"Morning." Reese mumbled sleepily, making her way into the Halliwell kitchen whilst brushing her messy hair up into a bun and plonking down on a stool beside Chris as he sipped a cup of coffee.
"Hey you." He murmured, looking up and smiling when he noticed the colour had returned to her face after her being so ill last night.
"How are you feeling? You look a little better." He said, concern crossing his face.
"Yeah, I'm feeling better. Or at least I haven't had to make a quick exit to the bathroom in a number of hours." Reese joked, a smile breaking out across her face and Chris laughed.
"Well, that's a plus. Got any plans for today?" Reese shook her head and looked up when she heard Wyatt enter the kitchen and plonked a letter down in front of her.
"You've got mail!" He said excitedly, sitting down beside her and waiting for her to open the letter. Reese took one look at who it was from though and got up from her stool and threw it in the trash with a sigh.
"You're not even gonna read it!?" Wyatt asked in disbelief.
"I already know what it's going to say. All it is is a reminder letter about our stupid high school reunion." Reese replied and rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed with the whole idea. The phone began to ring and Wyatt leapt to answer it only to begin chatting excitedly with the person on the other end.
"Hey Casey! Yeah, Reese just got the letter. You don't have a date, how's that possible!? Sure, I'd love to go!" Wyatt answered eagerly but Reese only shook her head in disbelief and joined Chris at the bench again as he too listened to the overly zealous phone conversation.
"I can see myself getting talked into this one." Reese muttered, grabbing Chris' mug and stealing a sip before returning it to the bench top. They looked up when Wyatt hung up the phone and smiled brightly at Reese but Reese only rolled her eyes again.
"Well, looks like I'm gonna be Casey's date to the reunion which means you have to go." Wyatt ordered in a stern brotherly tone.
"I don't have to go, Wyatt. And I don't want to go!" Reese retorted, sighing dramatically before getting up from her stool once more and sliding back up onto one of the cabinets and crossing her arms over her chest.
"I don't see why your being so stubborn about this. Don't you wanna catch up with everyone again?" Wyatt wondered, not taking his eyes off Reese, fearing she would slip away or try to change the subject if he didn't continue to scrutinise her.
"I definitely don't. Everyone was a jerk to me in highschool and I wasn't exactly good looking either. You do remember I was quite a large girl back then." Reese tried to explain but Wyatt wasn't about to budge.
"Well I know they won't think that now!" Wyatt answered, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"Did you just waggle your eyebrows at me!? Because if you did, I'm going to have to punch you in the head." Reese retorted, extremely unimpressed with Wyatt this morning. Not only was she still half asleep and not feeling her usual self but now he wouldn't stop nagging her about her high school reunion. There were reasons she didn't want to go. Good reasons. All her life she had been overweight and high school was no different. She was constantly teased by her peers and shunned from social groups so when she finally embraced her powers and her new life she was happier than she had ever been. After that school was over and her love for martial arts had grown phenomenally and it wasn't long before her life was so busy with demon hunting and harnessing her powers that her figure became the slender and curvaceous woman she was today. She didn't need to remember who she had been or what people had thought of her. Though a small part of her was eager for them to see her changed and happy and larger part was terrified that it would be high school all over again and she felt powerless.
"So what if I wear a nice dress and people notice me. It won't change anything." Reese said, her voice low and slightly dejected. All the while Chris had been listening from his position at the bench, sipping his coffee and only moving once to refill his cup but he finally piped up and said, "You've changed. They'll see that and they'll wish they had it." Reese smiled at that and gave him a small nod. He always knew how to make her feel better.
"C'monnnn, Reese, it'll be fun! Please?" Wyatt whinged, purposefully being even more annoying than usual to get her to relent just so he would shut up.
"No!" She replied simply, sliding off the bench and leaving the room in a huff.
"Very smooth, bro."
"I can't believe you talked me into this." Reese groaned, coming out of her wardrobe for the fifth time that afternoon and observing herself in the mirror.
