Hey there! Two updates in three days! You all got me inspired to write by your amazing reviews. I'll try to keep up the pace. I hope you like this chapter.

The cup is not half empty as pessimists say
As far as he sees, nothing's left in the cup.
A whole cup full of nothing for him to indulge
Since the voice of ambition has long since been shut up.
Poetic Tragedy/ The Used.

"Hey, babe. You look so hot tonight." Aspyn whispers in Alex's ear from behind as she spots the tall brunette waiting for her outside the club.

Alex closes her eyes as the scent of Aspyn's perfume reaches her nostrils. It's the same one Piper fucking uses. So she shivers almost imperceptibly, but not enough for Aspyn to not notice it and mistake it for something else: something that favors her.

Because Aspyn felt a strong, magnetic pull towards Alex as soon as she touched her, and that is absolutely dangerous for her. She might fall in love rather easily with someone as perfect and charming as Alex Vause.

She's encouraged by the little action that just took place and feels bold enough to wrap her arms around Alex's waist, feeling giddy and nervous about the brunette's reaction.

Alex goes stiff for a long moment, before consciously telling herself that this is fine, that she must continue with this. Maybe, maybe, if she tries hard enough, someday she might startfeeling something else besides mild attraction for this girl.

Alex is lost in her thoughts for so long that she doesn't even realize that she's supposed to actually say something back, and it's only when Aspyn lets go of her that she reacts.

"Sorry, babe. I was just distracted by that ugly looking bouncer and I feel I'm not going in tonight, he won't let me." Alex turns around and kisses Aspyn quickly, businesslike.

Aspyn's expression changes from a frown to a full smile in just two seconds. "Don't be a pussy, your fake ID is pretty convincing. You and I are gonna have a great time tonight, I promise you." She finishes batting her eyelashes, sweetly.

Alex shudders and grabs her hand to take her inside the club, but before she can attempt to take off her fake ID, Aspyn kisses her very passionately, effectively making the mustachioed bouncer forget to ask for ID's.

"See? I told you there'd be no problem at all, babe." Alex grimaces and shrugs, "Let's get some beers or something."

Alex managed to relax a bit after a while; she could smile and make jokes as if she wasn't in pain. She flirted with Aspyn and kissed her now and then.

That day, the older brunette, opened a whole new world of possibilities for Alex, offering her heroine in the restroom of the club, making light of the situation. She told Alex it was harmless because it would be just one time. But of course, for someone that lost, it was a sweet escape from reality, and it was blissfully embraced.

Piper's convinced Carol had something to do with Alex being so acrimonious lately. After the very bitter text she received that night, she had tried to contact her best friend every day. No such luck.

It's been one week and Alex hasn't called or texted. Maybe she's angry at me, but why? Piper plays their last encounter on a loop in her mind, racking her brain for signs that might give her an answer, but to no avail.

Today she's getting out of the hospital, out of danger, for the time being. Her new chemo is making her feel worse. She has lost all of her hair and her skin looks sunken and pale. She's 108 pounds, too skinny for her height and honestly, there are days where she just wants this to just end. She wants cancer to win, to finally finish with her.

Alex was her anchor and she didn't realize it before. What am I supposed to do without her?

Things with Sophie were awkward and bitter. Every time the brunette made an effort to make her smile or to make her feel better, Piper would shut her off and treat her like shit. Honestly, Sophie was taking it all really well. She understood what Piper was going through, after all, she had cancer too.

There were better days, when Piper would think that maybe she needed to fight more and survive just to see if she could be with Alex. Of course she was scared, because she suspected Alex really loved her that way, but she couldn't be certain because her mind always told her that Alex was just nice to her because she was sick.

Those times, Piper would try to analyze how Alex behaved around her before her sickness, and she would always end up cheering herself a little because Alex most definitely loved her.

On Sunday afternoon, Piper decided to take a bath, just have some time for herself and relax a little her tense muscles. She was lying on her bathtub, thinking about Alex yet again. Aching for her.

"You're such a dork, Alex Vause!" Piper burst out laughing at her best friend's antics. They were riding a rollercoaster one hot summer day, right before the start of classes, before Alex dropped out of highschool.

The air was dry and the sun burned their skins, but they were having such a great time that it didn't matter. The ride was fun, nothing too dangerous, but Piper was scared shitless, and kept repeating that it was a bad idea.

