A/N: Another chapter! Thank you all for being so patient and wonderful! It's a little on the short side, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Chapter 7
It was too bright.
Piper groaned as she rolled onto her side,covering her head with her pillow. It was probably too early to even get up, and yet she was awake with a massive headache. Apparently she had a good birthday, judging by the monster of a hangover she could feel building.
Piper rubbed her eyes, trying to remember what had happened the night before. She remembered the drinks. Lots and lots of free drinks, from several different guys. She remembered dancing with a few of them before Polly left to go to Pete's. After that, glimpses of memories swirled through her head in a slow haze, remembering pieces with no context, unable to find anything firm to grasp on to.
Finding the light still too bright, Piper shifted onto her stomach, pressing her left knee into the mattress as she moved, a sharp sting radiating from the spot. Piper hissed in pain, vaguely remembering falling the night before.
How did that happen? Piper tried to focus her memories, hoping to piece together how she fell. She must have fallen on her way home, maybe outside of her apartment. Yeah, that sounds right, she was probably climbing the stairs into her building. But based on her headache and rolling stomach, there was no way that Piper would have made it home by herself. Polly had left her, which meant that the people who would have brought her home could have been Elizabeth, Gemma, Alex, or…
Alex.
As if her memories were pieces of a puzzle falling into place, Piper could suddenly remember the previous evening in perfect clarity. Alex had brought her home, paid for the cab right, and made a comment when Piper had fallen down and hurt herself.
And Piper had acted like a crazy person.
"Shit," she groaned, as she replayed herself shouting at Alex, telling her she was crazy, and finally telling her friend to stay the fuck away from her.
She was a truly awful person.
Grabbing her phone, Piper winced at the fact that it was only nine in the morning. It was still early, but she needed her best friend. Piper listened as the as the phone rang once, twice…
"You better be in a ditch somewhere," Polly's voice drifted over the connection, still heavy with sleep.
"Good morning to you too, Polly," Piper replied, unamused.
"Seriously, why are you calling? I just went to sleep like five hours ago."
"I need you to come over," Piper replied.
"Did you miss the part when I said I just went to sleep five hours ago? I'm still at Pete's," Polly answered, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.
"Come on Polly, it's an emergency!"
"I'm sure it can wait a couple of hours. I'll come over around noon."
"No," Piper said firmly. "Remember that Corey, the stage five clinger from freshman year? Remember how you made me break up with him for you by telling him you dropped out of school?"
"Piper…" Polly began slowly, but Piper continued.
"You told me you owed me one. A big one. I'm calling it in."
"It's really that serious?" Polly asked, all annoyance gone from her voice.
"It's that serious," Piper affirmed.
They were silent for a moment until Polly sighed deeply. "I'll be there in twenty."
"Thank you, Polly," Piper said genuinely. "Really, thank you."
An hour later, Polly was staring at Piper, stunned. Piper took a large sip of her coffee, setting it down on the kitchen table. Focusing intently on her mug, Piper waited for Polly to speak.
"Seriously?" Polly stuttered out.
Piper nodded, gaze still trained downward.
"Seriously?" Polly repeated. "Seriously?"
"Are you going to say anything else?" Piper asked quietly, finally looking at Polly's wide-eyed expression.
"What else am I supposed to say?" Polly began. "I mean, I know I never liked her, but I never thought that Alex Vause would be so delusional. Maybe she was just trying to seduce you, and just wanted you to believe that she was your soulmate. Though, she's clearly not very smart, or she would have been more subtle at first, and then-"
"I don't know if she's wrong," Piper admitted quietly.
Polly stopped abruptly, looking at Piper like she was crazy. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course she's wrong. Isn't she?" Polly trailed off, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
"I don't know," Piper said helplessly. "I just… we just connected instantly when we met at work."
"Yeah, so? You and I became friends like the first day of middle school. And you and Gemma became friends became friends pretty soon after you started."
"I guess," Piper trailed off. "But it feels different somehow."
"How?" Polly pressed.
"I can't really explain it. There are times when I would… I would honestly rather spend a day lying around with Alex than do anything else. She's really easy to talk to; it's like she gets me. Knows me. And… I don't know, it's just hard to explain and this just all sounds super cheesy."
"It's sounds a lot like a friendship."
"It's different, trust me," Piper sighed. "Remember when we were in middle school and high school, and I used to pinch myself whenever I felt my soul mate doing something that hurt?"
