Chapter 25
Time was flying by way too fast for Piper, and she felt like she was drowning. She was so nervous about finals and spent every last second studying. Not getting into Smith wasn't an option for her, and she was petrified at the idea of failure. She appreciated the fact that Alex was being so supportive and trying to make her feel better, but nothing could undo almost 20 years of being taught that failure was not an option. But it wasn't just fear of disappointing her parents, Piper wanted to prove to herself that she could do this, that nothing was going to hold her back.
She'd spent more time at home in the last month as she ramped up her studying, which meant a lot of time away from Alex. The brunette kept telling her it was fine, that she knew Piper needed to study and they could spend time together once finals were over, but Piper still hated it. Mainly because she knew how limited their time was. Piper would be moving for college once the summer break was over, and there was so much still to do. But she needed to keep a clear mind, and tried to push those thoughts away.
Carol had been surprisingly nice to her lately, bringing her snacks and plenty of coffee while Piper locked herself away in her room. Even her dad had called to wish her luck and ask if she needed anything, and she hadn't spoken to him in over a month. Part of Piper was worried he wouldn't pay her college fees if she didn't score highly enough, but he didn't mention anything like that.
It was a Thursday night and Piper was determined to keep reading through her Biology text book as long as she could stay awake. She suddenly felt her phone vibrating on her desk and smiled to herself, every night Alex either texted or called her to say goodnight during finals. Even those brief moments on the phone with the brunette put her at ease, but she started to feel nervous once she saw the name flashing on her phone, it was her dad. This was the second time he'd called her in one week, which never happened. Piper tried to swallow her nerves and sound normal when she answered the phone.
"Hi dad."
"Hi sweetheart, I know you're probably busy studying, but I wanted to call and see if you needed anything?"
Piper sighed to herself, thinking about all the things she actually needed from her dad, which were the things she'd never get from him, "I need you to support me, to tell me everything will be fine, just to give me a hug and tell me you love me..."
"No, I think I'm okay, thanks dad. I think between mum and Alex there's no chance of me running out of chocolate or coffee."
Piper didn't even think about censoring herself when it came to talking about Alex. Carol had been pretty good ever since the last lunch they had with Alex, not making any untoward comments about their relationship. There was a moment of silence on the phone line, and Piper was brought back to the reality that her dad still didn't approve of Alex.
"Oh yes, your mother told me you're still seeing her."
Piper could practically see the disdain dripping from his voice, "Is that a problem?"
Bill sighed, "You know how I feel about it Piper."
"And you know how I feel about her. Mum is fine with it, so why can't you just be happy for me?"
"I don't want to get into this right now Piper, I just called to see how your studying was going."
Piper knew the smartest thing was for her to stay calm, end the call, and get back to reading. But she was already on edge, and now she was in the mood for a fight.
"Well I do want to get into it! Did mum tell you everything that's happened in the last six months?"
"Yes Piper, I'm well aware of what's happened. And it's all very unfortunate, but that doesn't change the reality for me."
"And what's your reality?"
Part of Piper was afraid of his answer, but she needed to hear it.
"The reality is that she will never be able to provide for you."
That was it, Piper was so sick of everyone telling her that she needed to be provided for, what she had with Alex was so much more important than that.
"How do you know she won't be able to provide for me? And besides that, I can provide for myself!"
"This is exactly why I didn't want to get into this with you Piper, you should be focusing on getting into college, not anything else. You can't afford to be distracted by Alex or anyone else, not now, and not once you're at college."
Piper had had enough and ended the call, throwing her phone onto her bed and dropping her head into her hands, trying to clear her mind, "Just calm down, don't let him get to you, everything will be fucking fine..."
Piper sat at her desk rubbing her temples when her phone started ringing again, but this time it was Alex. She practically jumped onto her bed before the phone stopped ringing, she needed to hear a reassuring voice.
"Hey Al."
Piper felt better as soon as she heard Alex's voice coming through the phone, "Hey Pipes, thought I'd check in and make sure you came up to breathe. Want me to bring you any goodies to school tomorrow?"
Piper felt the tears stinging her eyes, she didn't want Alex to know she was upset, "It's really good to hear your voice..."
But Alex could hear the shakiness in her voice, "Are you okay? Do you want some company tonight?"
"I'm okay, just kinda tired. I really wanna get through all this bio reading tonight, but I definitely want your company tomorrow night."
"It's a deal babe. Want me to come to your place?"
Piper knew it would be easier if Alex came to her place, but she still would've preferred to be at the Vause apartment.
"Yeah, can you come home with me after school?"
Piper closed her eyes and kept focusing on Alex's voice, "Of course. And how's your sugar supply going?"
"Hmmm, I am running low on gummy bears."
Alex laughed, "Well, I'll bring a top up to school tomorrow. I'll let you go Pipes, I know you're super busy. Just promise me you'll get some sleep?"
"I promise..."
"Love you Pipes."
Piper finally exhaled, "Love you too Al."
