Chapter Text
2 Months Until Graduation
The trouble all started because she was bored.
It was a warm Wednesday evening. The sun was slowly setting over campus, a flat sphere painting the sky ruby red and burnt orange and deep purples and blues. The artist inside of Clarke wanted to paint it all, but her fingers were still sore from her recently completed art project. Instead, she sat on the edge of her best friend Raven’s bed, stretched her fingers, and watched the sun make its descent from the small second-story window. She watched it until it was gone, the sky now black with sprinklings of stars and a bright moon peaking out from behind wispy white clouds.
Once it was gone, that annoying companion boredom came creeping back with a vengeance.
“I’m bored,” Clarke announced, falling back onto Raven’s bed with a sigh.
Raven was lounging in her pajamas, legs crossed at the ankles and a weighty textbook on her lap. She hummed, nodded, and licked a finger to flip the page.
“I’m bored,” Clarke repeated for emphasis, just in case Raven didn’t hear her the first time.
“I heard you the first time,” Raven said, her eyes never leaving her textbook.
Well then.
“Some of us have exams to study for, Clarke.”
Clarke snorted. “When did you start caring about school?”
“When I started having to pay for it,” Raven deadpanned.
They lulled into silence for a few moments until Clarke sighed again. Raven groaned and leveled Clarke with a glare. “Look, if you—”
The door flew open, making them jump. Raven’s roommate, Octavia, stomped into the room, sweat dripping down down her flushed, scrunched up face. She peeled her light blue Ark University shirt off and chucked it to the floor like a fireball and tossed her bags onto her bed on the opposing wall, mumbling curses all the while.
Clarke and Raven shared a knowing look.“Lexa?” they said in unison.
Octavia rolled her eyes and sat on her bed. “Who else?” she huffed, sitting on the edge of her bed and kicking off her shoes.
Finally, some entertainment. Clarke sat up fully and faced Octavia, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “What did she do this time?”
“Bitch told Coach Indra she didn’t think I was fit to play because she caught me smoking with Lincoln the other day. So guess what?” Octavia laughed humorlessly, shaking her head in disbelief. “I’m not allowed to play in our last game and I have to write an essay on why smoking is bad. Due Friday.”
“Damn.”
“That sucks.”
“Tell me about it.” Octavia rubbed the palms of her hands on her gym shorts. “I want to make her pay. She’s always been a prissy little bitch, it’s about time someone put her in her place.”
“Well, what are you waiting for.” Clarke’s eyes sparkled with unbidden joy. “Let’s do it. Let’s make her pay.”
“Clarke,” Raven warned in a low tone.
“What?” Clarke shrugged. “I’m done with most of my exams. Besides work and waiting for graduation, I have nothing else to do.”
Raven shook her head. “Well count me out, I’d actually like to graduate on time. Wouldn’t that be nice guys? Graduating? On time?”
Clarke dragged her eyes from Raven to Octavia and Raven exhaled a frustrated sigh. “How do you want to make her pay?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Octavia smirked and placed her elbows on her knees, leaning forward conspiratorially. “A little birdie told me she likes girls—”
“Pfft,” Clarke waved a hand, “that’s old news. She was co-captain of the LGBT club at her high school, she helped form it, and she’s just getting out of a relationship with Costia.”
Raven arched a brow and looked up from her textbook. “Gee. Stalk much?” she asked Clarke.
Clarke rolled her eyes. “It’s common knowledge, Raven.”
“Um,” Raven’s brow furrowed as she smiled sardonically, “no it’s not, Clarke.”
“Yeah,” Octavia nodded slowly, looking at Clarke like she’d grown two heads. “That’s totally not common knowledge, Clarke.”
Clarke tried not to roll her eyes again as they scrutinized her. She ducked her head and grumbled, “Do you want my help or not?”
“Yeah… so, anyway,” Octavia drawled, “we could use her digging chicks to our advantage.”
“How could we— whoa there.” Clarke leaned back with wide eyes. “I know what you’re thinking, and my answer is no. Wait, scratch that, my answer is hell no.”
Octavia tsked. “Chickening out on me already, Griffin?"
“No,” Clarke said firmly, checking her nails with feigned nonchalance, “I just don’t want to fake date that weirdo in order to help you pull some stunt.”
Octavia lit up like a Christmas tree and her posture straightened.“You know… I wasn’t thinking that way at all, but… now that you’ve mentioned it… that’s actually a great idea.” She tapped her chin, a plan brewing in her mind. “You pretend you like her… she starts liking you… you get some info and then boom, we crush her.”
“What’s in it for me?” Clarke shot back, her voice harsher than before. “I’m not gonna do this shit for free.”
“The satisfaction of knocking Lexa off her high horse?”
“Eh.”
“Twenty bucks?”
“Make it fifty.”
“Oh, honestly, Clarke,” Octavia frowned. “Fifty? Are you kidding me?”
“What can I say? My work is expensive. Not to mention, Lexa and I… we… we were kind of friends once.” Clarke paused. Memories flashed through her mind and heat rushed to her cheeks. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat, ignoring Raven and Octavia’s shocked expressions. Her eyes hardened. “I don’t want to talk about it. It was a long time ago and we didn’t end on good terms. Now if you want someone who can get the inside scoop, I’m your girl. But that comes with a price.”
“Fine.” Octavia sighed and rolled her shoulders. “I’m giving you a deadline though: you have 4 weeks. Every week you give me new information, I’ll give you ten bucks. The final week, I’ll give you twenty. By the end of four weeks, you’ll have your fifty, and I’ll have my sweet, sweet revenge. Best part? All of this shit will be done before graduation and Lexa will be miserable.” Octavia looked like she was on cloud nine.
