Told y'all there was an AU coming! Hope you guys enjoy!
Disclaimer: These are not my cinnamon buns, but they deserve to be happy dammit!
The sun was shining brightly when Clarke pulled up to what would likely be her home for the next year or more. College was a fresh start, away from her hometown, and away from all the things she was trying to forget. She had gotten lucky last minute and gotten Octavia and Raven as housemates, so she wasn't completely alone in the big city.
The first thing the blonde noticed was the warmth of the air, nothing like the constant rain in Washington, she could definitely get used to this. They had the whole summer before them to get settled in before the semester started in August, plenty of time to get jobs and goof off. If memory served, there was a lake not far from here where people camped and partied. Clarke was excited for the first time in a long time.
Raven and Octavia were inside already, no doubt attempting to unpack the hoard they had by some miracle managed to fit in the three vehicles. She chuckled to herself when she heard a crash come from inside the house and Raven swearing loudly. This was going to be good for her, for all of them. Clarke grabbed the few bags of belongings she had brought with her, mostly books and art supplies and walked into the house. It was cozy, just big enough for the three of them but it already felt like home, warm and inviting and full of possibilities. Looking into the hallway leading to two of the bedrooms, Clarke saw the cause of the commotion and let out a bark of laughter.
Raven and Octavia were tangled in a heap on the floor by a large comforter Octavia had no doubt been dragging past the door when Raven walked out. The three shared in the laughter as Clarke put down her things and helped untangle them. They had already chosen the two rooms across from each other, opting to let Clarke have the third room on the other side of the house, which was the largest. The two of them liked to party loudly and would likely have guys(and few girls) coming and going pretty regularly, so she was grateful. Clarke liked her space and definitely didn't want to be kept awake by their loud sexcapades.
"Hey you two! Want to go to the lake this weekend?" They had more than enough money to get them by for now and Clarke was itching to paint the lake, having seen pictures and taken by it's beauty. A loud chorus of "Yes!" could be heard from Raven's room and "We'll bring the booze!" there were other college students there probably, so it would be a good opportunity to make friends. The two girls could be heard planning and giggling, so Clarke left them to it and went to unpack her things.
Clarke hadn't brought much in the way of personal belongings. She had brought her clothes and other necessities, of course, pictures of the group back home, and her art supplies. Bellamy and the other boys would be joining them here in the next few days, so they could enjoy the summer together before college life started. Her heart twinged with pain when she saw a group photo that included him. Him being her ex boyfriend, Finn, who had been dating Raven and had neglected to mention it to either of them. Needless to say, he was no longer in the picture and Raven and Clarke had become closer because of it.
She packed away her clothes and made her bed before flopping on it and pulling out her sketchpad, drawing always let her clear her head. She drew a mental image of the lake, clouds and mountains reflected off of the water like it was a mirror. Eventually, she dozed off with the drawing under her cheek and images of the water running through her mind.
A tall brunette walks out onto the porch of a cabin by the lake, stretching her arms wide, letting the sun warm her already tanned skin. A smile plays on her lips as she breathes the beach air in deeply and listens to the gulls calling by the shore.
"Lexa! I wondered if you would sleep the day away! Come, it's time for a run!" She chuckled at her friend, Lincoln and trotted up to him by the water. "You are usually awake with the sun, are you well?" The tall tanned man feigned checking her temperature with his hand, causing her to laugh loudly. They had been friends as long as she could remember and it had become a custom for them to rent cabins by the lake here every summer with another friend of theirs, Anya who would not be awake until the sun was high in the sky.
"I am well enough to race you to the docks and beat you!" She said as she broke into a run, leaving a cloud of sand in her wake and a chuckling Lincoln close behind. Before she made it to the docks, however she was stopped in her tracks by the sight of no doubt the most beautiful blonde girl she had ever seen. She shook her head to clear the image and spared one last glance at the girl before taking off again. She still managed to beat Lincoln by a fair margin, but she had winded herself in the process. Damn her eyes.
"What happened back there? You just stopped dead for a moment." Lincoln's eyes followed the directions Lexa's had been and he smiled, seeing three pretty girls unloading three cars into the cabin. "Ah, I see. Which one has you so distracted, Lexa?" He was teasing and she knew it but her eyes betrayed her, falling on the blonde again. Lincoln smiled and clasped her shoulder, "Come, then. Let's introduce ourselves!" Lexa was in the process of refusing when Lincoln practically dragged her to the porch and rapped on the screen door. A gorgeous brunette with bright eyes opened the door, eyeing them curiously. Lincoln spoke first.
