She knew this was coming, doctors and nurses had told her and she even ventured to read a bunch of medical articles. She was aware of the inevitable, but nothing could've prepared Piper for what she experienced when she massaged her scalp with shampoo and was left with a handful of blonde locks.

Grieving and despondent, the blonde tried in vain to fight back the tears that were already escaping her azure eyes. It was stupid to think that something as common as hair was this important for the confidence of a human being.

Nobody stops to think about the little details, like this one. Perhaps, it didn't have to matter that much, because so many people battled with the same repercussions. Others chose to cut their hair for fun, and really, it's not something out of this world, but Piper figured that everyone would ogle her.

Somehow, the world seemed different now. Her world had changed forever. Hot water still cascading down her thinning body was not acknowledged now. Her body felt numb and Piper was reluctant to ever leave the strangely comforting solitude of her shower.

What was the point of fighting against this... monster? This disease that claimed so many lives? She might as well give in to this part of her. Maybe it would spare everyone a long suffering… if she slit her wrists or overdosed, they wouldn't have to watch her slowly decay to her untimely death.

Yeah,of course it was selfish, but who isn't selfish in those situations? All of her family and each and every friend would grief, and maybe rage, but it'd be fast.

Piper sat down on the cold tile floor, hugging her legs as she let her dripping hopelessness take over every corner of her lost mind. Fantasizing about tragedy was, as sick as it sounds, cathartic. She could just reach out for something sharp enough…

xxxxxx

Alex climbed her way up to Piper's room, as usual. She expected to see her blonde friend sitting in bed, reading, or fast asleep, dreaming of other worlds. Maybe even watching some crappy TV show.

The last three weeks have been the same when it's not Chemo day: Alex climbs up early in the morning and spends all day locked up with Piper on her room, talking, drawing, arguing, laughing, fighting, reading and writing.

Piper tended to be easily annoyed by Alex's antics, and it took everything Alex had to keep her temper from raising. She knew Piper was dangerous when she was angry and Alex really tried to please her on every little thing she wanted. But sometimes, Piper was a downright bitch. There were no other words to adjectivize her, so, of course, Alex would snap and retort and whenever the brunette tried to angrily storm off, Piper simply wrapped her arms around her waist, from Alex's back.

And there were no words needed. Alex understood everything that Piper was going through with that little gesture and the quiet sobs that followed. So Alex would turn around and wrap Piper in a tight embrace until she felt better. Until she fell asleep, so Alex could climb back down to sleep on Piper's garage, or if she was lucky, Nicky's place.

Right now, Piper wasn't doing any of the usual, so Alex stood silently, trying to listen if she was outside, when she heard the water running and relaxed, taking a book from Piper's shelves and began to read, waiting for the blonde to finish her shower.

After twenty five minutes, Alex began feeling concerned, so she knocked softly on the bathroom door.

No response.

Alex's throat tightened and her heart beat furiously inside her ribcage when Piper failed to answer to her knocks. At first, they were soft and cautious, but they quickly turned to frantic pounding.

The lanky girl decided to force the door and she rummaged through Piper's bedroom, trying to find something useful for the task at hand. She found her friend's library card and jammed it desperately between the frame and the door, trying to unlock the door. After a couple of tries, she did it and rushed inside.

Piper was still sitting on the floor, her skin was red from all the hot water and her eyes were fixed on something past Alex that she couldn't see. The brunette swallowed thickly and immediately turned off the tap.

Piper didn't move, didn't react, her legs were tucked to her chest and Alex gently shook her shoulder. "Pipes?" Unresponsive.

Alex grabbed a fresh towel from the shelve and sat down next to her friend, covering her with the towel and wrapping her arm protectively around her shoulder, before squatting in front of Piper and covering her in a warm, shaky embrace.

"God, Piper" Alex choked, "You really scared me, kid," she mumbled.

At least fifteen more minutes passed and Alex's legs were killing her, but she refused to move. It was when she felt Piper shaking violently with cold that she spoke again.

"Come on, Pipes, we need to get you warm, you cannot get sick, come on," Alex tenderly spoke to her broken friend.

Piper suddenly turned her head upwards to meet Alex's eyes, seeking for something… anything and there it was on Alex's eyes. Love. The brunette smiled softly at her friend and helped her up.

