Hey there! Remember me… I know – been a while huh? (I'll explain at the bottom!)
So here we are – a little update. It's not of the length of previous chapters - as I am still getting my head back into writing after an extended leave of absence! If you can still recall the last chapter, that was after the party, the Sunday morning. This one flicks back to the Saturday evening.…
Enjoy!
Nicky had so far survived the worst of the party and its attendees, which comprised mostly of her mother's 'well to do' contacts and people she was set out to impress. It was this side of her family life she hated, the falseness and the pretence. Nicky had managed to put on the right amount of heirs and graces to wealthy acquaintances, adding just enough veiled sarcasm to be perceived as witty, rather than rude, which was in fact was her ultimate intention.
After offending a few more guests with her subtle jokes, Nicky had reached her limit of chit chat. As she made her way through the various groups towards her friends, Nicky made sure to still speak with at least a few more guests to satisfy her mother, who was watching her like a hawk from behind yet another large glass of wine.
Throughout the evening, Nicky had kept a careful eye on her group of friends, who had managed to find an area tucked away from the main party, but close enough to the bar to have quick access to the free flowing alcohol.
Clearly the easy access to alcohol was more than enough to keep her friends entertained, as on a number of occasions, the loud laughter of Taystee and Poussey had drifted across to her – drawing her eyes to the small group, often causing her to miss whatever investment joke that had been uttered, requiring her to make some vague comment in return. Nicky had been keeping a close check on Piper and Alex too; noticing how her best friend was never too far away from the tall, dark haired woman that had become part of their close knit group so quickly. Nicky had no doubts, Alex clearly already cared for Piper – it was evident in the small touches when they were close to one another; the lingering glances as Alex focused on only Piper as she laughed at something Taystee said – or a silly question Lorna asked.
After the car crash that had been Pipers relationship with Larry, Nicky knew all to well that Piper had found it hard to get close to anyone, she had closed herself off from any form of relationship recently, so it warmed the wild haired woman that her best friend seemed to be starting to feel at ease in Alex's presence, and being the carefree idiot that Nicky knew and loved.
Nicky smiled, more to herself than the rather rotund, balding gentleman that was currently blocking her escape, as her mind wandered away from the conversation about stocks and shares and into a new realm entirely. Piper needed to relax, keeping her walls up was never going to get her anywhere, so Nicky decided it was her duty as best friend to help the situation along a bit, her smile widening as her mind whirled with ideas, until she settled on the perfect one.
Making her excuses away from the bald guest as her mission became clear, Nicky skirted the edges of the party, keeping her distance from her friends, waiting for the perfect time to move. Patience was never exactly Nicky's forte, so as her mind bubbled with excitement at her plan, she couldn't keep still, what made it worse was that it looked like Piper had no intention of moving.
She and Alex were sat side by side, the dark haired woman's arm resting over Pipers shoulder, her other hand intertwined with Piper's.
After waiting what seemed like forever, but was more like five minutes, Nicky was just about to stride over and extract Piper from the arms of Alex, when she spotted the blonde move slowly from Alex's embrace and stand up, making indications with her hand towards the bar, asking if anyone else wanted a drink.
Even whilst she laughed with the others, her hand drifted across Alex's back, tracing indistinct patterns as she maintained contact, even if it were the lightest of touches.
As Piper moved away, Nicky saw too the squeeze of Alex's arm and the looks that floated between the two of them.
If Nicky hadn't thought it earlier – Pipers actions now confirmed it – Piper was indeed falling for Alex, and pretty damn hard it seemed.
Chuckling, Nicky stepped forward, as she set the ball rolling of her mischievous plan, her loud voice booming across to the bar where Piper now stood, instantly gaining her friends attention.
"Chapman! Why do I not see a drink in your hand?"
Piper turned in time to see the wild haired presence of her friend sashaying onto the seat next to her at the bar, jostling into her shoulder at the same time, causing her to nearly lose her balance on the stool she was sat on herself.
"Well, if you hadn't been making such pleasant conversation for so long Nick, you would have noticed I have actually been enjoying myself for a change..." With her words, Piper glanced quickly back to the group, her eyes taking in every detail of Alex from where she sat.
"I bet you have..." Nicky said, catching Piper staring at the taller woman.
Piper turned back to Nicky, fake annoyance trying to cover that she'd been caught drooling. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh you know exactly what I mean. If I was a betting woman, I'm pretty sure I'd be on the money to say you have been enjoying the attentions of a certain tall, well read, axe murderer this fine evening..."
"Alex is not an axe murderer..."
"Bunny boiler then. Whatever. They were your concerns earlier were they not?" Nicky leaned past Piper, and caught the attention of the barman – asking for a beer and a couple of shots. Knocking back the shots as soon as they appeared in front of her, quickly following with a chaser of beer, Nicky continued with a smug smile on her face, ignoring the glare from Piper and the tightly crossed arms. "OK – so how do you like your bunnies... Rare? Medium? Well done?"
"Fuck off Nicky! Alex isn't like that! You know it. You were there at the bar the other night. That was not the actions of a bunny boiler…"
"But how do you know Piper? You've known her how long exactly – and look at you – fawning over her like she's the best thing since sliced bread." Nicky shifted, standing up straighter, leaning closer, using the neck of the beer bottle to point at Piper, who's bottom lip was flapping like a goldfish out of water, grabbing for air.
