New chapter time. The big thing I was striving for in this chapter was to further show the dynamic Clarke has with her friends and equally the relationship Lexa has with Anya. However, I also wanted for them to intermingle, since Anya doesn't really know Clarke or her friends that well, and vise versa.

I really hope you enjoy this chapter and feel free to leave me a review and/or private message me with suggestions or feedback. Either are greatly appreciated!

Chapter 5: Girls Night

Lexa had received a text message from Clarke not long after Anya had begun helping her get ready for their "girls night out" adventure, something of a foreign concept to both brunettes. To them, girls night sounded like something older women would call their crochet club or a stuck-up, fancy wording for a girls book club. Not some kind of small get together among best friends at a bar, but they simply shrugged their shoulders and got back to getting Lexa dressed to turn heads.

Anya disapproved of nearly every article of clothing in Lexa's closest, muttering a wise-ass remark to each and every withdrawn piece and why it wasn't 'the right fit'. Just when she thought all hope was lost, Lexa tried on her snug fit, black v-neck tee shirt and Anya perked up.

"That's it right there, Lex," she said, nodding her head solemnly towards the shirt. "You definitely pull off that edgy-punk-rocker look really well, but you wanna wow this girl, right?" She waited a beat, in which time Lexa rolled her eyes, but simply nodded. "That right there is it. A step away from your usual attire, but not so drastically different that it screams 'not you'. I mean, c'mon, it was in your closet, luv. Now throw on a pair of skinny jeans and move the hell over, I'm not driving all the way back to my house just to get changed."

Lexa rolled her eyes once again, a glimmer of humor in them. She snagged a pair of black skinny jeans before moving to where her best friend stood, letting the woman rifle through her closet in search of her own attire for the night.

"Seriously, Lex?" Anya said, throwing her best friend a glare from inside her closet, spotting her favorite band tee shirt shoved all the way on the left hand side among the rest of her shirts. Her best friend didn't bother denying that she had hijacked her shirt, but instead playfully whistled. Anya threw a balled up pair of jeans at her best friend, who ducked gracefully out of the way.

It took Anya about fifteen minutes to find suitable clothes, in which time she found several pieces of her own clothing in her best friend's closet. Guess that was the clear indicator that she hadn't gone out with Lexa anywhere in too long.

"We look hot," Lexa confirmed as she and Anya stood in the body length mirror.

"Tell me something I don't know," Anya joked with a smirk. Her brunette best friend stifled the urge to sarcastically reply, but instead threw a grin at her best friend's reflection and wrapped her arms around the woman for a hug.

"Clllaaaaarrrrkkkkeeee, cooommmmeeee onnnnnn," Raven complained, drawing her voice out for effect, knocking roughly on the bathroom door. "You've been in there too long! A shower does NOT take twelve hours!"

"It hasn't been twelve hours," Octavia replied honestly while she straightened her hair.

"Can it, O," Raven said, whirling around on her heel to glare at the woman before turning her attention back to the white door. "Fuck sake, Clarke, I wanna shower, too, you know! You're taking all the damn hot water!"

"Rae, seriously, she's only been in there for fifteen minut–" Octavia began to point out, trying to curb her best friend's annoyance. Raven was many things, but patient… Not her strongest suit. It was what made the three of them fantastic roommates. Whatever one of them lacked, another had enough gumption to stand in for, like Raven's impatience and Octavia being the voice of reason to said woman's impatience.

"Damn know-it-all," Raven muttered, cutting off Octavia, as she stalked back to the living room, plopping down on the couch because she couldn't begin getting ready until she showered.

"Ow, my feelings, they're bruised!" Octavia quipped, jokingly using her brush as a pretend-shield.

Before Raven had the opportunity to suggest where Octavia could shove her brush, she heard the bathroom door squeak open and Clarke announce that she had finished using it. "Finally, geez!" She said before disappearing into the bathroom.

"Does she seem quirkier than usual?" Clarke asked with a raised eyebrow. Octavia, refusing to be shoved in the middle of a potential roommate quarrel, simply shrugged her shoulders neutrally.

Shrugging her own shoulders, Clarke walked back to her own room and began pillaging through her closet and drawers for something to wear. Unlike the normal girls night out, the blonde wanted to be dressed sexier, hopeful to get the attention of a certain invited brunette.

