Piper and Alex had survived the last two weeks with Diane joking about their loud fucking only a couple of times before seemed to forget the topic. Currently, all three were in the bookshop talking about the possibility that William Shakespeare didn't actually write all of his plays himself. Diane mostly listened to the girls' passionate conversation, every now and then throwing a comment on her own.
The clock was almost 6 p.m. and they could go home soon. Diane was a bit surprised when she saw a girl coming in looking hesitant. It was rare to someone come this late anymore. "Hello. Can I help you with something?" she asked kindly.
The girl didn't answer as her eyes glued to Piper.
Piper turned her gaze to smile at the customer but her smile vanished once she recognized the girl.
Alex and Diane looked at each other questioningly as they tried to figure out the weird staring between the girls.
Piper's expression was unreadable, and the other girl looked hesitant and maybe a little scared?
"Piper", the girl finally choked out.
Piper stayed quiet and furrowed her eyebrows trying to figure out what she was doing here.
"Can we talk?" the girl asked carefully.
"I'm working", Piper said, not intending to sound as harsh as she did.
The girl flinched at Piper's harsh tone before tried again. "Please? It's urgent."
Piper tried not to feel bad for the girl but she couldn't. She sighed and closed her eyes before opened them again and turned towards Diane. "Can we...?" Piper asked as she pointed to the back room.
Diane nodded, not knowing what was going on.
Piper turned to look at Alex's questioning eyes before went closer. "It's Polly. I'll be back soon", she whispered before tried to smile what she hoped looked reassuring.
Alex eyebrows furrowed as she turned to look at the girl, Polly. What was she doing here?
Piper started to walk towards the backroom and motioned Polly to follow her.
"What the hell was that?" Diane asked once they were out of the earshot.
Alex shook her head. "That was Polly. Piper's ex-best friend from Hartford."
"The girl that was the main reason why Piper had to move away?" Diane inquired when she remembered the brief conversation she and Alex had had about her.
Alex nodded in confirmation, and both of them looked at the closed door, wondering what was going on behind it.
"Polly. What are you doing here?" Piper asked, suddenly becoming just tired. She was fed up with all the drama Polly brought with her.
Polly fidgeted with her fingers before met Piper's piercing gaze. "My parents threw me out."
"What?!"
"I don't want to go studying law or to become a doctor. You know that I have always wanted to start my own company, selling own soaps and such", Polly started before continuing with a quieter voice. "It was our dream."
Piper looked away. She really hadn't been ready to face Polly. "Your point?" she asked impatiently.
"My parents didn't accept. Said that as long as I'm not doing anything honorable, I'm not a part of the family", Polly explained, tears forming into her eyes.
Piper sighed. Ex-best friend or not, no one should have to deal with that. "I'm sorry. I never liked your parents, they are even WASPier than my family was..." Piper said trailing off.
"I really am sorry about your parents", Polly said sadly.
"I know." There had been some fucked up shit between the two of them, but she knew that deep down Polly was sorry about what had happened and what she had done. It didn't make it hurt any less, but it was a start. "But I still don't understand why you are here."
"I don't have anywhere to go", Polly said with a small voice.
"Polly..."
"I know that I really don't have the right to ask, but all of my relatives agree with my parents and Pete's spending the summer in Canada with his family", Polly pleaded, tears starting to fall again.
Piper was torn. She didn't want to let Polly back in, but she couldn't just leave her live in streets, right? "Can't you live in a hotel until Pete comes back?"
"I can't afford to live in a hotel for a month. I don't have much money, but I promise I'll look for a job and as soon as I get one, I'll go to live somewhere else. Please, Piper. You know I wouldn't ask if I had other options."
Piper rubbed her temples in frustration before reluctantly agreed. "Fine."
"Thank you", Polly squalled as she jumped to hug Piper.
Piper tensed and didn't respond to the hug.
"Sorry", Polly said when she pulled back.
Piper went to her bag and disconnected her home key from the other keys she had. She hesitated before giving it to Polly. "You know my address, right?"
"Yeah. I went there before I came here", Polly told somewhat apologetically as she took the key.
"I'm going to spend a night somewhere else. I need time to... think", Piper said as she ran a hand through her hair.
"It's fine... I get it."
"I'll come to work at 1 p.m. tomorrow but I'll come home before that and we can talk more then. There's food in the fridge and all, just use what you need", Piper told her, not sure if she was making a mistake.
"Thank you so much", Polly thanked again.
"This doesn't mean I've fully forgiven you", Piper reminded her ex-best friend.
"Of course. I didn't think you'd have", Polly smiled sadly, but the 'fully' word gave her hope. "Thank you."
