"What are we going to do tonight?"
Clarke shrugged her shoulder as she picked at the label around her water bottle. "I don't know. My last class is at three so I'm free after that."
Raven wrinkled her nose and settled into the cushions. The student union had the most amazing leather chairs. They were huge and comfortable and total able to fit two people. She glanced at her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow. She placed her hand on the girl's phone and pushed it down, earning a mock glare in response.
"Your input would be nice to hear." She teased, getting her hand slapped in the process. She released a loud whine and held her hand against her chest. "Ow, Octavia!"
Octavia rolled her eyes, placing her phone on her lap. "Oh, please." She scoffed as she pushed her hands into the leather cushion and straightened herself upright. Her hand raised to push her dark hair away from her eyes. "What are we talking about?"
Raven half rolled her eyes with a smirk. "What are we going to do tonight?" She repeated, glancing from one girl to the next. "It's Friday. I really don't want to stay in the apartment and binge watch another show." She bounced on the chair. "Let's go out."
Clarke sighed as she spun the bottle with her finger. "Okay, but where?"
"I heard Polis is turning the upstairs into a zombie apocalypse for one night." Octavia suggested, folding her legs up underneath herself. "We could do that."
Raven's eyes lit up and she turned to Clarke excited. "Yes! Let's do that."
"Oh, no, no, no." Clarke waved her hands. "I don't do zombies."
"Clarke…" Raven whined, her shoulders slumping. Her head falling backwards against the leather. "They're not real."
"They're people dressed as zombies being paid to jump out and give me a heart attack." The blonde scoffed and waved her hand in a stern gesture. "No. We can do anything else but I will not do anything involving the undead."
"They're not really undead…."
Clarke shoots a soft glare in Raven's direction due to her muttering.
"What if Lexa Woods was there?" Octavia questioned, a half smirk on her lips. "Would you go then?"
Clarke choked on her next words, closing her mouth as quickly as it opened. Octavia cocked an eyebrow and shifted her head to the side. Clarke caught the motion and followed it. There was a slight hitch in her breath the second she saw her causing Raven and Octavia to exchange a glance.
Lexa Woods sat on a table… not near it… not next to it… actually on it. She was hunched forward, her elbows rested on her strong thighs. Her focus was on her cousin, Lincoln, as he chatted away animatedly about something. Her face lit up as she laughed at his movements. His arms were held out in front of him and his face was contorted in a weird way. Green eyes focused only on him as she clapped her hands when he released a large growl. Her soft brown hair had those two random braids that Clarke loved.
It took a minute for Lexa's brow to furrow as if she felt something. She slowly turned her gaze to Clarke and smiled when she noticed she had the blonde's attention. Clarke flashed a shaky smile then slowly brought her attention back to her friends. She didn't want to look away too quickly. It gave the illusion of getting caught doing something she shouldn't have… which is exactly what happened.
"Even if Lexa Woods was there." She lied, quickly taking another sip from her water bottle. Her throat had suddenly gone dry and she needed that to stop.
Raven blew out a breath filled with disbelief causing Octavia to chuckle. "My ass."
"You know you would just love to cling onto her arm." Octavia teased, holding her arms against her chest. "Take in that amazing perfume that she wears. Press your cheek against her perfect freaking jaw." She paused when she caught Raven looking at her, eyebrow raised in straight stare. "What?"
"Should I get you a towel to wipe up the drool?"
Octavia laughed as she pressed a kiss to Raven's shoulder. "I love you."
"Yeah… whatever." Raven muttered with a small smirk as she turned her full attention back to Clarke. "Come on, Griffin."
Clarke sighed. "I don't know." She leaned to the side and placed her empty bottle on the tiny table. "Zombies just really freak me out." She ran her hand through her hair. "What if I end up on the floor in a ball? Do you know how embarrassing that would be?"
"Oh, please." Octavia waved her hand. "You'll be fine." She wrapped her arm around Raven bring her closer. "Raven and I will totally be your back up. We won't let you embarrass yourself."
Raven blew out a breath. "Speak for yourself." She said, earning a light punch to her shoulder.
Clarke shifted in her comfy chair. Her blue eyes darted toward her hands then back to her friends. "I just…"
"Hey."
She paused at the sound of the familiar voice. The three girls all turned their attention to the sound. Lexa Woods was standing in the small space between their chairs. Her green eyes shifting from one girl to the next. There was this adorable little half smile on her face and her hands were tucked into her leather jacket.
Clarke snapped from her daze in just enough time to remember how to speak. "Hey, Lexa." She returned, clearing her throat to remove the slight shake. "What's up?"
