A/N: Heya. First, a thank you to the reviewers:
charmed1s-halliwells, Yes, evil cliffie! Lol. And you'll just have to read on and see, won't you? Glad you're enjoying it!
Vintagegirl, Not a stupid question at all. No, Chris and Wyatt don't exist. If you look at my Authors Note on Chapter One, it says to disregard the whole Wyatt and Chris story. Piper had a girl, Payton, not a boy. But if you are a Chris/Wyatt fan, you might want to check out my fic "To Save and Protect" and it's prequel "The Beginning of the End" deals with a lot of Chris and Wyatt stuff, although if you truly love Chris...might not be a good idea to read it. Lol. Yes. The evil dude. I forgot about him about . . . this chapter actually. And in this chapter, I had the perfect set up to bring him back. So enjoy!
Thanks for the reviews! I hope everyone likes this chapter and please review! Enjoy!
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Pandora awoke to the delicious smell of pancakes wafting upstairs from the kitchen. It was early and she normally slept until much later. But the food smelled so good and she was starving. She got up and made her way downstairs to the kitchen where she found Payton making breakfast.
"Hey," Payton said, smiling up at Pandora. She was still in her pajamas.
"Why are you making breakfast? Isn't Aunt Piper here?" Pandora asked, sitting at the kitchen table and digging in to a blueberry muffin.
"My mom, your mom, and Aunt Paige had to go do something. Not sure what. They wouldn't say. And my dad is up in Elderville doing who-knows-what," Payton explained as she shoveled pancakes onto a platter and brought them to the table, where she sat.
"So, has Rick called?" Pandora asked, smirking.
Payton glared at her. Last night, she hadn't realized until they were home, that she'd left Rick waiting at the club. He probably hated her! She just hoped he would understand.
"Is that a no?" Pandora questioned, forking a pancake onto her plate.
"He hasn't called yet," Payton replied stiffly. "But that doesn't mean he won't."
"Yeah because getting left alone on a date never turns a guy off," Pandora said through a mouthful of pancake.
Payton narrowed her eyes and smacked Pandora's arm.
"What's going on?" Phoenix slurred, stumbling into the kitchen. She had been up very light the night before and she was exhausted now. She sat down next to Payton and put her head on the table.
"We're home alone and Pandora is being a pain," Payton replied coldly.
Phoenix nodded lightly. She grabbed a muffin and bit into it. "I'm going out later."
"Where?" Payton asked, frowning.
"Just on a walk. I won't go far. Promise," Phoenix replied.
"I don't know . . ." Payton said, biting her lip.
"Come on, I'll be fine!" Phoenix stood. "I just need to get dressed and I'm going." She left the room without another word.
Suddenly, Payton put a hand over her mouth. "Pandora, watch breakfast and don't let Phoenix leave this house!" Without giving Pandora a chance to reply, Payton ran out of the room and pounded up the steps to the bathroom, slamming the door shut.
Phoenix, dressed in jeans and a tank top, came back into the kitchen several minutes later, a puzzled look on her face. "What's wrong with Payton?"
Pandora shrugged, frowning with worry. "I don't know. When she comes back down, I'm asking, though."
When Payton came back, she was pale and shaky, her arms crossed. She walked right past her cousins and sat down at the table. Without a word, she sipped her orange juice and flipped through the Bay Mirror newspaper.
"Payton, are you okay?" Pandora asked, sitting next to her, frowning.
"Fine," Payton replied stiffly.
"Are you sure?" Pandora asked. "Because if you're sick-"
"I'm fine," Payton snapped. She stood abruptly. "I have some errands to run. Clean up the kitchen and you-"She rounded on Phoenix. "Don't even think about going on an unsupervised walk around anywhere but the house and going somewhere with Pandora doesn't count." She grabbed the keys to her car – a gift from her parents for her seventeenth birthday – and left out the front door, letting it slam shut. She stalked to her car, got in, slammed the door, and sped out of the driveway.
"Biiitchy," Phoenix muttered, rolling her eyes.
Pandora nodded, frowning with worry. "Even for Payton, that was bitchy."
"Should we call for Aunt Piper or Uncle Leo or one of our mom's?" Phoenix asked, the sarcasm gone, replaced by worry.
Pandora shook her head. "Not yet. Let's wait and see if she tells us what's wrong. If she doesn't, then we'll tattle on her. But not yet."
"Fine. I'm going on my walk now," Phoenix replied, turning to leave.
"Uh, no, you don't. Payton said not to go walking alone and she's right. It's too dangerous," Pandora replied.
Scowling, Phoenix sat down at the kitchen table.
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Payton parked at the pharmacy. She undid her seatbelt and sat in the car with the engine off, her whole body trembling. It took everything she had to get out of the car and make her way across the parking lot. It took even more to go inside the pharmacy.
It was pretty empty and for that she was thankful. With luck, she wouldn't run into anyone she knew and she'd be able to get what she needed, pay, and get out.
She made it to the aisle she needed and made her way down it, scanning the shelves until she found what she needed. Hand shaking, she reached out and pulled from the shelves a pregnancy test.
Heart pounding, she made a mad dash for the counter.
"Payton? Payton Halliwell?"
Her heart pounded harder as Payton turned to face the person who had called to her. It was a guy, around her age, with dark hair, pearly white teeth, and great abs. Eyes wide, Payton hid the test behind her back.
"Hi . . . uhm, do I know you?"
He smiled. "Jeremy. Jeremy Marcus. We went to junior high school together but I moved before we started high school."
"Right," Payton replied, although she didn't remember him at all! "Well . . . nice seeing you. But I have to go . . . bye." Without letting Jeremy say another word, she ran out of the store, fast as lightning.
Only when she was halfway to her car did she realize she had walked out without paying for the pregnancy test!
"Oh no!" she cried. She turned to face the store, then glanced at her car. "Shit," she whined.
Making a decision, she ran to her care, got in, and sped home.