Note: I am so sorry this took so long. RL sucks sometimes when I am forced to adult and all I want to do is lock myself in a room and write. This also took so long, because what I thought would be about 5K words to get out what I wanted, turned into almost 13K. I really have no idea how that happens... Regardless, here it is a long last, and I have the next chapter almost fully written, so it shouldn't be so long a wait for the next one.
Once again, a huge thank you to my beta reader and friend, Sally, for taking the time to go through this monster and edit it for me. I hope you all enjoy.
January 6th
Friday morning arrived without fanfare. Clarke rolled over in the darkness and stretched her hands out over her head and linked her fingers together, arching her back and pointing her toes for a full body stretch that lasted several moments. As she relaxed back down onto the bed, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and blinked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. 6:22 am. No wonder it's still dark out, she thought with slight disgust. And of course, she would be awake early on the last weekday for a while that she'd be able to sleep in.
As she lay there silently, contemplating an attempt to return to sleep, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to the events of the previous evening. She had essentially bared her soul to her two best friends and her mother. Clarke was feeling extremely vulnerable and just a little bit embarrassed at what the three of them would have read in her journals.
Thinking about her journals, of course, brought up thoughts of the woman who was featured prominently in each one. Clarke thought about every dream she had had, and weighed them in her mind. Thirteen dreams and at least five of them didn't end very well. Whether it was the mystery woman, or Clarke herself (if indeed it was her, but at this point Clarke couldn't argue that it wasn't), one of them was, often violently, taken from the other. Clarke shuddered in the dark, thanking whatever powers there were out there that she hadn't had another dream last night.
Clarke forced herself to close her eyes and try to focus on the images she had of the woman in her dreams. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't put it all together to form a clear, coherent image. The feelings that blossomed in her chest when she thought about the woman, though, those she could name. Fear, loss, pain, joy, happiness and most of all, even through all the most painful memories, love. Clarke nodded to herself, memories, that's what they felt like, more and more. Even through those that caused such heartache, she felt love. More love than Clarke ever thought possible. More than she ever thought she had to give, and certainly more than Clarke ever thought she would be the recipient of.
Clarke thought about what Octavia had said last night about the woman being Clarke's soul mate. The more Clarke thought about it, the more inexplicably uneasy she became. At the same time, she couldn't grasp the tickle of something niggling at the back of her brain, or determine the cause of the fluttering in her stomach. It was a darkness that hovered just out of reach of her consciousness, and it unsettled her. Clarke mentally shook herself and finally rolled out of bed, with the beginnings of pre-day dawn starting to streak in through the slats of her closed blinds. She physically shook out her shoulders and arms, as if ridding herself from an unwanted weight and padded across the room, quietly opened her door and peered out into the dark and silent hallway. After listening momentarily for any signs of life from the room across from hers and hearing none, Clarke scooted across and down the hall and into the bathroom, closing the door quickly behind her. Once finished, she softly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Clarke jumped and had to hold back a surprised squeak when she rounded the corner to see her mother sitting at the island, with one of Clarke's journals opened in front of her. Abby looked up at Clarke's arrival, and her gaze immediately flicked back to the open page in front of her, and then back to her daughter again. Clarke just stood at the entrance to the kitchen, shifting uncomfortably back and forth, twining her fingers together, waiting. All of sudden Abby was off her chair and had Clarke wrapped up in a tight embrace, which Clarke returned after only a moment of surprise.
"Oh, Honey," Abby whispered into Clarke's hair. "I wish you had shared this with me years ago. You shouldn't have had to deal with this all by yourself."
Clarke shrugged and pulled away from her mom. "I didn't know what was going on; it felt personal and secret. I didn't even tell Octavia and Raven all of it. I guess I just didn't know what to say, or if I even should," Clarke finished softly.
Abby accepted the answer and released Clarke with a squeeze and a final kiss to the top of her head.
"Did you read them all?" Clarke asked, dipping her head shyly and looking up from under her brows at her mom.
"Almost. I read a few last night, and this is the second journal. I think I've gotten through about 11 different ones. You said there were 13, right?" Abby asked, looking up at her daughter.
Clarke nodded. "You should find the other two relatively close to the beginning of the last journal."
"This is a lot, Clarke," Abby said, looking at Clarke with sad eyes.
Clarke shifted her gaze away from her mom and busied herself with making tea. "Yeah," she whispered, causing Abby to look at her more closely.
"What aren't you telling me?" Abby asked.
"I...I don't know, Mom, Clarke started. "It all feels weird, and I have this feeling that I can't explain, and I feel out of sorts. I just don't know," she sadly said, shaking her head.
Abby reached over and patted Clarke's arm. "You'll figure it out, honey."
"I hope so," Clarke softly replied. She looked at her mom and opened her mouth to say something else, when Octavia suddenly bounded into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Clarke's waist from behind, effectively ending whatever Clarke was about to say.
"Hey, O," Clarke laughed, not upset in the least that her conversation with her mother had just come to an abrupt end. "You're up early."
"Waffles! Waffles, waffles, waffles, waffles," Octavia sang out as she spun Clarke around and then danced around the kitchen waggling her eyebrows and pointing in Abby's direction.
Abby laughed and raised her hands in surrender, closing the journal she was reading and tucking it away on a shelf in the dining room. Then she moved back to the island to stand with Clarke and Octavia before pulling out a large bowl. " Octavia, you go get the flour from the pantry, and Clarke, can you please grab the waffle iron and plug it in?"
The two girls smiled and nodded their agreement, and the three began bustling around the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, there was a large stack of waffles on a plate, keeping warm in the oven. The three women quickly cleaned up the mess and then sat down at the table.
"Should you go wake up Raven?" Abby asked.
Both Clarke and Octavia rolled their eyes. "No, Mom," Clarke said. "Not unless you want to deal with her surly attitude for the next hour. Just save her some waffles, she'll be fine."
Octavia nodded gravely and then reached over and stabbed a few waffles before dumping them on her plate. "Raven's missing out, though. These are way better fresh. Thanks, Mama G!"
"You're welcome. Thank you both for helping," Abby replied with a chuckle.
The three fell silent, the only sounds coming from the scrape of utensils on plates and the squirt of the canister of whipped cream with which Octavia drowned her waffles.
Ten minutes later, Raven walked in, stretching and covering her mouth as she yawned. "I smelled waffles and coffee," she said by way of introduction as she joined them at the table.
Clarke didn't say anything, just pushed the plate of swiftly diminishing waffles in Raven's direction, while Octavia passed her the syrup, strawberries, and whipped cream, and Abby got up and poured Raven a coffee.
"Ohmygod, Mama G! These are fantastic!" Raven mumbled around a mouthful of waffle.
"Thank you, sweetie. The girls helped," Abby replied.
Raven swallowed and smirked at her two best friends. "You guys helped and they still taste this good?"
Abby laughed while Octavia flipped her middle finger up in Raven's direction without ever looking at her, and Clarke threw a whipped-cream-covered strawberry at her face, hitting Raven in the cheek before it plopped down in the middle of her breakfast. Raven wiped the smear of fluffy white off of her face slowly, never taking her narrowed eyes off of Clarke as she then picked up the offending strawberry and popped it into her mouth, smirked and returned her attention to her waffles as if nothing unusual had happened. Abby laughed again and shook her head at their antics.
After breakfast, the friends went their separate ways to get ready for the day, promising to be in touch later to coordinate rides to the hockey game.
The day went by both faster than Clarke wished it would, and excruciatingly slowly. By about four in the afternoon, the butterflies were swarming thickly in her belly, causing bouts of anxiety and excitement in equal measure.
