The next day, Clarke was sitting at her desk, working on some homework while Octavia sat across the room doing something on her phone. Clarke was getting a bit annoyed at her, though, when Octavia kept clicking on videos and letting them play out loud.
"O, can you please put your headphones in, or stop clicking on videos? It's really distracting," Clarke said, turning to look at her.
Octavia looked up from her phone. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't know it was bothering you."
Clarke turned back to her computer screen and was back to typing when she heard Octavia speak up behind her again. "What are you working on?"
"A stupid essay for English." Clarke didn't look away from the screen.
"What's it about?" Octavia asked.
Clarke groaned and took her hands off the keyboard. "Talking to me isn't any less distracting than playing your videos aloud." Clarke made a face. "In fact, it's more distracting."
"Sorry." Octavia pantomimed zipping her lips. "I'll be quiet."
Clarke had just started typing again when she heard her cell phone buzz. She figured it was probably Raven, as she was in class at the moment, and while Clarke seriously thought about ignoring it, she didn't. However, when she looked at the screen, she found that the message was not from Raven, but from Anya.
Anya: Hey, Clarkey. It's Anya. In case you were wondering, I got your number from Lex. We're going to Dave and Buster's tonight since we haven't been in a while, and I was wondering if you want to join us, for old times' sake.
Clarke: Yeah, that sounds like fun. Thanks for inviting me!
Anya: We'll pick you up at six?
Clarke: We can't all fit on Lexa's motorcycle, you know? :P
Anya: Very funny. I have a car.
Clarke: I know. I was just messing with you. But yeah six is fine.
Anya: Great. See you then!
"Oh, because texting is so much less distracting than me talking to you." Clarke was startled by the sound of Octavia's voice behind her, having totally forgotten her roommate was there.
"Sorry. That was Anya," Clarke explained. "She was asking if I wanted to go to Dave and Buster's with them tonight."
Octavia's eyes lit up in excitement. "Are we all going?"
"Octavia, this is kind of a family thing." Clarke did not miss it when Octavia's excitement instantly turned into disappointment. "You can come next time though. I promise."
Clarke smiled to herself at the prospect of going to Dave and Buster's with the Woods' again. Clarke hadn't been lying when she told Octavia it was a family thing. The four of them used to go all the time as children, and Clarke was extremely excited to finally be going again.
Later that night, Lexa found herself in front of the Skee Ball machines beside her siblings and Clarke. Clarke and Anya were being as competitive as ever, and Lexa tried her best to stay out of it, calmly rolling ball after ball down the lane. Lexa could admit that she was not great at Skee Ball, but she had to say she did get a little excited when her last ball landed in the hole in the center.
Anya threw her hands in the air. "I won!"
"By a point," Clarke protested with a scowl.
"Good game, Clarke, but I still beat you," Anya bragged.
Clarke sighed in defeat, running a hand through her beautiful blond hair. "Alright. Since you've beaten us all four times in a row, let's try something else."
They walked around through aisles of flashing arcade games until Lexa's eyes settled on one called Down the Clown. It consisted of three rows of clown bowling pins, and the players had to throw red balls at them to knock them down. There were only two machines, so they had to play in teams. Lexa partnered with Clarke, and Anya took the other machine with Lincoln. When the game began, Lexa pelted the balls at the pins, and they continuously fell and stood themselves back up until the time ran out.
"Damn, you're good," Anya said when she noticed their respective scores.
Lincoln looked up at the scores as well, noticing that Clarke and Lexa had beaten him and Anya by almost 200 points. "We're going to need a rematch."
Clarke and Lexa were all too happy to play again. They made the perfect team, throwing balls in sync with perfect aim and knocking down clown after clown after clown. Anya and Lincoln didn't do very well in the second game either, but Clarke and Lexa got a score high enough to win the jackpot.
"We won the jackpot!" Clarke exclaimed.
"You guys are too good at this," Anya whined. "I'm going to do something else."
Lexa grabbed Anya's arm to stop her from leaving. "But this is so much fun."
"And it's a great way to win lots of tickets," Clarke added.
"I'll go with Anya to play something else," Lincoln suggested. "You two can stay here."
Lexa dipped her head to Lincoln in thanks as she watched him and Anya disappear into the crowd. Lexa smiled when she turned back to Clarke, and she raised one eyebrow at the blonde in question. Clarke nodded to her, and Lexa swiped the card again.
At the end of the night, Clarke, Lexa, Lincoln, and Anya decided to play what had always been their traditional last game: the race cars. Lexa chose a seat in the middle, and Clarke plopped into the seat beside her.
Anya stared at them in over exaggerated shock. "What are you doing? You guys aren't going to play how you usually do?"
Lexa blanched at the memory, immediately on the defensive. "Anya, we're not kids anymore."
"For old times' sake?" Clarke seemed to have other ideas.
Lexa knew that there was no way she was ever going to be able to say no to Clarke when the blonde was looking at her with those big blue eyes of hers. "Fine."
Clarke climbed into the seat and settled between Lexa's legs, moving her hands up to grip the steering wheel. Lexa blushed as she reached her foot out to rest on the gas pedal. When they were younger, they were too small to reach the gas pedal, so they would sit side by side in the seat, and one would drive while the other hit the gas. Even when they got old enough to actually reach, they never broke the tradition. Now, Lexa was having a hard time concentrating on anything other than the feeling of Clarke's back pressed against her front, and she was sure her face was beet red. She wanted to bring her hand up to rest on Clarke's waist, but she didn't know what she would say if Clarke questioned it, so she left her hands at her sides. When the race began, Lexa turned her attention to the game, and she hoped that concentrating on the race would bring her face back to its normal color. However, she was amazed she even managed to control the gas with the way her heart was beating so crazily. She prayed to anyone who was listening that Clarke would not be able to feel it pounding against her back. When Clarke and Lexa pulled across the finish line, they were in second place, losing to Lincoln.
