Her first tattoo had been a dare. It was all about impressing the college girl she'd been trying to sleep with for months and when she'd said (Her name was Kristen or Karen...the details were fuzzy now), there was no way, she was too chicken shit, that was all it took for sixteen year old Alex to lie down and get a shooting star etched iinto the skin at her waist,biting down hard on her lower lip but not making a single sound, her pride preventing her from making a whimper.
The tattoo artist (whose gentle hands belied his burly exterior), had asked her why she'd picked the star. Alex knew now, looking back, he had probably expected some completely self indulgent teenage bullshit answer filled with symbolism and how the shooting star represented her soul but she'd just adjusted her glasses and looked at him, shrugging. "I saw it on your wall in the waiting room. I didn't know what else to get."
The act had done more then convince Kristen or Karen to sleep with her (all Alex had had to do was show up to her dorm room and tug down the waist of her jeans ever so slightly and she got what she wanted), it gave her a power she'd only ever experienced when she wrote and played music. It was a power over pain, a power over her body, a permanent reminder that she was in control. When Diane had seen it, she'd raised an eyebrow and simply said, "Could be worse I guess." And she'd left it at that but Alex had become addicted. She'd become careful about getting ones that held meaning and she loved that her body told a story in inked skin, albeit a mysterious one. No one knew what her tattoos meant, even Nicky. The reason was a simple one, no one had ever asked. Not until Piper.
Now she stood in the doorway of the tattoo parlor, Nicky behind her, sweaty and heart racing from sprinting the few buildings over and across the street.
"Can I help you?" The girl at the counter had fuchsia hair, couldn't have been more than twenty and wore a bored expression that suggested she'd rather be anywhere else but working at an all night tattoo place.
"Yeah, we're looking for our friend." Nicky answered, stepping forward."A tall blonde and our other friend-" She was cut off by a loud, high pitched giggle from one of the rooms. "Never mind, got her. Come on, Vause."
The girl shrugged, looking down at her cell phone as they walked passed her, poking their heads into different rooms.
"Yo, we're in here," Poussey called out, catching a glimpse of them. "It's all good," she said lowly, but loudly enough for them to hear. "This dude, he cool."
Unsure of what she was going to find, Alex stepped in tentatively. "Hey," she waved to the tattoo artist who waved back.
Piper sat in the chair, a bottle of water in one hand, slumped down, shaking with laughter. "Paul, fucking seriously, you're hilarious."
Paul smiled. "I try." He turned to Alex and Nicky. "I generally don't like to turn away money but I also don't believe in giving tattoos to people who'll regret it later."
"Thank God," Alex breathed. "Thank you," she said quietly. "We're gonna make sure she gets home safe."
"Good to know. Here, take my card," He handed her a business card, scanning her arms. "Nice ink."
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." She bent down to Piper's level, lightly touching her hand. "Hey there. You still mad at me?"
Piper's eyes focused in on her face and she smiled lopsidedly."I was. But now I can't remember why."
"Good fuckin thing," Nicky rolled her eyes. "You gave Vause a fuckin coronary over here." She put her hands on Poussey's shoulders. "Nice job keeping her out of trouble, man."
Poussey shrugged. "She's one of us. Besides," she grinned at Nicky, "I'm so used to keepin' your sorry ass outta trouble this was cake."
"I'm not trouble," Piper insisted. "And stop talking about me like I'm not here."
"Sorry," Alex aplogized. "I know you're here. Let's go, OK?"
"OK," she agreed. "Bye, Paul. It was nice meeting you."
"You too, sweetie. Hey, best of luck with the rest of the tour."
Alex strung an arm around Piper's shoulders, steadying her as they walked out into the cool morning air. "Easy, easy." She murmured as the other woman stumbled on a crack in the side walk. "Take your time, alright?"
"Hey, we just called a cab," Nicky said, turning to Piper. "Let's get you back to your hotel, champ."
"Too much tequilia," Piper mumbled, shaking her head before lurching over awkwardly.
"Grab her hair," Nicky shouted immediately at her friend. "Do it!"
"Why?" Alex questioned , doing what her friend asked.
"Cuz she's gonna puke!" No sooner had the words left Nicky's mouth when Piper vomited all over the sidewalk.
"Ditch the shoes," The bassist advised, gesturing to Alex's feet."What I don't get is how she missed her own but nailed yours."
"You want me to just leave my shoes in the middle of the street? These are $400 dollar boots," Alex protested.
"Yeah, well now they're $400 boots that smell like puke."
"You ain't never gonna get that stench out, man," Poussey agreed. "Leave em'. I'll take Chapman," They transferred the blonde from Alex over to the drummer.
"Shit,' The brunette grumbled but she slipped them off anyway. She turned to her bandmate. "Piper? How are you doing?"
Her question was met with a groan as she doubled over. "Where the fuck is this cab?" She turned to Nicky. "She's not good."
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I supposed to fuckin fly us back? Don't give me an attitude because Chapman can't hold her liquor, okay?"
"Maybe you can fly us on your broom," Alex retorted, glaring at her friend. "For fucks sake, Nick."
"The cab's here," Poussey had been uncharacteristically quiet. "Quit bitchin' at each other and help me get her in."
Slightly chargrined, Nicky opened the door as Alex helped Poussey get Piper in without banging her head.
