"Alright, Clarke. Spill," Octavia demanded, interrupting Clarke's painting about twenty minutes after Lexa left. "Is something going on between you and Lexa?"
"Maybe."
"Clarke," Octavia huffed out, "are you serious? She's seventeen."
"I'm well aware," Clarke snapped, spinning around. "I'm not an idiot, you know? I'm not going to do something that's going to get me arrested."
"You may not be sleeping with her, but if her parents find out that you guys are seeing each other, they could get you into big trouble anyway," Octavia insisted. "C'mon, you were all over Finn about her being underage, and suddenly it's not a problem?"
"He was going to sleep with her!" Clarke exclaimed. "I have no intention of doing so until she's no longer underage, firstly. Secondly, I highly doubt that Lexa's going to mention me to her mother at all, at least not before she turns eighteen. Which, by the way, is not very far from now. I know what I'm doing."
"Do you, though?" Octavia demanded, crossing her arms.
"What's going on here?" Bellamy suddenly interrupted, appearing behind his sister.
Clarke's eyes flickered closed, and she sighed as Octavia replied with, "Oh, we're just discussing Clarke apparent new relationship with a teenager."
"Wait, I thought you said nothing was going on between you and Lexa?"
"Nothing was going on!" Clarke exclaimed.
Bellamy furrowed his eyebrows. "And a week later, something is?"
"Look, you guys. I like Lexa. Period. I'm not going to not date her just because she's under eighteen. She'll be eighteen in less than two months, and contrary to popular belief, it is definitely possible to have a relationship with someone without having sex. No matter how much you try to argue with me about it, I'm not going to not date her because of her age. Got it?" Clarke snapped. "I get that you guys just want me to be careful, or whatever, but I know what I'm doing. You think I've spent the past couple of weeks just skipping around not thinking about consequences? I knowhow consequences work, I'm not a kid."
"She's a kid."
"She's not!" Clarke exclaimed, exasperated. "Legally maybe, but not for much longer. And neither of you have even had a conversation with her. Couldn't you at least hold back on the judgment until you've gotten to know her? You both know that I thought she was just some rebellious teenager when I first met her, and clearly I don't feel that way anymore."
"Clarke, you have to see that this is a bad idea..."
"Hey guys," Finn's voice interrupted suddenly, "there's a bonfire at the lake tonight. You all coming?"
"No," Clarke said abruptly. "You shouldn't go either. Don't you have a shit ton of homework to do?"
"What do you think I've been doing all day?" Finn asked, and Clarke caught Octavia looking at her suspiciously. Clarke was not one to stop her friends from partying when they wanted to, at least not for a good reason.
"Come on, Clarke, didn't you finish your homework yesterday?" Bellamy asked, seeming to at least understand that the blonde didn't want to talk about Lexa around Finn. "You should go to the bonfire with us."
"You're going?" she asked, deflating slightly. Like she'd told Lexa, she only ever went if Bellamy was going as well.
He nodded. "Come on. It'll get all our minds off of the latest drama and shit."
"Agreed," Octavia said. "I'll go grab everyone else and then we can head over. Who's our sober driver?"
"Me," Bellamy offered, shrugging. "Be at my car in five." Octavia and Finn disappeared, leaving Clarke and Bellamy alone in her art room.
"I don't want to go."
"Why not?"
"Lexa's going to be there."
"So?"
Clarke crossed her arms. "So, the last time Lexa was at a bonfire, Finn accused her of charming her way into my pants – even though we obviously haven't slept together."
"But you're together?"
"Not... officially."
Bellamy sighed. "You sure you know what you're doing?" Clarke nodded. "Okay, then I support you. I want you to be happy, and everyone else wants that too. That's all we want. It'll sink it, the idea of you dating Lexa. Don't worry."
"I... don't want to tell Finn yet," Clarke said quietly. "Could you please just not mention it to anyone who doesn't already know? AKA, anyone other than you and Octavia."
"Of course," Bellamy agreed. "Now come to the bonfire with us. It's a big lake, you probably won't even see Lexa."
Clarke hesitated for a moment, but then she sighed and relented. "Fine."
From Clarke – Looks like I'll be at the bonfire after all. My GREAT friend Finn has decided that we're all going.
Lexa's eyes widened slightly as she read the text. She was currently at Luna's house, where the other brunette was digging through her closet to find something "sexy" to wear. Anya, far less enthusiastic, was sitting nervously on Luna's bed. Lexa was sitting at Luna's desk – which was very clearly never used for anything other than a storage space – looking at her phone.
