C.C. McKenna
Inexperienced LoveChapter Four
"Lexie!" Piper opened her eyes widely and instinctively reached out to grab her sister, only a second too late; Zinnlar had seized the youngest and had pulled her roughly against his chest; holding a shiny, sharp edged athame on her throat. Lexie screamed in horror but he muffled her cry with one hand, while he tightened his arm around her neck. He chewed his lower lip, feeling a special kind of bliss running through his body as he slowly started cutting her throat with the silver blade. Piper gazed helplessly into her sister's terrified eyes as her breathing became faster... dreadfully faster.
"Move... and I'll kill her" Zinnlar drew an evil smile on his face and mockingly moistened his lips.
"The hell you will!" Piper raised both hands and tried to freeze him, but only managed to get an evil laughter from Zinnlar as a result of her unsuccessful attempt; in fact she immediately found out that it had been a very disastrous try as soon as she realized her sister was frozen in Zinnlar's arms and 'he' was nowhere near to be still.
"Why thank you my dear; how thoughtful of you" Zinnlar smiled, slowly releasing his grip on the still frozen girl.
"But...you're not frozen...why are you not frozen?" Piper asked with amazement.
"You stupid witch" Zinnlar spat with anger. "I'm protected. I'm immune to your powers...This time I came prepared; none of your powers, or your sisters', will have an effect on me; unfortunately your sister here can't say the same" He caressed Lexie's cheek without any resistance from the latter. "You've only made my job easier" He smirked without taking his gaze off the motionless girl.
"Don't touch her"! Piper was quick on her feet. "Keep your filthy hands away from her" She pointed her finger to his face and quickly turned to Lexie to unfreeze her.
"Go ahead, unfreeze her, make her scream and shout in horror again; I'll be delighted to make her suffer with my presence. He moved aside to give Piper a better shot but she couldn't do it. She realized that it was better for her sister not to be aware of what was going on.
"You're so pathetic" Zinnlar shook his head and with a fast blink of his eyes he was suddenly standing behind Piper; bending her arms on her back and tying them up with some strips of black leather from his outfit. "It's not that you can hurt me or anything" He roughly tightened her wrists. "It's only to keep you focused on me... I have some..." He bit his lip while he tightened the leather strips. "... Some friendly requests for you" He threw her on the floor and kicked her stomach. Piper winced and impulsively pulled her knees to cover her abdomen.
"Please... just don't hurt my sister" Piper inhaled with difficulty and gazed up at the demon standing in front of her.
"I'm sorry, but that's what I came here to do" He sneered. "Unless...." His words trailed off and quickly shimmered away when the door was suddenly pushed open and Phoebe rushed inside her sister's room.
"Piper...I heard a noise, are you...Oh my God...PIPER!" Phoebe ran to her sister's side, not noticing Lexie's stillness behind her.
"No, Phoebe..." Piper tried to warn her but Phoebe quickly knelt beside her. "What? What happened? wh-what's? ... Lexie!, get your butt right here and help me out with Piper!" Phoebe gazed at her baby sister, suddenly sensing Zinnlar's presence behind her. Phoebe swiftly looked back over her shoulder and her lights went black; it all happened so fast; she never had the chance to see the demon's blow coming straight to her chin. Phoebe's limp body fell on top of Piper's.
"Phoebe!" Piper's sudden reaction was to budge and cover her sister's body with hers. "Damn you!" She lifted her head and glared at Zinnlar; her hands still tightly strapped behind her. "You didn't have to hurt her!"
"Get on your knees!" Zinnlar yelled as he walked closer to Piper, not acknowledging her comments.
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"What do I have to do to get a cup of coffee around here?" Prue sat up on the sofa and rubbed her eyes. Maybe Piper pulled Lexie to bed. She slowly got up and headed for the kitchen, pressing both hands on her lower back. I'll make the coffee myself, real good strong coffee, just the way it should be. She smiled wickedly. Sorry Phoebs. She chuckled.
