"This is great!" Spencer Hastings said to Hanna and Aria as they stood and started filing out of the gym with the rest of the crowd.

And what a crowd it was – even larger than the assembly a few weeks ago when the merger of the three high schools had been announced. The bleachers were packed, all the folding chairs that had been brought in were full, and people had even been standing in the back.

The vibe was different than the last assembly, too, Spencer mused. The first one had been somewhat tense, as no one knew how the combination of three high schools was going to play out. But this one had felt much more collaborative.

The principal of Rosewood High, Abigail Griffin, had called the meeting as part of a larger initiative to address a string of incidents involving fistfights and attacks on students. There was an undercurrent of animosity feeding the attacks, mainly toward the students from Polis High, whose mascot was the Grounders.

Students, teachers, parents, staff, and community members were all invited to the assembly, where Abby had introduced the School Safety Committee. The committee was made up of 9 members: Abby, Mrs. Welch (Rosewood's longtime English teacher), the school nurse, the guidance counselor, a cafeteria worker, Ashley Marin (Hanna's mom) as the parent representative, as well as three student representatives, one from each of the high schools: Bellamy from Arkadia Academy, Paige from Rosewood, and Lexa from Polis, who was co-leader of the committee with Abby.

Spencer smiled as she thought of how adorably awkward Bellamy had been onstage. This wasn't his scene at all, but Lexa had recommended him after he helped defuse an incident that had led to two students' expulsion.

After Abby had introduced the committee members, she'd given a brief overview of their high-level plan, which included developing a mission statement and a code of conduct, a safe way for students to report violations, monitoring of "hot spots" where students might be at risk, and most importantly fostering a culture of inclusion and respect everywhere on campus.

Then she'd asked Lexa to come to the microphone, and a hush fell over the crowd, many of whom remembered how passionately Lexa had spoken at the last assembly about the need to come together as a unified whole.

And she didn't disappoint, revealing her own vulnerability as she recounted the incident on the soccer field when two boys had attacked her – not just for being a "Grounder," but for everything she'd quietly been doing behind the scenes to prevent further violence.

(Spencer recalled the adoring look on Paige McCullers's face as Lexa spoke and vaguely wondered what was going on there.)

Once again, Lexa's speech had united the entire crowd. After she wrapped up, Abby led a round of applause and then told everyone that there was an informal mixer in the cafeteria, and if anyone had questions they could talk to a member of the committee.

Spencer lost sight of Hanna and Aria in the crowd, and then suddenly a hand was grasping hers, pulling her out of the herd and into an empty classroom.

"Hey," Bellamy said. He looked a little…nervous? as Spencer pushed the door shut behind them.

"Hi," said Spencer. "You did great up there."

Bellamy exhaled in relief. "Really? Thank god. I felt like an idiot."

"Well, you're my idiot," said Spencer with a wicked grin, leaning in to kiss him – but then she pulled back. "Hey – shouldn't you be in the cafeteria, Mr. Big Important Committee Member?" He actually blushed a little at that. She couldn't help teasing him a little more, trailing her fingers up his arm as she said, "People might start to doubt your commitment to this cause."

Suddenly, his hands were at her waist and she felt the door against her back. "Oh, I'm very committed," Bellamy murmured in her ear, right before his lips were on Spencer's.

Now he was the one doing the teasing, keeping his touch on her waist light and his kisses even lighter, pulling back each time and leaving her wanting more. Then Spencer put a hand on his chest as she remembered something she'd wanted to ask him: "Why didn't you tell me about the thing on the soccer field? When you were basically a hero coming to the rescue?"

He looked embarrassed again and tried to wave it away, muttering, "It was no big deal."

Spencer looked up at him then, and something changed in her face. Her eyes burned with the usual Spencer Hastings intensity, but there was a new spark behind it as she said in a low voice, "Do you want to get out of here?"

Bellamy cleared his throat. "I can honestly say, I'm physically incapable of saying n–" and Spencer pressed her lips to his, harder this time. "Shut up," she whispered. She took him by the hand and pulled him through the halls and out to the parking lot, where they got onto his bike in charged silence and drove off.

