She is sitting at her regular table in the regular campus cafe she always goes to and reads her book. Okay, reading would be a lie. She rather stares at the pages, thinking. She tried to read, but ended up reading the same paragraph over and over again because she couldn't remember what she was reading. She doesn't remember when she stopped reading, but at some point she ended up staring at the pages, occasionally turning them so that people who might watch her don't think she's mental. She's not mental, and she knows that she's not, but it's hard to concentrate on a day like this. She usually finds joy in reading, but she picked the wrong book and if she were able to concentrate enough to read, she might start crying and that's a little too embarrassing in public.
Today is Costia's birthday. She died two and a half years ago and every year on her birthday Lexa gets so sad that she can't move. She still can't believe that she's gone. For over a year she hoped that the love of her life would just walk into her room and say that the hospital made a mistake, that she survived the crash and that they could continue where they left off.
But that will never happen.
She takes her green tea, and sips on it. It's cold by now, but she doesn't care. Why would she care? It's not like it's the worst thing in the world. No. The worst thing in the world is losing your girlfriend in a car crash when you were the driver. That's the worst thing.
Lexa has never been the same since the accident. She stopped going out, she stopped meeting friends. Only her godmother Anya could talk to her, she wouldn't let anyone else in.
Maybe it's time to move on now, but she doesn't know how.
She checks the clock on the wall and sees that she sat at her spot for the last 3 hours and decides that that's probably enough time she wasted now and that she should get back to her dorm and study. When she passes the room, something white catches her eye on one of the tables close to her. She stops to look at it and sees that it's a paper napkin with something drawn on it. There is no one sitting at the table, so she decides to pick it up and look at it.
The moment she picks it up, she gasps. This can't be real, she thinks as she stares at a drawing of her, reading. It's a simple drawing, but it's obvious that it's her. How she sat at the window, reading, or pretend-reading, her book. The details are incredible for a drawing done with a pen on a napkin and she wonders why the person didn't take the drawing with them.
She turns it around and around, trying to see if it's just the drawing or something else as well. On the backside of the napkin she sees something written on it.
"Pretty people in public #27"
Lexa stares at it for a few more minutes and wonders who would draw her. Who would call her pretty? Why would this happen to her out of all people? She takes a deep breath and without thinking, she puts the drawing in her bag. And now she's heading back to her room.
In the dorm she starts to work at an essay that is due next week, but she can't concentrate on it. One second she's thinking about costia, the next she's thinking about the drawing and then about Costia again.
It takes her about an hour to finally start with the essay and it really works to keep her mind off of everything that's been going on today. The next time she checks the time it's 10pm and she thinks about going to bed. She's really tired, but there's a knock at her door.
"Come in," she calls and when the door opens she sees that it's Octavia.
Octavia approached her in the beginning of last term. She told Lexa that all her friends don't understand her and she needs to get away from her brother. She added that she noticed Lexa the semester before and just wanted to get to know her. She didn't really get to know her so far though, because Lexa never talks about herself, but she knows that Octavia needs someone to talk to, so she tried her best to listen and offer decent advice.
"Hey Lexa, what's up?" She slumps down on Lexa's bed, like she always does, and checks her phone.
"Nothing, just studying." She turns to Octavia and eyes her carefully. It's clear that something's wrong, but Lexa doesn't really want to know what. But she needs to be a good friend, so she has to ask. "Are you okay?"
Octavia just shakes her head and asks if they could not talk about it and if she could stay here for a while. "I just don't want to be alone."
Lexa nods. "Is it okay if I continue with my essay?" Octavia nods her head and Lexa thinks that she almost looks relieved that they don't have to talk about whatever is going on.
They sit like this for a while, in complete silence, just the noise of Lexa typing and Octavia's headphones. Lexa pulls out a book from her bag to check something she wrote down.
"What's that?" Lexa turns around and sees Octavia retrieving the napkin from the floor. It must've fallen out of her bag. She completely forgot about it and her eyes widen when she sees it. "It's amazing, where did you get that?" Octavia looks up at her and she does look impressed, it doesn't look like she's just saying it to make her feel good. She sounds genuine about it.
"I found it actually," Lexa shrugs. "It was at an empty table at the coffee shop. And since it was a drawing of me, I just took it."
Octavia looks at the drawing again and after a while she asks "So you don't know who did that? You just found it there?" It almost looks like she's smiling when she looks up at Lexa.
"Uh, yeah, I guess. I mean, yes, that's exactly what happened. Why are you asking?" She is somewhat confused about this, but also kind of glad that someone else sees the drawing as well, so now she knows that this whole experience was not a dream.
"Just wondering. Must've been a nice surprise." This time she can't suppress a smile and Lexa frowns at her.
"Do you know something that I don't?" Octavia just giggles at that and shakes her head.
"Nah, all good, nothing important, I just thought of something." She hands Lexa the drawing and gets up. "I gotta go, sorry, but I remembered something. Oh this is great." She mumbles the last part, but Lexa can still hear her and is very confused about it. Octavia heads out of the room before she can say anything else.
"Okay, that was weird," Lexa says to herself when she's alone again and decides to just head to bed. This day was way weirder than she anticipated and she's done with it. She heads to the bathroom and when she's about to wash her face, she notices that the drawing is still in her hand. She stares at it again. Octavia was right, it's a nice drawing. A very nice drawing.
She takes a deep breath when she gets into her bed and lets it out slowly through her teeth, making it sound like she's saying a long s, but that's how she always calms herself on these days where she can't help but think about her past.
The next week was quiet, she didn't see Octavia at all, she sat through her classes like usual and got all her assignments done early and now she has a free weekend. She also spent some time every day at the coffee shop, straining her allowance to the fullest. She sat there without a book this time and just watched the people who came in and walked out, trying to figure out who might be the person who drew her. Maybe that person, she hopes it's a girl, was just visiting the campus and they're never coming back here.
Right when she was about to give up, she found another drawing on one of the tables, but not when she walked out, but when she walked in. It was a picture of a guy with very short hair, a wider nose and a very shy smile. She feels her mood falter when she sees that it's a guy, cause this might mean that the hopefully girl who drew her, might not be gay. She's taken aback by the thought because why would that person even be interested in her, and why would she be interested in the person? She doesn't even know who they are.
Lexa runs a hand through her hair and sees what's written on the back. "Drawing friends in coffee shops #1". She lets out a sigh and feels herself smiling because they're just friends. She puts the drawing back and heads out without getting her typical order because she needs to sort herself out.
As always when she thinks she's acting weird and out of the ordinary, she goes to the gym to lift weights and to do some CrossFit. It always makes her forget. She wonders why she didn't do this last week, but now it's too late, she can't go back in time. She starts lifting and doesn't stop until her whole body is sore. She does some stretching and heads to the showers.
She likes the showers, even though they're community showers and there are other people there as well. Or maybe that's exactly why she likes them. Even though Lexa turned into a rogue when she started college, she does miss people around her. And she likes naked bodies, she's not going to lie about that, she knows it would sound a bit creepy if she ever told someone.
