This nagging thought of a wedding and a sexy photographer wouldn't leave my head for a few days, so I figured I'd scribble a quick one-shot so it finally leaves me alone.
This is intended as a one shot, unless my muse decides to come back and you guys want to read more about where Vauseman goes from here.
I appreciate all the love you've given my other stories and looking forward to hear your feedback for this one. Follow, fav and do review, it gives me clarity on how it sounds.
"Pipeeer!"
It's Polly's shrilling voice from the room next door that makes Piper quickly finish putting on her earrings while yelling back a loud "coming!" to her best friend. She takes a deep breath before opening the door, as she knows the wrath of Polly will be unleashed on her.
I guess she should've known that's what her role of maid of honor will actually mean.
"How can I help?" she says as soon as he walks into the room and sees Polly trying to get into her dress.
"Zip me up, please."
Piper gets to work immediately, zipping up Polly's dress, helping her get into her shoes and whatever else Polly yells she needs.
"You look gorgeous." She exclaims at the end, and she means it.
"Am I sure I want to marry Pete?"
Piper raises her eyebrows at her best friend, a confused look on her face "This is not the right time for those jokes, Polly. Besides, yes. It's what we are here for."
Polly rolls her eyes, her nervousness over her big day seeping through her.
Piper puts her arms on her shoulders and gives her a reassuring squeeze. "You'll do great. Pete's a good guy, and he makes you laugh and you don't want to kill him. Not often, anyways. There's nothing to be nervous about."
Polly turns around to look at Piper "Well, we'll see if you'll look any different when it's you getting married to Larry."
Piper's face crunches into something like disgust and Polly doesn't miss it. "What?"
"I can't even begin to imagine wanting to spend a forever with someone. Larry included."
Polly is about to protest, but there's a loud knock at the door that interrupts her mid-way through opening her mouth so she switches to "We're coming!" and lets it go, but the knock repeats with "Photographer is here for the getting ready shots" coming from Lauren, Polly's cousin who is one of the bridesmaids.
Piper gives Polly another smile and mouths a "you'll do great" as she heads over to open the doors as Polly checks herself out one more time in the mirror.
She opens the door to the 4 bridesmaids and the photographer, and her eyes get immediately drawn to her.
Long, loose, raven hair, a leather jacket, black V-neck and black jeans. And Piper doesn't think anyone ever looked better in all black, fidgeting with a camera in hands. She knows she is not being very subtle about checking the photographer out, but she snaps back to attention when she sees the woman smirking at her when their eyes lock.
So she looks away, and lets everyone in.
With bridesmaids squealing about how gorgeous Polly looks, and Polly pulling the whole "oh c'mon, I don't" she notices the photographer rolling her eyes and as much as she loves Polly, she finds it hilarious.
"Alright, should we begin?" she breaks the silence, feeling like it would be good to have the photographer actually not hate them all.
The chaos around them suddenly quieting down, which the photographer takes as her cue.
"Alright ladies, my name's Alex and I am the photographer in charge of taking photos of you. My colleague John is with the groom and Nicky, the 3rd member of our team, will be joining us slightly later. Give me 2 minutes to do some basic setup and then we can start."
As Alex is moving the drapes to let the light in and trying to arrange some of the props the best way possible, she notices the cute blond that opened the door for her approach.
"Hey, do you need any help?" the blond says with a timid smile
"No, I think I got it. Just make sure they're ready when we are supposed to start shooting."
As the crowd gathers and Alex starts snapping photos of them, Piper can't help but stare at her, admiring her dedication to the job at hand in spite of how loud and annoying her group became sometimes, enjoying the view of her long legs and the way her arm muscles moved as she looked for perfect position to take a photo.
"Oh, can we do that thing I saw on Pinterest?" Polly starts off and Piper can see Alex is not comfortable with where this is going.
"No, we cannot." Alex bluntly replies.
"Why not?" there's anger in Polly's voice, coming from never expecting to be told no when she is the bride.
"Because, Holly, I'm not here to steal another photographers idea, even if it's out there on Pinterest."
"My name is Polly and I think-"
"-Pol, how about we take that photo we talked about when we were kids, remember?" Piper interrupts before the stand off between the photographer and her best friend continues.
Polly's face breaks into a smile, the Pinterest idea forgotten. Alex mouths a thank you to Piper who just smiles back.
.
.
.
"Alright ladies, we should slowly wrap it here and get moving." Alex proclaims after a long time of photo taking and various different requests Polly had and complains she made.
"Hey, I wanted to do-" Polly starts, but is cut off by Alex
"Sorry, we have to get going, as you need to be downstairs in 5 minutes. I was told to make sure you're not late."
Polly glares at her, obviously annoyed "By whom?"
"The groom." Alex replies with a shrug and Polly is left with her mouth half open.
