Piper June.

Ezra had a very low tolerance for strangers, much less for annoying strangers who ate all his food, peed outside the bowl in the bathroom upstairs, went into his room without his permission to use things that were for his own personal use, and who insisted on spending quality time together playing things like Scrabble and watching Wheel of Fortune after a very early, very healthy, very dry dinner. He couldn't stand Rose's family.

He had to be careful. He couldn't curse or smoke or do anything that he normally did, so he obviously wasn't a happy camper. They were strict and 'delicate' and overtly religious, meaning that any of his normal activities would get him a sharp glare from both Charles and Rose.

But he could plan how to sneak out and give Piper the best Thanksgiving ever. (She was spending it with her step-mother's creepy family, for crying out loud. Her father wasn't there and her mother was... somewhere. Piper didn't ever talk about her so it wasn't like Ezra knew.) And giving Piper the best Thanksgiving ever involved skill, precision, managing to convince Quinn to not go to Jude's for Thanksgiving, let him use his grandmother's apartment, and convince Quinn's older brother, Iggy, to get them free booze because he worked at a liquor store and had easy access.

Of course, it wasn't easy. He had to suck up to Jude, clean the apartment and make it teenager friendly - meaning that he had to stash all of Quinn's grandmother's little figurines and pictures and 'good' china in the back of his father's car and hope for the best, and on top of all that, put up the money for the booze because Iggy just couldn't come through. But if it meant seeing Piper have a good time for once then maybe he could make it happen. Maybe.

And then there was actually sneaking Piper out of her house. Because she wouldn't sneak out by herself, and Ezra knew that. Ezra couldn't ask Jude for her help, because she'd probably snitch to Olivia and ruin all his hard work, and getting enough booze, pills, and other things to entertain his guests was trouble enough and he wasn't about to let Jude get in the way. And Maggie was up in Montreal with Clark and his family - because Clark's mother was from Canada so they spent the holidays up there - so he couldn't ask her for help either.

He'd just think of something, he guessed. He told Piper have a bag ready near the door - because he had a feeling that family dinners in the Fleming household were really quite the classy affair and she wouldn't be dressed to party, not in her pretty dress and heels and pearls (because she seemed like the pearl type).

On Thursday night, Quinn compromised - but really it sounded more like Jude threatened to chop him into bits if he didn't - and told Ezra that he'd meet him at the party after dinner with Jude's family. But at least Annie and Tessie were coming, and they were bringing their friends, and their friends were bringing their friends.

It was going to be quite the night to remember.

Ezra even bought a new sweater and shirt and corduroys, just because he wanted Piper to think he looked nice. (And since when did it matter if she liked how he dressed? When?) And he hoped his friends liked her too - and no, they weren't dating, and no, they didn't know (he was pretty sure the only person who knew about the 'bet' of sorts was Quinn), but their opinions still mattered. Especially Annie and Tessie's, because they were like his little sisters, sort of, and he was like their brother, and they were all close, had always been close and would probably always be close. So how they felt about Piper mattered - because she was going to be around a lot more and if they didn't like her, they'd let her know, and she was so damn sensitive about everything, even if lately she'd been different.

When more than enough people had shown up, he decided he'd head to Piper's. He smokes a nervous cigarette on the train, then chews half a pack of gum - doesn't want to smell like cigarettes just this once - and spits the wad out in a snow bank in front of Jude's house. He walks through the small cleared path in front of Piper's house, trying to warm his hands as he rings the doorbell.

He's preparing an elaborate speech - I just need to borrow Piper for a little while for a term paper and golly I know it's late and it's Thanksgiving but it'll be quick honest - but Piper's opening the door and pushing him out, grabbing his hand and running with him, laughing.

"What's going on?" he asks, looking down at her. And she shakes her head, laughing as she stops to catch her breath, air puffing like tiny little clouds in front of her pink lips.

"They're playing Yahtzee," she says, huffing, "in the kitchen... and they think - they think I'm going over to Jude's." She smiles and kisses his cheek, chest heaving as she sighs. "So, where are we going?"

Ezra smiles and brushes some of her hair out of her face, then spins her, watching her skirt flare out and smiling at her laugh - dainty and pretty and she doesn't deserve to be so sad, and god if that isn't the prettiest smile I've ever seen in the whole world then I don't know what is.

“Well, first, let's get you out of this, and we'll see where the night takes us.”

“Okay,” she smiles, leaning into him as she curls her hand around his elbow.

He feels warm, and a part of him feels like it's not because of the liquor.



Jenny sighs, pulling a pair of ripped tights up her skinny legs, shorts following suit. So, she wasn't invited to the party. Not really. She doesn't know why because Ezra's had more than enough time to get over it and it's petty, really. And 'invitations' are so mainstream, anyway. Who needs them? So, okay yes, she did kind of sleep with Sal, but technically they were on a break (or so it seemed) so it wasn't really cheating. Not really. But Ezra was mad about it when it happened and was, apparently, so not over it. She scratches her left thigh blankly, shivering as she stands in front of her closet. She's only in a pair of shorts, ripped tights, plus her bra. She grabs one of his old shirts and buttons it up, brushing her long brown hair over her shoulder.

