One of us - Nichorello

40. You should know

<Lorna's POV>

"Nicky?" I asked in bewilderment.

"I'm not letting you get away with this. Not this time"

"What do you mean?"

"I remember the first time you held my hand. I don't know if it was because of the cold or because I loved you but fuck, I felt the world rush through my veins," she looks at me, tears in her eyes as she steps closer. She inhales deeply and takes my hands into hers, the familiar sparks making their way through my body. "I don't know how you felt or how you feel, but I know that I'm not ready to let this feeling go. I want it back, I want you back"

I felt my eyes tear up as I stared into her eyes that had turned a few shades darker. How does she do it? How could she possibly manage to describe exactly what I felt when I was with her? I never believed in soulmates until I met her. And I'm not ready to let go of her either. She was just beginning to talk again as all her facial expressions dropped. Her grip around my hands tensed for a second before she let my hands fall as if they were poisonous.

I turned around to see what she was staring at.

Christopher.

Fuck. This could not be happening right now. This was such a huge misunderstanding. I needed to make things right.

"Nicky, I -"

"Don't," she said "I guess you returned to the ocean after all. But this time, it's not an ocean. It's a fucking puddle."

Her wavy hair bounced off her back as she got into her car and drove away.

"What a fucking weirdo," Christopher said as he pulled me inside, "talking about ponds and oceans, what is she? Retarded?"

No, she is brilliant, I thought. I knew exactly that she was referring to my poem. She was the ocean and Christopher was the puddle. How ironic that she used my own poem against me.

---------------

"Hello?" The raspy, deep voice of the raven haired woman asked.

"Alex, it's Lorna. I just messed things up with Nicky. I really need your help."

"Yeah- I need to talk to you too," she mumbled quietly.

"How about we meet at school in five minutes?"

"See you there."

And with that she hung up. This discrete and introverted behaviour of Vause was unusual. Normally she would be laughing and giggling, the perky type of person everyone likes. Maybe she was pregnant?! Okay, my thoughts were spinning out.

----------------

"Sooo-" Alex fidgeted with her fingers while staring at the floor. Her weird behaviour was starting to freak me out.

"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.

"This with Nicky-"

"No, let me say something about her first." I paused for a few seconds "I really fucked things up. When she left, after about 4 weeks I came back together with Christopher, because I figured that Nicky wouldn't come back."

Alex continued to avoid my gaze, still staring at the grey concrete beneath us.

"I know that I totally messed up and it's all my fault-" I continued, but she interrupted me abruptly, snapping out of her hypnosis.

"No. It's not." she sternly stated.

"Yes, it is. She wanted to apologize today, but-"

"Lorna, let me finish," she paused shortly while finally looking at me again "It's my fault. I didn't tell Nicky about your breakup with Christopher. Purposely."

Wait, what?! She sabotaged my relationship with Nicky!? Wasn't she supposed to be Nicky's best friend?!

"You, what?!" I yelled a bit too loud.

"Let me explain, alright?" she paused, waiting for my approval. "Before you told me about your breakup with Christopher, Nicky finally agreed to leave after weeks of fighting and negotiating. She had been procrastinating this entire progress, because of you. And there is and was no doubt that she would do anything for you. If I had told her, she would have jumped into the next plane back to Washington. She would have abandoned me because she is madly in love with you, in a way that she has never experienced before."

I inhaled deeply, trying to process the things she was just saying.

"If she had left Europe, she would not have only ended the business trip for her, but additionally, for me too. And I need the money, I need this job, otherwise, I wouldn't do any of this. But sadly, I do. And I'm sorry if things between you and Nicky aren't going smoothly right now, but I'll make it up to you, I swear."

Her eyes were filled with tears, her fingers were intertwined as if she was praying for my forgiveness. Never had I imagined Alex to show this much remorse and compassion, but it proved her friendship with Nicky and her guilty conscience. It reassured me of the fact that Alex wasn't a disgraceful person, she was caring and loyal, and these are qualities that should be valued.

"I forgive you," I smiled at her reassuringly.

A smile spread across her face as she hugged me tightly.

"Okay, all this bullshit aside. I have got a plan," she stated confidently. There was the Alex Vause everybody knew.

"Today, we're having a cash Friday afterparty. There'll be a little bit of drinking, a little bit of dancing and probably a ton of smoking. Anyways, Nicky will be there, bec-, well actually because it's mandatory. So if you want to join, you can stop by anytime."

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you later," I mumbled while standing up, already thinking about what I was going to say.

"Wait- Um, can you convince Piper to stop by, too?" the nervosity in Alex's voice was adorable. Piper and she were destined to be, I never understood why it didn't work out, but I was highly aware of how much Alex meant to Piper.

<flashback>

"What are you doing here?" I asked in bewilderment as I rubbed my eyes, which were about to close again.

Piper's demeanor remained unchanged while she was fidgeting with her gloves. Her whole body was shivering due to the coldness outside. What was she doing in the middle of the night on my front porch?

"Piper? It's 2 am?!"

"I was wondering if I could crash at your place for a bit?" her voice pitched higher.

"Of course, what happened?" Her condition began to worry me.

"My parents threw me out. They still repel the fact that Alex is actually a girl."

"You told them, huh?"

"Well, I tried."

<flashback ends>

Remembering all those nights Piper had spent at my house, talking to me about Alex, without once complaining about the trouble she got into because of her, I knew that I had to tell Vause.

"You know, I have never seen Piper do anything exclusively selfless until she met you. She would go through hell, just for you"

"Why are you telling me that?"

"I just thought you should know."