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"What do you want?" Piper demanded without moving an inch. Zinnlar turned to Lexie and waved his hand, sending her flying roughly against the wall.
"I won't ask you twice" He chuckled.
"My God...please" She quickly got on her knees. "I'm kneeling...see? I'm...I'm kneeling! ... Just please, please don't hurt her anymore" Piper fixed her eyes on her unconscious sister and took a deep breath, watching a thick line of blood trickling down her forehead. "Just...just let me go to her... she's hurt"
Zinnlar laughed with sarcasm. "You're missing the whole point here" He paced slowly in front of Piper. "That's exactly what I came here for" He walked to Lexie and knelt beside her. "I came here to hurt her, or perhaps even kill her, if you don't give up your powers... freely, that is" He grabbed Lexie's hair and harshly lifted her head. "Maybe I'll have a good time with her...I mean, like making her mine while you and your sisters watch" He drew a bigger smile on his face. "Could this idea be of some sort of influence on your decision?"
"Leave her alone!" Piper tried to stand on her feet but Zinnlar quickly placed the athame on Lexie's neck.
"I would think twice if I were you" He smiled, shoving the tip of the blade on Lexie's throat and making her bleed. Piper screamed and Lexie remained unaware.
"Stop!....I'll do it, I'll do anything...just..."
"Wise decision" Zinnlar spoke still holding the athame against Lexie's throat.
"P-Piper?" Phoebe slowly opened her eyes and winced in pain. "W-what's going on?" She carefully sat up, holding her jaw and gently moving it sideways.
"Stay down Phoebe" Piper hissed. "He's got Lexie on his hands"
"As a matter of fact, I've got all three of you, so, Phoebe...do as you're told, or your sister will suffer the consequences" He bent down and kissed Lexie's lips. He knew that he could easily kill the charmed ones, but he needed them alive, and they knew it, that's why he had decided to threaten them by hurting or killing their sister if they didn't do what he asked; they would definitely be more concerned trying to save her sister's life than their very own.
"You dirty son of a bitch" Piper muttered. "Stay away from her or you'll get nothing; I swear to God you'll get nothing!!"
Lexie opened her eyes, gradually, and painfully moaned. "Piper..." She whispered trying desperately to focus.
"It's ok sweetie, just stay calm, I won't let him hurt you" Piper spoke reassuringly as Lexie tried to shake away her grogginess.
"Lexie... don't move, stay where you are, don't give him another chance to hurt you" Phoebe raised her voice and fixed her eyes on her baby sister. "Lexie...did you hear me?... don't MOVE!"
"Him?" Lexie asked as she gazed around to see who was beside her. She screamed and hastily rolled on her side, to get as far away from him as she could; she painfully sat up and quickly started sliding back.
"No, no, no, no, no" He followed Lexie without any hurry until the latter reached the closed door with her back. "Get up!" He yelled at her, aiming the silver athame to her chest.
Lexie slowly tried to get up but her weak legs gave way; She released a small cry when she hit the floor, but Zinnlar quickly picked her up and shoved her against the door. Lexie whimpered, still unable to control her breaths, much less her fear. Piper was frantic, trying to get her hands untied but being careful of not being spotted by Zinnlar. He smirked and kissed Lexie again. She closed her eyes tightly and turned her head away from him with revulsion; Zinnlar smiled taking special pleasure with Lexie's reaction. "I'll have some real fun with you later" He smirked again as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
"Meanwhile, you are not to give me any more trouble" He leaned over and roughly kissed her lips again; He slowly pulled back and violently slapped her across the face. "Do you understand?" He grabbed Lexie's shoulders and thrust her against the door. Lexie started crying and slightly nodded before lowering her head. "That's my girl" He kissed her forehead and smiled cynically. "Now, don't move or I'll slice your gullet in shreds. He turned his back on Lexie and walked towards the older Halliwells. "Now, tell me, where's the missing Halliwell?"
