I am sorry for my MIA during the past two weeks. I moved and didn't have internet access at all… I hope you all enjoyed the Emmy weekend. And for those who are bummed by the TS/CB thing, I am with you. But at least in here I can promise you that Vauseman is the endgame and they will have a very happy ending. I will definitely update more frequently now. Please don't leave.


Chapter 12

Piper's face was so red that she thought she was going to pass out. She was embarrassed too. She never wanted anyone to find out. Especially not Alex.

"Give me back my phone." Piper took her phone from Alex. "I know I know it was lame and stupid."

"No it's cute. And I like it. But seriously, how did you know?" Alex asked.

"I was worried like hell on Friday and over the weekend. So I checked your student profile from the professor's list yesterday. Hopefully she didn't think it's weird."

"You know you could have just asked me. It is a lot safer and easier. So what do you know about me now lady?" Alex teased.

"Well, I know your birthday is March 25. I know your home address, and your phone number." Piper was apparently showing off.

"That is quite a lot information Pipes." Alex smiled at her. "So I guess it's only fair that I change my password to your birthday."

"No…I went through all these trouble to have yours. You can't have it this easily." Piper said and put her phone in her pocket.

"Haha, I like to play hard to get." Alex said. "I need to go to Calculus now. Text me maybe?"

"Pay attention to class. Miss Vause." Piper answered.

"So did you miss me?" Alex asked the one last question before she headed out for calculus.

"No…" Piper answered.

"Well, in that case, do you have anything to say to me before I go?" Alex looked disappointed.

"I lied about the no." Piper smiled.

Alex shook her head as she left the room. What was she going to do with this woman?

.

Alex went straight ahead to the library after lunch. The team was already there. Soso reserved the big conference room. Apparently Soso and Tiffany were the team leaders. And they didn't really get along well. But Poussey and Cindy were very chill so Alex sat with them. They've assigned the roles and Alex was responsible for international impact. They were going to present about BP's oil spill. Alex thought she needed to learn more about international business after the drug run. She could sense that it will be her job in the future.

They agreed to meet again tomorrow to put their slides together and practice. Alex asked to push the meeting after 8. Everybody agreed. Even Soso. She seemed awfully quiet these days. Alex wasn't complaining.

Alex went to the apartment after the meeting. They were having a small home warming party. Lorna was going to cook for them. She bought a bottle of red wine on the way back.

Lorna and Nicky were making out in the kitchen when Alex got back. It was cute and sweet. Lorna's face turned red and Nicky winked at Alex. Alex was very happy for her best friend though she wished Lorna did not have a boyfriend.

"It smells nice here Lorna. Thank you for coming." Alex said.

"I like to cook. Dinner's ready." Lorna answered.

Nicky opened the wine and poured into three glasses.

Dinner was lovely though Alex seemed a little bit isolated.

"Look. There ain't no rules saying we can't go downstairs and invite Piper." Nicky knew her best friend well.

"No Nichols. Piper can't know. And please Lorna, let's keep this between the three of us." Alex was being careful.

"Of course." Lorna assured her. "But you two really need to be careful. Maybe you should wait after she graduates."

"I can barely wait for 9 more weeks. I just want to live in the current time. No obsession over the past or the future."Alex drank up her wine. "You know when you are alone your battery tends to go really fast. I am a "cannot live without cell phone" person. But when I am with Piper I feel like it doesn't matter if I have my phone with me or not. Do you know what I mean?"

"I do." Lorna was surprised by Alex answer. She never thought her as this soft.

"I have never wanted something in my life. I never fight for anything. I've always believed that what belongs to you is eventual yours. There is no need to fight. But for the very first time in my life, I wanted something." Alex continued. Alcohol makes her talk a lot. "And I want Piper."

"Well go downstairs and fucking tell her that Vause." Nicky finally spoke. She was never the patient one.

"No. I want to wait. I don't want her to get hurt." Alex was very determined.

"Then don't you think what you are doing right now are all meaningless? What's point Vause? It ain't getting anything here." Nicky asked.

"Everything you do right now, you will see the effect in the near future. Maybe not now, but you will someday. I want to be with Piper, Nicky. So I am waiting for that day to come. You need to be patient enough to wait for what you want." Alex answered.

"Maybe you should quit." Nicky spilled out. Lorna thought she meant school.

"No. I don't depend on others for living a good life. I just want to get what I want to get on my own. It is easier this way. It will work out. It has to." Alex stood up and put the plate to the kitchen. "I am going back to the dorm. I have to finish the slides for Thursday. I will see you guys tomorrow."

