Both Clarke and Lexa were quiet during the ride. Lexa kept the radio low, but Clarke made mental approval of the rock station that was playing in the background. After just a ten minute drive from campus Lexa pulled into the condominium complex that she lived in. Lexa could feel her nerves getting the best of her, not sure what inspired her to bring a student home. While she knew Clarke needed help she didn't very well know Clarke and wasn't sure how to make either of them feel at ease.

"The door to get in locks once it's closed, so be careful if you go out that you don't get locked out," Lexa said as she put her key into the door that led them inside. They walked up a few flights of stairs before Lexa stopped in front of a door that had 307 centered on it in gold lettering. "I really hope I didn't leave anything embarrassing out," Lexa laughed as she opened the door.

Clarke didn't reply, suddenly aware that she was walking into her long time crushes home. She felt overwhelmed at the thought of getting such an intimate peek at her teacher's private life. "You live here alone? No boyfriend or anything?" Clarke asked as she looked around, mentally kicking herself for her bluntness.

Lexa had slipped off her shoes and made her way from the small foyer area into the kitchen, before noticing that Clarke was standing frozen in her spot with her bag slung over her shoulder. "No, just me," Lexa replied with a small laugh. "I would offer to show you around since you look so uncomfortable standing there but you can pretty much see everything from where you are. To your left will be your bathroom. It leads to the extra room you can use. You can see the living room, balcony, kitchen and my bedroom is right there on the other end of the living room."

Clarke nodded as she slipped her shoes off where Lexa had taken hers off. "It's just one night Ms. Woods," Clarke reaffirmed but was quickly cut off.

"I told you, Lexa please. Save that for the classroom."

"Right, sorry. I'm not sure the proper etiquette here. You're my teacher but don't look much older than me. Well, I've never really been in this situation," Clarke mused with a smile.

The smile wasn't lost on Lexa, who noticed Clarke visibly relax for the first time since agreeing to stay the night. "I'm twenty-six," Lexa admitted. "You? Do you want a drink or something? I have juice, pop, beer, or wine?" Lexa questioned as she stuck her head in the fridge.

The casual conversation helped Clarke to relax more, so she sat her bag down on the floor against the wall and went to sit down at one of the stools where the breakfast nook in the kitchen was. "Twenty-three. And am I allowed to drink with a teacher?"

"I don't know," Lexa straightened up and closed the refrigerator door to ponder.

"Well you're the ethics professor. Shouldn't you know these things?" Clarke teased. Seeing her teacher like this was priceless, and every bit worth the hell she had endured the last week to end up here.

"I say it doesn't matter. You're of age, had a shitty day, and it would be rude to drink in front of you without offering," Lexa concluded. "So what'll it be?"

"I'll gladly take a beer," Clarke replied. "Thank you... Lexa," she added, the name sounding silly falling from her lips after so long of referring to her by last name.

"So glad someone will drink these," Lexa stated as she handed the beer to Clarke. "My friend left these over and I would have never touched them in a million years. I can't stand beer." As if to make her point Lexa expertly popped the cork on a new bottle of wine.

"Oh, I so needed this," Clarke said as she took a large swig of the amber liquid, closing her eyes in pleasure. Lexa watched her with an amused smile for a second, torn between wondering how professional she had to be with a student there. Clarke seemed like someone she would enjoy having for a friend, and Lexa didn't really have many people in her life. But she also had to stay unbiased and professional, at least for the rest of the semester.

"Glad to be of service," Lexa said as Clarke finally looked at her again. "Did you maybe wanna start with a shower?"

Clarke lifted her arm and smelled herself, raising an eyebrow at Lexa. "Do I really smell that bad?"

Lexa just laughed and shrugged, not wanting to offend the girl, but also wanting to not tell a lie either. "Grab your bag, I'll give you the grand tour of your room."

Clarke did as told and followed Lexa about ten feet into the guest bedroom. "So yeah, not much here but there's a bed and a tv. Oh and a fan. My friend Anya insisted I get it for when she stays over. She said she can't sleep without the noise." Lexa walked into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the light, rummaging under the sink for a second. "Got a spare toothbrush you can use too," Lexa said proudly, holding the unopened toothbrush up to Clarke.

Clarke took the offered toothbrush but gave Lexa a concerned look. "There's a flaw in our plan," she concluded. When Lexa just stared at her in confusion, she continued. "A shower won't do me much good if I just put the same clothes right back on..."

Lexa noticed a blush creep over Clarke's cheeks as she said this. Neither had thought of this. "We should've stopped to get you something. Do you want to go out?" Lexa asked. "Or you can just wear something of mine? We could wash your clothes?"

"Would you mind...?" Clarke trailed off. A part of her was overjoyed at her good fortune, the other part extremely embarrassed that she couldn't even afford a pair of pj's to sleep in. Luckily Lexa understood and didn't make a big deal of it and rushed to her own room to find something for Clarke. A few moments later she returned with sweats and a tank top for Clarke who gratefully accepted them.