Prue grabbed the carafe and lifted it; she stared at the dark liquid with a broad smile on her face. I can't wait till Phoebs tastes this new specialty. She chuckled.
When Lexie saw the demon slowly heading towards her sisters; she quickly turned to the door and opened it. She stumbled her way out to the hall and shouted her sister's name as loud as she could. Prue dropped the carafe and hastily ran towards the foyer. "What?! She shouted nervously as she kept running towards the stairs. "I'm coming Lex!" she shouted again, not being the least sure of what was going on.
Zinnlar watched with astonishment the daringness of the young girl and followed her to the hall.
"Prue!" Lexie's sight was a mass of blurriness; she staggered but quickly regained her balance with the help of the wall, stopping for a fraction of a second to take a deep breath.
"Coming baby....I'm coming!" Prue held her breath and quickened her pace as she reluctantly battled with the strange fear inside her stomach.
"Pruuue" Lexie shouted again as she wiped some red liquid from her eyes to clear her visibility; She also made a little pressure on her neck to avoid loosing more blood than she'd already lost and continued her race down the stairs.
"Stop!" Zinnlar growled as he shimmered in front of Lexie; forcing the girl to collide against his chest. The demon steadied her frail body and then shoved her backwards to stop her from going further down.
Prue stopped at mid stairs. "Hey!" She shouted and waved her hand against the demon but nothing happened. She popped her eyes wide and tried again, still with no avail. "What the hell!" She glared at him with amazement as he slowly turned around to face her.
"We meet again," Zinnlar mocked, smiling at his nervous prey and slowly advancing towards her.
Prue repeatedly squinted her eyes and waved both hands on him, hoping to work something out, but he didn't even blink. She turned her gaze to her sister and saw her lying on the steps, bleeding, but barely conscious. "Oh my God, what did you do to her?" Prue ignored the demon and tried to reach Lexie but Zinnlar pushed her back making her fall awkwardly down the stairs.
Phoebe untied Piper's hands; both sisters stared at each other for a second, knowing exactly what to do. Phoebe quickly rubbed her sister's wrists and hastily pulled her towards the door; Phoebe stopped on her tracks before exiting the room and picked up the silver athame from the floor, gripping it tightly. "Careful with that thing" Piper warned as she grabbed Phoebe's arm to keep running.
"I am in charge now; you better get used to it" Zinnlar smirked, looking down at Prue while the latter slowly tried to get back on her feet. She winced and bit her lower lip when she failed her attempt. "Damn it" She mumbled as she heavily dropped back on her knees, holding her arm to diminish the pain. Zinnlar smirked and walked slowly towards Prue; He grabbed her hair and pulled her roughly to her feet.
"Hey!" Phoebe shouted; throwing the athame at the same time. Zinnlar barely had the chance to shimmer out when she heard Phoebe's scream, causing the athame to end up piercing Prue's shoulder. Prue winced and fell heavily on her knees again, gasping and trying hard to remain conscious, as dizziness quickly struggled to take control of her weak body.
"Shit!" Phoebe watched as Prue strived to stay awake, and the way she weakly blinked trying to keep her eyes open. "Oh my God" She covered her mouth.
"Prue!" Piper shouted; trying to get her sister's attention, she wanted to warn her about Zinnlar shimmering back right behind her.
"You stupid witch!" Zinnlar cruelly pulled Prue again on her feet and glared at Phoebe with anger. He brutally pulled out the athame and dropped it on the steps, managing to rip out a painful scream from Prue. "Neither one of you will serve me good if you're dead" He raised his free hand on Prue's wounded shoulder and healed her.
Lexie focused on the scene before her and slowly stood up, lunging herself on Zinnlar's back. Prue instinctively grabbed the athame and raised her hand, closing her eyes to an imminent sudden impact. Zinnlar ended his fall on top of Prue's body, with the athame sticking out from his back and slightly penetrating Lexie's left breast. Zinnlar quickly shimmered out leaving Lexie widely spread all over Prue. Bleeding.
