AN: Well I tried my hardest with this chapter. I hope you like it.
The force of the memories as they came rushing back caught Leo off guard and overwhelmed him; making him light headed. Staring at the front door of her house, looking at his reflection in the glass.
His hair was ruffled and sticking out in different places, mostly due to the number of time he had run a shaking hand through it. Nervous habit. His eyes were red and bloodshot from the lack of sleep.
He hadn't slept a bit since that night in the alley, which was now two days ago. He couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes he was haunted by the vision of the woman in the alley. The feeling of her cold flesh pressing against his, her lips on his… It felt so wrong. Like he was betraying Piper, because he was.
And that was how he came to be where he was now. A plane flight later, stood in front of the door of her house, shaking violently, debating whether to knock or run as far away as he could.
.xXx.
A twelve-year-old Piper screamed playfully as Leo jumped onto her from behind and she laughed loudly as they both fell to the ground with a soft thumping noise. He rolled off her and tried to catch his breath, while still laughing pretty hard.
"You ok?" He asked, placing his hands behind his head staring up at the starry sky with his perfect green eyes. She nodded, breathing deeply in and out.
"The summer's almost over…" Piper said softly, quietly sad. Leo turned his head to face her.
"Yeah it is." He nodded. And for a while they just lay there in a comfortable silence.
"So when we get to school, your not just going to ignore me?" Piper asked, her voice was quiet; she was scared of the way Leo would react. Leo looked back over at her, the moon created just enough light so he could see her eyes. They were moist.
He reached over and pulled her to him.
"No." That was all he said. That was all he needed to say. And that night, Piper and Leo slept beneath the stars of the summer.
.xXx.
He dragged yet another hand through his already messy enough hair. He needed to get this over and done with before he chickened out. It was Piper. The Piper who had been his best friend since he was thirteen-years-old. The Piper who he had been through so much with. And he was scared her.
Well, not so much of her. But more the reaction he was going to get. The reaction he deserved.
He still couldn't believe what he had done. Left her a note. He knew that she deserved better than that, but he just couldn't wake her. For all the reasons her said, he just couldn't. And he regretted that now. Maybe if he hadn't done what he had done, he wouldn't be in this position right now.
But like he had thought to himself so many times before. You can't go back. You can't change the past.
.xXx.
They had always been close, even when they just best friends. Before any thoughts of anything romantic ever came to their minds, they had always been unbelievably close. Closer than any two people had ever been almost.
The phone in Leo's room rang, and he picked it up instantly. He knew who it was on the other before they even spoken.
"Hey Piper!" But something was wrong; he could hear ragged breath and sniffing sounds, "Pipe, what's wrong?" He asked her, his voice filled with concern. There was no answer, "Piper!" He shouted then.
"Yeah…" He voice was cracked and thick with tears.
"What's wrong?" He heard some more sniffing and then she spoke, "Jeremy broke up with me." That was all she had to say. He was there.
Walking into her bedroom he saw her sat on her window seat, staring out at the street beneath her. He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"He's stupid Piper. Forget him. He didn't deserve you." She turned to face him, looking up with puffy tear stained eyes. "He didn't deserve you." Leo repeated as she fell into his chest.
"What if it was me Leo? I did something wrong." As she spoke, more hot tears fell from beneath her eyelids, on Leo's shirt. He didn't care. All he cared about was her right now.
Leo just shook his head, "You can't so anything wrong Piper. You're perfect."
That was when they were 13.
.xXx.
She was in her room with Jake; watching him sleep, when there was the tiniest knock on the door. She hardly heard it at all. But it was there. She was sure it was. Taking Jake out of his crib and into her arms. Watching his sniffle as she disturbed him.
"Sorry baby" She whispered to him and kissed the soft skin on his head.
Walking down the stairs Piper felt that odd feeling in her stomach again. The one where it felt like your whole insides had been tied up into knots and flipped upside down. The one where it felt like the butterflies had turned into break dancing elephants. The feeling she only ever had around one person in the whole world.
