A/N : *waves* Hey... so this chapter is dedicated to the guest asking for an update for their birthday. I'm only six days late; that's not terrible, right? Enjoy.
Two sets of guilty eyes latched onto the pacing figure in front of them as they impatiently awaited him to finally speak. The two women were seated a considerable distance apart from each other on the loveseat, all the while looking like two children awaiting a scolding from their parents.
Alex ran a hand through her thick, onyx tresses in slight frustration as she anticipated the harsh words expected to be thrown her way by the frantically pacing Larry. The man had been completely silent on the short walk home; purposefully walking a few paces ahead of them with an occasional shake of his head.
As they stepped through the threshold of the front door, Piper had tried to cautiously approach the man to speak first; earning a snap of a glare from her visibly livid boyfriend, she quickly retreated silently to the couch, followed by Alex who held an intense eye contact with the man as she passed.
The two women shared a concerned glance as another set of minutes passed with no sound, other than the slight creaking of the floor boards below Larry's shuffling feet as he continued to pace.
Suddenly, their eyes were snapped towards him as he came to an abrupt stop. Larry's eyes were wild as they landed on the rigid body of his girlfriend. Taking a deep, calming breath, he raised his hands to his eyes to rub them in an emotionally exhausted display of frustration.
"How long?" He asked; his voice taking on a low, eerily calm timbre neither woman had heard before
"It doesn't matter." Piper tried to feebly reason with him. Earning an incredulous look in response as his eyes narrowed, she sighed deeply before looking down to her nervously fumbling hands. "Eight months" she mumbled, unable to face the expression the man was sure to have splayed across his features.
"Eight-" he trailed off in disbelief as he blinked rapidly, roughly running his fingers through his short wavy hair as he threw a quick glare towards his silent roommate. "So this wasn't a one time, drunken, sexually confusing encounter that you so deeply regret."
"No" she whispered in response, still unable to lift her gaze to meet his
"And you?" he questioned aggressively as he locked eyes with the green iris' of his roommate; she, completely able to look the man in the eyes. "How long were you going to continue to fuck my girlfriend-" he choked on the words as he cut himself off; completely unable to finish his question as he visualized the two of them together "I can't even- I need you to leave."
"Okay" Alex agreed with a nod as she began to stand. Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her forearm, rooting her to her seat,
"Wait" Piper murmured to her before turning her gaze to Larry "Where is she going to go? You can't just kick her out on the street."
"Pipes, it's fine." Alex mumbled uncomfortably in response as she glanced over to Larry, who was watching the interaction intently
"No, it's not fine. Where are you going to stay?" Piper pressed as she moved her head to the right, desperate for Alex's eyes to meet her own
"I'll stay with Nicky; it's fine." Alex stressed as she avoided the blonde's eyes
"Yes Pipes, it's fine." Larry mocked with deep seeded resentment as his eyes continued to stare down his admittedly guilty looking roommate. Turning his gaze towards his girlfriend, he murmured lowly "You and I are going to talk."
Piper opened her mouth to respond, however whatever rebuttal she was prepared to offer died instantly on her lips as she took in the pained expression on her boyfriend's face. Nodding once to herself, she released her grip on the other girl's arm and slowly shifted further away.
Alex looked over to her one last time before finally standing to her full height. As she moved around the coffee table that she and Larry had picked out together a few months prior, she locked eyes with the man one final time as she came to a stop in front of him.
"I'm sorry" she offered quietly. Larry scoffed slightly before nodding his head continuously, suddenly unable to meet her penetrating gaze.
Alex sighed before adjusting the black frames resting on her nose and heading for the door, shutting it with a quiet thud behind her.
Larry stared at the closed door with a quiet intensity as he attempted to gather himself enough to speak to his adulterous girlfriend. Resting his hands on his hips, he raised his head skyward to lock eyes on the coffered ceiling as if searching his mind for the appropriate way to proceed. Finding that there was no right way materializing in his head, he sighed deeply as he finally looked over to the blonde, still rooted to her seat on the couch.