The other two student representatives on the safety committee were in the cafeteria, actually representing. Paige and Lexa stood together, greeting parents and students and others as they approached them. Some people expressed their support, others asked how they could get involved, and all of them complimented Lexa on her speech.

That made her blush. And her blush made Paige smile. She was constantly amazed by the girl beside her – so wise beyond her years, so inspirational, and yet sometimes she was just a teenage girl. The two of them stood close, and every time their fingers brushed, or their shoulders bumped, Paige felt an almost electric shock. She curled her fingers into Lexa's hand at one point, subtly, secretly, but she saw Lexa's small smile and returned it with one of her own.

"I'm going to go get some punch for us," Paige whispered in Lexa's ear. Lexa nodded. There was a small break in the crowd of people around them, and her friend Lincoln came over from where he'd been standing on the outskirts.

Ever since Lexa had been attacked, Lincoln had been more protective than usual. Whenever Lexa told him to back off, he shook his head. "I should have been there," was all he would say. Eventually she snapped at him, "I can handle myself!" and that seemed to get through to him because he backed off a little. Lincoln was like family to her, and while she sincerely appreciated his desire to watch her back, he was like an overprotective brother.

They nodded in greeting. "How's it going?" Lincoln said.

"It's going well, I think," said Lexa. Her eyes drifted to Paige involuntarily, and of course Paige was looking back at her. They both flushed a little as their eyes met across the room.

Lincoln noticed. "I've been wondering," he said, "How did that start? I'm used to you holding yourself…apart."

Lexa was still looking at Paige as she said, a bit absently, "I just…let go. She's strong. She makes me stronger, not weaker like I expected." She looked at him then, the ghost of a smile on her face. "You should try it."

Lincoln snorted. "How?"

Lexa nodded at Hanna, who was laughing with her mom and Aria across the room. "I've generally found it best to start by talking."

Just then, Hanna looked over. Her eyes met Lincoln's…and she rolled them, said something to her mom and Aria, and stalked in the opposite direction from Lincoln, toward the snack table.

Lexa laughed and Lincoln flashed her a look. "Good luck with that," she said, smiling at Paige as she returned with their punch.

Lincoln took a deep breath. You can do this, he told himself. You've faced scarier things than Hanna Marin.

He walked over to the snack table and stood next to her. "Hey," he said, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Dear diary: Today, he actually spoke to me!" said Hanna, hand on her heart dramatically. She looked at him. "What do you want?"

"Um…I'm not sure." He looked at the table. "Maybe one of those little quiches?" He saw her smile out of the corner of his eye.

"They're not bad," she said, handing him two on a little plate. "But for real though. Are you actually talking to me?"

He sighed. "Yes." He met her eyes, a little hesitantly. "I'm not very good at it," he admitted.

Hanna softened a bit at that. "Well, lucky for you I can talk enough for both of us." She linked arms with him, a move that surprised him, and steered them to a less-crowded corner of the room where they stood facing one another. "What would you be doing right now if you weren't here?"

"I'd be at the gym," Lincoln said without hesitating.

"Doing what?"

"Probably sparring with Gustus, my buddy who works there," he said. When she wrinkled her nose in confusion, he explained simply, "I box."

"Oh," she said. "Why? What do you like about it?"

He considered that for a minute. "I like feeling like I'm making progress. It keeps me sharp. And, in a weird way, I guess it helps me feel closer to whoever I'm sparring with – I'm not much of a talker."

"No kidding," said Hanna. "That's the longest speech I've ever heard you make."

Half-joking, Lincoln said, "You should try it sometime. Boxing, I mean."

Hanna looked at him. "Give me a minute to change out of these heels and we can borrow my mom's car."

He couldn't hide his surprise, and she laughed a little. "She can catch a ride with someone, and I have some gym shoes in my locker. Meet me out front in a few?" She snatched the remaining quiche from his plate, popped it in her mouth and grinned at him as she turned and walked away.

Lincoln stared after her for a second, unaware that he was grinning back.

At the assembly, Clarke Griffin had been sitting with her two best friends, Raven Reyes and Octavia Blake, and her…something, Emily Fields. She was proud of her mother, and she was absolutely blown away by Lexa's speech. At times, it seemed like Lexa was speaking to her and her alone. She was starting to get used to these strange moments of connection with Lexa, though.

