I just wanted to thank you guys for being interested in this story! I'll try to update this every few days or at least once a week. Feedback is more than welcome (especially since I'm rather uncertain of having caught the characters as well as I possibly could).

As beautiful as the pageant was, Piper couldn't stay. It was too emotional for her that day. The irony of this entire thing nearly made her chuckle bitterly but she just got up and left. She liked Christmas, loved spending it with the people she cared most about but now she just wanted to be alone. She couldn't handle everyone's happiness and being cheerful when all she wanted to do was cry and hit something. Staying would only result in her having to explain why she was so down and she wasn't ready to tell anyone else. She had only told Alex because... She didn't know anymore. Maybe it was just an old habit. She had always told Alex everything and even after she had broken it off all those years ago, the urge to get a hold on her and tell her about her life had been overwhelmingly present.

She got out to catch some fresh air and found herself needing it more than she had previously realized. She had seen Alex and Nicky at the pageant and her heart had clenched painfully. She knew something had happened between the two of them but what probably hurt the most was how long Alex had waited to do anything with anyone else. Piper just took it. It was really over this time and she'd need to learn how to deal with it. All of it. She had been fine by herself before. Before Alex and before Larry and she had friends in prison too. People that would look out for her. Be the friends she needed when she was abandoned by the ones she loved. Though that wasn't quite fair and she knew it. It was her fault. It was her fault both of them had left her.

Maybe finally she could cry the tears she had been holding back all day. She clung to the fence, hiding her face. Life just had to be an unfair bitch to her. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, pounding painfully hard as she grew overwhelmed by her feelings. She felt as lost and alone as before the pageant but with everyone's happiness rubbed into her face, it had become worse. Or maybe she was just having a panic attack. She took a step back from the fence again and took a few deep breaths in, willing her tears to stop so she could breathe without choking.

Piper was just about to drop into the snow when she heard the door creak behind her. She turned around and took a step back. What the hell was Pennsatucky doing here? Then again, it was obvious enough. After all the threats and her being crazy, she should have known it would be her. Pennsatucky wasted not time in getting out her wooden cross and preaching about how she needed to kill her because the Lord told her to. Piper wasn't even listening to half of the things she said, her eyes fixed on that cross and trying to avoid it when Pennsatucky got closer to hit her with it. She kept on rambling something about God and how she was an angel that needed to get rid of the devil that Piper was.

"You ain't worthy of God's love. You ain't worthy of nobody's love. So, I think it's time that you die." Pennsatucky said, taking another step closer.

That was about the first thing Piper consciously realized her saying and her mind was spinning with thoughts. She backed up, hitting the fence and she suddenly found herself trapped. The other one took another step closer and Piper was ready to scream at her, yell and fight and hit the living daylights out of the nutcase.

Poussey was looking over the crowd to see if Piper was around once the show had ended. She had been upset before the pageant, especially with all the recent threats on her life she had gotten. She wanted to make sure Piper was alright but she couldn't find her anywhere. She walked through the hall, keeping her eyes open and asking everyone if they had seen her. Taystee joined her a few moments later, suggesting to ask Vause about it. They didn't know about their argument and break up so it seemed like a good idea. They found her and Nicky soon enough, still sitting in their seats and chatting.

"You two seen Chapman?"

"No." Alex replied, uninterested.

"Last we seen her was before the pageant." Nicky added.

The two frowned at them, wondering what this was about and Nicky looked worried when she noticed the look Taystee gave Poussey. The latter took another look around and then her eyes widened.

"Shit. Where's Pennsatucky?"

"I think she left earlier." Nicky shrugged.

"Shit."

With that, Poussey was gone and out of the chapel, leaving two very confused inmates behind who were staring up at Taystee as if waiting for an explanation.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on here?" Alex asked after half a minute.

Taystee frowned at her. She had thought Piper would have told her out of all the people around.

"You seriously don't know? Your girl's got threats."

"What the-"

"No time. We gotta find her."

Taystee left as well. If that crazy Jesus bitch was with Chapman, some serious shit was going to go down. She liked the girl too much not to care.

Alex only frowned more, clearly not following what the hell was going on. Piper would have told her about the threats. Or she'd brush it off as nothing and not bother her with it. Maybe she had pushed her too hard. She shook her head, trying to stop thinking. Whatever was going on wasn't her business. Piper could deal with it on her own. What could Pennsatucky possibly do to her anyway? She realized she didn't actually know what she was in for but she wasted no second thought on it. Piper could take her.

"Listen, we gotta find her. Sounds like she's in trouble." Nicky said, ripping Alex out of her thoughts.

She got up and walked to the door. When Alex didn't follow her though, Nicky rolled her eyes and went back to grab her, dragging her with her. Now was not the time to be mad at Chapman. Argument or not, it didn't matter. They needed to find her, no matter what was actually going on right now.

Alex still wasn't entirely convinced she should be on the look-out for Piper but she was incredibly torn between staying mad at her and worrying to the point it would make her sick. So she just followed Nicky.