"Say something" she urged desperately, as his silence had caused an unfathomable amount of anxiety within her
"What am I supposed to say?" Larry asked in quiet defeat. He dropped his hands from his hips, letting them hand uselessly at his sides as he shuffled closer. Hesitating only slightly, he finally lowered himself to the couch, putting as much distance between himself and the blonde as the cushions would allow. "Do you ever think about what you would say, or how you would react in a certain situation?" he began as he closed his eyes tiredly "Like, for example; as morbid as it is, you think about one of your parents dying, and you imagine what you would say at their eulogy." He continued, ignoring the quizzical look he was receiving "Or maybe you carefully construct every word you would say to your boss, had you ever left your job?" He continued, with almost a ghost of a grin pulling at his dry lips. "Because I do; I think about these things constantly. It's almost a way of pre-emptive coping, so that when the real thing happens, it won't completely blindside you; you're prepared. It's always kind of been a slightly obsessive compulsive trait of mine." He continued as he lowered his head to rest his chin in his cupped hand "Never, in a million years, had I ever thought that I would be speechless in a situation; but I had never imagined you doing this to me." He mumbled tiredly as his face raised from his hand before he leaned back, fully resting into the back of the couch.
Piper nodded silently beside him, finally grasping the reality of the situation as her eyes began to form a thin sheen of unshed tears.
"I never imagined me doing this to you." Piper mumbled In agreement
Larry rested his head back onto the top of the couch uncomfortably as an inaudible sigh left his lips. "I know" he reluctantly agreed with a slight nod before turning his eyes to his girlfriend "Do you love me?" He asked seriously as he raised his head to look at her properly for the first time that evening.
"Of course I do." Piper responded instantly as she shook her head in disbelief.
Larry nodded to himself as his eyes glazed over in quiet deliberation, seemingly glancing around him for nothing in particular before meeting her gaze once more. "Do you love her?" he pressed; his voice successfully avoiding a waver in pitch as he looked at her expectantly
"That's not-" she began with a shake of her head, completely thrown by the question "I don't-" she trailed off once more as her voice cracked slightly
"Piper" he pleaded desperately "Do you love her?" he asked once more
"I think.. I do" she quietly responded after a few heavy moments of silence
Larry nodded once more as if expecting the answer he had received from the blonde. Blinking once slowly, he reached into his pocket to retrieve a small Ziploc baggie holding a white gold, moderately sized diamond ring. Flipping the bag around in his hands several times as he burned holes through it with his gaze, he finally raised it, offering it to the blonde to examine.
"What is this?" She breathed as shaky fingers reached out to claim the proffered item
"What does it look like, Pipes?" He asked with a roll of the eyes before glancing down to the ring once more "I've been carrying that around with me for the past three months." He added as he offered a bittersweet grin
"Oh my god" Piper whispered, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sickness surround her as she raised her gaze to meet Larry's
"Yeah" he agreed with a nod as this was the least likely scenario he could ever imagine in regards to proposing to his girlfriend "You know that whole, 'preparing for the worst' speech I gave you included the moment I was going to ask you to marry me and you said no." he grinned as Piper chuckled in response; a stray tear sliding down her cheek "I planned out every word I was going to say to you" he added with a soft sadness
Scooting closer to the man, Piper approached cautiously. Receiving no visible resistance to physical contact, she wrapped her arms around his resting on his knee and rested her face against his shoulder
"I'm sure it would have been perfect" she mumbled, her words slightly muffled by his sweater
"Yeah" he agreed despondently with a nod
"What do we do now?" Piper asked softly as she turned her head so that her temple was resting against his broad shoulder; her eyes gazing at the hideous coffee table in front of her
"I'm not sure" Larry responded with a shrug "It's not like this was a one-time thing, Pipes." Larry added with bitterness in his tone "I think I actually could have forgiven you but," he paused as he sighed deeply in defeat
"I know" Piper agreed; knowing exactly what the man was getting at
They sat together for a few more minutes, enjoying the silence as it would be over all too soon. Piper would occasionally wipe away a stray tear before tightening her hold on his arm. Larry had attempted be nonchalant with the wipe of his tears at first, however he soon realized it was futile and occasionally sniffled out as a tear slid down
"I should hate you right now." He offered after another handful of minutes. His tone offered no bitterness; more of a curious observation
"You don't?" Piper asked self-consciously as she raised her eyes to look at him properly
"No, of course not" Larry offered immediately in response before receiving a knowing look in response. Rolling his eyes, he cleared his throat and added a soft, "Okay, I kind of do."
