*A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 1. Which I have to say is a
set up for the rest of the story. I'm glad people are liking it.
Piper walked into the gymnasium, her hair teased up big, her braces glinting in the dance lights. Across the room, her eyes lock with a pair of shining blue eyes as she smiled shyly. Equally as shy, the boy with the blue eyes, her crush, walked towards her, in his powder blue tuxedo and held out his hand to her.
"May I have this dance?" he asked with a smile on his face.
"What about Missy?" Piper asked in response, "won't she be mad?"
Smiling wider, Leo responded, "Missy who?" Before taking her hand and guiding her onto the dance floor. He placed his arms around her waist as they swayed to the music.
"I've been wanting to dance with you for so long..." Piper trailed off.
"Shh..." he said, leaning in for a kiss.
Suddenly Piper was brought back to reality by the sound of her alarm clock buzzing. Leaning over she jabbed the off button only to get tangled in her sheets and falling to the floor with a thump. Kicking her legs in the air loosened the sheets enough so they could drop from her legs. Getting to her knees she glared at the alarm clock.
"You suck," she told it. Over ten years had passed, but her mornings were still the same. Pushing herself to her feet she stumbled down the hallway to the bathroom.
After putting in her contact lenses, Piper peered at her reflection in the mirror. Squinting her eyes she scrutinized the face staring back at her. Much had changed, her teeth were now straight, and her complexion had cleared up, but she still had the same brown hair and brown eyes.
Hearing a knock at her apartment door, she called out, "It's open!" Knowing it could only be on person this early in the morning.
"I come bearing gifts," came the voice of Claire, always and forever there for Piper, she came into the bathroom carrying a paper cup of coffee from down the street and a garment bag. "I knew you'd have trouble finding something to wear, since... oh, you always do."
"Oh, you rock," Piper said gratefully, accepting the coffee and clothes with a content smile on her face.
"Not really, I ate your scone on the way," Claire grinned, "it was good."
******
Dressed in a knee length black skirt, and a pinstripe form fitting button down shirt, Piper walked out of her building. Her heels clicking on the lobby's linoleum floor, she waved to Joey, the security guard, and offered a smile.
"Mornin' Miss Halliwell," he said with a small bow of his head.
Walking out front of the building she made her way down the block towards the business district of San Francisco. Lucky for her, the restaurant where she worked was within walking distance of her building.
Arriving at the restaurant which she managed, she pushed open the door with the word 'Quake' on it, in an earthquake type motif, and entered the main floor of the building. Hurrying across the empty floor, she made her way to the staff conference room, aware of the fact that she was late.
"Sorry I'm late..." she said meekly as she entered the room. Eyes from all the staff members looked at her, which made her face flush a light pink.
"Take a seat, Halliwell," Martin, the restaurant supervisor, said. "As I was saying, the owner of 'Quake' has decided to sell, and his buyer will be coming into the restaurant to meet you all this afternoon." Taking her seat, Piper focused her attention on what Martin was saying, and on a memo that was passed to her. "Apparently, he's a young investor, new to money, and chose to make this his endeavor. His name is... ah, here it is, Leo... White... no, Wyatt."
Piper's brown eyes shot up from the memo she was scanning. "Uh... d-did you say... L-Leo Wyatt...?" she stammered.
"Yes, I did, Halliwell. Do you have a problem with that?"
"N-no...no... not at all, Martin," Piper replied, sinking into her seat, chewing on her lip, a mixture of confusion, fear and excitment rolling around inside her.
After the meeting came to an end, Piper rushed to the bar where she picked up the black portable phone and quickly dialed in Claire's number.
"Hello?"
"It's me," Piper replied in an exasperated voice.
"Whoa, what's wrong?"
"The new owner of 'Quake' is... is..."
"Is who?"
"Leo Wyatt."
"When did you find out?"
"This morning, what do I do?"
"First of all," Claire said, in a rational tone, "take a deep breath, and second, we're having lunch."
"Okay."
******
Seated across from Claire, Piper nervously fidgeted with the cloth napkin in her lap. After taking a sip from the wineglass filled with water she continued to fiddle with the napkin corner.
"Would you relax?" Claire said, in a firm, yet comforting tone.
"How can I? I have to see him for the first time since junior high, in about 2 hours," Piper bit her lip, mentally picturing the disaster that would ensue, "what if he recognizes me?"
"Piper, you're not the same girl you once were... your hair is combed, you wear your contacts which, as I've commented before, show off your eyes, and you're no longer 'metal mouth'."
"But..."
