Well, here it is. Chapter 4! I realize it took forever, but I finally have my laptop up and running, and will probably be able to post more regularly now. Hopefully. Sorry for the three million year wait, and I hope you loyal readers haven't lost interest of forgotten about me. Hope you like it!
Chapter 4
It was Saturday afternoon, and Parker thought she might burst from anticipation. She had been hopping around the house, and driving her family crazy all day. They had finally convinced her to pop over to Magic School. (Even though it is summer vacation.) Once she got there, she found her friend Erika in the library.
"Hey Erika!" she called across the large hall, rushing over to the shelf where her friend was standing.
"Hey Park!" Erika yelled back, putting away the book she had been reading, and began to walk towards the other girl. As they reached each other, they exchanged a hug. "Long time no see."
"Yeah," Parker agreed. "Too long. So, whatcha up to?"
"Just studying." Erika explained. "Been going to summer school, and I got a giamungo test tomorrow.
"Oh, sorry to disturb you."
"Oh, no. I could use the distraction, so what've you been doing these past couple months." She asked, sitting down in a chair at the table next to her. Parker followed her example.
"Just regular stuff." Parker admitted truthfully. "Band's doing pretty good, we might have a gig sometime soon and it'd be great if you'd come."
"Sure, just give me the when and the where and I'm there."
"Hey, that rhymed."
"Yea, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it." The two friends laughed at this, both realizing that it wasn't really all that funny, but they didn't care. When the laughing finally stopped, Parker decided to bring up a new topic of conversation.
"So, seeing any new guys lately?" she asked with a mischievous look on her face. Erika grinned at her, but finally gave a very exaggerated sigh.
"Oh, no, still having no luck in that department. Ever since Jamie…" She let the sentence die away. Jamie had been her boyfriend for three years. They seemed so in love, Parker had thought they were going to get married, but a few months ago Jamie had decided to cheat on her, and she ended up breaking up with him. She hadn't had a boyfriend since, or even a date for that matter, even thought Parker had been trying to hook her up with every guy in the school.
"How 'bout you?" Erika said, bringing Parker out of her thoughts.
"Yea actually," Parker admitted sheepishly. "I have a date tonight."
"Ooo!" Erika exclaimed in girlish excitement, her previous deject ness forgotten "Anyone I know?"
"Actually, no. I just met him. But you probably wouldn't approve."
"Oh, really?" the other girl asked with a sly grin. "A 'Bad Boy' is he?"
"In a manner of speaking…" the young witch said, trying to avoid the subject of Hunter's past.
"And that manner of speaking is…?" her friend inquired, wondering what Parker didn't want to tell her.
"He's a Warlock. Well, Ex-warlock." She blurted out quickly, waiting for her friends reaction. It was not good.
"WHAT?" she yelled, jumping up out of the seat she had been sitting in. "HE'S A WARLOCK?"
"Shhhh?" Parker shushed her, pulling on her arm, forcing her back into her seat. She looked around the large library, hoping no one else had heard her friend's outburst. She was not that lucky. The few other people in the library, including the rather stern looking librarian, Mrs. Higgins, were staring in their direction. Parker ignored them, and went back to her conversation with Erika. "Ex-warlock." She corrected her.
"Does that even matter?" Erika asked, somewhat calmer, but still extremely worked up over the whole situation. "He killed people, Parker. He's evil."
"Was evil." The girl persisted, though some part of her agreed with Erika. He had killed people. He had been evil. But he wasn't anymore, maybe…
"So let me get this straight," Erika said slowly, considerably calmer now. "You knew he was a Warlock…Ex-Warlock, and you still said you'd go out with him?"
"Yea…" Parker confessed apprehensively. "You'd see he wasn't bad if you met him."
"Of course I would, it's probably part of his power. Making you believe he's good, just so he can kill you on your date." Erika half-yelled, her voice rising. "Well I'm sorry if I just don't believe that it's okay for my best friend to be dating a Warlock."
"I'll be careful, don't worry," She reassured the worried witch, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. As she did so, she glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh my god! I have to go get ready." She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in, and faced her stubborn friend. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." And with those reassuring words, she orbed out.
