Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.
Guys, I'm so sorry for such the long update on this story. I didn't mean to go away for so long. And again, I just want to say a massive thank you for all of you who are still reading and favouring and following and reviewing! You guys are awesome! :)
Enjoy!
Zeppelin's Black Dog was playing in the background as Alex finished getting ready. Piper's art show was tonight and the brunette was to be meeting her there at the gallery.
She listened to the song play out as she looked at her appearance in the mirror. Despite having a full face of makeup on, the dark circles underneath her eyes were visible. She hadn't slept much lately. Her mind was always going around in circles and when she was finally able to fall asleep, she suffered from nightmares and strange dreams. She wasn't even quite sure if these dreams were really dreams or memories or a weird fragmentation of both.
She thought that it would go away soon. All this anxiety and things from the past. But it hadn't. Last night had been especially bad. She had dreamt of the night she had gotten arrest, again. This particular part of her past was a constant recurring element of her dreams. It was the same old thing time and time again. The room would spin, making her unable to make out her surroundings at first. The loud pounding at the door. The sound so loud it seemed like it was going to break her eardrums. Lilly hissing at her to get up and flee...
Like most of Alex's exs, she didn't make a point of thinking about them. However, like everything else from her past, Alex couldn't stop thinking about all the women she had once claimed to love. There was Cori. The sexy beast who had started this whole thing. Then Claire, Aleasha, Jac and then Lilly. There was of course a few afterwards, but those five had all played a part in her downfall. They had all been very different from one another and that was probably why she had gone out with them. She didn't want to go out with someone who reminded her of her ex. She had wanted to forget them for a reason. Of course, being under the influence of heroin had helped a little too.
She use to wonder what had happened to Lilly after that night. Alex of course had been arrest and courted off to prison. But she never did find out what had happened to her supposed call love at the time. She use to think that they were destined to be together forever like they were in some black and white movie. But now, she knew that it wouldn't had lasted much longer if she had escaped out of the room with her. Alex hated how she was thinking about Lilly and if their love from years ago was actually real. She shouldn't be thinking so much of her ex girlfriends. Not when she had a pretty good girlfriend present in her life now.
But there was just something about Lilly and that night she had gotten arrested that she couldn't help but compare to what had happened last week with that creep.
Alex was still trying to piece together what had happened after she pushed the guy. Piper had tired to fill in the blanks for her when she had asked. The blonde had explained how they had immediatly ran away from the guy and to Piper's apartment.
That was it really.
There wasn't a lot that Alex had blanked out on.
However, it still scared the shit out of her that she couldn't remember. She couldn't remember Piper squeezing her hand the whole way as they bolted down the streets like children running to get home for dinner. She couldn't remember the adrenaline that Piper had described coursing through her body, fearing for her life. Not the protest of her muscles as she pushed them to the max that night. She couldn't remember any of it.
Not even one little tiny second.
She could remember the high pitched giggle of Lilly's every time the needle was inserted into her arm. She could remember the dark rich purple the walls of the bathroom of the nightclub had been the first time she had tried E. Or the gentle softness of Nicky's lips against her own that one time they had drunkenly kissed. She could seem to remember a thousand of little details like this. But not anything of that night, just a couple of days ago.
She knew she was too young to be having memory lost or worrying about losing her memory. She had never blacked out like this before, at least not while sober. Maybe, she was blocking out that night for a reason? Maybe the presence of that drunken creep made her realize that no matter how hard she tired to be in control, she couldn't always be.
Alex knew that guy had stirred something inside of her. That guy had scared her. She hated to admit it, but he had. He hadn't backed off. Not when she had threatened him. Usually, they backed off...
The whole event had been something very similar to what she had experienced sometime before. Alex was just having trouble putting her finger on it. But she had a pretty good idea that it had happened to her before. She also knew that there was no point in dwelling on it either, because like every thing else from her past lately it would unravel itself.
Letting out a loud sigh, Alex reached for the tube of lipstick resting on the dresser and reapplied it to her lips. Despite, her tiredness and overall shittiness, she wanted to look good for her girl. Tonight wasn't about her and she didn't want it to be. This was Piper's night to shine and she was fully ready to bath in it.
