PIPER POV
Fuck Polly.
That's really the only thing on your mind as you drive home.
And fuck her for inviting you to her wedding. The audacity the brunette even has to think of doing such a thing.
You put your car in park and stomp up the stairs to your apartment, not really carrying if the neighbors think you're an elephant or something walking up the stairs with how loud you are stomping right now.
You slide the key into the lock and push the door open.
You set your stuff down and go straight for the fridge, cracking a bottle of wine.
You don't care if it's only 11 o'clock in the morning.
Your day couldn't possibly get any worse. First, you wake up next to a stranger who looks eerily like Alex Vause. And the worst part is that you couldn't help stop wishing that she was Alex Vause. And then you have a huge blow-up with Polly, who is being selfish as all hell right now. The nerve she has to tell you that prison has changed you and that you're becoming someone you're not. And the worst part is, she says it like she cares about you, not to spite you. She lost the right to care about you any more a long time ago.
You hear the sound of muffled voices on the other side of Sam's door and can't help but wonder who the man… or woman of choice was. Sam kind of reminds you of Alex that way. At least the old Alex; the woman she was before she met you. She's always bringing people home at the end of the night, never really committing to one person. Men, women, she doesn't discriminate, doesn't seem to care about who the endless string of people coming through her doors are. She hasn't had a relationship in the six months that they have lived together.
You shrug, reaching for the remote, and taking a long sip of wine. Nothing on TV seems to catch your eye. You flip through the channels aimlessly.
"That was fucking awesome!" a voice that sounds very familiar but you just can't seem to place calls out. You hear Sam's door open. "I mean I can't remember the last time I danced that much…"
"We were pretty good huh?" You hear Sam's familiar voice. "Piper, hey!" she smiles, when she sees you sitting on the couch.
You turn around and offer her a smile. "Morning Sam… I'm sorry if I'm…" You don't finish your sentence. Standing beside Sam is one of the last people you thought you'd never see again. "Interrupting…" you finish, as your eyes meet those of Nicky Nichols.
She looks just as shocked to see you. "No it's fine," Sam smiles, breaking the brief silence. "Nicky this is my roommate…"
"Chapman," Nicky cuts her off. "Piper Chapman. What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing Nichols," you reply back with a playful smirk. "But I suppose I don't have to. One could assume you were fucking my roommate."
"You two know each other?" Sam looks confused as she glances back and forth between the two of you. "Oh wait, don't tell me you two used to fuck each other or something?" she groans as she watches both you and Nicky stare each other down.
"Well what the fuck are you waiting for Chapman?" Nichols smirks as she opens her arms. "Come give your old friend a hug."
You smile as you walk over to Nicky and throw your arms around her, glad there's no awkwardness between the two of you.
"I missed you Nichols."
"I missed you too Chapman," she gives you a small smile as you pull away from her. "You look different without scrubs on."
Sam is just sitting there completely flabbergasted. "How do you two… know each other?"
"Piper and I are old friends," Nicky smiles at her. "But don't worry. Not like that. We were actually just friends. Nothing more," she finishes upon reading the other woman's face. "Piper would never give into me," she teases with the wink of a chocolate brown eye.
"We met in prison actually," You smirk as you grab your wine glass and finish the contents in the bottle.
"Prison?" she turns to Nichols and gives her a pointed look. "You went to prison too?"
"Made some dumb choices," she shrugs, casting a glance your way as you fill your glass up again. "Isn't it a little too early to be drinking Chapman?"
"It's five o'clock somewhere," you remind her with a careless shrug. "Want a glass?"
"No thanks," Nicky shakes her head and leans up against the bar stool. "I'm okay."
Her phone beeps and she quickly glances down, her fingers furiously typing a response. "Shit, I gotta go," she looks up from the black device. "Boss wants me in an hour early." She rushes to grab her jacket from the front door.
You instinctively find yourself standing and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"How… how is Alex?" you ask hesitantly. "I just want to know that she's okay."
"Oh look you do have a heart in there," Nicky teases as she grabs her coat and flings it over her body. "She's fine. But, you really fucked her up good if you must know. What you did to her that was shitty man."
"I know. I'll never forgive myself," you sigh as you run a hand over your forehead tiredly. "Does she ever think about me?"
Nicky purses her lips. "All the time," she replies quietly. "Look, I have to go. It was nice seeing you Chapman." She slips out the door after shooting you a small smile.
