Episode 4

Lexi slid into the courtroom, her hair still wet from having driven home from Asher's and showered late in the morning. No matter how many times she told him, he never seemed to wake her up in time. She took the seat beside Laurel, who was flipping through sheets of paper.

"Damn, don't tell me you've started studying for Torts," Lexi muttered, peeking at what Laurel was doing. "You've even made an outline? When did you get the time to do that, that's insane!"

Laurel shrugged and smiled. "This is actually one of Kan's old outlines."

"Oh. The cute guy you hooked up with at the Law Review party, right? Damn, I need to get myself one of those," Lexi muttered. She straightened up in her seat, wondering if she should ask Laurel for a copy of the outline and whether she would even give it to her, when Asher took the seat next to her. He smiled at Lexi and she grinned back.

"You made it here before me," he commented, surprised. "How do you do that?"

Lexi smiled. "I don't drive like an old granny," she replied before noticing that Laurel was giving them weird looks. Maybe it was too soon to start flirting in front of other people. She cleared her throat and sat back, just as Connor slipped into the courtroom. He pushed at Asher to move up and quickly took his seat.

"Really, dude?" Asher muttered. "Isn't your ass tired?"

"Who says it's my ass?" Connor retorted. Lexi looked at Connor curiously. He'd been sleeping with Oliver for a considerably long amount of time; pretty much as long as she'd been with Asher. For a guy who claimed that he didn't do boyfriends, he was being pretty faithful. But Lexi knew better than to ask Connor if he had feelings for Oliver. He would just deny it.

Lexi watched as Annalise Keating tried to ensure Rebecca Sutter's confession tape was not considered in setting her bail amount. Wes looked particularly tense; he was watching the proceedings with a sort of intensity that made Lexi think he was taking it very personally. What was up between him and Rebecca? She hardly ever shot him a second glance; then again, Rebecca never seemed to look at anybody twice. There was a lack of emotion in her eyes that was almost disturbing.

"I'm setting bail at a million dollars," the judge decided. Lexi's eyes widened. There was no way Rebecca would be able to afford a million-dollar bail. She watched as their client was taken away.

"A million? That's a lot of lap dances," Asher commented, as they all got to their feet. Lexi grinned and subtly slapped his ass as they slid out into the aisle. He turned around and looked at her in surprise.

"I bet I could give you a million-dollar lap dance," she whispered, before biting her lip and pushing past him. Lexi could feel his eyes on her behind as she moved to catch up with Laurel. She was going to take a shot at asking her for Kan's Torts outline.

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"Aww, looks like the trophy's gonna be in play!" Asher chimed cheerfully. They were all lounging around the sitting room, waiting while Annalise finished talking to Wes in her office. She'd come back from visiting Rebecca in jail with a furious expression and now she was yelling at Wes. Clearly the puppy had screwed up. Again.

"He advocated for his client," Laurel replied in her usual righteous manner. Lexi frowned. The sound of Laurel's voice was starting to irritate her. Did she always have to pretend like she cared about other people more than herself? Not to mention that she'd flat out refused to share a copy of Kan's outline. What had happened to her holier-than-thou attitude? Or maybe she was a just hypocritical bitch and on the inside, she was no different from Michaela.

"Do you have to open your mouth when you say stuff like that?" Connor snapped.

Michaela, who had been standing in a corner, suddenly spotted what Laurel was doing. She made a beeline for her, eyes glinting. "Is that a Tillman outline?" she demanded.

"What?" Laurel asked warily.

"Ward Tillman, he won the Kepley diploma all three years at Middleton. His outlines are the Holy Grail!" Michaela gushed.

"This is one of Kan's old outlines," Laurel replied.

"Oh, your boyfriend's giving you his outlines now?" Asher muttered. "What's next, herpes?"

Michaela ignored him, beaming widely at Laurel. It was clear that she was going to suck up to her. I need popcorn for this, Lexi mused. If she couldn't get the outline from Laurel, there was no way Michaela could pull it off. Laurel despised her. "How about we trade?" Michaela suggested sweetly. "I'll give you everything from my Property study group!"

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Laurel, the exam's in three days!"

