Alex didn't wake up that morning, as she didn't sleep at all that night. She actually felt very relieved when she could finally leave her bunk. So she dragged herself through the halls and into the bathroom. She felt dirty from the day before and couldn't wait to wash it all away. Alex always showered this early; the water would be kind of warm and the bathroom would be empty for the first 3 minutes or so. The semi warm water reminded her of her little apartment in Brooklyn. Sometimes she would just close her eyes and pretend to be back there. Back to the life before this whole mess began. Back when her mom was still alive. It usually made her feel a little better, until her daydream would be rudely interrupted by other inmates stomping into the bathroom.

It's true what they say; you almost feel like a human being again after a decent shower. She hesitantly made her way to the mirror, afraid of what she might encounter on the other side of it. It wasn't even that bad.. until she put her glasses on. She let out a huge sigh. Her eyes were all puffy from the crying and the bags under her eyes were enormous. And to make it all worse, Nichols just walked into the bathroom..

"You're looking extremely fit this morning, Vause." she said with a huge grin.

"Shut up, Nicky." Alex grumbled.

It was quiet for a while. Nicky was clearly waiting for an explanation about what happened the day before. When she realized she wouldn't get one, she took matters into her own hands.

"So, you gonna tell me what the hell happened yesterday, between you and Orange?" she asked directly.

Alex had dreaded this moment. Nicky's curiosity would be the death of her someday.

"No, I'm not." Alex said gruffly. "And it's none of your business, so let it go."

Nicky stared at her and then she narrowed her eyes a bit. Alex knew that look all too well. Nichols was not going to let this go. She had practically just given her a reason to dig as deep as she could. Alex could kick herself. "Let it go" always meant the direct opposite to her bushy haired friend.

"Don't you have a mother to annoy or something?" Alex said rudely.

"I do, actually." Nichols said with a big smile. "I'll see you at breakfast. I'll save you a seat!" She winked and walked out.

Alex returned to the task of trying to fix the face that was staring at her in the mirror, with no success.

She first returned to her bunk before going to the cafeteria. Most mornings she would meet Piper there, because they didn't sleep in the same neighborhood.

Alex thanked all non-existent Gods out there that she didn't bump into Grey before she'd had her coffee. When she walked in, she saw the usual crew sitting at their usual table. She got herself some "breakfast" and sat down in between Piper and Boo. Piper smiled at her sympathetically and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She felt Piper's hand stroking her back gently. Piper's touch always seemed to calm her.

Nicky was sitting across the table and was grinning at her like an idiot. Morello sat next to her and smiled just a little too compassionately, which told Alex that Nicky had shared everything she knew with Morello.

"You look a little tired, Alex." Morello said. "You didn't sleep well?"

Alex just shook her head. Why the hell would anyone talk before coffee?

She was just about to take her first sip of coffee, when something orange sat down next to Nichols. Not something, someone orange. Figures, Alex thought while rolling her eyes.

"Hey there, Orange!" Nicky said with a twinkle in her eyes. "Didn't think I'd see you here this morning."

"Good morning, fellow inmate." Grey said with fake seriousness. "And other fellow inmates."

Morello offered her hand. "Hi there! I didn't get the chance to meet you yesterday. I'm Lorna Morello." she said with a bright smile.

Grey shook her hand. "Hello, Morello. I'm Grey." Grey said. "You're actually the first person that has introduced herself." she added with a smile.

Morello looked shocked. "No problem, I'll introduce them for ya." she said.

She cleared her throat and started naming all people at the table. "This little rascal right here, is Nicole Nichols." Morello said with a smile.

"That's Big Boo." Boo waved at her.

"That right there is Piper Chapman." Piper gave her a small smile.

"And then of course there's uh.. Alex Vause." Morello said that last part hesitantly.