"Prue!"
"Lexie!"
Piper and Phoebe hastily approached her sisters, immediately pulling Lexie up. Both sisters had blood on their bodies and they were semi-conscious. "I'm fine" Prue frowned, "Lets check Lexie" Prue quickly stood up and straightened her clothes.
"Are you sure?" Piper held her sister's forearm.
"Yeah... let's take her to my room"
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"I'm ok, really" Lexie whispered as she patiently allowed herself being thoroughly scanned for injuries and gently cleansed by three sets of loving hands. She carefully rested her head on the fluffy pillow and closed her eyes tightly; her body slightly trembled when Prue tried to clean the wound on her chest.
"Lex...baby, I'm sorry, but I need to fix you, take a deep breath, come on sweetie, it'll be over soon"
"I still think we should get her to San Francisco Memorial" Phoebe whispered, holding her sister's hand.
"Please don't" Lexie painfully sat up. "You can take care of it, right Prue? it's not that deep" Lexie immediately searched for Prue's gaze then stared back at Piper. "Piper, you can do it, you can really fix me, right? and...and...if, if"
"Ok, ok, calm down" Prue grabbed her sister's shoulders and gently push her back to bed; noticing her nervousness. Prue knew her sister had every reason to be upset, because it hadn't been that long since she was released from the clinic and the least she wanted right now was to go back to a cold hospital room. "We'll do it your way, but we'll be keeping an eye on you, and if we see something wrong, whatever it is, or if we see you moaning or wincing again; we'll take you to the hospital immediately; no questions asked"
"Deal" Lexie sighed deeply and closed her eyes again with relief, enjoying Piper's gentle touch while she lovingly caressed her loose hair. Prue finished dressing the last scratches on her sister's body and checked the bandage on her chest before getting up from bed.
"There, now you have to rest" Prue smiled.
"You two can go ahead and do whatever it is that you have to do; I'll keep an eye on her" Phoebe whispered.
"All right" Prue nodded. "Call us if..."
"Sure...sure, bye-bye" Phoebe smiled and gave them a slight shove. Piper grabbed Prue's hand and gently led her out of the room. The latter put a little resistance but finally gave in.
"I told Prue about Kevin" Lexie spoke softly, still keeping her eyes closed.
"Are you serious?!" Phoebe sat beside her sister and kissed her forehead. "How did she take it?"
"Not so good... but she finally accepted my friendship with him" Lexie slowly raised her eyelids.
Phoebe smiled. "Did you tell her about your yesterday's secret getaway to the beach?"
Lexie gave a quick glimpse to her sister. "Are you crazy? I may be dumb, but not stupid!" Phoebe smiled and wrapped her arm around her sister's neck, pulling her softly against her.
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A week later........
"Wait" Phoebe finished the last spoonful of cereal and quickly followed her sister. "Give me a lift to campus; Piper is going to need the Jeep"
"Great, come on" Lexie zipped her jacket and grabbed both helmets from the corner of the kitchen. "You know the drill" She tossed a helmet to Phoebe and walked through the back door.
"Slow down missy" Phoebe grabbed her backpack and stumbled her way out.
"Hop on Phoebe, I'm late for practice" Lexie turned on the ignition key and accelerated twice, waiting for her sister.
"I'm coming, I'm coming" Phoebe mumbled as she finished strapping the helmet and lifting her leg to get behind Lexie. "Just go slow!"
"Sure" Lexie smiled. "Don't I always?" She sounded cocky. Phoebe rolled her eyes.
When they arrived at campus Lexie quickly jumped off the bike and placed the helmet on the handle bar.
"Sorry Phoebes...I've got to run; see you in the cafeteria at 4:00" She shouted as she ran towards the field.
