It's Friday and Clarke is gathering up her things from the staff room at AYRC. She can't believe she just finished up her 3rd week here. For the most part, it's been nothing but a positive experience. The only thing she wishes was better was her relationship with a certain brunette. Lexa still won't speak more than a couple of words to her at a time and won't talk to her at all unless she absolutely needs to. She pretty much makes it a point to ignore her existence otherwise.
Clarke hasn't stopped taking notice of the girl however. She's been admiring her from afar every day. She has noticed how playful she can be with the kids and how they all just gravitate towards her. She sees how intently she listens to each child as they talk to her. She sees her stay late to help Mr. Kane finish paperwork and how she sneaks extra snacks to the same little boy everyday. Clarke is in awe of this girl and can't help but become more enamoured with her as each day passes.
When she makes her way to the front doors she notices it's pouring out. "Great" she sighs. Right before she was about to make a run for it to her car, she sees Lexa sitting on a bench to the right of the doors.
"Hey." Clarke says. Lexa looks up and nods. Well, at least she's not completely ignoring me. Clarke thinks. "Do you, uh, need a ride somewhere?"
Lexa looks up at her narrowing her eyes. "No thanks."
"Are you sure? It doesn't look like this rain is letting up anytime soon." Clarke says not giving up easily.
"I can wait."
Clarke sighs. "Come on Lexa. It's pouring and it's going to be dark soon. Please just let me give you a ride." She can see that the brunette is thinking about it. "It's just a friendly car ride."
Lexa looks up at her briefly before standing up. "Ok."
Clarke is a bit shocked. "Ok then. This way."
The two finally make it inside the car, slightly soaked from the rain. "Sorry, I'm getting your seat wet." Lexa says shyly. "Don't worry about it, water drys." Clarke says with a smile as she leans over to glove box popping it open, causing Lexa to jump back a little. "Sorry. Umm, do you want a tissue to dry your face." Lexa takes the tissue. "Thanks."
Silence envelopes the car. Much to Clarke's annoyance, Lexa hasn't said anything after giving her directions to her house. She can't take it anymore.
"So, do you have any plans this weekend?" She tries.
Lexa turns to her. "We don't really have to go through the small talk do we?" Clarke sighs. "It was just a question, Lexa. Sorry I asked." Lexa noted the defeat in the blondes voice. Rolling her eyes she sat a little straighter in her seat.
"I work every weekend. And then I do homework. Not very interesting." Her tone is flat but it's not hostile. "You work every weekend? Why? When do rest?" Clarke asks.
Lexa looks down at her hands in her lap. "I like to stay busy and I'm saving money for a lawyer." She looks up at the blonde and can tell she's fighting the urge to talk. "Go ahead and ask." She says with a smirk.
That causes Clarke to smile. "Why do you need a lawyer?"
"I'm trying to get emancipated." She says simply. Before Clarke could ask another question, Lexa continues on her own. "I can't last another year and half in the system. I'm tired of it." Clarke just nods as she pulls in front of Lexa's house.
"Thank you for the ride." The brunette says as she unbuckles her seat belt. Before she can move to get out of the car she feels a hand on her arm. Lexa winces as she draws her arm away from Clarke. Clarke raises her hand up quickly. "Oh, sorry. I just wanted to give you my number, you know in case you needed a ride sometime. I didn't mean to hurt you."
Lexa grabs her things and opens the door. "It's ok, I'm fine... And I don't have a phone."
The door is shut and the girl is gone before Clarke can say anything else.
Morning came quickly and Clarke is at the hospital for her volunteering shift. She usually helps her mom upstairs in the neuro unit but her mother thought it'd be better for her to spend time in pediatrics today. She had said "Since you're doing so well at the Youth Center, I thought you might like it." Clarke didn't argue, but she wasn't a fan of peds. She obviously loves kids, but sick ones are hard for her to be around.
Thankfully, she was nearing the end of her shift. She was exhausted. Peds sure do take a lot more of her energy. Her last assignment was to drop off some coloring books to one of the patient rooms and then she would be able to go grab a coffee and go home.
"Knock, knock." She says as she enters the room. "I hear someone wants to color." The coloring books in her hands have fallen to the floor just as fast as the words left her mouth. She quickly picks them up and looks back over at the bed.
"Charlotte?" Clarke is hoping her voice didn't waver.
"Clarke!" The young girl said cheerfully. "Why are you here?"
"I work here too. It's good to see you, I've missed you at the center." Clarke puts on a brave smile before taking a seat on the foot of the girls bed.
Charlotte begins asking her tons of questions about what they've been doing and what art projects they've been working on. Clarke listens intently as her heart is breaks. The joyful little girl she met 3 weeks ago now looks tired and weak laying in this bed.
Clarke stays with Charlotte until the girl falls asleep. As she is packing up the coloring books and crayons she notices the girls chart in the pocket by the door. She knows she's not supposed to but, curiosity gets the better of her. She's skimming over the first page when she sees the word she was afraid of: Leukemia.
Clarke walks across the street from the hospital and into The Dropship Cafe in desperate need of caffeine. She places her order and walks to the other end of the counter to wait for her drink.
"Are you stalking me now?"
She knows that voice. Soft with a hint of annoyance. "Lexa?" Clarke didn't even notice her until right this second. "This is where you work?" Lexa only nods as she removes the milk tin from underneath the steamer. "I come here every Saturday after my shift at the hospital, I've never seen you before."
"I usually work the early morning shift, 4 a.m. to noon, but someone called out today and I took their shift." Lexa explained. "You work at the hospital?" She places Clarke's finished drink on the counter.
"Thanks… Um, yeah. I've been volunteering there for a year. My mom is a neurologist there." Again, all she gets in response is a nod. "I saw Charlotte." She says softly. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Lexa's eyes soften. "Hey Matt, I'm going to take a break." she yelled over at her coworker before taking off her apron and walking around the corner to where Clarke was standing. She motioned for the girl to sit at a nearby table. Once seated she stares at Clarke.
"I couldn't tell you Clarke. It wasn't my place." She explains. "How is she?"
Clarke takes a sip of her latte. "She's as ok as she can be I guess. She looks tired…" her words trail off. "Where are her parents? Or any family for that matter? From what I could tell, she hasn't had many visitors."
Lexa sits back in her chair and sighs. "I don't know much about her parents except that they are in and out of jail and rehab. No other family that I'm aware of either. She doesn't have anyone."
"She has me now." Clarke says firmly. Before Lexa could respond they are interrupted.
"Lexa, I need you!" The man from behind the counter shouts.
"Sorry. I have to go." Lexa says as she stands up.
"Wait. When is your shift done?"
"In an hour" she answers as she ties her apron.
"Would you like to come over to my place for dinner?" Clarke asks shyly.
Lexa stands frozen, a bit shocked by the sudden invitation. "Uh, I can't." She turns to walk away but stops when she hears the blonde sigh. "Thanks for the invitation though." She adds quickly before making her way back behind the counter.
Clarke smiles.