A/N:
So... this chapter sucks. Haha. And a little shorter than usual.
Anyway, I thought I was gonna have a Bali-filled chapter again but I decided to just get on with the story so please forgive me? This is not a fluffy chapter. Also not angsty. So basically, it's lame. I know this is not the best chapter but it's another setup for the next chapter (but isn't every chapter is? Haha) so hopefully, you still have fun reading!
Sorry for any typos or grammatical errors. I know there have been a lot I've committed for the past couple of chapters and I could only cringe so hard. Haha.
Nothing is still mine.
16
The next couple of days in Bali were pure bliss for Alex and Piper. They've gone to almost every possible place they could visit, they've water rafted, they surfed, they mountain climbed. They found everything so exhilarating not even running out of energy every time they would go out of their hotel and explore everywhere.
But that didn't mean they did not enjoy being just inside their hotel room just as much. Sometimes, they would just sleep in and enjoy the comfort of their bed, and other times they would bask in the beauty of the view outside while they swam in the infinity pool. Most of the times though, they would do a different sort of exploration as they reacquaint themselves with each other's bodies, as if they haven't memorized it yet, their bodies and soul being meshed into one.
But it had to come. That day when their bodies would start craving for that one thing they have allowed themselves to be weak without, to have no control over. It was almost as if they had planned to feel it at the same time, starting to get antsy and restless the moment the other began to feel it, too.
The only difference was that Alex tried to fight it, while Piper wanted to give in.
"Alex, come on. When was the last time you shot some? I'm really starting to feel a little edgy. I just need something to take that edge off," Piper had been convincing Alex since she's woken up that day but Alex would keep brushing her off, as if Piper hadn't noticed that she was itching to use, too.
"Piper..." Alex tried to put in some conviction in her tone but it came out so bleak, she might have just as well handed Piper the drugs.
"Do not tell me you don't want it. 'Coz you've been so irritable since yesterday. I know you're feeling it, too," Piper said, still trying to coax Alex into this. She could see the hesitation in her girlfriend's eyes, and it confused her coz Alex has never hesitated before. She was pacing back and forth in front of Alex, who was sitting on their bed, her hands rubbing her face tensely.
"Piper, do you know where we are? If we get caught with it, it could mean life imprisonment or death penalty. Do you really wanna risk your life just for a small amount?"
"You've brought drugs in and out of here for years and you never got caught."
The moment these words slipped out of Piper's mouth, Alex was caught speechless. If Piper was on her right mind, she would have never brought up Alex's former job, she would have never usedit against her. And that only fuelled Alex's resolve to say no, even though her skin was crawling and she felt as if her arm muscles wanted to fly out of her own body. She knew Piper was feeling it, too, and she was goddamned scared because she didn't know if she was going to handle it.
But Alex knew better now. She couldn't give in.
"We can't. Let's just sleep it off. Come on, please." Alex tried to reach out for Piper but the blonde swatted her arms away as she stepped back.
"Alex, what the hell is wrong with you?! All I'm asking is just a small amount, why are you being like this?" Piper asked tensely, still pacing back and forth, unable to stay still because if she did, it would only drive her crazier.
"Piper, we have to stop doing this."
"Have to stop what?! You were the one who told me this was what helped you get over your shit. And it did the same to me. Now you wanna take away the only thing that's helping us get our shit together?"
Alex felt as if she was slapped in the face right then because she was once again reminded that this was all on her. If she hadn't started any of it, they wouldn't be in this situation right now. And it almost made her wanna run and just hide, because she was too weak to fight this on her own. Not only did the addiction have a control over her, Piper had, too. And she wasn't sure if she could still refuse once the blonde started going through the peak of her withdrawal. She knew how terrifying that was but to witness Piper go through it would be much, much worse.
But she had to at least try.
"No, it's not doing anything even remotely close to that! Piper, listen to me-"
"No, don't." Piper took another step backwards, and the look she gave Alex made the raven-haired inhale sharply because Piper had never looked at her this way before. And Alex had to look away as Piper went to lie on her side of the bed, turning her back on her, because she couldn't bear to look at her like this. Piper hated her. And Alex couldn't do anything else but to stand there, frozen to her spot.