"Um, yeah kind of. Weren't you trying to communicate with your soulmate?"
"Mhm, Yeah," Piper nodded. "When I went to Coney Island with Alex and her mom, Diane mentioned that Alex would also communicate with her soulmate in the same way…" Piper trailed off, her eyes widening in emphasis.
"So?" Polly questioned. "Do you actually think that only you and your soulmate are doing that? I'm sure other people do it all the time."
"Did you?" Piper countered.
"Well, no, but you can't be the only two. And even if you are the only two, are you sure your soulmate is a girl?"
"What about Pete?" Piper shot back defensively. "You two have been sleeping together for almost a year. Is he your soulmate?"
"I don't know," Polly shrugged. "But I don't really care either. I'm not ready to settle down yet, so I'm just having some fun. But you've been so into the waiting for your soulmate since the Larry debacle, are you sure you aren't just rushing into something again?"
Piper sighed, thinking. She wasn't sure. Maybe she was just jumping to conclusions, that everything was a coincidence, and Piper was just acting crazy. Maybe she should just stay away from Alex Vause.
Images suddenly flitted through Piper's memory. Alex's face lighting up when Piper says anything amusing. Alex's innate concern for Piper after a particularly difficult phone call with her mother. How comfortable she felt last night in the cab, her head resting on Alex's shoulder, Alex's finger running through her hair.
"I don't think so," she finally said slowly. "There's just something… different about her."
"But, do you like her? Have you ever been into girls?"
"I don't know," Piper said helplessly. "I don't know if I have feelings for her or if I will, but I just think I should at least explore this."
"Whatever you say Piper," Polly answered slowly. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"I don't," Piper admitted. "But I think I owe it to the both of us to figure it out."
On Monday morning, Piper's stomach would not stop rolling. After Polly left on Saturday, she had tried to psych herself up to call Alex on Sunday, but kept putting it off all Sunday until she finally chickened out. But now it was Monday, and Piper had no more excuses. She had to talk to Alex.
Piper closed her eyes as the elevator pinged, indicating that she had reached her office. Inhaling, she stepped off the elevator, making her way to Alex's desk. She slowed as she approached, surprised to see Alex's computer on and her bag on her desk, but Alex is nowhere to be found. Glancing around, Piper still couldn't see Alex. Feeling her resolve weaken, she turned and made her way to her own desk rather than hang around and wait for Alex.
Piper spent the morning distracted. Piper had seen Alex go back to her desk five minutes after Piper had sat down, but couldn't bring herself to go to her. So instead, she spent the morning sending out emails and listening to Alex's muted conversations with clients.
As noon approached, Piper was jittery, tapping the table with nerves. Torn between wanting to hash it out with Alex or avoiding the situation altogether, Piper finally settled on sending out an email a few minutes before her and Alex's usual lunch time. Agonizing over what to say, Piper eventually decided to get right to the point.
To: Alex Vause
Subject: Lunch
Hey Alex,
Can we talk at lunch?
Piper
For seventy-three seconds, Piper stared at her computer screen, her stomach filling with dread as Alex didn't respond. Finally, the email icon blinked in the corner of her screen, and Piper immediately opened it.
From: Alex Vause
Subject: Re: Lunch
I can't, I have a lunch meeting with a client.
Sorry,
Alex
Disappointed, Piper sighed. She needed to do this. She just had to talk to Alex.
To: Alex Vause
Subject: Re: Lunch
Can we grab a drink after work? We really need to talk.
Thanks,
Piper
As she hit send, she saw Alex get up from her desk, moving towards the elevator as she put on her jacket. Wonderful, now she would have to wait until Alex got back from her meeting to see her response.
To distract herself, Piper texted Polly, and the two went out to lunch. Polly kept asking her questions about Alex and whether or not Piper was going to go through with it, which just made Piper more anxious.
When she returned from lunch, Piper noticed that Alex was already back at her desk, her back to Piper. Rushing to her computer, Piper opened her email. She noticed she had an email from Alex.
From: Alex Vause
Subject: Re: Lunch
After work is fine.
Alex
Piper closed her eyes briefly, and began her countdown to five o'clock.
As soon as her clock changed from 4:59 to 5:00, Piper turned off her computer and quickly left her office. Even though it would be incredibly unlike Alex to bail on her, Piper didn't want to give her the opportunity to start.
