“I’m telling you, Anya, this man was a total idiot,” Lexa sighs into her phone, holding it between her ear and her shoulder as she digs through her purse while trying to hold her coat in her hand, as well. She needs more hands. “I mean, he comes into the shop asking for advice about this new tattoo he wants on his arm, and he spends the whole time just staring at my chest.”
She’s finally able to dig out her keys, when she hears the door of the apartment next to her’s open. She furrows her brow, no one has lived in that apartment for over a year now since the nice old lady moved out. Lexa loved it being empty. No one would bother her and she wouldn’t have to share a wall with anyone. It’s not that she was a loner, she just didn’t like loud neighbors, or parties, or other people that much. Maybe she was kind of a loner.
She does like some people. Like her best friend Anya, or her little brother Aden, and her parents obviously. She has some other tolerable family members, too, she thinks. Like her cousin Lincoln. Other than that, most people seem to annoy her, so she’s okay living without a neighbor. She prefers it.
So when she looks over and sees a young guy with long floppy hair walking out of the apartment she rolls her eyes. She also sees the back of a girl with blonde hair in a ponytail, and she knows this can’t be good. A young, seemingly attractive couple most likely means young attractive friends, which means annoying loud parties. She cringes just thinking about it. With parties comes alcohol, which results in drinking which results in loud drunk people and music.
As she’s about to look away, the blonde must hear her keys because she looks over and smiles. Lexa freezes.
Fuck.
Okay, so what do you do if the girl who moved next door to you is totally hot? Usually this would be a dream come true. But not if said hot girl moved in with her boyfriend. That is not quite ideal.
The blonde girl waves shyly after she locks her own door, her boyfriend obliviously staring at his phone. As much as Lexa doesn’t really get along with other people, she is definitely not rude, so she waves back at the girl, smiling politely. They stare at each other for a moment, both unsure of what to do next, when the boyfriend finally looks up and sees what’s happening. He nods to Lexa, who just forces a smile back, and he clears his throat, starting to walk down the hall. The girl waves one more time before walking away to follow after him.
“Hello?,” Lexa hears, and it’s only then that she realizes that Anya is still on the phone.
“Shit, sorry, An. Just saw my new next door neighbors in the hall,” she groans, walking into her apartment and shutting the door behind her. It’s neat. Like really neat. Just how she loves it. Her leather furniture sits perfectly in her living room next to her huge bookshelf, and wooden coffee table. She places her jacket on it’s hook by the door and makes her way into her kitchen for a glass of wine. She deserves it.
“Neighbors? But you live in the corner apartment? And no one lives in the apartment next to you,” Anya says confused.
“Not anymore. Apparently Barbie and Ken just moved next door, so get used to hearing my noise complaints from now on,” she sighs, sitting on the couch with her glass. “I mean, she’s Barbie. He’s not so much a Ken.”
“Ah, so she’s cute. But, I doubt they’ll have sex loud enough for you to hear,” Anya chuckles, clearly entertained.
“Oh God, I was talking about partying noise. I wasn’t even thinking about the sex noises,” she groans, closing her eyes and rubbing between her eyebrows.
“Yeah, well you should probably get used to it,” Anya teases. “Who knows how loud Barbie can get. Maybe she will be loud enough for you to hear. I guess you’ll find out.”
“Fuck you,” Lexa sighs, chuckling.
“Love you, too. Gotta go, though. Not all of us live the glamourous life of a tattoo artist. Duty calls,” Anya says causing Lexa to laugh.
“Have fun,” she jokes, ending the call.
She puts her phone down and glares at the wall that was once all her own, separating her from nothing but an empty apartment. Now that wall seems so thin. Just inches away from the apartment of others. What a traitor.
_____________________________
“No, Raven. I’m not even joking. She was an easy 10 out of 10,” Clarke says, fork stabbing into her salad, before eyeing Raven’s fries and reaching across the table to steal one.
“Get your own fries, bitch,” Raven says, slapping Clarke’s hand away. “And I doubt this girl was a 10. That’s like unreachable. So rare. I doubt you’re lucky enough to have a ten living next door to you.”
“I swear!” Clarke exclaims. “Next time you’re over we can like wait outside her door for hours until she comes out just so I can prove it to you.”
Raven places her hand over Clarke’s on the table. “Clarke, sweety,” she starts, teasing, “That’s stalking.”
Clarke just pulls her hand away, rolling her eyes. “I don’t actually mean that,” she snorts. “You’re over at my apartments enough that you’ll probably see her eventually anyway. I bet you’ll be there more than Finn is and he lives there.”
