So I really had no idea how I was going to write this story, or even what I was going to do with it after the first chapter. Luckily my brain has figured it out and I can't tell you how excited I am to write it. Hopefully all of you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying the idea of what I want it to be. But it's probably going to be pretty epic, if I do say so myself. Totally open to suggestions though if you guys have any. :)


"Where are you going?" a strong voice asks and Clarke turns around to see her best friend Wells. "Are you really going to bail on me twice in a row?"

The blonde hesitated. She couldn't tell him where she was going. He was the chancellor's son, even if he was her best friend. It was just chess. She was so fucking tired of playing chess with Wells. The routine of life on the ark was growing dull. At least it had been until she met a stranger last week and showed her a side of the Ark she had never known existed. Since Lexa hadn't come to find her she decided she was going to find the brunette. It wasn't against the rules or anything but who knew what she could catch Lexa in the middle of, if she even found her at all.

"Clarke?" Wells asked, his hand on the her arm. She hadn't even noticed him moving closer to her. "What's going on with you lately? You can talk to me. If there's something wrong I can help you."

His eyes were full of concern. And something else. That something else was something Clarke most definitely was not in the mood to deal with. "I'm just stressed out from my apprenticeship with my mom," she lied. "The medical stuff is just intense. I love it but it's a lot of responsibility. I just kind of need some me time."

"Yeah of course," Wells nodded and took a step back. "I'm here if you need me though."

"I know you are," she answered with the best smile she could plaster onto her face. She moved in to hug him quickly before turning on her heels and walking away. Everyone in her life meant well but lately they all felt so suffocating. She didn't want to be the girl whose parents were best friends with the chancellor. She didn't know if she wanted to be a doctor. She was only sixteen. She just wanted to be herself and her age for once.

She tried searching all the obvious places on the Ark that most teenagers hung out at but wasn't surprised that she couldn't find Lexa anywhere. She was different. Special. After failing on her own she decided to ask around. It only made her mood darken. "What do you want with her?" on of the teens asked. "Since when did the privileged decide to slum it?

Another reason why she desperately wanted to find Lexa. Lexa didn't know who she was or if she did she didn't care. She didn't treat Clarke differently just because of who her parents were or their relationship to the chancellor. "It's a simple yes or no question, Murphy" she said with a low growl.

"No, haven't seen her," he finally answered before turning his back on Clarke. She wanted to slap the grin off of his face but she couldn't. She was supposed to be the healer. The perfect daughter. She was pretty sure she was the only one on the Ark that didn't want to see her and Wells getting married too. The thought of it was like a lead weight on her shoulders. Her life was not her own. It never would be and she just wanted to forget that for a while.

She decided to give up now that she was more angry and frustrated than she had been when she started looking for her mysterious stranger. She started walking back towards her room and was lost in her thoughts when she spotted Lexa walking towards her with an amused grin. "Heard you've been asking around about me," she said. Clarke didn't even speak, she grabbed Lexa's arm and spun her on her heels so that she had no choice but to follow the blonde. "Where are you dragging me off to? Do I need to be worried?"

Clarke finally realized that she hadn't let go of her grip on the brunette and finally released her. "Sorry. Just tired of some of these assholes around here. I promised to show you my art next time, remember?" Clarke looked over at Lexa and immediately felt the tension leave her body.

"So you're dragging me off without asking if I was busy or had time to see your art?" Lexa asked but she still followed Clarke. She was intrigued, to say the least.

"Well, yes." Clarke admitted and stopped walking. "I'm sorry. I just... do you have the time?" she asked as her blue eyes searched the green ones of the girl she hadn't been able to stop thinking about. Her lips naturally formed a perfect pout without even trying. Clarke hadn't been able to think of anything else since meeting the other girl.

Lexa shrugged and nodded. She had found out who Clarke was after meeting her and was weary although Clarke had seemingly kept her secrets too and not ratted her out. This was the girl who played tag war and painted her face. She didn't want to think that everyone's opinion of her was true. She certainly was not the goody-two-shoes she had been made out to be. So when Clarke started walking again Lexa found herself willingly following.

When Clarke stopped in front of a door in one of the residency area's Lexa cocked an eyebrow at her. "Taking me home already, Griffin?" she asked.

Clarke spun to face the brunette so fast Lexa was sure she would have given herself whiplash. "You know who I am..."

Lexa just nodded, watching as a storm of emotions rolled through the blue eyes in front of her. "It doesn't change anything," she reassured. It did, but Clarke didn't need to know that. Lexa just wanted to learn if she could or couldn't trust the blonde first. Her gut said yes and she was inclined to follow it unless proven otherwise.