You stand frozen in your spot for a moment. Shit, you realize you hadn't gotten her number.
You turn to Sam. "Please tell me you got her number?"
Your roommate shakes her head slowly. "Sorry I'm not the really the kind of girl to go for seconds."
Fuck.
Nichols could have been your key to Alex.
"So who is this Alex person?" Sam breaks you from your thoughts.
"Just an old friend," you reply with a small shrug.
"An old girlfriend?"
"Maybe," you shrug. "She and Nicky are friends. My only way to get her back was through Nicky. I just fucked that one up."
"What happened?" Sam asks cautiously as she places a hand on your shoulder, sensing the intensity of your emotions right now. "I mean it's okay if you don't want to talk but if you do…"
"Alex and I were a couple," you start slowly. "We travelled the world together and ended up in jail together."
"The drug-smuggling ex-girlfriend you mentioned once or twice before?"
"Yes," you nod your head slowly. "I can't explain it really. But we had so much history. And I fucked her over by cheating on her with another woman… that I didn't even have feelings for. I just wanted to feel in control, to have power. Alex always had the control over me and the power in the relationship. I guess I wanted to know what it felt like. And now…" you close your eyes slowly and let the tears drop from your eyes. You hate showing this vulnerability to other people. You fucking hate it so much. "I have to live with the fact that I ruined the best thing that ever happened to me because I am a horrible, selfish, stupid person."
"You're not horrible, selfish, or stupid," Sam responds as she wraps and arm around your shoulder and pulls you into her close. "You've made some bad choices." It's refreshing to know that at least one person doesn't think these things of you. Even if you don't believe them.
"Alex is gone. You know, this has happened before, where we've broken up like this, but I could always see the hope in her eyes. She would give me this look as if to say, you and me aren't done, we have too much that we've left unfinished. But… I didn't see that look this time. She isn't coming back."
"Maybe it's because you've never let yourself experience what someone else could give you. Maybe that's why you hold onto Alex and this relationship so much," Sam finally whispers as she wipes a tear from the corner of your eye. "You'll never find anyone that makes you feel the way she did if you don't open your heart to the possibility of it and if you keep thinking you've ruined the best thing that's ever happened to you."
She's right. You know that. But you have a heart to protect here. You have to take care of yourself too. It's easier not to feel anything. Emotions just complicate everything, you've decided.
"When will this fucking hole in my heart ever go away?" you whimper as you clutch your chest.
"Honestly?" Sam looks at you with empathetic eyes. "When you find someone else that makes it whole again."
You nod. But, you're not entirely sure. You understand what she is saying but at this moment in time, you don't think anyone can ever make your heart whole again.
You sit there in silence. Sam's arms embraced around you. And for the first time since you've moved into this place, you feel a connection to Sam. You feel like she's going to be a pretty good friend to have around. Because god knows you need one right now. You just find yourself wishing you don't fuck it up with your fear of being alone.
ALEX POV
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again.
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am whole again.
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again.
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again.
However far away, I will always love you.
However long I stay, I will always love you.
Whatever words I say, I will always love you, I will always love you.
The words drift through your mind like a symphony.
Piper loved this song.
It had been your song.
Piper looks so young, so beautiful as the words drift from her mouth "Whatever words I say, I will always love you."
"Promise me that'll always be true?"
"What do you mean?" Piper looks up at you with those bambi eyes. She's so intoxicating, like a drug. You used to think that heroin was intoxicating. But, it was nothing compared to Piper. Not even close.
"That no matter what words we might say to each other, you'll always love me."
"Of course I will," Piper responds instantly, placing a small kiss on your lips. "Always."
If only you knew at that time those words would be a lie. A cold, hard lie. Broken apart by a cruel act of betrayal.
"God, I don't know how I've managed to live without you for so long." You mentally slap yourself for sounding so cheesy. You've always prided yourself on being the strong one; the tough one. "I can't imagine what it would be like to have to live without you again."
"You'll never have to," Piper whispers, her voice carrying what hopes to be a lifetime of promise.
But even the greatest and most epic of love stories aren't always meant to be. You and her are living proof of that.
"Fuck me," You moan loudly as you snap back to reality, being painfully reminded of the haunting memories of a love that was supposed to last a lifetime. You shut the music off and slam your hand down on the coffee table hard. "I can't even listen to my favorite song anymore without being reminded of her," you mutter to yourself quietly.
