Chapter 5: Lexa

Octavia changed her clothes and said that the club was within walking distance, so we headed out. It only took us about ten minutes to get there, and even though it was already almost midnight, there was a line that was at least a block long. I looked at Octavia and said, "This line is crazy long. I doubt we will even get in before the last call."

She just smiled and said, "Follow me, the Dragon's Den is always packed, but I'm a regular, so we shouldn't have a problem getting in. Come on."

I followed her as she walked right up to the doorman and said, "Hey Zack, this is my friend Lexa. She is new to town, and I want to show her a good time. Can you help me out?"

He looks me over and says, "Damn O, you sure know how to find the hottest girls in town. So when are you going to hook a brother up? Go on in. Clarke and Finn are already here."

Octavia thanks, him, and we walk right in. Once inside, I follow her to a corner table in the back. There is already a group of people around our age sitting there. They all greet Octavia and then look at me. I just say, "Hello."

Octavia says, these are my friends, then starts pointing and naming. She first points to a tall, chocolate skin girl with black hair and green eyes and says her name is Emily Rodriguez, but everyone calls her Emmy. Next is a girl who is in great shape. She introduces her as Jessica Johnston, but she goes by Jess. She has fair skin and golden hair with striking blue eyes. I give her the once over. She is wearing a pair of short shorts that shows off her muscular legs paired with a short shirt that offers a peek at her abs. She is hot but also looks somewhat familiar.

Octavia must see the way I am eying her because she points and says, "This is Clementine Angel Newman, known as Angie. She is Jess's girlfriend."

I look at Angie, who is overweight, of average height, and has light skin, red hair, green eyes, then back to Jess. I don't really know what to make of the pair, but to each their own, but I wouldn't mind getting to know Jess a little better. Angie must sense it and pulls Jess in closer and kisses her on the cheek.

Next comes a pair of guys that, even without Octavia telling me, I can tell they are together by the way they are sitting basically on top of each other. She points to the first one and says, "This is Joshua Davis, who goes by Josh and his boyfriend, Ernest Alfie Porter. Then we have Samuel Jones known to us all by Sammy."

Following Sammy comes another couple that Octavia introduces as Morgana Jacey Cole, who goes by Jace, and her boyfriend, Ahmed Williams. When she says Ahmed's name, I do a double-take, but he looks nothing like the Ahmed I knew. This Ahmed is tall with chocolate skin, but he has red hair and some freckles. He seems to be in decent shape but nothing special. When my eyes meet Jace, I see a pair of gorgeous cobalt blue eyes. She is wearing a cute red dress with spaghetti straps that show off her broad athletic shoulders and toned legs. I can tell she is in perfect shape and is tall with brown hair pulled up in a ponytail.

Octavia smiles at me and says, "Last but not least, everyone's favorite couple, Finn Collins and Charlotte Clarke Griffin."

I look first at Finn. He is in relatively good shape and has long brown hair pulled up in a man bun, dark brown eyes, and olive skin. He is cute for a guy. Next, I hear someone clear their throat and look to see Charlotte staring at me. When I look at her, the first thing I notice is her emerald, green eyes. She seems to be about five foot four with shoulder-length curly blonde hair. Her face has a roundish shape, and she has the cutest dimple on her chin. She has on a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt under a black leather jacket. I can't seem to take my eyes off her until I hear Finn give a fake cough. As I glance at him, I can see that he doesn't like how I'm looking at his girlfriend. He reaches around and puts his arm around her waist, pulling her close. I'm going to have to be careful around her, but I really would like to get to know her better. Although that probably isn't a good idea considering she has a boyfriend.

She looks me up and down the same as I do her before saying, "No one calls me Charlotte. I go by Clarke. O just likes pissing me off by calling me Charlotte, have a seat." Then, I hear her say under her breath, "No wonder my mom can't stop talking about you."

I snap my head back to look at her, "What was that?"

She blushes and says, "Huh, what? I said, what would you like to drink?"

I smirk and say, "Really, I'll take a margarita and two shots of tequila. By the way, who is your mom?"

Octavia speaks up, "Her mom is Abby. Why do you know her or something?"

I look at Clarke and say, "Really? You're Abby's daughter. What are the odds." I then look at Octavia and say, "Yeah, I know Abby really well. I met her in Afghanistan before coming here. I thought you knew that. Blake didn't tell you?"

Octavia says, "No, he didn't tell me that Abby was back over there. Did you know that was where she was, Clarke? And Lexa, why do you call Bellamy, Blake?"

Clarke says, "Yeah, I knew she was somewhere over there, but I didn't realize she was at the same base as Bellamy."

About this time, my drinks arrive, and I hand one shot to Octavia and say, "To new friendships!" I tap her glass, and we drink.

Jess says, "What the hell? You can't do shots without the rest of us. That's not fair!"

