"Phoebe! Wake up!!", someone called from downstairs.
Phoebe heard someone call her name. They had been calling it all morning in attempt to wake her up. She listened, but never got up. She finally caved and dragged herself out of bed. She stumbled over to her closet where she picked out a regular white tank-top with dark blue jeans. She pulled back her hair, which her grandmother said she couldn't dye, into a pony tail. It took her about five minutes to get ready for her first day of school. She was never popular and she didn't expect her Junior year to be any different.
"Phoebe! Get down here if you don't want to take the bus!", Piper called again. Her oldest sister, Prue, had gone off to Colloge. She would be home for the weekend soon. "NOW!"
"Alright, alright! Shutup already! I'm coming!", she called as she ran down the stairs. "Ready!"
"No breakfast?", Grams asked.
"Sorry. No time! Maybe I'll get something at school. Bye, see you later. Come on, Piper! I don't want to be late."
Piper rolled her eyes at her little sister. She kissed Grams good-bye and took off. It would only take a total of fifteen minutes to get to the local high school, East San Fransico High, but when Phoebe was on a mission, you took her seriously. She couldn't believe that she picked up the talent to roll out of bed and look perfect in ten minutes. Of course, she was already pretty in the first place.
"So, Phoebe. You excited? Junior year! Next year you'll be a senior and then be able to graduate."
"Not nearly as excited as you would think. What classes do you have today? How's colloge working out for you?" Phoebe never liked talking about herself. She was always making a mistake and her family didn't even know about half of them.
"Fine. I'm going to do....." She tried to remember just what she had. "Oh shoot! I can't remember! I'll have to check with Wendy when I get there."
"Right."
The rest of the ride was silent except for the radio which was playing Piper's style and not Pheebs. The day was already off to a bad start for Phoebe....
~*~*~*~
"UGH!!!!", Phoebe groaned. She was a little lost and it was only the first class of the day. All together she had Math, Social Studies, Science, English, Study Hall, and Vocal Excel. Apparently someone thought she had a good voice and was suckered into taking a singing class. She didn't want to, but all her old friends kept bothering her about it. They had abandoned her when she dumped her super popular boyfriend, Clay. Now she was stuck with the class and no friends. "This is useless!", she called to no one.
"Need help?", someone asked from behind her. "I'm new here but I could try because the tour is fresh in my mind."
Phoebe smiled. She had to admit that he was cute. Tall, dark, and amazing eyes. She could picture her hanging out with him, but then remembered that she was through with guys. All they brought was pain and she hated how they only liked you depending on your social status.
"Sure. I'm looking for room 308b."
He pointed right behind her to a door that said "308B" right on it. Phoebe blushed and then thanked him before he could say anything else. He looked down at his schedule. Subject: Math. Room Number: 308B. He sighed and walked into the class room.
~*~*~*~
Phoebe's third class had just ended and she had lunch. There was no way she would be caught in the cafeteria, so she headed outside where she could review her notes and take a chance to practice the music she had just recieved. She was happy to find a secluded area that no on else was at. Privacy at last. Phoebe tried to keep to herself.
She sat down and took out her notes. Math; boring. Social Studies; Ick! So she took out her music sheets and set to work. She hummed the bars just to get the feel of it, but then started the actual singing. Her friends were right, her voice was angelic.
"Nice voice.", someone interupted. "Sorry. Didn't mean to disturb you."
"What are you doing here?", she asked rather rudly. "Sorry.... I just tend to keep to myself and I don't like people listening to me sing. Sit down if you want to."
"Thank you. Your voice is nice, you should be proud of it. I know what you mean, though. I never have spent longer then a half hour at a time with someone. I thought I would look for a nice spot to eat my lunch and then I heard you singing."
Phoebe smiled at him "Thanks for your help this morning. I feel kinda stupid now. But you still deserve a thanks."
"How were you suppose to know it had been right in front of you?"
"Yeah." She stopped talking and went back to reviewing her notes. There was no way she was going to practice her singing anymore. She could barely do it for friends, forget about complete strangers. She realized that he was staring at her. "What?"
"Nothing.... I just thought that you would be popular. But you don't eat at lunch and try to escape for the short forty-five minutes. I'm just amazed that there is someone like me out there."
"I never eat. Even at my house. For supper I chew on my gum and pretend to eat." She stretched her gum as if to prove that she did it. "Eating is for people who are normal. I'm not. Can I get back to reviewing my notes, please?"
"Sorry.... Didn't you just get those?"
She was rather annoyed now. "Yeah, but I'm expected to be someone in my family. Prue is at colloge and so is Piper. Unless by some miracle my family decides that my life is mine, I have to study a lot."
"I have the same problem." Then he quieted down. Off in the distance, he heard the sound of the bell ringing. "Time for class. See you tomorrow?"
"Unless I find a better place to sit!"
Phoebe walked off, hoping not to run into him again. She would have to find a different spot for tomorrow.
~*~*~*~
Phoebe had been waiting for about a half hour for Piper. The school buses had left and most of the Senoirs had left. Phoebe felt rediculasly stupid sitting on the front stairs that led up to the main entrance. She cuddled herself, trying to bring warmth to her body. She had no success so gave up and went inside to wait. She could see that there was no one in the lobby and there was no chairs. She remembered the bleechers that were in the gym and headed that way.
She took her bag off and sat on the third or fourth step up. She took out her homework which was just reading some assigned pages for Eglish. They had to read the book 'Gone With The Wind' and she was excited about it. She had her own copy and she had read it millons of time. The romance line was just too impossible and she wished she had it. It was her favorite book she owned, and she owned a lot, and carried her copy everywhere with her.
"Well isn't it the wonderful Ms. Got to Study or I Die. I thought you would have left by now. What, just couldn't stand not being around me?"
She glared at him. She was begining to warm up to his personality. "No. My sister was suppose to pick me up.... oh about forty-five minutes ago. She seems to be running late. I was getting cold so I came in here to warm up."