It seems that everywhere you go you are haunted by memories of your love affair with Piper.
It's inescapable.
Even as you wander into the kitchen, you catch sight of the picture on the fridge. Your arms are draped around the blonde, who is smiling happily. What the fuck? You can't even remember why you have this picture anymore. You'd made sure to get rid of anything else that reminded you of her.
You take the picture and rip it to shreds, dumping the broken remnants in the trash can. It hurts to rip another memory up. But, you have no other choice, or you'll never move on.
Fuck you Piper.
And fuck you Alex.
You're mad at yourself too. How had you let yourself get so involved with someone that you had allowed your heart to get stomped on, not once, but three times?
You really shouldn't have fallen in love with a straight girl.
Actually, you shouldn't have fallen in love with anyone.
What ever happened to protecting yourself first? To protecting your heart?
You stand under the warm spray, allowing the water to cascade down your body.
You feel the tension start to fade away.
You feel like you're starting to float back to normality.
But only for a second.
The tears start to mix with the water that runs down your body.
You don't even know why you're crying anymore.
It just hurts so damn much.
You stand in front of the mirror, staring at yourself.
Why couldn't you be enough for Piper?
Was there something wrong with you?
Was there something so repulsing about you that had pushed Piper away and into the arms of another incredibly attractive woman?
Were you not pretty enough?
Not smart enough?
Not good enough?
Inevitable.
That's how Piper always makes you feel.
You trace the words carefully into the steam that encases the mirror.
That's what Piper will always mean to you.
Fuck Piper.
Fuck everything.
You punch the mirror with your fist.
It caves in.
A million tiny remnants of broken glass rest on the cool tiles before you.
They bear a striking resemblance to your relationship with Piper.
Cracked.
You've lost control.
As the tears start to roll down your face once again, you hear the silver device on the counter vibrate.
Nichols. Of course.
I'm feeling a little nostalgic tonight. Got some China White from a friend. You in?
Terrible idea.
There are a million reasons why you should not make the same mistakes again.
But there is one reason why you should.
And that reason outweighs all of the others.
You type your response quickly before glancing at yourself in the mirror again.
You'll be enough for someone, someday, maybe.
PIPER POV
When you have a connection with someone it never really goes away, you know? You snap back to being important to each other because you still are.
You can't stop focusing on the words. Alex's words.
They are inescapable.
"Piper, hello? You still with us?" Your mother's voice breaks you from your thoughts.
"Yeah. Sorry, I was distracted."
Dinner with the Chapmans is the same as usual; filled with conversations that seem so fabricated, so rehearsed.
"You seem to be distracted lots lately," Your mother points out. Like she cares.
"Does it have to do with that girlfriend of yours?" Cal questions, taking a sip of water and shooting you a knowing look.
Carol looks like she's about to have a heart attack just hearing the word 'girlfriend'.
"Enough Cal," Bill barks, turning to your brother. "How is the hunt for a job going?"
"Actually, I don't have a girlfriend," You cut in, saving Cal from the wrath of Bill Chapman. "Alex and I broke up." But of course, Cal knew that.
She's going to have a little fun with this; make dinner a little more interesting than the usual dullness it possesses.
"Honey, I'm sorry," your mother mumbles, feigning sympathy as she takes a sip of wine. "I'm sure you'll find someone."
"You're not sorry," You narrow eyes at your mother instinctively. "You never liked Alex."
"Piper!" your father raises his voice. "Let's try not to ruin this nice dinner, okay?"
You sink into your chair and pick at your food. You're much more interested in the wine, however, as you top your glass up. You need that wine in order to make it through this dinner with some shred of sanity left.
"I think you've had a little much Piper," your mother finally cuts in, taking the bottle from your hands. "You have to drive home."
She's such a fun-sucker.
"Cal will give me a ride," You bite back, bitterness staining your words, as you grab the bottle back from her hands and fill your glass to the brim.
"That's an interesting tattoo," Margo, one of Carol's best friends from the country club, points towards your arm as you lower the bottle to the table. Margo and her husband had joined the family for dinner. And quite frankly, you have never liked her. She is just as pretentious as Carol is.
"Thanks," you smirk as you take a long sip of wine as if to rub it in Carol's face.
"Where did you get it?"
"Prison."
Margo chokes on her wine. Carol looks as if she's about to have another heart attack. Cal just chuckles.