At seven o'clock, Parker Halliwell was standing in front of the foyer, wearing her fourteenth outfit of the night, and waiting somewhat patiently for Hunter to arrive.
"So, where are you two going?" Paige asked, walking out of the kitchen.
"I don't really know," Parker answered truthfully, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "He didn't say. I suppose he wanted to keep it a secret."
"Or he doesn't know." Her mother said under her breath, but Parker heard her anyway.
"Why do you hate him so much?" she asked angrily. "It's not like he's ever done anything to you."
"Well he is a Warlock." Paige answered.
"Ex-Warlock! God, why can no one get that right! He used to be a Warlock, and now he's not! Is that such a hard concept to grasp!" she corrected, now screaming.
"Yea, Honey. It is. Once you're evil, it's always there, inside of you, trying to lure you back." Her mother retorted, keeping her voice under control.
"What about Cole! Huh! He was evil, and then he was good!" As soon as she said this, she realized the flaw in her argument. "Okay, so maybe he's not the best example, but you know what I mean."
"Honey, Sweetie," Paige coaxed, realizing what was about to happen. "Calm down, Hunter's going to be here any minuet, you don't want my dead remains all over the floor when he gets here." At the mention of Hunter, she immediately calmed down, the argument forgotten, and went back to worrying about the date. A smile worked its way across Paige's face, as she watched her daughter pacing back and forth across the floor, biting her nails. A few minuets later Piper and Phoebe rushed into the room. Piper was holding a Polaroid camera.
"First date pictures!" the two sisters shouted in unison.
"Oh God," Parker moaned piteously, taking a break from her pacing and nail biting to slap her forehead with the heel of her hand.
"Now, get over by the door," Phoebe instructed happily.
"Do I have to?" the teenager whined.
"Oh, come on." Piper pleaded, her face looking way too perky. "Grams did to us, and now we get to do it to you."
"Okay, fine." Parker relinquished. "But make it fast, he should be here any minuet." Fifteen minuets and several rolls of film later, Hunter was sill not there. Parker was about give up and just summon his ass, when there was a knock on the door.
"That's him!" Parker stated in an excited whisper. "Everybody out!" She ushered the three women into the kitchen, with orders to stay there until she was gone, walked back to the door, straightened her skirt, and opened the door.
"Hi, Hunt—" she began, but her face instantly fell, when she realized it wasn't Hunter standing at the door. It was Wyatt, her twenty two year old cousin. "Oh it's just you." Wyatt was somewhat startled by this greeting.
"Whatever happened to 'Hi, Cuz, how's it going'?"
"Hi, Cuz," she said unenthusiastically. "How's it going?" Upon hearing her son's voice, Piper had rushed out of the kitchen, followed closely by her two sisters.
"What's up with her?" Wyatt asked, as he was pulled into a big hug by his mother.
"Oh, she's just mad you weren't her date."
"Ooh, a date?" the man asked in his best girly voice, which wasn't very good. "First date, eh?"
"Yea, and he was supposed to be here a HALF AN HOUR AGO!" she yelled at no one in particular. "Why didn't you just orb in?" she asked disdainfully.
"Because," he answered in a voice that meant that he was about to launch into a big speech. "Something wonderful has happened to me today, and the news is too important for me to just orb in causally."
"Well," Paige asked. "What's the news?"
"You all remember Heather, right?" he asked rhetorically. Heather was the girl he had been dating for what seemed like the past ten years, but it had really only been two. In those two years, Parker hadn't spoken to her much, but Wyatt talked about her so much, she felt as if Heather were her best friend.
"Yes," the three sisters answered in unison.
"Well," he continued, dragging it out for dramatic effect. "I asked her to marry me today, and she said yes." He finished with a flourish. A big chorus of "Oh my God"s and "that's wonderful"s broke out, ending in a big group hug, that even Parker joined in.
"So when's the wedding?" Phoebe asked, after the hug ended.
"We haven't really set a date yet," Wyatt explained. "But we're shooting for somewhere towards the end of fall."