“My God, Clarke. I cannot believe you’re living with Finn. Out of every single one of our friends, you’re living with him. Do you know how many girls he’s probably going to be bringing home,” Raven chuckles, shaking her head. “Good luck with that.”
“He can do whatever he wants as long as it’s in his own room. I needed a roommate to help with rent, so it works out,” Clarke shrugs.
“Sure, Griffin. We’ll see how long it lasts until you two are verbally attacking each other. You always did butt heads.”
“Whatever,” Clarke says, sipping from her soda. “It’ll be fine.”
“I bet. Plus, I bet your pining after hottie neighbor will distract you from whatever bullshit Finn is up to, anyway,” Raven jokes.
As much as they joke, they do all like Finn. He’s a good friend, and would do anything to help you if you needed. He would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. However, living with him might be a challenge. Clarke guesses she’ll just have to find out.
“I’m not pining,” Clarke says, rolling her eyes. “She’s just hot. Like hot hot. Like tattoos and mysterious vibe and dark clothes hot. And her smile. I only saw it once but I think I died a little. And her tattoos. God, I don’t think I’ve ever been so attracted to tattoos. Honestly.”
“Sure, not pining,” says Raven, lifting her eyebrows and biting into her burger.
______________________
“Uh, no. I think my last appointment ends at four today, so I’ll be able to meet you at the bar tonight,” Lexa says, stepping onto the elevator, fiddling with her necklace around her neck, holding her phone to her ear. “I think Lincoln is meeting us there.”
“Perfect. You better not bail on us like last time, Lex. I don’t care if you fell asleep. I will come over there and kick your ass,” Anya threatens.
That happened once. It was a long day, with annoying clients, and it was raining when she got home. She didn’t mean to fall asleep, but she did. And Anya never let her forget it. She’s mid eye roll, when she sees the apartment door across from her open and the blonde neighbor step out. It startles Lexa. She’s not used to the door across from the elevator ever opening, considering it’s been empty for over a year. She makes eye contact with the girl and both freeze, eyes wide, before the door shutting snaps them out of it.
“Oh! Can you hold the door?” the girl asks, trying to quickly lock her apartment door behind her.
“Oh, uh, uh huh,” Lexa says, and wants to actually kick herself for forgetting how to use her words. She’s sure she knows more than that. She sticks her hand out, making the doors pop open again, and waits for the girl to rush inside before removing her hand.
“Who are you talking to?” she hears Anya ask, forgetting about her phone call with the girl again. She doesn’t know how this blonde girl can distract her so much by not even doing anything. “Lexa?”
“Oh, uh, nothing. I mean, no one,” she rambles, causing Anya to chuckle.
“The cute neighbor, huh? You always did get embarrassed around your crushes,” she teases.
“Anyway!” Lexa says, lowering the volume on her phone, even though she doubts the girl can hear it at all. It’s not like it’s on speaker. “I’m in the elevator. Probably gonna lose service, so I’ll talk to you later.”
“Oh, elevator sex is fun, you guys should try-” Lexa ends the call before she can even finish, sticking her phone in her pocket. She adjusts her glasses on her head and tries to avoid looking at the girl standing next to her.
“Damn those elevators. Always interrupting phone calls,” the girl next to her jokes, chuckling.
Lexa snaps her head to look over at the blonde, not expecting her to say anything. She sees the girl staring at her, and thinks she probably looks like a weirdo. She should respond. She nervously chuckles. “Yeah,” she says, before clearing her throat. “It wasn’t important anyway.”
“Ah,” the girl nods in understanding, looking forward at the doors again, fiddling with the small watch around her delicate wrist.
Lexa tries to not stare. She does. But it’s so hard when someone that attractive is standing next to you in such a small space. Her hair is so golden and so wavy, resting just over her shoulders. Lexa has to pin her hands against her sides to resist the urge to reach up and touch it. She’s not a weirdo. She’s wearing a button up white blouse and nice dress pants, with flats on her feet. Lexa wonders what it is she does for a living. Just as she’s working up the courage to ask, the elevator dings, letting them know they reached the bottom floor.
Lexa holds her hand, gesturing for the blonde to go first, earning her a smile and a small “thanks” in return. As the both walk out the automatic doors of the building, the blonde stops, causing Lexa to stop.
The blonde points over her shoulder. “Well, I’m going this way,” she says before looking up at her hand, and dropping it back down to her side.