To Clarke – You sound very excited lol.
From Clarke – Oh yes, I am overjoyed. I'm especially happy that Octavia and Bellamy both just cornered me to ask whether or not there's something going on between us. Am I really that obvious?
Lexa smiled at the phone.
To Clarke – Your eyes probably give you away.
From Clarke – What about my eyes...?
To Clarke – I can't tell if you're genuinely confused, or fishing for compliments.
From Clarke – Hmm. You know how much I love flattery, but I'm actually confused this time. X
To Clarke – Your eyes smile a lot, at least around me, and I've noticed that they kind of portray what you're feeling. Which I guess is fair, considering how much you usually try to contain your feelings.
From Clarke – I don't do that.
To Clarke – Yes, you do. Especially around your friends.
From Clarke – Ugh. Maybe you're right.
To Clarke – Of course I'm right ;)
From Clarke – Excuse me for thinking that four years of being out of high school might have given me some extra general knowledge.
To Clarke – Maybe all that went to your art instead. X
From Clarke – Here comes the flattery again.
Lexa hadn't realized that she'd been smiling until she heard Anya groan. "You're texting that guy again."
Luna's attention was drawn over to Lexa in confusion. "What guy?"
"No guy," Lexa insisted, locking her phone and setting it down.
Anya shook her head. "She's been texting someone all week, and she's always smiling this big goofy smile. It's insufferable, and she won't talk about him at all."
Lexa huffed. "It's not a big deal." Luna's eyes were searching Lexa, as if trying to confirm what she was thinking, and Lexa tried to flash her a look of confirmation.
"Hmm." Luna looked back at her closet. "You guys wanna borrow something so that people will be staring at all of us?"
"I'm good," Anya declined quickly.
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Suit yourself. I'll take all the attention if you guys are sure."
To Clarke – You're easy to flatter. X
From Clarke – Am not.
To Clarke – Whatever you say ;)
Half an hour later found them pulling into the lake's parking lot and climbing out of the car. They could hear the bonfire party already in full swing, with music blaring loudly and the sound of college party goers shouting and laughing. "Maybe I shouldn't go," Anya muttered, but Luna looped both of her arms with the other girls and started tugging them down to the lake.
"Come on, Anya. If Lexa can have fun, so can you."
Anya rolled her eyes. "Lexa and I aren't the same person." Luna ignored the statement, and a moment later they were on the lake beach, surrounded by people already drunk out of their minds.
"This makes the Sunday party seem tame," Lexa commented, glancing around and not able to help the fact that she was looking for a certain blonde in the crowd.
"Oh yeah," Luna agreed, smirking. "Come on, let's get some booze."
Lexa let Luna lead her along with Anya to one of the kegs, taking the red cup that was handed to her, and sipping. She briefly recalled her conversation with Clarke earlier, and a smile peeked her lips for a moment at the thought. She took another small sip of the alcohol in her cup and told herself that she wouldn't get a refill at all throughout the night.
Anya surprised her, taking down a whole cup full of alcohol within the first ten minutes, and Luna's face lit up at seeing her do so. However, Lexa stopped Luna from filling her glass again already, naturally concerned for her best friend. She wasn't sure why Anya suddenly wanted to drink so much after being so adamant about not coming to the bonfire in the first place.
It was some amount of time later, when Lexa was halfway through her drink, that the three of them met up with one of Luna's friends – Echo. Echo was a freshman in college, apparently, and dragged them over to a group of older college kids that she'd been hanging around. Among them was Anya's brother, Lincoln, who looked quite averse to his younger sister being at the party. He didn't vocalize this opinion, however, and barely acknowledged Anya or Lexa for their sake.
Lexa began to zone out of whatever conversation had begun between her friends and the older group after a little while. She sipped her drink slowly, looking around the lake area curiously. She wondered why it was that she didn't feel out of place here, when she knew only a handful of people and was far younger than most of them.
Suddenly, her gaze caught on a familiar face – Bellamy. She wasn't sure what to think about him, but it seemed like he was one of Clarke's better friends of her group, so she did her best to assume that he was a good person. Next to him, she saw a very drunk Octavia, laughing at something that a seemingly pretty drunk Finn had just said. And then there, rolling her eyes at her friends, was the blonde that Lexa had been unconsciously searching for.
Lexa's breath immediately caught in her throat, because Clarke had changed out of her art clothes – obviously – into skinny jeans and a clinging top. Her cleavage was very visible, and Lexa felt guilty all of the sudden, soaking up the blonde's appearance, but also rather frustrated at her mother for not having given birth to her two months earlier.
