Lexa slumps against the wall and wipes her brow lightly with her jacket sleeve. She looks at the boxes surrounding her, mentally checking off what she still needs to collect from her aunt Indra's car. Luckily, she thinks she's done with the heavy ones, it's only the few trinkets from home left to move now.
"Move over, you're blocking the way Lexa."
She feels a light shove behind her and turns to see her Uncle Gustus standing adjacent to the dorm room door, boxes piled up in his arms. Lexa laughs lightly and shakes her head. Trust her uncle to try to take all of the boxes at once instead of doing things in stages, the sensible way. She was just grateful that none of the tumbled down on his journey up to her room.
Moving around the boxes now stacked outside the door, she pushes against the door and is surprised to find it doesn't yield. Gustus groans and takes his turn to slump against the wall.
"Lexa, have you even informed the university that you've arrived yet?"
Lexa blushes and shakes her head. She was so excited at seeing her new living quarters that it didn't even occur to her that a key would be necessary. Gustus rolls his eyes and lets out a short laugh. A small smile tugs at Lexa's mouth as she straightens herself up.
"Eh… Just give me a minute. I'll run down to the doorman's office and sign myself in."
Before waiting for Gustus's answer, she darts through the maze of her belongings and hurtles down the stairwell. She bumps into a girl halfway down and briefly excuses herself, but doesn't wait to make some kind of conversation. Within seconds she reaches the lobby of the building, and internally groans when she sees the short queue of students all waiting to sign themselves in.
She resigns herself to waiting in line with others, and quietly fiddles with her braid as she observes the scene around her. Most people are doing as she did hours ago; parents are checking the floor plan, planning the optimum route to move their child's belongings from the trunk of their car to the dorm room while their kids begin to casually mingle while they fill out forms and collect keys. Lexa new this would happen, so she arrived a few hours earlier than the suggested time to ensure that she missed this mild chaos. Lexa always liked to be prepared.
Her eyes wander until they lock with the only vaguely familiar face in the room. It was the girl that she bumped into on the stairwell, this time looking a lot less flustered. She smiles and nods in acknowledgement of Lexa, who can only briefly smile back and quickly averts her gaze. She mentally scolds herself; how is she supposed to make friends in such a huge place if she can't even look people in the eye? It's only the first day and she has someone that she's already going to be awkward around for the rest of the year due to this one bad encounter. Then again, she isn't surprised. Social interactions were never really her strong suit anyway.
She hears someone clear their throat and her head spins around to attention. A bright-eyed young man is sitting at the desk, and she is surprised to see that the queue dissipated in front of her while she was daydreaming. He beckons her forward and she complies.
"Hey there, my name's Bellamy Blake, and I'm going to be your RA this year. Do you know what an RA does?"
Lexa silently nods, more focused on maintaining eye contact than anything else. She needs to appear confident and strong, especially on her first day.
"Great, I have to ask, some people come to college knowing all the lingo, others have no clue. You seem well prepared though."
Lexa nods again, and briefly smiles. This guy seemed nice and welcoming, very well suited to his job.
"So, can I ask for your name? You've already been sent your room details by email, so I just need to verify your identity, hand over the keys, and wish you luck with the unpacking!" Bellamy says, smiling again with ease.
"Lexa, Lexa Woods". She fumbles in her pocket and brings out her driver's license along with her passport. She remembered the introductory documents she was sent mentioned that two pieces of ID were required, although she thought that was overkill. Who would want to pretend to be her just so they could take her dorm room?
She hands them over to Bellamy, who smiles and quickly checks them. He seems briefly interested in all the visas stamped into Lexa's passport, and for a moment she is self conscious. She is well traveled, and she knows that she is fortunate in that aspect. However, she didn't know how he'd react to this subtle sign on wealth. Some react well, others don't. To her relief, he simply nods, types something into a computer and grabs some keys hanging on the wall behind him.
