A/N: Apologies for the late update – sixth form and a bit of a social life has prevented me from updating. I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with this chapter; but I thought that I'd better update sooner rather than later. Enjoy. X

7.

Piper was in deep and she knew it. She'd always known she'd have to make a choice eventually; only she hadn't imagined it would be in a situation like this – never did she expect to be forced into making a decision between the two people who meant most to her, in her ex-girlfriends library, barely sober whilst in her underwear.

Larry quickly stormed out the room shortly after seeing his supposed fiancé almost nakedly intertwined with a woman he knew nothing about. Seeing Piper with another person, let alone a woman made him sick. It wasn't that he was homophobic – he just never imagined Piper to be like that. Regardless of gender, he was struggling to get his head around the fact he'd just walked in on Piper cheating on him. Leaving them with a few moments, Piper and Alex attempted to sober up and set their thought processes straight, well as straight as two lesbians who've just been interrupted in the middle of what would have been hot steamy sex can. Piper's mind felt like it was racing a thousand miles an hour; she didn't know what to do. She didn't know who to choose. Both ways she loses and she didn't know if she could handle that.

The pair continued to meander through the seas of people that were filling every nook and cranny of Alex's wonder home until they managed to make it to the garden. As expected, they found a steaming Larry attempting to be calmed down by a barely sober Nicky and Lorna. 'Larry' Nicky slurred, 'they're lesbians, whad'ya expect? Needs must and all that.' The pair failed to regress a smirk at Nicky's drunken reasoning's of lesbian affairs. Piper quickly intervened before Larry saw red; 'Larry, shall we go out the front and talk?' he begrudgingly accepted the offer and began to follow the two women. The sudden silence and calmness hit the three like a blessing; they all needed a moment to gather their thoughts – even if it did allow an awkward silence to blanket over them.

'Larry,' Piper was the first to break it, 'I'm so sorry you had to see that. I didn't want you finding out this way.' 'Piper, what exactly did I walk in on?'

'Surely a boy like you should know exactly what that was; you probably watched enough porn like it whilst you were younger' Alex teased; she'd always felt a sense of protectiveness over Piper, and this time was no different.

'Shut the fuck up you little lesbian bitch' Piper knew Larry had always been one with a secret temper, the only problem is so did Alex. This was about to get ugly fast. Larry's words were slurred as it was obvious he'd managed a shot or three between leaving the library and making it outside. 'What the fuck did you just say to me?' Alex spat. Larry lazily took a step towards Alex; this forced her to broaden her shoulders – Alex always had a knack of making herself look bigger and a hell more intimidating than any opponent. 'I saaaaid' Piper was experiencing the worst second hand embarrassment on her fiancés behalf, 'shut the fuck up, you little lesbian bitch'. There was only 5 seconds between Larry finishing his sentence and him hitting the floor; Alex punched him right in the jaw, she didn't care – he deserved it. No one messes with Alex Vause and gets away with it.

A small crowd was forming the trio and before anyone knew what was happening, Alex felt a pair of arms quickly wrap around her waist forcefully picking her up and taking her away from the situation. 'GET THE FUCK OFF ME' she began to kick her legs like a toddler throwing a tantrum before the person carrying her finally put her down. It took her a few seconds to register the familiar face; her lifelong friend John Bennett was attempting to smarten his attire whilst staying on alert in case Alex swung for him too. 'Alex, what the fuck are you doing?! You can't just go around punching guests!' 'I can when they shout homophobic slurs to me you ass' Bennett was taken aback by this; he suddenly felt a bubble of anger rising at that revelation. Alex had been good to him throughout the years and to know someone had been purposefully offensive to her made him want to punch the guy twice as hard. Bennett however was collected enough to know that violence was no longer the answer.