Clarke had offered to pick up Raven and take her to the game. Bellamy and Octavia were bringing Echo, and Jasper and Monty were picking up Maya and Harper. Lincoln and Anya would be going early with Lexa.
By five-thirty, Clarke had changed three times and had finally settled on a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a tank top, with a blue plaid flannel on top. There was a part of her that wanted to dress up more, but what she might wear to the club, wouldn't be appropriate for a hockey game. Comfort and warmth, over sexy, unfortunately. She felt marginally better after texting with both Raven and Octavia and being reassured that she would look out of place if she were overdressed.
Clarke jumped in her car started the engine and then set the heaters and defrost on high. She jumped out again, pulling on her gloves before reaching into the back seat to grab the scraper to remove the buildup of frost off her windows. Once done, Clarke threw the tool back into the rear of the car and sat impatiently, waiting for the front window to de-fog enough so that she could drive. It was almost quarter to six before Clarke could safely see and she silently cursed her lack of foresight regarding how long it would take to get the car ready and pulled out after a quick text to Raven to let her know she was finally on the way.
Raven was waiting outside her building when Clarke arrived. She jumped in the car, quickly did up her seat belt and shot a glare at Clarke.
"Hey, Rae," Clarke greeted.
"Took you long enough," Raven groused before grinning at her scowling friend. "Ready?"
Clarke just rolled her eyes, nodded, put the car in drive and continued to the rink. The fifteen-minute drive started in a comfortable silence; Raven seemed to recognize Clarke's lack of desire for conversation and instead busied herself with playing with the radio dial, switching stations at random trying to find a song with which to sing along. She finally settled on Mumford and Sons Awake My Soul. Raven turned up the radio and started belting out the lyrics, off-key, on purpose, just to annoy Clarke, who shot her a glare before looking back at the road.
"In these bodies, we will live, in these bodies we will die," Raven warbled, grinning at Clarke. "Where you invest your love, you invest your life."
Raven poked Clarke in the shoulder, trying to get her to join in the chorus, but Clarke just shook her head, her lips pressed tightly together.
"Awake my soul," Raven yelled. "Awake my soul. Awake my soul. For you were made to meet your maker. Awake my..hey!" Raven exclaimed as Clarke leaned forward and hit the off button on the radio.
"Why did you do that, Clarke? I like that song," Raven asked, brow furrowed.
Clarke's grip on the steering wheel was tight enough for her knuckles to turn white and she breathed deeply through her nose, exhaling slowly and forcing herself to relax her grip on the wheel before answering Raven in a tight voice. "It's too close."
"What?" Raven asked, confused.
Clarke took another deep breath. "After the last couple of days, those lyrics just hit too close," Clarke tried to explain.
"Too close," Raven repeated, brow still furrowed in confusion. She sat in silence for a moment, watching the tense line of Clarke's shoulders and the stiffness in her back, before it dawned on her. Raven's face smoothed out, and her eyes widened in understanding, and she nodded at Clarke.
"Okay," Raven said slowly. "It's your dreams, or memories, or whatever, right? That whole soul-mate thing, and the disastrous end..."
"Right," Clarke cut her off, nodding. "Can we just forget it, please? Focus on tonight?"
Raven nodded and patted Clarke on the arm. "You got it sweet cheeks; only looking forward from this point on."
Clarke sighed and whispered out an almost silent "Thank you," as she pulled into the arena parking lot. Within only a few minutes, Clarke and Raven were moving into the lobby, looking for their friends. They saw Bellamy and Echo at the concession counter, and Clarke was surprised that even though it had taken her longer to arrive than she planned, they were the last ones there. The rest of the group having already gotten snacks and were loitering around the small seating area; even Jasper who was notoriously late for everything.
"God. Even Jasper and Monty beat us here," Raven said in disgust, vocalizing Clarke's thought.
Clarke just snorted and made her way over to the group seated at an array of small tables that they had pushed together. She couldn't help looking around and feeling slightly disappointed that Lexa had already gone.
Anya noticed Clarke's look and walked up from behind her and whispered in her ear. "You just missed her." What Anya didn't mention was that she was fairly sure that Lexa had stayed out in the lobby much longer than she normally would have, or the barely concealed look of disappointment on Lexa's face when she finally had to go.
Clarke stiffened briefly in surprise at the proximity of the older woman, but then relaxed and nodded at Anya's words. "I'm sorry I missed her, I wanted to wish her luck," Clarke quietly responded when Anya finished.
Anya just smirked at her and headed toward Raven, mumbling under her breath just loud enough for Clarke to hear, "I bet you did."
Clarke couldn't stop the slight blush from crawling up her neck, so she turned away from the group to order a hot chocolate to try to regain some composure before heading into the rink.
As Clarke paid for her cocoa, Monty arrived at her side to order a drink for himself and Harper.
"Hey, Clarke." Monty greeted.
"Hi," Clarke replied, smiling at her diminutive friend. "Glad you and Harper could make it."
"Are you kidding me?" Monty said. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. It's been ages since we've all been to a hockey game and I can't say I'm not looking forward to going out later, either. It's been a while since we all gone to a club together."
"Yeah, it has hasn't it?" Clarke said, clapping Monty on the shoulder as he paid for his order.
"Who are they playing anyway?" Monty asked after thanking the employee behind the counter.
"What?" Clarke asked.
"The Grounders, Clarke," Monty clarified with a smile. "Who are they playing?"
"Oh! It's District 13," Clarke said.
"Are they any good?" Monty asked before taking a cautious sip of his hot chocolate.
Clarke shrugged. "About the middle of the pack. A bit unpredictable regarding what team shows up to play. Sometimes they're all on the same page and can put up a pretty good fight. Other times it's like they've given up before the game even starts and it all falls apart for them pretty early."
Monty nodded in understanding as the two walked back to join their group of friends before Clarke added, "The Grounders shouldn't have much trouble with them regardless," to which Monty only nodded again.
Once the group had all retrieved warm drinks, they entered the ice rink and climbed the stands to find a good vantage point from which to watch the game. They chose seats about half way up at center ice, across from the team benches and proceeded to unfold blankets and get comfortable. Clarke quickly realized that she was the only one there without a partner to sit with and she stood, blanket in hand, looking a little lost before Raven took pity on her and scooted even closer to Anya and indicated the other side of the blanket on which they were sitting. Clarke gave Raven a grateful look and plopped down beside the two women.
"Thanks, guys," Clarke said as she got settled.
"Don't worry about it blondie," Anya replied waving her hand in the air. "It's not like you're interrupting a lap dance or something," she continued straight-faced.
Raven spluttered into her coffee and looked at Anya with wide eyes, before smirking and turning to Clarke. "Yeah, Griffin. If you see that happening later, choose another place to sit."
Clarke groaned and rolled her eyes, muttering "Gross," while Raven looked back at Anya with brows raised in a silent challenge. Anya raised her eyebrows in return, and the two women stared at each other for several heartbeats before Anya grinned and grabbed Raven's hand, leaning into the amused brunette's side and looking out onto the ice.
"Here they come," Clarke said, breathlessly, as the Grounder team poured out onto the ice from the tunnel directly across from where the group was sitting.
Lexa was the last one out, giving her team high-fives or pats on the back as they went past her. The minute she stepped on the ice, though, her head shot up, and she made eye contact with piercing blue ones. Lexa stood motionless for a moment, then dipped her head in acknowledgment and raised her stick to the group of friends before skating off and joining her team. Clarke released the breath she didn't realize she was holding in a deep puff, as she watched Lexa skate away.
