un mal pour un bien

Part One

Alex pushed her way through the stage door, feeling out of breath. The door swung open with force, crashing loudly into the brick exterior of the edgy venue where Death Maiden had just played the latest show of their reunion tour. The night air cooled her heated skin, and she gasped huge gulps of it into her lungs as she tried to get her emotions in check; tried to stop the tears from escaping down her flushed cheeks.

"I'm such a fucking idiot," she muttered angrily to herself, kicking at the base of a street lamp in frustration. It was embarrassing, really, what she had been expecting to happen. For this man, this complete stranger, to smile and pull her into a warm hug when she revealed to him that she was his daughter; that he'd say something like, "I've always wanted a daughter," and they'd live happily ever after like a fairytale. It was a fantasy that had begun in childhood, and only now did she realize just how fanciful and childish it had been. She shook her head, angry at herself for feeling so upset over someone she didn't even know and quickly wiped away the tear that had escaped down her cheek.

A voice cleared behind her, interrupting her internal beratement, and she spun around quickly, completely unaware that she wasn't alone here in this alley between the music venue and the neighboring bar.

"Are you okay?" A blonde girl, about Alex's age, was sitting on the pavement with her back pressed against the wall of the venue. Her knees were drawn up toward her chest and she was holding her phone in both her hands resting against her raised knees. It was obvious she had been looking at it before she had redirected her gaze to Alex, the lit-up screen casting her face in a soft white glow. It made her features look almost eerie, reminding Alex of when she was a kid and her mom would hold a flashlight under her face to tell ghost stories.

Alex couldn't suppress her smirk and soft chuckle as she looked the girl up and down. "I think the Taylor Swift concert is at the venue down the street," she quipped, gesturing to the right with her thumb.

"Ha. ha," the girl replied drily with a slight eye roll and a small smile of her own. She was wearing a white sundress dotted all over with small pink and yellow flowers paired with a light-wash jean jacket and strappy brown sandals.

Taking a step closer to her, Alex asked with a laugh, "Were you at the Death Maiden concert?"

The girl nodded. She scrunched up her nose and said with sparkling blue eyes, "They really weren't that good, were they?"

Alex laughed, surprised by her comment. To be honest, she hadn't really paid much attention to the show, feeling too nervous about meeting her dad for the first time. She didn't admit this, though, to the other girl. "They were pretty fucking awful, actually," she agreed affiliatively, wanting this girl to like her for some reason, and also just wanting to say something negative about her dad.

The blonde's phone buzzed, and she tore her sparkly eyes from Alex's to read over the text. Whatever it said caused a frown to stretch across her face.

It felt awkward, standing over the stranger while she stared at her phone, and Alex knew that she should probably slip away. She still had the long drive home ahead of her.

"If you don't like Death Maiden, then why'd you come?" she asked instead, scuffing the toe of her black combat boot on the pavement.

The blonde's eyes met Alex's again, surprised. Maybe because she was still standing there. "Oh, um," she began, glancing back to her phone one more time before returning her gaze to Alex. "I came with my friend, Sarah. She's really into the opening band, The Gruff Goats."

Alex took another step closer to the blonde. "Oh," she said, confused. If she came with a friend, then why was she out here alone?

The blonde sensed Alex's confusion and laughed. She said, in an almost gossipy tone, "Sarah is, like, an actual, real-life groupie. She's probably hooking up with the guitarist right now." She sighed, rolling her eyes, "She does this all the time." She didn't sound too upset at the fact that her friend had ditched her, maybe just slightly inconvenienced. She gestured to her phone. "I'm trying to find someone who can pick me up and give me a ride home," Frowning as her phone buzzed again, she finished, "But it seems like everybody's busy."

"I can give you a ride," Alex blurted, and it was totally inappropriate, she knew. She didn't even know this girl. But now that the offer was out there, she shrugged and waited to see what the other girl would say.

The blonde squinted up at Alex with a raised eyebrow and said, "I'm not supposed to take rides from strangers; you could be a murderer for all I know."

A surprised chuckle escaped the darker haired girl's lips, and she watched the blonde smile in satisfaction at Alex's reaction. Her eyes were sparkly again as she awaited Alex's reply, almost challengingly.