"You aren't going to make me regret this, are you?" Piper asked still trying to figure out if this was a huge mistake.
"I would never."
Piper nodded with a final sigh before guided Polly out of the back room.
Alex and Diane were waiting for them with curious expressions that quickly turned into a concern as they saw Polly's teary eyes and red cheeks. Polly quickly ducked her head down and said quick byes to Piper before rushed out of the door.
All three looked after her until they couldn't see her anymore and Alex's and Diane's attention moved to Piper who had crashed to lay down onto the couch.
"Can I spend a night at your place?" Piper asked, not sure if the question was directed at Diane or Alex.
"Of course", Alex hurried to answer before walked to the couch and sat down next to Piper's legs. "You okay?"
"I don't know. Can we talk about it later?"
Alex nodded. "Sure."
"The clock is over six. We can leave, you want to come with us, Piper?" Diane asked, thankfully changing the subject.
Piper nodded as she sat up. "Yeah."
The car ride was restless on Piper's behalf. Diane drove, and Alex was sitting in the backseat with Piper. Piper tapped her fingers onto her thigh constantly and changed her positions, too wired to stay still.
A while later Alex put her hand on top of Piper's tapping fingers and squeezed. "Relax."
Piper smiled apologetically. "Sorry."
Soon Diane was pulling over to their driveway and Alex and Piper immediately went upstairs to Alex's room.
Diane went to the kitchen to warm up some leftover lasagna. When the food was warm, she put it on two plates and walked to upstairs and knocked on Alex's door with her foot.
"Yeah?" She heard Alex mumble behind to door and figured it was safe to go there. She opened the door with her elbow and saw Alex sitting against the headboard of her bed with Piper curled up on her lap. It was kind of adorable really.
"I brought food? I thought you two might be hungry", she offered with a warm smile.
Both of the girls looked at her thankfully as they took the plates from her.
"You okay Piper?"
Piper nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just... confused."
Diane smiled in understanding. "Well. I hope talking with Alex will help", she said as she turned around to leave.
"Wait. I was hoping... maybe you could stay too?" Piper asked uncertainly.
Diane came back and sat down on the end of the bed. "Okay."
"So... how much do you know about Polly?"
"A little from what Alex has told me..." Diane said a little unsure if Piper would be mad that Alex had told her something, she didn't want Diane to know.
Piper chuckled as she heard Diane's careful approach. "It's fine. I know you two come like a package deal, and anyway it saves me the trouble of telling things to you both individually."
Alex and Diane both smiled at her relieved.
"Anyways, yes, Polly was my best friend until I discovered that I liked girls, that's when things started to go downhill and we both did things that shouldn't probably be forgiven by either of us... but now... Polly's parents threw her out because she doesn't want to go to study law or anything else honorable", Piper sighed.
"What?!" Diane exclaimed. She had never understood parents that didn't accept their kids' choices or the way they were.
Piper nodded before continuing. "Her boyfriend is spending the summer in Canada and her relatives won't take her either. She has nowhere to go..."
"So... you let her stay at your place?" Alex asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah... at least until she finds some job and can afford to move into a hotel or somewhere. I mean, I couldn't just leave her on streets, right?"
"Do you know what this means Piper?" Alex asked with a smile.
"What?"
"This proves that as much as you'd like to think that you're not a good person, you are. You're ready to put aside your... I don't know, grudges? Discomfort? In order to help someone, who you don't have any obligations to", Alex clarified.
Piper frowned. "I don't think-"
"Don't try to deny it", Alex interrupted.
Piper pouted at her before turned serious again. "I just... I think we're not good for each other. The things we both did, proved it."
"Everyone does mistakes, Piper. You might think that you're better apart and while that might be true, you two were young. You've gone through a lot after that and you've changed. I think that this Polly girl has also changed, which you should remember before you make any assumptions", Diane suggested, always the smart one.
Piper shrugged. "I'm just afraid that if I let her back in. The history repeats itself and I really can't go through all that again..."
Alex hugged Piper from her place behind her and rested her chin on top of her head. "I think that you should try to at least get to know her. Like my mom said, she has probably changed too. And if it doesn't work and you notice that you two just don't click, then you can stop it early and you don't have to go through all the shit."
Diane nodded in agreement. "I think it would be good for you. You'd perhaps be more in peace with your past, and if it doesn't work, you can tell yourself that you've tried, and move on."
"I guess you're right..." Piper admitted somewhat reluctantly.
Alex grinned at her mother as she hugged Piper more tightly. "We usually are."
Piper slapped lightly Alex thigh that was stretched out next to her before broke into a wide smile.
