"Scott you slob! You left the ice cream in the attic!" Stiles yells out at his older brother.
"That was your fault! If we get ants, it's on you!" He called from the other room.
Stiles went up the stairs, two steps at a time. He opened the attic door and walked in. He grabbed the two bowls and turned for the door. He felt a slight chill and heard the rustling of pages. He looked down to see the book had opened up. He looked around but the windows in the attic are closed.
"Creepy."
Stiles walks over to the pedestal where the book sits. He glanced at an open page and read "The Charmed Ones." Stiles scrunched his face in confusion. He sat on the floor, grabbed the book and started to read.
*
"Scott! Scott!"
"What?! Are you ok?" Scott says with concern in his tone, while sitting up from the couch.
"Ok so today, nothing happened to you?"
"I already told you..."
Stiles cut him off "No, did anything move around you?"
"No..."
"So you didn't move anything with your mind?"
"No Stiles, what's going on?" Scott was skeptic and getting worried.
"Jackson!" Stiles yelled nearly the top of his lungs.
"What? Are you dying?" Jackson yelled from his room a moment later.
"Get down here!"
"Stiles..." Scott was almost pleading.
"No. There is something going on and I figured it out."
Jackson bounded down the stairs and jumped over the last two. "What?"
"We're witches!" Stiles exclaimed.
"Jesus Stiles I was about to have some 'me' time." Jackson bitched.
"Jackson you fucking narcissist, it's always 'me' time with you. But I'm serious."
Jackson got his trademarked bitch face and turned to Scott. "Seriously?"
"Hear me out. We are witches. All the women in our family have been. Pearl. Grams. Even mom."
Scott side eyed Jackson who was side eyeing back. Their brother finally snapped.
"Since I was about to play with mine, I know I have a dick. Stiles you're gay, which means you have a penis. And Scott I'm pretty sure you do."
"I do." Scott said nonchalantly.
"Yes I know you both have dicks. But it's because we are the prophesied 'Charmed Ones'".
Stiles takes a deep sigh.
"Just hear me out." Stiles opened up the book to a page that said 'Charmed Ones' on a scroll type picture. In fancy script there was a description.
"It basically says that the most powerful witches of all time will be three guys, brothers, known as the Charmed Ones. Each having their own gift. The ability to move objects with their mind. The ability to see the future. And get this, the ability to stop time. We also have the responsibility to protect the innocent."
Jackson and Scott had nothing but skeptical looks on their faces.
"Think about it. Jackson you saw that girls future. I stopped time. Then that means Scott you're telekinetic."
"Stiles I can't move anything with my mind. I can barely get myself off of this couch."
"Thats because you've been drinking! Just try!"
"Fine." Scott looked around. There was a bowl of coffee on the table near them. Scott squinted at the bowl. Nothing.
"Just picture yourself moving it."
"I am!"
Nothing.
"Seriously Scott?"
"Stop pestering me you lunatic!" Scott retorted. His Xbox controller went flying from his lap, sailed across the room.
"Told you!"
"Dude!" Jackson was in awe.
"Your trigger must be anger."
"What about you?" Scott asks his younger brother.
"I don't know, I yelled stop and everything stopped. So maybe I just yell?"
"Let's try it." Jackson picked up a pillow from the chair. He threw it up in the air.
"Stop!" The pillow twirled and hit the ground.
"What happened at the restaurant? What were you doing? What were you feeling?" Scott and Jackson interrogated
"I was cooking and everyone was yelling at me. Everything was going wrong and I was just panicking and I wanted it to stop."
"So panic is your trigger?"
"I don't know, maybe?"
"You're a terrible cook! Hurry up Stiles! You're stupid!" Jackson began to yell.
"What?!" Stiles was taken aback.
"You're never going to finish! Get it done Stiles!" Scott stood up and started yelling too.
"You're worthless Stiles!"
"Hurry the fuck up Stiles!"
Jackson bent down and threw the pillow in the air.
"Freeze it or I'll fucking kill you Stiles!"
"Stop!" Stiles threw his hands out. And the pillow froze in mid air. "I did it!"
Scott and Jackson turned and looked at the pillow in mid air.
"Wait... Why are you two moving?" Stiles questioned.
"I don't know, maybe because you were focusing on that."
"Maybe. But everyone in the restaurant froze..." Stiles says to himself.
"What about you Jackson. What's your trigger?" Scott asked.
"Nothing? I don't know I honestly wasn't having any strong emotions. I literally just stood up to get coffee and it happened. Maybe mine is just being touched? She did bump into me."
The pillow then fell to the ground.
"Ok this is good. At least we know what controls our powers." Stiles said with authority.
"Not exactly. You have to panic and I have to get angry. That's not exactly practical."
"I'm sure we can work on it. It's not even been a full day Scott. Besides the book says our powers will grow."
There was a moment of silence. Each brother lost in thought.
"Wait Stiles, what else did the book say?" Jackson broke the silence.
"That we have to protect innocents."
"What innocents?" Jackson asked.
"Protect them from what?" Scott asked.
"Demons...and warlocks. We're not the only supernatural beings it seems." Stiles turned a few pages each one marking a different creature and demon.
"We're supposed to protect the innocent and be a powerful force of good. The book is called the Book of Shadows. From what I can tell it's filled with spells and potion recipes."
Stiles sat on the couch and Scott and Jackson flanked him. They flipped through the pages silently. Each captivated by its contents.
After about half an hour of mindless page turning and off comments about everything being ugly, Jacksons contribution, Scott has had enough.
