Chapter 10: Ash

The first few minutes after I arrived at the club were awkward. I had no idea that little Jessie, Callie's younger sister, was a part of Lexa's little group. Apparently, no one had bothered to tell Lexa she was Callie's sister, which I could tell pissed her off. Then there was this guy Finn, who seemed to not like Lexa very much. He was asking me about the valley. I know she said she was meeting them for dinner to tell them her story, which I guess included the battle of the valley along with everything else.

Octavia seemed to think that Finn was jealous of Lexa, and that's why he didn't believe her. I can understand why seeing how Clarke keeps looking at her. I was relieved when the two girls showed up because Lexa's mood went from totally pissed, too extremely flirty. It didn't take long for them to head the dance floor, leaving me with a perplexed group of people.

Octavia looked over at me and asks, "What did those girls mean about Lexa kicking ass in Dubai?"

Penelope speaks up and says, "How can you guys be her friends and not know about the fight in Dubai? Here watch this."

She proceeds to bring up the video on her phone for everyone to see. Of course, I've seen the video and was there for the real thing, but it is always amusing to watch it with new people to see their reactions. Lexa really did do a number on those guys.

Finn says, "I'm sure that fight was staged to make her look good and not a real fight."

I laugh, "No, it wasn't. I was still recovering from my injuries, and those guys wouldn't leave me alone, so Lexa had to make them. She tried to talk them down, but then that idiot took a swing at her, it escalated from there. I bet that one guy's jaw is never the same."

Finn says, "Sure, whatever!"

I smile, "I can make a call to someone who was also there if you like, but if you don't believe that story, I won't waste my breath on the story of the valley because you won't believe it either."

Finn says, "No, I want to hear your version so that I can compare it to what she has already told us."

"Fine." So, I tell them the whole story of how we met, the valley, the mission where I was captured by Omar, and even how Lexa rescued me singlehandedly. I then told them how it was her plan that successfully took down Ahmed while I was in a coma and how she was able to infiltrate the compound, capturing Ahmed pretty much by herself before letting Bellamy and the army in to clean up the mess. I must have gone into more detail than Lexa because everyone looked amazed.

Jess spoke up, "So, it's true that she saved your life."

I reply, "Yes, she has saved my life at least three times, my mother's once, Cree's, and even your sister's. She is an amazing person whether you like her or not. She will protect anyone around her."

Jess says, "What do you mean she saved Callie's life?"

I reply, "That's a whole different story, but you can look it up on YouTube. The whole thing was caught on camera and posted. Here have a look." I pull up the video and hand it to Jess, who lets everyone crowd around as they watch it. As they watch the video, Lexa and Marley walk back over to the table.

Lexa looks much calmer now and asks, "What are you guys watching?"

Clarke cuts her eyes at Lexa, "Oh, nothing much, just some crazy person taking on a bunch of guys in a restaurant by herself. Then she steps in front of a man with a gun."

Lexa replies, "Oh," and heads to the bar.

Clarke grabs her arm as she starts to walk away. Lexa spins around quickly, "What? What do you want from me, Griffin?"

Clarke quickly removes her hand from Lexa's arm, holding up her hands in surrender. Then, she quietly says, "Nothing…I was just going to ask if that's how you ended up with the stitches in your shoulder? Since you said, that was a different story. Also, why are you calling me Griffin?"

"Habit I picked up from being on a military base, and yes, that's why I needed the stitches. I took a bullet in the other shoulder in that incident while also ripping out another set of stitches from a previous incident." She then turns, walking away, mumbling under her breathe, "Plus, calling you Griffin keeps you at a distance."

I watch as she walks away, and Marley joins the group watching the video. Jayce says, "Wow, she really has some moves. O, maybe she can teach you some new moves for…."

Octavia interrupts her, "Yeah, maybe she can teach me how to defend myself." Then she gives Jayce a look that I can't quite decipher. Next, Lexa comes back to the table with some shots for me, Marley, Penelope, and herself. It wasn't our usual tequila shot, so I asked her what it was, and she said it was called apocalypse now and to just try it. It was actually surprisingly good.

Finn looked at Lexa and said, "So what did you have to do to get Ashley to tell the story in a way that made you look even better than when you told it? Oh, and how much did you pay the actors in those videos to make you look that good?"

Clarke elbows Finn in the ribs, "For God sakes, let it go, Finn!"

Lexa started turning red, clenching her hands into fists, then said, "I don't know what your problem is with me, Finn, but I would be more than happy to show you some of those same moves so you can be the judge if they are real or not. If you don't like me, that's fine, I don't really care, but if you keep insulting my friends or me, we WILL have a problem. Understand?"

About that time, a group of girls came up to Lexa and said, "Hey, you are the one from the bar in Dubai, right? The one that beat up those UFC guys."

Lexa just laughs and says, "Yeah, let me guess you saw the video on YouTube?"

The blonde says, "No, I was actually there. One of the assholes that picked a fight with you was my boyfriend. Now he is my ex-boyfriend. I couldn't believe he would actually fight a girl. Do you mind taking a few pictures with my friends and me?"

"Not at all. It would be my pleasure." Lexa cut her eyes over at Finn. The look on his face was priceless. Once she finished with the pictures, she headed onto the dance floor with the girls. I watched as she walked away with her arm around the girl's shoulders. Once they were on the dance floor, the girl was all over Lexa. Was she nibbling on her ear? What the hell! I am about to walk out there when Becca spoke up.

"Ashley, what were those girls talking about in Dubai. I thought you two were in Afghanistan?"

"We were, but we were given a weekend pass, and we went to Dubai to see the UFC fight night. We met some female fighters and went out to the club with them, then some male fighters picked a fight with Lexa. I was still recovering from my injuries when the guys started bothering me, and Lexa made them pay for it."

"Look, guys, I'm going to head out."

Octavia says, "You should probably tell her bye before you leave, though."

I look over to where Lexa is now surrounded by the new girls and that girl Allie. She looks so comfortable out there. One girl is grinding hard in front of her, and the other one has her hands…

Octavia clears her throat then whispers in my ear, "Hey, are you alright?"

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, "Yeah, but I think I'm just going to go. It looks like she won't even notice that I'm gone."

Octavia says, "I don't know. I think she may get upset if you don't at least let her know you are leaving."

"Fine!" I head onto the dance floor to find her to tell her goodnight. When I see her, she looks to be having a great time. She's dancing with the girls, who were draped all over her. I start to walk away, but she sees me and motions me over. The song ends, and the next song that comes on is Like a Star by Corinne Bailey Rae. I think to myself, are you fucking kidding me? This is the first song we ever danced to together.

Lexa looks at me, holds out her hand, and says, "May I have this dance, my lady? For old times' sake, please."

She gives me those damn puppy dog eyes, and I can't say no, so I take her hand, and we dance. All the girls give me dirty looks, while I can't help but smile at them. She holds me close, and it just feels right. Then she starts to sing, "Just like a star across my sky/Just like an angel of the page/You have appeared to my life/Feel like I'll never be the same/Just like a song in my heart/Just like oil on my hands/Oh, I do love you."

I look into her eyes, and what I see breaks my heart. Instead of the pure love that I am so used to seeing in her beautiful eyes, I see a mixture of love and hurt. It breaks my heart because I know I am the cause of her pain. I start to say I'm sorry, but she shakes her head and tells me to just dance. She twirls and dips me, and by the time the song finishes, we are the only ones on the dance floor. I kiss her cheek and say, "Goodnight, see you at home." And I turn, walking away. As I leave, I see Clarke staring daggers at me and Jess giving me a what the fuck was that look.