Catch Me, I'm Falling

September: Part I

Though they'd established a truce of sorts, that didn't mean that the two girls didn't fight. Quite the contrary, the two of them fought all the time .
Of course, under the watchful eye of Niylah, it was considerably less aggressive than it had been in the beginning, the two deciding to approach conflict through diplomacy, but they were both just as stubborn as one another, and neither of them were willing to back down from their viewpoints.
If there was an award for open-mindedness at the school, neither would even be considered as nominations for it.
Their conversations were a constant back and forth.
Clarke, of course, defended the novel staunchly, and Lexa fought her every step of the way.
"Clarke, the first thing Darcy does is insult Elizabeth, that isn't exactly the proper foundation for a relationship—"
"Well he doesn't know she heard him, and besides, people can change, and grow and—" "—so would you date someone who called you ugly the first time you met?"
"Nobody would," Clarke shot back. She was many things, but self-conscious about her appearance was not one of them. She knew very well what sort of effect she had on people, "I look fantastic ."
"Oh and I'm the one with the ego problem," Lexa bit back, and there was something about her tone that was almost teasing, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she watched Clarke falter slightly, fixing her with a glare, but it didn't hold the previous malice that Clarke had possessed for the brunette.
For some unfathomable reason, Clarke couldn't bring herself to hate Lexa as much as she previously had. The football player had a sort of annoyingly persistent charm, and while she still irritated Clarke to no end, she couldn't help but be amused by her antics. Clarke wasn't sure what caused the change in their dynamic. Perhaps it had been the truce, the promise of a ceasefire between them.
She was still annoyed by Lexa's arrogance and her over inflated ego, that was for sure, but she now found herself looking forward to their debates in English. If they could even be called that. Debates implied a level of agreeance, and Lexa and Clarke definitely did not agree on things.
"Is that a small smile I see?" Lexa gasped, only furthering Clarke's scowl as the blonde swatted her on the shoulder somewhat playfully.
"Let there be no miscommunication," Clarke responded, "I still think you're an ass."
"Sure you do, princess." Clarke's brows furrowed at the use of the nickname that Bellamy had given her, but she turned back to the work, pointing out the continuation of the themes throughout the story, and Lexa took notes diligently along with Clarke's words.
It was in the moments like these, where Lexa was actually working, not arguing or sassing or generally making an ass out of herself, that Clarke was the most perplexed by her. Because in these moments, Lexa seemed like just another student trying to get by and do her homework, not some stuck-up football superstar. Clarke's attentive eyes traced the contours of her face, the gentle hollows of her eyes, the curve of her chin, the sharpness of her jawline... the plumpness of her lips.
She searched for any imperfections, but she couldn't find them.
In her concentration, Lexa frowned slightly, and Clarke watched the small pull to those pouty, perfect lips, that she had traced with her eyes countless times already—purely from an artist's points of view, of course—stopping to rest on the small freckle on her lip, but even that was cute. Honestly, it wasn't fair.
"Hem."
Cerulean eyes snapped up to meet forest green, that were shining with confusion and a degree of amusement, and Clarke cleared her throat awkwardly, shrugging.
"Sorry, was staring off into space." The words were said with finality, as though daring Lexa to question the validity of them, and the brunette just smirked her annoying smirk, returning her focus to the notes she was taking.
"Whatever you say, Clarke."
It was perhaps the first time that Lexa had ever addressed Clarke by her first name to her face
without malice or bite, and Clarke hated what it did to her.
There was something about the way Lexa's tongue curled over the 'c' and clicked on the 'k' that sent shivers down the blonde artist's spine, it was almost unsettling. Clarke's mind couldn't help but wander...
"BOO!"
Clarke nearly jumped out of her skin when Raven slammed her hands down on Clarke's desk, effectively startling her friend out of her thoughts, and she started laughing hysterically when Lexa, equally as startled, slammed her head into the desk. How, Clarke would never know, but it caused quite the scene either way.
Lexa drew back, hands flying to her nose, where droplets of blood were beginning to escape with rapidly increasing frequency. She sent her most withering glare in Raven's direction, but the latina girl had collapsed to the ground in a fit of raucous laughter, clutching at her stomach and wheezing.
Quickly, Clarke pulled tissue out of her bag—Bellamy had insisted she always carry some with her—and handed it over wordlessly to Lexa, who nodded in thanks, still clutching at her nose.
Niylah made her way over, alarmed by the amount of noise from that section of the room, and frowned curiously at the sight of one of her students rolling around on the ground, one clutching at a bleeding nose, and Clarke sitting, still looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"What happened?" she sighed, and shook her head when Clarke and Lexa both pointed to Raven, who was still in near-tears on the ground. "Of course, why did I even ask. Reyes, detention after school." The girl was still laughing too hard to respond, but Clarke assured Niylah that she'd remind the forgetful girl before school ended.
"What's happ—oh, Lexa, baby, are you alright?"
Clarke instantly felt her good mood sour when Costia came rushing over, fretting over Lexa as though she'd been shot. Clarke's opposing artist had always had a flare for dramatics, but she'd forgotten just how much Costia blew things out of proportion, and not even the embarrassed pink tinge on Lexa's cheeks could revive her previous contentment.
"It's just a bloody nose, Greene, calm down," Clarke muttered mutinously, and the other girl turned to fix her with a glare, the other still caressing Lexa's cheek in what she must have thought to be a soothing manner.
"I'm just worried about my girlfriend," Costia shot back, eyes narrowing, "not that you'd understand, or anything." Clarke felt a fire ignite in her chest, and she opened her mouth as though to say something she'd later regret, as well as her usual spiel about being the daughter of a doctor , for christ's sake, but she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked back to see Octavia, whose eyes were wide with hidden warning.
"Let's make sure the idiot can still breath," Octavia offered instead, bending over to hoist a still cackling Raven up from the ground, "can't have her dying from laughing too hard, Bell would kill us."
Clarke rolled her eyes and fixed her attention on Raven, a much welcomed distraction from the disgusting coddling taking place behind her. There were legitimate tear tracks running down Raven's cheeks, and she was wheezing, sucking in gulps of air in an attempt to calm herself down, but the attempts only made her laugh harder.
"The mighty commander," she wheezed, still deep in her fit, "defeated... by a boo ."
Clarke would admit it was funny that Lexa, who claimed to be the biggest badass in the entire school, had been so horribly startled by one of Raven's horrid attempts at scaring people, but not as much as Raven was making it out to be.
"Oh my god Clarke I'm actually crying ."
"I can see that, Raven," she responded dryly, and Octavia awkwardly slapped Raven's back to
prevent the girl from choking on her own breaths.
"Woods, I'm sorry but you should've seen your face , oh fuck, I wish I'd had a camera, everyone needs to hear about this... Clarke, you should write in the Gazette about it... on second thought, maybe not, I don't wanna die."
Badass indeed.
——————————————————————
Aden's life had quickly fallen to a routine of studying, studying, and more studying. Oh, and did he mention studying ?
He couldn't really complain, though. Clarke was great.
Better than great, even, she was fantastic .
Of course, Aden was probably biased, since he harbored the tiniest of crushes on the senior—how could you not , she was kind, smart, funny, and gorgeous, what wasn't there to swoon over?—but she had really been a godsend to him throughout the process. Without her help, he would have still been slumped over a pile of neverending math homework and zero clue how to finish it all.
His school days went as such:
First, he'd arrive earlier than necessary as a byproduct of Lexa wanting to spend time with her girlfriend before class, and find Atom waiting for him at his locker. Somehow, the brunette boy always managed to make it there before him, and Atom would carry Aden's things to Trikru's room, where they would hang around until the first bell rang. Sometimes Ellis was there to talk with them, and most of the time Nam was already snoozing away by the time they arrived.
