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There’s very little about Piper's life that she regrets. She has adoring fans, a sold out world tour, and a girlfriend she loves more than anything.
She also has a four day old text from her one regret.
Jason: hey pipes! hope you’re doing alright. saw you’ll be in LA next week and was wondering if you had time to catch up and get coffee? i’d love to hear from you
“Stop staring at your phone and answer him,” Shel says, wrapping her arms around Piper's waist from behind and resting her chin on her girlfriend's shoulder.
“I don’t know if I want to see him,” Piper sighs, leaning her head back to look at Shel.
“So tell him that?” Shel shrugs. “If he’s as great a guy as you say, he shouldn’t be upset.”
Piper hums in response, twisting in Shel’s arms to face her. “I hate when you’re right.”
Piper: hey, sorry for not getting back to you sooner, tour has been kinda hectic. that would be nice. how’s wednesday?
Wednesday sneaks up on Piper, and she finds herself waiting outside some hipster coffee shop, big sunglasses and a floppy hat hiding her from the nosey paparazzi. She taps her foot anxiously, and when she sees Jason walking towards her, she seriously considers turning around and pretending none of this happened.
“Piper!” Jason says before she could make her getaway. He opens his arms for a hug, Piper sliding into the familiar embrace.
“It’s good to see you,” She says, albeit muffled into his shoulder.
“You too, Pipes,” He smiles. “You look great.”
Piper clears her throat, gesturing to the door. “Shall we?”
Jason orders their coffees as Piper finds the most secluded table possible, making sure she faces away from the windows. Her heart melts just a tad when Jason brings her the exact coffee she used to get.
They talk, and Piper learns about Jason’s wife and daughter whom he absolutely adores , his steady coaching job, his white picket fence and his Grace family Christmas cards.
She tells him about life on the road, Shel, and playing sold out stadiums every night. She even invites them all to tonight’s show when Jason lets it slip that both his girls are huge fans.
Jason, in turn, invites her to dinner the following night, of which she politely declines, citing tour errands and talk show appearances.
“It’s so weird,” Jason muses, tapping on his empty cup. “It feels like no time has passed, and also like it’s been thirty years. We’ve both grown so much, but I still feel like the teenagers we were when we dated.”
Piper doesn’t respond, instead staring at Jason, imagining herself as a permanent fixture in his life. The images she conjured as they spoke, ones of Jason’s family, alter in her mind to include her. Their house, their family, their life.
“You okay?” Jason sounds concerned. Piper’s face must not have been as subtle as she hoped.
“Do you ever regret—“
Piper is cut off as her phone buzzes aggressively on the table. She checks it, and almost frantically she starts scrambling to collect her things.
“I’m so sorry, I have to get to the venue, I’m actually super late and Shel will probably kill me,” Piper says without taking a breath. “It was great seeing you, I’ll see you guys at the show tonight?”
“Yeah,” Jason nods. “We’ll see you there. Break a leg.”
At the venue, Piper takes the scolding she gets from her team in stride, apologizing profusely to her hairstylist who is using the curling iron like a magic wand on her stubborn hair.
“—I just got caught up with an old friend, I really didn’t mean to—“
“She means old boyfriend ,” Shel teases, popping her head into Piper’s dressing room. She flops on the couch and pops a skittle into her mouth. “How’d it go with Jason, anyway?”
Piper flushes down to her chest. “Great, actually. He's bringing his wife and daughter to the show tonight.”
“Damn, Pipes, you invited the side piece? He must be one hot piece of ass.”
Piper sputters out something that can barely be counted as a response, and Shel laughs until she’s kicked out for “distracting the talent.”
Piper can’t seem to shake the thoughts she’d had in the coffee shop earlier that day, but when she steps on the rising platform and hears the roaring crowd, all her doubts disappear.
The show goes off without a hitch, despite Pipers traitorous mind trying to distract her at every turn, and when she makes it back to her dressing room, sweaty and full of adrenaline, she’s met by the smiling faces of Jason, a beautiful blonde woman, and an adorable little girl who’s the spitting image of the two.
“You must be Jason’s family,” Piper smiles. She laughs, “I’d offer a hug but I’m pretty gross right now.”
The little girl runs and hugs her legs anyway, almost toppling her over and startling another laugh out of her.
“Zoe!” Her mother scolds. “You have to ask before touching someone.”
“Sorry,” Zoe mumbles into Piper's legs.
“I’m so sorry about her,” Jason’s wife smiles, outstretching her hand. “I’m Cassidy, it’s wonderful to meet you. You put on an incredible show.”
“That’s very sweet, thank you,” Piper says, shaking her hand. She crouches to face Zoe. “I’m Piper, what’s your name?”
Zoe squeals and hugs Piper again, actually knocking them over this time. She looks up to see an unfamiliar look on Jason’s face, a mixture of fondness and… regret.
The following morning, Piper records an episode of a late night talk show.
“You’re on tour now, which is incredible,” the host says. He has a charming smile and the perfect television personality. “I do have to ask, though. Is there any part of you that regrets this lifestyle? Do you ever wish you could’ve just settled down and had an average life?”
Piper thinks, hard as she can without pausing too long. She smiles. “No, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
That night in bed, she wonders if she would.