"And the book?"
"'Gone With The Wind'. We have to read it for English, remember? I love this book."
"Yeah... It's a classic. Can I join you?"
Phoebe was surprised to hear him ask. "Sure... if you want to. I'll just be reading, though. So you have to stay quiet!"
"Looks like you already read your pages. You are on page fifty. The assignment was for the first thirty. Just so we could get the feel of the book."
She blushed. Why did he have to find an excuse to talk to her? She didn't have friends, and ever since that summer, didn't really wanted them. They always expected so much of you and she had enough pressure from her family.
"What do you want?", she asked.
"I don't know. You just seem nice and-"
"Phoebe! Oh my god! I am so sorry. Class ran late and I couldn't get anyone to cover for me and..... Well, I'm here now so let's go home."
"Hey, Piper. Bye!" She left without another word.
~*~*~*~
The ride was silent. Despite Piper's sisterly attmepts to crack her sister, Phoebe stayed silent. She didn't even know his name. She doubted that he knew her reputation or else he would ignore her like everyone else did. There was a reason they didn't talk to her and Best Friends were highly over-rated. She had come to terms with the way people thought of her.
Why was he invading her thoughts, anyway? She couldn't stand him or his rude way of interupting her. That's all he ever did. He joined her at lunch and talked all through her studying. Then again after school.... She hadn't actually talked to anyone from her school since the end of last year when she dumped Clay. She still shuddered when she thought of him asking her to have sex with him at such a young age.
"Thanks, Piper. I'm going to my room to study. Bye!"
She hadn't stayed in the room with her family for that long, either.
"But, Phoebe! Wait-" Her door slammed in Piper's face. "I was going to go to the mall, but nevermind!", she said to herself.
Phoebe took out her sheetmusic and began singing. She stayed in her room the entire night. Thinking about the guy she had met that day.
~*~*~*~
The next morning, she woke up early. Six o'clock early. She normally didn't need to get up untill at least seven. Sometimes seven-thirty. Depending on wether or not Piper would be giving her a ride. She was dressd in a black T and black bell-bottoms. She pulled her hair back with a black scrunchy and wore black shoes. Her color for the day: Black.
"Hey, Grams!", Phoebe said as she entered the room. She was in an unusal good mood and kissed her cheek. "Get a good night sleep?"
Grams was surprised to see her grandaughter up early and even more shocked to see her outside of her room. "I slept great last night! What are you doing up early? And why the good mood?"
"Couldn't sleep. There's this new kid at school and he is driving me insane. I wish that I could just send him back to where he came from." She noticed her Grandmother's look. "But then I just wish that he were my friend. He's cute. And seems to be nice, too." She grabbed a muffin from a basket near her.
"You're eating! Maybe you should spend more time with him. You might even make more friends. You are always such a loner."
Phoebe smiled and went back to her muffin. They were store baught, so they weren't as good as her sister's, but they had been going great with her thinking. He invaded every thought she had. One minute she hated him, the next she wanted to get to know him.
"Morning, Pheebs!", Piper said. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Just thinking. Piper? You know that guy I was with?"
"Yeah... what about him?"
"Do you think that he would make a good friend?"
"Why? Did you talk to him and decide against that whole Friends Suck thing?"
"No. He wouldn't leave me alone. But he seems nice. Nothing like Clay."
"Whatever happened to him? I thought you liked him."
Phoebe hesitated. Her family didn't understand why she dumped him and that part of her life. She hadn't told anyone. Especially Prue. She already thought she was a screw-up.
"Promise not to tell Prue?" She stopped long enough for Piper to nod. "He hit on me. Now I realize that's not that big of a deal, but he wanted to have sex with me. When I dumped him, my friends dumped me. Prue would just think less of me. Please don't tell her."
"Oh, hunny!" Piper pulled her into a hug. "I'm so proud of you! You did the right thing!.... Maybe you do need a friend. He seemed to be nice. Go for it."
"I don't like him like that. I just need a friend." Piper rolled her eyes. "Well I do! I'm walking to class. Maybe he'll be there early. Bye sweetie!"
It was only about seven when she left.
~*~*~*~
"Hey! Look at you! Here early. You weren't yesterday.", the guy she met yesterday spoke. "What gives?"
"I just wanted to see you. I mean, you never finished your sentance yesterday. What were you going to say."
"I was going to say that I didn't have any friends and you don't either. So maybe we could be friends?", he asked hopefully.
"I was wondering the same thing. I just..... Piper always engouraged me to make friends and I thought, 'Why not?'"
"Ok then. It's settled. I have a friend. Wow that sounds weird. I've never had a friend before."
"I have. Some aren't that great. You know, I don't even know your name."
"Cole. Cole Turner. And you would be?"
"Phoebe Halliwell. We have class. Math, right? See you at lunch?"
"Yeah, Phoebe. You will."
They headed to math where they sat next to each other.
~*~*~*~
"So, who is this Piper I keep hearing about?"
"My sister. The one from last night. My eldest sister is away at colloge. She's coming home for the weekend. You want to meet her? I mean, she'll probably bring her boyfriend but you can still come. They're wicked nice..... and I know that Piper would like to meet you."
"Maybe..... I'm not sure if my mom will let me. She sort of has this thing against me being.... normal, I guess."
"And your father supports this?"
"My dad is dead. What about your mom? What's she like?"
"I wouldn't know. I never really got to know her. She died. And my dead left us when I was little. I was raised by my grandmother. And....."
"And what?"
"My oldest sister helped a lot. She was always there for me. I never really thanked her. I always got into a fight with her when I went to do it. It was always on my mind just before she left. I must have been... fourteen when she left."
"I promise I will try to be there." He stopped when he heard laughing headed their way. "Who could that be?"
"Oh, you are too funny!", a distant voice said. Phoebe cringed at the sound and Cole noticed. "This is going to be great!"
