Clexa One-Shots

by ThatGayFriend

These are just something I think up and can't get out of my head. If you like, let me know. I'll also accept prompts for other Clexa stuff. Anyway, I hope you like. If I write any other blurbs they will more than likely be uploaded here. Enjoy. I now right smut *sigh* I have jumped on the bandwagon. So some of these may be smutty. Tread carefully if you're not into that.

7. I Met A Girl

A/N: One shot based off of Sam Hunt's song I Met A Girl. I hope you enjoy, review/favorite/follow for more cute and sometimes nasty Clexa lovin'.

~TGF

I Met A Girl

Lexa was trailing behind Anya, her hands buried deep in her khaki pockets and eyes rolling. Her older sister was giving her a tour of the tiny town she'd moved to after graduation. It was Lexa's first time so Anya was adamant about taking her to all of the tourist spots that she could think of.

Right now, they were touring Park Avenue—the strip Anya called the tourist center of town. They had already gone through a history museum where Anya droned on and on about every single piece. Lexa tried to be interested in it because her sister was so obviously enraptured by the local history.

The street was old and long, dating back to the 1800s. Some of the shops and boutiques were the same ones from back then. Tall oak trees shaded the packed sidewalks and canopied over the narrowed streets. If she'd held her hand out, Lexa might have been able to brush her fingers against a car creeping by on the busy streets.

It wasn't that Lexa didn't find the little old town intriguing or charming, she just loved the fast-paced buzz of the city. She couldn't understand why Anya had decided to set up her practice in the middle of nowhere. Where was she going to get patients? Would she really be able to afford it if the business went under?

Anya's only explanation had been, "I like it here, Lexa. I'm staying and I want you to come stay with me. There's the most adorable college here that I think you'd love."

Lexa hadn't replied to that. She had a life back in New York. Or, well, she'd had a life back in New York, until she hadn't anymore. She didn't want to move halfway across the country to a town in the middle of Tornado Alley just to get blown away by a tornado. But Anya's heart was in the right place, even though Lexa's was made up.

So instead of bickering and arguing her entire two weeks of being in the quaint little town, Lexa decided to placate her sister. She acted interested and agreed to anything Anya wanted to show her. Now they walked towards whatever college Anya wanted to explore, and window shopped as they went.

They passed a couple of tiny stores Lexa filed away to return to on their way back. Mostly vintage music stores with instruments hanging in the window and a couple of used book ones too. She was always a sucker for a worn book, there was just something about them. Maybe it was the history behind every single one.

Anya led her around a corner, "So this school is small, but they have a really hands on program…" she continued on, talking about the different majors it had and how the town was going to be getting bigger since it had become a state university.

Lexa was distracted by the view of the lake before them. They stood at the top of a declining hill, where the shops made a sharp turn and descended towards a large, open lake. The sidewalk continued down and merged with the one circling the lake. The sun was going down, casting the waters in an orange glow that lit the surrounding air like fire.

It was beautiful, and just across the lake sat the sprawling campus of the University Anya had been talking about. They stood there for a second, staring at the view before people started elbowing past them. After a particularly harsh slam of a shoulder against hers, Lexa decided to step out of the way.

She turned, glancing behind her to make sure nobody was coming as she did so. But instead of moving, her feet seemed to lose the ability. Lexa caught a brilliant gold color out of her peripheral and turned to get a better look.

A blonde girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet just across the road. She was standing on the curb, in between cars parked in parallel parking spots. She kept leaning out, searching for the moment she would be able to get across. Her wristwatch seemed to hold a lot of interest to her as she seemed to be late to something or other.

Lexa watched her, intrigued by the way she bit her lip and her eyebrows furrowed at the same time her lips turned downward. She was dressed up in a simple white dress, crossed over with a lace pattern that was cinched to hug her waist. It showed off the soft curves of her waist and the attractive swell of her hips. She had on a gray cardigan that didn't match the dress in the least, but Lexa assumed it was to keep warm in the brisk weather.

Her hair was down and a little messy, but lucky enough a few strands were twisted back to keep it out of her face. And God what a face. Lexa had never felt so drawn to someone before. She needed to know this girl, but she didn't know how to approach a complete stranger.

"Lexa? What are you doing?" Anya snapped her fingers in front of her face. Lexa jumped and smacked her sister away from her.

"What the hell, An?" She growled in frustration, glaring at her sister before turning back in search of the girl. She was gone. She huffed and returned her attention to Anya's signature smirk.

"Who were you looking at, Lexa?"

Lexa leaned against the corner of the building, the stucco digging into her spine. She tried to seem as casual as possible, even crossing her arms and legs, "Nobody, Anya."

"Somebody, Lexa," Anya mimicked her flippant tone with a hint of amusement.

The brunette pushed away from the wall and straightened out her jacket glaring at her sister before taking in her surroundings once again. Still no girl. A twinge of disappointment made her frown before she sighed and resigned herself to the fate of never seeing the blond again.

"Let's just go, Anya," she brushed past her sister and dug her hands deeper into her pockets, watching her feet as she moved.

An indignant huff escaped her sister, "I'll find out eventually. I bet I could tell you who she was if you described her to me. This town is small."

Lexa glanced back at her sister but kept her pace steady, "No worries, Anya. I'll probably never see her again."

Anya hurried to catch up and Lexa watched in amusement as she dodged around passersby and avoided getting hit by cars when she hopped into the street. For a small town, this place was really busy. But there couldn't have been very many places for people to socialize in such a town anyway.

"Come on, just entertain me please," Anya's voice was gasping as she chased her sister even though she was nearly caught up. Lexa quickened her pace once again, enjoying their little game. Or, well, her little game. "Slow the fuck down, kid. I might trip and go rolling into traffic at this angle, bitch."

Lexa laughed at that, her sister only ever cussed when she got pissy. She only ever got pissy when she was challenged and everything these sisters did, challenged the other.

"Fine," Lexa turned completely, walking backwards once they got to a relatively clear part of the sidewalk, "she was gorgeous." A stupid grin spread across her face, "She was also dressed in this cute little white dress and her hair was the most brilliant shade of blonde I have ever see. Her eyes looked gray or blue or—"

She slammed into someone, lost in the memory of her single glance of the beautiful stranger. But Lexa had always had cat-like reflexes, thanks to years of getting jump-scared and beat up by her older sister. She turned quickly and braced her feet on the cement, thankfully she had worn a pair of sneakers. Her arms slipped around a narrow, soft waist that she pulled flush against her to stop their fall.

Lexa's free hand thrusted out to take a hold of anything nearby and her fingers slipped around the frosty metal of an old-fashioned lamppost. That definitely stopped them from falling, even though Lexa's feet got tangled with the strangers she kept them upright.

Two arms were thrown around her neck and a shocked yell that sounded like a squeal escaped, "Oh fuck!"

Their eyes met as they came to a stop and Lexa's mouth went dry. They were inches apart and she was getting a close up view of the stranger she'd been admiring from afar. Her lips were pink and soft-looking, glossed over with some type of lipstick and a beauty mark sat just over her upper lip. They were so close, Lexa could see a light peppering of freckles over broad cheekbones and, wow, her eyes were beautiful. In the fading light they were like shining blue gemstones with flecks of black and gold that made them glitter.

"Blue, her eyes are fucking blue," the words burst out of her, almost like the air that escaped her lungs when Lexa had slammed into the stranger. They stared at each other for long moments, eyes scanning over each other's faces, mere inches separating them. Then Lexa's cheeks flushed suddenly and she untangled herself from the blonde before her, though making sure they were both steadily on their feet before pulling away completely. "Sorry."

The blonde seemed to blink for a second then fixed her dress and licked over her lips in the most distracting way. She ran her hand through her hair and over her neck before settling her fingers at her temple, "It's okay, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"I was walking backwards, so it's really my fault. Are you okay? Did you hit your head?" Lexa stepped forward to touch at the spot the blonde was rubbing, but thought better of it, letting her hand drop.

"No, I'm okay," the blonde flashed a reassuring smile that made Lexa's heart swell with affection and attraction. The girl dropped her hand as well and shrugged, "I guess we're lucky we didn't fall. You're really strong, by the way." Her eyes flitted down Lexa's body for a second before she shook her head and rubbed at her temple again, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Ah, thanks," Lexa blushed again at the clear compliment, wishing that the chilly air would be a valid excuse for the rush of blood. "Are you sure you're okay?"

The blonde chuckled, "Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing? We hit each other, right?"

Lexa shrugged and brushed her cold hand over her own neck—a nervous tick. Her mind was running a mile a minute, she wanted to find a way to get to know this girl. But the problem was that she wasn't smooth, she never had been. So how do you flirt with someone? She didn't even know if this girl was gay, yet she was definitely going to go for it.

"Maybe we could go get coffee and check each other out?"

The blonde's eyebrows rose at the comment in surprise.

"Shit," Lexa blushed even harder—if that was possible, "I meant, make sure the other is okay. I'm sorry," she ran a hand over her own face, heart pounding with embarrassment.

"Sure," the strange girl crossed her jacket over her chest and kept her arms around her middle for warmth. A smirk quirked the right edge of her lips, "I'd absolutely love to know who you were talking about a minute ago."

Lexa let out a huff of air and turned, searching for help but found that her sister had disappeared in the non-existent crowd. She was alone and completely incapable of making a coherent sentence due to her overwhelming amount of embarrassment. She was also still very much lost in those baby blue eyes. "Um, maybe over that coffee?"

"Definitely over that coffee, but I can't right now. I'm running late for a presentation," she tapped at the large, out of place watch on her wrist and turned to start heading further down towards the lake.

Lexa grabbed her arm lightly, "Wait, what's your name?"

That smirk that made Lexa's stomach do all sorts of weird things was back, "Wouldn't you like to know?" the stranger turned her body back to give Lexa her full attention.

"I really would, actually," Lexa shoved her hands back into her pockets.

"Good, that means I'm doing my job," she started backing away, a hop to her step that made Lexa's eyes involuntarily drop to the low cut of her dress, "You'll find me if you want to see me again."

"You're leaving it up to fate?" Lexa asked, jerking her eyes up to meet those blue ones that sent a thrill down her spine. If she hadn't been so enthralled by the mysterious girl before her she would have been worried about all of the emotions this one interaction was eliciting.

The blonde shrugged, "It's never steered me wrong before. If I see you again, then it must be meant to be, right?"

Lexa's heart clenched at the idea of meant to be, she'd always left everything up to herself. Whatever she could accomplish was what she deserved. She had to go out and get things, not just let the marbles fall where they may. She needed a plan to make something happen.

"I don't really believe in fate, just give me a hint?"

The blonde was moving again, walking backwards. She was nearly ten feet away and looked up at the sky, tapping her finger to her chin in a dramatic rendition of thinking about something hard. "Fine, fine. Since you're cute I'll give you one thing," she held up a single finger, eyebrow quirked in a silent question.

