Orange Is the New Black Your Way

_Honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago  
Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword  
Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know  
I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door._

* * *

There are some people who have a certain way; a way in which they are able to fill the largest of rooms with their personality, drawing each and every being in that room closer to them. They have the ability to leave part of themselves somewhere long after they have left, leaving those who experienced just a part of this person craving more. Alex Vause was one of those people.

Piper Chapman was more than aware that she was not one of those people.

Piper Chapman was beyond ordinary. She was quiet, kept her head down, handed in her homework on time and graduated from college with, what she would say was, an easy A. So as Piper Chapman walked into that bar only one week after graduation, with a poorly written resume in her hand she did not think that anyone would notice her save for the bartender whom she was forced to question about a job. The bar was a quaint and somewhat quiet establishment. Random groups of people sat in and around the centre of the floor just by the bar and the occasional straggler would wander in and out of the door, allowing the cold wind inside for a mere moment. Piper, of course, noticed the rowdy group that sat in the centre of the bar and she noticed the brunette with black rimmed glasses that framed rich green eyes. She noticed the tattoos that moulded the curve of her arm and the boisterous blue tips that contrasted the dark hair.

Piper noticed all but ignored all because she was not one of those people.

The conversation, however brief, with the bartender was average at best and Piper had no trouble hiding the disappointment and frustration she felt at being denied a job despite the fact she had put on her best smile and her cheeriest tone. The brunette had spoken to her also but seemingly only as a continuation of some running joke. Piper was not surprised because she was not one of those people that those people talked to. The brunette looked exciting, powerful and thrilling whereas Piper was bland and blended in with her surroundings. So when she ordered a drink and went against her original plan of leaving as soon as she was denied the job she surprised herself and felt obliged to wait until the bartender had returned with it. Piper knew, somewhere deep down, that she was hoping she would get another chance to talk to the brunette and that maybe she could become one of those people.

To Piper's delight, she was approached by the brunette only a moment later. She made some form of sarcastic remark that Piper was sure she would have laughed at if she hadn't been so excited at the fact that she was actually getting a chance to talk to the brunette. Even if it meant the brunette was making conversation out of Piper's expense. Piper barely noticed when the bartender placed down her drink as she stared into the green orbs that seemed more mischievous and dark up close. The perfectly coifed hair and neat makeup hinted at the brunette's personality, organised and responsible it said. This notion was, however, firmly denied by the blue streaks, tattoos and the manner that told Piper that the brunette did not take much serious. This was fascinating to Piper and it was that very fascination that seemed to inspire some courage into her and even allowed her to take up the brunette in conversation.

Piper was getting to know one of those people.

She found out the brunette's name was Alex. _Alex_, Alex that could stand for so many variations of a longer name. Even her name screamed '_that kind of person_'. In truth, if Piper was asked to recall the first conversation she had with Alex she wouldn't be able to recant it. Her cheeks would flush and she would avoid your gaze in fear that you would somehow realise that she was smitten with Alex from the very first moment she had laid her eyes upon her. Alex was a far cry from the kind of person someone like Piper was expected to go for, end up with, fall for and that is part of what attracted Piper to Alex; that and the fact that she was incredibly intelligent and was extremely well read. Alex shared a common love of the written word much like Piper and they had talked for hours at that bar talking about authors and arguing over the important issue of fiction over non-fiction. Piper couldn't remember who won the argument.

Piper was completely and utterly enthralled in the being that was Alex.

Alex gave Piper her number that night, when the bartender had announced quietly to them that the bar was about to close and the building was empty aside from those who lay in a drunker slumber atop tables and slouched off of stools. Alex's friends had already left. Piper was ecstatic that Alex didn't seem to care. Instead, Alex seemed to be more concerned with how Piper was getting home and escorted her out of the bar with a hand on the small of her back. The simple touch sent both sparks and shivers up Piper's spine, reaching through the protection of her clothes. There was something about the way Alex's hand felt like it fit there, like the slender space had been created solely for her hand to be placed there. Piper would admonish herself for that thought later.

Piper told Alex she was going to walk home and Alex persisted that she take a cab until Piper relented. Alex called a cab, opened the door for Piper and then climbed in beside her. Much to Piper's delight and surprise. Alex insisted that it was only so she could pay the fare, although the brunette's hand that wandered up and down Piper's thigh told a different story. The cab ride from the bar to her house was, in reality, only a five minute drive but the minutes that she was cooped up, shoulder to shoulder with Alex seemed to last a lifetime. Piper revelled in how it felt to have the pale hand trace the shape of her thigh, however innocent or not innocent the gesture was. Her own hand reached out of its own accord and landed atop of Alex's, resting rather than guiding the hand under it. Piper smiled hazily, the world around her seemed to blur out and her focus was on Alex and Alex alone. Alex seemed to revel in the power Piper had given her.

Alex had kissed her outside of her door and then left with the promise of more. Piper grinned like a child.

The next week was filled with Alex. Alex wined and dined her and told Piper that she "_couldn't figure out why she didn't seem like the rest_". Piper had blushed furiously at that. They kissed plenty and often but Alex always left her wanting more, Piper couldn't work out if Alex was being chivalrous or just wanted to see how long they would last before one ended up in the bed of the other. Piper knew she wouldn't last long.

Throughout the week and the many hours that she spent with the wonder that was Alex Vause, she learned much about herself as well as the brunette. Piper discovered that she was more inclined to believe in the notion of unrequited love and soul mates whereas Alex decided that the story of star crossed lovers was just "_bullshit that was designed to convince women that love is the most important thing in their lives and that without it, life is supposedly meaningless_." Piper had laughed although wondered if that meant Alex didn't believe in love. Piper had asked her that a few days later and Alex had scoffed and arched a perfect eyebrow at her as if to say, "_seriously?_" Alex had comforted Piper's worried mind all the same by telling her that the notion of love was not the same as the idea of star crossed lovers and that if she ever dare compare Alex and herself to Romeo and Juliet she would kill her as she slept. Piper took this as an encouraging sign.

