A/N: Hey, I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. My computer just erased it for some strange reason, and it has just now recovered it. This chapter's actually not that good, but it will be important later so...yeah.
Disclaimer: Much to my dismay, they are STILL not mine.
I know it's short, but I have had an unfortunate lack of inspiration. Hopefully now that this chapter has been recovered, I can get back to writing.
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Phoebe had made her way all the way from the foyer into the dining room and sat down before she noticed the Halliwell's dinner guest.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that we had company." She said while measuring the girl up. She was about Chris' age and classically beautiful with porcelain skin, cerulean eyes, and long blond hair. But there was something about her eyes that gave Phoebe the sense that this girl had seen far more in her life than her age would suggest.
"This is Jondy Hunt. She's working with Chris on an English project." Piper told her with a small smile.
Phoebe's eyes immediately sought her nephew, who looked like he could not have possibly been more miserable. Phoebe subtly tried to pick up on his emotions, but what she found made her pause. She had never known Chris to have such a crush on anyone. Wyatt always seemed to have a girl wherever he went. Chris, on the other hand, had never been one to have his head turned by just a pretty face.
'If Chris likes her so much,' Phoebe contemplated, 'then she must be something special.'
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After Phoebe's abrupt arrival, they had all began eating. Piper's culinary skills being what they were, everyone at the table ate in silence for a few minutes, and simply savored their food. The silence was suddenly broken by Piper, who felt that they needed to know more about their dinner guest.
"So, Jondy, what do your parents do?"
Jondy paused for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words before replying, "I don't have any parents."
Paige frowned for a moment at the unexpected answer before putting her two cents in, "You have to have parents. Who takes care of you?"
Piper glared at Paige for her outburst before turning to Jondy and saying gently, "Did they die? We know how that feels, Phoebe and I lost our mother when we were very young. Sometimes it helps to talk about things like this."
"They didn't die; I just never knew them." Jondy replied with a bitter smile.
Ever the sympathetic one, Phoebe felt that she had to say something. "Oh, you poor thing! That must be terrible!"
"I'm okay." Jondy said, a little shocked by how concerned they seemed to be. "Really. It's alright. I can take care of myself."
Paige still looked shocked. "But you're what, sixteen? You can't live by yourself!"
Jondy smiled soothingly. "Well, I don't. I live with a foster family."
"Foster family?" Paige repeated cautiously. "Well, I guess that's alright then. What're their names? Do we know them?"
"Um, I don't think so," Jondy replied. "Do you know the Altermans?"
"I don't think so," Piper quickly responded while shooting Paige a look that clearly said "that's enough".
Phoebe ignored the antics of her sister and asked, "But surely you must miss having parents. Our dad was never around for us, and after our mom died all we had was Grams. Grams was great at raising us, but I always felt a void. I always missed having a mother and a father, and even Grams couldn't feel that void, at least not for me." Phoebe finished silently, almost inaudibly.
"Really I don't miss them. I turned out alright with my strange little life. I don't need anyone else."
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