Notes: Once again, my sincerest thanks to my friend Sally who makes this story better by asking questions and fixing my errors. I also blame her for the length of this chapter because her questions resulted in an additional 2000 words thereabouts. Also to my wife who is patient with me when I consistently ask if she has read the rough draft of my chapter yet.
It was only a matter of seconds, but it felt like years to Clarke as she stared into Lexa Woods' eyes before mentally shaking herself. Covering her embarrassment by clearing her throat, Clarke moved forward and shook the other girl's outstretched hand. Clarke looked at their hands when they clasped together, and she couldn't help but notice how tanned and slim the hands were, how delicate they looked, but also how strong the grip was, and the firm calluses on the palm encased in her own.
It set her hand ablaze.
"It's nice to meet you, Clarke," Lexa said.
Clarke glanced up at penetrating eyes and away again quickly before stammering, "It's...it's nice to meet you too."
Clarke suddenly realized she was still holding onto Lexa's hand and quickly dropped it, her hand recoiling like she had touched fire. Maybe she had. It sure felt like she had.
What the hell is going on?
Clarke glanced up at the girl again. Lexa looked at her quizzically, one brow raised in question, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Clarke quickly looked away again and stammered "Have a...have a great game. Good luck." She bolted away from Lexa Woods and Gustus with as much dignity as she could muster.
'What the hell,' Clarke thought frantically. 'What the bloody hell was that?' She could still feel the weight of that green gaze on her own. She thought she saw something in the girl's eyes when their gazes first locked, but it was gone so swiftly that Clarke had no idea what it might have been. Or if she had even seen it all. Clarke looked down at her hand, still bare, her glove still tucked under her arm. She could still feel the heat of Lexa's palm burning into her own and the pressure of those slim fingers wrapped around the back of her hand. What. The. Hell. Clarke internally cursed as she skated back to her bench, climbed in and flopped down, bending to re-tie her skate laces while she tried to get control of both her emotions and her expression.
Lexa and Gustus watched Clarke skate quickly away and then turned to each other. Gustus looked at Lexa with a small smirk on his lips, and Lexa raised an eyebrow at her uncle.
"Looks like you made quite a first impression," he said to her, his smirk turning into a grin.
"Shut up, Gustus." Lexa skated away to join her team in the opening cheer. Gustus' grin stayed plastered on his face as he began readying for the game ahead. He shook Coach Kane's hand, they exchanged pleasantries and wished each other luck before Kane headed back to his bench.
As Lexa skated back to her team's net for the game cheer, she was preoccupied. When Clarke's vivid blue eyes had met hers, there was a flash of recognition there for Lexa. She felt as if she knew this girl, had always known this girl. Not to mention the spark and the tingle of electricity that had shot up her arm when they clasped hands.
Lexa had felt thunderstruck. It had taken every ounce of control she had not to gasp when their hands met. It was a good thing Clarke had been looking down when it happened, or she most certainly would have seen how her eyes had widened. Lexa was also hyper aware of how long Clarke had held onto her hand, but admittedly, she had made no effort to let go either.
There was something else as well, something Lexa couldn't put her finger on, but it niggled away at the back of her mind, distracting her. She thought back to the game she had seen between the Arkers and the Ice Nation a couple of weeks ago. Lexa couldn't see Clarke's face clearly while she played; she had no idea her hair was so wavy and golden or her eyes so incredibly blue, but she also couldn't take her eyes off her. Lexa had been captivated by the way Clarke had played and led her team on the ice. She shook her head and decided to contribute her eerie sense of familiarity to having seen Clarke on the ice before.
Lexa skated up to her team and led them in the cheer "Go! Fight! Win! On three. One, two three…" she yelled, with her team yelling loudly after her.
She could hear the opposing team banging their sticks on the ice, faster and louder before the Arkers yelled out as a group "Goooooooooo Arkers!" as they raised their sticks in the air.
