Chapter Two
Today you were wearing forget-me-not blue,
I held you and said, "I'll never forget you."
You smiled at me and stroked my hair,
But you were never really there.
I stood up today and swallowed my fear,
Desperately praying that you were still here.
But as I came down and waited for you,
I remembered the day we knew it was true.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH, 1989
Prue walked into the cafeteria and looked around. She saw her cheerleader "friends" sitting at their usual table, but she was meeting Piper. They'd agreed on it earlier.
"Hey, Prue! Everything turn out all right last night?" Andy asked. Prue looked up, surprised to find him behind her.
"Yeah, sorry Andy. Piper was kind of upset, we could try it again tonight if you want," Prue searched the cafeteria for any sign of her sister – they were supposed to be meeting up for lunch.
"Yeah, okay. Well, I'm gonna go sit with the guys. Later," he walked away.
"Yeah, whatever," Prue muttered. She was still looking for Piper but saw no sign of her in the cafeteria. She wandered outside to see her sister sitting underneath a tree, reading a book, she smiled: that was so something Piper would do.
Prue walked up to her sister and sat down beside her. "Hey," she greeted. Piper set down her book and smiled.
"Hey!"
"How've your classes been?" Prue asked. Piper waved a hand dismissively.
"Same old, same old. How about you? Seen Andy yet?"
"Just now, actually-"
"Hey, Prue!" Amy Stevens and the rest of the cheerleaders strutted over from the cafeteria towards Prue and Piper, interrupting the sisters' conversation. "We've been looking everywhere for you, babes!"
Murmurs of agreement came from the group; Amy looked down at Piper, frowning. "Why are you hanging out with your geek sister, Prue? You've always said..."
Piper sat quietly by as her sister glared at Amy. She knew she was lucky to have a popular sister; she got out of a lot of trouble when Prue was around…but she knew that Prue couldn't always be around. Amy rolled her eyes at Prue and walked off.
"Wow," Piper said. "Amy walks away from the chance to humiliate me. It's a miracle!"
"She wouldn't dare mess with me," her sister said. "She'd be off the team in two seconds flat and she knows it."
"Prue, it's okay. Calm down," Piper said, touching her sister's arm. "I'm okay."
"You come home crying whenever you see her," Prue replied.
"Good thing you were here then," Piper muttered. Prue turned to her, her sister looked so sad. She wrapped her arm around Piper's shoulders.
The rest of lunch was spent in silence. They just sat together, enjoying each other's company. It wasn't like anyone would think what they were doing was any different than normal. They were sisters, as far as the student body was concerned.
And that's the way it's gonna stay, Prue thought resolutely. We can't let this get out. She ran her fingers down Piper's thigh. The brunette stiffened a bit. Prue's finger's moved slowly upwards…
Then, the bell rang.
The sisters quickly stood, tossing their garbage in a nearby trash can. They hugged quickly and gathered their books.
"I'll see you later," Piper said, kissing Prue on the cheek. And she quickly made her way to the school.
Prue stayed behind a moment, watching Piper walk away.
Piper walked into her Spanish class and caught sight of someone new. His skin was darker than hers, though not as dark as the African-American students in the class. He looked up and met her eyes with chocolate eyes of his own.
He's kinda hot.
She took her seat, strangely beside the new kid. Then she remembered that the seat had been empty before. She glanced shyly over at the guy. He was staring at her, not even attempting to hide it. She blushed under his gaze.
The teacher walked into the classroom and gestured for the guy to come up to the front. They held a brief conversation in low voices. Piper strained her ears to hear but couldn't understand.
"Clase, atención por favor. Tenemos un nuevo estudiante hoy," Señor Gomez said. "Esto es Santiago de Sucre."
"Hola," Santiago said simply.
"Santiago," the teacher said in English. "Would you like to tell the class about yourself?"
"Not really," Santiago said casually. His voice was low and tinged with a slight Spanish accent. He had shaggy dark brown hair; it was almost black. He wore all black and his shirt was had the top three buttons open.
Definitely boyfriend material.
Prue…
You heard what Prue said. "…you keep up your grades and find a boyfriend when you're ready."
I guess. But I'M not asking HIM out. He'll have to ask me.
If you're sure.
I am.
Santiago took a seat and Señor Gomez began his lesson and she became vaguely aware of Santiago watching her but paid attention to the teacher. She wanted to get a good grade: like Prue had asked.
The rest of the day passed quickly. Piper was at her locker, gathering her stuff when Amy and her mini-me – another cheerleader named Hannah Shuckburgh – arrived.
"Well, looky who we have here. Prue's geek sister," Amy taunted. "What's her name again, Hannah?"
"Pepper?" Hannah guessed. "Or is it Peeper?" Piper rolled her eyes. It may have seemed like the blonde was playing along but she really was totally stupid. Some days it seemed as if she'd forgotten her own name.
"No, Piper!" Amy's eyes lit up and she smiled evilly. "Jeez. You're related to Prue?" She scoffed. "Sure doesn't seem like it: I can't believe the two of you are from the same parents."
