AN: I hope you guys are still with me. I just realized we're already on Chapter 8. Wow. Ok, so I think we can start to expect some things...all kinds of things...you know. ;-) Sorry for any mistakes. Enjoy!


Stunned blue eyes searched for green ones, but Clarke was out of luck. Lexa's own orbs studied with clear regret the way her fingers were tightly gripped around the blonde's arm.

She retreated immediately as if her hand had touched a flame and urgently shook her head. "I'm sorry."

There was a moment of silence in the room before the blonde shook her head softly. "It's alright." The girl looked at the bartender waiting for her acknowledgment. When Lexa looked up and locked eyes with her, Clarke smiled softly. "We're OK." Nods escaped them simultaneously before the brunette sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry for my behavior. I've had a lot on my mind and it suddenly all caught up with me." She spoke in half-truths, but figured it was best at least for now.

Despite the fact that she was still not convinced, Clarke decided not to push the subject. And with a nod she said as much to the girl opposite of her.

Fortunately, the girls managed to get back into their usual bantering and rhythm the entire night of their shift. Neither one openly said it, but both Clarke and Lexa were grateful for that.

They were so engrossed in their casual teasing that neither girl noticed Anthony the entire night. And when Raven mentioned the neglect, both girls shrugged it off.

"Does anybody want to go to the pool hall?" Bellamy asked in the parking lot at the end of the night.

Several of the group agreed to join, but Clarke and Lexa both decided against it in order to brainstorm for the projects they had each taken on.

When everyone had separated Lexa offered Clarke a ride, like always, and was pleasantly surprised that the blonde conceded without much of a discussion.

"Any new developments on the script?" Clarke asked over the low music that echoed in the car.

Lexa shook her head. "I spent some time on it, but I ended up tossing everything in the trash. It'll come to me." She attempted to sound unconcerned.

The blonde nodded. "I'm sure it will. Is there anything you might need for inspiration?" She asked, not really meaning for it to sound as flirtatious as she realized it sounded.

There was a small chuckle from Lexa before she looked at her for a brief second before looking back to the road. "Like what? Are you offering to be my muse?"

It was a turn the artist saw coming, but still was not prepared for. Her nervousness took over and suddenly she became a stammering teenager. "No. Wait. What."

"Relax, Virginia." The writer laughed and shook her head.

"No, it's not…I mean…" She finally shrugged feeling pathetic for lacking the composure to carry on a conversation that resembled many of their usual banter-filled back and forths. "Everyone needs a muse." She surrendered to the awkwardness with an attempt at a joke.

"While that is true, I'm not sure I'm ready to claim you as mine." She teased hoping to ease the girl's embarrassment. "Besides, you might already be someone else's."

The comment made Clarke do a double take at the girl beside her. Her brows swiftly showing the confusion she felt. "What do you mean?"

"The man in the suit." Lexa had gone there, and though she agreed it was a risky move, she decided to speak casually as if it was all part of her teasing. She grinned without moving her gaze from the road.

"What about the man in the suit?" She prodded.

Lexa shrugged. "He's a renowned gallery owner and curator who often organizes showings in big cities. The people love him. Especially the girls." She paused to grin again. "I'm sure even some men."

"Get out." Clarke dismissed her mockery with a slap to her shoulder.

"It takes vision to pull those together, I'm sure." The brunette continued. "Perhaps he wants you to be his motivation."

"Shut up." The artist shook her head with a small smile, but her heart beat increased at the exchange. Both from the excitement she felt at the easy-going teasing, and because they were finally broaching the subject she had tiptoed towards since they started their shift.

"I'd be careful though. He's a real ladies man." Lexa grinned, but added a hint of seriousness behind her tone.

The car fell silent while Clarke attempted to hide the consternation that bubbled to the surface for the first time since she had arrived in Los Angeles. She had avoided the subject thus far, and was unsure she wanted to go there so soon…at all even. "I'm not interested." Clarke shook her head. "I was someone's muse once and it didn't end so well." She shrugged as she glanced outside and realized they were nearly to her apartment.

