It was early on a chilly fall morning. Fog curled up from the ground, and the grass glittered with a light frost.

Lexa enjoyed these early, solitary walks from the bus stop to school. The solitude cleared her head, and she found the tree-lined streets of Rosewood peaceful at this hour.

She and Lincoln were at the mercy of the bus schedule, but they made different choices. Lexa preferred the early morning quiet and chose to take the earlier bus, while Lincoln went to spar at the gym and caught the later bus that would get him to school just as the bell rang.

Over the last couple of weeks, Lexa had begun using this time to walk around Rosewood, making careful observations and assessing where her intervention might be required. She began her rounds now.

She passed the nurse's office, and smiled as she thought of how Nyko had insisted on staying and helping as the nurse patched up another student during a fight last week.

She passed the school office, and through the open office door she could see Principal Griffin at her desk, her forehead creased and a hand to her head. Lexa wondered at that: she'd been working hard to keep the peace at Rosewood High behind the scenes, quietly intervening when it seemed like tensions were about to boil over, but perhaps things were beyond her control now if the principal was this on edge. Lexa couldn't be everywhere at once, and a student named Murphy had been responsible for instigating several incidents. There seemed to be an alarming undercurrent of Grounder hatred behind some of the fighting. That might be what was weighing on Principal Griffin, or perhaps there was something else on her mind…

Next she went through the cafeteria, stopping to chat with the staff in the kitchen. Lexa had gotten to know them a little during her early morning rounds, and they smiled and chatted in a friendly way for a bit. One of them slipped her a Snack Pack and a spoon, and Lexa ate it as she continued her walk.

She passed the library, and sure enough Clarke Griffin was in there, head bent over her schoolbooks. Clarke had also been arriving early the last week or so – her mother was the principal, and Clarke had been riding in with her in the mornings. They were usually here when Lexa's bus arrived. Lexa found the blonde girl fascinating for reasons she couldn't quite identify, even to herself. But she walked on.

Then she looked through the windows to the pool and saw Paige McCullers, doing laps all alone. Lexa paused there for a moment and watched, eating her Snack Pack and admiring the power and grace with which Paige cut through the water.

Paige also fascinated her, but in a different way than the enigma that was Clarke Griffin. She had this blend of confidence and hesitation, and Lexa enjoyed the resulting tension. Lexa recalled the way that Paige had calmly defused the situation when Lexa threw a boy up against the lockers, and how everyone walked away from that feeling okay.

And she liked Paige's laugh, and the intensity with which she practiced swimming, and how she ducked her head and looked away after saying something sweet, and how she always seemed to smell a tiny bit like chlorine even when she hadn't been in the pool for hours, like it was woven into her DNA somehow.

And yeah, so maybe Lexa had a little crush on her.

She was not immune to such feelings. There had been others. But Rosewood High was still unfamiliar territory, and tensions were brewing – she could feel it. Lexa knew she had to do whatever was necessary to protect not just her Polis High crew, but everyone in these halls.

And that meant she needed to stay focused.

Lexa reluctantly tore her eyes away from the girl in the water, returned her spoon to the cafeteria and expressed her thanks for the pudding, and went to find somewhere to sit until class started.

Between second and third period that day, Principal Griffin nodded when she saw Lexa in the hall. Then she seemed to remember something, and as Lexa passed her, the principal grasped her arm (lightly enough that Lexa refrained from retaliating) and said "Lexa, I'm glad I ran into you! Would you mind coming with me for one second?" She strode off down the hall, throwing a small sad smile over her shoulder at Lexa as she went.

It was Lexa's first time in the principal's office. She noted that it was starkly decorated and silently approved of its lack of adornment.

"Lexa," Abby began, sitting down at her desk as she gestured for Lexa to take the chair opposite her. "We all knew this transition wouldn't be easy for everyone…" She trailed off as if she were thinking about how to continue. Lexa simply regarded her calmly. Abby said, "But until recently, I fooled myself into thinking that everything was fine. The occasional fistfight? Pretty normal for a high school of this size, and to be expected when three schools come together like this."

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Lately, the rumors I've been hearing make me think that things are not okay. There seems to be…"

"Trouble brewing?" Lexa said.

"Yes, exactly," said Abby. "And your name keeps coming up." Lexa leaned forward, ready to defend herself, but Abby held up a hand. "In a good way. I keep hearing about how you have this ability to be a calming presence, to inspire others to be their better selves. It makes me think back to the assembly, when you were the voice that united us all."

