Chapter 12

Piper woke up the next morning still feeling tired, but smiled to herself when she remembered having sex with Alex. Alex had wanted to return the favour straight away, but Piper was too paranoid about someone hearing them. Alex sulked about it for a while, half joking half serious. She wanted to touch Piper so badly, but she didn't want to make the blonde uncomfortable. Besides, there was always tomorrow.

It was a cold night, but they both stayed under the covers without any clothes on, huddled close together. Alex cuddled Piper from behind all night, it was a new experience for her. She'd never actually spent the night with a girl after sex, but then she'd never felt a real emotional connection to another girl before, not like she did with Piper.

Alex was still sleeping when Piper woke up. It was just after 8 am and she knew her mother would be up soon. She wished she could stay in bed with Alex all day, but she knew they had to get dressed before everyone in the house was up. Piper rolled over in Alex's arms so they were facing each other and leaned in for a kiss.

"Al, we should get dressed."

Piper could tell Alex was in a deep sleep, and it took a few more tries before the brunette opened her eyes.

"Mmhhmm, nooo, I'm too comfortable to move. I had the best sleep last night."

Piper kept running her fingertips over Alex's cheeks, brushing the long strands of dark hair out of her face. It meant so much to Piper to hear Alex say that, she never slept well. It made her feel bad about forcing her to get up, but nothing was worth Carol catching them naked in bed together.

"I'll make you whatever you want for breakfast if you get up."

Alex's mind started racing with thoughts of what she actually wanted to do, but she didn't say anything. She didn't want Piper to feel like she was pressuring her into anything.

"Okay, I will get up if you make me toast with peanut butter."

"Here I am offering to make you anything you want, and you ask for toast?"

Piper smiled again and Alex nuzzled her face into her long blonde hair. She didn't even eat breakfast most days, so she was more than happy with toast. Piper was about to get up but Alex wouldn't let her get dressed just let. She didn't want to get all emotional about it, but she needed to at least say something.

"Last night meant a lot to me Pipes, it wasn't just about sex."

"I know...it was...I don't even know what to say about it. It was amazing."

The two girls stayed in bed for a few more minutes, enjoying the feeling of their bodies pressed up against each other until they heard footsteps in the hallway. They both got up and got dressed, ready to face the day. Piper stopped Alex before she walked out of the bedroom, she needed one more hug before leaving the safety of that room.

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Celeste was the only one in the kitchen when Piper and Alex went to make breakfast.

"Good morning girls, how did you sleep?"

Piper buried her face inside the fridge so Celeste couldn't see her blushing, she loved having Alex next to her in the bed all night. She was also surprised when she heard Alex answer.

"Well, I had a great sleep. It's pretty quiet in here this morning?"

"You won't see Cal up for another hour, and Carol went out earlier this morning to have breakfast with a few friends."

Piper put some bread in the toaster for Alex, she couldn't decide whether or not she was annoyed that her mother had gone out without saying anything. Especially when she gave Piper a hard time for not being home enough.

"She could've at least said something."

"Just give her a bit more time Piper, she's still adjusting to life without your father."

Piper didn't respond and stood there waiting for Alex's toast to pop up. Alex and Celeste were sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, sipping on cups of coffee.

"No school today Alex?"

"No, nothing on today."

"Do you girls have any plans?"

"Not really, we'll probably catch up with Sally at some point. But it's so freaking cold outside, I'd rather stay under a blanket all day."

Piper finished making toast for herself and Alex and sat on the other side of the breakfast bar. Alex smiled at the plate of toast Piper put in between them.

"Thanks babe."

Alex freaked out internally as soon as those words left her mouth, "Fuck! What were you thinking, you idiot!"

The brunette decided all she could do was pretend that it never happened, she just really hoped Piper didn't get too angry at her about it. Alex looked up and saw all the colour drain from Piper's face. Alex finally started breathing again when Celeste kept talking, at least acting like nothing had happened.

"Well, if you girls are still here in a couple of hours, could you drop me off home?"

Piper snapped back to reality and did her best to look normal, "Of course."

Alex kept focussing on her toast, desperately hoping that Celeste remained blissfully unaware of their relationship.

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"What the fuck was that Alex!"

"I am so so so sorry Pipes! It just slipped out, I didn't realise until it was too late."

Piper was really trying to not completely fly off the handle with Alex. She didn't want her girlfriend to feel like she was constantly walking around on eggshells, paranoid about accidently saying something that would give them away. But still, Piper was annoyed, at least it happened in front of Celeste and not Carol.

