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Chris!
…
Chriiis!
…
CHRIS!!!
Chris(++holds his ears humming++) LALALALALALAaaaaaa! I can´t even hear you…
Come on Chris I need you! The story has to go on.
Chris: No! You are telling them, am I right? You are going to tell them everything!
But Chris, that's the point of this story…
Chris: But that's not fair, why don't we tell them everything about you? Like the one time…
(dragons ++putting her hand over his mouth++) I don't think anyone wants to hear about that…
Chris: Oh yeah, my ass! So you are allowed to tell everything and I? And by the way Wyatt is pissed off too. He's been totally abandoned in the last part of the story! So why don't you focus on him for some time. Would definitely please his king-sized ego for a while!
Wyatt: Chris, I heard that!
Chris(++wincing++): Where have the good old times gone, when orbing made that nice little jingling sound, which preserved you from sneaking up, eavesdropping family members…?
Wyatt: It was annoying so I switched it on mute a long time ago…
Wyatt cant you convince your brother to do the next chapter?
Wyatt: Sure, why not?
Chris: It's the one about…nah, you know…the one with my eighteenth birthday…
Wyatt: Oh that one…
Chris: Exactly, so what about the chance to change our past a bit…
You can't do that!
Chris: Watch me! I did it once; I'm going to do it again!
But the people should have a chance to come to know it. It's made you who you are…
Wyatt: Do we really have to? I'm not overly proud of this!
I think I want to do it, but I swear to be sensitive with this.
Chris: OK, but do not expect me to do the disclaimer for this one! I'd still rather sit here with my eyes closed and a nice humming in my ears, pretending it never happened…
Wyatt: I think I'll join him… Highway to hell?
Chris(++nods and starts humming again++)
I understand them, it hasn't been their best times and what can I do,
I don't own them,
and I'm a total fan of the human-rights…even for fiction-characters…
OK, OK chapter twelve hasn't much to do with that, but what can I say, that's the way they were in the "dark future"…Chris will change that…hopefully!
Chapter twelve: Painful revealments
The days after Wyatt's saving and Chris´ recovery went by in amazing eventlessness. It was almost like the demons had given the charmed ones some sort of hiatus. Chris quickly regained strength, and had to admit to himself, that he was enjoying the new situation. Leo was in a huff and had not turned up (or down???) again, and the sisters now trusted him more. They even started to like him a bit. Still, as much as the sisters had promised to one another, they couldn't stop trying to get behind his secrets…
Chris was sitting on the floor his back leaning on the shabby old couch in P3´s backroom. While his head rested on the musty furniture his hands tapped restless on drawn up knees. He was once again breeding over his encounter with the unfathomable Tia.
She'd said that it still wasn't over, that the biggest fight for his brother's soul was yet to come. The young whitelighter had promised not to give up - easier said then done! But his promise made him work even harder than he did before.
The second thing that had a hold on Chris´ thoughts was more personal.
Should he reveal his identity to the sisters or not? He was in big doubts about that. Deep inside of him he felt Tia's advice was good and wise. But a life of doubts and deep disappointments had left his marks on his soul. He didn't know if he could let his last safety barriers down.
He was so used to let nothing touch his soul again that he didn't knew if he was still able to do it and if he could bare maybe another hurting.
Meanwhile something was going on between the sisters.
"Look what I've purchased for Chris!" Phoebe tried to get the attendance of her little sister.
"Don't you think these are the coolest shirts you've ever seen?"
Paige looked sceptically at the shirts. "Short sleeves, are you sure? I've never seen Chris wearing short sleeved shirts!"
Phoebe was some sort of offended. "But it's summer out there! It's really time for our neurotic demon-addicted whitelighter to go out into the sunshine, and get some colour on his face. He's starting to look like a freaking zombie, always hanging over that damn book of shadows.
These T´s are just something like a thank you for saving Wyatt. It's been so long since we had some real matter to party. I would like to have a birthday party for Chris. But our mystery-master didn't even tell us his birth date. Maybe we should try your little truth-spell once more…?!"
"Don't you dare Phoebe!" Paige scolded her.
"So let's simply pretend that we celebrate something like a birthday party tonight. Or a "thanks for saving our toddler" party. As you like to tell it - Time for presents, lots of eating and hanging around at P3. OK, Paige? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease, tonight a nice party to cheer up our little depressed guarding angel! Allright?"
Paige looked indecisively "You know, Piper will definitely not like this!"
"Please Paige play along! I just love the idea to see him smile again. He's always so serious!"
"To serious if you asked me – but wait, you asked me!" Paige said smiling "Ok", she sighed "party tonight!"
This evening the sisters all gathered in the living room.
Piper was not quite enthusiastic about her sister's idea, but had managed to prepare a nice little dinner after the instant begging of the two. So as everything was prepared, Phoebe started yelling for Chris, as if there was a life or dead situation.