Placing the lid back onto the tube, Alex took a step back from the full length mirror, which hung on the back of the closet door. The brunette gave herself one last glance over before leaving the room. She had her hair done up in it's signature pin up do. There was thick black eyeliner around her eyes and her lips were a dark scarlet red. On her body she had kept it very minimal with skinny black ankle glaziers with rips down the front and a sleeveless white blouse. She wasn't really sure what one wore to an art show, but she assumed since it was not in a very fancy area of the City that the slightly edgy slightly classic look would do.
Alex was one of the first people to arrive at the gallery. Her eyes immediatly fell onto Piper, who had her back turned towards her and was in the middle of a conversation with someone. She assumed that this was probably one of the others artist showing that night by their low-key entire. There was only a handful of others in the small gallery space.
Waiting for Piper to finish her conversation, Alex slowly moved further into the room. She looked briefly at a near by painting which was a bright abstract piece. She wasn't really sure what the art show was about. Piper had probably told her beforehand, but she didn't recall anything now as she continued to look at the painting. She wasn't really interested in it though. She was more interested in the hot blonde in the leather shorts and crop top. God, she looked good that night, Alex thought to herself admiring her girlfriend through the corner of her eye. Piper had her hair pulled up into a high ponytail. She looked sultry and youthful to Alex in that outfit she was wearing. By the sudden feeling of warmth in her stomach, the brunette knew it was going to be one long night for her. She immediatly just wanted to take Piper away from the gallery and have her in the alley or somewhere close by.
The brunette had to wait a few more moments before the guy that Piper was talking to finally excused himself, allowing for Alex to slip in.
Alex reached out and placed a hand on the crook of Piper's elbow, making her turn around immediatly.
Piper's face broke out into a smile at seeing Alex. "Hey baby!" She couldn't keep the excitement from her voice at seeing her.
"Hey," greeted Alex, returning the smile. The couple stayed like this for a moment, staring at each other like two idiots before sharing a quick kiss.
"When did you get here?" asked Piper with interest as she pulled away from Alex.
"Just a few minutes ago really," spoke Alex as she wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist. She had no intentions of leaving her girlfriend's side for the rest of the night. She didn't care if Piper had to network and smooze with art dealers and other important people that night. She would be right there with her while she did it.
"I like this outfit." Her green eyes roamed Piper's body, taking in the sight of her long toned legs once again in those shorts.
"Thanks," whispered Piper as she looked down at herself. She liked what she was wearing too. It was comfortable and that's what she liked most about it. She had thought about wearing a dress and such but it was still way too hot outside for all the fuss and grooming.
Alex couldn't resist kissing the blonde again. She was just so fucking adorable at the moment with her hair up like it was. Sure, Piper wore her hair in a ponytail at work, but this was different. Here she wasn't something she couldn't have, she was all hers here.
Her hand slipped slightly underneath the blonde's top, feeling the expand of her ribs as she took in a breathe. She knew it would be a while until she could have her alone, but that didn't mean she couldn't innocently touch her.
Piper smiled as feeling the heat of Alex's hand on her flesh. She looked at the brunette for a second before slipping her hand from underneath her top and placing it on her hip. "Your going to kill me...you know? If you keep on doing that..."
Alex just smiled cheekily at hearing this.
Piper just gave the taller woman a look before taking her hand and leading her towards the makeshift bar in the back corner of the gallery space. She wanted to show Alex around the show, but first she was in need of a drink. She was a nervous wreck at the moment. She didn't know how the night would go or who would be showing up. She was glad that she had Alex by her side this time around. It had been a relief to see her girlfriend's gorgeous face.
Piper talked Alex's ear off as they made their way slowly through the line to the front of the bar. The gallery had filled up quite a bit with people since Alex had arrived.
"Who else is coming tonight?" asked Alex as she looked around the filled room. There was only one person in front of them now the line.
"Well Nicky and Lorna are coming later. Probably around tenish, I guess," explained Piper. Nicky had to work tonight but said that she would come by afterwards with Lorna. The four of them had plans to go out after the show was over, which Piper was looking forward too. The four of them had never done a double date thing before. Alex, she knew would like hanging out with Nicky outside of work and herself, actually wanted to discuss some things with Lorna. She wanted to ask how Lorna dealt with Nicky's past. Nicky had been no help on the matter when she asked that one time. The blonde just wanted some advice on how she should handle Alex's.