"But nothing, you're going to wow him with your manager skills, and impress him with your wit and charm, and you're not gonna fidget with your skirt..." Claire said, kicking Piper lightly under the table, knowing she was doing just that.
******
"Here, let me get that for you," came a man's voice from directly behind Piper. Turning, she saw a handsome man, dressed in casual jeans and a t- shirt that fit him just right, his blue eyes met her's, and in that moment she knew this was Leo Wyatt.
Pushing open the door, the man introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Leo Wyatt," the smile on his face flirty while genuine.
"I know," Piper responded, after a beat realizing that that probably wasn't the best thing to say, "what I mean to say is... Martin has told us about you."
"Oh, so you work here?"
"Yeah, I'm the manager... uhm... Piper," she responded, extending her hand.
"Nice to meet you," he said, taking her hand, "Piper, that's an interesting name... I like it."
"Thank you," she said, a hint of confusion in her voice, didn't he recognize her as the dork from ten years ago? Maybe not. This could work.
Following him further into 'Quake', Piper couldn't help but smile the tiniest bit about her good fortune.
******
Arriving back at her apartment, Piper pushed the 'check new messages' button on her phone as she dropped her keys onto the counter table. Walking through to the living room area, she removed her heels and proceeded to her bedroom, where she changed into her pajamas, a thin pair of sweats with a tanktop. Pressing the button on her stereo, she let the music infiltrate her mind, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.
Walking through the apartment to the door, she opened it, to find Claire there, another garment bag in hand, and a purse loaded with makeup.
"Hey, what're you doing here?" Piper asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Leo is back in your life, what do you think I'm doing here?" Claire responded, walking into the apartment without another word. Taking a seat on the couch, she motioned Piper over after setting down the items she was carrying. "Tell me everything," she stated simply.
Taking a seat on the couch, Piper explained to her friend that Leo didn't recognize her, and that he was actually acting interested, and flirting with her.
"Excellent," Claire responded, a devilish glint in her eye.
"Excellent?"
"Yes, get revenge Piper, he doesn't know who you are... be the girl of his dreams, and then... dump him like he and his friends dumped all over your back in 8th grade. He made your life hell, he's the reason we went to catholic school!" Claire explained.
"You're right..." Piper grinned, liking the idea, but at the same time, she couldn't admit to Claire that she still had dreams about this guy, "where do we begin?"
Piper walked into the gymnasium, her hair teased up big, her braces glinting in the dance lights. Across the room, her eyes lock with a pair of shining blue eyes as she smiled shyly. Equally as shy, the boy with the blue eyes, her crush, walked towards her, in his powder blue tuxedo and held out his hand to her.
"May I have this dance?" he asked with a smile on his face.
"What about Missy?" Piper asked in response, "won't she be mad?"
Smiling wider, Leo responded, "Missy who?" Before taking her hand and guiding her onto the dance floor. He placed his arms around her waist as they swayed to the music.
"I've been wanting to dance with you for so long..." Piper trailed off.
"Shh..." he said, leaning in for a kiss.
Suddenly Piper was brought back to reality by the sound of her alarm clock buzzing. Leaning over she jabbed the off button only to get tangled in her sheets and falling to the floor with a thump. Kicking her legs in the air loosened the sheets enough so they could drop from her legs. Getting to her knees she glared at the alarm clock.
"You suck," she told it. Over ten years had passed, but her mornings were still the same. Pushing herself to her feet she stumbled down the hallway to the bathroom.
After putting in her contact lenses, Piper peered at her reflection in the mirror. Squinting her eyes she scrutinized the face staring back at her. Much had changed, her teeth were now straight, and her complexion had cleared up, but she still had the same brown hair and brown eyes.
Hearing a knock at her apartment door, she called out, "It's open!" Knowing it could only be on person this early in the morning.
"I come bearing gifts," came the voice of Claire, always and forever there for Piper, she came into the bathroom carrying a paper cup of coffee from down the street and a garment bag. "I knew you'd have trouble finding something to wear, since... oh, you always do."
"Oh, you rock," Piper said gratefully, accepting the coffee and clothes with a content smile on her face.
"Not really, I ate your scone on the way," Claire grinned, "it was good."
******
Dressed in a knee length black skirt, and a pinstripe form fitting button down shirt, Piper walked out of her building. Her heels clicking on the lobby's linoleum floor, she waved to Joey, the security guard, and offered a smile.
"Mornin' Miss Halliwell," he said with a small bow of his head.
Walking out front of the building she made her way down the block towards the business district of San Francisco. Lucky for her, the restaurant where she worked was within walking distance of her building.