The classes he was in passed quickly now that he had a friend in every single one, and Aden found his happiness rising and stress falling the longer he spent with them.
Tris was perhaps the most energetic person Aden had ever met, which was saying something.
Her words moved at miles a minute, seemingly able to find passion about whatever subject suited her fancy that day.
Nam was her polar opposite, lethargic and tired most of the time, with a relaxed attitude and general view on life. Aden didn't think he'd ever seen the boy stressed, though his friend claimed that he'd been stressed for so long that he no longer felt it, and was completely numb to the world around him. That couldn't be healthy, but Nam waved off Aden's concerns, telling him that there was nothing that energy drinks and a lot of sugar couldn't solve.
Ellis was, quite frankly, a little piece of shit, but Aden adored her.
Her personality was as fiery as her hair, and she took no nonsense from anyone, never afraid to say what was on her mind, which usually ended up in a lot of sarcastic insults and sly digs at character. That, and she was so genuinely smart that Aden wondered how she hadn't skipped a grade or two.
And then there was Atom, who was quickly becoming Aden's favorite person in the entire world, who was perhaps the nicest boy he'd ever met. There was something about his bright smiles and sometimes awkward behavior that Aden found endearing, and he played soccer. It was like a dream come true.
Anyway, back to the schedule.
After the initial arrival to school, the day would fly by quickly, and lunches were always an interesting time, because Tris was currently doing a lot of research on gender and sexuality, which intrigued Aden to no end. His knowledge was relatively limited—which seemed odd, because his sister was a lesbian and his cousin was poly—and was utterly befuddled by some of the things Tris told him. Especially when Tris dutilly informed him that some days she was not a she at all, and in fact a he called Tristan. Once he'd gotten past his initial confusion, Aden caught onto the whole pronoun business rather quickly, and told her to text him whenever it was a Tristan day so he wouldn't misgender his new friend.
And then finally, after the bell signifying the end of the school day rang, Aden would hurry over to the library where Clarke was waiting, and dutifully start revising for his first Trikru test.
It wasn't even as big of a deal as Aden was making it out to be, but he wanted to do well to prove to himself—and Trikru, though that was less important—that he could .
Math had always been a hard subject matter for him, but with Clarke's assistance, he could see the visible improvement. As it turned out, all he had needed was a competent teacher and a little encouragement.
Lexa, however, was slightly grumpy about the situation, as she loved having her little brother around at practices so she could keep an eye on him.
"Where are you spending all of your time after school, again?" the question was brought up one night at the dinner table, and Aden paused, mid-bite of his tortellini, looking like a deer-caught-in- headlights.
"Tutoring," he answered dutifully, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. He could feel the weight of Lexa's narrowed eyes on him, and he busied himself with eating.
"With who?"
"Oh, y'know, just one of the school assigned ones," he shrugged, "you probably wouldn't know
them."
In any other situation, he would have taken a moment to brag about how great of a tutor Clarke was, but not to Lexa.
He'd heard the blonde girl complain about his older sister firsthand—he didn't think that she knew that they were siblings yet—during some of their tutoring sessions, and while he would have defended Lexa, he couldn't help but agree with some of the points Clarke made, specifically about Lexa's arrogance and general snobbish attitude. So Aden knew all about the fights that the two had, in and out of the classroom, as well as the tentative truce that Clarke had established in an attempt to maintain her sanity. If Lexa knew that Clarke was tutoring her little brother, she would probably bring it up to the girl, and Aden didn't want to risk losing the best math teacher he'd ever had just because she didn't like his sister.
So he remained quiet.
"It's not Jasper Jordan, is it?"
Aden almost choked on his food as he laughed, and Anya rolled her eyes as she smacked his back, a little harder than necessary.
"No, Lexa," he chuckled, "I'm not buying drugs from Jasper Jordan after school." "Monty Green, then?"
"Nope."
"C'mon, Lex," Anya added, "Aden's too much of a nerd to do drugs, you know that." Aden almost opened his mouth to protest, but clamped it shut quickly, knowing that any belligerence would be taken as though he was considering or already involved in the Jordan-Green drug cartel.
Which he wasn't .
Not yet, anyways, he was much too busy to even consider seeking either of the boys out, even now that he had a connection to them by means of Clarke, who he would never exploit to gain favors.
There was a reason that Aden was a Hufflepuff and not a Slytherin, after all.
Not telling Lexa outright who his tutor was probably wasn't the best decision he could have made, though.
Aden always, always , got out of tutoring before Lexa got out of football practice, because she loved drilling her whining, aching teammates for as long as she could, regardless of how many times Anya called her a sadist or the intensity of Lincoln's puppy dog eyes begging her to let them be done for the night. Lexa was a perfectionist, even more so than Trikru, and obsessed with winning, especially when their opening game was against Arkadia's biggest rivals: the Azgeda Vikings, and, more specifically, Ontari Queen, who everyone in Arkadia seemed to hate, for reasons unknown to Aden.
Well, not entirely unknown. He had heard the rumors, but found it difficult to fathom in all of his good-heartedness that someone could stoop so low, and he didn't want to ask for further details and stir up memories that were better off left buried, so he bit his tongue and went along with his own business.
So, because of Lexa's sadistic tendencies with running drills with her team, Aden hadn't thought he'd ever have to worry about her doing something as unthinkable as picking him up .
It had been a regular tutoring session.
Clarke was doodling in her sketchbook as Aden worked diligently on the problems she'd assigned him, keeping her wits about her in case the smaller blonde had a question that she could help with, which happened with exponentially less frequency, as Clarke's lessons were always comprehensible, and Aden knew how to do the work after she showed him.
As a rule of thumb, because they worked in the school library, which was a fairly public space, there was a large amount of students wandering in and out of its expanses, some to find books, others to find an alcove to make out in—those Clarke usually made fun of with Aden—and some who were just bored and stranded after school, with nothing to do with themselves. So hearing footsteps wasn't anything out of the ordinary, and no cause for concern.
That is, until Aden saw Clarke's fist clench around her pencil out of the corner of his eyes, and noted that whoever was walking was suspiciously close to his back.
"Woods." Clarke's voice was clipped, losing all semblance of the lightheartedness it had possessed when she was joking around with Aden, and he looked up to see narrowed cerulean eyes, trained firmly to the figure standing behind him, and he didn't need to turn to know that it was Lexa. "What do you need?"
"What do you think, Griffin?" there was a layer of humor underneath the heavy weight of sarcasm in her tone, and Aden winced as Clarke's eyes narrowed even further. "I thought tutors were supposed to be smart." He could see the jump in Clarke's jaw as she gritted her teeth, observed the brief flicker of confusion in the blue depths of her eyes as they flicked up and down between him and Lexa, saw the minuscule widening of realization as she finally put the pieces together.
He felt the soft pressure of a hand on his shoulder, and turned around sheepishly to look at Lexa, who was watching him with a raised brow.
"I thought you had practice," he said meekly, and the older girl narrowed her own emerald eyes at him, cocking her head to the side slightly.
"I let them go early," she said, a small smirk tugging at her lips, "I decided to be kind for once." His well-trained ears heard the small noise of disbelief from Clarke, though the blonde masked it with a cough as soon as Lexa's eyes snapped, attention diverted away from Aden.
"Well, then," she said as she stood up, gathering her sketchbook and pencils into her bag, "I guess this concludes our session, since your sister —" the word was awkward on her tongue, unfamiliar in this situation "—is here to pick you up." She moved to walk away from them, pausing for a brief moment to nod at Lexa. "Woods." Aden held his breath as her eyes moved to him, but relaxed as the gaze softened and she smiled. "Aden." And then, with a flourish, Clarke walked away, presumably to go and find Octavia, who was her ride to work later in the evening, Aden knew.
