It had been Clarke's idea to visit her mother that Saturday morning. When she had asked Lexa to come with her, the other girl's eyes were filled with a mixture of horror and eager-to-please. Clarke instantly felt bad for asking, but Lexa had been quick to agree.

Now, sitting around her mother's table, she was regretting asking Lexa at all. It was obvious that the poor girl was miserable. Clarke already knew Lexa had bad anxiety, but she hadn't even thought that bringing the other girl to meet her mom would be pushing it too much until Lexa had already agreed and it was too late. And they had their date that evening with Niylah, which was already nerve wracking enough. Clarke hoped she hadn't ruined that too.

Lexa sat perfectly straight, tight with tension. Her eyes fluttered to and fro, looking everywhere but at Clarke and Abby. Clarke reached out to touch her hand reassuringly, but she flinched hard, causing Clarke to quickly withdraw.

"So," Abby began, sitting across from them at the table. She pushed two mugs of coffee towards the two girls. Lexa took hers quickly, eager for a distraction Clarke assumed as she reached for her own. "You're Clarke's new roommate?"

"I am," Lexa replied, her voice quiet and strained.

Abby smiled warmly. "I'm so glad to meet you," she replied enthusiastically. "Echo never came around, and from what I heard she wasn't the best roommate."

Clarke nearly choked on her coffee. "That's the understatement of the century," she stated, suppressing a shudder as she remembered having Echo as a roommate.

To her relief, she heard a genuine laugh escape Lexa's lips. "Yes, I've heard the horror stories," she replied. "And I sympathize. I had to deal with some... ah... difficult people back in Polis."

Ontari, Clarke realized. She was talking about Ontari without a hint of the trauma Clarke knew lay beneath the surface in her voice. Clarke swallowed a lump in her throat, feeling uneasy as Lexa continued. "It's something we all have to go through at some point in our lives. I'm just glad Clarke and I have found each other now."

Clarke reached under the table and squeezed Lexa's hand, hoping to communicate the mess of emotions she felt inside. Lexa gave her a questioning look before intertwining their fingers. In that moment, Clarke didn't just want Ontari kicked out of school. She wanted to hurt the bitch for every wrong she had done to Lexa.

Abby's eyes were bright as she looked at Lexa. "Well, Lexa, you're welcome here anytime," she said.

The muscles in Lexa's body had relaxed, and she looked much more at ease than when she first arrived. Clarke smiled with relief as she watched Lexa chat with her mom about political science. It was nice to hear Lexa talk about something she loved, Clarke realized.

"It was my escape from the chaos of my life," Lexa said. "All I wanted was a sense of control, and I found that in studying politics. The realm of politics seemed so far away from my daily life that I would often get lost in my studies."

"Clarke was much the same way," Abby replied. "After we lost Jake, Clarke's father, she threw herself into her drawing as a way of expressing her emotion. It was therapeutic in a way."

"I don't know how else I would have gotten through my grief," Clarke admitted. "Luckily, I had an amazing, supportive mother."

Abby blushed slightly as she smiled. "What about your parents, Lexa? Are they still in Polis?"

"My parents died when I was little," Lexa replied with no trace of the sadness that Clarke remembered when Lexa had first told her that. Clarke squeezed her hand again, and Lexa squeezed back. Somehow, Clarke could feel all the pain that Lexa was refusing to communicate to her mother. "I was raised by my aunt and uncle. They're wonderful people, and we talk often."

"And they're supportive of your decision to move to Arkadia?" Abby asked.

Lexa nodded. "Very," she replied. "They knew I needed a fresh start, and I couldn't get that in Polis."

Abby raised her cup of coffee with a light-hearted smile. "Well, here's to fresh starts."

Clarke and Lexa clinked their mugs against Abby's and drank. She glanced over at Lexa and noticed that despite the calm confidence she was exuding, there was a lost look in her eyes. She was stronger than anyone Clarke had ever met with the way she talked about the horrors of her past like they were nothing. But it made Clarke's heart ache that the other girl felt like she had to do that. She shouldn't have to hide the fact that she was hurting from anyone, and especially not from Clarke.

Clarke's mother excused herself to use the restroom. The moment they were gone, Clarke threw her arms around Lexa and pulled her in for a tight hug. Lexa returned the embrace, but she looked up at Clarke with confused eyes. "I- I don't need your pity, Clarke," she stuttered.

"This isn't pity," Clarke replied firmly. "It's love. And it's not going anywhere, so you're just going to have to get used to it."

Lexa nodded hesitantly and leaned into Clarke, who was starting to worry that the girl she had come to love would get scared and run away one day just like she ran from Polis, leaving Clarke in the dust. Lexa appeared strong, but Clarke could see beyond all that, and she was scared.