Nicky watched her best friend left the apartment knowing that she would get hurt one day and there was nothing she could do to avoid it.

Alex knew Nicky would not come back for the night so she went back to the dorm to prepare for her presentation instead of the library. She has always been a hard working student and she needed an A in Piper's class.

.

Alex didn't go to Piper's office hours this Wednesday after her classes. She went to the library and finished the readings for Piper's class. She knew there was going to be a pop quiz tomorrow. She stayed up until 2 in the morning and finished her slides. And she had to go back to the library after the gym time with Piper to meet up with her group and to finish her Calculus homework later. Freshman year wasn't easy for the Ivy League. Fahri was coming on Thursday so she had to finish everything by today.

Time went by fast when you were busy. Alex was happy to saw her watch turned 6:30. She left her stuff in the library and took her running bag with her to the gym. Piper was stretching when Alex saw her.

"Hey you started without me." Alex couldn't hide her excitement as she saw Piper.

"Yes, sorry. I figured I could run first this time. And you can stretch while I am running. I have a meeting at 8 for one of class so we need to hurry a little." Piper gave her a I am so sorry look.

"Don't worry about it Pipes. I have one at 8 too. I'm glad you came anyway. I know you must be even busier than I." Alex said.

"I would never miss this." Piper murmured. "How is the preparation going? Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I guess. Soso is a good team leader." Alex answered.

"Do you like Soso?" Piper asked casually pretending she didn't care at all.

"Are you jealous of her Pipes?" Alex smirked.

Piper rolled her eyes and hopped onto the treadmill. She has been secretly working out pretty much every day since last Wednesday so that she'd look nice while running with Alex. It was working. Her breath was better this time even though Alex was still staring at her nonstop. And she enjoyed her stare this time.

She loved how Alex looked at her. It made her feel like she was the prettiest girl in this world.

Piper ran for 20 minutes and stopped. Alex handed her the bottle water and walked to the treadmill. There wasn't much conversation. It was like they have been doing this for years.

Piper's sight never left on Alex either. She was surprised how this 18-year old girl took her heart, suddenly and all at once. And she wanted to give all her love to Alex and just be lazy. She wanted Alex to take her heart.

As Alex finished running and walked back, Piper looked at her and spilled, "Why do you always feel so inevitable to me?"

Alex was stunned. "To be honest with you Piper, for the past four weeks, every time I see you, all I want to do was to throw you again a wall and kiss you until we have to catch our breaths. I want to dance with you in the middle of the dance room. I want to cook for you and listen your complaining how bad I am at cooking. I have never wanted these with anyone."

Piper stood up and pulled Alex into her arms and held her tight. Alex thought she was going to kiss her but she didn't. She whispered to her ear instead, "Take your time Alex. I am working hard towards you. And you are to me. So fear nothing."

.

Piper's meeting went well. Even though Larry was an arrogant snob, he was good at his work. Piper took the diary book out before she went to bed and started writing.

Dear Alex,

Thank you again for another unforgettable gym time. I enjoyed it very much.

I don't care how long we need to wait. Happiness can come slowly, as long as it will come eventually. And I know ours will come.

And there is no need to hurry. We are so busy watching out for what's ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are. And what we are right now is good. We go to the same class three times a week.

I am very looking forward to your presentation tomorrow. I want the 20 uninterrupted mins to just staring at you. And I know you'll do a good job. You are very good at presenting.

And I want all of those things too.

Love,

Piper

Alex's meeting went well also. They practiced a few times. Soso put their slides together and made them tidy and beautiful. Alex thought Piper was going to text her. She didn't. Alex texted Nicky and asked her to come over to finish the calculus homework with her. Lorna wasn't with her when she arrived. Nicky told Alex that Lorna went back to the dorm and skype Christopher. It was the first time Alex realized that Lorna really had a boyfriend. Straight girls, they will fuck you up every time.

.

On Thursday, Piper went to the classroom early to set up the camera and put the journal in Alex's locker. When everyone was seated Piper started the class. "Welcome back, everyone. Before we start the second part of the group presentations, we are going to have your second pop quiz first. Please put your books and notes away from the table. You will have 30 mins to finish it."

Nicky gave Alex a look while Piper was talking. Alex made her study and finish the reading last night. "Did she tell you about the quiz? How the fuck did you know?" Nicky whispered.