"How do you know she isn't just out for a good time, and will take that blonde little heart of yours, screw it up and stomp on it?" Nicky knew what she was saying was harsh, but for her plan to work she needed to gauge Pipers reaction; she needed to know exactly how Piper felt towards Alex.
"She just...I don't...It's not…" Piper exhaled sharply as she stumbled over her words, frustrated that she couldn't accurately explain to Nicky that when she was with Alex it just felt right.
"Shit man, Vause got you lost for words and she's not even near you – that's some proper voodoo charms that she is working on you! Damn she's a fast worker…she's proper got you wrapped around her little finger hasn't she?"
"Drop it Nicky." Piper practically growled, the tone of her voice low.
"Or what Piper?" Nicky shifted again, encroaching on Pipers personal space a little too much, causing Piper to back off, the challenge and the fight fading from her voice as quickly as it rose up.
"You know what – nevermind." Piper looked away and took hold of her wine glass, fingertips playing with an imaginary imperfection on its surface, any excuse to keep her eyes away from the intense stare she could feel from Nicky.
"No – come on Chapman – I'm curious to know what you will do to me – should I not indeed 'drop it'." Nicky's smile was wild – her eyes dancing as she watched Piper fidget in her seat, not really knowing how to respond.
But what Piper did next surprised her – rather than continuing to avoid her gaze and backing down, Piper turned back to her quickly, squaring up to her as she rose up off her bar stool; clearing her throat as she attempted to summon the courage to speak, from somewhere deep within her.
"OK, I'm going to lay it out here Nicky, bare bones, down to the soul type of stuff. I like her. It's not because she is hot, drop dead gorgeous and intelligent, its not because that fucking voice of hers is just dripping sex every time she speaks. I mean, don't get me wrong, that helps, but that's not the only reason…" Piper paused, breathing in to compose herself once more.
"I just know I really like her. If I'm honest, it's surprised me Nick, just exactly how much she means to me after such a short amount of time. How I know I want to wake up in the morning and she is the first person I lay my eyes on. Where she could read me the fucking phone book from cover to cover and I'd still want to hear more." Piper paused again, waiting for some sort of reaction from Nicky, a snarky comment, but not receiving one, she continued.
"Nicky. I have never felt this way about anyone in my life. It is exciting and thrilling – but I'm also scared. Scared that I'll mess up and lose her. Scared that someone better will come along and she'll leave me. Just scared that I'm not..." Piper paused, drawing in a breath, closing her eyes before she spoke, "…scared I'm not enough for her, Nick."
To say Nicky was stunned was an understatement. When she had started joking with Piper she had not expected such a blatant outpouring of emotion from the blonde and began to feel a little mean for provoking her friend so much, so evidently responded the only way she knew how when faced with any sort of emotional conversation. Sarcasm.
"Shit Chapman, how much have you had to drink tonight?"
Annoyance flashed over Pipers face, as she stood from her seat, made a grab for her drink and moved away from the bar.
"Fuck you, Nicky. You are meant to be my best friend. I open up to you – and you make a joke of it. Just leave me alone – I don't want to speak to you for the rest of this evening, is that clear?"
Piper moved quickly, sidestepping Nicky, shifting past her and began to make her way back to the group. Not influenced by alcohol, Nicky was fractionally quicker, blocking Pipers way, herding her towards a seating area away from the bar, were there were fewer people, and more importantly out of sight from their friends.
"Woah, hold up there Chapman! I see you mean business! Come, have a seat in my office..."
Piper shrugged off the arm Nicky had slung over her, turning and pulling away from her friend, "Look, I just want to get back to-"
"Alex? Yeah – I figured. But first you and I need a heart to heart. Then I am instigating operation panty-drop..."
"Say what now?" The anger in Pipers eyes being replaced very quickly with confusion at Nicky's words.
"Leave the details to me Blondie – the rest will fall in time..."
"Nicky you are making no sense."
Nicky flopped into the low seat, her wild hair splaying out across the back of it, as she patted the cushion next to her as she looked up towards Piper. "All in good time grasshopper, now sit. Come talk to me." Piper remained standing, arms tightly folded across her chest, studying Nicky to see whether she was continuing the joke at her expense, or actually was being serious for a change. Nicky held up her hands in surrender, "Look, I'm sorry Chapman, OK. I thought you were just lusting after Vause over there – you know – since you haven't had a good roll in the sack since sweater boy…"
"You aren't really helping your case here Nicky.."
"Just hear me out OK – what I am attempting to say Pipes, is that I can see you have properly fallen for our tall, dark haired and fucking gorgeous new acquaintance, so I'm here to help make sure you don't land flat on your face." Nicky relaxed as she saw the tension ease out of Pipers stance, her arms falling down to her side as she walked across to the seat next to Nicky, four words falling from her mouth that kicked Nicky's mind into overdrive.
"Tell me more Nicholls".
A/N - so short and sweet I know - but I need to just get back into the swing of things after a very long time away from writing. Without too many details - last year got a bit crap for me, and as a result - I really didn't feel much like doing anything, let alone writing. But I'm getting over it - and my head is now in slightly happier place, where I can once again start writing about our two favourite ladies!
This chapter is also a (very, very!) belated birthday present to ejm_137 - who is just a brilliant, amazing person and the biggest Vause fan I know! Sorry its so damn late! :D x
Thank you to everyone who has been in touch - whether its leaving a review asking me to come back to this, or a PM to check I am OK, it meant a lot. I never really left this - I was just 'background' for a while ;)
Let me know what you think!
RJ