"That's why you love him, Pol, let's go" Piper interrupts before another crisis ensues.
As Polly turns to add finishing touches to her look and to make sure no make up got destroyed, Alex turns to leave but is stopped by Piper's hand on her forearm "Thanks for the time tracking, she'd go on with this until no end."
"I've seen brides overrun by half an hour, so I try to make sure the groom doesn't suffer much. Poor guy will suffer for the rest of his life anyways."
They share a small laugh.
"Oh and by the way… as maid of honor, I'd say you should focus on the bride, not checking out the hot photographer chick" Alex says with a smug smirk and a wink, turns around and leaves before Piper has a chance to protest.
Alex is grabbing a drink during the reception when she sees Piper approaching.
"Hey, thanks for putting up with Polly today. I know she can be painful"
"Yeah, not many brides try to signal to you during their wedding ceremony which angle to take photos from, but she is still not the worst I ever had."
Alex passes the first flute of champagne to Piper as she turns to grab another one for herself and says a small "cheers" to Piper.
"You've had worse than that?" Piper laughs and Alex just nods.
"Oh yeah. I've had brides with maid's of honor far less attractive than this one."
Piper can feel her face getting red with blush.
"You really speak whatever's on your mind?" she tries to play it back to get Alex to shut up.
"Oh, if I spoke what was actually on my mind-" she raises her eyebrow at Piper who squeals a "Stop!" and it makes Alex laugh.
"Okay, okay. Sorry"
They both smile at each other and sip a bit of their drink.
"What brings you over here so alone?"
"Honestly? I had to run away from the bustle over there. It's too overwhelming so I just needed a break."
"I can see that. Two of the four bridesmaids hate you for being the maid of honor, they thought they deserve that more than you. Pete's already tipsy and Polly is pissed."
"How do you-?
"-know that? Taking photos of people helps you see their true emotions on their face. I'm good at people watching, and weddings are easy as there are many things repeating about them."
"Like pissed bridesmaids?"
"And tipsy grooms. Bridezillas. And there's always that one guy who is lucky enough to be dating far above his league."
"Oh yeah? And who is that?"
Alex raises her champagne towards someone, and Piper trails her vision until her eyes land on Larry.
She's shocked and opens her mouth to protest and then closes it, turning to find Alex smirking at her.
"Just saying, you could do better, kid."
With a furious expression on her face and her hands on her hips Piper glares at Alex with anger "And how the fuck would you know that?"
"Oh, feasty. I like that in a woman." Alex chuckles, but Piper is not giving up.
"Ok, ok. People watching, I told you. He seems boring while you…" she takes a second to look Piper up and down "you most definitely don't strike me as someone happy with just boring."
"There's more to him that meets the eye." Piper replies trying to defend Larry, but she doesn't even believe her own words.
"I'm just saying, love should be hot and exciting. An adventure of sorts, making each other happy and pushing each other out of the comfort zone in order to grow, right?"
There's a thoughtful look on Alex's face as she talks about this and Piper feels like there's a different side to this woman than the cocky seductive one. But she snaps out of it, annoyed by how easily this woman has read through her so easily.
"And what tells you that Larry is not exactly that for me?"
Alex genuinely laughs out loud, which infuriates Piper even more "Whatever you say, kid… oh god, look at that!"
At that, they both turn their attention to see one of the guests drunk enough to be falling over while trying to grab a girl's ass.
"I should fix that." Piper rolls her eyes and gets going as Alex cheers her champagne in her direction.
After dealing with slightly intoxicated guest and making sure the girl he was trying to grab is okay, Piper needs to head back for her speech. As she stands with her glass up, she has a hard time focusing with Alex so close to her, snapping photos.
"Everyone, we've gathered here today to celebrate Pete and Polly and their love. I've known Pol my whole life and, she'll hate me for this, but she always wanted to find that happily ever after. So, Polly told me a while back she knew she loved him when she managed to spend a week with him on a far away island without wanting to kill him… often. And I guess that's what love is, right? Being happy and content next to someone who knows exactly what to say and when to order chinese."
She feels Larry looking at her with a smile, gently touching her leg under the table where no one can see.
She sees Alex smirking at her with her eyebrows raised briefly, before she snaps another photo and she clears her throat before continuing.
"I was told recently that love is also an adventure. It's supposed to be crazy and teach you something new every step of the way. And that's also true. So to love, that stays even when things change and that teaches us a lesson but also heals our pain."
She raises her glass in cheers and sits down, and Larry immediately pecks the corner of her lips, but her eyes are drawn to Alex.
And Alex is standing there, her camera in one hand and her eyes pierced on Piper too, a small smile on her face.
"I seem to bump into you everywhere" Alex's voice is in her ear as she passes by her in the bathroom.
