Sorry, I forgot to post this here! This story is also on AO3 as "Arcadia" and I always post there the second a chapter is done, so if there's a week without a chapter here, then it's most likely already been updated over there. My name on AO3 is Cassie_Bones.
Chapter Seven
Clarke's hands sweated as she walked into school on the first day of Spirit Week—a tradition that she usually loved, since the first day was typically Pajama Day and she got to wear her Harley Quinn-patterned cotton PJs—and her heart hammered in her chest as a million and one thoughts ran through her head before she even made it to homeroom. Octavia was already there, lounging in a pair of sweats and a hoodie that was so obviously not hers that she was surprised Bellamy wasn't already there, grilling her on where she'd gotten it.
"Nice sweater," Clarke commented as she sat down next to her.
"Nice pit stains," Octavia shot back and Clarke nearly had a heart attack, lifting one of her arms to look underneath it. She found nothing there, however, except for a small Harley winking up at her. She glared at her friend and Octavia smirked at her and shook her head. "Made you look." Clarke gave her the finger and Octavia snickered. "By the way," she said, "if Bell asks, you leant me this."
"And where exactly did I get the hoodie that's nearly twice my size?"
"I dunno," Octavia said, shrugging. "It's a Grounder hoodie, so you can just say you stole it from Nathan or something."
"Bryan has Nathan's hoodie," Clarke pointed out.
Octavia groaned. "Not the point, Griffin," she sighed. "Just don't tell my brother that Lincoln gave it to me. Or that he asked me to go with him to the carnival tonight."
"And you said yes?" Clarke asked, grinning. "What if somebody sees?"
"We're using Raven and Monty as buffers. As well as their dates, Jasper and Indra." At Indra's name, she gave Clarke a pointed look. "Speaking of…it wasn't you who got them together, was it? Because, as cute as they are, I think I might barf if I hear one more of Indra's "cute scar" stories from Raven."
Clarke snorted and shook her head. "It wasn't my intention," she said. "I guess they just clicked.
Octavia nodded. "Kind of like you and…" she wiggled her eyebrows when Clarke flushed and glared at her.
"Shut up," the blonde grumbled.
"Come on, Clarke!" Octavia groaned. "Haven't you asked the girl out yet? Homecoming is this Friday!"
"I know how to read a calendar, thanks. And, no, I haven't…not yet."
"Yet?" Octavia asked with a grin.
Clarke rolled her eyes. "Don't spoil it, okay? I was going to ask her if she wanted to hang out tonight, at the carnival, first. Ease into it, you know?"
"You might want to speed things up," Octavia whispered as the bell rang and everybody rose from their seats. "Because I heard she's been talking to Costia from English class."
Clarke's eyes widened at that. "What?" she hissed and Octavia just grinned, making her way out to first period.
O_O_O_O_O
Sure enough, the next time Clarke saw Lexa, she was talking to Costia, who was leaning against the wall next to her locker as she took out her Chemistry books, the two of them chattering on and on about something Clarke had no interest in. The only thing on her mind was the fact that Lexa was talking to one of the only very openly gay girls in the school. And Costia's eyes flicked down and lingered a little too long as Lexa stretched to get something out of a locker that was too high up for her.
Clarke immediately felt something flare up in her chest and, while she didn't want to name exactly what it was, it was definitely not pleasant. And it had her acting before she could even think about what she was doing.
Sidling up next to Lexa, she forced a friendly smile at Costia as she grabbed her friend's hand and offered a chipper, "Hey!" to both girls.
Lexa offered her an instant smile while Costia raised one perfectly sculpted (and pierced) eyebrow and gave Clarke a wry grin and a knowing look, the emeralds of her eyes sparkling.
"Hey, Clarke," she greeted. "We were just talking about you."
"You were?" She looked at Lexa, whose cheeks were pink and whose eyes were focused down on their conjoined hands, as if she hadn't even noticed Clarke's fingers wrapping around hers just seconds ago. She shook her head and looked back up into Clarke's eyes, still blushing.
"No," she said, quickly, then shook her head. "I mean…yes." She took a deep breath. "Costia was wondering if I wanted to sit with her and her girlfriend at lunch today and I informed her that I typically sit with you and our other friends."
At the mention of a girlfriend Clarke didn't even know existed, her entire body relaxed and her smile became easier as she turned back to Costia, who was still grinning at them—now somewhat smug. "You're welcome to join us," she offered.
"Oh, we wouldn't want to impose," Costia replied. "Besides, my girl is majorly shy; she doesn't like being around too many people and, from what I hear, you two have formed quite the posse."
And yet you were more than happy to try and get Lexa to join you instead of sitting with her friends, Clarke thought, somewhat bitterly, to herself. She couldn't exactly blame Costia, though. Lexa was cute and sweet and smart and funny and…
Get a grip, Griffin. You're not even dating her yet.
Yet. The word caused a flutter in Clarke's chest and she glanced sideways at Lexa, whose blush had still not left her cheeks. Clarke could feel her slightly damp hand in her grasp, still. She turned back to Costia, who was again giving them both a knowing grin. Clarke found that she really wouldn't have blamed Lexa for liking Costia, either. Her dark skin and tall, lean body were as enchanting as her bright green eyes and that smile that she wore which made even Clarke's heart skip a beat. Her hair was fashioned into twists that fell around her ears and she had a tiny white scar below her left eye that didn't take away from her beauty, but rather added to it.
Yeah, Clarke could see why Lexa might like Costia—if Lexa even did like her like that, anyway.
