Day 2 of the camping trip.

Piper frantically removes the bedding, shit. She moves the clothes from the floor, are you kidding me? She rummages through her bags, and she still can't find her phone. It's been ringing straight for the past 30 minutes, it obvious who it is. Fucking Larry. She rushes into the open kitchen area of the van and searches through the cupboards. Fuck! "Alex! Have you seen my phone?!"

"No but I can fucking hear it!" Alex begrudgingly walks into the caravan with a notebook in hand; she lifts her glasses onto her head and leans against a counter. "All I want is peace and quiet, can't you tell him to fuck off?"

Piper slams shut a cupboard door, and glares at Alex. "Well I would if I could fucking find my phone!"

"Pipes calm down alright, I'll help you look for it" Alex places her notebook down and lightly smiles at the blonde.

"No Alex its fine, I'll find it myself." Piper says bitterly and turns her back to Alex and continues the search for her never ending ringing phone. She doesn't hear Alex say anything, just the van door being slammed shut. She doesn't know why she's been so cold towards Alex, she was feeling fucking fantastic this morning, but that was when Larry was the furthest thing from her mind. But since the first ring of her phone, Piper has been filled with dread. It's like Larry knows that she's happy, he knows that she is having a great time, and he knows that he could end all of that in a second.

But he's her boyfriend, she should be happy that he's ringing her, she should be at least a little sad that she won't be seeing him for over a week, but it's the complete opposite. She's pissed off by the constant ringing, and she's over the fucking moon that she won't be seeing him. She can't keep living like this. She can't keep lying to herself, she doesn't love Larry, and she should end things, she should go tell her mom to go fuck herself, and she should accept her feelings for Alex. But she won't, because she's terrified. Terrified of her mom, terrified of what Larry could do, but most of all, she's terrified of her feelings for her best friend. She shouldn't be feeling this way, but she does.

She angrily opens the bathroom door and there it is, her phone. Fucking hell. She grabs it and just as she thought, 11 missed calls from Larry. She dials his number and leans against the wall, sighing in annoyance.

As she lives in the centre of a big city, Alex has never really had a chance to see a sunset. She's always wanted to, but time was never really on her side. But now, she wants to see it every night. Every few minutes she memorizes the view in front of her and transfers it onto her notebook, she makes sure she doesn't miss a single detail. She draws how the sun is drowned in the horizon, its rays of light glimmering in the darkness of the clouds, brilliant reds and oranges. It's a perfect night. Just her and the view in front of her. She's sitting in a small fold-out chair with a board over her legs and of course a beer in her cup holder. It's peaceful, beautiful.

Lorna and Nicky went for a stroll in the woods, well a fuck in the woods, and Piper is in the van playing happy couples with fucking Larry. She's trying not to be, but she's pissed off at how Piper snapped at her, she's done nothing wrong, she just offered to help her. She stops drawing and sighs into her palms. She was fine earlier, what the fucks going on with her? The more she thinks about it, the more agitated she gets, she just snapped at me, it's not like she kicked me in the face. Alex takes a deep breath and continues her drawing. She finds so much serenity in drawing, it calms her and takes her away from reality, it's her sweet escape.

Once she's finished, she signs 'A.V' at the bottom and smiles proudly at her art. She doesn't think she's the greatest artist in the world, but she is fucking brilliant at it, hence why people allow her to give them permanent artwork on their skin. In just under three years she has tattooed more than 400 people, and every single one of them has been pictured and put into a scrapbook. But the most memorable, was Piper's.

Just before Piper started her relationship with Larry, Nicky, Alex and Piper had a little contest to see who could get the most phone numbers in one night, and whoever lost had to get a tattoo. Nicky and Alex were fine with getting a tattoo if they lost, it makes no difference to their lives, but Piper, squeaky clean Piper would have to spend the rest of her live hiding it from her parents, who completely disapprove of any sort of body modification. So of course, Piper lost the competition, meaning she would be objectifying her mother's wishes once again.

It took around 40 minutes for Alex and Nicky to convince Piper that it does not hurt, and that she will not die from it. Reluctantly Piper sat in the stool with her chest against the front, wrapping her arms around it and gripping the leather for dear life. She was only in a vest top and shorts but she was dripping in sweat. It wasn't warm at all, she was just fucking scared. Alex was trying her best to calm the blonde, but she wasn't even sure if she was listening.

As soon as the needle touched Pipers skin, she froze like a deer caught in headlights. It didn't hurt at all, but boy did it tickle. Alex was no longer getting frustrated by the scared, agitated Piper, but by the Piper who kept bursting out with laughter every few minutes, and making Alex lose her concentration. After 15 minutes, the tattoo was complete.

Alex and Nicky had decided that Piper was going to get a tattoo of cartoon frog playing the banjo, but Alex had something else in mind. She didn't want to mark Pipers skin with some crappy cartoon; she wanted to give the blonde something special.

Alex smiled broadly at the memory, loudly chuckling to herself when she felt a hand press down on her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her seat at the sudden contact but calmed instantly when she realized it was Piper.