"And that's probably the first time you've gotten my name right," Laurel replied. Michaela frowned and caught the smug grin that Lexi was giving her. She stood up and walked away quickly. Lexi propped her feet up on the coffee table, feeling relieved that at least Michaela was in a bad position too. She wasn't the only one.

Frank and Bonnie were standing at the doorway, smirking at each other. Lexi didn't like the way Frank grinned under that ugly beard. "Sounds like it's shooting star time," he said to Bonnie.

"Who's your pick?" Bonnie asked eagerly.

"Hair-gel's got ice in his veins," Frank commented, looking at Connor. "Douche-face is too dumb to care. Scholarship-girl seems too cocky to snap so soon." He added, looking at Lexi. She glared right back at him, feeling her cheeks burn. What an asshole. She'd rip that beard off his smirking face if she could.

"Wallflower's pretty sensitive," Bonnie mused.

"My bet's on Prom Queen," Frank finished, leaving Michaela gaping at him. "She's wound way too tight."

"What the hell's a shooting star?" Michaela demanded. Frank was right, she looked on the verge of exploding. Before anyone could answer, though, the door to Annalise Keating's office burst open and the boss herself walked out.

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"Always wanted to study finance," Lexi said to herself, as she looked around the office of Trudeau Securities. There had been a time when she'd considered taking economics and finance as a part of her education, but she'd later decided against it. The idea of stocks and trading still fascinated her, though.

"Look at this place," Asher muttered. People were running around, there were phone cords all over the place, papers flying in the air and a general atmosphere of chaos. It gave Lexi a euphoric feeling of rush, although she could see that the others just looked shocked. "It's a jungle in here."

"Looks like my kind of party," Connor mused. Lexi grinned and tried to sneak peeks at a few desks as they walked through. FBI was all over the place, making the mess even worse. In the middle of all the chaos, Marren Trudeau stood on a cardboard box in killer heels and was answering back to a slightly irritable-looking detective.

"Your goons are looting this place," she announced, "Like it's a damn fire sale, and you have no right!"

"Miss Trudeau, this warrant says otherwise," the detective replied, brandishing a sheet of paper. Marren rolled her eyes before taking the paper from him.

"Oh, this warrant?" she asked. Fishing a lighter out of her pocket calmly, she flicked it and set the edge of the warrant on fire. She smiled and held it up while all her employees cheered. Wow, Lexi thought. That is one badass woman. Unfortunately, Annalise stepped forward and helped put the fire out before turning to the furious detective.

"Annalise Keating, the exact charge?" she asked calmly.

"Your client purchased stock in Edson Pharmaceuticals in advance of a favourable FDA ruling arising from insider knowledge," the detective replied.

"Was any of that in English?' Asher joked, looking at Lexi. But she was still watching Marren Trudeau with big eyes and didn't hear him. He frowned. Not the sort of woman he thought Lexi would admire, but clearly he was wrong. They all watched as the detective had a laptop brought to the table and played a video of Marren embracing another man.

"Do you have any idea who that might be?" he asked Marren Trudeau.

"Elias Edson," she replied, not looking particularly ashamed. The version of her in the video began to moan and Asher's grin widened as he watched her get bent over the table. Marren turned to look at them. "Well, take some notes, kids, because this is what Pilates can do for you."

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"She's amazing," Lexi gushed as they entered Annalise Keating's office. "Imagine putting herself through school and reaching those heights; did you see the way she set that warrant on fire? I mean, I guess when you've achieved so much on your own, you never have to bend down to anyone."

Asher grinned. "I could see her bending pretty well in the video."

Lexi rolled her eyes at him. Of course that would be the only thing he noticed about Marren Trudeau. "And she knows how to have fun too. How many women manage to be so successful in their careers and still manage to be as free-spirited and caring as-"

Michaela interrupted her. "We get it. You have a girl-crush on Trudeau. Can you please shut up now?"

"You're just jealous because a middle-aged woman is more flexible than you," Lexi replied coolly. "Like you could ever pull off the positions she was doing in the video." She watched in pleasure as Michaela flushed red. Although she'd supposedly gotten back together with her fiancé after the Law Review party, Michaela was still a little touchy about people mentioning her relationship and Lexi enjoyed riling her up. "Is that what the problem was with you and Aiden? You were too much of a prude in bed?"