"Damn, you really do like this chick," Octavia speculated from the doorway, eyeing Clarke going through her drawers and closet half-frantically. She had never seen her best friend seem so unnerved.

The blonde grunted in reply. She didn't want to speak for her voice might betray just how unsteady she truly was. Not that her dismay wasn't already incredible visible. In actuality, she just wasn't sure how to stomach the thoughts and feelings that washed over her at the thought of seeing Lexa again.

The brunette sauntered further into Clarke's room and plopped down on the blonde's bed, studying her feverishly. She remained both quiet and still as a rock, not wanting to rattle the blonde anymore than she clearly already was. Of the three best friends, Clarke was always the anchor that kept them steady, much like a leader is for their people. She had witnessed her best friend shoulder the brunt of many arguments and coax the three of them through so much.

Octavia and Raven jested a lot––and actually that was probably what made the two as close as they were, the amount joking they did––but neither would ever deny the fact that Clarke was the mainstay, that with every ounce of certainty she was what kept them afloat. That single factoid made seeing the blonde all squirrelly even more surreal and reaffirmed how foreign it was to witness firsthand.

Part of her was happy for her best friend, that she was finally in a place where she felt she could try and be happy after all of the loss and torment she seen her go through, but the other half of her was terrified that this Lexa person would be Clarke's undoing. What if this woman, who Clarke is obviously beginning to really develop feelings for, doesn't reciprocate those feelings, or worse, leads her best friend on?

Noiselessly, Octavia left Clarke's bedroom and ambled determinedly into the bathroom where she knew Raven still was.

Of course Raven didn't hear the bathroom door squeak open over the sound of the running shower head, and jumped when she heard someone tap gently on the glass door that separated the shower from the bathroom.

"Holy shit, what the fuck!" Raven exclaimed breathlessly as she pinned her naked body against the back of the cold shower wall. Instinctively she grabbed onto a random bottle of shampoo, intending to use it as a weapon.

"Chill your tits, Rae, it's just me," Octavia said laughingly before adding, "I wanna talk to you without the princess overhearing and you happen to be in a prime spot right here and now."

Raven grumbled inaudible curse words through her gritted teeth, shivering slightly as her body warmed up to the cold shower wall. Octavia was known for being the sneaky ninja of their group, but trespassing when someone is showering? That was a new one. Kind of also implied just how dire the situation was in her brunette best friend's eyes.

"Elaborate," Raven said, clearly interested in what the brunette had to say. She slid the shower glass door open and peeked her head out a little for a glimpse at her brunette best friend, hopeful for any kind of hint at what was about to be discussed. Unfortunately Octavia was facing the bathroom door, obvious to give her best friend privacy, even though she had seen Raven stark naked running to her room before.

Octavia, who hadn't planned a lick of what she was about to say and shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "That girl Clarke invited to girls night, the one she likes, Lexa. It's uh… It's serious, Rae. She's in her room right now tossing it upside down trying to find the perfect outfit to wear. We've known her since we were tikes, you know as well as I that she's never done that before. Ever. Closest to that kind of frantic I've ever seen Clarke was when she had her job interview at Nyko's Books, and that was just her being nervous about getting the job." The brunette paused, mostly to try and get together where she was heading with this bombshell of information.

"I think tonight we need to try and get a feel out for this Lexa chick," Octavia concluded anxiously, putting her fingers on her temples, stressed. She was apprehensive to continue, unsure if she sounded like an overprotective best friend or if her concerns were reasonable. "If whatever Clarke feels isn't reciprocated or, worse, she leads Clarke on… I don't know if she'd recover, Rae, I really don't. You seen how long it took her to get past losing her father and Finn." Bile threatened in the pit of her stomach thinking of the turmoil her best friend went through, the look of utter anguish that resided in her eyes for years. The blonde had thrown herself into her studies, more determined than ever to follow in her mother's footsteps as a doctor, to try and help prevent people from losing their loved ones the way she had lost hers.

Raven listened and mulled over Octavia's words in silence. Pangs of fear billowed in her chest at Octavia's words, the dawning truth behind each syllable spoken. "You're right, O. Tonight we'll make it our mission to get to know Lexa, but I think for Clarke's sake we're going to have to do this subtly. If she gets even the slightest whiff of us trying to poke our noses in this, she'll gut us."