She took Piper to her bed and proceeded to dry her up before gently putting on panties and bra. Alex felt relieved after being scared to death, so her muscles were shaking uncontrollably due to all the adrenaline that was released to her bloodflow.

"Is it okay if I finish dressing you in a bit?" she questioned panting slightly. Piper nodded.

Alex lied down next to Piper, facing upwards and taking deep breaths and blinking rapidly to try to avoid crying. Not now, not in front of her. Piper turned around and wrapped her arm around Alex's waist, burying her head on her friend's neck.

Alex moved Piper a bit to hug her and leaned in closer to her friend's barely-there touch on her neck. "I'm sorry," the blonde whispered.

"I know," Alex breathed.

"..."

"..."

"It's my hair… it's already falling off," Piper finally confessed with pain in her voice and Alex's heart broke into a million pieces for the nth occasion.

xxxxxx

This was one of those rare good days for Piper. She was nausea-free and her state of mind was somewhat relaxed. She was totally getting used to the sensation of the medications running through her veins and the day was warm and sunny.

Alex hadn't been to her chemotherapy appointments with her because her mother had insisted it was her duty. And Piper thanked her, really, but she would rather be with Alex because she was funny and always made her feel better. Her mother, on the other hand, was always sulky and trying to avoid conversation with her daughter whenever she started talking about death.

Carol would always excuse herself for a bit and went to silently cry in the bathroom, while stealthily sipping whatever her choice of poison was that particular day. So Piper had made a new friend, named Sophie.

Strangely, but luckily enough, they shared the same chemotherapy schedule, so they would always chat and banter. It was easy for Piper to get along with her, and lately she'd piss off her mother so she could have some alone time with her new friend. They got along easily and started to know more about each other.

Sophie had dark-red hair, pale skin and rosy cheeks that were losing its crimson color little by little. She reminded Piper of Alex, because she had that kind of badass vibe, but Sophie was always flirting with Piper, casually inserting soft innuendos into everything Piper said.

And Piper enjoyed that kind of attention because if she was honest, she had liked Sophie since the moment she laid eyes on her, with her tight blue jeans and a ripped The Who shirt, and an attitude that was only matched with the one of her raven haired friend.

"You know, Piper?" she'd frequently say, "You'll be my girlfriend someday," and she'd wink seductively before bursting into laughter upon seeing Piper's range of expressions, from surprise to annoyment. Sophie enjoyed the blonde's company, because her caregiver was her big brother who had only been with her on the first chemo because he declared that sick people made him depressed and he wouldn't be able to take it, so he would take Sophie in and wait the whole 5+ hours outside or in the nearby café.

So, Sophie was almost always on her own, listening to music on her headphones on full volume and playing air drums while making funny faces or pretending to direct an orchestra, anything necessary to make Piper laugh. And she managed to do it, a lot.

Sophie had dropped out of high school because she said she was not cut out for that crap, and she dedicated her time to skating. That was what she wanted to do professionally. She had a youtube channel with a few good videos about different tricks she could do. And this made Piper curious to know more about this force of nature. The same way she'd been always curious about Alex, she was interested on knowing more about Sophie.

On Piper's bad chemo days, she'd just sit beside the blonde and pout sarcastically. If Piper got angry, Sophie would just shrug and walk away calmly, only to return half an hour later to sit beside Piper again and stare at her in total silence until Piper snapped and she would take advantage of it by casually taking her hands. Luckily, their chemotherapy bags were hung in carriers with wheels so they were able to walk from here to there as they pleased, as long as they didn't cause any trouble.

"You've got no chill, Piper," she'd say and walk away again until Piper was the one who looked for her. That's when she'd smirk in a smug way and make Piper talk about any stupid topic she'd had in mind or make her ride her skateboard for a little bit, inside Sophie's hospital room, before both got caught and were told that it was prohibited. They'd laugh it off and continued talking until Piper needed to go, and Sophie remained there.

The redhead girl wore beanies all the time, she had like fifty different models because she loved them so much, and as she pointed out to Piper today, "They'll actually be useful now, don't you think?" She shrugged as Piper debated between crying and laughter.

"I guess they are," Piper mock-pouted adoringly, batting her eyelashes for added effect.

