Just a stab at teenage Vauseman, to see if I perhaps could write a teenage AU later on.

The Swimming Pool

It had all started at a party just like this one a year ago.

The rancid smell of weed and liquor had infiltrated the loud, sweaty atmosphere of the large house. It seemed as if every graduate from the local high school was there in some form or fashion whether they were intoxicated, high, or a mixture of both. Very rarely did someone get out of this house the slightest bit sober. Sounds of pop music were reverberating heavily off of every surface. Teenagers were dancing closely to one another. So close that their sweat dripping down their bodies mingled and the body heat between them was near burning capabilities. The front door was wide open practically allowing anyone to enter unlike the upstairs bedrooms where teenagers had slipped away with their lovers.

Inside one of those locked upstairs rooms was the just graduated senior who had undoubtedly hit on every single cheerleader who's skirt was intentionally too short and volleyball player who's spandex hugged just a little too tight, Nicky Nichols. Nicky was known for her wild, blonde hair and her crazy antics, but no one knew she was a hopeless romantic once you chipped away at her tough exterior. Her new girlfriend as of almost six months ago was Lorna Morello, the cheer squad's co-captain. Lorna had previously been in a relationship with the basketball teams point guard, Christopher, but had broken up due to his infidelity. The co-captain had been craving attention and affection, something that slowly diminished the longer she stayed with Christopher. The two teenagers had practically been attached at the hip ever since Nicky had approached her in the parking lot after homecoming almost nine months ago. The first three months they spent time together learning what made the other one tick until something had dawned on Nicky that she had to make this girl hers. Something about how she did her make-up and her adorable accent completely drew her in. Nicky never stayed in a relationship for more than three months because monogamy and romanticism wasn't her thing, but something about this co-captain was captivating.

The closest house was hundreds of yards away. Cars were lined up for miles and the trek to the house seemed like a never ending hike in the Sahara desert. Moans and breathless professions of love could be heard coming from various vehicles that belonged to the party-goers along with loud, thumping music that threatened to burst their speakers. Although the stars were shining bright, the air was still warm and sticky. The recent June rain had brought out the swarms of mosquitoes who were just itching to feed on the nearest warm-blooded organism. Crickets could be heard chirping and bees could be heard buzzing around the bodies mingling outside of the house. The mailbox had been haphazardly knocked over after a member of the wrestling team had jumped the curb in his lifted truck.

Beer cans and glass bottles were strung out over the table tops and scattered about the floor surrounding the overflowing trash can. Cheers of joy and harsh profanities could be heard coming from the garage where intense games of beer pong and endless keg stands had been happening for the past three hours. Off the lavish dining room with cabinets of fine china just waiting to be smashed in from horseplay was the game room that contained a retro pinball machine and a pool table. It was mostly the football players surrounding the pool table with their cheerleader girlfriends clinging to their sides, but the main attraction in the room was Alex Vause and her vast pool skills.

No one knew that Alex Vause was a straight A student if you just glanced at her. You would assume she had a hard life and was a troublemaker, but school came easy to her, but nobody knew that except her girlfriend who was sitting on a barstool next to the rack of cues admiring how far they had come since this time last year. Alex was intimidating yet exquisite with her black secretary glasses and matching tresses, but it wasn't that that had attracted Piper Chapman to this girl, it was something deeper and more hidden. Alex longed for something constant in her life. Ever since she could remember, her mother worked multiple jobs just to pay rent and put food on the table. She couldn't count how many times they had to pick up and move because the rent had grown to be too expensive or because the violence in the apartments around them had escalated too far for their comfort. When Piper Chapman, the cheer squad's captain had walked into the room, exactly a year ago, she had taken Alex's breath away.

Alex had seen her before, but it was always from a distance. Their high school was so big that they shared no classes together and the halls were always too packed to see who was really around you. It wasn't until the annual graduation party held by the cheer captain, that Alex had actually gotten a good look at her now girlfriend. She had still been wearing her cheer uniform because the cheerleaders had to pass out the graduation ceremonies programs to all the families as they came into the arena. It had all happened in the same room they were standing in now, and Alex had also been holding the cue stick waiting for her turn.

Piper had been searching for her best-friend, Polly, but was having no such luck, but when she scanned the room and locked eyes with Alex, it was as if the world had briefly stopped turning. The only reason she knew who Alex was, was because Lorna was her science partner. From everything Lorna had described about this raven-haired senior, Piper automatically dubbed her as a player and never thought anything else about her.

To say Alex had come a long way from her days fucking girls under the bleachers or behind the gym was an understatement. When Piper had broken herself out of her trance, she had quickly exited the room and walked outside towards the pool which was surprisingly empty. Her heart was racing and her mind was in overdrive. She was confused as to why she was feeling this way about Alex, her whole life she had been attracted to boys. She was even in between relationships due to her ex, Larry, graduating and going off to school in Pennsylvania, and now the quarterback had been desperately trying to win her over. When Alex had found the blonde, she was sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. Piper had been quite surprised when Alex sat next to her and introduced herself, but it all seemed natural, something she had never felt before.

It had been quite a messy ride since then. It took Piper quite some time to accept her new found sexuality and show public displays of affection, but Alex stood right by her side through it all. From the beginning Piper knew this wasn't just going to be a purely platonic friendship, the feelings she endured when walking into that game room were too strong and unavoidable to be just friends. They hadn't made it official until six months ago around Christmas. The pair had spent countless hours sitting by the pool getting to know one another and what made them tick. The girl Piper had once deemed a player had turned out to be someone who deep down had a heart full of love and craved something constant in her life besides her mother. Piper didn't judge Alex for how her life had been growing up. In fact, Piper was happy to get away from the lavish, and luxurious lifestyle that Bill and Carol Chapman had led her to believe was the only way to live. She had fallen in love with someone quite the opposite of who her parents wanted her to be with, but that was freeing as she revealed to her parents she was dating a female. Diane had loved Piper from the beginning and often told her daughter she was a keeper even before they had made it official.

Their first kiss had happened a few days after Alex had asked Piper to be her girlfriend on the edge of the swimming pool. Alex's lips had been just as intoxicating then as they were now.

Their first time being intimate had started in the backseat of Piper's Camaro outside of the movie theater and ended in the guest house just steps away from the swimming pool. It had been a whole new experience for the blonde. She had been with her fair share of boys, but none of them had made her feel the way Alex did.

Their first profession of love had just happened today as they had found each other in the sea of graduates after graduation. Alex had known for a while that this girl was different, and Piper knew the feelings she had for Alex were genuine.

The way Alex hadn't just played her and moved on, but had sort of settled down and hadn't pushed Piper into anything meant everything to the blonde. She had also learned that you can't control the feelings you have for someone despite how much you will them to go away. Of course, she had gotten teased for dating and even talking to someone like Alex, but they didn't know the true story. They only believed what they saw, not what they heard.

And even now, a year since that inevitable night, sitting watching her girlfriend dominate the pool table as usual, Piper couldn't think of anywhere else she'd rather be. When Alex had walked over to place her cue back in the rack after she won another game of pool and drug her out to the backyard to their usual sitting place on the edge of the swimming pool, Piper knew this was where she was supposed to be despite what everyone else said.

A/N: This is what happens when I lock myself out of my house for three hours. All typed on my phone.

Cheers.