A/N: Thanks for the support you've shown to me, I'm so happy you've liked the story. I'm sorry if the first chapters have been boring, I can promise you that more things will start to happen very soon! I hope you like this new chapter :)


There's no one left in the world
That I can hold onto

In such a short period of time Piper had noticed very vivid changes in herself after hanging out with Alex. Going from being bullied harshly for years and having no friends to having Alex in her life was something she could have never imagined to happen to her when she was stressing out about starting high school a while ago. Something about Alex radiated strength to her way too and the completely different personality that Alex was compared to Piper and seeing how independent Alex was in everything made Piper want to be more like her. She really admired Alex and every time they hung out together Piper felt her confidence grow a tiny bit. Alex had made her do things she would never do, for example cheating in the test they had. In fact it wasn't that much of a positive thing, but at least Piper outdid herself and they both managed to do it without getting caught. Even though Piper getting more confident was a good thing, she was doubting it by herself. She felt unknown to this new Piper because she was so used to stumbling in her problems and lack of self-confidence. It was complicated for her, because her trust in Alex and Alex's trust in her were growing hand in hand too. She felt like Alex was just what she had needed in her life even though she didn't know she would. Sometimes she found herself thinking Alex was the only one she could count on and it was scary to her because she didn't know how to trust people.

When Piper came home from school she faced her mother sitting on the sofa, looking angry and fed up. She had placed her fingers on the side of her forehead and she looked like her head was aching big time. It wasn't a big surprise after getting drunk the first thing in the morning. Piper kicked her shoes off and put her bag on the floor. When she was about to take the first step on the stairs close to the door she just came in from, she saw her dad, Bill, walking out of the kitchen and taking a seat next to Carol. He signed for Piper to come closer and she did. She walked to them and sat in the dark brown armchair opposite to the sofa that was the same color. Her parents stared at her for a long time without saying a word and Piper's thoughts had all the available time in the world to run around in her head to make her think of the worst. She was confused and her parents looked like something was clearly wrong in the Chapman kingdom. In reality they were waiting for Piper to open the conversation. They expected Piper to know what this was about. What if grandma is dead? Piper thought and she couldn't stay quiet about it when her parents still didn't say a thing and looked so serious.

"Did Celeste die?" she asked, sounding shocked and looking like she was about to start crying. Her dad shook his head and still just stared at his daughter for a while that felt like it lasted for hours. Piper let out a sigh out of relief. "What is this all about then, dad?"

"Do you think your recent behavior is acceptable?" Bill asked Piper, refusing to take his eyes away from his daughter. He was disappointed and it was the main point Piper could figure out from the tone of his deep voice. She could feel the cold sweat slowly pushing through her porcelain skin and the atmosphere in the living room became even heavier very quickly. Her cheeks were turning red even though she knew she hadn't done anything bad that would make her parents this mad. Oh well, she thought her parents got to know about her cheating in the test - maybe she hadn't passed after all and got caught. Piper tried to say something but all that came out was unclear mumbling her parents couldn't figure words out from.

"I… I haven't… done anything bad", she could say and her dad corrected his position on the sofa to look tougher and to make Piper feel more scared. She could feel her hands trembling. "Mom, dad, what have I done?" she asked, being super confused about the whole situation but still feeling the fear inside of her grow.

"Who is that girl you're hanging out with? She certainly has a bad influence on you. You didn't even say good morning to your mother today! That's not the way we've taught you to behave, Piper Elizabeth Chapman! You have to respect your parents!" Bill was shouting so loud that his face turned red out of anger. It's like he had built all this frustration inside of him for days, trying to keep it inside and was now letting it all out at once. Piper was truly scared of his dad's behavior and she just stared at him in a shock. It was all so unexpected.

"It's none of your business who I hang out with and she's definitely not bad influence on me. She cares about me more than you've ever done. I didn't say good morning to mom because she was drunk once again! I'm so done with everything, let me live my life!" Piper screamed and the tears started to stream from her blue eyes like heavy waterfalls. She would never be able to even try to figure out why her parents treated her like garbage. When she cried and looked at her parents, there were no emotions on their faces. They didn't care. This wasn't a huge thing but this one little thing added to everything else that had happened before with them was just too much for Piper. Without hesitating she got up from the chair she was sitting in and grabbed her bag.