"You all right there, Clarke?" Raven asked, grinning over at her friend.
"Shut up, both of you" Clarke replied after a brief pause, not taking her eyes off the brunette on the ice.
Anya snapped her mouth shut in surprise, and Raven chuckled nudging the other woman and shaking her head in warning. Anya huffed but decided not to provoke Clarke any further.
Down on the ice, Lexa skated towards her team and yelled out directions for the first drill. As she came to a stop in her place in line to wait her turn, one of her linemates and assistant captain, Kim, elbowed Lexa in the side and pointed her chin in the direction of the stands.
"Isn't that Clarke Griffin and the rest of the top line of the Arkers up there?" Kim asked.
Lexa looked in the direction her teammate indicated and shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Yeah, it is."
"Their starting goalie too?" Kim noticed, still staring up into the stands. "What are they doing here? Taking notes or something?" she asked with a frown.
"They're here to cheer us on," Lexa replied, turning away to hide the smile she could feel quirking the corners of her mouth.
"What? Why?" Kim said, perplexed.
"My cousin is dating Octavia Blake, and Reyes has," Lexa paused as if thinking, "something, going on with my best friend," she explained with a shake of her head. "They decided to come and watch the game, and they brought friends."
With that, Lexa gathered up a puck and skated away for her turn, hearing a soft "Oh," from Kim as she moved away.
The game started a few minutes later, and it was evident from the first few minutes that the Grounders should skate away with a relatively easy victory.
Clarke found herself watching every move Lexa made, holding her breath or finding herself on the edge of her seat every time Lexa touched the puck. Clarke couldn't help but find her beautiful to watch; Lexa was so smooth that her skating looked effortless and her passing was on point - poetry in motion, Clarke thought. Lexa had a couple of breakaways during the game and scored on both. During both rushes, Clarke found herself standing and jumping up and down in celebration, grabbing a grumbling Raven and hauling her to her feet and forcing her to jump up and down with her.
Anya spent her time watching Clarke watch Lexa. She was silently amused at how her best friend shot a shy look up into the stands, every time Lexa left the ice or after she scored, and didn't miss the smile that graced Clarke's face each time, or the slight blush that coloured her cheeks far more than the frigid air would account for. Any doubts Anya may have had about how Clarke felt about Lexa, or even how Lexa might feel for Clarke, were all but erased during the two hours she sat in the cold arena watching the two of them. She just hoped Lexa would allow herself to do something about it - soon.
The group chatted amicably during the short intermissions, but Clarke was almost monosyllabic while the game was underway. Her friends were hard pressed to pull her attention away from the match, especially when Lexa was on the ice. At the halfway point of the third period, Lexa accepted a beautiful saucer pass from her left winger which floated perfectly over the opposing defender's stick. After a spectacular spin move at the blue line that practically undressed the defender on the right side, Lexa had a clear path to the net. The goaltender came out to challenge Lexa as she swiftly closed the gap between them and just as Lexa lifted her stick to take the shot, she was unceremoniously knocked off her feet and sent spinning into the end boards with a resounding crash.
Clarke watched Lexa speed down the right side of the rink and pick up a brilliant pass from her winger. She held her breath as Lexa danced effortlessly around the defender in front of her and had to clench her thighs together at the jolt of arousal that shot through her while watching Lexa in her element. As Lexa rushed toward the goal, Clarke noticed the District 13 left winger flying towards Lexa from the far side of the ice and come up just behind her. Clarke felt herself stand and was in the process of shouting when she saw the defending player launch herself at Lexa in an uncontrolled slide in a vain attempt to knock the puck away from Lexa's stick. Instead of hitting the puck, though, the player's stick struck Lexa on the side of her left skate, knocking her foot forward and throwing her off balance. The defender's body slid into the back of Lexa's legs moments later, sending the now off-balance brunette hard into the end boards.
Clarke didn't see the rest of her friends stand; she didn't hear their yells, and she didn't see the ref raise her arms to indicate a penalty shot. Clarke's felt her throat constrict and her heart viciously thump as she focused solely on the still unmoving Lexa. Suddenly, Clarke was on her feet, only to feel a hand on her arm, holding her back. She spun around to lock eyes on Raven, who released Clarke's arm after seeing the look of barely concealed panic and obvious anger in her eyes.
Raven raised her hands in supplication and softly said, "Clarke. You know you can't go down there."
Clarke swallowed thickly, trying to get control of her breathing. Her clenched hands tight beside her, and she closed her eyes and forced her hands open before looking back at her friend and giving her a short nod.
Anya watched Clarke's reaction with interest and then as Clarke seemed to get a hold of herself, she pointed out at the ice with her chin. "She's up. Probably just winded."
Clarke spun around again to face the ice and let out a long sigh and felt the tension drain from her shoulders slightly as she watched Lexa skate over to her stick and bend over to pick it up before straightening up and looking up at her friends in the stands. The rest of the group had returned to their seats when they saw Lexa get up, but Clarke had remained standing, staring down at the ice. She met Lexa's eyes and felt her breath catch as Lexa gave her a small smile and brief nod as if to let Clarke know that she knew Clarke was worried and that she was okay.
Clarke nodded back, and Lexa gave her another smile, a bit wider this time and Clarke's heart stuttered in her chest. As she turned to watch Lexa skate to center ice to take her penalty shot Clarke thought, I am so fucked. Get it together Griffin. She shook her head slightly and sat back down next to Raven who silently reached over and gave Clarke's arm a gentle squeeze.
Within moments all the friends were back on their feet as the whistle went to indicate the penalty shot and they watched Lexa pick up the puck at center and skate smoothly towards the goaltender. Lexa moved quickly and headed towards the left side of the goal. She faked a shot near the faceoff dot and then pulled the puck back between her legs, still moving forward. The goalie scrambled to get back into position after the fake as the puck Lexa pulled between her legs hit the inside of her left skate blade, and Lexa kicked it out flawlessly to the right side of her body and onto the blade of her stick. As soon as the puck made contact with her stick, Lexa shot it two feet off the ice between the pad and the reaching glove hand of the desperately stretching net keeper and into the back of the net. It took only seconds, but Clarke felt as if she were watching it in slow motion. The Grounders erupted in cheers on the bench, and Lexa skated calmly back to her team where she sat down to congratulations and thumps on the back, not only for that goal but for the natural hat-trick she had just logged in the books.
"Holy shit!" Raven said.
At the same time, Octavia blurted, "That was, that was," she waved aimlessly in the direction of the ice, looking at her friends with a look of amazement on her face.
"Brilliant." Clarke finished for her, smiling ear to ear, never taking her eyes of the brunette on the other side of the ice. "It was brilliant."
From across the ice, green eyes finally moved up and found blue and then dipped back down shyly, a small grin playing on Lexa's lips. Clarke's smiled even wider and then turned to her friends.
"Please tell me someone recorded that!" She asked eyebrows raised in hope.
"I got it," Anya said, waving her phone in Clarke's direction. Clarke reached over and grabbed the phone held out to her and quickly opened the video and watched it again, Raven watching from one side and Octavia pressing in from the other side.
"It's even more impressive the second time," Octavia said, awe evident in her voice. "How in the hell did she manage to kick the puck out like that without even breaking stride?"
Raven just shook her head, while Clarke watched it again in slow motion. "I wonder how long it took her to perfect that?" Raven asked.
"Years," Anya answered without looking at the three women, eyes focused on the game.
