Chapter 2
The party starts to wind down and around midnight and Thelonious and Aurora have gone to bed, leaving their children to entertain themselves. Clarke and Lincoln stay to continue drinking and to get to know Lexa. She can tell that Lincoln is genuinely a nice guy, but she gets an icy vibe from him and thinks that perhaps it has something to do with the way Bellamy blushes in his presence.
Bellamy takes the recliner for himself and Lexa sits comfortably on the couch on the other side of the living room. Bellamy tries to discreetly get her attention by coughing, but this just makes everyone give him funny looks.
Lexa takes the hint and crosses the room quickly. She stands above him for a few seconds before awkwardly sitting in his lap which, she hopes, looks like something they’ve done many times before and not like she has forgotten how to sit and act like a person. Bellamy awkwardly pats her head and conversations resume.
Somehow they get on to the topic of the meaning of life when Lexa claims that life is just about surviving.
“That’s ridiculous…” Clarke starts but is interrupted by the front door banging open.
“What’s up fuckers!” Foot still raised from kicking open the door, a tall blond stands in the doorway and Bellamy stands up in surprise, throwing Lexa to the ground. She glares at him to let him know she is not happy about the current situation.
“Anya!” Octavia rushes into the outstretched arms of her older sister.
Anya picks her up with no problem, despite the younger girl almost matching her height, and swings her around once before setting her down again.
“Damn girl, what have they been feeding you? You weigh a ton.” Anya doubles over, as if the strain from twirling her sister actually affected her.
Octavia just beams, “I’ve been working out. After graduation I’m planning on joining the Army. Like you.”
Instead of the pride and congratulations she was expecting, the room goes quiet. Raven’s eyes go dark and she is unnaturally quiet before announcing she’s tired.
After that conversation comes more slowly. No one is really in a jolly mood and Bellamy promises that this is a talk they are going to have soon.
Because Ayna had arrived earlier than they anticipated she takes her room for the night, Clarke rooms with Raven and Octavia for the night instead. Bellamy heads down to the basement, followed by Lincoln and the other guys.
~
Lexa is the first of the guests and siblings to wake up. She follows her nose to the kitchen where Aurora is making heaps of bacon and pancakes. She turns away from the stove to see which of her children has roused first.
“Ah, Lexa,” she turns back to the stove, smiling, “why am I not surprised that you are the first one awake?”
Lexa sidles up next to the island, “I don’t know about the rest, but Bellamy sleeps like the dead.”
This makes Aurora laugh and shake her head. “They all do. I don’t know how they do it, this place is always a mad house.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Lexa never could sit still for long.
“Actually, could you wake up the girls? I know they won’t want to eat cold pancakes. Or no pancakes if Theo gets the boys up first.”
Lexa goes back to Octavia’s room to wake up the girls as instructed. She isn’t sure what she is expecting, but it definitely isn't what she sees. All three of them, crammed together, on Octavia’s full size bed. There are limbs and hair everywhere. Lexa doesn't know how three full grown women can share a bed like this, but they all are, sleeping soundly. She imagines them as children in the same situation and smiles.
She wishes she had her phone with her so she could capture the moment. Instead she reaches for the nearest foot and runs her fingers across in one quick, light swoop.
The response is instant. Clarke, whose foot she had tickled, yanks it back and yelps. This causes a chain reaction and the other girls quickly untangle themselves.
Clarke jumps into action. Literally. She tackles Lexa to the ground.
“You are so going to regret that.” Clarke's blue eyes shine mischievously and Lexa is scared. And maybe a little excited. Her heart is pounding it’s way out of her chest. Okay, maybe a lot excited.
And she definitely regrets it. If she didn't have a fake fiance to worry about this would actually be ideal. A beautiful girl straddling her, leaning over her, about to make her pay. Although she greatly doubts Clarke was thinking of the same kind of punishment that Lexa was.
Clarke’s pupils widen and her irises darken. No sooner has this happened than Clarke jumped to her feet. Or maybe she was thinking of the exact type of punishment Lexa was.
Lexa was going to kill Bellamy for getting her into this mess.
~
Breakfast was a loud affair. Lexa stood by as everyone else seemed to fight for the food as fast as Aurora could make it. This was the kind of thing she missed out on being an only child. Her plan was to wait until everyone settled before serving herself, but that was looking less and less likely.
Clarke makes her way over with two full plates full. “If you wait, you’re going to starve. And since your fiance” she says, voice raised and with a look at Bellamy (who was currently about to spear Murphy’s hand with a fork), “I figured I would make sure you’re fed.”
Lexa takes the plate from Clarke, their fingers touching and she suppresses a shiver. “T-Thanks.”
“No problem.”
There is no room to sit at the table or the island so the two women stand leaning on the wall, shoulders brushing. They watch the scene unfold together. Lexa notices that it’s actually controlled chaos. It’s like watching choreographed dancers, the almost stabbing notwithstanding. They all ducked and dipped and the conversation flowed easily. Although, she could tell that Raven was still not happy with Octavia.
Clarke’s voice breaks into her thoughts, but she only catches the end, “isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
Clarke laughs, “I said it’s mesmerising, isn’t it?”
“Very. I don’t have any siblings. This is like a whole new world to me.”
“Same. I mean, I don’t have any brothers or sisters. This isn’t new to me. I practically lived here half of my life.”
Done with her plate, and noticing that Clarke was too she takes their plates to the sink. Clarke follows.
“What was with all that ‘life is suffering’ bull last night?” Clarke says when they are away from the maelstrom of the dining room.
“Ah,” Lexa says, running the water and washing the dishes already there, “I said life is surviving, not suffering.”
“But, life is beautiful and wonderous.”
“Of course it is. And the noble truth is that life is suffering because we crave things. As humans there’s always something we’re striving for, there is always something we want.” Lexa tries to stop the blush that’s starting to creep up her neck as she realizes that what she’s saying may have a double meaning.
“So you just don’t ‘want’ things? That seems like a really lame existence.”
Lexa just shrugs. It’s how she’s lived her life. If she didn’t want anything, she wouldn’t ever be hurt or disappointed.
“What about Bellamy?” Clarke’s eyes narrow.
Lexa’s hands pause for a second before she continues watching, pointedly not looking at the girl next to her.
“Well, of course I want Bellamy.” Lexa hopes that she sounds convincing, but still doesn’t look at Clarke.
“Okay. You just better not hurt him.” with that, Clarke goes back into the dining room, leaving Lexa to face plam with a soapy hand