Chapter 2
The rest of the week went by painfully slowly for Alex, partly because she actually went to all her classes and partly because she was looking forward to the little party Nicky was going to have on Saturday night. Piper hadn't come back to their place since Monday night, Alex wasn't sure how that made her feel. She was embarrassed when she realised she'd fallen asleep on the blonde while Sally went to get the pizza, but she brushed it off quickly enough.
She'd see Sally with Piper every day at school, but Alex never went up to them. She spent her time with Nicky and Carrie, and trying to avoid any more run-ins with Sam Healy. It was finally Friday afternoon and Alex decided she deserved to skip at least one class that week, and found herself sitting at the end of the school oval with Nicky and Carrie.
The cut on her face was healing, but it still hurt and the bruise that was barely there on Monday night was a lot more prominent now. It was these situations especially, when a friend's physical safety was at stake, that Carrie got the most worked up.
"I still can't believe first day back and that fucking asshole has the balls to do that to you."
Alex looked at her friend and just shrugged, they all knew why Healy hated all of them, but especially Alex. But she appreciated the fact that Carrie looked out for her.
"I would've kicked his ass if I was there."
"Which is probably why he makes sure you're not there when he decides to lose his shit." Nicky interjected and passed a joint to Alex.
Alex loved the way weed made her feel, like it intensified everything around her. It almost made that afternoon feel perfect. The sun was out, the sky was clear, she was with her friends, it was a nice feeling while it lasted.
"Sal was there anyway, she got rid of him." Alex finished inhaling the smoke and passed it back to Nicky. Carrie loved to drink but weed just made her feel sick. But right now she was more interested in questioning Alex about Piper.
"What's with her new friend anyway, blondie?"
"Nothing, they're friends, I haven't really spoken to her." That response earned Alex an over the top laugh from Nicky.
"Come on Vause! Are you telling me you're not even gonna try? And here I was thinking you liked a challenge."
"Shut up Nick, it's not like that. I'm not fucking Sal's friends."
"Since when!"
"Since now asshole." Alex knew Nicky was just messing with her but she wasn't in the mood. To be honest, she'd been thinking about Piper every day, but didn't want to delve into why. Sure, she was hot, but there was something else about her. She seemed to actually care, even if she was probably a spoilt brat. And besides all that, Alex didn't want to fuck up things with the one person that Sally actually wanted to socialise with at the moment.
It wasn't long before Carrie said her goodbyes and left Alex and Nicky sitting on their own. She had to get home before her parents did and make it look like she was actually paying attention to her school work.
Alex's high had reached the perfect point and she lay her head down in Nicky's lap and kept looking up at the sky.
"So have you actually slept this week?"
Aside from Sally, Nicky was the only one who knew about Alex's sleeping issues, not even Carrie knew. Nicky was also the only person other than Sally that Alex didn't bother trying to lie to about these things.
"Not really."
"Have you talked to Sal about it?"
That question made Alex try and bury her face in Nick's long t-shirt. Sally wasn't a fucking magician and she couldn't just make Alex's problems disappear.
"What is there to talk about? She sees it every night. We're in the same fucking bed next to each other every night. I couldn't hide anything from her even if I wanted to." Alex didn't mean to snap, but she was just frustrated by the whole situation. Frustrated and tired.
She looked up at her friend, her hair blowing everywhere as a mild breeze swept across the oval. The two girls kept looking at each other as Nicky started running her fingers over the cut on Alex's left cheek and leaned over slowly. Alex knew exactly what Nicky was doing, and closed the space between them until their lips were touching. She let Nicky deepen the kiss as she moved her hand to the back of Alex's head. Eventually they pulled apart and just looked at one another without saying anything. Then Alex lowered her head back into Nicky's lap and they lit up another joint.
