inspired by the song Cool Kids by Echosmith
It started slowly.
Fleeting glances across crowded rooms, accidental brushes of shoulders or hands in busy hallways.
Piper's eyes would land on Alex Vause as her friends prattled on around her about the latest gossip in the bustling cafeteria. Alex and her own group of friends, a ratty lot, leather jackets, holed jeans, scuffed boots, edge. They'd be laughing and egging each other on, shoving one another playfully and yelling out the occasional lewd comment over the din of the crowded room. They were carefree and rebellious, captivating and cool. And Piper often found herself quietly envious of their freedom.
She never quite knew why Alex Vause was the main target of her attention, just that it was she who Piper's gaze would linger on when allowing herself these quite moments of wistfulness. She was beautiful, alluring in a mysterious sort of way that Piper couldn't help but find herself drawn to. She'd sit stony-faced and passive in class (always in class, while the rest of her friends were skipping in and out at their leisure Alex Vause was rarely absent, and maybe, Piper muses, maybe this is part of the mystery that makes Alex Vause so interesting) but her stoicism would always crack wide open when she was among friends, allowing a vibrant smile and shining gaze to bleed through her projected hardass exterior.
Piper wasn't sure Alex even knew she existed as she'd watch her across the cafeteria, imaging herself among their ranks. She doubted Alex would even know her name if anyone pointed her out. But she'd imagine them as friends, herself among the ragtag group of grinning, teasing companions. Alex pursing her lips and sharing her smirk with Piper as they laughed at their friends antics, Alex's arm slung casually along the back of her chair, fingers occasionally brushing against Piper's shoulders as they lounged side by side, Alex's knee bumping lightly against hers as their legs brushed under the table and they leaned into one another.
She always looked away right before Alex's eyes slid to her.
Alex's gaze would seek Piper Chapman out when she ran laps around the school track during gym class. It was her free period, the next to last class of the day, and Alex would spend it smoking on the bleachers with her friends as Piper Chapman ran around in scandalously short shorts and tight white shirt. Piper Chapman was one of the popular girls. The breed of girl who used to torment Alex throughout jr high and elementary school. Effortlessly attractive, valedictorian, trust fund kids who didn't have to work a single day of their life for anything and always managed to look like an advertisement for anything and everything desirable in life. And Alex would never admit it but she'd always envied them.
There was something about Piper Chapman though that set her apart from the rest. A softness, a realness, a depth that the rest of them never quite seemed to have. She was attractive, cute in a gentle sort of way that Alex found herself intrigued by. She'd exude radiance among her friends, a shining sort of glow that called to everyone around her like moths to a flame (hints of a genuine light that the rest of them could never seem to come close to, and Alex would sometimes find herself wondering if she'd burn up into nothing if she ever truly did get close to Piper Chapman) but it was in the look she got when alone, a soft, quiet pensiveness, the slightest touch of melancholy as she allowed the popular girl/perfect daughter facade to fall away.
Alex knew Piper would never spare her the time of day as she'd watch her stretching slowly in the field below, imaging herself leaning into the fence beside her. She figured Piper probably wouldn't have the slightest clue who Alex Vause was if anyone happened to mention her name. But she'd imagine them together, herself beside Piper as she stretched. Piper grinning over her shoulder, giving Alex that beaming smile as she teased her gently about her form, her own hands running over Piper's muscles as she asked her to help her hold her positions, a small trail of goosebumps rising along her neck as Alex's warm breath slid against her skin.
She'd be turning to leave every time Piper's gaze shifted to the bleachers.
It began at a party.
A Nicky Nichols party to be exact. Her parents were old friends of Piper's, she was an old friend of Alex, and it was the perfect impasse of worlds.
Piper had trailed quietly after her friends, it was supposed to be the party of the year. Nicky Nichols never disappointed. They'd tittered about it excitedly all week, eagerly swapping outfit ideas, gossiping about who'd hook up with who. They'd split up fairly quickly, scattering off in search of boys or booze or whatever else was deemed necessary for a good time, leaving Piper to mull about aimlessly by herself. She'd never really been a fan of the parties, attending more because it was expected rather than out of a desire for fun.
She couldn't quite place what it was or when it happened, this disconnect. Piper Chapman had the perfect life. Her parents were well off, she got good grades, she hung out with the right people. She had blonde hair and blue eyes and that soft conventional sort of beauty that made her naturally, effortlessly desirable. Most people knew her name and when she walked through the hallways of the school she was rarely without a surrounding group of equally attractive kids. Piper Chapman was someone who, for all intents and purposes, had it all. But there had always been an underlying gloom, for as long as she can remember, an ever present feeling tugging at the back of her mind that she'd only recently begun to understand as emptiness.
She was milling about the punch bowl when she ran into Alex Vause.
Alex hadn't exactly been eager to attend tonight's party. But her mother was working an unexpected double shift and she couldn't spend another night alone in an empty apartment. She'd pulled herself from her bed, slipped into her boots, tugged on her beaten jacket, and made her way to Nicky's. Her friends had been clamoring about this party all week, trading rumors about which of Nicky's "party favors" would be circulating, placing bets on who could hook up with who. Alex was debating whether or not to attempt seeking them out as she pushed her way through the crowd.
