Chapter 9

Hangovers and Second Chances

Piper stretched out her arms in front of her. She yawned and groaned, her head hurt like hell and her mouth was dry and arid. Her attempts to roll over where hindered by something lying across her waist.

Confused she twisted her neck around painfully and saw a sleeping Leo. His blonde hair was messed up and his mouth was hanging open slightly. Watching him sleep was worth the crick in Piper's neck but soon the pain was too much and she had to face the other way.

Squinting at the digital alarm clock on the bedside table she could just make out the time to be 8:29. She somehow managed to roll closer to Leo and buried her head in his neck.

Suddenly a blast of noise came out of nowhere and startled Piper. Too tired to work out where exactly it was coming from she just swung her arms around wildly; hoping for the best. She heard a groan from Leo followed by what sounded like a cry of pain but the beeping continued.

Defeated she stopped moving and lay still for a moment. Eyes closed tight and mouth muttering something incoherent; she preyed that the noise would stop.

The noise was gone. It had stopped almost as abruptly as it had started. There was silence. Piper opened her eyes and saw a blurred face looking down at her, smiling. She smiled back as Leo's features came into focus. They stayed that way for a moment, savouring the feeling of being close to one another. Leo was the first to speak.

"I dink you boke my dose."

Piper's body convulsed one last time, completely emptying her stomach. Acid burned her throat and the taste of sick haunted her tongue. She winced at the smell and sight of the toilets contents before flushing them away.

Disgusted by the mess that she had made Piper looked around the small bathroom for a cloth. Instead she found some toilet paper, handily situated nearby, and wiped her mouth and the rim of toilet seat.

One more flush and the evidence of her vomiting was gone. As happy as she could be considering her aching head and general feeling of crappiness, she made her way back into the living room where Leo was lying on the couch with his eyes closed.

She continued into the kitchen area and turned on the tap, letting the water flow for a minute before grabbing two tumblers off the draining board and filling them with water.

She trudged back over to Leo and silently handed him the water. He sat up and sipped it timidly. Piper followed his example. It felt so good to let the water cool her throat and take away some of the sickly taste that still inhabited her mouth.

She heard a sigh and turned to face Leo who was now sitting with his head in his hands staring blankly in front of him. Piper tentatively reached out and touched his cheek softly.

"Is there anything I can do?" She asked roughly; her throat still sore from throwing up.

"I just can't believe that they left without giving me a chance to explain." He looked away from Piper's stare and concentrated on the busy pattern that adorned the carpet. "He doesn't understand why I'm not married with a kid by now. Ho doesn't...he doesn't know why I'm not like Anna."

Piper didn't hesitate this time. She scooted closer to Leo and wrapped her arms around his torso. To her surprise he buried his head in her shoulder and allowed her to sooth him.

"Shh, it's ok," she whispered into his ear making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "I'm here. I understand."

For some reason these words and the person saying them made Leo feel better than anyone else could ever have.

The chocolate flavoured ice cream was refreshingly cold as Piper and Leo sat outside a small café near the desert. The mid-day sun was beating down fiercely and all they could do was huddle together underneath the shade of the awning.

They shared some small talk and tried to stay away from talking about their kiss the night before.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into an hour and still Piper had not asked the question that had been bugging her since she had woken up that morning.

Eventually she plucked up the courage and turned to face him. Clearing her throat dramatically she asked.

"Why did you let me stay with you?"

"Excuse me?" He asked, confused.

"When I broke up with Dan, why did you let me stay with you? You barely knew me. I could have been a psycho for all you knew but still you took me in." She was becoming more and more aware of how incredible this man was as she said each word.

"Well, I'm not sure." He paused, unsure of how to continue. "I just...I'm drawn to you and I can't explain it. I've only known you for what? Like four days but I can't help but be attracted to you." He stopped talking and looked up at Piper with a goofy grin on his face. "Besides I figured I can take you."

Piper laughed and shook her head.

"Don't be too sure. I could do something while you're sleeping. Like smother you with a pillow or poison your food." She said creepily.

"Okay, guess I'm not going to bed tonight." Leo thought aloud, causing Piper to laugh once more.

"Well, I'd like to thank you," Piper said softly taking his hand in her own. "It really meant a lot to me, you taking me in and I really appreciate it. You truly are amazing."

Leo smiled shyly and tried to shrug off the comment but piper was having none of it.

"No, really Leo, you are. No one else has ever done something like that for me."

"They're all crazy," he said slowly, tucking a stray piece of Piper's hair behind her ear.

"I think it might be you who's the crazy one," Piper replied leaning towards his touch.

"Well, they obviously don't understand," he murmured.

"Understand what?"

"What love does to a person."

Before Piper had time to reply their lips were meshed together in a passionate kiss. If it were anyone else she was kissing, she would have stopped by now. Surely they were moving way too fast? Anyway, Piper would have to go back to San Francisco at the end of the week but she couldn't resist him. She just couldn't say no and she didn't want to.

AN: Another chapter. Another kiss. Hopefully this time they wont be disturbed. Anyhoo, thank you everyone who reviewed last time!

Please gave some sort of feedback be it good, bad, constructive, insulting, I can take it! It lets me know what to change and if any of you are still reading. Thanks.