A/N:
Apologies in advance for the typographical and grammatical errors. I was just dying to post this because it's been too long since the last update and I don't have enough energy in me to proofread this. Really sorry, but I found it really hard to write this chapter because I already know where the story is going, I just don't know how to get it there. So again, apologies.
And add the start of OITNB promos and I knew I was fucked regarding this update. LMAO.
4
Piper woke up with a slight jolt when she felt the movement of the bed, and heard soft whimpers. She opened her eyes, and adjusted them to the brightness of the lamp, the one she hadn't been able to turn off before finally falling asleep in Alex's arms, coming from her bedside table. When she was awake enough to realize where the sound was coming from, she quickly turned to Alex, who obviously was having a bad dream.
"No... Ash... don't," Alex softly murmured, her forehead creased, and little trickles of sweats one by one forming on her temples. She was struggling to stay still, clutching the blanket strewn over her, and was surely on the verge of crying.
"Alex," Piper whispered, trying to wake Alex but not startle her while doing so.
"Please... I'm sorry..." Alex still kept muttering in her sleep, this time looking a lot more terrified with every passing second.
"Alex, wake up." This time, Piper decided to shake Alex, getting a little bit more worried. "Al, come on. You're just having a bad dream." She shook her a little harder and this time Alex finally woke up. The brunette sat back abruptly, causing Piper to flinch back.
Alex breathed heavily, and Piper was sure she wasn't fully awake yet. She wanted to touch her and assure her that everything was fine, that she was just having a bad dream but she was scared that it would just make things worse. But she could see Alex wipe the tears that had now fallen from her eyes and she knew she had to at least say something.
"A-Al?" she softly said, hoping that Alex would finally face her. And she did, but this time with a blank expression on her face. She still looked shaken, but if she was feeling a lot worse than that, she wasn't showing it. "Hey, are you okay?" Piper asked, this time going closer to Alex, cupping her face with both hands. She wiped the sweat that has now reached Alex's cheek with her thumb, and looked Alex in the eyes. She saw fear in them, the first time she had ever seen such an emotion in those emerald green eyes. Alex still wouldn't talk and it worried Piper even more. "Come on, Al. Talk to me."
Alex slowly shook her head, finally aware of what was going on, and took Piper's hands into her own. "Hey, I'm sorry if I woke you up. I had... I just had a terrible dream," she swallowed and Piper knew she was holding something back.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No," Alex shook her head profusely, and tried to smile, though Piper could see that it didn't reach her eyes. "It's nothing. I'm fine. I'm sorry I worried you." Alex pulled Piper's face to hers and kissed her gently. "Come on, let's go back to sleep."
Piper knew that there was something Alex was not telling her but respected the fact that she wanted to keep it to herself. But even so, she still couldn't fight the fear that crept into her, seeing Alex this vulnerable. She was used to seeing her so collected and confident and even if this was just because of a dream, seeing her this way bothered her a lot. She went back to lay down on the bed with Alex, but before the raven-haired could close her eyes, Piper gently touched her face again. "Hey. You'll tell me when something's wrong, yeah?"
Alex just nodded and smiled before she closed her eyes, and somehow Piper had the feeling that if there was indeed anything wrong with Alex, she wouldn't find out about it anytime soon.
-o-o-o-
Alex woke up getting blinded by the sunlight streaming through the window. It took her a few seconds before she could recognize where she was, and who she was with. When she finally got used to the brightness, she looked at Piper, whose face was so close to hers and whose arm was wrapped around her. Alex's legs on the other hand were entangled with Piper's. She honestly didn't want to disturb the sleeping blonde but couldn't help herself so she brought her lips to the tip of Piper's nose and kissed it gently.
Alex knew it had been so long since the last time she woke up with another person still fully-clothed. It was either her waking up alone or waking up with someone, naked. But this wasn't actually a foreign thing to her, waking up next to someone without having done anything sexual the night before. She had done it countless times, with one particular person.