A few minutes later the ice was clear, the glass replaced, and the starting lineups had been called out by the officials. Clarke had pulled herself together, refocusing her energy and her mind, ready to lead her team to victory. She stepped onto the ice with the rest of her starting lineup; Octavia on her right, Raven on her left, with Fox and Monroe pairing up on defense, and they skated to center ice for the opening face-off.
It came as no surprise to Clarke that when she looked at the starting lineup for the Grounders, that Lexa was also playing center. She avoided looking at the other girl and instead set herself up for the face off, popping her mouth guard out and chewing on the edge before popping it back in with her tongue. It was a nervous habit and one she wasn't conscious of at the time, but she'd replaced enough mouth guards that she was at least aware that she did it.
She lined up with her feet shoulder width apart and bent at the waist. She grasped her stick low, using a backhand grip on her lower hand for more power, and focused on the puck in the hand of the referee. Lexa bent down into position as well and just before the puck dropped, whispered lowly enough that only Clarke could hear, "Good luck."
Clarke glanced up to see Lexa's attention on the puck, and at that very moment, the puck dropped from the referee's hand. Lexa won the draw easily.
Dammit! Clarke silently cursed and turned to follow the play after only a brief hesitation. As she worked to catch up and get back into a defensive position, she watched Lexa carry the puck into Clarke's defensive zone. Lexa was smooth and graceful. Her head was up, and she continually glanced left and right for her teammates. The puck seemed glued to her stick as she moved through the zone effortlessly.
Clarke dug into the ice harder and came up behind the Grounder captain. One more powerful stride and Clarke was just slightly behind the other girl. She quickly lifted Lexa's stick, ducked under her slightly raised arm, and scooped the puck away. She peeled quickly into a tight 180-degree turn and headed toward the other end.
"Yeah, Clarke!" she heard from her teammates both on the bench and those on the ice as she raced down the ice. She caught a glimpse of Octavia streaking past her on the right and fired the puck to her with a beautiful tape-to-tape pass. She then pumped her legs even faster to try to get in front of the Grounder goalie, to set up a screen and block her view from any potential shot.
Octavia flew down the right-hand side of the ice, dropped the puck back to Monroe, and circled in front of the net with Clarke. Monroe passed across to Fox, who hit Raven trailing across the blue line a moment later. Raven took the pass and one-timed it towards the net, flat on the ice so that a teammate could easily tip it into the net.
Clarke felt the goalie's stick poke her in the back of the legs and then a body pushed against her from behind. She fought to keep her feet and her stick on the ice as she watched Raven's shot come in. Just as Clarke was reaching for the puck to deflect it and change the angle, she found herself face first on the ice, having been dumped unceremoniously by the player behind her. The puck bounced into the goalie's glove hand, the whistle blew, and Octavia was immediately in the face of the player that had dumped Clarke, yelling.
"What the hell!"
Clarke pulled herself up off the ice and stepped in between her best friend and the other player. "It's okay, O. I was off balance, there's no call. Settle down." Octavia grumbled a bit more but backed off, and it was only as Clarke turned to skate back to the faceoff dot that she realized the player that had dumped her was Lexa. They locked eyes and Lexa gave Clarke a quick nod, which Clarke returned before they lined up.
This time, Clarke won the faceoff straight back to Fox who wired a shot that hit the goalie in the left pad. The puck bounced straight out, and Clarke managed to get around Lexa with a quick spin to pounce on the rebound. Clarke fired the puck towards the net with a flick of her wrist that beat the Grounder goalie on the low glove side. The puck buried in the back of the net and the Grounder goalie slammed her stick on the ice in frustration.
The Arkers erupted in cheers; Clarke and her line skated back to their team bench where they all got high fives before taking a seat as the second line took to the ice. Clarke glanced up at the clock and realized they had only been on the ice for just over two minutes, but it had felt much longer. The game was already moving at a very quick pace, and they were going to have to keep their shifts to under two minutes from now on if they wanted to stay fresh enough to be on top of their game for a full 60 minutes.