"Okay….okay, it's probably fine. She didn't say anything about it after, she acted like nothing even happened. Okay…"

Piper was pacing up and down her bedroom while Alex sat on the bed. She needed to get a grip, nothing horrible had happened. And at least now Alex was more aware that she needed to be careful about what she said in front of Piper's family.

0-0-0-0-0

After her little slip in front of Celeste, Alex was keen to get out of Piper's apartment as soon as possible. She'd never had to censor herself before, it made her feel slightly awkward and paranoid about saying the wrong thing. She was so relieved when they finally left Friday afternoon, Alex could even sense Piper relaxing more once they were alone. Alex tried not to focus on it, she knew it was all new territory for Piper, but she didn't want to be invisible forever.

They spent most of the weekend together, it was like there had been a shift in their relationship since they had sex. Piper dragged Alex Christmas shopping for most of Saturday. Alex didn't mind, but it definitely made it harder for her to forget about all the memories that haunted her at this time of the year. At least there were no Christmas activities on Sunday, Alex was perfectly happy for them to stay at home and read.

Even though she hated Christmas, Alex couldn't wait for the holiday break from school. Time away from school and Healy was going to feel amazing. She tried to convince herself that she'd actually go to all her classes when she arrived at school on Monday morning, but that probably wasn't going to happen. Like everyday, she sat with Nicky and Carrie at the end of the school oval during their lunch break, she was telling them about her slip up in front of Celeste. But there was no way she'd tell them about the sex, she didn't think Nicky was ready to hear that.

Carrie seemed to think the whole Celeste incident was hilarious and laughed for a solid minute, but Nicky just looked annoyed.

"What the fuck Alex, you shouldn't need to apologise for shit like that. Does she expect you to stay her dirty little secret forever?"

"It's not like that Nick."

"Really, are you sure? Because that's what it sounds like. Does she expect you to walk around censoring yourself forever?"

"She's gonna tell them eventually, this is still all new to her, and she doesn't exactly have the most open minded mother. She just needs time."

"Do you really believe that? That after she got so freaked out over you calling her babe in front of granny, that she's about to run off and actually tell her family that you're the girlfriend."

"She'll do it okay! Fuck, she deserves a bit of my patience. Coming out isn't always easy Nick, she'll do it when she's ready."

That whole conversation confirmed to Alex that she needed to be careful about what she said to Nicky about Piper. She knew her friend was just looking out for her, but she was being too harsh. Nicky didn't know Piper well enough to make those sorts of judgments. It was starting to make Alex worry about how Christmas at Nicky's beach house would be, the last thing she wanted was a massive fight to break out between her girlfriend and her best friend.

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Piper was sitting next to Sally during their last class of the day, but her mind kept wandering. It kept wandering to Alex, her mother, and whether she'd actually get to see her dad on Christmas day. She was so zoned out that she didn't even notice the teacher taking a phone call at the front of the class, things were about to get messy.

"Piper, Mr Caputo wants you to go to his office now. The day is nearly over, you can pack up for the day."

Piper looked to Sally, "What the hell was going on now..."

0-0-0-0-0

Ten minutes later and Piper was sitting in Caputo's office. She'd spent so much time in that office in the last two months and she was sick of it.

"Okay, Piper. There have been some issues with Sam Healy, I'm getting concerning reports from some of your teachers."

"What the hell is going on?"

"I've informed all the teachers about the issues between yourself, Alex and Sam. I've asked them to report any concerns directly to me."

"And? Has something happened?" Piper's mind immediately went to Alex and whether she'd had another run in with Sam.

"I've had reports from some of your teachers this morning that they've heard Sam making physical threats against you."

Piper's mouth ran dry, she could feel her heart rate increasing, this wasn't meant to happen.

"What?"

"They've overheard him talking to other male students in the hallways this morning, and they've done the right thing and come straight to me. Now, I don't want you to worry."

"How do you expect me not to worry!"

"I need you to stay calm Piper, that's why I only brought you in here and not Alex as well. He's only just come back from his suspension not that long ago, we need to handle this carefully. I spoke to him about this earlier."

"He's not going to admit anything to you!"

"I still need to question him Piper! No, he didn't admit to anything, but at least now he knows, he knows we're watching him closely. I've tried to call his father but I can't get through."

Piper was now officially freaking out, she needed to talk to Alex straight away.

"But I have been able to speak to your mother."

Those words were now ringing through Piper's head and she was standing up, "He spoke to my mother..." She couldn't bring herself to speak, she felt like she was about to have a panic attack.

Caputo could obviously see the devastated look on Piper's face, "I'm sorry Piper, but if I know there are physical threats being made against you, I need to inform your parents."

"What did you say to her?"

"I explained the situation between yourself, Alex and Sam. She needs to know the background."