Lexa nodded eagerly, needing something.

"C is my first initial, sufficient?"

The brunette huffed, this girl was trying to play mind games. Lexa was good at mind games, but not when it came to gauging whether or not someone liked her. She was utterly hopeless in that department, "Definitely not sufficient."

"Oh well," sighed the blonde, "I guess we'll never see each other again." She brought her fingers up to her forehead in a mock salute before turning away, "Sayonara, cutie." She winked one last time before continuing on her way.

Lexa watched as she got further and further away. Watched as her hips swayed and dressed moved in the most enticing way. The brunette had a feeling that the beautiful stranger knew she was watching her and was putting on a show. She was still watching, even after the blonde disappeared behind some large trees near the lake.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" Suddenly Anya was by her side again, nudging her out of her reverie with her elbow.

Lexa growled her annoyance, "You really missed that? Where did you go?"

"I saw a cute little flower shop, thought you might want to go check out some flowers. I went in first then came to get you."

"I ran into her again, Anya. That girl I was telling you about, I literally ran into her," the longing and annoyance warred inside her for a minute as she mulled over everything she knew about the girl. She knew what she looked like and insinuated that she went to the college and that her name started with a C. Wow, a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes that goes to the local college with the initial C. A needle in a haystack, she grumbled mentally.

"Don't look so down, kiddo! This is a small town, you'll probably end up running into her again before your trip is over. Did you get her name?"

"No, only the letter C. She pretty much said that fate would bring us together again if it was meant to be."

Anya laughed, "God this town is full of hippies." She slapped her sister's back, "Come on, let's go. Maybe we'll run into her on campus."

Lexa wanted to whine to Anya more about the pretty blonde and the near impossibility of seeing her again. But the idea that just maybe they would run into her lit a tiny flame of hope in her gut that warmed her body. Maybe was all she needed

Two days later and there was no sign of the pretty blonde anywhere. Lexa had looked and had felt like an idiot doing so. After visiting the campus—where she'd unintentionally looked everywhere—she'd looked in every boutique window and store shop on their way back to Anya's house. That was where the disappointment settled in and Lexa kept replaying their conversation over and over again to try to come up with any more information that may have accidentally slipped in.

Anya was no help either, she hadn't caught a glimpse of the girl so she had no idea who Lexa was talking about. She just kept throwing out little reassurances that sounded like a riddle from a fortune cookie. It was stupid and useless and made Lexa just as frustrated.

The very next day after meeting the girl, Lexa went to all of those little shops that she'd wanted to. Anya had to work so she was left to her own devices. She'd looked through hundreds of used books, hoping that just maybe fate would step in and she'd stumble into the blonde like in all of those cheesy movies. No luck

After that, Lexa had gone to a couple of coffee shops, where she'd sat in little corner seats indoors with the sun warming her skin. Once again, she'd hoped that they'd run into each other. It could be implied that the girl liked coffee since she'd agreed to go get one, right?

Either way, she never ran into her and the amount of disappointment Lexa felt over it was overwhelming. She'd spent the whole day loitering and wandering in hopes of meeting a girl she would more than likely never see again. She didn't understand why she was being so illogical or why she was so hung up over someone she didn't even know the name of.

"Lexa! Seriously, you met her once! Stop moping around like you just broke up with someone," Anya complained as she entered the house after the second day of watching the brunette sit around. Lexa was still wrapped up in the same blanket as when Anya had left over ten hours ago. A rerun of Will & Grace played on Logo in the background and Lexa was surrounded by junk food. "Have you even moved?"

Lexa grumbled and shifted but couldn't find the energy to provide Anya with a verbal response. She only nuzzled deeper into the blankets.

"Fine, well I'm going to call some friends of mine and invite them over tomorrow after I get off of work. So you need to shower and look just slightly presentable," Anya placed the bags of produce she'd gotten at the farmer's market on her way home on the kitchen counter while she spoke.

"Are one of these friends the mysterious Raven you keep talking on and on about? The one that you're definitely not seeing?" Lexa was standing in the entryway of the kitchen. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she looked pale from the lack of sunlight, but a smirk played on her lips easily enough. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a big white v-neck t-shirt that looked about three sizes too big.

"Haha," Anya mocked, moving around to put away her groceries while she spoke, "maybe. Her and a couple of her friends. They're all locals and go to school here. You should like them."

Clarke was seated across from Raven and Octavia, who were both giving her weird looks. She was twisting her coffee in her hands and those jade eyes were stuck in her head. Phantom arms around her waist, keeping her from falling onto the cement surrounded her. The traces of some sort of cologne or perfume still tickled her nose.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Raven finally asked.

Clarke's face dropped the smile it had subconsciously made, "Nothing. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Clarke, you look love struck," Octavia pointed out.

With a grumble Clarke shrugged, "Am not, I just met a girl at the shops the other day."

"Oh!" Raven leaned forward, "Did you get her number?"

"Ah, no," Clarke rolled her eyes, berating herself for being stupid, "I didn't, but I know who she is. And so do you."

When Clarke didn't immediately elaborate, both of her friends started talking at once.

"Well who is she?"

"Quit being a dick, Griffin and tell us who she is!"

Clarke laughed and threw the wrapper for her straw at Raven, "Alright, fine! You know how Anya's sister is supposed to be in town?"

Raven frowned and shook her head, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you remember Anya saying that she was, and I quote, 'A raging lesbian'?"

Realization seemed to lighten Octavia's features while Raven still looked completely lost, "Oh my God!" she slapped her hands on the table, drawing other customer's attentions, "You're telling me you're all love struck for Anya's sister?"

"No, O," Clarke rolled her eyes, even though she completely was, "we ran into each other. Like literally ran into each other."

"Oh, is she hot?"

"Uh, yes. She's Anya's sister, O." Raven piped up, "Those Woods have some fantastic genes."

"You're so thirsty, Rave," Octavia whacked her upside of the head, "I can't believe it took a genius like you so long to figure out what was going on."

"Hey!" Raven rubbed her head and pouted at Octavia, "It's not my fault I'm emotionally challenged."

"You and Anya both," Octavia quipped but before Raven could respond, she returned her attention to Clarke who was watching the two of them with amusement, "Anyway, what else happened?"

"Well, I think she was talking about me before I ran into her. I wasn't paying attention, seeing as how I was late for my presentation for history. But we talked for a minute. She's adorable and awkward and she somehow managed to ask me out to coffee. But I ended up not going with her and just giving her the initial of my first name."

Raven waved her hands around to get Clarke to stop, "Hold up, you only gave her that your name started with a C? Are you cruel or something? That poor girl will never find you at this rate."

"I agree with Raven, Clarke. Are you really going to toy with Lexa like that? Anya might just hit you."

"Wow, did you just agree with me, Blake?" Raven asked, shocked.

Octavia rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Raven for a split second, "Don't let it go to your head, Reyes."

"Oh, but it's already there," Raven tapped at her head, a shit-eating grin spread across her face.

Oh God, Clarke thought, knowing exactly where this was heading if she didn't break in soon. But she loved watching them bicker and argue. Raven was so hell bent on being the smartest of the three of them and Octavia just loved making Raven think or confusing her so hard her head hurt.

"Alright, alright, calm down you two," Clarke interjected just as Octavia was getting really worked up when Raven called her boyfriend a steroid gorilla and proceeded to flick coffee off of her straw at the younger brunette. "I agree, that's why I need a favor, Rave."

Raven narrowed her eyes, straw still out of her coffee, now aimed at Clarke. Small beads of the caramel color liquid dripped from the tip and onto the table, "What is it?"

Clarke grinned and tried to look as irresistible as possible, batting her eyelashes and pouting. "I need you to get Anya to invite us over for a girl's night or something."

Raven shook her head almost instantly, "No, no, no. Not happening, Anya and I aren't together we don't have group friend nights. All we do is fuck."

"Way to be blunt, Reyes," Octavia grumbled, balling up the plastic wrap from her sandwich.

"No you don't! You guys are together way too often to just be fucking." Clarke protested, "Pretty please?"

"What can I say? Anya has wicked stamina," Raven wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "And no, not happening. She can invite us over if she really wants to."

"Raven—"

"No, Clarke. I'm not taking the next step in this relationship. I've done that too many times. She needs to commit first," Raven got serious, planting her eyes on Clarke. They both knew what she meant so Clarke let the subject drop.

Before anyone else could make a comment, Raven's ringtone went off. She looked at it and rolled her eyes before answering it, "Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you."

A grin spread across her face, one that was wider and happier than anyone else could elicit from her. Raven's eyes seemed to light up and her posture relaxed just a smidge, enough to be noticed if you were paying attention. She listened as Anya replied, "Nothing really, Clarke was being a love struck puppy."

"No way," Raven's voice dripped with sarcasm as she looked at Clarke, both of her eyebrows raised as if to say, we're talking about you, "Lexa's acting like a love struck puppy too? Hold on, I'm putting you on speaker." She pulled the phone from her ear, clicked a couple of buttons before setting it on the table in between the three of them.

"She is. It's ridiculous, she ran into this girl the other day and still won't shut up about it. She's gone into this state of depression like she just broke up with someone, it's ridiculous."

"You won't believe it, An, but I know who she ran into," Raven narrowed her eyes at Clarke, whose face was red from imagining Lexa being hung up over meeting her once. At least she wasn't the only one already acting ridiculous.

"No shit, who?"

Raven didn't reply, but gave Clarke a look that implied she should say it. They argued silently, a battle of who could glare the hardest. Clarke lost.

"Me," she huffed out.

"Who? Is that Clarke?"

"Yes, its Clarke," Raven confirmed, "she was being her coy, charming Griffin self and left Lexa thinking she was a mystery girl. Idiot."

Anya laughed and her voice went up an octave as she mimicked her sister, "The most gorgeous hair, Anya. And her eyes were just so blue. You could drown in them." Her voice went back to normal with another chuckle, "Oh my God, this is gold. I should have known, you do have nice eyes, Clarke."

Clarke blushed harder and buried her head in her arms, "Did she really say all of those things?" her voice was muffled, but Anya still understood her.

"She did," Anya confirmed, "she's falling hard for a stranger she's met once. My idea is going to go over ten times better that this rate."

"What idea?" Octavia piped up, always the curious one.

Anya blew out air, causing a crackling noise over the line, "What the hell are you guys doing? Having some type of important meeting that I wasn't invited to?"

"If you count having coffee and talking about our sexual exploits, then yes. It's a very important meeting that you were not invited to," Raven quipped.

The woman on the phone made a garbled noise, "Ouch that hurts my heart, Reyes. But anyway, I wanted to invite you guys over for a little get together to brighten Lexa's spirits. But it seems that if Clarke comes over, her spirits will definitely be lifted."

"Can I bring Lincoln?" Octavia asked.

"She won't come if he doesn't, Anya," Raven added, sticking her tongue out at Octavia when she shot her a withered look.

"Of course he can come, the more the merrier. I know I haven't known you guys for that long, but invite whoever you want. I need to broaden my friend group anyway. If I keep hanging out with Raven I might end up exploding," Anya snarked, the teasing obvious.

Raven gasped, "Hey! You don't normally complain about me when we're alone."

"That's because my mouth is busy doing other things and your brain is actually incapable of coming up with a coherent sentence."

"Oh god!" Octavia exclaimed, "Public place, on speaker phone. Keep it PG!"

"What? I didn't say anything explicit." Anya's reply was dry and she didn't seem to understand why Octavia was freaking out. The brunette huffed and ran a hand through her hair, resting her elbows on the table without a response.

Anya seemed to realize this and continued, "So will you guys come?"

"When is it?" Clarke asked, finally recovered from her moment of embarrassment.

"Tomorrow, around seven or eight. We can hang out by the pool, grill out."

"Sounds good, I think we'll be there," Raven responded before scooping her phone up and taking it off speaker so she could speak privately with Anya.

Clarke turned to look at Octavia, determined to try to come up with a game plan about seeing Lexa the next day. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but her stomach was in nervous knots and she felt like she might throw up. But Octavia was on her phone, texting away with a little smile on her face, clearly engross in a conversation with her boyfriend.

Oh god, Clarke thought, nervousness eating at her insides as she sat there, thinking of all of the ways things could go wrong the next day.

Lexa was going through her suitcase, looking for the bathing suit she could have sworn she'd brought with her. On her first day, she had been in the process of putting her clothes away in Anya's spare room but had gotten distracted after she'd found one of her old books she'd thought had gone missing. But Anya had ended up stealing it in the move without telling her.

Now here she was, wondering where the hell her board shorts were. She'd found her bikini top and was already dressed in it, but she looked ridiculous standing there in a pair of gray sweatpants and her polka dotted top. If she couldn't find her shorts, she'd have to borrow Anya's and Anya's ass was bigger and better than hers. Lexa wasn't sure she'd fit into them.

"Ahah!" She exclaimed in relief, coming out from under the bed with her wrinkled prize. Her board shorts were simple, black and white and baggy on her waist. They might have been big but they made her less self-conscious of her body, as they covered more than she wanted to be seen.

Lexa quickly put them on and pulled a tank top over her head. Anya was in the kitchen when she came out, putting together some type of platter of veggies. But Lexa didn't have a chance to greet her before the doorbell rang.

Both Woods sisters looked up, brown met green in a challenge before they took off for the door. Anya slammed into Lexa before she could get around the couch, knocking her down and getting to the front door first with a huff of air.

"Hi!" she greeted, swinging the door open and brushing her disheveled hair back. Lexa was breathing heavy but still sat up to see their guests. Anya had told her Raven was going to bring over a few friends, but had refused to provide Lexa with any names.

A dark skinned brunette entered first, toting a bottle of alcohol and a huge grin. Her eyes were alight and she looked like she'd already had a couple of shots before getting there. Lexa knew her at least, Raven. Anya barely stopped talking about her. She said she was a spitfire genius that didn't have an off switch.

Behind her came a tall, bald man with tattoos peeking out of the collar of his shirt. A petite brunette stood next to him. The first think Lexa noticed about her was that her jaw was most likely cut from diamond it was so damn sharp. The next thing was the cute, innocent grin that she sported.

After her was a brooding looking shaggy haired guy with his arm looped around an equally as broody blonde. He had dark skin, freckles and a tight, determined mouth. Behind them came a grinning short-haired guy who bounced on his feet and held another bottle of alcohol. A short, meek looking Asian stood next to him with a scruffy dark boy trailing behind them.

The door closed behind the Asian and Lexa finally stood, straightening out her shirt and hair.

"What the hell are you wearing Raven?" Anya asked after everyone had greeted her and introduced themselves to Lexa. It was hard to remember all of the names and faces that were being thrown at her. Monty, Jasper. Is that one Echo or Octavia? The bald one is Lincoln, right?

Everyone turned to look and Lexa caught the image. Raven was in a tank top that read Where is a geneticist's favorite place to swim? A gene pool. Then it had a little swimming pool filled with stick people underneath. Lexa thought it was cute, and so did Anya apparently because she was shaking her head and grinning. Lexa knew her sister and even when she was being snarky and grumpy she was just hiding her true mushy insides.

"What? I thought it was appropriate." Raven pulled out her shirt, glancing down at it then back up with a lopsided grin.

Anya just kept shaking her head but led everyone outside to the back deck, where the pool was. It was a relatively mild night but a slight chill still managed to permeate the air, so they were lucky Anya's pool had a heater.

Everyone took seats around the table where snacks were set up. The mini bar was fully stocked with drinks and the grill was already simmering by the pool, ready for the burgers and hotdogs whenever the party was. The sun was going down, casting the backyard in its orange glow.

Anya had bullied Lexa into hanging some white Christmas lights around the deck to provide lighting. She'd found the DIY project on Pinterest and then forced Lexa up a ladder and fed her the wire as they moved around the deck. Lexa was pretty proud of herself and the results of her labor.

"So where's Clarke?" Jasper asked, he was seated to Lexa's left and already had a plate of chips in front of him, "I thought she was coming."

Raven and Anya exchanged a look before both of them glanced to Lexa. It didn't go unnoticed by Lexa, but she didn't pay it much attention, too engrossed in trying to remember names to do much else.

"She's running late," Raven provided, "Procrastinated on an assignment and had to run it in to her professor before his office closed today."

"Actually," a brunette said, she was leaning against the bald guy so Lexa determined her name was Octavia, "she's probably drowning in clothes right now. Before Lincoln picked me up, she was stressing out over which bathing suit she should wear."

Lexa frowned, "Is she self-conscious?"

Everyone laughed as if she'd said something hilarious and Lexa blushed. She didn't understand what was so funny about her comment, it was a genuine question. Normally if someone had a hard time picking out clothing they didn't feel comfortable with their body or wanted to impress someone.

"No, no," the shaggy haired, broody guy declined. He waved his arms around, a smile lightening his features and crinkling his eyes around the edges. It reminded Lexa of Octavia's easy smile. "Clarke is really attractive and she knows it. She just likes to dress to impress and then overthinks things."

Lexa opened her mouth to respond but Anya beat her to it, "Hey, kiddo, feel like going inside and getting the rest of the snacks?"

"Why can't you do it?" she shot back.

"I'm hostess, I need to entertain the guests."

"Only way to entertain me is to strip," Raven joked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Anya patted her arm, "Later."

"Really?" Raven grinning, genuinely excited. Her eyes lit up with the idea.

"Yeah, when I get in the pool."

"Oh," the brunette deflated, "that works too, I guess."

"Anyway, please?"

"Fine," Lexa grumbled and stood up, opened the sliding glass door that led inside. She entered the kitchen and found three platters of crackers, vegetables and assorted meats and cheeses on the counter. She was in the process of figuring out who the hell she was going to be getting all three of them out onto the patio without dropping something when the doorbell rang.

Anya was too distracted outside to hear it, so Lexa avoided grabbing the food and went to the door. When she opened it she wasn't expecting to see the blonde from the few days before. She'd given up hope of seeing her again and 'leaving it up to fate' really just wasn't her style. But whatever higher power controlled the universe seemed to want to prove her wrong because standing in front of her was that very same girl.

She was in another dress, but this one was a dark blue and made of cotton. It hugged her curves loosely and in all the right places, accentuating the flair of her hips. Her bathing suit top tied around her neck and her hair was down and around her shoulders, wavy and tousled. Her legs were exposed from just above the knees and down. She wore a pair of ratty, colorful converse that had several different shapes of sharpie colored into them and looked out of place but still adorable.

It took Lexa a moment to process everything but when she did a grin spread across her face. Lexa knew she probably looked a little too crazy and a little too excited. She was flushed and her heart felt like it was doing backflips she was so happy to see this girl. They'd met once and this girl was already flipping her world upside down.

"Hey," she blurted, unable to come up with anything else. Lexa was thankful Clarke wasn't looking at her like she needed to be admitted into a mental facility, she felt so ridiculous.

"Um, hi," Clarke ducked her head and ran her hands nervously down the front of her dress. Her fingers disappeared around the back of her neck for a second before giving a tight lipped smile that looked sheepish, "It's been a long time, huh?"

"You owe me a coffee."

"You owe me a coffee," Clarke grinned, straightening her back when she realized Lexa wasn't mad at her.

"Wait," the brunette frowned, leaning against the door, "was this some type of joke?" her heart fell at the thought and her smile along with it.

Clarke shook her head and stepped forward, raising her hands to reassure the woman before her, "Oh no. I just…realized that I knew who you were after I left. Fate has a funny way of working, I suppose."

"At least it works," Lexa shrugged and leaned against the door, minimizing the distance between the two of them. "I thought I'd never see you again."

She was getting lost in those blue eyes again. It was like drowning in the most pleasant way possible. She couldn't breathe, but she also didn't want to. If Lexa died right then, she would die a happy woman. Just looking at Clarke comforted a part of her she didn't know needed calming and she felt whole.

"Seems like you have," Clarke took another step forward, the warmth of her body pressed against Lexa's was obvious in the chilly evening air. The blonde's voice dropped to a low, teasing husk, "So what are you going to do about it?"

It felt like a hot hammer was slammed right into Lexa's lower stomach. A hot stone settled between her legs at the insinuation and she had to suck in a breath to keep from making an inappropriate noise. Her voice came out shaky and quiet to her displeasure, "Depends on what you want me to do about it."

"We'll see," a brilliant, toothy smile spread across Clarke's face before she patted Lexa's cheek and stepped around her, into the house. Lexa was so stunned for a moment that she didn't realize the blonde was behind her until she spoke, "Coming, slow poke?"

"Yeah," she frowned, shook her head and told herself she shouldn't be getting so lost in a person she didn't know the first thing about. But Clarke's smile was so pretty, her eyes crinkled at the corners and her entire face lit up and it made her look more beautiful than she already was. Lexa hadn't been sure that was possible until that moment.

Lexa turned and shut the door behind her, trying to think of a way to start a conversation, "So I was grabbing those trays to take out onto the porch if you'd want to help me?"

"I'm the guest here and you're trying to put me to work?" Clarke set her keys on the entry hall table next to Octavia's bag and ran a hand through her hair. She turned and raised an eyebrow at Lexa, quirking her lips in a way that drew Lexa's attention to them and the birthmark right above them.

Lexa's cheeks flushed and she ducked away, hurrying into the kitchen with her back to Clarke. The blonde followed though, grinning at the adorable reaction she provoked so easily. There was something endearing and adorable about the brunette's awkward embarrassment. Clarke's fingers itched to painstakingly draw and shade the blush that covered those perfect features, but knew she didn't have the talent or the detailing ability to do so. Didn't mean that she didn't want to try though.

"I'm sorry, I just—"

"Lexa, I'm teasing you. Of course I'll help," Clarke winked and grabbed one of the plates, leaving two for Lexa.

The way the blonde said her name made a shiver race down her spine like the burn of electricity. "Thanks," she muttered sheepishly before leading Clarke to the sliding glass door, where the blonde opened it and allowed Lexa to exit first.

Lexa was confused, she didn't know what Clarke wanted. She was certain her immediate, obvious attraction to the blonde was reciprocated in some way. They had practically agreed to go on a date, or at least have coffee to get to know each other. But what did Clarke want her to do? Was she the teasing type? Did she want Lexa to pursue her instead of the other way around?

It was all too much to think about and was giving the brunette a headache. Maybe she just needed to pull herself together and flirt. But damn, she knew she wasn't good at that. But so far, Clarke seemed to like her complete inability to form a proper sentence around her, so maybe she was just one step ahead of the game there. She hoped, at least.

Bellamy, Lincoln, Monty and Jasper were already trying to see who could do the largest cannon bombs into the pool. The water was churned and lapping over the lip of the deep end and splattering onto the cement. Jasper was in the process of running from one end of the lawn to the pool in an attempt to cause a bigger disturbance. His yells of joy echoed off of the roof.

It was obvious that the two smaller guys weren't going to have any chance against Lincoln's rippling muscles and Bellamy's much more solid figure. Jasper was just too lanky and Monty was small and compact but still small. Miller sat on the edge of the pool, watching the other guys act like monkeys.

Octavia was invested in a conversation with Echo but that faded as soon as Clarke entered the porch. The blonde set down her tray and collapsed into the vacated chair next to Octavia.

"I see you met Clarke again," Anya smirked, still seated with Raven at the table.

Lexa's eyes narrowed, "You knew? And you didn't tell me?"

Anya grinned wider, "You just looked so comfortable there, moping on the couch. I didn't think you should be disturbed."

Lexa opened and closed her mouth several times like a fish out of water. She glanced between her sister and Clarke, who were both smirking and felt herself blush. "I'm going to murder you in your sleep tonight." She grabbed and pointed a celery stick at Anya with a narrow glare before taking a bite out of it.

Raven stood abruptly, "Come on, I want to swim." She held her hand out to Anya who took it without much protest and they existed the porch together. Anya mumbled something about how Lexa would be the one dying but the brunette didn't catch all of it as she left.

Octavia and Clarke stared at each other, expressions twitching and eyes locked together in a silent conversation. Lexa watched them curiously, completely lost because they were communicating silently. She exchanged a look with Echo who just rolled her eyes as if this happened all the time.

Finally Octavia huffed and stood, "Come on, Echo, we're going swimming. Those idiots better not ruin the hot tub."

"Oh we're swimming and leaving these two alone, is that it?" Echo made no move to get up, raising an eyebrow at Clarke then turning to Octavia when she received no response from the blonde.

Octavia only shrugged, "Do you want to be stuck in the middle of the sexually charged flirting that's about to occur? Because I definitely don't."

Echo snapped her fingers at the younger girl and stood hurriedly, "Good point." She was out of the door and out of her shirt in record time.

Octavia followed her throwing a, "Don't have sex on the food!" over her shoulder before she was too at the pool with the rest of her friends. Lexa's gaze lingered on the young woman, she didn't want to look away for fear of what idiotic thing might escape her mouth once she looked at Clarke.

But her looking ended up turning into uncomfortable staring that she didn't intend on happening as Octavia began unbuttoning her shorts next to the hot tub. She averted her eyes and stared intently at her hands, unsure of what to do with herself. She might have been in her sister's home, but she was feeling like the odd one out at this point.

Lexa twirled the rest of her celery stick before taking another bite and glanced up at the blonde sitting in the chair opposite her. Now that she had her alone, she really didn't know what to say or do.

"So you're Anya's sister."

"So you're Clarke Griffin." Lexa swallowed and licked her lips before continuing, "How did that presentation go?"

Clarke shrugged and waved the question away as if it was unimportant, "Probably aced it, I was running late because my mother decided she wanted to rant to me about medical school."

"Medical school?" Lexa prompted.

"Yeah, she's a doctor, like Anya but works about an hour north of here. She wants me to go to medical school and be just like her, but I'm not interested. She's kind of pissed about it, but I've told her countless times that it's my life and not hers."

"You're right, though. It is your life. I know Anya is trying to convince me to move in with her and go to the university here. Get a transfer and everything. But I really like the city life and my apartment is pretty badass," Lexa took a seat, growing more comfortable with the conversation as it went on. She crossed her arms over her chest and slouched in her chair.

Clarke raised an eyebrow, "What are you majoring in?"

"Majoring in business and minoring in Literature. I could easily transfer since you can get a business degree anywhere, but that's not the problem. I really like where I am, but I don't have any family over there so I understand why Anya wants me to move out here with her," Lexa huffed and ran a hand through her hair.

The blonde grabbed a cracker and started building a pepperoni sandwich, "I think you should do what you want. Your sister obviously loves you and this town is really great. There's this one art store that I love going to, I bet you'd love it to. There's a bunch of book stores and some nice shops."

"I know, I went into a couple of the used book stores on Park Avenue. Do you like to paint?"

"Yeah, I love it. I'm actually majoring in art, since this university is so creatively ahead of its time. I was actually doing a presentation on a French artist you'd probably know nothing about."

Lexa leaned forward and grinned, proud of her art knowledge and almost certain she would know the name, "Try me. I bet I know who it is."

Clarke's eyebrows furrowed in concern, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Lexa snapped impatiently, though not unkindly.

"Fine, fine, his name is Nicolas Poussin."

Lexa searched her brain and tried to remember everything she'd ever read about the old art styles but she could not place that name. Her smile dropped into a frown as she thought harder. She didn't want her ego or pride injured because she couldn't remember a stupid artist's name. "Fuck."

Clarke laughed, "Give up?"

The brunette pouted, "I bet I'll know him when you tell me more about him."

"There's really not much. He painted Et in Arcadia ego. Which translates to "Even in Arcadia, there I am." He painted during the Baroque period in France. He's kind of stuffy and not my first choice, but I didn't really get many options. Ringing any bells?"

Lexa shook her head, "Not even one."

"Oh well, my professor is kind of stuffy himself and doesn't like to talk about the more modern styles of art because he doesn't really consider them art. But it doesn't really matter, that presentation was the only one of the semester. Now all I have is one more test and the final then I'm out of there."

The brunette watched the way Clarke adamantly spoke about her art and her classes and how much she really liked her Painting 101 class even though she knew everything they were teaching. She was taking it as an elective but the teacher was laid back and pretty much let her do what she wanted. Every assignment was a painting she created and a short 300 word blurb about what it meant, which was easy enough for Clarke.

Then the blonde went into talking about how her final was coming up in that class and it was worth over half of her grade. She was supposed to paint something that inspired her, but sadly she was really only inspired by her imagination.

"How am I supposed to paint my imagination? Nothing really inspires me."

"I'm sure something inspires you," Lexa provided, "you just have to think hard about it. When you were little, what made you want to start drawing or painting?"

"I don't know, mostly I would just use sticks in the mud with my dad. He always loved to watch me do that. Then when I got older and I drew pictures he would put them on the fridge and say how one day it would hang in a museum or art gallery," Clarke's smile was small and sad as she remembered. Lexa wondered what happened to her father that made her so sad just thinking about him.

"Hey, Griffin!" Raven shouted from the pool, "Get your ass out here and swim with me. Bring Lexa!"

Lexa rolled her eyes and the two girls shared an exasperated look before doing as the rowdy brunette said. They both got up and exited the porch. Clarke slipped out of her dress and pulled off her shoes. It took Lexa a moment to stop her staring because damn Clarke looked good in that mint green bikini. Her cleavage was on display and distracted Lexa so much she was certain she wouldn't be able to have a face to face conversation with the blonde if she didn't put on a damn shirt.

After a moment of ogling, Clarke turned and caught Lexa staring. She grinned and Lexa blushed, turning away. "Like what you see?"

Lexa avoided looking at her, "A little, yeah." She turned her back and pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it onto a vacated lawn chair. She joined Clarke at the edge of the pool where their friends were lounging around and talking.

Lincoln had hopped out a couple of minutes ago and was prepping the grill to make food on the opposite side of the yard. Bellamy stood with him and they sipped at their beers while talking about something or other. Octavia and Echo were in the hot tub, but Jasper was near enough to lean over and talk to them.

Miller and Monty sat on the deep end ledge talking close together while Raven was trying to convince Anya to play chicken.

"Come on, I bet we could whoop some ass, An. Please?"

"Did someone say chicken?" Clarke called out, stepping into the water to test the temperature. Lexa was deciding to take the faster route. She walked around to the deep end and took a few steps back. She braced herself, certain the water would be chilly due to the brisk temperature. Instead of psyching herself out she took those two steps forward and dove into the water, coming up a few feet away from her sister and Raven in the shallow end.

Clarke was still slowly inching her way into the water.

"Yeah, I'm trying to convince Anya to get everyone to play. We can do it like a tournament."

"Yeah, but you're too competitive. It'll just end in someone's feelings getting hurt," Anya pointed out.

Lexa laughed, "She's too competitive? Have you met yourself, Anya? You'd fight a mouse just to prove that you're stronger than it."

"Shut up, nerd," Anya narrowed a death glare upon her sister before turning back to her not-so-girlfriend, "Fine, we can play, but just so I can prove to my little sister that I'm better than her."

Lexa laughed again, this time crouching low in the water to blow bubbles. Clarke thought it was probably one of the most childish things she'd ever seen anyone her age do. After a long stare down between the sisters, they broke into a water fight that ended up turning into a physical fight of who could duck the other underwater the longest.

Raven watched on, amused and endeared by the sisterly bond the two shared. She might have even been falling a little bit harder for the withdrawn, snarky blonde Woods.

"Hey, Clarke!" Octavia shouted from the hot tub. "Are you ever going to actually get in the water?"

This drew everyone's attention in the pool to the blonde still hovering by the steps, barely submerged in the chilly water. Clarke had to admit it was cold and she was almost certain that if she went any deeper she would end up with a cold that would last her through the week. She didn't have the strongest immune system.

Clarke glanced at Octavia and crossed her arms over her chest, "Patience is a virtue. And it's fucking cold."

"Just jump in," Raven suggested, "You'll get comfortable faster."

"No shit, Sherlock. But I'll still be cold."

"Get in the pool, Griffin." Lexa demanded, floating on her back lazily near the middle. She looked relaxed and tranquil like that, but her eyes were open and held a level of mischief that put Clarke on edge.

"Oooh," Raven taunted, "she's got a nickname for you, Clarke, and I don't like the tone of her voice."

Lexa gracefully sat up and glided through the water to the shallow end. She braced her hand in the water, obviously trying to get her point across, "I'll splash you."

"You will not," Clarke replied reproachfully, but still took a step deeper. Goosebumps rose along her arms and legs as her calves were submerged.

The brunette raised an eyebrow and pulled her arm back threateningly, "Want to try me?"

Before Clarke could come up with a reply the boys were whooping and hollering and jumping into the pool. At the same time, Raven came hoping up from the side and splashed Clarke hard with a jet of icy cold water to the face.

The blonde sputtered and shrieked at the sudden bombardment of sound and chill. The sound that seemed to overtake everything else was the melodic one of Lexa's carefree laugh. The brunette was so fucking gorgeous, Clarke knew. She could barely keep her eyes off of the other woman in those damn board shorts.

Raven then proceeded to tackle Clarke into the water, dousing her in the chilly liquid and ending her hesitation. Clarke dunked her underwater as payback. This caused a large water fight with every man and woman for themselves. Jasper, Monty, Miller and Bellamy all ended up joining in just before Octavia hopped over the hot tub and into the large, colder pool to join in as well.

Hours later, after a strenuous tournament of chicken where the Woods sisters seemed incapable of not being competitive, everyone was out of the water and drying off on the porch once again. Lexa and Anya had ended up being forced onto the same team after causing another water fight with each other. This forced Raven and Clarke to team up and Clarke kind of missed the way Lexa's legs clenched over her shoulders every time they moved together.

Maybe it had been a good thing they had been separated because the blonde really hadn't known what to do with herself. She'd been too distracted to really participated, which had ended with them losing most of the time, but she definitely knew she was attracted to the gorgeous brunette.

Lexa had been distracted too, which was why she had grown so indignant when Anya had beaten her so easily. She and Clarke had gone splashing backwards into the water nearly a minute into the fight. That was probably why she had been so violent when Anya had made little side comments. But it didn't matter really.

Now, she was sitting with Bellamy on the porch and sipping at a bottle of beer. Bellamy had his feet propped up on the corner of the table, with his body closer to Lexa's. They were talking about the city and how much they both really liked it. After falling into silence for a couple of seconds, the subject of Clarke was brought up.

"You know, Clarke's really great. Octavia's been telling me that you guys met a couple of day ago."

"Yeah? What else did she say?"

Bellamy thought about that for a moment, before that charming smile spread across his face again. His dazzling white teeth peaked out for a second before they disappeared in a smirk, "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I think she likes you a lot. From what I've seen today, she's been looking at you…and I've seen you look at her."

"Oh yeah? I don't know her very well, what's she like?"

"Clarke?"

Lexa nodded and frowned, who else could they possibly be talking about?

Bellamy laughed lightly and sat up, seeming to brace himself for a long story. "Clarke's a very…complex person. She's smart and outgoing, yet she's sensitive and shy. There's just something about her that draws people in. They all think she's got everything figured out and can get herself out of any crunch or bad situation. Our friends kind of seem to think she's invincible."

"Really?" Lexa's eyes were drawn to the blonde, who was outside of the screened porch standing with Lincoln and Octavia by the grill. She was laughing and grinning and using her hands when she spoke adamantly about something. Her eyes were alight with joy and genuine happiness, something Lexa wasn't used to seeing in many people she knew. Clarke seemed too carefree and happy, there was no way she didn't know what she was doing or didn't have control of her life. "What else can you tell me about her?"

"Well, romantically, she kind of sucks. She's never really been tied down, except for once. But every single person she's ever dated says she's the one that got away, at least the ones I've spoken to. She was Miss. Popular in high school and was always dating around, guys and girls alike. Clarke's a really special person, yet nobody was ever special enough for her. Eventually she figured that out, no matter how hard she tried to settle for someone."

"You seem to be talking from experience. How long have you known her?"

"Oh," Bellamy took a sip of his drink before setting it on the table and turning his attention from the source of their conversation to Lexa. "My mom and her dad have been friends since they were kids. Clarke and Octavia got close after a while and we were just…sort of fated to be in each other's lives, I guess. I've been there through every break up as big brother Bellamy for both of them. We're like siblings.

"So I guess this is me giving you the big brother talk. Clarke is a great person and you seem nice, Lexa. So if you pursue her, you need to be serious about it. She's gone through enough bullshit to have something serious and real. If you hurt her, I will not hesitate to whoop your sorry ass, even if you're a girl. Or maybe I'll just sic Octavia and Raven on you, that'll probably work too." Bellamy shrugged nonchalantly, as if used to having this conversation. He probably was and Lexa found it amusing thinking of him threatening big, brooding Lincoln not to hurt his sister or else.

Lexa thought about it seriously, trying to gather all of the things Bellamy had filled her in on in the short time they had been speaking. Everyone there seemed to think that Clarke was special and unique and deserved the world. She'd spoken with Raven for a short time and managed to gather that the two of them had a complicated history, yet the brunette still seemed to think the world of the blonde. Jasper just seemed to think she was hot and nice and way out of his league. But what she knew was that Clarke was one in a million and more than likely way out of her league.

But that wasn't going to stop her from pursuing it.

Later, once everyone was stuffed full of hot dogs, hamburgers and other snacks, several people were getting ready to leave. It had been easy enough to not talk to Clarke, since it seemed like everyone wanted to get to know her. She was almost certain she had gone through her life story three of four times since the beginning of the night. Monty was a designated driver for Miller and Jasper who were both a little tipsy and they left first.

"It was nice meeting you," Lexa smiled and shook Monty's hand after Jasper had placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek and treated her to a very impromptu hug. Maybe he was a little more drunk than she original assumed.

"Likewise," Monty smiled genuinely, "I hope we get to see more of you."

"Maybe," Lexa agreed and then the three were gone.

Octavia and Lincoln left a little bit later, followed by Bellamy and Echo. Octavia gave her a wink and a wiggle of her eyebrows after hugging her goodbye.

"Talk to her, she wants you to," were her words of encouragement before she was gone.

Bellamy patted her on the shoulder and squeezed in a show of friendship before leaning in to whisper, "you got this."

Everyone seemed to know that there was some level of attraction between the two strangers. It kind of put Lexa out of her comfort zone, because she wasn't so used to people being involved so deeply in the relationship. There wasn't even a relationship—yet—and everyone was encouraging her.

After Bellamy was gone, there was only Raven and Clarke. Raven didn't want to leave yet and Clarke had been dropped off by her roommate and was relying on a ride from her best friend to get back to her dorm. The blonde was sitting on the couch and flipping through some medical magazine Anya was subscribed to but never actually paid attention to.

Lexa approached her and sat down on the other end of the couch, leaving enough space between them as to not seem too imposing. She wanted to ask the blonde out but didn't really know how to approach the subject. Like she'd mentioned before, she was not good at flirting or asking people out.

"You're thinking about something pretty hard over there," Clarke commented, not looking up from the magazine she had stopped actually reading when Lexa had sat down.

The brunette chuckled, "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes," Clarke replied bluntly and turned her full attention onto Lexa. Those baby blues were trained on her again and her heart lurched in her chest. If she had been nervous before, she was even more so now. "What's on your mind Lexa?"

Clarke closed the magazine and set it on the coffee table. She had changed into her dress again and tucked her feet under her to get more comfortable. The chlorine had made her hair unruly and a little tangled, but she kind of reminded Lexa of a lion's mane.

"Well," Lexa began, trying and failing to form a coherent thought—let alone a sentence. "I kind of like you and I was thinking…" she trailed off, the blush taking over her cheeks too much for her. She'd never been good at this and right now she felt like a teenager all over again, trying to tell her crush that she liked her.

Clarke chuckled, "I'm not laughing at you," she began, "I just think you're cute. I think you're attractive and you kind of like me, so maybe we should go out sometime. You did promise me coffee."

"I think you promised me coffee," Lexa smiled sheepishly, trying to coax the reddening in her ears and face down. "And since we're being blunt. I find you attractive too and I think that would be a great idea."

"Tomato, tomato." Clarke waved her hand around flippantly, "How about we meet up Sunday? I know a great coffee place on Park."

"I'm not busy, so yeah. That sounds nice." Lexa's heart was still thumping sporadically in her chest but it had calmed considerably and she didn't feel like she was going to have a heart attack any time soon. There were not expectations here, there couldn't be since they didn't know each other. But Lexa liked Clarke a little too much without knowing her at all which meant she wouldn't know what to do if things went well. It kind of scared her.

Clarke grinned and leaned forward, thankful this had gone well. "I can pick you up if you want, we can go on a tour of town. I can show you campus and all the little hole-in-the-wall places you'd never expect."

Lexa found that idea incredibly appealing. "What time would you be here?"

Before Clarke could formulate a response, Raven's voice came from down the hall, "Shut up, Anya. I'm leaving." The brunette came stomping into the living room, her face clouded with anger as she stormed through and towards the front door. "Come on, Clarke, we're leaving."

Anya came trailing out moments later, "Raven, please. Just stop for a second." She lurched forward and took a hold of Raven's arm, pulling her to a stop. She yanked the brunette around before letting god, "Just listen to me."

"No," Raven stepped into Anya's space, her face red and eyes alight with fury, "if you don't want to be with me, I'm not going to sit here and do whatever this is." She waved her hand between them for emphasis, "I'm not waiting so I'm leaving. Bye Anya."

Raven turned away and headed to the front door, "Clarke! Let's go!"

Clarke and Lexa exchanged a look and the blonde hurried to her feet, grabbing her discarded shoes quickly, "I'll pick you up at three!" she tossed over her shoulder as she hurried out.

"Can't wait!" Lexa called after her, just before the door slammed with a resounding thud that vibrated throughout the house. The silence that echoed after the girls' departure was heavy with charged emotions.

The suddenness of the argument put a damper on the arrangement of Clarke and Lexa's date, but Lexa tried not to let it bother her. She turned to her sister and noticed the defeated slouch of Anya's shoulders. The blonde ran her hands through her hair before collapsing onto the opposite couch. "Fuck."

"What did you do, Anya?"

Lexa was used to this, her sister always seemed to manage to ruin every good thing that ever happened to her. Whether it was with Gustus in school or that one girl she'd been seeing o and off during medical school. Whenever things were on the verge of getting serious Anya bowed out and backed off. Lexa never really understood why.

"She started asking what we were…you know how I get. I couldn't help it. I just…I don't know."

"You need to start trusting people, Anya. Raven's a good person, she won't hurt you the way you've been hurting her. She wants you, it's obvious but she just doesn't know how to get you fully invested."

"I don't know if I can be fully invested, Lexa," Anya sighed and threw her arm over her face. "People don't stick around. After they get to know the real you, they abandon you and leave you."

Lexa leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Anya always did this. Her time in foster care had devastated her ability to trust people. The blonde had been through a lot in the nine years she'd been left like that. There were good homes and bad homes, seven in total over the years she'd been bouncing around. Some of them told them they loved her and would never leave her, yet inevitably, they did.

"Anya, you need to learn how to trust. We've got Indra now, she didn't abandon us. You should try to let go of the past and enjoy yourself. Live a little."

Anya jerked towards her sister, "You've no idea what I've been through."

Lexa scoffed, her chest filled with an angry heat she tried to tamp down for the sake of not causing an argument, "I have no idea what you've been through? Anya, we've been through the same things. We've both felt unloved and unwanted and like we're somehow not good enough for other people. They've left us and hurt us but not everyone is the same. Not everyone is going to leave you. I won't, Indra won't and I have a feeling Raven won't either."

The blonde was shaking her head even before Lexa had started speaking, "You just don't understand."

"Enlighten me, then."

Anya sucked in a deep breath before releasing it loudly, "You bounce back, you know? You get hurt, you put it behind you or you bury it deeply. You have this…ability to see the good in everything and sometimes I envy that. But everything, from the screaming and the yelling and the hitting…I remember it all from every single bad place I was ever in. I see all of the bad and sometimes…I just doubt the good."

"Anya, do you like Raven?"

The blonde peaked out from under her arm to give Lexa a confused look. She stared at her adoptive sister for a moment before she realized she was going to be forced to give a verbal response, "Of course I like Raven."

"Can you see yourself with her? In the future?"

Anya licked her lips before answering, "I don't know."

"Do you ever just daydream about living with her and doing normal things? Come on, its not that hard of a question. I used to dream about it with Costia. Can you be with Raven for a long time?"

A tender smile that Lexa wasn't used to seeing upon her sister's normally stoic face, spread across Anya's lips, "Fine, yeah, I can."

"Okay then, tell me what happened just now so we can fix it." Lexa relaxed back into the couch, pushing aside her thoughts of Clarke to focus on the new development with Anya. It was rare for her older sister to ever come to her for advice on anything. It was rare for her to even need it, so when Lexa could be useful, she invested wholeheartedly into it.

"We were upstairs and I was telling her about this patient I had. It was going fine, I was pulling out clothes to change into and just talking. She was silent, sitting on the bed. I should have noticed something was up because Raven is never silent. When I turned finally, she just started rambling about breaking a rule and not understanding us. She was freaking out and I finally managed to calm her down. She asked what we were and I clamped up…you know how I am."

"Ah, what all did you say though? We really have to make sure you didn't shove your foot in your mouth too much, she might not forgive you." Lexa commented, deeming it appropriate to tease her sister just a little bit.

Anya made an offended noise in the back of her throat, "I said that we were just having fun, then she asked if we could be more than just having fun. And, Lex, I freaked out. I said that I didn't think so and then she just exploded. I tried to get her to stop, so I could explain, you know. But she wouldn't listen and…I just…oh my God, I've fucked up."

It was like watching someone have an epiphany. At first, Anya was frowning in confusion until finally, she covered her face and groaned loudly as if in physical pain. Lexa stayed silent, allowing her sister to process her own emotions. Anya was smart and full of wisdom, but sometimes she didn't know herself as well as she knew other people and it took her some time to figure out what she was really feeling. Now Lexa watched as she beat herself up.

"Do you think I can fix this?"

"Of course you can. You just need to tell her how you feel, the right way."

"How do I do that?" Her voice was laced with frustration. "I'm not good at talking about my feelings."

Lexa shrugged, "Write them down, you're good at that. Just explain how you feel on paper and give it to her. Maybe that'll work."

Anya sat up abruptly, turning to look at Lexa with the shadow of a smile and wide, hopeful eyes. "Holy shit, you're the best." She stood and rushed to her sister to kiss her on the forehead. The show of affection kind of weirded Lexa out because the most physical they got was when they physically hit each other. But she rolled with it because Anya needed to be more comfortable with her feelings.

Before she could formulate a response, Anya was gone, shouting over her shoulder, "I'm gonna call her in the morning! Goodnight! And thanks!"

Clarke was nervous, to say the least. She had taken nearly an hour to figure out what she was going to wear. Her doormate, Gina, had gotten so flustered and frustrated that she' stormed out twenty minutes into helping her friend. That led Clarke to call Octavia, who helped her choose what she was wearing now.

It was a simple, yet attractive outfit. A pair of black jeans, torn at the knees. They were her lucky jeans according to Octavia and they made her ass look good too. Clarke really didn't understand that, but this was Octavia. Her top was simple, a white tank top with a black blazer over it. She mostly wore the blazer when she was going out with her friends, but she thought it was a good look, nonetheless. Of course, she had on her signature Gay Converse as Raven liked to call them, those were her real good luck charms.

She pulled up to Lexa's house in Bellamy's beat up pickup truck. They had spent the better part of Saturday deep cleaning the floor and making sure it looked appropriate enough to take someone on a date in. Bellamy wasn't the neatest person and there was a dark stain in the back but Clarke was thankful Lexa wouldn't be back there. This was one of those moments she wished she had her own vehicle.

It was almost three o'clock on the dot. Clarke had actually been fifteen minutes early, even in her rush to get ready. But instead of waiting outside of Anya's house like a creeper, she'd parked down the street and tried not to psych herself out too badly.

She had no idea why she was so nervous, there was no expectations. Lexa was just a fucking gorgeous person that Clarke could really see herself getting to know. She was friendly and intelligent and had this calming feeling about her that Clarke enjoyed immensely. Clarke felt like she was on the edge of some precipice and on the verge of falling into oblivion.

But no worries.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and walked up the short distance to Anya's front door. Before she could knock, the lock clicked open and the door swung inward.

Lexa stood there, dressed in a pair of hip hugging jeans tucked into a pair of classy looking boots that made her even taller than Clarke than she already was. She wore a simple, thin white boyfriend t-shirt with a blue button up over top. Her hair was down and Clarke wanted to know if it was as soft as it looked. It would be too presumptuous to just lean forward and touch it, so she stuck with digging her hands into the pockets of her jacket and smiling.

"Sorry, I didn't really prepare any date clothes, I hope this is okay?" Lexa bit her lip, looking a little anxious.

Clarke laughed and shook her head. Of course the beautiful green eyed girl, who would probably look ravishing in a t-shirt and sweatpants would be nervous. "You look...amazing, I think you did it right."

"Don't give me the credit, my sister picked it out."

As if summoned, Anya stuck her head over her sister's shoulder, "Yeah, I did. I don't know how she manages to dress herself when I'm not around."

Lexa rolled her eyes and made a face that only Clarke could see. It indicated that she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"We should get going," Clarke gestured towards the truck.

Anya gave her a look, "Make sure you're home by midnight. Be good, kids."

"Oh, shut it, An." Lexa shoved her back before stepping out onto the porch and closing the door. She leaned close to Clarke, "Let's go before she gives us 'the talk' and makes sure we have safe sex."

Clarke laughed loudly at that as she was pulled back towards Bellamy's truck. Lexa's hand was soft and warm in hers, she noticed. They climbed in quickly and once they were en route to the coffee shop, Lexa relaxed.

"You know, I don't think I told you that I think you look quite ravishing."

Clarke moved her left hand to the top of the steering wheel and turned to smirk at Lexa, "I thought I was going to have to wait all night for a compliment." She teased and tried to hide her blush.

"Sorry," Lexa said sheepishly, "I'm not very good at this sort of thing."

"Don't worry, I was willing to fight for it."

They fell into silence again and Clarke could feel Lexa's eyes on her as she maneuvered her way through the small town. They reached Park Ave quickly enough, talking about their weekends and looking for a suitable parallel parking spot on the road.

Once found they got out of the car and Clarke rounded around the truck to stand beside Lexa who started talking, "You know, I think you look a little formal for a coffee date."

Clarke smiled and pointed towards the left, the direction they needed to go, before they started to leisurely walk that way. "Well, we are going somewhere after this."

Lexa nearly stopped in the middle of the foot traffic as her nerves shot up again. "Wait, what? Where are we going? Do I look okay?"

"Relax," Clarke reached out and grabbed ahold of Lexa's forearm, "you look gorgeous." Their eyes met and Clarke hoped her sincerity showed through.

It seemed to work because Lexa's face flooded red and she ducked her head, but her shoulders did slouch, "Thanks."

Clarke moved to take her hand away but Lexa quickly tangled their fingers together and gave a slight squeeze. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, but probably one of the most natural things for Clarke. She just hoped her hand didn't get too sweaty.

They arrived at the quant, little coffee shop a minute later. It was at the corner of some street and reminded Lexa of a scene from every romance movie ever created. It was well lit, modern and moderately busy since it was so late in the evening. The menu was written in white chalk on a black board up on the wall behind the cashier's desk.

The atmosphere was relaxing and quiet, perfect for sitting and getting homework done. It was different from the one Lexa had gone to a couple of days ago, but looked promising enough. There was a short line in front of them and the only prominent sounds were of whatever coffee machine was being worked.

"Do you come here often?"

"Is that a pick up line, Woods?" Clarke sassed instantly.

Lexa huffed out a breath, not used to the brash way of speaking. Normally the dates she went on were painfully formal and awkward, but Clarke managed to make it feel like they'd known each other forever. This "date" felt like just two friends going out and enjoying each other's company. But it wasn't and that level of relaxation was foreign to Lexa.

"No, it was a genuine question, thank you."

Clarke giggled and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, I come here when I have a lot of homework. It's always quiet and sometimes they have a playlist going that I absolutely love. A lot of my music comes from it."

"What do you listen to?"

"Hold on," Clarke extracted her hand from Lexa's and pulled her phone out of her back pocket along with a set of white earbuds, "You know how classical music is supposed to stimulate the brain?"

Lexa nodded her affirmation.

"Well this stuff kind of feels like that to me. My mind kind of…organizes itself I guess, when I listen to it. It's mellow and easy to listen to when you're trying to focus on other things. Normally, I play it while I'm painting or doing homework." While she spoke, she opened up her Spotify and scrolled through the songs on her Mellow playlist. Once she found a song she thought Lexa would like she handed over the earbuds.

Lexa took one and handed the other to Clarke so they could share while they waited. The line was moving pretty quickly, but there were still two more people in front of them waiting to order. Clarke pressed play and the introducing piano keys to Sleeping At Last's Dark Horse cover played over the earbuds.

They listened to it silently until the line moved forward and they were forced to turn off the music and order their drinks. Clarke ordered her normal latte and Lexa stared at the choices hard, indecisive. "What's good here?"

"Everything, do you like your coffee sweet or black?"

"I don't know, I normally just get hot black coffee. I don't go for the fancy stuff."

Clarke hummed in acknowledgement and tapped her chin, Lexa glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. Catching the way her tongue stuck out of her mouth in concentration and her finger tapped at her chin dramatically. She was looking at the menu intently. "You should probably get a macchiato then, have you ever had one?"

Lexa shook her head and Clarke stepped forward to order the drink for her. "Always a good time to try new things."

Before Lexa knew it, Clarke was pulling out her wallet and paying for their drinks. She didn't cause a scene but felt a little bad for making her date pay. They stepped to the side together and waited at the pickup counter for their drinks.

"You know, I could have paid, right?"

Clarke rolled her eyes and leaned against the dividing wall from the café area and the hallway to the bathroom. "I'm taking you out on a date, Lexa. I'm showing you around my town, I'm going to pay."

"But—"

"Don't argue with me," Clarke raised a stern finger at her date, "or I'll tickle you."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, I get violent. I once knocked out Anya's front tooth when we were little when she tickled me. She was lucky it was a baby tooth."

The blonde laughed and dropped her hand to her side, "I'll keep that in mind."

Their drinks came in little coffee cups with saucers underneath them. Lexa's didn't really have a design on it, but Clarke's had a haphazardly placed leaf on the foam with a splash of cinnamon on top. It looked cute and they took a seat by the window, where the afternoon sun was streaming in.

"I liked that song, by the way. The piano was really nice. I see why you found it relaxing." Lexa commented, taking a sip of her drink. It was simple and strong, bitter but she was used to it.

"Good?" Clarke questioned as she brought her drink to her lips. She watched for Lexa's reaction, the lip of the cup hovering near her mouth.

Lexa nodded, swallowing the hot drink and allowing it to warm her insides. "Yeah, I like it. Good choice."

"Why thank you, I can't live without coffee, honestly. I only get expressos when I'm really feeling it during finals week."

That launched them into a conversation about Clarke's school again. They talked about her roommate Gina and all of her classes and her professors. There were several she couldn't stand, but others were good. Lexa hung onto every word that fell from those soft looking pink lips. She listened intently and commented here and there, everything that Clarke said seemed interesting. From the talk of her music tastes to discussing some dusty old painter that Lexa didn't know of.

They ended up going onto several tangents about Clarke's family and Lexa's life in the city. Lexa didn't say much, but she was too wrapped up in Clarke to notice.

"You know, I feel like I've been talking about me, a lot." Clarke commented.

Lexa chuckled and ran her finger over the rim of her empty coffee cup. They had been sitting there for well over an hour and the sun was really beginning to set. The sky was streaked with oranges and pinks and purples. But neither girl cared, they were enjoying each other's company immensely. "It's okay, I like listening to you."

"That's flattering and all, but I would like to know a little bit about you too." Clarke leaned forward on her elbows, "So tell me something about Lexa Woods."

"There's nothing really interesting to tell," to be honest, Lexa thought her life was kind of depressing. If she started talking about it, Clarke would probably start feeling bad and then their date would get sad.

"Well, I want you to tell me something. Anything. I don't care." Clarke waved her hand around in an extravagant gesture of not caring.

Lexa glanced out of the window, her eyes were drawn to a kid getting led across the street by his mother. "I grew up in foster care, until my mom—Indra—adopted me."

The expression on Clarke's face changed from one of interest to concern and a hint of something Lexa didn't want to see, pity, "Oh."

"Yeah, don't feel bad though. I'm kind of glad I did because it makes me appreciate what I have now. My own apartment, an education and a great family. Anya and I met when I was about nine after Indra adopted me into her little family."

"So what's your mom like?"

Lexa glanced up and blue eyes met green. She was so used to people apologizing and feeling bad for her and offering their condolences because of the way she grew up. But of course, here was Clarke Griffin, not caring and just asking about her mom. She smiled a little, a twitch of her lips. "Um, she's great. Kind of strict, but a big teddy bear when you get to know her. She loves me and Anya. She taught us to fight for what we want, not to expect that it'll be handed to us."

"She sounds like a badass, I'd love to meet her."

"I bet she'd like you. Going through art school rather than doing what your mom wants you to with medical. She appreciates people who follow their dreams. She taught me that my past doesn't define me, but what I do with my memories does. How I move forward from being treated badly."

"Definitely a badass," Clarke confirmed, grinning. "So what are you going to school for?"

"Well, I took a year off after high school, so I kind of got a late start," Lexa closed her eyes, trying to force the memories of why she'd taken the year off out of her head, "But I'm pursuing journalism."

"Nice, AU offers a journalism major, they have a pretty kickass creative writing program. I bet you'd do well there."

"Are you trying to convince me to move here?"

"Depends, is it working?" Clarke glanced down shyly.

Lexa smiled as those baby blues fluttered back up to meet her eyes. "I can admit…there's a particular charm to this little town. I could probably fall for it." For you¸ she added silently. Her heart lurched in her chest at the thought, the depth of her feelings were too intense for only knowing this girl for a couple of days.

"That sounds promising," the smile that spread across Clarke's face implied she knew exactly what Lexa was saying, "The next place we go should really solidify those feelings."

She stood and plucked her blazer from the back of the chair where she'd put it after they'd settled in.

Lexa watched her, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see, come on." Clarke slid the black clothing item on and gestured for Lexa to stand before flicking her hair out from underneath the collar. She checked her phone for the time, perfect.

They walked further down the strip to a place that was actually familiar to Lexa. It was the part that Anya had taken her the first day she'd been in town. Clarke stopped their progress right in front of the same boring museum Anya had shown her.

"So this place is the best," Clarke raved, "they have a bunch of history memorabilia for this town. Stuff from the Civil War and there's a few artists depicted too—which is normally the only reason I come here."

Lexa seriously thought about telling Clarke that she had been there already with her sister and had found it incredibly boring. But, the excited way the blonde talked about it kept her silent. She was willing to indulge the artist if it meant seeing her face light up the way it did when she spoke about some war hero or another.

As they walked through the museum, Lexa found herself entranced by the raspy lithe of Clarke's voice. Or the way she used hand gestures when she was describing a particularly action packed story. Lexa found herself actually listening when Clarke mention how a famous, unnamed artist had been born there in the early nineteen hundreds. He was dead now, but Clarke said that small towns had to get their pride from somewhere.

They exited the museum nearly an hour later as the sun was finally dipping completely below the horizon. The temperature had dropped considerably and Lexa found herself shivering. She didn't have enough layers on for this.

Their conversation shifted somehow from dead guys in history to how much Lexa hated the way Anya did the dishes. Which led to Clarke talking about the way her dad used to put up the Tupperware and her mom had always gotten pissed about it because it was never right.

They found themselves back at Bellamy's truck far too soon, but Clarke still had a little more up her sleeve. They'd already spent nearly four hours together and she was still finding the conversation interesting. They were both caught up in one another, enraptured by each other's pet peeves and the way the other talked to passionately about something.

"We have one more stop," Clarke announced after she was behind the wheel with the heat running on high. She ran her frozen fingers over the air conditioner and sighed in relief. "Fuck, its cold."

"I know, my fingers are numb."

"Here," Clarke reached over and took both of Lexa's hands in hers. She rubbed their fingers together and blew hot air in their cupped intertwined hands. "Better?" she asked after a moment.

When she didn't get a response, she glanced up at Lexa who was staring at her she noticed, with a weird expression on her face. It was particularly disgusted or uncomfortable, but something that made Clarke feel like she'd done something wrong, "Sorry, too much?" she let go and pulled away quickly.

"No," Lexa responded dumbly and blinked, "where did you learn that?"

Clarke blushed and turned away a little, "I didn't really learn it. My dad always did it for me and my mom when I was little. His hands were so big he could practically hold all four in his bear paws. My mom would make fun of him for it."

"Oh," Lexa nodded and tucked her hands under her thighs. "I see, I used to have someone who did that too."

"Who? Your mom?"

"No," when Lexa didn't elaborate, Clarke realized it was a sore subject and decided not to press. No matter how well their night was going, Lexa was still a stranger. But, Clarke was willing to get to know her better.

They arrived at the college campus art building at about 7:30 pm. Lexa's mood had changed back to the excitable, smiling girl from before after Clarke had changed the subject. The gallery had been open for about thirty minutes by now, but it was still pretty packed with people. There wasn't really much to do in this town on a Sunday night.

Clarke led Lexa inside, it was a free gallery for everyone in town so they entered without a hitch.

"What is this, Clarke?"

"A gallery set up for the art students, they do one every year. All art majors are allowed to submit a piece and about half of them get shown here," Clarke explained.

Lexa glanced around, taking in the sight of everything around her. A lot of people milled about, both young and old, enjoying the creations around them. It was interesting to watch the wonder in Lexa's face as she took in the new surroundings. Clarke had to admit, the admiration on Lexa's face was art of its own.

"Do you have something in here?"

Clarke smiled, having known Lexa would want to see it. But she liked to play hard, "Yes, but you have to guess which one."

"A challenge," Lexa's eyebrow quirked and her entire demeanor changed into one of determination, "I like it."

So they set off, Lexa in search of Clarke's artwork and Clarke watching the way the brunette fell deep in thought whilst looking at different paintings. She just loved to see the emotions flitting upon people's faces as her art or someone else's art spoke to them in some way.

At some point, their hands had sought out the others, as if drawn by a magnet. Their fingers intertwined as if it was second nature and they milled about with the rest of the crowd. Clarke couldn't help but admit that she wanted holding Lexa's hand to become a normal occurrence for the both of them.

Many of the artists stood by their artwork ready to take questions if someone had one. This made it easier for Lexa to narrow down the pieces of art that might have been Clarke's. As they approached Clarke's work—a simple black and white sketch of her bedroom—Clarke turned to look at her date questioningly.

Lexa leaned forward and squinted at the details, her hand still holding onto Clarke's loosely, as if it was completely second nature. "This is really detailed."

"I know, right?" Clarke leaned forward to look at it, trying not to give anything away.

"Look," Lexa pointed at something, "there's a sock hanging off the edge of the bed. This room is freaking messy." She turned to look at Clarke and then grinned, as if a light bulb had just gone off in her head. "This is yours."

"What?" Clarke's voice rose an octave and drew several people's attention. "How can you tell?" She wasn't expecting the brunette to figure it out so easily. It was a simple rough sketch of the way her side of the dorm had looked like a couple of weeks ago.

"I had a feeling you didn't make your bed."

"What? How could you possibly tell that?"

Lexa shrugged and smirked smugly, leaning close to wiggle her eyebrows, "What do I get? Since I guessed right on my first try?"

Clarke huffed in mock annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest, letting Lexa's hand go in the process, "I don't know, what do you want?"

"Hmm," Lexa looked up at the ceiling and tapped at her chin theatrically. "I definitely want you to clean your room if it looks like that."

"It doesn't look like that," Clarke replied indignantly, but Lexa gave her a raised, pointed look, "Okay, fine, it doesn't look much like that. I've cleaned it since then."

"How many times? Like once?"

"Oh shut up," Clarke pouted, "don't make fun of me. I'm a busy person."

"Aww," Lexa stepped forward and tapped Clarke's nose, mimicking the blonde's pouty voice. "Did I hurt your feelings?"

"A little," Clarke batted her eyelashes at Lexa.

Lexa chuckled, "Damn, you're cute. I'd offer you ice cream to compensate, but I think it's a little too cold outside for that."

"What about hot chocolate?" Clarke suggested, brightening up instantly at the idea.

"That was a trap," Lexa scoffed and poked Clarke's nose again, "how cruel. But I guess I'll have to relent, seeing as I hurt your feelings."

That is exactly what they did. Clarke led Lexa back up the street to the same coffee shop they'd been to before. They ordered two hot cholates and this time Lexa paid before they sat down. They didn't take as much time this time, only about half an hour to keep talking and finish their drinks.

They bantered back and forth, flirted and talked about serious topics like politics on the drive back. It was stimulating and fun for both of them and neither of them wanted it to end. That was why when they arrived at Anya's house, Clarke offered to walk Lexa up to the front door.

"I had a great time," Lexa said as they reached the front door, where the porch light was on.

"Does that mean you'll call me?" Clarke let go of Lexa's hand.

Lexa nodded, "I think so."

Clarke stepped closer, eyes dropping down to those lips they had kept her attention for most of the night. The way they moved when Lexa spoke or spread into the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen. It didn't matter, Clarke wanted to feel those lips against hers.

Both of them knew how this was supposed to go, but they were both a little scared that they would like it too much. That didn't stop Clarke though, she was never one to turn away because of fear. Instead, she closed the distance between them and lightly stretched up on her toes, pressing her lips experimentally against Lexa's. Soft enough that the brunette could pull away, but firmly enough to express that she wanted this.

Lexa didn't disappoint either, she grabbed ahold of Clarke's blazer and pulled her closer. She leaned down to get a better angle and kissed the blonde back like she'd wanted to from the moment she'd seen her.

There was just something about Clarke Griffin that got under her skin enough to make every inhibition and logical thought disappear. Lexa wasn't complaining though, the blonde's lips were soft and malleable underneath her own. They captured Lexa's lower lip softly and she couldn't help but let a low, approving noise escape.

Clarke pulled away a little and Lexa protested the separation, grabbing for the loose waves of gold framing Clarke's face to bring her back. But the blonde was only changing the angle of the kiss so they could be pressed closer together. She grabbed ahold of Lexa's elbow to ground herself as her breath came in short ragged bursts.

Her stomach flooded with heat and she could feel her face growing flushed from the feelings that were coursing through her body. Lexa's lips were perfect against her own, soft and searching yet experienced enough not to fumble around. She could get addicted to those lips.

Lexa pulled away first, not far, but enough to get her words out, "I think we should take a step back."

Clarke didn't really process those words at first, too caught up in ghost of Lexa's lips on her own. But when she did, her heart lurched in her chest and she took a step back, straightening her clothes in embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I should have asked, you didn't like it? I'm sorry."

"Clarke," Lexa stepped forward and stopped the blonde's nervous hand movements, "you're rambling. I did like it, but I'm going back home soon… and I'd rather slow this down just a little bit."

"Oh," Clarke looked at the door, anywhere but at Lexa. She'd completely forgotten that Lexa wasn't a local and she'd be leaving soon. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, I liked it. Call me, okay?"

"Are you sure?"

"Clarke," Lexa smiled reassuringly at the little concerned frown on the blonde's face. She really did care. "Yes, please. I want you to call me. I'll see you later."

"Okay, yeah." Clarke nodded and turned to leave just as Lexa opened the front door.

They both seemed to realize it at the same time. Clarke was already off of the porch and the front door was already closed and locked firmly. They didn't have each other's phone numbers. Idiots.

Clarke was already halfway up the stairs when Lexa reopened the door and rushed out, a little flustered. When she saw Clarke, she nearly crashed into her. "Shit."

They both laughed, holding each other up. Clarke was the first to recover, "I don't have your number."

"I realized that," Lexa grinned, "would have been really hard to call me without it. Where's your phone?"

The two detangled themselves and Clarke handed Lexa her phone after applying the fingerprint passcode. She typed in her number, locked the phone and handed it back, "There you go."

"It is real, right?"

"Of course, do you want to check?"

Clarke grinned, "No, I trust you."

Lexa rolled her eyes, "You will call me, right?"

"Of course, maybe we could set something up before you leave?"

Lexa nodded again, "Yes, we can."

"Okay, cool. Goodnight, Lexa."

"Goodnight, Clarke."

But neither of them made a move to leave the other, just stood their staring at each other. Clarke felt a little less awkward, but still withheld her nearly overwhelming urge to kiss the brunette standing before her silly.

Lexa seemed to know this, so she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the corner of Clarke's mouth. "Goodnight, Clarke," she repeated before she was gone and the door was locking from the inside.

The blonde's heart was leaping in her chest as she stood there alone. The feeling of Lexa's lips was a pleasant burn on her cheek and she tried to breathe. Her head wasn't functioning properly as she turned and mechanically made her way back down the stairs. The night had been practically perfect and she found herself even further over the edge of that precipice, but there was no fear.

She checked behind her as she walked down the driveway to Bellamy's truck. She was still high off of Lexa's kiss and her insides felt like they were vibrating from adrenaline and excitement. Once she knew the coast was clear, she slid into the driver's seat and pumped her fist up and down several times.

She felt stupid, but her pent up energy needed a release. If she had known Lexa was inside, leaning against the door like a love struck teenager, she probably wouldn't have felt so embarrassed.

Lexa stood there, knees weak and heart pounding because damn, Clarke Griffin knew how to kiss.

Clarke texted Lexa the very next morning. She tried to hold it off, thinking that it would be best to wait at least a couple of hours so she didn't seem desperate. But it didn't help that she wanted to make sure Lexa had slept well. She just wanted to check in on her wellbeing.

That feeling was different than anything Clarke had felt for another person. She didn't feel like she wanted the attention or just to waste time with someone else. No, she wanted to know if Lexa was feeling well, how her day was going and if she'd seen or done anything that really made an impact on her. So instead of waiting, Clarke texted her after she got out of the shower.

Lexa had been awake for over three hours by the time Clarke texted her. She would have done it herself, but didn't want to see overeager and instead went for a run then made breakfast for her sister. She had always been an earlier riser and sometimes that was a good thing and a bad one.

Clarke [9:32 am]: Good morning, beautiful. I had a great time last night.

To say the message made her blush was an understatement. They texted back and forth until they set up to meet after Clarke got out of class later in the afternoon. Lexa wondered what she would do with the time she had to burn until then. Since Anya worked she would be home alone and there wasn't much she could do without a car.

Clarke [10:03]: I'm in class. Will let you know when I am out. Hopefully Bellamy will let me steal his truck again. I should probably consider investing in a car.

Lexa [10:05]: Sounds good. You definitely should. I can see you driving a little Volkswagen Beetle.

Clarke [10:05]: Really? What color?
Lexa [10:07]: Probably bright pink, or maybe yellow.

Clarke [10:11]: OMG! No! Maybe I'll allow you to have an input when I do get one.

Clarke [10:12]: Gotta go. My professor is giving me the stink eye.

Later that afternoon, Clarke picked Lexa up and they went to lunch at Clarke's all-time favorite restaurant in town. Then, they just wandered around until they stumbled upon a park. There, they sat and talked for hours just getting to know each other on a deeper level.

Lexa talk about growing up with Indra and Clarke discussed her father and mother. Clarke didn't delve in too deeply to her father's death and Lexa didn't talk much about before being taken in by Indra. Both of them were still a little afraid of diving in too deep too quickly.

After their day together, the next week passed quickly. Lexa was due to leave the following Wednesday, but that didn't stop them from becoming completely inseparable. They spent almost every moment they weren't together texting or talking on the phone.

One day, Lexa took Anya's Prius and took Clarke to the outskirts of town where they hiked up a hill and sat at the top. They watched the view and cloud watched until it got too hot for Lexa to handle.

Clarke brought Lexa to her dorm and introduced her to her roommate Gina. They spent a lot of time there, especially after Gina left for a date. Octavia convinced them to socialize with people besides each other that night and they went out to the local bar. It was fun and simple and way to comfortable for two people who had only been seeing each other for five days.

They went bowling, saw a drive-in movie then next town over after Clarke found out Lexa had never been to one. Clarke was the first thing Lexa thought of in the morning and the last thing before she fell asleep. She was becoming so lost in this girl that she didn't know what she would do when she had to go home in less than a week.

Clarke was falling for Lexa's calm, strong aura and the nerd moment she had over books or music. Especially after taking her to the second hand book store and music shop. She found out Lexa wore glasses and found that when the brunette was buried in a book with her glasses falling down her nose, she swooned.

Lexa was caught up in the blonde's vibrant personality and the way her hands moved when she created. Clarke's outlook on life and view of the world was so different and colorful compared to Lexa's. She found herself enraptured by the way Clarke talked about politics or serious topics that got her so riled up her cheeks turned red and her hands flew around her head in extravagant gestures.

Finally, Tuesday came around and Clarke was stuck in class discussing her final with one of her art teachers. Lexa was at home, mind whirling. Anya was still hoping for her to move in and live with her, especially since they were so close. The town was growing on her, or maybe it was just the one girl that had her entire world turned upside down.

She collapsed onto her bed after searching the fridge for what felt like the millionth time. Her phone was lying on her bedside table and she picked it up, hoping for a text from Clarke saying she was finally out of class. But instead her phone rang.

Indra's picture from her high school graduation showed up on the screen and the phone buzzed loudly.

"Hey, mom," she answered with a smile. It had been nearly three days since she'd spoken to her.

"How's the trip going, honey?"

"Fine, I'm kind of falling in love with this little town," Lexa smiles into the phone, her mind most definitely not thinking about the town, but a pretty blonde girl she couldn't seem to get out of her head.

"That's great. Are you packed? Aren't you supposed to be leaving tomorrow morning?"

Lexa clears her throat and licks her lips, "About that, mom. I'm thinking of extending my stay."

"Oh really? Are you liking Arkadia that much?"

Lexa shrugged, even though Indra couldn't see it, "Yeah."

Indra chuckled, a deep, warm sound that filled Lexa with the feeling of home and calm. "I know when you're lying, Lexa. Tell me the truth."

The brunette let out a little huff and threw her free arm over her face. Memories of her whirlwind week with Clarke made a smile spread across her face. Her stomach fluttered at just the thought of her lips and her smile or the way she couldn't stand it when Lexa tickled her. Or the way she walked with such pride and confidence in every step. Or when she winked and blew a kiss at Lexa when she was leaving her dorm in the most adorable way.

"Um," the smile was obvious through the line, "I met a girl."