Chapter 1
Clarke:
It was cold. Insufferably so. And it wasn't like an 'oh it's cold outside' cold; it was a you go outside and your snot freezes to your face cold. It was terrible. And Clarke hated it. She pulled her wool coat tighter around her body as a gust of wind tore down the street, causing a shiver to shake throughout her whole body.
"Shit," she groaned as the air seeped deeper into her bones. She really needed a better coat. This one just wasn't cutting it, no matter how expensive it was.
She glanced at the traffic, spotting a break in the sea of yellow cabs, before jogging into the oncoming traffic and earning a few honks- because it's New York and everyone honks, even if there isn't a need for it.
She let out a sigh of relief as the space heaters at the doors of Bloomingdales provided temporary relief from the freezing temperatures. She pushed the door open and was instantly assaulted by the ten thousand different perfumes that the sales reps were trying to sell. She quickly dodged a woman- who was looking at her like she was her next meal- desperately trying to mist some sort of designer perfume onto her.
Clarke usually loved the Christmas season, but damn, sometimes she wondered if it was really worth it. She really liked her sense of smell and honestly she was slightly concerned that all these conflicting scents would really screw up her nose.
But as she made her way further into the store, she heard fewer and fewer people calling out to her to try their new product and soon she was left in the relatively, but not actually, peaceful clothes department.
Hundreds of shoppers were pushing their ways through the crowds desperately searching for that last minute Christmas gift. And Clarke was ashamed that she was 'that person', finishing her Christmas list two days before the big day.
She had just finished nudging her way past an adorably, yet annoyingly slow, elderly couple when she finally spotted the gloves she had been looking for. Octavia had stolen hers the day prior and while she could just get these gloves for Octavia for Christmas, she really just wanted to treat herself to something nice. They were Dolce after all.
There was exactly one black pair left and as she was reaching for them, a slender hand grabbed the same pair she herself had just snatched.
Clarke glanced over at the owner of the hand. Her expression was halfway between pissed off and annoyed and Clarke was more than slightly intimidated at her harsh expression. But it immediately softened when their eyes connected.
An involuntary gasp left Clarke. Damn. She had stunning eyes. Enchanting eyes. Flakes of gold sparkled in the dark green pools surrounding her pupils. And despite the still slightly stony expression on her face, her eyes seemed to express her every emotion.
It wasn't until she noticed her mouth moving that Clarke realized she was talking to her.
She shook her head, "What?"
The girl hesitated for a moment her grip slacking on the gloves still held between them, "Were you going to buy these?"
Clarke nodded and finally took in the full picture before her. Untamed brunette locks were haphazardly pulled back by a series of intricate braids. Her lips were soft and seemed to be glued in a frown. But her eyes were soft and studying Clarke.
Immediately, Clarke felt self-conscious. This girl seemed so out of place in this store. Torn black skinny jeans, scuffed black combat boots, a red and black checkered flannel tossed over an old Ramones shirt, a black scarf flung messily over her neck, and a very worn leather jacket- clearly passed down several generations. And Clarke couldn't help herself from feeling guilty for wearing her designer jeans and cashmere turtleneck. Clarke fit in with the rest of the crowd, but standing next to this girl she felt more out of place than she ever had in her whole life.
"Yeah. Sorry I was hoping to buy these," she murmured, her eyes still locked with the girls.
The brunette finally released the gloves and they flopped lamely in Clarke's hands, "Oh. Well, I'll just have to find another pair."
"What? N-No, you have them," she stuttered, thrusting the gloves toward the girl, "I insist."
She shook her head, "No it's alright."
Clarke chuckled slightly before placing them back on the rack, "There. Now I'm not in the picture anymore and you can take them."
"Perfect. The last pair," a balding and slightly portly man exclaimed as he pushed between them and grabbed the gloves.
"Wait, woah," Clarke gasped as she reached for the gloves in his hands, "Sorry we were buying those."
He looked at her, clearly unamused, "We?"
"Um," she glanced over at the girl and gestured between them, "Yes, um, we were."
He stared at her briefly, "Are you two together or something?"