Piper felt like she might black out on the spot, "No...no this isn't happening."

"You...you told her about me and Alex?"

"Sit down Piper. Yes, I needed to tell her. I'm sorry, but I have a duty of care."

"Your duty of care has nothing to do with outing me to my own mother!"

"Piper, sit down!"

Piper slumped down into her seat, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking or her eyes from watering. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't go home, "What the fuck do I do!"

"Look, I spoke to her, and she's obviously concerned, she's coming in tomorrow morning to have a meeting with me. My primary concern has to be your safety."

That comment just made Piper angry.

"What about Alex's safety? You've ignored that for the last two years."

"I'm not going over this with you again Chapman."

Piper put her face in her hands and cried, she just wanted to crumble.

"Do you want me to get Alex in here?" Caputo might have been a jerk at times, but he could see how shaken up she was. He didn't want her wandering out of his office in that state.

"I'll call Alex in."

0-0-0-0-0

Alex walked into Caputo's office ten minutes later, she had no idea what he wanted from her, but then her eyes went straight to her girlfriend who was sitting there in tears. Alex sat next to her and put an arm around her.

"Pipes, what's going on?"

Piper kept crying into her hands, she didn't even register Alex's presence. Alex looked to Caputo, she wanted answers.

She listened quietly as he explained the situation to her, and she realised why Piper was so upset. Alex was annoyed at him, he could've told Carol about the situation without saying anything about the two girls dating, but it was too late for that now. Alex knew he'd brought her in there to help calm Piper down, and that's what she focused on. She knew there was no point arguing with him, she'd been doing that for ages and it never got her anywhere.

Alex pulled Piper into a hug, she didn't know what else to do, but it just seemed to make the blonde cry more.

"Tell me what you need Pipes, do you want me to take you somewhere?"

Piper tried to get her breathing under control, she knew exactly where she needed to go.

"Please take me to see my grandma, I can't go home...I can't go home..."

The two girls sat there for a few more moments until Piper calmed down, and Caputo started talking again.

"Piper, you should come along tomorrow when your mother comes to meet me, we can talk more then."

Piper didn't want to go to that meeting, she couldn't face her mother, not yet. She ignored him, she didn't want to think about it until tomorrow. All she knew was that her mother would be upset. Carol would be upset that Piper was dating Alex, and she would be upset that her daughter was now being threatened. Piper knew exactly how it would go, Carol would blame Alex for everything and insist that Piper stop seeing her, and her home life would become a nightmare. There was no way in hell Piper was willing to give up Alex, no way.

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It took them thirty minutes to drive to Celeste's house. Sally was driving Piper's car, with Piper and Alex sitting in the back seat. Alex had explained the situation to Sally on the drive, but Piper didn't say much. Now they were parked out the front of Celeste's home, which was a cute little courtyard style house. Piper was trying to work up the courage to go inside.

Alex leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "What do you want us to do?"

Piper's voice was quiet and tired, "I need to spend some time here alone. What if you guys go home, and I'll call you after dinner to pick me up?"

"Of course."

Piper squeezed Alex in one more hug, thanked Sally, and got out of the car. Alex and Sally sat in the car until they saw Celeste answer the door and Piper go inside before driving off. Alex got into the front seat, she didn't know what Sally was thinking about it all.

"I feel responsible for this."

"It's not your fault Lex, Caputo did not need to tell Carol about you guys, and Sam didn't need to start making public threats. He's fucking insane."

Alex sighed, she was started to feel defeated, "None of this would've happened if she wasn't with me."

"She wants to be with you, that's it, she's happy when she's with you. Sam Healy is the fuck up here Alex, not you. He's the one making the threats, you haven't done anything to him, you haven't done anything to Piper."

Alex stayed quiet for most of the drive home. She was so worried about how Carol would react, but also how Piper would react.

"What if she decides it's all too hard between her mum and Healy? What if she doesn't want to be with me anymore..."

"I really don't think that will happen."

"But what if it does?"

Deep down Sally truly didn't believe Piper would dump her sister over this, but there were never any guarantees in life. All she could do was be there for Alex, regardless of whether Piper stayed with her.

"If that happens, then we'll deal with it."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Piper was sitting in her grandmother's kitchen looking miserable, but Celeste sat there patiently and waited for her to start talking.

"I don't know what to do grandma, I can't go home."

Celeste sat next to Piper and held her hand, "Start from the beginning, tell me what happened Piper."

Piper's lips were quivering, she was petrified, "Alex is my girlfriend..."

She couldn't look Celeste in the eye, she didn't think she could handle a negative reaction.

"Look at me Piper."

Piper kept shaking her head, "I can't..."