"Agreed," Octavia stated and ran a hand through her hair before changing the subject. "I'll let you get back to showering, just don't sing, you'll cause an earthquake!" Octavia quipped playfully, even though her facial expression showed how worried she was over the situation with Clarke. She was thankful she remained facing the bathroom door so Raven couldn't see her face.

"Just for that I'm going to sing extra loud!" Raven retorted with a faux malicious laugh before shutting the glass door and returning back to her shower. True to her word she sung extremely loud the rest of her shower.

"Nervous?" Anya asked with a raised eyebrow as Lexa paced the length of her house, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Uh-huh," Lexa replied spontaneously, her mind elsewhere. Knowing the blonde she had become captivated with would be there made her beyond 'nervous' of the little get together at the bar, even though said blonde was the one who invited her. What she was feeling was brand new to her, something she never felt in association with a person before, and therefore had absolutely no freaking idea how to handle it.

Anya, who was starting to get a little uneasy herself with Lexa pacing back and bloody forth, launched herself off the couch and strode over to her best friend, putting her arms on her shoulders and forcing their eyes to meet. "Lexa, you gotta pull yourself together, babe." She paused to turn her best friend in the direction of her kitchen before beginning again, "Get a glass of water and talk to me."

Nodding at the advice, Lexa set off to the kitchen, fumbling around her cabinet for a mug to fill with tap water. Her hands were shaking and her breathing was shallow over the lump that had formed in her throat at the thought of trying to put a voice to her concerns. Despite all that, the brunette managed to fill the mug with water and sip it delicately, thinking of how she could express the mass of jumbled words bolting through her head.

Remaining completely mute, Anya watched Lexa fight an internal war. It was clear that she had no idea how to explain what was happening because it was brand new to her. Anya had never seen her best friend blunder over herself over a girl before. In all honesty, she had just drawn the conclusion years ago that her best friend wasn't the type of girl to really do relationships, but instead have a small group of close friends she loved like family. It kind of made the older brunette wonder what it was about this blonde woman, Clarke, that had Lexa in a tizzy.

Going into councilor mode, Anya waltzed over to the kitchen and ushered Lexa to sit at the kitchen table. She took a seat aside her. "I know this is new for you, Lex, but we both know you have to put words to this or you're going to implode." Anya gave her best friend an encouraging smile, putting her hand atop Lexa's.

After losing her parents, Lexa suffered tremendously with panic attacks. It was like her brain was stuttering over so much at once that it seized up and she would pace back and forth trying desperately to rectify the issue. When this happened, Anya would sit her best friend down and talk her through what was happening, basically allow her brain to map out the answers it was unsuccessfully reaching for. Most times it worked wonders, but in more extreme cases, Lexa would, as Anya coined it, implode. She would rock back and forth in her seat with balled fists and unshed tears welled in her eyes, her dangerously on the verge of hyperventilation. It would turn from a brain fart, of sorts, to a full blown panic attack.

Lexa put her head against the wooden table, cool to the touch, and tapped her free hand rhythmically to try and help calm her rapid breathing. Besides tapping her hand, the brunette didn't move for several moments, trying to quell the brewing panic attack and logically sort out what the hell she was feeling.

Many, many minutes later, the brunette lifted her head from the table. Her eyes met Anya's, who was still staring at her, concern in her features. With a barely audible sigh, Lexa whispered, fear laced in her words, "I don't know how to feel about this, Ayn."

"I know, Lex," Anya replied softly, her voice calming and soothing. She squeezed her best friend's hand, wishing she could curb the woman's fears, even slightly. It was more and more apparent by the second that she had already begun falling for the blonde, Clarke. She only hoped Clarke was feeling similarly or at least not mean enough to lead Lexa on, otherwise her best friend might not be able to recover. As it was she was barely hanging on most days. "Baby steps, okay? First, we'll find out if she likes women, okay? Don't get ahead of yourself or invested or anything, just take it as it comes." She hoped her friend would listen to what was said.

"What if she's not?" Lexa asked, her voice cracked a little at the end. The brunette cleared her throat in attempts to downplay her pitchy voice and took a deep breath to steady herself further. She knew the answer to the question, even as she asked it, but didn't want to believe that she was starting to really like someone who could possibly be straight. Wouldn't that just be her fucking luck?