They'd never actually slept together, but they did find themselves in similar situations every so often. Alex felt like they would always be just friends, she didn't believe they were destined to be together, but this was just how they comforted each other sometimes. It almost felt like the only way they knew how to comfort each other. Maybe it was more than that sometimes, Alex did love Nicky, but not like a girlfriend. She was pretty sure Nicky felt the same way, especially given how many girls she managed to sleep with and always talked to Alex about her various crushes. They were both fucked up in their own way, and this was their way of connecting, their way of saying they'd always be there for each other. Alex didn't want to over analyse it, all that mattered was that it felt good, and they weren't hurting anyone else.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Alex rushed towards the bus stop as soon as the last bell went, she didn't want Sally to find out she'd skipped her last class of the day. She was happy to see she'd beaten her sister to their meeting place, and got comfortable sitting on the small retaining wall next to the carpark while she waited. She looked up and noticed Sally and Piper walking towards her. Alex was kinda happy that Piper was with her sister, but tried to push the thought away. Piper looked perfect as she walked towards Alex, her hair was down and swaying across her face slightly, and her white t-shirt was just tight enough to give Alex a good view of her chest. But Alex was snapped out of her thoughts before her eyes could travel any lower.
"Hey Lex, Piper's staying over tonight so we can catch a lift home with her."
Alex just looked both Sally and Piper up and down and jumped off her perch, following them towards the car. She jumped in the back seat the same as last time, and tried to ignore the conversation that was happening around her. Until they started talking about someone Alex hated, George Mendez. He was the same age as Sally and had been chasing her around for the last 12 months. He acted like a complete pig and thought he could do whatever he wanted in life, and Alex was glad Sally had never said yes to him.
"George is kinda cute, why not just go on one date with him and see what it's like?"
Alex knew that Piper didn't know this guy and was asking her sister an innocent question, but she couldn't stop herself from butting in.
"Because he's a fucking asshole and treats people like shit."
Sally just laughed at Alex's words, "She's kinda right Pipes."
"Ok well, good to know." Alex didn't miss the slightly confused look on Piper's face, but she just kept talking.
"Well c'mon, there's gotta be some decent guys at this school, I assume they're not all assholes."
This was it, Alex couldn't resist the temptation to tease Piper, especially when she had the cutest fucking look on her face.
"If you're after a date Piper all you need to do is come and see me."
The grin on Alex's face only got bigger as Piper looked even more flustered, but Sally cut her off before she could take it further.
"Just leave her alone Lex. I know you find it hard to believe but not everyone in the world wants to fuck you."
"Hey now, who said anything about fucking. I was just trying to point your friend here in the right direction."
Piper finally found her voice as Alex leaned in next to her from the back seat.
"Well I appreciate your concern Alex, I'll keep your generous offer in mind."
Alex loved the way Piper was smiling when she finally responded, there was definitely something different about this girl.
"You got any plans for tonight Lex?"
Alex shook her head, "Not tonight, but I'm going to Nicky's tomorrow night."
Sally eyed Alex from the rear view mirror, "Yeah I heard about Nicky's little party tomorrow, half the fucking school will be there. I'm picking you up okay."
"No fucking way! I can make my own way home Sal." Alex knew Sally was just looking out for her, but the last thing she needed was her sister picking her up from a school party.
"Based on what happened last time, I don't think you can make your own way home. So I'll be picking you up."
Alex could see Sally was annoyed, so she leaned into the front seat again and spoke directly to Piper.
"One little miscalculation six months ago and she won't let me live it down."
Alex couldn't take her eyes off Piper's mouth when she smiled, it created way too much temptation for a Friday afternoon.
"I can imagine what your type of miscalculation consists of Alex. Is it right here?"
Alex was pulled back into reality and directed Piper the rest of the way to the apartment block. There was definitely something different about this girl….
0-0-0-0-0-0
Piper really did not want to spend Friday night sitting at home with her mother, so finally worked up the courage to ask Sally if she had any plans. She was so relieved when Sally asked if she'd like to spend the night and they could hang out and watch movies. She'd spent a lot of her time at school with Sally and really liked her, she was sweet and honest and such a genuine person. It was a stark contrast to Piper's other friends from her old school, who she barely spoke to anymore. They didn't seem to want to inconvenience themselves by driving the extra hour to see her. She tried to forget about it, maybe they were just busy, at least that's what she wanted to believe.
