Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Charmed. I'm almost positive it's illegal to do what I'm going to do with these characters...ah well, don't sue. It's only fun and fiction!
AN: Thanks to Revul Ylloh, Chub, versatilecutie, line100, pippergurl, fury piper, JMK, lulusa, prues clues, Starring Piper (TWIN!), daria, and Amanda for the WONDERFUL reviews! Y'all are awesome, and I appreciate your dedicated reading. This story wouldn't be here without your support. Thanks soo much!
Starring Piper: Hey sweetie, I wish you'd have been able to read this before you had to get off, but parents will be parents...Anywayz, I hope you like this chapter. Love ya!
Chapter 11
Piper awoke to a fierce grip on her arm. She lifted her eyes to the face of her assailant and forced back the wave of contempt. Today would begin her acting debut. With a timid smile, Piper raised herself to her feet. Pain speared through her, and she swayed forward, dizziness overcoming her other senses. Matt grabbed her other arm, receiving a sharp gasp from Piper. Gingerly, he steadied her, feeling a stab of unwelcome guilt.
"Easy now," he coaxed softly, "Take a few slow breaths. There you go."
Piper obeyed easily, letting herself relax a little. Matt brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes, and she jumped away from the contact. With a small, embarrassed smile, Piper met his eyes, trying with all of her ability to convey her new agreeable attitude. Matt eyed her suspiciously. Piper groaned inwardly at her stupidity. Of course he would never believe her if she transformed from defiant and bitter to docile and submissive in jsut a few, short hours. She allowed a little hatred to show through, backing away from him a few steps. Matt seemed satisfied and gave her a sneering smile.
"How did you sleep?," he asked. Piper shrugged and did her best to look indifferent. "I trust that means fine. I brought you breakfast."
Piper's eyes followed the wide sweeping gesture Matt made with his arms and fell on a tray of bland food. A couple of rice cakes accompanied by what looked like syrup did not appeal to Piper in the least. Nevertheless, she approached it, lowering her gaze so that she would not have to look at his condescending expression and kneeling to be level with the tray. As she ate, Matt watched her silently. She could feel his eyes on her back. It made her skin crawl. Once finished, she got to her feet and glanced at him.
"Good girl," Matt praised, "It is so much easier when you do as you're told."
Matt turned to leave, and Piper panicked a little. She was worried she had not set her plan into motion, and she needed to do something concrete to assure herself that she was doing what she could. Wracking her brain, Piper came up with an excuse to keep him in the room.
"Wait...," she called quietly. Matt turned around expectantly. Piper looked at her feet. "Can you...I mean, it's been so long since I have had a decent conversation...Can we talk for a little while?" Matt glared at her silently for a moment, bothered by the seemingly innocent, simple request.
"Don't think you're fooling me for a minute," Matt snarled. But he didn't leave. Instead, he sat a few feet away from her. Piper shook her head vigorously in answer.
"No games," she promised, lying with ease, "Jsut talking."
"Alright, then," Matt began, "What would you like to talk about?" Piper smiled and appeared to be thinking. Matt clasped his hands together and started fidgeting. He couldn't get the idea out of his head that she was tricking him in some way.
"What were your parents like?," Piper finally asked, settling on a fairly safe topic. Matt smiled, stilled his nervous hands, and focused his attention on the memories that came flooding back.
"My father was not the most pleasant man to grow up with. He used to drink two much, and then he would get mean. He had his good days, though. My mother more than made up for his behavior," Matt began, "You would like her I think. You remind me a lot of how she used to be, before she died. She was warm, nurturing...She had an air about her that was calming. I can remember going on these long drives when my father was at his worst, and she would jsut sing quietly or talk to me in this soothing voice. I would forget about my dad during the trip, and then when we would go home, Dad would be fine."
"Sounds like you really loved her," Piper said softly. Matt nodded.
"I did. Still do. She was my whole world up until I was 20. She died of cancer. That was when I found God, and he told me about his plans for me. That was 15 years ago. I worked very hard to get to where I am now. What about you? How was your childhood?"
