Hey guys, I have been a bit under the radar lately... thank you to everyone who congratulated me and wished me well with my pregnancy, It's so nice to feel accepted and like I fit into a community for a change! (I don't really get that feeling in my "Real" life, so thank you!) I'm 28 weeks now and feeling a lot less sick! I haven't abandoned my other fic I'm just lacking in inspiration with it for the moment. This story is something I've had in my mind for a while, It's just going to be a relatively short fic (10 chapters or so) but I wanted to get it out there. Not particularly filled with drama but I wanted to just experiment with a bit of fluff :) Again, thanks guys, enjoy, and as always, please review :) Lise xx
Piper Chapman was 18 years old and still lived with her parents, both her brother's had moved out and she was the only child left living in the house. Some would say she wasn't socialised. She had lived in the same town and the same house her entire life. The weird thing was, while she was comfortable with it, she always wondered if there was more to life than routine. She craved excitement in her life.
Polly Harper had been Piper's best friend and immediate next door neighbour since she was 2 years old. They were two completely different people when it came to style and interests and yet somehow, their common upbringing had seen their friendship through the test of time. Only now, Piper's father, Bill, had gotten a job over the other side of town and her parent's had decided that now was the right time to move house. Piper was dreading it. Even though the thought of having a larger room appealed to her, the thought of not knowing anyone and leaving everything she was used to was daunting to her.
"Piper, get your ass up here and help me shift the last of these boxes, Jesus, what do you have in here? Bricks?" Polly was yelling down the stairs as she dragged a box along the landing. Piper ran up and grabbed the other side of the box.
"Sorry Pol, I was just helping Dad put my desk onto the moving truck."
They carried the last of the boxes down to the truck in silence until the house was empty.
"Well, I guess this is it." Bill said, standing beside Piper, Looking at the house and wiping his hands on his worn jeans.
Piper stood still not quite knowing what to do, the finality of it hitting her like a brick. She had her whole life in this house, her birthdays, her first boyfriend, her first kiss, first day at school... She couldn't believe she was actually leaving.
Polly turned and hugged her, sensing she didn't know what to do. "Get in that van and don't look back, Pipes. I'll be over to visit as much as I can. You'll have to tell me what all the hot boys are like while you're fishing in that side of the pond, I might have to move too."
Piper laughed at her friend, gave her a kiss on the cheek and hopped into her father's SUV. "I'll see you soon Poll. Love ya."
As the SUV rode out of the drive, the heavens opened and Piper laughed as Polly ran back inside her own house, squealing loudly.
A few tears ran down Piper's cheeks as they drove away from the home. Bill turned to her. "Piper, it will work out for the best, I know it's hard, but think of the opportunities you'll have on this side of town, it's so much closer to the city and you'll be able to find more friends and get out a bit more."
Piper nodded and her dad patted her leg. "You'll be fine. Hey, Let's stop for a drink on the way to the new house, don't tell your mother though, she would be devastated if she knew she was missing out on the chance to drink in public." They both laughed and Bill pulled into the nearest bar. It was a modern bar and they both looked out of place in their "Moving house" clothes. Piper felt a little out of place in her pale blue jeans and old worn t shirt. Her hair was pulled in a messy bun and she wasn't wearing much makeup. She ordered her drink and sat down by the window. This side of town was so much busier than she was used to, she contemplated that this is what life will be like from now on, busy, hectic and lonely.
Little did she know, she was being watched from afar by a girl whose eye she had caught the moment she had entered the bar. Alex Vause was 24 when she first saw Piper Chapman. Alex was sitting in her usual spot, the far back corner of the bar, nestled into a small booth that wasn't completely obvious to people just passing in and out but it still gave her the opportunity to people watch when she felt like it. In fact, this was her former colleague's bar. Alex had been on a narrow path to failure when she had left school and her mother had died unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm. Galina Reznikov had been a dear friend of Alex's mother and was going through a bad divorce when Diane had died. She had seen how badly it had affected Alex and had saved her from almost joining a renowned drug cartel. She had used the money from the divorce to open the bad "Red Rum" and had taken Alex under her wing. Alex finished a diploma and had become a very successful business advisor. She owned part of the bar but preferred to stay silent and just feed money into it when it needed anything, rather than be an active part of it. Alex owned parts of several other businesses in the city as well, she had done well for herself and had become quite wealthy.
She had noticed Piper as soon as the door had opened. She was drinking a cappuccino and looking through business files on her laptop, she would usually be engrossed in her work at this point but something made her look up when the door opened. She had to look twice, this blonde girl looked in such disarray but pulled it off so well. The way she was dressed and the downtrodden look on her face let Alex know it had been a long day for her. She tried to get back to her work and focus on the documents she needed to prepare but she couldn't stop looking at this girl, something about her was captivating Alex and she liked that she could watch her without being noticed. She made a mental note of what Piper was drinking.
Bill had a small beer because he still had to drive and Piper had enjoyed 2 Margaritas, before they had packed up and left for home, Bill was pleasantly surprised and confused to know their drinks were on the house. It had stopped raining by the time they reached the new house and Piper hoped that it was a sign that things were going to be ok for her and everything would work out how it was supposed to.