She was happy to be back in the little apartment and stood with Sally in the kitchen while they decided what to drink. Again, Alex went straight into her bedroom when they got home, but emerged after about thirty minutes wearing a tight black tank top and grey yoga pants. Piper kept telling herself not to look but she couldn't help it, her eyes kept wandering over all the curves of Alex's body. She could've swore Alex caught her staring, but the brunette didn't say anything. Instead, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small bag of joints she'd bought from Nicky.
"I think we should be celebrating tonight ladies."
Piper could see Sally eying the joints that Alex placed on the kitchen counter. At first she thought Sally would be mad, she seemed to be the one calling the shots, but instead she reached into the bag and took one.
"What exactly are we celebrating Lex?"
"Surviving the first week back at our shitty school, what else."
Alex pulled out a joint and handed it to Piper. It had been a long time since she'd smoked pot, but it was Friday night and she decided one joint was harmless enough. The three girls walked up to the roof of the apartment building so they could smoke and enjoy the night. Over an hour passed and they were still on the roof, Piper couldn't believe how quickly time was passing. The evening breeze felt so nice and they were all feeling a lot more relaxed. Alex handed Piper her joint and headed back to the apartment so she could pee, and Piper couldn't stop her inner urge to ask Sally some questions.
"So, it's just you and Alex huh?"
"Yeah, just us…"
Piper felt like there was a certain sadness to Sally's voice, but she decided to keep going.
"What about your parents?"
"I'm the parent now Piper…God that's so fucked up." The weed had definitely hit Sally, and she couldn't be bothered lying in that moment. But aside from that, she wanted to trust Piper, to confide in her.
"Our mum died in a car accident a couple years ago. Long story short, Alex and I got to stay together, and now I'm responsible for her."
Piper didn't know what to say, that's not the answer she was expecting, and she felt horrible for pushing the topic.
"Shit, I'm so sorry Sally, I had no idea."
"It's fine, life goes on right."
"I guess…"
Piper still felt horrible and didn't know what to say, but Sally didn't want her to feel bad.
"Seriously Piper, it's okay, I wouldn't have said anything to you if I didn't want to. Life just sucks sometimes, but I think we do okay."
Piper nodded in response but she still didn't know what to say. She suddenly felt a lot of respect for her new friend, Piper couldn't imagine dealing with the death of a parent, let alone taking on that sort of responsibility. Without even thinking she walked over to Sally and pulled her into a hug.
"You're amazing, seriously."
Sally let herself hug Piper back, she felt like the blonde's words were truly genuine, and it had been so long since anyone acknowledged what the situation was like for her, it was almost overwhelming.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
A few more hours, two pizzas, and many joints later, all three girls were lying on the lounge room floor, fighting off sleep. Alex didn't want to admit it, but she'd actually had a great night, it just felt easy. But it had been a long day and she'd hardly slept all week, she was exhausted. She was lying next to Sally with her head on her sister's shoulder, eventually letting her eyes close. She subconsciously wrapped an arm around Sally's waist just like she would any other night, and let herself drift off to sleep.
Piper was lying on the other side of Sally and couldn't help but smile at what she saw, "Awww, that's adorable."
Sally laughed, "Trust me, she would die if she heard you say that."
Piper had no doubt about that, Alex seemed to like to put up a tough front, but she had a certain gentleness to her underneath all of that. Piper had seen snippets of it, and she wanted to see more.
"I'm really glad I met you Sally."
Sally turned her head to look at Piper before she responded, "Me too."
Piper smiled, she had been dreading her first week at a new school but it couldn't have turned out more perfectly. She'd made a new friend, and she still couldn't get Alex off her mind. She let her eyes close as she kept thinking about Alex, and how much more she wanted to know about her.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Piper was surprised at how comfortable she actually was sleeping on the floor, although they had laid out a lot of blankets and pillows. She fell asleep without any issues but was woken up in the middle of the night by the voices of the two girls that were lying beside her. She thought she could hear heavy breathing, but she was still half asleep so she wasn't sure. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it was kinda hard not to overhear the conversation that was happening right next to her.
