Chapter 4
Clarke’s week had gone by quickly and with only one hitch. Being sick had cost her her spot performing at a local coffeehouse. She didn't know yet who had taken her spot, but loathed them on principle, as she had been holding that spot for over a year.
“Don't dwell on it, Clarke.” Raven told her as she glanced in the rear view mirror. “You'll get your spot back.”
Clarke sighed and continued sketching. She had been down ever since she called to verify her time slot and found out that it had been given away.
“Raven’s right.” Octavia assured her. “The only reason they had to fill your spot in because you were so out of it when you were sick and you forgot to call.”
“I know,” Clarke said finally looking up. “It just sucks. I actually have people that come there to see me perform.”
“We know,” Octavia sighed. “But, you'll get it back. They love you there.”
“And that's how we know you'll get your spot back.” Raven added. “Your fine ass, puts asses in the seats. More asses in the seats, more people buying drinks.”
Clarke finally smiled. It was true. She had a large following and usually performed to a full house. Who the hell had they found to fill that spot? Would they be better? How many fans would she lose to this new performer?
“Clarke, I can literally hear you thinking.” Octavia said as she rubbed her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I'm sorry.” Clarke shot out. “Subject change. How close are we?”
“Five minutes.” Raven answered.
This weekend they were spending their time at Monty’s house and the weather was finally nice enough to take full advantage of the pool. And really, a weekend relaxing by the pool, with a drink in her hand and her favorite people around her was exactly what Clarke needed.
“Awesome.” She responded as she tucked some of her blonde waves behind her ear and began to pack up her sketch pad and pencils.
When they pulled up in front of the house Clarke got out of the car, dragging her bag behind her and smiled. She made her way around to the back deck where she came face to face with Monty, who was carrying a large plate of food toward one of the tables.
“Hey Clarke,” he greeted her with a light peck on the cheek. “Good to see you.”
“You too, Monty.” Clarke smiled. “What do you got there?” She asked, motioning to the tray.
“Bruschetta,” he smiled. “Want a taste?”
“Of course.” Clarke smiled and took a small taste. “Mmm. Really good.” She said, giving him a thumbs up.
“Thanks.”
“So who's here?” She asked him as he set the tray down.
“Uh, looks like you three, me, and Jasper right now. Lincoln is about fifteen minutes out.” He told her. “Oh, and Bell. He got here a few minutes ago.”
“Oh good. I know Octavia’s eager to see the big dope.“ Clarke laughed. “Any word from Lexa and Anya?”
“Nope. I haven't heard from Lexa since earlier in the week.” He answered. “You don't really think she'd ditch, do you?”
Clarke shrugged. “I don't know. Her and Finn kind of had a misunderstanding a couple of weeks ago, so I guess anything’s possible.” She hoped that she wouldn't. She had somewhat of a bone to pick with her.
“Yeah. Jasper and I heard.” Monty nodded and gave her a look. “Not cool, by the way, and I should probably warn you that Bellamy wants to have a word with him about it.”
“Oh, I hope he doesn’t.” Clarke groaned. She had just fixed this.
“Might as well face it, Clarke,” Jasper said as he appeared beside them and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into a half hug. “Bellamy Blake is the quintessential big brother.”
Clarke turned just in time to see Octavia darting across the yard and jumping into Bellamy’s arms. It was a sight that warmed her heart. Bellamy had missed the last three scheduled weekend getaways due to work and Octavia was so excited when she heard that he would be making it to this one. “Yeah, he is,” she smiled.
Raven finally appeared from the side of the house carrying both her and Octavia’s bags. She looked like she was about to complain, but instead only grinned when she caught sight of Octavia and Bellamy.
“Alright Clarke, why don’t you go settle in and get changed.” Monty suggested. “I’m sure that everyone else will be turning up soon.”
Clarke nodded and went to turn away.
“Not so fast, Clarke,” Jasper laughed as he held out a mini bottle to her and cocked an eyebrow. “Right of passage.”
Clarke looked from the bottle to Monty, who simply grinned at her. Taking the bottle, she unscrewed the top and tipped the clear liquid into her mouth. It burned the whole way down, causing her to cough a little. “Monty’s fucking Moonshine,” she shook her head. “Ugh. There is no getting used to that.”
Monty smiled as Jasper tossed a similar bottle to Raven who swallowed it as though it was water. “Love that shit,” she grinned.