Lexa excused herself so that Clarke could shower, and wasn't surprised when she looked at the clock and over a half an hour had passed and she could still hear the shower running. While sipping her wine Lexa decided to get her grading done with while Clarke was busy so that she wouldn't have to be rude to her guest when she came out.

When Clarke finally did emerge, Lexa was so caught up in her routine she didn't even hear the blonde walking up behind her. "Do you have to work every night like this?" the blonde asked, and let out a little laugh when Lexa jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Most nights," Lexa confirmed, quickly trying to clean up her mess of papers so Clarke could sit down on the couch with her. "Good shower?"

"Yes, thank you. You were right, I did need it. Would you mind if I grabbed another beer?" Clarke asked as she looked at Lexa. She was feeling incredibly vulnerable wearing Lexa's clothes, while in her house with messy wet hair and was hoping another drink might take her mind off of the fact that her worst nightmare and dream come true were colliding.

"Make yourself at home here, Clarke. Do you want to talk about what's going on?" Lexa asked as Clarke went into the kitchen area to grab her beer.

"Maybe. Not yet," Clarke replied after a few moments, coming to sit on the opposite side of the couch as Lexa. She pulled her feet underneath of her and shifted so that her body was facing the brunette. When Lexa fixed her gaze on Clarke, the familiar butterflies erupted in Clarke's stomach when green eyes met hers. "Aren't you sort of young to be a professor?" she asked, changing the subject.

Lexa pondered the question for a moment while sipping her wine, choosing how she wanted to answer. She was used to being made fun of or picked on for this part of herself. "I suppose so. I sort of finished school early," she said quietly. Clarke cocked her head to the side and Lexa saw she needed to give the blonde more information. "I got my doctorate when I was twenty-three. I started college early."

"So you're a brainiac?" Clarke asked.

"Something like that," Lexa replied. She wasn't good at talking about herself. She had never really found a place she belonged since she was "ahead" of everyone her own age growing up. People either used her or picked on her for being different.

"Don't you find it hard to teach people practically your own age?" Lexa watched Clarke as she asked the question, seeing there was genuine interest in her blue eyes. "I mean don't most people start teaching kids or something?"

Lexa let out a laugh at Clarke's question and got up to refill her wine. "I think it would be hard to teach ethics to second graders, Clarke."

Clarke nodded as the understanding washed over her. "But what's your doctorate in? There's no such thing as an ethics doctor."

"Psychology," Lexa said as she sat back down on the couch, mirroring how Clarke sat so that she too now faced the blonde. "Gonna let me shrink you now?" she teased.

"For fuck's sake," Clarke laughed. "You couldn't handle shrinking me."

Lexa just smirked and shrugged, not wanting to push the subject. At least the conversation was making the evening go smoothly. Lexa found herself surprised how at ease she was with the blonde after being told how awkward she is on several occasions by her only real friend Anya. "So did you get in a fight with your boyfriend? Roommate? What's the deal?" Clarke looked away when asked, and Lexa felt an her internal panic rising. "You don't have to tell me," she reassured the blonde.

"No, it's not that," Clarke said with a shaky breath. After all, if she was brave enough to face her mother's wrath, she may as well come clean to everyone from here on out. "Do you have any liquor?" Clarke asked. "I might need a little liquid courage for this."

Lexa got up again, and was rummaging around her kitchen cabinets to see if Anya had stashed anything on her last visit. She didn't want to pressure Clarke into talking if it was hard, but she also didn't want Clarke to feel alone in her problems the same was she always had felt until making friends with Anya. If Lexa wanted to achieve anything in her lifetime, it would be to know that she kept people around her from ever having to feel excluded and alone the way she always did for growing up different.

A minute, and a deep breath later, Lexa returned with a half empty bottle of vodka and a shot glass and handed them to Clarke. "You don't have to do this," Lexa said as she watched the blonde pour the shot. In fact she was quite certain she wasn't supposed to be giving liquor to a student on her couch, but Clarke was an adult after all. When she heard the shot glass slam down on the table, Lexa decided to let her own ethical dilemma rest and pay attention to the girl in front of her.

Clarke chased her shot with more beer and then looked Lexa in the eyes. "Wow that really hits you fast when you haven't hardly eaten in a week," she giggled.

"Wanna order something? Pizza? Chinese? What do you like?" Lexa asked.

"I don't have any money Lexa," Clarke reminded her. "You've already done enough for me. Honestly."

"You're a stubborn ass, you know that right?" Lexa quipped. She pulled out her phone and pulled up the app for her favorite pizza place, and with just a few clicks had food on its' way. Clarke watched her without speaking, feeling ashamed of her predicament. "It's just pizza Clarke, no big deal. I live alone. It'll be nice to actually have someone to share food with for once."

Clarke nodded, deciding to just be gracious about accepting help from her teacher. She couldn't wrap her mind around how this beautiful woman she's admired for so long was not only hot but also an amazing human. "Thank you, again."