Two brunette and one golden blonde head snapped up at her words and stared at the slightly older woman until she turned her head and met their questioning looks.
Anya shrugged. "She's been working on that for years. I've never seen her do it in a game before, though. She would practice it in her basement all the time. For her to try it now, she's either very confident in it or," Anya paused and looked directly at Clarke. "Or, she wanted to impress you and thought it was worth the risk."
Clarke felt her face redden in response to Anya's words and she silently handed the phone back to her. Just as Anya was going to put the phone away, however, Clarke found her voice. "Can you send me that video, please, Anya?"
Anya quirked an eyebrow at Clarke and opened her mouth; Clarke could also see Raven getting ready to say something as well, so she quickly added, "My dad would appreciate that move. I'd like to show it to him." She then glared at them both as if daring them to question her motives, so they both looked at each other before shrugging and turned again to Clarke with knowing smirks plastered on their faces.
"I hate you both," Clarke said under her breath before choosing to ignore the two and focused once again on the game.
The rest of the game was relatively uneventful, the Grounders content to play stifling defense to protect their three-goal lead. Once the match was over, the teams had shaken hands, and Lexa had thanked the referees, she turned to her friends in the stands and waved. Everyone waved back, and Anya indicated towards the lobby. Lexa nodded in understanding and turned and skated off the ice and through the tunnel to the locker room. The group of friends folded up the blankets they were sitting on and made their way down from the stands and into the warmth of the arena lobby to wait for Lexa.
They gathered at the same tables as before, and Anya pulled out her phone again to send the video file to Clarke, before realizing she didn't have her number.
"Clarke!" Anya called over the tables to the blonde speaking quietly to Harper. "I need your number if you want this file," she added when Clarke looked over at her.
Clarke nodded and moved over the where Anya was sitting with Raven and took the offered phone and typed in her number and handed it back. Anya quickly sent off the file, and then the group went back to amicably chatting while they waited, Clarke studiously trying to ignore the butterflies that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her abdomen.
Lexa sat through her coach's talk after the game and accepted her teammate's congratulations on her fantastic game with quiet aplomb, quick to offer praise to those responsible for the passes or the work done by others that left her in the position to score. Once their coach had left, she undressed quickly and headed to the showers. She dressed again in silence; her teammates familiar with her inward thoughts after a game. Today, however, Lexa's thoughts were not on the game they just played, but on a certain blonde beauty that had been in attendance. It seemed as though every time Lexa looked up, Clarke's eyes were already on her. It must have just been coincidence, though, Lexa thought. However, Lexa couldn't deny that every time they made eye contact, she saw Clarke smile a little and it made her heart flutter in a way that made her look away again quickly so she could stay focused on the game.
The silent conversation Lexa seemed to share with Clarke after crashing into the boards left her feeling flustered and excited at the same time. It was evident to Lexa that Clarke was concerned about her, and the need to reassure the girl seemed to flow out of Lexa like it was second nature; like she had comforted the woman hundreds of times before. Clarke's easy acceptance of Lexa's simple nod and the relief that seemed to ooze from the blonde left a warm feeling in Lexa's chest that she couldn't explain.
Lexa still couldn't believe what she had done during the penalty shot. It wasn't what she had planned to do as she stood at center waiting for the signal from the referee to begin, but it had happened, almost without conscious thought. That it had worked so seamlessly shocked her even more. She had only ever been able to do it properly on the ice once, during practice and she had never thought seriously about doing it in a game situation. Maybe it was because a win was pretty much guaranteed; that it wasn't that risky if it didn't work, Lexa thought. She refused to even entertain the idea that there may have been something else behind her subconscious' decision to do something so risky yet so spectacular.
Lexa finished getting dressed, butterflies taking flight in her chest as she gathered her gear bag and sticks, said goodbye to her teammates and headed out to the lobby. As she neared the open area, she could hear the group of friends laughing and talking, and she took a deep breath, setting her face to hide her anxiousness and stepped out of the hallway and into the open of the lobby.
Bellamy noticed her first, being the closest, so he hollered over at her, waving, "Lexa!"
At his bellow, all eyes turned in her direction, but Lexa only had eyes for the brilliant, full, cerulean ones gazing at her from across the room. She didn't realize she had frozen in place, or that she had stopped breathing until Anya appeared at her side, taking her bag off her shoulder. She sucked in a deep breath as she snapped her head away from Clarke's piercing gaze and looked over at Anya who was smirking at her.
"Let me help you with that," Anya said, amusement colouring her tone. Then she leaned in close and whispered in Lexa's ear, trying not to laugh at her friend, "You know, there are ten other people here. All of whom came to watch your game."
Lexa opened her mouth as a blush crept up her neck, but promptly shut it again, looking at Anya with wide eyes. Anya did laugh then and stepped in front of Lexa putting the bag down and putting her hands on Lexa's shoulders. She didn't miss the slight tilt of Lexa's head as she tried to see Clarke again, so she smiled and squeezed the brunette's shoulders to get her attention. When Lexa met her eyes, Anya pulled her in for a hug. "Great game, Lex," she whispered in her ear. "I'm so glad you're playing hockey again." Anya felt Lexa tense slightly at the words but smiled when the younger woman immediately relaxed and hugged her back.
"Me too," Lexa whispered back, locking eyes with Clarke again over Anya's shoulder. She pulled her eyes back to Anya when the older woman released her and bent down to pick up her bags. "Go greet your adoring fans, superstar," Anya said and laughed as she straightened.
Lexa smiled and picked up her sticks and walked the short distance to the group waiting patiently for her. She kept her eyes locked on Clarke's as she made her way over, but had to tear them away as each of her new friends congratulated her on the win, the hat-trick, and the penalty shot. She thanked them all politely in turn and suddenly she was face to face with Clarke, and she felt all the air leave her lungs in a rush. They stood in silence, just looking at each other for several heartbeats before Clarke suddenly stepped up and wrapped her up in a bone crushing hug. It took a moment for the surprise of it to wear off, and Lexa brought up her arms cautiously to wrap loosely around Clarke's waist. Clarke just squeezed tighter before whispering in Lexa's ear, "Are you okay?"
The warmth that had blossomed in Lexa's chest as she felt Clarke pressed against her threatened to develop into a full blown inferno at the three simple words. Lexa nodded against the side of Clarke's head, then whispered back, "Yes," knowing what Clarke was referring to. Clarke nodded back and then released her and stepped back; Lexa silently mourned the loss of contact.
Clarke looked at Lexa, her eyes sparkling. "That was some game, Commander. I especially liked that move at the blue line in the third period."
Lexa's felt her heart twinge at the moniker and raised her eyebrows in response, "Which move?"
"The one before the penalty shot," Clarke said mischievously.
"Griffin!" Raven shouted as she walked up behind them. "What about the penalty shot itself? That was freakin' incredible, Woods!"
Lexa shot the feisty brunette a smile over Clarke's shoulder and then focused back on the blue eyes in front of her. She raised her brows again at Clarke in silent question.
Clarke waved her hand and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that was okay, I guess."
Lexa's eyes had widened in surprise before Anya jumped in. "Don't believe it for a minute, Lex. Clarke, Octavia, and Raven were just as in awe as the rest of us. Clarke must have watched it 100 times by now."
Lexa watched as Clarke blushed and dropped her eyes before shyly looking up again at Lexa. "It was pretty epic," she softly said. "Do you want to see it?"
Lexa smiled and nodded so Clarke pulled out her phone and set it up so they could watch the video, Lexa moving to stand at Clarke's side instead of taking the phone from her. They watched it together in real time, and then Clarke played it again in slow motion before whispering again, "That was spectacular, Lexa. You are incredibly talented."
