**Here we go. I finally finished this chapter. Thanks for the reviews so far, I always enjoy reading what you think. As for the research, I decided to go with the basic information I have and write as I think is best for the story. And it's fictional either way, so if anything isn't as it would be realitstic with college and everything then because I have the german university experience and can only do research. I hope you still like the story and just ignore if something should be completely different and maybe unauthentic. I try my best.
Chapter 31: Where do you want to live?
Piper and Alex were both pretty happy about being done with exams and having so much free time now that they didn't have to go to school anymore. Most of their now free time they spent together or with Polly and sometimes Nicky who joined them later after school ended. They were having a great time doing everything the finally could do, like spend the whole day reading or playing games or whatever came to their minds.
"So. The spring ball is coming up soon. Do you want to go this year?" Alex asked Piper one day when they were just relaxing on Alex's bed.
"We went every year. Why wouldn't we go this time?" Piper asked back.
"I don't know. Because prom is soon too and to be honest I'm not sure if I really want to do two balls." Alex answered honestly.
"Well that's right. But this is going to be the last time we have the chance to go. And the spring ball has always been a special occasion for us." Piper reminded her.
"Of course, it was. Then we'll go to both. I was just wondering." Alex said.
"Was this you asking me out to prom?" Piper chuckled.
"Well I figured we'd go together." Alex was suddenly a bit nervous. "Let me know if you want to go with someone else."
"That's not what I meant. Of course, I want to go with you. I just thought we didn't just, I don't know, didn't just mention it incidentally, I guess." Piper explained.
"Then consider this not me asking you. I just wanted to know if we want to go to both." Alex clarified.
"Okay. It's our two-year anniversary this year. I can barely believe it." Piper noted unbelievingly.
"Time goes by fast sometimes." Alex agreed.
"It really does." Piper replied melancholically.
"Hey. Do you want to go see a movie? There's this new movie, 'A Happy Mind' that sounded really interesting." Alex asked.
"What is it about?" Piper wanted to know.
"We've actually seen the trailer just yesterday, remember? The one where …" Alex started to explain.
"Oh, yes, I remember. Yeah, that sounded really interesting. When do they show it?" Piper cut in before Alex finished and got her phone out to check. "There is one in about thirty minutes. We can make it if we leave right now."
"Okay, then grab your stuff. Let's go." Alex reacted quickly and got up. They left a little note for Diane to find, so she knew where they were.
When they got back from the movie theatre they were still talking about the movie. It had clearly moved both of them and they were both still filled with emotions and discussing their ideas how it should have gone.
"What are you two having a discussion about?" Diane asked them when they came in.
"Oh, hi. I didn't see you there." Alex exclaimed a little surprised. "We went to see that movie 'A Happy Mind' and we both have quite different ideas how it should have ended. I think it would have been better if they had just met that one time and not stayed in contact. Piper prefers the ending how it was. They stayed in contact. Which was really not a good idea. They were just too different."
"They were different. But they completed one another." Piper gave back. Diane smiled amused at how seriously they discussed about that movie.
"Well, I guess you can't solve this. How about a coffee and some cake? I just made some." Diane offered.
"You baked a cake?" Alex turned to her mother. "That's why it smells so heavenly in here. Some special occasion?"
"Not really. Your grandma just came by to drop a bucket of apples from her garden off and I didn't know what to do with that many appels. So, I made a cake. Your dad and Felix should be home soon, too, and then we can all have some together." Diane explained.
"Nana was here? She didn't want to stay to say hi?" Alex looked a little disappointed. She hadn't seen her grandma in a while and would have been happy to see her.
"She had some appointment she didn't want to be late for." her mom told her.
"Okay. But yes too coffee and cake. Maybe I can visit her some time soon. I really haven't seen her in a while." Alex contemplated.
"I'm sure she'd like that." Diane agreed.
Soon Louis and Felix came home too and everyone enjoyed the cake and they talked about how their days went, Piper and Alex told everyone about the movie they had seen and all five of them had a great afternoon. Later Alex and Piper retreated to Alex's room.
