The Ark Café was unusually busy for a Monday afternoon.

Clarke fully expected it to be this way in the morning. People rushing in for their morning coffee before starting their day pushing papers and deal with conference rooms. That's mainly why it was typical for her to show up in the afternoon. When everyone was behind their desks and she could have the quiet of her usual table.

But today was not that day.

The Ark was packed with all different groups of people. There were families with chatty children and teenagers glued to their cellphones. Sucking up the Wi-Fi speed that Clarke so desperately needed for the research she had to have completed by tomorrow. And others in business suits who apparently decided to move their important meeting to a new setting. Deciding that taking a breather from the confinement of their office space would be ideal.

Her blue eyes searched through the crowd for the familiar face. The person she spent her Monday mornings with who was under way more stress than she was. Her genius roommate. She gripped the strap on her laptop bag, breathing out a sigh as she continued to scan the room. Her body relaxed when she saw the familiar wave of Raven Reyes ushering her over.

She excused her way through the crowd of people waiting to be seated. It was repetitive but it was the politest way she could think of to get through. Pushing would have just been rude and, well, she usually left rude to Raven.

"Hey." Clarke greeted, finally reaching her. She removed the bag from her shoulder and placed it down on the table.

"Have a seat." Raven offered, motioning her hand to the seat across from her. "This place is insane today."

Clarke slid into the chair across from Raven, raising her hand to push her long, blonde hair away from her face. Her brow knitted tightly together. "I know, right? Are they giving away free muffins or something?"

Raven huffed a laugh, shrugging her shoulder. "If they are, grab me a chocolate chip one." She scrolled through the notes on her screen and blew out a breath. "I am not ready for this exam tomorrow."

Clarke rolled her eyes as she pulled her laptop from the bag. "That's what you always say and you end up getting the highest score in the class."

Raven smirked. "Yeah, I know." Another shrug of her shoulder as she broke off a piece of the pastry in front of her. "Sometimes I just like to hear you say it." She raised her eyes to meet Clarke's. Her stare continued as she popped the pastry into her mouth. Her eyebrow raised expectantly as she chewed slowly.

Clarke released an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes again. "Oh, Raven, you're being silly. You're going to ace that exam." She gave an over exaggerated hand wave. "No one is as smart as you."

Raven held her hand out. "See? Was that so hard?"

Clarke chuckled. "You're ridiculous." She set up her laptop and typed in her password. The screen illuminated and her background, the first painting she sold, shined brightly from the screen.

"What do you have going on today?"

Her blue eyes narrowed as she tapped the pad the machine. "I have to research an artist that's doing a showcase in the gallery tomorrow."

"Interning is a blast, isn't it?" Raven teased, typing quickly before scrolling again.

"Oh you know it." Her sarcasm always seemed to intensify when she was around Raven. But, that's who they were. It was what they did.

"When this exam stuff is over, we should really-" Raven paused in mid-sentence when her body hunched forward from added weight on her back. More like a damp body with warm arms that wrapped around her neck. "You're sweaty and gross." She muttered, her hands wrapping around the forearms clutching against her throat.

"Whatever. You like when I'm sweaty."

Raven leaned to the side so she was looking into the girl's eyes. "Yeah. But I prefer sexy time sweaty Octavia over lacrosse sweaty Octavia."

Octavia grinned at her girlfriend, pressing a kiss to her lips. She pulled back a bit, her lips still hovering close. "Maybe later." She promised, smirking when she heard Clarke clear her throat. She licked her lips as she straightened, leaving her hands resting on Raven's shoulders. "Hey, Clarke." She greeted with a smile.

"Hey, O." Clarke returned, a half smile playing on her lips while she focused on the screen in front of her. "How was practice?"

Octavia released an exaggerated growl as she took a seat next to Raven. "Brutal." She leaned over Raven and stole a piece of her pasty. "But, totally worth it."

Raven's eyes followed her as she put the pastry in her mouth. "Excuse me. That's mine."

Octavia scrunched her nose as she chewed. "What's yours is mine."

Another sound of a throat clearing brought their attention to the sound. A girl stood behind Octavia, holding two smoothies. Clarke glanced up for a moment, doing a double take to return her attention to the girl. She was tall, her wild brown hair in a messy ponytail. The loose strands of her hair were held back by a black head band with the words Mt Weather U written in light blue letters across the side.

"Here you go." She offered the smoothie to Octavia. "It was the special. I hope that's what you wanted."

"Oh cool. Thank you." Octavia said, accepting the offered smoothie and straw. "Ladies, this is Lexa Woods." She lightly banged her straw on the table to loosen the paper. She pulled it off with her teeth and slid the straw into her drink. "She plays point."