And that person was the one who constantly woke her up every night... through nightmares.
It had been happening to Alex every damn night every since that ruinous day. Waking up sweaty and with heavy breaths, screaming into the darkness, crying in the silence of the night. She should have gotten used to it by now, it's been months. But every damn time it happened still felt like the first time it ever did. She still felt the fear, the guilt and the pain, and all these emotions were breaking her little by little she was pretty sure there would come a time when she would still exist but no longer live.
And she hated herself that she had to let Piper see that. When she had asked her out, her plan didn't include them sleeping together, in more ways than one, because she knew that it would happen again. She didn't want the blonde to see it not only because they didn't really know much about each other yet but because she didn't want anyoneto see this weak side of her.
Of course, Piper wasn't just anyone and she wasn't stubborn enough to still deny that to herself right now. She knew it the minute their eyes first met and then again when they first talked and then again when they first kissed. And maybe that's what made it worse because it's Piper and right now, she was the last person she wanted to see her that way, so vulnerable and not being able to do anything about it.
But no. She had to get drunk, again, and lose the control she should always have whenever she was with the blonde. She had to forget that it wasn't safe for her to be with anyone when she wasn't conscious and couldn't manipulate the way she would and should act. She had to let Piper see.
And what made the situation even worse was the look of concern the blonde had when she saw her. She was genuinely worried and hadn't just Alex told herself that she shouldn't be making Piper feel that? She was here to help Piper find her way and it shouldn't be the other way around. Alex knew she was a hopeless case. But Piper still wasn't. She was supposed to be there for her to make sure of that.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Alex was startled to see that the blonde was already awake. But she recovered with it immediately, when she saw the way Piper looked at her, her eyes filled with so much admiration, and her heart ache because she never thought she'd have another person who would find her worthy enough for that kind of look. "Hey," Alex smiled, briefly forgetting what was going on in her mind just a while ago.
"Hey, drunkie," Piper said as she kissed Alex, smiling into that kiss.
"Hmm, so we're calling each other nicknames now, huh?" Alex said, responding to the kiss as she gently rubbed Piper's back.
"Yeah, I guess we are." Piper kept pressing chaste kisses on Alex's lips, enjoying the warmth of the raven-haired's skin against her back. "You wanna talk about last night?" she asked.
"You wanna talk about the kiss?"
Piper smiled, still peppering Alex's face with little kisses, pulling her closer to her. "Yeah... and also about the nightmare." Piper could feel Alex tense and she froze for about a second before she continued with her gentle caress on her skin again.
"Piper, that was nothing."
Piper had to pull away, far enough to be able to look Alex in the eye. "Alex..."
"Pipes, I swear. If it was a big deal, I'd tell you, okay?" Alex could still see hesitance in Piper's eyes so she had to resort to the only thing that she knew would fully divert Piper's attention. "Right now, I just want to kiss you all day long."
If they were just giving each other little kisses a while ago, this time Alex had turned those kisses into deeper ones, biting into Piper's bottom lip, until those kisses had turned into a full-blown make out session. The arm she had on Piper's back was now on the girl's thigh, caressing and squeezing, earning her a moan from the blonde.
Piper, on the other hand, didn't know where exactly to put hers. She wanted her hands everywhere, wanted to be able to touch Alex in every part of her body, wanted to feel every inch of her. Her hands were on Alex's face first, until her right hand was already rubbing Alex's arm up and down, her left one grasping the other woman's shirt so she could pull her closer to her. It had been a long time since she's had a physical contact with anyone and had forgotten how much this felt good.
Suddenly, Alex flipped Piper so she was now on her back, as Alex crawled over her, her knees locking Piper in place. She went back to kissing her, her tongue exploring the insides of the blonde's mouth, loving the way she tasted. Piper had by now put her hands inside Alex's shirt, running circles with her thumb on her bare stomach.
"Alex," whispered Piper as Alex's mouth started travelling down her neck.