Lexa swallowed, and responded shyly, "Thank you, Clarke."
They stood looking at each other in silence for a few moments before Raven yelled from not too far away, "Are we going or are we just going to stand and look at each other all night?"
Clarke cleared her throat and looked away from Lexa to shoot a glare at her friend in time to see all her friends, except Raven, Octavia, and Anya look away from the two of them quickly, the other three with knowing smirks on their faces.
Clarke just rolled her eyes at them. "Let's go, then," she said, moving reluctantly away from Lexa who was looking around at the group sheepishly.
"Party time!" Octavia yelled, jumping up into Lincoln's arms, who caught her easily with a hearty laugh before putting his girlfriend back down and taking her hand in his. Raven grabbed Anya's hand, silently agreeing to travel to the club together. Bellamy grabbed Echo's hand, and Jasper grabbed Maya's. Monty looked at Harper shyly and extended his hand. Harper gave him an equally shy smile back before stepping up and lacing her fingers with Monty's extended ones.
Clarke looked at Lexa and then indicated her bag and sticks on the floor. "Can I take your sticks for you?"
"That would be great. Thank you." Lexa sincerely said as she bent down and retrieved the sticks, handing them to Clarke before bending down again to gather the strap for her gear bag. Lexa hoisted the bag onto her shoulder effortlessly, and the two women turned and made their way out of the arena. When they arrived outside, Raven had already jumped into Lincoln's truck with Anya but rolled the window down to yell out at Clarke.
"I'm going with Anya!" she yelled out.
Clarke waved her off with a roll of her eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious," Clarke hollered back, causing Lexa to let out a small giggle.
Clarke glanced over at Lexa with a smile, "They look pretty full. Would you like to ride with me?"
"Are you sure? I could put my gear in the back of Lincoln's truck," Lexa said uncertainly.
"Don't be silly, of course, I'm sure," Clarke said, looking Lexa in the eye. "Besides," she continued, looking away from Lexa as she walked toward her car and unlocking the doors as she went. "I've had smelly hockey gear in my car often and if you put it in the back of Lincoln's truck, anyone could take it while we're in the bar. It's safer in my car." Lexa arrived at Clarke's side just as the hatch in the back popped open. Clarke laid Lexa's stick in carefully towards the back and then stepped out of the way so Lexa could maneuver the heavy bag into the small space of the Civic's hatchback.
Once done, both girls moved to the front of the car and got in, but not before Clarke yelled out towards the other's climbing into their cars, "See you there!"
Clarke got in and shot a glance over at Lexa while doing up her seatbelt. Lexa felt Clarke's eyes on her and looked over; eyebrows raised in question. Clarke shrugged and grinned at the other woman, "Ready?" she asked Lexa. Lexa gave her a small smile in return and nodded her head.
Clarke reached into her pocket and handed Lexa her phone after unlocking it. "There's a cable there by the radio," Clarke said, indicating the wire in question. "If you plug the phone in, you can pick some music if you want, or we can just listen to the radio."
"Okay," Lexa said as she took the offered phone, plugged it in and scrolled through the various playlists in Clarke's music library.
"You have a lot of playlists here, Clarke," Lexa observed, still scrolling through the available music.
Clarke shrugged again, eyes still on the road in front of her. "I stole the idea from Songza. They have a playlist for everything, but I don't always like the songs they have on them, so I decided to make my own."
"Hmmm," Lexa hummed in response, still focused on the phone. After a moment, she looked over at Clarke and asked, "What's the GEB playlist?"
"Oh!" Clarke exclaimed, a rapid blush crept up her neck, and she was instantly glad that it was dark in the car and that Lexa couldn't see it. "Um, I almost forgot. That's the playlist I mentioned I would make for you when we were at the Dropship."
"GEB?" Lexa asked eyebrows raised.
"Um," Clarke paused, mind awhirl trying to think about what to say without totally embarrassing herself. Finally, she let out a defeated sigh, shifted in her seat and decided just to go with the truth. "It's how I remember it's for you," Clarke said into the quiet of the car. "I haven't transferred to a USB yet," she finished softly.
Lexa looked at Clarke for a moment before looking back at the playlist and the three letters that denoted it was for her. She wracked her brain trying to come up with an explanation for the acronym but kept coming up empty. She looked back at Clarke again to catch the blonde shooting her quick glances out of the side of her eyes, before shifting uncomfortably in her seat again. Clarke seemed to be holding her breath, and Lexa wasn't sure if it was because Clarke was waiting for her to ask what the letters stood for, or if she was hoping she wouldn't. Lexa had to admit her curiosity was piqued, so she cleared her throat and asked again, "What does it mean?"
Clarke sighed again and seemed to slump in her seat before mumbling something out extremely quickly.
"I'm sorry," Lexa said, amused at the other woman's obvious embarrassment. "I missed that."
Clarke shot Lexa a sharp, fleeting glare, hearing the amusement in her voice, before focusing back on the road. "If you don't put something on, we're going to be there before you even press play," Clarke tried, hoping Lexa would let it go.
"Clarke," Lexa said. "What does GEB mean?"
Clarke rolled her eyes. Of course, she wasn't going to get away with her attempt at a change of topic, but Lexa did open the playlist and quickly scan it as she waited for Clarke to answer her question. When Clarke remained silent, Lexa looked at the blonde again.
Clarke glanced again at Lexa and huffed, before repeating herself only slightly louder and only marginally slower than she had moments before. "It stands for Green Eyed Beauty," Clarke practically whispered and seemed to all but disappear as she shrank into her seat, refusing to look at Lexa.
Lexa's eyes widened, and her mouth pursed in a silent 'oh' and felt her face heat up with a blush she knew was colouring her a deep crimson. Lexa hit play quickly on the phone, at a loss for anything to say, but couldn't deny the warmth and the strangely satisfied feeling that was pulsing in her chest at Clarke's admission.
The first song started, and Lexa recognized it as one of the Joshua Radin songs that she had looked up after hearing Clarke cover the artist's song on New Year's Eve. A slight awkwardness filled the car along with the music, but as both women started humming along to the song, the invisible tension drained away, and they relaxed again and became more comfortable. Clarke began to sing softly with the music, and Lexa joined her soon after, singing quietly.
Clarke heard Lexa singing, so trailed her voice off slowly so that she could hear Lexa better. She wasn't surprised to hear Lexa sing with a sweet, clear if slightly hesitant voice. Everything about her is perfect, Clarke thought. Lexa seemed to notice that Clarke had stopped singing, so stopped as well and looked over at her.
Clarke could feel Lexa's eyes on her, so she picked up with the song and continued, a bit louder than before, hoping Lexa would join her. She wasn't disappointed as only moments later Lexa joined in on the chorus. Clarke shot her a quick grin which Lexa shyly returned, and the rest of the drive went by quickly, the women singing along to the mix Clarke had made.
Clarke and Lexa pulled into the parking lot a trendy college hangout, The Brixton. The group had debated going to El Rey, only a few minutes from The Brixton, but had decided they wanted to dance, so The Brixton was the most logical choice. Located in the U Street corridor, it offered anything the group of young people might want in the evening out. The British Pub on the first floor was a good starting place and the group of friends managed to find a table and quickly ordered a round of drinks. It was fortunate that they were there relatively early, as the bar would get very busy later as young people made their way from various smaller bars to The Brixton to dance in the second-floor lounge. The friends chatted amiably with one another as they drank their first round, then decided to move to the second floor to make sure they had seats before the crowd got any thicker.
