Chapter Two: Too Tall
For a short period of time following your first encounter with her, you refrain from actively seeking Lexa no matter how much your heart yearns to see her again.
You've always been familiar with how quickly time can flow.
You can't even count the multitudes of times you've been pushed by the high and low currents of life.
People who are with you one day might no longer be there the next; events in your life never play out the way you think it would.
So you don't plan to draw out the wait, knowing that the sooner you meet her again, the more time you get to spend with her.
But you also realize that the current Lexa doesn't remember you.
Forcibly clinging on would only probably annoy her. Your age would only drive her away.
The only proper way, then, would be to think of a reason for her to be with you...naturally. Something that is of her own choice.
In the mean time, you prepare yourself to be compatible with her.
Now if only that wasn't so difficult.
Why are high school girls so tall anyway?
A snicker interrupts you from your thoughts, and you look across the dinner table to see Dad openly staring at you with mirth in his eyes.
Beside him, your mother is hiding a smirk by nibbling on a small piece of steak. The occasional twitch at the corner of her lips gives her away, however, and you groan.
You glare at your plate of vegetables angrily.
You have a passion for food.
There is no deny.
Your defense is that for the first seventeen years of your past life, the food you'd experienced on the Ark was bland at best.
Spices were extremely rare. Sweets and desserts were almost nonexistent.
And with the constant rationing of supplies, there was only enough food to stave everyone from hunger.
The concept of full-ness in the stomach did not exist.
Then, once you had reached the ground, despite the abundance of food available, you were all much more preoccupied with survival.
Eating for enjoyment never crossed anyone's mind, let alone yours.
Until now, of course.
Whatever you had missed in your last life, you strove to experience it all in this one.
Ice cream. Chocolate. Bacon. Steak. Lamb. Fish.
...Donuts.
Oh how you had enjoyed them all.
You scream internally, venting your frustration on a piece of carrot and chewing it aggressively.
You are aware that your preferences have never been the healthiest of sorts, despite your doctor of a mother's insistence on changing your habits.
And it's not as though you are necessarily unhealthy.
Your choice in food has simply never been conductive to a healthy, growing child.
A child who should be growing.
Which...comes back to the main problem.
You should be growing.
You have to grow.
Quickly, if possible.
And eventually taller than Lexa, if possible.
Because darn it Lexa had received a head start already and if you remember correctly she was taller in your last life too, and if you take too long in this one- once Lexa remembers everything she'll laugh a you for being so short and then how will you ever catch up and cometothinkofitthatgirlwhowantedtoconfesstoLexawastalltoo.
...
You shake your head to get rid of the rampant thoughts, only to notice that your dad is laughing yet again as your mom shares with him a look.
You narrow your eyes (hopefully) menacingly before stabbing on a piece of broccoli.
They know the reason behind your current endeavor, and the girl that is the source of it all.
Your parents are not against any of it.
In fact, they support you wholeheartedly (if slightly bemusedly), believing it to be nothing more than a childhood crush.
You don't bother to correct them.
Maybe you really are acting childishly.
Maybe eating healthier to become taller is a bit...extreme.
You can only hope that one day Lexa will be able to appreciate all the trouble you'd gone through for her.
You sigh, burying your desires for soda and reaching forth to grab a glass of milk.
Beside you, Octavia and Raven join your parents in their laughter.
Those traitors.
You do not take long to come up with a plan.
It occurs to you about a week after your first encounter in this life, that perhaps the first step in decreasing the distance between the two of you would be to attend the same school that she does.
You live in the same district, so eventually you will be attending her school anyway.
The only problem is, you're currently in sixth grade middle school. And from what you've gathered, she's currently in eleventh.
There are more than two years left before you would normally be able to graduate from middle school and move on to high school.
"Normally", however, does not add in the consideration that your memories apparently make you a sort of child genius.
You're not smart like Raven.
No.
But you've experienced more than most adults. Your memories make you wiser. More adaptable.
And the fact that you've gone through school once already makes everything much easier.
You're pretty sure that once you become an adult, everyone will almost catch up to you...education-wise.
Yet currently you know more than a kid your age should.
Not that you've let anyone know, until now.
You choose to carry out your plan in Pike's class.
You've never been fond of him since the beginning, and the horrendous things he eventually did in your past life only served to solidify your hatred towards him.
You never did anything before in this life, because you believe in giving everyone a fresh start.
That doesn't mean you are above giving him hell for the next couple of days in attempt to garner attention from the principal.
The plan works even smoother than you imagined it would.
You are never overtly disrespectful, of course.
You never do anything to warrant a write up or let him point out your outright rebelling.
Your record is spot clean.
But you also make it known to teachers and students alike that Pike has nothing to offer you in class; nothing he will ever teach that you do not know better than he does.
It is embarrassing for him, of course, and by the end of the week you are sent to Principal Jaha's office.
You demand to be tested out of middle school.
If your parents are surprised they say nothing aside from how proud they are that you're finally interested in your studies and you've aced every one of the exams.
