"How has it been in Litchfield, Piper?"

"The same. My job is nice and school is going well."

"Good, good. Is the job paying well?"

"Mom, it's a book shop. I can make my living by it and that's enough."

"No reason to get annoyed. I'm just looking out for you."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Where are we going anyways?"

"It's a surprise", her mother said with a smile

"Dad?"

Carol sent a warning look to Bill's direction.

"It's a surprise, honey", her dad said also smiling.

"Cal? Do you know anything?"

"We're going to celebrate your birthday!"

"Cal! Not another word! You're going to ruin the surprise", Carol said with a strict look.

Piper stared at her brother intensively until he couldn't bear it anymore.

Cal took her phone and wrote something before showed it to Piper.

"You're taking us to Washington D.C?!" Piper exclaimed.

"Cal!" Carol scolded.

"Technically, I didn't say another word. I wrote it", Cal stated proudly of his cleverness.

"Yes, we're going to Washington D.C." Bill said chuckling.

"Oh my god! I've always wanted to go there!"

"We know, honey. That's why we're going there. Your birthday isn't until another two weeks, but we got a couple of day offs so, we are going to celebrate a little early", her dad explained.

"Thank you so much!" Piper said smiling.

"Wow, look at that truck!", Cal said as she pointed out of the window. "It looks like it's driving on our side of the road."

"Don't be silly. Of course it's not... Holy shit!"

"Dad!? What's happening?"

"Just hold on!"

"DAD!"

Piper shot straight up with tears running down her cheeks. That same dream has been haunting her the past year. She would gladly forget the day of the accident but her dreams didn't let her.

Piper got up to turn on the lights. She couldn't bear the darkness.

She sighed as she saw Alex's and Diane's guestroom. The clock on the wall showed that it was just after 4 a.m. Piper rubber her eyes. There was no way she would sleep again, so she just sat on the bed and tried to forget her dream.

Piper didn't know how much time had passed but she woke up from her trance when she heard a knock on her door.

"Yeah?" Piper asked in a small voice.

Alex came into a room. "You're awake?"

"Couldn't sleep", Piper told. "Did I wake you up?"

"Oh no. I just went to get some water and saw that your light was on."

"Okay, good."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alex asked as she sat down next to Piper.

Piper almost told her all. Almost shared the pain she had been hiding from others for so long. At the last moment she stopped herself. Don't get too attached, the voice in her head reminded. "It's fine really. Just some random bad dream", Piper smiled weakly.

Alex furrowed her eyebrows. "Piper."

"I'm serious Alex."

"So am I. Why is it so hard for you to trust people? To trust me? What are you so afraid of?" Alex asked desperately.

"The problem isn't that it's hard for me to trust you. The problem is that I feel like I can trust you."

"What? Piper, you should be able to trust people."

Piper shook her head. "No. If I trust people too much, I get attached."

"Piper that's a good thing. Life is much better if you have people around you", Alex said as she put her hand on Piper's thigh.

The tears started to build in Piper's eyes and she shook her head again. She didn't even acknowledge Alex's hand.

Alex started to become worried. "Piper, talk to me."

"Everyone leaves", Piper whispered.

"I promise that I won't", Alex said staring at Piper's eyes, trying to get Piper to see her sincerity.

"But you do. You leave soon to a college", Piper said as she adverted her gaze.

"Oh, Piper. Is this what all this has been about? You afraid that I abandon you once I leave to a college?" Alex asked with a slight frown.

Piper shrugged. She had never been good at talking about her feelings.

"Okay, listen. Firstly, I'm not leaving in another year, and secodly I'm not going too far. I'm applying to the University of Connectictuc where is a good teacher preparation programme. I'm able to visit often and we can keep contact always when we feel like it", Alex explained smiling.

Piper didn't seem too convinced so Alex continued. "I know that you have had a shitty luck with people around you. I know that you have lost most of them for a reason or another but it doesn't mean that everyone will leave you. I'm not going to leave you."

