SUCKER PUNCH
CHAPTER ONE !

THERE WERE MANY PERKS to having a roommate while in college. They were someone who would always have a snack in the mini fridge that you swore you didn't take. Someone who would playfully mock you for the childhood stuffed animal you still carried around, that sat front and centre on your bed. The person who you could binge watch shitty shows on the home improvement channel or the Food Network when heading out for the night wasn't enticing but also someone who you could stumble back to the room with, side by side using one another to keep from falling to your faces, after a night of partying.

For Piper, all those reasons and more were the best part about having a roommate for her. But the very best perk, the crème de la crème, the pièce de résistance, was a roommate that had her eyes rolling into the back of her head. The roommate who had zero issue with racking up a list of noise complaints from their dorm neighbours after ramming the headboard into the wall with such force that the legs of the bed almost collapsed under the weight. Someone who was able to cheer her up after a particularly shitty day by burrowing their head between her legs and not pulling away until she was sobbing for reprieve.

That was Jordan Li for her. Her roommate and on and off friend with benefits. If there was one person who could pull Piper from that heinous pit of self doubt, the ugly mess that was Piper's tragic past when it reared its head, that was Jordan. They were genuinely the only person that Piper could rely on to just know when she needed distracting and vice versa.

            When the topic of Jordan's parents cropped up, the blatant favouritism they held for Jordan's male form and how openly they treated Jordan as nothing more than a boy, their first born son, the falling into bed was inevitable for the pair. Without a second thought, Piper was always there to comfort Jordan in the best way she knew how. Was it a healthy coping mechanism for either of them? Not particularly, but neither Piper nor Jordan gave a single fuck. Not when the release of their pent up emotions felt so euphoric.

Sex for these two was...a messy, sometimes violent affair. Most of the time, they barely got through the door before they became a hazardous mess of limbs, rushing to remove clothing, even going as far as ripping a few articles just to shed them from the skin and get their mouth, their nails, anything to find purchase along the supple flesh beneath. A new bruise was frequently found on their bodies, always after they got carried away.

They didn't understand it. They could be on the bed one moment but end up on the bathroom floor by the time the orgasmic haze began fading. Pressed against the locked door then come to from the sex-crazed state in the shower, hot water pouring down upon their aching yet numb bodies. They could never predict where they'd end up.

            The only thing that remained the same, that was consistent over each hook-up, at least that Piper had noticed, was Jordan's male form dominating over their body. She has noticed this little factoid, this tidbit over a year prior, not long after their arrangement had begun, but she wrote it off by figuring it was a simply a choice on Jordan's part, maybe they felt more comfortable having sex as a boy. And while Piper would have been more than happy with Jordan in either form, she wasn't going to push them simply to appease her own desires.

            Piper's legs lazily released their once unyielding grip from around Jordan's waist, the limbs that now felt like jelly meeting the mattress below her as Jordan's arms grew too weak to hold them up any longer. Their face was soon buried in the crevice of Piper's neck, their panting breath hot against her skin. A healthy sheen of sweat coating their skin.

            She blinked hazily up at the ceiling, her mouth dryer than the Sahara desert and her throat raw from the uncontrollable yells of Jordan's name mixed with expletives too shocking to repeat.

            The sound of Jordan chuckling as they shifted to lay beside her on the bed caused her to turn and stare curiously at them. Jordan waved noncommittally at the potted plants that took up a few spaces within the room.

            "You made the plants grow again." Jordan pointed out. A cheeky, self confident grin tiredly formed upon their lips.

            True to their word, the plants now looked far bigger, more swirly and reaching for the ceiling than they had been earlier in the day.

            The only time Piper wasn't in complete control of her powers was during the throes of passion that was being tangled up in the sheets, with her toes curling and her nails desperate to find a grip satisfying enough to match the rush of endorphins that consumed her entire being. This hadn't always been the case. Not that she'd ever admit it, in a bid to protect her pride and stop Jordan's head from inflating any bigger, but the only time she'd been out of control had been when with Jordan. They were the only person capable of driving her so out of her mind with elation that she lost her grip on her powers.

            She just shrugged, the girl having grown accustomed to Jordan pointing this out. Piper smiled as she sighed happily. "We can never have too much oxygen in this room." She joked.

            "Don't you have to see Professor Grey soon?"

            Piper's eyes darted over to the clock mounted on the wall. "Fuck!" She screamed out suddenly. She jumped to her feet, the sheets sliding from her naked form as she began to scurry around. "Oh my god, I'm gonna be so late. She's gonna kill me."