Emily and Clarke held hands the entire time, except when they were applauding. It was easy not to focus on the Lexa connection when Emily's finger was stroking the back of Clarke's hand, when Emily was looking at her with those big brown eyes.

But the best moment by far was when Emily leaned over and whispered in her ear, "My mom's visiting my dad in Texas this weekend." Clarke raised an eyebrow at her, and Emily blushed and said, "So…do you want to come over after this is done?" Clarke nodded, silently. Emily held her gaze and said, somewhat intensely, "Tell your mom you're going to a sleepover."

And just like that, she turned back to watch the action onstage, completely ruining Clarke's focus for the rest of the assembly.

Afterwards, the four of them headed toward the cafeteria with the rest of the crowd. Raven and Octavia must have overheard what Emily and Clarke were talking about, or maybe they just guessed by the energy between the two of them, because they kept whispering and snickering. Clarke was about to tell them to shut it, when she heard her mom's voice: "Clarke!"

"Hey, Mom," she said, pulling Abby into a quick hug as she came up behind them. "You did great today."

"Thanks," said Abby, clearly pleased at the praise from her daughter.

"I'm staying over at Octavia's tonight," Clarke blurted out suddenly. "That's cool with you, right?"

"Um, that's fine, honey," Abby said. She seemed distracted. "Raven, can I please talk to you for a minute? It's about that issue with my car." Raven shrugged and the two of them headed for Abby's office.

Clarke smiled one of her half-smiles at Emily, and Emily shyly smiled back at her.

Octavia said, "Well, you guys are gross and I don't want to be around you. I'll be outside. Come and find me when you're ready to leave, Raven should probably drive us all so it looks more realistic." She walked off toward the front entrance.

Emily cleared her throat. "Want to go get some food and mingle?" She indicated the cafeteria.

Clarke said, "Nope. I'm suddenly dying to get out of here." She sighed. "But I guess there's nothing we can do without our ride…come on, let's see if there's punch and maybe this time I won't spill it on you." Emily giggled as Clarke took her hand and pulled her toward the cafeteria.

Raven followed Abby down the hall and into the main office, then into Abby's office. She tried to keep as much distance between them as possible while Abby shut the door – her heart was beating so hard she was sure Abby could hear it.

"Was it the serpentine belt?" she started, but Abby cut her off. "It's not about the car," she said. She walked around and sat down behind the desk, as if she too were trying to put some distance between them.

Raven blew out a breath. "Yeah, I know," she said. "I was just giving you an out in case this was too much." She stuck her hands in her pockets and kicked at the ground a little.

Abby looked up, then, and Raven met her eyes. "I am so sorry for the other night," Abby said. Raven started to tell her it was okay, but Abby said, "Please – I have to finish." She drummed her fingers on the desk nervously. "This is so hard for me. Anyway, I had no right to – to kiss you like that, and I hate how weird it made things between us, and I completely understand why you don't want to talk to me anymore."

"Abby–" Raven began, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Principal Griffin?" a voice called. "There's a reporter in the cafeteria with some questions about the safety committee."

Abby and Raven looked at each other, both feeling a mix of pain and relief at the interruption.

"I'll be right there!" Abby called. They heard footsteps walking away.

She stood up and walked around the desk to Raven, putting a hand on her arm. Raven couldn't breathe. "Can we continue this later?" Abby said. "I don't feel like we're done here." Raven nodded. "Go knock 'em dead, Principal Griffin," she said with a weak smile. Abby returned the smile, squeezed her arm one last time, and went out of the office.

Raven watched her go.

While this was going on, Octavia had walked outside into the chilly night air. She saw movement in the shadows and knew immediately who it was.

"Got a light?" she said.

Caleb chuckled. "Famous first words."

Octavia walked over to him, stopping right in front of him, her hands on her hips. "So what's up?"

He considered her. "You seem…angrier than usual." She swatted him on the arm. "Nope, just normal angry then," he said.

"Why haven't you called me?" Octavia said. "Wait – did I actually just say that? That's not what I meant."