"I kind of do, too." Piper nodded sadly
"What was it? That made you decide to give up everything we built together?" He pressed, somewhat coldly as he turned his gaze downwards towards the blonde "Was it me? Or her?"
"It wasn't you" Piper responded honestly with a slight shrug
"Right" Larry nodded before slowly removing Piper's arms from around him and shifting away. Looking over to see the blonde nod in acceptance as she straightened and put more distance between them, he sighed as his eyes bounced around the room in thought. "I must be completely insane" he mused aloud to himself with a chuckle of disbelief. Earning a look of confusion in response, he rolled his eyes before continuing "I must be completely insane because, despite everything, I still love you" He paused "hopelessly"
Piper's eyes widened as her posture straightened before leaning in slightly to the man
"What are you saying?" she questioned seriously; her tone even
"I think I'm saying," He began, pausing to glance around the room once more for nothing in particular "It's going to take a lot of time; a lot of time" he stressed as he looked back to her intently "but maybe we can work through this." He added in a soft tone "If this is what you want; If I'm what you still want."
Piper sat still as she contemplated the subtle proposition of her boyfriend of almost two years. Blinking rapidly as she opened her mouth, she quickly shut it once more as she looked into the dark brown, pleading eyes of the man.
"Nicky" Alex belted out into the emptiness of the long, carpeted hallway of her best friend's apartment building. Receiving no response, she leaned her face against the cool wood of the woman's front door; her glasses skewing on her face as she once again knocked tiredly on the surface. "Nicole" she slurred, suddenly finding humor in the full name of the petite woman "Open the fucking door!" she once again shouted before receiving a few shouts of disapproval from the girl's annoyed neighbors. "Shut up!" she yelled over her shoulder in response, not bothering to lift her face from the front door "and dance!" she exclaimed a moment later, followed by a loud chuckle
Suddenly, there was movement heard from the other side as she heard locks being slid out of place. Smiling to herself, she peeled her body off of the door and stood back as the door was thrown open revealing a disheveled looking Nicky Nichols.
"Vause, what the fuck?" she exclaimed as she rubbed the sleep from her right eye
"Heyyy…" Alex grinned as she leaned both her arms onto the doorframe as her body swayed left and right
"Oh my fucking God, you're wasted." She responded as her eyes took in the long, lean figure of her best friend in all her drunken glory. Nicky smirked tiredly as she grabbed the forearm of the woman, pulling her inside of her apartment. "Get in here" she mumbled as Alex stumbled passed her. Suddenly hearing a loud yell of complaint from her neighbor, Nicky poked her head out once more "Okay, Mrs. Vanderbelt; you can go back to getting your beauty sleep now; God knows you need it" she shouted out before turning to close the door with a deliberate slam
Walking further into her home, she found the body of her best friend slumped over the end of her couch; face down into the cushions, humming softly to herself. Shaking her head with a grin, her eyes chanced a glance over to the clock and sighed as it read three-thirty. Slowly, she approached the couch and sat down in the small space offered beside the brunette. Bringing her hand down to the backside of her friend with a loud slap, she turned to look down at her
"Okay, tiger; spill." Nicky smirked as she heard a soft groan in response
"I did; I spilled whiskey all over my leather boots" Alex muffled response came instantly before she turned onto her back, her legs dangling over the end of the couch as she locked eyes with her friend seated above her
"That sounds like a country song" Nicky quipped with a smirk before turning uncharacteristically serious "What happened when you guys left?" she questioned softly. After the completely awkward encounter at the bar, Nicky and Polly watched as Larry stormed off with the blonde and her friend hot on his heels.
