Emily Fields woke up to a day that felt full of promise. She stretched and rolled over, swung her legs out of bed and went downstairs.
Her mom, Pam, was already awake and making breakfast. She smiled as Emily came downstairs, yawning. "Morning, sweetie," Pam said. "Could you please get us some orange juice?" Emily nodded and got them each a glass of orange juice.
Pam served their plates, and they sat in the breakfast nook together. "So, your first week's been good so far?" Pam said.
Emily nodded as she finished a bite. "Yeah, it's been great. Classes are fine, swimming has felt good – oh, did I tell you Paige and I are the co-captains?"
Pam took her hand. "That's great, sweetie! Congratulations. Did you call your father and let him know?"
"No, but I will," Emily said. Her father was currently stationed in Texas. "And there are some new kids from Polis High and Arkadia on the team – there's a girl named Monroe, I forget her first name, she's from Arkadia. Oh, and our new coach came from Polis. Her name is Indra, and she's super intense and scary but I think she's going to push us to do our best…"
She trailed off as she noticed Pam's amused look. "I'm babbling, aren't I?" Emily said.
"I loved it!" Pam said. "I haven't seen you this happy in a while."
"Well, things are good," said Emily. "It's Thursday." She smiled to herself, thinking about her plans to see Clarke at The Brew later. The blonde girl was definitely a major factor in Emily's current euphoria.
On the way to school, Emily saw Spencer and instantly hopped off her bike so they could walk together. "Hey, Spence!" she said.
"Hey, smiley," said Spencer. "What's up with you?"
Emily shrugged. "I don't know, just feeling good. One of those no-poison-in-my-sports-cream kind of days, I guess." They both laughed.
Just then, a motorcycle whizzed by them, and Emily felt Spencer tense beside her. "God, that guy is such a jerk!"
"Was that Bellamy?" said Emily. Spencer looked at her. "Is that his name? I haven't had the displeasure yet."
Emily smiled. "You sure have a type, don't you?"
Spencer rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you're as bad as Hanna with that Toby 2.0 crap! That guy is nothing like Toby." She looked at Emily, her eyes suddenly gleaming in a way that made Emily nervous. "Speaking of having a type, what about your latest assertive gal?"
"Who actually says 'gal' since 1945?" Emily laughed. Then she sobered a bit. "You're friends with Clarke – what's her deal, anyway?"
"I'm sorry – 'what's her deal?'" Spencer said. "That might be the gayest thing you've ever said."
Emily poked her in the ribs, almost dropping her bike in the process. "How can I explain this in a way Spencer Hastings will understand?" She pretended to think for a second. "Ms. Hastings, I'm sure you can imagine, given my situation, the criticality of ascertaining the 'deal' of one's potential paramours…" She started giggling, unable to keep up the Spencer-speak for long.
"I don't sound like that," said Spencer, mock-indignantly.
"No, but for real, can you try to find out for me?" said Emily.
Spencer said, "Let me ask you this. Have you ever actually struck out with anyone? Like, ever?" This time, Emily just glared at her. "Okay, okay, I'll talk to her, geez!" Spencer said, laughing. "I love it when you're all feisty like this, Fields. If I didn't have such a strong type…"
They were just reaching the school, and Spencer gave Emily's elbow a quick squeeze before hurrying up the steps, mumbling something about AP Calculus.
As Emily was leaning over chaining up her bike, she heard someone say "Hi, Emily."
"Hey, Paige," she said, smiling before she even looked up to see who it was. She'd always know that voice anywhere.
The two of them had broken up several months before, not because they didn't love each other but because it was becoming increasingly difficult for Paige to deal with the "A" stuff. Things had been tense between them for a while after that, but the new school year had brought a new level of comfort for both of them.
Paige was sporting one of Emily's favorite looks: a flannel and a pair of jean shorts. She looked a little hesitant – it reminded Emily of her shyness in the early days of their relationship. "Hey, what's up?" Emily said, a bit concerned now.
They started heading for the front entrance. "Um…hey, so you know that new girl, Lexa? The one who spoke up the night of the assembly?"
Ah, thought Emily. She knew where this was going. "I know of her, yes," she said gently.
"Well," said Paige, "I kind of think…there might be something going on with us. And I thought, maybe, I should ask you if that would be…okay with you?"
Emily stopped and took hold of both of Paige's hands, turning her so they were face to face. "Paige – I think that's wonderful." Paige sighed, visibly relieved. Emily pulled her into a quick hug. "You just make sure she treats you well. You're worth it."
Then she linked arms with Paige, as she so often did when one of her friends needed a little extra support, and they walked into Rosewood High smiling.
At lunchtime, Emily was sitting with Hanna and Aria. She caught Spencer's eye and waved her over eagerly.
"So?" she said, grabbing Spencer's arm and pulling her down.
"Am I the only one who thinks Emily's eyes are, like, Spencer levels of crazy right now?" Hanna stage-whispered to Aria. They both giggled, and Emily shot them a Spencer-worthy look.
"Look, Em," Spencer said. "I started to ask her about, you know, past relationships and stuff. And we didn't have a ton of time before class, but she did mention that she had an ex-boyfriend…" Emily's face fell a little at that. Spencer spoke even more quietly as she continued, "Emily…her boyfriend died a little over a year ago."
Emily's eyes widened. Hanna and Aria froze, food halfway to their mouths. "That is super heavy," Hanna whispered.
Spencer said, "Emily, just because she has some dark stuff in her past–"
"And dated a guy!" Hanna interjected.
"…doesn't mean anything," Aria finished, shooting Hanna a look. "We all have some dark stuff in our pasts, right?"
