Chapter Text
The line between stressed out and psychotic break was growing weaker and smaller the more Lexa stared at table arrangements. The problem with being the maid of honor meant she needed to be there, constantly. Ever since her older sister, Anya got engaged, Lexa Woods’ opinions suddenly had weight. Whether it was about the centerpieces, the DJ, if tables should sit 8 or 12, or where Aunt Jody should sit to minimize the number of upset relatives; it was always,
“What do you think Lex?” Anya held up two different types of fancy napkins. Lexa uncrossed her legs, turning her attention away from her texts to her sister’s extended hands.
“Aren’t they the same?” Lexa briefly stated, continuing to tap at her messages. Anya rolled her eyes.
“You barely even looked at them. Come on Lexa, be helpful at least once.” Lexa sent her message and set her phone down, finally looking up at her sister.
“An, no one is going to be looking at the napkins. No one is going to care that we spent 30 minutes deciding if we should match the plates with your shoes. Can’t you just choose one so we can go home.” Her sister rolled her eyes again, placing the napkins on the table.
“My wedding is in 4 months Lex, I just want everything to be ready and perfect so I am not stressing days before.” Lexa crossed her arms and sighed, preparing herself for the guilt speech. She loved her sister and wished she could be more excited for her, but watching her sister squeal over flower arrangements made her realize how much things have changed and how important her sister has been in her life. The sister that chased her around the backyard with a wooden sword, the sister that punched Tom Fielder in the nose for harassing Lexa when she was going through her emo phase in the 10th grade, the sister that stayed up all night with her as she cried after Costia broke her heart last year. Now they were here, sitting at a restaurant downtown, planning for a summer wedding and the inevitable end of Lexa being able to rely on her sister 24/7.
Lexa sighed again, grabbing the napkins across the table, glancing back and forth: napkin to napkin to her sister, who was holding her breath across the table.
“This one. The pattern will go with the centerpiece.” Lexa tossed the winning cloth back at her sister, leaning back in her chair as Anya cracked a smile,
“Good. That was the one I picked out in my head. I just needed confirmation from my maid of honor.” Anya scrunched her nose at her younger sister and watched as she received an eye roll and a stuck-out tongue.
“Okay that’s the last thing I needed you for. We can go.” Anya said as she collected her binders full of Pinterest wedding photos and pulled out cash for tip.
“Where’s that fiancé of yours?” Lexa asked, tossing Anya’s cash back at her, placing her own tip on the table.
“Shouldn’t she be helping you? I mean aren’t I in charge of the bachelorette party and driving the getaway car if you change your mind.” Lexa pulled out her sunglasses out of her shoulder bag and stood up.
“Raven said all she needs to do is show up, say yes, get drunk, and fly off to our honeymoon.” Anya stood up too, leading her sister out of the restaurant, thanking the hostess at the door.
“Plus, I figure it's good sister bonding time since we barely see each other outside the office.”
Anya and Raven dated during the last years of university and were probably the best example of opposites attract. Anya was calm, serious, and more of a realist. Raven, on the other hand, was off the wall, spontaneous, and incredibly loud, especially when she was three shots in. Nothing about them screamed perfect couple, but somehow, they worked well together. Lexa liked Raven only when she wasn’t getting under her skin. But she made Anya smile and laugh till she couldn’t breathe. She treated her sister better than any of the people she dated in the past and that’s all Lexa could ask for in her future sister- in-law.
As for not seeing her sister as often, Lexa became increasingly preoccupied as she gained a greater role in her parents’ company. Both sisters worked under their parents at their law firm, working to become managing partners by the time their parents decide it was time to pass the torch. After years of schooling and internships, the Wood’s sisters were nearly there.
“This isn’t fair. I’m not the one getting married.” Lexa complained as she unlocked the door to her car. Anya leaned against her sister’s car,
“Just think of it as an IOU when it’s your turn.” That earned another eye roll from the younger Woods.
“Yeah right. Will you be at home for Sunday dinner?” Lexa settled into the driver’s seat, rolling her window down to hear her sister’s answer.
“Yeah. Raven’s coming. She’s going to bring her bridesmaids so you can finally meet them,” Anya leaned down against the window, “It would have happened sooner if you came to the bar with us Friday nights.”
“Pshh! Loud music, drunk girls, even worse, drunk dudes. I’ll pass.” Lexa started her engine. Anya pinched her baby sister’s cheek,
“Too cool for a good time Lex? We are going again tonight. You have to come.” Lexa tilted her sunglasses down and gave her sister a wink.
