Chapter 27: Future

Piper was in a really good mood the next weeks and everyone noticed. She felt like she was free and was immensely proud that she'd done the 'liberation' herself. The released burden of still having to tell her parents took a heavy weight off her shoulders as soon as it was gone. Piper wore a smile the whole next week and infected everyone around her with her good mood and happiness.

"I love seeing you this happy and sparkling." Alex told her when they were at the pool two weekends after Piper finally told her mother.

"It's because I can finally do this…" Piper moved closer and kissed Alex "...and not be scared."

"That makes me happy, too. I love that we can finally be open about being a couple. And I love you." Alex replied with a short peck on Piper's lips. Even though she wasn't the biggest fan of pda they had shown it so much more the last weeks, because now they could, up to the point that their friends complained about too much of it. They didn't really care. They were happy they could eventually do what they had wanted for so long and they wouldn't let anyone ruin that for them.

"Aww, look who gets sappy now!" Piper teased her. "And I love you too." she quickly added.

"You know you'll be in trouble if you tell anyone." Alex replied. She enjoyed Piper's playful mood and played along most times.

"Afraid they notice you have a soft side, too?!" Piper kept on teasing.

"I have a reputation to lose." Alex reasoned.

"Oh yeah? As a bad ass lesbian that doesn't show feelings to anyone but her girlfriend and family?" Piper chuckled.

"Is that what it looks like? I just don't want a reputation as someone sappy…" Alex explained.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Piper replied.

"I know." Alex said as she leaned into Piper. "You know, I'm proud of us."

"For what exactly?" Piper looked at her curiously.

"So many things. I mean, first - transitioning from best friends to girlfriends isn't an easy step, then when your mother found out about me being gay and almost forced you to stay away and almost send you to that boarding school. And then telling your parents. None of that was easy. And we made it through all of that. That makes me proud." Alex told her.

"That's true. We can totally be proud of that." Piper smiled at her. She got quiet and thoughtful.

"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked.

"Mhm. Is anyone at home at your place?" Piper wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. Why?" Alex looked at her confused.

"I'd rather show you than tell you what I was thinking about and how much I appreciate we made it through all this.." she leaned in, whispered it seductively in Alex's ear and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Ah, I like what you were thinking." Alex smirked.

"I thought so. Wanna go check?" Piper asked.

"Hell yeah." Alex replied at the prospect of sex with her obviously horny girlfriend. She got up quite quickly and collected the things that were scattered around them. They were lucky and everyone of Alex's family was out of the house.

XXXXX

Just as she had been asked for Piper gave her mother some time to get used to her liking girls. About two weeks after their talk Carol asked Piper to invite Alex over for dinner. Alex was a little apprehensive at first but she had followed Carol's change of behaviour and with a few encouraging words from her girlfriend she agreed to come over to have dinner. It was the first time since they were a couple that she'd officially went over and met the Chapmans as Piper's girlfriend. Not that she hadn't visited ever since Carol had been more accepting of her orientation but it had never been with the Chapman's knowing that she was Piper's girlfriend. The thought of this being a first made her quite nervous if she was honest, though she didn't like to admit things like that, things which made her feel less confident.

Her nervousness was taken a bit as after the initial hellos they quickly went over to chat about different topics and she was surprised how much more interest Piper's parents now showed in her life than they did before Piper came out to them. But the conversation flowed easily and Alex was happy to go along with it. After they had dessert the mood became a little more serious and Carol turned to Alex.

"One of the reasons we asked Piper to invite you over was because we behaved horribly after we heard you, uhm, liked girls. We already apologized to Piper for everything but we owe you one too. We know we made it hard for both of you. You always were inseparable and I feel deeply sorry for being so ignorant and unaccepting to try to keep you apart. I am happy to see that no matter how much was thrown in your way you two still managed to stay friends and as I'm aware now even more than that. You have to know that I grew up in an environment where 'straying' from the path that was considered normal wasn't intended and in no way accepted or tolerated. My parents always made very clear that the traditional family was the aim of life and to be pursued. And when you're told that this is the only accepted thing you believe that. I promised myself not to be like my mother, but it turns out I wasn't beyond becoming at least a bit like her. So my first reaction was that something like this was not acceptable. And I was scared that it influenced Piper in a bad way. I am sorry for thinking like that and I learned a lot in those last couple weeks and I can see now that I was wrong to react that way. So I hope you accept my apology for everything I said and did. I promise to be better." she ended her speech and looked at Alex hopefully.