"Is Polly coming?" asked Alex.
"No. You're safe. She's away in Cape Code at the moment," spoke Piper. Her best friend had tried to make her come alone for the trip. It was rare for Piper not to be spending the summer there at her family's summer home which was right besides Polly's, but she much rather work and earn money then lay around on some beach listening to Polly groan about some problem with the wedding planning. "My little brother, Cal might be coming though..."
Her voice trailed off as she nervously met Alex's eye. Piper had yet to tell anyone in her family about her current relationship with Alex. However, Cal was different. He didn't have a stick up his ass like the rest of their family members did. Her little bro, she knew she could trust with this.
Alex raised an eyebrow at hearing this. This was news to her. Piper had talked about her Cal before with her, but she didn't actually think she would meet the guy anytime soon. She knew that to Piper's family, she didn't exist and she was fine with that.
"Is that okay?" asked Piper in a whisper. "I know I should had mention it before with you. Like we have never discussed meeting each other's families or anything? But Cal is really a good guy and will be happy for me. For us. He won't be like Polly...He's not like that."
"Kid," spoke Alex gently. She inched her face close to Piper's. "It's fine. I will happily meet anyone from your family if you want me too...or not. I'm good either way."
Normally, Alex didn't meet anyone's parents. She wasn't usually the girl that you brought home to meet mom. And she usually rather not meet the parents for that was a big step in any relationship. She, herself never brought anyone home to meet her mom. However, she could sense that would be changing very soon. Ever since she mention Piper to her mom, she was always asked about and such. Alex knew her mom wanted to meet the girl, who her mother claimed to "Steal her daughter's heart." She knew that the two of them would be eventually at some point. However, she still wasn't sure if she was ready to make that step. Not that she didn't care about Piper or thought of her as like any of her exs. She already knew that this relationship was different from her past ones. But that didn't mean she was any less paranoid that something would go wrong. She was probably more paranoid then she had ever been before in a relationship that something would go wrong or that she would do something to screw it all up. Yes, things had developed quickly so far with the two of them and she wanted things to continue to progress, but she didn't want to push it either.
"Kay," whispered Piper before kissing Alex softly on the lips.
After getting their drink, Alex a beer and Piper a white wine, they moved towards the front of the gallery where Piper's piece hung.
Alex had seen the piece a few times before from its early stages to the final ones. She had seen Piper's work of her before, but never something so big and complete looking. The painting was a large wooden panel, with Alex standing in the centre of it, stark naked. She wore a smirk on her face, as her green eyes pierced out onto the viewer. The painting was done in a loose gestural style more commonly known in drawings. Piper had asked her one night to pose for her and this had developed from it. She wasn't wearing her glasses and her hair was down and covering her breasts. She looked some sort of modern Eve with the teal blue ends of her hair falling just underneath her ribcage and her sleeve of tattoos.
"What do you think?" asked Piper as she took a sip from her glass and looked over at Alex. She had a good sense on what Alex would say about the painting, but she still wanted to hear her thoughts.
Alex shifted her eyes away from the painting and onto the blonde. She couldn't help, but smirk, mimicking the one in the painting. "Do you really have to ask?"
A smile spread suddenly on Piper's face, "Come on...just humour me...What do you think?"
"It's amazing kid. Just like everything you do. It's fucking amazing," replied Alex, leaning slightly into Piper.
"Thank you," whispered Piper taking another sip from her wine. "But what do you think of the piece like...it's you..." She gestured towards the painting, looking briefly away from real Alex to painted Alex.
"Yes it is."
"Don't be a wiseass and tell me what you think? Does it look like you? Do you like it?" asked Piper, once again trying to get an answer out of her girlfriend. She didn't want to just be praised for her work.
Alex let out a sigh as she took a drink from the beer bottle and studied the painting. She didn't know what kind of answer Piper was looking for. She wasn't good with all this art stuff and she hated that Piper was putting her on the spot like this. The couple was quiet for a moment before Alex said something.
"I like it," stated Alex lamely.
"And?..."
"And..." Alex shook she head slightly at how stupid this all was. "I think it does look like me. I look like a badass Eve who's saying fuck Adam...I'm going to eat that apple and enjoy it."