Lexa and her line headed to their bench as well, and once there, Gustus gave Lexa a squeeze on the shoulder. "Not much you could do about that one, I'm afraid," he said.
"I shouldn't have let her get around me," Lexa replied tightly.
Gustus let out a short bark of laughter before leaning down to Lexa's ear saying "Well, that's something you're going to notice about Clarke Griffin. She will always do what you think she shouldn't be able to. Forget knowing when to quit - she doesn't know how to quit. She's also really competitive and stubborn. Like someone else I know," he added under his breath.
Lexa tightened her lips and readied herself for her next shift.
The rest of the period was uneventful, both sides trading shots that both goalies stopped. The second period began with the score: Arkers 1, Grounders 0.
As Clarke lined up for the start of the second period, she noticed that Lexa's line wasn't the one lining up. It was the second line. What is Gustus up to? She thought, before looking over to Octavia and shooting her eyebrows up. Octavia nodded quickly before taking a quick step back from the faceoff circle and the opposing player checking her. Clarke looked at Raven, and the same silent communication passed between them.
The Grounders second line was not as talented as Lexa's first line, just as the Arkers second and third lines were not as talented as Clarke's top line. Generally, the second and third lines were not as fast as the players on the top lines, nor quite as skilled in regards to skating and passing. All the girls were talented of course, or they wouldn't be playing Division 1 hockey, and for the most part, the differences in the lines were not that evident. However, Clarke knew that her line was faster than the line they were currently up against, what's more, she knew Gustus knew it too, which was why she was confused.
The whistle blew, and the puck dropped. Clarke won it after a very brief struggle, pushing the puck between the other center's legs and then hopping around her, while she was off balance, to pick it up. Raven and Octavia were already on their way. Clarke fired another perfect pass to Raven's waiting stick. The two girls flew into the offensive zone, leaving their slower counterparts behind them. The defender on Raven's side fell while trying to turn to keep up with her, so there was only one defender trying to stop the both of them.
Clarke followed, skating in the trailer position. Raven dropped the puck for Clarke who sent it immediately to Octavia. She picked up the pass easily, faked the goalie to the left, before burying the puck in the right side of the net, just barely squeaking it between the goalie's skate and the post. Once again the Arkers team erupted, and the girls skated back to the bench for a round of high-fives. Clarke's line sat down and the Arker's second line skated onto the ice to line up for the center ice face-off.
Clarke quickly realized that Lexa's line was now out against the Arker's second line. It didn't take long to tell that the Grounder's top line was also much faster than the Arkers currently on the ice and Clarke watched as Lexa spun away from one check after another before passing to her winger and heading to the net. The winger let a shot go, and Lexa was unmovable as she stood her ground to deflect the pass past Harper. Just like that, the game was 2-1.
The Arker's next line went on, but Lexa's line did not come off, and Clarke finally realized what Gustus was doing. Clarke looked back at a frowning Kane, knowing he wouldn't match lines – not yet. As she thought he would, he let the line stand, as their team had always been about fair playing time.
As the game got underway, it took less than a minute for Lexa to find the back of the Arkers' net again and all of a sudden the game was tied. The game continued, the defensive plays at both ends got more intense, and both teams failed to score for the remainder of the period. As the seconds ticked off the clock and the second period came to an end, the score was tied 2-2.
Clarke and her team made their way to their locker room talking quietly amongst themselves. Clarke was pleased that there was no negativity in the discussions she overheard, just ideas of how to do better. Once inside the room, they all took a seat on the bench and pulled off their helmets and gloves, thirstily squirting water into their mouths from upended water bottles. As Clarke looked around the room, she noticed the red, sweaty faces of her teammates, and the look of determination in their eyes and it made her heart warm. Sitting next to her, Raven pulled out a towel from her bag and hastily began wiping the sweat that was dripping down the sides of her face and into her eyes.