Clarke smiled at her weakly before pushing open the door to her family's living quarters. Lexa's eyes widened at the size of them. She really was privileged. Lexa had heard rumors about how nicely the upper class of the Ark lived but this was beyond anything she had imagined. She had never seen a private living room or kitchen before.

"You hate me now, don't you?" Clarke asked quietly as she watched Lexa's green eyes widen as she took everything in. "Of course you do. Everyone on this God forsaken space trap does."

The disappointment in Clarke's voice quickly pulled Lexa from her gaping. "I don't hate you Clarke. I've just never seen anything like this on the Ark before. I share a room with three other people and you practically have a whole house for you and your parents."

"I would change it if I could. I didn't pick this. I hate all of it," Clarke admitted now that she knew there wasn't anyone who could overhear her.

Lexa wasn't sure how Clarke could hate it. She couldn't understand why this girl had been breaking into a store room just to steal art supplies when it was clear she could have anything she wanted. Clarke had though and she had played with them. She had clearly enjoyed it. She was the one who came looking for Lexa. The least Lexa could do was give her the benefit of the doubt and find out more about the blonde stranger.

"So where's the art?" Lexa asked, feeling unsure of how to proceed after Clarke's confession. As soon as she did she saw Clarke's eyes light up as a smile spread on her face. She immediately looked more relaxed which caused Lexa to relax in return.

Clarke led Lexa to her bedroom and smiled shyly. "You can't tell anyone about this," she said as she opened the door to allow Lexa in.

Lexa walked in but stopped in her tracks as soon as her eyes hit the walls of Clarke's bedroom. They were covered ceiling to floor in drawings. Some were landscapes with starry skies and the most realistic trees Lexa had ever seen outside of the pictures they showed in Earth studies. She was mesmerized to say the least. "This is amazing," she breathed out as she traced her fingers along the walls.

"My parents are the only ones that have ever seen it. They told me I could never bring anyone here but I wanted you to see." Clarke confessed as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I promise not to tell but you really should show off your skills somehow," Lexa encouraged as she took in the last of the art.

"I made you something," the blonde said timidly. Lexa turned to face her with curious eyes. Clarke rummaged through a drawer beside her bed for a moment and pulled out a piece of paper to hand Lexa. It was a near perfect drawing of the brunette in her warpaint with the kids who had been on her team during last weeks tag battle.

Lexa choked up as she looked at it. Not only was the skill and likeness amazing but no one had ever given her anything before aside from the kids she tried to look after. Sure she had friends but no one she was ever super attached to. "I... thank you for this Clarke," she smiled. Lexa carefully folded it to conceal it safely in her pocket. She hated to even fold it but she didn't want to risk anyone seeing it.

"We should probably go before my one of my parents show up and float me for bringing you here," Clarke joked but her sigh let her unhappiness seep through. "You wanna go do something? Or do you have somewhere to be?"

The desperation was so clear in Clarke's voice that Lexa didn't hesitate. "Let's go," she offered her hand to the blonde who took it. "My turn for show and tell." She was growing more curious about the blonde by the second and couldn't deny the easy connection they shared.

Maybe it was because of how they met but Lexa was happy they didn't have to waste time being fake. They may not know each other but now they each held a secret with the other. Whoever Clarke was she most definitely was not who people thought she was. As Lexa led them back towards her station she hadn't even noticed that she didn't let go of the blonde's hand until her eyes met those of the chancellor's son. He looked pissed and she quickly jumped away from Clarke, expecting Clarke to turn on her or deny that she had been spending time with one of the lower class.

"How's that alone time going, Clarke?" he asked calmly but with an edge that made Lexa shiver. She wanted to say something. Do something. Anything. She knew she couldn't though. No one went against Wells unless they had a death wish. Even if she could take him in a fair fight. Unfortunately nothing on the Ark was fair.

"Wells..." Clarke started as she glanced from him to Lexa. She panicked, not wanting to compound a lie on top of a lie.

Lexa watched Clarke closely a new storm rolled over her blue eyes and she shifted her weight nervously. "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt if you were busy Clark. I shouldn't have just grabbed onto you like that and pulled you along. I just thought you could help me with something," Lexa offered, trying to help Clarke out of her situation. "Just didn't seem worth troubling the medbay over something so trivial."

Wells' expression softened but Clarke's did not. Lexa couldn't tell what she was thinking or what she would say. "I'm happy to help if I can. I'm only an apprentice though," she answered as she looked at Lexa who gave her the slightest nod to confirm she was supposed to just play along. "Now if you'll excuse me Wells, I'm going to go do my job," Clarke emphasized as she walked past her best friend.