She lets her gaze roam the room as nonchalant as possible, but they fix on a blonde girl who's just done rinsing her body. Her blonde waves caress her shoulders and there's a line going down her back, where her spine is and she can see that her back is well built, She admires her curves where her hips get wider and when the girl turns around, she explores the front of the girl with her eyes, but fixates on her face fairly quickly.
Wow, she's so pretty, she thinks. The girl has blue intense eyes and light skin, her red lips are full and all in all this girl just looks perfect. Suddenly the eyes of the girl lock with hers. The girl smiles and Lexa turns around quickly. She curses herself under her breath and hopes that this beautiful creature she was looking at is not weirded out now. After a few moments she dares to turn around again, but the girl is gone. She sighs, bummed that she didn't get another look of the girl, and steps out of the shower room.
On the way back to her dorm Lexa contemplates if it would be a good idea to go out more, maybe if she lets more people in her life again, she wouldn't feel like shit twice a year and if she opens herself to someone she might find happiness again. But she shakes the thought away quickly, she can't see herself happy anymore. Not without her.
In front of her room is Octavia, waiting for her arrival and she looks like she's been there for a while, impatient and tense. But her face lights up when she spots Lexa.
"There you are," she exclaims cheerily and makes a little jump.
She looks so innocent, Lexa thinks. So pure and full of hope. And one day all of this will be gone, in the matter of a second she'll be crushed and lose everything.
Lexa blinks a few times. She shouldn't think this, not everyone ends up like her. Some people find happiness and they can keep it. Even though it's rare, she should wish that for her friends. Correction: friend. She has no one else. And until now she didn't think she would need her, but she'll be proven wrong in only a few weeks.
"Go get dressed fast, I wanna show you something, I think you'll like it." Octavia runs into the room and drags Lexa behind her, who is stunned and slightly overwhelmed by the action.
"Wait, what? Why? What? I already said what, but what?" Lexa just frowns, but does as she's said and changed into ripped jeans, boots, a tank top and her leather jacket.
"One might think you're more articulate as a linguistics major," Octavia chuckles. "I want to show you a vernissage a few of the art students organized. I heard it's gonna be amazing and you like art, don't you?"
Lexa nods slowly. She thinks that Octavia's friends didn't want to tag along, so she asks her. But she still agrees to go, she already changed after all and she shouldn't let that go to waste. And she does like art. She also decides to ignore the comment about her major, she usually is articulate, only when she's confused she struggles with words, just like everyone else.
The vernissage is at a small warehouse close to the campus, Octavia offers to drive them there, she already asked Bellamy, her brother, if she could take his car. Lexa doesn't have a car anyway, so she's glad that they at least have one option. Lexa is quiet on the drive there, even though it's just five minutes and she actually feels like talking, but the quiet is filled with Octavia bubbling and rambling about her friends and the party they want to go to tomorrow.
"You sure you don't wanna join us? They're dying to meet you, I talk so much about you when I'm with them." Octavia seems very excited about it and Lexa wonders what she tells them about her, it couldn't be much, she knows nothing about her besides school stuff. Then she wonders if her friends think they're dating, but she quickly remembers that Octavia has a boyfriend who's a junior like herelf.
"No, I'm okay, thanks, I have stuff to do." Which is obviously a lie, since she got all her assignments done already, but Lexa plans on spending all of tomorrow in the coffee shop, trying to spot the mysterious stranger who drew her, again. Octavia frowns at her and looks very disappointed. "I promise I'll come with you another time, okay? Parties are just not really my thing." Octavia nods at this, still frowning, but she seems to accept it.
When they enter they see a room filled with artwork that is clearly done by students. It's all modern and it seems like no one really gets the meaning behind any of the pieces. There are also a lot of profanities sculpted, a lot of phallic symbols and Lexa immediately feels weird about the air of immaturity in the room. She remembers a lecture she had in her sophomore year about media law and because she feels weird, she starts talking.
"Don't you think it's weird how people try to put laws on art?" Octavia turns to her with a frowning eyebrows and a confused look. "I mean, think about it, they try to censor art and that doesn't really work. It's art and you can't put a restriction on it, that's the beauty of freedom of art. And if you compare our country to other countries then you would see that our government is not the best for projecting art." She gets to a state of rambling where she doesn't even know if she still makes sense, but she can't stop herself. "The biggest problem is censorship. Other countries only have censorship after an item is released, no matter if it's music, art, or a book, it can only be censored after the release. Here the state already bans a pie-"
Maybe she can't stop herself, but something else sure does. Lexa stops dead in her tracks and stands there, her mouth as wide open as her eyes and her eyebrows are furrowed in disbelief. Everything goes silent in her mind and she doesn't even notice Octavia waving her hand in front of her face, grinning. After what feels like forever, she blinks a few times, like she wants to wake up from a trance and then turns to her friend.
"That's me." She points at a canvas, a huge canvas, on the opposite side of the room. "That's me," she repeats and steps further towards the drawing, still not really grasping what she's looking at.
"Yeah, that's you," Octavia grins at her.
"Someone drew my face on a huge canvas," she pauses and turn around dramatically, pointing at the drawing. "Someone freaking drew me in coffee." She runs a hand through her hair and shakes her head. Then she stared again at the canvas which really does contain a picture of her, drawn with coffee. Just her face, looking not at the person drawing, but somewhere else. Lexa finally recognizes the style of the drawing as the one of the drawing she found in the coffee shop.
"Are you sure it's you? I don't see it." Octavia's voice is filled with sarcasm and she starts dragging Lexa further to the picture. "Let's see what the name is."
When they're close enough to read the little tag beneath the picture, Lexa almost gasps. It reads "Strangers with Coffee #2". The name indicates that it's the same artist from the coffee shop. That must also mean that they're here at the vernissage. Lexa starts looking through the room, searching. She doesn't know what she's searching, but she's sure that once she sees it, she'll know. She'll just know who the artist is. She has to be sure, she has to know, that's what keeps her going.
There are no familiar faces in the small group of people around her, but the crowd is bigger than what she can see. Lexa grabs Octavia's sleeve and drags her through the crowd of wannabe hipsters and student artists, and so she doesn't see the name that's written below the tag and Octavia curses under her breath.
The whole room doesn't show a single person that is familiar in the slightest, and after an hour of roaming the hall, Lexa gives up. "I think we should go home, the art is not that great, and the artist of my picture doesn't seem to be here anymore."
Octavia looks more disappointed than Lexa, since she hoped Lexa would see the name of the artist. But she obliges because she knows there is no arguing with Lexa when she's ready to leave. She just sighs as they exit the hall.
Right outside Lexa runs into a blonde girl with messy waves and tomboyish clothes. She has a cigarette in her mouth and blows out the smoke in an irritated way. Lexa mumbles "I'm sorry," and when the girl turns around a gasp escapes Lexa. "Oh." That's all she can bring out. It's the girl from the showers. A smug smile plays on her lips and Lexa swallows hard. The girl then turns to Octavia, winks and walks off with her friend. The guy she's with looks oddly familiar, but Lexa cannot place his face. She probably has a class with him or something. She dismisses the situation and walks to the car. When she opens the door, she catches another glimpse of the blonde who's about to walk into the hall again and they share a moment where they just look at each other.