"No. There were three groups for Tuesday and only two today. Of course she was going to use the spare time for quiz." Alex told Nicky.

Nicky was very happy that her best friend was a smart one. The quiz was a no brainer for both of them.

Piper asked the first group to start after she gathered their quizzes. And then it was Alex's turn. Piper checked the camera again to make sure it was on the right direction. Poussey was responsible for the intro, then Tiffany, Alex, Cindy, and Soso was for the conclusion.

Piper took out the rubric sheet and told them to start whenever they were ready.

"Good morning everyone. We are team five. The topic for our presentation today is ethical issues for British Petroleum. I am responsible for the introduction and background. My teammate Tiffany is going to talk about what happened for the deep-water horizon explosion, and then, Alex will talk about the impact and consequences, Cindy will talk about the responsibility, and finally Brook will end the presentation with our recommendation and conclusion." Poussey started.

"British Petroleum or BP is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, UK. It is the third-largest energy company in the world measured by revenue…"

Piper was taking notes while the team were presenting. The body language, eye contacts, strength of voice etc. were all on the rubric.

Poussey finished her part and handed the clicker to Tiffany.

"On April 20, 2010, the explosion of Deep-water Horizon led to the death of 11 people. The oil spilled into Gulf of Mexico for about three months. 4.9 million barrels of crude oil were released which led to the largest accidental spill in history…" Tiffany continued her part. She talked about the detail of BP oil spill.

And then it was Alex's turn. Piper finally stopped taking notes and looked up. Alex looked at Piper first before she started. Piper smiled and calmed her down.

"There were environmental, economic, as well as social consequences due to the oil spill. Sea turtles were covered in oil; birds' feathers were oil coated. The oil leak led to dead and dying deep sea corals. And Mammals could have ingested spilled oil. Hundreds of species were affected. Nearby states were facing millions dollars lost due to the oil spill including the direct and indirect use of the damaged environment. Fishing, tourism and related activities were all being greatly impacted."

"Thousands of people were exposed and affected, employees; sectors; citizens; workers; volunteers. The health effects include increased anxiety; depression; lung, kidney, and liver damages; or even cancer. The oil spill could also lead to temporary or permanent employment losses…"

Piper didn't really pay much attention to the contents. She was completely charmed by Alex. Piper could see that she was a little bit nervous at first. But when she started talking, she was much more relaxed and confident. Piper could see that Alex was very comfortable talking to the class. She had such deep and convincing voice. She paid attention to her body language. And unlike Tiffany, who was staring at the floor most of the time, she made eye contacts to the audience. She was a natural leader. Piper thought. And she was very happy for her. Piper could almost see Alex being a successful business woman in 5 years from this 3 mins presentation.

The only complain she could think of was Alex not wearing a suit. Damn, the professor didn't require business professional attire. Piper decided she was going to change the rule starting from the next presentation. She wanted to see Alex wearing a suit. And yes, she was going to make the entire class to dress professionally to satisfy her wish.

Piper used her iphone to take some pictures of Alex before she finished her part and handed the clicker to Cindy.

Alex looked at Piper as soon as she finished. Piper winked at her and looked down to finish her notes.

The rest of the presentation went well. Cindy talked about BP's responsibility and Soso gave the conclusion of what should they have done and the team's recommendation. She was also good.

"Thanks everyone. You all did very well on your presentations. Please don't forget to finish your homework and the readings. If you don't have any questions for me I will see you all tomorrow for the lecture." Piper said to the class after the claps.

Alex asked Nicky to wait her outside and again waited until everyone left the room. Piper intentionally gathered her stuff slowly.

"Piper, you need to stop that." Alex came up to her after everyone left the room.

"Stop what?" Piper was confused.

"You cannot watch me like that when I give presentations. Or I will fail the class." Alex told her the truth.

Piper smiled at her "You were doing great. You are a natural leader you know that? And just don't look at me back next time."

"I can't stop looking at you anytime anywhere." Alex told Piper.

.

Alex and Nicky ditched Lorna after dinner. Fahri was waiting them outside the apartment.

They were both nervous even though they've been working for him for almost two years. They both knew that he liked them or he wouldn't give them the opportunity for the close by campuses.

Alex and Nicky recognized Fahri from a block away. He was talking to some random blonde girl.

And they both froze when they reached the lobby. The random blonde girl was no one but Piper Chapman.

They were in a conversation when Alex and Nicky reached.

"Piper, you wanna a bump?" Fahri asked and offered.