"Well," she began, her voice husky as she kept her eyes trained on the other girl's blue ones. "My name is Alex, so we are no longer strangers, and I have never murdered anyone, scout's honor." She held up her right hand as proof.

The blonde laughed playfully. "Well, Alex, that is exactly what a murderer would say."

Alex liked the way her name sounded on the blonde girl's tongue.

Before she could reply, the girl's phone began to ring. The chorus of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" filled the silence between them.

Eyes never leaving Alex's, she answered, "Hey, mom," without even checking the caller ID.

Alex had to give her props for the choice of ringtone that she imagined was personally assigned for her mom only.

The girl listened for a moment, and then met Alex's eyes. "No, actually, I found a ride. Tell Danny thanks, but he can go ahead over to Julia's." She paused, listening, still holding Alex's gaze. "Mmhmm. I will. Loveyoutoobye." She grinned, reaching her hand out to the dark-haired girl. "So, Alex. Where are you parked?"

Alex grasped her hand and tugged her up onto her feet, noting the cool, softness of her skin and her long, thin fingers. Her nails were painted a light pink. Alex dropped the other girl's hand and gestured with her head as she said, "This way."

"I'm Piper, by the way. Also not a murderer, in case you were worried."

Alex laughed, already feeling enamored with this girl. "Thank you for clarifying that, Piper. I was actually very concerned. That sundress really gives off murder-y vibes," she said mock-serious.

Piper chuckled, amused that Alex was playing along, and bumped her shoulder into the taller girl's as they walked. It felt overly friendly; not how you would interact with someone who you'd only just met. Alex tried not to read too much into it. They emerged from the alley, and Piper followed Alex's lead as she headed toward a parking lot. "Thanks for the ride. I'm only about twenty minutes outside of Hartford."

Smiling at her, Alex replied, "It's not a problem. Really."

When they reached her car, Alex stuck the key into the lock on the driver's side door as Piper waited on the passenger's side. For a moment, Alex felt a touch of embarrassment because of her old, janky car that didn't even have automatic locks, but Piper didn't say anything. She didn't even look annoyed at having the wait in the slightly cool early Autumn air.

Alex climbed into the driver's seat and leaned across the console to unlock Piper's door. The blonde slid in with ease, somehow looking so comfortable there, like she had ridden with Alex hundreds of times before, and not like they had only just met fifteen minutes ago.

"What's your address?" Alex asked, pulling up the maps app on her phone.

"3112 Tenmeadows drive," she replied, reaching forward to mess with the dials on the radio. Alex let her choose the station, mainly because she was curious as to what music her companion would settle on.

After a few minutes, Piper found the station she was looking for. It was an alternative rock station, currently playing the newest AWOLnation song. Alex could deal with that.

They sat in silence for awhile, just listening to the music. Piper seemed to know the song pretty well and sang softly along with some of the lyrics as she stared out the window. When the song ended, she looked over at Alex and asked hesitantly, "Why were you so upset before?"

Alex had honestly forgotten for the time being the earlier events of the night, of meeting her dad. Instead, her attention had been focused on Piper. She wanted to tell her about it, which surprised her, because Alex was a fairly private person. She didn't share her feelings with just anyone. But she had felt this draw to Piper since the moment she met her, and that made her want to confide in the other girl.

Alex must have taken too long to answer, because Piper joked, "Don't tell me you're a groupie like Sarah and were trying to hook up with one of the guys in the band?"

The darker haired girl chuckled and rolled her eyes in Piper's direction, turning her face slightly away from the road and toward the blonde's. Alex lifted her eyebrows and said, "No. Not really my type."

Piper's eyes widened a bit, and she asked disbelievingly, "Musicians aren't your type?" As if every girl in the universe was into guys who were in bands. Maybe every straight girl was.

Alex chuckled at her response, and then gathered up the courage she always had to gather when she came out to someone and clarified, "Guys in general are not my type."

It was always a bit uncomfortable, to make this revelation; especially to someone she didn't know well enough to guess their reaction. It's a weird feeling, to know that some people will dislike you based on something as personal and inconsequential as who you're attracted to.

