The following day, Clarke woke up to even more messages on her phone, though less than the previous day. It was early in the morning that she awoke, since she'd gone to sleep so early the previous day. It was six in the morning, an hour before breakfast would even start being served in the lobby of the hotel.

She had no idea what to do with her day, or herself in general. So she started off with a shower, got ready for her unplanned day, and by the time she was done, she could head downstairs for breakfast. The eating area was empty this early, so she had no trouble sitting down and enjoying a breakfast. Midway through it, she felt her phone receiving a phone call.

She didn't look at it.

Instead, she finished her breakfast and then left the hotel. She considered taking the tube to another part of the city, but she didn't really trust herself to get back easily, and so she opted for walking around this part of the city instead. It was hard for her to find things to do, so she mostly ended up slipping into small stores and checking out things for sale – things she was tempted to buy but didn't, since she was on a budget. If she really was going to end up going home in the next few days, she figured it would be best that she have some money leftover from the amount she'd brought with her.

She did buy one thing, though, something to remember her trip by, she supposed. Just a little necklace, with a circular pendant that displayed the Big Ben, encased in a little glass bubble. It was pretty, but not too expensive, so it was perfect.

When she left the store where she'd purchased it, she found her mind wondering what Lexa was doing. By then, it was nearing ten in the morning, so the brunette was probably awake. Clarke was sure that she had pictures to take and whatnot, but she wondered if she'd been expecting Clarke to come with her again. Probably not, since they'd said a proper goodbye the previous night, and there really was no point in it.

Still, Clarke wondered where in the city she was – not that her directionally challenged, especially in an unknown city, self would be able to identify the name of any place. When she found herself unable to shake the question, she took a seat at one of the benches she found along the sidewalk and pulled her sketchbook out of her messenger bag, beginning to sketch the street in front of her. It was a bit of a challenge, since people and cars were moving, so she had to improvise a little bit. That wasn't a problem, though, because she usually improvised her drawings. It was more fun, and she liked challenging herself to draw with only a reference in her head.

She drew for hours, actually, and at twelve-thirty realized that she was getting pretty unreasonably hungry. Tucking away her sketchbook, she quickly scanned the area for anywhere to fill her empty stomach.

She managed to find a place, a little Italian place at the end of the street. It felt weird to be seated and ordering food for just herself, with no company. She pulled out her phone multiple times throughout her lonely lunch, but she kept herself from texting or calling any of her friends, or her mom. She didn't need to, and she didn't want to.

It was good for her to be alone. That's what she needed, and that's why she was even in London in the first place.

After her lunch, she surprised herself by taking out her phone and opening up her camera. She wasn't really big on taking pictures, but she slid her thumb across the camera, changing it to video mode. Walking down the street a bit so that she was further from people, she hit record and began talking to her camera.

"Hey, guys," she said, pretending as though she were talking to her friends and her mom, "I'm in London right now. It's pretty nice. Though I think I'm lost, now that I look around. I'll have to walk back to my hotel – this is why I didn't take the tube. Which is crazy, by the way, there are so many people. Probably why I've never been big on public transportation. Anyway, I was on it yesterday, because this girl who is staying at the same hotel as me invited me to go with her. She's needed to take pictures or something. We went on the London Eye – you know, the ferris wheel? It was pretty cool, actually. I'm glad I'm not afraid of heights, though, because that whole thing was made of fucking glass. The view was awesome."

She paused, and let out a sigh.

"I don't know why I'm making this video. I'm not going to send it to you guys. I probably won't show you even when I get home. You'll probably never see this. I just hope you guys understand why I'm here. If you don't, I guess you will have to one day. I'll probably be back in a few days. I don't know what else I'll do." She took in a breath. "Bye."

She shut off the video, wondering why she even bothered with the video. She wasn't going to send it to anyone right now, that was for sure, and by the time she got home, there would be no point in showing it to the people it was meant for. At that point, she could say it all to them in person.

She wasn't looking forward to that.

Deciding that she would just head back to her hotel room at this point, Clarke started trying to figure her way back. It was ultimately a good decision, considering that it took her quite a while to get back to the hotel, after stopping multiple times to check out more little stores and such. She ended up finally back at around four in the afternoon.

What she would do with the rest of her day was a mystery, but she absentmindedly walked over to the elevator that would take her up to her floor and slipped inside once it opened. No one else was around, but as the doors began to slide shut, someone called, "Hold the elevator, please!"

Clarke recognized the voice as she stuck her hand between the doors, causing them to grudgingly open again, and she saw Lexa rushing toward the elevator. "Hey there," Clarke said, her lips turning up into a small smile.

"Oh, hey, Clarke," Lexa returned, smiling as well as she clicked the number of her floor – the one above Clarke's. "Why aren't you out exploring the city?"

"I've been doing that all day," Clarke admitted, "but I kind of got lost. It took me like two hours to find my way back here. Why aren't you running around taking your pictures?"