"Is that her?" Luna suddenly whispered into her ear, causing the brunette to jump and avert her eyes from Clarke.
"Uh. Yeah."
"Damn. Too bad you can't sleep with her yet, she's fucking hot."
"I know," Lexa muttered in agreement, feeling Luna's presence retract and allowing herself to continue soaking in the blonde.
Blue eyes suddenly met hers, and Lexa felt her entire face flush as she realized that she'd been caught. Clarke flashed her a knowing smile, and then sent her a wink, causing Lexa's heart to skip two or three beats in a row. She swallowed thickly, sipping her drink and wishing that she could go over to the older girl.
"Who are you staring at?" Anya's voice suddenly asked, and Lexa jumped again in surprise, immediately tearing her gaze away from Clarke.
"No one."
"Ooh, that guy?" Anya asked, and Lexa followed her gaze to find that it was on Finn. "He's kinda hot. Wait, is that the guy that you almost slept with after meeting him in The Bean?"
Lexa groaned inwardly. "Yeah."
"No wonder you won't stop staring at him. I guess I can understand why you'd wanna sleep with him. Not that I'd condone it, of course," Anya stated.
"He's actually kind of an ass."
"You've spoken to him since then?"
Lexa shrugged. "I ran into him a couple of times," she said, though it was more of a half truth. "I wouldn't wanna sleep with him. He sleeps around a lot."
"Oh," Anya said. "I was kinda hoping he'd wait for me."
Lexa nearly gagged. "That's disgusting."
"What? You almost slept with him."
"Yes, and I'm so glad that I didn't."
"Mm. His tall friend with the nice hair is pretty cute too."
"Would you stop staring at them?" Lexa pleaded, physically turning her body away in hopes that Anya would get the message that she was uncomfortable by the staring. The last thing she needed was for Clarke's friends to see them staring.
Anya gave in and they both turned away, rejoining the conversation they'd abandoned.
Lexa's phone vibrated a few minutes later.
From Clarke – Finn saw you and he didn't freak. Looks like he doesn't hate you after all. X
To Clarke – He would if I was over there with you.
From Clarke – Eh. Baby steps.
To Clarke – My friend Luna says that you're "fucking hot".
From Clarke – She's not wrong.
To Clarke – Your modesty amazes me.
From Clarke – I know. :) Not my fault that I was born with a great body.
To Clarke – Mm.
From Clarke – Too bad it's not October. X Keep yourself contained, cutie ;)
Lexa blushed, and wondered if Clarke was looking at her from somewhere to see.
To Clarke – I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much.
From Clarke – Whatever you say. ;)
"Are you texting the mystery dude again?" Anya asked, poking at her side.
"There's not a mystery dude, Anya," Lexa denied.
"So who the fuck are you texting then?"
Lexa sighed. "Can we talk about it later?"
"Guess so."
"Ready for another drink?" Luna asked suddenly, interrupting them as though she felt the tension between them. "I know that you need another, Anya."
"Sure, why not?" the girl answered, and Lexa watched the two of them hurry off toward the nearest keg.
Lexa felt suddenly very alone, though she was still with Echo, Lincoln and a few other college kids. She tried to pay attention to what they were talking about for a moment, but then she decided that she was bored, and she separated herself. She drank the rest of her cup and then tossed it into one of the nearby garbage cans.
Sighing, she made it to the treeline where she usually met up with Luna and leaned against one of the trees. She figured that her friends would be able to find her here once they realized that she wasn't with Echo anymore.
To Clarke – My friends have abandoned me. I might go home.
From Clarke – I wouldn't blame you. I keep looking for a reason to leave.
"Hey there," an unfamiliar voice said suddenly, drawing Lexa's attention up from her phone. A guy she didn't recognize was standing a few feet away from her, and she immediately felt cautious.
"Hi," she said, taking a step away from the tree she was leaning on and toward the rest of the party.
"Not enjoying the party?" he asked her, wearing a questionable smile across his face.
"Actually, I just needed a breather," she answered firmly, "and I think I should get back to my friends."
"You sure you don't wanna hang around over here with me?" he asked, taking a large step closer to her.
"I think I'll pass, but thanks." She took a step back toward the crowd.
"Aw come on, I bet I could offer a way better time."
"Doubt it."
He was about to say something else, but then a voice interrupted them.
"Get your filthy hands off of her," Luna snapped, drawing a few people's attention. The guy immediately took a step back.
