AN - Hey. Although this is the only fic listed on my "Author of Stories", this is not my first fanfic. I have written others, just under a different Pen Name. I also changed my writing style just a little bit, making it more detailed and such. So I hope you enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!!

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Piper Halliwell sat on one of the bar stools in her club, P3, with a pile of papers, a pen, and a calculator on the counter. Her brown hair was messy and looked as if she had raked her hand through it several times. She stared down at the bills in front of her, eyes blurring from the three hours she had spent, staring at numbers. Her hand was cramping up from writing so many checks. She dropped her pen, cleared the calculator, and closed her eyes, raking her hands through her hair for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Frowning, she glanced at the clock. Her eyes widened when she realized it was well past midnight. She began to gather her papers and shoved them into folders and a knapsack, unaware of someone lurking in the shadows, watching her every move.

The girl, who was around the age of fifteen years, stood on the steps going down into the club, hidden by the wall. She had been watching the brunette women for about two and a half hours now and was becoming somewhat bored, but she was determined to stay, unseen, until the women had gone home for the night, which looked to be in a few minutes. She kept her eye locked on the women.

Piper stifled a big yawn, her eyes watering. The phone rang. She stumbled a little when she walked behind the counter to answer it. "Hello?" she said groggily. "Oh, hey Prue." She listened for a moment. "I'm on my way now. I got held up with paperwork. You know, bills and stuff." She paused. "Well you shouldn't have waited up, but thanks. I'll see you in fifteen. Bye." She hung up and started back to the other side of the bar when a creaking noise startled her. She stiffened and held still, ears trained for the slightest sound. When she didn't hear anything, she shrugged it off as the usual creaks of the foundation and continued putting her papers away.

The girl let out a low, quiet sigh of relief. She had attempted to get closer, but the stair had creaked and almost given her away. She cursed at her stupidity, realizing she should have remembered that the second step down always creaked. But she also realized that when the women left, she'd have to come up the steps. She frowned, not completely panicked by this new realization, but worried. She didn't want to be seen, not yet at least. With the hope that the women would keep her back turned, the girl snuck down the steps, remembering to step over the second down, and tip toed behind the velvet curtains in the VIP section of the club, which sat next to the stairs in a secluded corner. From here, she could still watch the women pack and leave.

Piper finished gathering everything she needed. She slung the bag over her right shoulder, picked her car keys out of her pocket, and started for the door. A soft rustle from somewhere in the room caused her to stop. Now, for sure, she knew someone was in the club with her. The creak had to be someone coming in and the rustle was someone walking around, the curtains, or a door. She considered calling Leo, but knew it was too risky, especially if the person was human. How could she possibly explain her husband appearing in glowing white and blue lights?

"Is somebody in here?" she called, clutching her bag and keys. If it were a robber, they would either want the money in the vault, her jewelry, or her car keys or something. As it was so late, it could be a drunken person, trying to steal any alcohol left lying around. Maybe a homeless person was just looking for a warm place to sleep. She considered the possibilities when a dirty calico cat slinked out from under the velvet curtains in one of her VIP sections. She let out a sigh of relief. "You gave me a scare, little kitty," she said softly, smiling and shaking her head. She had given herself a good scare! "Time for bed," she mumbled, walking swiftly across the club, up the steps, and out the door.

Outside, the sky was inky black and the stars shown brightly. It was cold and the chill shocked Piper out of her half-awake stupor. She blinked her eyes, the wind whipping around her. She shivered, locking the door to the club and hurrying to her car. She climbed in, started the engine, and began the ride home.

Inside the club, the girl stepped out from hiding. She took a quick look around the club before going down a short hallway that led to the owner's office. She tried the door; it was unlocked. She smiled and went inside. She turned on the desk light and sat in the chair, then rummaged through the drawers of the desk until she found a bronze key on a key chain. She stood, turned off the lamp, and went to the door. After checking that she hadn't moved anything from its proper place, she shut the door, walked back to the main part of the club, up the steps, and to the front door. She turned the lock, stepped out into the cold night, and shut the door. She used the key to lock the door then slipped it into her pocket and walked off.

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The next morning, Piper had to drag herself out of bed. She had had trouble falling to sleep the night before and had slept horribly, waking up every few hours and unable to fall asleep for an hour or two at a time. She had big, dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep when she entered the kitchen, dragging her feet. Her sisters, Prue and Phoebe, were already sitting at the table, talking and eating a breakfast that consisted of coffee, orange juice, scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toast. Piper shuffled over to the coffee pot, grabbed a cup out of the cabinet, and poured herself some coffee before going back to the table and slumping down, taking slow sips of the hot liquid. It burned her throat going down and left a sour taste in her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked, stuffing a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth and washing it down with some orange juice.

"I got home really late from the club and I slept horribly," Piper grumbled, sipping the burning coffee again. It tasted almost metallic.

Prue frowned, sipping her own coffee. "Why couldn't you sleep? You'd think that after a whole night of doing bills and checks, you'd be exhausted."

"I was! But-"Piper paused, stifling a yawn as she herself wondered what had kept her up.

"But what?" Prue coaxed, brushing her long raven hair from her face.

"But . . . I guess I was just thinking about the club," Piper finally answered.

Phoebe got up and went to the coffee maker to refill her cup, then went and sat back down. "Honey, the club is doing fine. It's always crowded and the line to get in is almost a mile long. There's nothing to worry about," she said reassuringly.

"No, it's not that. It's . . ." Piper paused again, trying to put into words what she meant. "Last night at the club, I kept hearing these really strange noises, creaking and fluttering. At first I thought it was nothing, then I thought that maybe there was a person in the club. But then this cat came out from under the curtains by the VIP section and I left. Except now . . . I'm not so sure it was just the cat."

"Could someone have been watching you? A demon or something?" Prue asked, concern and worry etched on her face.

Piper shrugged. "Could be. But I was alone and vulnerable. Wouldn't a demon have attacked?"

"Maybe it was just your imagination. You were tired and maybe you just thought you heard those things," Phoebe suggested.

"Maybe," Piper agreed, shrugging her shoulders again. "I don't know. It just spooked me, so I guess that's why I couldn't sleep."

"Okay, now that that is sorted out, I have to be off to work," Prue said, standing. "I have a photo shoot in-"She glanced at her watch, "-half an hour and I need to stop at 415 first."

Piper and Phoebe called good-byes as Prue ran to the living room where she'd left her camera and equipment, ran to the door, and ran outside to her car, letting the front door slam gently. They heard her car pull away moments later.

Phoebe stood and gathered Prue's plate and cup. She took them to the sink and dumped the uneaten food in the trash, poured the coffee down the drain, and put the dishes in the dishwasher. She walked back to the table and sat beside Piper, placing her hand over sisters. Immediately, a vision struck. She gasped. The hand over Piper's tightened its grip and her free hand gripped the table. It was over as quickly as it had come. She loosened both hands from their death grips and opened her eyes, looking to Piper, who was staring at her, waiting to hear what her sister had seen.

Phoebe frowned and cleared her throat before speaking. "I think you're right, Piper. Those noises weren't just ordinary noises."