As they walked up the stairs, Raven spotted an empty spot and bee-lined for it, staking claim to the area for the night. It was perfect, far enough away from the dance floor and the blaring music that they could speak without shouting, but close enough to the bar that getting drinks would be relatively convenient. Once everyone had settled, Octavia looked over at Clarke and then Raven and yelled out, "Body shots!"
Raven whooped and high-fived the smaller brunette, while the rest of the group laughed and Clarke just rolled her eyes. As Raven and Octavia headed toward the bar to get the shots, Clarke snuck a glance at Lexa, who was sitting to Clarke's right. Lexa was still nursing her first beer, while the rest had all finished theirs before they headed upstairs. She was being relatively quiet and had what Clarke thought was a contemplative look on her face.
Lexa looked gorgeous, as usual, in her form-fitting black skinny jeans and knee high boots. Her long-sleeved shirt was a darker black than her jeans, with a scooping neckline, which showed just the right amount of cleavage. It was also hugging in all the right places to accentuate Lexa's toned arms and shoulders. As Clarke's eyes raked over the woman sitting next to her, she made the decision right then and there that she would not get drunk so that she could make sure that Lexa would get home safe. It was going to be a long night, though, so Clarke figured a few drinks wouldn't hurt, but that she would start on water sooner rather than later.
Clarke leaned slightly and nudged Lexa with her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked the brunette.
Lexa glanced quickly at Clarke and gave her a soft smile, nodding. "I'm good." Lexa opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by Anya who plopped down in the empty seat beside Clarke that had been recently vacated by Octavia.
"Lexa! We're going to do body shots!" Anya yelled, leaning over Clarke to speak directly to Lexa.
"You don't have to yell, Anya. I'm right here," Lexa admonished her friend.
"But, Lexa," Anya almost whined, and Lexa's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline with surprise at her friend. "Body shots! We haven't done body shots in, well, in forever! Please tell me you'll do one," Anya almost begged.
"First of all," Lexa said, amused. "Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"
Anya just shot a glare at her from under her furrowed brows. "It's my last night in DC. I'm surrounded by people I actually like. Surprising, I know," she said, rolling her eyes after seeing Lexa about to say something. "And I want to have a night to remember. A night I can take back to Seattle and hang on to until I get to see your sorry ass again. And all these dorks again as well," Anya said waving her hand at the friends scattered around her.
At that moment, Raven and Octavia returned carrying two trays, one full of beer and the other with ten shots of tequila, ten lime wedges and a shaker of salt. Raven plopped herself down on Anya's lap and wrapped her arms around her neck, effectively ending whatever conversation may have continued between Anya and Lexa. Raven leaned down and pressed her lips to Anya's quickly then looked around the cluster of tables at her friends, both old and new. "I'm going first!" she announced loudly. "Who wants to be my body?" Raven asked, quirking her eyebrow at Anya suggestively before looking over at Clarke and Lexa and waggling her eyebrows up and down. "How 'bout it Clarke? It's been awhile since you had a taste of this," Raven teased, waving her hand up and down her body in invitation.
Lexa shifted uncomfortably in her seat, as Clarke rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Reyes, you should be so lucky to have this tongue touch you anywhere," Clarke shot back, not noticing Lexa's growing discomfort, but Anya did, and she narrowed her eyes slightly at Lexa who refused to meet her gaze. "However," Clarke continued, "if you can't find any other takers," at this Clarke looked pointedly at Anya, "then, of course, I will help you out. What are friends for?"
Anya's eyes widened, and she squeezed Raven around the waist almost possessively as she shot back, "That won't be necessary, Clarke. I'm sure I can handle it."
Raven smirked, grabbed a shot glass and then twisted back around to effectively straddle Anya's lap before she placed a lime wedge between Anya's teeth. The rest of the group cheered as Raven ran her tongue up the length of Anya's neck before shaking salt along the now damp patch of skin. Anya pulled back and grinned at Raven before wrapping her arms around the feisty brunette. Raven smirked in response and then took her time sucking off every grain of salt on Anya's neck, spending much more time than necessary around the rapidly beating pulse at the base of her throat. Anya threw her head back to give Raven more access and had to bite back a moan as Raven finally made her way to just under Anya's ear and gave her lobe a sharp nip before pulling away and tossing back her shot. Raven slammed the glass down on the table beside her and wrapped her hands around the sides of Anya's face, thumbs brushing defined cheekbones before she leaned in slowly and pressed her lips to Anya's. Raven enclosed the lime wedge held between Anya's teeth and sucked it into her mouth, never once breaking contact with Anya's lips. Anya couldn't stop the moan that exited her lips when she felt Raven's tongue lick the rest of the lime juice from her lips before pulling away.
"Jesus Christ!" Octavia hollered and then let out a low whistle. "That was freaking hot! Lincoln! My turn, get over here." Lincoln laughed with the rest of the group, as they all turned to Lincoln and Octavia, letting Anya and Raven have their moment.
The two women stared at each other for another moment, before Anya leaned in to kiss Raven again. "You definitely have to let me have a turn...soon," Anya whispered after breaking away from the kiss and then took Raven's hand and led her back to their seats so they could watch the show Lincoln and Octavia were putting on.
They had missed Octavia's performance with Lincoln, but Octavia was just getting warmed up for Lincoln's turn. Lincoln licked the inside of Octavia's wrists and sprinkled salt on both of them. He then tucked his shot into the exposed space of Octavia's cleavage, much to her surprise and ultimate pleasure. Lincoln grinned at his girlfriend and gently placed the lime wedge in her mouth. He then picked up Octavia's hand and worshiped the inside of her wrists, moving back and forth between the two until he had consumed every grain of salt. Octavia shuddered more than once and had to force herself to be still after the first tremor had caused the shot glass in her cleavage to shake and spill tequila down the center of her breasts. Once Lincoln had completed his journey over Octavia's wrists, he moved his head to the shot glass encased in the valley of Octavia's breasts, wrapping his lips around the mouth of the glass, making sure to make as much contact with the skin around it as possible. Once Lincoln was confident he had a secure seal on the glass, he pulled his head up and downed the fiery liquor without ever touching it with his hands. He placed the now empty glass on the table beside him slowly and then lunged at Octavia and devoured her lips and the lime wedge she held between them. Octavia whimpered and had to clench her thighs at the sudden aggressiveness of her boyfriend after the minutes of slow and tender movements. Lincoln turned his head and spat out the now used lime and then returned to his attack on Octavia's lips. The rest of the group clapped and cheered the couple and proceeded to ignore the heavy make out session happening just off to the side of them. It surprised no one that moments later the two disappeared, only to return looking flushed and smug 15 minutes later.
Monty and Harper did their shots together, much more conservatively than their friends had just done, licking the salt off of their own hands before tossing back their shots and then sucking the lime wedge from the other's waiting teeth. Bellamy and Echo did much the same thing, while Jasper and Maya looked at each other shyly before deciding to be a bit more risqué and licked the salt of each other's necks, but in a much tamer fashion than Raven and had. Anya, of course, had practically devoured Raven during her shot. The two of them had been one step away from dry-humping during the lime suck, causing the rest of the group to caterwaul and hoot, with various shouts of "Gross" and "Get a room" ringing out before they finally finished, Raven's face flushed and Anya looking incredibly smug.
Two shots still sat on the table, next to two lonely lime wedges. Raven looked at the shots and then looked over at a clearly uncomfortable Lexa and an anxious Clarke. "Bottoms up, you two," Raven called out. "You're the only ones who haven't tossed one back yet."
