Then And Again
"I cannot believe you dragged me out here. How did I even let you talk me into this?", Phoebe complained as she carried a blanket to the center of a grassy feild. "Why would I let you talk me into this? I am in no mood to spend a day with the whole gang- which happens to include Glen- and put up with a complete stranger. I just don't feel like it!"
Piper sighed. Ever since they had left home, Phoebe had done nothing but complain. When they picked up Paige and Glen, she complained. When they finally met up with Leo, she was complaining. Now, the two had fallen behind the group because of Piper's volunteering to carry the basket. And of course, Phoebe just wanted to complain.
"And I don't feel like listening to you complain, but here I am.. Listening to you... complaining." They finally caught up with the group where they chose to eat lunch. "What I don't get is why you can't just relax and enjoy yourself. I mean.. Do you at least promise me to be nice to Cole?"
"Depends on whether or not he's a jerk..", Phoebe said lightly, unfolding the blanket.
"Piper's says he's nice..", Paige quickly joined the conversation. "And she's never been a bad judge of character before, so I gotta trust her.."
She looked over at her boyfriend Glen, smiling a little. They both sat down on the blanket, which was now neatly layed over the grown with a little help from Leo. Piper had started taking out food, saying that Cole was late, and they would just save some for him. Not that they could eat all of it, anyway. Paige slid in between her boyfriend's legs and into his arms. She looked up at him, immediatly finding his beautiful brown eyes. They matched her own. She skimmed over his facial features, feeling the results of days at the gym through both of their shirts on her back. His eyes, aside from being goergous, held a certain laziness to them. Almost as if he could fall asleep at any time. His hair, at times blonde from dye jobs, was very touseled. However, as oppose to what you may be thinking, it didn't look like it did when he got out of bed in the morning. It too had a little drip of lazy in it. His entire being was mis-potrayed with that lazy-tiredness. Because Glen was an adventurous kind of guy.
The two had met through Piper. Glen had come in one night, very much miserable (and much like Cole), and Piper had known that he was perfect for the cousin she had just found. (Sound familiar?) When the younger cousin introduced them, she could tell that they liked each other immediatly. Sure enough, three months later they were inseperable. And very much in love...
"Yeah, but you see.. that worked out for you.", Phoebe smirked, pulling Paige out of her lovely trance.
And just like that, Paige realized that there was a world outside of Glen, and she was a part of it. Realizing things suck, she silently thought.
"It doesn't mean that I don't still trust her..", Paige argued. "And it also means that If I got lucky, then chances are... You'll get lucky."
Phoebe decided to shut her mouth. But not because she didn't have something to say, Phoebe Halliwell always has something to say, but because Piper pointed to a man headed their way, claiming him to be Cole. She inwardly groaned. Did I mention this was not how she wanted to spend her day?
Phoebe layed back on the blanket, watching Paige smile at Glen, and Piper feed people. Leo ate quickly, like he always did. Being a whitelighter made you hungry after all the orbing. Phoebe closed her eyes and placed an arm over them. She didn't want to meet this guy, who ever he was. Piper's friends were Piper's friends. The only person that had to like her friends was Leo, even if that did sound controlling.
"Hey, Cole!", Phoebe heard Piper say cheerfully. "Sit down- eat! There's more then enough.." Phoebe knew that Piper was shoving food into his face, acting as though she were his mother and wanted to make sure he ate only healthy food. "This is Glen, Paige, my boyfriend Leo, and that girl, who's being anti-social, is Phoebe. She's determined to have an aweful time."
Cole laughed, waving to everyone. "Hi, I'm Cole Turner.. Are we all having fun?"
"All of us except *her*.", Paige exclaimed, pointing to Phoebe. "She thinks that Piper's trying to fix you two up."
Chuckling, Cole reached over to the girl laying down, picking up her arm to see what she looked like. He stopped breathing immediatly, only for a second. He had a flash of Deja Vu, daydream style. An image of her nake and underneath him filled his head just for a second. He recognized the died hair, the beautiful lips. He knew she had chocolate eyes. She was so damn pretty, and that's what he thought the first time he saw her- in his dreams.
"Phoebe.."
His voice was low and smooth. Velvety, leaving a tingle through the girl's spine. She could feel herself drifting into a tired state of mind, allowing herself to surrendor to whatever the voice may carry. Her eyelids suddenly weighed much more then she thought they had before, almost like his voice was lulling her to sleep. Magicly casting a spell of sleep on her. This power was so alluring, so seductive, that Phoebe just had to see the owner of it.
"Would you please not touch me...", she started, her voice wet with anger. Opening her eyes, she could tell that her face was red without using her magic. Opening her eyes, she saw one of the most gorgous men she had ever seen. She also saw why he had whispered her name the way he did. His face reflected exactly what his voice held- smooth, strong and sexy. It was the same face that she saw every night in her dreams.
