"What else do I need to know about you?" The innocent blonde shifted slightly in her seat while taking a moment to process the situation. I could only assume that she was a very shy person, either that or I was too straightforward for her. either way, she had to take a few seconds before finally getting the confidence to keep the conversation going.
"Who are you?" She spoke quietly and I turned my head to look at her with a slight smile forming on my lips.
"My name is Alex." There was something in her eyes that I just couldn't shake. If I wanted to look away, I wouldn't have been able to. We gazed at one another and, although it was more than slightly obvious that she was still embarrassed from my teasing, she seemed intrigued by me. I liked that.
"And what do you do Alex? Besides make fun of strangers in bars."
"I work for an international drug cartel."
The look on her face showed something of complete shock and also confusing as if she didn't know whether or not to believe what I had just admitted to her. The laugh that erupted from my throat came too quickly to hold in. I guess she just assumed that because I was laughing that what I said was a joke. I think that now she might wish it would have been.

That is what landed us both in this shitstorm. I've never regretted what I have done in the past. If I'm being totally honest, more often than not, I miss it. The sick rush of power that I used to feel, the freedom, traveling, piper. Ultimately, everything good ends, your freedom will always be yanked away from you. I'm a survivor, that is what I do. Sure, I've made a lot of fucked up choices in my life, but I'm not a bad person. I live to survive and sometimes it gets the best of me. We are all fucked up, just some of us are willing to admit it.
It's funny; I promised myself that I wouldn't think about Piper, but by doing so, that's all I can think about. And I'm so fucking angry. I'm back in this hellhole because she couldn't be alone. It's so typical. I should've seen this coming. Part of me knew that I wasn't going to get away with skipping town, that something would drag me back here.. I guess I just never thought that Piper would be the one to eat me out. I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss her, because I did… So fucking badly. Seeing her the other day felt so refreshing. Being able to touch her again, even if only for a few seconds, was like fireworks. I hate that she has this affect on me.
So, I'm sitting here in Mrs. Rosa's old bunk, reading The Great Gatsby, trying to keep to myself, away from her. I haven't seen anyone I care about yet, besides Morello of course. Knowing her, it won't be long until Nichols shows up. I have no problem with that, though. I want to see them all again, but I know that Piper will be with them and that's the last thing that I want right now. After all of this shit, I deserve a few moments to myself. Even if they are spent reading this book for the hundredth time in this shitty excuse for a bed.
So much has changed since I left this place. Fig is gone and so is Mrs. Rosa and everyone is still recovering from the infamous Vee. Morello tried to fill me in on as much as she could, but she said so much it just went right over my head.
"I knew you missed me Vause, but getting yourself thrown back in here just to see me again? I could've just added you to my visitation list."
My eyes move from the tiny printed words up to the crazy haired woman standing in the doorway. My lips curl up slightly and I set my book aside, pushing my glasses to the top of my head. "Well, the visitation room is so open, I thought that this way we could really 'catch up'."
Nicky winks and we both erupt into laughter as she sits herself down next to me on the bunk. "Welcome back Vause."
I scoff quietly, "Thanks. No place I'd rather be." My smile fades and I lean my head back against the wall behind me. There she is again,in my head. All I can think about is Piper. Not seeing her is eating away at my skin, but I know that it'll only make me feel worse.
Nicky has always been good at knowing when to speak and when not too. She always knows the right things to say to cheer people up. "Come on Vause, you'll get used to things again soon. For now, we better get to lunch. It tastes like shit, but I would rather eat snot flavored oatmeal than not eat at all."
"I don't know.." I shrug and look down at my hands that are resting in my lap.
"She just finished and went to her bunk, don't worry."
I nod and stand up, letting out a small breath. "Let's go"

"Alex. Are you even listening to me Alex?"
"What?"
"I said, let's go. We are going to be late if you don't hurry up."
Piper was now sitting next to me with a worried look on her face. I laughed and ran my fingers through her hair slowly. "Relax Piper."
"Polly and Steven said to be there at 8:30 and I don't want to be late. "
"Pipes, we aren't going to be late, it's okay." My thumb ran gently along her jawline as she looked at me uneasily. "Don't worry babe, everything is fine." She has always been a victim to anxiety, it just acted up the most on nights like those. Piper was always distraught until we were alone again. Then, everything went away and I could visibly see her relaxing. I on the other hand am totally fine being around people. Piper cared too much about making people like her and like me. I didn't give a shit what anyone thought. Well, anyone other than Piper.
"Okay." She whispered under her breath and her lips curled up slightly, hinting to me that she was starting to relax. I smiled back at the beautiful young blonde sitting in front of me and leaned myself closer until our lips met. I kissed her gently for a few seconds and then pulled away slowly, only enough so that our lips were apart, but our foreheads, were still touching.
"I love you." I spoke softly with a smile on my face.
"I love you too."

After lunch I just came back to my bunk to nap and read again. I figured that if I stayed her, Piper wouldn't show up. I'm avoiding the inevitable for as long as possible. I had to rest after lunch. I never knew that listening to two people banter for twenty minutes could be so tiring. I'm not sure if Lorna and Nicky are screwing again, but if not I hope they start up again soon. Maybe then they will stop arguing like a married couple. Anyways, I'm supposed to get my job assignment tomorrow and hopefully my bunk too. It'll be nice to get out of this Orange sack. Everywhere I go it's just screaming for people to stare at me. My hope is that they will put me back in laundry, even if that means I will have to see Pennsatucky everyday. It will be nice getting back to something i'm so used to doing. Being "new" again is alienating. This whole situation is so fucking stupid.
As I am reading, I hear footsteps coming towards my room. None of my roommates have come back yet, thank God. I enjoyed the silence while I had it. It's not that I don't like the other people in here, it's just that some of them are really fucking annoying. As the footsteps approached me, I sighed loudly, keeping my eyes on the words that are written on the page. "I don't mind if you are in here, but I'm reading so just keep to yourself."
A tranquil voice, all too familiar to me filled my eardrums, "Hey Alex."