"That's none of your business," Michaela replied sharply. "Besides, if I can't pull off those positions, then you certainly can't."

Asher grinned lecherously, looking at Lexi. His eyes raked her up and down before glancing back at Michaela. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," he put in mischievously.

Michaela made a face. "Oh God. Please. The last thing I need right now is to hear about what you two do in bed. Just leave me alone," she snapped and pushed past them into Annalise's sitting room. Lexi quickly leaned up to kiss Asher's cheek. She'd never actually done anything like what Marren had done with that Edson character- but they both liked making Michaela uncomfortable by referring to their sex life.

Asher lowered his voice. "You know, if you want to give what Marren and Edson did a shot…"

"We'll see," Lexi replied.

They gathered in the sitting room so that Annalise could address them. She explained how preliminary hearings were usually won by the prosecution. The only way that they could ensure Marren's case didn't reach trial was to find the real culprit themselves. Lexi gulped as she looked at the stack of files in Frank's arms. She'd been hoping they were done for the day so she could study Torts. Looks like they weren't.

"There are 52 employees at Trudeau Securities. Your job is to interview them, pretending its case research until you find us a traitor," he replied, handing out a couple of the files to each of them. Lexi flinched as he slammed her share down in her arms. She lifted the cover of the top file and saw a picture of the employee, as well as their bio-data. "Happy hunting."

"How do we know it's one of her employees?" Wes asked innocently. Annalise stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"I don't. I just know everyone hates their boss."

Michaela started bitching the moment Annalise exited the room. She was more stressed than any of them about the Torts exam, and she was starting to lose it. Lexi fidgeted in her seat. She wasn't about to blow a fuse like Michaela, but neither was she as relaxed about the Torts exam as Connor and Laurel seemed to be. Maybe she should start worrying too.

"Am I the only one that's psyched about this?" Asher interrupted their discussion about the exam, as he flipped open the first file in his bunch. "We get to be spies! And score, I got a cute chick!" The picture of his first employee was of a pretty young brunette. Lexi caught a quick glimpse of her. Shit, she's hot. She frowned and opened the first of her own files to find a picture of a large black woman. Although the photo was cut off at her chest, Lexi could see hints of enormous breasts.

"Asher, would you make some coffee, please?" Lexi asked him with a smile. She sat on the couch next to him and put a hand on his leg. "I know I usually do it, but I'm so tired today."

Asher tore his eyes away from the brunette in his file. "What? Yeah, okay." He dropped the files and went into the kitchen. Lexi acted fast. She quickly took the file of the pretty brunette and slipped it into the bottom of her own pile, before adding the first file of hers to his. Then she leaned back and started to flip through her own employees. She could feel Connor's eyes on her.

"What?" she asked him.

Connor glanced at the files that she'd just switched, and then looked back up at her. "Nothing."

"Good."

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Asher Millstone was finishing the last drops of his coffee when he heard the doorbell ring. Wondering who could possibly be here first thing in the morning, he set the mug down and opened the door.

"Missed me that much, huh?" he asked a fully-dressed Lexi. She hadn't spent the night- they both had to study for Torts and agreed that they could make up for lost time after the exam. Not to mention that they had to spend today interviewing Marren Trudeau's employees. "It's only been like, 12 hours, babe."

Lexi rolled her eyes. "I know that. Do you know how much work I can get done when I don't stay over at your place? I did laundry, studied for Torts, prepped to interview Marren's employees and I had time to dry my hair this morning."

Asher grinned, putting an arm on the doorframe and preventing her from walking past him into the apartment. He leaned down so his face was inches away from hers. "But you also have to masturbate alone. Tell me; do you think about me when your fingers are between your legs? Do you imagine that I'm the one pleasuring you?"

"I'll never tell," Lexi replied simply, with a mischievous smile. She held up a small duffel bag that she was carrying. "Find somewhere to put this, will you?"

"What is it?"

"A few changes of clothes," Lexi replied. When Asher blinked at her, she sighed. "Don't freak out, it's not some overrated relationship step. I'm just sick of having to run home and shower in the mornings when we have to go to Keating's. So I want to be able to shower here and have clean clothes. You don't even need to make space in a drawer, just throw it under the bed or something."

Asher grinned and took the bag. "I'll make space. Somebody's getting a little serious, huh?"