"Yeah," You nod with a devious grin. "Remember when Carol told you that I spent a few years in the peace corp. in Africa?" You ask raising your glass as if to propose a toast, before taking a sip. "Well she lied. I was in prison. With my lesbian ex-lover who I carried drug money for years ago."
"Piper that is enough!" Your father yells as he stands up and pushes his chair out.
You don't have to say another word. You've already done enough damage.
You shoot a haughty smile in the direction of your family instead and excuse yourself to use the bathroom.
You feel yourself falling apart slowly as you sink onto the cool tiles of the bathroom floor, letting your back slide down against the porcelain bathtub.
Your own family doesn't even know who you are anymore. Nobody does. In fact, you're not even sure that you know who you are anymore.
Alex. She was the only one who knew the real you.
And you had fucked that one up royally.
You try to cry; to feel your heart ache.
But you can't. The tears refuse to succumb.
How can you hate yourself so much that when you look in the mirror, you see a ghost of who you used to be staring back at you?
You're opening a safety pin, carefully playing with the sharp tip. The blade is practically calling your name.
You want to feel pain; feel what it's like to inflict so much pain on the people who love you. Because god knows, you've been doing that for so long.
You press the cold metal into your skin, dragging out the words slowly.
Your skin burns, aches, for the touch of pain.
You etch the word pain into your arm, just below the elbow.
You try, you really do.
But you don't feel anything.
You've come to a bitter conclusion.
You're incapable of feeling.
Prison really has changed you.
ALEX POV
The liquid shoots through your veins; the high rippling through your body.
It's been years since you've felt the familiarity of heroin, yet it feels like it's been an eternity since you've felt this electric.
Not since Piper.
When you quit heroin, Piper became your addiction again. Like a needle to your vein.
"I thought you were a lousy junkie?" Nichols questions as she removes the tourniquet from her arm and pulls the needle out. "You seem to be having a hell of a time."
"When you've got nothing else to lose, nothing else really matters," You shrug as you mix yourself a drink, offering one to Nichols, who graciously accepts.
"I get what you're saying." Nichols squints her eyes as she takes the drink from your hands. "When you lose the biggest part of your life, you've got nothing else to lose. I feel ya. But fuck them Vause. We got each other, we don't need Chapman and Morello. Remember, they fucked us over."
"I just mean all of it Nichols," You elaborate as you settle in the chair across from Nichols. "When you're closing in on 40 and you're working as a bartender because the only life you've ever known was illegal and sends you to prison and the bitter realization that you're alone because you push away everyone that tries to love you hits you, that's when you realize you have nothing left to lose."
"Life never really turns out the way you imagine it to," Nichols shrugs half-heartedly as she takes her glass and clinks it against yours. "But we do what we gotta do to survive, you know?"
You nod your head as if to signal your understanding. Perhaps Nichols is right. Life never really has turned out the way you've envisioned it to so far.
Nichols clears her throat and you snap your head to look at her. "So…" she twiddles her thumbs nervously as she gives you a look that screams something is about to get awkward.
"What?" You cast her a side-long glance. "Nichols what is it? There's something you're trying to tell me and it looks like you're uncomfortable about it?" And that's saying a lot because you know that Nicky Nichols doesn't get uncomfortable very often.
"I saw someone the other day…"
"Yeah. Who?" You raise an eyebrow, wondering who Nicky could have seen that would make her feel this awkward.
"Remember when we went out together the other night and you thought you saw Chapman at the club and I told you that you were just crazy?" Nichols raises an eyebrow in question. You find yourself swallowing the lump in your throat. There's no way… "Turns out maybe you're not crazy after all."
"What?" Your body suddenly freezes as you send Nichols a pained look. "You saw her?"
"Yeah," Nichols looks at you uncomfortably. "Remember that girl I went home with? That was Chapman's fucking roommate."
Roommate or girlfriend you find yourself wondering as a sudden twinge of unwanted jealousy spurs inside of you. Nichols picks up on the look that is twisting across your face.
"She wasn't there. But, when I woke up in the morning, Chapman was sitting on the fucking couch watching TV."
"You… you talked to her?" you stutter out, finding this to be incredibly weird. "Piper, you talked to Piper?"
Nichols nods her head yet again. "Yes Vause, I talked to her. And for the record, she looked like shit. Totally hungover as fuck, angry as all hell, and she was drinking wine at like ten o'clock in the morning. She asked about you, you know?"