Piper was dating one of those people.

Piper found herself in Alex's bed only a week later and when she awoke with aching limbs and a satisfying hum that seemed to echo round her entire body she was met with a smug smile and kind eyes. Perfectly shaped lips formed the sarcastic remarks that seemed to be etched into Alex's being and Piper met those words with ones of her own. It was there, in that bed, hidden under white sheets as the early morning sun danced around the room that Alex asked Piper to be her girlfriend and Piper had said yes. Then they spent the morning dancing around each other under those sheets, exploring the other and discovering all of the ways that they could make the other sing while Piper avoided calls from her parents and allowed the world around her to become background, once again.

Months went by and Piper slowly forgot that she wasn't one of those people because when she was with Alex, Piper felt like one of those people. Her body seemed to mould to Alex's and they slowly became two parts of one being; one never being far from the other, save for when work or family obligations got in the way. They went to fancy parties that Alex was always invited to and Piper felt safe in the knowledge that Alex's arm was always around her waist and her hand always rested on the small of her back - guiding her, keeping her safe and secure. They were stuck in the harmonious bliss that was recognised at the honeymoon period. Arguments were brief and fickle, both realising the stupidity of the argument mere moments after it started. Alex had asked Piper to move in with her, Piper had said yes without a second thought. Alex invited Piper to Bali, Piper said yes without a second thought.

Alex in Bali was a whole new Alex, Piper discovered. Alex in Bali was more relaxed, happier, freer and much more excited. Alex seemed to thrive in the warm atmosphere that had Piper captivated, she seemed to swell with pride when Piper expressed how much she loved Bali and that evening they spent the entire night hidden away in a warm cove on the beach as they made quiet and lazy love to each other. They explored caves, ruins and forests in the day and returned at night to explore each other in their bed, cooled by the breeze that blew in from the window that they never closed. The beauty of Bali only seemed to be accentuated in Alex's presence as the brunette pointed out all of the poisonous plants that would kill Piper should she accidently eat one. Piper found herself surrounded in a world of beauty as she snuck calls to her parents and told them that she was in France, working with deprived children and teaching them how to speak English. Alex was Piper's secret, the secret that she loved to keep.

Was Piper one of those people?

The week they had returned from Bali seemed much less exciting, more devoid of colour and the life that Piper had grown used to. Alex was gone more often and Piper found more reasons to argue with the brunette and suddenly it seemed less like they were two parts of one being and more like they were two parts trying to be one being. Piper was reminded that she was not one of those people as they returned to those fancy parties but Alex's arm was not around her waist and her hand was not on the small of her back. Piper found herself more alone, sat in the corner as she watched those kinds of people make small talk and recite well practiced jokes that had a perfect smile to accompany each one. She watched as Alex mingled with them all, telling her own well practiced jokes and thriving in the atmosphere. It reminded Piper of how she had thrived in Bali. So when Piper approached Alex and told her she was leaving and Alex had asked her why she simply said;

"_I'm not one of those people_."

Alex had been confused at the time and dismissed Piper with a tut and a wave of her hand. Piper's heart had sunk and she slunk home, dejected and alone. She deleted the messages from her parents and fell into the bed that seemed too large now without Alex's presence beside her and for the first time in months, the world wasn't just background anymore. The world was noisy and bright and the apartment was too large and quiet and dark. The large mahogany desk in the corner of the room that was stacked with Alex's journals claimed the majority of the room and Piper glared enviously at it, wondering what Alex had written in each small book that Piper had never dared to touch once in all her months of living here.

Piper fell asleep staring at them.

She was awoken by a sleepy looking Alex who carried coffee and a peace offering in the form of a smile and kiss. Alex told her, as Piper drank her coffee, that she had realised something very important that night and when she had had the great revelation, Piper hadn't been there to hear it. So Alex had written it down and Piper was to read it whilst she prepared breakfast for them.

So Piper stood as Alex walked out and took hesitant steps towards the desk that she never dared to touch before and gazed at the red journal that lay in the centre, a small yellow post-it note on the cover with Piper's name on it, written in Alex's familiar scrawl. With newfound confidence, Piper picked up the journal and opened it to a dog eared page:

_You have this way,  
Where you make everything yours,  
And I find myself wondering,  
If you know.  
That when you brush your fingers,  
Along the spines of my books,  
Leaving behind tiny traces of your DNA;  
I wonder if you know the power you have.  
When you press your body down on mine,  
Tongues meeting in polite,  
Yet rushed, conversation.  
And you claim me for your own,  
Seemingly unaware of how powerless I am  
To resist that claim;  
To resist you.  
You and all of your touches,  
And your presence that fills my room.  
So I find myself wondering,  
Again,  
If you know._

Piper closed the journal and, with it held in her hand, turned to face the brunette who stood watching, observing, from the door with guarded emotion and as Piper watched the sun filter in through the cream blinds and caress Alex's pale cheek like a doting lover, she realised that _she knew_ and with book clutched between finger and hand she whispered, "_I love you too_."

* * *

AN: Just a one-shot that i put together in a couple hours, forgive any typos because it was around 2am when I was writing this. Trying to break through my writer's block and this is what came out of it, poem is my own and is partly what inspired this. I promise to try and get the next chapters of both of my fics out but I want them to be better than the drabble that I was producing before so I ask that you be patient. Thank you for all of the support and I hope you enjoyed reading.


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Orange Is the New Black, Angst, Romance