"It all seems to be in check. Here's your key; it's an old building, so the lock can sometimes be a little stiff, but don't worry about it. Jiggle it around in the keyhole a few times and normally it'll work after a while."
Lexa laughs quietly and moves to take the key. It's cold in her grasp, but it also excites her. It finally feels real, the whole process of her moving away from home. She lets out a little laugh and mutters a thank you to Bellamy before turning on her heel and striding back to the stairwell. She runs up them two at a time, mildly concerned that her aunt would also be waiting in the corridor for her to return. Gustus could be patient, for her, Indra would not.
She bursts into corridor and is surprised to see that it is utterly empty. She quickly checks the floor number on the plaque outside, which confirms that she's on the right floor. Confused, she begins to walk towards her room, and peers her head around the door which she's surprised to see is now open.
The scene surprises her. Gustus has his back to her, and is talking animatedly to a figure that's invisible to Lexa due to his large frame. Indra appears busy, starting to unpack boxes, but Lexa can tell by the smirk on her face that she's listening to whatever story Gustus is telling.
Perplexed, Lexa steps into the room and clears her throat. Indra's eyes dart up towards her, and immediately frowns. Clearly, Lexa's delay with the key was noticed, but Indra offers no explanation as to how she managed to enter the previously locked room. Gustus turns around more slowly, and waves Lexa further into the room.
"Lexa, you took your time. Your roommate here arrived before you did, and was kind enough to let us in and even offered to carry some of your boxes. Get yourself in here and introduce yourself"
Lexa's breath hitches when she sees the person that Gustus was talking to, and groans to herself. It's the girl from the stairwell, who seems far more amused than Lexa about the situation they were both in. Grinning, the girl steps forward, and extends her hand before her.
"Hey, I'm Clarke. Delighted to meet you."
Lexa takes her hand and shakes it, and is surprised to find that it's somewhat calloused. She looks up and is startled to see how blue this girl's eyes are. They're not one shade of blue, but a mixture, and intense cacophony of colour that draws Lexa in. She quickly averts her gaze, instead focusing on the bridge of Clarke's nose. It was a trick that Gustus taught her a while ago. Most people couldn't tell difference between when you looked them in the eye or looked at their nose, so this gimmick allowed her to act as if she was confident enough to stare someone down even when she wasn't.
"I'm Lexa, Lexa Woods," she found herself saying for the second time that day. "It's a pleasure to meet you too."
"Oh, I know who you are. Your uncle has already told me a few things about you." Clarke says, smirking as she watches Lexa blush before her. Lexa wishes she could glare at her uncle and demand to know what information he divulged, but she refrains from doing so.
Gustus guffaws at his niece's expression, and shakes his head. Indra even looks a little amused. Lexa begins to stutter something, but Clarke cuts her off before she makes a fool of herself.
"He was just telling me about what you did for the summer. Backpacking across Europe, that's pretty impressive."
"Yeah, it was pretty fun. A nice break before college." Lexa replies, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. Her eyes dart back to Gustus, who's grinning over Clarke's shoulder.
Indra steps forward and puts her hand on Gustus's arm, subtly indicating with her head that they should take their cue to leave. Taking the hint, Gustus steps forward and interrupts the awkward tension between the two girls.
"Lexa, we hate to leave to do most of the unpacking to yourself, but we should really get going before the roads get swamped with more parents bringing their kids here." The look on his face indicated that he really wasn't that sorry to leave her to do the unpacking, but he did look sad to leave her.
Clarke clears her throat and moves to step out of Gustus and Indra's way.
"I'll go start to take my stuff from the car so you guys can say your goodbyes." Clarke turns and looks intently at Lexa. "I'll see you in a few minutes."
She brushes past Lexa on her way out, and Lexa briefly catches the scent of her hair. It smelled like coconut, fresh and sweet and just like summer. Before she can familiarise herself with the smell, Clarke is gone, and Lexa must face the hard task of saying goodbye to her family.
