ix. Octavia
"C'mon. I promise you this will be way more fun than that textbook," Octavia whispered, a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.
Her smile was infectious, and enough to draw a smile onto Lincoln's face as well. Even still, he had to shake his head no.
Octavia pouted before returning to her seat, "fine, be an old fuddy-duddy."
She actually understood why he didn't have time to take another break. If she had found out that all her notes from the semester were actually non-existent, she'd probably have a total meltdown. He had handled it quite well, all things considered. It did happen to ruin some of her fun though, and she couldn't help but feel a little put out by it all. No more rendezvous in the janitor closets or empty classrooms. Which was a damn shame, because when you have a boyfriend that looks like Lincoln, there really is no better stress relief.
Her plan foiled, Octavia decided that she could at least have a little fun at his expense. It wasn't entirely for Lincoln though. In all honesty, she just wanted to be comfortable. If she had to be stuck here all night, the least she could be is comfortable. So with a fluid motion, Octavia unclasped her bra behind her back and pulled it out through the sleeve of her tank top. She grinned slyly to herself as she saw Lincoln swallow hard, even though he was pretending not to look. Mission accomplished, and she was much happier to be free of that awful contraption.
"Jesus O, was that necessary?" Bellamy whispered harshly from behind. "You can't be bothered to put some clothes on, and now this?"
"I'm wearing clothes. Pajamas are clothes, Bell," she rolled her eyes.
Bellamy sighed in defeat and returned to his books, clearly unsatisfied by the whole situation.
It was true. Octavia was in her pajamas. Again, if she was to be stuck here all night like a prisoner, she was going to be comfortable. She made the mistake of wearing her normal clothes once before. Tight jeans and layers were no fun. She was too hot and lost circulation by the end of the night thanks to the strange sitting positions. Her bra was the least comfortable item and had to be discarded. Any girl would agree with that, especially when studying. The slippers were just a nice addition this year, quelling the aches in her feet from all her laps around the library. They also let her move quietly, which was even better.
Also it was Christmas. She was going to celebrate the holiday, finals be damned. So she had worn her favorite reindeer pjs. They were red and soft and had always signified the holidays for Octavia. It never took her long to abandon her shoes; they were noisy while she walked and honestly her feet hurt by the end of the night. Octavia liked the freedom of being without shoes anyways. She learned quickly, however, that the floor of the library is absolutely disgusting. Her socks were black by the end of the night. It was enough to make her shudder, and this year she had come with protection against the gross floor. She had slippers.
Her slippers were green and shaped like elf shoes, a welcomed addition to her typical holiday garb. There had been a few snickers at her outfit as she wandered through the library, but they happened less and less throughout the night. For the most part, Octavia couldn't care less what other people thought about what she was wearing. On the odd occasion, it did bother her, and those people learned quickly that she would take no shit. Eventually, no one dared to make a snide comment.
When she was at her desk, Octavia found herself getting kind of chilly. She had been prepared for that though, and had brought a blanket with her. It was warm and fuzzy and covered in snowflakes. It was perfect. It was less ideal when Wick used it to tie her to her desk, but all in all she loved having her blanket. Again, comfort really was important to her while she was here.
That idea of comfort and her love of the holidays was what had led Octavia to decorate her study carrel. The decorations are what made it her favorite place on campus. If she'd had it her way, she would have decorated the entire study room, but that would have taken far too much time. Plus, she was pretty sure that Bellamy would blow a gasket being surrounded by Christmas stuff all night, and Clarke would never forgive her for the amount of glitter that would be floating around. So, Octavia would make do with just her own carrel.
There was garland draped around the edges of the walls, and bows at each spot where the tape was securing the garland. She had brought a small stocking and hung it on the corner of the carrel, which she filled with candy canes to hand out to her friends and those panicking students who could really use a pick me up. The coffee mug she had brought was a Santa mug, and she had made sure there were cookies to go along with said coffee. She probably should have been studying instead of baking the previous day, but hey, it was the holidays! She had a couple candles as well, and they smelled of pine. The crowning glory of her little study carrel was the small tree she had brought. She wanted a real tree, but unfortunately that would have been more trouble than it was worth. Instead, she had a fake tree with lights throughout it. It stood no more than four inches high and ate through batteries like the world was ending. It was all good though, because it made her carrel feel homey.
She was comfortable, she was surrounded by friends, she had gotten some quality time with her boyfriend, the spirit of Christmas was all around her, and she had an endless supply of caffeine. Octavia was feeling pretty good about life.
If only it wasn't finals season.
