User blog:SodaCat/Diamonds - Chapter 11: Disclosure

What on Earth had exactly driven Piper into making her way to the  burger joint at this time of night on Christmas Eve after her argument with Bif, she didn't know, but she found herself lost the moment she stepped into its interior.

She looked around, dazed, confused even by the uninterested cashier looking through an issue of BlaBla, the one that for some ungodly reason had the Lombardi girl on the cover. Piper wrinkled her nose in unconscious disgust.

"Piper?"

Turning away from the woman at the counter, Piper found herself looking into the eyes of her roommate, Alexis. She sat alone at a booth, her hair a wild mess, her eyes more sunken in than she had seen them before. She'd seen Bif enough times the same way to know that Alexis was drunk, though not by much.

Comforted by the presence of a known friend, Piper made her way to the booth and sat across Alexis, pulling off her coat in haste as she suddenly felt crowded and overheated. "i've had a bloody terrible night, love," she moaned, the reality of her fight with Bif only just occurring to her, "and I just don't know how to fix any of it."

Expecting Alexis to pry, Piper found herself surprised when the blonde simply leaned back and mumbled a quick "join the club". She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in curiosity, but Alexis looked away.

The bells over the entrance to the restaurant jingled, distracting Piper from questioning Alexis any further. She was a bit surprised to see Jesse Tyler standing in the doorway, appearing awfully puzzled, before seeing them and making his way over to their booth. Piper had been convinced that Jesse of all people would be spending his Christmas Eve at some party with the other Jocks--that silly party was all Christy had been speaking of for the past month.

He sat across Piper, placing an arm around Alexis, and Piper had to fight the urge to laugh at the infuriated glare Alexis shot at him when he did so.

"'Scuse me ladies, I've just had a real bad night and I'm just lookin' for some company that ain't superficial," Jesse said, quieter than Piper had ever heard him. Perhaps he'd gotten into a fight with Casey, she had noticed the two of them growing more and more silent with each other in their shared English class, but she never thought the two of them would have gotten into a fight.

"That's alright, Jesse," she smiled, a bit concerned with the possibility of Jesse fighting with the boy who he acted about as close as brothers with since she met him his first year at the academy, "I believe all three of us have had unpleasant nights."

To her surprise, he let out a laugh that to her appeared borderline hysterical before leaning back and placing an arm around Alexis' shoulders. Again, Piper had to fight the urge to laugh. He's just naturally charming, she wanted to tell Alexis.

"I'm guessin' yours mighta had somethin' to do with a boy? 'Cause my situation sure had somethin' to do with a lady, and it didn't turn out none too well."

So he hadn't gotten into a fight with Casey. Christy? The girl was always bragging about how she'd gotten one of the school's "biggest players" wrapped around her finger. The solution seemed logical enough, but a sneaking suspicion told her it went deeper than that. Sighing, she nodded.

"Well, mine did," Alexis mumbled, her first actual phrase since Jesse had entered the restaurant.

"Miss Monroe, is it? Well, if you don't mind my askin', just what is it that happened to make you upset?"

Piper leaned in a little, interested as to what had happened to Alexis. Undoubtedly, it must have something to do with Peanut.

She took a visible moment to gather her thoughts, as if pondering whether or not she could trust Piper and Jesse. Though Piper understood the doubt, she had no convincing way of allowing Alexis to know that both she and Jesse could be trusted.

"One of my best friends, Johnny Vincent?" Alexis began, surprising Piper a little. She had been sure it had something to do with the Romano boy. "He broke up with his dame, and decided to try and tell me it's me he loves, but I know that isn't true. He's just lonely; he's done it before."

Piper nodded a little, mulling over the information. She knew Alexis had been present at the school prior to their formal meeting, she'd seen her hanging around the auto shop, though she'd never gone out of her way to say hello.

"His old girl, Patti?" Alexis carried on, dragging Piper out of her thoughts, "He was real into her, too. then when they broke up, same thing happened. Not as much, though. He wasn't as broken up about it as he was 'bout this one. I don't know, I didn't wanna fall for it no more."