            Jordan snorted in amusement while watching the girl struggle to find her clothes that had been sent in all directions in their rush. "Please, you're Golden Boy's sister. That's practically royalty in Godolkin. You know she won't say shit to you."

            Still in their male form, Jordan sat up in the bed, the thin sheet settling in their lap. An almost enticing tug of the lips appeared on their face as they said, "Maybe you should skip altogether the meeting since you're gonna be late anyway."

The Riordan girl paid them no mind, instead continuing her panicked search for her clothes as she tugged the ones she found on. She suddenly spotted her shirt tossed over the lamp on Jordan's bedside table.

Jordan took her appearance by the bed once again to their advantage, reaching out a hand until their fingers met hers, tugging her down to perch on the beds edge. "We can have another round and you can be on top this time." Came the low, husky voice Jordan used to seduce her.

Usually it worked hook, line and sinker.

Piper had to force herself to ignore the teasing grip Jordan now had on her hips and the ache that bloomed between her legs. She gently cared her fingers through the currently short strands of Jordan's hair as she sighed softly and muttered, "You're really tempting but I can't skip."

A pout was sent her way as she reluctantly pulled herself from their hold. She carried on scooping up her clothes, while Jordan slid back down into the bed, completely free until the afternoon. "Fine, but I'm taking the last granola bar."

             "Maybe you could visit Brink. I'm sure he'd had no problem giving you something to take your mind out of the gutter." Piper quipped with a smirk over her shoulder as she looked into the mirror, fixing her hair to mask that she'd just had sex.

             Jordan was in their female form by the time she turned back around. Short strands had changed into the shoulder length, ebony-coloured bob that just barely brushed against their shoulders. They had been in the midst of covering their now exposed breasts, the sight unknowingly making it harder for Piper to focus. She quickly forced her eyes away, moved to grab her backpack and hurried out the door, shouting a goodbye over her shoulder as she dashed away.

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            THE MEETING WITH PROFESSOR Grey had been a complete bust. Unlike Jordan, who had been practically handed their position as Professor Brinkerhoff's TA, Piper had crashed and burned during her light begging session with the woman who had had been almost dangling the position like a carrot the entire time before cruelly yanking it and with it the rug from out from under Piper's feet.

The worst part of it all? Piper couldn't even blame Professor Grey for turning her away. Yeah, Piper was in the top students of Godolkin, but not in the top five like most of her friends. She wasn't her brother who had powers that fucking everyone seemed to be envious of. Her powers, while useful at times, wasn't something that others desperately wanted for themselves. Even Sam had been incredibly powerful before his passing. Both of her brother's powers had been rooted in strength whereas she needed some form of nature around her in order for them to even work.

Professor Grey had been right, it just sucked to be turned down despite knowing it was coming.

So with a coffee from Jitter Bean in her hand, she forced herself to push back her emotions, like she had done time and time again, as she slid into the space beside her friend, Andre. "Those two are sickeningly sweet." She quipped with a smile, her heading nodding over at Luke and Cate, their tongues lost in one another's mouths. "But I don't appreciate seeing them dry-hump each other in public."

Andre chuckled at her words. He swiftly plucked the cup of coffee from her hand, ignoring her protests as he dashed away from her. Slowly, Piper trailed behind her friend, the girl in a state of humoured disbelief as she saw him taking a large gulp.

"All right! Tongue in your head. Head in the game." The Anderson boy called out as he approached the couple who seemed in desperate need for air as they parted ways. "Yes, you. Thank you."

            As soon as she found herself stood next to Andre again, Piper didn't hesitate to make a move for her coffee which he relinquished without a fight.

            Piper allowed her gaze to scan over her brother, a cursory glance, one done out of habit, until she caught sight of the burgeoning bluish hue that tainted the skin under his eyes. "You okay? You look tired. Like really tired." She immediately inquired, concern for Luke washing over her face.

            "Just that nightmare again." Luke's hands rushed to massage under his eyes in an attempt to rid himself of the markings of exhaustion that now two people had pointed out.

            Cate's arm slid around Luke's waist, gripping him tightly, comfortingly. With a sly smile, she uttered, "I'll take care of him, don't you worry." Her voice aimed at Piper but her hungry gaze locked upon Luke.

            "I love hearing about my brother's sex life. Thank you, Cate." A scrunch formed upon Piper's face, her nose turned up, her lips twisted playfully as she feigned outrageous disgust.

The Golden Boy of Godolkin shook his head at the two, rolling his eyes at their antics as he and Andre slipped away to discuss tactics. "Dude, I am not sweating The Incredible Steve. Or anyone that has 'the' in their name." His voice fading out as the pair trailed off across the stadium.