The couple stopped at the enterance of the little area that Phoebe and Cole called their own.
"What are you doing here?", the guy asked. "I see you will come here with the new kid but not me."
"Shutup, Clay! You don't know what you are talking about."
"Oh! So now I'm stupid and unworthy of you. Good luck, buddy! You won't get none!"
Cole stood up and punched the kid. "Don't you ever talk to me or my friends like that ever again! Or you will have more then a bloody nose! Come on, Phoebe. Let's go."
Phoebe gathered her stuff and got up to leave with Cole. He saw Clay holding his nose, which was bleeding. She smiled at her protecter and raced to catch up with him. She mouthed the words 'Thank you' to him and they went to where their next class would be.
~*~*~*~
So what's the deal with this guy? Your friend, Cole.
Phoebe opened the note and immediatly wished that she hadn't. She simply wrote 'long story' on it and returned the note. He glimpsed at her in a way that said they would talk later and she nodded. Class went on for another fifteen minutes and then Phoebe would have to walk home. There was no way she was going to take the bus on a beautiful day.
Class let out and she ran. She didn't want to have to explain her past mistakes to Cole. He seemed like such a great guy and she didn't want him to know. Cole quickly caught up.
"You said we could talk. Tell me about him and how did he hurt you so much. As your friend, I demand it."
"Will you walk home with me? Because that's how long I am going to need."
"So you don't want to stop by the grassy hill that's surronded by Weeping Willows? That's such a nice place!"
"You left something there, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Can we go there first?"
"Sure."
"His name is Clay. He was my boyfriend last year. We were having such a great time. We went out for months and he told me he loved me. He was popular so my friends supported me. Then one day, I broke up with him because he asked me to have sex with him. I'm pretty sure that's what he was doing with that Bimbo this afternoon. He started spreading nasty rumors about me and my friends dumped me. I haven't spoken to anyone, including the teachers, since then."
Cole realized how hard for her it was to accept him as a friend. They had picked up his book and they were walking home.
"So.... what were the rumors?"
"That I slept around. And that I wasn't even that good at it."
"Ouch. You give him something nice and-"
"I never slept with him.", she said angerly. "That's why I broke up with him. I had told him I wasn't ready and I broke up with him. Then he started the rumors and told everyone that he dumped me."
"I mean the pleasure of your company. You glow with innocence. There was no way that you could of slept with him."
"How can you tell?"
"I have a gift."
Phoebe laughed and continued to her house. When she reached it, she invited him in.
"Want to come in? Piper would like to meet you and if you can't come Saturday then you should meet her now. Puh-lease!!!!!!!"
"Alright! I'll come in! But only if you don't tell her about me punching your ex-boyfriend."
"Promise. Thank you!" She leaned in for a hug and showed him through the door. "Piper! There's someone here I'd like you to meet!"
"I just made cookies! Come on in!", she called from the kitchen.
"Nice place", Cole admitted. "I suppose your room is upstairs."
"Yes, it is. But no one is aloud up there. Not even Grams." She looked hurt and Cole knew that he had crossed a line that would not be so easy to get back over. "It's my room. No one else is aloud in it." A tear threatened to slide down her cheek. Cole hugged her tight.
"I'm sorry. I hadn't any idea that you were so attached to your room."
"My mommy used to be in there at night. Prue told me so. I tried not to erase the memory of her from there, but I failed. So I don't replace it."
"Sooner or later you are going to have to share it with someone. What do you say about those cookies?"
She showed him to the kitchen where she grabbed a couple glasses that were to be filled with milk and the plate of cookies. Piper joined them at the table and stared at Cole.
"What?", he asked. "Something wrong?"
"I was just wondering how you got her to open up again. You've barely spent one day with her and she was already smiling. How did you do it?"
"Just being friendly. By the way, I'm Cole. You must be Piper. Phoebe speaks of you often."
"You know, Pheebs. I like him. Where did you snatch him up?"
"He's not my boyfriend! Just my friend! I swear. I am through with the scum at our school. Never ever again will I date anyone from there."
"Well, at least I won't have to worry about having your heartbroken.", Cole joked.
"Nope. I know exactly what I want." She looked at Piper and said, "A life on my own."
Piper knew that she meant she didn't want what happened to mom happen to her.
~*~*~*~
Phoebe was waiting for Prue to get there. She had picked out a lovely blue dress that had white flowers on it. She wanted to look nice for Prue and Andy, but also for Cole. She had to admit that the time she spent with him was nice. She liked the way that he would offer a shoulder to cry on or protected her from the jerks at her school. He was sweet to her in every way and she had started crushing on him after he told her that he would come to the family party even if his mother had out-lawed it.
She thought that he felt the same way because he would ditch class so that he could listen to her sing. She guessed that he hadn't gone to Science since the first day of school. Every single time she sang he would clap for her. He would be there any moment she needed him.
Phoebe heard the doorbell and thought that Cole was there, but heard Prue's voice. She wondered why she hadn't just come in only for about two seconds. She ran down the stairs and straight to her arms. Prue hugged her back, a little shocked at her enthusiasm. Phoebe and Prue had never really gotten along.
"Pheebs! You remember Andy. Andy, you remember Pheebs." They exchanged hellos and a small hug. "Where's Piper?"
It took Phoebe a while to realize that Grams has answered the door. "Probably at class. Unless she has some last minute thing to do. You are a little early and she wanted to be here when you got here. She's been preparing since Thursday." The doorbell rang and that meant Cole. "I'll get it!"
She ran to the door and Andy asked her what was going on. Prue just shrugged.
"Hey, Cole!" She hugged him. "Prue's here. So is Andy. Come in!"
"You look nice. Dressing up for your dear sister?"
Phoebe punched his arm playfully. She knew that the main reason she had dressed up was because she wanted to make a good impression on Prue. But then again, Cole was there and she couldn't look bad for that either. She walked him to her sister.