"I feel like we're not a part of the same conversation right now," Caleb said. "You want to back up? Tell me what's got you slightly-above-average angry?"

Octavia groaned. "Ugh! I feel stupid now!" She slumped against the wall next to him. "Okay, look. You and I, we're friends or something, right?"

"That's a good way of putting it."

"And we were hanging out at school some, and then we went to The Brew, and then I only saw you a couple times after that but it was pretty chill," Octavia continued.

"So far, your recollection is accurate," Caleb said.

"But then it's been a couple of weeks and you've never called me, and I don't know why, and I feel like I haven't seen you at school or anything, and I'm a little confused because let's face it, I'm awesome."

Now Caleb laughed. "That's true. You are awesome." He shifted so he was facing her, leaning his shoulder against the wall. She still had her back against the wall, looking straight ahead. "Hey," Caleb said. Octavia turned and faced him, mirroring his position. "You're right, I should have told you some stuff about me."

He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She let him. "I take off sometimes with little to no warning. I have this whole…other life in Ravenswood, and sometimes I get called back there."

Caleb paused, then forged ahead. "And my last relationship got messed up in part because of that, and I didn't want to start anything new, and then you showed up here, this little ball of anger, and I guess it just scared me."

"I scare a lot of people," said Octavia. But she was smiling now.

"Not you, per se," Caleb said. "But, like…the situation."

"I'm going to kiss you now," said Octavia, "before you say something dorky like 'per se' again." And she pulled his face down to hers.

Spencer and Bellamy were in the barn. She held his hand as they walked through the door. "This…is not what I had in mind when you said 'barn,'" he said admiringly.

"Would you prefer mucking out stables?" she said, looking back at him over her shoulder as he paused in the entryway.

"No, ma'am," said Bellamy.

Spencer released his hand and went over to the bed, sitting on the edge, maintaining eye contact as she unzipped her boots and threw them against the wall. "Tell me something," she said, her voice dangerously low.

"Like what?" Bellamy asked.

She shrugged, smiling, and crooked a finger at him. He slowly walked over. "I could tell you about the first time I thought 'damn, she's hot' if you want…"

"That would be acceptable," Spencer said.

Bellamy was a few feet from the bed now. "It was after the first assembly, when they announced the three schools. I thought you were so prissy with all that 'This is unacceptable' stuff." He stepped closer. His voice grew quieter. "But then, I saw you talking to…Hanna, I think it was, by the snack table, and you laughed out loud, and when I saw your face light up, I knew that I was pretty much done for."

"And then you stole my carrot stick," said Spencer, smiling as she remembered.

"And then you corrected my grammar, which again – oddly hot," Bellamy said. He was standing right in front of her. She scooted up the bed, leaning back on her elbows, as he lowered himself over her, not touching her at all, supporting his own weight as he crouched on all fours.

"Oddly Hot: The Spencer and Bellamy Story," she grinned. "That's what they'll call our Lifetime movie."

"Yeah," Bellamy said, "that, or maybe–"

But Spencer would never get to hear what would probably have been a very clever Lifetime movie title, because she couldn't take it anymore. She reached up, wrapping one arm around Bellamy's neck and one around his lower back and crushing him to her so that he fell on top of her, their lips crashing together.

She took advantage of his being momentarily off-balance to swiftly roll them, keeping their bodies tightly entwined as she came out on top, straddling Bellamy's hips. Spencer sat up, her eyes dark as she reached down to the hem of his shirt and pushed it up high on his chest, trailing the backs of her fingers up his abs and making him gasp. She grinned wickedly and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to his neck as she rocked her hips against his.

Bellamy groaned. She was driving him to his breaking point, and they'd only just started kissing. He flipped them again so that he was on top, and whispered in her ear, "Are you sure no one from your family is going to come home?"

She actually laughed at that. "If you only knew how funny that is…" Then he silenced her with a kiss. And then another, and another, and soon there were no more words coming from the barn.

Hanna and Lincoln were at the gym. "Widen your stance a little," Lincoln said. "And stand sideways. Minimize your surface area, makes it harder to hit you." He came over and gently adjusted the position of her hands, then picked up the pads again. "Okay, go again."

