WyaRose: I know, I never was and never will be that cool!

So I realized I totally lied about the sister stuff in this chapter. There is some but it's not the bit I was thinking of, that's in the next chapter!

Morning Glory

I wake up to blinding light and shield my eyes until I become accustomed to it. I sit up slowly and debate what to do. There are sounds from downstairs, of a radio, so someone must be up. Having nothing but my uniform, I have no choice but to put it back on, and if I felt stupid yesterday evening it's nothing to how I feel this morning. I can hear noise from downstairs so I decide to follow it which leads me to the kitchen.

Andy and a man look up as, ever graceful, I half stumble in, and then the man, presumably Andy's father, turns to look at Andy with raised eyebrows.

"I see he's still bringing cheerleaders home," Andy's dad comments, turning the page of his newspaper. "Some things don't change, despite the state."

"He's joking," Andy says to me, beckoning me over. God, I hope he's joking. That would just be the icing on the cake, to find out I've been dating some psycho with a thing for cheerleaders.

"I get up this morning to find my son camped on the couch and talking about a cheerleader in his bed," his father continues.

"Dad," Andy says, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, he's kidding," he adds to me.

"Yeah, I'm only joking," his dad says with a smile. "Have some breakfast, Prue." I sink into a seat next to Andy, and rest my head in my hands feeling utterly humiliated in regards to the entire situation. What did Andy even say to his dad about me being here?

"I've got to be getting ready," his dad says, standing up. "Have some toast," he tells me, pointing to the rack of toast in front of me. "And it was nice meeting you, Prue," he adds, smiling warmly at me. I smile weakly back as he walks out.

"How are you feeling?" Andy asks, reaching for the paper his dad left and flicking through it. I have a feeling he just wants to avoid eye contact with me.

"Like hell," I inform him. I keep replaying last night in my head, wondering if I could have done things differently. Wondering what's going to happen at school on Monday.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Andy asks, turning another page.

"About what?"

He looks up and says witheringly, "The fact that Tom thought it was okay to try to have sex with you."

"Nothing," I say with a frown. What does he expect me to do?

Andy folds the paper in half and puts it down carefully. "Prue, you should report it."

"It wasn't like that. He was drunk."

"Yeah, he was, not you." Andy clearly has it in for Tom. Who can blame him?

"Look, it's Tom. I'm not going to report it! It was just a misunderstanding."

"Come on, Prue. You're not going to let Tom get away with this, are you?"

"Andy, he didn't do anything. There's nothing to let him get away with." I pause, then continue, "And anyway, there's no proof. It's his word against mine. So can we just forget it ever happened? I'm grateful that you picked me up, and that you let me stay, but even if I did report it, there would be nothing anyone could do. I can't exactly prove it, can I?"

"No, I suppose not," Andy mutters sullenly. "I just don't like the idea that he thinks he can do what he wants. He might be everybody's star football player, but he's not God."

"Drop it," I say. "For me. This isn't your fight."

He looks at me stubbornly for a few moments, then reluctantly says, "Fine. I'll drop it. For you."

"Thank you."

I take a piece of toast from the rack and am just about to take a bite when he speaks again.

"So what are you going to tell your grandmother about where you were last night?"

I shut my mouth again and place the toast on my plate instead. I don't feel that hungry all of a sudden.

"I don't know," I whisper. "She's going to kill me."

He laughs.

"Ground you, maybe, but kill's probably a slight exaggeration."

"I'm already grounded," I admit. "After Phoebe…and…well, what happened…I shouldn't even have gone to that party last night. I wish I hadn't as well."

I push my plate away and sigh.

"Want me to give you a ride home?" He asks and I nod silently.

The longer I wait the worse Grams' reaction will be. May as well face the music rather than prolonging it.

I'm expecting all hell to break loose the second I walk through the front door, but to my surprise it doesn't. The house is surprisingly peaceful, not at all like somewhere I'd expect World War Three to be about to break out. I quietly climb the stairs and head in the direction of my bedroom, but to my surprise Phoebe cuts me off by suddenly stepping in-between me and my bedroom door.

"God!" I exclaim, jumping, then hiss, "What are you doing?" in a low voice, worried that Grams will have heard me.

"What are you doing?" My sister retorts, grabbing onto my arm and yanking me into my own bedroom, shutting the door firmly.

"Trying to get into my bedroom without being accosted?"

"Still in your uniform, I see," she says, raising her eyebrows and looking me up and down. I don't know if I'm imagining the faint smugness in her voice.

"So what?" I retort, although the color rises in my cheeks.

"So…usually coming home in the same clothes you were wearing the night before means you stayed at somebody's place."

"Could you leave?" I ask her, deciding the best thing to do is to ignore her.

I turn away from her and go over to my closet to find some clothes that aren't as incriminating as the ones I'm wearing.

"No. I want to know where you were. And more importantly, who you were with."

I don't answer her.

"You were with Andy, weren't you?" She persists.

"Look, Phoebe," I say in exasperation, turning away from my clothes to glare at her. "I'm about to get hell from Grams, I don't need it from my fourteen year old sister too."

Phoebe smiles.

"Actually that's where you're wrong," she says, definitely sounding smug now.

"What are you talking about?"

"Grams doesn't know you weren't here."

