AN: I appreciate the questions and your continued interest in my story. You guys are great.


A few weeks passed before Clarke was handed the keys to her apartment.

She was eager to move what little belongings she had accumulated since her arrival to the city and finally settle down in a place she could call hers. And when she found a small bed and other necessary pieces of furniture to fill the space with, she invited a few of her friends over to share in the moment with her.

Raven was the first to arrive with a wide grin in place and a bottle of wine in her hand. "Look at you, Clarke. All grown-up." She hugged the blonde before being motioned in.

"Why do people keep saying that?" Clarke knitted her brows and looked playfully insulted at her friend.

The brunette had no response as she laughed it off and sat down on the small sofa.

Within minutes Lexa knocked on the screen door and peered inside before spotting Clarke near what she assumed was the kitchen. She smiled and let herself in when the blonde nodded and waved her over. "I feel better now that I see the inside is much nicer…and safer than the outside." Lexa teased.

Clarke held a chuckle at bay for a few moments as she pouted and shoved the girl softly. "It's not that bad." She accepted a bag of junk food and drinks from the girl before dispatching her to the living room to accompany Raven.

The night proceeded with drinks and some music shared with everyone Clarke had come to know and really bond with from Tassels. She had quickly learned that Octavia and Bellamy were siblings and very likable when you kept them on check.

Both could cross lines rather quickly, but neither meant any harm. She had learned that a few days after Raven told her about Echo and Bellamy. The blonde had noticed the change in the guy whenever she was around, and Echo was not subtle about the daggers she constantly flung at the girl. So one day when Bellamy bumped into Clarke on her way in to Tassels, she squashed the awkwardness and tension immediately. He had blushed furiously at her forwardness about not wanting to make it weird, and hopefully starting a lasting friendship with him, but in the end he smiled wide at her.

A week later he was back with Echo anyway and Clarke felt at ease when she saw their usual push and pull, and was happy that Echo no longer summoned the dead with her glare.

Monty, and the current singer and DJ of the apartment, brought his girlfriend Harper, another dancer from Tassels.

Jasper and Lincoln were the last ones she met during the most recent hang out, and she discovered they were both funny but in completely different ways. Lincoln was more reserved and held his jokes for times when he was certain they would be welcomed. Jasper however, was a sarcastic free-spirit that spouted witty remarks at all hours of the day.

In the end, Clarke realized the small group was well rounded, and she thoroughly enjoyed their company.

Which is why she genuinely laughed along to Monty's insanely high notes and Jasper's artificial baritone voice as they sang to yet another Temptations song.

Everyone continuously alternated between fits of laughter and echoed boos around the living room, but the two kept singing.

"Alright. I think you two should stick to band." Raven commented when the song ended before she took a drink of her beer.

Monty raised his eyebrows in challenge. "Oh really? Think you can do better?" He extended his arm and the phone that was connected to the Bluetooth speakers.

Raven rolled her eyes and stood with a nod. "I'll even let you choose the song."

"And the partner." Jasper added with a grin and Raven huffed with a nod.

"Clarke." Monty pointed at her before ushering her up to the front with a swipe of his open palm. "Join Raven, won't you."

The blonde laughed a little before she shook her head. "Come on, Clarke." Raven whined in need of help.

"Do it, Clarke." Lexa nodded with a smile.

"Ugh." Clarke snorted before she stood and joined Raven. "Consider this payment for the lock I borrowed." She whispered through her teeth and missed the brunette's smirk.

When the notes of the song the boys had chosen played from the speaker, Raven and Clarke simultaneously whined and threw back their heads in disbelief. "Seriously?" Raven glared at the two.

"Sing." Jasper replied with his chin lifted.

"I don't think I remember the lyrics." Clarke responded in earnest.

"Make them up." He waved her off.

Eventually the girls recalled enough of the words to sing along to the song, albeit with no true passion.

Despite the fact that it appeared the two were getting their teeth pulled, the girls sounded pretty good. Clarke more so as she controlled the pitch of her voice and altered it as she saw necessary.

The group looked on in awe as they heard the two girls sing along to 'Beauty and the Beast'. Jaws were on the floor and wide grins took over some of their faces.

Lexa in particular sat completely enthralled by Clarke. The way her voice sounded. Her lips and how they moved to breathe life into the words. The small twitch of her hands as she readied herself for a particularly difficult verse. It captivated the brunette, and her green eyes refused to look anywhere but at her.

It was when the group cheered, signaling the end of the song, that the brunette finally blinked away the haze and cleared her throat. She smiled wide and proceeded to cheer along to appear at ease when she was everything but.

That was interesting and new, Lexa concluded.

"Raven why didn't we know you could sing?" Bellamy questioned with a head tilt.

The girl smiled bashfully and shrugged as she walked towards Monty who still held the phone. She smiled triumphantly at him before she yanked the phone away from him and waved Clarke over. "Get your ass up here Bellamy. You and Lincoln are next." The girls laughed as they thumbed through the songs and finally decided on a boy band classic that both were sure to know enough to hum to.

Clarke made her way over to the unoccupied spot beside Lexa and smiled down at her before she sat. The brunette shifted into the fabric to allow the girl more space before she whispered to her. "An artist and a singer, huh."

There was a small head shake from the younger girl before she turned her head to face her. "No way. You guys got lucky. I usually only sing in the shower." She whispered back with a toothy smile.

Lexa nodded with a small chortle before she looked back at the two guys currently making fools of themselves.

As the night progressed the group began to thin out. Bellamy being first to depart as he received a call from Echo, which he claimed, was for a necessary ride home from a party she had attended. No one believed him, but he smiled regardless as he thanked Clarke and hurried out.