She came at him, just quick jabs for now – they'd move on to crosses and hooks if she ever wanted to come back – and he smiled at her ferocity.

Lincoln was impressed. She was tougher than she looked.

Hanna was impressed. He was in his element here, and the handful of other guys in the gym nodded at him with respect. And he was being patient with her, warmer than he was at school.

"Hey, before I hit you again," she said, "I should apologize for something."

He put the pads down at his sides and just watched her, waiting.

"When we first met," said Hanna, "I don't know if you remember this, but I tripped in the gym and you caught me." Lincoln nodded.

Hanna blew a strand of hair out of her face. She was still bouncing on the balls of her feet, fists up, which made the whole conversation that much more ridiculous. "I thought you were really hot – the muscles, the tattoos – and I just wanted to say, you're a lot more than that, and I'm sorry for objectifying you."

Lincoln actually laughed out loud at that. "It's cool, Marin," he said. He put the pads up. "Now, come at me again."

Clarke and Emily were in Emily's room. Alone. Emily had just turned on the lamp on her bedside table and turned to face Clarke, who was standing right inside her bedroom door.

"You sure your mom's in Texas?" Clarke said.

Emily scanned the room as if she were looking for Pam. "Pretty sure, yeah," she said with a smile.

"And your dad?" Clarke said, taking one step closer.

Emily scrunched up her face in thought. "Yep, him too."

"Any aunts? Uncles? Family friends who might stop by?" Clarke said, continuing to advance until they were standing an inch apart, the backs of Emily's legs bumping against the bed.

"I truly do not expect anyone to come by tonight except you," said Emily.

"Good," Clarke said quietly, bumping their noses together gently. "Because if they did, I might have to kill them."

And then her mouth was on Emily's, and they kissed hungrily as they fell onto the bed.

Octavia and Caleb were in the park. Raven had dropped them off there, not questioning, before peeling out again.

Octavia broke free from their kiss long enough to whisper, "Who's a little ball of anger now?!"

He pretended to think for a minute. "Um…you still are," he said, laughing as she stomped on his foot, pulling her into yet another kiss.

Lexa and Paige were on the soccer field. They lay there, side by side, hands intertwined, looking up at the stars.

"I was proud of you in there today," Paige said, turning her head to look at Lexa.

Lexa looked at her, too, and smiled one of her mysterious little smiles. "Thank you." She brought their joined hands to her lips and brushed a kiss over Paige's knuckles, then looked back up at the stars.

"When I was a kid, I used to wish that I lived on a star," Paige said. She was still watching Lexa. "Maybe it was from reading The Little Prince so much or something." She paused. "Do you ever wish you lived up there?"

Lexa thought for a moment, then said, "No. My place is here, on the ground." She paused. "With you."

Paige smiled.

Raven was standing at the Griffins' front door. Her usual bravado had deserted her on the drive over, her palms were sweating, and she felt like a teenage boy on his first date. No, like a job candidate at an interview that could make or break them.

Actually, she felt like a bartender/wannabe mechanic about to confess everything to the unattainable object of her desire like she was in some damn 90s high school movie.

Raven raised her fist, ready to knock. This time, instead of lowering it like she had every other time, she thought 'Come on, Reyes, you got this' – and she finally knocked, sharply, desperately, three times.

Abby heard the knock, could swear she actually felt it reverberate through her whole body, because she knew there was only one person it could be. She inhaled deeply and quickly took stock. She'd been hoping for this conversation, dreaming of where it might lead for so long, but she didn't think it would happen tonight, so she was a little unprepared.

The living room looked decent, no huge piles of dishes in the kitchen sink. Abby was in her pajamas already, but that couldn't be helped (and somehow, she suspected Raven wouldn't mind). She ran a hand through her hair quickly and crossed to the door, setting down her mug as she went.

Raven heard the approaching footsteps and took a deep breath of her own.

She heard the lock click. Saw the doorknob turn. Froze in place as the door opened and Abby was standing there, looking as shy as Raven had ever seen her.

