A/N: Just a heads up, the NEXT FEW CHAPTERS have TRIGGER WARNINGS!
Chapter 17: Lexa's Reason
"Octavia! There better be a damn good reason you're waking me up at eight in the morning on a Saturday!"
She gave me a sheepish grin, perched on the edge of my bed. "December fifteenth. Christmas is ten days away. Christmas shopping. The mall. Now."
"Fuck no!" I burrowed deeper into my comforter. "Go away."
"Is everything okay in here?" Jake asked in a slightly sleepy voice.
"Damn it, O, you woke Jake up, too," I mumbled, voice muffled by my blanket.
"Actually, Lex, your yelling at me is probably what woke him up."
I grabbed my pillow, hitting her as hard as I could. She shrieked as she fell off of the bed. I grinned smugly, stuffing the pillow back under my head.
"Get up, Lexa. Christmas shopping!"
"I hate Christmas shopping! I hate anything to do with winter!"
"You…what?" Jake's voiced was shocked to say the least. Oh yeah, he doesn't know about my hatred for the season. "How can you hate winter? Winter, Christmas, snow, it used to be your favorite thing of all…besides Clarke."
"She's got a reason. A good one. Even though it's a ridiculous one."
"It's not ridiculous…" I mumbled as the memory flashed back to me. The memory of why I truly hate winter.
Four Years Ago, Christmas Eve Night
"Come on, Clarke. We're going to be late to the party!" I was practically bouncing. I loved Christmas. So much. And I wasn't fond of being late to the Christmas Party. It was Christmas Eve evening and Octavia and Lincoln were hosting a Christmas party.
"Okay, okay!"
Clarke and I had just moved into an apartment together a month before, right after Jake had gotten a job in Alaska. Jake joked that I should move with him because of how much I loved the winter season and snow. Cause Alaska is a place of just snow. Tempting, but no.
I pulled on my coat and boots and we left the apartment, heading into the snow. I breathed out, loving the way my breath turned white in the icy air. It was cold, sure, but it was so cool! Clarke led me to the garage where her new car was parked. With a groan, I climbed into the car. I might love snow, but I don't plan on walking the twenty minutes to Octavia's mother's house in it. So Clarke started the engine and we drive in a comfortable silence. It was comfortable, until it happened.
The semi was driving towards us, on its own side. But it was going too fast, and it hit the black ice, the driver losing control, swerving into our lane. Clarke didn't have time to swerve to avoid the collision completely. Nobody would've. She tried, but we didn't stand a chance. The truck hit with so much force that our car was sent through the air, rolling five times down a slope. All windows smashed, my car on its side. My side was pressed into the snow, the icy mush, covering me. I was cold, no I was freezing, but I couldn't get away from it. I could hear Clarke calling my name, but I was too cold, too shocked to respond. She told me it would be okay. I didn't believe her.
It took a half hour to free us. I don't remember this part. I was unconscious during it. Clarke got away with just a slight concussion. I had minor scrapes, an arm broken in two places, minor frostbite, and hypothermia. I was in the hospital a week.
Winter would never be the same to me again.
"A month after you left to Alaska, she was in a car crash. Truck hit black ice, Clarke's car flipped. Clarke was okay, but Lexa had a broken arm and hypothermia," Octavia explained to Jake, whose eyes got wider by the second.
"Don't forget the frostbite," I said softly.
Jake's gaze turned to me. I didn't feel like answering a million questions or reliving that event. So I rolled out of bed, pulling open one of my drawers. "So, are we going shopping or what?"
Octavia nodded, a small smile on her lips. She was glad she was victorious, but she wasn't too happy with the circumstances. I locked myself in the bathroom to change into jeans and a maroon turtleneck. I exited the bathroom, heading to the living room where Octavia waited. While I was pulling on my winter coat and boots, Jake emerged, dressed. I felt that he would regret coming on a shopping trip with Octavia, but he wouldn't want to stay in the apartment all day by himself.
"Ready?" Octavia asked, clapping her hands.
"Let's get this over with," I grumbled, earning a look form Jake that told me we'd be having a talk later. We headed out to the street below.
"I borrowed my mom's car," she explained, walking over to the black SUV. Great, I thought. I saw Octavia whisper something to Jake that I couldn't make out. And when Jake held the passenger seat door open for me I know she was telling Jake to let me sit in the front so I could see what was going on in the street in front of us. I got slight—okay, a lot—of anxiety if I couldn't see what was happening around me while in the car. So I climbed in, avoiding the concerned look he was giving me. I was do so good being normal, then Octavia had to open her big mouth. Yeah, I should've told him what happened when it happened and not waited four years for my best friend to let it slip, but still.
The drive to the mall was quiet and uneventful. I turned the dial up when Pentatonix's Away in a Manger came onto the radio.
Come they told me, ba rump a bum rum
A newborn king to see, ba rump a bum rum
Our finest gifts we bring, ba rump a bum rum
To lay before the king! Ba rump a bum rum, ba rump a bum rum!
So we're to honor him, ba rump a bum rum, when we come
Little baby, ba rump a bum rum
I am a poor boy, too, ba rump a bum rum
I have no gift to bring, ba rump a bum rum
That's fit to give a king, ba rump a bum rum, ba rump a bum rum
"Shall I play for you"? Ba rump a bum rum
Mary nodded, ba rump a bum rum
The ox and lamb kept time, ba rump a bum rum
I played my drum for him, ba rump a bum rum
I played my best for him! Ba rump a bum rum, ba rump a bum rum
Then he smiled at me! Ba rump a bum rum! Me and my drum!