Alex was a little speechless by all that. She could understand where Carol came from and that it influenced her reaction, and she was happy that she finally noticed that she was at fault and from what she sensed sincerely apologized. "Apology accepted." she replied and saw a smile show up on Carols face. The conversation went back to other things and soon everyone had finished their dessert.

"Is it too much to ask if Alex can stay over?" Piper cautiously asked when the evening slowly came to an end.

Carol looked a little like she fought with herself. "No, it's okay. If she wants she can stay."

"Thank you, mom." Piper smiled widely and they went up to Piper's room.

"I don't have anything to sleep. As much as I want to…" Alex started.

"Oh, that doesn't matter. You won't need any clothes for what I had in mind." Piper gave back.

"Pipes. Your parents have only just come to accept that we are together. Do you really think that that is a good idea?" Alex answered even though she hated to turn Piper down.

"That's why I have a key for my door. And we'll be very quiet. Believe me I have dreamt quite a few times about you staying here with me and the things I want to do with you." Piper almost whispered back. As much as Alex wanted to protest the look of Piper starting to undress herself made it impossible. "If you going to stay standing there and just stare I'm going to have to do it all by myself." Piper said and got Alex out her trance. Alex raised her eyebrow into her signature smirk and Piper couldn't hold herself back. Instead of taking more clothes off she pulled Alex on her bed and helped Alex out of her shirt soon attacking her lips roughly. Throughout the next hours Alex had to remind herself, and repeatedly Piper too, too stay quiet so Bill and Carol wouldn't hear what they were doing.

XXXXX

The rest of the year went by quickly. Soon it was the end of the school year and close to their 17th birthday. Alex and Piper both decided to celebrate a big birthday party combined with celebrating the start of their last summer break while they were still in school. The next year would be their last. They'd graduate and then hopefully go to college. They hadn't really discussed that part yet. It would mean that the two of them wouldn't live with their parents anymore which would also mean not living so close to each other anymore if they didn't go to the same college. But neither Alex nor Piper had decided what exactly they wanted to study or where they'd like to go. Also they were both very reluctant to bring it up.

The weekend after Piper's birthday they had their big party with all of their family members and friends. They had a great time and eventually the relationship between the two families Chapman and Vause was free of any tension. That was one of the things Piper enjoyed the most right now, everyone got along just the way they did before Piper's parents invited the Thompsons over for dinner.

Couple weeks ago they had had the idea of going on a vacation together. Neither of the girls wanted to go with their parents and so they figured they could go on their first trip just the two of them. It took both girls several long discussions to convince their parents to let them go alone. But they were well prepared and had researched everything they needed. So after bringing up the idea for the first time they showed them where they wanted to go and what time they intended to go and how they planned to get there. Eventually everyone agreed and they were happy to be able to go. They had found a camping ground where they could rent a little cabin made like a big barrel. It was only about two hours from where they lived and was easy to reach. All those facts made it easier for both sets of parents and took their worry away as much as it could. Alex and Piper were happy that they let them go on that trip alone and they promised to send at least one text a day letting their parents know they're okay.

The great thing was that the campsite offered so many things they could do. They were directly at the beach so they could spend their time swimming and laying in the sun or they could rent a bike and do a tour or the could go to the climbing forest just 15 minutes from the campsite. There were so many options.

The first day after they arrived they decided to do a lazy beach day. They both took their books and spent most of the day reading. Only interrupted by them going to cool off in the water and reapplying sunscreen. Around lunch time the found a vendor not far from the beach where they both got some fish and fries to eat.

"This is great!" Alex exclaimed when they went back to the beach. "I love spending time like this. On a beach with you."