"What did you say?" you ask cautiously, hoping to god that Nichols didn't tell her how vulnerable you are when it comes to any subject revolving around Piper Chapman.
"I told her you were okay but that she fucked you up pretty good," Nichols admits slowly as you shoot her a look. Piper need to know that she had the power to tear you apart completely. "What?" Nicky rolls her eyes at you. "She needed to know that she fucked up and hurt somebody else because she was being an asshole."
You sit in silence for a moment, processing everything that Nichols has told you.
Fuck Piper. That's really the only conclusion that you can come up with.
"You know what no," Nichols shakes her head briskly, grabbing the syringe and holding it up for you to see. "You're not going to sit here moping around about the asshole that broke your heart. We are getting fucked up tonight and you're going to have a good time and forget about this stupid shit."
As Nichols prepares another fix for you, you think about her words and let them sink in. You need to move on. You have to move on. For your own sanity, if anything.
The more the poison sinks into your body, the higher you get. And the higher you get, the more you let go.
As the night goes on you find yourself slowly reverting back to your old ways. The heroin gives you to confidence that you need; the confidence that you've lost.
You forget about everything that has happened in the last year and a half. Your life is starting to feel normal again.
You move around the bar with ease; flirting and buying drinks with the pretty girls that catch your eye. You act like you own this place.
Somewhere along the way, Nichols leans over and whispers "Glad to have you back Vause. I never liked that pussy version of you."
PIPER POV
You remain quiet for the rest of dinner with your family. You pick at your food, sip on your wine, feeling good as the buzz of the alcohol runs through your body.
It isn't long after dinner that your parent's friends leave. And your father heads to his study with the simple shake of his head. As if to indiscreetly indicate that he is disappointed in you.
You used to hate it when your parents were disappointed in you.
Now it doesn't bother you.
It is expected of you.
Cal is on the phone with Neri, leaving you alone with your mother.
It shouldn't feel this uncomfortable. Yet it does.
"What is with you Piper?" Carol asks, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. "You're turning into this monster."
"I'm turning into a monster?" You turn to your mother incredulously. "You don't know me. Don't judge me."
"This isn't you," your mother shakes her head. "Are you on drugs, Piper? Because we can fix this. We can get you help."
Of course Carol assumes your using drugs.
You laugh, almost uncontrollably. "That's so like you to assume that I'm on drugs. Let's just fix this so that Piper doesn't ruin your reputation any more than she already has!"
"Where did I go wrong?" Carol wonders aloud as she paces back and forth uncomfortably. "First prison Piper. You end up in prison! Because you got involved with a lesbian drug dealer. And now you're getting obscene tattoos and acting like you're proud of the fact that you were incarcerated."
"Guess you'll just have to face the fact that I didn't exactly live up to the cookie-cutter image you planned on. I'm done pretending that I'm someone I'm not just to please you."
"Who are you?" Carol asks, eyes narrowing as they bore into yours. "It's like I don't even know my own daughter anymore."
"How would you feel if everyone you loved turned their backs on you? If the only real friends you had were still locked away behind the walls of prison? If the person you loved, couldn't even stand to look at you anymore?" You yell furiously, shooting your mother a cold-hearted glare before standing up and grabbing Cal by the arm. "Let's go."
It's a cool July evening. The wind whips gently against your skin. Dark clouds cover the gloomy sky. Leaves blow down the sidewalk aimlessly. A thin sheet of rain gently pelts the street below your feet.
You stop when you reach your destination. You suck in a deep breath, you hadn't even realized you'd been holding, and blow it out heavily.
You haven't been visiting as much as you know you should. But, you can't always bring yourself to face this reality. It makes it all too real.
You push back the iron gates and step into the cemetery.
You pass by rows and rows of headstones.
You finally reach the one you're looking for. You stop and gently lay the flowers beside it. You bend down and reach out, letting your fingers glide across the stone ever so lightly.
You don't know what to say.
You sit there for a few minutes, just letting the tears fall down your face, and mix with the rain.
The pain of realizing you've lost the two people that mean the most to you sinks in.
You feel like you have nothing left.
"Hey mom," you whisper, running your fingers along the grave. Today marks the day that you lost your best friend, your rock, your mother. 8 years ago today, she was taken away from you. 8 years ago today was the hardest day of your life. The day that you lost your best friend and the day you also lost the love of your life. Well the first time anyways.