Piper stared at Alex and heard the sincerity in her voice. The tears started falling again, she didn't know how to react.

"Come here", Alex said quietly before hugged her tightly.

Piper was stiff at first before slowly relaxed and rested her head on the crook of Alex's neck.

They both fell asleep and slept till Diane knocked on the door around seven.

"Piper?" She asked from the other side of the door.

Piper stirred from her sleep. "Hmmh?"

Diane peeked into the room. "I'm sorry to wake you up, but have you seen..." Diane trailed off as she saw her daughter fast asleep next to Piper. "...Alex."

Piper wasn't fully woken up yet and she kept her eyes closed. "No."

Diane chuckled. "No?"

Finally, Piper opened her eyes to look at Diane. She looked at her other side where Diane's gaze was focused.

"What the fuck?" Piper asked as she sat up confused. Suddenly she remembered their early morning conversation and relaxed. "Right."

Diane quirked her eyebrow but didn't ask anything. "Wake her up, you guys need to leave in an hour if you want to get in the school in time."

"Oh no, I can take a bus", Piper said quickly.

"Nonsense. Alex can take you."

Piper didn't protest but when Diane left she didn't wake Alex either. She quickly checked the bus schedules on the net.

She could take a bus that leaves in 45 minutes. The bus stop wasn't far away.

Piper went to her bathroom and brushed her teeth before went into a shower. When she let the warm water run over her, she thought about her conversation with Alex. It was true that she had had a really bad luck with people but could it change? Could Alex be the one that would finally stay around? Piper couldn't bear any more losses, that's why she had been careful not to get attached. But Alex had promised to stay around... The universe couldn't hate Piper that much that she would lose Alex too, right?

When Piper realized that she had spent quite some time in the shower doing nothing, she quickly washed her hair and body before stepping out.

"That stubborn kid", Diane mumbled as she saw Piper rushing out of the door by herself.

Diane drank her coffee and read the newspaper until Alex came into the kitchen rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning", Alex said yawning as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Diane looked at her expectantly and Alex became a little self-conscious. "What?"

"I'm waiting for you to tell me how you ended up in Piper's bed", Diane said grinning.

Alex blushed. "Shit, you saw that?"

"Yeah. You weren't in your room and imagine my surprise when I went to ask Piper and saw you there, sleeping with her", Diane said with raised eyebrows.

"It's really nothing", Alex said before told her mother about her going to get some water, then seeing Piper's light on and then their conversation.

"Where is she anyways?" Alex asked.

"She left to the school."

Alex frowned. "I could have taken her."

"I said the same but you know her. She wanted to take a bus in order to save you from the trouble."

Alex shook her head as she wondered if their conversation had helped Piper in any way.

At the same evening Alex and Diane was watching TV around 8 p.m. Both of them looked at the front door when they heard it opening.

"Piper! You're soaking wet! You should have called us to get you", Diane said mortified as she saw Piper's state. It was raining outside, but she had though that Piper would take a bus or something.

Piper looked at their direction. "I met the lawyer not too far away from here, it was short walking distance."

"Still", Diane said concerned.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Relax. I'm not made of sugar, it's just water."

"You could get sick."

"I'm never sick. I mean can you even remember when I would have been off from the work because I was sick."

"You've been sick. And you come to work anyways", Diane exclaimed.

"I was not sick. Little flu here and there isn't being sick", Piper shrugged.

"Jesus", Diane mumbled. "Anyways, there is food in the fridge and you got some package? It's on the kitchen table."

"Ahh, must be the new key", Piper said as she went into the kitchen to get the package. She skipped the food part because she wasn't hungry.

She took another long shower to warm up before hopped into the bed to read a book.

Once again a knock on the door after some time interrupted her.

"Yeah?"

Alex came in. "I'll take you tomorrow to the school. I'm going there anyways since I'm seeing a new student that I'm tutoring."

"Okay. When are we leaving?"

"Your class starts at 8.15, right? So a little before eight."

Piper nodded. "Okay."

