Chapter 29

It wasn't much longer before Carol called Piper and Alex down for dinner. Alex was still feeling embarrassed about Carol seeing her have a bad dream, but she did her best to shake it off. Besides, she kept reminding herself that maybe it was a good thing. The one thing that seemed to change Carol's attitude towards her was being forced to see the harder parts of her existence, especially when those parts impacted on her only daughter. There was no denying anything when she saw those things things with her own eyes, and seeing Alex wake up like that was no different. It helped Carol to humanize Alex, it forced her to see that raw human emotion that she'd been disconnected from for so long.

Dinner was peaceful enough, and Piper found herself no longer worrying about censoring her actions. All those little touches and looks she shared with her girlfriend on autopilot, she didn't shy away from any of it over dinner, and Carol didn't say anything. Piper wasn't delusional, she knew that Carol would never be a mum like Diane, but this was still pretty good. This was more progress than she ever thought possible, and it made her smile.

Alex helped Carol with the dishes after dinner while Piper was on the phone with Celeste. Alex was focused on stacking the plates in the dishwasher when she heard Carols voice from behind her.

"You're more than welcome to spend the night here if you'd like. I know you girls want to spend as much time together as you can this summer."

Alex was more than slightly surprised by Carol's words, but not as surprised as she was by what she heard next.

"You can stay in Piper's room. That old bed in the guestroom needs replacing anyway."

Alex turned around and offered the older woman a smile, "Thanks Carol, I'd love to spend the night, if it's okay with you."

Carol returned Alex's smile as she cleared the last few dishes from the table. Alex couldn't quite believe her luck, she was starting to think that Carol Chapman might actually like her, or at least not actively hate her.

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Alex crawled into Piper's bed later that night and wrapped an arm around her from behind, "This is like, our first real sleepover at your mums place. I think we need to celebrate."

Alex shuffled closer and slipped her hand lower across Piper's stomach and underneath her shorts, immediately feeling the blonde push arch her back. Alex leaned in until her mouth was against her girlfriend's ear, "But I need you to be quiet."

That voice against her skin sent vibrations through Piper's entire body, and she rolled over until she was face to face with Alex. She let her vision linger over those green eyes until she pulled Alex's face in closer and pressed their lips together. This was the first time in a long time that Piper felt so at ease in her own home, and she was determined to hold onto that feeling all summer.

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It was finally the night of Nicky's party and Alex was definitely looking forward to having a few drinks. Even Piper was feeling less nervous about the whole thing. The blonde kept having to remind herself that Alex would never sleep with Nicky, that they were just good friends. It wasn't always easy for her to see that bond the two friends shared, but she was ready to trust Alex with her heart again.

Alex, Piper and Sally caught a cab to the party, with the house already full by the time they arrived. Even though she was looking forward to letting loose, Alex also had mixed feelings as she walked through the front door. It made her think of so many different things, like the time Healy spiked her drink and Sally and Piper picked her up. She remembered Piper hugging her in Nicky's room that night, even though they barely knew each other. It reminded her of the all the nights she'd spent in Nicky's room talking, drinking and kissing. Parts of those memories made her sad. Even though things had significantly improved with Nicky, she still felt like they weren't as close as they used to be. But the memory that hurt the most was finding Nicky in her room that night, high and fucking miserable. Alex still felt completely responsible for Nicky turning to heroin, the thought of it still broke her heart a little. But here they all were, they'd survived another year of high school, the last year for Sally and Piper. Alex didn't want to admit how relieved she was that Sally wasn't moving away, she didn't think she was ready to deal with that. It would already be so hard being away from Piper, to be in totally different states. Alex knew that she trusted her girlfriend, but she didn't trust drunk college guys. She tried to shake away the thought of some guy putting his hands on her girlfriend, she needed to stop worrying about things that hadn't even happened yet.

Alex silently reminded herself she was at a party, collected two beers and walked back through the crowd to find her girlfriend. She saw Piper standing at the edge of the makeshift dance floor talking to Sally. She walked over to them, handed Piper a beer and started talking to her sister.

"So Sal, where's your boyfriend tonight?"

"He's gone away with his folks for a few days."

Piper had never met John's parents, but she couldn't imagine them being more difficult than her own. She knew both her parents would be nervously waiting to see if she got accepted into Smith, at least it gave her something to talk to them about. Carol and Bill were never going to be the type of parents that said I love you every day, but Piper could live with how things were going right now. Right now, her parents could be around Alex without starting a fight, and Carol even seemed to like Alex these days. But Piper would never stop hoping for things to get better with her dad one day, and for Carol to show her more love. Until then, she would keep relying on Celeste for all the I love you's and hugs that her mum and dad never gave her.

Sally kept her eyes on Piper, she could practically see the cogs turning in her head, "C'mon Pipes, it's a party, come dance with me."

Piper smiled and took a hold of Sally's outstretched hand, letting her friend lead her to the dance floor in the living room.