Octavia parked the car and we got out of the deathtrap.
I pulled my coat tighter around me, whipping out my phone as we headed inside.
Warrior Princess: Help! O has kidnapped me for Christmas shopping…
"You did not!" She turned, mock glaring at me. I held in a laugh.
"Did what?" Jake asked behind us. Octavia just held up a "wait a minute" hand.
Blonde Beauty: Sorry, babe!
Wrench Monkey: Bwahahaha! RIP Lexa!
Princess Warrior: NOT FUNNY RAVEN!
Wrench Monkey: Fucking is!
Fucking Werewolf: Hey! Me and B are at the mall, too!
Coffee Hog: We're getting coffee, but you're not welcome since I'm a "coffee hog"
*Sword Maniac added Jake Griffin to the group chat*
Blonde Beauty: Did you just add my dad to the group chat?!
"What the hell did you just add me to?" Jake asked, looking at Octavia. She sat at one of the tables at the food court. Jake and I joined her.
"You'll thank me," was Octavia's only response.
*Princess Warrior changed Coffee Hog's name to Batman*
Batman: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! LEXA IS OFFICIALLY MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORLD!
Fucking Werewolf: Hey! What about me?
Batman: You could've changed my name, but you didn't!
Fucking Werewolf: You could've too!
Batman: NO, you know the RULES
Sword Maniac: YEAH L
Princess Warrior: B! O JUST HIT ME FOR CHANGING YOUR NAME!
Batman: FUCK NO. YOU DON'T HIT MY SAVIOR O! WHERE ARE YOU LEX?!
Princess Warrior: Food court
Sword Maniac: NO
*Sword Maniac changed Princess Warrior's name to B's Stupid Savior*
B's Stupid Savior: …Are you like 7 years old, O?
Sword Maniac: LEXA HIT ME
Jake Griffin: What is the purpose of this? They are sitting next to each other, typing and hitting each other?
Blonde Beauty: Just push her out of her chair, Lexa!
Sword Maniac: CLAAAARRRRKKKKKEEEE! FUCKK YOUUUU SHE LISTEBED TO YOU!
Blonde Beauty: MY MOM IS GOING TO FUCKING KILL ME, I'M LAUGHING TOO MUCH TO ACTUALLY DOCTOR PEOPLE
Bob the Builder: Wait, who pushed my sister off a chair in a pubic mall?
Sword Manic: LEXA
Bob the Builder: LEXA I LOVE YOU
Sword Maniac: FUCK YOU BOB THE BUILDER!
Princess Warrior: BELL, YOU'RE SISTER JUST THREATED ME WITH A PLASTIC KNIFE!
Jake Griffin: I confiscated the knife.
Blonde Beauty: Thank you, dad. I kinda like Lexa being, you know, alive.
Sword Maniac: We're out. We gotta go do actual shopping, it's what we came here for.
Princess Warrior: Somebody save me!
Batman: Look behind you
Princess Warrior: B you are my savior!
I stood up, jogging over to Bryan and Miller. "I love you guys," I said in a relieved voice.
"Alexandria, get your ass back over here!" Octavia shouted, marching over to us, hands on her hips. Jake followed with an amused look on his face.
"Uh-uh!" I ducked behind the boys. "B, tell her."
Bryan cleared his throat. "We'll return her at the end of the day."
"Or…" Octavia stepped up into Bryan's space. "You and Miller come shopping with us!"
"Girl shopping?"
"Lexa's a girl!"
Miller shrugged. "Yeah, but her interests are more aligned with us guys than you girls."
I groaned when Octavia snuck around Bryan, grabbing my arm in a death grip and dragging me back to Jake. "Guys!"
"Sorry, Lex, but she scares me."
I glared at them, putting my Commander mask on. "You want to see scary?"
"Umm…grounder warrior or grounder Heda?" Miller asked Bryan.
"Heda is scarier," Bryan answered. "Okay, Octavia, give us our Commander back or else!"
"Or else what?" she asked in an amused voice.
"Or else I use the skills I was taught at the ripe age of five and have been practicing every day since," I responded.
She growled, releasing me. With a victorious smile, I walked back to the guys. "Oh, Raven texted me, she's coming to shop with you," I called over my shoulder. She perked up, and sure enough Raven appeared with a big grin, practically skipping over to Octavia.
"Sneaky, sneaky," Miller joked.
"I was the Commander, remember?"
Both guys nodded, pulling me away from the group. Jake decided to follow us. Octavia and Raven could be…a little much.
"Let's get to it!"
"You mean, let's get this over with," Miller grumbled.
Bryan laughed. "God, Nate! You're almost as bad as Lexa!"
We all laughed, especially when Miller grumbled "Don't call me Nate!" even though it's his name. Why he prefers to go by his last name, I don't know. His reaction made us laugh more. Well, all besides Jake who looked like he didn't find it amusing one bit. Well, I imagine finding out a girl you considered a daughter was in a bad crash and almost died from hypothermia a few years ago would make that joke unamusing. But I'm over it. Clarke tried to convince me to see a therapist, but how would it look, a therapist seeing a therapist? I dealt with it on my own. I cope with it.
"What first?" Bryan asked us. Both Miller and I shrugged, hiding grins. This would be an interesting day, indeed!