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I'm not trying to move in with you or something."

"No," he replied. He gestured for her to follow him as he went into his bedroom and opened a drawer. He started to move around some clothes and make enough space for the bag. "But I think you're getting a little attached to me. I know what you did with the files yesterday."

Lexi flushed. "What?"

"You took the hot girl out of my pile," Asher replied. There was a huge, smug grin on his face. "You were jealous because you were afraid that something might happen while I interviewed her, you sneaky little bitch."

"I didn't-"

Asher grinned, before slipping an arm around Lexi. His hand smoothly slid down her back and gripped her ass. "Don't worry, babe. I think it's hot. It's not your fault you want me all to yourself, I can totally understand that." He leaned down and kissed her flaming red cheek. "Jealousy is sexy on you."

Lexi bit her lip. "Shut up. We're going to be late."

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Interviewing employees was exhausting. Lexi was tired just after she got through the first two; the first being a rather old woman who seemed to be slightly hard of hearing and kept making Lexi repeat her questions, followed by a middle-aged man with a paunch that was more interested in his burger and fries than her.

"How's it going?" she asked Wes as she saw him in the corridor. He was waiting outside an office, scratching his head absent-mindedly with a pencil. His notepad was full and he smiled at Lexi.

"Not bad. It's hard to get their attention, they're so busy," he replied. "This one went for lunch; she's not in her office so I'll probably have to wait till she gets back. You headed somewhere?"

"I was hoping to get some lunch myself. Do you want to come?" she asked.

"Nah, I should wait for this employee to get back. It could be any minute. Thanks, though."

"Have you seen Connor?" she asked.

Wes shook his head. "Not really. But Asher's near the other set of cubicles."

He gave her a funny look and Lexi smiled back forcefully. She was suddenly reminded that the puppy knew she was sleeping with Asher too. Lexi wondered if Keating had any idea, and if she would even care that two of the students she'd employed in her firm were in a relationship. Was it unprofessional? Lexi hadn't considered that her job might be at risk if Keating found out. Then again, Keating probably wouldn't give a shit unless it affected their work in some way, and it wouldn't. Lexi would make sure of that.

Lexi spotted Asher standing near one of the cubicles and talking to a woman. Their voices floated over to her clearly and she smiled to herself. "You not here to talk about my pussies," the woman said crudely. "What do you want?"

"You mean besides world peace?" Asher asked in an attempt to be charming. His goofy smile dropped when he noticed the expression on her face. "How is it working for Marren? Just between us? Seems like she can be a real ball-buster."

"Would you call a man a ball-buster?" the woman demanded. "I'm guessing no, Mr. Can't-stop-staring-at-my-boobs!"

Lexi couldn't resist a giggle. Asher heard her and his eyes flickered over to the sight of her standing a few feet away, one hand covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. He stiffened and cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the woman. Lexi turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder. There was a pretty girl standing behind her and Lexi recognised her as the employee whose file she'd replaced in Asher's stack.

"Hi, are you one of the ones that works for Keating?" the woman asked. She was even prettier in person and Lexi was glad she'd taken her file away from Asher.

Lexi nodded. "I am. You're Janice, right? I'm probably going to interview you later today."

"That's fine. But I was going to suggest that you help your colleague out over there," Janice said, nodding her head towards Asher. He was starting to look more and more uncomfortable by the second. "She's going to eat him alive in a few moments and it would be a pity. He's cute."

Lexi forced a smile at Janice, who walked away. Then she sighed and turned back to Asher. Looks like her fun was over, she was going to have to help him out.

"You wanna ask me out on a date?" the woman was demanding Asher. "Then ask me on a date. But don't just take a sneak peek at the goodies without buying me dinner."

Asher looked frustrated now. He was trying to explain how he wasn't actually trying to look at her chest when he felt an arm slide into his. Lexi had come and he almost breathed a sigh of relief as she slipped her hand into his and kissed his cheek. "There you are, sweetie, I've been looking for you. Everyone's heading out for lunch. Are you done here?"

Asher nodded, stuffing his notebook in his pocket. "Absolutely. Let's just-"

"Hold it." The woman was looking between Asher and Lexi. "Is he your boyfriend, young lady?"

Lexi smiled politely. "Yes he is, ma'am."