"Let's just hope she doesn't puke in here too," Nicky muttered darkly. "Been there, done that."
"Where you going?" The cab driver cut in.
Poussey looked to Alex. "It's your call. You wanna take her back to her hotel?"
The guitarist shook her head. "Do you really think we should take her back like this? Larry squeals to Red and she has our asses. Remember what she said when Nick almost got arrested? No more bullshit." She looked down at Piper, who was slumped against her shoulder, "She's like...one of us now. And we take care of our own, right?"
There was nothing Nicky could say to that, no wise ass retort seemed appropriate so she nodded and gave the driver the address to their hotel. "Throw me her bag, I'll text him."
Alex obeyed and Nicky took out the other woman's cell phone, sighing lowly. "Shit, there must be like ten messeges on here...and a voice mail. "Hey, Pipe," She read aloud, "You're probably just having a good time with the girls but it's 1 in the morning and you haven't returned any of my texts. Call you please, when you get this, so I know you're OK?" She made a face. "Jesus, possessive much?" She began texting, her fingers flying as she typed. "What a douche."
Alex shot her a look, signaling her to shut up. "Hey," She said softly to her bandmate, who had opened her eyes. "You holding up OK? We're almost there."
To her horror, Piper started to cry. "I'm sorry," She sobbed, covering her face. "I drank so much and I yelled at you and then I threw up on you. You must hate me right now."
"God, no. I don't hate you. We've all done stupid shit before. Really, it's no big deal." She reassured the other woman.
"Just heard back from Big Lar," cut in Nicky. "He's glad Chapman's ok and asked me to remind her they have a breakfast date before she leaves on the bus."
Poussey rolled her eyes. "He really has no clue how much of a hangover she gonna have when she wakes up, does he? You gonna have to have the front desk give your ass a wake up call," She said to Alex.
Piper had slumped over and somehow, her head was in Alex's lap. "I'm so sorry," she repeated, tears spilling. "Like so, so sorry."
"Hey, hey, none of that now," Alex soothed. "It's all good. We're gonna get you back, OK? You can crash with us."
"Larry..." She mumbled.
"It's taken care of. Don't worry, OK?"
The cab sped on and almost instinctively, Alex smoothed Piper's hair back, her fingers tangled up in it as they drove. The gesture seemed to comfort her just as much as it did Piper; it steadied her nerves, gave her room to breathe. She couldn't pin point why she cared whether the other woman got tattooed or not, it was her body after all. There was just this crazy feeling that it wasn't the right time. Maybe it wouldn't have been the right tattoo either. Her entire life, Alex had lived off of her extincts. Not because they were always right but because it was the only way she knew how.
Finally, after what seemed like the longest cab ride ever, they reached the hotel. Nicky paid the driver, tipping handsomely for the commotion. They helped Alex get her in the elevator and upstairs.
"You sure you don't need help?" Poussey questioned as they paused outside of Alex's door, Piper still leaning heavily on her. "In case she pukes again. I got experience," She grinned at Nicky who flipped her off.
"I'm good, thanks. I'll take care of her." Alex took her from Poussey, sliding her keycard into the door. "See you guys at 8. Get some sleep."
"What a fuckin' night," Nicky shook her head. "C'mon, dude," She waved to Poussey. "Hey, don't do anything I wouldn't do," She called to Alex as the door shut behind them.
"Hey," Alex said once they were alone, "Uh, OK. Do you wanna change? Your dress is kinda uh...trashed. In all actuality, you probably should take a shower but that may be kinda challenging. I can give you some sweatpants and a t-shirt if you want." Alex was aware of both the fact she was babbling and still holding Piper close to her body.
"Mhmm, I don't know if I can do it,"
"Uh, yeah, of course. I'll help you. If you want." She helped her lie down on the bed and paused. Though it had been a little while since she'd undressed a woman, it wasn't like she'd forgotten how to do it, albeit in a much different context.
For the millionth time since Piper had come into her life, Alex had to warn herself to quit being an asshole and get her shit together once and for all.
"OK," She breathed out through her mouth and helped Piper to sit up so she could unzip her dress and slip it over her head, willing herself not to stare at the lacy black bra and what was in the lacy black bra like a fucking creep. Mercifully, she managed to dress her quickly, trying not to focus on the fact a gorgeous woman was in her bed, wearing just a bra and panties.
"Here we go," Alex helped her under the covers. "Do you need anything before I shut the light? A glass of water, maybe?" She'd grabbed the extra blanket and pillow from the closet, planning to crash in the arm chair by the window.
"Uh uh," She muttered. "Wait, don't go. Can you stay please?" Her voice was still slightly slurred. "Please."
Alex swallowed hard. "Um, sure." Hesitating, she peeled off her own jeans and threw on some sleep shorts before sliding in next to Piper.
She kept herself a safe distance away, steeling her mind to think about dead puppies or George W. Bush, anything to get her mind off the fact the blonde was two feet away from her.
And it worked for about two minutes which was when Piper rolled over, infiltrating her space. She snuggled close, curling her body around Alex's legs. Letting out a contented sigh, she drifted off to sleep, snoring lowly.
Alex lay in bed, eyes open, unblinking, unmoving. "Fuck me," She whispered, emptying all the air out of her lungs in a single, solitary breath.
There was no way she was sleeping.