Okay everyone, prepare for a mental breakdown for Piper. I know you all just want to see her move past it, but it's something that can't be taken lightly, so I'm gonna give her a slight rough patch, but don't worry, our beloved Alex will come to rescue. Thank you all so much for sticking with my story, I know the build-up is taking a while, but I just feel that it's not the right time yet. But don't worry, the day will come.
Alex walks back to her classroom, and enters to a class silently chatting away. "Sorry everyone, a situation came up, but it's all okay now, so let's get going again, I hope you all did what I told you to do," Alex effectively shuts everyone up. She goes to stand behind the desk, and everyone looks up at her. She starts telling about the subject they had just embarked in, and they rush through it, and as the bell rings, she finishes her rambling about the subject.
As the students all walk out the door, the image of Piper lying on the floor is once again on the forefront of her mind. She's still somewhat shocked by Piper's reaction of bolting out the door. Alex had seen the ripped clothes, and she wonders how Piper is sitting in class now, hoping it's not too embarrassing. She's genuinely worried the blonde will break apart completely, having to endure such a major trauma.
"Something was already up, now it's gonna be pure torture for her," Alex thinks as she quickly checks her phone before students start to come in again. She hasn't got any missed calls or messages, so she puts it back into the pocket of her leather jacket. She starts thinking about how to have Larry pay for his actions, but she can't come up with something she won't get caught for.
Students keep trickling in and Alex prepares herself for another history class. Sometimes she's bored out of her mind teaching the same thing over and over again. But today, she mindlessly rambles on, not stopping to ask questions, wanting to distract herself from the image that's permanently present in her mind. During the breaks between classes, Alex always finds herself wandering off to the blonde, wondering where she is and how she's feeling. She's extremely worried that the blonde is gonna break down any moment."I really wish it were last period already, I want to see how she's doing," Alex thinks as the bell rings, indicating it's lunch time.
Alex pulls out her lunch, but she is not hungry, not at all. Now that she's all alone, left with only her thoughts, her mind drifts off to the situation of this morning again. She starts thinking of a plan to get this Larry kid at least kicked out of school, but she's gonna need the blonde to work with her in order for the plans she has roughly formed in her mind to work. She isn't completely finished with working it out when she hears her phone buzz in the pocket of her leather jacket. "Why is my mom calling me?" Alex thinks as she sees the picture and name of Diane Vause flashing on her smartphone screen.
"Hi mom!" Alex greets her mom.
"Hey Al! How are you?" Diane asks.
"I'm okay mom, how are you doing?" Alex replies, wanting to shift the subject to her mom, afraid that she will spill everything about the situation she encountered earlier in the morning.
"I'm great babe! So how's the teaching going?" Diane asks sweetly.
"It's okay, some periods are better than others, some of my students are so fucking stupid," Alex says, frustration clearly showing.
"Chill hon, don't let your temper get out okay? Just try to help them, and if they can't pass your class, then it's their problem, not yours okay? No matter what they say, it's not your fault," Diane consoles her daughter.
"I'll try that mom, thanks," Alex says.
"Now Al, tell me what's really going on, you're obviously worried and angry about something, spill it," Diane says firmly.
"I'm not sure I should tell you mom, it's really not something everyone should know," Alex tries to get her mom to just forget about it, but already knowing it's no use.
"Babe, you can tell me, since when am I everyone?" Diane asks.
"I don't know mom," Alex is still doubting about telling her mom about the situation.
"You can trust me Al, I won't tell anyone, I promise", Diane says sweetly.
"Please don't tell anyone, and I really mean anyone about this mom, but remember Piper? The student I was so worried about?" Alex asks.
"Yeah, has she opened up to you already?" Diane asks obliviously.
"No mom, it's not that, I found her … naked in the girls bathroom this morning … and she had sperm all over her … Mom, she was raped by some dude in there," Alex says as tears build up in her eyes.
"Oh no, poor girl … Did she say who did that to her? You reported him right?" Diane is also genuinely worried about the girl who seems to have taken hold of her baby's heart, even if they're both oblivious about it.