She didn't expect much emotion from Indra, and accepted the stiff hug from her aunt. She knew she cared about her, but neither woman was accustomed to much physical contact. Gustus was much more forward in his display of affection, wrapping Lexa in a tight bear hug, swaying her gently from side to side. She let out a gentle laugh at his antics, and feels some tears springing to her eyes.
Stop, Lexa. Don't get emotional about this. Be strong, you always need to be strong.
"You know where we are if you need us. We can Skype at any time you want, but don't be too worried about us. Go, enjoy your time here. You've worked hard, you deserve it."
"And learn every word of those text books, mind you. They were expensive, and they're not for show." Indra interjects, but Lexa can only roll her eyes and laugh. They both know that Lexa intended on doing that anyway, the advice was superfluous. It's all she ever did her whole life; study hard, succeed, study some more, succeed some more.
"Okay, we better get going before Clarke gets back. Make friends with her, Lexa. She seems like a good girl. And, you never know…" Gustus offers an exaggerated wink to her, and Lexa finds herself blushing again. She's doing that far too much today, and mentally makes a note that she has to find a way to hide it.
A few more words were said before Indra and Gustus finally left the room. Lexa lets out a few deep breaths and wipes the few tears away before turning to move some of her boxes out of the way before Clarke returned. They had a bad enough start as is, she didn't need to get on her roommate's nerves even more before they grow to know each other.
She's startled when she sees Clarke leaning against the door, a box under her arm, looking casual yet concerned. She moves to her bed and puts the box down before standing in front of Lexa, arms wrapped firmly around her chest.
"You okay? I didn't want to interrupt before, I know goodbyes can be hard. "
Lexa doesn't want to, but she bristles at the comment. She hates to appear weak in any way, let alone before this girl. She stiffens her back and replies.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just... Never mind. Do you need any assistance with your bags?"
Clarke smiles, and Lexa realises how pretty the girl before her is. Her blonde hair is neatly pulled back into a braid from her temples, and the rest hangs loose around her shoulders. Her teeth, exposed by her wide grin, are straight and white, and Lexa can tell that she endured years of braces to get them in such a condition. Suddenly, Lexa is concerned that she's staring and missed Clarke's response to her question. Embarrassed, she asks her to repeat it.
"I said that that would be great, but you really don't have to. I didn't come here with a lot of stuff and my mom should be up any minute with the first case. Besides, it may be more useful if you clear some of your stuff off the floor, otherwise we'd have to spend all day trying to figure out who owns what."
Lexa nods in understanding, and watches Clarke make her way out of the dorm room. She can't help but feel mildly disappointed at the refusal of her offer of help, and figures that she probably wouldn't have minded sorting through her stuff with Clarke.
Lexa, you've known this girl all of thirty minutes. This is infatuation with a pretty girl, you know this is ridiculous.
She shakes herself and sets down to work. Straight girl crushes never did her any good in the past, and she wasn't about to let another one ruin her first week in college, let alone make things awkward with her roommate. No, Lexa knew better than that.
Hours later, Clarke is nearly finished unpacking her stuff with her mother, and Lexa is pinning up the last few of her pictures on the wall around her bunk. These snapshots are supposed to serve as a reminder of happy times, but Lexa can't help but look at them with a heavy heart. So much has changed recently, she doesn't know if she'll ever feel that light-hearted again.
Behind her, she can hear Clarke laugh at something her mother said. She had introduced herself as Abby when Clarke brought her in the first time, and some light conversation was made before they all returned to their job of unpacking. They would occasionally try to draw Lexa into conversation, but she largely resisted their attempts. It's not that she didn't like them; she just tried to afford Clarke whatever little privacy with her mother that she could offer before they had to say their own goodbyes. Or, at least, that was the latest excuse she was telling herself to cover up her awkwardness.
"Lexa, did you hear that?"
Startled, Lexa snaps out of her trance and bashfully asks them to repeat the question, internally scolding herself for not being alert. She realises that she probably seems detached or rude, and unfortunate side of herself to display to her new roommate.
