Small Town, Big Love

Lexa's POV

Mercedes is very flexible. I didn’t even realize she did gymnastics, but I’m very very grateful that she does. After that first day, we have been hooking up for the past few days. And everyday Clarke Griffin is at my house tutoring my sister. I don’t get it though. My sister is smart..why does she need one now after 18 years of never needing a tutor? It just irks me so much. I’m not sure why but seeing Laurel and Clarke together creates this uncomfortable itch I can’t scratch...so I just let Mercedes scratch it for me. I know this unhealthy, but I don’t think I ever learned how to cope with things in a healthy way anyways.

In a couple of days, it’ll be Friday night and the homecoming game. Finn Collins’ is throwing an after party so it should be pretty fun. I look at the lunch table and see Clarke and Laurel laughing together. Laurel moves close and whispers something in the blonde’s ear and Clarke blushes. I don’t like this one bit and I have no fucking clue why. The whole thing is very frustrating. I shake my head and text Mercedes to meet me in the empty lab room in 5. I suddenly feel the urge to fuck.

Clarke’s POV

“Hey Clarke. You ready?” Laurel rolls her window down and calls out to me. Lexa is in the passenger seat, smiling at me. I still don’t know where I stand with Lexa. The whole situation is weird. One second she’s an asshole to me, the next she is sweet and adorable.

I smile and hop in the back seat. The three of us chat, Lexa only supplying sassy side comments.

“Can you drive a little faster? Mercedes is waiting for me.” Lexa whines and my stomach clenches. Lexa has been hooking up with that girl for a good week now. Everyday too. I refuse to say I’m jealous because I’m not. Even if I was, Lexa doesn’t commit to one person. She’s said over and over again that monogamy isn’t her style. So there’s no point in even indulging in the idea of Lexa begin anything more than a friend.

When we get back to the house, Mercedes is waiting on the porch. Lexa smirks at her and says something dirty. Laurel fake pukes and I giggle. Laurel smiles at me and I get lost in her eyes for a second. I don’t realize how long we’ve been looking at each other until Lexa’s voice cuts us out of our daze.

“Well don’t mind us, we are just gonna go upstairs.” Lexa says, her voice a little colder than before.

“Okay. Please be safe Lex.” Laurel says softly and Lexa laughs and smirks.

“Always am. I’ve got a lot of experience in this area.” Lexa pulls Mercedes in close and pecks her lips. Her voice is lower and teasing, but still loud enough for us to hear. I cringe a little. Her asshole facade is firmly back in place I can tell. I don’t understand Lexa. One second she’s so kind to me and the next I don’t even recognize her. It’s like she’s two different people. I can tell she’s playing a part. But which one is the real Lexa Woods?

Lexa and Mercedes go in the house. Before I can walk inside, Laurel touches my shoulder. I turn to her and smile.

“We’ve been studying together for days now. Do you maybe just want to hang out today and take a break? Plus, I’m tired of hearing Lexa and Mercedes going at it.” Laurel’s voice is a little nervous. It’s cute.

“Sure. Let’s go.” I say and follow her back to her car.

“I was thinking we could go to the lake?” Laurel asks.

“Yeah! I haven’t been there in years.” I excitedly say.

We get to the lake and get out of the car. Laurel brings the book she’s reading this week and I grab my sketchbook from my backpack. We sit there in silence and it’s really nice. It’s safe and comforting. I start out by sketching the landscape around us but I end up sketching Laurel into the picture as well. I keep stealing looks at her for my art and every now and then I see her glance up from her book.

She smiles at me and bites her lip. I can’t help the butterflies that flutter in my stomach. Her glasses start to fall off the bridge of her nose, so she pushes them up and it’s the cutest thing I’ve seen in awhile.

“How’s your book?” I feel the need to break the silence. Laurel is a very private person. From what I’ve gathered, she’s quiet and to herself. She only speaks when she has something to say. It’s just so different than I’m used to. It’s a little intimidating if I’m being honest. I always speak my mind. I speak just for the sake of speaking. But Laurel...well she’s so different. I can’t help but be intrigued.

Laurel looks up from her book, a little shaken up, as if I broke her from deep concentration.

“It’s really good.” She smiles and tries to take a peek at my sketch. I playfully hide it against my chest so she can’t see.

