Chapter 6: Boyfriend From Hell
A few days later, Aurora was walking down the street, when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw that Jason was running towards her. His short blond hair fell into his eyes, making him look absolutely adorable.
"Hey, babe," he said cheerfully. "Wanna go get a soda?"
"Uh, sorry, Jason," Aurora lied. "Claire wants me to come home immediately after school to help clean the house. We've got people from Social Services coming over to see how I'm doing in a foster home. They're going to be visiting and taking notes. You know, about how I'm dealing with the fact that my parents are in jail because they tried to kill me, or if I'm having nightmares about what they did to me. That sort of thing."
Jason frowned.
"But I want you to come get a soda with me," he replied.
"But I can't."
"I want you to, though."
"No." Angrily, Jason grabbed Aurora by the arm, and yelped as she easily freed herself from his grasp, while at the same time grabbing his arm and twisting it painfully behind his back. "Now, I want you to listen to me, Jason," Aurora said in a low voice. "I am not going to do what you want me to do. I'm only going to do what I *choose* to do. And I *choose* not to go get a soda with you right now." She released his arm, and walked away. "See you later, Jason."
* * *
As Aurora walked away, Jason glared after her.
"I'm going to enjoy taking your powers," he hissed. "Then, as soon as I've done that, I'm going to take you to my bed, and teach you a lesson in respect."
With that, he blinked, disappearing into thin air, not noticing that Aurora was watching him from around the corner.
* * *
Aurora stared at the place where Jason had been standing.
"I think I need to pay a visit to the Charmed Ones, and get their advice," she muttered, and took off towards Halliwell Manor.
* * *
Piper had just pulled a pan of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven when there was a pounding on the front door.
"Phoebe, could you get that, please?" she called.
Phoebe got up from the couch where she and Cole had been cuddling, and went over to the door, opening it. Aurora was standing on the porch, an annoyed look on her face.
"It's about time someone opened the door," she said. "My hand was starting to hurt."
"Aurora, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked, a concerned look on her face. "Is the goon squad from the other day after you again?" Aurora shook her head.
"No, it has nothing to do with the GSA," she replied, and smiled at the look of confusion on Phoebe's face. "It stands for 'Genetic Security Agency'. They go after New Mutants. But that's not why I'm here. I'm here because of something that my boyfriend Jason did."
"What did he do?"
"He disappeared into thin air. One minute he was standing there, and then there was a kind of popping noise, and he just disappeared."
Phoebe turned pale, and she exchanged a look with Cole.
"He blinked," she muttered. "Oh, my god. My hunch was right."
"Right about what?" Aurora demanded.
"Jason's the warlock that Arestan warned you about." At that, Aurora turned pale.
"Oh, my god," she whispered. "He was right. I've been dating a warlock."
"Paige! Piper!" Phoebe yelled.
Piper ran in from the kitchen, and Paige orbed from upstairs.
"What's wrong?" Piper asked worriedly. "Did Arestan change his mind and come back for Aurora?"
"Or is there some other demon in the house?" Paige asked, and Cole glared at her. "Present company excluded, of course."
"No," replied Aurora. "I just found out that Arestan hadn't lied to me when he said that I've been with a warlock."
Both Paige and Piper turned pale.
"You slept with a warlock?" Piper asked incredulously. "Good god, why the hell would you do that?" Aurora gave her a Look.
"I didn't sleep with him," she replied angrily. "I've cuddled with him, and we've had some major make-out sessions, but we've never slept together! I'm still a virgin, thank you."
"Well, that's a relief," came Arestan's voice from behind them. Aurora shrieked and spun around, glaring at the chameleon. "It's nice to know you haven't been ruined for other men."
"Or demons?" Aurora asked scathingly. Phoebe stifled a smile, and Arestan flinched.
"I deserved that," he said quietly.
"Damn straight you did," Aurora snapped. "It's rude to butt in on someone else's conversation, jerk. And besides, I've told you before: don't sneak up on me! What if I'd fired off a fireball before checking to see who was there, huh?"