Piper was glad for the change of subject. She did not want to associate the sweet woman Matt had jsut described with the man in front of her. Carefully, she edited her memories, omitting anything magic-related in order to avoid upsetting him. Then, with a small smile, she plunged into her life story, repeatedly telling herself that she was chatting with an old friend and not with a monster.
"I was raised by my grandmother, actually. My mom died when I was little, and my Dad took off, only to reappear a few years ago....Anyway, Grams was...eccentric, is the best word I can come up with. She was always on one kick or another with me or my sisters. She was very stubborn, and when she made her mind up, we all learned to jsut accept our fate and move on. I say we...I mean me. Prue and Phoebe always had more backbone than I ever did growing up," Piper said, then stopped at Matt's confused expression. She raised her eyebrows in a silent question.
"Who is Prue?," Matt asked, "You said 'Prue and Phoebe'..."
"Prue is..was my older sister. She died a couple of years ago. That is when Phoebe and I found out about Paige. My mom and her whi-, uh, boyfriend had another child and put her up for adoption. None of us ever knew until after Prue's death," Piper explained.
An awkward silence replaced their earlier chatter, and Piper looked around uncomfortably. Suddenly, she wanted Matt gone. It was two much to talk about her sisters with their murderer. She forced back her disgust, though, and faked a yawn. Matt glanced at her in concern.
"If you are tired, you should go back to sleep. I'll pull a mattress in here. I know you couldn't have slept comfortably on the floor last night," Matt insisted hurriedly, scrambling to his feet.
Piper gave him her best gratuitous look and watched him scurry out of the room. She heard a thump and the sound of cloth dragging across carpet, then Matt was at the doorway, tugging at a queen-sized mattress. Piper helped him get it situated, then settled down on it.
"Thanks," she breathed, winded from the excursion.
"Not a problem," Matt assured her, with a smile that turned Piper's stomach, "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask."
Piper's mind screamed against the camaraderie that was hovering between them. It sickened her to be in such proximity to Matt without trying everything in her power to hurt him. She ignored the protests and lay back against her new bed, closing her eyes. After several moment, she heard Matt's retreating footsteps and sighed quietly. This was going to be a lot harder than she initially had imagined.
AN: Thanks to Revul Ylloh, Chub, versatilecutie, line100, pippergurl, fury piper, JMK, lulusa, prues clues, Starring Piper (TWIN!), daria, and Amanda for the WONDERFUL reviews! Y'all are awesome, and I appreciate your dedicated reading. This story wouldn't be here without your support. Thanks soo much!
Starring Piper: Hey sweetie, I wish you'd have been able to read this before you had to get off, but parents will be parents...Anywayz, I hope you like this chapter. Love ya!
Chapter 11
Piper awoke to a fierce grip on her arm. She lifted her eyes to the face of her assailant and forced back the wave of contempt. Today would begin her acting debut. With a timid smile, Piper raised herself to her feet. Pain speared through her, and she swayed forward, dizziness overcoming her other senses. Matt grabbed her other arm, receiving a sharp gasp from Piper. Gingerly, he steadied her, feeling a stab of unwelcome guilt.
"Easy now," he coaxed softly, "Take a few slow breaths. There you go."
Piper obeyed easily, letting herself relax a little. Matt brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes, and she jumped away from the contact. With a small, embarrassed smile, Piper met his eyes, trying with all of her ability to convey her new agreeable attitude. Matt eyed her suspiciously. Piper groaned inwardly at her stupidity. Of course he would never believe her if she transformed from defiant and bitter to docile and submissive in jsut a few, short hours. She allowed a little hatred to show through, backing away from him a few steps. Matt seemed satisfied and gave her a sneering smile.
"How did you sleep?," he asked. Piper shrugged and did her best to look indifferent. "I trust that means fine. I brought you breakfast."
Piper's eyes followed the wide sweeping gesture Matt made with his arms and fell on a tray of bland food. A couple of rice cakes accompanied by what looked like syrup did not appeal to Piper in the least. Nevertheless, she approached it, lowering her gaze so that she would not have to look at his condescending expression and kneeling to be level with the tray. As she ate, Matt watched her silently. She could feel his eyes on her back. It made her skin crawl. Once finished, she got to her feet and glanced at him.