(He always liked seeing her in his shirts.)

All she needs to do is remind Ezra of how things were before everything got so screwed up, before she messed around with Sal - and he wasn't even that cute, not really, not anymore - and before she went to rehab again - oopsies - and everything would be golden, and they'd be Ezra and Jenny again - the it couple, the next Maggie and Clark, she just knew it - and it'd be okay.

She just hoped he wouldn't be too mad at her.



Piper's nervous. This is her first big party with Ezra and Maggie's a whole country away, and Jude's not here. And granted, it's not like Jude would offer much help outside of 'Ezra's bad for you' but her presence would be welcome nonetheless. People are dancing and there are pills everywhere and it's hot and cramped - but then Ezra's squeezing her hand and talking about getting her a drink. And she really would like something to drink - the turkey was dry and unseasoned - but she realizes that he means a real drink, and she watches shakily as he pours something into a cup - one for me, one for you. But she tries to steel herself, because if Ezra likes girls who can hold their liquor, then she'll be one of those girls.

She is going to make him like her, one way or another.

“So are you liking the party so far?” Ezra asks, smiling at Piper as he downs whatever is in his cup in one fell swoop. He doesn't even flinch. Maybe it's not so bad. She takes a timid sip and it's all she can do to keep from spitting it back out, smiling.

“It's amazing! I'm so happy you invited me.” Piper hides her smile behind her cup, leaning against the wall. Ezra rests his hand behind her head, leaning in a little.

“Yeah, well I'm happy you came. It wouldn't have been the same without you.”

“You party without me all the time,” she points out. He licks his lips and laughs and she blushes, looking down at her drink. “What's the difference?”

“You're here,” Ezra says, lifting up her chin. “And you aren't usually here,” he adds with a soft smile, watching as she laughs nervously. “Maybe we should dance.” His free hand finds hers and she smiles, biting her lip.

“We hold hands now?” She lifts an eyebrow and he nods, squeezing her hand a little.

“C'mon,” he says, tugging her along.

Everything was going perfectly. And then, of course, it just wasn't. He turned around and stopped short, frowning as he looked down at the little brown haired girl in front of him.

Goin' wild for the night -

“Ezra!” She hugged him tightly, wrapping her legs around his waist as she looked at him. She looked over at Piper, confused. Piper feels the blood draining out of her face as she watches the girl kiss his neck and hold him tightly, blabbering on a mile a minute as his hand falls away from hers. “I missed ya, babe,” the girl says, hugging him again. “Do you mind giving us a moment?” she asks Piper, raising a thin eyebrow.

Piper looks at Ezra with a puzzled expression, and she's smiling and saying, "Okay," but the look in her eyes makes him feel like the biggest tool in the whole world and like giving Iggy $400 so he could bring him the good stuff and probably breaking all of Quinn's grandma's antiques was all going to waste as she walks away, walking up to Annie and Tessie.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he hisses, frowning at Jenny. She bites her lip and laughs, looking down as she shakes her head. "What's so funny, Jenny? Why are you here?"

"I'm here to see you, silly." She presses him against the wall, fingers playing with his collar. (This used to make him a panting, sweaty, incoherent mess, but it seems as though those days have passed. No worries. She knows how to butter him up.) "And I heard you were throwing a party and - "

"And I didn't invite you for a reason." Jenny frowns, pouting her lower lip a little.

"C'mon, baby. Don't be like that," she coaxes, playing with the soft hairs at the nape of his neck. "I wanted to surprise you," she says with a pretty smile, pearly white teeth framed in bright red lipstick.

"I'm so surprised," he says flatly, pulling her hands off of him with a heavy scowl. "Can you go bother someone else now? There are lots of guys here who don't know what a soul sucking leech you are, and I'm sure they'd be more than happy to entertain you for the night."

"But I don't want them," she says as he keeps her at arms length. "I want you."

Ezra storms away in an attempt to find that weird blonde girl as she sighs sadly. She flips her hair over her shoulder, fixing her lipstick with a small smile.

If Ezra wants to play hard to get...



Two can play at that game, Piper thinks as she watches Jenny or whatever her name is press herself up against Ezra. She can't hear what Jenny's saying, but it doesn't matter. Ezra wanted Jenny, or girls like Jenny, and Piper wasn't going to stand there and let him make a fool out of her. Maybe it was something in her drink that made her bold. She shrugs a little. Who cares?

"I can't believe we haven't met before," Annie says with a happy grin, bright coppery strands of hair sticking to her face with sweat. "Isn't she funny, Tess?" Tess is too busy staring at Jenny over her drink, annoyed. Jenny tore Ezra apart, and Tess is going to be damned if she lets her try to do it again. Piper smiles at Annie, because she feels like she's conquered one tiny obstacle in her long journey of becoming someone new.

"Yeah, she's great," Tess says, setting her drink down. "Excuse me. Someone needs to take out the trash." Annie frowns but shrugs, turning back to Piper.

"So, you go to Rosewood too?" Annie asks, pushing some of her hair back into her bun. "I don't think I've seen you around, but I know Maggie talks about you all the time. She thinks you're - " Annie stops short, looking over Piper's shoulder. "Pierre! Hey, Pierre! I'm over here!"