-o-o-o-
Piper wouldn't talk to Alex the whole day. Alex could see that she was struggling and she hated that she couldn't do anything about it. For a while, Alex wanted to just give her something, anything just so the withdrawal symptoms would stop. It wouldn't be hard since she still had connections that would bring her anything she would ask for in just a snap. But she had the image of Piper tending to the young boy they met on their second day in Bali and with that image alone, she knew that this would all be worth it in the end.
It was night time when Alex noticed Piper in bed curled up in a fetal position. She still had her back turned on her and as Alex slowly approached her, she noticed that Piper was shaking slightly. Alex almost ran towards her, this sight of Piper emotionally breaking her. "Pipes..." She slowly guided Piper's body to face her and it was probably the most painful thing Alex had to see. Piper was hugging herself shaking, while tears streamed from her eyes, discomfort evident on her face. "God, baby," Alex said worriedly as she helped Piper to sit up, resting her body against the headboard.
"Alex, I can't." Piper kept shaking her head, as if trying to keep it together but failing miserably.
Alex started panicking because Piper was looking her in the eye, an unspoken plea for her to get her out of her misery, for her to do something, but there was nothing Alex could do except tell Piper what she thought she needed to hear. "I know, Pipes. I know." She wiped the beads of sweat trickling down the sides of her face with her hands. "But we can't keep doing that. We have got to stop."
Piper had shut her eyes this time around, a poor attempt to stop the tears, but she was feeling everything in every inch of her skin that it was hard to keep her tears from falling. "Everything hurts."
And just like that, every pain Alex was feeling, too, had been magnified. Because it wasn't just her own pain anymore, it was Piper's, too, and somehow, that just made it a hundred times worse. "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, Pipes." Alex had pressed her forehead against Piper's while she held her close to her. "We'll get through this, okay? Everything's going to be fine. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
Piper just nodded quietly, unsure how she was gonna believe Alex this time when she was feeling the exact opposite of what she just promised her. How was everything going to be fine when Alex had just decided to take away the one thing that was keeping them fine in the first place? But she still trusted Alex. And even if she didn't anymore, she had no other choice but to do just that anyway. "I wanna go home," she suddenly whispered, no longer wanting to be in this place. If they weren't here, Alex and she probably wouldn't be in this situation right now.
"What?" Alex had pulled away slightly, surprised by Piper's sudden decision.
"Take me home. Please. I wanna go home," Piper had started crying again, suddenly feeling as if this place had become so unfamiliar to her, coming to a point where she's started questioning why she's even come here in the first place.
"Okay... okay sshhh," Alex kissed Piper's head letting her girlfriend bury her face on the crook of her neck. "Please stop crying, I'm taking you home."
-o-o-o-
Alex and Piper had just gotten home about an hour ago and they laid sleeping in their bed, exhaustedly, limbs and arms tangled together, clothes left unchanged, when Alex was roused by a soft thumping against her door. She was about to ignore it but then the knocks grew a little bit more incessantly so as much as it pissed her off not having been given a peaceful and uninterrupted slumber, she got out of bed and walked towards the door.
And there stood the last person she thought she'd see.
"Lorna?" Alex asked, adjusting her glasses that were sliding down her nose. "What are you... what are you doing here? N-Nicky isn't here."
"I know," Lorna said, chuckling a little nervously as she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.
Alex noticed something off about her but attributed it to the fact that she hadn't really talked to her in over two months now. To say this was uncomfortable would be putting it lightly. Alex had never been alone with Lorna before. Either Nicky would be there, or Piper, or both of them.
Lorna was a great woman in Alex's opinion but she'd never let herself really get close to her given the circumstances, Nicky undeniably in-love with her but Lorna being unfortunately engaged to some guy. Alex liked Lorna. But sooner or later, she's gonna be Nicky's undoing and she wasn't sure if she could still like her if that happened.
"Oh," was the only response Alex could muster as she shifted her weight on her other feet. "So... what brought you here then?" she asked again, just realizing that it was almost one o'clock in the morning and if she wasn't here for Nicky, then there really was no reason for her to be here at all.
"I just... I wanted to talk to you."
Alex was surprised, but she didn't really show it. Instead she nodded and got out of the way so Lorna could come in. "Okay. Come on in, then."