"There's this zombie apocalypse thing happening at Polis tonight… it's for charity." Lexa explained, her gaze continued to shift from each girl as she tried to keep them all involved in the conversation. "I'm actually going to be one of the zombies…"
"Wait, you're working it?" Clarke asked, suddenly even more interested than she was when Lexa entered their conversation. There was no possible way her eyes were real. She pulled herself from her inspection of those bright green eyes. "Is that why Lincoln was stomping around?"
"Yeah." Lexa chuckled, looking down at the ground momentarily. She raised her head and continued. "Polis is my sisters bar. She asked Lincoln and I to help out with the charity event." Her gaze was locked with Clarke's for a long moment before she broke away and looked at Raven. "I was going to suggest if you all don't have any plans tonight maybe you..." Her attention landed solely on Clarke for a moment as she paused and smiled at the blonde.
Clarke swore her heart leapt from her chest and was now beating soundly on the floor between them. She swallowed back her nerves and listened as Lexa held eye contact then quickly looked away again.
"Should all come out." Lexa finished, the small smile still remained.
It was Raven's turn to gage the expression of everyone in the room. She could see Clarke struggling with her response. She grinned and decided to speak for her. "Lexa, thank you for the invite but, unfortunately…" She held her hand out toward Clarke. "Clarke has this thing about zombies. She absolutely…"
"Loves them." Clarke interrupted, quickly. Her blue eyes remained focused on Lexa. She could feel the look Raven was giving her burning into her cheek. She refused to meet her or Octavia's eyes. Not right now. Not when she had Lexa standing over her. "I love them."
Lexa's smile spread further and, this time, Clarke was sure she lost her heart.
"Then you'll definitely have to come see me be one."
"Oh, definitely."
"Unbelievable." Raven muttered, earning another slap from Octavia and a sideways glance from Clarke.
"Okay. Great." Lexa hesitated before turning to leave. "My break is going to be around eleven and I get about an hour so come by before or after or during." She paused then flashed a bashful smile. "Whatever works for you." With one more small glance at Clarke she turned on her heels and returned to her cousin.
Clarke watched her go. She smiled and raised her hand with a short wave when Lexa glanced back over her shoulder. The heat from her friend's stares still burned into her cheek. Clarke sighed then slowly turned to face them.
Octavia had her phone in her hands. Her eyes were on Clarke as she typed a message to someone. There was a small smirk on her lips and she made a noise before returning her attention to the screen. Raven just stared at her. Her expression almost mirrored Octavia's except her eyebrow was raised and her smirk was full blown.
"Shut up." Clarke mumbled as she stood up from the chair and grabbed her empty bottle. She picked up her book bag from the floor and started to walk away. The further her distance, the more she could drown out the sudden hysterical laughter her friends had busted into….
They stood at the downstairs Polis bar for a long time.
Clarke couldn't remember exactly how many shots she had. Her glasses spread across the bar, mixed in with Raven and Octavia's. Anya, Lexa's gorgeous older sister, cleared them off and smiled at the blonde. Confusion fluttered across Clarke's face as she watched Anya look her over once then once again.
"You're Clarke Griffin, right?" She questioned, her voice raised a bit to be heard over the chatter in the bar.
"Uh, yeah…" Clarke responded, confused by how this woman knew her. They had never really met. Their only common denominator was…
"Lexa talks about you a lot." Anya cut into her thoughts. A smirk formed on her lips when she caught the blush filling Clarke's cheeks.
"Really?"
Anya nodded. "I think my sister might have a crush." She leaned in and winked. "But don't tell her I told you. She'd kill me." Her brow knitted together and she released a disbelieving breath. "Like she could." She tossed another wink to her then made her way to the other end of the bar to help a customer.
Clarke felt her jaw slack at the new information. Lexa had a crush on her? There was no way this was even happening. A hand slamming down on her shoulder caused her to break from her disbelief. She turned to see Raven's excited smile. Octavia chuckled as she shook her head.
"Someone's ready to go upstairs." Octavia stated, hugging her girlfriend's side. She turned her head to look at the brunette, leaning back slightly. "You're so cute when you get excited about stupid shit."
Raven shot her a look. "Shut up." She ordered, placing a small kiss on her lips. She hummed into it, vibrating her lips against Octavia's playfully. She broke the kiss with a loud pop and turned to Clarke. "Ready to crawl into a corner and cry?"
Clarke shot her a dirty look and climbed off the bar stool. She checked her watch. It was ten fifteen. They could get through the house, get scared by Lexa, and somehow figure out a way to spend her break with her. With this new found information, Clarke was more excited about this plan then she was when Raven thought it out.