Alex laughed and watched Sally drag her girlfriend around the dance floor before she went searching for Nicky. She walked through the house and eventually found her sitting on the grass in the backyard with a joint dangling from her lips. Alex sat down next to her and snatched the joint so she could take a drag, "Hasn't blondie taught you any manners?"

Alex bumped shoulders with her friend and laughed, "She's not big on joint smoking protocol."

Alex passed the joint back to Nicky, "I do miss you Nick..."

"I'm right here Vause."

"But it's not the same, is it?"

Nicky was trying to hard to be okay with Alex's relationship with Piper, it was fucking hard work but she was trying, and she was slowly getting there. But no matter how hard she tried, she knew things weren't the same between her and Alex anymore.

"I guess not. Do you want it to be the same? Minus the kissing of course."

Alex managed a small smile, "Yeah, I really fucking want it to be the same." She took the joint back and inhaled again, closing her eyes.

"Am I making any fucking sense?"

Nicky snatched back the joint, "As much sense as you ever make."

Alex knew her friend was trying to keep the mood light, but that's not what she wanted, Alex needed a real conversation.

"I'm serious Nick, I want things to go back to the way they used to be. No more feeling awkward around each other, or not touching each other, and whatever else."

Alex could just hear the sigh escaping Nicky's lips, "I know, but I've just been doing what you asked me, I'm not gonna say it's been fun, but I did it for you. Do you think Piper's ready to see us hug? Do you think she's ready to see me lying here with my head in your lap?"

"I don't know..."

"Look, things have been getting a lot better, I think we just need to give the situation more time. You already know how much I miss you, I just wasn't sure if you missed me too."

"Of course I fucking miss you!"

"Okay, I'm glad we cleared that up." Nicky put an arm around Alex and pulled her in close.

"How could you ever think I didn't miss you?"

"Because your life is all about Piper lately. And I know it needed to be, I get that. But what can I say, I'm selfish and I wanted my best friend back."

Alex rest her head on Nicky's shoulder and moved in closer, "You're not selfish, you're an asshole occasionally but you're not selfish."

"Haha, very funny Vause."

This felt good, it felt familiar, and Alex didn't want to miss these moments anymore. She wanted Piper to be her girlfriend and she wanted Nicky to be her best friend.

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Piper walked into the backyard and saw Alex and Nicky sitting together, with Alex's head resting on the other girls shoulder. She sipped her beer, reminded herself that Alex and Nicky were just friends, and sat with them on the lawn.

Alex smiled when she noticed the blonde next to her and leaned in for a kiss, "Hey babe, did you lose your dance partner?"

"More like she lost me, I'm exhausted!"

Even Nicky chimed in, "You need to up your game blondie! Energy drinks and Jagermeister are in the fridge waiting for you."

"I still don't think that'd help me keep up with her."

All three girls hadn't had this type of banter in a long time, and Piper was enjoying it. She was about to wrap an arm around Alex's waist when she stood up to go to the bathroom, leaving Piper and Nicky alone together.

Piper shuffled over and closed the space between them, "Will you do me a favour?"

Nicky looked over at the blonde with curiosity in her eyes, "Sure, fire away."

"Look out for her while I'm away?"

That is the last thing Nicky was expecting, but it made her feel good. It gave her hope for the future, which was something she'd almost given up on not that long ago.

"Of course I'll look out for her."

Nicky let the silence linger for a moment before she kept talking, "I'll call you if I think she needs you, and I'll try to cheer her up if she's having a shitty day."

Piper took a deep breathe and mulled over Nicky's words, she knew they were genuine, "And will you look after yourself? You're important to her..."

Nicky turned to face Piper, "Yeah, I will."

The two girls were interrupted as Alex came back and sat in between them. Even though she'd already had a few drinks, she could still sense the shift in the mood between them.

"Everything okay here?"

Piper wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders and let her lips linger on her cheek, "It's perfect."

Alex loved the feeling of Piper's lips against her skin and leaned into her even more as she smiled, "Is that your polite way of saying I'm intruding?"

"No, it's my way of saying I love you."

A/N

Hey folks, and that's where I'm gonna end this one! As with all of my stories, the possibility for a sequel in the future is always open, but this felt like a nice ending to me right now. Things will probably never be perfect between Piper and her parents, but they are slowly starting to accept things, and Alex has managed to help Bill and Piper understand each other a little better.

A big part of this story for me was seeing the very gradual shift in Alex's behaviour as she matured. Taking those steps from being so reliant on Sally, to finally letting herself open up to Piper and have a real relationship with her. And of course the whole Nicky thing was messy, and I feel like that sort of thing can be so crushing in high school. But at the end of it all, Alex was starting to feel more comfortable and trusting herself more around her friend, and she could sense that she had earned Piper's trust back, or was at least on the way to earning it back.

I would love to hear your reviews on how this has ended and the story overall. Which parts did you like the best, which parts did you hate, what do you think the future could hold for them?

My focus will now move to another story I've started, A place for her, which is a sequel to A dry place to call my own. I also have another idea floating around in my mind that I might write at the same time, see how I go.

Thanks again for your support on Keep on Living, I've really loved writing this one.

Cheers.