"Well technically, no," she gulped, "Not yet anyways."
The brunette eyed her critically, before the smallest of smirks fell on her lips, "Yes. You see after the procedure, we were planning on getting together. And these gloves were to be, um," she hesitated.
"A sign of our undying love for each other," Clarke finished.
"Right, well you two need to sort out your priorities," he said before shoving the gloves back at Clarke and stomping away.
Clarke turned back to the brunette, "The procedure?" she asked, a smile crossing her face.
"A sign of our undying love for each other?" she countered.
Clarke threw her head back and laughed. She knew a few people were giving her a couple of questioning looks, but honestly she didn't really care. This girl was so… enticing, she really didn't care about anything else.
The girl cleared her throat, "Well, um, I guess I'll go look for other gloves" she gave a tentative wave before turning around, her boots squeaking slightly on the tiled floor.
"W-Wait," Clarke yelled before reaching out and grabbing her sleeve, the girl stopped and turned around again, her gaze settling on Clarke's hand- which was still desperately attached to her arm. Clarke immediately snatched it back and could feel her cheeks flushing red, but she powered through, "At least let me buy you a coffee or something."
The brunette looked at her like she was crazy. Clarke raised the gloves up, "For letting me have the gloves, I mean," she clarified.
She made an 'O' with her mouth before quirking her lips to the side and pondering Clarke's offer. She looked like she was going to reject before she nodded her head jerkily.
Clarke beamed, "Great! I know this great little shop just down the road," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
Clarke pointed to the sign as they approached, "Serendipity. The greatest coffee shop on the face of the planet." It was quaint little shop, well really it was a hole in the wall, but they had fantastic food and their coffee was even better.
"That's a bold statement," the girl commented, Clarke merely giggled at her words.
They were seated quickly, near the back corner and it was a far more romantic setting than Clarke was intending, but strangely she didn't really care. There was just something about this girl.
They sat across from each other and Clarke just watched her for a moment before reaching across the table and offering her hand, "I'm Clarke by the way."
The girl glanced at her hand before taking it. Her grip was strong, but not overly so, and Clarke couldn't help but notice the bruises that were scattered across her knuckles, "Nice to meet you, Clarke."
Clarke smiled, releasing her hand, "So I know this is a coffee shop and we are in the middle of December, but you've got to try their gelato. It's like being in Italy."
"Well, alright," she smiled back, and honestly, the sight made Clarke's heart stutter. Her smile was so bright and sincere, but it was gone so quick and Clarke knew not many people were able to see such an exquisite sight.
The waiter appeared a moment later, "Alright, ladies what will it be?"
"Two of the chocolate gelato please," Clarke answered, her eyes never straying from the entrancing ones sitting across from her.
"Anything else?" he asked. Clarke shook her head, "Okay, that will be out shortly," he stated before leaving the table.
"So I've got to ask," the girl began, "Why is this place your favorite? It doesn't really seem your type of shop."
Clarke hummed, "Well, besides the coffee," she smiled, "I love the name of the shop. That's what brought me in here in the first place, to be honest."
The girl quirked her brow and Clarke continued, "Serendipity. It's my favorite word."
Her eyes narrowed and Clarke smiled again, clearly this girl wasn't much of a talker, "It's such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident," her brows furrowed, "except I don't really believe in accidents. I think everything happens for a reason."
"Oh, you do?" the girl asks, almost mockingly.
"Yeah."
"Fate's behind everything?" she asked.
"Mmm," Clarke agreed.
"Fate is behind everything, we don't have any choice at all?"
"No, I," Clarke fumbled for the words, "I think we make our own decisions, it's just fate that sends us little signs and it's us reading those signs that make us happy or not."
"Lucky signals. Fortunate accidents. Like Columbus in America," her lip quirked slightly, an almost smile.
"Yeah," Clarke agreed happily, "or Fleming discovering…"
"Penicillin," the girl finished.
"Exactly."
"How interesting," she said and once again their eyes locked.
