AN: I am sooooo sorry for the tremendously long wait. I just couldn't write this chapter. It was awful writer's block. I'm still not one hundred percent happy with it, but I'm trying to get past this part because I know where to go after this, so I hope you all can forgive me(if I have any readers left at this point) and I will hopefully have another part up in a couple days.
CHAPTER 13
Date Night
Chris Halliwell examined himself in the mirror, frowning as he noticed the hair on the top of his head standing straight up from static. He combed it back down. They stood back up. He glared at his reflection. Deciding to use just a touch of mousse to make sure he didn't end up looking like he had stuck his hand in an electric socket, he restyled his hair. Satisfied with the look, he gave himself another once over in the mirror.
"Chris, are you about done in there? You aren't the only one with a date tonight," Wyatt called through the door. "I really need to use the shower."
The younger brother rolled his eyes and opened the door. "I'm done."
Wyatt raised an eyebrow, "You nervous cuz you look nervous."
"Of course I'm not nervous."
His older brother gave him a dubious look.
"Fine, a little, so what's your point?"
"My point is you look really nervous. Dude, what's with your hair?"
The younger teen whipped his head around to look at himself in the mirror again. "What do you mean?"
The older boy chuckled. "Nothing, I just wanted to see you freak out some more."
Chris rolled his eyes again, "Would you stop with the teasing. It's not like I do this a whole hell of a lot you know."
The older brother sighed, knowing just how true that statement was. Truth be told his brother had only been on a handful of dates. He'd been considered a geek until about a year ago after his acne cleared up, his braces came off and Wyatt had dragged him to lift weights with him three times a week. Girls hadn't exactly been knocking down his door back then. It had been rough on Chris. Even now, when most of the girls would consider the young man dreamy, Chris just didn't date. He was still affected by what had happened to him back in Freshman year.
Valentine's day. Singles awareness day. Any way you put it, it sucked. At least that's what Chris thought. Every year he would watch as the other guys swept the girl of their choice off their feet with jewelry and flowers and candy. He would watch as said girl's face lit up and she threw her arms around her significant other's neck and kissed him. Watch as they walked away hand in hand. He wanted that. He wanted someone to be with on Valentines Day. He wanted someone to want him. Hell, at this point he would be happy if a girl acknowledged his existence.
Chris glanced down the hall to see Wyatt surrounded by his harem. His brother had never had trouble with the ladies. He was Mr. Popularity. Mr. Muscles. Mr. Sensitive and Charming and Perfect in every single freaking way. Chris loved his brother, and never would have denied him anything, but there were days when Chris wondered why his parents bothered having a second child when they had so obviously given all the good genes to Wyatt. After all, Wyatt was the Twice Blessed, heir to excaliber, future of all good magic. Wyatt was a straight A student, great athlete, with the perfect personality and looks to match. Chris? Chris was nothing but a kid with a head for science and spells.
A girl grabbed Wyatt by the arm and pulled him down for a quick kiss, thanking him for the beautiful white rose he had given her. Another blonde gave him a kiss on the cheek for her pink rose. A third kissed him on his other cheek for her red rose. And the last, the only brunette of the bunch and one of Chris' favorite people in the world, Emily, rolled her eyes at him and told him if he thought she was going to kiss his ugly mug because he had wasted his money on something that was going to die three days later, he was crazy. At which point she hugged him.
Wyatt's three blondes ran off to go to practice for the sixth period pep rally, and he and Emily walked over to Chris. His big brother grinned at him, "So, did you give it to her yet?"
Emily raised an eyebrow. "You mean you're finally gonna make a move on Crystal?"
Chris ran a hand through his hair nervously and nodded. Addressing his brother's question, "I'm waiting for the right time, though."
The Twice Blessed smiled and tilted his head past Chris and down the hall. "No time like the present. Here she comes."
Emily cast a worried look at her best friend's little brother. She had a horrible feeling about this. Crystal was part of the in-crowd, the social elite. There wasn't a kid in Chris' grade that wouldn't rip off his own arm for just one date with her. While Chris was a great guy– funny, sweet, smart, and cute in his own way– Emily had a feeling Crystal wouldn't see any of that. She'd see a scrawny, acne ridden, brace faced member of the science club. The young girl knew in her gut that Chris was going to be disappointed.
Just as the youngest of the three friends started toward his target, Emily grabbed hold of his arm, "Chris, are you sure about this? I mean, Crystal? Isn't she sort of superficial?"
"She's the class president, on the honor's society, does volunteer work at the animal shelter, she's funny, and to top it all off, she's the most beautiful girl in the school," Chris replied, as though Emily were insane to question his judgement. "Of course, I want to do this."