"Baby steps," Anya reminded her best friend with a stern, motherly look on her face. It was the type of facial expression that Lexa always cracked up to, and this time was no exception, as the brunette got one glance at Ayn's face and a wide smile lit her face before she started giggling.

"Baby steps," the brunette agrees with a slight nod. She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breathes before raising from the chair. "We better get going if we want to meet up with them on time."

As the two headed towards Lexa's car, Anya popped the address into her phone's GPS and chattered normally the entire drive to Jahas.

Octavia and Raven critically examined a nervous Clarke in the backseat of Octavia's car the entire drive to Jahas. They tried to include her in conversation like normal, but the blonde was in her own little world, the wheels could practically be heard turning in her head.

Eventually the two left Clarke alone to give her space and began talking about work. Raven, Octavia, and Bellamy owned and ran an auto repair shop, Arkadia. Raven and Bellamy did most of the mechanical end of things, while Octavia managed the books and kept up a good rapport with customers. On occasion when they were short staffed, the book-managing brunette would make an entrance and help out, but it wasn't as much her forte as it was her business partners.

"We're here," Octavia said as she parked, trying to get Clarke's attention. She nudged her arm at Raven, silently asking her to take over getting Clarke out of Lala Land.

"Hey, princess, we're here," Raven tried, her voice a bit louder than Octavia's was. When that didn't get the blonde's attention, Rae let out an abrasive whistle that made everyone in the car besides herself jump and garnered another, more forceful, nudge and several colorful curse words from Octavia.

"Holy cow, why'd you do that?" Clarke asked, her body still in panic mode from being shocked into reality.

"You were drooling on Octavia's seats," Raven quipped playfully before sobering up. "We're here." She stopped herself from going on about how Clarke had been in her own head.

The three left the car and entered Jahas, immediately greeted by familiarity. Wells Jaha, the bartender, spotted them and waved enthusiastically. Wells met the three ladies in high school after he was transferred newly to the school. They were kind, welcoming, and brought him into the fold of their clique without passing judgement on him. For a short time he had a big crush on Octavia, but she didn't see him that way–hell, she probably didn't even know about that crush.

Spotting Wells, all three drifted to the bar, smiles on their faces at seeing their friend. He knew that Jahas was their place of choice for girls night, which happened usually a handful of times a month, depending on how badly the three needed a night away.

"Girls night?" Wells asked with a smirk, grabbing three glasses and preparing each of the three with their usual order. Like clockwork they nodded in unison and beamed grins at Wells as he placed their drinks in front of them.

"This is why I love Jahas," Raven hummed as she sipped her whiskey neat.

"The alcohol or that I know your order?" Wells replied with humor.

"Both," Raven admitted sheepishly and took another swig of her drink.

"Oh God, they're here," Clarke said in an antsy voice. She had been looking at the bar's entrance since they arrived, nervously awaiting the moment she would see Lexa again. She knocked back her beer quickly hoping it would act as liquid courage. Timidly, she waved to Lexa, who spotted them and waved back, a smile on her face. Clarke practically had a heart attack at the sight of the brunette smiling at her. Before she second guessed herself, the blonde felt herself asking Wells, "Another beer, please." Wells took her glass and filled it up again.

"The blonde, right?" Anya asked as they headed towards the bar and her best friend nodded her head slightly. She glanced at the blonde, who looked like Lexa's equal in nervousness, and she couldn't help but grin. It was easy to see that Clarke apparently liked Lexa just as much. Perhaps it would end well.

She didn't say anything to her best friend, however. Lexa was a ball of nerves and likely barely listening. Plus, why ruin the mutual awkwardness and nervousness the blonde and her best friend would have? Additionally she wanted a chance to kind of subtly interrogate the blonde, ensure she was full of good intentions.

Lexa's breath was hitched in her throat looking at what Clarke was wearing, trying so hard not to trip on her feet or spontaneously die of anxiousness. When she and Anya approached the bar, the brunette noticed the woman she helped Clarke haul inside, Raven, smiling at her. She assumed the one squashed between Raven and Clarke was Octavia, who was in deep conversation with the bartender, they looked like they were familiar with one another.