"I would have ducked," replied Arestan, deadpan.
Aurora fought back a smile at his attempt to make a joke, and marched over to him.
"I am so sick of you just dropping in whenever you want," she said in a low voice. "You don't give me any privacy whatsoever. And in my opinion, that's even ruder than butting in on someone else's conversation."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Aurora wished that she could take them back. Arestan stepped backwards, a hurt look in his eyes.
"Well, you're entitled to your own opinion," he said stiffly. "I guess I'll be going now."
"Arestan, wait---" Aurora started to say, but it was too late. Arestan shimmered away. Aurora stared at the place where he'd been standing, and tears brimmed in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, even though she knew that Arestan probably wouldn't hear her. She turned to face Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, a look of complete unhappiness on her face. "What have I done?"
* * *
A short while later, Aurora was getting ready to leave Halliwell Manor, armed with knowledge about warlocks.
"Now, when you get home, lock the doors and windows, and before opening the door to let someone in, look out the window to see who it is first," said Piper. "That should keep you fairly safe."
"Yes, Mother," replied Aurora sarcastically.
"Now, do you need a ride? After all, what if you run into him on the way home?"
"Piper, the odds of me coming face-to-face with Jason on the way home are slim to none. I'd have to have really crappy luck for that to happen." Aurora hugged Piper. "I'll call you when I get to Claire's house."
With that, she opened the door, and gasped. Jason was standing on the front porch, a sneer on his face.
"Hey, babe," he said. "Wanna go get that soda now?" He lunged at her, and Aurora slammed the door in his face. There was a thud as Jason landed flat on his butt after connecting with the door nose-first. Aurora opened the door, and saw that he was blinking, a dazed look on his face. She shut the door again, and turned around.
"Piper, do you remember what I said about having to have really crappy luck in order to come face-to-face with Jason?" she asked. "Well, I was right."
"What?" Piper turned to stare at Aurora.
"He's sitting on the front porch. He'd be standing except that when I opened the door he lunged at me and I shut the door so quickly he hit it nose-first."
Piper dashed over to the door and looked through the peephole.
"Aurora, he's not out there now," she said, turning back around. Suddenly, there was an unmistakable popping noise, and an instant later, Jason stood between them. Piper lifted her hands, ready to blow him up, but before she could, he grabbed Aurora and held onto her tightly.
"If you blow me up, it'll kill Aurora up as well," he said, grinning cruelly. "You've got two choices: you can blow me up, which will, unfortunately, take the life of Aurora as well, or you can let me go. Problem is, if you let me go, I'll kidnap Aurora, take her to my bed, and then kill her to drain her of her powers. For me, it's a win-lose situation, but for you and Aurora, it's a lose-lose situation. What'll it be, Charmed One? Kill the warlock and your best friend at the same time, or let the warlock go, knowing that he's going to rape her, kill her, and drain her of her powers. Which choice will you make?"
Aurora stared at Piper. She knew that Piper didn't have the heart to blow up Jason while he was holding onto Aurora, and that wasn't a good thing.
Jason grinned at the look on Piper's face.
"Difficult decision to make, isn't it, Charmed One?" he asked, laughing evilly. "I know! Why don't I up the stakes so that you make a quicker decision?" He put his forearm across Aurora's throat and began squeezing, cutting off her oxygen.
Aurora clawed at Jason's arm, frantically trying to make him let her go, but he just laughed and began squeezing harder.
"Paige! Phoebe!" Piper yelled. "Get your butts down here!"
The smile disappeared from Jason's face, and he took his free arm, flinging an energy ball at Piper. Before she could get out of the way, it hit her, sending her sprawling.
"Let me go," gasped Aurora.
"If you can talk, you can breathe," said Jason. "Guess I'd better squeeze harder."
Black dots began swarming in front of Aurora's eyes, and her lungs felt as though they were going to explode.