"Hmph." The woman did not look impressed. "Well, your boy here's got a wandering eye. You keep a close one on him."

"I will," Lexi promised and then tugged Asher out of the office before she burst into giggles.

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Lexi was curled up on Asher Millstone's couch, her Torts textbook in one hand and the other reaching for a huge bowl of chips wedged in next to her on the sofa. Her feet were in Asher's lap and he rubbed them gently while flipping through his own book. Lexi had thought that Asher would be terrible to study with; he was always distracted and usually cracked untimely jokes. But once he started studying, it was actually hard to distract him. Lexi rubbed her foot against the front of his pants. He barely noticed.

"How far are you?" she asked, breaking the silence. Asher's eyebrows furrowed before he looked up at her and blinked. He seemed tired.

"I just finished assessment of damages in personal injury cases," he replied, flipping a page. "I've got a shitload left in negligence, though, that stuff goes on forever. What about you?" His fingers tickled the soles of her feet and Lexi twitched.

"I'm on causation. It's pretty basic shit. Stop doing that to my feet, you're driving me crazy."

"Ticklish, huh?"

Lexi pulled her feet away from him and sat up. She moved the bowl of chips and then curled into Asher's side. "God, I'm so tired. I can't concentrate. Do you think the others are studying? I know Laurel started early and Connor was following some lead for Annalise…"

Asher shrugged. "I don't know. You'll do fine."

"Yeah, I guess. Michaela's little episode today made me feel better," Lexi said with a grin. Asher was smiling too. "Damn, she totally lost it. Trying to steal Laurel's outline? How can someone be so smart and stupid at the same time?"

"She's not stupid, she's just desperate," Asher replied. He looked down at his book. "I take it you're calling it a night with Torts, then?"

"Yeah," Lexi replied, before lifting her arms and stretching. "I'll head home if you still want to study. My roommate keeps eating all my food because she says I'm never around anyway. I should go check on my ice cream stash. And call Connor."

Asher frowned. "Why do you have to call him?"

"Well, I haven't really talked to him since..."

"Since he called you a whore, right? Are you kidding me? At the very least, he should be the one calling you," Asher muttered with a frown. "I'd have socked him in the face if I'd been there. Why do you put up with him?"

Lexi smiled. "I don't know. Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I'm a dream in bed. But you're not getting any of that from him, so I don't see the point."

"He's got a nicer ass than you."

Asher's eyes widened. "What the- fu- he does not! Have you seen my ass, woman? Old ladies stop in the street to stare at my ass, okay? I'm smart, talented and charming, and he's a conceited bastard with flabby butt cheeks."

"Whatever makes you feel better, sweetie," Lexi said, getting to her feet and leaning down to kiss Asher on the cheek. "You have a nice time studying Torts and jacking yourself off to sleep thinking about me. I'm going to go see Connor and his dreamy ass."

"What…" Asher trailed off as Lexi gathered her things and walked to the door. "Hey! Send me nudes!"

"Mine or Connor's?" Lexi called out. Asher glared at her and she laughed before closing the door behind her.

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"Paxton?" Lexi muttered. She was still trying to get her head around the fact that Marren's cute assistant was behind the crime. He'd seemed so grateful to her for everything she'd done for him. Then again, no one else could have been close enough to her to pull it off. "Wow. I didn't see that coming."

Wes nodded. They were all waiting outside while Annalise, Frank and Connor talked to Marren and showed her the recording of what Paxton had said about her. "I don't think anyone did."

"What I want to know is how Connor even figured it out," Michaela mumbled bitterly. "How does he do stuff like recording calls and tracing them? It's illegal. Is he paying somebody to do it for him? Spit it out, Alexis, I know you know."

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what makes you think I'd tell you something like that."

"But you know who he's paying."

Lexi frowned. She knew that Oliver had probably traced the call; that was where Connor had been when she called him last night. He'd cut her off rather abruptly, but Lexi thought that was because she'd interrupted them having sex or something. But how did he record the call? Had he slipped a microphone under Paxton's desk? Lexi had an uncomfortable feeling that Connor had slept with him to get what he wanted. But surely he wouldn't do that to Oliver?