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Piper was trying to hurry up Cal the next morning, she ended up falling asleep after her phone call with Alex last night and wanted to go to the library before class to catch up on reading. Piper was almost jogging down the hallway towards the kitchen when she bumped right into Carol.
"Crap! Sorry mum. Cal! Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!"
Carol could see how frazzled her daughter was, and she thought she knew why.
"That's okay sweetie. Did you talk to your father last night?"
Piper's head snapped back towards her mother's direction, "Yeah, did he say something to you?"
"Not much, just that you seemed agitated."
Piper was not in the mood to be tag teamed by her parents this morning, "I was agitated because he was being unreasonable."
"Come on now Piper, he is paying your college tuition, I think he's entitled to his opinion."
"Why are you taking his side? After everything he's done to you, why are you taking his side?"
"I'm not taking sides Piper. I'm just reminding you that he'll be paying a lot of money for you to get a good college education."
"And what does that have to do with Alex?"
Piper could see the tired look in her mother's eyes as soon as she mentioned the brunette.
"Your father doesn't want you to get distracted. And he doesn't know her very well."
"Well he can get to know her anytime he likes. And she's going to be hours away from me when I'm in college, so he won't have to worry about me getting distracted. And you know she hasn't been a distraction for me while I'm studying for finals. She knows how important this is for me and she has given me all the space I need."
Piper stopped but Carol didn't say anything. There was one more message Piper wanted to get across.
"You know Alex mum, you know she's a good person. Can't you talk to dad and let him know that?"
Piper was half expecting her mum to say no, but she didn't.
"Okay Piper, I'll talk to your dad tonight."
"Thanks mum."
Piper really meant it, she knew how difficult the relationship was betweem her parents at the moment, and she truly appreciated Carol's help.
"Is it okay if Alex stays over tonight? I need a break."
"That's fine, but she's sleeping in the guest room."
Carol walked past Piper and back towards the kitchen, she'd decided the conversation was over. Piper went to find Cal and drag him out of the house. She was happy enough with Carol's response, she just really hoped she'd be able to get through to her dad.
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Piper finally managed to get Cal into the car and went straight to the library once they were at school. The whole day felt like a blur between extra classes and reading through her lunch break.
Sally stayed in the library with Piper over lunch, she'd been spending a lot of time studying with John, but she was starting to think Piper needed to take a break.
"What are you doing this weekend Pipes?"
"Alex is coming over tonight, I need some time to relax, I'm so fucking nervous Sal."
"Pipes, you are going to completely ace it, just don't drive yourself nuts in the meantime."
"My dad called me last night..."
Piper needed to get this off her chest, and she knew Sally would always listen.
Sally knew that Piper didn't have a great relationship with her dad, and the last thing she needed in the middle of finals was a fight with him.
"What did he say?"
"All the same things he's said before, things about Alex. And the constant reminder that he's paying my college tuition."
Piper was sick of having the same conversation over and over again, but she needed to vent.
"But your mum's been okay lately?"
"Yeah, she said she'd talk to him about it. I'm just really tired this week, and I'm really fucking sick of always having to defend my relationship with Alex."
"I know. What can I do?"
"Nothing, just keep listening to me when I need someone to complain to."
Piper tried to crack a smile. There was nothing Sally could do, but it was nice to know that she'd always have Piper's back. Besides that, Sally knew Alex better than anyone, and having to defend the younger girl was nothing new to her.
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Piper was desperate for the end of the day, all she could think about was having a night alone with Alex. A night where she didn't have to worry about studying and she could just be with her girlfriend.
Sally was spending the night at John's house, and Piper waited patiently for Alex in the parking lot. The blonde didn't want to contain her excitement as she saw Alex walking towards her. She smiled and threw her arms around Alex's neck as soon as she was close enough.
"I've been waiting all day for this."
Piper closed her eyes, she wanted to stay in that moment, focusing on Alex and nothing else. Piper frowned when Alex pulled away from her, until she saw what was in her hand.
Alex smiled and held up the bag of gummy bears, before leaning in for a kiss, "I didn't forget your supplies."
Piper pulled Alex in close to her again, the smallest of gestures from Alex always felt special.
Alex could feel how tightly Piper was gripping onto her, "Let's hit the road, let me take care of you tonight."
Alex kept holding onto Piper, she could tell the blonde wasn't ready to break the hug yet, "Everything's gonna be fine Pipes."
Those words rang through Piper's head, "Everything's gonna be fine..." Those were the words she needed right now. It almost made her feel childish, but she didn't care, she couldn't hep it. It came back to one of the most basic human needs, to feel protected. And that's definitely how she felt every time Alex hugged her, protected.
"C'mon, let's go back to your place. I have the whole night planned out."
Piper smiled into Alex's neck as soon as she heard those words, "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, I figure I could give you a massage and feed you gummy bears at the same time, guaranteed relaxation."
Piper wrapped her arms around Alex's neck even tighter.
"Let's go babe."