Their eyes locked, and they each saw a mirror image of their own desire, and there was no need to talk it out right then. Abby grabbed Raven by the hand and pulled, and suddenly Raven was inside the house and Abby was shutting the door and god, their lips met, finally, and each of them privately thought that she might literally die from the overwhelming rightness of it.

Their bodies fit perfectly together, but Raven needed more. She wanted to surround Abby, to be surrounded by Abby, to inhale her, to blur the lines between them so that they were just…merged together, like (Raven's mind groped for an analogy) the penny and dime that she'd seen on an X-Files episode once.

She brought her focus back to the moment, and all of her senses were flooded. Abby was making these little whimpers (just from kissing, thought Raven!) that drove her absolutely wild. Her hair smelled like something Raven couldn't identify but that reminded her of the ocean. Raven opened her eyes and took a quick peek. My god, she was wearing these little Tina Fey reading glasses that Raven hadn't even noticed when they were looking at each other for that half-second in the doorway.

They kissed hungrily, all lips and tongues and gently nipping teeth. Abby's mouth was unbelievably hot and tasted faintly of mint. Without even realizing it, Raven had walked them the handful of steps to the door, and now she backed Abby up against it, melding their bodies together even more tightly and eliciting a throaty moan from Abby as Raven's leg slid between hers, pressing against her most sensitive area, her jeans creating delicious friction against the thin cotton of Abby's pajama pants.

Raven pulled back for a second. Abby's hair was disheveled and her lips were swollen and Raven had never seen anything so amazing in her life. She jerked her head towards the upstairs, one eyebrow raised in a question.

Abby shook her head. "Too far," she rasped.

That made Raven groan and nip at Abby's neck, and then she did what any red-blooded, naturally athletic young person would do: she hoisted Abby up, using the door for leverage. Abby instinctively wrapped her legs around Raven's waist, and Raven carried her over to the couch, where she lay Abby down gently, stretched her body out on top so that they touched at every point possible, and finally got to show her what she meant to her.

Later, they were still sprawled on the couch, catching their breath. Raven lay half over Abby, and Abby's hand trailed patterns over Raven's lower back, including the tattoo that she'd spotted that night at the bar.

Raven mumbled against her neck, "Hey, BTW, what I wanted to say before was that I'm totally into this, and I can't get you out of my mind, and I didn't kiss you the other night because you were drunk and I didn't want our first kiss to be like that, much less our first time."

Abby chuckled, a low rumble that Raven felt vibrate in her own chest. "Is that all?"

"Also, I like your glasses," Raven said. Abby could feel her smile against her neck. "P.S. I think they're over there somewhere." She gestured vaguely with one hand, then leaned up so she could look Abby in the face.

"Is there anything you want to say?" Raven asked, biting her lip a little nervously.

Abby planted a quick kiss on that lip. It turned into a slightly longer kiss when Raven captured her lips and wouldn't let go. Finally, Abby pulled back, sighing. "I am really, really glad Clarke is staying over with Octavia tonight."

Raven couldn't hold back a snort. "What?" said Abby. Raven looked at her. "Do you really think she's at Octavia's house? Come on, Abby…" As soon as it was out of her mouth, she mentally kicked herself for ratting Clarke out, and she realized this probably wouldn't be the last weird moment they had.

"What do you mean? Wha–"Abby processed out loud, and then realization dawned. "OH! Is she at Emily's? Oh my god!" She clapped a hand over her mouth. There was a beat. Then Abby returned her hand to making circles on Raven's back, shrugged, and said with a grin, "Oh well, at least she won't get pregnant."

Raven thought of a lot of comments then. "Like mother, like daughter" didn't seem appropriate. "Mom of the year" would probably offend Abby (even though it would be pretty funny).

So she just snuggled in and said, quietly, "You're amazing."

And Abby kissed her hair and held her tight, trying not to think past tonight.

Meanwhile, at a diner in a nearby town, two people sat in a booth.

The first person said, "You probably heard – Murphy got expelled. We both knew his methods were crude. So, change of plans. I'm going to get closer."

The other person nodded, threw some bills down on the table and walked out into the night.

The lights of the diner briefly shone on a dark gray hoodie.

Next chapter: I honestly don't know yet. This one ran away from me.