When Alex didn't make a move to leave Piper shut her book. "Was there something else?"

"Nope."

Piper looked at Alex questioningly. "Okay then?"

Alex stood there for a while before talked again. "Okay. I was hoping that we could talk about this morning?"

Piper shifted uncomfortably before smirked. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there anymore when you woke up. I'm just really not that kind of girl who stays around to cuddle and such..."

Humor. It has become Piper's way to deal with uncomfortable things nowadays.

Alex grinned. "Not what I meant."

"I know, I know", Piper sighed. "Come to sit", she said as she patted the bed.

Alex complied and sat next to Piper.

"I've thought about what you said. I'm not good with these kind of things and I don't even know why are you bothering-"

"Why I'm bothering?" Alex interrupted. "I'm bothering because you're a good person, Piper. I don't know why you don't see it yourself but you really are. You proved it with Nicky-"

"You promised no to talk about that again", it was Piper's turn to interrupt this time.

"I'm not talking about it", Alex said as she lifted her arms up as a surrender. "I just mentioned it in passing. But anyways, you're a good person. You are funny in your own way and not to mention our mutual interest in books. You know that it's hard to find nowadays a person of your age who likes to read."

Piper shrugged. "I guess."

"I like you as a person. Isn't that good enough reason?"

Piper stared at Alex for a while. "Fine. But it takes some time, you know. I've not had an actual friend since Polly, so yeah..."

"Of course. I'm not assuming us to be best friends right away. It's enough for me that you can trust me."

"It was never about me not trusting you. It was about me no trusting myself", Piper said quietly. In the back of her head had always been the other reason why not to get attached to Alex. Her crushing after Alex was for a reason and Alex hadn't really changed. The old feelings could easily return to the surface.

"What?" Alex asked confused.

"Nothing. Tomorrow a little before eight. Good night", Piper said quickly smiling.

Alex narrowed her eyes but got up. "Good night, Piper."

The following morning Alex and Piper were walking on the hallway of Litchfield high.

"What do you have in the first class?" Alex asked.

"History."

"Okay, we're going to the same direction then."

"You meeting in Mr. Harris' class?"

Alex nodded. "I just hope it's a girl this time. Boys are pigs."

"Agreeing with you about that", Piper grinned.

Her grin however vanished once she saw the one and only Jessica Wedge walking towards them with a satisfied smile. Of course, she had her minions following closely.

"Oh no. What has she done this time", Piper mumbled.

"What?" Alex asked before followed Piper's line of sight.

"Piper! I was actually just looking for you", Jessica said with an overly friendly smile.

"Cute", Piper said. "But I'm busy, we can talk when we're both in hell."

Jessica frowned. "Can't you just once be even tolerable around me?"

"Not my style", Piper said before started walking away.

Jessica grabbed Piper's wrist. "Hey asshole. I said I was looking for you."

"So? I'm not interested in whatever you have to say", Piper said facing Jessica again.

"No? So if I told you that I saw your dad with some teenage girl, you are not interested?" Jesica smirked.

"Listen to me you bitch. You're mistaking about the person. You sure that it wasn't your own daddy?" Piper said suddenly turning furious. No one talked about her parents like that.

"I know what I saw", Jessica said arrogantly.

"Like the hell you did! My dad doesn't even live here."

"So, your dad has abandoned you? How sad. I know a therapist if you need to talk with someone?" Jessica said with a fake concern.

"That's it", Piper scolded before raised her hand to punch her.

Only that Alex was faster than her and grabbed har hand before it hit its target. Piper looked at Alex furiously before saw her grabbing Jessica's collar and push her against the lockers.

"What is wrong with you?" Alex asked now angry too.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jessica asked. "Get off of me!"

"She's Alex, the captain of last years basketball team", one of the minions chimed up.

Jessicas eyes widened. Alex was well liked in the school, you didn't want to be on her wrong side.

"Yeah. What is your problem with Piper? What has she ever done to you?"

Jessica stayed quiet.

