A New Life (River Phoenix)

Piper

When I entered the room, Piper was sitting on the couch, waiting for me.

"Where have you been?" She asked me. I dropped my jacket off on the counter and examined our fridge.

"Carmen." She repeated.

"I got lost."

Piper rolled her eyes and huffed, coming over to me.

"How'd you find your way back?"

"Flea."

An annoyed look plastered across her face as she folded her hands.

Her mad expression proved my theory; Piper liked Flea.

"He invited us over tonight."

Piper wasted no time in getting ready.

I, on the other hand, was different. I showered for what seemed like hours and spent time afterwards staying in my towel. My desire to go out again was shrinking, yet growing at the thought of seeing River.

I had mixed emotions that I didn't plan on figuring out.

Piper came out of her room with a comb in one hand and hairspray in the other. She began helplessly teasing her hair in the mirror. I starred unamused at her.

"Are you ever going to get ready?" She asked me, frantically messing with the buttons on her shirt.

"It doesn't take me that long to get ready." I answered, laying back on the couch. "Plus, he said to come at night. We have time."

Piper looked at me with her eyebrows raised and pointed to the window.

"Have you even bothered to check the time?" She asked me annoyed.

I shot a confused look to her and then turned to the window, only to see the darkness that filled outside. The lights of Sunset Boulevard were bright and radiant, which meant to me it must be later than I expected. I clenched my towel against me.

"Oh shit," I said as I hurried up.

I heard Piper's faint laughter as I slammed the door closed to my room and examined the clothes I had failed to put away. Exactly as I suspected, I had nothing that appealed to me.

It seemed as if I was constantly put in this situation; not giving any thought to my daily apparel until I needed to.

It sucked.

After coming to the conclusion that my wardrobe was no where near the level It needed to be, I made my decision.

I had hurried into the only pair of unripped jeans I owned and one of my mother's old sweaters. It didn't take long for Piper to insult me, but I didn't mind.

I was beyond comfortable, while Piper seemed to resemble the opposite.

Her tight jeans hugged her waist a little too much and her jacket should not have been considered one. It was much too small. I laughed weakly to myself once I realized my criticism.

I loved her, but boy, sometimes I just didn't get it. I wasn't completely sure what drove her to outdo the look she'd rocked the night before.

She was always striving to be one step better.

Me? Not so much.

I followed Piper down the strip for around 10 or 15 minutes to get to their brick apartment.

Before heading upstairs, Piper stopped me.

She shook the nerves right out of her hands and bounced lightly. It was clear how antsy she was. I had wondered why.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Her expression brightened, hiding how she really felt. She was easy to read.

"I've never been better, Carm! Let's head up, shall we?" She asked.

Surely, but slowly, we did.

~~
Has anyone ever read Last Night At The Viper Room? I completely adore it. I'm reading it for the second time and it's a really good way to learn about and understand River on a more personal level. He was utterly amazing, and still is. He would also be turning 45 in 14 days :(