Lexa feels her insides turn and she has to swallow hard. Again. She feels her face heat up as one side of the girl's mouth curls up into a smirk and Lexa has to look away. She quickly gets into the car and turns to Octavia.
"That was weird." She feels a shudder run down her arms and when she checks them she sees that she has goosebumps.
"You're red," Octavia states with a grin. "And you seem tense." She starts the engine and drives off.
The drive home is absolutely silent and in her head, Lexa replays the drawing and then the encounter with the girl. And then again the drawing and then the girl. She can't put the two together, they do not seem to have a connection, but she constantly thinks of both. The drawing and the blonde are both so fascinating. The drawing because she doesn't know why anyone would draw her in the first place, and then on a 3 foot canvas and in coffee. She wonders who would put that as their piece in the vernissage, it's so crazy to her. And then the girl. She seems to reappear everywhere, or is that just in Lexa's head? Why did she never notice her before? A crazy beautiful girl, exactly Lexa's type. She's probably part of the cool crowd, the ones who go to all the frat parties, I always erase those from my vision, Lexa thinks. I just don't know why I noticed her now.
The next day she goes to the coffee shop, to sit in her spot, drink her tea, read her book and ignore everything around her. She decided not to look for the artist anymore, it takes up too much space in her head that she could use for more important things, like studying, or books. But when she gets to her spot, a person sits there, wearing a big hoodie with the hood over their head, and also a snapback pulled down in their face so you can't see any features. The person also wears sweatpants and the only reason Lexa is able to see this, is because their legs are propped up next to them, their body leaning against the window with a cup of coffee in their hand. She can't even tell the gender of the person, all she can see is a smirk playing on their lips. And she's not even sure if she's not hallucinating it.
The moment Lexa realizes she staring, she turns to the counter to get her usual order and then look for another spot she could get comfortable in, other than her favorite, and the only bay window in the shop. She walks up to the guy who always works on Saturday's.
"Hey Jasper, can I have the usual please?" She puts the money on the counter, but he moves it back in her direction. She looks at him frowning.
"Don't worry Lex, someone took care of it, your order was just ready when you came it. Someone really knows your schedule. You gotta look out, she might be a stalker." He says all of this smiling the brightest smile, suggesting he's joking about the stalker part, but Lexa just stares at him in disbelief.
"Someone payed for my drink? And had it made perfectly so I can drink it as soon as I arrive?" This sounds very wrong to her. No one should pay that much attention to her in her own opinion. She does love her schedule and it's easy to follow, she always spends her Saturday mornings here, and always at the same time, but why would someone notice that? He also said it's a she, so that has her even more confused.
"Don't look at me like that. She literally came up to the counter, ordered exactly what you always order and said 'for the brunette who'll be here in a few minutes' and just as I was done, you came in." He shrugs. "Not gonna lie, I thought it was magic, but someone really has a thing for you." He turns around and leaves a stunned Lexa behind. When she finally regains control over her body and is able to close her mouth and move, she turns to scan the room, first for an empty spot, then for the person who might be the one ordering drinks for her.
The café is oddly crowded with girls, and they all don't seem to be interested in Lexa, no looks at her or even remotely glances in her direction. She decides to dismiss the feeling that someone is playing mind games with her, maybe even Jasper.
She finds a seat in the middle of the room and with a lot of hesitation she sits down. She hates sitting in the middle of the room, she needs her back against the wall, so she has an overview of everything that's happening in the room before her. That's why she always sits in the back in lectures, skimming the room before she sits down and before she gets up again. She doesn't know where those trust issues to the whole human race come from, but she got used to them. She keeps turning around while sipping on her tea, she probably won't stay here for long unless another seat will be empty at the wall and she can sit there. But where should she go if she can't be here?
When she's done with her drink she skims the room again to check if another seat is free, but it's not her lucky day today. She looks to her usual spot and a guy sits across from the person that was already sitting there when she came in. The guy has messy black hair and looks a bit like Octavia. Could that be her brother? It would seem like it, but Lexa is not sure, she's never seen him. The guy talks to the other person and they just nod every once in a while signaling that they're listening. But they don't seem very interested.
Lexa sighs and gets up. She decided she'll spend the day in the library, maybe she can get some studying done. Just because she doesn't need to, doesn't mean it's a bad idea to study. Or she could just read her book there. There are still people around and it's quieter, which she prefers anyway.
She's back to the state she was a week ago, staring at the pages, but not really reading. She wonders how her last week could've been this crazy. First the drawing, then the painting and now the drink. It gets weirder and weirder and Lexa just want to know who did all this. Or just if the person with the amazing artistic talent is the same that knows her tea schedule. Maybe she should start making tea in her room, but then she would never know who that person is. She decides to go back tomorrow and ask Octavia if she wants to come with her, she could be of help.
"You gotta be kidding me." Octavia throws her head back dramatically when they sit at the café the next day. "You brought be here so early because of your artist thingy? And someone bought you a drink? That's nice isn't it?" She rolls her eyes at Lexa, who can't really see it since Octavia is wearing sunglasses.
Who wears sunglasses inside? She wonders, but this could easily be explained by the fact that Octavia has a really bad hangover from the party she went to last night with her friends.
"You don't get it," Lexa exclaims exasperated. She tried to tell her friend for the last 15 minutes that someone didn't just order a drink for her, they knew her exact order and when she would walk in. "It's creepy, is all. And I want to find out who it is. I should've waited with this until you're normal again." This remark earns her a glare that she can feel on her skin and it makes her feel uncomfortable. But she's good in not showing emotions, so she just shrugs in response.
There is a moment of silence where Octavia keeps staring at Lexa, her eyes narrowed as if she's considering something. "Fuck it," she suddenly says, stands up, grabs Lexa by her sleeve and drags her out of the coffee shop, through the campus to the dorm rooms.
"What are we doing?" Lexa surprises herself by letting Octavia drag her around, she usually doesn't like to lose control of something.
"We're gonna see your artist now." That's the moment when Lexa stops walking and forces Octavia to stop as well, she turns to her friend and sighs. "Look, this has been fun to watch for a week, not telling either of you that I know both people." Lexa raises one eyebrow, confused about what the other girls says. "I recognized the style of drawing immediately, I know who drew it, I just didn't tell you because I wanted to see if you could figure it out yourself. After I saw the drawing I went to her room, where she was working on the painting you saw at the vernissage. I knew exactly that the painting was there, I wanted you to see it. That was the whole point." She pauses and when she sees Lexa just staring at her, not comprehending, she continues. "Look, you got so obsessed over it and so weird, and I don't wanna deal with it anymore. I'm just gonna show you who it is. I bet she was the one with the drink as well. You both spend way too much time at that coffee shop, she probably just remembered your order." He starts walking again and Lexa follows her reluctantly.
Lexa is at a loss of words, she doesn't fully process the given information so she just wordlessly follows Octavia to the floor beneath her own, where the junior rooms begin. Octavia stops at a room and knocks at the door. When the door opens Lexa is confronted with a brunette that she's never seen before.