Speechless only for a moment, speechless because he was him, Phoebe thought of all the rude comments that had flown through her head for the past two days. All the things that she had wanted to say to him, because he had been dreading to meet him. Dreading to meet the person that was so beautiful it took her breath away. Dreading to meet the one person that she wanted to meet. She closed her eyes again in attempt to regain her compossure, to quit from drowing in the sea of shock.
Suddenly, Phoebe sat up quickly, realizing that no one was making her stay.
"Piper.. I'm gonna go home.. See ya guys later.."
And just like that, Phoebe was gone.
"Phoebe! What's wrong? Ugh.. PHOEBE!?!?", Piper called after her sister as she ran away. She half-turned to Cole, haf-stared at where her sister was. "I'm sorry, Cole.. She's not usually like that.."
Cole shrugged it off, watching the other girl run away with Piper.
Slamming the apartment door shut hours later, Piper had no trouble finding the girl she was looking for. Phoebe was sitting on the couch, watching tv. Not loosing even an ounce of courage, Piper walked up to the tv and turned it off, turning around to talk to her cousin.
"What the hell do you think you were doing back there?", she screamed, not holding anything back. "Do you think you could have been any ruder to Cole?"
Phoebe opened her mouth to say something, clearly not thinking fast enough because Piper started yelling again.
"Not only did you make one hell of an impression on yourself, but also on this entire family! Cole didn't deserve to be treated like that- dammnit, Leo, Paige, and I didn't deserve to be treated like that! I know that I kinda suckered you into the picnic, but did you have to completely hate it before giving it a chance?"
"Piper..", Phoebe said softly.
"No, I don't want to hear it! That was totally un-"
"Piper!", Phoebe interupted. "It was him.."
"Him who?", she asked, not giving it much thought. The guy being someone that she knew didn't give her anywhere near enough reason to leave like that.
"The guy.. that's been in my dreams.. And.. I could tell.. just by looking into his eys.. that.. he'd known me, too..", Phoebe explained, her words full of emotion that slowly fell out of her lips. "I don't know.. I know that's not enough of a reason to go running, but.. I didn't know how to be around him after dreaming the things I dreamed.. It just.. all... scared me, I guess."
"Well, Phoebe that what happens in real life. Things happen and we get scared. You can't run forever. What happens when something goes wrong in our relationship.. I mean.." Sighing, Piper realized that a lecture wasn't what her older cousin needed. She sat down next to her and started rubbing her back, a way of telling her that everything would somehow be alright. "You wanna.. tell me about it?"
Shrugging, Phoebe leaned into her cousin. "I don't know.. I suppose.. I suppose that I gotta talk to him and apologize. Do I have to apologize in person, though?"
"Well, it would be nicer, but.. I guess you don't have to.." Eyeing Phoebe, she continued. "But.. I thought you wanted to meet this man? I thought.. I thought that you wanted to be with him?"
"Well, I was wrong, Piper.. He's too.."
"Too what?"
Grimacing, she added, "Too good for me? I don't know.. I mean.. He's finishing school already, and he has a great job, or at least that's what you've told me. And I.. I'm going back to school to get a job a real job. Not to mention the fact that I'm a witch and I can't just come right out and say, 'Hey! I've magical powers and my life is in danger every God damned day of my life. Do you think that I should go around saving innocents? What are your opinions on this matter?' I mean.. He'd think I was insane, Piper!" Pausing to sigh, she started in again. "Besides, don't you think that if I'm starting college again, that I should concentrate on that and not on my love life, or lack there of."
"Well, yeah if that makes you happy.. I just don't see why you don't wanna see him.."
"I feel like I know him, Piper- know everything about him! And to tell you the truth.. It's scary. I don't know how you do this!"
Laughing lightly, Piper tried to explain. "Well, the good stuff will eventually weigh out the bad stuff.. It's not a matter of do you want to be with him, it's a matter of do you want to work through problems to be with him.. And I tell ya, if any of what we said about your dreams were true, then being soulmates will help you get through all of it more easily then you think.."
Both smiled, happy that everything was more or less fixed, or at least explained. Leaving her alone, Piper gently got off the couch to go get her coat. "Ok.. I gotta work at Jazzums tonight.. You wanna come?"
"Ugh, no.. That's ok.. You go ahead. I've got a lot to think about..", Phoebe answered.
Yeah.., she thought silently. Like whether or not I wanna fall in love!
Hey guys! I finished it a little faster then I wanted to (My summer vacay is ending soon.. I wanted to take some time to myself! Lol..), but my friend Liz has already started school and stayed home sick today. So I decided I'd give her a nice little treat... Hope ya feel better, hun!