"God, this game is intense," she huffed as she continued to wipe the sweat off the back of her neck and then moved to wipe the condensation on the visor portion on the upper half of the face shield on her helmet.
"You're telling me," stated Octavia from the other side of Clarke. "I haven't worked this hard in ages!"
Clarke looked at both of them before replying. "It's good though, don't you think? They're really pushing us. We haven't had to try this hard in a long time. Playing like this will only make us better, I think."
"Oh, I agree – entirely," Raven piped up. "I just wish it didn't hurt so much," she added with a grimace.
Clarke and Octavia both chuckled at their friend before settling into silence as their coach entered the room.
Kane gave them all a pretty serious pep talk during the break, about sticking to checks and staying in position. Then he said "What do you all want to do about their first line? I know we decided on equal playing time, and I will honor that if you all want me to. Or, we could match lines so that our best is out when their top line is." He looked around the room and met all the girl's gazes one by one. The silence was broken only by an occasional cough and the sound of hockey pants shifting on the wooden benches.
"Match lines, Coach," Emori, a third line winger offered when it seemed the silence would stretch on. The rest of the girls nodded along, some also echoing Emori's statement.
"As captain, are you okay with that, Clarke?" Kane asked.
"If the girls are okay with it, then so am I," Clarke replied. "Let's go get our lead back!" she added to the rest of her team.
The girls all shouted out their approval and encouragement, and they headed back to the ice for the start of the third and final period.
The third period began the same way the first period did, minus the soft 'good luck' from Lexa. Clarke glanced up at her as they settled into their positions, but Lexa was looking at the referee's hand with a determined expression on her face. Clarke thought it was cute and immediately wondered where the hell that thought came from. She shook her head and focused on the puck as it dropped to the ice.
Lexa won this draw and practically ran over Clarke in the process. Clarke hit the ice with a grunt, and immediately got back up and into the play. The shift was intense, both lines playing on the edge, without being dirty. The Grounders were fierce, with Lexa yelling out orders like a general and the rest of the line doing exactly as she said. The Arkers were more subtle in their voices and mannerisms, but still looked to Clarke for direction and were just as quick to respond to her.
The shift ended in less than two minutes, which felt more like five to the girls on the ice. They got back to the bench huffing for air and squeezing water into their mouths. In what seemed like seconds, Kane was ordering them back out to match up with the top Grounder line once again.
The following shifts for the top line of the Arkers seemed to blend together. More than once they found themselves flat on the ice or taken heavily into the boards. Taking a player into the boards was always risky regarding whether it resulted in a penalty or not, and it seemed as though the referees in this game were willing to let the girls play. As long as sticks didn't come up across the back of a player as they went in, elbows didn't come anywhere near an opposing player's head; if the defending player didn't take a run at the player they were attempting to check or leave their feet when they made contact, and hands stayed on their own sticks, the refs let it go.
It wasn't that both teams didn't move a bit faster into the boards to make more of an impact, or that they made any more effort to slow down as they went in, but they both teams checked from the side rather than from behind. The loud bangs and crashes against the boards were more to do with both players hitting at once than because one player was hit too hard. It was more exhausting to try to work their way out of those situations once pinned on the boards than the actual hit itself.
It was the most grueling game the Arkers had ever played, but they were giving as good as they were getting and the score of the match didn't change. There were a couple of penalties called when play got a bit too rough and tempers got a bit too high, but for the most part, they played well and kept their checks clean.
Both teams were enjoying the battle of the captains. Clarke and Lexa faced off against each other again and again, both winning their fair share of faceoffs and both getting in their share of licks and bumps to all other members of the opposing lines. They were both playing better than either had ever played before in their lives. The moves they were making were breathtaking and more than once the tide almost turned in each teams' favor. However, the goalies at both ends of the rink were also putting in masterful performances, determined to give their team a chance to win.
