Piper could barely sleep that night. She was snuggled up to her sleeping girlfriend in that merely a meter wide bed. She could feel Alex's chest moving up and down as she snored lightly in the cutest way possible.

They had never been able to fall asleep next to each other and only now Piper realized what she had missed out on all these weeks. All she could do now was stare at Alex, her peaceful, relaxed looking face, her closed eyes that flickered now and then while Alex was dreaming about whatever she dreamed of while lying next to her.

Piper could watch Alex breathing and it almost felt like a wonder to her. It was the same feeling as when you look at a newborn and you are suddenly aware of the wonder of life.

She couldn't take her hands off that beautiful face and she was carefully stroking Alex's cheek without waking her.

Her hands were shaking. Because while she loved the feeling of the warmth radiating from the girl next to her, and she loved sharing a bed with her love, knowing that her bully was probably only a wall away from her was freaking her out. She was too afraid to close her eyes, too afraid to fall asleep.

After having stared at Alex for another ten minutes she started looking at the surroundings. The tiny room was lit by one of the only two streetlamps outside that weren't shattered. The cold light shined on the wall behind the small bed, where a huge framed Pink Floyd poster hung between printed out lyrics.

The other walls were also plastered with posters of different rock bands and in every corner stood a stack of books, from Dickens to Hesse to Shakespeare and also less famous writers.

This room was one hundert percent Alex.

Turning onto her back, Piper stared at the white ceiling, her hand lying on Alex's tigh, her presence calming down her nerves.

This day had taken forever, so many things had happened that it was enough for two whole weeks and when she fell asleep eventually, it was a fitful, dream hunted sleep.

„Babe."

The touch of a hand on her stomach woke her up as Alex whispered into her ear, her lips scraping the soft skin of Piper's cheek. Piper could wake up like this every morning, even though she felt like she hadn't slept at all.

„Good morning." Piper turned around to face her girl, taking her face between her hands.

„Morning beautiful."

Alex had offered Piper to go to the bathroom while she was warning her mum about their unexpected breakfast guest.

Their damp clothes were hanging over the pole of the showercurtain and she was still wearing the clothes Alex had given her to sleep in and they actually didn't look half bad on her, that kind of boosted her selfesteem, while she was trying to collect the strength to face her bully.

She wanted to run, run fast and run far, but if she didn't face her enemies now, she may never do.

Alex was already sitting at the table in the kitchen, barefoot in a pair of boxers and a black band t-shirt she looked sexier than ever.

„You must be Piper." She looked exactly like Alex, only about twenty years older and when she hugged her out of nowhere the scent that reached Piper's nostrils reminded her of the first time Alex had ever hugged her.

„It's nice to see Alex finally bringing a girl home."

Diane moved Piper towards the kitchentable where four plates were already waiting and Alex was already shoving her face with half burned toast. She smiled at her with this 'Look my mum is cool. Told ya.' look on her face and Piper just had to smile back, while she sat down next to her.

There was already a toast on the plate in front of her. It wasn't half as burned as Alex's who just lay her hand on Piper's tigh, probably getting the vibe of Piper's nervous uncomfortableness and wanting to calm her down.

Piper stared at her toast, her stomach grumbling. She wasn't sure if it was hunger or the horror of the moment when her nemesis would get to know about her and Alex plus the nervous feeling of meeting the mother of her girlfriend.

She wanted to eat this toast and probably another one and another one and another one just to suppress the fear rumbleing in her stomach. But she was scared that once she started she couldn't stopp. She hated people watching her eat and letting them watch her binge eat would be the most humiliating thing, also not being able to throw up afterwards was kind of spoiling the thought of eating at all, so instead she just kept staring on her plate.

„Come babe. Eat at least one. For me, ok?" Alex whispered, leaning over to her. Piper tried to smile back at her, Alex couldn't know that pressure was making it even harder for her to eat.

Right before she was forced to either eat or answer there were footsteps in the small hall and the redhead entered the small kitchen, wearing pretty much the same outfit Alex had on.

Piper froze in the middle of breathing, waiting for the inevitable to come.

It took a few second until Nichols realized and her facial impression changed from 'just got out of bed' to 'I just walked into hell' in a matter of seconds and she looked kind of vulnerable in her anger. „What is SHE doing here?" Her voice was more upset than angry and Piper had kind of a bad conscience. She was invading in her home, her privacy, her safe place and Nichols didn't even had the chance to prepare herself for this.

„She is our guest so be nice." Diane gave the ginger a kiss on the head and it was strange for Piper to see her in that kind of endearment, seeing her actually human. But the human vanished immediately when her bully leaned on the table, facing her sister with an angry, aggressive look. „So you're screwing THAT?" she hissed with a sidelook to Piper, looking at her like she was a cockroach or something.

„Nicole! Watch your words!" Diane scolded, sitting down now at the table next to them, but Nichols was still standing there, hateful, hurt, betrayed.

„Why Alex?" she asked and Piper could actually see the knives that cut deep in her flesh by the betrayal of her sister, but she could also see how manipulating she was to Alex, playing out her hurt feelings to cause Alex to have a bad conscience and it worked.

She saw Alex getting smaller and smaller and for the first time Piper realized Alex was a victim too. She felt so obliged towards her sister, protecting her, wanting to make her feelt good and Nichols was so used to that, that she had learned to play her, subconsciously maybe, but still.

„What, Alex? Is her pussy made of money or what?" Piper jerked at the vulgarity. She was used to Alex saying such things, but for fun, for teasing her and not as an insult.

„Out." Diane said, she wasn't getting loud or aggressive but she had a natural authority in her voice. „ Get out of my kitchen until you remember how to behave."