"And you dated Ben!" Hanna added, helpfully.
That actually made Emily smile. "Yeah, guess I'll just have to see where it goes," she said.
Later, once her afternoon classes and swim practice were over, Emily was starting her shift at The Brew. She tied on an apron and wiped her palms on it, nervous and trying not to be. Her eyes were constantly drawn to the door, though, and when Clarke showed up a few minutes later Emily breathed out a sigh of relief.
Clarke's eyes found Emily immediately, and her face broke into that little half-smile Emily was coming to know so well. She came right over to the register and leaned her elbows on it, bringing her that much closer to Emily. "Hey," said Clarke.
"Hey," said Emily, fighting the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear but unable to suppress a shy smile.
"You really want to tuck your hair behind your ear right now, don't you?" said Clarke, her voice so low it was almost a whisper.
"What – how did –" Emily stammered. Clarke just winked at her. "I'll have a chai latte, please," she said, more loudly. Emily shook her head and rang it up. As her coworker made the drink, Emily asked "Is that dirt on your knees?"
Clarke looked embarrassed at that, and Emily was struck by how adorable she found it. "Yeah…I came here straight from practice because we ran late and I had told you I'd be here and…I'll just take this and drink it over here," Clarke said, indicating a table in the back as she took her drink. "Maybe you can join me when you have a break?" Emily nodded and watched Clarke walk away, until the next customer cleared his throat and she got back to work.
A while later, Emily slid into the chair next to Clarke, making her look up from her homework. "Hi," said Emily. "I brought you another chai – on the house."
"Thanks," said Clarke, rubbing her eyes and sighing as she took the drink. "Your timing is perfect – I was just about to throw my calculus book through the window."
"Well, any day I can save a window," said Emily. They grinned at each other.
"I should tell you," said Clarke, "as smart as Spencer is, she's shit at doing recon."
"What do you mean?" said Emily, giving Clarke her best wide-eyed innocent look.
"Come on," said Clarke. She did a passable imitation of Spencer's voice: "So, Clarke, inquiring minds want to know – what have your past relationships been like?"
Emily groaned. "God, that's terrible. Was she really that obvious about it?" She hid her face in her hands.
Clarke gently pulled her hands down to the table, then tilted Emily's chin up until their eyes met. "She was super obvious, yeah." She smiled. "But I didn't mind, because I knew who was really asking." Her voice got even quieter as her eyes bore into Emily's. "And I knew there was one reason said person was probably asking. And then the rest of Thursday couldn't happen fast enough."
Clarke released Emily, but their eyes stayed locked together. "She told you about Finn, didn't she?"
"Was that his name?" Emily said. Clarke nodded. "I'm sorry," Emily said.
Clarke said, "It's not the only dark thing in my past." She swallowed. "My dad also died, a few years ago. I'm a bit of a mess, if you haven't figured that out yet."
Emily laughed, a little sadly. "I'm not sure where to start…but my first love was presumed dead for a couple of years, my first girlfriend was murdered by a guy I later killed in self-defense…should I go on?"
Clarke's eyes widened. "Yup," said Emily. "We all have stuff in our past. I figure it means we should appreciate the present that much more." Clarke nodded. The moment stretched between them, and then Emily cleared her throat. "Well, I should get back to work. Good luck not throwing your book out the window."
As she walked away, Clarke grabbed her hand. "Hey. Thanks," she said.
"No problem," said Emily. And then, maintaining eye contact with Clarke, she very deliberately tucked her hair behind one ear. She smiled as she saw Clarke's nostrils flare, then Emily walked back to the register with a spring in her step.
About an hour later, Clarke stopped by the front counter. "My mom is leaving the school in a few minutes," she said. "Walk me out?"
Emily glanced around. There were only a couple of people in the shop this late. "Sure," she said.
They walked outside, their shoulders grazing one another as Emily let Clarke out the door ahead of her.
Under the glow of a streetlight, Clarke grabbed Emily by the waist and pulled her close. Emily was startled, and looking into Clarke's eyes it seemed to take her a little by surprise, too. Emily's arms went around Clarke's shoulders reflexively.
Their faces were a breath apart as Clarke whispered, "Just one thing: No more sending Spencer after me."
And then her lips were on Emily's, and Emily lost the ability to form a coherent thought.
She had never felt anything like being kissed by Clarke Griffin. Paige was a great kisser, but this was – shit, she couldn't think of the word.
Clarke captured and released her lips, over and over, leaving them both gasping between kisses. Emily's hands had found their way into Clarke's hair, and she clung to the back of Clarke's neck desperately as Clarke's hands gripped Emily's shirt at her lower back, bunching the fabric so that Emily could feel the evening breeze against her skin.
All those years of swimming, and she'd never felt more like she was drowning.
Emily moaned a little as Clarke broke their contact. Clarke leaned her forehead against Emily's and they both tried to catch their breath. "My mom will be here soon," Clarke said in a throaty whisper that sent chills down Emily's spine, "and I thought you might not want your new principal to see you making out with her daughter the first week of school."
And yet, when Principal Griffin pulled up a couple of minutes later, that's exactly what she saw.
"Ahem," Abby cleared her throat, rolling down the passenger side window. Clarke and Emily separated, and Emily tucked her hair behind her ear as she sheepishly said, "Hi, Principal Griffin."
"Hi, Emily," Abby said. It looked to Emily like she was suppressing a smile.
Clarke squeezed Emily's hand, kissed her on the cheek, and whispered in her ear, "We should do this again sometime."
As she got in the car, she turned and smiled at Emily.
And it made Emily's heart leap right into her throat.
Because it was a full-on three-quarters smile.
Next chapter: Bellamy!