I laugh and say, "My bad, no problem. I will go order a round for everyone. Does everyone drink tequila?" Everyone nods affirmatively. I proceed to the bar and order a bottle of Patron and 12 shot glasses from the bar. I came back and lined up the shot glasses and poured the shots. I held up my glass and said, "To new friendships!" Everyone raised their glass and echoed my toast, and we drank. I poured another round, and we drank again. I catch Finn eyeballing me while we drink and can tell he doesn't particularly like me.

Octavia says, "Okay, Lexa, I want to see your moves," she grabs my hand and pulls me out onto the dance floor. We dance for a few songs before heading back to the table. She says, "Damn girl, you do have some moves."

When we make it back to the table, Jace says, "You two look so cute together. O, why didn't you tell us you had a new girl?"

Octavia says, "What? No, we aren't together. We are more like sisters. She and my brother are like best friends or something."

Sammy speaks up, "So does that mean you are single, Lexa?"

I reply, "I guess you could say that. It is sort of complicated, but yeah, right now I'm single." With that, I pick up the bottle to pour another shot. I ask, "Would anyone else like another shot?" Jace, Jess, Emily, and Octavia all raise their hand, so I pour them one as well.

I spend the next couple of hours dancing and getting to know everyone a little better. Before long, I have a pretty good buzz going, and I am having a great time. I finally got a chance to talk to Clarke and ask her what she meant by her earlier comment? She tries to play it off by saying she doesn't remember, but then I say, what did you mean about your mom talking about me. She said, "I just meant that my mom has talked a lot about you and Ash lately. She keeps talking about what an amazing person you are and how you saved Ash's life."

I reply, "Oh, yeah, that. I would rather not talk about that now. I just saw how you looked me over, and then the comment you made, I thought…um…maybe…never mind you're with Finn. I should stop talking now."

I think to myself, what the hell are you doing? Get a grip on yourself, Lexa. I think I need to dance some more and get away from Clarke. Unfortunately, everyone else is dancing with someone, so I see a girl standing alone at the bar and ask her to dance. The song that comes on next is one I know, so I sing while dancing with the girl. When the song is over, she says that I should go up and sing. She said the DJ was a friend of hers and always liked to end the night with someone singing. I laugh and say no. Soon the lights are blinking, and Octavia tells me it means the last call if I want another drink and the bar will be closing in about a half-hour.

I decide to grab another margarita and have a seat at the table. Jess, Sammy, and Jace are already at the table, so I ask them if they need anything before I sit down. All three say they will have another beer. Once we all have our drinks, Sammy asks, "So Lexa, how do you know O and Bellamy?"

I reply, "The short version is I met Blake or Bellamy as you call him when I was just a kid in Afghanistan and Octavia through him. I guess you could say Octavia was nice enough to send me letters and things over the years."

Jace says, "What were you doing in Afghanistan? Are you in the military?"

I say, Sort of, I guess. I was in an orphanage over there when I was young and then ended up helping Blake and the army out. Eventually, I became an interpreter and earned the rank Petty Officer First Class." I purposefully leave out Ash because I just don't want to get into that while having such a good time.

Jess says, "Cool, did you see any action? Did you have to kill anyone?"

Jace and Sammy both yell, "Jess, what the hell!"

I laugh and say, "It's fine, guys. Jess, to answer your questions, yes, I saw plenty of action, and yes, unfortunately, I had to kill some people." Now the entire group came back to the table and sat down.

Angie sits between Jess and me and says, "So what are you guys talking about, babe?"

Jess replies, "We were just getting to know Lexa better. Did you guys know she saw action while she was in Afghanistan and actually had to kill people?"

Everyone looked at me, and I could feel my cheeks turning red. Finally, Clarke looked at me and said, "You know you don't have to answer all their questions, right? Guys, I really don't think Lexa wants to have to relive her time over there for your amusement. Why don't you leave her alone unless you have something to ask her that doesn't involve Afghanistan?"

Finn pulls Clarke close, saying, "Babe, Lexa is a big girl. She doesn't need you taking up for her. Besides, what do you even know about her?"

I smile, "Thanks, Clarke, but I really don't mind. Besides, I don't think your boyfriend likes me very much. I will answer all of your questions honestly but just realize when you ask them that you may not like the answers that you get, and some of you may not like me after you hear everything, but I have learned that it is better to be upfront with people from the beginning. I have recently realized that I just need to focus on myself and what I want. Just be me, not who I think everyone else wants me to be. I don't want to be defined by my past, but what I do with the knowledge that came from it, that is what will help define who I become. I have also realized people will come and go, but I have to stay and look at myself in the mirror and know that what I am doing is right no matter what anyone else thinks. I will always have scars, but I shouldn't be embarrassed by them. Instead, they should remind me of what I have survived and how it has helped to shape my life."

Jess smiles and says, "Damn, girl, that is deep. I can't wait to get to know you better."

I smile at her, and she licks her lips and winks at me. What the hell? Her girlfriend is sitting right there. Octavia looks at me and then everyone else before saying, "Okay guys, I think it is time to call it a night. This conversation is getting too deep for our drunk asses. Why don't we all meet for dinner tomorrow night, and you can ask all your questions then. Is that good with you, Lexa?"

