CHAPTER 10
THAT THING CALLED LOVE
How did she expect me to apologize to that poor excuse of a boy? That Finn guy is ridiculous. I would never want to see that lowlife brute again. Clenching my fist, I closed my eyes to calm myself. Punching him was appropriate. I would have enjoyed kicking him in the gut as well. I would-
A knock on the side of my car made me opened my eyes and I fought the urged to roll my eyes at the sight of the blonde that tormented me ever since I laid my eyes on her.
"Open the door!" She mouthed.
No one orders me around. I'm the leader of the Grounder Four and I am Lexa Woods and-
She banged my car again as she mouthed her previous words with fury on her eyes.
An angry Clarke Griffin is always a sight to behold. In Octavia's words, 'HOT' is the right term.
Eventually I opened the window, who am I kidding? I'm a goner when it comes to this infuriating blonde, but she can't know that.
"Are you here to ask me again to apologize? Because I won't." I told her stoically.
"No. I know you won't do that. You hate apologizing. Because that's what you are." She said in a steady voice.
That's what I am. What am I exactly, Clarke? I wanted to ask but I stopped myself.
"Get in the car. I'll drive you home." I said, looking away from her.
"No."
I exhaled a deep breath, trying to control my temper. "Come inside, Clarke."
"I want to know what happened. Why did you punch my bestfriend's boyfriend?" Clarke asked, her tone calm and different.
I gritted my teeth once again as I remembered Finn's words. "Does it matter? He deserved it." I said in an emotionless voice.
"Come on Lexa! Tell me what happened! You punched Raven's boyfriend in front of so many people and-"
"I would do it again." I cut her off which made her angrier. "And tell your bestfriend that she deserved better than that."
"LEXA!" She said in a loud voice. It was like she was breathing fire and could kill me with her eyes. "Tell me!"
I looked away. I couldn't even find myself telling her the truth. Finn's words were so vulgar that I don't want it to come out of my mouth. So I lied, "He annoys me. He pushed my button. I was just controlling myself because of you but my temper won. I punched him square in the face because I just feel like it." At the last sentence, I faced her.
She shook her head defeatedly. "You just feel like it? I left you for a minute and you just go punching people on their faces? You are unbelievable Lexa. I can't even look at you right now. You are a bully." Then she laughed sarcastically, "Who am I kidding? You are the leader of your stupid group and students follow you. They are bullies because of you. They were the one who hurt me physically but you're the mastermind for all of that. You might as well punched me like you did with Finn."
I clenched my jaw as I listened to Clarke. It pained me to hear that she was blaming me for what happened to her. But I guess, she was right. Memories of Clarke being punched and kicked before I arrived made my heart bleed.
"I don't want to see you again, Lexa Woods. This is never going to work out." She said and that made my heart panic. "Don't follow me." I was about to speak again when Clarke ran away as fast as she can before I could even step out of my car.
Jab – Cross – Hook – Cross
I breathed out as I continuously let out my frustration at the poor punching bag.
Jab – Cross – Uppercut – Cross
It had been two days since I last saw Clarke. She was avoiding me at all costs. Not that I'm looking for her or anything.
Jab – Jab – Cross- Hook – Cross
Damn it! I miss her!
Jab – Cross – Hook- Cross – Hook – Cross – Right Kick
"AHHHHHHH!" I breathed out.
Memories of what happened with Finn clouded my mind.
"So, you and Clarke huh?" Finn spoke that made me look at him. He was looking at Clarke, who was at the table with Raven. "Man, Clarke is the real goddess. Have you seen her boobs yet? I bet you did. How was it? Were they soft and jiggly and-
"You do not speak of Clarke that way." I gritted my teeth and clenched my jaw.
"Oh come on." He laughed. "I was just joking jeez. You are so stiff, Woods. Come on!" He laughed again that I struggle to control my temper, "I was just kidding. Clarke is all yours. I just wanted to know if she is a tigress in bed. I mean, look at her. She is smoking hot. I would fuck her anytime if you ever get bored of her. I could even lend you my girl Raven for you to fuck too. Hell! We could even do a foursome-"
That was it! My self-control slipped. I punched him so hard, it created a loud thud on the ground. He was bleeding.
He had it coming. He deserved it! I felt no remorse.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" It was Clarke and she was glaring at me.
Jab – Cross – Hook – Cross – Cross
Jab – Cross
Jab – Cross
Jab – Cross
Jab – Cross
"That punching bag won't be able to fight you, you know."
I stopped at the sound of Clarke's voice. What is she doing here?
Turning around, my eyes landed on Clarke. She smiled at me. "Hi." She said.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her, and then I walked to the other side and grabbed the towel and wiped the sweat off my face. That workout made me thirsty so I also grabbed my water bottle and drink from it.
When I turned my eyes towards Clarke again, she was staring at my abs. I was only wearing a sports bra and short shorts and it was obvious she was checking me out. I felt my pride soared high.
I faked a cough and that probably made her stop from her ogling. She looked away and her face was red. She knew she was caught. That make me smirked internally.
