Chapter 4
Bianca sat at her kitchen table, finishing up the dinner she had prepared for herself. The instant rice and vegetables she had whipped up was nothing compared to the wonderful meal she was looking forward to enjoying with Chris the next day. Sighing deeply at the thought of her gorgeous boyfriend, Bianca glanced up at the clock. Five fifteen, it read.
"Maybe I'll rent a movie" she muttered as she cleared the table in silence. "A classic."
She finished tidying and walked out to the front room to get her favorite blue sweater-Chris had given it to her for her last birthday, and it was absolutely perfect. She smiled at she thought of how sweet he was- she had often thought him to good to be true- it was as if he was a gift sent to her from the heavens.
Throwing on the sweater and grapping her keys, she began to head for the door. She hadn't taken more than five steps, however, when a familiar noise caused her to stop in her tracks. She whirled around in time to see a trail of blue lights trickle in behind her couch.
"Damn it" she hissed.
Much to her dislike, the elders had tried to assign her whitelighters before. That had often ended with her threatening to kill them if they didn't leave her alone. Although phoenixes were technically witches, they weren't even supposed to have whitelighters, they were supposed to be independent, and directed toward their one destructive purpose.
Bianca wasn't too focused on her job, but she was fiercely independent. She didn't want, nor need a guardian- and she could not understand why they weren't getting her message.
"Look." Bianca said in the direction she had seen the orbs "I've told the elders to leave me alone. You don't want me as your charge, trust me. I really-" She stopped in mid sentence, shocked.
The whitelighter had stepped out of the shadows and she could now see his face clearly.
Her voice was caught in her throat.
Her heart was pounding.
She was on the verge of collapsing.
"Chris?" she managed to squeak, breaking through the mutual silence.
"Bianca?" he whispered, equally as shocked. "I must have accidentally-"
"You're a whitelighter?" she gaped, cutting him off.
"Ummm," he began "Sorta"
Bianca nodded slowly a few times, before dropping on to the floor in a dead faint.
"Damn it." Chris muttered, as he rushed over to Bianca's side. He had really messed up this time. He had somehow orbed here, to his girlfriends apartment, when he was supposed to be transported to his last charge. Worst of all, he had totally freaked her out.
"Bianca, please wake up." He begged as he gently cradled her in his arms. "Please."
She didn't move.
Chris felt absolutely horrible as he sat there holding her- the secret he had worked so hard to protect was out, because of only a few moments of absentmindedness. Now Bianca would probably think that he was a horrible freak, and she'd never want to see him again.
Leo and Wyatt had been right; humans couldn't handle the thought of magic.
It broke his heart, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do now.
He looked down at her and was struck by how beautiful and innocent she was. She knew nothing of magic, or demons, or anything like that. He knew that it was for the best that they end their relationship before they got too involved, and she was dragged into the whole supernatural mess.
The problem was, he didn't want it to ever end.
As he continued to look down at her, a sudden thought struck him, lifting his sprits instantly. She had asked him if he was a whitelighter, meaning that she knew what a whitelighter was...maybe she wasn't so innocent after all.
Maybe she was the charge he had been sent to protect.
"Bianca, wake up." He said with more urgency than before, giving her a slight shake "Bianca please."
The girl moaned and opened her eyes slowly. "Chris?" she said confusedly, before a look of realization appeared on her face. "Oh my God!" She sat up quickly, locking her eyes with his. "You just orbed into my apartment."
He smiled, relieved that she was awake. "Yea, I did."
"But how?" she asked, starring at him in disbelief "I mean, you're human."
"No, I'm not. And judging by your reaction you're not either."
Suddenly aware of the pain, Bianca brought a hand to her forehead and winced, "I fainted, didn't? My head hurts." She said, the grogginess still evident in her voice.
Wordlessly, Chris brought his hands to her head and healed her with a golden glow. "You are a whitelighter." She whispered, pulling back from him as if she were afraid.
Chris frowned. "Bianca, please don't be scared. If you know what a whitelighter is, then I'm guessing that you're hiding something too." He paused and studied her expression. "I think the elders sent me here. Are you a witch?"
Bianca looked down at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with him. "I'm sorry Chris." she said, tears welling in her eyes as she spoke. "This can't work anymore."
"What?" Chris asked, confused as to why she was acting this way. "This doesn't change things- we can still be together- and now we don't have to keep any secrets."
Bianca shook her head, and looked back up at him with watery eyes. "No, we can't." she whispered.
"Bianca, please! It really doesn't matter, I'm only-"
But before he could finish she cut him off with a feverish kiss. "Goodbye Christopher." She sad sadly, tears streaming down her face. And with one final glance, she shimmered out- leaving a very shocked Chris in her wake.
A/N Hope you liked it! I'd love feedback/ suggestions...kudos to the reviewers who guessed what was coming. I hope to have some upcoming surprises that are a little less predictable... :)
Tata,
-Leigh