An hour later Lexa and Anya came walking into the yard, each with a bag thrown over their shoulder. The first thing that Lexa noticed was Clarke, who dressed in a black bikini and sitting at the opposite side of the pool talking to Raven. Lexa swallowed hard, her mouth having gone suddenly dry.
“Here, give me your bag.” Anya told her as she grabbed the shoulder strap if Lexa's bag. “I’ll take them in while you can go say hello.”
Lexa nodded and handed her bag to her sister.
“Hey Lex, can I borrow your phone? Mine’s dead.” Lincoln asked as he approached. “Collin’s screwed up the food and now everyone just wants pizza.”
Lexa nodded as she handed over her phone and he stepped away with it.
“Too easy.” Anya said.
Lexa turned her head just in time to catch the smirk on her sisters face before she felt the push and was falling backwards into the swimming pool. She screamed just before being submerged in the chilly water, which caused her to inhale a great deal of it. Popping back through to the surface she coughed and gasped as she grabbed the edge of the pool, glaring at Anya. “You asshole,” she said as she lifted herself out of the water, hearing the laughter of everyone around her.
Anya smiled playfully. “Hey squirt, be grateful the voice of reason made me decide to spare your phone first.”
Lexa looked at her. “The voice of…?” she paused, her shoulders dropping. “Really? Clarke knew?”
Anya nodded quickly with a satisfied look on her face as Lexa turned to see Clarke getting up with an equally satisfied grin on her face. As she turned back to say something else to her sister she noticed Finn walking up on to the deck, his arms full of groceries and another realization hit her. Spinning quickly on her heels she glared at Lincoln, who smiled sheepishly. “Really? You too?”
“I was threatened with a very painful death,” he insisted, but chuckled all the same. “At least your phone is safe?”
“You all suck.” Lexa grumbled as she began unbuttoning her shirt.
“Aw. Don’t be so grumpy.” Clarke cooed as she finally reached where they were all standing. “You know, you kind of look like a drowned raccoon right now?”
“Shush,” Lexa mumbled, knowing full well that her mascara was most likely streaking down her face. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
Clarke grinned deviously. “Well, that’s what you get for not telling me that you’ve been seeing someone.”
Lexa’s head shot up. “I’m not. Not really,” she replied as she absentmindedly looked down and kicked off one of her boots. “We’ve only gone out a few times.”
“Uh huh.” Clarke nodded and with a light push, Lexa found herself back in the pool.
A second later Lexa popped back up and pulled herself partially from the water. She laid her face against to cool concrete and took a few breathes as she watched Clarke walk back towards where Raven was still sitting. It was going to be a long weekend.
“Come on,” Anya laughed as she pulled Lexa to her feet and led her towards the house.
“Hold up,” Jasper said as he stepped in their path, holding a bottle out to each of them. “You know the rules.”
Anya drank it down without any argument, but Lexa pouted. “Why is everyone trying to kill me today?”
“Oh, it won’t kill you.” Monty assured her as he joined them.
“Might make you go blind,” Jasper joked, “but not kill you.”
Lexa sighed and glanced back towards Clarke who was now greeting Finn with a kiss. Sometimes it’s better to be blind, she decided and quickly emptied the contents of the bottle into her mouth. “I’m going to go get cleaned up.” She told Anya as she grabbed both of their bags and headed inside.
A little while later Lexa returned to see that some food had already been set out and people had randomly broken off into groups at the different tables in the yard. At one table sat Raven, Anya, Bellamy and Jasper, playing what appeared to be poker. Lincoln, Octavia and Monty were all standing by one of the tables talking about food and Clarke and Finn were curled up on a patio chair doing a bit more than lounging. Lexa’s stomach lurched slightly at the sight. “Get a room,” she mumbled to herself.
“Looks like someone got their thirst back.” Raven said as she appeared beside Lexa and motioned to Clarke.
Lexa shrugged as she knelt down and retrieved a beer from the cooler. “So, she’s pissed at me, huh?”
“Eh, I wouldn’t say pissed.” Raven said with a quick shrug. “Slightly annoyed with, perhaps.”
“Why?” Lexa questioned as she opened her beer.
Raven laughed. “Come on, everyone knows that Clarke’s ridiculously possessive when it comes to you.”
“True.” Lexa conceded with a nod.
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.” Raven told her. “She’s probably just jealous. She misses you.”
“It was just a couple of dinners.” Lexa groaned.
“You know Clarke.” Raven grinned with a shrug. “Fix it or forget it.”