"I didn't touch her!"
"Sure looked like you wanted to," Luna growled, standing next to Lexa now. "Get the fuck out, she's spoken for anyway."
Lexa flushed, crossing her arms over her chest and wishing that she wasn't so shy in this moment. The guy stepped back and then disappeared into the crowd. "Can we leave?" Lexa muttered, facing Luna and Anya now.
"Yes," Luna answered, still looking quite pissed off. "Why'd you leave Echo? Even college aged kids shouldn't go off alone at these things, Lexa."
"I was thinking about leaving, and I figured you'd find me here."
"You're lucky that I did in time. Come on."
"I don't think he was going to try anything," Lexa admitted, sighing, "but yeah, thanks." As she and Anya followed Luna through the crowd and toward the parking lot, Lexa calmed herself down. She didn't see Clarke around anywhere, so she tried to focus her thoughts on anything but the party.
"What did Luna mean that you're spoken for?" Anya asked quietly as they finally reached the parking lot area.
"I don't know. I'm not," Lexa answered, though she wasn't exactly sure if she was or not. She and Clarke were... dating, so to speak, but they weren't exclusive necessarily. So did that mean she was or wasn't spoken for?
"Not even a little bit?" Anya asked, as if she understood what was going through Lexa's thoughts in that moment. Lexa shrugged, climbing into Luna's car once they reached it.
She settled in the back seat, letting Anya take the passenger seat. Luna claimed that she hadn't had any of the second drink she'd gone to get with Anya, and since it had been a while since her first drink, she felt okay to drive. Lexa didn't feel like she had any other choice but to trust the girl, and it wasn't like there was much traffic in town anyway.
She pulled out her phone.
To Clarke – Well. I found my reason to leave. Some sketchy guy trying to get into my pants or something.
From Clarke – You shouldn't walk around a bonfire by yourself, Lexa. :(
To Clarke – So I've realized. It's fine, he didn't try anything, thankfully. Luna, Anya and I just left anyway.
Clarke's attention was pulled away from her phone as she heard a new voice join their group. "Oh hey guys, I didn't realize you were here."
"We've been here a while, Murphy," Octavia stated, shrugging. "Where've you been lately? Haven't seen you on campus very much."
"I missed the week of classes," he admitted, "because I was still being dragged across Florida by my family. Thought I'd celebrate by getting a hot girl to hookup with me, but I was sadly rejected."
Clarke narrowed her eyes. "Who?"
"I don't know, some brunette who was standing over there," he answered, nodding off in a general direction.
Clarke clenched her teeth for a moment, and then raised a hand into the air, "About this tall, curly hair?"
"Yeah, about."
"Wait, is that Lexa he's talking about?" Octavia interrupted, raising an eyebrow.
"If it is, then he's damn lucky I wasn't there when he started talking to her."
"Whoa, chill, blondie. Didn't know you and her were a thing."
"We're not!" Clarke exclaimed, not sure if she sounded panicked or just incredulous. "But she's seventeen, so unless you feel like getting arrested..."
"Oh shit, really?"
Finn rolled his eyes. "Don't worry man, she definitely looks older. I almost slept with her too."
Clarke felt sick suddenly, and she turned away from the boys. "I'm leaving." She felt her friends' eyes on her as she pushed through the crowd and made her way to the parking lot. She pursed her lips as she realized that Bellamy had driven them all, and found herself leaning against his car and staring at the sky. Since when had she become so protective of Lexa?
It was a stupid question, obviously, but it hadn't occurred to her just how pissed she could get from the idea of someone else trying something with the brunette. Her phone went off.
From Bellamy – I'll give you a ride back to your place if you want? Your car is there right, since you drove home first to change before I picked you up?
To Bellamy – Yes, please.
From Lexa – Clarke?
To Lexa – Sorry, just left the party. The guy who tried to hook up with you is a guy I know – Murphy. Really sorry about him. He wouldn't have tried anything other than what he thinks is effective flirting. I don't know why I have so many asshole friends.
From Lexa – Oh. It's fine, just totally threw off my mood. I think I'm going to head to sleep as soon as I get home.
To Lexa – You do that. I'm probably going to do the same. Stay safe cutie. X
Bellamy appeared in front of her suddenly, and Clarke slid her phone into her pocket. "Thanks, Bell."
"No problem. You should probably tell everyone about you and Lexa," he stated bluntly. "Maybe then everyone will stop talking about her like she's just some girl. I can tell it's driving you crazy."
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
"Come on, let's get you home."