"Fall?" Piper exclaimed. "That's only two months away! That's hardly any time, and there's so much to do. You have to pick a hall, and Heather needs a dress, and you need a tux, and who will be your best man, and—"
"Mom," Wyatt cut in. "We already have a few halls in mind, Heather is going dress shopping on Tuesday, I can use Dad's tux, and obviously Chris is going to be my best man."
"Yes but what about—" Piper began, but was cut off again by the ringing of the doorbell. Paige, who was closest to the window, looked out at the porch.
"He's here." She reported. Parker's eyes instantly lit up, and she began waving her hands frantically at the four adults. "Out, now!" They all instantly began to protest.
"But I need to take more pictures!"
"Why don't you bring him so we can talk?"
"He is a Warlock; we really should get to know him better before you go off with him."
"Ooh, can I meat him?"
"NO!" Parker screamed at all of them, and managed to slip out the door, and onto the porch, without them following her. Hunter was slightly taken aback by her sudden entrance, and took a step back to keep from colliding into her.
"Hi," he greeted her, holding the flowers he had brought out to her.
"Thanks," she said quickly. "They're beautiful, you look great, I'm really excited about tonight, and if we don't get out of here in like the next three seconds, you'll be attacked by a strange man, and three insane women."
"Um, okay…" Hunter agreed, allowing himself to be pulled by the hand off the porch. They ran down the street a ways before stopping by a large oak tree planted in the sidewalk.
"So…" Parker began. "What are we doing tonight?"
"Ah…" Hunter began mysteriously. "Well that's for me to know and you to find out." And with that, he grabbed her hand and blinked them both out.
They reappeared in a somewhat burned out looking warehouse. It was dark, and dank, and very creepy looking. After waiting a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, and then another few seconds to take in her surroundings, she turned to Hunter who was still holding her hand.
"What are we doing here?" she asked slowly.
"That's the surprise." He answered cryptically. "Follow me." He led her by the hand across the dirty floor, and into a rickety wooden elevator.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked again, somewhat scared as he closed the door with a loud thud. He pressed a button, and the lift thundered to life, rising slowly upward.
"Just be patient." He replied, still avoiding the question. He walked over to her, and took her by the hands. An incredible feeling rushed through her. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "It's safe. I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He gave her hands another comforting squeeze, as the elevator suddenly stopped. Letting go of her hands, Hunter walked over to the elevator door and pushed it up. He walked a few steps out onto the floor, before turning back to Parker, who was still standing apprehensively in the corner of the lift.
"It's okay," he coaxed. "Come on." Parker walked somewhat reluctantly out of the elevator, and, taking Hunter by the hand, allowed herself to be led through the maze of boxes and pipes that littered the floor.
"Hunter, why won't you just tell me where—" She never finished her sentence, for at that moment, the two of them walked out onto a balcony, and she realized why they were there. "Oh my god…" she whispered, turning to face him. "It's beautiful." Set up on the balcony was a small table for two, draped in a bright red tablecloth. On the table was a small candelabrum, with two lit candles in it. On the plates, was the most delicious fried chicken Parker had ever seen. There was also a bottle of sparkling white grape juice, and two wine glasses. Hunter walked over to one of the chairs, and pulling it out, gestured for Parker to sit down. Dazed by the wonderful way everything was going so far, and wondering how she ever thought this boy could be evil, she walked over to the chair, and sat down. Hunter pushed it in for her, then walked over to the other side of the table, and took his own seat.
"So…?"
"It's…" Parker replied, awed, trying to think of the right word.
"Perfect?" Hunter offered cockily. "I try." He gave Parker him a playful smile. "Chicken?" He asked.
"Yes, please." Parker answered readily. All of the waiting and worrying had made her hungry.
"Leg, thigh, breast?"
"Leg, please." He handed it to her, and she took it greedily. She took a big bite, and it reminded her of something she had had before. "It's delicious."
"KFC's finest." He said, as if reading her mind. He gave her a nervous chuckle, and she answered with one of her own. He took a piece of chicken, and both began to eat in nervous silence.