[North Attic] One Halliwell down, one to go

[demonbelthazor]

Belthazor stalked through the dorm halls, heading for the North Attic. Piper was probably in her room at this time of night. He was less pissy now that he knew Phoebe was all right and not buying into Maia's crap, but he was still discontent.

He muttered under his breath, low enough for no one to hear, "Hi, Piper, I'm here to talk about your sister. Who I just told I loved. By the way, I'm a demon. Smooth, real smooth."

He knocked on the attic door.

Comments

[absolutesnark]

Piper slowly walked over to the door, opening it to find Belthazor standing there.

"Hey," she said somberly. She was not in a very good mood.

[demonbelthazor]

Well, this did not bode well.

"Hey," he said. "Something wrong?"

[absolutesnark]

"That's an understatement," Piper sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind."

[demonbelthazor]

"Let me guess," he said. "Does it involve a long lost sister and a psycho runt claiming she knows all about you?"

[absolutesnark]

Piper nodded, surprised that he knows. "How did you know about that?"

[demonbelthazor]

"I was just talking to your sister. The definite sister, I mean, not this new one. She was pretty upset about all this and about Maia jumping on her ass about being a liar and some psycho crap. Phoebe asked me to let you know that she was okay and sleeping." He sighed, then flashed a smile at Piper. "And I wanted to see if you were okay. Are you buying into this? You think Paige is your sister?"

He looked around. "And can I come in instead of standing here in the hall?"

[absolutesnark]

"Oh, sorry," Piper said, smiling slightly. "Of course you can come in."

Piper steps aside to let Belthazor in.

"I don't know what to believe. I mean, Paige does kinda look like a Halliwell."

[demonbelthazor]

Belzathor walked into the room. He pulled a chair out from a desk, turned it around, and straddled it. "Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. But do you trust Maia?" he asked.

[absolutesnark]

"How can I trust her?" Piper asked. "I hardly even know her."

[demonbelthazor]

Belthazor nodded. "Good. Because she practically attacked your sister in study hall. Screaming at her about being a liar. I scared her off and made sure Phoebe was okay -- that's when she told me to tell you she was all right."

He stood up and walked over to Piper. "Look, I don't know what Maia's damage is, but don't trust her. She's just...not right. There's something seriously wrong with her. She's trying to manipulate you and your sister, and maybe Paige, too. Don't listen to anything she says. I think she's gotten to Paige and is messing with her head, and she wants to do the same to you and Phoebe."

[absolutesnark]

"She was screaming at Phoebe? But I thought they were friends?"

Piper was now more confused than ever. "I don't trust her. And I won't listen to anything she says. Believe me, I am not easily manipulated."

[demonbelthazor]

"Keep an eye on Paige, too," Belthazor advised. "I think she's fallen for Maia's bullshit. I don't think she's going to try to hurt you or anything, but...." He sighed. "Maia's pretty creepy. She started screaming at me, too, calling me filth. She's seriously messed up. I just really don't want to see you caught up in it."

[absolutesnark]

"She was yelling at you, too? For no reason?"

Piper began to pace. "That is very weird. I'll be sure to keep an eye on Paige. She is my roommate, after all. This whole time I was living with my sister."

[demonbelthazor]

Belthazor nodded. "Yeah, for no reason. I never met her before Bio class yesterday, and she was staring at me all freaky like. Then today she just launched herself at your sister in study hall, and me, too.

"So, sister, huh? You have another older sister at home, don't you? So there's four of you?"

[absolutesnark]

"Well, already, she's on my bad side."

"Yeah, I guess that does mean there are four of us. I wrote an angry letter to my grandmother today."

Piper tried to keep herself from crying, but it was too late. The tears started to fall. "How could she not tell us about this. I feel like she betrayed me."

[demonbelthazor]

What the hell? Was it Women Bursting Into Spontaneous Tears Day or something? Did he miss the memo?

"Piper, babe, what's wrong, what do you mean?" he said, pulling her against him. His shirt was still wet from Phoebe's tears. He hoped she didn't notice. "Tell you what? Who betrayed you?"

[absolutesnark]

Piper felt a little better in his arms. She felt safe. "My grandmother. She should have told us. I should have had to find out Paige this way."

[demonbelthazor]

"Are you sure she knew?" Belthazor asked. "Maybe your mom -- or is it your dad -- didn't tell her?"

[absolutesnark]

"I'm pretty sure it was my mom. And I don't think she would hide something like that."

[demonbelthazor]

Belthazor nodded. "Your grandmother coming for parent's weekend? Guess you can talk to her about it then. Maybe she had a good reason?" He shrugged.

[absolutesnark]

Piper nodded. "Yeah, I think she'll be here. I'll have to talk to her about this."

[demonbelthazor]

"Anything I can do in the meantime?"

[absolutesnark]

"I guess there isn't much you can do. Thank you for being here for me, though."

Piper smiled for what seemed like the first time all day.

[demonbelthazor]

IdonotfeelguiltyIdonotfeelguiltyIdonotfeelguilty.

"Anything for you, babe."

[absolutesnark]

"I guess I should check on Phoebe. She probably wants to be alone, though."

[demonbelthazor]

"She said she was going to go to sleep," Belthazor said. "But she'll probably want to talk to you in the morning."

[absolutesnark]

"Okay, I'll wait until tomorrow. Are you leaving now?"

[demonbelthazor]

He grinned at her. "You want me to stay?"

[absolutesnark]

Piper thought for a moment. "I really do, but... I think I want to be alone for a little while. I'm kinda tired."

[demonbelthazor]

"Okay." Belthazor gave Piper a quick kiss. "If you need me, give me a call. I'll see you tomorrow. Just promise me you'll be careful around that Maia."

He gave her a charming smile, then left the room.