Clarke glanced at Lexa, before murmuring softly, "You don't have to do a body shot, Lex. You don't have to do a shot at all if you don't want to."
Lexa shifted in her seat before looking up at Clarke and then over at Anya, who was watching Lexa carefully, with one brow quirked. The two friends stared at each other for several moments, having a whole conversation with just their eyes. Lexa finally nodded and then looked back down at her hands before looking at the group around her. Harper and Monty had left to hit the dance floor, as had Bellamy and Echo. Jasper was leaning into Maya, and they were laughing quietly together. Lincoln and Octavia were currently MIA, and the only people that were paying any attention to her at all, Lexa finally realized, were Raven, Anya, and Clarke.
Clarke reached out for one of the two remaining shots and then raised her right hand to lick the back of it. Lexa didn't notice Clarke's actions until Anya managed to catch her eye and give a slight tilt of her head in Clarke's direction. Lexa saw the motion and looked over at Clarke who was about to shake salt on the newly minted wet spot on the back of her hand. Lexa reached out and wrapped her hand around the salt shaker in Clarke's hand, stopping her motion. Clarke looked up at Lexa, confusion on her face and a question in her eyes.
Lexa took a deep breath and released Clarke's hand, reaching for the last shot sitting on the table and pulled it toward her. She looked back at Clarke and gave her a shaky smile, "it's Anya's last night, and she wants a memory to take home with her," Lexa said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "It's true that we used to do this quite a bit, and that we haven't in...a very long time," Lexa finished quietly. Lexa took another deep breath and tried to project an air of confidence that she didn't feel as she said in a stronger voice, "Who am I to deny her?"
"Hell yes!" Raven shouted. "Just so you know, though, Woods, you are so not doing a shot off of Anya," Raven stated seriously. "That is only my privilege tonight. Clarke is always up for a good body shot, though, aren't you, Griff," the last spoken as more of a statement than a question.
Clarke glared at her friend and then looked at Lexa. "Only if you want to, Lex," Clarke assured her.
Lexa swallowed and nodded at Clarke. "It's okay, Clarke. I want to do this with you."
Clarke nodded as she tried to control the swarm of overactive butterflies that had suddenly appeared in her abdomen. "Do you want to go first, or should I?" Clarke asked.
Lexa swallowed thickly, and managed to croak out, "Um, you can go...you go first."
"Okay," Clarke agreed. "Do you have a preference as to where I put the salt?"
Lexa shook her head, suddenly unable to speak. She shot a wild look of barely constrained panic in Anya's direction who just gave Lexa a small half smile and nodded at her in encouragement. Lexa took another deep breath and forced herself to turn to face Clarke.
Clarke held the salt shaker in her left hand, and she watched Lexa carefully. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" Clarke quietly asked.
Lexa nodded again, and Clarke thought quickly about what to do. She thought maybe she should just shake the salt on her hand, but another, selfish part of her wanted to be able to taste Lexa, put her lips on Lexa's skin. So, salt on Lexa, Clarke thought, but where?
Clarke sat there in silence for a few moments contemplating when Raven finally spoke up. "Oh for fuck's sake, Griffin," she said rolling her eyes. "Just salt the woman's neck and get on with it. We're not getting any younger, and those limes are going to dry up before you decide to get moving."
Clarke couldn't even bring herself to be annoyed because Raven had just given her an opening. She glanced up at Lexa who nodded at the unspoken question, so Clarke took a deep breath and leaned into Lexa bringing her lips closer to Lexa's neck. Clarke's heart was beating so hard she was sure Lexa could hear it. Clarke had to force herself to extend her tongue and run it lightly up Lexa's neck, rather than place soft kisses along its length like she longed too. She felt Lexa shiver at the contact, and as she pulled away slowly, Lexa bent her neck to the side so Clarke could shake the salt over the wet streak Clarke's tongue had left behind. Clarke set the shaker down and handed Lexa a lime wedge which the brunette took without comment and placed between her teeth.
Clarke looked at Lexa and received the permission she was silently asking for before she leaned in again and began sucking the salt from Lexa's skin starting just below her jaw and working her way down the length of Lexa's beautiful neck. Clarke moved more quickly than she would have liked, but she could feel Lexa tense up the moment her lips made contact with her neck and Clarke was sensitive to the fact that Lexa didn't seem entirely comfortable with the current situation. A part of Clarke lamented the fact that Lexa seemed like she was only doing it for Anya's benefit, but another part of her couldn't help rejoicing internally at the position she found herself in at the moment.
Clarke had thought of her lips on Lexa's skin more than was probably healthy and she couldn't deny the way her lips tingled and her heart practically sang when her lips met Lexa's flesh. She finished her trail down Lexa's neck, licking the last bit of salt from Lexa's rapidly beating pulse point. Clarke leaned back and picked up her shot glass and downed the tequila quickly. When she looked again at Lexa as she put the glass down, she noticed that Lexa had her eyes screwed shut and was breathing shallowly around the wedge of lime in her mouth. One hand was clamped tightly to the edge of the table, the other had a death grip on the back of Clarke's chair. Clarke glanced over at Anya, a bit worried about the brunette but Anya just gave her a quick grin and a nod, so Clarke closed the distance between her and the waiting wedge of lime tucked tightly between Lexa's teeth. Clarke noticed that the lime was sticking out of Lexa's mouth and as much as she wanted to feel the way Lexa's lips felt against hers, she decided that this was not the way she wanted to have that feeling for the first time. So, Clarke leaned in and carefully plucked the lime out of Lexa's teeth with her own, not touching Lexa's lips at all. Lexa let the lime go when she felt the pressure pull against her teeth and when she opened her eyes almost looked surprised that Clarke was already sitting back in her chair, pulling the now used lime out of her mouth.
Lexa looked at a grinning Anya and smirking Raven and then back at Clarke. Clarke just smiled softly at her and pointed at the shot sitting in front of Lexa. "Your turn," she said, passing the salt shaker over to Lexa.
Lexa looked at Clarke with wide eyes and then back to Anya. Anya's grin dropped as she watched Lexa carefully, noticing how close to panic the younger girl was and quickly but gently pushed Raven off her lap. "I gotta pee," she announced. "Come with me Lex; you can do your shot after."
Lexa just sat at the table unmoving, staring at the one-ounce glass in front of her until Anya grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the restroom, leaving a bemused Raven and a concerned Clarke in their wake.
"Well, that was weird," Raven commented once the other two were out of earshot.
Clarke shot her a glance and grimaced, looking at her hands. "It didn't seem like she enjoyed it very much did it," Clarke sadly stated.
"Oh, I don't know, Griff. Maybe, or maybe it's something else," Raven said with a shrug. The two young women sat at the table nursing their beers when Don't Leave Me This Way - by The Communards started playing over the speakers. Raven's head popped up, and she jumped to standing, took Clarke's hand and pulled her to her feet. Raven looked over at Jasper and Maya and yelled, "We're going to dance! Hold the tables, okay?" Jasper waved her away while Maya giggled into his side. Raven rolled her eyes and then started dragging Clarke onto the dance floor. By the time they made it to a somewhat empty spot on the floor, the first chorus had started, and Raven immediately spun Clarke around as the music blared around them.