Piper nodded a little, recalling a scandal that had broken out during her freshman year involving the Vincent boy and a girl who'd been in her senior year, Patti. She had heard that the girl had become pregnant, and it was fairly clear it hadn't been the boy being as his 'not until we're married so you know I love you' belief was so strongly standing.

"Sounds like a real rat," Jesse growled, and Piper was a little surprised by the sudden change in his eyes. "You just say the word and I'll get the entire football team and we'll teach that greaseball a lesson."

She recognized the anger in the boys' voice, and tried to recall the steps to calm him down that Casey Harris had once enlightened her with, just in case. Why these procedures had to be taken she did not know, but she was quite sure that a situation like this may arise the need for calming him down.

"Naw, it's alright," Alexis ensured, and Piper let out a shaky breath as Jesse pulled her in for a hug. He seemed calm enough now. She couldn't help but smile.

"What about you, lil' miss Harrington?" Jesse piped up suddenly, catching her off guard, "Who hurt you on this fine night?"

She sat in silence, a bit surprised by the attention. "We-Well... he didn't quite hurt me, to say the truth..." she lied. Sure, Bif was acting terribly to her, but should she really sell him out to two people that barely knew him?

"Now if you don't mind my language, that's some real bullshit, miss. I can see right in your eyes, you're hurtin' bad."

Alright, so there wasn't any use in lying any further. Sighing, Piper relaxed her shoulders and stared at a peculiar stain of ketchup in the table by Alexis' questionable burger. "Well, you see, it's Bif."

She looked up for a moment, searching their eyes for any recognition, and found only vague. "You know, Bif Taylor, the boxer? He's been quite apprehensive on how he feels for me, lately, and just today he's decided that he loves me."

She let out another sigh, gaze turning to the dark street out beyond the dirty glass window beside her. "I suspect he simply isn't quite ready to lose me to Parker, however..." she added, more to herself than them.

"He's a dick," Alexis shot out as if on command, "he's an absolute jerk."

"That sure don't sound too nice," Jesse added, holding out her hand, and for a moment Piper hesitated before deciding that the contact was welcome. She took his hands, holding on tightly.

"What about you, Tyler?" Alexis said, her anger still apparent, "who's tugging on your heartstrings?"

Jesse looked to the two of them, a small smile forming on his lips. "Why, I'll have to swear both you ladies to secrecy. This kinda thing will tear the football team right to shreds, yeah?"

Piper nodded slowly, a bit intrigued by the coming information. Realistically, she did think the football team needed shaking up. She still remembered what it had been like back in her freshman year when she had been on the cheer squad with Mandy Wiles, expected to cater to Mandy's every need. She'd left less than a week in.

"You see, I think I made the mistake of fallin' in love with the head cheerleader, Mandy Wiles."

Piper raised her eyebrows, a bit shocked. Why Jesse would fall in love with a girl who was his polar opposite was beyond her, but she couldn't quite argue. Bif wasn't exactly who she thought he was, either, maybe Jesse's case was similar.

"That... That certainly is a predicament..."

Jesse nodded a little, shrugging. "She says she don't know what she wants, though. I reckon she just wants to stir up drama, and it's workin'. I ain't ever felt this mixed up about a lady, yet... here I am, wanderin' the streets and pilin' my problems on top of two already stressed out ladies."

"It's fine, man," Alexis assured, speaking both for herself and Piper, "guess we're all fucked on Christmas. Dandy."

Piper let out a small breath, unable to argue that fact. Obviously, she would've been more tactful with her wording, but Alexis' statement was about as accurate as it got. It seemed all of the energy had been squeezed out of all three of them, being as they sat in a comfortable silence for what Piper thought had been half an hour.

The only thing to break the stillness was her phone buzzing in her pocket. A bit annoyed by the distraction, she pulled it out, and was surprised to see a text from Tad Spencer sitting in her inbox.


 * TAD SPENCER: come quick. bif hurt. boxing gym.

"Oh lord...!" she cried out, shooting up from the table, "I'm so sorry, I need to go r-right away...!" she said, eyes  still focused on the screen as she threw her arms through the sleeves of her coat, struggling to get it on correctly in her haste.

"I'm sorry, we'll talk again soon!" she called as she ran through the door, ignoring the jingling of the bells to the entrance of the restaurant. She needed to get to Bif, and fast.