Sophie bit the inside of her lip, trying to hold her laughter but failed when Piper looked offended at her attempt.

"Oh gosh, Piper, you're too cute, you know that?" The red-headed blurted out, locking her eyes with the blonde's and leaning in slowly.

Piper shook her head slightly and a charming shade of pink adorned her cheeks as she kept still, watching Sophie getting closer and closer, until their lips collided and Piper froze, her eyes still open in shock at what was actually happening.

She tried to swallow and remembered that you're supposed to close your eyes when somebody kisses you, so she did, and returned the kiss, slowly.

Kissing someone feels nice; it's a pleasant sensation and Piper was buzzing with energy. Kissing Sophie made sense in that moment, and she gave in to the experience of another pair of lips over hers.

She suddenly thought about what Alex would do, and Piper wondered what her raven haired friend would say to her about this particular experience. Somehow, Alex's opinion was very important to her, so she wasn't enjoying the kiss that much because she was thinking about her best friend and her signature raised brow.

Sophie broke the kiss when they needed air and cupped Piper's cheek with her IV-free hand. "You're very beautiful, Piper," she panted with gruff voice.

"My hair's already falling out, so, I won't be," Piper blurted, her mind traveled back to the day that Alex pulled her out of her dark corner and it must have shown on her features because Sophie kissed her again, to make her feel better.

And Piper felt better, because Sophie was nice and funny and interested in her, but also because she remembered how Alex had been there for her, and how understanding she had been. The way her green eyes glowed with worry and how protected she felt whenever her friend hugged her.

"Here," the red-head took off her gray beanie and put it on Piper's thinning hair.

"You look so much better on it than me," she smiled, making Piper smile too.

"Piper, they're ready to take out your IV," Carol's voice startled her, so she waved goodbye to Sophie and smiled all the way back to her room.

xxxxxx

As soon as they arrived home, Piper lied down on her bed, already tired, a small smile was still plastered on her face when Alex climbed up.

"Hey, kid," Alex greeted her with her sultry voice, strangely wearing a baseball cap Piper had never seen before.

Piper smiled to her friend, brow furrowed, "What's with the cap, Al?" she questioned her friend as she entered completely.

"Oh, you know… it's to cover my new look," the brunette replied, shrugging.

"What? Why?" Piper sat down on her bed, trying to see what her friend meant.

"Well, you see…" Alex began taking off her cap, "My best friend is starting to lose her hair, so I lost mine so she feels better," she finished, blushing a little.

Piper's eyes widened in horror. Alex's black mane was gone and in front of her was a girl with emerald eyes and a pixie cut. The blonde shook her head embarrassed.

"Alex!" she whisper screamed, "You didn't have to do that!" Piper replied as her throat tightened at the thought of the incredible gesture her friend had done for her. For a reason unknown to her, she thought about Sophie and the beanie she'd given her and how she'd thought it was so sweet of her, but somehow, this was so much better.

"Don't worry, kid. We'll grow it again soon," she said nonchalantly as Piper laid down again, she tried to change the subject, so she quickly added, "How was it, Pipes," she asked in her deep, raspy voice. Sitting down on the blonde's bed and tossing her backpack to the side.

"It was…" she began as she propped herself on her elbows, "...pleasant." she smiled softly.

Alex raised her signature eyebrow at that and chuckled gravelly, "What do you mean, pleasant?" she lied down by Piper's feet.

"Sophie kissed me," she blurted out, avoiding Alex's eyes completely for some reason.

Alex's insides felt like suddenly drenched by a bucket full of ice and she froze. "Oh?" the only word that came out of her trembling lips.

"Yeah, she did… and it was..." Piper looked up to the ceiling, "nice, Al."

Alex felt her breath become shallow and her heart pounded in her ears at the jealousy she was experiencing.

She had felt it before with the asshole of Larry, Piper's ex-boyfriend from school, and yeah, it was a bitch and all, but she managed to stay sane and by her side through all of it. But right now she felt wrecked because, obviously, she knew who Sophie was.

And Sophie was a girl.

Hello there, thank you all for reading. I hope you liked this chapter. Please don't hate me too much. Thank you for your reviews, they make me want to keep writing.

As always, special thanks to HurricaneDrella who makes this possible.