"Clarke Griffin is your tutor?" Lexa asked dryly. "I didn't think she was the type." Aden felt indignation spark in his chest as he shoved Lexa lightly, gathering up his homework and textbook, oddly protective over the blonde girl.
"Clarke's brilliant," he informed her dutifully, the same stubbornness in his eyes that were so often mirrored in Lexa's own, chin jutting out slightly as though to issue a challenge. "Without her, I'd probably be failing math, because lord knows Trikru is a horrible teacher."
Lexa tastefully ignored the dig towards her beloved football coach and instead picked up Aden's textbook for him, ruffling his hair distractedly. Her eyes had a faraway look in them, which puzzled Aden to no end, and he followed her line of sight out of the library window to where Clarke was walking next to Octavia Blake. There was something about the intensity of Lexa's gaze that seemed eerily familiar, and when he placed it, there was nothing that could stop the shit- eating grin from spreading across his face.
"See something you like, Lex?"
"Huh?" Sufficiently snapped out of her reverie, Lexa turned to look at her little brother, who was grinning innocently at her, before scoffing nonchalantly. "Who, Griffin? Nah, she's got nothing on Cos." That , Aden knew, was a blatant lie, because he had eyes and knew that, which both girls were beautiful, there was just something about Clarke that set her apart from the rest of the crowd. And besides, he knew when his own sister was checking someone out, he'd seen it far too many times to not recognize the signs of attraction in his sister's eyes.
He shrugged in lieu of a response, and Lexa rolled her eyes at him.
"Hurry up, I'm delivering you to Anya and Lincoln to go home, I've got a date."
Maybe Clarke and Lexa knowing that he was a link between the two of them wasn't such a bad thing....
Aden had an idea.
One that was probably going to get his ass kicked—by Lexa, of course—but, oh, it was perfect. Now he just needed to plan.
——————————————————————
The Dropship was the local diner for students of Arkadia, and even occasionally, Azgeda High. For good reason, too. While it was situated smack in the middle of town, making it accessible to all, the food was always reliably good, and the waitresses were the finest around.
Why, was that, exactly?
Because the waiting staff featured Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake, both of whom were competing viciously to get better customer reviews and tips, resulting in the eventual award of employee of the month.
It was a newly introduced concept from their manager, and one of Clarke's best friends, Wells Jaha, son of Thelonious, the famed Arkadia principal.
Clarke needed the wage bump. She knew that, since Jake's death, Abby had been reluctant to leave Clarke alone for long evening shifts at the hospital. So, when their family friends, the Jaha's, offered them both jobs: waitressing and the school's athletic trainer, respectively, neither girl declined. That meant a gargantuan dip in salary for Abby, and extra hours for Clarke, as she could barely afford art supplies anymore.
Of course, she and Abby had grown closer, because of it. Except when Abby gave her detention.
But Wells was kind and always a great friend, and though he was a year older than Clarke and attended a local college, he was more than reliable and kind.
Naturally, Clarke had a bit of an advantage, and Octavia wasn't keen on letting her forget it.
"Hey, Clarke." Wells smiled when she approached the counter from the back room, in her server's uniform, her blue eyes sparkling when she saw him. "How's my favorite senior?"
Clarke leaned in for a quick kiss to his cheek, smiling as she finished tying her apron. "Not bad, all things considered. A few...bumps...here and there, but can't complain."
Wells nodded, eyes taking in Octavia, who ran in behind Clarke, eyes shooting to the clock. "Ha! Made it with two minutes to spare!" She nodded to Wells with a smile. "Sorry, class was let out late."
Wells chuckled. "I know the feeling, no worries. So, you two ready for your little competition?"
Octavia smirked, and Clarke rolled her eyes. "How, exactly, is this to be determined?" She asked loftily.
"I have eyes and ears around the place." Wells shrugged nonchalantly. "Just...do your jobs, and remember...Smile, it's customer service that got us that amazing review in the paper."
"Well, Clarke's been doing a whole lot more than smiling at the customers." Octavia teased.
Clarke whipped around on the brunette, jaw agape. "What? What's that supposed to mean?" Octavia merely smirked at her blonde friend and waggled her eyebrows, before focusing her attention on tying her hair up into a messy ponytail in preparation for their shift.
The front doors opened, and that marked the official beginnings of the lunch boom. Schools had all just been let out, and nothing brought in business like the smell of comfort food wafting in the air and beautiful, friendly, waitresses. Honestly, this had to be some sort of exploitation. Clarke glanced down, realizing her outfit was about as uninteresting and suggestive as could be, consisting of an apron that covered a white top and a white skirt, her hair pulled into a messily cute bun.
"I'll let you two get to work." Wells smiled. "I'll be in the kitchen."
"Octavia..." Clarke grinned, leaning against the back counter, waiting for the hordes of brain- dead students to file in. "I'll take table ten."
Octavia pouted. "No fair! The lacrosse team is sitting there! They always order a lot!" "That's more work for me!" Clarke pointed out, grin never fading.
"Yeah, don't play me, Griffin." Octavia grumbled, pinching Clarke's arm playfully. "I know they tip well, too."
"Hey, don't let Wells see you frown." Clarke stated smugly in a faux whisper. "He's keeping score, remember?"
"Fuck." Octavia smiled through gritted teeth. She wheeled around, turning and freezing, cobalt gaze widening. "I'll take three."
Clarke nodded absently, reaching for her notebook. "Okay sure."
"You take thirteen." Octavia spoke quickly, slyly, turning to leave.
"Wait, what?" Clarke glanced up, looking through the small covering of Wells' stupid indoor plants, eyes falling on her.
"No fucking way." Clarke's eyes widened. "Isn't this place a little too...lowbrow for her?" "Costia loves it here." Octavia smirked, matter-of-factly. "She's pleasing her girl."
Clarke almost threw up a little in her mouth. "You take it." She spoke just as rapidly. "No." Octavia smirked.
"O, come on!" Clarke hissed, following Octavia as she strode over to the boy's lacrosse table that Clarke had claimed for herself.
(Even though, and Wells had said this ad nauseum, there were no rights to 'claiming' a table).
"Hey guys, I'm Octavia, and I'll be your server for today." Octavia grinned, smiling at her classmates with a faux look of excitement.
"No, no..." Clarke stepped in front of her, watching Octavia frown. "I'm Clarke, and I'll be your server for today."
"Huh?" The leader of the pack looked a bit confused, squinting up at Clarke, and then Octavia. The boy's lacrosse team weren't exactly known for their superiority when it came to academics, that was the girl's team, who were known to be quite ruthless and calculating, especially with Emori among them.
"Clarke, beat it!" Octavia hissed. "No, you can't-"
Clarke never finished her sentence, because Octavia's well timed shove caught her completely off guard, sending her careening backwards into table thirteen.
Clarke felt her fingers brush against hers, and she knew she was a dead woman.
Whipping around, cheeks burning, trying to gain her composure, Clarke's eyes settled on Lexa and Costia, side by side in the booth, Lexa on the outermost part, fingers steadying Clarke's fall.
Well, at least she'd managed to catch herself.
Lexa's silky hair was tossed over her shoulder, her other hand laced with Costia's above the table. Her green eyes were wide with surprise.
"Clarke?" She asked unsurely.
Costia smirked. "Clarke, don't tell me you're a waitress as well as a tutor. A woman of many hidden...talents." There was something in the jab that made Clarke's blood boil. Before she could fire off a comment about how not everyone could simply live as comfortably as those two, without having to work for it, Lexa was valiantly between them without being overt.