"Why not?" Celeste's voice was gentle, she hated the idea of Piper carrying around so much shame and fear over something like this.

Piper managed to look her grandmother in the eyes, resigning herself to every possible outcome.

"I thought that might be the case between you two, you don't have to be so upset sweetie, Alex seems like a lovely person."

Piper looked back down at her fingers and tried to process that response, but her mind was a mess. She was relieved, she was angry, she was sad, she didn't know what to do with herself.

"How long have you been together?"

"Not long, a couple months."

"You're worried about how your mother will react?"

Just thinking about the fact that Carol knew, right now she knew Piper and Alex were dating, made her feel physically ill.

"She knows..."

Now it all made sense to Celeste, she understood why Piper was so upset. She moved her chair closer to the blonde and put an arm around her.

"Tell me what happened."

"The principal told her." Piper didn't want to worry Celeste with all the details of Alex and Healy, and she didn't have the energy anyway. All that mattered was that Carol knew, and Piper didn't know how to deal with it.

"I know you're scared sweetie, but I promise it won't be as bad as you're imagining. She won't kick you out of the house, but she will need time to get used to the idea. And you know that if things get tough at home, you're always welcome to stay with me."

Piper couldn't hold back her tears anymore, "I can't go back there..."

"You need to try and calm down first Piper. Stay here, talk with me, then you need to talk to her. She already knows, now you need to find out how she feels about it."

Any scenario Piper imagined, it always ended with Carol trying to keep Alex away from her.

"Grandma, she is such a good person, I won't stop seeing her, I can't. No one has ever treated me the way she does."

Celeste could tell how much Piper cared about Alex, but they were still both teenagers.

"You're both still so young, love is a difficult thing sometimes Piper."

"But I know that I'm in love with her, I won't stop seeing her just because of mum. She's hardly one to be giving relationship advice anyway! She stayed with a cheater for years, now it's like she regrets ever leaving him. I don't need her advice, especially when she's fucked up her own love life."

Celeste felt Piper's anger and hugged her, there was no point getting angry at Carol before anyone even knew what her reaction would be. She decided to change the subject.

"How did you get here sweetie?"

"Alex and Sally drove my car here, I was too upset to drive myself. They're picking me up later."

"Okay, well why don't we make ourselves something for dinner, try and relax a little. But you need to go home tonight Piper, you can't avoid her forever. Do you want me to come with you? We can catch a cab."

Piper nodded, but she still didn't want to go. She didn't even care about Healy making threats against her, she could handle that. But she was so afraid of her mother's reaction, and what it would mean for her relationship with Alex.

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It was almost 8pm and Alex still hadn't heard from Piper, she was starting to worry, with the worst case scenario constantly running through her head. Sally sat next to her on the couch, this was one time when Sally had no idea how to make things better. This wasn't a situation where her presence or words would be enough, only Piper would be enough.

"Talk to me Lex. You've been sitting there staring at the wall for an hour. Do you want me to call her?"

"No, she'll call when she's ready."

"Tell me what you're thinking kid."

Alex hated every part of what she was thinking, "I don't even know...that Carol will blame me for putting Piper in danger, that she thinks I'm not good enough for her daughter, that Piper will end up hating me."

"You are good enough Lex." Sally hated hearing Alex talk about herself like that, it got especially bad this time of year when she was already feeling depressed.

"Am I?"

Sally pulled her sister in close, "Fuck yes! You don't even know what's happened yet, don't decide the world is ending when you have no clue."

"I'm just tired Sal. You know what I want? Just a few months where life is easy, I'm fucking tired."

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Piper walked into her apartment with Celeste holding her hand, she saw Carol's car downstairs, she was definitely home. Piper squeezed Celeste's hand tighter as they walked into the kitchen. They saw Carol sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of white wine, a blank look on her face. They sat across from Carol and she finally looked at them. Piper knew she needed to start the conversation.

"Please say something."

Carol didn't give anything away, her face still completely blank, "You brought her here, she had dinner with us, slept in your bed, and you told me she was just a friend."

Piper couldn't tell how her mother was feeling, she wanted her to keep talking.

"And now you're being threatened at school, because of her."

This is exactly what Piper was afraid of, "No, no it's not like that, it's not her fault."

"Well it certainly sounds like her fault."

"No, it's not! She gets treated like shit at school! This guy blames her for things that are not her fault! You should be blaming him, not her."

"I don't care Piper!"

The situation was going to turn into a screaming match, and Celeste stepped in, "Carol, just listen to her."

Carol just stared at the two other women, "Aren't I allowed to be concerned for my daughter's safety?"

"Of course you are, but you need to let her speak, a lot has happened today."