When Piper reached Alex's office, she found the brunette sitting, just staring at her desk. Piper paused in the entryway, unsure what to do.
"Hey," Piper finally offered.
Alex glanced up, but her eyes quickly darted away. "Hi," she said quietly.
"Wanna head out?" Piper asked.
Alex nodded, standing from her desk and grabbing her coat and bag.
They walked to the elevator in silence. Piper kept sneaking glances at Alex, but Alex's eyes remained fixed to the floor. She didn't like this; that Alex wasn't talking to her, wasn't looking at her.
They stayed silent for the rest of the walk to the bar around the corner, and Piper was growing more and more uncomfortable with every step. When they reached the bar, Piper led Alex to a two person table in the back,still not speaking as the waitress took their drink orders.
When the waitress left with their drinks, Piper began to speak.
"Alex…" Piper started.
"I'm sorry," Alex cut in earnestly, fiddling with the label of her beer bottle. "I'm really sorry Piper. I don't know why I said that. I was drunk, and clearly not thinking straight. You aren't my soulmate-"
"No, Alex," Piper tried, but Alex kept going.
"and I know that. We're friends. Just friends. And I," Alex paused, her eyes shining with tears behind her glasses. "I need you to be my friend. I'm so, so, sorry for being stupid."
"Alex," Piper whispered, reaching across the table and gripping Alex's hand. "I don't think you were wrong."
Alex looked at Piper with wide eyes. "What?" she asked, disbelieving.
"I don't think you're wrong," Piper repeated quietly. "I mean, I feel like there's this thing between us, you know? We just became friends so fast, and that never happens to me. And I used to pinch my arm whenever my soulmate would hurt me to get them to stop. And," Piper paused, thinking back to the day that started it all. "I know I felt your leg cramp that day we went running. So, please don't apologize. You aren't wrong."
Alex just stared at Piper. She didn't move, she didn't attempt to speak, her expression didn't change. Piper wasn't sure if Alex doubted her sincerity, or was just in shock, but the silence was making Piper nervous.
Hoping for a reaction, Piper used her free hand, the one not holding Alex's, and pinched herself, hard.
"Ouch, shit!" Alex hissed, letting go of Piper's hand and rubbing her arm. "What the hell?"
"Oh good, you can still speak," Piper said dryly. "Apparently it takes hurting myself to get a reaction from you."
Alex's eyes widened. "You really believe this?" Alex asked slowly.
"Well, I guess I can't deny it now," Piper gave Alex a small smile, gesturing to her arm.
Piper watched as Alex's eyes brightened, looking hopeful. "So what does this mean?"
Piper sighed, her gaze dropping to the table before looking back at her friend. "Look, Alex…"
Alex's face dropped instantly. "What?"
"I...I can't say that we aren't soulmates, we just made that pretty clear. It's just that, this isn't really what I expected, you know?"
Alex's face hardened at that, and Piper reached out to grab her hand again.
"That's not what I meant. You're one of my closest friends, obviously I like you and I love spending time with you. I just never really planned on this. And I don't want to mess it up like I did with Larry, when I was so convinced that he was my soulmate that I just jumped into a relationship without really thinking about it."
"And he wasn't your soulmate. You know I am," Alex replied.
"I know, I know. I'm just asking for some time. I don't know if I have feelings for you beyond friendship right now. And I want to get this right. I have to get this right. I don't want to jump into a relationship, I want to take my time. We can still be friends, nothing changes." Piper promised, looking at Alex with wide eyes.
Piper watched nervously as Alex pursed her lips before nodding. "I guess that's fair," she answered, giving Piper a small smile.
"Really?" Piper smiled, relieved.
"Yeah, I get it, this has to be weird for you. You weren't expecting...me."
"But there's nothing wrong with that," Piper cut in quickly.
Alex smiled. "But it's still different. We can take it slow. Give you some time to adjust before moving forward. I mean, you are my soulmate, I can't just walk away from that."
"Thank you," Piper said quietly.
"No problem," Alex grinned. "Now, I need to hear, in detail, just how hungover you were on Saturday."
"It was awful!" Piper groaned before telling Alex about her lazy Saturday, altering the narrative to leave out her freakout to Polly.
As Alex smiled and laughed at the story, Piper couldn't help but feel like she was diving head first into a new type of adventure.