Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed. All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.

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The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 56

Chris' eyes darted around the corridor, looking for a route of escape. There were none.

Piper drew in a shaky breath as she took in the appearance of her lost son. "Chris..." she called out, tears streaming down her face.

"We've been looking all over for you..." Ryan added tearfully.

"I'm sorry," Chris answered, "but do I know you?"

Shock and silence followed. Piper felt like she had been slapped in the face and everyone else just stood there dumbfounded.

"Chris..." Piper began when she finally found her voice again.

"Who's this Chris that you keep talking about?" Chris continued, his facial expressions hard to read. "I'm sure you have the wrong person."

"Why are you doing this?" Paige asked, not understanding why Chris was giving them such a hard time.

"Look, I'm sorry if you're looking for this Chris. But my name's Jason, last name is Perris. He grabbed his wallet and took out his driver's license. See? I'm not this Chris that you're looking for. Now if you'll excuse me..." he said as he gently pushed his way out of the confines that he found himself in.

"I'm sorry..." Wyatt cried out. "I was an idiot...I wish I could take back everything that I did or said. Just give me another chance, Chris. Please!!"

Chris kept on walking without acknowledging Wyatt, fearing that if he stopped or if he turned back, he would relent and his façade would crumble.

After Chris had disappeared from sight, Wyatt kicked a nearby bank of lockers in anger and frustration. "Damn it!!" he yelled to no one in particular.

Ryan placed a comforting hand on Wyatt's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "Hey, take it easy, Wy."

"Did you see that?" Wyatt yelled, waving his arms about frantically. "He didn't even acknowledge us. He doesn't want anything to do with us! And can you blame him? After all, I practically disowned him in public. I'm such an idiot!!"

"Wy, calm down!" Ryan pleaded. "We aren't giving up just yet. At least I'm not..."

"I never said I was giving up," Wyatt replied sullenly.

"Good," Ryan answered. "First, we have to figure out where Chris is staying. Then we can figure out how to get him to come home with us."

The Charmed Ones looked on, depressed and yet hopeful at the same time. They knew their middle son was as stubborn as any of them, if not more so. They really didn't know what to do to get through to him, so they were pinning their hopes on Ryan and Wyatt to come through, for the family's sake.

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"Hey, you okay?" Mike said as he handed a beer to Jason (Chris), who downed half a bottle in one gulp.

"Peachy," Jason answered with little emotion.

"...Right..." Mike wasn't buying Jason's answer one bit and he intended to get to the cause of his friend's not-so-good mood. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Nothing to talk about," Jason replied. "And didn't you call me over to help you with your history paper?"

"Hey, I think a friend in need is more important than some history paper."

Jason looked at Mike and rolled his eyes. "I'm not in need. I doing just fine, thank you very much."

"And that's why you look like the most miserable person on the face of the earth right now, right?"

"I'm sorry if I fail to appreciate your humour," Jason replied, his voice thick with sarcasm.

Mike just stared at his friend with a serious expression on his face. "Look, Jason. I know something must have happened after we chatted in the hallway this afternoon. You're like a totally different person...something is bothering you and I just want to help."

Jason' tone softened at his friend's words. "I'm sorry, Mike. There's just a lot going on in my mind right now. I just need to sort things out."

"You know I'm here for you, right?"

Jason buried his face in his hands, shaking his head slightly. "You really shouldn't be so nice to me. You barely even know me..."

"You're right, I don't know too much about you. But I do know that you're a great friend and an awfully good guy. I think that's reason enough to be good to you, don't you think?"

Jason suddenly got up from his seat and glared at Mike. "That's my point. You don't know that I'm a good guy. How would you know? You know nothing about my past, my history...things that I've done in the past..." Jason yelled, frightening Mike in the process. "I better go...sorry, Mike..." he muttered suddenly before running out of the house, leaving Mike completely worried and confused.

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Paige trudged back towards the central square on campus to meet the rest of the family. When she arrived, everyone else was already there.

"Well?" Wyatt asked.

"Nothing. Either they don't know him, or they don't know where he lives," Paige answered dejectedly.

"Or they're just not telling," Phoebe added.

"Well, we have to keep trying," Ryan concluded. "We've only covered a couple hundred students. I'm sure someone around here must know..."

"I guess," Piper answered not too convincingly as she headed off towards the north side of campus, clutching the photo of her son.

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Mike walked towards his history class but his mind was elsewhere. The encounter with Jason the night before still bothered him, not so much because of Jason's bad mood but because he couldn't quite figure out what was the cause of the problem. His mind was so engrossed in these thoughts that he didn't even see someone in front of him until they bumped into each other, sending his books sprawling to the ground. "Oh god, I'm so sorry," Mike apologized after realizing what he had done.

"That's okay. I wasn't quite looking at where I was going myself," Piper answered apologetically. "Let me help you with these books."

"Thanks," Mike answered with an appreciative smile as he gathered his books and papers. His eyes came across a photo lying on the ground. Figuring that it belonged to the person helping him with his debris, he picked it up. He was about to hand it back when he realized that he knew the person in the photo – Jason.

Piper gathered the books and handed it back to Mike, who she noticed was staring at the photo. "Do you know him?" she asked hopefully.

Mike continued to stare at the photo and nodded dumbly. Piper, meanwhile, felt her hopes soar with this knowledge. "Do you know where I can find him? I really need to talk to him. Please!!" she pleaded.

"Why do you want to see him?" Mike asked, somewhat suspicious of Piper's intentions. He didn't want to compromise Jason's privacy by giving away information that he wasn't supposed to.

"I can't really tell you much. But I really need to find him...I'm desperate," Piper begged, tears glistening in her eyes.

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"Hey Mike," Jason greeted his friend who was poring over a stack of history books in the living room. "What are you doing here? Setting up a war room?"

"Not quite..." he mused. "Just trying to write a history paper."

"Sorry, my bad," Jason answered with a smirk. There was a moment of silence in the room, although it wasn't awkward. "Mike...about last night. I'm sorry for running out on you."

"That's okay," Mike answered.

"No it's not. I know you were only trying to help...so I'm sorry."

"No worries, Jase. You really need to relax and take things easier."

Jason laughed, somewhat sadly. "Easier said than done, Mike..."

"Well, you have to start somewhere, Jason...or should I say Chris?"

Jason froze and stared at Mike, trying to figure out if he had heard his friend correctly. "Excuse me?"

Mike looked at Jason with a serious expression. "Didn't I get it right, Christopher Perry Halliwell?"

- to be continued -