"Good girl," Matt praised, "It is so much easier when you do as you're told."
Matt turned to leave, and Piper panicked a little. She was worried she had not set her plan into motion, and she needed to do something concrete to assure herself that she was doing what she could. Wracking her brain, Piper came up with an excuse to keep him in the room.
"Wait...," she called quietly. Matt turned around expectantly. Piper looked at her feet. "Can you...I mean, it's been so long since I have had a decent conversation...Can we talk for a little while?" Matt glared at her silently for a moment, bothered by the seemingly innocent, simple request.
"Don't think you're fooling me for a minute," Matt snarled. But he didn't leave. Instead, he sat a few feet away from her. Piper shook her head vigorously in answer.
"No games," she promised, lying with ease, "Jsut talking."
"Alright, then," Matt began, "What would you like to talk about?" Piper smiled and appeared to be thinking. Matt clasped his hands together and started fidgeting. He couldn't get the idea out of his head that she was tricking him in some way.
"What were your parents like?," Piper finally asked, settling on a fairly safe topic. Matt smiled, stilled his nervous hands, and focused his attention on the memories that came flooding back.
"My father was not the most pleasant man to grow up with. He used to drink two much, and then he would get mean. He had his good days, though. My mother more than made up for his behavior," Matt began, "You would like her I think. You remind me a lot of how she used to be, before she died. She was warm, nurturing...She had an air about her that was calming. I can remember going on these long drives when my father was at his worst, and she would jsut sing quietly or talk to me in this soothing voice. I would forget about my dad during the trip, and then when we would go home, Dad would be fine."
"Sounds like you really loved her," Piper said softly. Matt nodded.
"I did. Still do. She was my whole world up until I was 20. She died of cancer. That was when I found God, and he told me about his plans for me. That was 15 years ago. I worked very hard to get to where I am now. What about you? How was your childhood?"
Piper was glad for the change of subject. She did not want to associate the sweet woman Matt had jsut described with the man in front of her. Carefully, she edited her memories, omitting anything magic-related in order to avoid upsetting him. Then, with a small smile, she plunged into her life story, repeatedly telling herself that she was chatting with an old friend and not with a monster.
"I was raised by my grandmother, actually. My mom died when I was little, and my Dad took off, only to reappear a few years ago....Anyway, Grams was...eccentric, is the best word I can come up with. She was always on one kick or another with me or my sisters. She was very stubborn, and when she made her mind up, we all learned to jsut accept our fate and move on. I say we...I mean me. Prue and Phoebe always had more backbone than I ever did growing up," Piper said, then stopped at Matt's confused expression. She raised her eyebrows in a silent question.
"Who is Prue?," Matt asked, "You said 'Prue and Phoebe'..."
"Prue is..was my older sister. She died a couple of years ago. That is when Phoebe and I found out about Paige. My mom and her whi-, uh, boyfriend had another child and put her up for adoption. None of us ever knew until after Prue's death," Piper explained.
An awkward silence replaced their earlier chatter, and Piper looked around uncomfortably. Suddenly, she wanted Matt gone. It was two much to talk about her sisters with their murderer. She forced back her disgust, though, and faked a yawn. Matt glanced at her in concern.
"If you are tired, you should go back to sleep. I'll pull a mattress in here. I know you couldn't have slept comfortably on the floor last night," Matt insisted hurriedly, scrambling to his feet.
Piper gave him her best gratuitous look and watched him scurry out of the room. She heard a thump and the sound of cloth dragging across carpet, then Matt was at the doorway, tugging at a queen-sized mattress. Piper helped him get it situated, then settled down on it.
"Thanks," she breathed, winded from the excursion.
"Not a problem," Matt assured her, with a smile that turned Piper's stomach, "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask."
Piper's mind screamed against the camaraderie that was hovering between them. It sickened her to be in such proximity to Matt without trying everything in her power to hurt him. She ignored the protests and lay back against her new bed, closing her eyes. After several moment, she heard Matt's retreating footsteps and sighed quietly. This was going to be a lot harder than she initially had imagined.