Everyone except for Lexa had called it a night. She stayed behind as she offered her assistance by collecting the empty beer and wine bottles into the cardboard boxes for recycling. "Lexa, please leave it. I can do it tomorrow morning." Clarke smiled as she tried to persuade the girl to stop helping.

"You can take them down to the bin on your own tomorrow." She grinned. "I'll just gather them for you."

They agreed to compromise as they cleaned the space in little to no time together.

It was well past midnight, but neither girl was ready to retire for the evening. Instead, Clarke offered Lexa coffee while they switched the television on to see what they could watch for a while. Together they sat in the living room, occasionally chatting between sips of the warm liquid and commercial breaks.

They talked about work at first, but at some point the conversation shifted to more personal topics, but neither girl refused to share.

"Why did you move out here?" Clarke looked up at the brunette inquisitively.

Lexa placed her coffee down on the side table before she leaned back in the sofa. Her brows furrowed for a second before she looked at the blonde. "My sister told me to." She paused to nod with a smile in response to the girl's questioning look. "I've always wanted to be a writer. I've been playing with short stories since I was in grade school, and by the time I got to high school I was heavily invested in the art of it. My dad paid for creative writing classes but he doubted it would lead anywhere. He wanted me to become a lawyer like him, but my heart was just not in it." She paused again as she recalled the conversation with her family. "I told him a week before graduation that I wanted to become a writer, and he allowed me the freedom to make my choice, but he never offered to help me or to back me. It was my older sister who sat me down after graduation and told me she would help me whichever way she could." Lexa smiled to herself. "She promised to buy me a ticket and give me money for a couple months of rent if I promised to work hard for my dream and name a character after her." Clarke laughed softly as she looked attentively at her, and Lexa swore she had never been more content to share her story with someone.

A moment of silence enveloped them as they looked at each other. "Is your sister back in DC?"

Lexa shook her head in response. "She was. But once my dad remarried she decided she needed some distance. Anya lives in Seattle now."

Clarke nodded as she listened to the information. "And how close are you to naming that character after her?" She smiled.

The brunette leaned forward and sighed. "That is up to the publishers. I submitted a book of short stories a few months back, but I have yet to hear from them." She craned her neck to look up at the blonde. "The truth is I want to become a screen writer so I'm working on a screenplay that I can submit to a network, but I can't seem to finish it. The endings are really difficult for me."

"I'm sure it will come to you when it wants to be told." She nodded. "Trust me, you can't force it."

Lexa nodded. "Anyway, enough about me. How's school? Learning anything?" She smiled.

There was a nonchalant shrug from Clarke as she grinned. "I might have completed my first realistic portrait yesterday." She smiled when the brunette beamed proudly at her. "Realistic portraits have always been the hardest for me. I always seem to miss the depth of the eyes and it distorts everything."

"Can I see it?" The girl straightened back in her seat.

Clarke only hesitated for a second before she stood to lead Lexa to her bedroom and part-time studio.

At first the brunette felt she was invading a private sanctuary of Clarke's, and seeing the small space so neat and cozy made her feel all the more guilty, until she felt the girl pull at her hand to invite her in.

Her eyes skimmed over a small area that served as Clarke's work station. The brushes, paints, and easel a testament to the blonde's passion for the art. And then her eyes caught the painting on the easel and her cheeks hurt from how wide she smiled. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. The colors that were used and the strokes with which they came to life on the canvas were beautifully paired.

"Wow." Lexa gasped and moved closer to it. "I'm not an artist, but the way you painted this woman's eyes, Clarke..." She stopped talking because words could not accurately convey what she thought.

The other girl nodded pleased with her friend's reaction. "I was very happy with how it came out."

"Who wouldn't be? This is great."

They both looked at the painting quietly before Lexa realized she was probably keeping Clarke from her sleep. Eyeing the bed longingly she sighed and turned to the blonde.

"You wanna crash on the couch? It's kind of late for you to drive home." Clarke offered with a smile almost reading the girl's mind on the matter.

Lexa shook her head softly with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'm fine." Although she knew she was on the opposite side of town, a good thirty minutes away, and slightly farther from her fifth-floor apartment and her queen-sized bed.

Clarke shook her head, not satisfied with the response before she walked out of her bedroom and to the hallway closet that housed extra duvets and pillows. "You're staying." She deadpanned as she began to fix the sofa for her guest. Her eyes caught Lexa standing awkwardly in the hallway when she finished and she laughed. "I have some shorts and tanks if you want to change out of your day clothes."

"That's OK. Thanks for forcing me to stay." She teased.

The blonde shrugged. "You can go if you'd like." She grinned. "But my sofa is more comfy than your driver seat."

They smiled at once before they separated to rest for the night.


"Did you make it home, alright?" Raven chatted casually with Lexa as they strode in to Tassels.

Lexa shook her head and opened the door for the girl before they walked in towards the lockers. "I actually stayed at her place."

"You spent the night at Clarke's?" Raven's voice remained calm and collected, but her eyes and grin said everything the other brunette guessed she would say as soon as the words left her mouth.

"It got late after we cleaned and talked for a while. She insisted I stay so I wouldn't have to drive home." She rolled her eyes at Raven's ensuing smirk. "Her sofa was very comfortable." She added as she stuck her tongue out.

"Hey Lex…" Raven was about to tease some more before the girl flipped her off and walked back out towards the main room.

"Shut up, Raven." She smiled in amazement back at her friend, but her reaction sent Lexa on a journey of introspection that had her tripping over herself the entire night.

TBC…

Aha, so we begin to see a flicker of SOMETHING in Lexa with regards to Clarke. Does she know what she feels? Does Clarke? I hope we find out soon...