Chapter 7

"Anya, why are you sitting over there? Get your sexy ass over here." Raven said as she walked by her friend.

"I was with Lexa but she left." Her tone was dry and it was clear that she wasn't impressed with her friend so she stood up and followed Raven over to the table her other friends were sitting at.

"Lexa ditched her, so she's hanging with us now."

Clarke took another sip of her drink, she definitely needed it." Lexa was here?"

Anya nodded. "Nice song though, write it about anyone special?" She smirked at her friend.

"You know, I think I need another drink." In the blink of an eye Clarke was up at the bar as Bellamy sat down in her place.

"Anya, this is my brother Bellamy, Bell this is Anya."

Bellamy smiled as stuck his hand out. "It's nice to meet you, princess has told me some good stories about you all."

Anya's eyes narrowed as she shook his hand firmly. Raven laughed at Anya not saying anything. "I see you've met my brother." Octavia laughed as she sat down between the two of them.

"What brings you to town?" She didn't mean to be sound like she was interrogating him but it was part of her job to find out the truth and as much as she knew Clarke wasn't into Bellamy, she didn't know if that worked both ways. "And princess?"

"Ugh, really Bell! Anya does not need anyone's help in coming up with nicknames."

"Yeah, Bell, besides mine is better, right Clarke Kent!"

Anya couldn't help but laugh. "Clarke Kent? As in superman? This one?"

Octavia shook her head with a laugh as Clarke sat down next to Anya and Raven. "Clarke Kent, as in the reported, because she's all creative with her painting. But technically she is a superhero, she does save lives for a living."

Clarke tilted her head slightly with a large grin on her face. "Octavia Blake, did you just compliment me?"

"I'm living in your house, consider the compliment, rent money." They all laughed as Clarke shook her head with an eye roll. "My nicknames are always spot on, especially considering the other one. Sorry I know she's your best friend but I got that one right."

Anya looked over at her curiously. "Do not tell her, because she will start calling her that." Clarke warned.

"I won't, come on, what is it." Anya was interested now, she had briefly met Octavia before but she was really starting to like her.

"Lex Luther." Octavia said with a smug shrug, as she leant back in her chair, taking her beer with her.

They all waited in suspense for Anya's reaction. "Nope, Clarke was right, I'm definitely calling her that from now on."

Most people would be mortified at that revelation but Octavia loved it. She couldn't physically harm Lexa so she figured her best friend making fun of her would have to do.

"I really hate hanging out with women. I swear one minute I'm being asked a question, twenty minutes later I still haven't said a word." Bellamy joked with a shake of his head, he had gotten used to female banter.

"Not to worry Bellamy, I didn't forget about my questions. You should answer them now."

He gulped, and took a drink. "I'm in the National Guard so I move around a lot but I had some time off so I decided I'd visit my annoying sisters." Anya was about to ask about whom the third Blake sibling was until she saw Clarke and Octavia both flip him off. "Oh and princess because I used to call her Malibu princess but that got to long."

"She's not even from Malibu idiot." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know, which is why it would piss her off even more." He grinned.

Anya shook her head. "God, you three really do act like siblings. You did always want those Clarke, guess you found the cream of the crop." She drank her beer with a raised eyebrow.

"I like your sarcasm," Octavia noted as they went back to talking about Clarke. "I'm confused, if you all went to high school, middle school and all the schools together, how did you and she who shall not be named not start dating sooner?"

"Oh, I got this one." Raven grinned as she put her drink down.

"I'll fill in whatever you miss." Raven gave Anya an agreeing nod.

"We've all always been friends for the most part but that's because Anya, me and Raven used to be neighbours growing up. Anya is best friends with Lexa, which you know but that didn't happen 'til about middle school. Lexa always had a different group of friends, same general crowd though. So Clarke and her were cool with each other but they didn't really, really know each other. We all went to the same parties, same events, our parents were all friends too but they just never hung out just the two of them."

"Except that one time, senior year on the boat cruise." Anya added. "We ended up getting a little too drunk off of Monty's moonshine and they ended up having to sneak us back into our houses."

"Not an easy feat, for mere mortals." Octavia and Bellamy let out a light chuckle at Anya's pleased expression with the description. "Then they ended up being in the same class at USC."

Clarke set her empty glass down on the table. "And the rest you are well aware of."

"Is she though?" Raven asked with a questioning glare. "Because she looked mighty confused as to why Lexa left."

"Yeah Clarke, what are you not telling me?"

Bellamy stood up. "I'm getting another round, don't worry princess, I got you." She gave him a thumbs up.

