiting by the door.

"Bye!" Danica called out as she and Prue left.

Piper started clearing the table. "Better get going. It might take long to pack all your things." Piper told Paige before heading to the kitchen.

Paige nodded and got up. "See you Leo."

"Yeah, see you back here." Paige smiled weakly before being pulled towards the front door by an enthusiastic Phoebe.

The door closed yet again just as Piper came back in. Leo looked at her. She seemed happier than ever.

He cleared his throat. "What do you think of Prue and Paige?"

Piper stacked all the plates. "They seem nice. I like them and I think it was very kind of you to offer Paige to stay here." She added, grinning at Leo. "But I don't know about Grams."

"She'd be happy." Leo said. "I'm sure."

"How do you know mister?"

"Oh, your Grams seemed to like Prue and Paige." He said carefully making sure not to reveal anything. "I think she liked Danica the most. Point is, she was warm to all of them. She won't have a problem with Paige staying here."

Piper stared and Leo felt himself shrink slightly. Can she read my thoughts?

Piper broke into a smile and kissed Leo on the lips unexpectedly.

Leo kissed her back but clearly confused. "What was that for?" He asked.

"That's for being the most sweetest and most sensible guy, ever." Piper replied, returning back to clearing up the table. She went into the kitchen.

Leo smiled to himself. He might just get used to having Paige around.

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"I-Don't know…How you-survive by taking the-the stairs each day." Phoebe huffed as she put a hand to her side.

Paige continued on up. "I don't, I'm forced to everyday."

Phoebe hurried after her. "How many more steps?"

"Don't worry, were here." Paige stepped onto her landing. She walked briskly to her door and taking the key out, inserted it into its hole and opened the door.

"It's not much but its home." Paige waved her hand.

Phoebe gratefully stumbled inside. She looked around. It was a one room studio with a little kitchen to her right and a bed to her left and a couch and a coffee table at the edge of the room. Surprisingly, a few of the things Paige owned where boxed up. (A/N: I don't know how Paige's real flat looked like so I made this up!)

Paige noticed Phoebe's eyes linger on the boxes. She cleared her throat. "I never really got to unpack when I moved here last year."

"Then I guess that will speed up the packing." Phoebe said. "Should we start?"

"Uh, yeah, there are boxes in the store room outside. Let me go get those, stay here." Paige quickly went out.

Phoebe slowly walked around the room. She stopped when she saw a picture frame on the coffee table. Curiously, she picked it up and stared at the photo.

A man and a woman along with a girl around the age of seventeen all posed for the picture, the girl in between the two. They were all smiling happily, like a perfect family.

Phoebe looked closer and saw that the seventeen year old was Paige. She smiled.

Paige's hair was straight with fringes and her teeth sported braces.

The door opened and closed as Paige set down a couple of boxes. "Scavenged what I could." She looked at Phoebe and saw the picture frame in her hands.

"Paige, is this you?" Phoebe waved the frame around. Paige walked over and stared at the picture. She felt her eyes water.

"Ye-yes." She choked.

"Who are these two? Your parents?" Phoebe pointed to the man and woman.

Paige nodded.

"Where are they now?" Phoebe asked, looking at Paige's parents in detail.

"They…They're dead." Paige managed to say. Phoebe looked up, horrified. She quickly put the picture down.

"I'm sorry…I…I didn't know."

Paige shook her head. "It's not your fault." She sighed. "They died in a car crash a few days after this was taken… They were the best parents ever. Well, adoptive parents."

"You were adopted?"

Paige nodded. "The Matthews…They took me in when I was a baby after they found me at a church." She felt a pang of pain. She had never really gotten over the fact that her mom and dad were dead. She stared at the picture.

She was supposed to have died in the car crash with her parents but miraculously, she had survived. She only remembered being in the car and the next thing, finding herself on the road. Her parents had died instantly and she had never forgiven herself for being the one alive.

"My mom died when I was around two." Phoebe said quietly. Paige glanced at her. "She drowned. My dad left us when I was five; I never saw him again."

"I'm sorry…" Paige stammered.

"Hey, there's a reason for everything right?" Phoebe said.

Paige nodded then looked around her place. "We'd better get packing if we want to make it to that three o'clock curfew thing."

"Agreed." Phoebe said.

They silently grabbed their boxes and slowly began to put things into it, each deep in thought.

Without their knowing, the two girls had made a bond that was to only grow stronger in the weeks to come.

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Cole slowly walked up to the door of the flat he knew so well. How many times had he been there in the last five years?

He let out a sigh, unsure whether to knock or just come back later.

Prue had not called him as she had promised the other night and Cole had gotten worried since Danica had called him early in that morning informing him she had not arrived home yet.

He turned his back to door but did not move, instead he leaned against it. He didn't want to seem like he was paranoid.

I'm not being paranoid, just worried, He thought, she's a good friend and I have every right to be worried, Prue is just a-aahhhh!

The door behind him opened and in a split second he spun around. Tripping over his own feet, he fell forward.

"What the-" But Prue never got to finish because she toppled to the floor with Cole on top of her.

"Uff!" All the air in her lungs was suddenly gone. Bright white spots weaved in and out of Prue's vision and she suddenly felt lightheaded. She blinked and saw Cole's face looming over her.

"Prue? Are you alright?" Cole asked.

"Nice…nice view of the ceiling from...down-down here." Pure managed to say. Cole's body was pinning her to the floor making it utterly impossible to move.

Cole let out a small laugh. He stared into Prue's clear blue eyes and suddenly he was falling for her all over again. "God, you're beautiful…" He murmured dreamily.

"Cole…"

"You don't have to say anything."

"No…Cole."

"Hmmmm?"

"I…I just want to say...I won't be looking that…that beautiful in twenty seconds when I'll be dead…" Prue gagged.

Cole frowned.

"You're cutting off my air supply." Prue choked out. "I can't breathe…"

Cole blushed. "Oh! Sorry!" He quickly pushed himself off the floor and stood up.

Prue welcomed the rush of air flowing through her nose and mouth. She breathed in slowly and let it all out. "Now I value air more than ever…" She muttered. She sat up and looked at Cole. "What were you doing?"

"Well…I was…" Cole said uneasily. "I wasn't trying to lay you if that's what you want to know…my hands were…well they were somewhere… "

Prue ran a hand through her hair and laughed, shaking her head. "No, I mean what were you doing here?"

"Ah…Oh…I…I was just coming to check on you." Cole put a hand behind his head. He was acting rather stupid. "You know, see if you were back…"

Prue got up and winked. "Was that all you were expecting?" She asked slyly. "Or were you expecting something else?"

Cole gaped, stammering incoherently. "I…I…No! I'm…what…you-you can't ask questions like that!"

"Cole, I was joking! I was just kidding with you." Prue chuckled.

"This is unfair." Cole muttered. "Why do you girls have to do this?"

Prue sniggered. "I'm not the one who pushed a girl down onto the floor."

Cole protested but Prue suddenly cut him off.

"You'd better get out now." Prue said sternly, looking at Cole.

Cole looked confused. "Why?"

"I need to lock the house and the only way for that to happen is if you aren't inside." Prue smirked. "Unless you want to go through my private stuff in there, I'd only be too happy to lock you in."

"Oh, oh. You going somewhere?" Cole asked brightly as he stepped out and allowed Prue to lock the door. He loved it when Prue was quirky.

"Actually yeah." Prue looked at him thoughtfully. "Wanna come?"

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A/N:

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