"I finished," the brunette admitted. "I managed to get a lot done today, actually. I came back to pack up my stuff, so that I can have some dinner tonight and then leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Clarke nodded. "Off to Paris, then?"

"That's the plan," Lexa replied. "I'll probably check out tomorrow morning after I have some breakfast." There was a pause. "How long are you still in London for?"

"Probably not long," Clarke said, letting out a light breath. "I guess spontaneity isn't really my thing. Kinda have nothing to do here." Lexa gave her a soft smile of understanding, but said nothing else. The elevator stopped at Clarke's floor, and she offered Lexa a small wave.

"Well, assuming I won't see you again... have fun in France."

Lexa nodded, but as the blonde started to step out of the lift, she said suddenly, "Hey, wait." Clarke stopped, looking over her shoulder. "Do you wanna get dinner with me tonight? I found a place I want to go to tonight. If you're leaving London so soon, you may as well have had some fun. Plus, I wouldn't mind getting to have dinner with a beautiful girl before I'm off."

Clarke felt her cheeks flush pink. "Sure."

"I'll meet you in the lobby at seven?"

Nodding, the blonde finally stepped all of the way out of the elevator. The doors quickly closed, and Clarke let out a breath. Her heart rate was definitely increased at hearing the compliment, and at the idea of now having dinner with Lexa.

On one hand, it was stupid for her to agree to have dinner with the girl. After all, they wouldn't ever see each other again after the following day. However, on the other hand, it shouldn't really matter. The point of being in Europe was to be away from home, to be spontaneous. Why shouldn't that include grabbing dinner with Lexa?

Reaching her room, Clarke let herself in and dropped her messenger bag on her bed. She wouldn't need it tonight, she knew, because she mostly only carried it for her sketchbook, and even if she somehow would have time to sketch later, it would be too dark. Stripping off her clothing and stepping into the shower, Clarke felt her heart rate finally returning to a normal pace.

After her shower, she felt a wave of exhaustion come over her, from having woken up so early and walking around so much. Collapsing onto the bed, completely naked, she allowed herself a half hour nap that promptly turned into a two hour nap. She woke up at exactly six, giving her an hour to get ready for her dinner with Lexa.

She wondered briefly if it was a date, and then decided that it obviously was. Lexa had made it sound like it was, of course, but Clarke knew that at the same time, it shouldn't be. She would never see Lexa after tonight.

At six-thirty, her phone began to ring with a call from her mom – she only noticed the caller ID since the device was sitting face up on the bathroom counter, where Clarke was redoing her makeup. If it hadn't come off during the shower, it had definitely become smudged when she took her nap.

She ignored the phone call.

Seven o'clock found the blonde slinging her cross body purse over her shoulder, with her phone and wallet both stuffed into it, and heading out of her hotel room. She'd intentionally avoided arriving downstairs early, because she had a feeling that would result in her running into Lexa in the elevator, and she thought that might be weird.

Why she was thinking into things so much, she had no idea.

"Hey!" Lexa greeted Clarke with a wide smile as she approached her in the lobby. "I didn't feel like the tube, so I called a cab. It should be here soon."

"Okay," Clarke said, kind of glad to not have to take the subway, as they walked out of the hotel to wait for the cab. "Where did you go to take pictures today?"

She had a feeling that the question would set the brunette off talking, and she found a small smile creeping onto her face as she realized that she was right. Lexa started listing off some places that Clarke had never heard of, but was sure were important or at least good places to take pictures. Lexa hadn't come across to her as particularly talkative initially, but at the same time, she didn't find it too weird to see that Lexa liked to talk.

She stopped talking about her photography adventure when the cab got there, though, because she had to name the place for the driver as the two of them climbed into the back seats.

They didn't talk much in the cab, but neither of them really seemed to mind the quiet. It seemed to be a mutual thing between them – sometimes they would just not talk. Clarke had to admit that she found Lexa to be pretty nice company.

When they got to the restaurant, it looked to be a bistro of sorts. "I saw this place today," Lexa offered in explanation, "and it looked pretty good. I was going to come alone, but I always prefer to have company." She flashed the blonde a smile, which was easily returned.

"I don't blame you," Clarke said, following the brunette into the restaurant. "I had lunch by myself today, and it was just kind of awkward."

"Where did you eat?"

"No idea," Clarke answered, laughing lightly. "I'm a little directionally challenged. I kind of just found a place."

They were seated in the little bistro, and menus were placed in front of them. They were asked what drinks they wanted, and both ordered a glass of wine, though Lexa ordered red and Clarke ordered white. Clarke then looked down at her menu to consider what food to buy, and was pleased to see that the prices weren't too high, but then she heard Lexa offer, "I'll pay for you."

"Oh, you don't have to," Clarke objected, glancing up to green eyes, which were focused on her.