“Hey no fair.” She laughs and puts her book down. I smile at her as she crawls over to me.

“Can I see? Pleaseee.” Her face is close to mine. She’s smiling at me innocently like it never crossed her mind that we are in kissing distance. Maybe it hasn’t. She probably isn’t into me. Am I even into her..like that? I don’t know! I’m usually a decisive person, but right now I have no idea what I’m doing or thinking.

“Only because you said please.” I rasp out and I show her my picture. She gasps out, one hand flying to her mouth as the other traces the lines of my artwork with her other.

“Clarke, this is gorgeous. You have such talent.” She’s so engrossed in my work.

“Thank you. The view was too beautiful. I just had to sketch.” I say quietly and she looks up at me finally. I'm not sure if I was talking about the view of the lake or of her. I don't even know the difference. She looks deep in my eyes. I can’t tell what she’s thinking. I can never tell what she’s thinking. For a moment, she looks at my lips and I swear she’s about to lean in. Suddenly Lexa pops in my head. Lexa. I shouldn’t be thinking about Laurel’s sister right now.

“I’m so hungry. Want to go grab some food at the diner?” I blurt the words out and she looks a little startled. Her face doesn’t waver though, forever a soft kind smile plastered on it.

“Food sounds great right now.” Laurel lightly answers. We pack away our stuff and make our way to the diner. The rest of the day is nice. Laurel is such an amazing girl. She has such deep empathy for others. She starts talking about how she volunteers at a soup kitchen every Sunday morning. I ask her if I can tag along and her eyes light up when she says yes. No matter what happens, I want Laurel in my life. She has such a positive light to her.

Lexa’s POV

The party is in full swing now. Laurel decided not to come. My sister isn’t a big partier. A part of me is a little happy she’s not coming. Selfishly, I want to spend more time with Clarke. Clarke and Laurel are growing close and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I just want some alone time with Clarke to figure out what I’m feeling for this girl. I ended my one week fling with Mercedes last night. There were no hard feelings. I never stay with anyone too long. Maybe one day I'll commit, but only with the right girl. I can't help but see blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes when I think of that very day.

Lincoln is designated driver and gave us all a ride to to the after party. We won the game so everyone is in high spirits. I couldn’t help but stare at the gorgeous blonde next to me the whole game. Clarke is such an enigma to me. I can’t figure out how I feel about her. I guess I’m just a ball of confusion. I lost her in the crowd of the party and I’m intent on finding her. Why? Because she’s my friend and this is her first party back in Polis. She doesn’t know a whole lot of people and I just want to keep her company. This is what friends are suppose to do..right? I’m not gonna lie, I’m struggling with this whole ‘just friends’ concept. Finally, I spot the beautiful blonde talking to a much too familiar dark haired girl.

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. Why is she there? Ontari is captain of the soccer team and we don’t get along. She was my first actually. I actually liked her alot. I didn’t want a relationship right away but I was willing to try being exclusive and see where it went. She kept pushing me into trying out a relationship. I almost agreed to it too until I found out she was screwing three other people. I wasn’t too upset though. Love is weakness after all. But seeing her flirt with Clarke is making me more upset than when I walked in on her have sex with that girl from the soccer team all those years ago. She shouldn’t be flirting with Clarke. Clarke is too sweet and perfect for her. This isn’t jealousy, it’s just a friend looking out for a friend. Yeah that’s exactly what it is.

“Hey Clarke.” I say sweetly and I can tell it shocks the blonde. I’m not always a sassy asshole.

“Hey Lexa. Do you know Ontari?” She says with a smile on her face, but her eyes are a little pleading.

“As a matter of fact I do. We shared that a few lovely nights together a few years back. Isn’t that right?” I smirk and Ontari rolls her eyes.

“We certainly did.” Ontari has a glint of mischief in her eyes. She turns to Clarke. “You know, I was Lexa’s first. It was a pretty quick affair. I hope with all the girls you bed that you’ve gotten better. I heard your number is pretty high now. Trust me Clarke, this isn’t the kind of girl you want to be around.” Ontari laughed and I fumed.

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business Ontari.” Except these words aren’t coming out of my mouth, they’re coming out of Clarke’s. My mouth wants to drop on the floor. Is she really defending me? Hmm. Maybe she doesn't hate me as much as I thought she did.