Having managed to disperse the crowd, Alex called time on the party. She quickly managed to get guests to begin to filter towards the doors of her house and be off into the night. A quick scan of the house, showed that much to her relief, there were no major damages. Never missing a moment for celebration, Alex headed for her liquor cabinet and pulled out the litre bottle of vodka that resided near the back; tonight had been eventful and she thought she deserved a drink – a strong one at that. Pouring the spirit into a shot glass until it spilled slightly over the edge, Alex cheered to herself before knocking it back in one. She went on to do this another two times before feeling satisfied with the warm buzz that was currently circulating her body.

During a final scour of the premises, she soon heard what could only be described as animal mating calls erupting from her shed; only she recognised the tone of one of them. Nichols, you dirty dog. Leaving the two new lovers to go about their business, Alex retreated back into her kitchen, picking up a half full bottle of wine on the way; she figured it'd be the best way to ignore the now very apparent stinging in her knuckles. Practically falling onto one of the stools accompanying her breakfast bar, Alex grabbed the closest book and proceeded to delve into a new world of fiction; no thoughts of Piper Chapman and the events of the night were allowed to cross her mind yet. She was too drunk and too relaxed to think of the consequences.

Piper felt as though she was having an outer body experience; she couldn't wrap her head around the fact Alex had just swung for Larry. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact Larry had just been outright homophobic to her lover. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her life had seemingly fell apart in the space of an hour. This wasn't supposed to happen. Tonight was supposed to be a nice night – a chance for Piper to be surrounded by love and happiness, not for her to be caught cheating and to now be on the way to the emergency room with a fiancé who refused to so much as look at her.

'So then, how long are you going to continue this silent treatment?' 'Piper, honestly you are the last person I was to speak to right now let alone be on the way to the emergency room with' Ass hole. Piper wasn't that self-absorbed however – she knew Larry had every right to be angry, but she didn't fancy spending the night in ER with nothing but her thoughts to occupy her.

An hour passed and Larry was finally seen by a nurse working that night; she was sweet. She could also sense the tension between the pair meaning small chat was kept to a minimum. It turned out there was nothing majorly wrong with Larry, just a sore jaw and a bit of wounded pride. He did deserve it though.

The cab ride home was long, and silent. Piper pulled out her phone, feeling a little disappointed when she realised Alex hadn't messaged her. After responding to various other texts – her mother wishing her well, Polly moaning about Pete and Cal asking how to delete a tab off Safari (it would appear wilderness living was beginning to take it's tole on him) Piper was stuck. She didn't know whether to text Alex or leave her to initiate conversation. It wasn't as though the pair had left on bad terms…quite the opposite. Piper figured Alex was merely preoccupied. Bored of sitting in a stuffy cab with a seemingly dragging journey, Piper pulled herself together and got Alex's contact details up before pressing the message button.

To: Alex

So…are we ok? Me and Larry certainly aren't. I'm not mad at you for punching him btw, he was out of line and totally deserved it. Anyway, I feel like we need to talk. Lunch tomorrow? My break is 12-1 so if you happen to be in the area I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight X

Putting her phone back in her purse, the pair remained in silence until they arrived back at their apartment. Neither of them wanted to be the first to say anything, knowing the other would break eventually.