Pierre is handsome, Piper guesses, in the way most boys like him are handsome. He's well-dressed, jeans and a pretty green gingham shirt that plays with the green in his eyes, freckles on his pale cheeks, brown hair combed to the side as he holds out a drink to Annie. Piper bites her lip, trying to focus. She's here because she wants to get Ezra's attention, and this party is supposed to be the culmination of all her hard work.

But there's not much she can do when Ezra's chasing after that stupid girl, so she has to, obviously, change her method of attack.

Pierre introduces himself with a soft hand on hers, whispering his name in her ear because the music is too loud and he'd have to yell otherwise. There's something oddly intimate about the whole thing and it makes her blush a little underneath all the makeup and perfume. He's a friend of Annie's from one of the private prep schools in the Upper East Side. How they ever became friends, Piper will never know, but it's not her place to ask anyway.

Annie asks her if she knows where Ezra is. Piper tells her she doesn't, because she really doesn't feel like telling her that he was probably getting his dick wet with some girl who probably didn't even know what day it was anymore because she was so damn drunk really wasn't an appropriate response. She goes to look for him too, so that just leaves Piper and Pierre standing awkwardly on the sidelines of the party.

"Are you having a good time, then?" he asks, looking down at her. Because he's tall, and dreamy, and he smells nice. Not like Ezra isn't any of those things either, but Pierre is different and something about it - she doesn't know what - makes her smile.

"Yeah," she says, because saying that she's not would be a downer and she's not trying to do that, not tonight. And then she spots Ezra in the corner of her eye and her smile widens because he's alone. Finally. Piper's about to excuse herself to go talk to him and finally put all she's learned this week to good use and maybe get him to do something more than kiss her when he thought no one was looking.

But then little Jenny, Jenny with her stupid flannel shirt and shorts and combat boots and pretty smile and bright eyes, starts grinding her body against his to the beat of the song. Piper watches him, hopeful, because she knows he's going to push her off at some point, because he doesn't like her. But he doesn't. He just wraps his hands around her tiny waist and moves with her.

Piper decides then that the most logical thing is to get Ezra's attention the old fashioned way - with another boy. She smiles at Pierre the way Maggie taught her to, biting her lip a little but not too much, eyes half lidded but not hooded, because she's not trying to make bedroom eyes at him - she just wants Ezra to forget about Jenny for once. Just this once.

"You wanna dance with me? I love this song."

Pierre is putty in her waiting hands, which she expected him to be, because, according to Maggie, most guys were after a look like that. She doesn't pull Pierre to a spot right next to Ezra because she's not desperate, but she does make sure that she's in his line of vision, so that if he looks up, she's who he'll see, and he won't be able to miss the boy dancing with her either.

Piper didn't think she was a good dancer, but since Pierre seems to be enjoying himself and she takes his smile and whispers in her ear as a good sign. And the Ezra looks up, much like she expected him to, and looks like he's just been slapped clear across the face. She smiles innocently at him, threading her hands in Pierre's hair the way Jenny did to Ezra before, and the line on his face only grows. She tilts her head, raising an eyebrow.

The song ends and she asks Pierre to bring her a drink as Ezra pushes through the packed living room, leaving a curious Jenny behind him.

Hook, line, and sinker.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asks her quietly, pushing some of her hair behind her ear as the next song starts up. It's something with a heavy beat, though it is a little slow.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Do you even know his name?"

"Do you?" she counters, raising an eyebrow. "I'm trying to have fun, Ezra, with or without you."

"With some guy you barely even know?" he asks, more worried than angry. "Piper - " Ezra stops short, leaning his forehead against hers. "Be careful, okay? Just... just be careful."

"Are you jealous?" she counters, raising an eyebrow. Ezra looks at her as she moves her body against his innocently. "Did you wish it was you? Do you just want me all for yourself? Can you stand seeing me with someone else? Does it make you mad?"

"Piper," he sighs quietly. "I - " He presses kisses to her temple as they lean against the wall, fervent and quiet and soft as he starts mumbling a bunch of sweet nothings. Well, they're his brand of sweet nothings, anyway. "I don't really care if he wants to bend you backwards and leave you so tuckered out that you can't even walk, 'cause you're mine baby girl, and he can shoot me all the dirty looks he wants 'cause you belong with me, not him. I found you first, and I'm not going to stand here and let him put his hands all over you. Sorry, PJ. It's just not happening."

"And you and what army are gonna stop me?"

Ezra kisses her then, but it's not quiet or gentle or sweet or loving or anything. It's real, it's raw, it's rushed, it's needy, and it makes her feel like all that matters right now is his lips travelling to her neck and leaving a mark that's not going to fade for quite some time, his fingers digging into her hips hard enough to bruise and her name falling from his lips like a prayer, Piper, Piper, Piper, you're mine, all mine -

The only thing that makes it better is the look on Jenny's face as she stares Piper down from across the room, eyes narrowed in a silent declaration of war over one unsuspecting Ezra Finnely.

If only Maggie could see me now.