Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Charmed characters. The storyline is that of my own.
As he passed through the old wooden doors, Chris took the time to glance up and admire the marble archway. A little more than a magnificent piece of architecture for school, but it was at least welcoming. This is the last first day of school for me here, he thought. As Prue slowed before him, he reached out and gently shoved her forward, and into her waiting homeroom. Chris laughed at Prue's innocent hesitation, and mockingly said, "Prue, be a good little girl. If you make any mischief, Wyatt'll have your head." He gave her a wink and hurried away before she could attempt a retort.
Now to find- Chris' eyes wandered the main hallway. Occasionally, he would spot a passing freshman and smile inwardly at the memory of his own experience of his first year in high school. He had been so nervous, but it had all turned out all right. That had been a long time ago.
He came to the end of the main hallway and exited the building. The school was an old college campus, and was made up of three main buildings. The rest of the campus had been split up and sold off to raise funds for the new high school.
Last year, the seniors had always hung out in the courtyard, at least on the warmer days. As soon as winter struck San Fransisco, they would migrate to the back of the math and science wing, closest to the parking lot. As Chris came to the courtyard, he noticed with some disappointment that it was filled with underclassmen. The seniors last year had been banned from congregating there in the mornings.
He did, however, spot his best friend, Drew, walking by, "Hey Jew!" Drew looked around, and spotting Chris, trotted over.
"Damn, can you imagine? All these hot freshmen, and no studs around to claim them." Drew eyed one particularly cute girl passing by and whistled.
"Dude, that's illegal. You might as well be going after a middle schooler."
Drew raised an eyebrow, "Hey man, I still have another day. I'm not eighteen yet. I can afford to get laid by any one of them for just one more night." Chris made a face and Drew burst out laughing, "Dude, you know I'm joking. Take a hint."
Chris continued looking at him in disgust, "Sometimes I wonder why and what the hell you could be thinking, regardless of how long we've been friends." Drew suddenly focused on something behind him, and before he could turn around, he felt a light brush of lips against the back of his neck and a hand slide into his back pocket. He turned to see two other very good friends, Risa and Selena Whik. Selena was responsible for the kiss and hand. His eyes met hers, those luscious blue orbs shimmering in the sunlight.
Chris gently removed Selena's hand from his pocket, and kissed it. "Mademoiselle." He then turned to include Risa, "It's been quite some time since I've seen the two of you," and kissed her hand as well.
Risa smiled at him, "Well aren't you the little charmer, Chris. Nice to see you," she turned and included Drew with another smile.
Chris knew all too well of Drew's obsession with Risa; he'd loved her since they had first met. Unfortunately, he had never mustered up the courage to express his feelings to her, and she apparently went on oblivious. He also thought of his own status with Selena: friends with benefits. This has to end.
"Selena, c'mon babe, let's take a walk." He left Drew and Risa alone. He noted that Drew was giving him a very obvious look of gratitude. "Selena, I-"
"Look, Chris, I know what you're going to say. Quite frankly, I agree. I met someone this summer, and, well, this has to end. You know me well enough to know I don't cheat on anyone."
Chris grinned and looked into Selena's enchanting blue eyes, "So be it." He reached to her long raven hair, and stroked it gently away from her flushed cheek. "If you met someone this summer, then what was with the pocket thing?"
"You know I love those jeans. I couldn't help it," she winked. "So, Mr. Halliwell, what've you got this semester?"
Chris shrugged, "No clue, I'm waiting to get my schedule in homeroom. Speaking of which, the bell's going to ring soon. I'll see you later. I'm glad we got this over with. I've got to get that lovesick puppy before he does something he'll regret. Oh, and make sure Risa still doesn't know, ok?"
Selena laughed, "How can she not know? He's so obvious. If I know, she knows."
Despite himself, Chris grinned and jokingly replied, "You two are twins. Telepathy is common amongst your kind."
Selena mock punched his arm and defensively retorted, "We're fraternal!"
Chris' grin broke into light laughter, and he ran off to find Drew. It wasn't long before he spotted his friend, still with Risa. He ran over and grabbed Drew's arm. "C'mon little lovebird. Let's get to homeroom. Nice seeing you again Risa."