"Piper, this isn't over yet!" her mom shouted to Piper when she was already well on her way to her bedroom. When she got there she locked the door and jumped into her bed, burying her head to her pillows while crying hard. The pillows muted the sound of her crying and she tried to think about who she could call. She didn't have anyone but Alex. She felt like she was bothering her but she didn't have any other options and she really needed someone. She felt like if she had to be alone she would lose it. It'd be so easy to give up. Piper took her phone out of the pocket of her ripped jeans and found Alex's name from her contacts.


There is really no-one left at all
There is only you


Alex was sitting on the couch with her mother Diane and Nicky in the apartment she lived in with her mother. They had been talking about everything possible for like an hour. Positive and negative things, it didn't really matter as long as it were Diane and Nicky talking with her. They were like three best friends and so used to spending time together that Diane being part of the group didn't even feel weird in any way. And after all Diane had known Nicky's mother since forever and that's why she knew Nicky too. She really felt like Nicky was her own daughter because of the amount of time they had spent together and the number of problems she had helped Nicky with. When Nicky's mother died a couple of years ago Diane had allowed Nicky to move into their apartment for a while and helped her to get back on her feet until Nicky saw everything clearly again. Alex was really proud of her mother, she loved her to the moon and back. When Diane was telling a story from her high school times, Alex's phone started to ring. It had slid under Alex while they were talking so she got up, got her phone and left her mother and Nicky talking. She went to another room, closed the door behind her and saw it was Piper who was calling. She had set a photo for Piper's contact in her phone - one that she had took of Piper when they were at the burger place. She saw the photo next to Piper's name because she was the one calling. Alex smiled a little when she saw Piper sipping her milkshake so that her adorable dimples were showing. She's so beautiful, Alex thought before answering to the call.

"Hey Pipes", she answered to the phone and waited for Piper to greet her back, especially now after creating a new cute nickname for her. Alex couldn't lie and say she wasn't surprised when she heard sobbing from the other side of the phone. She recognized it was indeed Piper who was crying.

"I'm sorry for calling, Alex. I just really need help", Piper answered quietly to the phone and turned to lay on her other side. She was looking out of the window and could hear the worry in Alex's low voice.

"Is everything okay?" Alex asked. She was truly worried. Hearing Piper crying like that broke her heart because she was supposed to make sure that Piper wasn't hurting and right now she felt like she was hurting.

"To be honest no. Can you hang out?" Piper asked, feeling a bit bad about it. She didn't know what Alex was up to and if she had interrupted something she was doing but she wouldn't have asked if she really didn't need it. She felt really bad generally and just wanted to see Alex's face. She knew it would make her feel better and not so alone. Alex didn't have to think about Piper's question twice before accepting. At the end of the day, there hadn't been a single time she wouldn't have enjoyed Piper's company and she really wanted to know what was up with her. She wanted to take care of her.

"Of course, I'll be there in 15."


Alex drove to Piper's house and when she came to the driveway in front of the house she saw her dad walking out of the house right away. They hadn't met before but Alex assumed it was her dad. She didn't know if she should get up from the car or not. Piper had sounded sad so Alex was sure that she was coming quickly so she decided to stay in the car. It didn't take long for Bill to come banging on Alex's window when she was looking away. Alex winced because she didn't notice him coming closer at first and when he did he really scared her with the loud bang sound. After everything she had heard of Piper's parents, she was afraid of them if she was really honest. She didn't want to get up from the car. Thank god, Alex repeated in her head when she saw Piper running out of the door towards the car. Her mother got out of the house right after her. Piper ran to her dad and at the same time Alex got out of the car.

"Who is this?" Bill asked, looking at Piper but pointing his index finger at Alex. Alex felt really uncomfortable in the presence of Piper's dad because of the things Piper had told her and how he was acting right now. Alex was strong but somehow Bill really made her stand on her toes and be cautious about every move he made. He wasn't good news, at least in Alex's opinion. She was about to introduce herself but Piper was quicker than her to open her mouth.

"She's Alex Vause, my new best friend." Alex listened how Piper introduced her to her dad and her heart melted when she heard the best friend part. She was really glad she had Piper. She offered her hand to shake Bill's but he didn't move, even for an inch. He just looked at her overall and saw how she had several visible tattoos because she had a t-shirt on. Bill didn't understand the meaning of tattoos and everyone who had them was automatically a criminal to him. He looked at Piper with a strict look on his face and then at Alex again. Alex felt how he was judging her so bad with every blink of an eye and when he finally turned away Alex was so relieved she could cry. She took a huge breath in. Something about him really bothered her but she didn't know exactly what it was.