Is this her? Could this be the girl who painted my face in coffee? She wonders. The girl doesn't seem fazed about her and Octavia standing in front of her.
"Hey Raven, is Clarke awake?" Octavia says to the girl. The girl looks behind her to one side of the room and turns around again, still no emotion showing at her face.
"Nope, but I can wake her if you want." Octavia nods and the girl closes the door with the words "This will take a minute."
"Clarke?" Lexa turns to Octavia with a questioning look. "Her name is Clarke? Who is she?"
"She is the girl my brother is after. We went to the same high school, and we became friends in her senior year. But she's a year older than me, so about your age." Octavia just shrugs.
They hear voices from inside, first muffled, then clearer. It sounds like someone is suffocating inside the room and the girls just look at each other frowning.
After a few minutes the door opens and Lexa is presented with the girl from the vernissage, who is the girl from the showers. The blonde looks first at Octavia groggily and when her eyes shift to Lexa they widen in panic. Half a second later the door is shut again with a loud band and inside they hear a voice shouting.
"What the fuck Octavia?!" Her voice is raspy and dark and Lexa isn't sure if that's her natural voice or if it's because of the residue of alcohol and the lack of sleep.
"Come on, open the door again, we just want to talk to you." Lexa isn't so sure she wants to talk, she kept quiet so far and she doesn't think she wants to start talking now. But if she's the artist then it would make perfect sense. So maybe she should talk to her. "Clarke, come one!" Octavia tries once more.
"Fuck you, I won't come out again. Shit. Fuck off!" There are muffled voices again and the door opens to reveal Raven again.
"Sorry guys, I think she's still drunk from last night. It would be better if you come back later, okay?" Her look has a certain sympathy to it now, but Lexa thinks she's imagining it. Raven closes the door with a goodbye and the two girls are left in the hall.
"I'm going to my room now, wanna come with me, or do you wanna go back to sleep?" Lexa says, already moving towards the stairs.
"You sure you don't want to talk about it? You seem a bit tense." Lexa always seems tense, so she wonders why it's an issue now.
"I'm okay, I mean I don't understand what just happened, so I'm going to my room to reflect on it for a while." She looks at Octavia. "So do you wanna come or not?"
Octavia shakes her head ever so slightly. "No, I think that wouldn't be a good idea. I'll just go to my room and sleep for a while, maybe hang out with Lincoln."
Lexa nods and they part ways. Lincoln is Octavia's boyfriend, who Lexa never met, so he might be imaginary, but she has enough trust in Octavia that she doesn't think she would lie about a significant other.
But Lexa doesn't go to her room, she goes to the gym and does her second favorite workout routine: Kickboxing. She knows a few people at the gym and there is always someone willing to train with her. They never think she's any good, because she is petite, shy and introverted. But when they start, everything changes and suddenly they're intimidated by her aura and her expression, her body language turns dominant and her technique is almost perfect. The guys are always too tired after a while and give up to train with her. This is the same that happens today. She warms up with the first guy, and the second guy who thinks he can take her, falters after an hour as well, then she just practices alone, trying to clear her head.
Her name is Clarke. Clarke is a pretty name, it fits her. I wonder if her voice always sounds like this. Why have I never seen her around before this? She should've popped up in my vision, why didn't she? Why did she slam the door into my face? Does that mean she can't stand me? Then why did she draw me? And why does she always smirk at me when I see her somewhere. All of this doesn't make sense.
She keeps thinking about her situation and completely ignores what Octavia did to get her into this mess. She only focuses on Clarke. God, she's so pretty. The thoughts keep invading her mind and when she's too tired to keep training and her mind is somewhat free from thoughts, she heads for the shower. In the locker room she checks the time and sees that she's been in the gym for 3 hours now. She should probably get some studying done before her mind is too clouded again.
On the way to the dormitory Lexa passes the coffee shop and when she peers through the window she can see someone sitting in her spot, the same way the person sat there yesterday. Sideways with her legs propped up. She figures they are the same person. She decides against her own better judgement to enter the coffee shop. The next thing she knows, she stands in front of the girl, who wears a snapback, pulled into her face, a varsity jacket, a simple black t-shirt and skinny jeans. Lexa has to swallow hard to keep her posture. But instead of sitting there with her coffee in her hand, she has a small notebook she's scribbling something into. In front of her are two cups, one with coffee and the other one looks like green tea.
Lexa clears her throat and the girl looks up. Then she smiles shyly and wrinkles her nose.
"Hey," Clarke says. "I figured you would stop by here at one point. So I already got you your drink." She motions towards the cup in front of her. Then she gets up, much to Lexa's surprise, and sits down in the seat across from the window. When Lexa doesn't move, she points at the window seat. "Sit, please. I know you like that place, so please just sit." Lexa sits down a little hesitantly.
"What would've you done if I didn't show up?" She asks, looking at the blonde.
"Drink the tea myself, I guess." Clarke shrugs. "But you're here, so I don't have to worry about that." She smiles again.
A moment of silence follows and as if she can't bare it, Clarke breaks it again.
"Okay, so, we've never been properly introduced. I'm Clarke Griffin, I'm an art major as you probably figured." She starts playing around with the cup of coffee in her hand.
"I'm Lexa, Lexa Woods. I major in linguistics." Lexa just stares at Clarke. What am I doing? She wonders. How did I end up in the coffee shop with this gorgeous girl in front of me, who's a complete mystery?
"I know," Clarke says, and a little smirk plays on her lips. "You're Octavia's friend. I figured it out when you two stood in front of my room." Then she looks at Lexa. "Sorry about that by the way, I was not prepared for that encounter that early, and that intoxicated." Her voice is not as dark as this morning, but still as raspy and Lexa melts inside. She can feel her body getting hot and she hopes that she's not turning red.
"Long night, huh?" is all she can say at the moment.
"Just another Saturday night." The smirk that is playing on her lips gets more confident now, and Lexa can tell that the shyness Clarke gave off only minutes ago, vanishes by the second. She doesn't know if that's a good thing. Clarke's eyes shift away from Lexa's and she nods to someone. This is the time Lexa notices people around them. She did not realize there are more people in the coffee shop. Lexa looks who Clarke was greeting and sees a petite girl with nice brown curls passing, smiling at Clarke.
And now she notices that everyone here looks at Clarke from time to time. Do they all know her? If yes, how come I never noticed her? Lexa asks herself. But it is a somewhat stupid question, because Lexa never notices anyone anywhere, not since she came here. And she is already in the first semester of junior year, she should've noticed Clarke, right? She is the most beautiful girl Lexa has ever seen and she's back at staring at the gorgeous blonde in front of her.
They sit in silence for what feels like forever, but in reality it is only ten minutes. Both are staring at each other and both are also too shy to say anything. Until Clarke clears her throat.
"Fuck it," she mumbles. "Do you wanna go somewhere else? Somewhere more fun?" Lexa takes a little offense to this, since she comes here to have fun, to sit here, watch people or read.