"What the fuck, are you trying to kill me?!"

"Trying, but not succeeding evidently." Piper smirks at the startled brunette, but her eyes wander to the notebook and she stares at it in awe, taking in every detail that Alex has drawn. "Alex, fuck that's amazing" Piper brings her hands down to retrieve the notebook to take a closer look but the brunette holds it tight within her grasp

"Thanks." No matter how much success her drawing abilities have gotten her, she still gets shy when people compliment her work, especially the blonde.

"Alexxx" Alex looks up to meet the blonde's eyes, she's doing the face. Fuck. She has puppy eyes, making the blue even more visible in the dark night, and is sticking out her bottom lip. "Please let me see?"

Oh fuck. Alex just cannot resist that look; she never has, and probably never will. Reluctantly she hands over the notebook; Piper proudly claps her hands together and takes the book.

"Al where's the other chairs?"

"Somewhere."

"Wow very helpful." Piper doesn't wait for a sarcastic response, as she takes a seat upon Alex's knees. She rests back against Alex's chest, instinctively Alex drapes her arm around the blondes back. Alex leans forward and watches Piper as she flips through the many pages of her notebook, Piper has seen them all more than 100 times, but each time she's more amazed than before. They sit there for a good 20 minutes in silence, peacefully looking through Alex's art before Piper speaks up.

"Isn't this my tattoo?"

Alex blinks rapidly trying to focus, what? Alex wasn't looking though her artwork, her eyes found a better sight. She'd much rather spend her time examining every detail of the blonde's face, than something she's drawn. For Piper is the real artwork.

"Sorry?"

Piper knowingly smirks at the brunette, though she can't help the blush from rising to her cheeks. She herself wasn't really looking at the work, it's hard to focus when Alex is watching your every move. Though she's not complaining. "I said isn't this my tattoo?" She laughs at the still confused brunette and points to the drawing.

How is she still on that page? "Er, yeah, the fish."

"It's beautiful."

"I know."

"You know, Nicky told me that it was supposed to be a cartoon frog, why did you change it?" Piper turns her body so that she can keep eye contact with Alex, who will undoubtedly try to avoid Pipers eyes.

Alex shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, just prefer fish I guess."

Piper lightly pushes Alex's shoulder, laughing at how bad of a liar she is sometimes. "Come on Al, tell me." The grin never falters from her face.

"Fine." Alex sighs in defeat and hangs her head down, only to have it raised by Pipers slim fingers. Lifting it so she's eye level with the blonde. "Do you remember when we went scuba diving because we were on a school trip? Well you took a picture of it and said one day, you'll get a tattoo of it. Evidently it meant something to you at the time because you showed everyone the picture, though you forgot about it, but I thought I'd grant you your wish." Again she shrugs her shoulders and looks away, watching the sun as it continues to set. It was the truth, but not the whole truth. She thinks that the fish is beautiful, but the reason why Alex wanted to tattoo it on Piper is because every time she thinks of the fish, she thinks of Piper; the electric blue is Piper's eyes and the sheer simplicity of it makes it stand out among anything else, it's all that catches Alex's eye. In Alex's head, every time Piper compliments the tattoo, she's talking about herself, she's describing the beauty of herself, when she shows people the tattoo, and she's showing them how beautiful she is.

Although Piper doesn't know the full truth, she's still moved by what Alex said. Alex remembered something so minor in Pipers life, yet somehow made it something she's most proud of. Only Alex could do that.

Again Piper lifts Alex's head so she's level with hers, she stares affectionately into Alex's eyes for a few moments, allowing her to see everything which Piper is trying to show; love. Piper inches closer towards Alex, leaving no space between them. Piper raises her hand to move a strand of hair behind Alex's ear, slowly moving her head closer. She stares at Alex's lips, her skin already burning from desire, she wants to kiss them, she wants Alex to kiss her back, and she wants to get lost in Alex.

Lightly she presses her lips to Alex's cheeks. She can't kiss her. Alex is her best friend. All too quickly she removes her lips from Alex's smooth skin and rests her head in the crook of Alex's neck, consumed by the comfort of Alex's arms. Its all she can have.

She can feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest, the more she thinks about Alex's lips, the faster it gets. She needs a distraction, Larry. She thinks about his personality, the phone call from earlier, his face. Thank god. Her heartbeat is back to normal, but she can still feel rapid movements.

Piper had a distraction to take her mind from Alex's lips, but for Alex, there is no distraction, all she can think about is Piper, her face, her laugh, the scent of coconut, how good her lips felt against her skin. Oh god.

"Alex we should go out tomorrow, have another competition?"

"What?" She's trying to make sense of the blondes words, but she's whispering in her ear and Alex is clouded with thoughts of Piper whispering dirty things in her ear, sending jolts straight to her centre. Oh god, oh god.

"Tomorrow, we'll have another competition, just you and I."

"What's the prize?" Alex thanks the lord for how calmly her voice sounded.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see won't we?" Oh my god, why did you have to whisper that in my ear. Piper knows what she's doing, and she loves it, but the bad thing is, it's affecting her just as badly as Alex. The sexual tension is going to get the best of them one day, or the worst.