"Hello, Clarke." She cleared her throat, voice ever formal.
"Hey." Clarke swallowed the lump in her throat, the anger dissipating at the distraction that was Lexa. "Your nose..." She motioned to her own nose, lamely. "It uh...looks good."
Lexa lifted a brow, her telltale smirk falling into place. "Thank you."
"Is this how you normally greet your customers, Clarke?" Costia fired off smoothly, playing it off as a teasing joke.
Clarke suddenly felt a soft prickle on the back of her neck. Turning, she saw Wells taking notes on all his servers in the corner of her vision.
Clarke cleared her throat awkward, straightening up. "Hello, welcome to the Dropship. I'm Clarke, and I'll be your server. Have you dined with us before?"
Costia smirked, and Lexa couldn't help the amused laugh that tumbled out of her luscious lips, and Clarke felt utterly humiliated.
"I haven't." Lexa folded her arms in faux curiosity, batting her eyelashes at Clarke. "Enlighten me."
Son of a bitch.
"Well..." Clarke took in a breath, just imagining how red her cheeks looked. "We have several soups and salads each day, today's special is creamy tomato soup and Caesar. If you look to the left of your menu, here, you'll find a list of specials straight from our locally sourced ingredients list, and if you-"
Lexa's hand found the edge of Clarke's fingers, which had been nervously drilling into the side of the table.
Clarke nearly recoiled at the electric-like shock that ran through her. "Thanks." Lexa hushed her mercifully, smirking still.
Oh, she was so getting a rise out of this.
"Can I start you two off with any drinks?" Clarke asked gently.
Costia didn't bother looking up from her phone. "A water." She mumbled.
Lexa glanced at her and then made eye contact with Clarke. "You wouldn't have sparkling, would you?"
Clarke wanted to scoff. She wanted to throw her hands up and yell, "Sure, of course, madam! A Pellegrino, perhaps? Calistoga? Perrier? Why not just screw it and grab some champagne from our top shelf?"
"I can arrange for that." She smiled tightly, pain evident in her eyes as she left them to deliberate.
"Nicely done." Wells clapped her on the back. "The look you gave that brunette girl over there was just...intense. That's great customer service, Griffin." He smiled.
"Thanks." Clarke muttered, moving a blonde curl out of her vision with a huff. "We have sparkling water here?"
Wells nodded. "Yeah, but no one here ever orders that." He chuckled.
"They do now." Clarke grumbled, turning back to her duties. Stupid elegant Lexa with her stupid smirk and her stupid, piercing emerald gaze, and her obnoxiously long fingers. And Costia, with her attitude and her inability to even give Lexa the time of day-
"Hey." Octavia smirked, passing her. "Nice work, Casanova."
"You are dead to me." Clarke rolled her eyes, smiling just a little bit at Octavia's retreating figure.
Sure, it was hell, but at least she had her friends.
The rest of their dining went on without a hitch, as Clarke simply kept her head down, avoided Lexa, and took their orders with little to no complaints.
She didn't notice Lexa's wandering gaze following her toned legs back towards the kitchen each time, and it was for good reason, as Clarke was already embarrassed enough for one day.
If Costia was a regular, Lexa was a regular.
"Do it for the art supplies." Clarke muttered to herself as she approached their table one final time.
"Everything alright?" Clarke clasped her hands together, watching the two banes of her existence share a sundae. "Can I interest you in anything else?"
Costia shrugged and Lexa took the helm of the conversation once more. "Just a check, please, Clarke."
Clarke blinked in surprise at the use of her name and the formality before taking it out of her front pocket and handing it to them, anticipating that they'd be done afterwards.
"Take your time, alright?" Clarke smiled. "See you in Crewe's." She murmured, offering her smile to Lexa, before turning around and leaving.
Clarke hadn't noticed Wells slip past her, casually approaching Costia and Lexa's table, with a look of professionalism on his features.
While Clarke disappeared into the back, Wells approached the table with a friendly smile.
"Hello ladies, sorry to interrupt you." He clasped his hands together. "I understand it was your first time here? I'm the manager. I was wondering if you found everything to be up to your standards?"
Costia glanced at Lexa, knowing she was the target of this question.
Lexa offered a charming smile, seeing as it was the easiest way to pass this awkward conversation. "Excellent, thank you." She nodded, setting the check down.
"And your server?" Wells asked, a little more quietly.
"Good." Costia shrugged absently, scrolling through her social media.
"Excellent." Lexa repeated, her brain likely calculating that this was a moment of great importance for Clarke. "In fact, I'd like her every time."
Wells grinned. "Clarke would be very pleased to hear that. Thank you, have a nice afternoon, you two."
Lexa muttered her thanks and rose, arms slipping around Costia's waist as the two exited, leaving a grinning Wells to hand Clarke the check.
"Nicely done, Griffin." Wells winked. "That's what the boss likes to see."
Clarke smiled awkwardly, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she went to take the check. Her eyes widened. A crisp twenty slipped out of the folder, laying on Clarke's shoe.
"Wait, what?" Clarke mumbled, bending to pick it up. "They left without change?"
Clarke's eyes widened when she realized that there were two twenties for Lexa and Costia's simple nineteen-dollar meal. Lexa's scrawl, cursive and elegant, read: Keep the change.
Clarke felt Octavia nudge her shoulder. "Was it that bad?" She asked, hands busily holding a tray of empty glasses.
"Uh..." Clarke breathed, thinking of Lexa's smile, her smirk, her ruthless teasing and her snickers shared with Costia. "I..."
"Come on, Clarke." Octavia heaved. "These aren't gonna carry themselves."
——————————————————————
As the first football game of the season crept forward, Arkadia was ablaze with excitement. If Clarke had thought people were bad when Lexa first came to the school, they were even worse now, if that was possible.
It seemed as though every word that left anyone's mouth was either "football", "Lexa", "Azgeda" or a mix of the three in some way shape or form.
Monroe was having a field day, happily interviewing students as well as the team in order to garner attention to the school paper, the Grounder Gazette , which Clarke edited on occasion, when she wasn't occupied with tutoring or working at the Dropship.
"Clarke," she grinned innocently when Monroe rolled over to her in her rolling chair, one of the perks of being the chief editor. "Yeah?"
"We can't publish this." Clarke pouted at Monroe's raised eyebrow and half-smirk, before sighing dramatically.
"Alright, alright, I guess I'll fix it." Couldn't call the school's star quarterback an ' arrogant know- it-all with a stick wedged up her ass' in the paper, after all.
"I will be checking before we send it in," they promised, "and Harper has the pictures for you, if you need them."
"You got it, boss." Clarke couldn't help but smile at the mention of Monroe's girlfriend, Harper, who was the chief editor of the yearbook. The two of them were perfect for each other, honestly.
The other thing ablaze in Arkadia High was its chemistry lab.
"Reyes! I specifically told you not to put the sodium in water! Everyone knows that it explodes!" "Whoops, sorry Pike, must've heard you wrong."
Clarke stifled a laugh as Pike buried his head in his hands while Jasper enthusiastically high-fived Raven, who was grinning widely. It'd become a competition between the two of them to see who could blow more things up while still avoiding expulsion. If they weren't such genii when it came to chemistry, Clarke was sure Pike would have sent them packing already.
"That was awesome!" Raven laughed to herself as she moved to invade Clarke and Octavia's space, grinning widely. "I've always wanted to do that." Octavia rolled her eyes and shoved her friend lightly on the shoulder.
"I don't understand why you love blowing things up so much."
"Uh, because it's awesome , that's why. Who doesn't like blowing things up?"