"She doesn't?" I ask, my mouth falling open in surprise.

"Nope."

"How come?"

"Because I told her you were," she says, looking pleased with herself.

"But didn't she wait up?"

"No. She went to bed early. She had a headache. So I told her you were home at about 11 but you'd gone straight to bed."

"Why would you do that?" I ask, taken aback that Phoebe of all people would do something so nice for me.

"Well you stuck up for me, over that whole thing with Cole…" She turns red. "I figured I owed you."

"Thanks," I say, smiling.

"And it did seem like the sisterly thing to do," she continues. "You know how Grams is always telling us how important it is that we look out for each other."

"Yeah, I don't think she meant lie to her for each other. Anyway, how did you know I wasn't in trouble?" I ask her, suspiciously.

Phoebe blushes again, looking uncomfortable. She mumbles something indistinct.

"What?"

"Cole told me he saw you leaving that party…" She says more clearly.

"Cole. You're still talking to Cole."

Not just that, how dare he watch me and then report back to me sister. The only reason I'm not furious is because it kind of has worked out better for me that he did tell Phoebe.

"I really like him!" She says defensively. "And I've just done a really, really nice thing for you, so could we not spoil it by arguing about something we're clearly never going to agree on."

I observe her for a few moments and then nod.

"Fine. Subject dropped. For now."

"So…" Phoebe says slowly, grinning. "You stayed at his, huh? Where did you sleep? Did you do it?"

"Phoebe!" I exclaim, staring at her in disbelief.

"What?" She asks, innocently. "Well did you?"

"No! God, do you always have to be so invasive?"

"I'm not invasive, I'm curious."

"Sure," I say sarcastically. "Anyway, we haven't even kissed yet."

I feel a little stupid admitting that to my fourteen year old sister, but I want to shut her up and show her that I'm not the kind of person she seems to think I am, and that it isn't necessary to jump on somebody the minute they express an interest just to get them to like you. Like, say, her and Cole, maybe.

"Oh," she says, looking surprised. "But what about after Homecoming?"

"Homecoming didn't exactly go to plan," I say pointedly.

Phoebe at least has the decency to blush.

"Sorry," she mutters. "That was probably partly my fault."

"Partly?"

"Okay, okay, a lot my fault," she concedes, rolling her eyes. "But if you hadn't been so judgmental about everything-"

"I wasn't judgmental, I was concerned."

"No, you were trying to be like Mom. I don't need a mother, Prue, I need a sister."

"So I'm not allowed to look out for you now?" I question, trying not to show her how much her words just hurt.

"No, that's not what I said. Of course you can look out for me. I just don't need you telling me what I can and can't do. What I should and shouldn't be doing. You don't always know best, you know, and even if you do, let me make my own mistakes."

She's probably right. I have always tried to mother her. Part of it is typical older sister over protectiveness. I've made enough mistakes and it would be nice if I could protect her from making the same ones, even though realistically I know I can't shield her from everything life's going to throw at her. But a large part of it is me trying to make up for the fact that mom isn't here to do it for me. Phoebe doesn't understand and she never will understand the responsibility I feel towards her and Piper. Even if Grams hadn't made it quite clear that I have a duty towards my sisters I'd have felt it anyway. They're the only family I've got left and I love them more than anything, more than myself, no matter what I might say when I'm angry. I'd do anything for them. To that end I'm willing to sacrifice being a sister in order to sometimes be more of a mother to them and I don't care if it makes Phoebe angry. She's too young to understand.

"What about last night?"

"What about it?"

"Why did you go to his?"

I hesitate. Phoebe and I aren't the sharing secrets kind of sisters, but I get the feeling that this isn't going to stay secret for long.

"Tom…kind of made a drunken pass at me and I rejected him."

Phoebe frowns.

"I got really upset and I just didn't want to come home, alright? You know, Grams told me I couldn't go to that party but I went anyway and I felt like she was proven right and I just knew that she'd know as soon as she looked at me what I'd done. And now Tom's going to tell everybody that I'm a bitch, or a slut, or stuck-up, I don't know which, but he's going to say something because he was really angry. He's going to want to make me suffer."

Phoebe pulls a face.

"So what?" She says.

"So…what am I going to do?"

"Ditch him," she suggests as if that's a feasible option. "I never liked him anyway."

"I won't have to. I'll be the one nobody's talking to. Trust me. I know how it works."

"That's no great loss to you," she says. "It's their loss if they want to believe whatever he says over you."

"Thanks," I say, a little taken aback.

"And don't worry about Andy," Phoebe says, out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" I ask her cautiously.

"About having not kissed him yet. He obviously really likes you if he's still talking to you after all the things I said at Homecoming, and if he was willing to pick you up from a party on a Friday night just because you were upset."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," I agree. "Thanks, Pheebs."

It's not like the two of us to get on so well and it's a little strange, but it's kind of nice too. Phoebe's actually managed to make me feel a little better about everything for once, instead of worse.

"Well you should get changed," Phoebe announces briskly, jumping up from my bed and heading towards my door. "That uniform does nothing for you."

I guess we've had enough sisterly bonding for today.

Another Oasis song! Do you know what's really exciting? I have the next chapter totally written and ready to go. I just have to decide when to post it! And reviews are always welcome!