“Well I...it’s uhh..I was just saying-” Ontari stumbles on her words.

“And for the record, Lexa’s sex life has no bearing on the kind of person she is. If you’re the kind of girl who is going to judge someone because they like sex, well then maybe you’re the kind of girl I shouldn’t be around. Come to think of it, I’m done with this conversation. You should leave now.” Clarke snaps and Ontari nods before scurrying off.

Clarke shrugs and I look at her in amazement. Nobody really stands up for me..except Laurel sometimes. Everyone knows I can handle myself, but this beautiful girl in front of me didn’t even give me the chance to get a word in edgewise.

“I didn’t like the things she was saying about you.” Clarke quietly explains and I nod dumbly at her.

“Well..” I clear my throat, finding the right words. “Thank you Clarke.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s the truth. You’re a good person Lexa. I’m sorry I was so quick to judge at first. I think I was a bit of an asshole too.”

“Maybe we can be assholes together?” I say awkwardly. I’m not sure how to talk to Clarke when we aren’t being sassy with one another. And she’s being very kind. I can tell she’s trying to have a honest conversation with me and I’m struggling to keep up. I usually don’t talk like this to anyone but Laurel.

“Yeah maybe something like that.” She laughs at my awkwardness and her chuckle is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.

“How about we get a drink?” I ask.

“That sounds perfect. Lead the way.” She says and I grab her hand, bringing her over to the kitchen. I let go once we get there, but my hand tingles from the sensation.

A few drinks later, I’m surprised to still be talking to Clarke. I can tell she’s buzzed and so am I. We are sitting on the couch and just talking. Just talking I swear. We talk about L.A. and how she felt like she didn’t fit in there. We talk about how I never feel like I fit in anywhere. I don’t know why I’m telling her this, but it feels right. She feels right.

“I think I need another drink.” She says and I offer to refill it. I get up and go grab some more vodka and juice for her. When I get back, three football players are swarming her. They’re trying to sweet talk her it seems.

“Well aren’t you such a babe. Collins has talked about you quite a bit. How about we go upstairs and really give him something to talk about?”

“I gotta tell you, you are one fine woman. You’re lucky too cause I know how to treat a girl. How about you let me show you sometime?”

“I’m ready to move this party somewhere a little more private, sweetcheeks. You’ll be screaming out my name by the end of the night, you will see soon enough.”

My grip on the cup tightens. My stomach is doing flips. I fucking hate the way they are talking to her. When I say things to Clarke, it’s a joke and we both know it. These guys though, they can tell they are making her uncomfortable and they continue to do so. Clarke tries to get up and move past them, but one pulls her close while the other squeezes her ass.

I throw the drink on the floor and speed towards them.

“Hey fucking assholes.” I grit out and they all turn around. “That is no way to treat a lady.” I punch the guy who touched her ass first. He goes down with one punch. The other guy lets go of Clarke and squares up. I knee him in the stomach hard and now the big brute is eye level with me. I punch in the nose and I can tell it’s gonna bruise. The other guy who didn’t touch her backs away in defeat and I let him go as he scurries off like a coward.

I turn to Clarke who looks shocked that I just punched out two large football players.

“Shit Lexa. You’re strong.” She plainly states and I laugh. This girl in front of me isn’t even upset. “I could have taken care of it though. I have a black belt in karate after all.” She nonchalantly comments and I feel like I’m starting to fall somewhere I’ve never been before. It’s a scary feeling.

“I don’t get a thank you for coming to your rescue?” I say sweetly and she moves close to me and goes to whisper in my ear. I shiver with how close she is.

“I’m not the type of girl who needs to be rescued.” She rasps the words out and I shudder a bit. It’s her turn to wear that shit eating smirk on her face for once. She bites her lip.

“I think it’s time I call it a night. Thank you for the not so good drinks and very good company. Even if I don’t need saving, it was very sweet of you to help me out. You’re something else Lexa Woods. And trust me when I say, that’s not such a bad thing.” She calls out to me and winks. I feel my stomach in my throat and my heart beating out of my chest. I can feel myself blush deep deep red. I’ve never blushed a day in my goddamn life. What is Clarke Griffin doing to me?