Abby watched Lexa as she continued, "And it got me thinking – maybe you can do that again, but in a more official capacity."

Lexa said, "What did you have in mind?"

Abby rose and came around her desk, leaning against it so she was right near Lexa. "I was thinking we could start by forming a school safety committee, to help prevent violence in our school. We'd include a student representative from each of the constituent schools, as well as teachers and administrators–"

"And staff?" Lexa interjected.

Abby considered that. "Who did you have in mind?"

"The cafeteria workers are in a position to hear things that the teachers don't. And some of them are quite wise," Lexa said.

Abby nodded. "I like that idea." She paused. "Lexa, I'd like you to represent Polis High. And more than that, I'd see you as a leader on this committee, not just the student representative. I'd also appreciate your input on who the other two student representatives should be."

Lexa considered it, and Abby read that on her face. "I can see that you need some time to think about it. Do you think you could let me know by tomorrow if you'd be interested?"

Lexa nodded and rose from her chair. "I should get to class." Abby opened the door for her. Lexa turned back as she reached it. "Principal Griffin…thank you."

And this time, Abby's smile was genuine.

At lunch, Lexa sat alone in a corner where she could consider the principal's request and also observe the dynamics in the room quietly. She spotted John Murphy glaring at her. That one is trouble, she thought.

Suddenly, someone sat down next to her. "Hi," said Paige.

"Hi," said Lexa, startled out of her thoughts. "How was your swim this morning?"

Paige looked surprised. "You…saw me?"

Lexa nodded. "I prefer to arrive early and walk around the school, observing."

Paige smiled and shook her head. "Of course you do. And your normal route takes you by the pool?"

Lexa looked away, uncharacteristically shy. "Well…it did today."

Then she looked back up. Their eyes met. And Paige cleared her throat and looked away.

"So…I heard there was a party a couple of weekends ago," she said.

"I wouldn't know," Lexa said. "You may have guessed, I'm not exactly big on the Rosewood party scene…if there is such a thing."

"You were at this one," Paige said quietly. "I heard Hanna and Emily talking about it, and they definitely said your name."

Lexa realized what she meant. "Oh! No, that wasn't a party. It was just…I was at my friend Anya's house with our usual crowd, and then Bellamy and Spencer and Clarke and Emily and a few other people came over."

Paige grabbed her lunch. "That sure sounds like a party to me." She stood up. "Look, I'm not trying to make a big deal of this, but I felt like there was something happening between us…and it's really hard for me to read you. So I don't know if you feel the same way, or if you do but you don't think your friends would be cool with it, and – I don't know. Forget it."

And she walked away before Lexa could respond, or even process what had just happened. Was Paige mad because she hadn't invited her over? She hadn't invited anyone over, and she felt a small flare of irritation. Or because she didn't know what Lexa was feeling for her? That was perhaps more reasonable – Lexa was driven by her head, not her heart, and she knew that made her difficult to read.

She sighed to herself. It would be difficult to explain why she had to hold herself…apart. But that's how it had to be.

The rest of her classes were fairly uneventful that day, and Lexa brooded over Abby's question and the situation with Paige. She was somewhat unfocused at field hockey practice, and she saw Clarke eyeing her a couple of times, looking concerned. But Lexa was naturally graceful on the field, so she didn't think anyone else noticed.

After practice, she decided to cut across the soccer field, as it provided a more direct route to her bus stop. The days were getting shorter, and she knew soon she'd be making that walk in the dark. Today it was dusk, and the field was mostly in shadow.

Suddenly, Lexa was blind. Someone had put a bag of some kind over her head, blotting out the light. There were two of them – Lexa could hear two sets of footsteps. One of them held her arms tight against her sides and whispered roughly in her ear, "You need to learn to mind your own business, girl" as the one in front of her punched her in the stomach, hard.

It was intended to make her feel helpless.

It did not.

Lexa felt a blaze of anger at their cowardice. Using the one holding her arms for leverage, she quickly reared back with both legs in the air and kicked the one in front of her in the solar plexus. She heard the breath whoosh out of him as he fell backwards.

The impact knocked Lexa and her other attacker to the ground, and she snapped her head back, hitting him in the face. She felt something in his face crack, his arms loosened around her, and she seized the momentary advantage to leap nimbly to her feet and rip the pillowcase (that's what it was) off her head.

Then the other guy tackled her from the side, and she went down hard. She kicked up, connecting with his shin, but he sat on top of her and raised an arm, ready to punch her –

- when someone knocked into him from the side, and he flew off Lexa.