Piper felt Celeste squeeze her shoulder, encouraging her to try and explain the situation to Carol.

"Please mum, I love her."

"You're 18 years old Piper! You have no idea what love is..."

That was it, Piper wanted to explode, she was sick of her mother never supporting her, never trying to understand her.

"You know nothing about love! Look at your life with dad, he never loved you!"

Piper didn't wait for an answer, she stood up and ran out of the house. She needed to get away, she needed to call Alex.

0-0-0-0-0

Alex was starting to doze off on the couch, and Sally was already asleep on the lounge room floor. She was about to wake up her sister and suggest they go to bed when her phone started ringing, it was Piper.

"Pipes, how did it go?"

Piper's voice was strained, and Alex knew she'd been crying.

"Please come get me now, but don't go to Grandma's."

Alex was standing by this point and waking up Sally, "Where are you?"

She could tell the blonde was struggling to speak, something bad must have happened.

"I'm out on the main road outside mum's apartment."

Alex realised that Piper and Celeste must've gone to see Carol, "Okay, we're leaving home right now."

Alex dragged Sally off the floor, she needed to get to Piper, "C'mon, we need to go!"

"What's going on?"

"Piper just called, she's crying, she's out in the fucking street."

Sally jumped up and grabbed Piper's car keys, "Okay Lex, let's go."

The sisters practically ran out of the apartment and towards the car, Alex hated the idea of Piper standing on the street by herself and crying. There was hardly any traffic on the road so they got to Piper quickly. Sally pulled over as soon as she saw the blonde's figure in the dark, just visible under the street lights. Alex rushed out of the car and ran straight towards her girlfriend, with Sally following behind her. Piper threw her arms around Alex as soon as she was close enough, she couldn't stop crying.

"It's okay Pipes, I got you. What the hell happened?"

Alex felt Piper squeeze her tighter, but the blonde wasn't saying anything. Sally caught up to them and put a hand on Piper's back, she'd never seen her friend this upset before.

"C'mon Pipes, you're coming back to our place."

Alex kept a tight hold on the blonde and walked her back towards the car, helping her into the back seat.

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Piper had managed to stop crying once they were in the car, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of Alex. She knew her last words to her mother were harsh, but she couldn't stop herself, in that moment she wanted to hurt Carol. But now she felt bad, she knew her mum would be upset, and she'd left her grandmother there to deal with it.

Piper was relieved when Alex and Sally didn't force her to speak on the way home, she just kept focussing on what it felt like to be held by Alex, it was the only thing keeping her grounded. It wasn't long before they were back at the Vause apartment, and the two sisters lead Piper through the front door. Sally wanted to give Alex and Piper some space, she figured they had a lot to talk about.

"I'll leave you guys to it. You can stay here with us as long as you need Piper, understand?"

"Thanks Sal."

Sally hugged Piper tightly before saying goodnight and heading into the bedroom, she didn't think any of them would be going to school the next day.

Piper turned back to Alex once the bedroom door had closed, she needed more reassurance. She needed to know that no matter what happened with her mother, Alex would still be there.

She relaxed as soon as she felt Alex's arms around her, "I think I fucked everything up..."

Alex rubbed her girlfriend's back and kissed her on the forehead, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Alex felt Piper shaking her head against her shoulder, she wasn't going to push her if she wasn't ready to talk about it, "What about a shower?"

This time, Piper whispered into Alex's ear, "Only if you come with me."

"Deal."

Alex grabbed two fresh towels and some clean clothes for them to sleep in, then lead Piper into the bathroom. She turned on the water in the shower, trying to get the temperature right, when she heard muffled sounds coming from behind her. She turned around to see Piper sitting on the bathroom floor with her arms around her knees, crying. Alex forgot about the water and knelt down in front of Piper, wrapping her arms around her.

"I'll look after you Pipes, I'll always look after you."

Those words made Piper grip onto the brunette even tighter, she knew Alex meant every word. These were the things that Carol didn't understand, maybe because she'd never been loved like that. That thought made Piper feel sorry for her mother, but she could never regret standing up for herself. She would never stop standing up for herself or Alex.

A/N

Hello. This chapter was an interesting one to write. I feel like everyone's emotions are off the charts, which can make things messy. Carol isn't a bad person, but she's also quick to shut Piper down. Piper feels so conflicted, it's driving her nuts. And all Alex cares about is being there for Piper.

Now, with the holidays coming up, this may be my last post before Christmas, see how I go. I'm also going on a little trip after Christmas, so updates probably won't be as regular until I'm back in a few weeks. Or who knows, maybe I'll be in the writing kinda mood...

Cheers.