"I won't accept this. Hanging out with people like her is not something you'd do, Piper", Bill said and even though he could see from Piper's face how hurt she was, he couldn't care less.

"You have no right to say that, dad! She makes me realize my worth better than you've ever done. You make me feel like crap, don't you get it? She makes me happy, she makes me want to live my life and that's something you haven't been able to do in years! She spends time with me, can you imagine?" Piper screamed at her dad and her mother in the background walked away and went inside because she couldn't stand the fight anymore. Piper didn't care what her mother thought and at this exact moment she truly hated her parents more than ever. Who were they to restrict who she was hanging out with? Piper knew what Alex meant to her and that was the most important thing. That was the thing she needed to hold on to. Piper walked next to Alex and Alex put her hand on Piper's shoulder to show to her that she's on her side.

"You", Bill said and looked at Alex with an extremely angry look on his face, "you better stay the hell away from my daughter!" Alex thought about opening her mouth for a while because she knew that if she did it, she would sound super rude and make Piper's dad hate her even more and burst out of pure anger. Alex knew she had to protect Piper so after a little silent moment she let it all come out. She tried her best to keep her cool because screaming at Bill's face would only turn everything even worse from what it was.

"You better not talk to me like that. I'm not someone who will let you treat your daughter, my best friend, like that. She deserves all the respect, support and love in the world and judging from the things she has told me you've been everything but supportive towards her. You can't treat her like crap, she's broken. She's in pieces, she needs help and you're not capable of helping her so I will."

"That's bullshit, you know it yourself! Do you really think you know my daughter better than I do?" Bill shouted louder than ever and took Piper's hand. He furiously pulled her away from Alex's side and started to walk towards the door, dragging Piper with him. Piper tried to get away from his grip but he was too strong. Alex could get a glimpse of Piper's face. She was crying again and Alex felt super bad seeing her like that and being unable to do anything. Bill turned into Alex's direction for the last time after forcing Piper to go inside. "Stay away or I'll have to show you how to!"


Alex didn't know what to do. She saw Bill taking Piper inside and slammed the door before she could say anything. Alex knew she had to come up with something because she couldn't leave Piper alone. Not right now. She remembered how hopeless Piper sounded on the phone when she asked her to hang out in the first place and that was something that made Alex realize that she had to make a plan to get Piper out of the house as soon as possible. Piper's eyes didn't deserve to shed any more tears, they only deserved to squint out of happiness. Alex wanted to be sure of that so she decided to drive her car away just so it would look like she left. She did and left her car away and when she didn't see Piper's parents sitting in the living room through the window anymore, she was brave enough to run through the yard to get to the other side of the house. She didn't know which one of the rooms was Piper's bedroom but she took a risk for her because there was no other way she could get to the upper floor than by using the emergency stairs. Alex climbed up and when she was at the height where the window was, she quietly and carefully looked in. She saw white wallpapers, a make-up table, a closet and a mirror on the opposite wall from her and she figured out that it was Piper's room. There was no way it could've been someone else's room and she decided to gently knock on the corner of the window. She tried to be as quiet as possible and as a result of that she almost lost her hope when no one moved inside of the room. She decided to knock a bit louder and when she did, Piper got up from her bed under the window and looked out. She realized it was Alex and she opened the window quickly but still as quietly as possible because she obviously didn't want her parents to notice.

"Alex", she said, sounding happy compared to what she sounded like when she was fighting with her dad, "how did you… get…?" she could ask before Alex grabbed her hand and interrupted her.

"I don't wanna get caught doing this since your dad is batshit crazy so let's just go", Alex said quickly to Piper and offered a hand to her to help her out of the window.

"Al, I can't do it, it's way too high", Piper said and looked like she was about to freak out. She looked Alex in the eyes and at the moment when her blue eyes and Alex's green eyes met each other Piper felt safe. She felt like she could do anything. She felt like it was nothing, not a big deal. Something in Alex's eyes made her calm down and make the decision to take her hand. She intertwined her fingers with Alex's and held her soft hand tight while Alex helped her out of the window without falling down. Alex didn't say anything, she just remained quiet and thought about how well Piper's hand fit in hers. It was like her hand was meant to hold Piper's - just like she was meant to protect Piper.


There is really no-one left
You are the only one


They managed to get away and when they reached Alex's car, they got inside and Alex started it. She looked at Piper and Piper flashed a little smile to her. Alex loved seeing her smiling but she recognized that Piper's smile wasn't an authentic one so it obviously wasn't as lovely as seeing her real, wide smile. It was so easy for Alex to see through her.