"Hey c'mon, it's okay Lex, it was just a dream…"
Piper couldn't hear a lot of other talking, mostly just the heavy breathing, which she assumed was coming from Alex. It seemed a bit weird, was she having a bad dream? Did she feel sick?
"You wanna try and go back to sleep?"
Piper didn't hear anything from Alex, but did hear the rustling of blankets as the two bodies lay back down next to her. Piper heard one more thing before she fell back asleep.
"Just try and relax okay kid, I've got you."
0-0-0-0-0-0
Alex walked towards Nicky's house, she always felt like it towered over her. The night air was a lot cooler than the previous night, and Alex had her black leather jacket pulled tightly around her body. Even though she was cold, she still wanted to look good, and opted for black skinny jeans and a tight red tank top. Her long dark hair fell across her shoulders as she got closer to the front door.
Sally insisted on taking her to the party and picking her up later. They'd usually just catch the bus, but Piper was still around so she drove them.
"Call me when you wanna be picked up okay, I don't care what time it is."
Alex listened in from the backseat as Piper spoke to Sally, the car sitting in Nicky's driveway, "I'll come with you Sal, I'm not letting you catch the bus in the middle of the night."
Alex was almost annoyed that Sally so easily accepted help from the blonde, but that had always been a big difference between the two sisters. Alex always said no to people, and she struggled to get close to anyone new, especially since Diane died. But Sally had always seen the best in people, she didn't think of it as pity or shame, it was just a good deed. Even after everything they'd been through, Sally still wanted to see the best in people, she needed to believe people were inherently good. Alex couldn't even imagine feeling like that, she didn't trust anyone, which made her even more nervous about the fact that she'd already let her guard down around Piper.
Alex knew Sally was just looking out for her, but she didn't need a keeper. All she wanted tonight was to relax with her friends, nothing else.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Three hours later and the party was in full swing. The two story house was full of kids from school and Alex was loving it. It gave her a chance to disappear into the background, without having to worry about what other people thought about her, she felt free. She also felt extremely drunk and high. She had been steadily drinking beers with Carrie and Nicky all night in between more joints than she could keep count of.
It was close to midnight and she found herself sitting on the grass in the backyard in between Nicky and another girl from school called Tricia. She was in the same year level as them and just like Alex, didn't seem to fit in with anyone. She was shorter than Alex with pale skin and blonde hair, and mostly kept to herself at school. There were always rumours flying around that Tricia took hard drugs, but Alex didn't care.
Tricia had been following Alex around all night, but the brunette didn't mind. About an hour ago, she decided to test the waters and pulled Tricia into the bathroom before pressing her up against the door and kissing her. Alex let the other girl run her fingertips under Alex's top and up into her hair. Alex could feel herself getting worked up, ready to undo Tricia's jeans when Nicky started banging the door down saying she was desperate to pee.
Tricia eventually left Nicky and Alex alone in the backyard as she went off to speak to another group of people.
"You can thank me later Vause."
Alex just smirked, Nicky could barely string a sentence together at this point, "Exactly what am I thanking you for?"
"For stopping you from fucking Tricia in my bathroom!" Nicky waved her arms around and managed to spill beer all over herself and the brunette.
"As if you wouldn't fuck her if you had the chance! You've lost your touch Nicholls." Alex playfully punched Nicky in the arm, who just pushed her back.
Alex's head was swimming, but in a good way. She looked up towards the sky and let her mind wander, but she got annoyed when it kept wandering to think about the same thing, Piper…..
Before Alex could even try thinking about something else she felt two hands placing themselves on her cheeks and pull her into a kiss. Nicky slowly started running her tongue over Alex's lips, until Alex opened her mouth and let her friend kiss her properly. Alex pulled back from the kiss after a few moments, she didn't know what to think. She and Nicky had kissed plenty of times in the past, but never like that. Alex just kept looking at her friend, not sure what to say, until Nicky eventually broke the silence.