"Nice to meet you." Raven extended her hand and Lexa shook it. "I'm Raven." She motioned her head toward Clarke. "This is Clarke."

Lexa nodded, releasing Raven's hand. "Octavia has told me a lot about you." She extended her hand toward Clarke. "It's nice to meet you."

Clarke hesitated for a moment before slipping her hand into Lexa's. She could feel a spark go up her arm and jump start her heart the second they touched. Her eyes locked on the green staring back at her and remained that way, even when she caught Lexa's eyebrow slowly raising from either confusion or curiosity.

"I wish I could say the same about you." Clarke replied, the words tumbling out before her brain could even process what she was saying.

All eyes were on her in that moment. Furrowed brows and confusion filling the faces of the people around her. Lexa's eyebrow quirked even higher and smirk formed at the corner of her mouth. "It's not nice to meet me?" she questioned, her tone slightly teasing.

"No, no! What I meant was that we haven't heard a thing about you." Clarke corrected, quickly. She could feel the heat on her cheeks. Especially when she realized she was still holding Lexa's hand. "Octavia's never mentioned you before. This is the first time we've even heard your name much less anything else."

The amused look on Lexa's face made her brain shout at her. Stop talking. Just stop talking.

"Well, I just joined the team." She explained, finally releasing her hold on Clarke's hand.

Octavia stared at Clarke for another minute then chuckled and shook her head. "Yeah, she's just transferred from JU." When she realized Lexa was still standing, Octavia stood for a second and shifted herself so she was sitting on Raven's lap. "Sit, Lexa."

Raven made a face. "Personal space is not a thing for you today, huh?"

Octavia shot her an adorably defiant look. "Your personal space went out the window when you asked me to be yours." She gave her another quick kiss then touched the tip of her nose with her finger.

Lexa slowly sat down, looking at Clarke as she lowered herself into the seat. "It sounds like a conversation I'd have with my sister." She stated, locking eyes with the blonde. "Without all the sexual undertones, of course."

Clarke nodded with a shy smile. "Oh of course." She shrugged her shoulder. "Unless, you know, your family is into that."

When Lexa laughed, Clarke felt her stomach flutter. She caused that deep, sexy sound to come from the lacrosse player and she reminded herself to try to do it again at some point.

Clarke found herself staring again. Into those bright green eyes that seemed to be melding into her soul. Her blue eyes shifted subtly downward, taking in the structure of her jaw and the fullness of her lips. When she raised her eyes and met Lexa's again, she caught the twinkle of a silent question in the other girl's stare. Clarke quickly returned her attention back to her screen and cleared her throat as she began to feverishly type something into her search bar.

It sounded like Lexa chuckled. Or Clarke could be imagining the noise because she so desperately wanted to hear it again. She could see Lexa from her peripheral vision taking another sip out of her smoothie and it took everything in her power not to fully turn her attention back to the girl. The sound of the chair inching closer broke her internal battle to look at the girl once more.

When she turned her head, Lexa was surprisingly close. She could smell the mix of shampoo and sweat. Not once did Clarke every think she would find such a combination attractive. But, on Lexa, it totally worked.

"What are you working on?" Lexa asked, turning her curiosity to Clarke. Clarke furrowed her brow and Lexa immediately leaned back. "If I'm not being to nosey or forward or- "

"No, it's okay." Clarke assured her. She smiled at the sudden apprehension that filled Lexa's features. "I'm interning at an art gallery. There's this new artist and the director asked me to gather as much information on him as I could."

Lexa nodded. "Are you an artist as well?"

Clarke raised her hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she nodded. "I'm trying to be."

"I have a feeling you're not giving yourself enough credit."

Their eyes met again and this time Lexa smiled. A much larger smile then before. Clarke felt the blush make its way up her neck and filled her cheeks. She hoped it wasn't bright enough for Lexa to notice. For anyone to notice.

"So, Lexa."

Raven's voice cut through their moment and Clarke closed her eyes. She inwardly cursed herself at the mischievousness that laced her roommates tone. She prayed that Raven would just let whatever she was seeing go. She could tease Clarke about it later, but please, not right now.

Lexa kept her gaze on Clarke for a second longer before turning to look at Raven. "Yes?" she questioned, taking another quick side look at blonde then giving her full attention to Raven.

"How are you liking Mount U?" She asked, shooting Clarke a wicked grin. "There is a lot of attractive people on campus, huh?"

Octavia slacked her jaw and shoved her girlfriend's temple lightly. "Hey! Why are you looking?"