“See you around An.” She watched her sister enter her car before speeding out of the parking lot back home, watching her sister flip her off in the rear-view mirror.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Clarke tapped her fingers on her steering wheel waiting at a red light when she got a call on her phone. A contact photo of her and best friend appeared on her screen as she tapped the accept and speaker buttons.
“Hey Rae. What’s up?”
“Clarke! Please tell me you are free Sunday? There’s a dinner at the Woods and I need to remind you how much money I am marrying into.” Clarke chuckled at her friend. Clarke knew Raven loved Anya more than anything, but she knew her friend couldn’t help herself with the jokes of her future in-law’s wealth.
“I think so. Just send me the address again and I’ll be there. Where are you right now?” Clarke asked, gassing her beat up car through the green light.
“At home. Got to get ready for tonight.” Friday’s were the nights they went out with their friends. Octavia, who they knew since high school. Her brother, Bellamy and his girlfriend, Echo. Sometimes Monty and Harper would show and drag along Jasper, but never the less it was crazy fun. Anya, Raven’s fiancé started joining them a month after they started dating and she fit it quite well. Clarke was glad Raven met someone a little more level headed than her, it was probably for the best.
“Right yeah. The whole gang tonight, right? I have work tomorrow so can’t go too–” Clarke’s sentence was cut off when she realized the car in front of her stopped at the light. She gasped and slammed on the brakes. The car came to a screeching halt, but not soon enough. The front of Clarke’s car tapped the back of the black car stopped in front of her.
“Goddamn it! Raven, I have to go. I just fucked up. I’ll call you back.” She hung up before Raven could ask her what’s wrong and followed the car to the side of the road to park.
“I am so sorry. I thought I hit my brakes in time. I guess this is the part where we should exchange info. That’s usually the protocol. I’ll pay for whatever is damaged or broken or scratched. I am so sorry. This is the first time I have ever done this. It’s completely my fault. I should have just let Raven go to voicemail. I mean not that I use my phone while I drive. I don’t even know why I did that. That was like the first time. . .” Clarke stopped talking and looked up from the minimal damage to see the owner of the car. A brooding, brunette stepped out of her car, green eyes peeked out of her sunglasses, gazing only at the back of her car. Clarke openly stared at the stranger, eyes grazing over her cascading hair, watching as her sharp jawline tightened, letting out a sigh. At this moment, Clarke broke their silence,
“Again, I am so sorry. And I will pay for everything.” Clarke stammered her apology, meeting the gaze of the beautiful stranger in front of her.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
This was just perfect. Lexa was stopped at a light when her car was hit from behind.
“Great. Just great.” She moved her car to the side, watching the car behind her do the same. She started to get out when she saw a beautiful, blonde woman exit her car, hands weaving through her hair, panicked by her mistake. Lexa stared at her through her rearview mirror and smirked at the sight. As she stepped out of her car, she heard the blonde profusely apologizing for her actions.
“I am so sorry. I thought I hit my brakes in time. I guess we should exchange info and I’ll pay for whatever is. . .” Lexa inspected her car, avoiding the gaze of the woman standing before her as her sunglasses sat on the bridge of her nose. When she finally exhaled at the sight of the mere scratches on the lower part of her bumper, she met the eyes of the blonde. Deep blue-eyes stared back at her, leaving her only able to stare, silently as they stared back at her.
“Again, I am so sorry. And I will pay for everything.” Another apology that Lexa barely heard as she was thoughtful planning what she wanted her first words to be.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“Do you always get this chatty when you do something wrong?” the brunette quirked her eyebrows. Clarke let herself breathe again. This woman was joking with her and she couldn’t help but smile back at her.
“Well, usually when I talk too much, people ignore me and leave me alone,” she tilted her head playfully at the woman, earning herself a smile,
“However, under these circumstances, I was hoping my lengthy apology would gain some empathy from the kind person I rear-ended. Just so you wouldn’t yell at me.” Clarke looked back at the damage, avoiding the smiley green eyes that seemed more amused than upset.
“And how did you know I would be nice?” Her voice was soothing, edged with a flirty tone, or at least what Clarke assumed was flirty.
“I mean, you look like you could break me in half, but it was a shot in the dark.” A dark jacket hugged the woman’s body, paired with a white collared t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Her overall ambiance radiated scary. Clarke didn’t realize she was staring until the strange spoke,
“Lexa. My name is Lexa,” a hand entered Clarke’s atmosphere and grounded her back to reality as she shook it, “and I would consider myself pretty nice, especially when it comes to beautiful women hitting my car.” Clarke’s eyes shot from their held hands to Lexa’s eyes. Smiley again.
“Clarke. And I am a little concerned about the amount of people hitting your car.” Clarke returned a smile.