Suddenly, the pressure across her throat was gone, and Aurora fell to the floor. She looked up, and saw that Arestan was standing there. He had an energy ball in one hand, and looked absolutely livid. The loss of oxygen finally caught up to her, and she passed out.
Jason stared at the chameleon. He'd heard a rumor that the same thing that had happened to Belthazar had happened to Arestan; that he'd fallen in love with a witch. He hadn't believed it for a moment. But now, seeing the angry look on Arestan's face, Jason began to believe the rumors were more than just rumors. He jumped to his feet and tried to run away, but Arestan flung the energy ball at him, striking him in the back. Jason crashed into the wall and slid to the ground, unconscious.
* * *
Arestan glared at the unconscious form of the warlock, and then turned around, where Aurora was lying on the ground.
"Are you all right?" he asked before noticing that her eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing. "Aurora!" He dashed over to her still form, and placed two fingers on the side of her throat. He could feel a pulse, but it was faint. Arestan rolled Aurora onto her back, and tilted her head up slightly, opening her mouth. He placed his mouth over hers, and began forcing air into her lungs. He pulled away and began pumping his hands on her chest, trying to jump-start her heart. Then he began forcing air into her lungs again.
* * *
Piper opened her eyes and sat up, groaning. She glanced around, and saw that Arestan was kneeling next to Aurora's still figure. He had his mouth over hers. Piper's jaw fell open. --That son of a bitch-- she thought angrily. --He's taking advantage of her!-- She slowly stood up, just as Arestan pulled away from Aurora, and began pumping his hands on her chest. Piper blinked, and then it hit her. Arestan was giving Aurora CPR.
Arestan stopped pumping Aurora's chest, and placed his mouth over hers again. A moment later, she began coughing, and Arestan pulled away, helping her to sit up.
"Aurora, are you all right?" he asked worriedly. She nodded. Suddenly, Paige and Phoebe came running down the stairs, and when they saw Arestan crouched next to Aurora, they immediately reacted.
"Get away from her, scumbag!" snarled Paige. "You are so *not* going to make her your bride!"
"I just gave her CPR," Arestan replied, confused. "I didn't propose anything."
Paige and Phoebe stared at him in surprise.
"Why would you need to give her CPR?" demanded Phoebe.
"Because Jason tried to choke her to death," replied Piper, slowly getting to her feet. Paige and Phoebe ran over to help her up.
"You mean the boyfriend from hell was here?" Paige asked.
"Yep." Piper glanced over at where Jason was lying a few feet away, unconscious. "And he's still here."
Arestan stood up, and helped Aurora to her feet. She stared at Jason for a moment, not saying anything. Finally, she spoke.
"I have to vanquish him, don't I?" she asked quietly.
"Unfortunately, yes," replied Piper. "The thing about warlocks is that they can never change. They can't go from being bad to good, like Cole did. Once you become a warlock, that's it. You can never become good again."
"Aurora, because you were close to him, you have to vanquish him by yourself," said Phoebe. "We can't do it for you, and we can't help you. We can only offer our emotional support."
Aurora sighed, and turned back to Jason, who had opened his eyes and was slowly getting to his feet, groaning. When he saw Aurora standing there, his eyes narrowed angrily.
"You bitch," he hissed. "I'm going to enjoy taking your powers."
Aurora merely gazed at him calmly, a spell forming in her mind.
"Evil that betrayed my trust, and caused my heart to break, I give you now your just dessert, 'cause now I'm wide awake," she said softly. Jason's eyes grew wide, and he exploded, disappearing in flames. Aurora stared at the place where he had been standing, and then grabbed her purse, which was lying on the ground a few feet away from her. She opened it, and pulled out her cell phone, punching in a number.
"Hello?" came Claire's voice over the phone.
"Claire? It's Aurora. I just vanquished my boyfriend." Then she burst into tears.
to be continued...
* * *
A/N: Just one more chapter to go! Please R&R, but no flames. Flamers will be pelted with dungbombs, and then they'll get their sorry arses kicked from here to the Bog of Eternal Stench.