"Are you stalking me?" Piper mock accuses her as Alex stands at the lavatory next to her
"Do you want me to?" Alex says as she just slightly leans into Piper's personal space
"That may be flattering to some, but I find it creepy."
"Then I'm not" she replies and moves away, back to washing her hands. "Nice speech, by the way."
Piper blushes, again, and mouths a rather silent "thanks."
They stay in silence for a bit before Piper speaks up again "You were right, you know?"
"About…?"
"Love, that it needs to be hot and challenging too."
Alex chuckles "I figured you agreed when I heard you talk about it."
"And about Larry... not being very… challenging." Piper barely gets herself to admit out loud.
"I already told you I was always right." She is leaning towards Piper again, and Piper feels like she is forgetting how to breathe.
"You're cocky."
"You like it."
They are mere inches away from each other when Piper pulls back "I should go make sure everything is fine and Polly hasn't killed anyone."
"I'm sure I top that list and I'm alive and here, but go ahead. Have fun."
Piper clears her throat and gives Alex a smile before she walks out of the bathroom.
The next time Alex sees her she is standing in a corner, dancing by herself. Beyonce's "Single ladies" is blasting through the speakers and even though Alex hates the music, she walks over to Piper with her camera in her hands and starts snapping photos.
"Stop!" Piper warns her, but the smile on her face tells Alex otherwise
"You are a good dancer and maid of honor. I'm sure I need plenty photos of you." She's moving around Piper with her camera as she speaks, looking for the right angles to take the photos.
"Just make sure you have more of Polly, okay?" Piper replies, a shy smile on her face as she sways to the music.
"I already delegated that to Nicky, told her I have more important stuff to do." Alex smirks, again, and Piper feels herself slightly blushing.
She locks eyes with Alex and feels a jolt in her stomach just by looking at those eyes. So she flirts with her and her camera as she dances, noticing how Alex is checking her out as she carefully takes more and more pictures of her.
And then the music changes into a slow "Lady in Red" and Alex rolls her eyes.
"I'd dance with you, but this is too boring. And I have work to do." She says as they smile at each other.
"Some other song, maybe."
"Some other event, maybe, as this one I'm not allowed to have fun. I'll take you out for some proper dancing."
Piper is about to reply to say how she'd love that, when Larry appears at her side.
"Pipes, wanna dance? This song is so… us." He speaks to her and only then notices she has company.
Alex laughs and Piper just giggles back before she puts her arms on Larry's shoulders with a "Sure."
"Hey, do you mind taking a picture of us?" he says to Alex now, and Piper is already expecting Alex's arrogance to surface, but instead she says "of course." And snaps the photo with literally no effort before she walks away.
Alex is packing her equipment, her mind filled with thoughts of the night. Of Piper. Chapman, as she learned as the evening progressed. She hoped to see the woman again before she left, but she is nowhere to be found, and the guests are gone anyway so she assumes Piper is too.
And then she hears a soft "hey" behind her, and even though they've known each other for mere hours, she'd recognize that voice anywhere.
She stands and turns with a small "hi" with a smile and sees Piper's lips curl up in one as well.
"I was hoping to catch you before you leave." Piper speaks as she steps closer to her.
"Where's the boyfriend?" Alex asks with a smug look on her face, and Piper just waves her off dismissively.
"Sent him home when he got drunk, an hour ago or so."
"Damn! Should've paid closer attention when you were alone."
"I guess you had more important business to tend to." Piper replies.
"Never. Anyway, what for?" Alex asks and Piper's puzzled expression gets her to explain before Piper can say anything "you said you were hoping to catch me."
Piper's face turns to understanding as an "Oh!" escapes her lips
"Just to say yes."
It's Alex's turn to be confused now and Piper smiles at her expression, her eyebrows close together and her eyes squirming.
"To taking me out for proper dancing. Or did you change your mind?" Piper raises her eyebrow at her and it takes everything in Alex not to lunge forward and kiss her.
"Definitely didn't. And I definitely will."
They stare at each other, capturing each other's faces for a couple of seconds, soft smiles on their faces, before Alex turns and grabs something from her bag.
She moves closer to Piper and takes her hand.
It's the first time they touched, and the thought passes through both of their minds. Alex notices how Piper's skin is so soft, and Piper doesn't miss the firmness but gentleness in Alex's touch.
She brings her hand up, palm towards herself and scribbles her phone number on her hand.
"Typing it into the phone too good for you?" Piper asks as a huge grin takes over her face
"Nah, too boring. And I don't do boring."
She picks up the rest of her equipment and turns her face towards Piper as she is walking out.
"Call me, kid." She says as she winks at Piper, turns and walks away.
Piper stares at her palm for a bit, a huge smile on her face as she processes what just happened.
"Oh, I definitely will" she whispers to herself as she pulls her phone out to type in Alex's number.
Looking forward to hear your thoughts on this one. Have a good one!