"You're too good for her Alex." As soon as she said that, Nicky got up and walked back into the house. Alex kept her eyes on her best friend as she watched her walk away in her black boots and ripped jeans. Nicky confused her so much sometimes.
Alex stayed sitting on the lawn, she was too messed up to deal with that kiss right now. She was about to get up to go find Nicky when she felt someone push her from behind, nearly spilling her beer. She turned around to see who it was, of course, fucking Sam Healy.
"Seriously Sam, when are you gonna work out that you're not fucking welcome here!" Alex didn't need this bulshit now, she was here to relax, not deal with homophobes like Healy.
Alex could feel the anger rising in her chest, all she wanted to do was punch this asshole. Even though she was tall, Healy was still a lot stronger than her. But Alex was feeling surprisingly confident in that moment, and kept shouting at him.
"Nobody wants you here asshole!"
"What the fuck do you care if I'm here Vause? Or you just can't keep your eyes off me?"
Alex just laughed, he knew exactly how to push her buttons. He kept talking before Alex could say anything, but this time he leaned right into her.
"Tell me, how did you end up with a normal sister? Maybe I should ask her out before she ends up like you."
Alex saw red as soon as he mentioned Sally and pushed him back as hard as she could. He stumbled but managed to keep his feet, but he looked back at her with nothing but anger. Luckily for Alex, Carrie was also in the backyard and saw the exchange, and she immediately stepped in between them, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.
"Get the fuck out of here Healy, before I fucking kill you!"
Sam put his hands up in mock fear before he backed away from Alex. Carrie followed him out the front door to make sure he did actually leave, before going back to find Alex. She was visibly stressed, and kept running her fingers through her short dark hair. She didn't want Alex getting into a fight with Healy, that wouldn't end well, and Sally would hit the roof.
"Don't let that asshole get to you Vause. C'mon, hang out with me for a while."
Alex grabbed onto Carrie's arm and followed her to the outdoor table and chairs, finishing her beer on the way.
"You can't let him get to you like that, you know he wants you to start a fight with him. Don't give that asshole the satisfaction."
Alex looked at her friend, who had nothing but concern in her eyes, "I know…But as soon as he mentioned Sally…"
"Hey, Sally is a big girl, you know she can take care of herself. He's just trying to get to you, and it's working."
Alex sat there and nodded, she knew Carrie was right, but that didn't make it any easier.
"Now come on, tell me about Sally's new friend, blondie. I've seen you looking at her, don't even try and tell me you aren't interested."
Alex smiled at her friend, glad for the distraction, especially if it involved talking about Piper.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Piper really didn't want to go home, but she also felt embarrassed about potentially overstaying her welcome at the Vause apartment. There was nothing waiting for her at home, just her bitter mother who'd probably had too much to drink. Cal was never home on the weekends, and she never saw her other brother Danny anymore. She didn't want anything to do with her father, and she now lived over an hour away from her old friends who didn't seem to care about seeing her anyway.
Earlier in the afternoon she was sitting on the couch next to Sally, the two girls entertaining themselves with stupid YouTube videos. Piper just got edgier and edgier as the afternoon went on, she knew she had to go home eventually, but she didn't want it to be today. Sally must've noticed her fidgeting, and turned her body so she was facing the blonde.
"I know what it feels like to not wanna go home. You can stay the weekend Piper, I like hanging out."
Piper didn't know what to say at first, how the hell did this girl know what she was worried about?
All she could do was laugh, "Are you a mind reader or something?" She bumped shoulders with Sally, but she was relieved, this felt good.
The next few hours passed them by quickly, from having dinner, dropping Alex off at the party, to going out for coffee.
Now they were back at the apartment, making pancakes in the kitchen. It was nearly 1am and Piper could see Sally checking the time on her phone constantly.
"Waiting for Alex to text?"