"Hey. When we're at Smith. Would you prefer living in the dorms or if we looked for a flat together?" Piper asked after sitting down next to Alex on her bed.
"That's a good question." Alex said without really answering. "I guess we'd have to look into that soon, huh?"
"Well, that's why I'm asking." Piper explained.
"Well, I'd like if it was just the two of us living together. So we could look for a place together? I mean living in the dorms would mean a more authentic experience. But who knows if we'd live in the same room and we'd have to stick to all those rules. We wouldn't need to if we had our own place together." Alex argued.
"I'd like that, too. Do you think we could afford that?" Piper asked.
"I hope so. I guess we need to talk with our parents about that anyway. But it would be good to know what we want before we talk to them." Alex answered.
"You're right. Should we maybe have a look first how the dorms are and when would be the last deadline to apply for a room? We can look for places to rent, too. I guess it'd be good to have both as an option, cause I'm not sure how keen landlords are to rent their apartments to college students." Piper suggested. "Maybe there is a way we can put in the application that we'd like to share a dorm? Who knows."
"Well, if finding a place together might not work I definitely hope we can be dormmates." she chuckled at that. "Cause I don't think I could live with some annoying brat. I can't deal with that."
"It'd be good for your social skills." Piper argued.
"You mean I need more of those?" Alex teased.
"Nah, I think you're great as you are already. But one can always learn something. Maybe that'd be your chance to learn how to deal with an annoying brat." Piper laughed.
"Urgh. I don't want to." Alex sighed.
"Well, I hope we get to live together. Either way if it's a dorm or our own place. I mean, if we could live together in a dorm, that would be cool, right? We wouldn't have to take care of so many things that we'd need to do if we had our own place. And we'd be closer to campus then wherever we'd find a place to rent." Piper went on with the prior topic.
"That's true. But if we got our own place we could set our own rules. I mean, both has it's pros and cons. Still, I'd prefer if we found a place together, even if it isn't right on campus." Alex explained.
"Okay. How about we do some research and see what we can find. You could see if there are any places to rent not too far from campus and how much the rent is, because when we talk to our parents about all this, it'd be good to have something we can tell them. And I'll look into the dorms on campus and how those house rules or whatever are and if you get to choose a roommate and everything. And when we're done we can exchange the information we found. What do you think?" Piper turned to Alex.
"I think you're hot when you are commanding and focused like that." Alex said a little too seductively.
"Am I?" Piper blushed a little. "Don't distract me. We can switch if you want and you search for dorms and I for apartments."
"How about we do that later?" Alex didn't answer still, instead she moved closer to Piper and kissed her neck where she knew Piper would get weak.
"Alex. As much as I'd like to... " Piper said, trying to move out of Alex's embrace.
"We've got all day tomorrow to do research." Alex argued.
"It's not that. I really want to, and this is killing me. But I can't. It's not a good time. So to speak." Piper said reluctantly.
"Ah. That time of the month, huh?" Alex chuckled. "Don't worry. Then we'll postpone that." she kissed Piper on the cheek reassuringly.
"I'm sorry." Piper almost mumbled.
"Don't be. It's how nature works, right? So we can definitely declare that you're not pregnant." Alex said trying to sound serious but she couldn't help but chuckle.
That made Piper laugh. "How on earth could I possible be, huh? Tell me?"
"Well, I finally made you laugh. That was the whole point." Alex looked at her and smiled.
"Okay." Piper smiled back at her.
Alex pulled her into a hug and pulled her down so they were lying down next to each other.
"Al?" Piper mumbled against Alex's shoulder.
"Yeah?" Alex was curious what'd come now.
"I love you." Piper said quietly with a smile.
"I love you, too, Pipes." Alex replied feeling completely content.
They did postpone their research to the next day and stayed cuddled up like that for most of the evening until they fell asleep.