"Oh, I don't know, normal people?" Clarke drawled, a teasing glint in her eyes, and Raven pouted at her words, making a small whining noise in the back of her throat.
"Claa- arke , don't be mean to me, I'm just trying to live my life and fulfil my dream of blowing up as many things as possible." Clarke grinned and shook her head as Octavia coughed.
"Nottheonlythingyou'reblowing."
It took Raven a moment, but her eyes narrowed and she shook her finger in Octavia's face.
"This is a judgement-free zone, O, and don't be salty because I'm getting more than you." Octavia and Clarke were among the only people who could tease Raven about the frequency of her sexual partners, as the girl knew that it was just that, teasing. Others, however, had a bad habit for slut- shaming, which she never stood for. Octavia, however, made a noise of protest.
"Hey, I've got a boyfriend, I can get it whenever I want."
There was a groan from behind them and the three girls turned to see Anya banging her head on the table.
"My ears," she complained, "Lincoln's like my brother, you can't just say that."
"Sorry, An, but that's what you get for eavesdropping," Octavia teased, "I mean, I can tell you all about this fantastic thing that he does with his—"
"No no no no," Anya interrupted, glaring darkly at Octavia, who was grinning widely, "stop right there, Blake. Just because you're co-captaining the soccer team with me this year doesn't mean I won't kick your ass. I don't want to hear about your sex life."
"What about yours, Pine?" Raven interjected with a suggestive grin. "I mean, I've been told that I'm great with my fingers, so I can help you out anytime." Clarke's eyes widened slightly, wincing inwardly, because of course Raven would have to go and flirt with one of the most intimidating girls in Arkadia.
"Are you sure you're up to my standards, Reyes? I'm pretty hard to please."
"Oh, believe me," Raven assured, "I'll make it worth your while."
Clarke coughed awkwardly in warning as Pike made his way towards them, likely to check that they were filling out their notes as he'd instructed. They weren't, obviously, but they made it look like they were working diligently, and that was all that mattered.
Raven looked as though she wanted to continue her conversation with Anya, but Clarke diverted her attention by asking a question about the work that they were supposed to be doing, because she didn't have time to finish it after class, especially with all the other homework she had piling up on top or working on her portfolio for art scholarships.
Halfway through the class period, there was a sharp whistle from behind them, and Raven turned expectantly, assuming it was Anya, and frowned when it wasn't.
"Clarke," Raven whined as she poked her friend's cheek incessantly, "Woods wants to talk to you." Grumbling underneath her breath, Clarke turned around in her seat to observe Lexa. It was hard to believe that this girl who had quickly become a thorn in her side was the older sister of the boy she tutored. Sweet little Aden with his bright smiles and quick humor and general enthusiasm for learning. Honestly, it's like they weren't even related, she couldn't fault herself for not knowing, but she had apologized to Aden for constantly smack-talking his sister in front of him, but the petite boy had merely shrugged and told Clarke that he agreed with her, so she shouldn't be too sorry.
"Yeah, Woods? Do you need something?" Clarke asked, trying to ignore the way that the dark pools of emerald made her feel. She could practically feel Raven mockingly singing the lines from Frozen " conceal, don't feel, don't let them know" what with the slightly concerning look her friend was giving her.
"Not really," Lexa responded smoothly, in a tone that made her appear disinterested, but at the same time, Clarke could see the curiosity in those foresty depths, "I was just wondering if you were going to the game, is all." Clarke pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, wondering why exactly the brunette was bringing this up.
"Why, one cheerleader not enough for you?" she drawled. Raven and Octavia snickered and Anya rolled her eyes at the way Lexa was so obviously posturing.
"While I'm sure you in the uniform would give anyone an aneurysm—" Lexa cut her cousin off with a wave of her hand, and the blonde girl stuck her tongue out, sour at being interrupted.
"Just wondering," Lexa shrugged, and Clarke swore for a moment that she saw a flash of hurt in those green eyes, but that was ridiculous. The two of them weren't even friends, so there was no logical reason for Lexa to be disappointed at the news that Clarke wouldn't be attending.
Clarke turned back around, and stifled a groan when she saw Raven and Octavia looking at her expectantly.
"So, how's that lady-boner working out for you?" Raven asked innocently, and Clarke shot her an annoyed look.
"I told you two already, I don't have a thing for Woods," Clarke whispered under her breath, and the two of them just exchanged a look over her head.
"You're really not going to the game?" Octavia asked, thankfully moving the subject away from Lexa. "C'mon, Griff, it'll be fun, we'll all be going. I'm being a supportive girlfriend, of course, and Monty thinks that Miller looks hot in the uniform. And besides, Murphy wants to see Queen get her ass kicked."
While spending a night with her friends away from work seemed fun, Clarke didn't want to give Lexa the satisfaction of seeing her there... but seeing Queen get her ass kicked was so appealing .
"I'll think about it," Clarke responded succinctly before returning to her work, and by the cheers that escaped her two friends, she knew that the decision had just been made for her.
——————————————————————
The stadium was alight with tensions and rivalries, war cries and laughter, cheers and jeers. Every inch of the already gargantuan bleachers had been filled with eager faces, all ready for the opening game of the season, Lexa's debut, and of course, against the great rivalry that Azgeda High brought with them.
Cheerleaders from either side lined the edge of the field by the bleachers, simply waving and grinning and dancing a little to the music that poured out of the speakers that the school service club had spent hours wiring up.
Nightfall had already arrived, and the the varsity game was the final, most anticipated event of the evening. The stadium lights were intensified, forming a halo of light around the great commander Lexa Woods, fresh from Mt. Weather's Academy for the Intellectually Advanced, ready to christen herself as a fully fledged Grounder.
She wore her uniform, like all her teammates, but her special mark was there. Her eyes were covered in thick black paint, mixing with her traditional eye-black stripes, to create a sort of bandit-like mask, bleeding at the edges.
It was iconic. Students from either side, whether donning Grounder Green or Viking Violet (it was an off-purple, if Clarke's inner artist had anything to say about it), roared their approval for their newly presented teams.
On the other side, across the great battlefield, the Vikings had stormed the field, catering to the cheers of their full half of the bleachers. Their roars were mighty, their face paint white and menacing, as they enjoyed being contradictory.
Ontari Queen, their star player and prized wide receiver, had sauntered on the field with a look of great apathy, simply enjoying the way her people cheered for like she was some Saint.
She'd intentionally scanned the crowd on the opposing side, eyes finally ceasing when she realized Lexa was not yet out, despite the fact that her team was.
The Grounders had torn through the decorated poster that the poor art club had doted over for nearly two days, and the crowds had not been entirely too pleased to see their Commander wasn't at the vanguard of the charge, just yet.
The Grounders, led by their student president Bellamy Blake, were cheering an onslaught of organized chants, the most popular of which, the unofficial school motto: "Blood must have blood! Blood must have blood!"
Bellamy was grinning beside his delinquent family, waving his hands in the air like a crazed maestro.
All the while, Principal Jaha had been running like a headless chicken, up and down the stretch of the stands, cupping his mouth and shouting, "No! No! Don't say that! Say....Fun must have fun! Fun must have fun!"
Shortly after, someone (certainly not Raven Reyes), had hurled an ice-cream cone at his pressed, collared shirt,and he retired to watch the game with a silent "damn kids."
And then came the response from the Vikings, their valiant efforts led by their resident queen bee and ever popular head cheerleader, Nia Queen, of the notorious Queen Triplets.
They jeered, standing up and stomping their feet in a disruptive, unruly manner, shouting, "All hail the Queen! All hail the Queen!" To Ontari's stretching figure below.
