When We Were Children

Chapter One: Jaclyn Satinka

Authors Note: This is set in the future, Wyatt is sixteen, Chris is fifteen, Prue(Phoebe's daughter) is twelve, Paul (Paige's son) is nine, and the three Charmed Ones are still alive. Wyatt is the only one of the children who knows about magic. Prue's and Paul's powers have been bound, and Chris hasn't developed any yet.

"Mom, do we have to go?" Chris complained. After all, what fifteen-year- old boy wants to see a dance recital? Not many.

"Sweetie, Prue's going to be performing, you know we have to go." Piper told him. "You'll enjoy it."

"Not likely."

"You know how sad Prue would be if we didn't come," Wyatt, Chris's goody- two-shoes brother said. Chris was the only one who saw what he was becoming, how cruel he was. Everyone else thought he was perfect.

"Oh, all right. But I don't have to enjoy it."

"This is boring," Chris muttered to his mother.

"Shh!" she hissed at him, "Prue's part is on a minute."

Chris sighed, resigning himself to a night of boredom.

Then she came on. A pretty girl of about fourteen, she danced her way across the stage, graceful, and beautiful. Chris was drawn into the silent story she told. He watched her with rapt intensity, falling in love with her by the minute.

A smile played upon her face, but her eyes held great sadness. Her golden hair, like a halo, framed her face. He watched every movement, seeing into her soul as she danced, alone on the stage.

Her eyes were a gentle hazel color, flecked with bits of orange. Other dancers filled the stage, but Chris watched only her.

Piper saw where he was looking, and smiled. So Chris was enjoying this, after all.

She danced as if she were alone in the world, as if no one was watching, as if she was the only person in the world. And she was all that Chris saw, beautiful, perfect.

All too soon, the dance was over, and the curtain was closing. Chris felt a deep sadness inside him. He wondered if he would ever see the girl again.

Or is she an angel, who came from heaven just this once, and will return tonight?

But what he did know, was that he would never stop looking for her, this angel, this perfect girl.

It was then he noticed that Wyatt, too, was watching the girl. Oh, no. Wyatt always got the girls he wanted. Chris wasn't sure why, but he knew that if Wyatt wanted this girl, Wyatt would have this girl.

He sighed, defeated before he even started. What point was there of even trying? Wyatt would just embarrass him, in front of that girl, no less. Why bother?

He saw the girl walking alone, and Wyatt ran to catch up with her. He talked to her for a second, then she walked away. He tried to follow her, but she turned and told him to leave her alone.

Chris stared in amazement. This is a first! A girl actually refused Wyatt? Then again, if Wyatt hadn't gotten the girl, he didn't stand a chance.

So there was no point in running after the girl, in smiling at her, in saying, "Hi, I'm Chris."

She smiled at him, and he thought for a moment that she was inside his head. Then the strange sensation passed. "I'm Jaclyn," she told him.

"How do you live with him as a brother?" she asked, indicating Wyatt.

"It's not easy," he admitted, and they both laughed. Chris felt an instant connection with this girl, this Jaclyn.

"Chris! We're going now!" Piper called.

"I, uh, have to go," he told her.

"Here," she handed him a piece of paper on which she hastily scrawled a number. "Call me."

He smiled at her. "See you around."

"See you."

Then he walked back to the car, feeling as if he had just been pulled out of heaven.

"Mom?" Wyatt said to Piper before Chris got back, "I think that girl is a demon or something."

"What makes you think that, sweetie?"

"I just have this feeling."

"Maybe it's a new power."

"What's that about a power?" Chris asked.

"Oh, nothing," Wyatt replied with a smirk.

Chris just shrugged it off.

The Next Day at School

Chris was wandering around the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. He saw Jaclyn eating with a couple girls he didn't know. As he passed her, he gave a little smile. She smiled back.

Later, after lunch, he saw Jaclyn again. This time, however, she was alone. She was sitting on a bench in the garden, staring out at the tiny pond.

"Hi," he said, sitting down beside her.

"Hi."

"I'm sorry I didn't call. I was going to, but it was so late."

"It's okay." They just sat there, side by side, silent.

Then, out of the blue, Jaclyn asked, "Do you believe in magic?"

Chris was surprised. He found himself wondering. Did he? Normally he would have just said no, but the way this girl asked it, he wondered, doubted his own mind. There were so many things that would be explained by it...

"I don't know," he finally answered.

"I do," she told him. "I believe that anything is possible, if you want it enough."

"Yeah." Chris was starting to really like this girl, despite, well, she wasn't really, strange, more like different. But different in a good way.

"So were those girls your friends?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

"What? Oh those girls I eat lunch with? Not really, they're just people I hang out with sometimes. Not real friends."

"Yeah." Chris could relate to that, he didn't have any friends either. Unless Jaclyn counted.

A/N: okay, here it is, my first chapter. Lots of stuff is different from the show, just ignore that. If I get enough reviews I will continue.