"No," Lorna said, adamantly shaking her head. "It won't take long. I'm fine here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," she nodded her head. "Ahm," Lorna breathed deeply before she looked at Alex, who was easily more than a foot taller than her. "Alex, I know this is none of my business. But I care for Nicky and I know just how much she cares for you."
Alex nodded, finally figuring out what Lorna came here for. Of course, it was going to be her current relationship with Nicky.
"She's just trying to look out for you. And yeah, maybe you're a grown up and that you can take care of yourself but Nicky is your best friend, and she's bound to get worried if she thinks that something is... something is wrong."
Alex stayed quiet all the time, expecting anger to come anytime soon, at the obviously meddling in her life. But it didn't come. Instead, she found herself faced with the guilt of doing everything she's done to Nicky and she was actually surprised that Lorna was not yelling at her right now.
"I just wish... you could give her a chance to be there for you. She hasn't been sleeping most nights, worrying." Lorna paused, seemingly thinking of what else to say. "I know that you care for her, too. She misses you, Alex. She needs her best friend back."
Alex felt a lump form in her throat and she was suddenly out of words to say. But she could see that Lorna was waiting for her to say something, so she had to swallow hard just to be able to stop the crack in her voice she knew was gonna happen if she didn't. "Th-thanks, Lorna. I'll talk to her."
Lorna nodded. For a while, they just stood there, waiting for each other to say something else.
"There's another reason why I'm here," Lorna suddenly blurted out, and Alex wasn't sure if she was just seeing things or Lorna really did look like she was about to cry.
"What is it?"
"I'm getting married tomorrow."
"What?" Alex asked, not expecting the night to turn into one of her most dreaded moments ever. She knew this was going to happen. She's been waiting to hear it from Nicky but with other things that had occupied her mind lately and the fact that she hadn't really talked to Nicky properly in a while, she never thought that this was coming sooner than she would've thought so.
"Yeah," a tear had escaped Lorna but she immediately wiped it away as she tried to keep a strong facade in front of Alex. "I... I'm getting married," she again said, so softly this time Alex wasn't sure if it really was what came out of her mouth. "So... I... I don't know if I'll still be around." Lorna was stammering now, and her eyes filled with tears Alex couldn't help but think that Nicky must be feeling a thousand times worse right now.
"Nicky," Alex suddenly said, "Where is she?" she asked, not caring anymore for what Lorna has to say. That dislike she's been expecting to feel towards Lorna once this happened, it was suddenly there. And she knew she had to get out of there before she could say something that she would regret.
"I don't know..." Lorna was crying now, but Alex still couldn't bring herself to give a rat's ass about it. She needed to see Nicky. Nicky needed her now. "I haven't seen her since..."
"Since you told her," Alex completed Lorna's sentence for her. "Lorna, look. I appreciate you coming here. Maybe I don't have the right to say anything else, because I've been an asshole to Nicky for as long as I can remember, but you... you fucked up, too." Alex knew there was no need for her to tell Lorna that, she could see that this was hurting her, too. But she suddenly couldn't stop the anger that bubbled inside her. "You knew this was gonna happen eventually, but you led her on anyway. You made her think that it was gonna be okay when you fully knew that it wasn't. And in the end it was just going to hurt you both even worse."
Lorna's tears kept flowing from her eyes but she didn't bother wiping them anymore. "I know. And I feel... terrible. That's why I hope you realize, that all of those you just told me, I can say the same to you and Piper, too. And I'm telling you, if you don't want whatever is happening to both of you to come to this point, you have to stop it now. Before it's too late."
This rendered Alex speechless because she wasn't expecting that what she told Lorna was gonna blow right in her face. And so she just stood there, looking at Lorna take a step backwards from her.
"You're a good person, Alex. I know you'd be there for Nicky. And I also know you're not gonna let the same thing happen to you and Piper, get hurt a thousand times worse because of a decision you think is gonna work for the better when you know that it's gonna do otherwise." She then turned around and walked slowly, but then turned back at Alex another time, eyes still brimming with tears. "I'm sorry," she said shaking her head. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I really, really didn't wanna hurt her."
And before Alex could say anything else, Lorna was out of her sight.