So Alex started making funny faces and saying stupid things, just to take Piper's mind off her fears. "Hey, look, I'm Crazy Eyes" she said, cross eyed. Obviously, Piper thought it was disrespectful, but couldn't help laughing.

'Crazy Eyes' was one of her classmates. She was absolutely brilliant in drama class, but almost no one understood her sense of humour or the way she thought, but she was a nice, kind girl, who always offered you a warm smile or useful advice.

"Yeah, but I'm a dork only for you, Pipes." Alex's beaming expression reached her eyes. The look she gave Piper was pure tenderness.

Nostalgia and Piper were sure to have a blast because Piper kept reminiscing about every little moment she shared with her best friend. Now, every memory had become a cherished treasure for her, and a nagging feeling grazed violently all over her chest. It ached to remember all those things and realize how blind she had been this whole time.

The days went on monotonously. By the time a month had passed, Alex and Aspyn had an established routine: see each other every other day, get drunk, have sex, smoke pot and/or take another hard drug, then have sex again.

If there was something Alex hated, it was routines. Life not presenting exciting opportunities for new adventures or different things to do. But she found herself comfortable in her depression.

Sometimes, the drugs helped her cope with her broken heart. Sometimes, it was her own damnation, and she was spinning uncontrollably towards self destruction.

She had abandoned Desi yet again, and practically lived in Aspyn's apartment. No rent, free food, drugs and sex. What else could she ask for? Aspyn had a rather luxurious apartment right in the center of Brooklyn, and it was obvious that her daytime job didn't pay for it, but Alex didn't care.

Aspyn was, unmistakably falling in love with her and Alex knew, but she didn't care. Or if she cared, she told herself that it was not selfish because someday she would fall in love with Aspyn too. So they spent their time in self destruction, together. It suites Alex, in some way, and she was starting to feel really comfortable around Aspyn.

She hated that it wasn't something new, refreshing or even breathtaking as it always felt with Piper, but Aspyn was really sweet and caring, so Alex, selfishly let her dream of a future together.

Secretly, she enjoyed some of the moments but never enough to forget about Piper. And every day, she wanted to call her, to see if she was doing okay, she repeated herself, over and over. And a frantic idea crossed her mind every once in a while: what if she's already dead?

Those were the moments when she tried harder to just pass out, feel numb, because a reality without Piper… a world existing without her best friend was unbearable.

About a month and a half after Alex disappeared from her life, Piper had gave up all hope and just let herself decay. She refused chemotherapy, saying it wasn't working either way, because she really wanted to die.

Her friends and family were there with her, all the time. Taking care of her like the frail being she was, they were lovely, really, and no one could ask for more, but she felt a hole in her chest. No one could replace Alex.

She gradually let herself get really sick. First, the chemo made her really fragile, she stopped it all, the chemo, going to the hospital, and talking to Sophie, just like that.

Sophie had tried to contact her everyday, several times a day, going to her house, calling, texting, everything. She even went as far as climbing through the same window Alex did.

And that's when Piper exploded and yelled at her. All kinds of mean stuff, and demanded to never be searched for again.

Sophie understood, and never again tried to call or text, even though she still cared about Piper.

"Goddammit, Alex! Where have you been all this fucking time!" an angry Cal yelled at the brunette when he happened to pass her by on the street, on his way to the hospital, late at night.

Alex was unsurprisingly inebriated, so, at first, she didn't recognize Cal's voice and was about to retort sarcastically when he took her by the shoulders and shook her, as if trying to elicit a reaction from her, or just to let off some steam.

"God, Cal. Calm down, will you? I was just-"

"Piper's dying." his voice cracked and when Alex raised her head to look at him, wide eyed, she saw how much pain he was in.

"D-dying? What- what happened?" she answered stupidly, with trembling voice.

"She gave up."

It all happened one cold, winter afternoon. Piper had a complicated case of pneumonia and was practically dying in a hospital bed. She actually went as far as saying goodbye to her family.

Piper didn't seem to be responding to the antibiotics, she had fevers all the time and was going in and out of consciousness because her brain wasn't getting enough oxygen. Her system was shutting down. This was the end.

A very special thank you to all the guests that left reviews for last chapter, and to Alex, LoSTaNdDeLiRiOuS and elliellie1 you're the absolute best. I'm glad you are still enjoying this fic.

As always, HurricaneDrella, you rock. Without you this wouldn't be possible.