"Hmmm..." replied Alex and the vibrations it made on Piper's neck made the blonde arch her body upwards, wanting more physical contact from the taller woman. Her neck had always been her weak spot and the way Alex was tracing her tongue on every inch of it was making her crazy.
As much as she hated to say this, Piper knew she had to before she lost total control of herself. "I have to go to work," she said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. She didn't want to go to work. She wanted to stay here with Alex, and do unforgivable things with her. She wanted to be kissed by her all day, she wanted Alex all day. But her work was waiting for her and she didn't want to be faced with Red's wrath if she missed it today.
"No, you don't," answered Alex as nonchalant as possible. The things her tongue and mouth, now going even lower, were doing to Piper were making it harder for the blonde to justify why she had to go.
"I do. Red's gonna kill me."
"Just call in sick." Alex left one last kiss on Piper's neck until she pulled away and grasped the end of Piper's shirt. "This has to go away," she added, as if not hearing a word Piper had just said.
"What? No. Alex, I'm serious." But Alex just gave Piper that look and that smile, and her resolve had instantly melted. She let Alex take her shirt off, leaving her in just her bra and pants. Alex then went back to what she was doing to Piper, this time with her hand travelling towards Piper's right breast. "I can't call in sick, Al." Piper still tried, as hard as she could, to ignore the heat she was feeling down her core, convincing, not only Alex, but even more herself that she had to get up now or she never would. "Oh, God!" she exclaimed as Alex pushed her bra off her and played with one of her nipples with her thumb and forefinger.
"You were saying?" Alex asked, a smug look on her face.
Piper had to close her eyes and count to three before she could finally make up her mind. "Alex, I mean it. Come on, get off me now." She pushed Alex slightly off her.
"Ugh!" Alex exclaimed, finally getting off of Piper. "Why can't we just stay in bed all day?" She had her back flat on the bed now, her arms outstretched on her sides, sulking like a kid deprived of her toy.
Piper chuckled at Alex, finding her adorable with that expression of hers. So she pressed a kiss on her lips, just a quick peck, because who knew if she could fight it off this time if Alex started doing things to her again. "I'll make it up to you tonight, okay? But right now, I have to get off this bed because I have a job to go to in..." she looked at the clock beside her and her eyes opened wide when she saw what time it already was, "...30 fucking minutes! Jesus Christ I have to keep moving."
Alex laughed as Piper ran to the bathroom and started her shower. "Do you want me to join you?" she half-yelled, still laughing at the panic-stricken Piper.
"Stay right there or I swear to God..." Piper yelled back from the inside of the shower.
Alex just laughed again. But remembering the way Piper insisted on knowing what her nightmare was really about, she knew she had dodged that bullet now, but once it happened again, she didn't know if she could still divert Piper's attention away from it.
-o-o-o-
"Where the fuck have you been?"
Out of her surprise, Alex almost hit the door when Nicky spoke out of nowhere. Piper and she left her apartment together after a lot of running around the house, mostly just Piper, and a lot of cursing because she was already late. Clearly, it was the first time ever that she was late to work and Piper wasn't taking it all too well. Alex had to keep herself from laughing at the blonde because she knew Piper's irritation would be thrown at her if she did.
"I swear Nicky, every day you're sounding more and more of a fucking psycho girlfriend." Alex shook her head and threw herself at the couch, throwing her things on the table.
"Yeah, well. You'd be lucky to have me."
"No, I don't think so. What are you doing here? Didn't you think a little text telling me you'd be here in my house was something a normal, polite person would do?"
"Maybe. But so is texting your best friend telling her that you're still alive every month or so."
"Jesus, you're not ever letting that go, are you?"
"You know me, Vause. I hold grudges. So, how'd it go with blondie? Did you finally realize how much of a snoozefest it is to be with her and ditched her for some other cute blonde instead?"