Piper finally managed to let go of Alex and they walked towards the car. She knew that Cal was spending the night at a friend's house, giving her at least two hours alone with Alex until Carol got home.
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Alex pushed Piper up against the front door as soon as they were inside the apartment. Piper had been studying a lot lately, which meant less alone time for the young couple. Alex was pretty sure she could help Piper relax, and she was not going to waste any time.
Piper loved it when Alex took control, and let the brunette press her hard up against the front door. She couldn't wait anymore and grabbed Alex's face, she needed to kiss her. Their lips clashed as though they hadn't seen each other in months, and Piper's breath hitched in her throat as she felt Alex undoing the buttons on her jeans. Alex was about to slip her hand into Piper's jeans when a voice rang through the apartment.
"Piper, is that you? I got home early."
Piper could feel Alex practically jump as soon as Carol spoke.
"What the fuck!"
Piper quickly buttoned up her jeans and tried to smooth out her hair, "Shit! She's not meant to be here!"
Luckily, Carol was still in the kitchen, giving the two girls a chance to regain some composure.
"Hi mum, it's me and Alex, we came straight home from school.
Alex pulled the blonde back against her body before she could walk away, and Piper could see the grin on her face.
"I'm gonna finish that later Chapman."
Piper tried to swat away her girlfriend's wandering hands and pull her towards the kitchen. She didn't think she would recover from Carol catching her making out with Alex.
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It was almost dinner time, and Piper lay on her bed with Alex next to her. She had her head resting on the younger girls shoulder with an arm lazily draped over her waist.
Alex had her hand underneath Piper's t-shirt, gently running her fingertips over the soft skin.
Piper wished she could stay in bed with Alex all weekend, "That feels really good."
"Anything you wanna do tonight?"
"Mmhhh, just this. But you're not allowed to sleep in my room."
Alex laughed, "Yeah I figured I'd be put in the guest room, which is gonna make it difficult to finish what I started."
Alex slowly slipped her hand underneath Piper's jeans, it'd been a while since they'd been intimate, and she was desperate to touch her girlfriend.
Piper wanted it just as much as Alex, but Carol nearly catching them kissing was bad enough. She would never recover if her mum walked in on them having sex.
"Mhhm Al, not while my mum's here."
Alex leaned her body on top of Piper's and whispered into her ear, "She won't know."
Piper let her head lean back on the pillow as she felt Alex's long fingers move lower, and she felt the brunette's breath in her ear again.
"Do you want me to stop?"
All Piper could do was groan, "Uughh, I don't want you to stop, but there's not enough therapy in the world to save me if we get caught."
Piper couldn't miss the smirk on Alex's face as slid her hand back up the blonde's body and leaned in for a kiss, and pulled Piper back in for a hug.
"So your mum doesn't mind me sleeping over?"
"She honestly seems fine with it, and she'd force you to sleep in the guest room even if you were a guy."
"Well that's good to know."
Piper let her body relax into Alex's, "We haven't had any time to talk lately. We should just spend all night talking."
"Like, dirty talk?"
Piper laughed and slapped her girlfriend's arm, "No you idiot, serious talking, talking about life, everything."
"Okay, I think I can do that."
Piper didn't want to kill the light mood, but she still couldn't stop thinking about all the things that could happen when she was at college, so far away from Alex.
"Are you worried about what will happen with Healy?"
Piper felt Alex's body stiffen and she immediately regretted her question, "Shit, I'm sorry Al, just forget I even brought him up."
"No, it's okay Pipes, I know I can't pretend like he doesn't exist forever. Of course I'm nervous, I'm really fucking nervous, I'm worried that they'll let him out. It's been so fucking good to not have to worry about him lately, to not be looking over my shoulder all the time. But also... to know that he can't come after you or Sal. But I can't control what happens to him, or if I'll have to give another statement. I don't wanna worry about it now, and I don't want you to worry about it, I won't be alone."
Piper squeezed the brunette a little tighter, "I know, I just want to be here for you."
"You will be Pipes, you need to stop worrying so much. I'll have Sal, and Julie's been around a lot more lately."
The other thing that Piper couldn't stop thinking about was Nicky being the one to comfort Alex if things ended badly with Healy's trial, if it even ever happened. But she didn't want to talk about that now, she didn't want to sound like a crazy jealous girlfriend, but she was still learning to deal with her feelings about Nicky.
Alex leaned up on her elbow so she could look Piper in the eye, "Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Then please stop worrying, everything will be fine."
There were those words again, everything will be fine.
A/N
Hello folks, thanks for the continued reviews and support. So, this is a big transitional period for Piper. She's stressed about school and her dad, stressed about Healy, and worried about being so far away from Alex. She does trust Alex, but she doesn't fully trust Nicky yet. Next chapter will be longer, focusing on Piper and Sally getting through their final exams and Nicky's end of year party. We might also see more of Julie in the next chapter.
Writing this fic has been a nice escape from work lately! I'm not going to try and guess how long this will end up being, I keep changing my mind...
Cheers.