They Call Them the Blues for A Reason

Game 3

Lexa was beginning to wonder if this really was a good idea. It was 8:15, a little under fifteen minutes until kick off and, as much as she was looking forward to the game, she would rather be in bed watching the games from back home she was missing out on. It wasn't that Lexa had anything against Australian football, it was just she had no idea how the game actually worked, and she was freezing her ass off waiting for her cousin to come back with coffee.

As Lexa pulled her maroon scarf tighter around her neck, looking idly at the big white letters embroidered on it, "QLD", Lexa couldn't help but wonder why the two states did this every year, and why it was such a big deal. Not that she could complain; she was just as loyal and proud of her team back home as these people were to their state team.

Suddenly, something slammed into her side, nearly knocking her out of her seat.

'Oh, crap, sorry 'bout that. Are you right?' When Lexa recovered, she looked over to the voice, and was met with a girl, about her age, with half her face covered in maroon paint, the other half had "QLD" written with white paint.

'I'm fine, thank you,' Lexa just smiled at the girl, because she wasn't really mad. This girl seemed to be sitting next to her, and Lexa could never be mad about sitting next to a pretty girl.

'Guys, see what you made me do? You made me run into a fellow Queensland supporter! That's very rude you know. Wait,' the blonde glared over at her friends, who, from what Lexa could see, were dressed head to toe in blue, and then turned around to face Lexa again, 'you're American? No offence, but what are you doing here?'

'I'm here with my cousin. She got tickets and decided it would be educational for me to come along and watch.'

Lexa had only been in the country for a few weeks, and everywhere she went was covered in maroon, and the occasional blue, signifying that the game was close. Anya had managed to score tickets before they sold out, and paid a small fortune at the same time. She explained to Lexa, as it was Game 3 and a home game for Queensland, the tickets sold out within a few hours and got even more expensive, and Lexa likened it to a finals game of her team, the 49ers, versus another team.

'You got the wrong team, girl. Everyone knows that New South Wales is gonna take this game tonight. Queensland's gonna get creamed, just like last game.' The girl on the other side of the blonde, with glossy brown hair tied up into a bun and her face fully covered with blue paint and "NSW" in white written on her forehead.

'Quiet, Octavia. Don't listen to her, Queensland's gonna kick butt tonight, just like Game 1.' As the blonde spoke, she leaned in slightly to Lexa, probably to show her friends that Lexa was on her team and wasn't going to let her switch teams.

'Clarke, stop,' the girl, with long black hair tied into a ponytail underneath a blue wig, said, before pushing the blonde – Clarke, her name was – to the side to sit next to Lexa and wrap an arm around her neck,

'listen, newbie, everyone knows that New South Wales is going to take home the win and break Queensland's streak. Its fact, everyone knows it.'

'Look, she's wearing a Queensland scarf, she's obviously not going to switch teams and side with the Blusers, no one is that stupid, Raven.'

Clarke yanked Raven out of her seat and plopped back down onto it, a wide smile stretched across her face. Lexa had a similar smile on her face, though one would describe it as a smirk rather than a smile. It amused Lexa to watch these girls argue playfully about that would probably start a fistfight back home.

'Don't even listen to them,' Clarke smiled, only taking to her now, 'we're on an 8 year winning streak, 9 this year. And this is a home game, too. We're going to win and that's it.'

Clarke sat back in her seat, grinning at Lexa, and Lexa was pretty sure the whole stadium could hear it. There was no doubt that the woman was pretty, but seeing her talk about something that she was clearly so passionate about, well, if Lexa wasn't already gay, she sure was now.

'So, how long have you been in Oz for, uh...?'

'Only a couple of weeks. I'm Lexa,'

'Well, nice to meet you, Lexa. I'm Clarke,' Clarke stuck her hand out, and Lexa took it, giving it a quick but firm shake. Lexa had noticed that handshakes seemed to be how everyone greeted each other, not that that was anything new to Lexa, it was just that it happened so often, and usually in casual greeting, that she was taken aback a little.

'Are you gracing us with your presence for very long, Lexa?'

'When I decide to go back, I guess,' Lexa didn't really have a set time for her visit. She just decided it was time to visit her cousin and learn about her country, 'I figured I would just spend some over here and explore a bit,'

'Good thing you came to Queensland, then. There're plenty of attractions here. You've got the theme parks on the Gold Coast, the Big Pineapple and Australia Zoo, and that's only the start! I'm sure the person you're staying with, if you are actually staying with someone, has ideas on where they're gonna take you,'

'Actually,' a new voice joined the conversation, Anya, 'I have planned on taking my dear cousin to Australia Zoo on Friday.' Anya took the vacant seat next to Lexa and handed her a take away cup that was blissfully warm.

'Good idea, tourists always seem to like it there,'

'It's also a good way to point out which of our wildlife won't actually try to kill you,'

At this point, Lexa was more than a little confused. Anya and Clarke seemed to know each other. Anya hand never mentioned any Clarke before, and neither an Octavia or Raven. Maybe they went to school together, or they worked together.

'Oh, Lexa, this is Clarke. I met her through Lincoln, remember me mentioning him?' Lexa nodded, because she did. Lincoln was the guy who ran the local pub in Anya's town, and Anya always spoke highly of him.

Did this mean that Clarke lived in the same town as Anya? Lexa was about to ask when the loud speakers boomed out, the commentators popped up on the giant screen and announced that the game was going to begin.

'Get ready for the game of your life,' Clarke whispered into Lexa's ear, a knowing smile on her face.