She shook it off, not bothering to think about it and carried on down the steps.
"Hold on!" She called to the person stood outside as she reached for the keys.
.xXx.
She looked beautiful in that dress. More beautiful than Leo could ever have imagined anyone to look ever. She walked down the stairs to him, and Leo though he was going to drop dead right there, on the spot. Cause of death: heart attack.
"Hi." She said, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of read and she looked at the floor. Leo let out a small laughed and using his index finger and thumb; he pulled her chin up to him.
"You look beautiful." He whispered, pressing his lips against her cheek and smiling at her. "I have this…" He looked down at his hands. His turn to blush now. He had a corsage for her. She smiled at him again.
"Thank you." She said and he placed it on her wrist.
"You ready?" He asked and she nodded. Together, hand in hand, they walked out.
-x-
He smiled down at her as he held her tight against him, swaying in time to the music. He squeezed her hand that lay on is chest. She smiled back up at him, right in the eyes and at that moment Leo couldn't hold back anymore.
"Hey Piper…" He started and she looked up again.
"Yeah."
"What am I to you?" He asked, not knowing where he had gotten the courage from.
"You're my best friend Leo." She told him and his heart fell.
"Not anything else?" He asked in a last attempt to try and make her see. She looked at him confused.
"Leo-" But he silenced her by his lips on hers.
That was the night they got together. When they were almost 15 years old.
.xXx.
"Leo…" His name came out her mouth in almost a gasp. He stared back at her. His eyes unfocused as he drank the sight of her in, "What are you…" She trailed off and they just stood there, staring at each other.
The awkward silence hung between them almost painfully, this broke his heart more. He had to do something.
"I needed to see you." His voice was strained, from the fatigue but he didn't care. "I needed to see you." He repeated it for her. To make her see.
"I can't do this right now." Was all she said and she went to shut the door. Leo trapped it with his foot.
"Piper, I need to talk to you" The tears threatened to come but he held them back. She shook her fiercely, her long chocolate hair whipping around.
"The letter Leo." Her voice was firm and Leo looked down at the ground. There was nothing he could do to make it better. He was the one who caused the pain. The letter.
"I know Piper. I need to talk to you about that…" Piper made another effort to close th door but Leo stayed strong, "Piper please…" And he looked right at her with those eyes of his.
That was her downfall. When the wall she had built around her came tumbling down. When he looked at her with those eyes. Just like so many years ago.
.xXx.
It was the summer and the sun was high in the cloudless sky. Piper was ay on her front garden reading. That was what she always did. Her older sister Prue was off somewhere with her boyfriend, Phoebe was out on her bike somewhere and Piper read.
All the other kids ignored her mostly, picked her because she didn't "fit in" like other kids did. She was different. She stare out at them playing with hose pipes and buckets of water across the road from her. Looking at the faces of the kids. She knew a lot of them from school. Shaking her head she looked back down at the pages.
When she felt an intense gaze burning into her, she looked up to see some of the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. She knew who this boy was.
He smiled at her and she smiled back politely and began to read again.
"You always read?" A voice came from next to her and she jumped slightly. It was him. Looking up at him, shielding her eyes from the sun she nodded.
"Yeah I do." He nodded back and sat down next to her, offering his hand.
"I'm Leo." He said and laughed a little.
"Piper" She answered him.
Where it all began.
.xXx.
"Piper, please. I need to talk to you. Please." Leo was near begging and she knew it. "Please." He tried again, his voice was soft and sad. And that broke her.
She nodded slightly and opened the door fully for him and waked into the front room. Leo smiled a little to himself and followed her.
This is was it, all over again.
AN: I thought this chapter was cute. I actually liked writing this one. I hoped you enjoyed reading it guys. The next chapter is going to carry straight on from this chapter. Ok, Review please .!