Growing bored of the pettiness Larry was currently displaying, Piper soon got up to head for the bedroom; however she was stopped by a forceful hand grabbing her wrist. 'Piper, we need to talk,' here we fucking go, 'I don't know where we go from here. I can't seem to get my head around it. Since when were you gay Piper?' She couldn't help but wince at that labelling; Piper Chapman had never thought of herself as gay. She'd never thought of herself as anything; she liked whoever she liked – she didn't feel the need for labels. 'Larry, I'm not gay. I never was. I don't know. Me and Alex have so much history – we were recklessly and hopelessly in love.' 'Wow Pipes, I think you missed that part out when we revealed ourselves entirely! So what happened, can I know?' Piper suddenly felt uncomfortable; her and Alex's past was private. She didn't want to share it – especially not the international drug cartel part. 'Well, I met her in a bar when I was looking for a job, I'd just graduated Smith. We were just fooling around for a while before shit got really serious. Her job involved a lot of travelling and the thought of being apart killed us, so I quit everything I was connected to here in the states, packed up and went with her. We travelled for pretty much our whole relationship. We saw so many cities, did so many things. It was an experience like no other. We were in love Larry – in love like I didn't even know was possible. Eventually, Alex's work became her priority whilst I was forgotten; we grew toxic for each other. I left her the day her mother died, yes I know my timing was shit before you butt in, but I knew if I didn't go then I would never find it in myself to leave. The other day, when I was out all day, was her mother's anniversary. I went on a run to clear my head from all the guilt that was coursing through me and ended up at the cemetery; little did I know Alex would be doubled over Diane's grave in bits. I don't know, everything just kind of rekindled that day. I can't explain it.' Larry could feel the sick rising in his throat; he now had a burning passion for Alex. He envied her; the way the mere mention of her could make Piper's eyes glimmer in a way he could never achieve. He didn't know what to do with all the information he'd just received. He loved Piper with his whole heart, and it crushed him to know the feeling wasn't reciprocated. 'Shit Pipes, I had no idea. What the fuck are we meant to do now?!' Piper wished more than anything she could provide an answer for that; she was in love with Alex yet she loved Larry and everything he had to offer. She was completely torn between her head and her heart.

'Let's go to bed Lar, we'll talk about it tomorrow', with that Piper left the sofa she was currently sat on and headed for the bedroom at last. She quickly slipped out of her current attire into an oversized t shirt before collapsing into bed. She glanced at her phone to the surprise of having a reply off Alex;

From: Alex

Did we seem ok last time we were in each other's company? ;-) Fuck Larry, seriously Pipes you can do so much better (hint hint). I might have a few meetings but I'll text you tomorrow and let you know. Night Pipes. X

Piper couldn't help but sigh. She didn't ask for any of this to happen. Sure, she missed Alex but that doesn't mean she wished for her to waltz back into her life and cause all of this. God Piper was such a narcissist when she wanted to be. Deciding to take her own advice, Piper set her alarm for an early morning run before work and allowed herself to slip into an Alex Vause filled sleep.

Mornings still lacked appeal in Alex's books. Silencing her 7:30am alarm, she stirred for a while before finally accepting that she would have to get up. She headed for the bathroom; ready to do her morning routine of showering before applying a light layer of make-up, doing her hair in a 'not too fancy' way as her peers described it, until she was finally ready to pick out a killer outfit to set her up for the day ahead. Today that routine took a grand total of 45 minutes – deciding to use her morning coffee as motivation until she finally felt alive enough to venture out.

Reaching down for the garage door, she pondered about whether to see Piper or not. She could easily clear her schedule if she needed to; it was simply a matter of whether she was up for the challenge that was confronting Piper Chapman. Her track record was shit – Alex knew all too well Piper had a knack of running when shit got real; torn as to whether to put herself through the trauma of possibly losing the love of her life for a second time, Alex thought 'fuck it' and texted Piper a place to meet at 12 o'clock sharp before stepping into her Mercedes, ready for what she felt would be a ridiculously tiring day.

Piper's morning run only seemed to contribute to her bad mood. It gave her time to think; that wasn't what she needed right now. She could safely conclude she was now torn between safety and complete freedom; only Piper had never felt as unsure as to which appealed to her most. For the second time in her life, Piper Chapman would have to choose between sensibility and irrationality. It would appear she had a knack for finding herself in these situations.