Your first day as a newly transferred high school freshman, you spend the times between periods making note of the junior hang outs and the location of their classes.
It helps that Wells, as the oldest in your group of friends, is also a student in this school.
He shows you around each class, then at lunch you sit with him and Octavia's older brother, Bellamy.
You imagine catching glimpses of brown and green from the corner of your eyes throughout the day.
Each time leaves your heart racing, each time leaves you distracted.
But you'd turn and the hallway would be empty.
-Or the corner full of chatting students does not have the one you are searching for.
It is only when the bell rings to signal the end of the day that you finally catch sight of Lexa racing through the crowd.
She seems to be in a hurry, longer legs carrying her twice the speed of your eager strides.
You rush right after, screaming and shouting for her to slow down as you tear down the streets in quick pursuit.
You don't expect her to be facing you as you turn the corner, green eyes boring into blue with that familiar cautiously guarded glint you'd once seen in your last life.
You gasp in surprise.
Come to think of it, Lexa has always been very smart.
She probably realized your attention towards her and had it all planned throughout the day.
It's for all the wrong reasons, but your child-mind could not help the internal squee of happiness in the knowledge that she'd been expecting to meet you.
"So. You're the one who pretended to cry when Anya tried to stop you from causing a commotion."
Does she always use that tone of voice for every new person she meets? You wonder.
She might seem tough on the outside, but this Lexa you can handle.
This Lexa is still the warm and caring girl you've always known.
Your heart bursts with affection, and a smug smile shines on your face as you figure out just how to reply.
"You're the one who accepted the candles when I offered them."
The tell-tale signs of a pink splatters across her cheeks at the mention of the candles, but her expression remains serious as she stares you with suspicion.
"Just who are you? And what do you want from me?"
You answer her truthfully, suspecting that she won't believe your reasons, but unwilling to not at least try.
"I'm Clarke. I like you, and I want to get to know you."
You look at her innocently, throwing in a smile for the added effect to show you have no ill intent.
But of course, Lexa was never one to open easily to people.
Guilt briefly flashes in dark green before her eyes harden and she turns away.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. I'm pretty sure you can find someone friendlier to play with? I have a lot of things to do."
You look at Lexa wonderingly, noting the way she is dressed.
Her words give you an idea.
If she is anything like the girl you once knew, then this Lexa is also a workaholic, caring too much for everyone and working too much for her own good.
Only problem is, district school rules don't let students work on school days.
You cross your arms and face her, giving Lexa your sternest glare.
"You're sneaking off to work, aren't you?"
Delicate eyebrows raise slightly in alarm, and her voice trembles as she sputters out a reply.
"Wh-what? No! How did you..."
You had intended to surprise her a bit.
Yet never have you thought that you would ever see Lexa lose her composure.
Then again, this Lexa has not experienced the things that her past self did; she has more freedom to act like the sixteen year old that she is now.
Unable to bear seeing her so frustrated, you interrupt her by placing a hand on her arm to calm her down.
Your mind races with ways to explain yourself in the most believable manner.
"Look. I'm not gonna tell anyone, okay? I just thought that...Uhm. I'm new to this school. Jumped a few grades, actually. And it's not what I expected. Maybe you can tutor me?"
She pauses, giving you a thoughtful look.
You tilt your head slightly, giving her your best puppy eyes look.
In situations like these, your age should be on your side.
Maybe.
Silently you pray, hoping she'd agree to it.
"I'll sure my parents are willing to pay you for it?"
She seems to be considering the idea, pursing her lips for a long moment, before voicing her question.
"How old are you?"
You break into a smirk, raising one eyebrow in mischief and hand still holding onto her arm.
"Are you asking emotionally? Or physically?"
As you'd hoped, the atmosphere around both of you immediately lightens, and she rolls her eyes.
"So that's a yes to tutoring me, right?"
She nods and you break into smile, jumping up in a cheer.
Yes!
Phase One- Get Closer: Complete.
Phase Two- Impress Her with your Griffin Charm: In Process
Phase Three- Chase Away all Admirers: Pending?
A/N: Once again, I cannot express enough how thankful I am for all of your reviews/favs/follows. Knowing that people are enjoying and reading your comments inspires me to write. :) If you have any questions/discussion topics or anything, I always reply to reviews or PMs if there is anything you want me to answer? If you don't mind, please use a unique name though (any name is fine, even Anon1234 or something). I am grateful for your reviews, but if you just sign it as Guest, it ends up that I'm not sure which Guest is which.
Special Thanks to: qqwwnghsb, Amy, anazarza166, Lo que te conte ayer, Guest, soulterror, Guest, Guest, and kyoshiob69.
soulterror: Hello again! It's always nice to know that someone who'd read chapter one is back to read chapter two. Thank You so much for the review.
anazarza166: greetings to you too! And thanks for following on AO3
kyoshiob69: I had no idea what a doccubus fic was, but Thank You so much for mentioning it! I did a search online, and now it seems like I have a new series to follow and start watching.