Archive of Our Own

Pre-Med is like majoring in self-hatred. College only started two weeks ago and somehow she's already got four assignments. Her brain aches constantly from being drowned in information, and she can hardly remember the last time she had a spare moment to draw. 

She pulls her pillow over her face and lets herself blank out for moment, briefly daydreaming about how much less stressful her life would be if her mother had let her do an arts degree. 

Clarke is too tired to even flinch when the dorm room door slams open, her whirlwind of a high school best friend slash roommate barging in, all dark hair and rebelliousness. 

"So you remember during finals last year when I helped you study and you said you owed me big time?" Octavia begins without even checking to see if Clarke is awake, "Well, I've discovered how I'm going to cash that in. Hey, you ok there? Don't suffocate yourself."

Bright light suddenly invades Clarke's world as the younger Blake sibling tugs her lovely blue pillow away. 

Dragging a hand through her hair, Clarke comes to terms with the idea that all attempts at some relaxation will be fruitless. "All right, O, let's hear it."

A grin lights up her friend's face. A distinctly mischievous grin. The kind that brings back memories of bad plans and closely evaded detentions from past days. "Ok, you know how I told you Bell was captain of the boys' acapella group here?"

Clarke nods slowly. "Yeah, the TonDC Trebleshooters. Musical nerd royalty. And I know that look on your face, so before you ask, I am notgoing to one of their shows to heckle with you. I refuse."

Octavia looks mildly offended. "Not gonna lie, I'm a little hurt you think my plan was so weak. No, in fact, I have a much more elaborate plan for reigning supremely over my brother and becoming the golden one."

Clarke shakes her head, allowing herself a small smile for the first time that afternoon (her assigned reading of 122 pages on radiation-related birth defects hadn't exactly been smile-inducing). "You two have really got that hold 'sibling rivalry' thing down to the textbook definition, don't you?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Octavia says, though not unkindly. "Anyway, back to my master plan. Bell has been super over protective and totally killing my vibe since the start of semester. So, I figure I'll make him so focused on his little nerd choir and trying to beat me that he'll forget all about which parties I'm going to." she concludes, looking rather pleased with herself. "Bell's even more competitive than I am, so this idea is, like, virtually flawless."

Clarke feels like she missed an important phase of the plan. "How are you going to make him to try to beat you, exactly?"

"Keep up, Clarke, jeez," - an eye roll which Clarke doesn't feel she deserves - "I'm going to join the Side Notes."

"The what?"

"Oh my god, did you even pay any attention at all when we went to the Activities Fair?"

"I've had to cram a lot of stuff in my head since then, O -"

Octavia cuts her off with a wave of her hand. "The Side Notes are like... The antithesis of the Trebleshooters. They war it out each year at the collegiate acapella finals, which is completely geeky... But you get to go to New York. And it would totally drive Bell crazy if we beat him."

"We? Why do you need me to join?"

"Because, Clarke, my friend, apparently all the Side Notes are stone cold bitches, especially the co-captains. I'm going to need you to balance out that effect. Like Lady Justice. Also, you spend practically all your time either in class, asleep or studying. You need to do something chill, or you'll burn yourself out before you can even apply to Med school." Octavia seems genuinely concerned, and in the end, that's what makes her cave. "Remember how I was saying you owe me big time...?"

"Fine. I'll join with you. But I'm not promising to try too hard to crush Bellamy's soul. He's practically my cousin, and I love both of you."

Octavia shrugs, unconcerned. "But we're roommates, and you love me more," she supplies. 

"It's true, I do, O."

"Great. Try outs are tomorrow. You better be there, Clarke. I mean it. You have to go put your name down with the captains at the Activities hall. Last minute sign-ups end this afternoon, so get your ass down there, Griffin."

"I will. Promise."

Octavia gives her the same smile Clarke's watched her use on Bellamy and uncountable others when she's got what she wants. "Awesome. Now I'm going to go hang out with Mr McHot who I met at that party on Saturday before Bell kicked me out. Bye!"

"Be safe!" Clarke calls after her roommate's retreating back, and sighs as the door closes. 

Even if it means repaying Octavia a very big favour and having a small and petty victory over Bellamy (perhaps some of her best friend's competitive streak has rubbed off on her), Clarke would be willing to bet her all college savings that nothing good could possibly come of joining the Side Notes. 

"Four girls. Including us. How can that be possible? The Trebleshooters already have six," Anya curses angrily, pacing around her whiteboard, which features a neatly drawn success program that kinda looks like a battle plan. 

"Well, we do have something of a reputation as, and I quote here, Anya, "level one hundred on the bitch-o-dometer". Which is rather flattering, but does scare off most students," Lexa informs her calmly from where she stands beside her co-captain and friend (only friend). 

"I know you two broke up in, like, January, but I really thought Costia would come back this year. It's not like freshman relationships mean anything, right? She -"

"She transferred to Columbia." Costia's name doesn't make her heart twinge painfully anymore. It's been nine months since they broke up, and they were only together for three. Lexa carefully pushes back the flood of memories: Costia had meant a lot to her, but she'd never been enough. Or maybe just not the right kind of 'enough'. Lexa needs someone challenging. Interesting. Fascinating. 

Perhaps that person doesn't exist. 

Lexa shrugs that thought away. She needs to focus completely on winning the acapella finals this year. Singing has never been her thing, but she needs something to round out her Law school application. Something that says "culturally involved". She'd joined the Side Notes last year on the advice of her mech-major roommate, Raven Reyes, and hadn't regretted it. Raven herself belonged to the all-girl team to do pyrotechnics and cool effects on stage for their performances, and considered the whole "acapella" thing a side job. 

"Fine. Let's just hang around another hour or so to see if we get anymore girls to join. If not, we'll have to figure out a way to smash Blake and his stupid Trebleshooters with just the four of us. We don't even have enough to host the auditions at this stage. We'll have to cancel," Anya grumbles curtly, glaring at nothing in particular with more power than the university's mass spectrometer. 

Lexa decides to refrain from pointing out that they probably won't get any new hopefuls with Anya looking so amazingly threatening. She's always liked the authoritative and standoffish nature of her friend, but she's learned she's one of the few. 

"Hello?" a soft but unfamiliar voice pipes up from behind Lexa. 

She turns around and immediately wishes she hadn't. Her heart judders slightly like a car with a failing engine, and all she can think is that she is super fucking screwed. 

Lexa never really had a thing for blondes, but in this moment, she really, really has a thing for blondes. Her eyes have a warmth to them, which catches Lexa off guard; she'd have thought they'd be colder and harsher like the oceans that they so resemble. 

Say something. Say something, Lexa. You can't just sit there like a total freak. 

"Yes?" she manages finally. An entire monosyllable was impressive. Maybe Anya will come and bail her out of this conversation before she has an aneurism. 

The girl smiles quickly, and Lexa wishes she took physics, just so she could figure out how that smile works. It's probably a good thing that the first aid training tent is only about twenty feet away. 

"I'm Clarke Griffin," she says, and even though her name isn't quite as beautiful as she is (how could it possibly be?), it suits her well. 

"What can I help you with?" Lexa offers, successfully forming an entire sentence. She hopes the girl is just looking for directions or something, because she will undoubtedly spontaneously combust if she spends more than a few minutes in Clarke Griffin's general vicinity. 

"I'd like to sign up."

Maybe 'super fucking screwed' was an understatement.