"Ok...careful sweetie...don't go looking for trouble" Phoebe raised her voice trying to get her sister's attention.
Lexie waved her hand as she ran. "Don't worry.... it always finds me!" She shouted without looking back. Phoebe shook her head and slowly headed for the library.
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"You're late Alexia" Coach Roberts greeted the captain of the team; wristwatch at hand and a cold, unsympathetic glare.
"S-sorry...I... I.." Lexie spoke between ragged breaths. "It wont happen again" Lexie took a deep breath. "I swear".
"I know it wont happen again, cause if it does, you're out of the team!" Samantha scolded
Lexie. "Four laps... now!"
"But...Saaam!"
"Five!"
"All right, all right...jeezzz!...just let me go change" Lexie ran towards the dressing rooms and angrily threw her sports bag on the floor.
"Don't get angry...get even"
"What?" Lexie turned around with surprise.
"Forget it" He smiled. "Wow, are you pretty or what?"
Lexie blushed. "What are you doing here Kevin?...these are the girl's dressing rooms"
"I know...I was waiting for you"
"Me?...what for?"
"Well...for starters, I've missed you; where were you this past week? Why didn't you come to classes?"
"I was at home, not feeling well"
"I figured; Are you ok now?" He sounded concerned.
Alexia felt her heart jump inside her chest. "Yes, thank you"
"Listen beautiful, we're having a beach-party tonight, and I want you to come with me" He walked closer to Lexie. "What do you say?" He grabbed her shoulders.
Lexie shied back and smiled timidly. "You better leave or you'll get me in trouble" She nervously turned to the door.
"Not until you say yes" He walked even closer.
"Kevin" Lexie cleared her throat nervously. "I can't say yes, not yet anyway, I have to ask my sisters first"
"Lexie" He tenderly held her hand. "I really want you to come with me; as my date" He leaned forward and lifted her chin; he was about to kiss her when Rachel suddenly walked in the room.
"Erm, you don't waste any time, do you?" Rachel spoke with sarcasm. "Samantha asked me to come and find you; but I guess I'll just tell her you're busy" She chuckled and turned around, heading back to the door.
"Wait!" Lexie quickly grabbed Rachel's arm. "Please, don't tell her"
"Let go of me" Rachel waggled her arm free from Lexie's firm grasp. "You're gonna have to do better than that, cause I'm not buying that sweet tone of voice of yours"
Lexie chewed her inner lips. "We weren't doing anything wrong, I swear" She nervously insisted.
"Well, let Samantha be the judge to that" Rachel started towards the door but Kevin stopped her. "Change your clothes and go outside Lexie, I'll talk to her" He smiled and softly kissed her cheek. "I'll pick you up at 8:00" He winked an eye. Lexie changed and left the dressing rooms in a hurry.
Kevin stared at Rachel and slowly walked towards her. "You're not going to say a word about this" Kevin grabbed Rachel's shoulders and pulled her against him.
"Of course I am" She smirked, receiving a sudden passionate kiss from Kevin in return.
"We can be close friends...'very close friends', if you help me" He kissed her again.
"Wh-what do I have to do?" She mumbled with closed eyes, when he broke the kiss.
"You will convince Lexie to come to the beach-party tonight"
"Lexie?...But what about us?. You just said that we could be very closed friends; why would you like that stupid to be hanging around at the beach tonight" She tried to kiss him but he gave her a little shove, smiling mockingly.
"Listen; I like Lexie and I want to have her; are you going to be with me or not?" He held her chin and softly kissed the tip of her nose.
"Yes" She closed her eyes hating Lexie now more than ever. "I'll do anything for you" she whispered, surprised by her own words; she didn't like the idea, she didn't even know why she went along with it; she had opened her big mouth and there was no turning back now.
Kevin smiled cynically and kissed her again. "You and I will have some great fun together, I promise" Rachel nodded and slowly left the room with a brand new little sparkle in her eyes.
TBC
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