Alex felt a slight irritation within her hearing Nicky talk about Piper this way but kept it to herself because she didn't to hear shit about it from her. "What? No. I had a really great time with her. And she's not a snoozefest, maybe she just finds you dull to talk to that's why she acts that way around you."
"What so you actually spent the night with her?"
"It's none of your business but if you really have to know, yes I spent the night at her place." She could see a shit-eating grin start to form on her best friend's mouth and before she could even say what was on her mind, she already beat her to it. "And no, we didn't fuck."
"What the fuck, you losing your touch, Vause?"
"Fuck you, you know I never lose touch."
"Right. But you know, come to think of it, I've never seen you look like that when you're talking about a woman."
"Look like what?"
"I don't know, like you're talking about someone so precious, someone that couldn't, shouldn't, get hurt or something. You seem rather protective of her, which is a bit odd, cause you've only met her."
Alex didn't speak because she didn't know how to react to what Nicky just told her. She was aware of that, but she didn't know how to justify it to Nicky in a way that she would understand. Somehow, she had this feeling that only she and Piper could understand each other, could see through each other despite the darkness that was surrounding them. It was as if she had found someone she would allow to see the very depths of her, her emotional nakedness that she had never willingly wanted to show anyone before.
"Oh hey, wait a minute," said Nicky, all of a sudden. "I actually have seen you talk about someone that way before."
"What? Who?"
"Your mom. She's the only one I've ever seen you really care about, Vause. Well, apart from me, of course. But seeing you talk about Chapman, like that way you always talked about Diane, it seems like you've got yourself in a lot of trouble, man."
-o-o-o-
It was almost 12 noon when Alex dropped by Red's Diner. She expected Piper to be the first one she'd see but instead, she saw Red on her way out. "Hey, Red. Is Piper here?"
Red gave her a questioning look and Alex could see a glint of slight surprise in her eyes. "Yeah, why? How do you know blondie?"
"Oh, she's a friend. I met her the first day I got here."
"Really? I haven't seen that girl talk to anyone she barely knows for more than 20 seconds straight. Hmm, you must be special."
Alex just shrugged but found herself feel giddy hearing this. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far. Anyway, how long's her lunch break?"
"An hour. But she eats for 10 minutes tops and spends the rest of the hour staring at nothing. Weird girl, that one."
"Oh." Alex stopped herself imagining how Piper must be feeling every time she was left alone with her thoughts. She knew how that felt and she couldn't imagine Piper going through the same thing. "Uhm, can I borrow her then?"
"Why, of course! She's in the kitchen I think. It is already her lunch break and that's where she always is during this time."
"Okay, thanks Red!" She made her way inside the diner's kitchen, feeling excited to see Piper again when she had only seen her four hours ago.
Piper was about to get her food when she saw the familiar figure of the woman that had been making her smile like an idiot, or just smile, really, since she went to work today. "Alex!" she said enthusiastically and flung her arms around Alex's neck, burying her face onto the taller girl's neck.
"Hey, kid," Alex smiled, a little less showy of her excitement about seeing Piper. She pressed her lips against hers as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.
"What are you doing here?" Piper asked when they finally let go of each other, except for their hands, which were still locked together.
"Well, it is your lunch break."
"Why, am I having you for lunch?" Piper asked, her face showing emotion in between the look of someone subtly flirting and a sheepish schoolgirl.
Alex chuckled but couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine the moment those words left Piper's mouth. "Hmm, I wish, kid." She pulled her towards her again, wanting to at least feel something of her if she couldn't have her all the way, not yet anyway. She kissed her again, a little hungrier this time, as if telling Piper that she liked the suggestion, but that she couldn't. "But one hour won't be enough for that. So come on, let's get you some proper lunch, instead."
"What? Why? I have lunch here," Piper asked, a little surprised. She was still recovering from that dizzyingly good kiss from Alex and wasn't sure if her surprise was because of Alex's suggestion or because she was still standing after that kiss.