Lexa felt several things then. On one hand she was glad because she kept peeling the many layers of the blonde and learned another thing about her. Yet she couldn't help but feel almost sad at the tone she used. Clearly she had lost something special, or what she had presumed was special until it was not. It made the brunette feel protective of the girl beside her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She tread carefully because though she was curious, the last thing she wanted to do was open old wounds for the quiet girl.

There was a small shrug and something that resembled a muffled meh. "Nothing to talk about really. He said I was his one. I believed him. Turns out he had another on the side." Clarke finished and turned to face the girl with an almost devastating expression. Lexa knew it. She had seen it before. It was nothing short of defeated sadness mixed in with a tad of anger.

If Lexa had not been driving, she was sure she would have responded with a snarky remark about the loser before spitting out a cocky one-liner, but she held back and simply nodded.

Much to Lexa's chagrin, she made the final turn to where Clarke lived and slowed the car to a stop. "See you tomorrow."

Clarke nodded quietly with a small smile. "Yes you will. Good night, Lexa. Thanks for the ride…and for listening."

"Anytime."

CLARKECLARKECLARKECLARKECLARKECLARKE

A few days later an incessant buzzing pulled Lexa from deep sleep.

She struggled to locate the unpleasant noise maker in her half-cognizant state, but a stubbed toe and a colorful string of curse words later, she undocked it from its charger.

Groggily she answered into the device, half swearing that if a telemarketer was on the other end she would find them and finish them.

Her blood ran cold and she quickly wished it had been a freaking telemarketer.

It was nearly midnight when her car came to a screeching halt in front of the familiar apartment building. As her eyes reflected the flashing red and blue light flickers her adrenaline pumped faster making her more heated and more worried by the second.

The brunette was quickly approached by a cop as he prepared to stop her from entering the scene. She scanned the area for the one person she needed to see, but failed when he blocked her line of sight. "You guys called me." She never meant to sound as annoyed as she did when the officer stopped her.

"Alexandria Silva?"

Lexa nodded impatiently as she still sought out the blonde's whereabouts. "Is she ok? How bad was it? Did they hurt her? Where is she?" Her mind and mouth raced a million miles per minute, and her heart was not far behind as she shifted on her feet.

Officer Kane, whose name tag she read in a hurry for future reference should he be of no assistance, gave her an empathetic smile before he appeased her with a hand to her shoulder. "Ms. Griffin is fine. She has a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing major. She's really shaken up."

The brunette breathed a sigh of relief as she acknowledged the information. Her eyes finally landed on the girl when the officer moved aside enough to give her access. "What happened exactly?" She questioned as they walked slowly towards Clarke.

"It was a mugging; luckily a couple on bikes frightened the assailants quickly enough to prevent any further escalation. They were the ones who called us." He responded before he ushered her past the line of patrol cars. "Go ahead."

"Thank you, officer." She nodded courteously at him to show her appreciation.

Her head swam with all of the possible scenarios she had been replaying for the past hour, and thanked whoever she could that none had come to fruition. She exhaled to calm herself and become the pillar of support she knew the blonde needed.

When she towered over Clarke who sat on a concrete step with her face in her hands, Lexa's heart broke a little more. She didn't want to startle her, but saw no other option than to make her presence known. So she knelt in front of her and pulled gently on the girl's hands to see her face.

"Hey you." She smiled remorsefully and Clarke sniffled while her eyes reddened instantly at seeing her friend. "You are not allowed a night off anymore."

"I'm sorry they called you so late. I didn't…you were the first name I gave them. I'm sorry." The pair of blue eyes danced around Lexa's face searching for any hint of anger or disappointment.