"When did she tell you they had their first moment?"

"In class, about some quiz."

Raven and Anya both let out boisterous laughs. "Seriously Clarke, you did her that dirty? Didn't even tell the girl about your first date?"

"I did, we had wings and wine in my dorm room."

Raven shook her head. "No sweetie that wasn't your first date, even Anya agrees. We all know why Lexa left tonight and it wasn't just because you were here. She clearly doesn't have a problem being in the same room as you as evidenced by the hospital, the gym, and the café."

"I'll save you the trouble Clarke, I'll tell it. Lexa told me everything about that night in pain staking detail, more than once."

"You and I will talk about you leaving things out, later!"

XOXO

Freshman Year – USC

Lexa had been exhausted from her first couple weeks of university. Everyone had told her that it was a different environment but she hadn't realized how true her family and friends had been. She thankfully had a single room on campus but she found herself almost missing the craziness of having more people around. It was hard to focus in dead silence, and even music wasn't helping. So she decided to do what any responsible young adult would do, she found the nearest coffee house with wifi that was just off campus, ordered something with high levels of caffeine and attempted to read her book. She really needed to finish reading this book.

That is at least, until she realized that she had just walked in on an open mic night. She only thanked her luck that she had chosen a place off campus so she probably wouldn't run into any of her classmates.

"Hey everyone I'm Clarke and, I don't usually do this outside of bon fires, so you may want to get ear plugs ready." Lexa's head shot up from her book. Had the voice just said her name was Clarke because it definitely sounded like Clarke. As Lexa peered around the people that were blocking her view of the stage she felt her heart stop and then speed up really up quickly as the blonde on stage began to sing. It took a minute to realize what song the girl was singing because of how quiet the mic was but Lexa was impressed.

"I like the way you work it no diggity." Lexa watched as Clarke sang, her blonde hair hung over one shoulder, wavy like she just spent a day at the beach, and her voice, god she hadn't realized how raspy it was before. She also happened to sing one of Lexa's favourite songs, and surprisingly didn't butcher it. As she finished the song Lexa clapped along with everyone else. She sat mesmerized as she watched the blonde navigate across the bar, smiling at people who told her she had sounded good.

In that moment she scolded herself for not realizing sooner just how beautiful Clarke Griffin was. They had grown up together, their parents had been friends for a long time and yet she never saw her the way she did right then and there in the little café. There was suddenly something very sexy and elegant about her all the same time.

"Lexa?" Looking up from trance she smiled at her high school friend. "Second time in less than a week. Here I thought it was a pretty big school." Clarke laughed as she took in Lexa's appearance. Jeans and hoodie, it all fit her so perfectly that in Clarke's opinion it was sexier than any of the little dresses she had ever seen Lexa wear before.

"Hey, you're awesome. I didn't realize you were that good." Lexa grinned as she motioned for Clarke to sit down in the empty chair next to hers.

Clarke laughed and Lexa heard it differently than she heard before, maybe it was the lack of sleep or maybe it was this quaint café, but whatever it was she liked it. "It's probably because you're sober but that doesn't make sense because most things are better drunk."

"Like the time you filled Monty's hot tub with bubble bath?" Lexa questioned as Clarke made a shocked face.

"Me? I would never! But who told you it was me?"

Lexa shook her head with a laugh. "No one, I was walking home from Anya's and I saw you and Raven with the bottle, might I add that it was empty."

"We had to recycle it, Raven would have had a fit. His parents still to this day, thought it was him." There was a pause but it wasn't uncomfortable, neither felt as though they needed to fill the silence. "Okay, I gotta know, did you come here to read or to get up there?" She tilted her head towards the stage with a grin.

"To read, I didn't realize it was open mic night because I definitely can not sing."

"But you can rap." Lexa's eyes widened in shock "Seems as though we both know secrets about the other."

"I will kill Raven or Anya, which one of them was it?"

Clarke shook her head. "No bloodshed this time. I was dropping something off at your place one day and I may have heard you. To be fair your mom told my mom to tell me, to let myself in because she didn't think you'd be home. Seemed like you were having a good time studying though."

"It's a talent."

"I'd say. Makes sense why Anya calls you the Commander."

Lexa groaned, her book long since forgotten about. "I will never, ever live that down."

"For a second I thought you were going to say that we are never ever getting back together."

"I would use way better Taylor Swift lyrics."

"Are you flirting with me Callaway?" Clarke grinned widely as she peered at Lexa with a long that could only be described as the cutest sexy Lexa had ever seen.

The brunette let out a laugh as she leaned her head back against the chair. "Are you flirting with my Griffin?"