More than once, Clarke thought she was in the clear, only to have Lexa appear out of nowhere and strip her of the puck, causing Clarke to switch to defense and backcheck like crazy immediately. On several occasions, Lexa would be skating down the ice near the boards and suddenly feel herself mashed against the semi-forgiving glass before realizing that it was Clarke who had managed to bump her off the puck enough to lose control and for Clarke to skate away with it.
Both girls found themselves battling the other for position in front of the nets, and pinned into the corner of the rink trying to dig the puck out of their skates to take the advantage. The battles were intense, neither wanting to relinquish anything to the other. They had to earn every possession, as neither knew how to give up.
On one impressive play, Lexa had managed to make it into the Arkers' defensive zone, still in full control of the puck. One of her wingers ran interference on Monroe and effectively took her out of the defensive play. Fox on the other side of the ice was busy guarding the other winger so that Lexa wouldn't have a pass across. Raven and Octavia were left near the points at the blue line preventing a potential drop pass to the defense, which left Clarke as the last line of defense before Lexa could reach Harper.
Clarke's eyes narrowed as she watched Lexa approach her at full speed, keeping her eyes on Lexa's hips instead of her shoulders. Shoulder fakes could fool you: a dip here, a quick drop there to throw you off stride. The hips though, it's almost impossible to fake with those. Where your hips go, the rest of you tends to follow, so it was there that Clarke focused her attention.
Lexa tried a few moves, but Clarke stayed right with her, backing up a few steps as Lexa moved in and then slowing down so that she could meet Lexa on the next move. She timed it perfectly and stepped into Lexa's next move, making sure to keep her stick low and on the ice, but raised her hands slightly on her stick so that she was pushing against Lexa's hip and waist to slow her down. She effectively stood Lexa up, and the puck slid harmlessly towards Harper who covered it quickly with her glove hand, getting a whistle and stopping the play.
Clarke backed away from Lexa at the whistle, but not before hearing the taller girl huff slightly and mumble "great defense" under her breath. Clarke lowered her head before quirking her lips into a small smile before she skated back to her bench for the shift change.
With less than two minutes left in the game, the top lines came on again for what would most likely be the last time. As they lined up, Lexa glanced up at Clarke and noticed a drop of sweat run down her face to the tip of her nose. Mesmerized, Lexa watched as the drip fell from Clarke's face onto the ice where it instantly froze, before she was forced to stand up quickly to readjust her position and get herself together before the referee could drop the puck.
The next two minutes were intense. There were another couple of close calls at the Arker's end, Harper practically standing on her head with her acrobatics at one point to keep multiple rebounds out of the net, and one incredible chance off of Raven's stick in front of the Grounder's goalie. After Raven had accepted a perfect pass from Clarke, she managed to bank the puck off the boards around her defender before she picked up the puck again and let loose a wicked shot to the high blocker side, only just missing putting the puck in under the crossbar. It hit the bar with a resounding metallic 'ping' instead, indicating, for everyone to hear, how close it had been. Every single girl played as hard as she could, going harder than she had ever gone before; leaving everything on the ice. However, time wound down, and the buzzer went off with the score still tied 2-2.
The teams poured out of the benches and headed to their respective goalies. High-fives and back slapping were the norm after a hockey game, but today it was even more boisterous, more energetic. Clarke felt alive – tired, but so alive. She knew they had played well and she was very proud of her team. The group cheered for the Grounders, and they headed to center ice to shake hands. Clarke let the rest of her team go ahead of her so that she brought up the rear. As the two teams moved past each other shaking hands, their gloves tucked up under an arm or held loosely in the other hand; she was pleased to hear the genuine sentiment behind both teams 'good game' as they shook hands.
"That was quite a game, hey, O?" Clarke quietly said in between nods and handshakes with the other team.
Octavia had been at the front of the line and had circled back to Clarke so that they could thank the referees together.