Lexa released her hands and draped an arm around her as she moved to sit next to her. "Are you kidding? I'm glad they called. I was just worried I was going to need a new hire." The blonde glared at her before she shook her head. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm glad you're ok. If I told you everything I was thinking about on the drive here you would know how freaked out I was." She admitted before she tilted her head to smile at Clarke.

Immediately Clarke felt the relief wash over her and she smiled back while she allowed herself the liberty of leaning on the brunette. She hoped the action wouldn't jar her too much, but she honestly couldn't bring herself to care too much about repercussions just then. The girl's warmth and her supporting embrace made her feel safe and less alone.

They sat in silence for a few moments as they looked around at the patrol vehicles and the several uniforms that readied to leave the scene. Some neighbors had ventured out to peek nosily at the events that unraveled before them, but the girls simply sat grateful that nothing worse had happened.

"So do you want to talk about what happened?" Lexa asked and tightened her arm to let her know she was still with her.

Clarke shrugged resignedly at first, but finally decided to retell the story. "I was walking home from the market around the corner. Class ran long today and I didn't get a chance to go earlier, but I needed groceries." She began. "I didn't even hear them coming, Lexa. They hit me on the head with something, I fell, and they took my phone." She kept talking rather quickly, but Lexa followed along attentively. "I can't stay here tonight. They have my wallet with my ID card. They have my credit card, debit card, my money." The girl finally sighed dismally and threw her head back against the brunette's arm in disbelief. Her eyes straight up at the night sky while she mulled over her options.

There was a pause in the air while most officers pulled away in their squad cars. Officer Kane approached them and asked if there was anything else he could do for Clarke before she shook her head and thanked him. "Lock your doors, Ms. Griffin. Please stay safe." He added before he bid them goodnight.

They watched on as they were left alone on the steps in the mild late night air. Lexa tightened her hold on the girl yet again before she spoke. "My place is available if you'd like." She shrugged hoping the blonde would accept. Not so much because she increasingly wanted to spend every minute with her, but because it would calm her anxiety about the girl's safety if she were under the same roof. "You can take my bedroom, or the sofa, whichever you'd like. It's not a huge place, but it's got room. Plus, it's much closer to Tassels and less away from the chaos of Downtown."

She wanted to look like she was considering it carefully when in all honesty Clarke had made up her mind after Lexa first offered.

It took little to no time for Lexa to figure out that she knew the answer.

Stepping inside past the doorway, Clarke soon realized she was seeing the space for the first time.

When the lights flickered on she smiled because from what she could see, it was entirely Lexa's kind of place. Bookshelves that reached the ceiling separated the dining room from the living room with spines of different heights neatly squeezed together, adding privacy between the rooms. The coffee table was littered with more books, and a solitary laptop sat open on top of the abstract pile of hardcovers. And if Clarke was recalling the smell of a library correctly, the scent of ink filled pages wafting around the apartment came pretty close to it.

"You like books much?" Clarke teased and spared a glimmering glace at the girl who shook her head and rolled her eyes in response. "Thank you again for offering, Lexa. I really do appreciate it." She readjusted her bag over her shoulder and nodded appreciatively at the girl.

"Anytime, Clarke." Lexa replied with a small smile before she broke their eye contact to move further into the space. She pointed in general directions while moving her eyes from each room to the blonde's studious glance. "You can have the sofa or the bedroom. Your choice."

There was a moment of pause from the girl before she replied with a smirk. "The couch will do. I'm scared of what your room might look like. I might be tempted to read in bed or something."

"That would be a travesty given that you only have eyes and hands for a paint brush." The brunette teased back before they both chuckled and situated themselves for what could be a few days of an unusual living arrangement.

TBC…

OK so looks like someone hurt Clarke at some point. I wonder when we'll meet the mystery person...if ever. Who do you guys want/not want it to be? I'm glad Lexa's there to lend an ear and some "protection". Gawd protective Lexa is my favorite. And would you look at that, Clarke staying at Lexa's...this should be fun. Challenge: Not a tough one, what word was used in place of woods/the woods/forest in this chapter?