Agreeing to meet Alex for lunch, Piper silently agreed to herself all thoughts revolving around her mess of a love life were strictly forbade until then. She instead got herself ready for work, making more of an effort than usual she could try and convince herself it wasn't for Alex, but she was fooling no one and continued to carry on as normal as possible. Just as she was heading out, Larry asked for her to call in late for work. She immediately assumed the worst – she thought it may be something to do with his parents, or Polly. Every possible disaster was currently running through her head. 'Pipes, come and sit down', this was it. Someone's dead. Everything's fallen to shit. Brace yourself Chapman. 'Stop looking so worried, no one's died and everything's fine as of now. I just think we need to take a moment to talk about us.' Relief swept through her; however she was slightly annoyed her internal promise of forgetting about her love life had been broken not even half an hour after she made it. 'Piper Elizabeth Chapman, I have loved you for the past six years. You've provided me with some of the greatest days of my life, and admittedly some of the worst. When I'm with you, everything just seems okay. You have that effect on me. I know yesterday was a disaster but you were drunk and everyone does stupid things under the influence. I just want to ask if we could put this behind us and carry on. I promise to love you more and more every day – I promise I'll give you everything you ever want Pipes. Say the words and you'll have it.' Piper had never wanted the ground to swallow her up so much quite like she did now. Something inside her was nagging for her to agree; to carry on as normal. But Alex. Everything always came back down to that girl. Piper was beginning to resent herself for it. 'Pipes, just to show you how much you mean to me, I want to ask for your permission to bring the wedding forward – say next month? I want to show you how serious I am about me and you. We can get married, maybe even try for kids. What do ya say Pipes?' Larry had that sickeningly sweet smile pressed across his face that only appeared when he was desperate. This is all too much. Before Larry got his answer, Piper found herself hurtling for the door. She just needed to be out the apartment and away from any reminders of the mess she'd made before she went crazy.

Having managed to somewhat compose herself on the Subway, work wasn't too bad. It was a fairly busy day which meant Piper was kept as far away from her thoughts as possible – just what she needed. Lunch time came around quickly and before she knew it she was anxiously awaiting Alex's arrival outside a restaurant they'd agreed on for lunch.

'Hey you' God how that voice made Piper melt. Piper struggled to keep her composure when she felt Alex slink her arm around her waist. 'Shall we go in?' Alex held the door for Piper and they both wandered to a waiter to alert him they'd arrived for their reservation. After a brief wait, the pair was seated at a table next to the window. 'So Pipes, how's the fiancés jaw?' Alex joked, 'it's seen better days, put it that way. I still can't believe you punched him with such force. I've missed that temper.' 'Well, what can I say? He disrespected me.' The pair continued their light hearted conversation through ordering their meals and right up until it arrived. 'So Pipes'. why was that becoming such a familiar phrase to Piper's ears? 'Tell me, what's going on?' Piper rolled her eyes; she really wasn't ready for this conversation. 'I honestly don't know any more Al. I'm in a rut and I'm not sure how to fix it.' Honesty had never been Piper's strong point, but she was trying to change that. 'I didn't exactly plan for you to walk back into my life. I don't know, everything was perfect and now it all appears to have fallen apart'. Alex could feel her heart shattering with every word that escaped Piper's lips, she knew where this was going and she didn't like it. 'With you, everything is new – everything is free, wild and dangerous. But it's full of constant uncertainty Al, I know you're not in the cartel anymore but still – tell me there isn't a day that goes by where you're not constantly checking over your shoulder in case one of them just gets bored and decides to spring an attack? We both know it's more than probable to happen because we've both seen it happen.' Alex was bored of this. 'Piper where the fuck are you going with this?' This was it, Piper was about to fuck her life up monumentally for the second time around, 'when I'm with Larry, everything is safe. Everything is as it should be. He can offer me so much – he's brought the wedding forward, we're talking about kids, we're financially stable. I can't just leave that Al, I love you with every inch of my existence but I can't just pack up and leave. We're a chapter best left closed. I'm sorry.' Alex was struggling to hold back tears at this point. 'What the fuck are you saying?

'I pick him. I pick Larry.'

A/N: PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I hate Larry as much as everyone else does BUT everything is getting interesting – what's a bit of Vauseman without a rollercoaster ride hey?! ;-) As always, read and review if you're feeling generous. X