"Is everything okay?" she asked before driving away. She could see that Piper wasn't totally fine because as soon as she flashed the smile to her she turned her head away and her concentration escaped from the window to the outside world and disappeared. She just stared out of the window and minded her own business until she woke up from her thoughts to Alex calling her name out loud for numerous times.

"Huh?" Piper asked quickly and turned back to Alex's direction. She felt embarrassed for not noticing Alex trying to talk to her.

"I just asked if everything's okay?" Alex repeated her question and Piper nodded without saying anything. Alex could see that everything was definitely not okay because Piper was awfully quiet and distant, but she also knew that pressuring her wouldn't make the situation any better so she drove away. She decided to give Piper space but it didn't take Piper more than three minutes to lose it. All of a sudden she couldn't hold it all inside of her anymore. She felt so anxious, so unsafe and so wrong. She couldn't clear her thoughts out to herself and sorting them was getting more and more difficult by minute. She bursted out in tears and it wasn't just quiet weeping, it was loud and it was so messy. When she started to cry Alex got scared of it and immediately pulled over to be there for her. Piper just cried out loud, not being able to say a word. At first Alex didn't know what to say or do, she just looked at Piper who was sobbing uncontrollably and wrinkled her eyebrows in both, confusion and despair. She was helpless. Piper buried her face into her hands and bent her back so that she cried against her knees on the passenger seat next to Alex. She didn't expect Alex to do anything but when she felt Alex's hand on her back after pulling over for her, her crying stopped until it continued the same way it had started. "What's wrong, Piper?" Alex tried to ask her but she didn't answer. She didn't react to Alex's words, she just continued crying and Alex moved her hand up and down on her back, trying to calm her down by doing that. Piper didn't seem to calm down though so Alex moved her hand to her arm, stroking it softly. Piper started to mumble quietly.

"This is not me, Alex. I am not like this. I don't know who I am", Piper tried to explain but it didn't really make any sense to Alex because she didn't know what she meant. Alex didn't need to know though, she just needed to be there for Piper. She needed Piper to know that she was there and ready to listen whenever she needed her. Then she would eventually open up more to her. Piper slowly raised her head from her hands that were now wet from the tears she had shed against them. Alex saw her swollen eyes, so full of pain and confusion. She knew that this was about something more than just the incident with her parents earlier but could sense that Piper wasn't ready to talk. She didn't trust Alex enough. She knew she liked to be with Alex and she enjoyed sharing stories with her but the amount of time they had spent together was not enough to build a strong trust between them - at least not for Piper. She wiped her tears away even though it was useless because she started to cry more again. Alex couldn't watch it anymore because she felt so bad for Piper. She unfastened her seatbelt and in just a few seconds she had her arms around Piper. She felt how fragile Piper was when she closed Piper to the warmth of her arms and felt her breath against her shirt. Her whole body was shaking because of the crying and Alex tried to hold her as tight as she could, just like it could put Piper's broken pieces back together. Piper's loud cries stopped when Alex held her tight and Piper found it weird how easily Alex made her calm down. They had never been this close to each other and in that exact moment Piper found herself thinking about how good it felt to be on Alex's arms. She felt safe and so hopeful, like she belonged there. Alex stroked Piper's upper arm and shoulder with her hand while breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo as a result of being so close to her. Piper snuggled closer to Alex's chest, searching for protection.

"Shh… it's okay, Pipes", Piper could hear Alex whispering softly into her ear. Alex calming her down did its job surprisingly fast and Piper didn't want to leave the safety of her arms. She wished she could stay there forever. Alex gulped when she realized what holding Piper on her arms meant to her. She was ready to sacrifice everything for Piper's happiness and it was a strange feeling she had never felt before. She had felt like that from the moment she first saw Piper and stood up for her. There was something special in Piper that really spoke to Alex on a whole another level, but she was patient and could wait to find out what it was. She just wished Piper realized that she was not going to hurt her, but vice versa, protect her from anyone trying to hurt her. Piper didn't know what it was that was stopping her from trusting Alex completely but while having Alex's arms around her protecting her Piper realized that she was the last person on the earth that was capable of hurting her. She felt like her own parents were way more capable of that than Alex. If only she learned to put her trust in Alex completely.

And still the hardest part for you
To put your trust in me
I love you more than I can say
Why won't you just believe?