"Your eyes, so crystal green
Sour apple baby, but you taste so sweet
You got hips like Jagger and two left feet
And I wonder if you'd like to meet"
-
"Jesus, Griffin!"
Clarke looks around the stack of boxes in her arms, towards a struggling Raven lugging a dolly of Clarke's belongings into the lobby of her new apartment building. She gasps dramatically as she stops, setting the boxes on the dolly upright. She leans an arm against them, squinting at Clarke, "What did you put in these?"
Clarke ignores her as she tries to reach for the elevator button, the boxes in her arm now only blocking her view but keeping her from reaching. She leans her back against the side of the wall, extending her pinkie in hopes of pressing it. Raven is too caught up in trying to get the dolly back up that she fails to notice.
Finally, she feels her finger hit the button, and the ding! the elevator lets out sends a wave of relief through her. As soon as she steps foot inside, she sets the boxes down as carefully as she can, staying crouched down beside them and taking a few deep breaths.
"In hindsight," Clarke says, "Maybe I should have been a little more careful about how I packaged things."
"'Maybe'?"
They each take a few breaths as they wait for the doors to close. Clarke is just about to pick herself up to press the button for her floor when a woman sneaks into the elevator, squeezing past the dolly and stopping right in front of Clarke. She looks down at her, green eyes examining the situation before she points to the buttons.
"Floor?" Clarke mumbles 6, noting how it's the only button the gorgeous woman presses. She picks herself up, leaning on the wall as the elevator begins its ascension. Clarke mumbles a thank you before looking into her eyes, and the two of them share a smile.
She appears to be coming in from work. Clarke admires the expensive-looking striped blazer and pressed trousers that have remained pristine throughout what must've been a long work day. Her hair is up in a ponytail, with a few loose pieces framing her face nicely. She has perfect cheekbones, and Clarke thinks that this woman would be a wonderful model for her sketches.
The ding of the elevator coming to a stop brings Clarke a little closer to Earth. She bends down to pick up her boxes at the same time the other woman reaches down to grab the first one off her pile. Clarke tries to stop her, "Oh! You don't have to do that..."
"What better way to welcome you to the building?" The woman smiles politely, stepping out of the elevator after Raven has made it out safely with the dolly of boxes. Clarke follows suit.
"Thank you," Clarke's cheeks turn pink, and she steps around both of them to lead the way, "I'm Clarke. Clarke Griffin. And this is my assistant, Raven Reyes."
Raven scoffs, "Har-har. I'm her best friend. You'll see me around frequently. But only because her shower is heaven and she has a working stove."
"I'm Lexa Woods," The woman introduces herself. Clarke thinks nothing of it, but Raven shoots her a look behind the boxes, making sure to hide it from Lexa. Clarke notes the oh my god look in Raven's eyes. She shoots Raven a what? look, but doesn't keep her eyes on Raven long enough to see her response.
She sets her box down once more, long enough to unlock the door to her new apartment. She lets Lexa go in ahead of both of them. Raven comes up beside her as she pushes the dolly past the threshold.
"Lexa Woods?" Raven asks urgently.
"Yeah?" Clarke affirms.
Raven groans and rolls her eyes, "Griffin, you're an idiot."
"What? Why?" Clarke whispers, but Raven doesn't have a chance to answer as they come into the main living area.
Clarke watches Lexa approach the piles of boxes surrounding Clarke's living room couch. She sets her box down, dusting her hands on her pants and looking around. Clarke sets hers down as well, and Raven drops the dolly off and tosses herself down onto the recliner that sits on the left side of the coffee table and main couch.
The apartment itself is very empty. The only things visible are the collection of boxes and the furniture the moving company brought down a few days ago. It's got a very modern vibe; with greys and whites and blacks making up the countertops, cabinets, floors, and everything else. Clarke thought it looked drab the second she walked in when she was looking around for apartments. But she sees a potential in it that she can't really describe. It would take a little work, but she plans to bring some color to this place.
"Thank you," Clarke says again, approaching Lexa. Lexa's attention turns over to her, and the smile that takes over her face is breathtaking. She reaches out a hand, and they shake in official greeting.
"It's not a problem, Clarke. Raven," Lexa reaches over to shake Raven's hand as well, who had sat up. Once she lets go, she holds up a finger to tell each of them to wait, then approaches the counter. By the phone on the kitchen counter is a pen and paper that Clarke had left with some groceries she planned to get later. Lexa grabs the pen and flips to the next page, scribbling something down, "I'm going to leave my number for you, in case you need anything. Don't hesitate to call or text. We're neighbors now, right?"
"Right," Clarke grins appreciatively, "Thank you so much. That means a lot."
"Of course. Have a great first night in the building. You chose a really nice place," Lexa tells her, stepping towards the door to dismiss herself, "I'll see you around?"