"Clarke?"
"Yeah. Uhm. Titus let me in. He said that you were here." Then she looked around. "Nice gym room by the way."
I nodded. I wanted her to speak why is she here.
Slowly, she walked towards me. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" I asked.
"Raven told me the truth. He caught Finn with another girl this morning and because he was caught, he spilled out what happened two days ago." She looked down and then continued, "You should have told me what Finn's words were. I would have believed you, Lexa. I'm sorry." She lifted her eyes and caught mine.
I stared back at her. She is really beautiful.
"You don't have to apologize, Clarke." I said.
"But I do. I should. You were just defending my honor and-"
I shook my head and held her shoulder. My heart beats fast and I have to calm myself down first before speaking, "Clarke…"
"No." She shook her head. "I was mean to you. I said those words and I hurt you. I'm so sorry."
I lifted her chin so she could look at me in the eye, "That doesn't matter anymore. You're here now."
"You're not mad at me anymore?" She asked softly.
"I was never mad at you." I told her.
"But you were punching that thing so hard and I thought-"
I laughed. "I just missed you so badly. You told me you never want to see me again and I was just letting out my frustration because I couldn't come after you." I smiled tenderly at her.
She squinted her eyes. "You will never show your face at me again if I said so? That didn't stop you before, Lexa. You never take orders from anyone."
I shook my head and laughed.
This woman.
She will be the death of me.
"You do know that you're pretty annoying." I told her, smirking.
She laughed. "You do know that you have a temper." She countered back.
"Your temper is much worst than me, Clarke." I caressed her face as I looked adoringly at her.
She leaned into my touch and I just want to kiss those lips of hers. If she would just allow me.
"Hmmm… You told me I'm pretty." She said softly. Blue eyes caught green ones.
"Yes. You are very gorgeous, Clarke." I said. I wanted to lean so I could kiss her but I just want her permission.
My heart was beating erratically as I caught her eyes gazing at my lips. Does she want me to kiss her?
"Lexa…" She swallowed hard and then wet her lips.
That was a signal right? A permission to kiss her?
Slowly, I leaned into her. She fluttered her eyes close.
My lips hovered on hers and when our lips touched, there's a funny feeling settling on my stomach. Octavia once told me they were butterflies but that's obviously stupid. Octavia always say stupid things.
Clarke's hand settled on my neck and I angled my head so I could have a better access to her lips. She opened her mouth for me and I didn't waste time to enter it with my tongue. She gasped and her hold on my neck tightened.
My hands settled on her waist as I pulled her towards me. She arched her back for me. My tongue licked the roof of her mouth and a tiny little moan came out of her.
"Lexa…" she mumbled between kisses. "Go out on a date with me." she said as she pulled away.
I opened my eyes and caught her staring at me with hooded eyes. "Date?" I mumbled stupidly. Kissing Clarke made me lose my mind.
"Yes." She smiled. "Just the two of us. No double dates."
I smiled. "I would like that."
"Tomorrow night. I'll take you out. Wear something nice." She said.
I chuckled. "I think I should be the one taking you out, Clarke. You already asked me twice."
She pouted and it was cute. "The first one didn't go so well so I think I deserve another shot. Besides, I was the one who ask you out today."
I smirked. "Fair enough."
She pulled away from me completely and I already missed the warmth of her body against mine. "Take a shower, Woods. You're sweaty and all." She said as she laughed at me.
I laughed. "That didn't stop you from ogling at my abs, Griffin."
Clarke rolled her eyes but her cheeks went red.
"You're going on a date with Clarke again?" Octavia's voice perked up as she opened the door of my room. Octavia just doesn't know the concept of knocking.
"Who told you?" I asked, seemingly annoyed.
"Doesn't matter." She sat on my couch and lifted her feet on the table in front of her. She knows that I hate her for doing that on my table but she always insist on doing it. "So you and Clarke settled your misunderstanding huh?"
"Yes." I said while I applied my eyeliner. "She knew the truth from Raven. Apparently, Finn told Raven everything why I punched him in his face. Which is weird."
Octavia chuckled nervously. I looked at her. "Yeah, about that…"
I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "Explain."
"Well, apparently, I'm a very helpful friend so I decided to work on a little magic and Voila! Problem solved!" She grinned.
"What did you do?"
"Relax. Everything is handled beautifully. Besides that cute Raven girl deserves better than him. He won't bother Raven anymore." Octavia smiled as she stretched her arms above her head.
I glared at her. "Don't you dare…"
"What?" Octavia looked at me like she was a picture of innocence.
"Don't touch Clarke's bestfriend, Octavia. I mean it." I said in a serious tone.
Octavia rolled her eyes, "Relax! I won't. That girl is too innocent for me anyway. I just helped her get her revenge on that Finn guy."
"Don't play with her." I said with finality on my voice.
Octavia once again, just rolled her eyes.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Enter." I said.
"Heda. Miss Griffin just arrived. She is now waiting for you downstairs." Titus said formally.