It was so strange to Clarke how instantly attracted she was to this girl. It wasn't just her looks, because yea she was damn hot, it was something more. She was just so mysterious, filled with so few words, yet she seemed to express everything that she needed to with just a twist of a brow or a squint of her eye, the wrinkle of her nose. It was entrancing to Clarke and she desperately wanted to find out more about this girl.
But the brunette broke their trance when she cleared her throat and scooped up a bit of her gelato. Honestly, Clarke didn't even know when that got there.
They talked for about an hour more, well it was really Clarke who did the talking, the girl just seemed to be intent on listening to whatever Clarke was rambling on about. But eventually they both realized how late it was getting, when Clarke glanced at her wrist watch.
"I should probably be heading out," the girl said.
"Me too," Clarke sighed, "But, hey, it was really nice getting to know you…"
The girl smiled at Clarke's sudden silence and furrowed brow.
"Wait, I don't know your name."
Her smile grew even more, "It was nice to meet you, Clarke. Thanks for the gelato," she gave another wave before heading out the door.
"Wait!" Clarke yelled, "Can't I know your name?"
She smirked slightly, before pushing out the door, "Goodbye, Clarke."
Clarke was halfway to the parking structure when she realized that she had left the gloves back at Serendipity.
"Shit," she grumbled as she trudged back to the coffee shop.
She was just picking up the bag when she noticed a scarf laying on the back of the chair across from her. Slowly, Clarke picked it up.
"Well, it looks like we both forgot something."
Clarke turned around and there she was. She couldn't help it when a smile crept onto her face. "Do you want to do something?" Clarke asked, handing the scarf over. The question was so random and she was sure the girl was going to say no but the brunette looked at her for a moment before nodding her head, "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know," Clarke stumbled, she hadn't thought it would get this far.
A slight smile popped up on the girl's face, "I know just the place."
Clarke followed her out of the restaurant and they walked for about five minutes before the girl stopped in front of the local ice skate rink.
"Gotta say. Not really where I pegged your hang out to be," Clarke nudged her with her elbow, a small smile on her lips.
The girl chuckled quietly, before walking over to the rentals.
She was so graceful on the skates. Gliding on the ice like she was born with the ability. She almost looked like she was flying. Clarke couldn't help her jaw from dropping when the girl twisted into the perfect twirl and quickly spun for a few seconds. An instant pang of inadequacy flooded Clarke. This girl was so full of mysteries and Clarke felt like she was so boring. So nothing. Like she had nothing to offer this girl. This stranger.
But the second she slid out of her twirl the girl faced Clarke, "Favorite movie?"
Clarke laughed, she really was full of surprises, "Gone with the Wind."
"Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen that one."
"What?" Clarke gasped and skidded to a stop, almost making the girl crash into her back.
"I don't watch a lot of movies," she shrugged.
A scoff left Clarke before she could stop it, "You really need to sort out your priorities."
The girl let out a loud chuckle before she gracefully skated past Clarke.
It continued on like this for a while more. Easy conversation, gentle laughs, and wandering eyes.
But after some time the girl skated closer to Clarke and whispered, "I have to go, Clarke."
Her eyes were glowing in the moonlight and Clarke could have sworn she saw regret deep within those enchanting green pools.
Clarke nodded, but said nothing more as she watched the brunette skate towards the exit. The skating rink now completely empty save for the last few stragglers.
"Will I ever see you again?" she yelled out, just before the girl was out of ear shot.
She turned around, skating slowly backwards with ease, "Maybe if fate is sending the right signs," she says wistfully.
A small smile graces her lips, and Clarke can't help it when her heart splutters in her chest.
"Lexa."
Clarke scrunches her brow at her and skates a little closer to hear her better.
"My name," the girl clarifies, "It's Lexa."
Clarke smiles, "It was nice to meet you, Lexa."
AN: Hello all! I hope you liked the first chapter. I had fun writing it. I have more chapters of this story posted on AO3 so if you want to read chapters 2-8 head over there. I will updating here sporadically though.
I have a really interesting plan for where I want to go with this story and its going to be super angsty and fluffy and hopefully you all will like it.
Thanks for reading and I love hearing from people so let me know what you think of it!