"Let's get this over with." Clarke groaned with a half eye roll as Raven did a little shuffle in place and lead them toward the stairs leading them to the apocalypse.
They had been in the house for a full fifteen minutes and Clarke had already jumped about twenty times.
Raven gripped Octavia who muttered something about all talk and full of crap. She yelped when Raven lightly pinched her side and pulled her closer. Clarke felt Raven's hand bunch up the back of her flannel shirt.
"This is not exactly the way I imagined you having my back." Clarke grumbled.
Raven shoved her slightly. "I'm protecting you."
"Sure you are, babe." Octavia chimed in, jumping when a figure came out behind a very detailed tree. "Son of a bitch!"
The girls both jumped at the sound of her voice. "Jesus, O." Raven breathed out, releasing Clarke's shirt and placing her hand over her heart.
"I'm sorry."
"No you're not."
"I am regretting every second of this." Clarke muttered as she fidgeted with her hands. She glanced over her shoulder at her friends. "And why the hell am I in front?"
"So you can see Lexa first." Raven noted, flinching at absolutely nothing.
Clarke sighed. "What if she went on break early?" She turned to face forward before Raven could answer.
There was no warning when a zombie rushed at her from the side, growling loudly. Maybe it was the countless shots she took before coming into this place. Maybe it was her nerves on edge from finding out Lexa had a crush on her. Whatever it was that caused it. Clarke didn't think. She just reacted.
Her hand raised, curling into a fist and she connected with the zombie's nose causing it's growl to turn into a grunted 'motherfuck'. Raven had been so scared by the initial roar from the zombie, she had taken off running leaving Clarke and Octavia behind to deal with the disaster Clarke just caused.
"Oh my God!" Clarke exclaimed, cupping her hand over her mouth.
"Jesus, Clarke."
Her eyes widened. She knew that voice. She loved the way her name sounded coming from the voice. "Lexa?"
When Lexa looked up from her crouch positon, Clarke caught sight of those beautiful green eyes. Those watery, beautiful green eyes. Her hand moved from her mouth and she crouched down next to her. Her hands shook as she reached out to touch her face.
"Lexa, I am so sorry." She apologized, tilting the girls head back. "We need to get you out of here."
Octavia pressed her tongue into her cheek doing everything possible to suppress her laughter. "I'm going to find badass Reyes." She patted Clarke's shoulder. "Find us after you fix this." Her finger motioned in a circle around the two girls and she hurried off after her girlfriend.
Lincoln muttered a quick hello to her as he passed and joined the two girls. "What the hell happened?" He questioned as he and Clarke helped Lexa to her feet.
"Clarke punched me." Lexa explained, there was a teasing sound in her tone.
Clarke narrowed her eyes. "You scared me. I reacted."
Lexa raised an eyebrow as through the black curtain to the back of the house. She accepted the towel Lincoln gave her and dabbed at her nose. Luckily, she wasn't bleeding but it hurt like a bitch.
"I feel awful." Clarke stated, taking a step closer. A small apologetic smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Forgive me?"
They held each other's gaze for a moment. Blue and green melding together in a silent conversation that Lincoln almost felt uncomfortable being part of. He raised his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. When they both turned to him, he smiled broadly.
"I'm going to make sure no one else is beating the shit out of the volunteers." He said, thrusting his thumb over his shoulder.
"I think you should be okay." Lexa glanced at Clarke. "The dangerous one is in here with me."
Clarke narrowed her eyes. "It was an accident." She stressed and Lexa flashed her a playful look.
"Sure. Sure."
Lincoln raised his hands in defense. "On that note." He turned on his heels and walked back into the house.
The girls stood in silence for a moment. There was a small space between them. Clarke clasped her hands in front of herself and Lexa stared down at the towel in her hands. Clarke swallowed and took another step closer.
"Let me look at it." Clarke requested, softly.
Lexa raised her eyes to meet Clarke's once again. "Okay…"
Her green eyes remained locked on Clarke as the girl raised her hands. She hesitated for just a moment then placed her hands on the sides of Lexa's face. Her jaw was just as strong as it looked. Her skin was soft and, God, she smelled amazing. The white paint from her zombie make up stained Clarke's fingers but she didn't care.
She moved Lexa's face from side to side. Her focus on her nose. She could see the swelling and the bruise forming across the bridge. Her stomach lurched knowing that she caused damaged to Lexa's face.
Lexa's beautiful, perfect face.
"I forgive you, by the way."