The young witch-whitelighter appeared immediately in blue white orbs, his body tensed to start fighting whatever appeared to threaten the sisters. "What the he…!?"
Chris got angry as he became aware of the situation.
He really had no time for such silly stuff as a party – there was a whole world on the edge.
But some part of him was although touched.
They liked him at least a little bit.
Liked him not only because he was family (now he was little glad that he hadn't told), no they liked him for who he was.
This thought managed to bring a shy smile again up on the ever so serious face of the boy.
"Allright", he said sighing "you three win! Let's have an evening off of duties and party – a bit."
They were all happy to see Chris relaxing, even if it would most certainly be only for a few hours.
Chris enjoyed the pleasant feeling of being pampered by his family.
After an excellent dinner – Chris couldn't remember eating that much in the last…maybe ten years! – they all lolled on the couches in the living room not able to move even an inch.
After some moments of sleepy laziness Phoebe jumped up beaming.
"I almost forgot something!" she smiled and gave Chris the package wrapped in red and black paper, with a little silver moon tied to its ribbon.
"This is especially for you, Chris."
Chris was surprised.
Presents without matter?
He was a bit suspicious, but then again as he looked into the glowing eyes of the Charmed- ones, he was overwhelmed of a warm safe feeling he once used to have during his childhood.
His mom used to hide presents she had bought for her sons that well, that she wasn't able to find all of them on their birthdays or Christmas.
So it could happen that she came up with a present on a just ordinary day, because she had found it again.
He and Wyatt loved this little foible of their mom…
Chris started to open the present smiling and lost in his little childhood memory.
As he wrapped out the T-shirts his smile froze.
Suddenly the whole room became silent, and Chris immediately changed to his usual blank mask.
But inside of him raged a storm of emotions.
No please´, he thought.
This could not be…
Not now…just when he started to feel a little happy!´
The women saw the change expression on Chris face, but misinterpreted it.
"Told you he would not like them!" Paige mumbled to Phoebe.
"Rubbish! He's just shy" Phoebe whispered back, before she started to get in action.
She made a quick move and began to pull out Chris long sleeved shirt.
"Come on try it on, don't be shy. You're a pretty boy, its time to go out and show it to the world. There are a lot of nice girls out there. GIRLS……you remember them, Chris?!"
Phoebe shattered on while she managed to pull out the young whitelighters shirt completely, without noticing the desperate horrified look that came up on the boys face.
Do something!´ Chris mind screamed, but he was shocked of Phoebes actions. He wasn't able to react; his whole body was paralyzed and benumbed in fear.
Orb!´ He thought, just orb away! Don't let them see, don't let them ask!
No, it's too painful! ´
It was already too late. There was an awful silence in the room, then a deep common gasp, as the sisters looked at the bare back and arms of their whitelighter.
Chris looked deeply hurt and so afraid as he tried to back up and cover at least his arms.
The state of the young ones body terrified the sisters.
All over the arms and back of the boy were scars. Big ugly scars like the result of things no one should do to another living being. There were the reminders of cuts and burnings, whipmarks and… things the sisters couldn't imagine. All of this screamed torture in some almost physical painful way.
They were all shock transfixed as Chris took his chance and orbed away.
One single tear had fallen from Chris cheek.
He was already gone as the tear hit the neatly folded shirts that remained forlorn on the couch.
…
Chris threw himself into the old cushions of "his" couch in the backroom of P3. This was all so unfair. Hot tears now streamed down his face. Why couldn't he be happy just for one damn moment? Did the greater good hate him that much?
Crying his heart out, Chris fell fast into an exhausted sleep.
He didn't even notice Paige orbing in with her sisters. They looked at the sleeping kid with pity and concern not quite sure how to react.
Piper sat down next to the curled up whitelighter, still staring with disbelief at the disastrous state that Chris was in.
Who could have done this to him; he was still almost a boy? (She didn't like the little voice in the back of her head that it could have something to do with her sweet little angel turning evil in the future!)
And why did nobody heal him?
Was there really nobody in the future left who took care of Chris?
Phoebe knelt down besides Chris, to take a closer look at the brown-haired youngster, who was now writhing and moaning in his sleep, while she thought about whether to call for Leo or not.
She was covering the shivering boy with a blanket, as a red scar on Chris right shoulder blade caught her attention.
This wound seemed not to have healed as well as the others, even if it had to be an older one.
Thinking of how the scars of someone tell about his life, Phoebe thought of what a poor cruel life this body told, while she absent-mindly touched the hot burning mark.
Chris winced and shuddered slightly under the touch.
The emphatic sister had better not made contact with Chris, because she was immediately pulled into his back-flashing dreams…
TBC…