The next day they spend most of their time searching the internet for information. Piper got all information about the dorms and Alex found some small but nice apartments that looked quite comfortable to live if they decided to rather live in their own place. They compared what they found and Piper told Alex about the dorm rules and everything that was essential to know and Alex showed her a few apartments they could apply at. They found out that it was obviously rather common to stay in the dorms provided by the college and they'd actually need to fill in a form and request to be allowed to live off campus, if they wanted to live in an apartment together. What Piper couldn't find if they had a chance to fill in a request to be in the same dorm room. What they could do is apply for the same house but probably not the same room.
"I really can't decide which I'd like better. Dorms or own place. Both has it pros and both has its cons." Alex said.
"We could just apply for both and see what we get?" Piper suggested.
"I don't think they'll agree to us living off campus if we also applied for a dorm room." Alex argued.
"You might be right, so better make that choice now." Piper agreed.
"What do you say? Do you prefer dorms or living in our own place?" Alex wanted to know.
"Hard question. I think dorms would be the more genuine college experience but I'd also like to live together with you." Piper started. "I got a suggestion. How about we apply for dorms and start with the 'normal' college life. And maybe after a year or two we can still see if we move into an apartment together."
"That doesn't sound so bad. And it actually might be a good idea. I'm not sure how much work all of it takes, I mean if we moved into our own place we'd have to figure out our college schedule with all courses, when to be where and how it all works including how to live by ourselves, taking care of the apartment and everything. Like cleaning, doing the laundry and everything that comes with that. I guess starting in a dorm makes the transition from home to college a bit easier. And once we got worked out how the every day life at college works moving into our own place will be easier if we don't have to adjust to college life at the same time." Alex contemplated.
"Okay, seems like we have our decision. Let's apply for the dorms then. Maybe if we can have a look where about our courses might me we could find a few houses that are close by? It would be nice if we didn't live on opposite ends of the campus." Piper concluded.
"That's right, maybe we can apply for the same house. Let's find out." Alex agreed and turned back to her laptop to start the application.
"So, I guess this is everything." Piper said a while later. "We put all the information in and sent it. Now all we have to do is wait for a reply. Fingers crossed that we can stay in the same house. Same room would be even better, but that might be a miracle if it happens."
It had taken them quite some time to put all the information in and at some point they had to ask their parents for help but eventually everything was filled in and sent, so now had to wait for the reply.
"Pipes. The spring ball is in four days. Do you want to go shopping for a dress before saturday?" Alex asked.
"Ehm, I don't think so. I'll wear one of the dresses I already have. I'll definitely look for a new one for prom though." Piper replied.
"Okay, that's reasonable. So, do you want me to pick you up?" Alex asked.
"I could come over and we can get ready together and then walk from here? It's closer from here than from our house." Piper suggested.
"Sure. I'd like that." Alex smiled and kissed Piper on the cheek. She put her laptop down which she still had held after they finished their applications and moved to sit behind Piper. She hugged her from behind, moving her hands along Pipers side until they slowly found their way under Piper's shirt.
"Mhm. I like where this is going." Piper whispered with her head turned towards Alex.
Alex took that encouragement and slowly took off Piper's shirt. Piper turned around completely to face her girlfriend and started mirroring Alex's movements and undressed her girlfriend. They were about to lie down when they heard noises outside Alex's room. Alex luckily had the presence of mind to throw the blanket over them as she realized that her door wasn't locked. They heard a knock and Diane ask if it was okay to come in.
"Not really." Alex replied cautiously. Outside the door they heard Diane chuckle.
"Okay. I actually just wanted to know if Piper stays for dinner and if so are there any wishes what I should make?" Diane replied.
"I'd like to stay for dinner, but I'm actually happy with whatever you make." Piper replied, a little in shock about how close they were to be caught by Diane.
"Okay. Then I'll leave you two alone now." Diane said and they heard her go downstairs.
Both Alex and Piper let out their breath they hadn't noticed they held in.
"Woah. That was close." Alex giggled a bit nervous and quickly moved to lock the door.
