PRE-NOTE: Sorry guys, I didn't realize until after it was posted that the last part of Chapter 6 didn't post...? Weird. So I just added it to the beginning of this chapter. Anyhow, I'm really loving all the comments and follows and everything. I promise I'm trying to update more frequently, but I've been working like crazy and had some family stuff come up. BUT I've got quite a few ideas for the story that I think will really mix it up a bit, that you'll hopefully enjoy.

Oh, AND, I know it was kind of mean to interrupt the sex scene, but you didn't think I was going to give it up that easy, did you? But I promise, if you stick around, I'll make it worth it. ;)

So, without further adieu...

Chapter 7.

"Once we decide on a destination, I can have money waiting on us when we get there. Plenty enough to live off of. Get a place... somehow." Alex said, Piper shot her a questioning look. "What?" she laughed.

"You have money?" Piper asked, looking up in just enough time to avoid a street lamp post.

"I made a lot more money after you left. Like... a small fortune. I had plenty of extra time on my hands with nothing better to do. You didn't really think that I would give it all to the authorities... did you?" Alex raised her eyebrows.

Piper had never thought of that. Alex had been well off before she'd met her, then with the constant increases in distribution, she was never close to going without... She could only imagine where Alex had gotten in the 8 years since she'd seen her. Even through the drug habit and being busted, she knew Alex was too smart to keep all of her assets in one place. They may have found a portion of it, but they would have never found all of it.

She laughed and shook her head. "You never cease to amaze me, Miss Vause."

As they walked, Piper's eyes bounced from window display to window display taking in all the bright colors and flawless designs. She thought back to a time when she would just be able to walk around downtown, taking in all the shops and cafes with not a worry in the world. She wondered if that would ever be a reality again. A pang of sadness hit her gut as she realized that she may never be able to have another care-free day out. There would always be that fear of the wrong person seeing them. The possibility of having to go back to somewhere like Litchfield. Except this time, it would be for a much longer stay.

Piper shuddered at the thought. She'd only served a couple of months, she couldn't imagine having to spend years in a place like that. She looked over at Nicky. She was walking slightly ahead of her, talking to Alex. She'd already served what, two years? How many did she have left? How did people cope with being caged for that long?

And Bree? Piper still hadn't found out what she had been doing time for. She could always just ask her, but would that be rude? She had know what several of the others were in for, but that was because they'd volunteered that information. She still wasn't completely sure what the standard protocol was when it came to talking about charges and sentences and the like.

She mentally shrugged. Not like it mattered now, anyway. These three women were going to be the only consistent faces in her life for... what? For months? Years? Forever? She wasn't exactly sure of the implications, but she knew that her life would never be the same. And maybe that wasn't such a bad thing... Granted, there were certain comforts of the normal white picket fence lifestyle that had and would always appeal to her. But if there was anyone that she would actually consider 'free-falling' through her life with, it was Alex. It had felt like forever since she'd felt anything close to an adventure. Some things that used to be so commonplace in her life back then, looked so extraordinary and fantastic to the person that she'd become. It'd been a while since she'd had a story to tell.

Life after Alex had just become... bland.

Piper smiled to herself. She was so far off in thought, she didn't hear Alex say her name. She jumped when Alex grabbed her arm and pulled her down one of the alleys that branched off from the main street.

"Alex? What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the look that flashed across Alex's face.

"Jesus, Piper. Did you not hear anything we've said for the past 4 blocks?" She continued to lead Alex down the alley, checking over her shoulder as they rounded a corner. "Someone's following us."

Piper stopped dead in her tracks, "What?!"

There were a million and a half things that flooded Piper's mind in that exact moment. Unfortunately, she could make sense of none of them.

"Nicky noticed him first, then when she realized that she wasn't just being paranoid, she told me. We decided we would split off in two directions. They ducked down an alley a little ways back, but I can't tell which way he went."