"Like where?" she asks, uncertain where Clarke wants to take all this.
"I wanna show you something, actually. My favorite spot on campus." Clarke got up and hold out her hand. Without thinking Lexa took it and let the blonde drag her out of the coffee shop and it feels right to her. She doesn't feel lost or confused, she's just curious about what Clarke wants to show her and smiles to herself.
They arrive at a building that Lexa knows belongs to the art students, inside are the studios where they can work on their assignments outside of class and Lexa is confused what they're doing here. Sure, Clarke is an art student, but is she that cliché artist that her studio is her favorite place? Lexa feel bad immediately for thinking that, she sure is prejudiced against art students, she never took them seriously, she likes art, but usually not the artist. But Clarke is different, she sure likes Clarke, even though she doesn't even know her.
When they're about to go in, both girls notice that they're still holding hands and immediately pull away from each other. Lexa steals a small glance and Clarke and sees Clarke smiling in the corner of her eye. She can feel herself smiling, too. Clarke clears her throat.
"Let's go in then, shall we? I share a studio with five others, but they're usually not here, they paint during the night." When she sees Lexa's raised eyebrow she chuckles. "Yeah, weird, huh? But I like it, that way I can have my peace and quiet." Lexa nods at this and they walk in together. The hallway is long and they walk almost to the far end of it, until Clarke makes a sudden right turn and enters a room filled with drawings and paintings.
There are six stations with supplies and one station is extremely cluttered. The other five stations look almost the same, with the same style of drawings, dark, mostly woods or wolves, witch like scenes and Lexa feels comforted but at the same time uncomfortable looking at them. Clarke notices that Lexa is suddenly tense.
"Yeah, their style is confusing. They all know each other and are influenced by each other. I think they're witches, but I'm not too sure. All I know for sure is that they meet up during the day, and then go here in the evenings to paint." She shrugs and walks over to her station.
There are paintings all over, usually of galaxies, planet constellations, but also trees and nature. Lexa looks at all the pieces that she thinks are drawn by Clarke and gets lost in one of them, it takes her a long time before she notices that she knows the image that is shown all too well. She frowns a little and turns to Clarke.
"Hey um, why is there a painting of my back tattoo?" On the canvas is a charcoal drawing of a line of planets with lines going through them and it looks exactly like the tattoo in her spine. Clarke goes and stands next to her.
"Well, I saw it in the showers of the gym the other day, and it was just stuck in my mind so I had to draw it. I think it's really pretty. Do you like it?" Her voice is unsure and if Lexa would look at her, she would see insecurity in Clarke's eyes, but Lexa's gaze is fixed on the drawing.
"I love it," she says with a nod and finally turns to Clarke who smiles at her relieved.
"You're not freaked out by it or something?" Clarke goes over to a table now that is covered with a cloth.
"No, I think it's amazing. You really captured it just from your memory and I'm honestly impressed." She follows Clarke to the table.
"You can have it if you want, I bet it would look nice in your dorm room." Clarke smiles again, and Lexa smiles back. She's not used to people being so nice to her about anything, she's also not used to people drawing her or parts of her and it gives her a warm fuzzy feeling of appreciation. Clarke clears her throat again, licks her lips and looks at the table. "Okay, so now I'm gonna show you why this is my favorite place on this campus. I usually come here with my best friend Wells to pass time when we don't want to be surrounded by people." She pauses and breathes out a soft laugh. "God, I sound like a brat complaining about attention, but when everyone in your year and the year below knows you it gets really annoying sometimes."
Lexa's mouth goes dry. She didn't know Clarke until this morning and she feels bad that she doesn't. Everyone knows Clarke, but her. And no one pays attention to Lexa, but Clarke. This doesn't seem to fit.
In the next moment, Clarke pulls away the cloth to reveal an air hockey table. She moves it to the middle of the room with ease and grins at Lexa.
"Care for a little game?" Lexa, who's always up for a game of any sort, stares at the table and then at Clarke.
"I don't know," she says with a frown, "I can get quite ambitious in those games and I don't wanna be rude to you."
Clarke grins at her and slides one of the mallets at her. "That's alright, I'm competitive as well, and it's only fun with someone who gets angry when they lose." She winks at Lexa.
Lexa can feel a grin growing on her lips even though she tries to play it down. "So I guess, you get angry when you lose, cause there is no chance I'm losing against you." She cracks her knuckles and her neck to indicate she's ready and after Clarke bites her lip for the spilt of a second, she throws in the puck from her side.
She immediately scores, since Lexa stares at Clarke, picturing the lip bite on repeat in her head. And only when she hears the noises of the machine indicating someone scored, she shakes her head and looks around. Clarke looks at her with her head slightly tilted to one side, a smirk playing on her lips.
"I thought I didn't have a chance against you," she says with another wink.
Lexa narrows her eyes at her and bites the inside of her cheek. "Well you didn't play fair." Clarkes smirk grows into a grin and Lexa realized what she has said. Her eyes widen and her body stiffens. She coughs, retrieves the puck from her side and they begin to play, for real this time.
The next person to score is Lexa and not soon after she scores the 2:1. Clarke stretches a bit before resuming to the game and she scores the next goal. It is a really close game. In the middle of the game they decide to play until one of them has 9 points. The game stays close until the end, the scores is 8:8 and Clarke has the puck on her side, while she's trying what to do next, she does the mistake of looking at Lexa, who sticks her tongue out and her eyes are crossed just a little, probably a sign of her concentrating. The puck moves over to Lexa's side and Clarke, still staring at Lexa, did not notice that Lexa just slammed the puck into her goal, only when Lexa starts jumping around, Clarke blinks a few times and looks around.
"I told you, I wouldn't lose!" Lexa jumps around the room, her fists raised in the air, and it almost looks like she's dancing. Clarke has never seen Lexa like this, not that she had much of a chance to do so, but in general, this is the first time that Clarke sees Lexa this excited, almost happy. And she managed to do so, just by losing the game. Clarke smiles to herself watching Lexa. When their eyes meet, Lexa stops jumping around and they hold their gaze for what feels like forever.
But then Clarke blinks, looks down at the table and then again at Lexa. "I want a rematch," she exclaims, wearing her usual smirk.
They play two more rounds, the second with Clarke winning and the third wins Lexa again. Clarke just had to see her that happy again, she couldn't help it. It was the best thing she witnessed in a very long time. After the last match they hold their gaze again and without noticing, they walk closer to each other until there were only inches between them. Clarke stops breathing and Lexa swallows hard. The inches become less and less and just when Lexa closes her eyes, she can hear a phone chime. They move away from each other quickly, Clarke pulling out her phone and Lexa running her hand through her hair.
"Shit," Clarke mutters, when she looks at Lexa she looks very disappointed. "I'm sorry, I forgot that I'm meeting up with a friend today, I totally forgot about it, sorry." She really does sound sorry and Lexa can't help but smile.
"It's okay." She pauses and takes a deep breath. "Maybe we can meet up another time?" There is so much hope in her voice that she didn't even know she had in her, and when the blonde starts smiling, Lexa's heart jumps a little and it feels like it skipped a beat.