A few days later, Aurora was walking down the street, when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw that Jason was running towards her. His short blond hair fell into his eyes, making him look absolutely adorable.
"Hey, babe," he said cheerfully. "Wanna go get a soda?"
"Uh, sorry, Jason," Aurora lied. "Claire wants me to come home immediately after school to help clean the house. We've got people from Social Services coming over to see how I'm doing in a foster home. They're going to be visiting and taking notes. You know, about how I'm dealing with the fact that my parents are in jail because they tried to kill me, or if I'm having nightmares about what they did to me. That sort of thing."
Jason frowned.
"But I want you to come get a soda with me," he replied.
"But I can't."
"I want you to, though."
"No." Angrily, Jason grabbed Aurora by the arm, and yelped as she easily freed herself from his grasp, while at the same time grabbing his arm and twisting it painfully behind his back. "Now, I want you to listen to me, Jason," Aurora said in a low voice. "I am not going to do what you want me to do. I'm only going to do what I *choose* to do. And I *choose* not to go get a soda with you right now." She released his arm, and walked away. "See you later, Jason."
* * *
As Aurora walked away, Jason glared after her.
"I'm going to enjoy taking your powers," he hissed. "Then, as soon as I've done that, I'm going to take you to my bed, and teach you a lesson in respect."
With that, he blinked, disappearing into thin air, not noticing that Aurora was watching him from around the corner.
* * *
Aurora stared at the place where Jason had been standing.
"I think I need to pay a visit to the Charmed Ones, and get their advice," she muttered, and took off towards Halliwell Manor.
* * *
Piper had just pulled a pan of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven when there was a pounding on the front door.
"Phoebe, could you get that, please?" she called.
Phoebe got up from the couch where she and Cole had been cuddling, and went over to the door, opening it. Aurora was standing on the porch, an annoyed look on her face.
"It's about time someone opened the door," she said. "My hand was starting to hurt."
"Aurora, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked, a concerned look on her face. "Is the goon squad from the other day after you again?" Aurora shook her head.
"No, it has nothing to do with the GSA," she replied, and smiled at the look of confusion on Phoebe's face. "It stands for 'Genetic Security Agency'. They go after New Mutants. But that's not why I'm here. I'm here because of something that my boyfriend Jason did."
"What did he do?"
"He disappeared into thin air. One minute he was standing there, and then there was a kind of popping noise, and he just disappeared."
Phoebe turned pale, and she exchanged a look with Cole.
"He blinked," she muttered. "Oh, my god. My hunch was right."
"Right about what?" Aurora demanded.
"Jason's the warlock that Arestan warned you about." At that, Aurora turned pale.
"Oh, my god," she whispered. "He was right. I've been dating a warlock."
"Paige! Piper!" Phoebe yelled.
Piper ran in from the kitchen, and Paige orbed from upstairs.
"What's wrong?" Piper asked worriedly. "Did Arestan change his mind and come back for Aurora?"
"Or is there some other demon in the house?" Paige asked, and Cole glared at her. "Present company excluded, of course."
"No," replied Aurora. "I just found out that Arestan hadn't lied to me when he said that I've been with a warlock."
Both Paige and Piper turned pale.
"You slept with a warlock?" Piper asked incredulously. "Good god, why the hell would you do that?" Aurora gave her a Look.
"I didn't sleep with him," she replied angrily. "I've cuddled with him, and we've had some major make-out sessions, but we've never slept together! I'm still a virgin, thank you."
"Well, that's a relief," came Arestan's voice from behind them. Aurora shrieked and spun around, glaring at the chameleon. "It's nice to know you haven't been ruined for other men."
"Or demons?" Aurora asked scathingly. Phoebe stifled a smile, and Arestan flinched.
"I deserved that," he said quietly.
"Damn straight you did," Aurora snapped. "It's rude to butt in on someone else's conversation, jerk. And besides, I've told you before: don't sneak up on me! What if I'd fired off a fireball before checking to see who was there, huh?"