"Oh, I just asked what's your major. You seem to have brought a lot of books with you there." Abby asks, eyes scanning over the tomes that are stacked on Lexa's bedside locker.
"Oh, I'm doing law and French, and I'm going to dabble in economics on the side, just to keep my options open."
Abby's eyes widen in surprise.
"Oh, wow, you're certainly going to keep yourself busy this year. My little Clarke's starting premed this year, so your timetable may nearly be as busy as her's, by the sounds of things."
Clarke blushes at the comment, and seems uneasy at the fact that Abby seems to be belittling Lexa's subject choice. Lexa doesn't mind too much; if there's anything more arrogant than a medic, it's the parent of a medic. Especially when that medic is a top-ranked surgeon herself, as Lexa vaguely remembers Clarke saying earlier.
The small talk continues like that for a while before someone knocks on the door, mildly surprising them all.
"Hey there, I'm sorry to disturb, but I'm your new neighbour, and I just wanted to introduce... Lexa?"
Lexa is surprised to recognise the small girl standing in her doorway, although struggles to remember her name. She remembers that they had some junior boxing matches against each other at summer tournaments, but their relationship never existed outside of those few days of the year.
"Oh, sorry, I see you have company," she directs her attention to Clarke and Abby, who are looking somewhat confused. "My name's Octavia Blake. I'm studying sociology and French, and I got here a few days ago."
Clarke smiles and extends her hand towards Octavia, and Lexa feels a flutter in her stomach. She can't quite place why. Clarke makes an introduction similar to that Octavia just presented, and they stand awkwardly for a few minutes before Octavia returns her attention Lexa again.
"I had no idea that you were coming here too. Small world, isn't it? What are you doing?"
"Yeah, I guess. I'm doing law, French and some economics. I suppose we'll be sharing some classes then."
Octavia beams at this, although Lexa is unsure why. Maybe it was just the comfort of a friendly (although largely antisocial) face in the crowd, although Lexa recalls that Octavia never really had issues making friends at tournaments.
"That would be great! When we get our schedules we can coordinate things so we can have some tutorials together, if you want. Anyway, I also came over here to let you know that there's going to be a corridor welcoming party tomorrow night if you want to clear your schedules. I need to run to finish my unpacking now, but I hope to see you guys there."
Lexa was about to make up some excuse about wanting to get ahead on work before Clarke interjects.
"We'd love to, Octavia. We'll see you tomorrow."
Octavia grins widely before making her way out. Abby turns to Clarke and looks excitedly at her.
"Look at you, off to your first college party! God, it seems like days ago that it was your first preschool birthday party."
Clarke rolls her eyes, but she's laughing anyway. She rolls in and her mother gives her a quick hug. The scene makes Lexa smile, but she suddenly feels awkward, as if she's watching a scene that should remain private. Her discomfort only lasts a few more seconds before Clarke looks down at her watch and indicates to her mom.
"It's getting late, we should go grab some dinner before you need to head off."
Abby nods, and Lexa is surprised when she turns to her.
"Lexa, we're going to grab some food now at the local diner, you're welcome to join us if you want."
Although touched by the offer, Lexa rattles off one of her automatic responses before she can think otherwise.
"That's very kind of you, but I'm eager to get my belongings organised before the party tomorrow. Thanks, though."
Abby nods in understanding, and Lexa can't help but think Clarke looks somewhat disappointed. Or maybe Lexa is just hoping that she's disappointed, and projecting this feeling onto the slight crease that appeared on Clarke's forehead.
Abby moves towards the door, and Clarke goes to follow. Just before she leaves, she turns to Lexa and smiles as she closes the door behind her.
Lexa releases the breath that she didn't even realise that she was holding, and plonked down on her bed. She holds her head on her hands and sighs. If she ever wanted to make friends, she was going to have to get used to saying "yes" instead of "no".
Especially if it was someone like Clarke doing the offering.