"Yeah, it was intense, but I really enjoyed it. Who knew we could play like that? Who knew you could play like that?" she side-glanced at Clarke. "Where did that come from?" she teased.
"I have no id..." the words caught in Clarke's throat as her outstretched hand was grasped again, but, this time, she felt an electric tingle move through her palm and up her arm. She snapped her head around to see Lexa Woods' eyes boring into hers through the visor of her helmet, emerald green and brilliant. Clarke's mouth again went dry, and she barely registered the slight squeeze on her hand and the quiet "Great game, Clarke," that issued from Lexa's lips.
She bit down on her lip, nodded slightly and added just as quietly "You too."
She stared at Lexa for a heartbeat more before a not-so-discreet cough cut through the silence. Clarke once again quickly disengaged her hand and turned to a smirking Octavia.
"Uh, sorry, O. Octavia, this is Lexa Woods. I think you became acquainted with her once or twice against the boards earlier," Clarke said with a grin.
"Very funny, Clarke," Octavia shot back before looking at Lexa and offering her hand. "We probably already did this, but this time, at least, it's a proper introduction," Octavia said to the other girl with a smile. "That was a great game; I enjoyed it a lot."
"It really was," Lexa returned, looking again at Clarke.
Clarke returned the stare for a moment before Octavia interrupted with a nudge to Clarke's side looking to the far side of the ice, "Shoot, Clarke, we didn't thank the refs. Let's go. Bye Lexa, thanks again for the great game," she added with a nod to the other girl and grabbed Clarke's arm and yanked her toward the departing referees. Clarke, usually very assured on her skates, stumbled slightly with the quick and unexpected change of direction, and Lexa shot out a hand to steady her. Clarke sucked in a sharp breath as Lexa's hand settled firmly around her forearm, but she pulled it back quickly as Clarke regained her balance.
"Thanks," Clarke breathed.
"No problem," Lexa returned softly.
"Um, I better go catch up," Clarke said as she motioned to the departing Octavia. Lexa just nodded quickly, and Clarke started to skate away but then stopped and turned back. Looking back and forth quickly between the ice and the woman standing in front of her, she said hesitantly, "Hey. We, our team I mean, always head out to the pizza joint after a game, you... and your team," she added quickly, "are welcome to join us if you like."
Clarke wasn't sure why she invited the other team, it wasn't something she had done before, and so she chalked it up to the holiday spirit, and the excessive amount of decorations adorning the rink. She tried to convince herself that it was not because she wanted to get to know Lexa Woods better.
Lexa nodded again and said she'd ask her team, so Clarke skated away from Lexa and caught up with Octavia in time to thank the officials before they left the ice surface. Lexa watched her go and made her way over to her team bench to collect her water bottle and extra sticks. Gustus was still there, waiting for her, and handed her the water bottle which she quickly upended, squirting the remaining water into her mouth and over her face. As she brought the bottle back down, she met Gustus' twinkling eyes and saw the barely suppressed amusement dancing there. Lexa glared at her uncle and growled, "What?"
"What, what?" he replied with a shrug, his face twitching in his effort to suppress his smile.
"Just say what you want to say," Lexa shot back tightly.
Gustus shrugged again before finally releasing the smile that had been tugging at his lips, "I told you they'd be a match for you," he chortled. "I told you that this team was different than the others we've played so far. There's a reason they're the defending champions."
He looked at his niece, watched the different emotions chase themselves across her eyes, while her face remained impassive. "Hey," he softly said to her. "I know you wanted to go into the break with a 6-0 record, but a tie is not a defeat. That was an incredible game. You should be proud of the way you played, and how the team played."