Raven wrapped her arms tightly around the beautiful girl sitting on her lap. "I only have eyes for you, you know that." She smiled wickedly and turned back to Lexa. "But, Lexa is new. Just trying to help a sister out, you know? There are a lot of single, attractive people on this campus. Maybe she might want to meet one."

Lexa cleared her throat, ducking her head for a moment. "Well, I've been a little busy with classes, lacrosse, and getting settled into my sister's apartment." Her head turned slightly so she could look at Clarke. "But, I can't deny your observation, Raven."

Clarke did her best to control the idiotic smile that threatened to overtake her face when Lexa looked at her. She felt as if she was staring and smiling way too much at someone she had just met. She couldn't help it though. There was something about this girl and she was instantly hooked.

"Well, that's great because Clarke here is- "

The blonde's attention quickly snapped in Raven's direction at the sound of her name. "Raven." She warned, flatly and received a grin at the sound.

"What?" Raven asked, innocently as Octavia rolled her eyes and pushed herself from her lap.

"Okay, it's time to go back." Octavia noted, grabbing her smoothie from the table. "Before Raven does what I think she's going to do and embarrass several people sitting at this table." She gave her girlfriend a quick kiss and motioned her head for Lexa to follow her. "Come on, Lexa. Coach is going to kill us if we don't hurry."

"It was very nice meeting you." Lexa said, placing her palms on the table as she stood. She leaned a bit closer to Clarke, a small grin in place. "Even if you didn't think so."

Clarke balked at the comment. She couldn't tell if Lexa was flirting or just giving her crap because of her earlier comment. Her words were harder to form then normal so, when she didn't respond, Lexa simply huffed a small laugh and shook her head.

"Maybe we'll meet again, Clarke." She said as she slowly released her wrist, picked up her smoothie and followed Octavia toward the door.

"Oh, you definitely will!" Raven called after her as Lexa turned and gave her a short wave then disappeared through the door. Raven turned back to Clarke, a huge crooked smirk on her lips. "She's cute, huh?"

Clarke narrowed her eyes. "I hate you."

"You love me."

Raven pulled her own laptop closer and began to type. There was a brief moment of silence as they continued to work on their individual assignments. The brunette raised her eyes to peek at her friend over her computer. The wicked little smirk still filling her lips.

"She's got really pretty eyes." Raven noted, waiting for the response she knew was coming.

"Right? They're so freaking green." Clarke replied without a second of hesitation. She swallowed hard and lowered her head to avert Raven's pleased stare. "Shut up." She muttered as she continued to search through the photos of paintings.

Raven chuckled and shook her head as she returned her attention to her notes.

Lexa entered the apartment she shared with her sister and sighed.

As she looked around, she was thankful for the amount of space around her. Every time she walked through that door, she was grateful she had chosen to live with Anya over living in another dorm room. Anya's place was home. Every inch of it reminded her of her sister. From the modern art and designs on the wall to the black leather couch pressed against the wall. All pieces of Anya's personality were poured into that apartment.

"Please don't leave your equipment by the door!"

With a half roll of her eyes, Lexa removed her bag from her shoulder. Then there were those moments when it reminded her of her mother. "Where am I supposed to put it?"

"How about your room?" came the response from the kitchen.

Lexa made a face. "Then my room will smell like sweat."

Anya stepped from the kitchen, a bottle of beer in one hand and a bag of chips in the other. "Lex, you make your room smell like sweat." She noted, walking toward the couch. She motioned her chin toward the sliding glass doors. "Then put it outside on the balcony. Just don't leave it in here." She flopped down on the couch, stretching her legs out to rest her feet on the coffee table.

Lexa dragged her bag across the floor. "Fine." She breathed causing her sister to shake her head. She slid the door open and tossed her bag onto the balcony. "How was your day?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question." Anya took a sip from her drink and placed the bottle down. "How was the lacrosse thing?"

"Practice?" Lexa corrected, with a half-smile. She slid the door closed and walked toward the kitchen. "It was good. I had a quick smoothie during our break with one of the girls from the team."

"Look at you making friends."

"Ha. Ha."

Anya chuckled at her response. The clanking of bottles and rattling of the condiments alerted her to the fact that Lexa was searching for something she couldn't find. "The water is on the bottom!" She called out as she ate a few more chips.

"Thank you!"

Lexa returned to the room just as Anya turned on the television. She stepped over her big sister's legs and joined her on the couch. Anya's eyes followed her as Lexa sat down on the couch. She leaned her head back against the cushion and stretched her legs out. Her muscles flexed and she sighed instantly relieved. Her head turned slightly so she was making eye contact with Anya who pushed out her lip in a mock pout.