"Prue, this is Cole. Cole, Prue. And that's Andy. Prue's boyfriend. This is my friend from school."
"Clay isn't coming? He's ok with you taking your friend instead of him?", Prue asked a little confused. She turned to Andy and said, "Clay is her boyfriend."
"Not any more. I dumped him... Cole is my only friend. But I wanted him to meet you so he came."
"Really? Why did you dump him?", Prue asked. She had liked Clay. She thought he was good enough for her baby sister and she didn't just let anyone get close to her family.
"I'll tell you about it later. For now, let's wait for Piper to get back. Grams! Come on! We're all gonna hang in the living room. We can talk about something...." She looked for Cole for help. Her look in her eyes almost screamed 'help me'. It was usually Piper who would be doing the whole get everyone together thing.
"You know, I think you should tell them the good news.", Cole supplied.
"Not until Piper gets home! I want her to know. The only reason you know is because you were there at the time. Otherwise, I would have made you wait. Like Piper."
"What happened, Phoebe?", Andy asked.
"Something great. But I want to wait until-"
"I'm home!", someone interupted. "Prue should be here-" She stopped as she came into the living room. "Oh! You are here! Give me a hug!" Prue jumped up and Piper wrapped her arms around her. "You, too, Andy!" Andy stood up and hugged her. "It's so good to see you guys! What are we talking about?"
"Phoebe has some great news. Go on, Pheebs.", Grams said.
"Ok.... I have been taking Vocal excel classes and they gave me a solo! They said that at the next concert, I will perform the song I have been practicing." She waited for a response from someone.
"I thought that you had stage fright?! You were never able to get up in front of the family let alone an entire room full!", Piper responded.
"Cole has been helping me. He keeps telling me how I should appreciate my gift and share it. He's really been a great friend. And Prue, can you come down not next weekend, but the weekend after that?"
"Ugh-I... I don't know. Maybe. Why?"
"Because that is when I go on." She smiled to the room, waiting for them to say something. "Aren't you guys happy for me?"
No body said anything.
"I am, Phoebe. You know I am.", Cole offered. She had been so nervous about getting the part and it took most of the week to get her to accept the part. She had found out Tuesday afternoon, and besides the whole Clay conversation, that was all they talked about. "You know I will be there."
"Thank you, Cole. I guess I thought you guys would be happy for me."
"No, hunny, that's not it. You've always just froze whenever you got up to sing and it crushed you. We just don't want you to be upset if you can't do it. We are sooooo happy for you. You know that, but we don't want to see you get her. And that's what happens every time. You understand, right?", Piper stated. She seemed to be the only one who could talk.
"I understand. You guys love me and care about me but if I get up there and can't sing then you don't want the blame of not trying to talk me out of this. I have to go!" She ran out of the room, near tears. The only place she ever got total privacy was her room. They could stand at her door all they wanted but they knew that they would never get much further. She bit anyone's head off if they were caught in there. She heard a knock at her door. "Go away!"
"Phoebe, it's Cole. Please let me in." He heard her turning the knob and then saw her tear-stained face. "Can I come in?"
She opened the door wider and let him. She wasn't sure why he was aloud to go in, but she opened it and shut it anyway.
"You ok?", he asked pulling her into a hug. "They mean well. They do. But they don't want to see you hurt. I know what it's like to see someone you care about get hurt. And it tears me apart."
She sat on her bed and looked up. "You care about me?"
He walked over to her and took her in his arms. He lifted her head to face his and bent down. He brushed his lips angainst her soft, lucious lips. They tasted just as he imagined they would. He pulled her into him even more and deepend the kiss. He broke it off quickly, hoping that she wouldn't be mad. "You could say that."
She smiled up at him and brought her face to his. Her kiss was faster, but just as sweet. She snuggled up against his body, molding herself to his shape. "I'm glad I met you."
"I'm glad I met you, too. I just hope I remember it forever....."
~*~*~*~
Cole Turner sat up in his bed. A cold sweat fell from him, and despite the warm temperture, he started to shiver. He looked beside him to see the love of his life; Phoebe Halliwell.
His dream left him a little uneasy. He thought that he had to be crazy. He had never met her before in his life but it felt so real. He hadn't realized that she had sat up next to him and was asking what was wrong. She kept repeating it over and over again and it never registered in his mind. He finally heard her worried tone and listened to her.
"Cole? What is it? What's wrong? Did you have another nightmare?"
"No...." He wasn't sure how to explain it to her. "It was a memory type thing. We were in High School and we met... Clay was there and.... Why did you dump him?"
"I don't remember. Why?"
"Did you ever own a blue dress that had white flowers on it?"
"I think so. It disapeared quite sometime ago, though. It was when I was in, like, eleventh grade. Cole, what are you getting at?"
"Do you remember your first couple weeks of your Junior year?"
She tried to remember, but seemed to have completely forgotten. "No... I can't. What are you getting at?", she repeated.
"I think we knew each other before. I think I'm having memories of us and Clay and your Grandmother. And Andy."
"Oh my god.... You never even heard of Andy. How could you know that?"
"All I remember is that we were friends and you were singing and you told them and you ran off crying and I kissed you. It's a long story, but it's just like it actually happened."
"You know, you could of done something and Grams could of casted a memory spell or maybe it was an alternate timeline and it was set back so we never met then or something. Because I would never sing in front of people."
"That's what happened. Somehow I got you to do it and you told them that you were going to do it and you ran when they didn't support it. I said something about caring about people and seeing them hurt and you asked if I cared about you and even though we were only best friends, I kissed you. Then you kissed me. I can't explain it."
"Maybe you were suppose to remember it. Maybe it was suppose to tell you that we were meant to be."
"Maybe."
"Come on, Cole. Let's get back to bed and talk about this in the morning. I'm tired."
He slowly agreed and turned off the light.
"I love you, Cole."