"Told you, kid. I'm not letting you eat here again. Well, not all the time anyway. So, let's go. Time's running." She pointed towards her watch.
"Where are we going then?"
"My place. I made you lunch. Let's go?" she offered her hand to Piper and the latter took it, feeling her stomach twist in a surprisingly good way at the sweet gesture she never thought someone with such a tough exterior would ever do for her.
-o-o-o-
Things for Alex and Piper went as slowly as it could get. For the next few days, everything went typically the same: Piper going to work, Alex coming over at noon to pick her up for lunch, Piper going back to work, and then Alex coming back at midnight, most of the time drunk, so she and Piper could go home together. But one thing had never happened again, and that's for them to sleep together again. Alex had learned her lesson so she'd made herself a promise that she'd only do that again when she's ready to tell Piper everything.
On Piper's day off, they would either go to either's place, making out like crazy, horny teenage girls, but not letting anything go further. They both knew they wanted each other, badly. But somehow, they felt as if they haven't reached that kind of comfort with each other yet, like there's still something missing for them to be able to go past that point. But surprisingly, especially for Alex, she was fine with it. Because right now, it wasn't their physicality that was binding her and Piper together, it was way more than that, and somehow, she liked that thought better.
Alex knew something's changed in her. She still had nightmares. Every now and then she would still remember... would still feel like her chest will explode from the pain. But she no longer went to bed wishing the next day wouldn't come anymore. She used to think there was no one to live this life for anymore, not even Nicky, but that wasn't the case now.
If there was one trait that Piper and Alex didn't share, it was the way they dealt with the dark. Because if Piper took comfort from it, Alex felt the exact opposite. She was terrified of the dark, literally. It reminded her of things she would rather forget, so when night would come, there was nothing more she would ever wish for but for the next day to arrive as soon as it could.
But now, she already looked forward to the next day for a very different reason. Even though she went to bed wasted every night, sometimes not conscious enough to know what she was doing, she now knew that she couldn't wait for the night to end not because of the dark itself but because a new day meant seeing Piper again. It meant seeing her beautiful smile, hearing her voice, feeling her lips against hers and her arms wrapped around hers. It meant she would again be reminded that there was still something good in her life, that there was still a meaning to it.
Alex wasn't in love with Piper. It was far from that but she liked being with her, liked the fact that the blonde seemed to feel the same way. She liked the way Piper looked at her, the way Piper acted differently around her. Piper was timid and quiet when it came to other people. But when it came to her, she was this cute, funny woman who made her laugh all the time. She rambled a lot, but in an adorable kind of way. She spoke of so many stories, (surprisingly nothing yet about herself,) and Alex always found those stories interesting.
Alex Vause wasn't in love with Piper Chapman, but she was damn close to it and with the way things were with her, she knew it was as far as she could really get.
-o-o-o-
If Piper would look back at the last couple weeks of her life, she'd know how drastically it had change due to Alex's presence. And how fucking good that drastic change was. Every day, before going to work, she would come by Alex's place and wake her up with little kisses. At first, Alex would be annoyed waking up at an ungodly hour, well for her at least, but she would eventually cave and start kissing her back. Most of the time it would cause her to go to work late, but surprisingly Red would just shrug it off and give her a knowing look.
She would then start her work better than any previous day she's had, waiting for noon to come because then Alex would arrive and pick her up for lunch. They would then spend that hour eating and talking and kissing and laughing and just having fun. She would then go back to work half-disappointed and half-excited, disappointed that she wouldn't get to see Alex again for the next 12 hours, excited that she would see Alex again for the next 12 hours.
Basically, Piper was still the same, not comfortable to talk to other people, unable to give a crap that none of them gave a crap about her because what mattered is that Alex did. She could see that Alex cared about her, about what she felt, about what she thought. And she honestly did not care about anything else except that because no one has ever cared before. But now, there was, and for reasons she still could not understand, she accepted it.