Diane laughed at their cuteness. "You're free to spend as many nights here as you need, Piper", she smiled as she got up.
"Thanks, Diane. For everything", Piper said, smiling gratefully.
"Always", Diane smiled back before left the two girls alone, closing the door softly. She really was happy that Piper found them trustworthy and talked about her feelings. She didn't even want to start thinking about how hard it must've been to Piper back when she wasn't so close with her and Alex.
Polly stepped hesitantly in Piper's apartment. She really hadn't had her hopes too high for Piper to actually let her stay here. But she had, and now Polly was standing in Piper's apartment, not knowing what to do. She took a tour, bedroom, bathroom, small kitchen and the living room. It wasn't too big but it looked nice.
She was a bit surprised when she didn't find a TV but apparently, Piper's fascination with books hadn't changed. She smiled faintly at the memory of Piper always nose buried in books.
"She's so annoying. I mean who does she think she is?"
"Mhmm."
"Piper! You aren't even listening!"
Piper looked up from The Namesake that she had been reading. "Sorry, Polls. Say, again?"
Polly groaned. "I really start to think that the amount of time you spend reading books, is unhealthy."
"Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary", Piper smirked, quoting Jim Rohn.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'll stop now. So, Jenna, huh? Are you going to do something about it?"
Polly shook her head. She used to be annoyed by Piper's lack of concentration but now she was ready to do almost anything in order to get her best friend back. Books and all included.
The apartment screamed Piper with all the books laying around and the big bookshelves but Polly failed to see any personal pictures. Okay, it was understandable that Piper didn't want pictures about her passed parents or grandma laying around. Though, Polly had seen a glimpse of a picture in Piper's bedside drawer that had been open. The picture contained Piper and some dark-haired girl, who Polly thinks was in the book shop earlier. Piper looked happy and Polly wondered briefly if the girl was Piper's girlfriend.
As promised, there was food in the fridge and Polly somewhat hesitantly took it. Piper had told her to use what she needed, right? Polly looked into the bowl where the food was and came to the conclusion that it was some kind of chicken pasta. She shrugged before opened the cupboards and tried to find a plate.
When Polly had found a plate and successfully heated the food in the microwave, she started eating. It was surprisingly very good. Apparently living alone had improved Piper's cooking skills, that hadn't been too great back in Hartford.
"Good night, Pipes", Alex said as she comfortably wrapped her hand around Piper's torso and situating herself to lay behind Piper.
"Good night, Al", Piper mumbled happily. Snuggling closer to the warmth that was Alex. She was hoping that Alex's comforting presence would be enough to prevent the nightmares.
When Piper eventually fell asleep, she immediately knew it wasn't.
"Do you think she has hots for me? I mean I'm sure I've seen her looking... It's gross."
Piper slammed her locker shut before walked to the other directions, angry tears forming into her eyes.
All she heard was rumors and mean comments.
"I've heard she tried to sleep with Mrs. Jackson to improve her history grade."
"She is lesbian?! How come she's still changing in the girls' locker room?"
"She definitely touched me on purpose. Do you think I can seek a restraining order?"
"Dyke."
"I heard that she takes photos in girls' locker room."
"Do you think she forced Polly into something? And that's why they don't hang out anymore."
"Don't touch me, bitch."
"Jenna told me that Piper had tried to hit on her, can you imagine?"
"Why didn't your parents raise you straight?"
"Such a waste of hot girl."
"I bet I could make her turn straight again."
"My mom said that gay people are sick."
Blackness...
"Mom... Do you think I'm... sick?"
Carol looked at her sad looking daughter. "Do you feel feverish?"
"No... uhmm... because I like other girls?"
"Oh, Piper. I can't say that I understand what you feel, but you're not sick. You just happen to like the same sex. Most people do find that weird or threatening but many people do like the same sex, it's normal. Have the girls been mean again?"
"Not really", Piper tried to lie but her tears betrayed her.
"Do you think... Would it be horrible if you changed the school? I mean, if you want. That might be a little easier for you, you could get a new start."
"Really? But where?"
"Well. If you want to stay in Hartford, here are a few other schools you could go. Or, if you'd like, you could move out of town. Maybe in Litchfield? That's close enough. Of course, you can come home at weekends and we'll visit you, but it could be a good chance to start learning how to live alone. If you want of course", her mom offered.
"For real? You'd be ready to buy me an apartment from Litchfield?!" Piper asked hopefully.
"Of course, dear. I know it has been hard for you after what happened with Polly. She was such a nice girl before..."
Blackness...