“Four weeks? That’s all you’re giving me?”
“Hey, you said your work is expensive, prove why. I’ll even give you a head-start, next week can be your planning week. I won’t pay you and you don’t have to come to me with anything. You in?”
Clarke weighed her options.
While this could permanently cure her boredom dilemma and give her some extra cash, it could also potentially get her in big trouble.
She always did like to live on the wild side. And really, what’s the worst that could happen?
A devilish smile worked its way onto her face and Octavia brightened.“I’m in.”
“Idiotas,” Raven mumbled.
A week later.
Lexa blinked once, twice, then a third time. “How odd.”
Lexa Woods was no fool.
She was fluent in three languages, star of her University’s soccer team, an excellent martial artist, hardworking, determined, and she would be graduating with honors in two months. She was also observant, and it was that skill in particular that made her notice Clarke Griffin sitting on the bleachers for the third time that week.
But then again, the whole team noticed. It was an odd sight.
Clarke Griffin was a known party girl, not a sports girl. She would tailgate or come a party after a game, she would even come to a home-game once every blue moon, but that was so she could flirt with anything that moved.
The first time Lexa had seen Clarke sitting on the bleachers, she thought she was there to get her friend, Octavia, back in the final game through bad sweet-talk and weak promises. As soon as practice was over, though, Clarke left silently with her backpack slung over her shoulder. The next day, the same thing happened. Clarke watched them practice then left just as quietly as she had arrived.
Despite every fiber of her being telling her to stay away from Clarke, Lexa wanted to know why she was there.
The blonde’s presence was distracting the team.
“You’re staring.”
Lexa jolted and glanced at her friend and teammate Anya. Practice had just ended and players were tired and streaming toward the locker room. Lexa and Anya were both drenched in sweat, their shirts sticking to them like second skin. Anya smirked and held a chilled water bottle to her cheek. Lexa rolled her eyes and redirected her attention to Clarke. Clarke was looking right back at her. The blonde gave her a goofy smile and waved, and Lexa grimaced and reluctantly waved back.
“It’s the third time this week Clarke has watched us practice.”
“I know.”
“Clarke never comes to our practices,” Lexa added, resisting the urge to point accusingly at the blonde sitting on the bleachers, hunched over a book of some sort and dressed in a breezy white shirt and dark blue jeans. “Why is she here?”
“I don’t know,” Anya answered, looking bored.
“Maybe she’s just here to watch us practice,” Lexa mused.
“Party girl Griffin?” Anya scoffed. “I doubt that.” She took a sip of water and swished it around in her mouth. She swallowed, nudged Lexa, and jerked her head towards Clarke. “Talk to her,” she suggested as she walked off.
Talk to her.
Lexa took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
With the sun beaming on her back and a mix of apprehension, dread, and curiosity churning in the pit of her stomach, she approached the foot of the bleachers. She climbed the stairs, every metal step creaking under the weight of her feet, and stopped at a row ahead of Clarke. A shiver ran up her spine.
It’s now or never.
She sat down and rested her arms on her knees. Silence engulfed them. Lexa looked out over the freshly mowed field, green grass perfectly manicured. It calmed her.
“You’re still my favorite person to draw.”
Clarke’s voice came out barely above a whisper and Lexa bit her bottom lip, staring straight ahead. Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them away. She breathed in, willing herself to be strong, and exhaled slowly. “Why are you here, Clarke,” she demanded.
“I wanted to see you.”
Lexa turned her head to look at Clarke and gave her a withering look. “If this is about Octavia—”
“No,” Clarke said firmly, waving her hands like the very idea was ridiculous. “I mean… yeah, I heard about what happened, but she deserved that. She knows the rules."
Lexa relaxed slightly, but her eyes remained narrowed suspiciously. “Your presence is distracting my team. I suggest you stop coming.”
“Distracting the team or distracting you?” Clarke shot back, eyebrows raised in amusement.
Lexa closed her eyes, her face pinching tightly with irritation. She shook her head, laughing humorlessly. This was a waste of her time. She opened her eyes and stood up. “Have a good day, Clarke.”
Before Lexa could move any further, Clarke called out to her. “Wait! Wait! Lexa! Wait! I was joking! That was—ugh that was dumb and childish and-and… I’m sorry. Please stay.”
There was something about the tone of her voice, the urgency, that made Lexa sit back down.
“I’m here because…” Clarke let out a shaky breath, “we’re graduating soon and I fucked up. Big time. I miss you. I miss the friendship we once had. I miss drawing you. Losing you made me lose my muse and I haven’t had it since. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Can we start over? Please?”
Lexa looked at Clarke and her heart broke at the sight. The blonde’s eyes were red-rimmed, her cheeks flushed. She looked a mess and yet Lexa felt like she was seeing her for the first time. She straightened her posture. “I forgive you,” she said.
Clarke’s eyes widened hopefully. “You do?”
“I do.”
“Have coffee with me? My treat?”
“Right now?” Clarke gave Lexa her best puppy dog eyes and Lexa melted like goo. “Fine,” she sighed and stood up. “Just let me get showered and changed. I won’t be long.”
“I don’t mind waiting forever for you.”
"Smooth." Lexa rolled her eyes and jogged down the stairs.
Was letting Clarke back into her life a good decision?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Despite the uneasiness in her gut, she couldn’t stop smiling.