"Well," Clarke said, "if you change your mind, we sit on the front lawn; you're more than welcome to join us."
"Thank you, Clarke," Costia said, but the look on her face told Clarke that she and her girlfriend (whomever she may be) would likely not be joining them for lunch. And Clarke was more than okay with that—as ridiculous and petty as it made her feel.
When they parted ways, Clarke was still holding Lexa's hand and she could tell that Lexa was still very aware of that fact. Her hand continued to sweat in Clarke's, but she couldn't bring herself to let go as they walked to Chemistry together, not talking. Pike greeted them at the door and spared a disapproving glance at their entwined fingers, lifting one eyebrow at Clarke, who flushed and almost immediately let go. She watched the disappointment flood Lexa's face and felt her own swell up in her chest; she almost reached out to take the other girl's hand again, but thought better of it.
She still hadn't told her mother about her feelings for Lexa and she'd rather not give busybody Pike any reason to do it for her. Abby would be upset if Clarke didn't do it herself. So instead Clarke smiled at her friend, hoping to reassure her, and gave her a little wave as she joined Raven at their desk.
"You two are so gross," Raven muttered, looking up at Clarke from where her head rested, her chin on her folded arms on the countertop. "And you're not even doing it yet."
Clarke rolled her eyes and nudged Raven with her elbow. "Shut up," she grunted, then looked down at Raven. "Is that seriously what you wear to bed?" She was wearing a simple white tank top and Jimmy Neutron boxers.
"Actually, I sleep in the buff," Raven informed her, "but I don't think any of y'all deserve to see that perfection. Well, except—"
"Nope," Clarke said, placing her hand over her friend's mouth. "I don't want any information about yours and Indra's sex life."
Raven knocked away her hand and glared at her. "For your information," she said, "we don't have a sex life. Yet."
"Yet?"
Raven flushed. "We've kissed. Period."
Clarke gave her a teasing grin and an eyebrow wriggle but, getting the sense that Raven was uncomfortable talking about it, decided to drop the subject and focus on their work, instead. There would be time for 'girl talk' later, anyway. Hopefully by then she'd have a date.
O_O_O_O_O
The day went by rather uneventfully after that.
Lexa sat with them at lunch, this time sitting next to Clarke in her plain, red plaid pajamas, their thighs touching as they sat in the grass. She offered Clarke one of her cookies again and Clarke took it, happily, and offered her a bite of her sandwich. Indra and Raven cuddled across from them, the tinier Raven resting her head against her new girlfriend's shoulder, their fingers intertwined. Clarke thought about the fact that Raven had had the audacity to call her and Lexa gross and snorted, earning a look of confusion from the girl next to her.
On Clarke's other side was Octavia, and then her boyfriend. They shared shy glances at each other and their pinkies brushed on the grass. They were even grosser than Raven and Indra. Nobody said anything; they all just seemed to bask in the silence and each other. But it soon became too much for Clarke, who felt the phantom heat of Lexa's lips on hers as the real heat from her thigh burned into Clarke's.
"So," she said, coughing a little as everybody looked up at her, "is everybody going to the carnival tonight?"
"Hell yeah," Raven said, sitting up. Indra looked momentarily disappointed, until Raven pulled her hand into her lap and started idly playing with the girl's dark fingers. "They're going to have a big ass rollercoaster this year. And a ferris wheel!"
"Why does that excite you so much?" Indra laughed.
"Raven's kind of an adrenaline junkie," Octavia explained. "She's terrified of heights, but she totally gets off on them." At that, Raven flushed and shrugged her shoulders.
"Plus, I like the mechanics," she said, peering up at Indra, who was smiling affectionately down at her.
"You're very cute, do you know that?" Indra asked her. Clarke and Octavia groaned.
"Yes, she knows," Octavia said.
"Very well. Her head is growing as we speak," Clarke added.
Raven flipped them off and reached up to kiss Indra's lips. "You're pretty cute yourself, babe," she said. Clarke could see the dark red of Indra's cheeks at that statement and she grinned.
"Get a room," she said and Raven sent her a withering glare that had Clarke hiding herself halfway behind Lexa, who laughed and shook her head. Clarke laughed, as well. "So?" she said, placing her chin on Lexa's shoulder. "Are you going to the carnival?"
Lexa shrugged the shoulder without Clarke's weight on it. "Possibly," she said. "I hadn't really thought about it."
"Well, do you like rides?" Clarke asked.
"Some," Lexa replied, cryptically.
"How about games? There's a lot of athletic ones where you could win prizes."
"Prizes? Like goldfish?"
"And stuffed animals," Octavia said, looking pointedly at her boyfriend.
"For the last time, you'll get your damn monkey," Lincoln huffed, poking her in the side. Octavia squealed and fell sideways into him, giggling. It took less than a second for her to spring back and look over her shoulder for her brother. Lincoln sighed.
"That sounds nice," Lexa said, looking to Clarke. "Are you…um, did you want to go together?"
Clarke felt her cheeks flush a bit at that and felt all eyes fall on her. Her throat was suddenly dry, but she tried not to show it. "Sure," she said, her voice cracking slightly. She cleared her throat and nodded. "That would be cool." Her voice cracked again and Raven snorted, pressing her face against Indra's throat. Octavia gave Clarke a double thumbs up behind Lexa's back and Lincoln echoed it, grinning widely. Clarke shot them both a glare, before turning back to Lexa with a shy smile.
"I'll pick you up at six?"
"Sounds great."