'Oh, baby, my heart is full of love and desire for you
So come on down and do what you've got to do
You started this fire down in my soul
Now can't you see it's burning, out of control
So come on down and satisfy the need in me
'Cause only your good loving can set me free'
By the time the chorus had ended, Clarke had a huge grin on her face, and she was dancing along enthusiastically with Raven. Raven spun Clarke around again and then pulled her in close to sway and weave through the next verse. They had danced to this song many times and almost had a routine, always with Raven leading. The two women moved well together, a result of being friends for so long and being totally comfortable in each other's space. It wasn't long before the rest of their friends on the dance floor noticed them and started to migrate in their direction. Soon, there were eight somewhat sweaty bodies flying around to the beat of the song. Lincoln and Octavia had appeared out of thin air at some point and were dancing beside Raven and Clarke, Bellamy and Echo just on the other side of them and Harper and Monty not far away. Everyone was laughing and enjoying being together. No one noticed when Anya and Lexa returned to the table and found their seats, nor did they see Lexa push the tequila shot in Anya's direction, whom quickly drained it and put it back down and then turned her attention to the group on the dance floor.
As the last verse and chorus of the song played out, some of the friends had changed partners so that Bellamy was dancing with Clarke, Raven with Octavia and Lincoln with Echo. The last line rang out, 'Oh, baby, my heart is full of love and desire for you...' and Bellamy dipped a laughing Clarke and then placed a kiss on the top of her head. He then left her with Raven and went to collect Echo from Lincoln. Lincoln rejoined Octavia who was already dancing with Clarke, who had moved over to the brunette when Raven excused herself to get Anya. Clarke swayed to the music, but her mind was on Lexa. She watched Raven approach the table and ask Anya to dance. She noticed Anya indicate the dance floor and say something to Lexa who just shook her head and took another sip from her beer. Anya said something else and then waited for a beat before shrugging her shoulders and grasped Raven's hand and moved with her to the dance floor. Lexa's shoulders seem to sag further into herself, and Clarke couldn't help but feel responsible for possibly contributing to Lexa's somber mood. When the song ended, Clarke moved away from Lincoln and Octavia and made her way back to the group of tables. She hesitated briefly before deciding to sit next to Lexa again, rather than across from her, and she slid into her seat quietly, picked up her beer and took a long pull as if she hadn't had anything to drink in years.
When she put it down, she chanced a glance over at Lexa and caught her eye. Lexa quickly looked away towards the dance floor and shifted in her seat.
Clarke sighed. "Lex?" she said and waited until the brunette turned to look at her once more. "I'm sorry if...I mean, I didn't want..." Clarke trailed off, flustered because she didn't know what she was even trying to say. She felt like she should apologize but wasn't sure what for, or if she should just let it all go.
Lexa stopped her before she could begin again, reaching out and placing her hand on Clarke's arm. "You have nothing to apologize for, Clarke. I just...I haven't done anything like that in a really long time. I didn't expect to feel," Lexa paused, as if searching for the right words, but then shrugged and quietly said, "how I felt," she cryptically ended as she took her hand off of Clarke's arm and looked back to the dance floor.
Clarke stared at Lexa's profile and tried to restrain herself from reaching out to touch her. Instead, she stood, moved around to stand in front of Lexa and offered her hand. "Dance with me?" Clarke asked softly.
Lexa froze, staring at Clarke's hand hanging in the space between their bodies. Just when Clarke was beginning to feel foolish and about to draw her hand back, she noticed a slight tremor race through Lexa from head to toe. Lexa then puffed out a breath and seemed to straighten before looking up into Clarke's semi-concerned blue eyes and reached out and accepted Clarke's offered hand, standing and nodding with a small smile. Both women shuddered and sucked in a breath at the touch and the smile that graced Clarke's face was blinding in its intensity. She tugged Lexa to the dance floor, and they proceeded to dance with their friends in a frenzy of movement for the next several hours. All the friends seem to have an unspoken agreement to use the lull of slightly slower songs to take a break and have a drink. Both Clarke and Lexa had switched to water, Lexa's melancholy having washed away with her sweat during the energetic dance movements of the electronic/remix based music.
It was almost 1 a.m., and the group was still going strong. Laughter and gentle teasing was rife, and the mood of the group of friends was light. Raven had been taking photos all night with the promise to share them with everyone the next day. Raven had just managed to get a picture of Clarke and Lexa while they were sitting, heads bent closely together so they could hear each other without shouting. Clarke was laughing at something Lexa had said, and Lexa had a soft smile on her face as she looked at Clarke. Raven showed the photo to Anya. "Look at these two fools," she said. "Is it obvious to everyone else but them?"
Anya looked at the woman in her lap and then back at her best friend across the table. "No," she quietly said, watching Clarke and Lexa together. "I believe they are both painfully aware of how they feel. I think that they just haven't realized the other feels just as strongly. I imagine," Anya said, looking back up at Raven, "that Clarke would be willing to take the next step. Am I right?" Raven nodded, looking over at the two briefly before looking back at Anya, knowing the blonde was about to say more. "Lexa's not ready," Anya said with a sigh.
"Not ready?" Raven asked, confusion on her face.
"Not ready," Anya repeated. "She's afraid, Rae. She needs to deal with some things, emotionally, and be willing to open up to Clarke. She's getting there, but she's not ready."
Raven looked over at the two again. "I'm not going to ask you to divulge Lexa's issues. I know that you are involved somehow, though. You did say this is the first time you have seen her, or talked to her in almost two years." Anya just nodded as a look of sadness ghosted over her face. Raven bent down and kissed it away before continuing. "But just look at them. Tell me you don't think they wouldn't be great together."
"Oh, I know they would. The first time I met Clarke, I knew there was something special there. I'll tell you something else," Anya said, lowering her voice to a whisper before she continued. "I'd be willing to bet that Lexa knows it too, and it's one of the reasons she's so scared."
Raven's eyes widened, and she turned to look back at her friends, only to notice that they had left and were back on the dance floor again.
Raven nodded and looked around for the rest of her friends. Jasper, Maya, Harper, and Monty were all extremely drunk, slumped around the table at the opposite end, telling bad jokes and laughing at every single one. Lincoln and Octavia were grinding on the dance floor just beyond Bellamy and Echo who were wrapped around each other's necks, swaying slowly together, even though the music was upbeat. And Clarke and Lexa were dancing close together, as close as they could get without actually touching each other, both with broad smiles on their faces.
Raven pulled out her phone to take yet another selfie of her and Anya and noticed her battery light flashing at her. "Shit! My phones gonna die, quick, one more picture!" she said, quickly opening her camera and holding it out in front of her and Anya. Just as she was about to push the button, the phone went dark. "Crap!"
Anya chuckled at Raven's dismay and pushed on Raven's backside to get her to move so Anya could stand up. Raven grumbled but complied, frowning at her phone as she shoved it into the inside pocket of her jacket, hanging over the back of the chair.
"Let's go dance," Anya suggested, holding out her hand.
"Fine," Raven grumbled, faking annoyance. "But I'm getting Griffin's phone first. We don't have any dance floor pictures yet!"
"You could just use mine," Anya offered.
"Nah, it's okay. Clarke's is right here," Raven said as she reached into the pocket of Clarke's jacket, pulling out her phone and quickly typed in the password.
"You know Clarke's password?" Anya asked.
"Of course," Raven replied, looking at Anya like it was the most logical thing in the world. "She knows mine too, so does O. We have no secrets from each other...Holy Shit!" Raven exclaimed as Clarke's phone came to life.
"What?" Anya asked, noting the look of amazement on Raven's features.
"Clarke has like 20 text messages and five voice mails. Who the hell would be blowing up her phone like that? Everyone she talks to is here," Raven said, eyes wide. "I better show this to her, it might be an emergency."