A/N: Guess who's back!
Litchfield was rife with hustle and bustle, inmates swarmed from their cell blocks to the main hall. Everything was in motion in some way or another, whether it was the electric doors beeping then opening or it was a crazed inmate cackling as she sprinted through the hallway streaking, followed by guards. This inmate, Piper observed, was Crazy Eyes.
'I was born to be free…!' Crazy Eyes shouted as she streaked passed Piper and into the dining hall, the Cos chased after her, clutching at falling pieces of clothing in her wake.
'Inmate, stop!' One ordered.
Even this sight failed to garner as much as a blink from Piper, who was slumped on the steps. It had been a month of staying away from Alex, and both pretending the other didn't exist and today Piper had hit a new low. She felt nothing. Not the warm rays of sun pouring in through the barred windows and onto her pale skin, or the dismay at isolating herself. She just stared blankly at absolutely nothing in particular.
'Blink.' A vaguely familiar voice instructed, Piper looked up, unblinking. It was Nicky, Piper hadn't seen Nicky since the 'Great Divide', as the inmates called it. The Great Divide was the result of Piper and Alex avoiding each other. Inmates gradually and unwittingly, chose a side. Piper got Pennsa-freakin-tucky, Morello, Bursett and Boo, and Alex got Nicky, Red and Mendoza.
Not that Piper spoke much to her side, not that Piper spoke much to anyone, and she had absolutely no interest in doing so. Her mantra had become, 'fuck it'. Pure and simple.
'What? Did I interrupt the high stakes staring competition between you and the wall.'
'I'm not looking at the wall.'
'Okay, did I interrupt your staring competition between you and the door?'
'I'm not looking at … anything.'
'Pedantic…' Nicky muttered as she slumped onto the steps beside Piper and stretched. Piper kept her eyes on nothing at all.
'Chapman, what the fuck is going on with you?'
'…Leave me alone…' Piper found her lips murmur.
'C'mon, I've missed you….you should be flattered.'
'…Leave me alone…seriously.' Piper added at the end, realising her lips were simply saying what she wanted deep down. Her heart began to pound as the realisation of just how fed up she had become dawned on her. Every cell in her body raged to be alone. Away from sight, scent and touch.
'Someone's a blonde bundle of fuckin' joy.' Nicky quipped, swinging her arms around Piper's shoulders-Piper flinched and leapt to her feet as though Nicky had done something obscene.
'I said…' Piper spoke slowly as she stood and faced Nicky, towering over her, 'LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!'
Silence fell through the hallway, a few inmates stood across the hall glanced at them furtively. Nicky blinked, thrown off by the reaction. She raised her hands in surrender and just stared at Piper.
Piper let out a frustrated grunt and turned and stalked away, putting distance between her and Nicky.
As she headed into the dining hall, she walked obliviously passed Crazy Eyes being pinned to the ground and clothed against her will.
The only thing Piper had been doing was drinking, courtesy of Poussey. The slimly built inmate had a potent stash hidden in the library where Piper would visit when the Cos weren't watching. She'd visited the library much more than she should have recently, but she didn't care. She liked the slippery lens being drunk glazed over her. It filled up her apathetic silences with peacefulness and sometimes bitterness. But at least it filled them up. It was how she knew she was still alive. Piper rounded the corner and spotted the library, she slipped inside and shut the door behind her.
Her eyes scanned the library, there was nobody in sight, perfect.
She headed straight for the self-help section, where Poussey had ironically hidden the booze, and found herself face to face with a woman, maybe a year or so younger than Piper, but definitely fresher than Piper. Piper simply stared at her, the woman had the drink clutched in her hand and looked at Piper with a lustful expression. She had short black hair, with a fade, tanned skin and man, her body was toned up and boasted slender arms with delicate biceps and her face was that of an exotic seductress, with full lips, steely blue eyes and a wry one sided smile. She liked what she was seeing and what she was seeing was a surprised Piper.
She must be a new inmate, Piper thought. Not recalling having seen her before.
She held out the bottle playfully, Piper grabbed for it but the woman pulled it away and gave her a grin.
'How about a kiss for a sip?'
Piper scoffed with self-righteous indignation, 'it's my bottle…Poussey gave it me…'
The woman cocked an eyebrow and suddenly stood up, her eyes never leaving Piper's. Roses, Piper could smell roses. The woman smelt of roses and strawberries, and she had Piper's attention.
'Oh, so…' the woman said, her eyes drifting to Piper's lips, 'it's me who should be kissing you…'
Every muscle in Piper's body was paralysed apart from her heart, which thumped and raced in a lustful excitement. It wasn't even lust, it was simply an urge now. An urge to sense something beautiful, an urge to caress something beautiful.