“Well this would be the first time. Pretty memorable if you ask me.” She let go of Lexa’s hand, weaving her fingers into her hair, remembering the reason for their conversation.
“Right. Again, I am so sorry for hitting you,” Clarke scribbled her name and phone number on a napkin she found in her glove box and handed it over to Lexa, “Just let me know how much and I will pay for it.” Lexa held her hands up,
“No way. There’s barely anything wrong with it. You were right, I am pretty nice.” Lexa pushed a hand in her back pocket, using the other to take off her sunglasses and hanging them on her shirt.
“No no no. Really, I need to pay for this. I can’t just let you drive away with my car paint on your bumper.” Clarke insistently handed the woman the napkin. Lexa looked down at it and reached out to grab it.
“How about,” her fingers now holding the cloth. They both held a side of it in between their fingers, “I use your phone number when I feel like I want coffee or a drink?” Lexa held her smile, held her gaze, and held the napkin. Clarke’s cheeks rushed with red. She had just hit this lady’s car and she’s asking her out. Clarke shook her head with a smile.
“That’s really all you want? Coffee and a broken bumper?” Clarke firmly held the napkin in her hand, squinting at the smiley eyes before her.
“I mean, realistically, it would take a lot of lattes to pay for damages so I would hope I get a reply. At least, not while you were driving,” Lexa pulled the napkin out of Clarke’s grip and folded it into her back pocket.
“Oh definitely,” Clarke chuckled, “You wouldn’t be the only one I’d have to buy drinks for.”
“Well, I can’t have that. Competition isn’t healthy for me. I am not very graceful when it comes to losing.” Lexa untangled her glasses from her shirt and placed them back on her face.
“Thank you so much. I hope you weren’t going somewhere or late for something.” Clarke apologized again, avoiding the eyes hidden behind the tinted frames.
“No worries. Made my day a lot more interesting.” Lexa walked towards Clarke’s door and opened it, gesturing for the blonde to sit. Clarke laughed and entered as guided, thanking the woman with a nod.
“Thank you. I will definitely be down for a drink sometime.” Clarke said, glancing up at Lexa, leaning on the top of her door.
“Me too. It was very nice meeting you Clarke. See you soon.” Lexa closed her door and made her way back to her new beat up car. Clarke watched as she got in and zoomed off, merging into traffic with her blinker. Clarke shook her head with a smile and did the same, driving towards her apartment to get ready for her night out.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“Clarke! You had me worried sick!” Raven’s voice boomed through Clarke’s apartment as she passed through the threshold and straight to the refrigerator.
“You could have been stuck in a ditch or worse.” Her best friend was pulling out her leftover pizza as her hands wildly flared to increase the seriousness of the situation.
“I’m sorry. I rear-ended a lady’s car and was trying to figure stuff out.” Clarke yelled out as she sat on the floor in front of her bedroom mirror, applying the last phase of her night out makeup routine.
“You were in an accident?!” Pizza bits flew out of Raven’s mouth as her eyes widened at her friend’s misfortune, “Are you hurt? Did you hurt the lady? Oh no the Griffin Mobile is totaled, isn’t she?” Raven flopped on to the ground next to Clarke, feeling her forehead, moving her friend’s limbs to make sure they weren’t broken. Clarke shook off her friend, reassuringly shouting,
“Hey! Hey! I am fine. I am okay. So is the lady. So is the Griffin Mobile.” Clarke pushed Raven out of her mirror and watched as she rolled out onto her back.
“Oh. That’s good. How much shit did you get from her? Dang. How much to fix her car?” Raven sat back up, facing her friend.
“She was actually really nice about it.” Clarke slowly stated, not wanting to meet Raven’s eyes for the next part of information, “In a way, she sort of asked me out.” Clarke could feel Raven’s jaw hit the floor but continued to face the mirror, working on her mascara.
“Clarke Griffin, you are the only person I know that can hit a lady’s car, not pay for it, and have her itching to get into your pants.” Raven carefully hugged her friend. It wasn’t a secret that Clarke was depressingly single and had been for a year now. Not only was she single, but also in great need of a good time. It has become a habit of her friend group to introduce a new friend to Clarke and mention that they should spend time together. It wasn’t that Clarke wasn’t interested, it was that none of the people her friends thrusted towards her were interesting.
“I mean she was cute, but I couldn’t really do anything since I had just hit her car.” Clarke looked at Raven through the mirror as the gears in her mind were moving a thousand miles per hour. Before she could even speak, there was a knock on the door. Walking into her apartment was the rest of the crew. Octavia pushed past Bellamy as she ran into the bathroom.