Emily cast a look at Wyatt who had grown pensive after his friend's questioning. He caught her gaze and squirmed uncomfortably.
Chris took a deep breath, and headed over to talk to Crystal. As he approached her, he could feel his heart hammering against his chest, his palms growing damp while his throat went completely dry. But, he was Christopher Halliwell, one of the descendants of the great Melinda Warren, protector of the innocent and demon vanquisher extraodinaire. He knew who he was, knew his place in the world and had confidence himself even if no one else did. He could do this.
"Hey, Crystal," Chris greeted.
The red head turned to look at him, her hazel eyes frowning as she caught sight of him. "Uh, hi?"
"I'm Chris. Chris Halliwell. We had Mrs. Pfiefer's english comp. Class together last semester."
Crystal nodded, "I remember. You were the kid that wrote weird poetry in your notebook."
It took the shaggy haired teen a moment to figure out what she was talking about before he realized she must have seen him scribbling down some spells. Yeah, that would definitely fall under the category of weird poetry. "Yup, that was, uh, me. Yeah..."
There was an awkward moment of silence.
"So, I uh, I just wanted to wish you a happy Valentine's Day," Chris said smiling shyly as he handed her a small, red plastic box. "So, happy Valentine's Day."
Crystal took the small box in her porcelain hands and immediately ripped the top off discarding it on the floor. When she saw what was in the box she wrinkled her nose. Pulling out a yellow gold chain as though it were something foul she glanced down at the little heart pendant with its single diamond and looked like she was going to be sick.
Chris felt his heart drop into his stomach. She didn't like it. He had saved up for a month to buy that. He'd had his aunt Paige help him pick it out. He was sure she would love it. But she didn't.
"Yellow gold?" Crystal shivered in distaste. "Who in their right mind buys yellow gold anymore? And what is this little speck at the bottom here?" She flicked the tiny diamond. "What, did you get this out of a cracker jack box? Come on, Chris, what were you thinking? I'm Crystal Marsh. I can get any guy in this school with the snap of my fingers and you expect to woo me with this piece of shit? Maybe it would work if you didn't look like some scrawny pizza face and were on the football team instead of the geek squad, but please. I do charity now and then, but this," she held up the necklace, "is pathetic."
The young teenager couldn't speak. He couldn't think. If anyone else had said those things to him, he would have had a smartass come back to humiliate them, maybe a good punch in the nose, but her? He had adored her from afar, idolized her in his mind for so long that now when he finally saw who she really was, he couldn't process it. It just hurt.
"Hey, is this geek bothering you, Crystal?" One of the football players asked, glaring down at Chris.
"He just wanted to confess his undying love for me that's all," She held up the necklace, "isn't it just sad?"
The jock rolled his eyes, "Geeks, they just never get it do they?" He turned to Chris, "Leave the lady alone. She doesn't consort with freaks like you."
"Hey," Wyatt cut in, having seen the scene and wanting to protect his brother. "The only freak around here is you, Harris."
Chris normally would have rolled his eyes at his sibling's stepping in for him, but this time, he let him do so gratefully. He just couldn't think. No words of defense were springing to his normally quick witted mind. So, he stood there, staring at his shoes, hoping beyond hope that he would develop the power of invisibility.
"Wyatt Halliwell, hey man how ya doin'? The game yesterday rocked that was a heck of a pass." Jeff Harris put his hand up for a high five, Wyatt folded his arms over his chest and blatantly ignored the gesture until the other teen put his hand down.
"Why is it that the roles of a high school always have to be so stereotypical? Why do the pretty girls have to be snotty bitches and the jocks overbearing jackasses to those that don't fit into their stupid hierarchy of who's cool? I mean grow the hell up. Someday, Crystal, you're going to lose your good looks and with the lack of brain cells and real friends you're going to wind up pushing carts at a grocery store and going home to a fat bald drunk and eight screaming babies. And Jeff? You think because you are an ok runningback you're god's gift. Dude, get over yourself. Someday, Chris here is going to be a doctor, saving lives, and that is cool."
Chris looked up at Wyatt, a little shocked to hear his brother speak so forcefully. It was rare when his older brother lost his temper. Wyatt was usually more like their dad that way. Though, the Piper Halliwell in him certainly came out when it came to defending his family.
Crystal looked at Jeff, "Are you gonna let this jerk talk to me that way?"
Jeff shrugged. "Uh...yeah..."
"What?"
"He's Wyatt Halliwell. If Wyatt says the kid is cool, the kid is cool."