'Well…I…' Piper babbled nervously, 'I – not necessarily-I don't even know your name-'
Warm lips pressed against Piper's, giving her own a gentle push and tug.
Strawberry lipbalm, Piper noted leaning closer. The woman pulled out of the kiss, 'My name's Rose.'
Piper grabbed the bottle and took a deep swig to sooth her frantic nerves. With that, Rose strolled out of the library, totally unflapped. All Piper managed to do was stare after her.
'Rose…' She said, a hint of strawberries clung to her lips.
'Your ex has a real attitude problem.' Nicky announced as Alex read a book she obtained from Red's bedside. As far as anyone was concerned, Red lent it to her, and as far as Red was concerned it would be returned before Red went to bed at night.
'Stop calling her that…' Alex said flippantly, Nicky didn't have her attention. Alex no longer talked about Piper, and did her best not to think about her either.
'Seriously…she's starting to look like freakin' Gollum…sitting in corners, lurking in the background, all stare-y and stuff…' Nicky complained as she slumped besides Alex on her cot.
'It shouldn't bother you…'
'Doesn't it bother you? Knowing she's being like that?'
'She doesn't bother me… she doesn't anything me anymore.'
'Oh, well…' Nicky said, feigning being impressed, 'somebody's adopting a healthy amount of denial. Good for you.' Nicky patted her on the shoulder, her words dripping with patronisation, 'good…for…you.'
Alex slammed her book shut and looked at Nicky.
'Nicky, I'm in fuckin' prison. She…she put me in fuckin' prison. So yes, I do not care that she's being a weirdo, I do not care. In fact, this probably comes as a surprise to you, but I don't think I can ever care about anything to do with Piper Chapman…' Alex let her words hang in the air, Nicky studied her with a sheepish look. Alex held herself together, fighting her own will power as she felt her broken heart crumble that little bit more within her chest. There was nothing left in Alex's heart. She didn't think she could love anybody after the circus Piper turned her love into. No. No thank you. Not anymore.
'How's your book…?' Nicky tried, both of them knew the boredom in the prison could drive you nuts, but Alex was wise enough not to try to avoid drama when other inmates clung to it like a lifeline. If there wasn't drama, there wasn't sanity or life. Alex didn't care much for either of those two things.
'It's alright…it's about poetic justice.'
Nicky frowned, 'what, like…justice that rhymes?'
'Wow…' Alex mouthed, she flinched as she felt Nicky jab her ribs with an elbow, Alex laughed. Nicky scowled at her.
'Don't be a pretentious asshole.'
'That's harsh-'
'Ok, I'm sorry…you're not pretentious.'
Alex gave her an offended look and smacked her with her book.
'Look, lemme just do my time in peace and get out of here…'
'Peace is overrated. Oh, look sharp…your girlfriend is here.'
Alex glanced up from her book and saw Rose. Rose winked at Alex, 'I was heading to the shower… wanna join?'
'I do.' Nicky announced, Alex and Rose ignored her as Alex nodded and tossed her book to Nicky.
'Read that, you might learn something.'
'I hate poetry! Now, rap….I like rap.' Nicky said as she watched Alex and Rose walk off.
'I don't like that Rose, not one bit.' A thick Russian accent said from above Nicky, Nicky glanced up to see Red leaning against the wall and peering into Alex's cot at Nicky.
'Everyone likes Rose.'
Red narrowed her eyes suspiciously, 'mmm…exactly…'
'It keeps Vause happy and that's fine with me.' Nicky shrugged.
'How is she?' Red asked.
'In denial, suppressing all her issues…'
'I meant Chapman, I saw you on the stairs with her this morning.' Red gave her a pointed look, Nicky threw her a defensive look.
'Chapman and Vause aren't bad people, we like both of them. It's not like I'm cheating on Vause when I check in with Chapman…jeez…'
Red cocked an eyebrow at her.
'Don't gimme that look Red…I haven't done anything wrong. Chapman's one of the good ones and you know it…this stupid divide has reduced me to reading the ingredients on the mixed veg in the freezer for fun! And do you know what's in mixed veg? A MIX OF VEGETABLES!' She fumed.
'is that my book?' Red asked, before Nicky could reply she was seized by a thwack as Red smacked her over the head with her book.
'What have I told you about taking things without asking…!?'
'It wasn't me-it was Alex-!'
'Sure it was…' Red replied sarcastically and tutted beneath her breath as she walked away, Nicky slumped back into the cot cradling her head with her hands.
'Jesus…' she peered over the wall, 'that's a hardback you know, you could give someone a concussion!'