After a few tantalizing minutes heavy with sexual tension, Alex's speaks.

"So did you find your phone then?"

"Yup."

"What did he say?"

"Take a wild guess."

"He said that you're way too good for him, and that you should break up with him?"

Piper lifts her head up and questioningly stares at Alex. "You really don't want me to be with him do you?"

"Do you?" She doesn't miss a beat, and she knows she's right. But she can't expect the blonde to say no. "Look, I just want you to be happy. But, I know you're not happy with him, I don't want you to get hurt Pipes."

Alex is right, she's always right. "We argued on the phone, he started shouting at me saying I never have fun with him, that I'm never happy with him." Piper bitterly laughs at the irony. "I hang up the phone and turned it off. I don't know what to do Alex."

Alex's brings her hands up to Pipers shoulders and gently rubs up and down, soothing the blonde. "End things with him."

It's not that simple, Alex. However piper can't explain to Alex why. Piper nods at Alex and raises herself up, she intertwines her fingers with Alex's and leads the way back to the van, grabbing Alex's notebook also. "It's fucking freezing, and your body heat is no longer enough to keep me warm."

"Ouch."

When they arrive back at the van the notice that Nicky and Lorna are back from their fuck in the woods, Piper slowly pushes open the door and shouts inside, "Please don't be naked!"

"Chapman, you're lucky, just finished." She winks at the blonde and waves her over. Piper releases Alex's fingers and walks further into the van, Alex closes the door forcefully behind her, shitting in the heat. Piper places Alex's notepad on the counter and joins Nicky and Lorna on the pulldown chairs, Alex mirrors Piper.

"So Nicky, enjoy your fuck in the woods?" Alex smirks as Lorna smacks Nicky on the arm and glares at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about Vause?"

"Sure thing, dirty animal."

"Wait, you had sex in the woods? Outdoors? On the grass?!" Pipers completely dumbfounded, she didn't think people actually did that, she just thought they were lying. But now, especially considering its Nicky, she can't help but think about how uncomfortable it would be.

"Sorry Chapman, didn't mean to scar your WASPy ways." Nicky smirks at Piper, loving how uncomfortable she looks.

"You didn't scar me."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really."

"Guys will you please not?" Alex's sighs in desperation, Nicky and Piper always seem to try and prove themselves to each other, like to see if they're good enough. But for what? Alex has no fucking clue.

"Yeah Alex is right, can we like play a game or something?" Lorna quietly speaks up from besides Nicky, obviously feeling uncomfortable by the tension in the air.

"Lorna my little cupcake, that's a brilliant idea." Nicky wraps her arm around Lorna's shoulder and kisses her cheek. "I'll go get the shot glasses; we're having Sambuca because I said so."

No one has time to protest because just as quickly as she left, Nicky came back with the drink and glasses in hand. She hands each a shot glass, smirking and winking at Piper as she fills her glass. Thank god I have alcohol.

"Alright, so we'll just have a little game of Never Have I Ever, because well, we'll all get drunk, well maybe not sweet little Chapman."

"Fuck you Nicky."

"Wrong person" Fucking hell Nicky. Piper tries her hardest to glare at Nicky, but the blush in her cheeks makes her not very intimidating at all. "Okay, we'll start easy. Never have I ever kissed a girl."

Nicky, Lorna and Alex raise their glasses to their mouths before Piper has even processed the statement. She has kissed a girl, so she should drink the shot. But its Alex, she doesn't want to drink because Alex will know that she remembers it, and she doesn't want to not drink in case Alex thinks she's forgot. fucking hell. Piper downs the shot without thinking twice, she doesn't look at anyone, she doesn't want to look at Nicky's smug face, and she cant look at Alex because Alex will read her like a book. She just hopes that Lorna doesn't ask questions throughout the game.

Luckily after that, the game simmered down, meaning that all four of them were equally pissed.

"Okay, there's, there's enough hear for four more shots. Sooooooo, I'll say something that we've all easily done, so we can finish the mother fucking trucking bottle!" Nicky slurs her words more than usual, evidently because she's taken a shot after every statement she's made. Making that 15 shots, luckily it was a huge bottle. Everyone is still in the same seats, but now they're draping over each other like they'll fall apart if the others not there, which in some ways, is true.

Nicky is cradling Lorna in her lap, who knew that she would be such a cuddly drunk. Piper has one leg hitched over one of Alex's, and her arms are wrapped around Alex's neck, both Alex's arms hugging Pipers waist.

"Okay lesbians, pick up, pick up your glasses. Never have I ever, had feelings for another girl."

Within a second all four of their glasses were empty, they all howled with laughter and joy at finishing the bottle with no one throwing up. That is until Piper realizes what she's basically just admitted. She freezes in her spot when she feels Alex watching her.

"Pipes? Pipes look at me?" Piper lifts her head to look at Nicky and Lorna, whom are practically sucking each other's faces off. Slowly, she raises her head to make eye contact with Alex. She can't read her expression; she has no idea what she's thinking. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

"Who?"