"You're welcome. Now you can pay me back with your story," Lexa smirked.

"Damn, fair enough," Clarke agreed. However, before continuing she poured herself another shot of vodka. "Just in case you change your mind and kick me out. Keep me warm tonight," she said just before dropping the shot into her mouth. Lexa rolled her eyes, knowing that was the last thing she would do to this adorable student of hers, but she didn't speak. "Okay, so a few months ago my dad died," Clarke started and immediately held up her hand when she saw Lexa's mouth open to comfort her. "Just let me finish okay?"

Lexa didn't speak and just nodded, so Clarke continued. "My mom went nuts. Like totally fell apart. We've always been so close. But when he was gone it was like something switched off in her brain. She became obsessed with me, trying to "protect" me like I'm still a little kid. At first it wasn't bad, and when it got annoying I just sucked it up as part of her healing process. Without him to look after she wanted to hold on extra tight to me, ya know?"

Clarke paused to take a sip of her beer while Lexa nodded along, watching her intently. "Well last week she was cleaning my room for some reason, you know she started wanting to do my laundry and clean up after me again and stuff. But she ended up finding some pictures of me and my ex, and just went crazy on me."

Clarke paused again, taking a deep breath as she looked into Lexa's eyes. She could tell her teacher was interested and wasn't holding any negative emotions in her eyes so she decided to go on. "My mom told me that I could never be a doctor if I was broken," she said quietly, biting her lip as she envisioned the moment with her mother in her head. "She told me it wasn't okay for me to like women. And that no one would ever take me seriously in field like that if I ruined my life on girls."

Clarke was too afraid to look at Lexa now, and kept her eyes focused on her own lap. The blonde had always known she was bisexual and it had never been an issue, but since being rejected by her mother she suddenly felt insecure about telling others about it. "That's awful Clarke," Lexa said when she was sure she was done speaking. She reached out to put her hand on Clarke's to be reassuring and the blonde finally looked at her again.

"You're not gonna kick me out too?" Clarke tried to joke, but the smile fell flat and her voice came out choked.

"No. For what? Is that what happened? She kicked you out?" Lexa asked, dumbfounded. While she had never been good socially with friends, her family and her were incredibly close. She couldn't imagine her mother ever doing something like that to her.

"Yep. Took away my car, closed my bank account, said she wouldn't pay for my school anymore. The whole works."

"What about friends?" Lexa asked, knowing that surely the blonde wasn't as alone in life as she was.

"I can't tell them. My mom is like... mom to the world or something. My friends love her. I don't know what's gotten into her but this isn't her. I was hoping that if I just waited it out she would change her mind, ya know? My mom loves everyone. I don't know who this person is. What kind of doctor will I be if I can't even fix my own mother? I know she can't just hate me like that. She can't," Clarke said, tears welling up in her eyes.

The emotions of the last week finally spilling over the edge. Lexa squeezed Clarke's hand, but Clarke quickly pulled away and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry to fall apart on you like this. You've been so kind. And I'm just a mess over here." Clarke said as she sniffled, trying to regulate her breathing.

Luckily the speaker in the hallway buzzed just then, alerting the girls that the pizza had arrived. "Better get that," Lexa said as she sprung up and out of the condo to go downstairs to get their food. Lexa's head was swimming after listening to Clarke's story, feeling sympathy as to why her student's grades had been dropping over the last few weeks, but also her heart breaking for the obviously sweet girl who was trying to stay strong in the face of such loss. She admired Clarke's resolve, and her believe that despite everything her mother was still good and just not being herself.

By the time Lexa got back into the condo Clarke had composed herself, and also helped herself to her third beer. She sat the pizza on the counter and grabbed some plates out of the cabinet and gestured for Clarke to come eat. Clarke obeyed and came over to grab some pizza of her own. "You're staying here until things are resolved, Clarke," Lexa stated matter-of-factly as they plopped back onto the couch with their pizza.

"No way. I told you one night. I'm not going to be a burden or a charity case," Clarke said, with an almost angry look of determination in her eyes.

"You're not. You're my student. And amusing. Someone I could see being friends with. You're not a burden. I already have an empty bedroom. What is it hurting if you sleep in it for a while?" Lexa returned Clarke's look with a pointed glare of her own, and the two held stares for a moment before the blonde threw her hands up in exasperation. "I'm glad you agree now. I didn't want to have to threaten to flunk you out of my class if you refused to stop being stubborn."

"That's cheating!" Clarke exclaimed, throwing a pepperoni at Lexa. "And unethical! Some teacher you are!"

Lexa just shrugged and grinned to herself. She was pleased that she would have someone as feisty as Clarke around to break up the monotony of her days for a while, and it didn't hurt that she was adorable either. Not that Lexa would ever admit that though. She did have to be fair and unbiased as a teacher, after all.


Ha, so weird writing Abby as being a knucklehead. But have no fear, I'm no Abby hater! Actually I had a crush on Paige Turco before most of you were probably born... _ So keep going? Yay or nay?