"Yeah. Gosh… very." Piper tried to calm her pulse that had gone up way too fast. When both girls had calmed from the short scare they slowly got back to what they were up to in the first place. This time they checked again that the door was definitely locked.
XXXXX
Three days later, it was the day before the spring ball, Alex had promised her grandma she'd come over in the afternoon for a coffee and when she arrived she noticed her grandmother even had made some cookies.
"Hey, nana. Thanks for the cookies, but you really didn't need to do all this." Alex told her when they sat down with their coffee.
"I'm happy to do it. It's not every day that my favourite granddaughter comes to visit." her grandma replied.
"I am your only granddaughter." Alex laughed.
"That doesn't matter. So tell me. How is everything going? Your mother keeps me up to date and tells me a the one or other thing already but I'd like to hear more from you." Eva wanted to know.
"Well, everything is pretty good right now." Alex chuckled and then went on telling her about being done with all the exams and the spring ball the next day and how she had been accepted at Smith and now was waiting for the reply.
"I love that you're so enthusiastic about everything that is coming." Eva smiled widely. "And that you can experience all this with your best friend is even better. It is good to know that there is someone who you can rely on."
"It is." Alex smiled and noticed that she hadn't told her grandma about being gay, let alone Piper being her girlfriend. She actually wasn't sure how her grandma thought about homosexuals or differently oriented people in general. But since she was he she could slowly address the topic and maybe find out. She knew she had to be cautious, she didn't want to ruin the good relationship.
"Nana, can I ask you something?" she started. All of a sudden she became pretty nervous and had the feeling the time passed in slow motion. She wasn't as nervous as when she had told her mother, but it came pretty close.
"Sure, you can ask me anything." her grandma answered and looked at her slightly curious.
"Well, how do you feel about people that aren't like the average? Like if girls rather like girls instead of boys." she asked, trying not to show how nervous it made her to ask her grandma about this topic.
"Oh, okay. I didn't expect this question to be honest. I really don't have a problem with queer people, that's what you say to everyone not straight nowadays, right?" she looked at Alex as if she wanted confirmation. "Really I believe that it doesn't matter who your heart chooses and whoever makes you happy. Love is the important thing. And I believe every human being deserves to be loved and have someone that they love. And what gender the other person is doesn't matter as long as you love each other."
Alex was speechless. She had had no idea that her grandmother was open like this. "Okay." was all she managed to get across her lips.
"You seem so surprised." Eva laughed. "You didn't expect me to answer this, I guess? I have to admit that I might think a bit different than the rest of the people my age. I don't want to generalise, there certainly also people my age who think along the lines that I do, but it's not the majority."
"Well we never talked about that topic or came close to it. So, yeah, I didn't know how you thought about this." Alex explained honestly.
"Do you want me to tell you a secret?" Eva asked and Alex nodded. "Okay, I will, but first I want to know why you brought the whole topic up. It wasn't just, because you wanted to know how I think about it, right?"
Alex smiled at how sensitive her grandma was and how much Diane was like her mother when it came to reading between the lines and noticing things like that. "Actually not the only reason, no. The point is, I am gay." Alex answered and felt some relieve that the words were out.
"Come here." Eva said and pulled Alex close into a hug. "I love you and you know you will always stay my favourite granddaughter. You've had my heart ever since you first smiled at me, when you were only six months old."
"Thanks, nana." Alex mumbled into her shoulder.
"So, I'm curious. Do you have a girlfriend?" Eva asked letting go of her granddaughter so she could look at her.
"I do, Piper actually is not only my best friend but also my girlfriend." Alex smiled widely as the conversation turned to Piper. She told her grandma how they came together at the spring ball and that the ball this year was their two year anniversary and how they had struggled in the beginning with the fact that Piper's parents couldn't find out about them.
"I can see you really love her, your eyes are shining and filled with love when you talk about her." Eva smiled widely. "I am happy for you. Love is the best feeling one can ever have."