And then of course, it became a selfish battle of the stars, and the Grounders came back with "Go Commander go!" Over and over again, a litany of seemingly pointless war-cries that did little more than put everyone on edge.
Ah, the warring spirit of American football.
Lexa felt that, in some other life, she had to have been a general, a war-leader of some kind.
Lexa had been leaning against the archway to the entrance of the field, never one for theatrics of any kind. Her parents wouldn't have approved. They would have told her that showboating was ridiculous, and in no way made her a better player. She opted to silently think above the din of the crowd, until she felt someone stumble into her back, though the damage was mitigated by her padding.
Whipping around, Lexa saw a blonde blur keeling over, and her lightning-quick hands shot out and caught a wrist before she knew what she was doing.
With a blink of those emerald eyes, Lexa realized that she'd just caught a very sheepish looking Clarke Griffin.
"Clarke." Lexa's voice had such an air of smugness, and yet, her eyes twinkled with delight, genuine and pure.
"Lexa." Clarke breathed out finally, her blue eyes finding Lexa's eyes before fixing themselves on her lips for a good few seconds before taking in the prowess of Lexa in her full uniform, shoulder padding and all.
"You came." Lexa spoke slowly, savoring every moment. This was too good. Clarke Griffin had made it abundantly clear that she hated sports.
"Yeah, well...I finished Crewe's homework, and Raven asked me to check out her crush, so..." Clarke trailed off, realizing Lexa was still gripping her wrist.
Lexa's eyes darted away as she immediately let go. She bounced on her heels, stretching her legs a little.
"Your eyes..." Clarke murmured, and Lexa could scarcely hear her above the nearby roar. "They're beautiful."
Lexa's lips parted slightly, and then Clarke did some damage control, by adding, "-In...an artist's perspective. Who...did that for you?"
"I did." Lexa smirked amusedly, and Clarke rolled her eyes at the apparent cockiness. "Why aren't you out there?" Clarke asked curiously. "Are you nervous?"
"I do not get nervous, Clarke." Lexa's voice was sharp, and she enunciated Clarke's name beautifully.
"Yeah?" Clarke resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It's a big one. You're gonna have to win to make a good first impression, Commander." Clarke wasn't sure why she'd just said that, but something about Lexa started this heat, this insatiable fire within her, one that she'd never felt before.
Clarke attributed it to anger.
Lexa blinked once, nodding stiffly. "I've trained for this." She responded calmly, elegantly, her hands deftly reaching up to swirl her hair into a messy bun, which only accentuated the high cheekbones and chiseled jaw lines that Clarke certainly hadn't been staring at.
"Ontari Queen, huh?" Clarke growled lowly. "Be careful. She plays dirty."
Lexa nodded, looking unfazed. "Many do. But, our positions vary. She wouldn't have much contact with me anyway."
Clarke swallowed the lump in her throat, unsure of why she'd just displayed such obvious affection. That was odd.
"You're wearing my number." Lexa smirked, eyes drinking in Clarke's figure.
Clarke glanced down at her jacket, realizing it did have Lexa's number emblazoned on the front. Her cheeks burned. "I was cold, and this was the last one at the student store."
"Mhmm." Lexa smirked once more, her full lips pleading for Clarke to just give in.
"There's no shame in worshipping your commander, Clarke."
Your commander.
The way Lexa said that caused Clarke's entire body to flush with an odd heat. What the hell was happening? Worship your commander? Why had Lexa blatantly chosen such...overt words?
"Whatever." Clarke rolled her eyes. "This entire nickname business is so stupid. The Queen? The Commander? Why do you need a title, anyway?"
"I'll let my playing speak for itself." Lexa answered loftily, glancing back at the stadium. Clarke could see Lexa's eyes hone in on Ontari Queen, who'd been muttering something to her sister, who threw her head back in a laugh.
Clarke's fists shook at her side and she thought of Murphy, who was no doubt waiting for the show in his seat, with Emori squeezing his hand and reassuring him every now and then.
"Kick her ass, Lexa." Clarke muttered finally.
Lexa's eyes widened in surprise.
Clarke offered her a wry smile. "A Commander beats a Queen, hands down, doesn't she?" Lexa watched Clarke saunter away, as they shared a genuine smile in response.
It was game time.
——————————————————————
The initial coin toss was in Lexa's favor, and she donned her helmet for the offensive push, after the initial punt. She was greeted by cheers as she stepped onto the field from her seat beside Anya on the bench, who was regally enjoying her time before she had to exert any physical activity.
Lexa swore she saw Anya turn and wink, at some face in the home crowd, but she didn't have much time to contemplate, or tease, for that matter.
In the corner of her forest green gaze, she saw Clarke sitting a little behind Aden, to whom she frequently smiled at and looked for a thumbs up from. Clarke was beaming, her golden hair illuminated by the stadium lights like a halo, and Lexa felt something stir within her as she jogged to position, post the team huddle.
Her players lined up, and she surveyed the line of scrimmage, judging Titus' call with an affirmative nod.
It was good.
She eyed Ontari Queen from her spot on the opposing bench, leaned forward, eyes peeled, staring at her brother Roan, the infamous linebacker, towering over nearly every other player with his immense build and physique.
If the Queens weren't triplets, Lexa would have assumed that he would have been held back a year, or sixty, by his build alone. That wasn't to say he wasn't smart; All three of the Queen siblings were bright, much to Lexa's grudging admittance.
Lexa knew Roan was going to be a problem all season long. Her friendship with Lincoln had been growing stronger than ever, and while he was her main runner in most of her handoff plays, she feared Roan's capabilities. Lincoln was big, built, but lithe and quick on his feet. Roan had the potential to end his career in one fell swoop.
Lexa knew the dangers of the game, but she also felt that being a commander, a team leader, meant more than just calling plays and assigning laps. It was protecting the team and each and every player to the best of her ability.
And of course, Roan practically took orders from his foul sister, seemingly the only wide receiver who called plays from her goddamned seat on the bench.
Lexa's eyes narrowed as she attempted to loosen up, waiting for the snap.
The amassed students in the bleachers were in an uproar.
Aden was sure that he was going to lose his sense of hearing, what with all the excited screaming, so loud that drowned out even the marching band below.
Not even Nam could doze off with all the noise around them, so he was currently watching next to Aden, his eyes trained on the players. Aden, of course, was specifically watching 13 and 82, his sister and Lincoln respectively.
They'd made some pretty fantastic plays thus far, but it was a close game, almost too close for comfort.
As much as Arkadia hated Ontari Queen, there was no doubt that she was an excellent football player.
But Aden had faith that Lexa was better.
Tris, of course, was having the time of her life, cheering and excitedly babbling to her newfound friends about just how complex the plays were and how fantastically they were all carried out, and her favorite moments were the ones where Anya was on the field, and she marvelled at just how accurate her aim was, sending the football soaring through the air and right between the goalposts. Ellis had joined in with her own analysis of the angles and the force needed, and Aden happily tuned out their conversation.
He was a firm believer of not doing math unless it was strictly necessary.
Atom was grinning from his spot next to Aden, not necessarily understanding all of what was going on, but feeding off of his friend's excitement. Since Aden had replaced his usual red neckerchief for a forest green Arkadia scarf with the number 13 embroidered on it, the item had found its way around Atom's uncovered neck, and Aden couldn't help but think it suited him.
Somehow even more entertaining than the game in front of him were the conversations going on behind them.
By a stroke of luck, Aden and his friend group had found themselves situated in front of the group so fondly called the delinquents , and their conversations were truly... enlightening , to say the least.