Wyatt rolled his eyes, "Way to get my message, Jeff..." He looked over at Chris, "Come on, I'll take you out to lunch, my treat."
Wyatt sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked at his kid brother. Chris was a different kind of teenager. Anti-social, private, cynical at such a young ageok, so not terribly different from a lot of teenagers, but different from Wyatt. Chris didn't have a lot of friends, and ever since his nerdy days, he hadn't really been much of a people person, which generally meant that he could care less what people thought of him. Which was why seeing him fret over what some girl might think was a little disconcerting. Especially considering what had happened the last time. Wyatt didn't want to see his kid brother get hurt like that again.
The best defense was a good offense. Time for some brotherly advice. "Ok, which restaurant are you going to?"
"One mom recommended. Quake." Chris answered, frowning. "Why do you care?"
Ignoring the question, "That's a great choice. The food is good, but the atmosphere isn't too stuffy. Did you get any flowers?"
"Flowers?"
Wyatt nodded, "Dad may be old fashioned but some of his tips really work, and one of those tips is to show your appreciation to the lady with a nice bunch of flowers. It's kinda rare for a guy to do that anymore, so she'll feel extra special."
"Dude, why are you giving me pointers? I've done this before you know."
The older brother shrugged, "You seem to really like this one though. Besides, you admitted you were nervous, and I thought I'd do my brotherly duty and offer some helpful hints on how to make a good impression."
"I listened to all Dad's speeches too, Wy. I know what to do." Chris rolled his eyes. "I'm sixteen not six. I've gone on great dates before. I've even gasp-shock-oh the horror- made out with a girl. Stop treating me like some sort of incompetent loser."
"It's not that, Chris," Wyatt defended. "I just...I just wanted to help, so you didn't get hurt again."
Chris couldn't help but notice the slight look of disappointment. Sometimes Wyatt really was like their mom, always wanting to butt in and help even if it wasn't needed. Hmm...their whole family had that trait actually. He took pity on his sibling. "Wy, I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not that geeky fourteen year old anymore. I can take care of myself. Sure, I still get nervous because of what happened, but I deal with it. Thanks, though."
Wyatt smiled, "Ok. But if you need anything at all, let me know?"
"Sure."
Chris shook his head and left the bathroom allowing his sibling to get ready for his own date. After all, if he didn't get going, he was going to be late picking up Lydia, and that kind of first impression wasn't the one Chris was going for...
Two hours later. . .
Chris smiled at his date as she daintily nibbled a bite of french silk pie. This was going so perfectly. He could hardly believe it. He had gone with his father's and Wyatt's advice and gotten her some wild flowers, figuring her to be the type to cringe at roses, and had been right. She'd absolutely loved them. She'd made such a big fuss about the gesture that Chris was feeling like a real hot shot by the time they made it to the restaurant, and things were only destined to get better as the night went on.
Once at the restaurant, Lydia hadn't known what she wanted to eat, and well, being the son of a Chef definitely came with a vast knowledge of all things culinary. He'd easily helped her make up her mind, and she'd been very impressed with his knowledge on fine cuisine. Apparently she was one of the girls that could appreciate a man that could cook.
The food had been delectable, and the conversation had flowed smoothly. Chris was feeling like himself around her, able to be confident and witty, making her smile every chance he got. She looked amazing when she smiled. Well, she looked amazing all the time really.
His thoughts drifted from how well the evening was going to how she looked in that moment. Her silky soft olive skin was almost glowing under the soft dinner lights of Quake, and her big chocolate brown eyes were still as enchanting as the first time he had seen them, but what really drew his young hormonal attention was the dress she was wearing. It was a simple black cotton dress with a v-neck that went to her knees, and was cinched in at the waist with a red leather belt. It showed off her more feminine features beautifully.
"Aren't you going to help me eat this?" She asked, grinning up at him from underneath those thick black lashes. She gestured with her fork at the more than two-thirds of french silk pie that was left over.
"I'm not hungry," Chris answered, "too busy enjoying the view." He gave her his signature grin which grew to a smile as she blushed.
She shook her head at the pie, "I can't eat anymore. With all the pasta I had for dinner, I might explode if I have one more bite." She looked longingly at the piece of dessert for a minute before surreptitiously taking one more fork full. She shrugged as her date chuckled, "I can't waste good chocolate."
Their waiter came over setting down the bill on the edge of the table. "Anything else for you two tonight?"
"Just a box for the pie," Chris said, setting his debit card down on the bill. He winked at Lydia, "After all, we can't very well waste good chocolate."
Lydia smiled for him again.