She didn't know why she came. She had no desire to be around people tonight, or at all lately, it seemed. She'd been spending most of her time alone anymore, between her mother's increasingly busy work schedule and her friend's disinterest in anything outside their own concerns. She didn't exactly know when this depression started setting in, just that it was slowly eating further and further into her world, fraying at the edges of her vision, tinting the corners of everything she did. She'd recently begun toying with the idea of letting it win.
She was lost in the gloom of her thoughts when she stumbled across Piper Chapman.
Conversation began idly. Piper thanked the alcohol, Alex thanked the crowd. Eventually they found themselves on Nicky's roof, or a small awning of roof running along below the windows of Nicky's room and her mother's. An empty bottle of some sort of alcoholic beverage sat between them, another half empty one being passed silently back and forth as they discussed anything and everything on their minds. They were surprised at how easy it was once the conversation began flowing. Topics of literature and music soon dissolving into more serious discussions regarding Alex's mother and the details of their life (the fear of her growing depression) or Piper's family and their high standards (the slow burning emptiness at the corners of her soul).
They'd lost track of the hour by the time Alex hesitantly (finally) pressed her lips to Piper's.
They decided it'd be best left as a secret.
Because deep down they really didn't want to share. It was something best left unhindered by the opinions or comments of Piper's family and friends, best left untarnished by the criticisms and teasing of Alex's gang. Piper would pick Alex up and they'd slip away into the next town, away from prying eyes and judgmental scolding, away from the Piper and Alex everyone expected or thought of them to be.
The slow burn that dictated them for so long fell away as their relationship deepened. Piper's picking Alex up expanding into Alex sneaking through Piper's window, their low voiced discussions over dinner tables stretching into hushed conversations across shared pillows. They fell in love like an igniting fire, sparking quickly and burning slowly. And nothing else mattered.
Things carried on as usual in the halls of school.
They'd pass each other in the hallway without so much as a fleeting glance (though no one noticed a small smile that sometimes broke out upon the softest brush of hands or shoulders), and they'd slide into seats on opposite sides of the classroom with nothing more than the barest flick of attention (but no one noticed when gazes met and lingered for the briefest of seconds, the rest of the world falling away momentarily).
Piper's eyes traced Alex's face as her friends giggled around her over the latest drama, an involuntary smile gracing her lips as Alex's laugh rang through the cafeteria. Her thoughts turning over memories of a movie they'd gone to see together the previous week. Alex had pushed the armrest up and she'd eagerly snuggled into her side as the lights dimmed, Alex's arm snaked around her shoulders, fingers toying absently with the ends of her hair, Alex's warm body pressed tightly against her own as she burrowed deeper into the older girl's warmth.
And she blushed gently every time Alex's eyes slid to her.
Alex's gaze trailed over Piper's body as she ran her daily laps around the track, the smoke of her cigarette releasing from her lungs in a shaky exhale as Piper smiled brilliantly at one of the younger girls on the field. Her mind fogging over with memories of their last night shared in Piper's bedroom. Piper had thrown her a gentle grin over her shoulder as she let her clothes fall slowly to the floor, she'd traced her hands reverently over the newly exposed plains of Piper's body as she whispered soft promises against Alex's hair, a small smattering of goosebumps blossoming across her skin as Alex's breath danced across her collarbones.
And Alex always waited for Piper's gaze to shift towards the bleachers before rising to slip back into the school.
They managed to keep it a secret for the entire year.
Until the night of graduation comes and Alex presents Piper with the keys to a gently used jeep she'd managed to buy and an unmarked map of the world. Piper hasn't yet told her parents she's decided to take a year off before college, Alex only just yesterday told her mother about Piper. She spends the entire night in Piper's bed for the first time, waking together to the gentle rays of the morning sun flushed with anxious giddiness.
They lose track of each other in the commotion of graduation festivities and don't catch sight of one another again (save for the fleeting glances shared as each of their names are called to march across the stage) until the end of the ceremony. Piper has managed to slip away from her family, taking advantage of their muted shock upon her announcement of delaying college for an indefinite cross country adventure with her girlfriend. Alex is waiting for her when she slips into the jeep and kisses her full on the mouth in the school parking lot in front of everyone they've ever known.
And when they break apart to meet one another's gaze there's a matching grin on both their faces and a new world ahead of them.
I feel like this ending is sort of rushed but I don't really know what else to do with it and I'm slightly drunk and just want to publish it.
Also, I forgot to put this bit in the last chapter, I love all the reviews asking for expanse on certain stories. It makes me glad to know people are falling enough in love with these short little story bursts to yearn for more from the same universe, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to truly write a multi-chapter fic. Simply because I hate leaving stories unfinished. It's always painful to start reading a fic, fall in love with it, and then never see an update again, and I don't want to do that. I'd have to have the entire story planned out thoroughly from the get go if I wanted to write a multi-chapter, and truthfully if I ever do get the idea for something larger than these semi-short drabbles I'd probably just post it as one giant mega oneshot anyway. But I do truly love the encouragement for more. If all goes well there is one lengthy idea I've been slowly writing chunks of that could theoretically be a multi-chapter story (though as I said I'll most likely post it as one giant oneshot, because along with hating abandoned fic I've always been way too impatient for fic updates in an on-going story).