It took Alex quite a while to know what she was supposed to do next. And when she did, she immediately went back inside her room and sat gently beside Piper. For a few moments, she just sat there, staring at her. She looked so peaceful like this, as if she hasn't gotten through anything that had made her life turn upside down. It looked as if she wasn't carrying anything heavy, as if everything would be perfect when she woke up.
But Alex knew that this wasn't the case. Right behind these peaceful exterior are all the fucked up things about Piper hidden behind a seemingly peaceful sleep. The moment she would wake up, she would go back to the woman Alex made her to be again – a person running away from a reality she didn't know how to face, driven by an addiction not only to chemical drugs but also to her need for everything to be all about her and Alex, a person detached from the rest of the world and detached from her own self.
Alex wanted all of it to stop. She was the one who started all of this, and she was the one who needed to end it. But she didn't know how, because she was battling with the same enemy as well. Alex was struggling, too, and she was more than scared that eventually, she would lose to this fight, and would lose Piper in the process. And that just wasn't an option she would willingly take.
Piper suddenly stirred and turned to her side, showing the newly-inked fish tattoo on her nape. Alex slowly brought her hand to softly caress it, the memory of when Piper got it flashing to her.
"Alex, they're beautiful!" exclaimed Piper once she and Alex got out of the water. They were back in their hotel room, having just finished scuba diving and Piper couldn't get her mind off the clarion angelfish they'd come across, swearing to Alex they're the most beautiful fish she'd seen so far. Not that she's seen a lot, anyway.
"I know, right?" Alex agreed, as she exhaustedly laid down on their bed. She hasn't had a proper rest ever since they arrived in Bali and right now she just wanted to sleep and forget the world for a while.
"I wanna see them again," Piper said dreamily, walking towards the bed and then sitting beside her girlfriend. She tucked a few strands of hair that was on Alex's face behind her ear, before caressing her jaw helping her relax even more.
"We can do it again, babe. But right now, can we get some sleep for a while? I'm fucking tired." She then closed her eyes when she felt the weight of Piper on top of her. She smiled as she opened one eye, seeing Piper staring sheepishly at her. "What?"
"Those fish are always going to remind me of you now."
"Oh, great. Now I look like a fish?" Alex closed her eyes again with a smile still etched on her face, as she rubbed her hands up and down Piper's back.
"No. It's just... they're beautiful. And you're beautiful." Piper paused, content on just staring at Alex's face for a while, feeling the rise and fall of her chest against her, her heart beating rapidly against her chest, knowing just how much that heart was beating for her.
Alex raised her head slightly to drop a kiss on top of Piper's head. "That's sweet, babe. But you're beautiful. I'm the hot one," she chuckled, hearing Piper laugh with her. "Now, can we go to bed? I really wanna sleep."
"Wait!" Piper exclaimed, an idea suddenly racking her brain. She could see that Alex was tired but she felt restless, like her mind and body didn't want to rest right now.
"What?" Alex still asked patiently, even though she could barely open her eyes, and mouth for that matter.
"I want a tattoo."
"What?" Alex has shifted her weight on her elbows now, looking at Piper who had gotten off of her and had sat beside her, excitement filling her eyes. "A tattoo? Are you serious?"
"Yes! I want the fish tattooed on me."
Alex chuckled, finding the idea of Piper wanting to put permanent ink on any part of her body ridiculous. "I'm sure you'll eventually get over it, Pipes. Let's just get henna or something."
"Alex, I don't want a henna. I want a tattoo. I've been wanting to get one since like forever but I didn't know what I wanted. Now, I do. So please? Can we get me one?" she looked at Alex with those doe eyes again, waiting like a child to be given the toy she was requesting for.
Alex looked at Piper intently, making sure that she was indeed sure of it. When she saw no hesitation on Piper's eyes, she suddenly decided that it would make Piper happy. Plus, it would be so hot to see her with a tattoo. "Fine, we'll get one as soon as we go back home."
"What? No, I wanna get one now."
"Now? Piper, we don't know anything about the tattoo places in here. What if you get infection or something? I'm not gonna risk that."
"Then we'll ask around, I'm sure they can lead us to a safe tattoo parlor in here somewhere."
"Pipes..."
"Please, baby?"