Piper felt like her heart stopped. She leaned over, putting her hands on her knees. Her hair fell around her face in a welcoming curtain.
"Oooh, fuck." She said through clenched teeth. Alex stopped and turned.

"What?" Alex questioned, her eyes darting about, formulating.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick." She took a deep steadying breath, but still felt her throat tighten is response.

"Piper, seriously. We don't have time for theatrics." She was pacing now, something Piper had only seen her do a few times before.

"Excuse me?" Piper raised up slowly, pushing her hair out of her face.

"You heard me. We don't have time for theatrics. Whether you like it or not, Piper, this is our life now. This may be the first time we're dealing with this, but I can promise you that it wont be the last. So you can either sit here and have your little freak out while theres someone looking for us. Or you can keep your shit together long enough for us to get back to the room and back to Nicky and Bree, so we can get the hell out of here." They stood, facing each other, eyes locked.

Piper could feel the sting in her eyes as her reality was finally setting in, but she pushed those feelings back. She was through with being the victim. It was about time she took her fate into her own hands. The look in Alex's eyes gave her whatever encouragement she was in need of. She took a deep breath. This one didn't shake like the last.
"Then what are we waiting for?"

One side of Alex's mouth twitched into a grin and they both turned, getting a running start further down the alley and away from all the shops. Piper was thankful that she'd taken up running while she was serving her time. She could feel the familiar burn in her calves and it spurred her on. They were headed further away from the hotel, but she knew that they'd want to make a wide path back. Not wanting to be seen and followed directly back to the safety of their room.

Then another thought crossed her mind. Who was this man? Was it just some random man who'd seen them and taken interest? Piper remembered one day when she'd went shopping downtown with Polly. Polly had mentioned that she kept seeing the same man in every store they went in. Once she brought it to Pipers attention, it seemed like it was all the more obvious. every time they'd turn a corner, there he was. It went on for well over an hour before it finally just stopped. They didn't see him again after that. Polly had joked that maybe he thought they were following him. That he finally just got too weirded out and decided to leave, but it didn't seem to help the uneasy feeling piper had in her gut.

The same feeling she was fighting with at the current moment.

Had the feds found them? Had someone on the street recognized them and called them in? Did Larry give her up?

Her feet pounded the pavement just as quickly as her heart pounded in her chest. She turned to see that she'd pulled ahead of Alex by a few yards, so she slowed. Even with her long legs, she knew Alex never really cared for running. But Piper, on the other hand, once she started running, she didn't want to stop. She felt like she could run for days. They'd been so closed up and shut off from everything, that this was the first time she'd gotten to run since the night they got out. Even under the circumstances, it was nice to feel the familiar rush in her blood.

After about 20 minutes of running, Piper started to notice the occasional building that she'd seen before. A road name that was too familiar. And with a few more blocks, she knew exactly in which direction she needed to head in order to get them back to the room. As they neared the hotel, they started to slow, making note of every person they passed. Every car that drove by.

They glanced over each others shoulders in perfect unison. Once again, Piper had the thought that if she had to go through this with anyone, she and Alex were the perfect match for it. They never had to speak their intentions, each of them knew exactly when to lead and when to follow. It was something they always shared, but never had it worked in their favor as it did now. They moved together like a well choreographed dance.

As they entered the rear parking lot, their senses were on high alert. Eyes wide, moving quickly, but consciously. They entered in through the back door. It brought them into the hallway, directly across from the stairwell they'd snuck into the night before.

Alex walked in first, Piper almost smashing into her as she stopped. She looked around her and saw the young front desk girl standing directly in front of them, blocking their path. She couldn't have been more than 22 or 23, brown hair that probably would've hit her mid back had the loose curls not been tied up in a hair band at the base of her neck. She stood there, that same expression on her face as had been the night before.

Piper would've just walked around her had she not seen the color drain from Alex's cheeks as it had when the young girl opened her mouth.

"You're Alex... Vause, right?"