"Are you asking me out?" Clarke's raspy voice has a daring undertone, but if you listen closely you can hear that she really wants the answer to be a yes.
"I, eh, yeah. I think I am." Lexa looks down at the floor, and in the next second she feels Clarke very close again. She looks up and their faces are inches away from each other again. She gasps, but Clarke moves away again, holding Lexa's phone. When did she take that? Lexa wonders, but after a few moments Clarke hands it back.
"I saved my number, so you can easily reach me. I'm sorry that I have to go now, but I promise I'll make it up to you." And before she can do anything about it, Clarke leans forward and plants a soft kiss on Lexa's cheek. She walks out of the room and Lexa lets out a breath, she didn't even know she was holding in.
What a woman.
She stands there for a few more minutes, feeling Clarke's lips on her cheek, she lifts her hand and places her fingers on the spot where she kissed her. It takes her some time to free herself from the trance that the kiss put her in, but when she was finally able to move again, she put the table back where it was and threw the cloth over it again.
When she arrives at her dorm, she sees Octavia standing there with a guy, Lincoln she presumes, and they look like they're having a heated discussion. Lexa was about to turn around again, when Octavia calls her name.
"Lexa! Hey, Lexa! Can you please help me out?" Her body tenses for a second, but she turns around, if reluctantly, and walks to her only friend and her boyfriend.
"What up?" She says with a wave, she purses her lips the next moment, not knowing what to do or to say next.
"Lexa, this is Lincoln, and he wouldn't believe me that the girl from Clarke's painting was actually you." At the sound of her name, a smile creep up on Lexa's face and she looks to the floor. This reaction does not go unnoticed by Octavia who raises an eyebrow at her.
"I mean I see similarities, sure, but you don't even know each other, right?" Lincoln says, grimacing at Lexa.
"You can draw someone and not know them, that's really easy, never seen anyone draw strangers?" Lexa takes offense to Lincoln's remark, but tries to stay neutral. Her voice is snappy and Lincoln is taken aback by it.
"Yeah, that's true, but it still doesn't make sense, why would Clarke draw you?" He probably didn't want to be rude, but Lexa still thinks he is and because she doesn't want to get too much into this, she just shrugs.
"Why would I know? Why don't you just ask her. Maybe she drew me because there are not many strangers on the campus she could draw." And with this, she enters the dorm and walks to her room.
It stuck with her what he said. Why would Clarke draw her? Why would she draw Lexa out of all the people she knew? Why would she draw someone she doesn't know? Someone as unimportant as her?
She hears a few knocks and Octavia's voice asking if she's there, but she doesn't answer, she just lies on her floor, why she lies there and not on her bed she doesn't know, but she also can't get herself to get up and do something. So lying on the floor it is. She stays there for the rest of the night. She doesn't know when she falls asleep, but she falls asleep to the thought why Clarke would waste her talent on someone like her.
She woke up next morning to a text message on her phone. She never gets messages this early, Octavia is never awake before 9am and it is 6am. She takes her phone and reads the message, her eyes widen when she sees who it's from.
Clarke: You didn't take the painting.
Lexa tries to sit up, but her neck hurts so much from the night on the floor that she has to lie down again.
Lexa: I'm sorry, I forgot it
Lexa: Wait, how did you get my number?
She doesn't have to wait long for the answer.
Clarke: I have my ways ;)
Clarke: Okay, the small one gave it to me, since you didn't text me yesterday.
Why didn't she text her yesterday? Then she remembers Lincoln's words and she falters again.
Lexa: Oh yeah, I'm sorry … so do you still want to meet up?
Clarke: I sure want to J what's the plan?
Lexa pauses to think. What could they do? But before she could type an idea her phone chimes again.
Clarke: There's an event at the book store close to the campus. It's like a late shopping night or something. You wanna go there?
Lexa smiles. Even though everyone who sees her on campus from time to time knows she's obsessed with books, she really appreciates Clarke suggesting this. She heard about the even and really wanted to go anyway and this way she wouldn't have to go alone. She had a beautiful girl next to her.
Lexa: I would love to. So, dinner beforehand?
Clarke: Only if I get to take you out J
Lexa: Okay J so, Friday then?
Clarke: It's a date. I'll be at your room at 7
Lexa stares at the last text. It's a date. She has a date. After 2 ½ years she has a date and she couldn't be happier about it. She felt the urge to tell someone, but who could she tell? Without thinking about it more, she texted Octavia to meet her at lunch.
"You have what?" Octavia just spit out her drink, missing Lexa's face by a few drops and now she's almost chocking on it.
"I have a date with Clarke. Can you believe it?" Lexa beams at her, Octavia has never seen her grinning like that.
"Honestly," Octavia says after regaining her posture, "after seeing you two dodge the bullet of meeting each other for a week, I wasn't sure you would be able to make those plans like ever." Lexa knows that she's half joking, but she still shoves her shoulder lightly. "Oh hey, someone's warming up to me." Octavia sticks out her tongue at Lexa and scrunches up her nose.
"I guess I am. Clarke might just be exactly what I needed." She smiles dreamily at her food that she's moving around on her plate without really eating it.
Octavia's face softens and she puts a hand on Lexa's shoulder. "Hey, Clarke is great, she usually doesn't have a thing for people like that, she never draws other people, I think she really found an interest in you." She sighs and continues. "Lincoln was an ass yesterday, I saw that what he said bothered you. Please don't think about it too much, just forget what he said. Clarke thinks your special, or else she wouldn't have picked you to draw not once, but several times."
Usually words like this don't mean much to Lexa, but they came from her only friend and for some reason they were really reassuring for her. She looks up at her friend with a smile. "Thank you, I hope you're right." The little doubts were still in Lexa's head, but they were definitely less than a minute ago.
"I am right," she winks at her, "I hope you're ready for a big dose of Clarke, she can be a lot, you know?" Octavia takes a big bite from her sandwich.
"So far she's been a delight, I can't wait to see her again."
During the week she texted a lot with Clarke, talking about their day and just random things, like movies and school. Clarke told her a lot about her childhood when they met in the coffee shop, how her father used to play with her and the family trips to Europe. Clarke also brought by the drawing of Lexa's tattoo, so she could hang it up in her room. Lexa was still really impressed by it. They saw each other almost every day and if they didn't see each other, they were texting. Though Lexa made the rule not to text during the lectures, she could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket during one of her last lectures on Friday. After the lecture she read it.
Clarke: Today is finally the day. Can't wait.
Lexa couldn't help but smile. She still didn't know if they were friends, or more than that. Was this a real date, or was this just a hang out that friends sometimes do?
Lexa: Me neither J
Lexa spends the rest of the afternoon deciding what to wear for the date, should it be casual? Should it be fancy? She doesn't know where they're going for dinner, Clarke just told her that it's gonna be delicious. She decides to go for casual and throws on skinny jeans and a white blouse with black details, it shouldn't be too cold tonight, so she won't take a jacket. It took her until 6.55pm to decide what to wear and she changes quickly, just in case Clarke is gonna be on time.