Several hours later Lexa was sitting at a table playing cards with Jasper and Lincoln when she saw Clarke stumbling towards the house alone. At this point in the night everyone was pretty much stumbling and slurring to some degree. Now this was, perhaps, not the best opportunity to try and talk to her, but it was the first chance that Lexa had seen to catch her alone and make sure that everything was alright between them. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Clarke was standing at the counter, holding on with one hand, while making a drink with the other when Lexa walked in. She watched as she crossed the room and leaned against the opposite counter, cupping her hands in front of her. She sighed. “Is it going to be like this all weekend?”
“Christ. Like what, Lexa?” Clarke asked without so much as looking up at her. She knew she had been snubbing Lexa all night, but couldn’t really stop herself. Or even express why.
“Clarke,” Lexa stressed. “What is it?”
“Look, I just don’t understand, okay?” Clarke slammed the bottle down harder than she’d intended.
“Understand what?” Lexa questioned bewildered.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me that you’re seeing someone?” Clarke pouted. “When I started seeing Finn I told you.”
“You didn’t exactly have to tell me, Clarke.” Lexa suddenly snapped at her. “I heard you – hell, the whole damn house could hear you!”
Clarke felt like she’d been slapped. Where the hell did that come from? The look on Lexa’s face told her that the words were immediately regretted.
“Clarke, I…” Lexa started, but was interrupted when Octavia and Bellamy came walking into the room.
“Everything good?” Bellamy asked as he looked between them. Lexa’s eyes bounced around a little as she stepped forward and poured herself a glass of wine.
“Yep.” Clarke forced a smile. “Just getting a refill,” she told him as she raised her cup pleasantly, grabbed the bottle from the counter and left the room.
When Clarke rolled over the following morning and opened her eyes, she immediately regretted it. She was sure that the pain in her head was about to spilt her wide open. “Ugh,” she groaned. “I’m never drinking again.”
“You say that every month.” Finn told her as he curled around her. It was at this moment that she realized they were both naked.
“I need food,” she mumbled. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know,” Finn mumbled. “Go back to sleep. They’ll wake us when breakfast is ready.”
Clarke closed her eyes. Finn was right.
An hour or so later Octavia knocked on their door informing them that breakfast was ready. Finn got right up and slipped into his jeans but Clarke decided that she needed to shower before even attempting to be around anyone.
As she stood letting the warm water wash over her, her mind went to Lexa and the exchange that had taken place between them the night before. What the hell was that about? Where did it come from? Why were they both being so difficult and rude? The answers were something that she didn’t have, but from the way it had all happened, she was pretty sure that Lexa didn’t have them either.
When she finally did make her way out on to the deck she poured a glass of juice and glanced at Lexa. She was leaning against the railing, clutching a cup of coffee. She offered her a weak, regretful smile and Clarke returned it.
A few minutes passed before Clarke went and leaned against the railing, shoulder to shoulder, with Lexa. “Hi,” she finally said, her voice soft and warm.
Lexa sighed. “Hi.”
Suddenly the sound of raised voices came flowing out of the kitchen window peaking everyone’s curiosity. It was Bellamy and Finn. Well, shit.
“It was just Lexa.” Finn scoffed. “Trust me, she can take it.”
“Are you even hearing yourself right now?” Bellamy was completely offended. “She can take it. Really?”
“I really don’t know why you’re getting on my case right now, Bell.” Finn said loudly. “She’s tougher than she looks.”
“That doesn’t make it alright!” Bellamy chided him. “Who the hell are you to put your hands on anyone?”
“Look, I thought she was messing with my girlfriend…” Finn started to argue.
“That just speaks to how little you think of Clarke.” Bellamy cut him off.
“Fuck you, Blake.” Finn scowled.
“No thanks,” Bellamy crossed his arms. “Bitches like you aren't really up to my standards.”
It happened very fast. Finn took a swing and Bellamy caught it, twisting his arm being his back and slamming his face down onto the island.
“Seriously?” Bellamy roared.
“Ugh…shit…” Finn groaned as he tried to squirm out of Bellamy’s grip.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on with you,” Bellamy snarled, “but so help me, if you try to put your hands on anyone else in this house again...” his voice trailed off.
“Get of me…” Finn grunted.
“Bellamy.” Lexa’s voice finally cut through the room and though she didn’t say another word, her point was more than clear.
Bellamy let go of Finn and took a step back.
Finn stood upright and rubbed his shoulder as he looked around the room. “Fuck this shit,” he practically whispered, before scooping up his jacket and storming towards the door. He turned to Clarke. “You coming?”