It was the first time she had consciously looked at her. It felt strange just being in her presence again after all those years. After a few seconds, Alex looked back at her. Their eyes met and Grey felt dizzy. Her heart was beating at an unhealthy rate. After what seemed like an hour, Nichols cleared her throat.

"So, Orange, what did you do?" she asked directly.

"Subtle as ever, Nicky." Boo chuckled.

Grey looked at her tray, frowning.

"I really don't want to talk about that." she finally said, with a flash of pain in her eyes.

A shiver went down Alex's back when she heard Grey say that. She looked at her then, taking in every little detail. She suddenly looked so vulnerable. It was very unlike Grey to show her insecurities or imperfections and for every other person it wouldn't have been that obvious, but Alex had known that woman like the back of her hand. Something had happened to her, something that had knocked down those huge ass walls of confidence.

"Look, I don't make the rules." Nicky said while shrugging. "But if you can correctly name all of our crimes, then we're even."

"Okay, deal." Grey said with a smirk.

Grey spent the next 5 minutes observing everyone at the table. Analyzing people's behavior was something Grey used to do for a living, so it wasn't all that hard to figure most of the people out. Piper, however, was a hard one. She looked like someone who had never committed a crime in her whole life. Then Grey saw the way Piper was looking at Alex and she suddenly realized what Piper's weakness was.

"Okay, Orange." Nicky said. "Your time is up."

Grey pointed at Morello. "Fraud."

She pointed at Boo. "Violence."

Then she pointed at Nicky. "Junkie."

After that was Piper's turn. "Trusting the wrong person." She said with a smirk.

And finally she reached Alex. "And last but not least, we have the drug importer."

Her eyes lingered when she met Alex's eyes, which stared into hers with an intensity that was almost palpable. She didn't know if it was a positive or negative stare, but she didn't really care. Then Alex just raised her eyebrows and went back to her breakfast.

"How the hell did you do that?" Boo asked, looking very surprised.

"It was my job to analyze people." Grey answered. "Before I would take advantage of them, that is."

Morello seemed a little insulted and started a conversation with Piper. Nichols, however, seemed really impressed.

"That's one heck of a skill." She said.

Nicky looked at Alex, but Alex remained quiet and just pretended they weren't there. She then looked back at Grey and grinned.

"So, Orange, you two know each other?" Nicky said while pointing at Alex.

Alex stiffened before glaring at Nicky. Everyone at the table went quiet, waiting for the answer.

Grey smirked. "Are you kidding me?" she said. "I taught Alex everything she knows." She looked Alex directly in the eye when she said it, raising an eyebrow, almost challenging her.

Piper's mouth fell open. Alex felt like she had just been smacked in the face. She clenched her jaw, pursed her lips together and felt her anger started rising.

"I guess you didn't teach me well, then." Alex spat at her. "Seeing I'm in prison and all."

Hearing her voice was a really strange sensation to Grey. She had loved that voice and once she had longed to hear that voice more than anything.

"I never said I was a good teacher." Grey said calmly with a grin.

Everyone was watching the situation intensely, like they were watching their favorite soap. Everyone except for Piper and Nichols. Piper still looked very shocked like she couldn't quite place what was happening. Nichols' eyes, on the other hand, were twinkling like it was Christmas morning.

"God, if a girl like you asked me to work for some sort of drug lord I would have done it in a heartbeat." Nichols mused, while grinning at Grey.

Grey gave a short, mirthless laugh and just shook her head a little.

"Oh, but Alex wasn't really in it for the girl. Right, Alex?" Grey said with an evil smile. "She was only in it for the power."

With that, Alex jumped up. She was breathing heavily and her face saw red with anger.

"Fuck. You." She spat with venom before stomping away.

Piper stood up and quickly went after Alex. Boo chuckled and Morello looked like she didn't know whether she should laugh or be shocked about the whole situation. Of course, Nichols looked like she was in heaven.

"You sure know how to push her buttons." Nicky said with a smirk.

"You have no idea." Grey said with a grin.