"Well, I did invite you out, so it only makes sense," the brunette said, the corners of her lips poking upward, and Clarke gave in.

"Thank you."

The silence that fell between them as they looked through the menus wasn't at all foreboding or tense, it was calm, and it was nice. Clarke was actually surprised when she ended up being the one to break it.

"Are you going to more places than just France?"

Lexa glanced up from her menu, but Clarke only noticed from her peripheral vision, keeping her own gaze focused on the menu. "Yeah, quite a few other countries, actually." When Clarke felt the girl's gaze drop back down, she looked up herself.

"Aren't you tempted to go places that you haven't been before, though?" she wondered.

"Well, yes," Lexa answered, "but it's been years since I was here. The experience of seeing new things is great, but I don't mind coming back to places I've already been. I could come to London once a month and still never get tired of it."

"That makes sense," Clarke reasoned. "Definitely not a feeling I've ever gotten about anywhere. That's probably a sign that I don't want to live in DC, huh?"

Lexa let out a light laugh that made Clarke's heart jump in her chest. "Maybe."

Clarke finally decided what she wanted off of the menu, and set the thing down onto the table, finally looking back up. Lexa seemed to be trying to decide, still, so she didn't say anything else until the brunette set down her menu. "Too bad I'm basically rooted in DC then."

"Grew up there, I assume?" Clarke nodded, but offered no extra information. "I've always liked traveling. New York is a nice place to stay at, though, in my opinion."

Clarke smiled, but ended up not being able to say anything else as a waiter approached them, asking for their orders. They both quickly ordered what they wanted, and the waiter took both of their menus, leaving them alone again.

"How are you getting to Paris?"

"The Eurostar." When Clarke didn't acknowledge the answer, the brunette explained, "It's like a subway that goes under the English Channel and comes up in Paris. It's a little over two hours of a ride. Kinda weird, but cool."

"I'll be honest, I had no idea that existed," Clarke admitted, and an amused smile appeared on Lexa's face. "Though, I think it'd be safe to say that I really know nothing about Europe anyway."

"There's lots to know," Lexa said, "so I'm sure I don't know much more than you do."

Conversation between the two of them was easy, especially since Clarke wasn't too big of a talker, and Lexa seemed to have no problem carrying the conversation once the blonde ran out of questions. It was also nice that Clarke liked listening to Lexa's voice, smooth and yet firm.

When their food arrived, their conversation dropped off to allow for time to eat, and it didn't really rise up again even after they were done eating. They took a cab back to the hotel, but ended up walking through the dark, yet lit up, city streets around the hotel. Something made neither of them want to go their separate ways back in the hotel, even though their conversation at this point was surface level and brief. They mostly walked in silence.

When they did reenter the hotel, Lexa gave Clarke a sweet smile and a thank you, to which Clarke replied that she should be thanking the brunette, since it was her who paid for dinner. And then they exchanged goodbyes, very well believing that it would be their last, even though it was just their second.

Clarke didn't find herself too put off by the whole thing, and ended up curled up in her bed, fast asleep, just an hour after returning to the hotel.

It was the next morning that things felt weird, when she felt a pit in her stomach. It was early – eight in the morning – but it took an hour after Clarke showered and started making herself presentable to realize what was causing her strange mood.

It was Lexa leaving.

Even though Clarke herself would be leaving soon, something was just tugging on her thoughts, about Lexa leaving. She wasn't sure what to do about it – there wasn't anything really. She would just have to start organizing her flight back home, and appreciate the past two days as what they were – a spontaneous distraction from her real life.

She decided to do that after she got food into her stomach, though, and took the elevator down to the lobby with just her phone and her room key in her possession.

Alone, Clarke piled some food onto her plate and found a seat in the back of the breakfast dining area, furthest from the elevator.

Still, though, about five minutes after that, someone was suddenly sitting down across from her. Blue eyes looked up to meet green ones, and Clarke saw Lexa there, with her two bags sitting next to her. She had a small plate in her hand, setting it down on the table, with a little bit of food on it.

"Hi there," Clarke said, surprised.

Lexa replied, "Hi. Sorry for interrupting. I just... didn't want to eat alone."

"Don't worry about it," Clarke insisted, though as they both fell silent again, something was clearly hanging in the air between them. As she took another bite of her food, she found that she was suddenly not feeling very hungry. "You about to leave?"

"Yep."

"Cool." They were silent again for a moment, and then Clarke finally let out a breath. "Give me your phone."

"Why?"

"So I can put my number in it. In case you get bored, alone during your long Europe adventure."

Lexa was looking at Clarke curiously, and and the blonde wondered what she was thinking about. She was making no move to pass her phone over to the blonde. The brunette pursed her pink lips together, and she averted her gaze for a moment before returning it. Clarke was about to ask her what was wrong, but then she said, "I have a better idea."

Clarke blinked. "What?"

"Come with me."