Pain. All Piper could feel was pain. Her head, her shoulder, her chest, her back, her ribs, her leg... everything hurt. She closed her eyes. Maybe sleeping would help. Suddenly Piper's eyes reopened when she remembered what had happened. "MOM?! DAD?!"
No answer.
Piper could feel her eyes closing at their own will. She forced them open again. "Cal?"
No answer.
She tried to figure out the situation. The car was on its side, Piper was sandwiched between the broken window and something she couldn't place. She couldn't move her head. Everything hurt.
She started to black out again. She was tired of fighting. She thought she heard ambulance sirens but it could've been just wishful thinking... And then everything went black again.
"Piper?"
Piper tried to get further away from anyone who tried to talk to her. She was tired of fighting. She just hoped that the someone would let her die in peace...
"Piper!" The voice, now more forceful and clearer called again.
Piper sat up quickly, sucking in a breath, tears still running down on her face.
"Piper?" The voice repeated, this time quieter.
Alex. Piper recognized the voice this time. It took a while to get her breathing under control again, but Alex was there, rubbing shooting circles on her back, which speeded up the process.
Once Piper had gotten her breathing less rigid and the tears had stopped falling, she laid down again. "Sorry for waking you."
"Nonsense. Do you want to talk about it?" Alex asked as she laid down too, resting the weight of her upper body on her left elbow.
Piper shook her head. "It's fine. I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Alex inquired, sounding skeptical.
"Yeah. Just a normal nightmare", Piper told her, trying to sound reassuring. She hadn't had that long nightmares for a long time if being honest, but Alex didn't need to know about that.
"If you're sure..."
"Yeah, let's just go back to sleep", Piper said as she turned on her side, facing Alex and snuggling up to rest her head on Alex's chest.
"Okay. Sweet dreams", Alex replied, also laying fully down and placing a sweet kiss on top of Piper's head.
Piper mumbled back an unclear response that could've been "You too" but Alex wasn't sure.
At that moment Alex really started to seriously wonder if she was falling in love with Piper.
"Good morning, girls", Diane greeted, already in the kitchen sipping her morning coffee.
"Morning", Alex and Piper replied in unison.
"Did you sleep well?" Diane asked, taking in Piper's tired face.
"Yup", Piper answered and ignored Alex's only slightly judgmental look.
Diane raised her eyebrows but left the topic. "I made coffee, you want me to cook some eggs?"
Even the thought of food made Piper feel nauseous, which Alex seemed to pick up quickly. "We're good, mom. Thanks, though."
Piper smiled at her gratefully and went to take them two cups. She had become kind of familiar with the house and was comfortable enough there.
Diane watched smiling the two of them working together as they made their coffees. They looked so comfortable with each other, Alex's hand softly resting against Piper's lower back and Piper slightly leaning towards Alex. Diane was so happy for them and hoped it would last.
"So, when are you going to talk with Polly?" Alex asked as they sat down at the table to drink their coffees.
Piper checked the clock. It was almost 9 a.m. "Soon, probably. I was thinking I'd talk to her before work, so..."
Alex nodded. "I have to be at work at 10. That'd be okay?"
"Yes, thank you", Piper smiled.
"Great. You thought about what you're gonna say to her?" Alex enquired.
Piper groaned. "Not really. I'd go crazy if I started to think about it. I'll just improvise when the time comes."
Alex and Diane chuckled at that.
"Well, good luck with that, kid", Alex commented.
"You ready? I know that I encouraged you to talk with her but if you're not ready, you don't have to talk to her yet", Alex told Piper as she stopped the car in front of Piper's building.
"No. This is something I need to do", Piper told firmly, mostly to herself.
Alex nodded in understanding but glanced uncertainly at Piper's fidgeting fingers and restless legs. "Okay. Well, you know where to find me or mom if you need anything."
"Yeah. Thank you", Piper thanked her one more time with a soft kiss on Alex's lips.
Alex hummed and pulled Piper closer, so she could deepen the kiss.
Piper moaned as Alex slipped her tongue in her mouth. Piper reluctantly pulled back after a while. "If we don't stop know, you're going to be late for work..."
"Might be worth it", Alex grinned.
"I've corrupted you", Piper laughed.
"Well, for your information, I was happily corrupted."
Piper laughed again. "Thank you, for the ride. See you later? At the bookshop?"
"Yeah", Alex nodded with a final peck on Piper's lips. "Good luck with Polly."
"Thanks. See ya", Piper said as she got up from the car and walked towards her apartment.
She walked up the stairs slowly and once she was in front of her door, she took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
Thank you for reading, and like always review and tell me what you thought :) I'll be busy next week, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to update but I'll try. Much love for your supportive reviews 3
-Iina