Piper felt her face flush and the impulse to cry immediately fill her lungs, but she held back. Why should she let this cheer-bitch bother her? She shouldn't care…but she always did.
Amy perked up when she heard footsteps behind them, assuming it was another one of her cronies from the squad. Boy was she surprised.
"Amy," a voice said softly. The voice was icy and dangerous. "May I ask what you're doing here with my sister?"
Piper smiled gratefully at Prue. The raven-haired girl's eyes softened momentarily but hardened again when Amy and Hannah turned around.
"Hannah, you shouldn't be a part of this," Prue said quietly. "Go on to practice. Tell the squad I'll be there in a few minutes." Hannah nodded, smiled, and happily bounced off to the gym. Piper rolled her eyes: that girl was too clueless to be threatening.
"Amy?" Prue prompted, her voice ice again.
"W-we were j-j-just talking, P-Prue," Amy stammered, scared of the look in the cheerleading captain's eyes. Prue looked to Piper for confirmation. Piper hesitated. She knew if Prue got rid of Amy, the redhead would never leave her alone. So, she just nodded affirmatively.
"Fine!" Prue snapped. "Get to the gym!" Amy nodded and rushed off after Hannah.
"Piper, what'd she do?" Prue asked, her voice softening.
"Nothing, Prue. We were just talking. I swear," Prue eyed her skeptically. "Don't you trust me?"
"You know I do," Prue said. "I just don't wanna see you hurting."
"Well, I'm okay. I better go. I'll just walk home," Prue nodded and pulled her sister into a hug.
"Be careful," she warned. She kissed Piper on the cheek. Piper smiled, shouldered her book bag, and walked on down the hall.
Piper sat on the couch, staring out of the window, just thinking. She'd done all her homework and she knew that Prue would be back soon – cheerleading practice had finished about ten minutes ago.
How do I know that?
Because you've memorized her schedule.
Have not!
Oh, you know you have too!
Piper had to smile a little; the once-annoying voice was starting to sound a lot like Prue.
As if on cue, the front door opened and Prue walked in, still wearing her cheerleader's uniform. For the first time, Piper really looked at her sister. It was like looking at perfection – her eyes travelled up the smooth, pale legs barely covered by the skimpy cheerleading skirt she was wearing, over her thin waist and up to her face. How could she have never seen it before? Her sister was so beautiful.
Prue's eyes widened at the look her sister was giving her – nobody had ever looked at her like that. When she looked in their eyes all there was shallow lust and want. Piper's eyes were filled with emotion: adoration, love, awe, and anguish. Prue knew her sister felt guilty but she also knew she didn't want her to.
"Piper, it's okay, I would never hate you for that," Piper looked up at her sister, her mouth slightly open in surprise.
How did she know what I was thinking?
She's your sister.
That's just it! I can't think like this…
I'd like to see you try to stop.
Prue watched her sister as her eyes glazed over slightly, she knew the signs – Piper was fighting with herself. She walked over and sat down on the couch next to her, pulling her into a hug.
"Sometimes, I swear you're trying to kill me." Piper placed her head on her sister's shoulder, sighing in defeat. Prue smiled, thoughts racing through her mind.
"I can try harder, you know." Piper's head shot up and she stared at her sister.
"Don't you dare." Piper shot her a slightly less effective version of her own icy glare, the only thing it seemed to do was cause another grin on Prue's face. Piper's gaze softened as she stared at Prue – they were falling, again.
"PRUE!" Grams' voice broke through the trance the two sisters had fallen into and they leaped to opposite ends of the couch, causing a rather large bang which alerted their grandmother to their presence. Penny Halliwell strode into the living room, seemingly unaware of the state her granddaughters had been in before her call.
"WHY were these brochures in your room?" She held up three prospects for photography colleges near the east coast. Piper reached out her hand slowly and took one out of Grams' hand.
"Chicago?" She looked back at Prue, before running out of the room.
"No, Piper! Wait!" Prue stood up and ran out so quickly, Penny was momentarily stunned. She shook her head.
"Those girls will be the death of me."
Prue ran after Piper, tackling the stairs two at a time, sprinting down the hallway and practically breaking the door off its hinges with her desperation to get through it quickly. She stopped immediately when she saw Piper on the floor – she hadn't even made it to the bed. There were tears flowing down her face as she flicked through the pages of the brochure at a speed where she couldn't even see the words.
"You know this college is very nice, you should go. I mean, who would think of their little sister when they could go somewhere like this? I wouldn't…" The rest of her words were lost as sobs wracked her body. She fell backwards against her bed, pulling her knees towards her and crying into them. Prue fell to her knees in front of her, glancing down briefly at the smiling faces in the brochure, now smudged by her sister's tears.
"Piper, I am so sorry," Prue silently begged for her sister to raise her eyes and look at her, when she didn't Prue moved to sit next to her and pulled her onto her lap. The older girl knew that talking wouldn't help her sister, she simply held her until the tears dried.
"Why does everybody leave, Prue?" Piper whispered. "Why do you want to leave me?"
"I'm not leaving you, Piper," Prue held her sister close. "I'll never leave you."