"I love you, too, Phoebe."
Phoebe heard someone call her name. They had been calling it all morning in attempt to wake her up. She listened, but never got up. She finally caved and dragged herself out of bed. She stumbled over to her closet where she picked out a regular white tank-top with dark blue jeans. She pulled back her hair, which her grandmother said she couldn't dye, into a pony tail. It took her about five minutes to get ready for her first day of school. She was never popular and she didn't expect her Junior year to be any different.
"Phoebe! Get down here if you don't want to take the bus!", Piper called again. Her oldest sister, Prue, had gone off to Colloge. She would be home for the weekend soon. "NOW!"
"Alright, alright! Shutup already! I'm coming!", she called as she ran down the stairs. "Ready!"
"No breakfast?", Grams asked.
"Sorry. No time! Maybe I'll get something at school. Bye, see you later. Come on, Piper! I don't want to be late."
Piper rolled her eyes at her little sister. She kissed Grams good-bye and took off. It would only take a total of fifteen minutes to get to the local high school, East San Fransico High, but when Phoebe was on a mission, you took her seriously. She couldn't believe that she picked up the talent to roll out of bed and look perfect in ten minutes. Of course, she was already pretty in the first place.
"So, Phoebe. You excited? Junior year! Next year you'll be a senior and then be able to graduate."
"Not nearly as excited as you would think. What classes do you have today? How's colloge working out for you?" Phoebe never liked talking about herself. She was always making a mistake and her family didn't even know about half of them.
"Fine. I'm going to do....." She tried to remember just what she had. "Oh shoot! I can't remember! I'll have to check with Wendy when I get there."
"Right."
The rest of the ride was silent except for the radio which was playing Piper's style and not Pheebs. The day was already off to a bad start for Phoebe....
~*~*~*~
"UGH!!!!", Phoebe groaned. She was a little lost and it was only the first class of the day. All together she had Math, Social Studies, Science, English, Study Hall, and Vocal Excel. Apparently someone thought she had a good voice and was suckered into taking a singing class. She didn't want to, but all her old friends kept bothering her about it. They had abandoned her when she dumped her super popular boyfriend, Clay. Now she was stuck with the class and no friends. "This is useless!", she called to no one.
"Need help?", someone asked from behind her. "I'm new here but I could try because the tour is fresh in my mind."
Phoebe smiled. She had to admit that he was cute. Tall, dark, and amazing eyes. She could picture her hanging out with him, but then remembered that she was through with guys. All they brought was pain and she hated how they only liked you depending on your social status.
"Sure. I'm looking for room 308b."
He pointed right behind her to a door that said "308B" right on it. Phoebe blushed and then thanked him before he could say anything else. He looked down at his schedule. Subject: Math. Room Number: 308B. He sighed and walked into the class room.
~*~*~*~
Phoebe's third class had just ended and she had lunch. There was no way she would be caught in the cafeteria, so she headed outside where she could review her notes and take a chance to practice the music she had just recieved. She was happy to find a secluded area that no on else was at. Privacy at last. Phoebe tried to keep to herself.
She sat down and took out her notes. Math; boring. Social Studies; Ick! So she took out her music sheets and set to work. She hummed the bars just to get the feel of it, but then started the actual singing. Her friends were right, her voice was angelic.
"Nice voice.", someone interupted. "Sorry. Didn't mean to disturb you."
"What are you doing here?", she asked rather rudly. "Sorry.... I just tend to keep to myself and I don't like people listening to me sing. Sit down if you want to."
"Thank you. Your voice is nice, you should be proud of it. I know what you mean, though. I never have spent longer then a half hour at a time with someone. I thought I would look for a nice spot to eat my lunch and then I heard you singing."
Phoebe smiled at him "Thanks for your help this morning. I feel kinda stupid now. But you still deserve a thanks."
"How were you suppose to know it had been right in front of you?"
"Yeah." She stopped talking and went back to reviewing her notes. There was no way she was going to practice her singing anymore. She could barely do it for friends, forget about complete strangers. She realized that he was staring at her. "What?"
"Nothing.... I just thought that you would be popular. But you don't eat at lunch and try to escape for the short forty-five minutes. I'm just amazed that there is someone like me out there."
"I never eat. Even at my house. For supper I chew on my gum and pretend to eat." She stretched her gum as if to prove that she did it. "Eating is for people who are normal. I'm not. Can I get back to reviewing my notes, please?"
"Sorry.... Didn't you just get those?"
She was rather annoyed now. "Yeah, but I'm expected to be someone in my family. Prue is at colloge and so is Piper. Unless by some miracle my family decides that my life is mine, I have to study a lot."
"I have the same problem." Then he quieted down. Off in the distance, he heard the sound of the bell ringing. "Time for class. See you tomorrow?"
"Unless I find a better place to sit!"
Phoebe walked off, hoping not to run into him again. She would have to find a different spot for tomorrow.
~*~*~*~
Phoebe had been waiting for about a half hour for Piper. The school buses had left and most of the Senoirs had left. Phoebe felt rediculasly stupid sitting on the front stairs that led up to the main entrance. She cuddled herself, trying to bring warmth to her body. She had no success so gave up and went inside to wait. She could see that there was no one in the lobby and there was no chairs. She remembered the bleechers that were in the gym and headed that way.
She took her bag off and sat on the third or fourth step up. She took out her homework which was just reading some assigned pages for Eglish. They had to read the book 'Gone With The Wind' and she was excited about it. She had her own copy and she had read it millons of time. The romance line was just too impossible and she wished she had it. It was her favorite book she owned, and she owned a lot, and carried her copy everywhere with her.
"Well isn't it the wonderful Ms. Got to Study or I Die. I thought you would have left by now. What, just couldn't stand not being around me?"
She glared at him. She was begining to warm up to his personality. "No. My sister was suppose to pick me up.... oh about forty-five minutes ago. She seems to be running late. I was getting cold so I came in here to warm up."