Arriving at the restaurant which she managed, she pushed open the door with the word 'Quake' on it, in an earthquake type motif, and entered the main floor of the building. Hurrying across the empty floor, she made her way to the staff conference room, aware of the fact that she was late.
"Sorry I'm late..." she said meekly as she entered the room. Eyes from all the staff members looked at her, which made her face flush a light pink.
"Take a seat, Halliwell," Martin, the restaurant supervisor, said. "As I was saying, the owner of 'Quake' has decided to sell, and his buyer will be coming into the restaurant to meet you all this afternoon." Taking her seat, Piper focused her attention on what Martin was saying, and on a memo that was passed to her. "Apparently, he's a young investor, new to money, and chose to make this his endeavor. His name is... ah, here it is, Leo... White... no, Wyatt."
Piper's brown eyes shot up from the memo she was scanning. "Uh... d-did you say... L-Leo Wyatt...?" she stammered.
"Yes, I did, Halliwell. Do you have a problem with that?"
"N-no...no... not at all, Martin," Piper replied, sinking into her seat, chewing on her lip, a mixture of confusion, fear and excitment rolling around inside her.
After the meeting came to an end, Piper rushed to the bar where she picked up the black portable phone and quickly dialed in Claire's number.
"Hello?"
"It's me," Piper replied in an exasperated voice.
"Whoa, what's wrong?"
"The new owner of 'Quake' is... is..."
"Is who?"
"Leo Wyatt."
"When did you find out?"
"This morning, what do I do?"
"First of all," Claire said, in a rational tone, "take a deep breath, and second, we're having lunch."
"Okay."
******
Seated across from Claire, Piper nervously fidgeted with the cloth napkin in her lap. After taking a sip from the wineglass filled with water she continued to fiddle with the napkin corner.
"Would you relax?" Claire said, in a firm, yet comforting tone.
"How can I? I have to see him for the first time since junior high, in about 2 hours," Piper bit her lip, mentally picturing the disaster that would ensue, "what if he recognizes me?"
"Piper, you're not the same girl you once were... your hair is combed, you wear your contacts which, as I've commented before, show off your eyes, and you're no longer 'metal mouth'."
"But..."
"But nothing, you're going to wow him with your manager skills, and impress him with your wit and charm, and you're not gonna fidget with your skirt..." Claire said, kicking Piper lightly under the table, knowing she was doing just that.
******
"Here, let me get that for you," came a man's voice from directly behind Piper. Turning, she saw a handsome man, dressed in casual jeans and a t- shirt that fit him just right, his blue eyes met her's, and in that moment she knew this was Leo Wyatt.
Pushing open the door, the man introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Leo Wyatt," the smile on his face flirty while genuine.
"I know," Piper responded, after a beat realizing that that probably wasn't the best thing to say, "what I mean to say is... Martin has told us about you."
"Oh, so you work here?"
"Yeah, I'm the manager... uhm... Piper," she responded, extending her hand.
"Nice to meet you," he said, taking her hand, "Piper, that's an interesting name... I like it."
"Thank you," she said, a hint of confusion in her voice, didn't he recognize her as the dork from ten years ago? Maybe not. This could work.
Following him further into 'Quake', Piper couldn't help but smile the tiniest bit about her good fortune.
******
Arriving back at her apartment, Piper pushed the 'check new messages' button on her phone as she dropped her keys onto the counter table. Walking through to the living room area, she removed her heels and proceeded to her bedroom, where she changed into her pajamas, a thin pair of sweats with a tanktop. Pressing the button on her stereo, she let the music infiltrate her mind, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.
Walking through the apartment to the door, she opened it, to find Claire there, another garment bag in hand, and a purse loaded with makeup.
"Hey, what're you doing here?" Piper asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Leo is back in your life, what do you think I'm doing here?" Claire responded, walking into the apartment without another word. Taking a seat on the couch, she motioned Piper over after setting down the items she was carrying. "Tell me everything," she stated simply.
Taking a seat on the couch, Piper explained to her friend that Leo didn't recognize her, and that he was actually acting interested, and flirting with her.
"Excellent," Claire responded, a devilish glint in her eye.
"Excellent?"
"Yes, get revenge Piper, he doesn't know who you are... be the girl of his dreams, and then... dump him like he and his friends dumped all over your back in 8th grade. He made your life hell, he's the reason we went to catholic school!" Claire explained.
"You're right..." Piper grinned, liking the idea, but at the same time, she couldn't admit to Claire that she still had dreams about this guy, "where do we begin?"