He'd heard his sister's name come up in conversation a minimum of thirty-three times already, most of them stemming from Clarke's best friends, Raven and Octavia, dropping suggestive comments towards Clarke, which the blonde girl shrugged off rather grumpily, causing Aden to grin to himself. He'd also noticed that Raven would lower her voice to talk to the class president, Bellamy, in hushed tones, and he turned around once to find them both appreciating Anya from a distance, and his cousin, too, took notice, shooting a wink in their direction.
Tris, of course, thought that the wink was aimed towards her, and almost fell off of her seat in excitement.
Halftime had come quickly, and Aden frowned inwardly when Costia pulled Lexa towards her, now that the bulky helmet was out of the way, and into a searing kiss. The younger Woods sibling quickly diverted his eyes, and instead looked to Clarke, who was wearing an expression similar to someone who had just swallowed a bee, and furrowed his brows in confusion as she made a hasty getaway from her friends and out into the parking lot.
Lexa's gaze found his soon after and he offered his older a sister a thumbs up, noting the small frown that tugged at her lips when she looked behind him and noticed Clarke's absence.
"What was that about?" Atom, ever attentive, noticed the brief exchange and brought it into question.
"I honestly don't know," Aden confessed, "well, I have an idea, but it seems kinda ridiculous right now, but it'll make sense later, probably."
Aden couldn't help but think about the subtle signs of something unusual occurring between his sister and his tutor, and the wheels were already turning in his mind. From Octavia and Raven's teasing, he knew that they'd picked up on it as well, and their help could easily be acquired, because his little plan wasn't going to be easy, that was for sure, but he shook the thoughts from his head and instead turned his attention back to the game at hand.
As the clock ticked down, time slowed, and he watched in awe as Lincoln successfully twisted his way through the seemingly impenetrable wall of defense to deliver the final touchdown of the game, a perfectly timed pass from Lexa, and all those around him roared their approval, standing and cheering as Lexa was swept into the arms of her teammates, who were pounding her back in thanks and congratulations.
Almost before he was aware of his actions, Aden's feet were moving, weaving deftly between cheering onlookers and jumping over the small gate at the edge of the bleachers to make his way onto the open field, beating Costia to his sister and barreling into her side, causing the older girl to laugh and pull him into a hug.
"You did great!" Aden greeted, and Lexa ruffled his hair fondly.
"Only because you were here to cheer me on," she assured him, "you've been my number one fan since the beginning, so really you're my good luck charm." Aden beamed back up at his sister, and the radiance dulled quickly upon a familiar cheerleader's approach.
"Aw, here I was thinking I was your good luck charm." Aden pulled a face as Lexa released him to embrace her girlfriend once more, and instead made his way over to Lincoln, who now had a very pleased-looking Octavia situated on his strong shoulders.
" Hei, strikbro ," Lincoln welcomed him with a warm smile, pounding his knuckles against the much smaller boy, "did you like the game?"
"Of course," Aden chirped, "you did fantastic as always. It was fun." "Did you talk to Lexa already?"
"Yeah," Aden responded, with a sour shrug in the direction of his sister, who was still tangled up with Costia, "but she had other things to worry about than her little brother."
"Honestly, they're disgusting," Anya piped, walking up from behind him with a similar look mirrored on her own face, "and not the good kind of disgusting, I don't like her."
"You don't like anyone Lexa dates," Lincoln reasoned, spinning Octavia around.
"Yeah, but this time it's different," Anya insisted.
"Well that's something you and Clarke have in common," Octavia offered from her perch, "the two of them have been enemies since pre-k, and then there's the whole incident from freshman year..." She trailed off, as though she wasn't supposed to say anything about it, and Anya's eyes narrowed.
"What incident?"
"Not really my place to say," Octavia shrugged, "but let's just say that I don't think Clarke and Costia will ever get along." She turned and nudged Lincoln urgently. "Oh, I see Miller! Take me to him please, my steed."
"As you wish."
Aden grinned as the two of them made their way towards Miller, who was talking with Monty Green, and began walking alongside Anya.
"I don't like Costia either," he confided, and Anya snorted.
"No shit, kid, you may smile and put on a good show but I can read your microexpressions because I'm just that good and you're too much of a Hufflepuff to lie." She paused. "I mean, I won't say anything because Lex is stubborn as all hell, but I can't help but feel like this is going to end badly for her."
As Aden watched Costia's eyes flicker to the other side of the field, suspiciously close to Nia's cheering squad, he nodded.
Yeah, this wasn't going to end well.
After a few more moments, Lexa finally seemed to realize that her little brother had disappeared, and kissed Costia one last time before making her way over to her family, who were regarding her with raised eyes, and she pursed her lips at the two of them.
"Honestly, you guys, it's like you've never seen a couple before."
Aden watched keenly as Lexa's eyes travelled over to Lincoln and Octavia, who were now surrounded by the remainder of the delinquents, narrowing slightly when she noticed the absence of a certain blonde. Bingo .
She sniffed disdainfully, a small frown tugging at her lips, and Anya cocked her head in confusion.
"What just crawled up your ass and died?"
"Nothing," Lexa responded sharply, and at Anya's narrowed gaze, she shrugged, "just tired, I
guess. C'mon, let's round up Lincoln and go home." Maybe his idea wasn't as hopeless as he thought.
——————————————————————
Lexa was still riding out the euphoria of celebrating her first victory of the season, first with her team and family, and then with Costia.
She'd been greeted with a great round of applause when she'd entered Niylah's classroom the following Monday morning, even earning a smug little smile from Niylah's herself. Costia detached herself from Lexa with a quick peck on the cheek before going to her seat across the room, a proud little smirk on her features.
Lexa dipped her head in a quick thank you and took her seat beside Clarke, who had her head buried into her copy of Pride and Prejudice, which she'd already read nearly five times, if her boasting was anything to go on.
"Ms. Woods." Niylah nodded from the back of the room by her desk, prepping her folder for the class. "You'll excuse my language, but...that was one hell of a game. You have an incredible sight and vision for the field."
Lexa smiled in response, sitting ever so properly, legs tucked like she was some actress doing an interview.
"I'm proud to represent our school, Ms. Crewe." She responded, full lips in a lush smile.
Oh, and of course, she had the confidence and charm to go with her looks: today, it was back to business, her shirt sleeves rolled, her collar crisper and more orderly than Clarke's entire existence.
"Talk amongst yourselves." Niylah's instructions excited the class a little. "I'm just printing your copies of the assignment we're about to discuss, shouldn't take long."
Octavia and Raven burst into chatter from their seats, going on about some "moonshine" or "rocket fuel", Lexa couldn't quite decipher what the hell they actually meant. Clarke kept her face buried into the novel on her desk, completely ignoring Lexa's existence.
Lexa frowned. Something in her gut told her that something was very wrong, and yet, she had no clue what it was. Leaning forward, rose gold watch gleaming under the fluorescent light, she laid a hand on Clarke's shoulder.
Clarke jolted upright as if Lexa had electrocuted her.
Her blue eyes flashed with recognition, and then another emotion Lexa couldn't decipher. Her flannel was blue, and it brought out a gleam in her eyes, and Lexa couldn't help but stare.
Clarke Griffin's cerulean gaze was a mystery to her, ever compelling, ever changing. "Good morning, Clarke." Lexa spoke in her normal, direct tone.
"Hi, Lexa." Clarke's tone was clipped. She shot her gaze back down to the printed words on the page, hoping to escape Lexa, and instead run into the clutches of Elizabeth Bennet instead.
She felt she at least a little in common with the girl. They were both entirely too caught up and overwhelmed in egotistical, wealthy, materialistic assholes.
"Tell me, does the novel get better each time? Or do you just forget what happens every time you put it down?" Lexa asked in a playful tone.