"And the book?"
"'Gone With The Wind'. We have to read it for English, remember? I love this book."
"Yeah... It's a classic. Can I join you?"
Phoebe was surprised to hear him ask. "Sure... if you want to. I'll just be reading, though. So you have to stay quiet!"
"Looks like you already read your pages. You are on page fifty. The assignment was for the first thirty. Just so we could get the feel of the book."
She blushed. Why did he have to find an excuse to talk to her? She didn't have friends, and ever since that summer, didn't really wanted them. They always expected so much of you and she had enough pressure from her family.
"What do you want?", she asked.
"I don't know. You just seem nice and-"
"Phoebe! Oh my god! I am so sorry. Class ran late and I couldn't get anyone to cover for me and..... Well, I'm here now so let's go home."
"Hey, Piper. Bye!" She left without another word.
~*~*~*~
The ride was silent. Despite Piper's sisterly attmepts to crack her sister, Phoebe stayed silent. She didn't even know his name. She doubted that he knew her reputation or else he would ignore her like everyone else did. There was a reason they didn't talk to her and Best Friends were highly over-rated. She had come to terms with the way people thought of her.
Why was he invading her thoughts, anyway? She couldn't stand him or his rude way of interupting her. That's all he ever did. He joined her at lunch and talked all through her studying. Then again after school.... She hadn't actually talked to anyone from her school since the end of last year when she dumped Clay. She still shuddered when she thought of him asking her to have sex with him at such a young age.
"Thanks, Piper. I'm going to my room to study. Bye!"
She hadn't stayed in the room with her family for that long, either.
"But, Phoebe! Wait-" Her door slammed in Piper's face. "I was going to go to the mall, but nevermind!", she said to herself.
Phoebe took out her sheetmusic and began singing. She stayed in her room the entire night. Thinking about the guy she had met that day.
~*~*~*~
The next morning, she woke up early. Six o'clock early. She normally didn't need to get up untill at least seven. Sometimes seven-thirty. Depending on wether or not Piper would be giving her a ride. She was dressd in a black T and black bell-bottoms. She pulled her hair back with a black scrunchy and wore black shoes. Her color for the day: Black.
"Hey, Grams!", Phoebe said as she entered the room. She was in an unusal good mood and kissed her cheek. "Get a good night sleep?"
Grams was surprised to see her grandaughter up early and even more shocked to see her outside of her room. "I slept great last night! What are you doing up early? And why the good mood?"
"Couldn't sleep. There's this new kid at school and he is driving me insane. I wish that I could just send him back to where he came from." She noticed her Grandmother's look. "But then I just wish that he were my friend. He's cute. And seems to be nice, too." She grabbed a muffin from a basket near her.
"You're eating! Maybe you should spend more time with him. You might even make more friends. You are always such a loner."
Phoebe smiled and went back to her muffin. They were store baught, so they weren't as good as her sister's, but they had been going great with her thinking. He invaded every thought she had. One minute she hated him, the next she wanted to get to know him.
"Morning, Pheebs!", Piper said. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Just thinking. Piper? You know that guy I was with?"
"Yeah... what about him?"
"Do you think that he would make a good friend?"
"Why? Did you talk to him and decide against that whole Friends Suck thing?"
"No. He wouldn't leave me alone. But he seems nice. Nothing like Clay."
"Whatever happened to him? I thought you liked him."
Phoebe hesitated. Her family didn't understand why she dumped him and that part of her life. She hadn't told anyone. Especially Prue. She already thought she was a screw-up.
"Promise not to tell Prue?" She stopped long enough for Piper to nod. "He hit on me. Now I realize that's not that big of a deal, but he wanted to have sex with me. When I dumped him, my friends dumped me. Prue would just think less of me. Please don't tell her."
"Oh, hunny!" Piper pulled her into a hug. "I'm so proud of you! You did the right thing!.... Maybe you do need a friend. He seemed to be nice. Go for it."
"I don't like him like that. I just need a friend." Piper rolled her eyes. "Well I do! I'm walking to class. Maybe he'll be there early. Bye sweetie!"
It was only about seven when she left.
~*~*~*~
"Hey! Look at you! Here early. You weren't yesterday.", the guy she met yesterday spoke. "What gives?"
"I just wanted to see you. I mean, you never finished your sentance yesterday. What were you going to say."
"I was going to say that I didn't have any friends and you don't either. So maybe we could be friends?", he asked hopefully.
"I was wondering the same thing. I just..... Piper always engouraged me to make friends and I thought, 'Why not?'"
"Ok then. It's settled. I have a friend. Wow that sounds weird. I've never had a friend before."
"I have. Some aren't that great. You know, I don't even know your name."
"Cole. Cole Turner. And you would be?"
"Phoebe Halliwell. We have class. Math, right? See you at lunch?"
"Yeah, Phoebe. You will."
They headed to math where they sat next to each other.
~*~*~*~
"So, who is this Piper I keep hearing about?"
"My sister. The one from last night. My eldest sister is away at colloge. She's coming home for the weekend. You want to meet her? I mean, she'll probably bring her boyfriend but you can still come. They're wicked nice..... and I know that Piper would like to meet you."
"Maybe..... I'm not sure if my mom will let me. She sort of has this thing against me being.... normal, I guess."
"And your father supports this?"
"My dad is dead. What about your mom? What's she like?"
"I wouldn't know. I never really got to know her. She died. And my dead left us when I was little. I was raised by my grandmother. And....."
"And what?"
"My oldest sister helped a lot. She was always there for me. I never really thanked her. I always got into a fight with her when I went to do it. It was always on my mind just before she left. I must have been... fourteen when she left."
"I promise I will try to be there." He stopped when he heard laughing headed their way. "Who could that be?"
"Oh, you are too funny!", a distant voice said. Phoebe cringed at the sound and Cole noticed. "This is going to be great!"