Cate's face warped suddenly and her head tilted over at Piper. "You didn't get it?"

For a brief moment, the Riordan girl looked taken aback by her friend's words. She forgot for a second that Cate could literally hear her thoughts and cursed herself for letting her mask of indifference slip. She wanted to be there for Luke, not draw the attention to herself.

The blonde shook her head instantly as she carried on hearing Piper's voice bellowing at herself within her mind. "You didn't do anything. Your thoughts are just practically screaming at me." She explained, her gaze chock full of sympathy.

There was a beat of silence as a wave of calm washed over Piper's insides, effectively quelling the irritation she felt at herself. Finally she shrugged, breaking the silence as she spoke. "It's whatever. I knew it was a long shot anyway."

Cate's black glove clad hand made contact with her friend's shoulder, the tips of her fingers lightly pressing into the flesh. She frowned deeply. "You don't have to prove yourself, you know that, right? Your powers are unique to you, they're what makes you special. You don't have to be like Luke for people to see that."

If there was one thing Cate hated about Piper, it was her self disdain. To her, Piper was amazing. A fucking fantastic person with powers that no one else seemed to have, and unlike a shit ton of people, Piper had actually fully mastered her powers without someone else getting caught in the crossfire during the early years.

Piper was her best friend and it pained Cate to hear how little the girl truly thought of herself in comparison to her brother. Cate was more than aware of the toll losing her little brother Sam had had on Piper.

            The blonde's words managed to drum up a flurry of emotion within Piper. A faint smile began to creep its way onto her face as she moved to pull Cate into a hug. "God, you're such a good fucking friend." She breathed out as Cate just giggled.

A cacophony of cheers tugged the two girls from their embrace just in time to see Andre rushing back towards them and Luke stepping up to take his place opposite his opponent.

As the match began and Luke's entire body became engulfed in flames, Piper was quick to averts her gaze in order to avoid laying eyes on her brother's penis. Long ago she had made that very horrifying mistake and in no way did she ever intend on doing it again. Traumatised was truly the only way to explain how she had felt back then. Neither she nor Luke had been able to look one another in the eye for nearly two whole weeks. The whole time Sam had found it absolutely hilarious.

Chants of Luke's nickname and Supe moniker 'Golden Boy' filled the stadium and Piper's ears which was followed by the thunderous crash of the Incredible Steve's body slamming into the mat. Within less than a minute, Luke had managed to pin him down, grab hold of his arms by the wrists and pull with such brute strength that Steve's arms completely ripped away from his torso in a bloody, spewing mess.

Once sure that Luke had donned his robe, Piper finally looked back over in the direction of the mat just as the roar of cheers for her brother started to die down. Blood painted across the navy blue mat, looking very much like a Jackson Pollack painting.

"You did good." She complimented her brother with a proud smile that didn't quite meet her eyes as he returned to her side after helping Steve reattach his limbs.

"Thanks." Luke accepted her words with his own smile. That very smile became weaker, fading as soon as he noticed how tame her reaction to his win was. "You okay?"

            Piper nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

            "Piper." The Riordan boy sighed. Surely his sister didn't think him stupid enough to not see through her obvious lie.

            Her eyes lost all sparkle as Luke continued to stare at her, her composure faltering. "I'm fine, it's just..." she didn't want to be such a downer or bring up something so upsetting. "I'm happy. I'm actually really happy but then I remember that Sam isn't here, that he will never get to experience all of this and I just get sad."

            Luke remembered all too well how harrowing of a sound Piper's cries had been the weeks following the reveal of Sam's suicide. She had been inconsolable. Between her chest aching sobs and their mom just going silent in response, it had truly been left up to Luke and their dad to hold what family they had left together.

            "It's okay to miss him, you know. You don't have to hold back all that pain just to be able to say you're happy."

            "No, I know. I'm just so used to it these days." Piper softly admitted, her mouth twisted into a frown.

            Luke sent her a small smile while his hip bumped into her side to rouse a small laugh from her. "Well, the dam's gotta break someday. And when it does, I'll be there. We can miss him together."

            Her shoulders shook as she deeply sighed and her body leaned forward until her forehead pressed firmly against Luke's bicep. "I love you, Luke."

            "Love you, too."

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author's thoughts.
chapter one. not proofread.
piper is literally such a good sister like she loves luke so much and his death and Sam's return is actually gonna break this girl. also not the longest chapter but I want to do a few shorter ones to build up piper and her interactions with her friends. anyway hope you enjoyed and please don't be a ghost reader, I need interaction to live! also I like knowing peoples opinions lol