"As exciting as this is, I don't know if I want to be apart of this. I mean do we really want to fight evil with wonky ass powers?"
"They aren't wonky." Stiles defended.
"You stop time and I move things, that isn't exactly an arsenal."
"Yea I mean you guys have active powers, I can see the future. That's not going to stop someone from shooting me." Jackson says looking at both of his brothers.
"Look it's our destiny. Mom had powers. Grams had powers. They still managed to have a normal life, and so can we."
"I don't know..." Scott pondered out loud.
"Why don't we just sleep on it. Continue living our lives. We don't have to make decisions right now. Besides no one even knows we have powers yet." Stiles says whilst standing up.
"Fine." Scott agreed after thirty seconds of mulling it over.
"Ok." Jackson agreed.
"Good." Stiles bent over, closed the book then threw it on the table.
*
Stiles sat at the kitchen table, eating his cereal and casually reading the paper.
"Scott can you pass me the... oh that's right. He quit his job." Stiles stood up and without thinking, grabbed the toast that popped up from the toaster. "Ah." Stiles dropped the toast with an awkward hand motion. The toast froze in mid air. "Hey I didn't have to yell!" Stiles did a small victory dance. The toast un froze and hit the floor. "Oh I didn't think that through..." he grumbled.
Stiles needed to know more. He walked into the living room and picked up the Book of Shadows. The pointer from the spirit board fell out. "I don't remember taking that out of the attic." Stiles bent down to grab it but it slowly moved out from his reach.
Stiles looked around the room. "Scott don't be an asshole." When Stiles didn't hear giggling he knew his brother wasn't the cause. Stiles reached over to pick up the piece but it moved again. "Ok, I'll follow." The piece floated just above the ground and headed up the stairs. One by one, it climbed like a mouse. Stiles continued to follow until it was going down the hallway past his brothers bedrooms.
"Scott! Jackson! You might want to wake up for this."
"Huh?" Jackson grumbled.
Stiles knocked on both his brothers doors. "Get up there's magic happening!"
The two brothers stumbled from there bedrooms.
"What's going on?" Scott mumbled through a yawn.
Stiles pointed at the spirit board piece.
"What's it doing?" Jackson asked Stiles.
"It's been floating through the house." Stiles asked toward the piece and it began to move again.
"Are you doing this?" Jackson turned to Scott.
"I don't think so." Scott says while examining the floating piece.
"Let's just follow it." Stiles says as he was on the move.
In a matter of short minutes the piece had moved up the attic stairs and crawled up the side into the open trunk. The same trunk where Stiles found the Book of Shadows.
"Anyone bet we missed something in there?" Jackson asked.
The brothers walked over to the trunk, only to see a spirit board.
"I haven't seen this since we were kids." Scott admitted.
"I don't remember ever seeing it." Jackson admitted.
"Mom gave it to us. There's even an inscription on the back." Stiles says, flipping the board over.
Engraved in cursive, it read.
To my three beautiful boys
May this give you light
To find the shadows
The Power of Three
Will set you free
Love,
Mom
"Not an ounce of punctuation." Stiles commented.
"Really Stiles?" Scott asked slightly annoyed.
"I think you're missing the point Stiles." Jackson condemned.
"The point is that our dead mother, just led us through the house, to a spirit board message that made no damn sense. Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed with her showmanship. But lights help us find shadows and the power of three will set us free? Set us free from what? I'm still a slave to the man." Stiles looked at his watch. "Look at that, I'm going to be late for work. You two have fun playing with that. I need to keep some money in this house." Stiles gave a bitter smile and walked out the room.
"What's his problem?" Jackson asked.
"Not sure. I guess he's mad that no one told us about our powers. Or the fact that he's clueless about our powers. You know how he has to know every detail. Or he just misses mom and won't admit it."
"That was really spot on Scott."
"I'm the oldest, I know you two better then you know yourselves."
Jackson just did a half shrug, half nod.
*
A few hours had passed since this mornings magic show, Jackson and Scott had decided to go out for food to catch up. They avoided talking about witches and powers since the restaurant was so crowded but the second they left, all bets were off.
"You know how the Book said mom had powers, do you remember her using them?" Jackson said as they walked down the street.
"No. I mean I only have some memories of her. I think we'd remember our mom having powers. That would've been so amazing at that age."
"And what about having powers at our age?"
"It's cool Jacks, don't get me wrong but I'm scared. You saw the book, who knows what the hell is out there."
"True."
"And our job is to stop it. I can't even handle my temper and we're supposed to be super heroes."
"Hold that thought." Jackson said pulling his ringing phone from his pocket. "Hello?"
"Mr. Halliwell how are you?"
"I'm good Matt. What's going on?"
"I'm calling to see if you were interested in selling your house."
"Ehh... It's a bit dicey at the moment."
"Didn't go so well with your brothers?"
"No. Things have gotten a little more complicated."
"I understand completely. Look, no pressure but how would you feel if we set up a visit. I walk through the house and just give you a general appraisal. I can try and persuade your brothers into seeing the benefits of selling."
"Yea that sounds great."
"Does tomorrow night work for you?"
"Yea, I'll set it up thanks Matt."
"No. Thank you."
Jackson hung up.
"What are you setting up?" Scott asked.
"That guy who was interested in buying the house wants to do a appraisal. That's all."
"No selling?"
"No he just wants to walk through and see the house. Talk to you guys maybe?"
"Fine, but you know Stiles might kill the dude." Scott warns.
"That's why we aren't going to tell him." Jackson says with a closed lip smile.
***
Did I by Kehlani