"I don't know" Alex murmured despondently as she raised her hand to remove the glasses resting crookedly on her nose, reaching over to place them on the coffee table "He wanted to speak to Pape-Pipe-Piper alone" she drunkenly stumbled out with a slight hiccup "So I got drunk- ugh… too drunk" she finished with a groan, bringing both hands up to shield her eyes
"Tell me about it; you look like a fucking cautionary tale" Nicky chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest "Do you think… nah, nevermind." She shook her head, ridding herself of the thought immediately
"What?" Alex pressed, sitting up slightly as she leaned back onto her elbows
"He wouldn't like… I mean, he was pretty upset and his girlfriend has been banging another chick for eight months; you don't think-" she paused, earning a nod of encouragement to continue from her friend in response "he would hurt her, do you?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alex exclaimed with a roll of her eyes before lowering her back onto the soft cushions once again "He would never. He's a good guy; the best guy" Alex trailed off sadly
"Christ, Vause. One would think you and sweater-vest were the ones having a love affair" Nicky mumbled
"Ew" Alex grimaced with a slight chuckle in response before sighing deeply "I'm scared, Nichols." She added a few silent moments later in a whisper
"About?" Nicky questioned as she ran a comforting hand up and down the length of long leg beside her
"What if she chooses him?" Alex asked desperately; the alcohol making an appearance through her inhibited display of emotion. Usually, the brunette was stoic; unwavering in her emotions. However lately, eight months to be specific, she was having a hard time keeping her heart away from her sleeve
"Vause…" Nicky sighed as she rose from her seat to walk into the kitchen, Alex stumbling slightly behind her. Stopping in front of the fridge, she reached for the handle, pulling it open. Grasping the lone carton of milk, she opened the spout before taking an experimental sniff "I'm not going to lie; there's a very real possibility that she will. They were together almost two years." Nicky added a moment later before bringing the carton to her lips, throwing the milk back
"We were together for eight months." Alex argued as she squinted in concentration; her glasses long forgotten in the other room "Doesn't that count for something?"
"You weren't together; you were fucking." Nicky responded instantly as she replaced the carton back into the fridge, throwing the door closed before turning her full attention to her friend
"Fuck you, Nicky" Alex hissed as she stepped closer; peering down into the honey brown eyes of the mane-haired woman.
"We tried that; it was weird." Nicky replied without missing a beat; her words punctuated with a smirk
Despite herself, Alex felt a grin slowly break through as she snorted a laugh. It was a lifetime ago that the two had stumbled upon a sexual encounter involving drunken, teenage versions of themselves. After several awkward moments in which they had attempted to top each other, eventually they had given up and watched 'Kill Bill Vol.2' while eating raw cookie dough
Alex continued to chuckle until it had transformed into a full blown bout of laughter. After a few moments, it had taken on a slightly manic tone; the exhaustion finally showing through as she wiped away at her eyes.
"It wasn't that funny" Nicky joked as she placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder, squeezing slightly. She had been fully aware that Alex's display a moment ago was a release she desperately needed and was long overdue
"I love her, Nicky" Alex murmured after a moment; a sad smile splaying across her lips as her eyes began to form a thin sheen of tears
"I know; come here" Nicky mumbled as she pulled her friend into a bone crushing hug "I know you do; I just want to make sure she loves my best friend." She whispered in the brunette's ear, receiving a slight nod in return
"Thank you, Nichols" Alex murmured into the girl's shoulder
"Anytime, man" Nicky responded with a pat on the back; arms still locked around the form of the brunette
They stayed frozen in the embrace for a few more moments before Alex sniffled as she broke the silence
"Nick?"