"No mom, that's the problem, she told me who did it, but he threatened to kill her if she tells anyone, not to mention the police," Alex says, worry still lacing through her face.
"Oh god, Al, you should really do something about it," Diane says.
"I know mom, but I don't know what to do, we were just sitting together while she was crying but then she suddenly just stood up and ran out, like nothing ever happened. I haven't seen her since," Alex says sadly.
"Do you still have her in one of your classes today?" Diane asks, trying to help.
"Yeah, last period today," Alex replies again sadly.
"Try and see if you can help her alright? Tell her you're there to support her in whatever she decides to do," Diane says, trying to console and support her daughter.
"I'll try mom, I just wanna kill the bastard for hurting her like that," Alex says, anger temporarily flaring.
"Don't do that Al, he's not worth it. I know that's not much, but sick fuckers like him don't deserve that. What they deserve is psychological torture, and I'm sure the police will find a way to break him," Diane says, also angry at Larry for hurting the girl her daughter seems to be caring so much about.
"I know mom, I know … it's just so FUCKING HARD!" Alex says as she slams her hand on the desk.
"I know babe, but you're gonna get through this, and so will she, just be there for her, she's gonna need it alright? From what I heard from you, she doesn't have too many people to really support her, so just try to do that okay? Oh baby, I know what it's like to care about someone and having to see them go through hard times," Diane says, showing her own support for her daughter.
"Thanks mom, I'll try to do that, thanks for the support mom," Alex says. She looks up at the clock on the wall and realizes the next class is gonna start in a few minutes.
"Look mom, I'd love to talk about this situation more, but I really have to go, classes are starting again soon," Alex says.
"Okay baby, good luck with the whole Piper thing, and let her know how much the both of us are supporting her, alright? You're my babe, never forget that Al, I love you so much!" Diane says.
"I'll tell her if I get the chance mom, thanks. I'll always be your babe, don't you worry about that mom, I love you too mommy," Alex replies before she hears her mom hanging up.
As she is putting her phone in her pocket again, she hears the bell ringing and the door to her classroom opening. The first few greet her with a smile on their faces, oblivious to the troubled mind of their teacher. Alex puts on the biggest smile she can muster, but as the blonde once again pops up in her mind, the smile isn't too big. She keeps quiet as the rest of the students come in in little groups and take their seats in the classroom. She quickly goes over their names again, trying to memorize them, but already knowing she won't remember them if she'd run into one of them in the hallway in a few hours. She turns to the blackboard to write the subject on it, sighing slightly as tears suddenly build up in the corners of her eyes, raising her head again as she turns back to the students and telling them all about the subject.
Normally she'd interact with her students, involvement in class was something she thought would always be useful. If not to set her students at ease, then for her own sake, to keep interaction and conversation running, leaving no one out. But today, Alex tries to distract herself, and she just starts rambling on and on, not caring if anyone thinks she might be a maniac or something. She doesn't allow herself to think about her favorite blonde student, knowing that if she somehow for a split second let the images of earlier this morning pop up behind her eyes, she'd lose it. So she keeps talking, using history classes as a distraction. The bell rings just as she finishes saying everything she wanted to talk about. The students gather their books and notepads and all head out the door.
As the last student exits, the first one of the next class already enters. Alex is glad with the distraction, bracing herself for the next period. "How the fuck am I gonna act normal when Piper will be sitting in front of me all the time?" Alex wonders as she greets the students entering the room. As they all settle down quickly (something Alex quickly got them to do), Alex had already written the subject on the blackboard, and she greets the class again before embarking on the part of history she was instructed to teach today. "Stupid fucking syllabus, what are kids gonna do with this after they graduate? It's no use to teach them like this," Alex thinks as she rambles on. The bell rings a lot sooner than Alex expected, but luckily she was finished with today's lesson.
Alex goes to sit behind her desk as the students make their way out the door. "I'm so not ready for this, FUCK!" Alex thinks as she shoots her mom a text, asking for good luck. A reply quickly pops up on her screen.
Diane: "You'll be fine Al. And if you really can't keep it together, or she can't, just do what you have to do okay? You're both on my mind, baby. I love you Al."
