This is a spin-off to the story 'Tastes like gall'. It illuminates Alex's side of the story.

In the hottest night of the year a young couple has to deal with the future of their relationship. Can they work it out or will it break them? "Alex felt like she couldn't breathe. She had been in this situation over and over for the last couple of months and each time she had felt the urge to crawl outside of her skin, just to make the pain go away and today it had happened."

AU: „So it's you and me, I guess." the other girl, that everbody referred to as Vause, said and Piper was sure it was the first time she ever heard her talking, because that voice she would have remembered for sure. It was a dark, raspy voice that promised mystery and misery. It would have been sexy if it didn't belong to the best friend of her worst bully.

AU. 17 Year old Alex Vause's life is falling apart in front of her and the only thing she is able to control is her pain. 16 Year old Piper Chapman has won the battles in her life and now she has everything she wished for: her best friend in the world and an loving boyfriend. What happens when these two worlds crash into one another? Trigger warning: contains selfharming