She knew she had no right to be mad at him, after all it was her who was lying to him. Still, he had immediately accused her and acted like some sort of jealous boyfriend which she was very not okay with. Lexa had caught up and fell in step beside her. "I hope that was okay," she said trying to bring back the calm happy Clarke she had just been with moments before.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Clarke replied. "It's not that I don't want people to know we are friends or anything. I just... sort of blew him off to find you today and didn't feel like dealing with him."

Lexa's laugh was the last thing Clarke expected to hear but it sounded like music to her ears. "I'm so glad you don't have the stick up your ass that everyone thinks you do. Now let me make your trouble worthwhile."

"Where are we going?" Clarke asked. Lexa made her feel calm. Clarke had no idea who she was but she thought that who she was around Lexa was the best version of herself.

"You'll see. We have to be just a little sneaky though, if you're up for it." The look on Lexa's face was mischievous and daring and it didn't take Clarke a second thought to know she wanted nothing more than to lose herself with this girl.

When they arrived at the end of a deserted hallway Clarke looked around in confusion. She watched as Lexa shimmied off one of the covers for the air ducts and turned around to make sure no one could see them. "Trust me?" Lexa asked and Clarke realized that she did without hesitation and climbed in as Lexa directed her to. She moved forward enough to allow Lexa to climb in after her and replace the covering. "Just keep going until you come to the next grate. You'll come out next to a ladder," Lexa instructed.

"Why the hell not?" Clarke chuckled and did as told. Lexa had been accurate and Clarke soon found herself pondering how to maneuver her body from being on hands and knees in a tiny duct to pull herself over onto a ladder without falling.

"You just gotta go for it," Lexa said in encouragement. "Or I can just keep staring at your ass in my face."

The embarrassment alone was all the encouragement Clarke needed. Her cheeks immediately turned red and she reached out to wrap her forearms around the ladder and swung the rest of her body from the duct. "Up or down?" Clarke asked.

"Down," Lexa answered. Once Clarke had moved down for her to have enough room she pulled herself onto the ladder as well.

Once both girls had their feet back on the ground Clarke looked at her expectantly. "Where are we?" she wondered. Lexa didn't speak but she took Clarke's hand once again and led her a few feet down the hallway and Clarke froze in her place as soon as she walked around the corner. They were in a large room full of large tables and tools that she didn't recognize. The was a large window on the far wall and Clarke could see the planet they were orbiting from it. "This is amazing," she admitted breathlessly.

Lexa followed her as she walked to the window. She jumped up onto one of the work tables closest to Clarke and got comfortable. "Pretty cool huh?" she asked as she watched Clarke watching Earth outside of the window.

"It's beyond cool. The windows are never free. There's always people by them looking and talking and making noise," Clarke answered as she touched her hands to the glass, mesmerized. "Where are we though?"

"Somewhere in the engineering station," Lexa shrugged. "For some reason they don't use this space but it's sealed off so this is the only way in as far as I can tell."

"How did you find it?" Clarke broke away from the window and turned her attention back to Lexa, who was now officially the most interesting person she had ever met.

She watched as Lexa shifted uncomfortably and moved over to sit on the table next to her. "My mom died during childbirth. My father well, he wasn't really equipped to take care of me. I sort of grew up alone with a lot of time on my hands. There's a lot you can learn when no one is paying attention to you. There's a lot of secrets on the Ark. But this is my favorite. It's the only place I can ever be alone. I'm not sure if anyone else even knows it exists. Or if they do then they don't seem to care about it."

Clarke was quiet, not sure how to reply to Lexa's honesty. She shifted slightly so that they were arm to arm and leg to leg with each other. Lexa allowed her body to lean into Clarke's ever so slightly, accepting the blonde's silent comfort. "Thank you for sharing it with me," was all Clarke said after a long silence. "I wish I had my art stuff with me."

Lexa looked over to the blonde next to her and studied her face. She was thankful Clarke didn't ask more questions but even more grateful that the blonde seemed to understand that Lexa also didn't want any sort of reaction from it. It felt good to just talk to someone without having to explain feelings or the reasons behind them. "You could use these walls as a canvas," Lexa suggested. "Even if they ever decided to reopen the area they would never know who did it unless you managed to somehow get caught in the act."

"Do you ever feel like you don't know who you are?" Clarke asked, turning to look at her companion. She knew Lexa had been looking at her but for some reason it didn't unsettle her. The pair seemed to specialize in sharing secrets from the moment they had met so Clarke was already comfortable in her presence. Lexa didn't speak and Clarke turned back to the window before continuing.

She told Lexa all the things that she couldn't tell anyone else. Clarke told her how she was tired of the person everyone wanted her to be. How she dreamed that she could just go to Earth and not be trapped in her tiny box in the sky any longer. Lexa asked what Clarke would do if she were on Earth and they fell into easy conversation as they made up different scenarios about what life on the ground would be like, each one more silly than the last. By the time they were done they both had stomach cramps from giggling.