"We'll have a great time! And I get to show up with Wyatt Halliwell on my arm!" Casey squealed loudly, jumping up and down. Reese shook her head in disbelief at her over the top friend but couldn't help but chuckle and let a certain amount of butterflies rise in her stomach.
"Casey, he's one of my best friends, not an accessory!" Reese retorted in a joking voice before pulling a face at her outfit and turning on her heel, disappearing back into her wardrobe.
"Oh, c'mon Reese, what was wrong with that one!" Casey wondered as the dress in question flew out onto the floor in a heap followed by a muffled voice calling, "Too girly!"
"It's a dress, Reese, it's meant to be girly." Casey called back with a roll of her eyes. Not long after she poked her head out of her closet, smoothing down the fabric of her dress before coming to examine herself in the full length mirror beside her dresser. The dress was beautiful, slipping easily over Reese's curves in flowing silk. The neckline was tastefully low cut and when she turned to gaze over her shoulder, Casey caught the sight of the extremely low back of the dress, revealing most of the naked skin of her back and the small Egyptian tattoo on her shoulder blade. Her hair was twisted into a knot at the back of her head and the remainder of her hair was curled so that it cascaded loosely into the bun with a few loose wisps hanging down across her shoulders. Reese wore ruby red lip stick on her lips and her eyes were encased in mascara and a small amount of eyeliner, making her look like a glamour model from an old movie.
"Woah." Was all Casey said, her mouth open in a silent gape.
"I'm assuming by your inability to speak that I look alright." Reese wondered with a playful smirk and Casey's face broke out into a smile.
"Are you kidding!? You look absolutely gorgeous. Chris is gonna be speechless!" She continued in her bubbly, hyperactive voice and Reese couldn't help but grin and blush a little at the thought of the attention she would receive from Chris.
"How exactly did you manage to convince him to come as my date?" Reese queried her friend and Casey just shrugged and smiled. Knowing she wouldn't get anything out of her friend, Reese let another smile cross her face before picking up her small black bag and her heels, spraying on some rose scented perfume before heading for the door.
"Ready?" Reese asked and Casey beamed nervously and nodded her head and they exited the room together. They made their way down the hall, the noise of Casey's heels clicking against the wooden floor boards overwhelming the soft padding of Reese's bare feet as they made their way down the stairs.
"Oh, I forgot my earrings. Be there in a sec." Reese remembered before turning and racing back up the stairs and disappearing into her room. Casey rolled her eyes at her friend's attempt to delay the inevitable and decided instead to continue into the main living area where she found both Wyatt and Chris slouched low in one of the couches seemingly bored and unimpressed. When she entered though they both looked up and Wyatt let his jaw drop and a playful smile cross his face.
"Casey, you look amazing!" Wyatt exclaimed, standing up from the couch to wrap a casual arm around her petite waist. Casey blushed from ear to ear and thanked Wyatt quietly, placing her hand around his waist also as butterflies jumped inside of her.
"Are we ready?" Reese asked in an uninterested tone as she entered the room, clipping in her second ruby earring as she walked. What she didn't expect though was the awed silence that followed and the strange look that Chris was giving her as he finally stood up from the couch and stepped closer toward her. Wyatt was the first to compliment her, "Wow...Reese, I-um-screw this reunion. You and me. Bedroom. Now." He prompted and Reese smacked him across the chest and shook her head though she was smiling and clearly amused.
"You're such a sleaze, Wy." She muttered with a shake of her head. Reese turned when Chris took her hand and smiled at her, asking, "Ready?" before following Casey and Wyatt out the door who were chatting energetically. He leaned across and his lips grazed the skin of her ear as he whispered, "You look beautiful." Reese looked up into his eyes as he let his hand slip around her waist, touching the bare skin of her back and sending delighted shivers up her spine. There she saw the one thing she had been wanting for so long and not knowing where to find it. There she saw her future. And his name was Chris Halliwell.