"How's preparing for Torts going, Michaela?" Lexi asked, deciding to distract the bitch from Connor. As she'd hoped, Michaela's face fell. Her eyes narrowed and she turned away to talk to Wes. Phew. There was a loud buzzing noise and Lexi pulled out her phone to check her messages. It was her Mom, asking if she could make it home that weekend.

"Whoa!" Wes yelled, looking up. "Did something just-"

Lexi followed his gaze, but couldn't see anything. "What?"

"I just saw someone fall from up there."

Michaela, Asher and Laurel all looked shocked. "But- but up there is Marren's office. Are you serious, Wes, did you really see someone fall?"

"I swear I did."

They all moved closer to a crowd of people that had gathered around the body. Lexi barely caught a glimpse of a figure in a formal shirt before she closed her eyes and turned around. If someone had really jumped, then she didn't want to see the dead body. Asher and Wes pushed their way through the crowd to see who it was, and came back looking grim.

"Paxton took a swan dive," Asher announced. "Or maybe Marren pushed him, I don't know. Woman over there called an ambulance, but there's no point. His neck is snapped and there's blood about ten feet in every direction, he's as dead as they can get."

Lexi took a deep breath to try and stop the dizziness. Her head began to spin and she reached out to keep herself upright, grabbing Wes' arm. He looked startled but helped her steady herself. "Whoa. Are you okay, Lexi?"

"Fine," she muttered, quickly standing up by herself. She hated how weak she looked. "I'm fine."

Marren Trudeau burst out of the building, followed closely by Annalise and Connor. She looked devastated and ran over to the body immediately. Connor stood quietly at a distance. He was in shock and Lexi slowly walked over to him, slipping an arm into his.

"How did it happen?" she whispered.

"He jumped," Connor croaked. Lexi squeezed his arm. There were very few times when she had seen Connor Walsh this upset. His lower lip was trembling. "Marren freaked out when she found out it was him and he got really upset. He just sat on the window and fell back. It was…"

"It's not your fault," Lexi said.

"I slept with him last night. I recorded him confessing, I never thought…"

"Exactly. You didn't know. He brought this on himself, Connor. He betrayed a woman who trusted him and then he couldn't deal with the consequences of his actions. If not because of you, he would have been caught some other way."

"I mocked him, I…"

He fell silent and Lexi did too, keeping a firm grip on his hand.

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"Flavoured vodka," Connor muttered as he watched Lexi pour into two small glasses. They were sitting in her apartment, the television turned down low to some obnoxious teen drama series. Neither of them even look at it. "You're such a girl. What is this shit- Green apple?" he read off the label.

"Hey, it's all I've got," Lexi replied. "Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it," he grumbled, snatching the glass from her. Liquid sloshed inside. "I shouldn't be drinking too much anyway. We have class tomorrow. Can I crash here tonight? Will your roommate mind?"

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? She thinks you're the sexiest guy ever. She'd let you sleep on her bed, if you wanted to."

Conner smirked. "The couch is fine."

"Don't give me that smug grin," Lexi said. "I didn't bring it up this morning because you were in shock, but I still can't believe you slept with Paxton to get information out of him. Connor, I know you'll go to great lengths to get what you want, so will I. But I never pegged you for being unfaithful."

Connor shifted in his seat and frowned. "Who said I was being unfaithful? I'm not married. I can sleep with whoever I want. You're the one who told me to stay out of your sex life, so stay out of mine."

"I said that because you were accusing me of being a whore," Lexi replied calmly. "Which you never even apologized for, by the way, but whatever. You've been really happy with Oliver. I've seen that. You were so upset that day you had to cancel on him. You don't usually show that much emotion for a guy."

"It's just sex."

"No it's not."

"Yes, it is! I have never even seen him outside of his apartment! We have sex every time we meet. We don't have 'how was your day' conversations. It's just sex. I would know," Connor snapped. He took a large sip, emptying his shot and grabbing the bottle to pour more. Apparently his hatred for green apple overcame the need for alcohol.

Lexi nodded. Maybe it was better if she backed off. She'd chosen the wrong day to have this conversation with him. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just wanted to be sure that you're not throwing away what could be a good relationship to score some points with Annalise."

Connor sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know. But honestly. Oliver and I have never talked about being exclusive so you have nothing to worry about. We can sleep with other guys."