Clarke pondered if for a minute, moving her head from side to side, trying to hold back the smile. "I think an innocent by-stander would consider this flirting." Clarke gave Lexa her signature raised eyebrow with a wink. "Is that enough to get you to go up on there and show this place who Laguna's next best rapper is, with the sickest flow."

"No." She shook her head with a laugh.

"Too much smolder?" Clarke smiled, her heart starting to speed up at the way Lexa laughed.

"Nope, I think it was the right amount. The wink is a nice touch. Since you asked, I need to as well. What made you go up there?"

Clarke shrugged her shoulders. "Seemed like fun, I haven't been out much yet and I figured I needed to put myself out there in some way. Move past my comfort zone and take life by the horns."

"That sounds like something that came out of Raven's mouth."

"It did but she's right. New city, new school, might as well live it up while I still can. In four years I'll be headed off to med school at Columbia or Yale. Does Yale have a med school?"

Again Lexa shrugged. "You know, I have no idea." She reached down and picked her book, she really did need to read.

"I'm sorry, I'm distracting you. I'll let you get back to it. You have my number, give me a call sometime."

Lexa watched as Clarke's back turned and something snapped inside of her without her realizing it. "You don't have to leave unless you were planning on it anyways." Clarke shook her head. "Then please, sit."

An hour later, Lexa hadn't read much of her book, she tried she just couldn't get into it. Clarke had silently watched people go up on stage as if it was the most amusing thing on the planet, it wasn't but Lexa found looking at Clarke was. She really had no idea what came over but as the night started to wind down she saw Clarke yawn out of the corner of her eye. "Think you got one last song in you?"

"Hmm?" Clarke moved her head to look at Lexa as she sipped on her coffee that clearly wasn't doing her much good.

Lexa smiled and set her book on the table. I'll be right back." Clarke nodded in her half asleep daze as Lexa walked away. Clarke figured Lexa was going to the washroom, that is until she heard someone pick up the microphone and turn it on. The minutes the words started flowing her gaze was fixed on the stage in front of her. Lexa was standing on stage in her black skinny jeans, the perfect over sized hoodie, glasses sitting on top of her head. Clarke couldn't help but laugh at the view in front of her.

"I'll serve your ass like John McEnroe. If your girl steps up I'm smackin' the ho. Words to your moms, I came to drop bombs. I got my rhymes than the Bible's got psalms. And just like the prodigal son I've returned. Anyone stepping to me you'll get burned. Cause I got lyrics and you ain't got none. So if you come to battle bring a shotgun. But if you do you're a fool cause I duel to the death. Try and steps to me you'll take your last breath. I got the skill come get your fill. Cause when I shoot to give, I shoot to kill. I came to get down, I came to get down so jump out your seats and get done. Jump, Jump, Jump, everybody jump."

By the last chorus everyone was out of their seats and jumping around, even the barista was bobbing her head to the beat as Lexa rapped it effortlessly, like she was born with insanely good flow.

When she finally got back to the table a few minutes later, she smiled at the way Clarke was looking at her. "That, that was impressive, I can't lie. I think you have a following now."

"You know it, but I figured it was the least I could do since you kept me company all night. It's weird not having as many people around."

"Agreed but no need for thanks you saved me from the creeper, left side of the bar. Lexa pretended to sit before she sat down as she scanned the bar for the person Clarke had mentioned.

"You are so very welcome because no, no don't ever let yourself get that desperate."

"Aren't you actually going to sit down?"

Lexa slowly shook her head, she really didn't want to leave but she knew she probably should, it was 1 a.m. and she couldn't hold sleep off much longer. "I need my bed, so badly, I've been cheating on her and I told her I'd be home tonight. Gotta stick to my word."

"That you do, especially with your bed and because it sounds serious."

"I'll see you in class tomorrow?" Lexa picked her book up off the table in front of the chair she was sitting at and threw it into her bag.

Clarke yawned once again. "I think sleep might be a good idea, and I should be there as long as I don't sleep through my alarm."

"I hope for my sanity you don't. I can only take the sound of that Prof's voice for so long."

"I'll try to save you."

It was Lexa's turn to wink, "did you want to maybe come over some time, to study? Or we can watch a movie, relax, whatever." The rambling was starting and Lexa knew that that was a bad sign but the way Clarke smiled at her question eased her nerves.

"That sounds really good actually, you supply the pizza, I'll supply the wine?"

"It's a date." The words fell out of Lexa's mouth before she could even think about what she was saying.

"And I'm the flirt." Clarke laughed with a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes.

TBC…