"Hello, I am Lincoln and this is my friend, Lexa. We're in the cabin down the beach and saw you and your friends unloading your vehicles. Would you like some help, you seemed to have a lot?" Lexa watched the girl eye Lincoln's shirtless form and chew on her lip. "We wouldn't want to trouble you guys." Lincoln shook his head and promised it was no trouble at all and the girl agreed, her housemates coming outside to see what was going on.
"Those are my roomies, the loud on is Raven and the blonde is Clarke. Thanks for helping us out, by the way. We have way too much crap." Hearing their names, Clarke and Raven introduced themselves to the pair. "Hello, Clarke. I'm Lexa, it's nice to meet you." Clarke couldn't help but like the way Lexa said her name, the way her mouth formed around the syllable and enunciated the hard "k". She had no time to dwell on it and Lexa turned around and grabbed an armful from the car, giving Clarke the chance to give her a once-over. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. She was in a pair of black shorts and a green sports bra and her chestnut hair was up in a braid. Clarke grabbed an armful of stuff as well before she got caught staring.
In no time at all, the cars were unloaded and everything put away. Lexa and Lincoln took their leave, promising to come by later in the evening for a small get together. Clarke watched them leave, her eyes lingering on Lexa for a moment before she felt a presence next to her. Before she knew what happened, a pitcher of ice cold water was dumped on her head and she glared at Raven with murder in her eyes.
"What? You looked thirsty as hell!" The blonde couldn't help but laugh along with Raven, this was why they were friends. As annoying as she could be, Raven was no doubt the funniest and most honest person you could hope to know. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not even gay and I noticed. Abs like that should come with a warning label!" Clarke laughed at Raven and Octavia handed her a towel. "As long as you keep your hands off of tall, dark, and muscles we'll be fine, Reyes." Raven flipped her off and headed back inside to get party favors ready.
Octavia sat on the back deck with Clarke in silence for a few minutes. "She was something huh?" Clarke nodded in response, letting a sigh escape her lips. Octavia moved to sit on Clarke's lounge chair, pulling Clarke into her chest. "I'm still not over it, you know?" The brunette nodded against Clarke's hair, "We understand, the whole thing was hardest on you. He was your first everything, but he threw it away, Clarke. He lied to you both and you're both better off without him. It's been over a year, maybe it's time to try and have some fun, move on?" Clarke flipped on her back and stared at the stars, mapping the constellations with her eyes.
"You're right, you usually are, but it's not as easy as that. Let's say I liked Lexa a little bit, she could be every bit the asshole he was. I don't want to go through that again." Octavia grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. "I remember, I practically lived with you for months to make sure you were still functioning. Not everyone is out to hurt you, Griffin, and you can't go through life afraid to even try again." Clarke remained silent and Octavia let it go, opting to lay on the lounger holding Clarke's hand. They could stay like this for a bit longer, she thought.
Lexa and Lincoln walked back to their cabin to find Anya awake with a hot coffee in her hand. "Glad to finally see you're awake." Lexa said evenly, Anya raising an eyebrow in her direction. "And where did you two get off to? You've been gone awhile." Lincoln explained that they had gone for a run and met some girls down the beach and helped them with their things. Anya chuckled, "Of course you did. Far be it from you to to leave some helpless girls to fend for themselves." Lexa narrowed her eyes at her friend, "We were simply being nice, Anya." The taller women raised her hands in mock surrender. "Apologies, chief. So what's the plan for today?"
Lexa rolled her eyes at the unwanted nickname. "The girls invited us to a fire this evening with a few friends of theirs. It would be rude not to attend." Anya got excited "Oooo back to see them already? You two have it bad!" Lincoln playfully shoved her in response, but could not hide the flush in his cheeks. "See! You do have a crush! How cute!" Lincoln ducked his head in defeat and looked to Lexa for help, getting a lazy shrug of her shoulder in return.
"If you two are quite finished, I'm going to go and read for awhile before this fire. Keep it down, yes?" Lincoln and Anya nodded, saying they were going to the store anyway and if Lexa needed anything, which she didn't. She laid in her bed and opened the window, letting the fresh lake air fill the room. She read for some time before her eyes grew heavy and she succumbed to sleep, visions of golden wheat playing in her mind.