“Oh, not me,” Lexa says, smiling at the action. “I’m this way.” She points her hand over her own shoulder, causing the girl to bite back her smile.
“Well, then. I’m sure I’ll see you around, neighbor.” the girl says, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
“Lexa,” she states, sticking her hand in her pocket.
“Sorry?” Clarke asks confused.
“My name,” Lexa blurts. “It’s Lexa. Unless you prefer Neighbor. It’s not as nice of a name, in my opinion, but it’ll work.” The joke earns a small laugh from the blonde, causing Lexa’s lips to twitch up at the corner. God. A sweet laugh like that could kill a girl.
“Lexa,” she says holding out her hand. “Pleasure. I’m Clarke.”
Lexa smiles and takes the girl’s hand in her own and every cliche she’s ever rolled her eyes at seems like it’s coming to life. How can someone’s hand be so soft? “Clarke. Where’s Lewis?” she jokes, immediately regretting it. She really thought she was smoother than this. “You know? Like Lewis and Clarke?”
Clarke just snorts, and playfully rolls her eyes. “Just me. I went solo,” she jokes, causing Lexa to smile.
“Ah, I see,” Lexa says before rocking on the heels of her feet. “Well, I should be getting to work. People to tattoo and all that jazz. I’ll see you around, Clarke.”
“Bye, Lexa,” Clarke says, before smiling and turning to walk away.
Lexa just stares after her in a daze. What the hell just happened?
_________________________________
“A tattoo artist, Raven. An actual tattoo artist,” Clarke whispers on the phone with her friend. “I’m sitting here, at my boring desk, while she’s off actually creating art on people’s skin. My life sucks.”
“Clarke, you’re only a secretary at the law firm while you’re in school. Art school, in fact. I bet you your hot tattoo artist neighbor will think that’s totally cool,” Raven teases.
“Yeah but I draw and paint, not permanently create art on a living thing. That’s so amazing,” Clarke sighs dreamily.
“Alright, alright. Let’s calm down here. Tell me more about your cute little interaction this morning,” Raven says, causing Clarke to smile.
“She is actual so dorky,” Clarke says, resting her head on her palm. “I mean, she made a Lewis and Clark joke. I haven’t heard one of them since middle school. It was cute.”
“Oh God, only you would think someone joking about your name would be cute,” Raven says. “This girl could probably spill hot coffee on you and you would be all gushy and giggly, batting your eyelashes at her.”
“Shut up,” Clarke says, laughing before looking at the time. “Ugh. Break time over. I gotta get back to work. I’ll see you tonight? Are you still visiting my new place?”
“You bet. Gotta make sure it’s good enough and all that,” Raven says.
“Yeah, whatever. See you tonight,” Clarke says, ending the call, and looking out of the window next to her. She’s trying to think of the last time she had an actual crush. Not that this is a crush or anything. Clarke just thinks she’s cute. That’s all.
She’s not even fooling herself. It’s totally a crush.
_______________________________
“I think you purposely choose bars that are within walking distance to my apartment so you can drink and then use the closeness as an excuse to crash on my couch,” Lexa says, walking down the hall to her apartment with Anya, the other girl looking down at her phone. “You always drink just enough to be too much to drive, but not enough enough to be actually drunk.”
“It’s a skill,” Anya says distractedly, causing Lexa to roll her eyes.
“Next time, I’m going to pick the bar we go to,” Lexa says, grabbing her keys from her purse. As she’s unlocking her door, she hears the door next door to her open and her eyes widen. She doesn’t need Anya’s teasing right now. As she’s about to quickly usher Anya inside her apartment, a brunette girl steps out of Clarke’s followed by the blonde herself, and Lexa gulps.
“Oh, well, hello,” the brunette says, waving to Lexa and Anya, causing Clarke to whip her head around and smile.
“Hey, Lexa,” she says, smiling before looking at Anya and waving. “Hi, I didn’t know Lexa had a roommate. This is my friend, Raven.”
“Oh, no. I’m not her roommate,” Anya says, causing Clarke to clear her throat, her eyes widening. “Hi, I’m Anya.”
“Oh! Anya, hi,” Clarke rushes out. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt your… date or hang out or whatever.”
Lexa’s eyes widen and she snorts, looking over at Anya and scrunching her nose in disgust. “No,” she laughs. “Definitely not a date. Anya is my best friend. Best friend who drinks at bars and crashes at my place.”
“Now that is ideal,” Raven chimes in. “I might start doing just that to you and Finn, Clarke.”