"Are you sure he thinks that?"

"I… come on, Lex. I can't believe you're even making me explain this. I know you believe the same thing. Isn't that what you're doing with that nutcase Millstone right now? Just because you sleep with him repeatedly doesn't mean you can't do the same with someone else."

Lexi fidgeted. "Actually…"

"Oh god, you're kidding me," Connor cried. His eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into his hairline. "He's your boyfriend now? Do you guys have like, candlelight dinners and stuff? What do you even talk to baby-face about?"

"Shut up, Connor."

Connor rolled his eyes and poured himself another shot. "Yeah, well, you don't like me talking about your relationship, I don't like you talking about mine."

"That's not talking about my relationship, that's belittling it."

"You're the one that invited me over here to drink and then started accusing me of cheating. So sorry if I'm not feeling particularly amiable right now."

Lexi fell silent. She watched as Connor downed one more shot. His eyes were red and her anger dissipated slightly into pity. He didn't mean the things he said. He was going through a lot and he became an asshole under stress, Lexi knew that. She stayed silent, quietly sipping her drink. Connor was right. Green apple vodka was disgusting. There was a long silence as the figures in the television chattered meaninglessly.

Connor was the first to speak. "I'm sorry," he said slowly. "I know you're just trying to look out for me. But I'm fine. You don't need to do that."

Lexi sighed. "I get it. It…it was none of my business anyway. I wasn't trying to mother you or something."

"Yeah, well. Maybe I need a mother sometimes," Connor admitted with a smile. Lexi grinned and reached over to ruffle his hair. He swatted her hand away quickly and pointed a finger at her. "Whoa. Stay away from the hair. That is not permission to touch the hair."

"Sorry."

Connor took another shot and set the glass down. "Sometimes you're a better mother to me than my own mother. She never cares enough to ask about my relationships."

"You're drunk. Don't say something you'll regret."

Connor shook his head, although he could feel the alcohol getting to him. "No, I'm serious, Lexi. You're like… you're like that big sister that might seem annoying and bossy but when the time comes and you're getting bullied or something, she'll be the one to protect you."

"Your drunken affection is flattering."

"Did you know," Connor asked her slowly, sliding further back onto the sofa. "Did you know that in my whole life, you're the only person that was ever happy when I came out to them? Like, ever. My parents were horrified. Some of my friends were shocked, some people were like, yeah, whatever. But you're the only person that was genuinely… happy. Why?"

Lexi sighed and moved the vodka out of his reach. And he called her a lightweight. "I was a 12 year old girl, Connor. I didn't know what being gay meant. I thought you were going to come shoe shopping with me and paint my nails."

Connor wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

"Yeah, well, I watched too many low-budget sitcoms. The girl's gay best friend is usually just there for fashion and dating advice. My hopes were dashed when I actually took you to a shoe store and you ditched me to go to McDonald's."

"There was a cute guy working there," Connor replied. He grabbed one of the cushions on the sofa and lay his head down, snuggling into it. "And I'm not hopeless. I dress better than your boyfriend. His ties are ugly. Does he know that his ties are ugly? How do you even look at them?"

"Well, he's usually not wearing them during sex," Lexi muttered. She glanced up and saw that Connor hadn't heard her. He was snuggled into the cushion and his eyes were closed. "Wow, you must be exhausted. Let me get you a blanket."

"Not cold," Connor muttered. He reached down and started to unbuckle his pants. Lexi sighed and got up to retrieve a spare blanket for him. When she came back, she saw that he had kicked his pants off and was lying in his shirt and underwear. She covered him quickly.

"Whoa there, cowboy. Calm down. Grace will have a heart attack, this isn't Oliver's."

He pulled the blanket up to his chin. "Did I really cheat on Oliver?"

"I don't know."

"I'm sorry."

Lexi sighed, and moved to turn the light off. Once the room was dark, she picked up the empty bottle of vodka and dumped it in the garbage before moving to her own room. Her head was buzzing pleasantly too. Hopefully she'd get a good night's sleep.

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"Where are you going?" Laurel asked Michaela, as she watched her start to pack her stuff. They were sitting in Annalise's home again, sorting out the files for the Trudeau case. It had been exhausting, but they'd finally managed to get those who were responsible to confess. Annalise knew what she was doing. Now the paperwork.