"I do. She is the best thing that ever happened to me." Alex beamed. Then she added: "One day, when we are ready for it, she is going to be the woman I'll marry."
"You seem very certain of that. I am happy for you. I don't want you to hurry into this but don't wait too long with that, I'd like to be there when you get married." Eva said laughingly.
"I'd like you to be there too. But I think it's gonna be a bit. I'm not planning on getting married that soon. I mean we literally just finished high school." Alex chuckled. "But I also hope that you'll be around for so many more years." This afternoon had gone completely differently from what she had imagined, but she loved that her grandma was so supportive. "But now it's your turn. You said you wanted to tell me a secret. Now it's my turn to be curious."
"Ah, right. Well, can you promise me to tell no one about this? Actually no one knows about that. Not even your mother." Eva looked at her seriously.
"Uh, sure. Is it bad if I told Piper? She can keep a secret and well I can too, but she's gonna know I'm keeping a secret. And we kinda share everything. I can promise you that I won't tell anyone but Piper and Piper won't tell anyone. Is that okay?" Alex nervously asked.
"I'm okay if you tell your girlfriend but no one else, okay?" Alex nodded and Eva smiled. "When I was 16 me and my parents lived in this super small village. I think it was only just about 200 people living there. So every gossip and news spread very quickly - social media is nothing against the older people living there. You know how older women, and I gotta admit, that I count myself to this group now, keep talking about anything that happens, because not much does happen, which makes every little thing that is different from the normal everyday life seem way more important than it actually was."
Alex chuckled and nodded. "I think I know what you mean."
"Well, me and my parents lived in that small village for about four years. After my first year there my parents convinced me to join the knitting circle, which was literally the only activity for girls at that time. They wanted me to meet some people to maybe make some friends. And it worked. In this group I met Grace. She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, but also the most interesting person I have ever met. With her view on the world and attitude she didn't seem to fit into a place like this. And before I even noticed we became friends and soon I noticed that what I felt for her was more than friendship. I was happy when I found out that she felt the same and soon we became a couple. But you can guess that a lesbian relationship was far from being accepted at that time. So we had to hide, make sure no one ever saw us or noticed anything. It was the happiest but also scariest time of my life. I loved how she made me feel and I loved the person I was when I was with her. Unfortunately we never had the chance to be open about our love. The consequences would have been terrible. Two years after I had met her and had spent so much time with her I suggested running away from this small village that confined us like that. The anonymity of a big city would have been better. And she agreed. We started to make plans to go to New York. We both worked extra shifts on the part time jobs we had taken next to finishing school and tried to save as much money as we could. As soon as we were done we'd be out of this place and off to New York. But a day before Prom Grace's parents found out about our plan and locked her in her room. Only a couple days after we graduated Grace and her parents moved away and I never heard from her again. It really broke my heart." Eva finished quietly and her voice sounded sad.
"Oh, wow. I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine how that felt like. Probably as much as it would hurt if I ever lost Piper. But I don't really want to imagine that." Alex said, when she had heard about Grace leaving she had been so close to crying. She still felt a lump in her throat.
"Yeah, the years after that were really hard. And still I had to pull myself together, since I couldn't tell anyone about my relationship with my Grace. Eventually it started to get better. And then I met your grandfather. And he was kind and thoughtful and funny. We started dating, I fell for him and one and a half year after we met we got married. Three years later your mother was born. He was the only person I ever told about Grace. You're only the second person to know. And he was so understanding and for that I loved him even more." Eva finished her story.
"I'm glad you told me your story. It makes me sad that you had to go through this. It must have been so hard to keep that hidden for so long." Alex said empathetically.
"I'm glad I could tell you. It actually felt good to be able to tell someone about Grace. Sometimes I feel like I've only dreamt it, you know. It has been so long that sometimes it seems so - unreal." her grandmother explained.
The two of them kept talking until it was time for dinner and Alex had stayed longer than she had intended. They ate dinner together and Alex went home still thinking about this big secret her grandmother had told her.