"Uhm, hi," Lexa said shyly when they approached the three girls at the bar. Her breath was still caught in her throat, her eyes taking in every inch of Clarke's attire. She forced a smile to her face, which probably looked really lopsided.

"Hey," Clarke said breathlessly, noticing the green eyed brunette eyeing her up and down. A slight blush crept up her neck and she tried to busy herself to get it dissipate. "This is Octavia," she nodded her head to the woman sitting next to her, "and I'm sure you remember Raven," she smirked and Raven shook her head, a playful smile on her own face.

"Good to see you conscious, Raven," Lexa quipped and held out her hand formally. Then, she turned her attention to Octavia, who had halted her conversation with the bartender and was nodding a hello her way and holding out her hand for it to be shaken like with Raven. "Good to meet you, Octavia."

"Likewise," Octavia replied curtly, then heard Wells clear his throat slightly. She knew he was curious because they had never, ever invited anyone to the trio girls night. "This wonderful bartender here is Wells. We went to high school with him. Wells, this is Clarke's friend, Lexa."

The tall man held out his hand to Lexa, a warm and friendly smile on his face, "It's nice to meet you, Lexa."

"Likewise, Wells. And this is my best friend, Anya," she shifted aside so Ayn could inch herself closer and put her arms on her best friend's shoulders as if showing her off for show-and-tell.

Anya greeted each of them individually as Lexa had, but her eyes lingered on Clarke, sizing the woman up and trying to gage a reaction out of her. She could see the blonde was intimidated by being glared at, so she softened her composure and smiled warmly at her. Just because she was protective of her best friend didn't mean she shouldn't be civil towards the woman, especially if she wanted to try and figure out where this woman stood with her best friend and what her intentions were.

"Do you ladies want something to drink? On the house," Wells asked, noticing a tension.

"Sure, I'll take a beer please," Anya replied with a smile.

"Just soda for me, thanks," Lexa responded. As bad as she wanted some liquid courage, she knew she was going to be the designated driver between her and Anya. She would just have to manage the get together sober.

"Jaha, while you're at it, I'll take another beer," Clarke pipped enthusiastically, downing the little bit of beer left in her glass. He rolled his eyes at her hearing his last name, but took her glass and filled it back up.

"So, how often do you three do these girls nights?" Anya asked, trying to get a conversation going. She could sense that Lexa was beginning to fall into a pit of panic again with Clarke's best friends glaring at her as she had with Clarke. It became more apparent that Clarke's companions had intentions of trying the same thing she wanted to do with Clarke, so she devised a plan. Instead of talking to the blonde and probably scaring her or making her squirm, she would just talk to her two best friends, who seemed equally as loyal to Clarke as Anya was to Lexa. Perhaps they could all be on the same page.

"Couple times a month. More or less," Octavia replied, but her attention was mostly still on Lexa.

"Sounds fun," Anya answered respectfully before spotting a dart board on the other side of the bar. A sly grin lit her face before she added, "Octavia, Raven, would you care to join me for darts?" She hoped they would understand that she wanted to give her best friend and Clarke some privacy, but also get themselves all on the same page.

Intuitively, Raven glanced at Anya. When their eyes met, Anya nodded her head slightly towards the dartboard, a pleading look on her normally stoic face. Something about it made her nod and grab ahold of Octavia's arm and drag her away towards the dartboard.

Octavia, unhappy about being taken away from her spot as Clarke's body guard, huffed and balled her fist. "What the fuck, Rae?" She sneered in her best friend's ear, clearly not getting the reason she was being dragged away. The brunette relaxed the tension in her shoulders and unballed her fists, pulling up an impassive mask on her face. She wouldn't crack, not around a complete stranger.

"Let's hear her out, O," Rae suggested, ushering her friend forward. They were far behind Anya, who was nearly at the other side of the bar where the dartboard was.

The moment all three of them reached their destination, Anya whirled around and faced the two women. "Look, let's not beat around the bush here. You two are clearly as protective of Clarke as I am of Lexa." She paused a moment, as she hadn't considered what to say beyond that, but instead just asked the question that loomed in her mind. "Clarke likes Lexa, doesn't she?"