Clarke tried not to startle at the sound of Lexa's voice breaking through the small beat of silence. She gave her a soft smile as she kept her focus on the bruise. "I'm glad." She titled her face to the side again. "It was a mishap. I honestly didn't mean to hit you." She released a small laugh. "I have weird reflexes."
Lexa let out an amused sound in response. She kept her attention on Clarke. "Your eyes are beautiful." She noted before she could stop herself.
Clarke tried to hide the surprise at the comment. She also did her best to control the way her stomach was fluttering. "Thank you." She replied, finally. Her teeth scrapped her bottom lip as she continued to inspected her nose. "So are yours."
A smile formed on Lexa's lips. Clarke could feel the pull in her cheeks under her hands. "Thank you."
Silence filled the room again. Clarke realized she was staring at Lexa for far too long. There was no need to keep a looking at the same bruise. She really didn't want to watch it turn from skin color to purple. She slowly released Lexa's face and clasped her hands against her own side.
She shifted them several times before finding a position she wouldn't fidget in. "You'll live." She stated with a small smirk.
"Good to know." Lexa responded, softly still staring at the blonde.
More silence.
Clarke cleared her throat. "So, I was talking to your sister downstairs." She crossed her arms against her chest. There was a weird pull in her chest when Lexa suddenly looked very panicked. "She seems nice."
Lexa regarded her suspiciously for a moment. "Are you sure you spoke to my sister?"
Clarke nodded.
"Anya?" Lexa questioned, tilting her head forward a bit. "Anya Woods?"
Clarke chuckled. "Yes." She reached out and lightly tugged on Lexa's sleeve. "You should probably get some ice on your face." She glanced at her watch. "Your break starts in like five minutes. You should spend that time icing it."
"I'd rather spend it with you." Lexa choked on her own words as she ducked her head to avert her eyes from Clarke.
Clarke had to admit that seeing Lexa blush through white face paint and bloody cuts was her new favorite thing. Even as a zombie, Lexa was beautiful. How was that even fair?
Lexa flashed a sheepish look. "Was that too forward?"
"No, no." Clarke defended, wanting to touch Lexa's face again but stopped herself. "I would love to spend your break with you." She reached out and playfully shoved her shoulder. "It's the least I could do for punching you in the face."
Lexa chuckled and brought the towel up to wipe some of the make-up off. She winced when it touched her nose. She licked her suddenly dry lips and her jaw twitched before she spoke again. "Well, to be honest, the least you could do is take me out to dinner tomorrow night."
Clarke looked surprised. The second she opened the mouth nothing more than a strangled response escaped.
Lexa flashed a half smile and shrugged her shoulder. "You did attack me. It's the best way you could say you're sorry."
Clarke broke from her shock and fell into step with Lexa's teasing. "Words aren't good enough for you, huh?"
Lexa grinned and shook her head. "I'm more of a show me type of person." She raised an eyebrow in question. "You don't really love zombies, do you?"
The blonde chuckled slightly embarrassed and shook her head. "No. They scare the shit out of me."
Lexa made a noise. "Obviously." The questioning look remained on her face. "Then why did you agree to do this?"
Clarke pressed her lips together and wrapped her hand around Lexa's wrist. She rocked her hand from side to side. "I wanted to see you in action." She confessed, lowering her gaze to watch their hands swing from side to side. She finally raised her attention to Lexa and smiled at the glint of surprise in her eyes. "And it was totally worth it to hear Raven scream like a bitch."
Lexa laughed whole heartedly. "That was pretty funny."
Clarke took note at how much she loved the sound of Lexa's laugh. "Okay, seriously, let's get some ice on that nose." She wiggled her finger in a circle in front of Lexa's face. "It's getting super dark now and you're starting to look a little bit like a raccoon."
"Very well." Lexa agreed with a nod and half smile.
She took another small step forward so she was standing directly in front of the blonde. Their eyes were locked and Clarke could feel a wave of heat building in the small space between them. The blonde wondered if she should take a step back but decided against it and remained close.
"Where do we stand on dinner?" Lexa asked, absentmindedly raising her hand to brush Clarke's hair away from her face.
The blonde shivered under her touch and enjoyed the way Lexa's green eyes danced over her features. She nervously chuckled and bounced her head from side to side. "Like you said, it's the least I can do."
Her smile spread further across her lips and she shifted her hand to take Clarke's in her own. She flashed one more adorable look at the blonde before leading her out of the room and toward the stairs leading to the downstairs bar.
Clarke happily followed.
She had a date with Lexa Woods.
Maybe a zombie apocalypse wasn't so bad after all….