"Me too." Piper agreed. A group of four had spread out a picnic blanket not far from them while they were gone to get something to eat. Three girls and a guy were currently handing sunscreen around until everyone was covered.

Alex was laying back down while Piper sat on their blanket looking around. Alex could see the boy from the group not far away look over. Was he checking out Piper? He better not. Although Piper didn't seem to notice anything Alex kept an eye out as to what he was up to.

"How far have you gotten with your book so far?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. Pretty far, I guess. I think I got a bit over half now." Alex answered.

"How is it?" Piper wanted to know.

"I like it. It's well written and manages to keep the tension so far. I have to stop myself not to read too fast cause then it'll be over too soon." Alex replied.

"That good, huh?" Piper turned around slightly and looked at her. Alex shortly checked if the guy was still watching Piper and sure he did. Somehow this annoyed Alex a lot. Who did he think he was staring at her girlfriend like that?

"Uh, yeah. I think you'd like it." Alex tried to concentrate on the conversation with her girlfriend.

"We could swap our books when we're done. I think you'll like the one I'm reading." Piper offered.

"Sure." Alex replied and sat up next to her. "I'm happy our parents agreed to let us go on this trip together.

"Yeah, me too. It's great to get to spend so much time just the two of us." Piper smiled at her and Alex couldn't help but kiss her. First because she was so cute right now and because it still bothered her that this guy was still staring at Piper. Alex could feel Piper's surprise but she soon recovered and kissed back. Alex noticed how the guy turned away as he saw them kissing.

"What was that for?" Piper asked.

"Just like that. Can't I kiss my girlfriend without reason?" Alex asked trying to sound innocent.

"Sure you can. Any time." Piper smiled at her.

"Also that dude over couldn't stop staring at you." Alex revealed.

"Ah… Wait. You were jealous?" Piper looked at her surprised.

"No. I just wanted him to know he shouldn't even dare thinking about coming over or so…" Alex played it down.

"You were totally jealous!" Piper laughed unbelievingly. "That's cute."

"Urgh, stop! " Alex gave up. There was no point and any argument she could bring would probably only make it worse.

"You just can't admit it." Piper said.

"Well I actually don't blame him for looking. You look gorgeous." Alex smiled at Piper who blushed a little at the remark.

"So do you. Are you sure he was staring at me and not you?" she retorted.

Alex laughed. "Yeah, I'd have noticed that."

The next day they had decided to take a bike tour to a town about ten miles from where they stayed and visited one of the museums there. Piper had discovered it in one of the brochures they found at the reception. It was a games and play museum showing all kinds of games, from board to card and more recent electronic games. The older ones were just to show but the games created in the last twenty years were also laid out to be played. They had a few tables across the museum where you could sit and play or join a group if the games were made for more than two people. They had a lot of fun and played a few games they hadn't heard of before. On the way back they stopped at a small pizza place for something to eat. When they were back they both fell into bed exhausted from their twenty mile bike ride.

"I had so much fun today. The bike tour was exhausting but great. And I loved how many different games we got to try at the museum." Alex said halfway interrupted by a yawn. Piper chuckled seeing her girlfriend so sleepy already.

"Me too. And believe it or not, it's only been our second day." Piper smiled and yawned too.

"Be my little spoon?" Alex lifted her left arm so Piper could come closer.

"Sure. Sleep well. I love you." Piper said feeling all warm and cozy cuddled into Alex like that.

"Love you too." Alex mumbled already half asleep. With a smile on her face Piper soon fell asleep too.

The rest of the week went by like that. They found various activities that kept them busy and they both had a lot of fun. At the end of the week they spend another day at the beach without doing anything and both enjoyed it a lot. They were both sad about having to go back home the next day but also looking forward to seeing their families again.

XXXXX

The summer break went by quickly and soon there were only a few days left before they had to go back to school for their last year of high school.

"I can't believe it's only gonna be this year and then we'll be done with school!" Alex said. They were sitting on her bed and chatting about this and that before the subject turned towards their last year.

"That's right. But I'm so ready to be done with high school." Piper added.