For the first couple of weeks everything went the same and everything was good. But then Alex's car arrived and somehow something has changed. It happened just a few days ago, Piper went to Alex's knowing she would see her again in the next four hours. But 12:00 came and no Alex came to the diner. Instead, she received a text from the raven-haired telling her she was somewhere and she would be back by midnight, and to say Piper was disappointed was an understatement. She had been used to her 12 o'clocks involving Alex but she had to remind herself that Alex was not her girlfriend and she should be able to do whatever the hell she wanted so she let it go and just waited for midnight to arrive.
But midnight came and no Alex showed up. There was no call or even a text. But Piper waited, an hour to be exact, before she finally accepted that Alex was not coming back. She sent Alex a million texts that night asking her where she was, telling her that she was worried, because she knew that Alex wouldn't just ditch her without any valid reason. But morning came and still there was no text from Alex. She got ready for work, and couldn't wait to come by Alex's house, hoping she' be there but she wasn't.
She didn't see Alex for the next three days.
No matter how much she ignored it, she couldn't help but worry and wonder where she was. And that's when Piper realized that as tough and confident Alex looked, she, too, was as fucked up as she was. She ignored that almost nightly drunk Alex who picked her up from work at first, telling herself she was just enjoying the free time that she already had. But eventually, Piper figured it out. The drinking, that nightmare the first time they slept together, the fact that the 'sleeping together' didn't happen again, the avoidance of certain topics about her life. Alex was running away from something, and she was running blindly.
And from the moment Piper figured that out, she knew.
She knew that she wouldn't let Alex go through whatever it was that she was going through right now alone. But she was gonna wait for her to let her in herself. She was going to wait for Alex to finally trust her the way she trusted Alex in return. She was going to wait.
Piper wasn't in love with Alex. It was far from that but she liked being with her, liked the fact that the Alex seemed to feel the same way. She liked the way Alex looked at her and the way Alex made her feel safe. Alex was barely in her presence but somehow, she didn't need that physical existence to make her feel that Alex wasn't going to let anything bad happen to her. And she fucking liked that.
Piper Chapman wasn't in love with Alex Vause, but she was damn close to it and with the way things were with her now that Alex existed in her life, she knew she wouldn't regret it if she ever came to that point.
-o-o-o-
Piper was waiting by Alex's porch when her car came to a halt in front of her house. Piper felt as if something heavy was taken off her shoulders, feeling relief wash through her that Alex was fine, and that she was finally back. She waited for her to come out of her car but a couple of minutes had passed and she was still inside. So Piper decided to finally stand up and approach Alex herself.
She went by at the driver's door and knocked on the windshield but it took a few seconds before she heard the doors unlock. Again, she waited for Alex to open the door and finally show her face, that face that Piper missed so much. But she didn't.
Right then, Piper knew something was wrong.
She decided to open the door herself and was more than surprised to see Alex's head, leaning on the steering wheel, her hands all over her face. "Oh my God, Alex?! Are you okay?" She pulled Alex's body to be able to look at her and there she saw her in her most vulnerable state yet.
Alex was, again, drunk. And for a split second, Piper was terrified at the fact that Alex drove here in this state, but she had to let that thought go because there was so much more in front of her that needed to be confronted, but not necessarily with Alex. Her eyes were red and puffy, and it was obvious that she had been crying. And more than that, Piper had finally seen it in those beautiful yet painfully sad eyes.
She'd finally seen the cry for help that she had annoyingly failed to recognize because all she ever saw was the Alex she wanted to see, the strong, independent woman that somehow she knew she needed. But she could see beyond that exterior now. Alex needed her. And it was all of her she was going to give.
After the difficulty of bringing Alex to her own bed, changing her clothes and making her comfortable, Piper had finally laid beside her, just like a repeat of the first time this ever happened, but with Alex being emotionally naked in front of her.
"Pipes, you can't stay," Alex whispered, a desperate plea for Piper to leave.