"Yeah…"
"You worry about her a lot?"
Sally just nodded, "She's my responsibility now, and she has a shitty track record when it comes to fucking up."
Piper was about to say something when Sally's phone rang, it was Nicky.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Alex had been sitting with Carrie for a while and was starting to feel sick, but not the usual kind of sick. It literally felt like she was about to pass out, and she didn't know what to do. She reached across the table and grabbed Carrie by the arm, "I feel like shit."
At first Carrie thought her friend was just drunk, but she didn't like the way she looked, more pale than usual.
"What's wrong?"
Alex felt like there was a lump in her throat that was desperate to get out, "I dunno, just really dizzy. Fuck...I need to lie down."
Carrie got out of her chair and walked around the table to where Alex was sitting. Carrie put an arm around her friend's waist and helped her to Nicky's bedroom, bumping into her along the way.
"Can't hold your alcohol Vause, I knew you were a pussy." Nicky started laughing, but then she noticed the look on Carrie's face.
"Something's not right, give me a hand, she's fucking two feet taller than me."
The two girls lead Alex to Nicky's bed and lay her down. There weren't that many people left at the party by this point, but they still wanted to get their friend alone. Alex was barely responding to them and she was burning up. Nicky sat next to Alex on the bed, hoping her friend had just drank too much.
"Alex, hey Alex, what's going on?"
Alex had rolled over so she was lying on her stomach and shoved her glasses into Nicky's lap. Nicky placed a hand on Alex's shoulder, gently trying to get her to speak.
"You gotta talk to me Vause," but Alex wasn't responding anymore, and Nicky was now freaking out. She turned to Carrie and started shouting, trying to not slur her words.
"She didn't fucking drink enough for this to happen, what the fuck!"
Carrie tried to calm Nicky down, but she was worried too, this was not normal. They weren't just worried about Alex, but also about what Sally would do to them.
"Just calm the fuck down okay! Give her a few minutes, see if she wakes up." Carrie ran off to get a wet face towel and a glass of water.
They managed to get Alex to roll onto her back and drink some water, but not much, and she still wasn't talking. Her face was on fire, and she wasn't getting any better. Nicky kept stroking Alex's face, hoping it might wake her up, but it didn't and her friend just seemed to be getting hotter. Nicky could feel the sweat through Alex's red tank top, so she grabbed the wet face towel from Carrie and placed it under Alex's top, trying to cool her down.
Nicky couldn't remember the last time she felt this anxious. But in the last couple of years, most of her anxiety seemed to be related to Alex. A lot had happened since Diane died, and Nicky had seen her friend try to self destruct more than once. She moved the face towel over Alex's stomach, and couldn't help but linger over that familiar scar, it was a constant reminder of what happened. They'd been sitting with Alex for over an hour, and she still wasn't fully conscious. Nicky wasn't willing to wait any longer, taking her phone from her pocket and dialing Sally's number as she turned to Carrie.
"She is gonna fucking kill us."
0-0-0-0-0-0
It was nearly 2am by the time Sally and Piper got to Nicky's house, the drive had been mostly silent. Piper kept trying to convince her friend that Alex would be fine, but she never responded. Piper was worried about how Sally would react when they got to the house, but she was also worried about Alex. The house was pretty empty when they got there, and Sally was seriously pissed off as she burst through the front door. Carrie was standing in the hallway.
"Where the fuck is she?"
"In Nicky's room. Look Sal, it's not her fault, I think someone spiked her drink or something."
Sally ignored all of them and practically ran into Nicky's room, with Piper following closely. Alex was lying on the bed, with Nicky sitting next to her, running a wet towel over her face.
Nicky stood up as soon as she saw Sally, "I promise you she's doing better now, I'm sorry okay."
Sally ignored her and sat on the bed next to her sister, immediately touching her face, more so to reassure herself than anything else.
"Hey Lex, you okay?" Sally kept running her hand over Alex's cheek that was still bruised from her last run in with Sam Healy.
Sally was relieved to see Alex scrunch up her face, "I'm fine, I just feel dizzy and tired."