Alex smiles faintly at the reassuring words of her amazing mother, her rock, her everything. She hears a knock on the door and her head snaps up. The one and only Piper Chapman pushes herself of the doorframe where she'd been leaning against it, closes the door and makes her way to her teacher's desk.
Alex stands up, and meets the blonde next to her desk. They spend a minute just looking at each other before Piper breaks down, sobs racking through her body, and Alex mindlessly wraps the blonde in a tight hug. Piper only cries harder at the action. Alex rubs big circles on the blonde girl's back, shushing her. A few minutes later, Piper pulls back from the older woman's embrace, and looks her in the eyes.
"Thank you Ms. Vause, I should take my seat now," Piper says timidly.
"If you need anything at all Piper, I'm always here okay? I'm here for you," Alex says sweetly.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Piper says as she turns on her heel and takes her seat in the middle of the classroom.
"Let's see how this goes," Alex thinks as she watches the blonde closely, not paying attention to the students entering the classroom. She watches them make their way over to Piper, the signs of her crying earlier still very much showing. Alex hears them asking if she's okay, and the blonde mumbling some sort of explanation for her tear-stained cheeks. A sad smile makes its way to Alex's face, looking at the blonde who still has some tears in her eyes but quickly wipes them away with the back of her hand. The last few students enter the history room, and as they take their seats, Alex greets all of them before diving headfirst into today's subject. She always keeps an eye on her blonde student, and can't help but notice her zoning out, but just leaving her for a while.
As Piper enters the classroom, all the eyes turn to her. A lot of people notice that the clothes the blonde is wearing are not the same she arrived in, and the redness of her eyes causes a light collective gasp. Piper just bows her head as she apologizes for being late and making her way to her desk. She avoids the stares of her classmates as she sits down. The teacher goes on about the subject they'd been talking about for quite a while now, and Piper simply tried to pay attention as she knew she already missed a lot of information today. After a couple of minutes, images of the events in the bathroom earlier pop up every time she closes her eyes. She tries to drown them out, but it's not really working.
Piper tries to keep her tears at bay, not wanting to draw any more attention to her than she already did by arriving late, something she normally never is. Tears build up and threaten to fall down her cheeks, but then the bell rings, and Piper is one of the first to dash out the door. She quickly goes to her locker, glad that she stuffed her ripped clothes far down, grabs her stuff for the next few classes before heading to her second class of the day. She goes through all the classes in a similar fashion, arriving on time and taking a seat somewhere in the back of the class, zoning out after a couple of minutes (lucky no teacher starts asking her questions), and dashing out the door as soon as the bell rings.
She can't find Polly at lunch, so she just goes to sit at a table all by herself, not wanting to interact with her classmates and other students. Luck seems to be on her side today as everyone seems to just leave her alone, probably seeing the distress in the blonde's posture. Her shoulders are tense the entire day, and she's always walking through the hallways with her head down. "Polly didn't even think about coming to look for me … She's probably hanging out with Pete all the time now," Piper thinks as she closes her locker. As if someone was reading her mind, Polly and Pete come walking down the hallway, holding hands, until Polly pushes Pete against the lockers and starts making out with him.
Piper can't turn her head fast enough, nearly straining it as she turns on her heel, and nearly runs down the hallway to her next class. Tears build up again, the sensation of Larry's lips on hers again as she swallows the huge lump in her throat, or tries to. A few tears make their way down her cheeks before she roughly wipes the rest away. She's the first one to enter the classroom, and she quickly greets the teacher before taking her seat. Once again, as the teacher begins her ramble, Piper zones out, but now images of her teacher holding her come up in her mind. Piper can't deny the slight flutter she felt in her stomach as her teacher held her close, no judgment, just comforting words being whispered in her ear. The blonde realizes how well she fit in the crook of her teacher's neck, and she wonders if the brunette felt it as well.
