"Hey you. Laura Ingalls Wilder."

Piper blinked in confusion, turning to the source of the voice that appeared to be trying to catch her attention. The voice belonged to a dark-haired woman who was clutching a beer and seemed to be enjoying a night out with a group of friends.

"We're escaping America before the apocalypse. Wanna come?" The woman continued, tipping her beer in Piper's direction. The blonde turned around, peering over her shoulder to check if the other woman was indeed addressing her or someone behind her. Nope, she definitely seemed to be talking to her.

"Sorry?" Piper asked in the direction of the crowded table, slightly perplexed.

Her blue eyes lingered on the woman with the dark hair. There was something about her. Something mysterious.

"What can I get for you?" Her thoughts were interrupted by the bartender who had just approached. Piper tore her eyes away from the mysterious woman and held out her resume. After all, that had been the sole reason she'd come into this bar in the first place. She couldn't survive forever on the allowance her parents were giving her. She was twenty-two, it was time for her to make her own way in the world. Try to, anyway.

"Hi, I was wondering if you're hiring?" Piper asked politely. She didn't have a whole lot of experience so bar work/waitressing seemed to be the best option right now. The hours would fit perfectly around her studies and not to mention a few friends said it tipped pretty well.

Her hopes were shot down however, when the bartender shook his head sadly at her. "Um, no.. sorry."

"Well, can I leave this with you?" Piper urged, pushing the resume across the bar.

"Honestly? It's just gonna end up in a draw somewhere." Piper frowned, a little disheartened and watched the bartender turn to leave and serve other customers. Okay, she hadn't been expecting that.

"Well…" Well, she could leave. There was another bar down the road she could try – perhaps she'd have more luck there. Or she could stay and have a drink. Piper glanced over her shoulder, eyes seeking out the raven haired woman that had spoken up earlier. She couldn't explain what it was but something about this woman had her curious. She wasn't ready to leave just yet.

"Can I have a margarita then?"

"That I can do for you."

Piper smiled and took a seat at the bar while she waited for her drink to be served. Was it just her imagination or could she feel a pair of eyes burning into her back?

"It's a little cold out for a margarita, don't you think?" Piper looked up startled. The dark haired woman had left her group of friends and was there. At the bar. Right next to her. And she was talking to her again. Who was this woman?

"Let's see this.." Piper was left even more startled when the woman brazenly picked up the resume she'd left at the bar and started to read it. Who did that!? Raven haired beauties with husky voices apparently. "Steve's Greek Cuisine? Le Grand Fromage? Bullshit.. bullshit.. You need a lesson in fudging a resume." The woman chuckled throatily as she read down the list of Piper's past 'employers.'

"Do you work here?" Piper asked innocently, gazing up at the other woman. She was tall and had long dark hair curling down past her shoulders. She hadn't noticed before but she could see now that the tips were dyed an electric blue. She caught a glimpse of several tattoos on her uncovered arms as well. She had this whole rockabilly vibe going on. The complete opposite of herself.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The mysterious woman scoffed and raised a quizzical eyebrow. Their eyes lingered on each other for several long seconds and Piper shuffled awkwardly on her stool. The woman turned her attention back to the resume which she continued to mock but Piper didn't seem able to tear her eyes away. "Manager, Polly Harper.." The woman continued to read lazily from her resume, "..nobody named Polly Harper gets put in charge. Who is that really?"

Was Piper imagining it, or was this woman shamelessly flirting with her?

"She's my friend," the blonde admitted shyly with a little shrug of her shoulders. Her response got a loud chuckle from the taller woman and Piper couldn't help but stare at that mouth. She was used to random strangers chatting her up in bars.. but none had made her feel quite like this.

"You've never waited a fucking table in your life, have you?" Piper glanced down shyly with a shake of her head, her fingers moving to fidget with her cocktail glass. She'd been caught. This stranger was able to see straight through her. How was that?

"So.. Piper Chapman.." Something coursed through her when that husky voice said her name and Piper's gaze returned to the other woman. "'A Smith grad with excellent listening skills.. passionate about making diners feel good'.. hmm.. That sounds kinda dirty." She sent a wicked grin in Piper's direction before grabbing the bartender's attention and ordering a margarita for herself too. "'Safe, clean and careful when handling food and drink..'"

Okay, that was enough of the mockery now. Grinning with shy embarrassment, Piper snatched the resume away, held it protectively to her chest and pouted at the unnamed woman. She ought to be offended but quite honestly she was rather enjoying herself. She liked the attention this woman was giving her. Her group of friends were still back at the table but the woman showed no signs of going back to join them just yet.

"I like that in a woman," the stranger carried on, raising a perfectly plucked suggestive eyebrow down at Piper. "What else do I need to know about you?"

"Who are you?" Piper asked, answering the question aimed at her with a question of her own. The raven haired woman already knew quite enough about herself yet Piper still didn't even know her name.

"My name is Alex," she offered as she sipped her margarita. Piper found her eyes gazing once again on those red lips. Alex leaned against the bar and those plump lips formed into a smirk. It was as though she were inviting Piper to ask more questions.

"And what do you do, Alex?" She suddenly wanted to know everything there was to know about this woman. "Besides make fun of strangers in bars?" Piper was very glad she'd come over to make fun of her though.

"I work for an international drug cartel." She didn't even bat an eyelid as she said it. Her expression was dead serious and Piper was slightly taken aback until Alex tilted her head back and let out a loud, deep laugh. Oh, she was just kidding. Of course she was. Who admitted that to random people in bars? Then again, who approached random people in bars and proceeded to make fun of their resumes? This woman, clearly. They'd been talking less than five minutes and Piper could already tell Alex wasn't like anyone else she'd ever met.

"Hey Alex, we're headed out of here." Piper jumped, startled. She had been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't noticed anyone approaching. It was a young looking woman with a pixie looking face and short hair. One of Alex's friends from the table. "We're gonna crash that lame ass dorm party.. teach them how to really party."

"Alright you go ahead, Izzy." Alex said to the girl but didn't take her eyes off Piper. Izzy seemed to have noticed her friend's strange behaviour and Piper felt eyes like daggers on her. She didn't want to cause any trouble and cleared her throat hesitantly, "I guess I should get going as well, I've got a paper due tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, Al—"

"No." She felt a grip around her wrist and looked down to find Alex's fingers wrapped around her arm. Electricity coursed through her veins at the contact and Piper chewed nervously on her lower lip before gazing up at Alex. She could see Izzy waiting impatiently behind her, arms folded across her chest. Alex still had Piper's wrist firmly grasped in her grip. She knew you ought to be concerned when strangers grabbed you in bars but that small amount of contact from Alex was doing strange things to her insides. "Ditch your shitty paper and come party with us. I'm not ready to say goodnight to you yet, Piper Chapman."

Alex loosened her grip on Piper and allowed her fingers to lightly tickle the inside of her pale wrist before pulling away completely and finishing off the last gulps of her margarita.

"O-okay." Piper cursed herself internally for the stuttered response that escaped her lips. What was the worst that could happen if she went with them? She wasn't ready to say goodnight to Alex either. She still wanted to know more about this mysterious stranger. Izzy didn't seem bet pleased that she'd be joining the group and Piper wondered what the deal was with the two women. Were they perhaps more than friends?

Her thoughts were disturbed when Alex grabbed her hand and literally dragged her off of her bar stool. "I hope you can handle your drink, Piper Chapman.." the taller woman teased with a wicked smirk before leading her out into the street.