After the bill had been taken care of, the two headed out to the Leo's old classic truck that he'd let Chris borrow for his big date. The young man, raised by his old fashioned father, opened the door for his date, offering her a hand up and gently shutting the door behind her before jogging over to the driver's side and climbing in himself.
As Chris drove toward the movie theater, Lydia suddenly grinned mischievously and cleared her throat to get his attention. "Uh, Chris, are you really looking forward to seeing this movie?"
"It looks ok, but I wouldn't die if I never saw it. Why?"
She continued grinning, "Have you ever heard of a place called Heaven's Hill?"
"Yeah it's just outside the city. Wyatt takes his girlfriend Emily there sometimes when they want a little. . . " he slowed as he realized what she was getting at, ". . .Privacy."
Lydia giggled softly at his surprise. "What, you think I'm all sweet and innocent?"
"Sweet yes," Chris answered. Grinning devishly, "innocent...well, that's yet to be decided."
The dark haired beauty responded coyly, "Well, time to find out, don't you think?"
It took Chris ten minutes to reach Heaven's Hill when the actual trip should have taken twenty. But once the destination was reached, speed was the last thing on the young witch's mind. Taking his time and enjoying every second with his new girlfriend was. Savoring the way her lips on his felt. The way her hands ran through his hair and down his shoulders, squeezing his upper arms as he kissed her in just the right way to send shivers down her spine.
She moaned in pleasure as he braved sliding his hand to her chest, which caused his own excitement to rise, and his kisses increased in need, his lips crushing hers.
And that's when he heard the voice in his head scream for help.
"Oh, shit. Not now."
Lydia, not sure what was going on replied, "What? Did you...you know...? Cause it's ok if you did. It happens sometimes."
Chris frowned in confusion. "Did I what?"
She glanced down at his manhood and shrugged, "You know...leave the station a little earlier than planned."
"No. No way. Not cool. My train leaves the station if and when I tell it to. Not a second before, ok?"
The young woman held her hands up, "Whoa, down boy. I'm sorry. It's just, you said not now, and I thought you were talking about that."
Chris sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration as the voice screamed again. "It's a charge in trouble. I have to go, that's what I was talking about."
Lydia frowned for a moment, "A charge?"
"You're mom didn't tell you?" Chris replied surprised, "She knew my mom and aunts. They helped protect the evil eye from a warlock back in the day. I'm part witch-part whitelighter, and being part whitelighter comes with protecting future whitelighters and good witches."
"She did tell me actually. I just didn't realize you had charges. You better go."
Chris smiled, "Wow, we can talk about magic. This is amazing."
"I think so too," Lydia kissed him one last time before shooing him off. "Go. They obviously need you."
"I'll call you later, I promise, and I'm really sorry."
Just as he was about to go up in a column of lights, Lydia grabbed his arm, "Wait. How am I getting home?"
"Magic," Chris answered grinning. He waved his arm at her, sending her soaring through the sky as a cyclone of bright blue and white orbs that would deposit her safely back in her room.
Once his date was returned home, Chris went off in search of the charge that had gotten into trouble. He hadn't recognized the voice. He should have though. Then, he wouldn't have been so surprised to find Bianca McCall to be the charge in distress. And distress was putting it mildly.
The young woman was on the ground of an alley, her left shoulder bleeding from what Chris imagined could only have been caused by being stabbed. There were scrapes all over her face, neck and arms. What was worse was the brute demon that was picking her up by the neck ready to snap her like a twig.
Chris flicked his wrists sending a blast into the demon's back, stunning him at least enough to get him to drop Bianca, who wasted no time in sweeping the demon's legs out from under him and then sticking her arm into his chest causing the large manlike being to scream out in pain.
Watching her perform this maneuver, the shaggy haired youth suddenly felt a burning in his own chest. And her voice came into his mind from somewhere far away. If I don't finish what I started you'll die soon. Think of it like an infection, and I'm the only one with the antidote.
"I can't hold him for long, do something," She ordered.
Chris shook his head to clear it. "Uh, ok." He bounced on his heals for a moment, trying to think. "Ok, here goes. Ancient powers hear my plea, send your power down to me, to help me in this time and place, erase the evil in this space."
A bright burst of flame erupted around the brute demon, immediately consuming him until his screams were silenced by the depths of hell.
"Nice spell," the woman rasped, wincing in pain.
Chris ran to her, dropping to his knees by her side. He lifted his hands over her wounds, and let his healing touch go to work.
Bianca frowned up at him, "What took you so long anyway? A minute longer and I would've been dead."
"I was busy. I got here as soon as I could," the teen answered curtly, still not pleased about being ripped away from the best part of his date. Raising an eyebrow, "What were you doing trying to tackle a Brute demon all by yourself anyway? You suicidal or just crazy? Those guys can crush your skull with their bare hands."