Clarke just rolls her eyes, “Please do not.”
“Finn?” Lexa asks before she even registers she’s saying anything.
“Oh, yeah. Finn. Guy with floppy hair. He lives here with Clarke. You’ve probably seen him around. He’s a pain in the ass, but we love him, anyway,” Raven jokes, causing Clarke to roll her eyes.
“Oh. Yeah, I think I’ve seen him around,” Lexa says, finally getting a name for the lucky son of a bitch who gets to call Clarke his girlfriend. She wonders where he is right now. Maybe he works nights.
“Yeah, probably,” Clarke says, not looking away from Lexa. “Well, Raven was just leaving. So, we’ll let you get inside. See you around?”
“Yeah, see you,” Lexa smiles, forcing Anya into her apartment and closing the door behind her.
“Wow,” Anya says, eyebrows rising, still looking at her fidgeting friend next to her.
Lexa just nods, removing her coat and taking off her shoes. That didn’t go as bad as she thought. At least Anya didn’t say anything to embarrass her. It could’ve been much worse.
“Yeah,” Lexa sighs, sitting on her couch. “So, that’s Clarke.”
Anya just snorts, patting her friend’s shoulder sympathetically. “Maybe this Finn guy is just a fling.”
Lexa just looks over at Anya. “Who gets an apartment with a fling?”
“Touché.”
_______________________________
So, for someone who doesn’t really like people, Lexa really likes Clarke. Not only as in she likes likes Clarke, but she also really likes her as a friend. It’s been a long time since she’s had any friend but Anya in her apartment, but lately her and Clarke have been hanging out there a lot.
It started a few days after their friendly exchange with Raven and Anya in the hallway. Lexa was making dinner for herself when she heard knocking on her door. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned off the music she had softly playing in the background. She made her way to her door and opened it, confused. However, the scowl on her face went away when she opened her door to see Clarke holding a basket, smiling softly.
“Hey,” she had said, smiling herself, resting against her door frame and peering at the basket in Clarke’s hands. “What’s up?”
“I brought you over muffins!” Clarke said happily, rocking back on the heels of her feet. “Kind of as a ‘Hey, I just moved in! Nice to meet you’ gift.”
Lexa felt her smile grow as she shook her head, chuckling. “I believe I’m supposed to be the one to get you a housewarming gift. Like a ‘Welcome to the neighborhood!’ type of thing.”
Clarke just shrugged, holding up the basket. “Well, either way. Here you go.”
Lexa took the basket, peeking inside. “Oh man, blueberry. How did know my weakness, Clarke?” she joked, causing Clarke to chuckle and shrug.
“It’s a skill,” she teased, still smiling.
Lexa laughs, before looking over her shoulder at her own apartment, thinking, before she looks over at Clarke and clears her throat. “Hey, so I’m making dinner right now. Just some pasta. Nothing big. But, there’s definitely more than I could eat. Wanna join?” she asked, nervously.
“Really?” Clarke asked. “Yeah, yeah, sure. That would be great. Thanks, Lex.”
So yeah, ever since then, Lexa’s apartment seems to be a lot more boring and lonely than it ever has before, and she wonders when she became the type of person to not enjoy her alone time. Maybe since she found someone she would rather spend it with.
It’s not until tonight, however, a month after Clarke moved in, that Lexa definitely misses the silence. There is moaning going on next door. Actual moaning. Anya was not kidding when she was talking about sex noises. Just as Lexa is about to plug her headphones in to try to drown out the noise, she hears a female voice that is definitely not Clarke, before she hears Finn moan out a quick “God, Jess!”
Lexa’s eyes widen. Clarke’s name is definitely not Jess. She sits up, wondering what the hell she is supposed to do now. Is Clarke not home? How could Finn be cheating on someone like Clarke? Clarke. The sweet, caring, absolutely gorgeous girl that anyone would be so lucky to be with. Shit. How is she supposed to tell Clarke?
________________________________
She’s pacing outside of Clarke’s apartment, trying to work up the courage to knock on the girl’s door. Ever since she heard Finn last night, she hasn’t slept at all. The last thing she wants to do is tell Clarke something that will bring her pain.
“Lexa?” she hears from behind her, and turns to find a confused Clarke stepping out of the elevator. “I don’t think Finn’s home. Did you knock? What’s up?”
“Clarke!” Lexa says, unprepared, no matter how much she thought about it. “Hey, nothing’s up. I just… wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh, okay,” Clarke says, pulling her keys from her pocket and unlocking the door. “Well, come in.”