Piper grinned at Alex's critique of the painting. She hadn't really had anything in mind of when she was working on the painting. It had just sort of started as something silly, having Alex pose for her in her apartment one night. But then this finished piece came out of it after working on it for a couple of days more.
"What?" asked Alex, cocking an eyebrow. "You don't think I'm a badass Eve?"
"You wouldn't be Eve for one second," argued Piper playfully. "You would more be the snake leering poor Eve to eat the apple."
"That's even fucking better," agreed Alex. She liked the idea that she was the snake who leered the innocent brainless Eve away from that Adam guy and into the garden to eat the apple. Taking a drink from her beer, she wrapped an arm around Piper's waist and kissed her neck. "I'm the snake and your my Eve..."
Piper couldn't help but giggle as Alex's breath tickled her neck.
It was an hour later into the night as Alex made her way through her second beer and found herself watching Piper from afar. Despite not leaving herself, Piper had been swiped away from some of the other artist for a moment.
The show was going well so far, she thought. She wasn't really sure what made a good art show, but the night had been enjoyable. It was nice to see Piper in her element, thriving and talking with everyone here. Alex had been introduced to them as Piper's muse. Alex had never been described like that before, but the name was sitting well with her. She liked the idea of being someone's muse. It made it seem like she played a more major part in Piper's art practice than she actually did.
Pressing the glass of the bottle against her lips, her eyes narrowed slightly as Piper threw her arms around some guy. Alex was a little on guard at first as the guy placed a kiss on Piper's cheek, his hand lingering on the small of her back. However, it soon dawned on her that this might be the famous brother Cal she had heard so much about. He did have the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Piper did. This became more true as Piper and this guy began to approach Alex.
The brunette smiled at her girlfriend as they caught each other's eye.
"Alex," spoke Piper. "This is Cal." The young woman turned her head slightly to the man on her right hand side. "Cal. This is Alex."
"Ah...the woman from the painting. The muse.." joked Cal as he turned his head to face Alex. "It's nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand towards Alex to shake in greeting.
"It's nice to meet you too," replied back Alex, giving Cal's outstretched hand a shake.
There was a brief moment of quietness amongst the three of them. Both Cal and Alex were looking towards Piper to further with introductions. Alex, of course knew about Cal and how he was the pot smoking younger Chapman sibling. However, Cal didn't know anything about Alex other than she was the inspiration for his sister's paining.
"Cal, Alex is a lot more than just a muse to me," began to explain Piper shyly as she took Alex's hand and intertwined her fingers with hers.
Alex smiled in encouragement to the blonde. She knew that Piper was nervous about introducing her as her girlfriend to her closest blood relative.
"She's my girlfriend," continued Piper. Her pulse had picked up slightly in the last few sounds. She had been more nervous about this part of the night than anything else. She knew her little brother would be pretty open minded to her having a girlfriend. But she still was nervous on his reaction. Piper didn't usually discuss her love life with her younger brother, but she thought he would a good person from her family to start with.
Cal was quiet for a second as he looked at his sister, making sure she wasn't pulling his leg or anything. His blue eyes then shifter over towards Alex. The brunette stared strongly back at the younger Chapman. She was like a cat ready to pounce at any sign of a threat. She squeezed Piper's hand as her other gripped tightly onto the neck of the beer bottle. She knew that Piper's brother wasn't much of a threat to her or Piper but she couldn't help but think back to that drunk. Nothing had happened yet but she was fearing that the worse was about to happen, knowing all about Piper's family views on these things. She didn't want Cal to ruin Piper's night by making her upset in anyway.
"Hey. There's no need to look threatened or scared, Pipes. I'm not fucking mom." Cal had his attention fully back on his Piper. He wasn't going to bite like she clearly thought he was going too. Of course it was a little out of the blue to hear that his older sister had a girlfriend.
This seemed to be all that Piper needed to hear as a wide smile quickly spread across her features.
"Thank you Cal," whisper Piper tearfully into Cal's ear as she let go of Alex's hand and pulled her baby brother into a hug.
"Whatever makes you happy sis."
Thanks for reading and leave lots of reviews to keep me motivated to post the next chapter in the next few days instead of weeks this time around! :)
Julie