The couple stopped at the enterance of the little area that Phoebe and Cole called their own.
"What are you doing here?", the guy asked. "I see you will come here with the new kid but not me."
"Shutup, Clay! You don't know what you are talking about."
"Oh! So now I'm stupid and unworthy of you. Good luck, buddy! You won't get none!"
Cole stood up and punched the kid. "Don't you ever talk to me or my friends like that ever again! Or you will have more then a bloody nose! Come on, Phoebe. Let's go."
Phoebe gathered her stuff and got up to leave with Cole. He saw Clay holding his nose, which was bleeding. She smiled at her protecter and raced to catch up with him. She mouthed the words 'Thank you' to him and they went to where their next class would be.
~*~*~*~
So what's the deal with this guy? Your friend, Cole.
Phoebe opened the note and immediatly wished that she hadn't. She simply wrote 'long story' on it and returned the note. He glimpsed at her in a way that said they would talk later and she nodded. Class went on for another fifteen minutes and then Phoebe would have to walk home. There was no way she was going to take the bus on a beautiful day.
Class let out and she ran. She didn't want to have to explain her past mistakes to Cole. He seemed like such a great guy and she didn't want him to know. Cole quickly caught up.
"You said we could talk. Tell me about him and how did he hurt you so much. As your friend, I demand it."
"Will you walk home with me? Because that's how long I am going to need."
"So you don't want to stop by the grassy hill that's surronded by Weeping Willows? That's such a nice place!"
"You left something there, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Can we go there first?"
"Sure."
"His name is Clay. He was my boyfriend last year. We were having such a great time. We went out for months and he told me he loved me. He was popular so my friends supported me. Then one day, I broke up with him because he asked me to have sex with him. I'm pretty sure that's what he was doing with that Bimbo this afternoon. He started spreading nasty rumors about me and my friends dumped me. I haven't spoken to anyone, including the teachers, since then."
Cole realized how hard for her it was to accept him as a friend. They had picked up his book and they were walking home.
"So.... what were the rumors?"
"That I slept around. And that I wasn't even that good at it."
"Ouch. You give him something nice and-"
"I never slept with him.", she said angerly. "That's why I broke up with him. I had told him I wasn't ready and I broke up with him. Then he started the rumors and told everyone that he dumped me."
"I mean the pleasure of your company. You glow with innocence. There was no way that you could of slept with him."
"How can you tell?"
"I have a gift."
Phoebe laughed and continued to her house. When she reached it, she invited him in.
"Want to come in? Piper would like to meet you and if you can't come Saturday then you should meet her now. Puh-lease!!!!!!!"
"Alright! I'll come in! But only if you don't tell her about me punching your ex-boyfriend."
"Promise. Thank you!" She leaned in for a hug and showed him through the door. "Piper! There's someone here I'd like you to meet!"
"I just made cookies! Come on in!", she called from the kitchen.
"Nice place", Cole admitted. "I suppose your room is upstairs."
"Yes, it is. But no one is aloud up there. Not even Grams." She looked hurt and Cole knew that he had crossed a line that would not be so easy to get back over. "It's my room. No one else is aloud in it." A tear threatened to slide down her cheek. Cole hugged her tight.
"I'm sorry. I hadn't any idea that you were so attached to your room."
"My mommy used to be in there at night. Prue told me so. I tried not to erase the memory of her from there, but I failed. So I don't replace it."
"Sooner or later you are going to have to share it with someone. What do you say about those cookies?"
She showed him to the kitchen where she grabbed a couple glasses that were to be filled with milk and the plate of cookies. Piper joined them at the table and stared at Cole.
"What?", he asked. "Something wrong?"
"I was just wondering how you got her to open up again. You've barely spent one day with her and she was already smiling. How did you do it?"
"Just being friendly. By the way, I'm Cole. You must be Piper. Phoebe speaks of you often."
"You know, Pheebs. I like him. Where did you snatch him up?"
"He's not my boyfriend! Just my friend! I swear. I am through with the scum at our school. Never ever again will I date anyone from there."
"Well, at least I won't have to worry about having your heartbroken.", Cole joked.
"Nope. I know exactly what I want." She looked at Piper and said, "A life on my own."
Piper knew that she meant she didn't want what happened to mom happen to her.
~*~*~*~
Phoebe was waiting for Prue to get there. She had picked out a lovely blue dress that had white flowers on it. She wanted to look nice for Prue and Andy, but also for Cole. She had to admit that the time she spent with him was nice. She liked the way that he would offer a shoulder to cry on or protected her from the jerks at her school. He was sweet to her in every way and she had started crushing on him after he told her that he would come to the family party even if his mother had out-lawed it.
She thought that he felt the same way because he would ditch class so that he could listen to her sing. She guessed that he hadn't gone to Science since the first day of school. Every single time she sang he would clap for her. He would be there any moment she needed him.
Phoebe heard the doorbell and thought that Cole was there, but heard Prue's voice. She wondered why she hadn't just come in only for about two seconds. She ran down the stairs and straight to her arms. Prue hugged her back, a little shocked at her enthusiasm. Phoebe and Prue had never really gotten along.
"Pheebs! You remember Andy. Andy, you remember Pheebs." They exchanged hellos and a small hug. "Where's Piper?"
It took Phoebe a while to realize that Grams has answered the door. "Probably at class. Unless she has some last minute thing to do. You are a little early and she wanted to be here when you got here. She's been preparing since Thursday." The doorbell rang and that meant Cole. "I'll get it!"
She ran to the door and Andy asked her what was going on. Prue just shrugged.
"Hey, Cole!" She hugged him. "Prue's here. So is Andy. Come in!"
"You look nice. Dressing up for your dear sister?"
Phoebe punched his arm playfully. She knew that the main reason she had dressed up was because she wanted to make a good impression on Prue. But then again, Cole was there and she couldn't look bad for that either. She walked him to her sister.