Piper is once again lucky, the teacher doesn't ask her any questions, and Piper nearly bolts out the door as the bell rings. She ignores the stares and weird looks students shoot her as she nearly runs through the hallways, wanting the best seat in the next classroom. She is again the first one there, and she greets the teacher curtly before taking a seat in the back, a seat that seems to be nearly hidden when the rest of the students take their seats around her. Piper tries to listen to her teacher rambling on about today's subject, trying to get rid of the dread that is pooling in her stomach once she realized what her last class of the day was. "Fuck, how am I supposed to act normal around her? She can see right through me, and I know she's gonna be worried … fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Piper freaks out internally as she starts drawing on the pages of her opened notebook. The drawings are a mix between hearts with AV written in them and figures with sharp edges as Larry pops up behind her eyes once again.
Piper does everything to avoid him, and she did so successfully. She's so far in her mind that she doesn't hear the bell ringing, and only gets up as the last student walked out the room. Nevertheless, she runs down the hallway, wanting to be the first one to arrive in the brunette's classroom, as she comes to a standstill in front of the door. The subject of her horrifying flashbacks, and without a doubt later nightmares was leaning against the doorframe. Piper didn't acknowledge him as she tries walk past him to open the door to the classroom, but Larry pulls her against him roughly.
"Hey Pipes," Larry said with a devious smirk.
"Larry, I'm gonna be late," Piper tried to get him to let her go.
"Nonsense, you're the first one here, now give me a kiss, I'm your boyfriend after all," Larry says like it's a fact. Larry grabs her head and pushes his lips against hers, but Piper doesn't return the kiss.
"Okay, now you can go in," Larry says, pushing Piper off him, but quickly pulling her back by her shoulders.
"If you tell anyone about this morning, you and that person are both dead before you can say Larry, got it?" Larry spits in her ear. Piper only nods, and pulls back again, opening the door to the history classroom and going in before Larry can reach for her again.
She knocks on the doorframe as she leans against the other side, looking at the faint smile appearing on the brunette's face as she looks at her phone, probably just receiving a text of some kind. Piper saves a mental picture in her mind, not wanting to forget the smile on the beautiful brunette's face, secretly wanting to be the reason behind it the next time. Her history teacher looks up at her and the worry in her eyes is very much present.
Piper pushes herself off the doorframe with her shoulder, closing the door behind her and walking over to the desk Alex just stood up from. Piper just looks at her teacher, praying that the worried look in her eyes will go away, thinking she doesn't deserve to be cared about, especially by such a beautiful woman as Ms. Vause. It only lasts for a minute, before Piper breaks down and sobs start racking her body. She only cries harder as the brunette wraps her arms tightly around her shaking body, and Piper nearly melts in the older woman's comforting embrace.
After a few minutes, Piper calms down and pulls away a little to look at her teacher. "God she's so gorgeous, why would she want to take care of someone like me?" Piper thinks as she meets the brunette's mesmerizing eyes.
"Thank you Ms. Vause, I should take my seat now," Piper says timidly. She feels the arms around her disappear and she feels slightly sad at the loss of those strong arms around her. But then the brunette says something that makes her heart flutter a bit:
"If you need anything at all Piper, I'm always here okay? I'm here for you," and Piper is surprised by the sweet tone in her teachers voice.
"Thank you Ms. Vause, I'll keep that in mind," Piper says as she turns on her heel and goes to take her seat.
She hears her teacher greet the students before starting the class, but Piper's mind is already drifting off, the images of both Larry and Alex flashing behind her eyes. She swallows hard as the sensations of Larry's hands all over her body and Larry's penis inside her take over her senses again. Piper is running out of luck as the brunette asks her a question, and Piper can hear it, she just can't get herself to answer, too wrapped in the events of this morning. Her breathing picks up, and so does her heart rate. She hears Alex saying something about class being dismissed and that they all get to go home, but she can't get herself to move. She closes her eyes, trying desperately to get the flashback to go away, but it's no use. She feels hands on her arms and face, but she doesn't react.
"Shit, I'm having a panic attack," Piper's last thought flash through her mind before she faints, and slumps in her teachers arms.
Poor Pipes man, but once again I promise, better times ahead. Thanks for reading! If you really wanna know, I'm already working on the next chapter :) xx Ellen