"I know I haven't been here in a while," you whisper apologetically. "I've just been dealing with some stuff lately."
"I miss you mom," you breathe out quietly, choking back the tears that tart to slide down your cheeks again. "I feel like I am missing so much. I left Piper but it would have only been a matter of time before she left me. I had a temporary relapse of using drugs again. I feel like my life is going in no direction anymore. It's just spinning out of control faster and faster. I don't really know what to do anymore. I always imagined that adjusting to life outside of prison would have been easier. But then again, I also imagined that I would have had Piper by my side too." You can't keep it together. You are starting to break down as you fall to your knees and let the sobs rack your body uncontrollably.
"You weren't supposed to leave me! Piper wasn't supposed to hurt me and force me to leave her! I c-can't do this on my own!" you cry out in agony. You used to think that going to prison was your rock bottom. Now you've realized this quite possibly might be your rock bottom. You have officially cracked.
You kneel there for a few more minutes, stroking the headstone with your fingertips and letting the rain mix with your tears. Just being there makes you feel like you are connected to your mother in some way.
You slowly pick yourself up off the dirt, wiping your jeans with the palms of your hands. "I promise I'll start visiting more. It's just hard." You whisper as you touch the grave one last time. You glance at your watch and realize that you are almost late for dinner with Nichols. "I'll see you soon. I love you mom."
Riverside Café.
Your feet stop when you find yourself in front of the quaint little Brooklyn café. You double check your phone to make sure that you have the right address. Apparently Nichols has a friend who claims this place has the best food in the city.
As your pulling the device from the pocket of your jeans, you realize that you have a text from Nichols.
Sorry Vause. I'm gonna be a few minutes late. I lost track of time."
You chuckle at Nicky's modesty as you slide your phone back into your pocket.
You step inside the café. It has a nice look to it. Modern with a touch of classic.
A pretty blonde host leads you to an empty table and places two menus in front of you as you sink into the black leather booth. "Your server will be right with you," she shoots you a slight wink and you return the gesture with a small smile.
You realize that you probably look like shit right now. You probably have a few minutes to clean yourself up before Nichols gets here. She will clearly have some snide comment about how horrible you look.
You slip out of the booth and down the hall, following the arrows pointing towards the bathroom.
You take a look at yourself in the mirror. Dark circles gather under your eyes. Your eyes look cold and empty. Your skin looks pale and washed out. It's obvious that you have been crying. Your hair looks like shit too.
You take a minute to re-gain your composure, in fear that the waterworks might start up again. When the hell did you become such a fucking softie? You never used to cry like this; be this vulnerable. You have always dealt with emotions and emotional chaos so well. It's been one of your strongest suits for as long as you can remember.
Piper really has done a number on you this time. And you supposed everything else has too.
You try your best to shake the thoughts from the depths of your mind as you pull a bottle of foundation and a thick black Kohl pencil from your purse. You re-apply the make-up that has washed from your face with the rain and tears.
You fix your hair too.
You give yourself a once-over in the mirror. You don't quite look like death anymore. You smile approvingly.
You see Nichols sitting at the table when you emerge from the bathroom. She's smirking at you and waving like an idiot. You can't help but roll your eyes.
Nichols is making weird faces at you and you find yourself discreetly sticking your middle finger up in the air at her as if to say you're not funny.
You're so busy trying not to laugh at the bushy-haired woman that you don't see the waitress coming out of the kitchen doors to your right.
Your body collides with hers and the shattering of dishes rings through your ears.
Shit.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry," you apologize.
You bend down beside her to help her collect the dishes. Your hand touches hers and you feel this weird electricity. You haven't felt that electricity in such a long time. Not since…
You look up slowly.
Your eyes stare into a sea of familiar blue.
She looks at you confused. You look at her confused.
"Alex." She finally speaks, almost inaudibly.
"Piper…" you finally whisper back, letting out a jagged breath you hadn't even realized you'd been holding.
Fuck.
AN: Finally some Alex and Piper for everyone! Next chapter will have some actual interaction between them :) I hope everyone doesn't mind a completely vulnerable Alex and a vulnerable, kinda fucked up Piper. Promise it wont stay that way forever. Also big shout-out to MissPHalliwell for correctly guessing that Nicky's girl for the night would be Piper's roommate, it's like you were reading my mind! I want to thank everyone for the great reviews, its so amazing, and motivates me to want to write more and more!