Raven and Octavia glanced at one another, having a short, silent discussion as whether to admit to Anya's question. Octavia looked closer to a no, but in the end sighed and shrugged her shoulders and Raven remained nodded her head. They turned their attention back to Anya.

"She does," Raven said cautiously, wry that Anya would dash back to her best friend with the information. They weren't in grade school anymore, but it didn't stop Rae's skepticism.

Anya couldn't help but find herself smiling, reveling in the fact that Clarke and Lexa both liked one another. When Clarke's friends stared, stupefied and confused, at her random smile, the brunette's smile intensified. The pieces were falling into place. She busied herself by grabbing the darts attached to the dartboard, standing some paces away. They had to at least look like they were trying to play darts.

Before she lined herself up to throw her dart, she turned her attention to the two brunettes, "Lexa likes Clarke, too." Those four words made Anya's smile contagious, as both Raven and Octavia grinned and glanced over at their best friend, before turning their attention fully on the game of darts Anya had ushered them over for.

"How about we make this interesting," Raven suggested, "loser buys the next round of drinks?"

Anya and Octavia glanced at one another and reluctantly nodded. "Deal," they both eventually said in unison. Little did they know, Anya was damn good at throwing darts.

Octavia held her own, going neck-and-neck with Anya. Eventually Ayn inched her out by just a bit, but Raven was bumbling way behind, not hitting the center mark even once. Raven ended up buying the next round of drinks begrudgingly.

"It appears they're getting along," Lexa observed, her eyes briefly torn away from the beautiful blonde to see her best friend communicating with Clarke's best friends. At first Anya's demeanor appeared hard and inflexible, but after a short exchanged conversation, she seemed to soften. The ghost of a smile lit the corner of her lips seeing her best friend interact with the blonde's friends thereafter, it seemed natural.

"I'm glad. I was a little afraid that they'd eat Anya alive," Clarke replied with slight sarcasm before the wall holding her composure in place faltered and she found herself chuckling a little while she took another swig of her third beer. She was already beginning to feel a bit tipsy. "They're amazing, but they're really protective of me, and they know this is all new for me." The blonde blurted out, not really taking into consideration the ramifications of her words.

"How do you mean?" Lexa asked gently, not wanting to do anything to stop Clarke's moment of openness. The brunette didn't know that Clarke was in on her third beer, not her second, or that she usually stopped after a beer to a beer and a half on girls night.

Clarke's eyes widened as it abruptly hit her, what she said. How she all but openly admitted to liking the brunette in front of her. She choked on the beer she was in the middle of sipping and struggled to think of a way to backpedal from the territory she accidentally launched herself into.

"Uh…" Is all the blonde managed to say, her face crimson red. She internally debated with herself on what to do. Shrug it off as if it didn't happen and vainfully hope she goes along with dropping it? No, not when a bomb that massive was dropped, there's no ignoring that. Feign being drunk? Eh, if anymore beer were consumed she would be on the fast track to making that one come true, and who knows how much she could refrain from admitting then. Fess up, be boldly honest? God, how would she ever get the words out of her mouth?

"I…I meant…That I, ugh…" Clarke struggled and slumped over a bit, putting her head on the bar-table before mustering up the strength. Now or never, Griffin, she thought to herself. "I like…like you," the blonde admitted, feeling childish using such a youthful term to confess her desire for the brunette.

Lexa couldn't believe her ears, she hoped to figure out if the blonde was into women or not by the end of the night, but a full frontal confession of that magnitude? Wow. Ignoring the fact that she stuttered over nearly every word and her cheeks turned a particularly beautiful shade of red, the brunette felt her heart soar to great heights at the uncovered information.

The brunette leaned over, closer to Clarke– whose head was still slouched against the bar-table. She laid her head down just like Clarke's and made sure she could see the blonde's face as she replied softly, "I like-like you, too."

She heard Lexa's confession and her breath hitched in her throat. They were only inches apart, both of their heads awkwardly on the bar-table. She found herself searching the brunette's eyes for any indication that she was lying, but all she seen staring back at her was honesty and desire.

That's all for this chapter, folks. Please let me know what you thought, I live for reviews on the story :)

Also, I've been debating whether or not to go forth with making a couple of short Clexa stories that take place sometime during the TV show. What do you think, would you read something like that?