"You have no right to treat her or anyone for that matter like that. Keep your mouth shut about things you know nothing about", Alex said quietly but her voice was filled with authority.

"Now. If I hear that you continue your ways, we're going to have some serious problems", she threatened before let go of Jessica.

Jessica and the others quickly walked away and Alex turned to Piper.

"I could have taken care of that by myself", Piper mumbled.

"I know you would have. But I saved you from another detention", Alex said as they started walking again.

"I didn't ask for it", Piper said.

"Yeah, but she got on my nerves", Alex shrugged.

Piper was quiet for a while as she thought about what happened. She hadn't had anyone to defend her in a long time. "Thanks", she said finally.

Alex smiled. A month ago Piper would probably had punched her for getting into her way. "No problem."

That night Piper didn't come to Alex's and Diane's place.

"Do you think that we should call her?" Alex asked.

"No. Piper is free to come and go as she wishes", Diane said.

"But, what if something has happened to her? It's not like she has very many other places to go..." Alex mumbled.

"You can text her if it eases your mind. But I think she is just fine, she can take care of herself."

Alex took her phone and texted Piper.

[Alex] -Hey, just wanted to make sure that everything is okay?

After a little while, she got a reply.

[Piper] -Hi. Everything is just fine. Don't expect me to come tonight. I might pop in tomorrow before I go the school.

[Alex] -Okay, see you tomorrow.

[Piper] -Yeah, see ya.

Alex furrowed her brows. It bothered her that Piper was spending a night with someone else. Since she didn't have any other friends in the town, Alex figured that Piper spent the night with some woman.

"Everything okay?" Diane asked as she saw Alex's expression.

"Yeah", Alex said quickly. It wasn't her business.

Diane quirked her eyebrow. "What did she say?"

"Nothing much, just not to expect her to come home tonight."

Diane knew her daughter too well. "Why is it bothering you? I'm sure she isn't sleeping on the streets."

"I know. She is probably spending the night with some fuck buddy", Alex said bitterly.

Diane laughed and Alex looked at her confused.

"I'm not hearing some jealousy, am I?" Diane chuckled.

"What? Of course, not", Alex denied. She couldn't be jealous, right? She didn't even like Piper that way... Or did she? Her feelings were a mess. Why it then bothered her if Piper was spending a night with someone else?

"It's okay to like her. She is nice. And cute", Diane commented.

"I don't know mom. She can be kind of terrifying too..."

Diane laughed. "But for real. She is a good girl."

"I know she is. But I don't know. I'm just confused. But anyways it doesn't matter, I'm sure she doesn't think of me anything more than a friend", Alex said as she got up from the couch.

"Are you already forgetting that she had a huge crush on you not so long time ago?" Diane grinned.

"How do you know that", Alex asked confused.

"I heard when she accidentally confessed it to you at the bookshop", Diane told.

"Right", Alex hadn't even remembered it.

"Just figure it out before you make a move. She doesn't need any more disappointments", Diane said seriously.

"I'm not planning on making a move. If she doesn't feel the same, our friendship is ruined. If she feels something, she can be the one making the move", Alex told her mom strictly.

"Have you not met Piper? You know she is shy under all that though girl shell", Diane smiled.

"Her humor has been kind of flirtatious. If she's going to continue that, I can maybe respond to it differently and then... Jesus, I don't even know if I like her!" Alex exclaimed.

Diane laughed. "I'm sure you will figure it out soon."

"I'm going to a bed. Good night", Alex said as she started walking towards her room.

On her way, she stopped in front of Piper's room. After a moment of thinking, she went inside and looked around. Piper had kept it clean. The bed was made, her laptop and some books were neatly on the desk and her suitcase was under the bed.

Alex sat down on her bed and took her pillow. As she smelled Piper's shampoo, she wondered if she really had a crush on this beautiful, rebellious and broken girl.

As always, thank you for reading and please review and tell me what you thought! Also I'm kind of curious that how old people are that are reading this story. So, if you want, leave your age along the review ;)

-Iina