I nodded. "Tell her I'll be out in a minute. And Titus?"
"Yes Heda?"
"Tell Gustus and the rest of my bodyguards not to follow me."
"But Lexa, we can't-" Titus starts to reasoned out but I stopped him with my hand.
"You heard me."
"Yes, Heda." Titus bowed and left.
"Are you sure that's smart?" Octavia asked. "We've always been shadowed by our bodyguards ever since we were little. Whether we see them or not."
"Enough Octavia. I don't want to make Clarke uncomfortable." I said.
Octavia grinned. "Uh-huh. Maybe you just want to get laid."
I glared at her. "I am not thinking about that."
"Oh yeah. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Octavia laughed, then she stood up and left the room.
I looked at myself in the mirror for the last time. I've never been nervous like this before. The so-called butterflies are inside me again and I just want to kill them all.
Wow! That pretty sums up everything I want to say to Clarke as I looked at her in her pretty above-the-knee blue dress. She looked stunning.
"You're very pretty Clarke." I said that made her blush.
"You're much more gorgeous, Lexa." She said, cheeks still blushing.
I smirked. "Don't I know that already?" I joked.
"Ugh! You're kind of annoying too." She said, smiling.
"So where are we going?" I asked.
"We're going to have dinner at my favorite restaurant." She said as she caught my hand and intertwined it with hers.
"Sorry I don't have a car." She said as we stepped out of the Uber Car.
"Would you like to have one? I could buy you a car." I said genuinely.
"Lexa!" She rolled her eyes. "I don't want you buying me anything especially a car."
"I'm offering you a gift." I insisted.
"No." She shook her head. "Anyway, I hope you like it here. It's the only restaurant I can afford. But I'm really positive about the food here." She said nervously.
I smiled at her. "Clarke, we don't have to eat in a restaurant. I will be with you anywhere."
"I just want it to be perfect. And I'm nervous and I really want this to go well unlike what happened at the double date and-"
Clarke mumbling is really cute. But I have to stop her by placing my finger on her lips to prevent her from talking. "Let's have our dinner, shall we? I'm sure I would love it here."
Clarke nod and smiled.
Clarke loves to talk and I was enjoying every single thing she says. She was telling me about her parents, how they annoy her but she still loves them nevertheless. How she wished she had a sister or a brother. How she loves playing video games. How she loves to play sports but sucks at it.
"How about you, Lexa? Any fun thing you do when you were a child?" She asked.
"Alicia and I met Octavia and Anya when we were kids. Being rich has its downside when it comes to meeting other people. So we were stuck with each other for a long time. We were basically like sisters and we do a lot of fun things too."
"Like?"
"Hmmm… a lot of sports and hobbies actually. I love car racing, horse racing and target shooting. Alicia is more of a water sports type. Anya and Octavia compete in different sports like lacrosse, volleyball, tennis and many more. Actually we do similar things with each other. It's just that there are different fields we excel at." I explained.
"Wow. You are all talented in different fields." Clarke said.
"Our parents want us to be perfect in the eyes of other people. So we don't really play stuff like normal kids do when we were young. My family spent a lot of money for Alicia and I to excel in almost everything."
"You are lucky." Clarke said in a soft tone.
I chuckled. "I am not."
Clarke looked up to meet my eyes. "You are. Your parents love you unconditionally. You don't feel the pressure to be the best or the perfect daughter. You're just simply you. And I envy that. Being the eldest Woods, I'm older than Alicia by 2 minutes by the way; the weight on my shoulder is big. I have to be the best. I have to be great. That is expected of me."
Clarke's features soften, she reached out for my hand on the table. "I know you can do it."
I just simply smiled at her.
She smiled at me too and that made my heart soar.
Clarke insisted on taking me home first. She is in the mood to become a gentlewoman so I let her. Just this once. Seems like I couldn't win an argument with Clarke. She had me wrapped around her fingers.
And in all honesty, I love it.
"Thanks for the dinner, Clarke." I said softly. We were at the front porch of the Woods mansion.
"Thanks for accepting my invitation." She replied.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked her, my eyes are smiling.
"Because of the disaster that happened." She said.
"Forget about that. I'm just happy we're okay now." I said, leaning slowly towards her.
She nods and wets her lips.
I took that sign as an opportunity to kiss her again. Her lips were soft and pliant against mine as I captured them with passion. Clarke replied with the same intensity that I almost lost myself. I was gripping on her waist as I pulled her against mine.
Clarke's arms were around my neck and she was kissing me back passionately.
My heart beats triple fast as I continued kissing her lips. The kiss was full of passion that I have to steady myself and stop myself from moaning. I slowed it down by capturing her bottom lip softly and then her top lip. She must have realized that I was slowing down because she pulled away slowly. Her eyes were hooded like last time. Her lips were red from my kisses.
I breathed. "Goodnight Clarke." I whispered huskily.
"Goodnight Lexa." She replied softly and then walked away.
The realization dawned on me.
Is this the thing they called love?
This is not just about like.
I'm in love…
I'm in love with Clarke Griffin.