As Lexa steps in behind her, it’s then that she realizes she’s never been in Clarke’s apartment. While Lexa’s is dark and neat, looking like it’s from a magazine, Clarke’s is bright and colorful, with paintings all over the walls. Colorful blankets rest on the back of the couch, with mismatched furniture all over the apartment. Usually, Lexa hates anything out of order, but this apartment is so like Clarke that she just smiles. She looks more intently at the paintings on the wall and lets out a low whistle.
“These are beautiful,” she whispers, eyes roaming over them.
“Thanks,” Clarke smiles proudly. “I painted them.”
Lexa looks over at her, eyes wide, smiling. “Ah, so I finally get to see the famous Clarke Griffin artwork that you’ve spoken about.”
Clarke, just bites her lip and playfully shoves Lexa. “Please. It’s probably nothing compared to the tattoos you’ve done.”
“Clarke, these are absolutely amazing,” Lexa says, looking back to one of the paintings, causing Clarke to blush and stare at her, before clearing her throat.
“So, you wanted to talk?” Clarke asks, walking into her kitchen and grabbing two bottles of water. She walks back into the living room, handing one bottle to Lexa before sitting on the couch and patting the spot next to her for Lexa.
Lexa takes the bottle, but doesn’t open it. She nervously fiddles with the wrapper on it. “Yeah, I did,” Lexa starts before clearing her throat. “I just want to start by saying you’re amazing. Like actually so great. You’re so generous and funny and so so beautiful, Clarke.”
Clarke blushes at the words, clearly not expecting Lexa to say anything like this. “Lexa, thank you. You’re great, too.”
Lexa doesn’t even absorb what Clarke is saying. She doesn’t even absorb what she’s saying. She’s too deeply trying to think of a way to say this without hurting Clarke. “Anyone who gets to call you their own is so so lucky, and honestly I envy them. I mean, when I first saw you I think my heart actually skipped a beat, as corny as that sounds. I mean, there are poems written about girls like you, Clarke. And love songs, and all of those things,” Lexa rambles on, not looking up at Clarke. She doesn’t want to see her face when she gets the bad news. “You deserve all the happiness in the world. You really do.”
Lexa finally looks up and sees Clarke staring at her like she put all the stars in the sky, and Lexa sighs, preparing herself to break the news. Just as she’s about to open her mouth again, Clarke leans forward slowly and captures Lexa’s bottom lip between her own, gently placing her hands on Lexa’s jaw to bring the girl closer.
Lexa’s eyes widen, before she closes them when she feels Clarke’s tongue gently slide against her lip. She brings her hands to rest on Clarke’s sides, when she realizes what is happening.
She breaks the kiss, shocked, and stands up from the couch. “What… what about Finn?” she asks totally confused at this point.
Clarke looks taken back, standing herself, and smoothing out her shirt. “Finn?” she asks, running her hands through her hair. “What about him?”
“He’s cheating on you!” Lexa says, before continuing gently, “I heard him last night with another, girl. I’m sorry, Clarke.” Lexa looks down at her hands, avoiding eye contact. “I realize now that you already found out, though. I’m not mad at you for kissing me. It’s kind of like revenge against him. I understand. You must be in a lot of pain.”
Clarke’s chuckle causes Lexa to look up, her face showing total confusion. “Lexa,” Clarke starts, giggling. “What on Earth are you talking about? Finn isn’t cheating on me. We’re not together. We never have been.”
Lexa’s mouth drops open, before she rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment. “Well, then. I feel like an idiot. And I’ve cursed him out about a thousand times in my head today already. I should apologize,” she jokes, cheeks extremely red. She quickly starts walking to the door before she stops, realizing something. She turns and sees Clarke standing there, smiling softly with her hands in her back pockets. “So, you kissing me? That wasn’t revenge?”
“Nope,” Clarke says casually, letting Lexa catch up on her own.
“Then that means you kissed me… just because you wanted to?” Lexa asks, unsure.
“Yup,” Clarke says, still smiling, not moving.
“Oh,” Lexa says gently, slowly making her way back over to Clarke. “So, then. I can kiss you? Like now?”
At this, Clarke laughs, wrapping her arms around Lexa’s neck. “God, and to think I found you mysterious when we first met. You are like a cute little confused puppy.”
Lexa huffs at this. “Clarke. I’m not cute. I am mysterious! I’ll have you know-”
“I’m going to kiss you again now,” Clarke interrupts, causing Lexa to stop mid sentence, nodding.
“Okay.”