"We have 14 hours till Torts," Michaela said heatedly, as she shoved a file into her handbag. She looked just as panicked as ever and Lexi smiled. Despite her own worries about the exam, it always helped to see Michaela look a little more freaked out that she herself was. "I'm going to study."

"Will this help?" Asher asked, holding up a thick bunch of papers in front of his face. He smiled widely as he lowered them and looked at the expressions on all of their faces. Michaela dropped her file on the table.

"The Tillman outline?" she whispered.

"Called my cousin. Turns out he's in an eating club with a guy at Princeton." He smiled and set his bag down on top of a few cardboard boxes, revealing that it was full of the outlines. "So who wants a copy?"

There was a brief moment of chaos as Michaela's eyes went wide and she rushed forward to grab a copy. Lexi was frozen in her seat. Was Asher for real? He had the Holy Grail of outlines and he was just going to hand them away to someone like Michaela? She made eye contact with him and gave him a what the fuck look but Asher was prepared. He jumped in front of the bag, preventing Michaela from reaching it. "Suckas! You think I'm going to let you all bust my curve on the exam? What?"

Michaela looked furious, but she was cut off by Bonnie entered the room with a CD in her hand. Everyone fell silent and looked at her. "Movie time," she said.

Lexi followed Asher as they walked into the living room. She lowered her voice and slipped her arm into his quickly. "Babe, you're gonna give me a copy of that later, right?"

Asher pulled out his phone and pretended to check it. "Funny. I was just looking for the nudes you were supposed to send me last night, and uh… I never got them. Isn't that weird?"

Lexi glared at him. "Very funny."

Asher pulled out a copy of the Tillman outline and dangled it in front of her face. "But I'll forgive you. It's all yours, on one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"I want that million dollar lap dance."

Lexi bit her lip seductively and grabbed his tie, pulling his face down closer to hers. Her lips ghosted over Asher's. "It's a deal."

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Lexi moaned as Asher's lips hit the sweet spot on her neck. Her fingers were twisted tightly into his hair as he kissed his way down her throat, and started on her collarbone, getting dangerously close to her breasts. She could feel his erection against her thigh.

It had been a long day; what with the Torts exam and attending another hearing about Rebecca's bail. Luckily, the confession tape had worked; the bail had been reduced to a hundred thousand, Lexi had never seen Wes look so happy. He had it bad for her.

She'd planned to go home and get some rest; but considering that Asher had chosen tonight to cash in on his payment for the Tillman outline, she'd had to go over to his. She barely got halfway through the lap dance before Asher lost it though; he'd let out a loud growl and shoved her onto the bed, putting any opportunity for dancing at an end. The music was still playing; neither of them cared enough to turn it off.

"Don't rip it," Lexi moaned as Asher's hands reached around to undo her bra. No matter how amazing he was in bed, he was absolutely incapable of unclipping a bra during sex. Two of them had already been ripped to shreds. Lexi shoved him back a little and reached behind her to undo the bra herself. Asher stared as her bare chest came into view and moaned.

"You're driving me crazy, Lexi."

Lexi laughed, moving forward to kiss him. "I don't know why you asked for a lap dance if you're not going to let me finish it."

"I can't wait that long," he pressed his lips tightly to hers again as she helped him remove his shirt. Just as it hit the floor, though there was a loud buzz and Lexi's phone vibrated on the bed. She pulled back and reached behind her to grab it. "Come on. Now?" Asher demanded as he unbuckled his pants.

"Sorry. It might be my parents," Lexi replied. She quickly opened the message, and saw that it was from Connor.

You were right. Oliver kicked me out. Can I come over?

Lexi sighed and closed her eyes. The world would be so much simpler if people just listened to her in the first place.

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A/N – I'm sorry this chapter took a while. It's kind of long and watching the episode side-by-side while I write this makes it harder to write but I'm trying hard to stick to the show's storyline. I've never written something like this before so please be patient.

A huge thank you too all my reviewers! You guys are great, it really encourages me when I get feedback. I personally can't wait for the show to restart so I can really get a grip on where I want this story to go. Till then, keep leaving suggestions and opinions!

Next chapter may take a while too. Sorry. Happy New Year, everyone!