Alex then chuckled before shaking her head, the excitement of Piper radiating off of her body and was being transferred to hers. "You're cute when you get all determined and excited."
"So?" Piper asked, looking at Alex expectantly.
"Fine, fine. We'll get one. Here."
Piper squealed as she flung her arms around Alex, kissing her sloppily all over her face. "You're the best! I love you!" She pressed another kiss on Alex's lips this time, before looking up as if thinking. "Hm, I think I'm gonna have it put on my nape."
"Nape? What's the point of getting a tattoo that no one else is gonna see, not even you?"
"Well, it's gonna be even more special because no one else can see it, unless I deliberately show them. It's just gonna be our thing, you know? Like we're the only ones who know about it. And the point is I know it's there... even if I don't see it. It's always going to be a part of me now. Just like you."
Alex smiled at the thought, remembering how happy Piper was after she got the tattoo. That was the Piper Alex always wanted to see, a happy, carefree Piper. Not the one who carried the world in her shoulder. Not the one who would have nightmares at night because of her own family. Not the one struggling to live a normal life because of an addiction she couldn't rid of.
But she knew it was going to be tough. But even so, even if it was gonna take every ounce of her being just so she and Piper could get through this, she would sacrifice everything she could just so she couldn't lose to this fight. She didn't know how. But she would figure it out. For Piper. Eventually.
But right now, there was another person who needed her. And it was about damn time, Alex showed up.
"Pipes," she gently nudged Piper as she leaned down to press a soft kiss on her temple. Piper stirred, slowly opening her eyes. "I gotta go see Nicky."
"What?" Piper asked, still half-asleep as she tried to sit up. She reached for her phone as she checked for the time. "Alex, it's one o'clock in the morning. What happened? Is she okay?"
Alex shook her head. "Yeah, everything's fine, don't worry. I just really need to see her. Are you gonna be okay here alone for a while?"
Piper nodded. "Of course, yeah. I'll wait up."
"No, you don't have to. Just go back to sleep, I might spend the night with her." Alex didn't want to leave Piper but she also knew that she'd probably need to spend the rest of the night with Nicky. So as much as she hated to go, she had to force herself for the sake of her best friend.
"Al, what's going on?" Piper asked, worry slowly seeping through her.
"Lorna's getting married today."
"Oh my God," Piper whispered. "Okay, you do what you have to do. Tell her I love her, okay?"
"Yeah," Alex kissed Piper again before she got up. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Are you sure you're gonna be fine?"
"Yes, babe. I'm gonna be fine. Go, Nicky needs you."
Alex knew Piper needed her, too. There was still so much they needed to talk about, the heaviness of their last conversation in Bali still hanging on their shoulders. But she could only do one at a time. And right now, she and Piper was just gonna have to talk about all of it in the morning.
-o-o-o-
When Alex reached Nicky's house, she was relieved to see that her lights were on. Before she came in here, she was afraid that Nicky was out, spending her time with God knows who, but evidently, she decided to stay at home.
Alex knocked but minutes had passed and there was no Nicky. "Nicky, it's me! Open up!" she yelled outside the door, not too loud to wake and piss anybody off, but loud enough so Nicky could hear her. "I know you're in there, come on. Please." Alex banged on the door again, and finally she could hear shuffling inside and she waited but a few seconds later, she heard a loud crash. "Shit!"
She suddenly paced back and forth, thinking of how she could get in when she remembered the spare key that Nicky always left underneath the rug at her door. Alex cursed herself for not thinking about it immediately as she crouched down to check if it was still there. True enough, it was there. Letting out a sigh of relief, she picked the key up and opened Nicky's door before hurriedly making her way inside.
But Alex was frozen to her spot with the sight that welcomed her. On the floor were broken pieces of glass and only a few steps away was Nicky, sitting with her head on the table, bottles of beer lying around. "Fuck," Alex whispered to herself as she carefully walked towards Nicky.
At first, Alex just stood beside Nicky, feeling her heart break at the sight. She has never seen her this way ever before, probably because her best friend's always been the kind to deflect from any kind of emotional connection with any girl she ever dated. With her, it was always just about the physicality of it all, never letting it go beyond that. And Alex understood because she's been there, too. It was their way of taking care of their hearts that have already been crushed once by the people they thought should have taken care of it in the first place.