"Really? Two against one? What kind of cowards are you?" yelled Paige. John Murphy glared back at her from his new position on the ground. His friend lay a short distance away, cradling his broken nose.

Paige reached out a hand to Lexa and helped her up. Murphy wouldn't quit, though. He grabbed Lexa's field hockey stick and rolled to his feet, circling and watching both of them.

Paige and Lexa prepared to take him on together. Lexa kept a wary eye on the one the ground in case he rejoined the fight.

Suddenly, there was a bright light and a loud noise. They got brighter and louder until Lexa realized that it was a motorcycle driving right onto the field.

The bike stopped next to Paige and Lexa, and Bellamy nodded to them. "Hey, guys," he said. "What's up?"

Then he looked at Murphy and the other boy. "Looks like it's 3 to 2 now. You like those odds?"

They glared back at him, and Murphy spat, "Grounder pounder!"

"That's clever," said Bellamy, "but a, sadly inaccurate and b, I'd rather have a quarter pounder."

Paige snorted and said, "Put the stick down and get the hell out of here."

Still trembling with rage, Murphy threw the stick down and stalked off, without a backwards look at his friend, who was scrambling after him.

Bellamy looked at Lexa and Paige. "Seriously, though…anyone craving a quarter pounder right now? My treat." Lexa looked back at him, adrenaline still flooding through her. She saw that Paige was unable to resist cracking a smile.

Bellamy said, "Well, I have to say – you guys handled yourselves awesomely back there. I don't know what this bullshit is that Murphy's spouting, but I'd love to string that guy up one of these days."

Lexa walked over to stand face to face with him, nearly blinded by the bright light of his headlamp. She held out a hand. Bellamy shook it somberly. "Thank you," said Lexa.

"Like I said, you were obviously doing fine on your own. I just can't stand to miss a party," Bellamy said. "And that guy needs to be taken down a peg." He looked at both of them, releasing Lexa's hand. "You guys okay?" They nodded. "I'll see you around, then," Bellamy said, and he took off into the night.

Lexa watched him go, impressed. Then she turned back to Paige and, without hesitating, pulled her into a tight hug. "And thank you, too," murmured Lexa against Paige's neck.

She could feel Paige relax against her after the initial surprise wore off. Paige stroked Lexa's hair lightly. "You would have done the same for me. And that was an awesome donkey kick. And I saw you heading this way, and I was coming to apologize for being weird earlier, and–"

And she was cut off by Lexa's lips pressing against hers, urgent and yet gentle at the same time, seeking Paige's permission. When Lexa felt Paige's lips part slightly, felt her sigh and shift and press their bodies closer together, she deepened the kiss, skimming her tongue lightly over Paige's lips then sucking gently on her bottom lip.

Lexa pulled back then, just a little, so they were eye to eye, still embracing. She tilted her forehead against Paige's and said, in a voice cloudy with emotion, "I'm sorry." When Paige started to protest, Lexa cut her off with a quick kiss, then continued: "Please let me finish. I don't apologize lightly."

She took a deep breath. "I know I've only been at this school a short time, but I sense that there's something behind these apparently random fistfights and attacks. And I've sort of...started thinking of myself as the school's protector. So I was hesitant to admit my feelings for you because I thought that it was better that way, if I kept a little distance."

Lexa trailed her fingers up the side of Paige's face. "But after tonight, I think it's better for me if I keep you close. If I draw on your strength as well as my own." She paused, then said more quietly, "Would you be okay with that?"

And suddenly, she found herself on the ground yet again, and this time she didn't mind, because Paige was kissing her breathless and for a few beautiful minutes, Lexa was just a teenage girl and nothing else mattered.

Then Paige pulled back and said, still out of breath, "That was a yes, if you couldn't tell." She grinned and stood up with a groan, then helped Lexa up for the second time that evening. "We should get you to the bus stop, huh?"

Lexa looked at the time. "Ah, you're right! Okay, just one more kiss. Okay, just one more. Okay, just one more…"

She made it to the bus, but barely. Paige watched her until the bus was out of sight, and Lexa could see her smile even after that.

The next morning, when Lexa got to school, she marched straight to Principal Griffin's office. Abby looked up, surprised. When she saw it was Lexa, she leaned back, waiting.

"I'm in," said Lexa.

And she smiled.

Next chapter: Everyone, again! Because I want to keep all the little subplots moving.