"I would have ducked," replied Arestan, deadpan.
Aurora fought back a smile at his attempt to make a joke, and marched over to him.
"I am so sick of you just dropping in whenever you want," she said in a low voice. "You don't give me any privacy whatsoever. And in my opinion, that's even ruder than butting in on someone else's conversation."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Aurora wished that she could take them back. Arestan stepped backwards, a hurt look in his eyes.
"Well, you're entitled to your own opinion," he said stiffly. "I guess I'll be going now."
"Arestan, wait---" Aurora started to say, but it was too late. Arestan shimmered away. Aurora stared at the place where he'd been standing, and tears brimmed in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, even though she knew that Arestan probably wouldn't hear her. She turned to face Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, a look of complete unhappiness on her face. "What have I done?"
* * *
A short while later, Aurora was getting ready to leave Halliwell Manor, armed with knowledge about warlocks.
"Now, when you get home, lock the doors and windows, and before opening the door to let someone in, look out the window to see who it is first," said Piper. "That should keep you fairly safe."
"Yes, Mother," replied Aurora sarcastically.
"Now, do you need a ride? After all, what if you run into him on the way home?"
"Piper, the odds of me coming face-to-face with Jason on the way home are slim to none. I'd have to have really crappy luck for that to happen." Aurora hugged Piper. "I'll call you when I get to Claire's house."
With that, she opened the door, and gasped. Jason was standing on the front porch, a sneer on his face.
"Hey, babe," he said. "Wanna go get that soda now?" He lunged at her, and Aurora slammed the door in his face. There was a thud as Jason landed flat on his butt after connecting with the door nose-first. Aurora opened the door, and saw that he was blinking, a dazed look on his face. She shut the door again, and turned around.
"Piper, do you remember what I said about having to have really crappy luck in order to come face-to-face with Jason?" she asked. "Well, I was right."
"What?" Piper turned to stare at Aurora.
"He's sitting on the front porch. He'd be standing except that when I opened the door he lunged at me and I shut the door so quickly he hit it nose-first."
Piper dashed over to the door and looked through the peephole.
"Aurora, he's not out there now," she said, turning back around. Suddenly, there was an unmistakable popping noise, and an instant later, Jason stood between them. Piper lifted her hands, ready to blow him up, but before she could, he grabbed Aurora and held onto her tightly.
"If you blow me up, it'll kill Aurora up as well," he said, grinning cruelly. "You've got two choices: you can blow me up, which will, unfortunately, take the life of Aurora as well, or you can let me go. Problem is, if you let me go, I'll kidnap Aurora, take her to my bed, and then kill her to drain her of her powers. For me, it's a win-lose situation, but for you and Aurora, it's a lose-lose situation. What'll it be, Charmed One? Kill the warlock and your best friend at the same time, or let the warlock go, knowing that he's going to rape her, kill her, and drain her of her powers. Which choice will you make?"
Aurora stared at Piper. She knew that Piper didn't have the heart to blow up Jason while he was holding onto Aurora, and that wasn't a good thing.
Jason grinned at the look on Piper's face.
"Difficult decision to make, isn't it, Charmed One?" he asked, laughing evilly. "I know! Why don't I up the stakes so that you make a quicker decision?" He put his forearm across Aurora's throat and began squeezing, cutting off her oxygen.
Aurora clawed at Jason's arm, frantically trying to make him let her go, but he just laughed and began squeezing harder.
"Paige! Phoebe!" Piper yelled. "Get your butts down here!"
The smile disappeared from Jason's face, and he took his free arm, flinging an energy ball at Piper. Before she could get out of the way, it hit her, sending her sprawling.
"Let me go," gasped Aurora.
"If you can talk, you can breathe," said Jason. "Guess I'd better squeeze harder."
Black dots began swarming in front of Aurora's eyes, and her lungs felt as though they were going to explode.