"Yeah, Vause"
"Why aren't you wearing pants?"
"Shh" Nicky hushed as she swayed them back in forth in almost a slow dance "Just go with it"
The next day…
"So what did you say?" Polly asked, the desperation to know in her tone shining through mercilessly as she had listened intently to every word that fell from the blonde's lips
"I-" Piper paused as she looked around at the empty shop, wondering if the universe had decided to offer her a slow work day so that she could fill her best friend in without interruption. "I told him that I would think about it."
"Seriously, Pipe?" the girl asked in disbelief
"Yes seriously, Pol." Piper exclaimed "I was having an affair with a woman for eight months!" Piper all but yelled just as the door to their shop opened, revealing the shocked expression of an elderly woman that had clearly heard her admission "…is what I'm going to have the character of phoebe say in that play I'm so, totally writing" Piper added feebly, earning a disapproving shake of the head by the woman as she exited the store immediately
"We've lost another one" Polly muttered as the two of them stared at the closed door. Breaking her stare with a shake of the head, she turned back to her blonde companion "Okay, so what does that mean?"
"That's the problem" Piper offered as she threw the neatly packed baggies of bath salts carelessly into a woven basket one at a time "I have no idea what it means." She stressed through gritted teeth as she tossed another baggie into the basket, much to the dismay of Polly, who had spent hours tying ribbon bows around each one "I mean, yes okay; I know that I love Larry but, I also love Alex for completely different reasons." She thought aloud as she tossed another, carelessly into the basket "and even though I did recently admit to myself that I love Alex, can I see myself having a life with her? Having the life being offered to me right now by my boyfriend?" she added before tossing the last baggie into the basket "and furthermore, how do I know Alex and I won't break up after the first major fight we have when Larry is willing to still be with me after I cheated on him?"
"Sweetie, those are all really great points but can you please pass me that basket?" Polly asked in desperation as her eyes were glued to the messily displayed basket on the counter
"Oh, Sure" Piper replied, absentmindedly handing over the basket
"So," Polly began cautiously as she adjusted the arrangement of the bags "You do love her" Polly questioned casually as she focused on her task at hand
"I never understood the whole, 'fine line between love and hate' thing before I met Alex." Piper trailed off with a gentle smile "It's just… I mean, I've just felt so much in such a short amount of time. With Larry, it went from like to love." Piper continued as her eyes thoughtlessly followed the movements of her business partner's hands "But with Alex; I mean, it went from hate to tolerate to like to love and all of the feelings in between them." Piper suddenly broke out into a broad grin "She also started going back to school. She was a couple of credits short when her mom died and she dropped out." Piper stated proudly "Architectural Design." She added as an afterthought, knowing Polly would inquire eventually
"Impressive" Polly genuinely offered with a nod of approval. After a few moments of silence, Polly turned her full attention to her best friend "You know, your dad is heading up that project in San Francisco in a few months" Polly began casually "He's going to need a team of Designers for the building. Maybe, I don't know, Alex should have her degree by then and maybe you could ask your dad for a favor…"
"What are you getting at?" Piper eyed her friend skeptically
"I'm just saying, Alex would have a job, fresh out of school in a new city. You could be here with Larry, work on things. Maybe it's not such a bad idea. Maybe you can never really give you and Larry a real chance if she's close by" Polly offered "Out of sight, out of mind?"
Piper seemed to entertain the thought in her head as she tumbled the girl's words around her mind. After a few moments, she shook her head furiously as she locked eyes with the woman to her left.
"Even if she were gone, Polly… she would never be far from my mind. She's never out of my sight either because I see her in everything I do and everywhere I go." She offered with a shrug
"You need to talk to her"
"I need to talk to both of them."