I say sure, and everyone else agrees. Octavia tells them that she will text them tomorrow and let them know a time and place then we all get up to leave. Before we can go, the DJ says, "To continue the Dragon Den tradition of having a random singer close out the night, a friend of mine informs me that we have a first timer in the crowd. Where is Lexa?"

The group starts laughing while pointing to me. All I want to do is crawl under the table or run for the door. Instead, I grab another shot and walk up to the stage. Once up there, I give a wave. The DJ looks at me and asks, "So…what do you want to sing tonight?"

I start to stutter some, "I…I would rather not sing if it's all the same to all of you."

"That's not an option." I groan while everyone laughs.

My brain doesn't want to work, and as I look into the crowd, I see Clarke's beautiful face. I feel drawn to her for some reason, and I know she will cause me trouble, especially since Finn seems to hate me already. Whatever…I'm feeling good, so I look at the DJ and say, "I'll sing Singles You Up by Jordan Davis."

The DJ says, "Now that's what I call being a good sport. Let me know when you are ready."

I nod, and the music starts. I look over at Clarke and Finn, smile then begin to sing. I ain't heard you laugh like that in a long time/I wonder if you stopped his world like you did mine just now/I see you sippin' white wine instead of whiskey/And does he want you to be just a little more city?/Well, I'm sorry if I'm overstepping/Boundaries I don't mean to be/But I've just got to tell you how I feel/If he ever singles you up, if he's ever stupid enough/I'ma be the first one calling you baby (baby)If he ain't holding you tight, if he ain't treating you right/I'ma be the first one calling him crazy (crazy)/'Cause girl, it's just a matter of time until you find/That the right girl's staring you back into your eyes, right now (I change guy's to girl's and look Clarke directly in her beautiful emerald eyes while singing it.)/No rush, but if he ever singles you up/He hasn't even looked your way since you walked in/But I can't help it that I can't take my eyes off of you/Your favorite song just came on/And me and you were singing along/And he don't even know a single word/If he ever singles you up, if he's ever stupid enough/I'ma be the first one calling you baby (baby)/If he ain't holding you tight, if he ain't treating you right/I'ma be the first one calling him crazy (crazy)/'Cause girl, it's just a matter of time until you find/That the right girl's staring you back into your eyes, right now/No rush, but if he ever singles you up/If he ever singles you up/Sorry if I'm overstepping/Boundaries I don't mean to be, (I add, actually I do mean to step on boundaries)/But I've just got to tell you how I feel/If he ever singles you up, if he's ever stupid enough/I'ma be the first one calling you baby (baby)/If he ain't holding you tight, if he ain't treating you right/I'ma be the first one calling him crazy (crazy)/'Cause girl, it's just a matter of time until you find/That the right one's staring into your eyes, right now/No rush, (I add, I ca be patient) but if he ever singles you up/If he ever singles you up/I'll be there waiting…

When I finish singing, I walk off the stage heading back over to the group. Before I make it back to the table, Finn grabs my arm, "What the fuck was that?"

I reply, "I suggest that you remove your hand from my arm before I break it."

He chuckles but removes it as I stare into his eyes. "Seriously, bitch, what the fuck was that? Clarke is mine!"

"I don't know what you are talking about. I was just singing a song. I can't help if you are insecure in your relationship. I would suggest that you treat her right, though." With that, I walk back to the table, smiling at Clarke as I walk past her.

As we are walking out, the girl I danced with earlier comes up, hands me a piece of paper, and kisses me on the cheek. Octavia looks at me and smiles, "Well, didn't take you long to get your first admirer."

I look at her and can feel my cheeks heat up, "I don't know what you are talking about. She is just someone I was dancing with."

"Sure, okay, and the fact that she gave you her number?"

I just shrug my shoulders. Even though it's super late or early, depending on how you look at it, we decide to walk the ten minutes back to Octavia's house. By the time we get there, I have sobered up, and I'm ready to crash. I grab my bag out of the jeep on the way inside, and Octavia says I can either sleep with her or I can have Bellamy's room.

I'm not sure what the protocol for sleepovers is because the only person I have ever slept with was Ash. I guess Octavia sees the confusion on my face because she asks, "What's wrong?"

I look at the floor and say, "I've never slept over at anyone's house, so I don't know what the protocol is for the sleeping arrangements."

She laughs until she notices that I'm serious. "Oh, you aren't joking. Well, I guess it is whatever you are comfortable with. Usually, when I have someone over, they just sleep with me, but whichever is fine."

"I'm sorry, I just don't have much experience with friendships and the things normal people usually know. You have to understand that the way I grew up was vastly different from most people our age did. I went from an orphanage to being a soldier, so it would be helpful if you could explain things that I should know when they come up."

She smiles and says, "Sure, no problem. I guess I forget that because I feel like we have known each other forever, plus you seemed pretty comfortable at the club tonight with everyone. So I can definitely help you with your social skills, but let's go to sleep. Although, I think we do need to have a conversation about that song in the morning."