"Oh," Piper said, sounding maybe a little surprised, but Alex didn't perceive any negative judgement on her part. "Cool." She looked like she maybe wanted to say more, because her mouth opened again briefly, but a second later she changed her mind, reaching forward to mess with the radio dial again instead.

Alex cleared her throat. "So, the drummer for Death Maiden?" She glanced at Piper who nodded, urging her to continue. "That's my dad. And I met him for the first time tonight."

Piper must have realized that Alex was answering her earlier question, and her face softened a bit with sympathy. She touched Alex's arm gently. "What happened?"

Alex laughed sardonically, feeling stupid about the whole situation, but needing to tell someone about it. "He was just so fucking high. He made a comment about how I have nice tits and how he could have accidentally fucked me, because he had no idea he had a daughter." Alex's voice cracked as she finished, "He was such a loser."

"Damn. That's really fucked up."

Green eyes met blue and Alex gave Piper a small smile of gratitude for the solidarity. "Yeah. I've imagined meeting him so many times. It's always just been my mom and me, and don't get me wrong, she's my best friend and I love her, but I always wondered what it would be like to have a dad; a complete family, you know?"

Piper nodded. "I get that." She paused as she considered if she should say something more.

"What?" Alex prodded.

"It's just…" she interrupted herself, "We don't know each other, so I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but just because someone has a complete family doesn't mean it's a happy one. I mean, you said you love your mom and that she's your best friend; well, I grew up with both my parents and I've never had that with either of them."

Alex nodded, surprised that Piper had opened up to her in this way. "I know; you're right. I wouldn't trade my mom for anything; I'm definitely lucky to have her." Alex met her eyes as she followed the directions on the GPS to exit the highway. "I'm sorry to hear that about your parents, though. I guess that perfect family I dreamed up as a kid probably doesn't actually exist for most people anyway."

Piper chuckled, "Probably not. My mom means well, but she's obsessed with what other people think of her and of our family. She's kind of controlling in that way; making sure my brothers and I don't do anything that could make people to view us or our family negatively."

Alex blew out a sigh. "That sounds like a lot of pressure."

"It is sometimes." Piper copied Alex's sigh, then took a deep breath, proclaiming, "But I'm working on not giving into her so much and living my life the way I want to live it."

"Thus the choice of ringtone?" Alex asked, remembering when Piper's mom had called her earlier.

"You noticed that?" Piper laughed. "Yeah, exactly. I have to remind myself not to back down."

"I thought it was really clever."

Piper smiled, and Alex could have sworn she saw blue eyes flit quickly to her mouth. Her stomach flipped pleasantly at the thought of it, but she convinced herself that it was too dark in the car and she had probably just imagined it. Wishful thinking and all, because she was definitely crushing on Piper at this point.

As they neared the blonde's house, Alex had the urge to drive ten miles under the speed limit, just to prolong their time together, which was quickly running out. They pulled into the driveway, and Alex's eyes widened at the size of Piper's house. "Wow," she mumbled under her breath, but Piper definitely heard her.

She blushed and said, "Yeah, it's a nice house." She seemed to hesitate as well, staring at the radio. Maybe she wasn't eager to cut the night short either. "Hey," she exclaimed suddenly, tapping her nail against the clock display on the radio screen. "It's only midnight. Do you have to head home right away? We could hang out for a while longer if you want?"

When she looked up at Alex, through dark lashes, Piper's eyes were shy and hopeful. Alex would never say no to her, not while she was looking at her like that.

Alex nodded slightly, giving her a small smile, and tried to push her feelings aside. She didn't even know if Piper was into her like that. "Yeah. Sounds fun."

A huge smile stretched across her cheeks. "I know just the place where we can go. Head back in the direction of the highway."

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back with a little two-shot. I've been super busy these past few months, but am beginning to have the time to write again. I've been working on Fall Girl as well, but am planning to get a few chapters written before I post again in an effort to get ahead and ensure that I can update more regularly for you guys.

In the meantime, I decided to write this to get the juices flowing again – and also because this idea wouldn't leave me alone!

As always, constructive critique is welcome! Just make sure it is constructive. :)

Peace,

-H.M.