Sally felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. Alex's voice sounded tired and scratchy, but at least she was talking. All she knew based on Nicky's ramblings was that Alex had been close to unconscious for nearly two hours.
Sally turned to face Nicky, who was still standing up next to the bed with a look of worry all over her face, "What the hell happened?"
"I don't know, it had to be Healy."
"What the fuck was he doing here? You know he has it in for her!"
"He wasn't invited okay! He just barged in..."
Carrie had walked into the bedroom by this point and tried to explain the situation to Sally, "I saw it Sal. He walked through the house and went straight to her, being an asshole as usual and trying to start a fight. I broke it up, but he must've slipped something in her beer."
Sally fucking hated that guy, she hated the way he always went after Alex. Sally absently pushed the long hair from Alex's face. "I'll deal with him."
Piper stood near the door and watched it all unfold. She couldn't believe this Healy guy would actually do something like that, it just seemed insane, but it also felt like she didn't know the whole story. She moved to the side to let Sally, Nicky and Carrie walk into the hallway, both younger girls looked upset while Sally just looked angry as she started talking again.
"After everything that's happened, why the fuck weren't you more careful?
Piper looked on, Carrie and Nicky seemed lost for words and didn't say anything. This seemed to annoy Sally even more, who was looking straight at Nicky.
"You went around mouthing off to everyone at school that you were having a party. Didn't you stop to think that maybe he'd show up?"
Nicky finally raised her eyes from the ground and looked at Sally, "No."
"After everything that has fucking happened, and you sit there and tell me that you'll look out for her, that you love her. And it doesn't fucking occur to you to look out for him tonight?"
Nicky looked like she was on the verge of tears, with her voice barely above a whisper, "I do love her Sal, I'm sorry okay."
Piper could see Sally's face soften as Nicky started getting emotional. It felt like they all had more to talk about, so Piper went into the bedroom to give them some privacy and keep Alex company.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Piper sat next to Alex on the bed while Sally kept talking to Nicky and Carrie in the hallway. She watched as Alex crossed her arms over her face, trying to hide her emotion. Piper reached out to the younger girl, all she wanted was to make her feel better.
"Hey, shhh, it'll be okay." Piper pulled back Alex's arms from her face, and she could tell the brunette was struggling.
"It's not their fault….Fuck, Sal doesn't need this."
Even though Piper had only know this girl for a week, she couldn't help but believe her. "I know it's been a shitty night, but just try and stay calm, Sally is just worried about you."
Piper helped Alex sit up so she could put her feet on the ground, they were now sitting on the bed facing each other. Piper couldn't stop looking into those green eyes, she hated seeing Alex so upset. Piper decided to trust her instincts, so she reached out and put her arms around the younger girl, pulling her into a hug. She felt Alex's body relax into hers and bury her face in Piper's blonde hair. Piper gently rubbed Alex's back, trying to help her relax. She felt Alex tighten her grip around her body and her breathing become shakier.
Piper kept trusting her instinct and found herself whispering into Alex's ear, "Sally will be okay, and so will you."
Piper kept holding onto Alex until she calmed down. Alex eventually loosened her grip on the blonde and leaned her head against her chest. The feel of her heart beat, the rhythm of her breathing, it all made Alex feel better. Piper had no idea how much time had passed, but Alex finally seemed to have calmed down.
She finally looked up at Piper, her eyes still glassy, "Thanks Pipes."
Pipes, Piper felt a warmth rush through her chest as she heard Alex call her that. She leaned in closer to Alex and pressed her lips against the younger girls forehead as gently as she could. She loved the way Alex just seemed to fit in her arms, and she didn't want it to end.
Shit, Piper thought to herself, what the fuck are you doing Chapman?
A/N
Hey folks :) thanks to everyone that's reading and reviewing, much appreciated.
Most of the time my updates will be once per week. But I already had this chapter written, so thought I'd put it out early. Keen to hear your thoughts on Nicky and Alex...
Cheers.