And she was right, right at 7pm, she hears a knock on the door and when she opens it, she sees the blonde beauty with a simple black t-shirt, a red flannel thrown over it and with a black hat on her head and they both stare at each other for a moment. Even though they wear their normal clothes, they still look different to each other.
"Wow," breathes Clarke. "I almost forgot how pretty you are."
Lexa opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to find the right words as a response, but then settles on a soft smile and the words "You look great as always."
Clarke pulls her in for a tight embrace, before taking her hand and lacing their fingers together. Even though this is the first time they're just walking next to each other, holding hands and being completely aware of it, it feels so natural to them, as if they were born to do exactly that and nothing else.
They walk to the parking lot, and Lexa didn't even know that Clarke has a car, but it does make sense since she offered to go to a restaurant and there are none in walking distance of the campus. They walk up to a big black Chevy and Clarke opens the door for Lexa to get in. It takes a second for Lexa to let it sink in that this is Clarke's car. She's not used to people having big expensive cars. She gets in the car and looks around the interior. When Clarke gets in on the driver's side, she notices how stunned Lexa is.
"My mom tries to spoil me with expensive gifts. I told her I don't need a car, but she gave me this as a gift a year ago." Clarke's voice has a hint of embarrassment. Lexa is sure that her friends love the car, and that she usually wears an air of confidence around her when it comes to bragging about the car, but with Lexa she is shy and doesn't want to come off as a spoiled brat. She just wants to be herself.
They drive for a bit in silence, the air around them is slightly tense, like they don't know what to talk about, or they're too nervous to talk. For Lexa it's the latter, she thinks she might throw up if she opens her mouth. Clarke who usually loves to talk to Lexa doesn't know how to start a conversation tonight, she's suddenly too shy. She's never shy on dates and she doesn't know why she is now.
They pull up at an Italian restaurant and Lexa glances at Clarke. "Italian?" she asks with a little smile on her lips.
"Yeah," Clarke says, shrugging shyly. "It's my favorite. Don't you like it?"
Lexa's smile widens and she shakes her head a little. "It's my favorite, too." They both look at each other for a moment, just smiling at each other.
"We seem to have more in common than we think," Clarke says with a wink and gets out of the car. Lexa gets out right after her and they walk up to the restaurant. Clarke holds the door open for Lexa and pulls out the chair at their table, before the waiter can do it. Every time she does something like that, she's rewarded with a certain smile that melts her insides and turns her legs into putty.
They look through their menus. "What do you think you're gonna get?" Lexa asks looking up. "I can't decide, it all sounds so nice."
"I'm gonna get some pasta," Clarke answers without looking up. "Do you feel like having a pizza?" Now she looks up at Lexa. "We could share a pizza." It was as if Clarke was reading Lexa's mind, because that was exactly what she wanted.
"That sounds great, actually," She says, grinning, "How about pepperoni and olives?" If Clarke says yet, then Lexa was sure she could spend her life with this girl.
"Pepperoni and olives? That's an odd combination. But sure, I like both, so why not?" Clarke winks at Lexa. Every time she does that, Lexa's heart skips a beat and her mouth goes dry. She can almost feel the butterflies trying to escape from her stomach.
After the waiter takes their order they fall into casual conversation about their day, their week, even though they've seen each other pretty much every day of it, they still retell almost everything they did as if the other person hasn't heard about it yet.
"By the way, I don't think I've told you this yet, but the vernissage you went to was basically a graded assignment." Clarke says when the food arrives.
"Was it? That's pretty cool." Then Lexa remembers what Clarke painted for it and she can feel her face getting hot. "So what grade did you get?" Lexa can see Clarke smile while taking a piece of their pizza.
"I got an A-, the minus is only there cause our professor thinks that you could never get an A in art, it's the perfect grade, like there is nothing to improve. It's art, there is always something to improve, no piece of art could ever be perfect, so I'm very happy with it." She sounds as if she wants to convince herself and not Lexa, she doesn't believe in what her professor says, but she could never tell anyone.
"You deserved an A, because it was really beautiful. I'm not too sure about your model though, you could've picked a better one," she says with a wink and a smile. The smile is not too genuine because she means what she says.
"You liked it?" Clarke bites into the pizza and looks at Lexa who's nodding as a response. "I wasn't sure if it was creepy for you to see it. I didn't think you would, because I never saw you at those events before, and then you were there and saw yourself in huge and in coffee. You don't like coffee, do you?"
"How would you know that I've never been to an art event before?" She hasn't been, but how would Clarke know that? It's not like Lexa is always noticed by people, she sure doesn't notice people around her.
"I would've noticed," Clarke simply states. "I always notice you."
Lexa looks down at her place, she smiles and can feel herself blush. She changes the subject and the two girls fall back into casual conversation, this time about music. Lexa admits that she usually doesn't listen to music that much and Clarke promises her to take her to concerts and show her bands she likes to listen to while she's painting.
"Music is my biggest inspiration," she admits. "Well, close followed by you." This receives another shy smile on Lexa's side and she blushes again. Clarke loves that they're both that shy, she would've never guessed to experience a date like this. Ever. They seem like high school kids on their first date, trying to figure out this whole dating thing.
For Lexa this is quite true, she was never the dating kind, she always had Costia, and they've known each other forever, there was no real need in dating before being in a relationship.
After dinner they drive to the book shop, and because Lexa wants to be nice chivalrous, she doesn't run up to the classics and the Young Adult literature right after they enter, instead she steers them to the art section and shows Clarke her favorite books about art. She never buys them, but she likes to look at them. When Clarke has to let go of her hand to take one of the books, they both notice that they were holding hands again. How could it be that they both didn't notice? Did it feel that natural to them? Did they already do it before the date? If they did, they did not notice.
They sit down with a book about black romance, Lexa heard about romance before, but not about black romance and both were curious about it. The book is filled with dark paintings and pictures and even movie stills, apparently some movies belong into this era. When Clarke wants to show her something in one of the paintings, her hand brushed against Lexa's side and she jumps. Clarke smirks at her.
"Are you ticklish?" Her voice daring and her hand hovering above Lexa's side.
"What? Me? Never," Lexa says, not even half convincing. In the next moment, Lexa squirms under Clarke, who dismisses the book and throws herself on top of Lexa, tickling her sides and her stomach, both of them giggling like little girls.
To stop her from attacking her, Lexa takes Clarke's wrists and, this time completely intentionally, Clarke moves her hand slowly into Lexa's, and intertwines their fingers while gazing into Lexa's eyes. She is completely lost in the grass green color and the intensity of Lexa's gaze. She holds her breath in fear that if she breathes again, her heart might not be able to take it and stop beating. Her insides are turning and she slowly moves down towards Lexa.
Lexa's mouth goes dry and she has to swallow hard. The blue eyes staring down at her, holding her in a trance, are the most beautiful things Lexa has ever seen. It feels like her heart is bursting out of her chest when she notices Clarke coming closer and closer. When their lips are only inches away from each other and she can almost feel the electricity between them, the burning ache, being so desperate to feel her lips on her own. She closes her eyes and moves her head so their lips finally connect.