"Sure."
With that, Lexa leaves. The second the door closes, Raven turns to her, mouth agape, "Oh. My god. You're dumb. You're actually dumb."
"Why are you making the same face you made when we went to that nerd mechanic convention you dragged me to?" Clarke raises a brow, genuinely confused.
"That's the Lexa Woods! As in the owner of L Industries?! She's a complete badass!" Raven shouts, grabbing Clarke's arm and shaking. Clarke's eyes widen.
"Wait, really?"
"Would it kill you to listen to anything that I say?" Raven rolls her eyes, "I must have talked about her before. She's on the cover of that magazine I was showing you, like, three weeks ago!"
"Oh!" Clarke mocks excitement, "No. Nope, I don't remember that. I have a lot going on in my mind. That's when I was making the final decision on where I was going to live, remember?"
"Yadda, yadda," Raven dismisses, "Whatever. I hope you know I plan on coming by a lot more if Lexa Woods lives in this building."
Clarke just shrugs and goes over to her boxes, "And to use my shower, right?" Raven laughs, "Come help me unpack."
Raven squints.
"Please."
For the next hour, Raven helps Clarke unpack. They make decent headway, and get through about three of what Clarke would consider the "most important" boxes that hold items she uses from her day-to-day. They order takeout, which Clarke goes to pick up, then after they've finished eating, Raven leaves.
Clarke unpacks one last box before she drops down on the couch, a glass of wine in hand. She checks the time: 10:32. It's been an incredibly long day... she sighs.
She finds herself looking around at her half-completed apartment. It doesn't feel like home yet, but it's getting closer. She stares at the fireplace just across from the couch, noting the big empty spot that she knew upon buying this apartment would be perfect for her TV. Not too far to the right of the fireplace is the new TV itself. Still in the box. The wall mount she bought is right beside it. Could she do it alone? Probably not...
Clarke gets an idea.
She gets up, sets her glass aside, and heads for the counter. Flipping past her grocery list, she looks down at what Lexa had written earlier. Lexa Woods, 576-765-3332. She pulls her phone from her pocket and types the number in, adding Lexa to her contacts.
Clarke types a few potential messages before she finally settles on:
Me: Are you interested in helping me hang a TV? -Clarke Griffin
She's about to close the app and wait for a response when she sees the bubble indicating Lexa is typing pop up not even a few seconds later.
Lexa: I'll be down in ten.
Clarke's heart rate picks up significantly. Ten minutes?
She takes off down the hallway, sliding down the wooden floors in her fuzzy socks. She comes to a stop outside of her door, nearly slamming into it. She heads inside to her bathroom and looks in the mirror. She fluffs her blonde hair, refreshes her lipstick, and pulls her shirt down to reveal a little more cleavage.
She spends a minute or two adjusting her boobs, actually.
Wait.
Clarke pauses.
What the fuck am I doing? I just met this woman...
Ten minutes seems to be a lot shorter than Clarke remembers it being, because before she can even start to think about why she just spent so long making herself look presentable to hang a TV, there's a knock at her apartment door.
Clarke makes a quiet beeline for the door, pausing long enough to catch her breath and peek through the peephole to make sure it's Lexa standing there. She takes an extra second when she notices Lexa has changed from her outfit earlier.
She looks significantly different. Instead of the pantsuit from earlier, Lexa is in sweatpants and a crop top. Her hair is down, and she's wearing a pair of big golden-framed glasses. She looks so beautiful that Clarke's chest aches.
This is creepy. Am I being creepy? God, this is so creepy.
She opens the door.
"Hello, Clarke," Clarke watches Lexa's face light up.
"Hi," Clarke sighs out, "Come on in."
"I see you've unpacked a little," Lexa notes, looking around at the various knick knacks and objects now filling the space a little more, "I'm glad you're getting comfortable."
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Clarke offers, heading for the kitchen.
"Whatever you're having is fine," Lexa says, noting the glass on Clarke's coffee table. Clarke nods and grabs her bottle and a fresh glass, pouring some for Lexa. When she comes back to the living room, Lexa has plopped down on the floor beside Clarke's unopened TV. She looks up as Clarke comes in, accepting the glass and taking a sip.
"I guess this is the TV in question?"
"Sure is," Clarke lowers herself down beside Lexa.
Lexa sets her glass down on the floor beside her, grabbing onto the box and turning it around. She looks over it, "Ah. Good choice."
Clarke looks a little closer. If she's being honest, she wasn't really paying attention when her and Raven went shopping for electronics. Raven knows a lot more about that stuff. She sees the L Industries logo and chuckles, "Oh! Yeah... Raven picked it out."
"Lucky for you, I know quite a bit about setting these up," Lexa winks.