Nichols looked like she wanted to talk back but one look in her mother's face and she walked away, throwing a last hateful glance at Piper.

„I apologize for her, Piper."

Piper nodded, but all she could focus on was Alex, who was sitting on her chair, sunk down, looking miserable. Piper felt bad for causing this fight between Alex and her sister but she also felt mad because Alex didn't even fight back, not for her, not for herself.

She had always considered Alex a strong person but after all, maybe she wasn't.

„I should probably leave." Piper mumbled, she still hadn't touched a bite from her food, she felt more sick than before. Alex kept staring on her plate, not touching anymore of her food as well and she looked like she had zoned out.

„No, stay. Don't let her get to you, she is nice once you get to know her." Diane smiled at her and patted her hand awkwardly, she seemed to be embarassed by her own daughter's behaviour.

They ate their breakfast in uncomfortable silence, or rather Diane ate her breakfast while Alex ripped her toast slowly in pieces and Piper stared at her plate.

After Diane had left for work on this saturday morning Piper got nervous again, afraid of what Nichols might do now that her mother couldn't hold her back anymore.

Alex seemed to be nervous as well, because she hurrily cleaned up the table and then she took Piper back to her room.

Sitting down on the bed next to each other, Piper didn't know what to say, she felt guilty for pushing Alex into coming out and at the same time she was pissed that Alex had let Nichols get away with saying nasty things about her.

„And now?"

Alex shrugged her shoulders before taking Piper's hand in her own. Her face was still uneasy but she was looking better since the door was closed behind the two of them.

„Nicky has to go to work in like half an hour, then we have the place to our own. „

It felt like they were back in a closet while in reality they were more out than ever.

Piper sighed „I don't know."
„Don't let her ruin our day. Please, stay." Alex nearly begged and Piper was not able to say no to those eyes.

As soon as the front door fell close they started to enter the place as theirs.

Alex snuggled up on the couch and she watched Piper kneel down in front of the old tube TV and search through the stack of old video tapes with trashy black and white movies. Piper picked an old horror movie that Polly had already made her watch when they were about 13. Horror movies scared the shit out of Piper but right now she wanted to play ballsy in front of Alex, not mentioning that she had seen this one already. She grinned when she pushed the tape into the recorder beneath the TV table and walked over to Alex.

„Horror movie? For real? You?" Alex laughed at her from her lying position, she seemed to be all back to her normal self again, as if nothing had happened. But Piper knew her better than that by now, behind her carefree facade she was brooding, whenever she thought Piper wasn't looking at her she started biting her bottom lip in a pondering way, and she kept on staring holes in the air. But Piper had no idea what she was supposed to do. She didn't want to fight and she was afraid that once she started bringing up what had happened as a topic they would end up in one.

So instead she just went with pretending like nothing had happened.

She grinned at her girlfriend. „Yeah. Thought you could cuddle up to me once you get scared."

Leaning down to Alex, Piper tried to kiss her, but as Alex grabbed her at the lapel of her shirt and pulled her towards her, Piper lost her balance and fell over onto her girlfriend. They both laughed, not as freely as they were used to from they secret safe place in prop room but it was a start.

„So Miss super-bold, wanna start that movie?" Alex teased, her hands lying on the small of Piper's back. Alex was still in her boxers and band shirt, her hair weren't brushed and she wasn't even wearing any of her badass make up but as Piper looked at her she couldn't have imagined to ever see anything more beautiful in her life.

She could feel the skin of Alex's long legs touching her's where the chill pants that she was wearing had wandered upwards a little and it gave her goosebumps all over.

Even though Nichols didn't like them being together, Piper had a feeling like the puzzle was finally starting to be complete. Things were gonna be alright and someday Alex would be able to tell her she loved her as well.

She kept lying on Alex as they watched 'Night of the Living Dead', her head placed on her girl's chest listening to her heartbeat going slower and faster depending on what scene was coming up. She was barely watching the movie, instead she was enjoying being near Alex, feeling her, breathing her. And for a few heavenly hours not pondering what might happen.

It was until Piper's phone rang. The blonde had fallen asleep watching the movie, she was so exhausted from barely sleeping last night that she had really been able to fall asleep during a horror movie.

„Pipes. Wake up, your phone." Alex whispered, pausing the movie that was just about to end. Seemingly she had noticed Piper sleeping but had decided to let her get the rest.

Groaning and not wanting to get up from her heavenly comfortable spot, Piper hided her face in Alex's neck.

„Babe."

Piper screamed when Alex started grabbing her under her arms, tickleing her where she knew she would get Piper awake in the matter of seconds.

She groaned once more, giving Alex a deadly glance before she grabbed for her phone, answering it, annoyed.

„What? … Oh, hi mum. …. Yeah, I'm still at Alex's... What? Why?... No, no it's ok, I'll be there."

She hit the red button on her phone.

„You gotta go?" Alex asked, somehow disappointed and Piper couldn't help herself, though she was disappointed as well, the fact that Alex was sad about her having to leave made her actually happy.

„Yeah, my mum has to meet a few clients and my dad is at the office so I have to babysit Cal."

Shrugging her shoulder, Alex stood up and walked towards the TV. She hit the eject button and cramed the tape back into it's box, angry obviously.

The blonde walked up to her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her from behind.

„Al, care to join us?"

So, my friends, I know it took me long, I'm sorry for that.

As you might have figured this is not going to be the end of it all, and since one of you asked, I think it's gonna be about 5 more chapters, maybe a little bit more. But I will do an one shot collection revolving around this story afterwards (I have actually started writing them already.)

So tell me what you think and of course thanks for all your reviews again. XXX Love ya