"That bad, huh?" Anya questioned, patting her sister head sympathetically.

"It's just been a long time since I've played." Lexa explained, placing her feet on the coffee table.

Anya swatted her thigh. "Don't sweat it. You'll be in Commander shape again in no time."

A small smile crossed her lips at the sound of her old nickname. When she left JU for Mount Weather, she hadn't expected to make the team so quickly. Sure, she was Captain of her team at her old college, but one little mistake can damage your reputation. The fact that her stick met with another girl's nose on purpose was her mistake. In her defense, the other girl did hit her first.

"Who's the new friend?"

Lexa snapped from her memory. "Oh, her name is Octavia. She's the right defensive wing." She unscrewed the cap from her water and took a sip. "She's really good. We went to this place called the Ark. Have you been there?"

Anya shook her head.

"It's pretty nice. Little café. It was packed today though."

"I'll have to check it out." Anya offered some chips to Lexa who immediately shook her head. She shrugged and continued to eat from the bag. "Meet anyone else?"

Lexa placed the cap back on her water. "Her girlfriend Raven was there." She absentmindedly tore at the paper wrapping around the bottle. "And I also met her roommate, Clarke. She's an art student. And she's pretty." She bounced her head, ripping off a large piece of the wrapper. "Like, really pretty."

The second the words left her mouth, Lexa closed her eyes and muttered a curse to herself. She could already feel the heat of Anya's eyes on her cheek. The cushions shifted as Anya inched closer. Her arm rested on the back of the couch as she swatted lightly at Lexa's shoulder.

"Really pretty Clarke, huh?" She shoved her sister playfully.

"Anya." She breathed, ripping off the last shred of paper. "It's nothing. Seriously. We talked for like two minutes."

"It's just been a long time since I've heard you gush over a girl." Anya played with the random braid in her hair. "It's cute."

Lexa turned her head and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not gushing. I just said she was pretty."

"Are you going to see her again?"

"I don't know, Anya. Geez." She flipped the bottle from hand to hand. "I mean, she's friends with Octavia so there's a chance, but I'm not going to chase the girl down or anything."

A smirk crossed Anya's lips and it reminded Lexa of how she wished she could punch her without getting punched back. Anya continued to stare at her as she took another sip from her drink and Lexa could still see the smirk behind the glass. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Lexa reached into her track pants and pulled it out. "Stop smirking at me like that." She ordered, sliding her finger across the screen to read the text.

"It's my apartment. I'll do what I want." She replied, turning away from her sister. She returned to her original positon with her feet back on the table. "Who is it?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but it's Octavia."

Anya looked at her again, excitement in her eyes. "Oh, you should ask her for Clarke's number." She laughed loudly when she was greeted with Lexa's middle finger.

"Hey are you busy tonight?"

Lexa typed back quickly. "No. Just hanging out with my sister. Why? What's up?"

She waited patiently for the response. When her phone vibrated again, she brought the phone closer.

"We were going to watch a movie to take Raven's mind off of her exam for a bit. Want to come over?"

"I don't want to interrupt your time with your girlfriend

"LOL! Nooo it's fine. And Clarke will be here. Come over around 7?"

Lexa stared at her phone for what seemed like an eternity. Her teeth pressed into her bottom lip as she contemplated her answer. It wasn't like she had anything else to do. She was pretty sure Anya would be wrapped up in getting ready for work or another NETFLIX binge watching of some show. Her class the next day wasn't until the afternoon so it's not like she had to be up super early.

"Whatever she's asking you to do, do it." Anya suggested, her attention focused fully on the screen in front of her.

Lexa glared at her sister then typed a quick message back to Octavia. "Okay, sure. Just send me your address."

"Sweet! I'll do that right now. Don't eat dinner, we're going to order a pizza."

"Sounds good."

When Octavia's address came through, she locked the message and slid her phone back into her pocket. "I'm going to watch a movie with them tonight."

Anya brought her bottle to her lips again, the smirk behind it never fading. "Just remember, I get to meet Clarke first. Not Mom."

Lexa grunted, annoyed. "I'm going to take a shower." She muttered, standing from the couch.

"About time." She placed the bottle on the table and watched as Lexa crossed in front of her again. "Wouldn't want Clarke to smell sweat and grass when she cuddles close to you tonight."

Lexa ignored her comment as she made her way around the couch. She paused for a second and, much to Anya's surprise, slapped her older sister in the forehead. When Anya turned quickly and reached for her, Lexa avoided her grasp and ran toward the bathroom.

"You better run!" Anya shouted and Lexa quickly closed and locked the door behind her.