"I would hope so," Clarke jokes. They smile at one another.
Lexa starts to open the box. She pulls each item out one at a time, abandoning the instructions in the box. As Lexa begins organizing herself, she implores, "So... what caused your move?"
Clarke thinks for a second as Lexa gets the wall mount and begins fiddling with it. Now, that she does look at the instructions for, "I'm not sure, exactly. I think I just... needed a change in scenery. My old apartment was starting to make me feel a little claustrophobic."
"I understand," Lexa looks over at Clarke as she gets up to grab her tool chest. She looks a little surprised that Clarke even has a tool chest. (To be fair, Clarke only has it because Raven insisted that everyone should own a wrench.) "Well, you picked a really nice building. Most everyone here is kind and polite. This woman just a floor below you, Indra, actually helped me cook dinner for my ex-girlfriend's family once. These people have shown me true community."
Clarke tries not to let ex-girlfriend bring out any emotion onto her face. But it's not discouraging to know she's into women...
"That will be refreshing, to say the least," Clarke sighs out, thinking of her old complex. Nobody could be bothered to treat others with even the slightest common courtesy.
"Certainly."
Clarke watches Lexa put the wall mount together. She only looks at the instructions once. Clarke has only ever seen Raven take to something like this this quickly. Clarke can understand why Raven would have such respect for her. She knows the two will get along.
Assuming Lexa and her spend more time together. Is it too presumptuous to think there's a chance of that? They just met...
"How long have you lived here?" Clarke finds herself asking.
"Two years now, I think. I'm upstairs on the top floor," Lexa answers, pausing long enough to take a sip of her wine.
"The penthouse?" Clarke has to admit, she isn't really surprised. A woman such as Lexa was bound to be the owner. Clarke would never tell her she had inquired about the penthouse when looking into the building, but had settled with this room when she found out it had been sold awhile ago.
"Yes."
"How's the view?"
"Lovely," Lexa nods, adding, "You should come see it sometime. Hand me the screwdriver?"
Clarke tries not to let her excitement take over, "Is that a direct request?"
"To hand me the screwdriver? Yes."
"No," Clarke says quickly as she reaches for it, passing it over to Lexa, "I meant--"
"I know what you meant," Lexa smiles teasingly at Clarke, "Yes, I would like it if you came up to see me sometime. I'm having a dinner party this weekend, actually. You're more than welcome to come. It's Saturday at seven PM."
"I would love to," Clarke jumps on the invite. Lexa rises from her spot on the floor to begin installing the mount into the wall. She situates it and asks Clarke to keep a steady hold on it while she screws it into the wall. Clarke suddenly remembers, "I might be a little late, though. I have work."
"Where do you work?" Lexa asks, a little confused seeing as she usually gets out of work before six even hits. Unless she stays late, though...
"The hospital a few blocks away," Clarke explains, "I'm in my fifth year of residency with them."
"Doctor Griffin, huh?" Lexa glances over the drill at Clarke, a flirty look in her eyes.
"Yes."
"You should really open with that."
Clarke pauses, nearly letting the mount slip in her hands, "Huh?"
"I mean it makes me a little more attracted to you than I already am," Lexa tells her bluntly. It doesn't seem to affect Lexa any, but Clarke sputters. Lexa steps back once the mount is done, and Clarke realizes she is still staring when Lexa asks, "Help me get the TV attached?"
"What? Oh, right, of course," Clarke stumbles, letting go of the mount and stepping back to assist Lexa. Man. And I thought Lexa would be helping me.
Lexa giggles at Clarke's behavior. Clarke thinks she hears her mumble a "cute," but she can't be sure. Clarke blindly follows Lexa's instructions, and it isn't until Lexa tells her they've finished that Clarke even comes to realize she's been watching Lexa the past few minutes. They each take a step back to admire their work.
(Well... Lexa's work.)
"Looks good," Clarke comments.
"I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my evening," Lexa teases. Clarke blushes.
Clarke gets an idea, "Hang on. Can you plug in the TV and get it on? I'll be right back."
"Sure?" Lexa nods, getting to work. Clarke vanishes in her piles of boxes long enough to produce her playstation, and by the time she comes back Lexa has plugged in and switched on the TV. When she sees what Clarke is holding, she gasps, "Video games?"
Clarke bows her head dramatically, "As thanks, we can play a round of any game you want."
"Obviously, I accept. Is two or three rounds too much to ask for?" Lexa persuades, stepping closer to grab a controller with a little smirk that drives Clarke's heart crazy.
"Obviously not," Clarke knows she may regret it tomorrow morning, but how could she say no to someone who's so fucking cute?
As they get settled into Clarke's sofa, Clarke can't help but think that she's never seen a more beautiful stranger. She has a very, very good feeling about this.