Piper had to shake her head adamantly, knowing why Alex didn't want her to stay. "If it happens again, I won't ask any more questions, Alex. I swear. Just please... let me stay with you tonight."
Alex tried fighting it, but to be honest, she was just too damn exhausted fighting every damn day of her life. And as painful as it was to voice out for her, she finally said it. "I should be the one taking care of you."
And it broke Piper's heart, hearing the pain from Alex's voice. "You'll have your turn. Right now, just go to sleep, okay? I'll be here."
And Piper had no plans of leaving... ever.
-o-o-o-
SHOUTOUTS:
valevauseman, Hot and sweet at the same time, glad I managed to make you feel those things. Haha. Thank you for that review =)
Phantomjazz, Thank you very much! Hope you'd love this chapter, too. Not my best, but I'll try harder. LMAO.
xunconsciousx, Thank you! Greatest compliment to be told that I have a 'fan' lol. And thank you for reading HLWILY, too! I'm gonna miss that one. And I'm going to tattoo your review on Chapter 3 on my forehead because it's just too good! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it =)
Sue, Thank you! You'll find out soon, girl! =)
Ellen0000, Wow, I'm glad you found that chapter worthy enough for a second read! I'm blushing, that's a really great compliment. And I'm glad you like my own version of Alex. I love Vulnerable Alex =)
elliellie1, Yeah, we will soon get there! I honestly don't know how soon, but we will! Haha. I'm glad you loved the previous chapter =)
nickkandbj, Wow, thank you! =) Hoe you like this one too =)
sara lance, Awww, thanks, girl! Your review is one of my favourites so far. Please keep them coming! And you'll find out, soon! =)
jo michael, Your reviews never fail to amaze me, man! I'm smiling like an idiot here, you know. Haha. Oh, that's really great. Yes, I am having the best times because of all the OITNB promo! *jumps up and down*
ManveerlovesVauseman, Awww, thank you very much. Hope you'd enjoy this chapter as well. You'll get to know more about Alex (and Piper) soon. =)
vausegasm, OMG thanks girl! Your review was so cute, lol. Sorry for leaving you hanging. Smut coming in the future chapters, don't worry. Haha. Thanks again! =)
Batman05, Oh, man! I just found out about that song and I can say I am now obsessed! Thank you! I had a difficulty writing this chapter but I always find the inspiration to continue whenever I would listen to that song because you were right, those lines really suit Alex and Piper here. And it's all because of you! So a loud shoutout to you because you helped made this chapter happen! =) THANK YOU!
izzielg, I'm so sorry it took this chapter long! Hope you've read the author's note above. That's my excuse. Lol. But thank you for your review! Appreciated =)
Guest (amazing story), Thank you! I'm glad you still like my own version of Alex and Piper. You're wonderful, too *blushes*
Guest (amazing chapter), Thank you! Hope you like this one, too, despite the lack of proofreading lol.
Marijn, Awww, I'm glad you found the last chapter cute. There's gonna be more of cute parts, of course, but there are also gonna be dark ones, so hopefully I will be able to manage to balance that. =) Yes, you'll find out soon what really happened to Alex. Thanks, girl!
FFChik, Yeah, I love hot and heavy Piper and Alex but I don't think that suits them in this story so here ya go. Thank you!
moanzs, Thank you for that review! Glad you liked it, although it wasn't really much a 'date'. =) Yeah, trying to unfold Alex's story slowly. Build up and all. Lol.
I3VauseMan, Don't apologize! I guess I just really am not very good at accepting compliments, haha. But I'm still very thankful. Yeah, I think the Piper and Alex here and kind of far from the Alex and Piper we're used to. I, of course, don't want those lovable personalities of them gone so I'm kind of incorporating those here bits by bits. I just really want to explore both broken Piper and Alex I don't know why. Haha.
Guest (last review), Thank you! Here's another chapter, sorry if it's a bit crappy.