"Seriously. I'll be Heda, leader of all," Lexa stated matter-of-factly. "Don't worry you can still be Wanheda." Lexa promised.

"But I wanna be the alpha," Clarke pouted.

"No way. You're too soft."

"Am not! I won the tag war!" the blonde defended as she playfully pushed Lexa.

"What if you lose a finger and can't draw anymore?" the brunette countered.

"Okay fine you win. You can be the alpha and I will keep my fingers in tact."

"We should probably get back," Lexa said sadly. "If the little ones go too long without seeing me they start to freak out."

"Is that why you look after them so well? Since you didn't have anyone to look after you?" Clarke asked, remembering what Lexa told her earlier.

"Yeah. I mean... What else am I going to do on the Ark? I don't really have anything else going for me," Lexa admitted.

Clarke stood up and shook her head. She took Lexa's hand into hers and looked into the green pools of Lexa's eyes. "You're the most interesting person I've ever met. I've never had this much fun before."

Lexa wanted to look away from Clarke's blue eyes but she felt paralyzed. This beautiful girl who had it all was touching her and complementing her. "Will you come back with me sometime?" was all Lexa could say.

"Oh yeah. I want to know all your secrets," Clarke said playfully as she let go of Lexa's hand and started walking back to the ladder. "What if someone is in the hall when we pop the grate out on the other end?" Clarke asked suddenly concerned.

"The hall is a dead end. I've never seen anyone else in it," Lexa said easily. It was enough for Clarke.

They didn't talk as they made their way back to the common area. Clarke was lost in thought about her life once again. Being with Lexa was the only time she ever felt her age. She didn't have to be better than her, or smarter. She could simply be sixteen and she didn't want to leave the happy bubble she was in.

"Do you really have to go?" Clarke asked even though she knew she should get back too. Someone somewhere was always keeping tabs on her.

Lexa studied the blonde's pout and sad eyes. "You could come with me and play with the kids again?"

Clarke thought it over for a few minutes. She knew her parents would probably be waiting for her but it wasn't like she could really go anywhere far away or anything. She figured getting yelled at for coming home late was worth it if it meant more time with Lexa. "Lead the way, Heda," Clarke said.

Lexa's face lit up and Clarke felt her heart race in reaction. She was glad Lexa felt the same way she did and was more so glad that they didn't need to talk about it. They were comfortable and wanted to spend time together and that was that.

They walked back to the thirteenth station in a comfortable silence. It was broken the second the kids spotted Clarke and ran to her for hugs. "Wanheda returns!" one of them chanted. Lexa chuckled and mussed the mop of curls on the little boys head.

Clarke watched as Lexa fussed over the kids, making sure everyone had eaten and did their studies. She could see the way they hung on her every word the same way Clarke seemed to. It wasn't hard for Clarke to envision Lexa as the leader she spoke about wanting to be. Lexa's eyes would frequently dart to Clarke's to make sure she was okay and Clarke's smile never left her face.

As the kids started to settle down they sat around the common room on the couches and Lexa urged Clarke over to sit next to her. "Up for some cartoons before bedtime?" Lexa asked.

Clarke knew she should really go home. Her mom would be furious that she had stayed out so late without saying where she was. She also knew her dad would smooth things over for her. "Bring it on," Clarke answered as she settled into the couch to get comfortable.

A little girl climbed up onto Lexa's lap and threw her legs over Clarke's. Once everyone was settled Lexa started the old cartoon on the projector. The kids came and went, climbing on and off the couch and over the two of them. By the time the show ended the two girls were against each other once more and holding hands. Neither could say how it happened or who did it, just that it did and they both liked it.

"I should go," Clarke said reluctantly as she let go of Lexa's hand and stood up.

Lexa followed her actions and stood up too. "I'll walk you out," she said. She didn't know why but she felt her hands growing clammy. She felt like it was the end of a date, even though she had never actually been on a date.

"See you soon?" Clarke asked hopefully.

"You know where to find me," Lexa answered.

Clarke looked into the captivating green eyes once more, wanting to stay lost in this unique person more than anything. She wanted to kiss her but she also didn't want to scare her. She also couldn't risk anyone seeing. She couldn't imagine what kind of shit storm that would start with her family.

Eventually she opted for hugging Lexa who responded immediately by wrapping her arms around Clarke. They hugged just a few seconds too long and just a little too tightly for it to not mean something. "Goodnight Lexa," Clark said as they finally separated.

She began her walk home, preparing the story she would tell her parents in her head. Hopefully she wouldn't get grounded so she actually could see Lexa again soon.