Suddenly, the pressure across her throat was gone, and Aurora fell to the floor. She looked up, and saw that Arestan was standing there. He had an energy ball in one hand, and looked absolutely livid. The loss of oxygen finally caught up to her, and she passed out.
Jason stared at the chameleon. He'd heard a rumor that the same thing that had happened to Belthazar had happened to Arestan; that he'd fallen in love with a witch. He hadn't believed it for a moment. But now, seeing the angry look on Arestan's face, Jason began to believe the rumors were more than just rumors. He jumped to his feet and tried to run away, but Arestan flung the energy ball at him, striking him in the back. Jason crashed into the wall and slid to the ground, unconscious.
* * *
Arestan glared at the unconscious form of the warlock, and then turned around, where Aurora was lying on the ground.
"Are you all right?" he asked before noticing that her eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing. "Aurora!" He dashed over to her still form, and placed two fingers on the side of her throat. He could feel a pulse, but it was faint. Arestan rolled Aurora onto her back, and tilted her head up slightly, opening her mouth. He placed his mouth over hers, and began forcing air into her lungs. He pulled away and began pumping his hands on her chest, trying to jump-start her heart. Then he began forcing air into her lungs again.
* * *
Piper opened her eyes and sat up, groaning. She glanced around, and saw that Arestan was kneeling next to Aurora's still figure. He had his mouth over hers. Piper's jaw fell open. --That son of a bitch-- she thought angrily. --He's taking advantage of her!-- She slowly stood up, just as Arestan pulled away from Aurora, and began pumping his hands on her chest. Piper blinked, and then it hit her. Arestan was giving Aurora CPR.
Arestan stopped pumping Aurora's chest, and placed his mouth over hers again. A moment later, she began coughing, and Arestan pulled away, helping her to sit up.
"Aurora, are you all right?" he asked worriedly. She nodded. Suddenly, Paige and Phoebe came running down the stairs, and when they saw Arestan crouched next to Aurora, they immediately reacted.
"Get away from her, scumbag!" snarled Paige. "You are so *not* going to make her your bride!"
"I just gave her CPR," Arestan replied, confused. "I didn't propose anything."
Paige and Phoebe stared at him in surprise.
"Why would you need to give her CPR?" demanded Phoebe.
"Because Jason tried to choke her to death," replied Piper, slowly getting to her feet. Paige and Phoebe ran over to help her up.
"You mean the boyfriend from hell was here?" Paige asked.
"Yep." Piper glanced over at where Jason was lying a few feet away, unconscious. "And he's still here."
Arestan stood up, and helped Aurora to her feet. She stared at Jason for a moment, not saying anything. Finally, she spoke.
"I have to vanquish him, don't I?" she asked quietly.
"Unfortunately, yes," replied Piper. "The thing about warlocks is that they can never change. They can't go from being bad to good, like Cole did. Once you become a warlock, that's it. You can never become good again."
"Aurora, because you were close to him, you have to vanquish him by yourself," said Phoebe. "We can't do it for you, and we can't help you. We can only offer our emotional support."
Aurora sighed, and turned back to Jason, who had opened his eyes and was slowly getting to his feet, groaning. When he saw Aurora standing there, his eyes narrowed angrily.
"You bitch," he hissed. "I'm going to enjoy taking your powers."
Aurora merely gazed at him calmly, a spell forming in her mind.
"Evil that betrayed my trust, and caused my heart to break, I give you now your just dessert, 'cause now I'm wide awake," she said softly. Jason's eyes grew wide, and he exploded, disappearing in flames. Aurora stared at the place where he had been standing, and then grabbed her purse, which was lying on the ground a few feet away from her. She opened it, and pulled out her cell phone, punching in a number.
"Hello?" came Claire's voice over the phone.
"Claire? It's Aurora. I just vanquished my boyfriend." Then she burst into tears.
to be continued...
* * *
A/N: Just one more chapter to go! Please R&R, but no flames. Flamers will be pelted with dungbombs, and then they'll get their sorry arses kicked from here to the Bog of Eternal Stench.