“Hey Clarke! How are you? Good? Great! I need to pee.” The bathroom door slammed shut. Jasper and Monty were in the kitchen finishing off the pizza Raven left out as Bellamy sat on the couch turning on the TV to watch hockey.
“Yes. All of you please come in.” Clarke waved a hand, “Please use my faculties and eat my food.” A symphony of hello’s and thank you’s mumbled out of her friends’ mouths and all Clarke could do was smile and shake her head.
“Everyone needs to shut up and pay attention. Clarkey’s got a live one.” Raven shouted behind her. All Clarke could hear was shuffling, the muting of a TV, and a flush. When she looked up from her make-up bag, she was surrounded by the eager faces of her friends.
“Well, tell us about it.” Octavia said, pushing Jasper out of the way to get a better look of her blonde friend’s face in the mirror.
“I would rather not because you guys will just make a big deal about it like you did with the mail carrier last month.” Clarke exasperated a sigh, packing away her make-up and getting up to put it away.
“Okay but to be fair, he was showing up at your house every week.” Jasper retorted, taking Monty’s pizza crust and biting it.
“He’s a mailman. That’s his job!” Clarke shouted from the bathroom. The friends exchanged looks and nodded. Probably someone should have put that one together before asking Jerry the mailman if he was single and into blondes.
“I am going to let this one play out. If she-“ Clarke started before everyone shouted, “She!” The group expelled oohs and aahs, cheering for their friend before quieting down to hear more of what she had to say.
“If SHE,” Clarke emphasized, “wants to hang out, she has my number.” Her friends howled at Clarke’s confidence. Clarke counted the amount of bodies in her apartment,
“Where’s Echo and Harp?” Bellamy checked his phone,
“Echo got called in.” Monty nodded with Bellamy,
“Harper had to cover for someone. She said she can come next time.” Octavia checked their group chat,
“Emori said she had work too, but she promised she’ll be at dinner this Sunday.” At that moment, Raven’s phone went off,
“It’s Anya, she says she’s already there with her sister. Let’s go, people! I’ve got a fiancé to grind on!”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“So, you just let her go?” Anya asked, signaling the bartender for a drink. Lexa sat next to her at the bar, music pounding as she swirled the glass in front of her. Part of her regrets telling her sister about her unusual incident and part of her wanted to gush about the beautiful women who hit her and hit on her.
“Yup.” Lexa sipped what was left in glass, flinching as Anya made a move to punch her in the arm. She smirked at her sister, who’s eyes were wide, mouth hanging open.
“What happen to your moves, little sister?” Anya brought her drink to her lips before taking a slow sip. Lexa imitated her sister, finishing off her drink, bored out of her mind. She arrived seven minutes early to her sister’s apartment to pick her up and had been sitting at the bar for 30 minutes. The neon lights of the club strobed around them, highlighting the faces of the drunk people swaying around them.
“Are they here yet?” Lexa whined, her cheeks resting in her hands, her fingers tapping to the beat of the music. Anya sighed and glanced at her phone,
“My fiancé will arrive soon and we will definitely know when she shows up. Relax, Lex. The night has not even started yet.” Anya patted her sister on the shoulder, knowing very well that her sister’s cut off was five and her bedtime had already passed. Before the song changed, a loud voice boomed over the talking, the music, and invaded Lexa’s ears.
“Oh my goodness! Do my eyes deceive me?” Lexa’s shoulders tensed as two hands grabbed them, shaking her body back and forth. She had met Raven a few times before, most of them in settings like this along with a couple family dinners where conversation always seemed to lead back to Raven’s habit of making things explode.
“Lexa baby! Great to see you.” Lexa turned around and gave Raven a hug, not surprised by the tight squeeze from her future sister-in-law. Raven squealed and then let go, glaring into Lexa’s eyes,
“How much of my wedding fund did your sister pay you to be here?” Raven turned her head to a stunned Anya, offended by the accusation.
“I was guilt tripped as well as physically forced.” Lexa shook out of Raven’s grip and watched Anya hug the side of her fiancé. Raven smiled again,
“Thank goodness. If I found out you took out of our fireworks display fund, I would have cried.” Lexa really wished Raven was kidding, but deep down she knew at the end of the wedding, she would be the clean-up crew for their pyrotechnics. Raven kissed Anya on the cheek before turning to her friends,
“Guys, you already know An. This is her little sister, Lexa.” Lexa nodded at the group in front of her, “Lexa, this is Monty and Jasper. This is Bellamy, Octavia’s older brother. Wait, where is Octavia and – “
“They went to the bathroom. Griffin has the smallest bladder.” Bellamy said, pointing behind him and promptly reaching his hand out,
“Nice to finally meet you. Anya has told us a lot about you.” Lexa shook his hand and laughed,
“All awful things I presume.” Lexa eyed her sister, who was caught up in whatever Raven was whispering to her. She watched her sister giggle as Bellamy spoke again,
“Of course. It’s the perks of being the older sibling.” Bellamy gestured to the bartender and started ordering. Lexa grabbed her drink and moved to the side, closer to Raven’s friends.