Clarke lifted her gaze from the book tentatively. "Do you need something?" She asked in a mild sigh of annoyance.
Lexa furrowed her brow. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Usually you save the venom for debate hour."
"I've been better." Clarke shrugged, clapping her book shut with a loud sound. She watched Lexa's forest gaze blink in confusion. "Why don't we talk about you? You're the talk of the school, Commander."
Lexa's eyes searched Clarke's, and the gaze was so intense she had to shift away slightly. "The first victory is always the loudest." She shrugged. "Things might settle down."
"Wouldn't want that, would we?" Clarke smirked. "The Commander without her adoring fan club."
"Fan club?" Lexa smirked right back, seeming to coax Clarke out of her cold state. "Are you the president, Griffin?"
Clarke felt heat rush to her cheeks. "No, actually, I left at halftime." "I noticed." Lexa blurted it before it was controlled.
Clarke's cheeks burned, and she felt an unfamiliar flutter, (one that she'd only recently developed around Lexa- maybe the girl induced heartburn?). "You...you did?" Clarke repeated unsurely, feeling her heart hammer in her chest.
Lexa looked lost for a response. Before she could muster up the courage to say anything, even to do some damage control Clarke opened her mouth. "You were really really good." Clarke murmured with a faux encouraging smile.
Lexa felt her heart drop into her stomach for some unknown reason, and then Niylah was lecturing, and all eyes were on her.
"Okay, good morning students. I take it you and your partners have all read up to the assigned chapter?"
"Yes, Ms. Crewe." An assortment of grumbled, in varying pitches, echoed across the hollow walls of the classroom.
"Excellent." Niylah smirked. "Then, you'll be glad to know, that I've created quite the project to test your knowledge."
Several whispers erupted, many of them not so flattering to the teacher who'd just assigned a semi-heavy workload to a class of lethargic seniors.
"The project: You will have to make a detailed tri-fold board, with documentation of communication between Elizabeth and Darcy. Yes, that means letters, pictures, poems, art...be creative. Please, no Facebook posts. Something tells me that Darcy wasn't sitting around waiting to "poke" Lizzie."
Raven smirked. "Is that a negative on Instagram, too, Ms. Crewe?" "What do you think, Raven?"
"Noted."
"Now, I know you all have your reservations about actually working hard, during your senior year. I also know some of you are gifted athletes-" she smirked at Lexa, who mirrored her expression. "And great, great artists." She offered Clarke a wink, and Clarke's cheeks bloomed a crimson red.
Lexa resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"To make things more interesting..." Niylah continued, and an air of tension seemingly laid over the class like a blanket. "I'll make it worth extra credit. This story is witty, it's romantic...it's passionate. Wow me. Evoke those emotions. Show me you're working diligently every week, and I will exempt you from ten hours of mandatory community service, and I'll throw in an extra twenty points to ONE pair. Am I clear?" Niylah asked.
The students were abuzz, a great majority of them feeling the competitive air sink into their systems. Eyes widened, heart rates picked up a little, and smirks and grins were shared amongst partners.
"You have nearly two months!" Niylah reminded. "Do not squander the class time I've allotted you, please!"
Niylah allowed them to brainstorm as she went back to her seat.
Lexa turned to Clarke with a telltale smile, eyes raking the blonde's smirk. "You ready, princess?"
She hadn't known where that came from.
Clarke cocked an eyebrow. "Princess?" She teased. "You been hanging out with Bellamy Blake?"
"The class president?" Lexa scoffed blankly, shaking her head.
"Oh..." Clarke shrugged nonchalantly. "That's his thing. Only he calls me that." Lexa couldn't understand why that didn't sit well with her.
"Anyway, the project." Clarke cleared her throat awkwardly, shooting a glance at Costia, who looked a little too into it as well, discussing something with her partner in great detail. "I have an idea."
"You do?" Lexa asked gently, following her gaze to Costia, but somehow ending up watching Clarke's hands as she rummaged around in her bag, pulling out a particularly short pencil, almost down to the stub.
"Do you need to borrow a pen?" Lexa asked with a wry smile. "That one's kind of...short."
Clarke looked away sheepishly, and Lexa felt guilt bubble in her chest. Had she said something wrong?
"It's my art pencil. It's the last one in the package, I've been trying to make it last." Clarke sighed, cheeks red, as if this were some sort of sin.
Then again, with Lexa's bodacious golden watch just glimmering seconds away, Clarke really did feel inadequate with her stub of a pencil that she'd spent nearly three quarters of her allowance on. "I spent your tip on this." She added softly.
Lexa nodded, entirely engrossed in the way Clarke's tongue was poking out as she set her hands free on the paper, drawing several lines.
"Your painting..." Lexa began, remembering the vivid scenery of the night sky kissing the forest all over again. "It was amazing."
Clarke looked up, and her cerulean pools met Lexa's virid expanse of forest in a hot little gaze before it dropped down to her work. "Thank you." Was all she murmured in response.
Clarke decided to take a playful tone, feeling a weight akin to an anvil settle on her chest. "Listen up, lover girl." She smirked, eyes never leaving the sketch.
Lexa cocked a brow, but smirked all the same. "Hmm?"
"I take my grades seriously. In fact, my art scholarship is dependent on my perfect GPA."
"I hadn't expected any less from a goody-two shoes like you." Lexa retorted, craning her neck to see Clarke's etchings but instead found they were still indiscernible.
"Hey!" Clarke snapped with a smile. "I'm not! I punched a kid, remember?"
"Yeah, but you also live up Niylah's ass." Lexa fired back, smirk firmly in place. "Or, is that for another reason?"
Clarke rolled her eyes, blush creeping its way back to her cheeks. "Lexa Woods. I'm telling you this once. I'm your partner, and I'm competitive as hell, and if I so much as catch you shooting your pathetic air-kisses towards your girlfriend during our competition for extra credit, I will end you." She added the last part with a smirk, hiding the sudden emptiness in her words.
"And you'll do your part?" Lexa teased.
"What's that?" Clarke asked with a playful sigh of exasperation. "Keep kissing Niylah's ass so we'll win?"
"Lexa Woods. Shut. Up."
"Make me. Don't think that I don't kn-"Lexa never finished, because Clarke had shoved the sketch into her hands. On it was an elegant, nearly spot-on depiction of two, soft, delicate looking hands, one slightly larger than the other, laced perfectly.
Lexa recognized the scene from the movie almost immediately. "Wow," she murmured, her fingers tracing the fine lines of graphite in awe. "This is an incredible talent you have, Clarke."
"Sometimes, the simplest, most innocent gestures are the most romantic." Clarke sighed, a little too dreamily than intended. "Touch is powerful. It can be so sensual without being invasive."
Lexa nodded slowly, swallowing audibly. "Crewe would like this."
Clarke shook her head, smiling numbly. "I can do the art, if you can supply the poems. I hear you're gifted with that tongue."
Lexa's eyebrows shot up, and Clarke backtracked, eyes wild. "I mean, poetically! I'm sorry...I...that wasn't very smooth..."
Lexa let out a soft chuckle that stopped Clarke dead in her tracks. She smirked. "I am, for the record."
Lexa blinked. She was usually so formal, so well mannered. Where the hell had that come from? Clarke rolled her eyes. "Be still my heart."
The two, in the midst of their heated banter, hadn't realized how much time had passed. The bell rang, and the students freed themselves with the eagerness of prisoners in a jail break.
Lexa stood, clutching Clarke's picture with a wry smile. "I'll see you at my game, Griffin." She smirked, before tossing her bag over her shoulder, without waiting for a reply.
Costia was in her arms before the two were even out the door.