Lexa sighed and looked up at her uncle. "I know," she said. "It was a great game, and I'm not that disappointed that we didn't come out of it with a win - not against them," against her, she thought. "I haven't had that much fun in a long time. She...they," she corrected quickly, "really pushed me to be better than I have ever been." Lexa glanced quickly to her uncle to see if he caught the slip, but if he had, he didn't mention it. Instead, he clapped her on the back and said, "Let's go talk to our team. The girls already grabbed your sticks for you."
Lexa nodded and then remembered Clarke's invitation. "Their captain, Clarke, invited our team to join them for pizza if we want to," she mentioned to Gustus as they headed to the change room.
"Did she?" he asked with surprise. "Well, there's a first time for everything, I suppose," he said with a laugh. "Do you want to go?" he asked her.
"Do you think the rest of the girls will want to go?" Lexa asked back, avoiding the question.
"Well, let's ask them," he said as they pushed through the change room doors to address their team.
In the Arkers' change room, the excitement and energy were palpable. The music blared, and everyone was talking about the game: how much fun it had been, the difference between the Grounders last year compared to now, and how well everyone had played. There were numerous kudos for Clarke's play and the way she managed to shut down the Grounder captain. Clarke acknowledged most of the compliments with quiet nods as she undressed, thinking back on the game herself.
Kane had come in to address the team, and he had mentioned to them that he had gone and seen the Grounders play the week before, and was unsure how the team would handle the new and improved team. He expressed his pride and satisfaction with how the girls had handled themselves and chastised himself for worrying about their ability to meet the challenge. Kane praised them for their effort and reminded them to try not to eat too much and to keep up their training over the break. With a last word about seeing them later for pizza, he walked out to let the girls finish changing.
As the team continued the comfortable routine of undressing, packing their bags and showering, amid the teasing and camaraderie, Clarke called for their attention. Immediately the girls settled, the music was turned down, and 13 sets of eyes focused on their captain.
Clarke cleared her throat, looked around the room and said, "I am so proud of each and every one of you for what we accomplished today. We may not have gotten the two points for the win, but it was a win nonetheless in my books. We did things, together, out there that were amazing and I can't wait to see what happens for us next. Playing a team like the Grounders only makes us better and allows us to reach our full potential. It was hard; it was bruising; it was exhausting," she added with a quiet chuckle. "But, it was also the most fun I have had all season. Feeling the energy in this room, I think most, if not all of you, agree with me." She smiled as she watched the girls all nod, and slap each other on the back.
"So," Clarke added with more force, "in the spirit of the holidays, I invited the Grounders to come with us for pizza after the game. It was an impulsive decision, so I hope everyone is okay with it, but I know we all have a lot of respect for Coach Gustus, and I think sharing a pizza with the Grounders is an excellent way to start our break. Maybe we'll even make some new friends."
Clarke looked around the room, trying to push down her uncertainty as she sought to gauge the reaction of her teammates. Some sat with small frowns on their faces; others were smiling and nodded to each other and nudging the girls who seemed unsure.
"I think Clarke is right," Octavia piped up from beside her, Raven nodded along as well. "I know it breaks with our team tradition, but it is the holidays, so I say let's be merry!"
At this announcement, the last of the frowns faded and a new and renewed excitement filled the room as the girls continued to get changed.
Clarke sat back down and looked at Octavia and Raven beside her.
"Thanks," she softly said, sincerity apparent in her voice and her eyes.
Both of her best friends looked at her and smiled at the same time.
"No problem Griff," Raven said. "Maybe next time, though, you should talk about it with the team first before changing the game plan."
"You're right. I'm sorry," Clarke responded, catching O's nod at Raven's words. "I'm not sure why I did it, except that it felt right. I don't even know if they'll come." Clarke tried to ignore the feeling of disappointment that settled in her gut at the thought that the Grounders and their captain might not show up at the pizza place. She tried to ignore the fluttering of panic that also seemed to settle in her chest at the thought that she might not see Lexa until the next time their teams met, weeks in the future, and she realized suddenly that that was an unacceptable outcome.
She just didn't know what to do about it.