"You're in last place, An. Looks like you lose," Lincoln teased.
"Shut up," Anya grumbled in response.
Clarke clambered out of Lexa's lap and extended a hand to help the brunette to her feet as well. Lexa shot Clarke a shaky smile before glaring at Anya over the blond girl's head once she had turned away. Her sister just shrugged and headed to claim her prizes with her tickets.
On the way out of the arcade, Lexa noticed Clarke looking at something inside one of the claw games. She thought the blonde's eyes were resting on a red heart pillow, but she wasn't sure so she asked anyway. "What are you looking at?"
Clarke tore her gaze away from the machine, startled as if she had forgotten the others were there, before answering, "Just that heart pillow. It's really cute."
"I can get it for you." Lexa knew the minute she saw Clarke looking at it that there was no way they were leaving without it.
"I don't know. Those things can be hard to get," Clarke said doubtfully.
"Do you not remember who you're talking to? I was always great at the claw games, and lucky for you, I still am." Lexa smiled.
"Lexa, we're leaving," Anya groaned.
"Just one try?" Lexa pleaded.
Lincoln shrugged his shoulders. "Go for it."
Lexa stepped up to the game, slid her money into it, and positioned the claw directly over the heart pillow. She moved to the side of the machine to make sure it was in the perfect place, and then she hit the button, dropping the claw. It easily picked up the heart, dropping it into the chute, and Lexa plucked it out before handing it to Clarke. She wished she could tell Clarke she loved her, since it was a heart, but she settled instead for, "See? Told you I could do it."
"Thanks, Lexa. You're the best," Clarke said, placing a quick kiss on Lexa's cheek.
Lexa's face turned a deep shade of red, and she watched as Anya purposely stumbled, drawing Clarke's attention away from Lexa. The brunette gave her sister a grateful look as they made their way out to the car. Lexa didn't know how much more of this she could take. She needed to tell Clarke how she felt, and she hoped that maybe the blonde felt the same way. It was certainly possible, but even so, Anya was right. She needed to be honest with Clarke. Maybe she would tell Clarke tonight when they dropped her off at her dorm. Maybe.
Lexa walked Clarke into her dorm building, stopping outside the door of Clarke's room, and the blonde turned to say goodbye to her. "Thanks for letting me tag along with you guys tonight."
"It wouldn't have been the same without you."
Lexa's heart was racing as she tried to decide whether or not to tell Clarke how she felt. She must have had a weird look on her face, because Clarke's expression morphed from a happy smile to a confused frown.
"Lexa, is everything alright?"
Lexa took a deep breath before bringing her eyes up to meet the blonde's. "Clarke, there's something I need to tell you, and you're probably not going to like it, but Anya said that I should be honest with you, and she's right. I like you as more than a friend. Ever since I've been back here, it's different, the way that I feel when I look at you, when I touch you. I tried to fight it for a while because I didn't want to feel this way, but I can't. There's nothing I can do about it, and I was just wondering if there was even a tiny possibility that maybe you might feel the same way about me."
"Wow, Lexa, I…I have a boyfriend," Clarke admitted, looking shocked.
"A boyfriend?" Lexa echoed. She hadn't even considered this possibility.
"Yes. His name is Finn, and I've been with him for two years. I'm straight, Lexa," Clarke said carefully.
Lexa felt the air rush out of her lungs at that statement. Clarke had a boyfriend. Clarke was straight. Clarke would never want Lexa the way she wanted Clarke. Lexa sighed, hoping that Clarke didn't hate her now as well.
"I'm sorry, Clarke. I hope I didn't just go and mess everything up," Lexa muttered dejectedly.
Clarke immediately put a hand on her arm, squeezing gently. "Of course not, Lexa. You like me. It's not a crime to have a crush on me, and I'm sorry that I can never return those feelings, but we can still be friends. I mean, if you still want to be."
Lexa looked up in surprise. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you because of your feelings for me," Clarke explained.
"I want to be friends. Maybe a little less of the hand holding and invading each other's personal space though." Lexa looked pointedly at Clarke's hand that was still resting on her arm.
"Right," Clarke said, letting her arm fall back to her side.
Lexa couldn't help but notice that the other girl looked a bit disappointed at the prospect of having to be careful around her best friend, but Lexa knew it was for the best. How was she ever supposed to get over the blonde if they kept finding themselves in compromising situations?
"So I guess you found your Prince Zander then." Lexa finally spoke.
"I always pictured Zander with a different shade of eyes," Clarke mused, "but yeah. Something like that."
Lexa suddenly felt like her throat was closing up, and she knew she needed to get out of there as soon as she could.
"I should probably get going," she said, giving Clarke a sad smile. "I'll see you later."
"Goodnight, Commander," Clarke replied softly, before adding, "Thank you for being honest with me."
Lexa simply nodded before turning to leave the dorm building. As she walked out into the cool night air, she couldn't hold back the tear that slipped from her eye and made a trail down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away before anyone could see. She would tell her siblings what had happened. Just not yet.
AN: So our poor Lexa is in love with her "straight" best friend. But don't worry, Clarke will soon be finding out that she is not as straight as she thinks! ;)
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading!