AN: You guys get a bit of a longer chapter today, and hopefully a good one. It has been one of my favorite chapters to write so far, so I hope that you all enjoy reading it! Thank you to everyone who has been favoriting and following this story so far and of course anyone has left reviews! You guys are awesome!
Clarke continued to sit with Lexa at lunch all throughout the week, and while Lexa still wouldn't talk about Costia, the blonde learned about all things Lexa. She learned about Lexa's favorite books to read and movies to watch and the kinds of music that Lexa liked to listen to. Lexa also admitted, somewhat reluctantly, that she loved flowers, and Clarke couldn't help but find that cute. She made a mental to note to get flowers for her roommate sometime, if only for the chance to see her smile.
Now, it was Friday, and Clarke was just grabbing her lunch from her locker, ready to go meet up with Lexa at their usual spot. When she turned around, she was met with the sight of a wild brunette racing towards her. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, wondering what on earth could have possibly gotten the other girl so worked up. There was obviously something urgent going on if Lexa had to hurry over and tell her now rather than waiting for her to show up under the bleachers.
"Lexa?" Clarke asked questioningly when the brunette stopped in front of her.
Lexa just grabbed Clarke's hand and spoke quickly. "There's a couple headed over to our spot. We have to get there first."
Clarke was being yanked through the crowd of students towards the exit of the building before she even had a chance to respond and before Lexa had even stopped speaking, for that matter. They burst through the doors, and Clarke sprinted to keep up with Lexa as they ran through the grass towards their usual eating spot. She found that she was a little afraid that Lexa was going to pull her arm out of its socket, what with the death grip that she was holding it in.
When the two girls reached the bleachers, they were disappointed to find that the couple was already there. Clarke had to admit that she had grown accustomed to the spot. She definitely appreciated the coolness of the area, and she had actually grown to like that it was so secluded. However, now it seemed as if they would need to find somewhere else to eat. "What do we do now?"
Lexa thought about it for a moment, and Clarke could see a bit of anger spark in Lexa's eyes, but it was gone almost as soon as it arose. Clarke could see Lexa visibly taking deep breaths to calm down so that she would not do something rash, and the blonde couldn't help but feel proud of her roommate for not simply going over there and yelling at them to get out, as she was sure the brunette would have probably done a week ago. Now, Lexa just turned to Clarke with a shrug.
"Maybe if we go and sit down, then they'll leave," she suggested calmly.
Clarke shook her head. "Nah. That would be rude. They were here first." She paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to help Lexa see the situation from the perspective of the couple. "It's not like they know that we sit here every day, so they're not doing it on purpose. Besides, if it were you and me, would you really want someone to disturb us?"
The words escaped Clarke's mouth before she could stop them, and she blushed what she was sure was a deep shade of scarlet when she realized what she had said. She didn't know what had possessed her to say such a thing, but she kept her eyes trained firmly on the ground in front of her, not wanting to see the look on Lexa's face because she knew that it would most likely not be a pleasant one. She only hoped that she had not scared Lexa off by suggesting such a thing.
Clarke's shoulders sagged in relief when Lexa responded calmly, almost as if she didn't notice that anything was amiss. "I guess not. I sure as hell would have been mad if someone did that to me and Costia."
"And that's why we shouldn't do it to them. That place isn't ours. Lots of people go there, and they were here first, so we have to find somewhere else to sit today," Clarke continued on coolly, grateful that Lexa had let her awkward words slide.
"Now, what's this I heard about you and me being a couple?" Lexa's eyes twinkled in amusement.
In that moment, Clarke wished that the earth would just open up and swallow her whole. It seemed that she may have expressed her relief a bit prematurely. "I was just using it as an example." Clarke couldn't help but avert her eyes again, not sure if she could even explain why that had been the first example to come to her mind, when Lexa and Costia would have been the all too obvious one. Then again, she had vowed to herself never to bring Costia up, unless Lexa mentioned her first.
Lexa allowed Clarke to have a moment of panic and near-hyperventilation before reassuring her. "I know, roomie. Relax. I was only teasing you."
Clarke hoped that her face was not too flushed as she tried to calm herself down, resisting the urge to elbow Lexa in the ribs. "Right. So, um, where do you want to sit?"
"Go sit with your friends," Lexa told her. "I'll be alright."
"Why don't you come sit with us as well?" Clarke looked at Lexa with hopeful eyes, not wanting to miss out on her time with the brunette.
"Clarke," Lexa warned.
The blonde found herself pouting a little at the fact that Lexa was probably going to refuse. "Please, Lexa. Lunch won't be the same without you."
Lexa quickly shook her head. "No, Clarke. Your friends hate me."
Clarke realized in that moment how much she needed this time with Lexa in the middle of the school day. She knew that she would see her roommate when she got back to the house, but there was something almost painful about not having lunch with the brunette after having done so all week. Clarke had come to think of it as their special time, and Lexa always seemed to be in a better mood under the bleachers than she was at the house. The blonde could not imagine going back to sitting with her friends today, sure that she would feel Lexa's absence like a black hole, so she dared to ask the brunette a dangerous question. "For me?"
Lexa looked at her for a moment with a scowl on her face, and the hope trickled out of Clarke's blue eyes when she realized that the brunette was going to say no. She had hoped that Lexa might do this for her because they were definitely friends now. Clarke felt closer to Lexa than she'd ever felt to anyone in her life, save her parents, and she knew it was crazy since she had only known the girl for a few weeks, but she was sure that if Lexa had asked the blonde to do something for her, there would have been no question as to whether Clarke would have done it. It kind of hurt that Lexa was not willing to do the same.
The blonde's shoulders sagged in defeat, and she was just about to turn around and head to the courtyard when the scowl dropped from Lexa's face. "Fine. I'll come with you."
Clarke looked at her in slight disbelief. "Really?"
Lexa looked hesitant, like she just wanted to run away and hide and forget that she had ever said such a thing, but she didn't. Instead, she just swallowed thickly and nodded. Clarke had to stop herself from squealing in delight as the two of them headed towards the courtyard. She was extremely happy that Lexa had finally agreed to go to lunch with her because she knew that it would be good for Lexa to talk to people other than Clarke, no matter how much the two girls were beginning to enjoy each other's company.
When Lexa laid her eyes on the table where Clarke's friends were sitting, she stopped in her tracks, and Clarke looked over at her curiously. Feeling Clarke's eyes upon her, Lexa quickly schooled her features, but not before Clarke had noticed what Lexa was trying so hard to hide. She was afraid. Clarke instantly felt bad for talking her roommate into doing this because it was obviously making her extremely uncomfortable. Clarke had never recalled seeing her roommate look scared, but she reminded herself that it would be good for Lexa to get out of her comfort zone, especially if Clarke could show her that it wasn't so bad after all. Clarke reached for her roommate's hand and squeezed it gently, causing Lexa's green eyes to lock onto hers.
"Lexa, don't be afraid," Clarke said softly. "You'll be fine."
"This is a bad idea, Clarke." Lexa allowed the distress to creep back into her eyes, now that she knew that Clarke had seen it. "They all hate me, and they won't want me there."
"I don't care what they want, LW. I want you there," Clarke said sincerely, never breaking her gaze from Lexa's. "You'll be there for me."
Lexa nodded, and she began to follow Clarke towards the table, walking behind the blonde almost as if she was expecting Clarke to shield her from some imaginary danger. Clarke smiled a little to herself, leading Lexa over to the table and plopping down on a bench that was conveniently unoccupied since Octavia and Raven had decided to share the one on the other side of the table. Lexa stood behind the her, looking unsure, but Clarke pulled the brunette down next to her and turned to her friends.
Octavia smiled brightly at the blonde. "Look who finally decided to show up for lunch."
"And look at the garbage she brought with her," Raven said, shooting Lexa a disgusted look.
"Raven!" Clarke hissed angrily. "Be nice. If she was garbage, then I wouldn't have brought her here. I just want her to be able to spend time with people again because she's been doing so much better lately. She's a lot different than the girl that you think she is, so please just give her a chance."
The blonde had thought she could detect tiny unshed tears in Lexa's eyes after what Raven had said, but now that Clarke had defended her, Lexa was wearing a tiny smile. When Raven neglected to say anything in response to Clarke's stern words, the blonde cleared her throat, sending a glare in her friend's direction.
"Fine. Sorry," Raven muttered.
Clarke could tell that the other girl wasn't really sorry at all, but she hoped that Raven would at least try to be nice to Lexa. It had taken a lot for Clarke to get her roommate to even come here today, and she really didn't want her friends to ruin it. Clarke was really glad that Lincoln was there because he quickly took the initiative to make friendly conversation with Lexa. "It's nice to see you eating lunch with people again. I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time. How are you doing?"
"Not great," Lexa admitted, "but I'm trying."
"I'm glad you're letting Clarke in. It's really good to see you socializing with people again, and I'm kind of happy that you actually want to get better now. Clarke must be magical or something." Lincoln chuckled a little before continuing. "If Clarke being absent from our lunch table every day this past week says anything, then I'd say that she's taken quite a liking to you."
Lexa simply dipped her head, and then the table devolved into an awkward silence. Lincoln was the only one who had really known Lexa before, so he was the only one who was really comfortable talking to her. No one else really knew what to say, and Clarke realized that her friends had been right. It was weird for Lexa to be sitting at their table. Clarke sighed, about to try and make random conversation when Lexa surprised her by speaking up. "Octavia, Clarke tells me that you're really into the kickball tournaments this semester. You really think that Arkadia can win?"
"I really hope so. We're all taking the mini tournaments really seriously so that we can practice, and we're getting better than we were. I just really want to win one time." Octavia sighed, pausing a moment before continuing. "I remember when you played with us freshman year, and you were great. Probably our best player. You should come out and join us next time. We could really use the help."
A soft smile spread across Lexa's face. "I'll think about it."
Clarke nodded gratefully to Octavia. The brunette had somehow known exactly what to say, and Clarke was happy that Octavia was at least trying to be nice to Lexa, even though it couldn't be easy for her. However, Clarke knew that Octavia respected her wishes, and she was touched that her friend would give Lexa a chance just because Clarke had asked her to.
"Raven, I hear you're really into chemistry," Lexa remarked, and Clarke winced, wishing that her roommate wouldn't try to communicate with Raven. It was probably better if they just left Raven alone for now.
"Eh, it's alright, I guess." Raven just shrugged, and Lexa immediately averted her gaze.
Clarke glared at Raven, but the brunette just rolled her eyes. It seemed that she wasn't going to give Lexa a chance as easily as Octavia had. She seemed to be intent on hurting Lexa's feelings as much as she could. Clarke could tell that Raven was succeeding, and the blonde wondered when she had gotten so good at reading Lexa because she was sure that to everyone else at the table, her roommate probably just looked annoyed.
In the time she had spent with Lexa, Clarke had been slowly realizing that despite Lexa's prickly and tough demeanor, the brunette was pretty sensitive. Maybe even more sensitive than Clarke herself. When Clarke had first gotten to this school, Lexa's callous attitude had led her to believe that the brunette did not have very many feelings at all, but now she knew that her roommate felt things more deeply than Clarke could have ever imagined, and she suspected that this fact also played a role in Lexa's inability to get over Costia.
Clarke wanted to wrap her arms around her roommate in a comforting gesture, but she didn't because she didn't want to embarrass the brunette, and she was afraid that it would only infuriate the other girl. Instead, she turned her attention back to Raven, practically seething at the unfair way that she was treating Lexa. "Raven, seriously, cut it out. If you're going to keep acting like a jerk, then you can leave."
"I'm acting like a jerk? What about the way that she's been acting for the past year? I'm just supposed to excuse that now because she's your new BFF? Well, I'm sorry, but that's not how it works, Clarke." Raven's eyes sparked with fury, and she didn't stop there. "I don't think that I'm the one who should have to leave the table. I'm not the one who came here uninvited. She's the one who everyone is hoping will leave."
Seeing Raven so furious would normally cause Clarke to back down, but not this time. The brunette's anger only sparked the same feeling in Clarke because Raven's actions were uncalled for. All Clarke was asking was for the other girl to be nice to her roommate for less than thirty minutes, and Clarke was slightly hurt that her supposed friend wouldn't even give her that. Clarke tried to swallow down her anger, but when she looked at Lexa and saw the concealed hurt in green eyes, Clarke couldn't help but let her friend have it. "Oh, really? Because you're the only one who seems to have a problem with her. I don't see the other three acting like complete fools."
"Okay, Clarke. Stop attacking her. I don't want Lexa here either." Bellamy spoke up for the first time, and Clarke felt a little betrayed, although not at all surprised. "And don't act like she doesn't deserve the kind of treatment we're giving her. She's not a saint. She's a fucking bitch, and we shouldn't be forced to be nice to her after she has been nothing but rude to everyone for the past year. If you want to be all buddy-buddy with her, fine, but please just keep her away from us."
Clarke could see the anger growing in Lexa's eyes as Bellamy talked, and she knew that the brunette had moved past hurt and was heading towards explosion. Clarke sighed, knowing what was going to happen next, but she didn't try to stop her roommate, knowing that her friends deserved whatever Lexa was about to give them.
Lexa angrily stood from the table. "You want me to leave? Fine! I never even wanted to come over here anyway. Clarke told me that you guys were cool, but she was clearly wrong. You guys are fucking dumbasses!"
"Lexa." Clarke grabbed the brunette's wrist before she could get away.
Lexa visibly flinched at the contact, and Clarke felt a twinge of anger towards her friends. Lexa hadn't flinched away at Clarke's touch since Monday, and she knew it was the fault of her friends for upsetting Lexa now. Clarke looked up at her roommate, noticing that while her face was set in anger, there was a pleading look in her eyes. Clarke got the message, releasing Lexa's wrist and watching as Lexa hurried away and disappeared from view.
"Good riddance," Raven grumbled.
Clarke whipped her head around so fast that it probably should have snapped off, and she gave Raven a seething glare. "She was right. You guys are fucking dumbasses, and I can't believe I didn't see that before. She was doing nothing but trying with you guys today, because I asked her to, and you treated her like crap. She's never going to trust me again."
Bellamy scoffed. "Oh yeah, right, Clarke. Like she's been treating us any differently? Why should you expect us to be nice to her?"
"She lost someone, Bellamy," Clarke yelled, and she was aware that people were starting to glance in her direction, but she didn't care. "I know what that's like. She needs time to heal, and she needs for people to give her a second chance. She's changing now, I promise, and you need to give her a chance to start over."
"She didn't look she had changed when she was yelling at us and calling us dumbasses," Raven grumbled under her breath, and Clarke could not believe how stubborn the other girl was being. It was like she wasn't listening to a single word that came out of the blonde's mouth.
"She was hurt. She'd never let you see it, but she's a lot more sensitive than she lets on, and she feels more deeply than anyone I've ever met. Sure, she did some things in the recent past that were not things to be proud of, but you guys weren't acting any differently just now than she has been for the past year. I've finally gotten her to listen to reason and actually want to heal, and then when I bring her to talk nicely to people again for the first time in a year, you treat her like shit and tell her she's garbage. If you guys are going to continue to act like complete assholes, then you're no friends of mine." Clarke pushed up from the table, intent to walk away, but the absolute fury that she was feeling right now drove her to say one final thing. "I thought Lexa was the only mean one when I first got here, but I was wrong. You two are worse than she ever was, and I hope you're happy with what you did today." Clarke spun on her heel.
"Clarke, wait," she heard Raven say behind her.
But she did not wait. She did not even look back once as she stormed away from the table in search of Lexa, hoping that she would be able to make things right again.
Clarke found Lexa in the first place that she checked: at their usual spot under the bleachers. It seemed that the couple had left sometime while Clarke and Lexa were in the courtyard because there was no one else there as Clarke entered the shade-filled space, save for the brunette girl who was crying in the corner.
"Go away." Lexa didn't even bother to lift her head from the knees that were being held to her chest.
Clarke wasn't fazed though, not wanting to leave the other girl after what she had just put her through. "Come on, Lexa. You were right, okay? They're dumbasses, and I shouldn't have forced you to come with me like that."
"No," Lexa sniffled, bringing her eyes up to meet Clarke's. "They were right. I'm worthless, and I don't deserve to be friends with you. I don't even belong here anymore, but Clarke, you do. You deserve to sit out in the courtyard and eat lunch with your friends, and you deserve to be friends with people who are normal members of society. You shouldn't have to hide away under the bleachers and be constantly disappointed by the way that I'll probably never live up to your expectations, so please stop wasting your time on me, and just go away."
Clarke sighed. "You don't mean that, Lexa. I'm not wasting my time if I genuinely want to be here with you. I want to be your friend, and maybe that entire spiel would have worked on me before, but not now. Because now, I know you, and I know that you don't want me to go away. You wanted me to find you, otherwise you wouldn't have to come to the first place that I would think to look."
"Clarke, please stop trying with me, and just leave me alone. You shouldn't have to put up with me," Lexa said miserably. "I'm garbage."
Clarke's heart shattered when she heard that. This was all her fault. She was supposed to be helping Lexa, and instead, she had let her lowlife friends convince the poor girl that she was worthless. Clarke felt bad because when she had first gotten to this school, she probably would have agreed. Then again, she hadn't known the whole story. Raven and Bellamy did, and they still chose to be cruel to Lexa, even when they both knew very well that she was trying to change and that she was important to Clarke.
The blonde placed a comforting hand on Lexa's knee, squeezing gently before letting go, and she was pleased that her roommate didn't show any signs of discomfort. "Lexa, you are not garbage. Anyone who's willing to call someone else garbage is the true garbage. If you ever think you're worthless, you are worth something to me, and if you think that you are disappointing me, Lexa, then you're wrong. You haven't disappointed me a single time since I got here because I have no expectations of you. I like you just the way you are, and I wouldn't change a thing. You're my best friend, LW."
Lexa looked up at Clarke with wide eyes. "But what about Octavia and Raven?"
"Raven has just shown me that she is not a good friend in general, and while Octavia was really nice at lunch time and actually is a good friend, she's not like you. I mean, I know we have our differences, but you understand, you know? And you're easy to talk to," Clarke said sincerely.
"You were right," Lexa murmured quietly. When she was met by a confused frown from Clarke, she decided to elaborate. "I came here because I did want you to find me."
Clarke caught the slight tremble of the brunette's bottom lip, and she extended her arms to her roommate with a sad smile. "Come here, Lexa. Sometimes, it's best to just let it all out."
"I can't." Lexa shook her head from side to side, blinking back tears. "I don't cry in front of people.
Clarke didn't move, keeping her arms open. "You can cry in front of me. Everyone cries, Lex, and I don't want you to be afraid to open up to me. I can take anything you've got."
Lexa nodded slowly before allowing herself to fall into Clarke's arms, melting into the blonde's embrace as she let her tears loose. Clarke wrapped her arms protectively around her roommate as the brunette cried softly into her chest. Clarke whispered soothing words into Lexa's ear as she ran her fingers through her roommate's long brunette curls, and she wished that there was something more that she could do for the broken girl in her arms. She wished that she could simply take the other girl's pain away, but she knew from experience that the only thing that she could do for the brunette right now was hold her.
After a few minutes, Lexa's crying turned into occasional sniffles, and Clarke placed a gentle kiss to her roommate's forehead, knowing that the brunette was through the worst of it. Lexa looked up at her curiously after the contact, and the blonde wondered if perhaps she shouldn't have done that. When Lexa's eyes met hers though, Clarke was surprised by the intensity that she found in the deep green gaze. She didn't miss it when Lexa's eyes dipped down to her lips, and her heart sped up at the realization that Lexa might kiss her. She felt hope bubbling up from deep inside her, and she realized that she would not be opposed. More than that, she even wanted the brunette to kiss her, so much so that she almost leaned forward and captured Lexa's lips herself. Before she could get up the courage though, Lexa's head dropped back down to rest on her shoulder, and the moment was gone, crushing Clarke's hope back down again.
"Thanks for being here for me, Clarke," Lexa said softly.
"Always." Clarke ran her hand up and down Lexa's arm.
A few moments passed by in silence, each girl just enjoying the other's company, and Clarke found that she was relieved that what had happened at lunch hadn't ruined this for them. When the bell rang throughout the campus, signifying that lunch was over, Lexa finally spoke up in a quiet voice. "Can I go home now?"
Clarke smiled, thinking it funny and sort of cute that Lexa wanted Clarke's approval for such a thing when there was really nothing Clarke could do to stop her. She squeezed Lexa's arm gently. "I'll see you later, LW."
After lunch, Clarke made her way down the hallway to the chemistry lab. She groaned internally at the fact that her class was doing a lab today because, while she had initially been thrilled to be partnered with Octavia and Raven, she now wished that she had chosen a different lab team. Since there was nothing she could do to get out of it, she simply walked over to her lab station, making a point of sitting next to Octavia and exchanging a quick greeting with the other girl, while completely ignoring Raven's presence. She knew that Raven would try to talk to her though, but right when the brunette opened her mouth, Clarke was relieved to hear the sound of the bell ringing. The class went silent as Mrs. Dowling began to give a short explanation of what they would be accomplishing in the lab today. Normally, Clarke found this portion of lab to be extremely boring, but today, she wished that the teacher would drone on forever. However, Mrs. Dowling stopped talking too soon, and as expected, Raven turned to Clarke the minute that the students were released to start the lab.
"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier with Lexa. I know that I acted like a complete ass out there and that she was only trying to be nice, and I do have to admit that I was a little impressed that you got her to behave so politely. The point is, though, that I should never have done what I did, and I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again."
Clarke had to say that she was impressed with Raven's apology. The brunette was not one to ever admit that she was wrong, so it had definitely taken some guts for the other girl to say that, even if the blonde was sure that Octavia had probably made her. "Octavia put you up to this, didn't she?"
A pink tinge spread across Raven's cheeks at the statement. "She might have, but I promise that I mean it. I was an awful friend to you. Lexa's obviously becoming pretty important to you, and as your friend, I should have realized that and been nice her. I really do want to stay friends with you though, so I will do anything that I can to make it up to you. Why don't you bring her to dinner tonight, and I will apologize to her directly?"
Clarke sighed in exasperation. "I can't bring her anywhere, Raven. She's not a dog who I can just tell to come and she'll follow. She makes her own choices, and it took me long enough to get her to have lunch with just the five of us today. There's no way that I can get her to come downstairs and eat dinner with the entire house tonight, especially not after what happened earlier."
"Clarke, please. I'm really trying here," Raven said with an apologetic look.
"I understand, and I forgive you, even though I'm still mad." Clarke tried to let go of some of the anger that she was feeling for her friend because she knew that it had taken a lot for Raven to apologize. However, she wished that Raven had started trying to be a good friend thirty minutes earlier. "Anyway, it would be good for her to go to dinner, so I'll try to convince her to come, but it won't be tonight. Or anytime soon, for that matter."
"I talked to Bellamy as well and knocked some sense into him too," Octavia said. "He shouldn't be rude to Lexa again either."
Clarke dipped her head in gratitude. "Thanks, O. And I'm sorry about earlier. I hope you and Lincoln don't think that any of the things I said were directed at you. I really appreciate the way you two made an effort to make Lexa feel welcome."
"Not a problem," Octavia said easily.
"Now that we're all good here, how about we get started on the lab?" Raven suggested.
Clarke decided to let her residual anger go and focus on the lab that she and her friends were supposed to be working on right now. Raven began by reading the instructions aloud, and then the three of them began working, mixing chemicals into various containers. Raven stirred her beaker as she dissolved something or other into it. Clarke wasn't great at chemistry, nor did she particularly care for the subject, so she was just glad that she had Raven there to tell her what to do.
"Pour the ammonium carbonate into the main beaker," Raven instructed brusquely.
Clarke reached for the right bottle, happy that she had paid attention when the teacher had explained which chemical was which before they had started the lab. She poured it into the large beaker that was positioned in the center of their workspace.
Clarke scrambled to catch the beaker that Raven had previously been stirring when the brunette slid it in her direction without a word. The blonde immediately knew what her friend wanted her to do, resuming the stirring where the brunette had left off. She watched curiously as Raven dropped a dark gray substance into a different beaker and began to stir that one as well as the reaction started to bubble before leaning back over the lab manual to read the next step.
Raven was in what Clarke and Octavia liked to refer to as her chem lab mode. Whenever they had a lab, Raven always got extremely immersed to the point where she didn't even talk, except to bark out orders occasionally, and she worked fast. Faster than Clarke and Octavia could keep up with sometimes.
"O, pour the potassium chloride into the center," Raven instructed, continuing to stir her reaction.
"Which one is that?" Octavia was even more lost than Clarke was when it came to chemistry, clearly having zoned out what Mrs. Dowling had said at the beginning of class.
"The blue one," Clarke told her as she continued to stir the reaction that Raven had handed her. Clarke's eyes widened when she saw Octavia pick up the wrong bottle, and she watched in horror as the brunette poured in the teal chemical rather than the blue one that Clarke had meant.
"Octavia, no!" Clarke yelled, trying to stop her, but it was too late.
The sound of Clarke's raised voice caused Raven to look up from her lab manual, and she gasped when she noticed what Octavia had done, quickly pulling both of her friends away from the table as their chemicals began to overflow. Steam billowed out of the beaker, and Mrs. Dowling rushed over to their station immediately.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I accidentally poured in the wrong chemical," Octavia admitted with a sheepish look.
"You'd do well to proceed with more caution next time, Miss Blake. This is the second time that this has happened this term, and we are only a few weeks in," Mrs. Dowling said, looking slightly annoyed.
Octavia hung her head in embarrassment. "Yes, ma'am."
Mrs. Dowling turned to the rest of the students, raising her voice so that everyone could here. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, you know the drill."
As all of the students were herded out of the lab, many of them were grumbling in annoyance and shooting glares at Octavia. Raven looked just as irritated as the rest of them, probably disappointed that she would not get to finish the lab.
"Seriously, O?" she growled. "Listen to what I tell you next time."
"Well, maybe if you would tell me which bottle it is," Octavia argued. "How am I supposed to know these chemicals by name?"
"I don't know. Maybe if you would've paid attention when Mrs. Dowling was explaining the lab, then you would know. She went over what each of those chemicals were."
Clarke had to admit that she could see both sides of her friends' arguments, but mainly Octavia's. Raven was so knowledgeable about the subject, considering that both of her parents were chemists, and when she got in her lab mode, it was almost like she forgot that her friends didn't know chemistry like she did. She expected them to understand her instructions perfectly when most of the time, Clarke didn't have a clue what she was doing.
Clarke watched on as Octavia and Raven argued and decided she'd better step in before they murdered each other. "Guys, stop it. Arguing isn't going to get you anywhere. You guys are both in the wrong, and if you would just admit that, then maybe we could focus our energy on how we're going to do better in the next lab. Raven, don't assume that we are chemists over here. You could at least try to be more helpful with specifying which chemical is which, and Octavia, don't be so quick to just throw chemicals into the mixture if you are unsure of what they are."
"You're right," Raven said. "I could definitely be more helpful to you guys. Sometimes, I forget that you're not as familiar with the subject as I am."
"Try not familiar at all," Octavia said, "but I'm sorry too. Since I am clueless about this subject, I shouldn't just be haphazardly throwing chemicals around."
"I'm glad we sorted that out. We won't make the same mistake again," Clarke said before adding, "Hopefully."