But Nicky had failed to do that with Lorna. She has broken all the norms she's had when it came to women, even though she knew that Lorna wasn't the right person to do that for, not because she wasn't great for Nicky, but because she already decided to commit herself to someone else.
Now, here she was, right in front of Alex, going through a heart break she might have never realized she'd eventually go through on any given day. And Alex just stood there, doing nothing.
"You just gonna stand there like an idiot or what?" Nicky suddenly said, causing Alex to slightly jump up.
"Jesus Christ," she said, a little surprised.
"I'm not Jesus, my name is Nicky," Nicky said, slurred, as she lifted her head up and looked at Alex. "What are you doing here?"
Alex sighed before sitting in the chair across Nicky. "I'm here to baby-sit you. You look like shit."
Nicky smirked. "Thanks." She once again leaned her head on her arm that was now resting on the table. "So this is what it feels like, huh?"
"What?" Alex said, not clearly understanding what Nicky said.
Nicky then raised her head and looked Alex in the eye. "To have your heart broken." She tapped on her chest with her fist, looking down for a bit before returning her gaze to Alex. "This is what it feels like."
Alex bowed, unable to look at Nicky this way. She could feel her hurting and it hurt her, too. "Nicky, you're gonna find someone else."
"But I don't want someone else. I want her."
"I know. But she's getting married."
"Do you think I don't fucking know that?! Thanks for rubbing it in, asshole."
"Come on Nick, you know I didn't mean it like that."
Nicky went back to her old position, tucking her head on her arm, hiding her face. "How do I make this go away? It fucking hurts, Alex."
"I'm probably the last person you wanna be asking that question," Alex answered softly, thinking of how she was dealing with her own heartbreak. "But I don't know, maybe you should try fucking other women again, you know? And probably steer clear from engaged ones, this time around?" When Nicky did not respond, Alex stood up and went to her side. "You're Nicky Fucking Nichols. You're gonna get through this. You have Red and Piper." she said, rubbing Nicky's back. "You have me," Alex then added, finally realizing that if there was one person aside from Piper who she wouldn't ever leave whatever the hell happened, it was Nicky. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
Nicky did not protest as she let Alex help her up, slinging her arms over her shoulder. Since she was obviously much shorter than Alex, Nicky decided to just wrap her arm around Alex's waist, feeling her legs wobble as she took steps. "You know I'm never gonna make you forget how sappy you are to me right now ever, right?" Nicky suddenly asked while they walked.
Alex chuckled, a tiny bit of happiness coursing through her seeing that Nicky could still make jokes no matter how much pain she was going through right now. "You're not even gonna remember this when you wake up, dumbass."
When they reached her room, Alex again helped Nicky lay down on her bed, grasping both her ankles to lift her legs on top of it. She then put a blanket over her and watched as her breathing started to become even, finally succumbing to sleep.
"Jesus, I never thought I'd one day tuck you in. That's something I'll never make you forget," Alex said to Nicky, more to herself since her best friend was obviously asleep now, shaking her head. And after making sure that Nicky was fast asleep, Alex sat down on the floor and settled her back against the side of Nicky's bed. "Good night, Nick," she whispered, even though she knew that Nicky wasn't going to hear her anyway. She then rested her head on Nicky's bed as she closed her eyes, mentally preparing for the day she was gonna have to face once she opened them up again.