Lexa sees fireworks behind her eyelids, she has never felt lips as soft as Clarke's and they immediately move in synch without any complication. She feels herself being catapulted to cloud 9 and she never wants to be any lower than this again. She can feel Clarke's breath hitch and it's only then that she notices that her hand moved to Clarke's neck, pulling her closer into the kiss. Her other hand, still intertwined with Clarke's, now above her head, steadying the blonde above her. They stay like this for a while, just kissing, exploring the lips of the other, entering their own perfect world.
They hear someone clear their throat close to them and they jerk away from each other. They look around and see the shop owner standing a few feet away from them, looking at them with a raised eyebrow. When the girls fully gained their posture again, sitting down next to each other, looking down at their hands, the shop owner hands them the book they dropped. Lexa looks up at him and he winks at her before walking away.
The girls look at each other and Clarke snorts. Shortly after both of them start giggling again. Clarke takes Lexa's hand and pulls her up from her seat. She drags her to different bookshelves.
"Show me your favorite book," she says with a smirk on her face. Lexa has to think for a second, but then she takes Clarke to her favorite aisle and takes out a book. "Coraline?" Clarke asks with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't that the story where the girl goes into another world where everything is better?"
Lexa breathes out soft laughter. "Almost. It's better at first, but then it's a terrible world. I love the story, Neil Gaiman is my favorite writer. I don't want to bore you with it." She looks away from Clarke and puts the book back in the shelf.
"You could never bore me with something you love," Clarke says. "You endure me talking about my family, my life and my art, so I can listen to you talk about books. I would love to, actually." She puts her finger under Lexa's chin and lifts it, so she looks at her again. "There's nothing I'd rather do than listen to you talk." She places a soft kiss on Lexa's lips that makes her legs go soft and she's glad that Clarke has her hand on her cheek, or else she might fall.
Lexa purses her lips and sighs. "You would really want to talk about books? With me?" Clarke nods and she sighs again. They sit down again and start talking about children's books they both read and Clarke admits that she stopped reading altogether since high school. Lexa tells her about her favorite books, her favorite short stories and her favorite novellas. She doesn't think she talked that much in years, but she can't be stopped. Especially not when the girl you're talking to just sits there and listens to you, smiling.
At some point though, Clarke actually stops her. "As much as I would love to hear you talk more about Jane Austen, it's actually getting pretty late. If you want we can meet up again tomorrow and you can tell me more about books." She got a sign from the shop owner that they're closing in five minutes and she still wanted to purchase a book before they have to go.
"Oh," Lexa sounds a bit flustered. "I'm sorry, I started rambling, it was probably not even interesting."
Clarke shakes her head. "It was the most interesting thing I've heard in a very long time." Then she looks over to the shop owner and then back at Lexa. "I have to find the restroom, do you mind waiting for me in the car?" She hand Lexa the keys and smiles. "If you want you can even drive back."
Lexa has a license, but she doesn't drive, so she declines, but she goes to the car to wait for Clarke. But Clarke doesn't go to the restroom, she goes to the bookshelf, takes out Coraline and walks up to the counter. She has to read it if it's her favorite.
On the drive home there is comfortable silence. At one point, Clarke looks over at Lexa and smiles. She puts her hand in Lexa's lap and squeezes her thigh softly. Lexa takes the hand in both of hers and smiles to herself while looking out the window.
This was a perfect night. Lexa thinks, but there are still doubts inside of her, and when Clarke puts the car in park it just bursts out of her. "Why me?" she asks and Clarke just looks at her with narrowed eyebrows. "Why did you paint me for the vernissage? Why not someone else? Why would you paint me out of all the people on the campus?"
Clarke lets out a deep breath and rubs her neck. "Alright," she says. "Before we head back to the dorm, I'm gonna show you something in the studio." And then she mutters "I hope the weirdos are at one of their weirdo parties."
Completely confused about it, Lexa gets out of the car after Clarke and they walk to the art building where they spent a lot of time so far. Why would she want to show her something there? She has probably seen all the paintings displayed in her station.
When they walk in the studio, Clarke lets out a sigh of relief, right before stiffening up, because they are alone, but she's going to show something to Lexa that she never thought she would show her.
"Alright," she mutters. "Let's do this." And with this, she moves away some of the paintings that are leaning against the wall, to reveal other paintings that are behind them and Lexa gasps.
There are three more paintings of her. One that is also painted in Coffee and two more drawn in charcoal. The two charcoal ones are the ones who draw in Lexa's attention the most.
The first one is her, her whole body, she's wearing a black coat and her hair is long, big and wavy, and it's pulled back with a few strands. There are also black marks on her face that she can't really make out. Her posture in general is the one of a leader, of a warrior, and her expression is cold and fierce.
She moves over to the other painting, which shows her face in profile, again with the same markings on her face, which make her look a bit like a raccoon. A black strip across her eyes and it looks as if the paint ran down her face. The hair is the same like in the other painting and her expression as well.
She turns to Clarke. "What are those? This isn't me. I mean it is me, but it's not me me."
Clarke chuckles a bit. "Yeah, it's you, this is exactly how I see you."
"With paint on my face?" Lexa is absolutely confused.
"No," Clarke chuckles again. "As a warrior. Since the first time I saw you, I saw you as a warrior, walking through the world with so much confidence, even though you only show it in the gym. This is how I see you in my head. And I think you're the best person on this campus. That's why. That's why I chose to paint you." She pulls out her notebook from her bag and hands it to Lexa. "That's why I chose to only paint you."
Lexa flips through the notebook and it is filled with trees, nature settings and her. The only person Clarke drew into her notebook is Lexa. They all say "Pretty People In Public" either above or below the drawing. Lexa looks at Clarke confused.
"But I saw a drawing you did of your friend." She still holds the notebook in her hand, not believing what she's seeing.
"Yeah, Wells thought I should draw something else every once in a while, so as a joke I drew him. But you're the only person I want to draw, Lexa." Clarke moves closer to her.
"But why?" Lexa still doesn't comprehend why anyone would find her worth drawing.
"Because you're so pretty and you don't even know it. You're such an amazing person and you don't show it to anyone." Clarke places her hands on Lexa's hips. "You were a mystery worth discovering. Ever since I saw you during freshmen orientation I wanted to get to know you. Ever since then, I had a crush on you. I think it's amazing how focused you are, and that you don't give a flying fuck what other people think about you. Also when I saw you in the gym I was impressed what you could lift and I just wanted to get to know you. I wanted to meet you. I wanted to be with you." The whole time she talked, she moved closer and closer, her eyes darting between her eyes and her lips as if she couldn't decide which is prettier. Then she settled on the eyes right before closing her own and connecting their lips.
Lexa felt herself relaxing into Clarke and put her hands on Clarke's neck, to pull her closer again. She didn't want any distance between them. Any distance would be too much. But Clarke pulls away, for just a second. "You are the most beautiful face in the crowd and you have the smartest mind. I know we only know each other a very short time. But I don't think I can ever let you go again." Then she moves in again.