"Me too. Do you have an idea what you want to do after? I mean at some point we'll have to apply at colleges?!" Alex asked a little anxiously.

"I don't know, I thought something with literature would be nice. I mean I always loved to read and I really enjoy my literature classes. Maybe I'll study something in that direction. It would be cool to be an editor or so and work at a publishing house." Piper explained. "What about you?"

"I haven't thought about it too much really. But maybe I'll go towards business or managing. I've always been good at organizing things and enjoyed that. But I think I'd be good at teaching too. So maybe that?!" Alex shrugged.

"I'd think you'd make a great teacher. You've got the right charisma and confidence to be an amazing teacher. You'd be the supercool teacher who you can make fun with but who is also capable of setting rules and enforcing them. I'd totally love to have someone like you as my teacher." Piper told her sincerely. It made Alex smile.

"You're completely biased. And relationships between teacher and student is an absolute no go. So choose." Alex laughed.

"Well maybe a little biased." Piper admitted with a giggle. "And I said someone like you - not you. You'd have to be a lot older than only two weeks for being my teacher."

"Oh yeah?!" Alex smirked. "You want me to teach you a thing or two?" she added seductively.

"Mhm. And what would that be?" Piper replied.

"Patience! Let me show you." Alex said and slowly moved her hand from Pipers hip upwards underneath her shirt.

"Mhm." Piper moaned. "I think I like this lesson."

XXXXX

The next morning Alex woke up before Piper. She loved watching her sleep. Piper always looked so calm and peaceful like nothing could bother her and she was happy. That's also how she felt when she woke up next to Piper, happy and peaceful.

"Good morning." she whispered to Piper as she noticed her stirring.

"Morning." Piper mumbled not opening her eyes just yet.

Alex chuckled. "I'll let you slumber a little longer."

A while later Piper opened her eyes and asked Alex if she slept well.

"Yeah. I always do when you're here." Alex replied softly. "How about you?"

"Aww. You're a giant marshmallow, you know that, right?" Piper giggled. "I slept very well. I had a weird dream after last nights talk. I was an author at a big newspaper and you were a teacher and came to me asking how I could make so many mistakes and then I looked at the printed article and it was so full of spelling and grammatical errors that it was barely readable. It was a little scary to be honest."

"Oh my." Alex laughed. "Well, maybe I should study business then, if the teaching thing gives you nightmares."

"Nah, I still think you'd be a great teacher. Also you could talk about it with your dad. I mean he's teaching and he knows you and can probably say if you'd make a good teacher." Piper replied. "Hey, maybe we can go and check out where we could apply and what college offers what together today?"

"Sure." Alex said. "Do you think we will find one that offers something for both of us? I mean probably there is one. But what are the chances of us both getting into the same college?" she started ranting. It was one of the rare occasions where Piper saw her girlfriend all insecure and ranting like this.

"Shh. Alex slow down." Piper tried to calm her. "Let's face that when we're there, okay? For now it's only about finding information and doing some research. And we'll apply at every college that we think we'd like to go to. And then we'll see. And if we end up at different colleges that will be okay too. I know that we can make it through."

"How will we make it work if - I don't know - I am in New York and you in California or so? We'd barely ever see each other." Alex went on.

"Well maybe we'll find one that takes both of us or at least two that aren't so far away." Piper said. "Maybe we are lucky enough to get into the same college?! Who knows? "

"Yeah who knows? But what are the chances?" Alex wished she had the same optimism like her girlfriend.

"Let's not worry about things we don't even know if they're going to be a problem." Piper reasoned. "And even if we end up so far away from each other I still believe we'll make it through. It'll be hard but I know I won't find anyone better for me than you. So I'll fight for us."

"Okay. I just… I don't want to be so far away from you for so long." Alex replied quietly. Hearing Piper say that she believed in them being able to make it through something like this made her feel a lot calmer.

"Me neither. I always love to have you as close as I can." Piper answered and pulled Alex into a tight hug as to show her how close.

"Well we'd have be a bit farther from each other when we want to learn something in all the classes we'll have to take." Alex chuckled but felt a little better already.