The exotic woman pushed his hand away as soon as she felt back to normal and flipped back onto her feet. She tossed her hair away from her face, and folded her arms over her chest. "He attacked a teenaged girl. I only fought him to save her, which as you can tell by the fact she's long gone, I succeeded in doing."
Chris rolled his eyes, "You should have called me right away instead of waiting until you had no other choice. What if I hadn't come right then? There'd be nothing left but the powder from your bones and some squishy brain substance."
"I don't need a lecture from you, Whitelighter," Bianca replied, using the title with such disdain Chris almost thought his mother's feelings for the Elders was friendly in comparison.
"Well, maybe you do considering how I found you tonight."
Bianca scoffed, "A rare situation, I assure you. I can take care of myself."
"Whatever you say, Princess."
The woman shot daggers at him, before shaking her head in anger and shimmering out of the alley.
"What the..." Chris blinked, wondering if he had imagined what he had just seen. "She shimmers?"
000
Cole glanced up from his place on the sofa as the door slammed shut. It was Phoebe going out with her girls for dinner. Apparently, it was in celebration of Prue getting an A on some test. Meaning that everyone he actually liked was now gone, leaving him all alone with the more annoying members of the clan.
As if to prove his point, Leo came trotting down the stairs wearing a goofy grin that could only signal one thing. He and Piper had actually had some alone time. Cole shook his furry head and laid it back down on the sofa.
"Hey buddy, how you doing?" Leo asked sitting down next to the labrador. He slowly, tentatively reached out to pet the dog on the head, but as soon as Cole bared his teeth he backed off. "I don't get it. I'm nice guy. Animals normally love me."
Probably because you have the same i.q. and they feel they can relate.
Leo, ignorant of the animal's mean thought, grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels. "So, what do you want to watch, huh?" He changed the channel, "We've got football," next channel, "some hospital drama" next channel, "Chicago Cops," next channel, "Oh, the dog show. Bet you wanna watch that, huh, boy?"
Cole tried very hard to glare.
"Aw, you do want to watch it. Ok, sure." Leo set the remote down.
Cole whined.
"Hey what is it?"
The former Source covered his head with his paws, willing Leo to go away and leave him in peace. Unfortunately, when he raised his paw back up, the man was still sitting there staring at him. He couldn't take anymore.
Jumping off the couch in spite of how sore his leg was, Shadow ran up the stairs and into the attic, hopping onto the couch there, hoping no one would disturb him up there. After all, who would want to hang out in the dusty old attic?
Orbs filtered down from the ceiling a few minutes later forming into Wyatt and his girlfriend, who were rather caught up in a moment. So caught up that if Cole hadn't leapt off the couch he would have been crushed under the weight of the two distracted teens.
"Mmm, Wyatt," Emily moaned softly, "I want this, but are you sure no one will come up here? What about your parents? I feel weird doing this while they're here."
The blonde smiled, "Don't worry. Dad's watching T.V. downstairs, completely dead to the world by now, and Mom's probably in bed already."
"Uh, Wyatt, we already have a guest." Emily pointed over to the dog. "Since when did you guys get a pet?"
The Twice Blessed rolled his eyes, "That's Chris' dog Shadow. We haven't had him long." He leaned his head back down to kiss her neck.
"I can't do this with the dog watching," Emily interrupted.
Cole didn't need to be told twice. He trotted out of the room without hesitation. The last thing he wanted was to see Piper and Leo's son get lucky. Or anyone else for that matter.
There was only one more place left to try for some privacy...
000
Ryak shimmered into the bedroom of the eldest Charmed One, a dark smile twisting his face as he spotted a glass of water on the night stand. It was almost too easy.
Fingering a small vial of clear liquid, the demon moved carefully over to the tiny table. He glanced over at the bathroom door, relieved to hear the faucet still running. He turned his attention back to the water and slowly slipped the contents of the vial into the glass. Mission completed he shimmered out of the room to await for the aftermath of his plan.
Piper finished washing her face and set the wash cloth back on the towel rack before heading into the bedroom completely exhausted. Slipping under the covers, she snuggled into the soft mattress. She was just about to close her eyes when she spotted her water glass and decided to take a sip to wet her throat. The water tasted so good, better than water usually tasted. It was fresh, crisp and before she even knew it she had drunken the entire glass.
Her thirst quenched, she set the glass back on the night stand, turned off the light, and prepared for a good night sleep.
tbc...
my theory is that the more reviews i get the more inspired i get, so i'd appreciate any comments. thanks:)