-o-o-o-
SHOUTOUTS:
Elliellie1, Thank you, I'm happy that you loved it! Drugs plot will be over soon. Hopefully. Haha. =)
BL-is-love, Sorry if this chapter isn't what you expected (basing on your review) haha. But hopefully it did not disappoint much. Anyway, I loved your review! And if I'm not mistaken, this is your first time leaving one? So thank you, and glad to meet you! Haha. =)
rach5878, And your review made me so unbelievably happy as well! You are the sweetest for saying that! I am very flattered and I really can't say how much I wanna hug you right now. Haha! Sorry if the updates aren't coming fast enough, but hopefully the worth is worth it. Thank you again. I will have your review tattooed on my forehead if only it's possible. Haha! =)
Guest (chapter was amazing), You're the amazing one, my friend! I'm glad you like where this story is going so far. Haha. Thank you for the review! Have an awesome day! =)
Joey2920, Whew! Thank you that you weren't disappointed with the last chapter! Hopefully, you'd feel the same way for this chapter. Haha. Sorry for the Nicky part, though. I had to do it. =( Anyway, thank you for that review! =)
Budda1127, You, my friend, have left me "speechless" once again. You always leave out great reviews and I almost always don't know what to say back. So, I'm just gonna thank you again (I hope you're not yet tired of reading the same response from me over and over again) but really, I don't think any response will be good enough for the amazing and awesome reviews that you leave for this story. I am very flattered, and I really, really wanna thank you again! =)
vausegasm, Hahaha, I just realized that you don't trust me anymore, huh. Can't say I blame you, though. But don't worry, from now on, my warnings will be on point so you'll know when to expect every time I post a chapter. But anyway, good to know that you're finally calm (I can see that) hopefully, you'd still stay calm for this chapter. Thank you for yet another amazing review! =)
SheriLovey, I'm glad you loved the previous chapter, even the little bits! Yeah, happy Vauseman is awesome! I'm sorry that it's very rare in this fan fiction, but I try sometimes. Haha! Anyway, apologies for no added Bali fun time. I tried, but my time wouldn't let me stretch the story even more than I already planned it to be. So, sorry =(
Guest (my heart just melted), Hey, just want to let you know that even if your review is just a smiley, I would appreciate it very much so there's really no need to apologize. =) Thank you, by the way. And I'm glad I could help you chill down in some ways. Hope you're feeling great today! =)
lia, I'm glad you liked them! And yes, I love that song very much, too! =) Bali is a great place, even though I haven't really been there. Haha. And it's important to Vauseman in the real series so I thought I could add it here as well. Thank you for your kind review!
huggerguest, Haha! Sorry for taking all your words but I'm glad you got them back just enough for a Chapter 15 review! I'd understand if you don't leave one for this chapter again. Just knowing you're still reading this is enough. And don't call your review lame, because I always appreciate them. Thank you! =)
WB79, Thank you! I love giving out long chapters. And sorry if things are still a little rough for our loves. Please be patient with me. Haha. =))
sara lance, I hope you like the Alex and Nicky interaction even if it's from a terrible circumstance. And I'm glad that you loved the chapter and I totally agree with Alex being a cute little puppy. Haha! Sorry that there's no more vacation fun in this chapter =( But thank you for that review!
FFChik, Yes, it's about time Alex came to her senses, it can only take too long. Thank you for another wonderful review! =))
ManveerlovesVauseman, I'm glad you loved those things. Hopefully, you'll love this chapter as well even though it isn't as happy as the previous chapter. Thank you for another review! =)
izzielg, Oh, sorry if the previous chapter was a little too sappy for your own liking. Hopefully this chapter and the upcoming ones can make up for that, haha. Anyway, thank you for letting me know! =)
schillingarmy, I'm so sorry that that was just about the Bali happenings. I wanted to add more but my time wouldn't let me get much into it, so again, I'm sorry if I have disappointed you. But thank you, for that review and I'm glad that you liked the previous chapter. Have an awesome day! =)
Marauder-Lu, A very Merry Christmas indeed! Although, it's been snatched from you too soon because of this chapter, I think? Sorry. Haha. Wow, I'm glad to know that Chapter 15 is one of your favourite chapters. Thank you very much, and you made me smile a lot, too. Keep smiling, my dear! =)
Vausemaniac, Yeah, it's time Alex finally came to her senses, right? Sorry though if this chapter didn't contain more fluff as promised =( I haven't heard of Lady Chatterley's Lover until you mentioned it but I'll be sure to check it out when I get the time, thank you for that! And I totally agree about the preview thingy. I mean, I've never sent reviews using my account but I think that's pretty much a great idea. Haha.
moanzs, Sorry had to do this chapter to Nicky. Although it had to happen at some point. I'm glad you liked the previous chapter, I just realized that it could have been better but you liked it anyway, so it's cool. Haha. And I so, so agree with your comment about spoilers. Some people like it though and it's kind of weird. To each his own. Haha. Oh my gosh, I wanna say sorry to your friend but also thank you for giving my story time. Thanks to you, too, for the review! =)