“So Lexa, Anya tells us you work with her at your parents’ company.” The dude that Raven said was Monty asked, leaning against the bar waiting for the round that Bellamy had just ordered.
“Yeah. Almost four years now. Still getting the hang of it.” Lexa stared at her drink.
“Oh please, she’s a natural,” Anya chimed in, her chin resting on Raven’s shoulder, arms wrapped around her waist, “she’s too modest this one. She double, triple checks everything I do.” Lexa’s gaze stayed glued to her glass, shaking her head at her sister’s praise. She was always the first one in the office and the last one to leave. Always going over contracts and cases, finishing the agenda for the day and getting a head start for the next. Complete perfectionist and she hated it.
“Okay,” Bellamy claps his hands and turns to the group, “Once the girls get their asses out here, we are taking a shot.” Before Lexa could protest and say she had an early day tomorrow, a black-haired girl entered their circle.
“Relax, relax. We are here. Give me my shot.” Bellamy hands the girl her drink and gestures for her to wait a second. Anya yells toward the new girl,
“Octavia, that’s my little sister over there, Lexa.” Anya pointed over to Lexa, who waved back at the girl. Octavia smiled and shook her hand,
“Hey. Good to finally meet you. Hopefully we haven’t freaked you out yet. The club usually can’t handle this.” Octavia gestured to her friends, lingering a little too long on Raven, who rolled her eyes and asked,
“Where’s Griffin? I need this shot and I need to dance with my love.” Raven reached over her shoulder and placed her hand on Anya’s cheek. Lexa knew they were touchy, but she had never seen them like this.
“She saw some friend from college. Let’s just take the shot, she can catch up.” Shots were handed out and Bellamy brought his glass to the center,
“To Raven and Anya!!” Everyone cheered and downed their drinks. Lexa hesitated a little, watching everyone take their shot. She really should cut herself off early. Before she set her drink back down on the bar, she made eye contact with her sister. Anya smiled, shaking her head, gesturing her fingers, telling her sister to take the shot. Lexa rolled her eyes, watching as she brought the glass to her lips.
“Guys, what the hell! You couldn’t wait a few minutes for me.” A voice stopped Lexa completely. A familiar blonde woman entered their circle. Black skinny jeans, a red flannel with the top 3 buttons undone. Lexa’s cheeks flushed and quickly turned her back towards the blonde.
“Sorry Clarkey. You were out voted. Here you go.” Raven handed her friend her shot.
“You can take it with Lexa. She didn’t take hers yet.” Anya’s voice was purposely louder than before. Lexa shut her eyes tight. Her sister was too damn observant. She couldn’t hide her embarrassment from her sister. Lexa slowly turned around, all eyes on her. Her eyes meeting the familiar blue ones, wide at the sight of her, mouth open out of shock. Lexa lifted her shot towards Clarke, trying desperately to keep it cool.
“Cheers.” Clarke did the same, blushing furiously and downed her shot. Everyone was quiet, not quite sure what just happened. Lexa finally pulled her gaze away from Clarke to see her sister whisper something into Raven’s ear. She watched as Raven’s eyes widened, mouth open and smiling.
“Oh my gosh!” Raven pointed at Lexa, “You’re the hot chick that hit on Clarke!” Everyone’s heads whipped to Lexa, Clarke’s forehead resting in her hand.
“Technically, Clarke hit her.” Anya gestured at Clarke, who peeked at Lexa through her hands. Their group of friends howled in laughter. Octavia hugged Clarke while Jasper held up his hand for a high five, disappointed when Bellamy made him put it down. Lexa watched as Clarke glanced at Monty with pleading eyes. Monty sighed,
“Okay. Okay, lets go get a booth so we can go dance. C’mon guys.” Monty ushered his friends toward the booths, receiving a thank you from Clarke. Anya winked at Lexa as Raven ran up to Clarke and whispered something in her ear. She watched as Clarke rolled her eyes and slapped her friend's arm before making her way to the bar. Lexa turned towards the bartender, gesturing another drink. Clarke sat beside her, putting her card down,
“I got this one Eddie.” She spoke to the bartender, waving him off with a smile.
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