Wyatt walked down the empty hall, again checking that there was no one around to hear his foot steps. He was cloaked with invisibility, but that did not mask the sound of his walking. It might disconcert someone to be presented with bodiless footsteps, even in such an odd place as a high school.
Where the hell can she be? The Elders better be right. Not only do they dump another charge on me, they don't even tell me anything about this one other than the gender. Wyatt stumbled to a halt as a teacher poked her head out of a classroom right in front of him, looked around suspiciously, and then continued lecturing about the general guidelines and rules governing behavior in the school.
As soon as he was sure the teacher was over her suspicions, Wyatt continued walking down the hall. He could not help but remember that fateful day, three years ago:
Wyatt was sitting, bored as usual, in English. The teacher was going on about iambic pentameter and its use by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. As if anyone really cared. There was a knock at the door, and the principle entered before the teacher had a chance to respond. "Is there a Wyatt Halliwell in this class?"
Mr. Truet, the senile English teacher, squinted through his thick glasses, "Why, yes. Mr. Halliwell, if you will please go with Mrs. Rivers. Mrs. Rivers, I do hope that you will have him back soon. This is a very important subject matter, and I would not be happy if Mr. Halliwell fell behind at such a critical point."
The principal ignored Mr. Truet and motioned for Wyatt to follow her. He got out of his desk and went with her into the hallway, quite confused. He never got into trouble, not since his parents had told him about his possible future. Evil was the one thing which he warded with all conscious effort, regardless of the enticing benefits he knew it offered.
Wyatt looked over Mrs. Rivers shoulder and saw Chris standing there. Now he was really confused. Before he could ask what was happening, Mrs. Rivers addressed both of them, "Boys, follow me." She led them to her office in the main building.
Wyatt could tell that Chris was just as confused as he was. His little brother looked at him with a questioning gaze, inaudibly asking if he knew what was going on. He gave a shrug and kept his eyes forward.
The group of three arrived at the Principal's office, and Mrs. Rivers closed the door behind them. She gestured at two maroon chairs in front of the desk, "Please, I think it would be best if you sat."
With an emotionless expression, Wyatt reluctantly sat in the chair farthest from the door and motioned for Chris to sit. Chris made no move, and obviously preferred to stand.
Mrs. Rivers inhaled deeply and began, "Your grandfather said it would be best if he were here, but I am unfortunately obligated by school policy to allow you immediate leave, therefore-"
A quick rap on the door interrupted Mrs. Rivers, and the door slowly opened, admitting the school counselor, Ms. Goldstein. The Principal seemed relieved by her presence, "I'm glad that you're here. I feel that you are better suited for this sort of... well, situation." Ms. Goldstein briskly walked to the side of Mrs. Rivers' desk opposite Wyatt.
She set down the manila folders she was carrying on the desk, and looked to Chris, "Please sit dear, it will be better for you." Chris made no effort to refuse, just continued standing impassively. The counselor sighed, but made no further effort to hassle him. She switched her gaze to include both of the boys, a gaze now full of sorrow and pity, "Your mother and aunts were involved in a terrible explosion earlier today-"
Chris quickly asked, "Are they alright?" but Wyatt already knew the answer. The expressions on the two ladies made the answer all too obvious. Ms. Goldstein looked over her shoulder at Mrs. Rivers, who nodded.
"They didn't make it out alive."
Wyatt felt his heart momentarily stop. He had known this would be the answer, but this was not a shock he could have prepared for. He knew he should be crying, but the tears would not come. Nothing would, other than a chill that had started at his skin, but now engulfed his whole body.
A sharp sob pierced Wyatt's shock, and he realized Chris had fallen to his knees, face buried in his hands. His brother was crying. Now his own vision began to blur, and he reached for his brother, to hold and comfort him as an older sibling should. Wyatt began to whisper repeatedly, "We knew..." as if it were some sort of consolation. Although he was not entirely sure, Wyatt thought he heard his brother mutter something sounding like 'no.'
Blood pounded furiously in his ears, drowning out all other noise in the room. Loneliness seeped into Wyatt's mind, and he began rocking back and forth. He repeated the only words he could think of, the only thing that mattered anymore, because it was all that kept him stable. "We knew."
Wyatt roughly brushed a tear from his cheek and shook his head. I can't be thinking of the past now. I have a charge to look for.