"Prue, this is Cole. Cole, Prue. And that's Andy. Prue's boyfriend. This is my friend from school."
"Clay isn't coming? He's ok with you taking your friend instead of him?", Prue asked a little confused. She turned to Andy and said, "Clay is her boyfriend."
"Not any more. I dumped him... Cole is my only friend. But I wanted him to meet you so he came."
"Really? Why did you dump him?", Prue asked. She had liked Clay. She thought he was good enough for her baby sister and she didn't just let anyone get close to her family.
"I'll tell you about it later. For now, let's wait for Piper to get back. Grams! Come on! We're all gonna hang in the living room. We can talk about something...." She looked for Cole for help. Her look in her eyes almost screamed 'help me'. It was usually Piper who would be doing the whole get everyone together thing.
"You know, I think you should tell them the good news.", Cole supplied.
"Not until Piper gets home! I want her to know. The only reason you know is because you were there at the time. Otherwise, I would have made you wait. Like Piper."
"What happened, Phoebe?", Andy asked.
"Something great. But I want to wait until-"
"I'm home!", someone interupted. "Prue should be here-" She stopped as she came into the living room. "Oh! You are here! Give me a hug!" Prue jumped up and Piper wrapped her arms around her. "You, too, Andy!" Andy stood up and hugged her. "It's so good to see you guys! What are we talking about?"
"Phoebe has some great news. Go on, Pheebs.", Grams said.
"Ok.... I have been taking Vocal excel classes and they gave me a solo! They said that at the next concert, I will perform the song I have been practicing." She waited for a response from someone.
"I thought that you had stage fright?! You were never able to get up in front of the family let alone an entire room full!", Piper responded.
"Cole has been helping me. He keeps telling me how I should appreciate my gift and share it. He's really been a great friend. And Prue, can you come down not next weekend, but the weekend after that?"
"Ugh-I... I don't know. Maybe. Why?"
"Because that is when I go on." She smiled to the room, waiting for them to say something. "Aren't you guys happy for me?"
No body said anything.
"I am, Phoebe. You know I am.", Cole offered. She had been so nervous about getting the part and it took most of the week to get her to accept the part. She had found out Tuesday afternoon, and besides the whole Clay conversation, that was all they talked about. "You know I will be there."
"Thank you, Cole. I guess I thought you guys would be happy for me."
"No, hunny, that's not it. You've always just froze whenever you got up to sing and it crushed you. We just don't want you to be upset if you can't do it. We are sooooo happy for you. You know that, but we don't want to see you get her. And that's what happens every time. You understand, right?", Piper stated. She seemed to be the only one who could talk.
"I understand. You guys love me and care about me but if I get up there and can't sing then you don't want the blame of not trying to talk me out of this. I have to go!" She ran out of the room, near tears. The only place she ever got total privacy was her room. They could stand at her door all they wanted but they knew that they would never get much further. She bit anyone's head off if they were caught in there. She heard a knock at her door. "Go away!"
"Phoebe, it's Cole. Please let me in." He heard her turning the knob and then saw her tear-stained face. "Can I come in?"
She opened the door wider and let him. She wasn't sure why he was aloud to go in, but she opened it and shut it anyway.
"You ok?", he asked pulling her into a hug. "They mean well. They do. But they don't want to see you hurt. I know what it's like to see someone you care about get hurt. And it tears me apart."
She sat on her bed and looked up. "You care about me?"
He walked over to her and took her in his arms. He lifted her head to face his and bent down. He brushed his lips angainst her soft, lucious lips. They tasted just as he imagined they would. He pulled her into him even more and deepend the kiss. He broke it off quickly, hoping that she wouldn't be mad. "You could say that."
She smiled up at him and brought her face to his. Her kiss was faster, but just as sweet. She snuggled up against his body, molding herself to his shape. "I'm glad I met you."
"I'm glad I met you, too. I just hope I remember it forever....."
~*~*~*~
Cole Turner sat up in his bed. A cold sweat fell from him, and despite the warm temperture, he started to shiver. He looked beside him to see the love of his life; Phoebe Halliwell.
His dream left him a little uneasy. He thought that he had to be crazy. He had never met her before in his life but it felt so real. He hadn't realized that she had sat up next to him and was asking what was wrong. She kept repeating it over and over again and it never registered in his mind. He finally heard her worried tone and listened to her.
"Cole? What is it? What's wrong? Did you have another nightmare?"
"No...." He wasn't sure how to explain it to her. "It was a memory type thing. We were in High School and we met... Clay was there and.... Why did you dump him?"
"I don't remember. Why?"
"Did you ever own a blue dress that had white flowers on it?"
"I think so. It disapeared quite sometime ago, though. It was when I was in, like, eleventh grade. Cole, what are you getting at?"
"Do you remember your first couple weeks of your Junior year?"
She tried to remember, but seemed to have completely forgotten. "No... I can't. What are you getting at?", she repeated.
"I think we knew each other before. I think I'm having memories of us and Clay and your Grandmother. And Andy."
"Oh my god.... You never even heard of Andy. How could you know that?"
"All I remember is that we were friends and you were singing and you told them and you ran off crying and I kissed you. It's a long story, but it's just like it actually happened."
"You know, you could of done something and Grams could of casted a memory spell or maybe it was an alternate timeline and it was set back so we never met then or something. Because I would never sing in front of people."
"That's what happened. Somehow I got you to do it and you told them that you were going to do it and you ran when they didn't support it. I said something about caring about people and seeing them hurt and you asked if I cared about you and even though we were only best friends, I kissed you. Then you kissed me. I can't explain it."
"Maybe you were suppose to remember it. Maybe it was suppose to tell you that we were meant to be."
"Maybe."
"Come on, Cole. Let's get back to bed and talk about this in the morning. I'm tired."
He slowly agreed and turned off the light.
"I love you, Cole."
"I love you, too, Phoebe."
