Is It Over Now? || A Taylor Swift-Inspired Clexa AU - Chapter 28 - KB_1811 (2024)

Chapter Text

"So what's this big f*cking emergency?" Clarke demands when she opens the door for Raven a short while later.

Raven strolls through into the blonde's place with a virtuous smile.

"Who said anything about an emergency?"

"Uhhhh the seven missed calls? And twice as many texts?! What the hell happened??"

"Nothing..." shrugs the brunette nonchalantly, "Anya was being moody so I just wanted to come over."

"You twostillnot okay?!?"

"Mehhhh" Raven waves it off with a casual smirk as she sits on the couch, "She's a simple creature...few new sets of lingerie, a new housemaid outfit and nightly strip teases have worked wonders for me so far."

Crossing one leg over the over, she shoots Clarke a coy smile, "And she f*cks so much harder when she's mad at me too so it's a win-win."

Clarke shakes her head, "Ew I did not need to know that".

"What? It's true..."

"You're diabolical, you know that right?!"

Raven just shrugs, "She secretly loves it."

The pair do their best impressions of casual pretense carrying on with frivolous smalltalk, but Raven was in fact eager to see Clarke for a reason, while Clarke is preoccupied with the source of Lexa's sharp turn in mood and apparent awareness of the blonde's upcoming visit to NYC.

Its certainly not the same now that Octavia lives considerably further and can't just pop over with Raven for the trio to hangout together. But when Clarke mentions calling her up on facetime so she can be virtually present, Raven cuts to her real reason for coming.

"Wait before you call her," She says, "I don't wanna bore her with this stuff....but I booked your flight for the 6th and even though you're gonna stay at Luna's I still booked a suite for one night at the Ritz with a little extra special package included." She gives a wink but when Clarke doesn't immediately smile or get giggly, her voice turns solemn.

"Hey..." She nudges Clarke next to her on the couch with her knee, "You don't seem excited..." She comments on Clarke's stressed expression, "You don't have to worry about anything except packing at least one sexy dress you don't mind getting either ruined or ripped off."

"I don't think she's the type to go ripping off my dress." Huffs Clarke.

Luna was just so...composedall the time.

With such a calming demeanor, it actually was incredibly soothing, even just talking to her over the phone. Her low, breathy laugh felt like arms slipping around her in a hug.

Her strongest appeal actually laid in that soothing self-assurance, but it was difficult for Clarke to then imaging Luna being overly vigorous in the bedroom, not when even their few nights they'd already spent together were more of a...subduedpassion.

"Well then you don't know how bad she misses you." Grins Raven, pulling out her phone and scrolling up a little ways to show her part of a conversation between them from sometime back.

Clarkes cheeks turn rosy and she tries to cover her smile with her hand.

"Therreee it is!" Raven nudges with her elbow this time, "See....she's gonna be so happy when you surprise her, so yes whatever your wearing is getting ripped OFF. Ugh I wish I could be there to see her face!"

"You're more than welcome to come with you know." Says Clarke, "I'm sure she'd love to spend her birthday withBOTHher favorite people...considering her last one." The two giggle at the callback to Raven's 'gesture' of ordering an escort to show up at Luna's door the previous year.

The brunette giggles though, "Oh I wouldn't dare, this trip is just for the two of you. I'd be surprised how much touring of the city you even get done honestly."

Clarke's eyebrows crinkle.

"I really don't think it's going to bequitelike that." She notes, knowing exactly what Raven is insinuating.

"And whyNOT?!?"Gawks her best friend.

"Because!" Blushes Clarke, "I wanna actually get toKNOWher better? Beyond just the physical...?"

Raven sucks on her top teeth for a second, trying to hold back her smirk.

"You can do plenty of that naked and horizonal while she plays with those massive tit* you know."

"Does Anya know I'm going to visit Luna?"

The question is abrupt, and Raven seems caught off guard.

"Of course she does." Raven answers, "Why?"

Clarke quickly shakes off the question.

"Nothing...we good to call O now?" Clarke unlocks her phone, her thumb hovering over the screen to click on Octavia's name.

"You do want to go on this trip... right?" Raven asks with a suspicious tone.

Clarke feels a lump form in her throat that she struggles swallowing down, only prolonging her response which elicits a visibly concerned expression on Raven's face.

"Of course." Clarke responds.

"I can read your mind, you know." Raven says and Clarke practically squirms under the brunette's scrutinizing stare.

But Raven only places a comforting hand on Clarke's knee, "You'll have the time of your life, trust me." She nods, "Look...I know you're nervous...about things gettingat allserious...but It's okay! Youneedthis!"

"Oh do I?" Say Clarke, "You're pushing me to practically go be a sex doll for the weekend."

"NOTto be a sex doll..." Raven says with a finger held up, "...To be reminded how muchbettersex is when it's with someone who cares about youdeeply...and wants youcompletely."

The lump is right back in Clarke's throat, and Raven catches the slight shift in expression.

"Hey..." Raven leans in closer, "No being insecure...you are in your goddamnglitteringprime right now! With your dream career... a body that provokes cannibalism...and people around you that would doANYTHINGto see you happy. It's okay to let yourselfbehappyagain you know..."

"I am happy." Clarke says, willing her eyes to hold back the rising flood.

"Biiiitchhhyou haven't left your house or studio in like three weeks!" Scolds Raven.

"And I have several new pieces to show for it - what can I say.... I'm productive." The blonde pulls one leg up onto the couch to tuck under her and fiddles with the bottom hem of her t-shirt.

"You cry a lot for someone so 'productive'" Raven rebukes with airquotes.

"It's an art." Clarke shrugs then looks down to avoid further eye contact, " And I don't even cryTHATmuch."

"Bitch you look like you want to cryRIGHT NOW!"

The comment expels a nervous laugh from the blonde that actually cuts the tension and sets her a bit more at ease.

"Shut uppppp! Can we call O already?!?"

Octavia, as usual, provides an easy distraction as the two older girls loved teasing her about her newfound domesticity. She had always been the messiest of the three when they roomed together the first two years living in Los Angeles, and didn't getthatmuch better once she had her own small loft downtown so imagining her having to keep up with and entire house's worth of dusting, vacuuming, and dishes was plenty fodder for the three.

"Bitch you gotta fake it 'til you make it!" Raven screeches, "I can't wait to be the fun gay aunties."

"Oooohhhh yessss!!!" Chimes Clarke.

"Don't either of you want to fund at least a bi-weekly cleaning service for us?!?" Octavia pouts with her bottom lip puckered out dramatically, whining like a puppy.

"Wait why are you already doing all this wifey stuff when you JUST moved in like two months ago??" Raven questions, "It'sHIShouse!"

Octavia gets only slightly defensive, "Because IWANTto! Gotta seem like wifey material! Not just the hot chick he started banging from his gym."

"Let her be excited to do wifey things!" Clarke chides the brunette next to her, but Raven elbows her right back.

"She'sNOTexcited to do wifey things that's the whole point..." Both girls fall over giggling as Octavia scowls at them through the screen.

Despite the six year age gap, the two fell in together like the missing pieces of each other's life puzzle. They were a thing almost instantly after Octavia joined his gym where he trained at, after initially signing up for kickboxing classes and shortly after personal training sessions.

It was Lincoln who was intimidated by Octavia at first, with her gruff tone and tomboyish personality. He was intrigued by the signature braided rows she liked to do on both sides of her head for her longer training sessions, and it was her who convinced him to get his own motorcycle to match hers, and the two would go riding in the evenings along the coast after Lincoln got off work.

"Besides... it's been what 7? 8 years?" Says Clarke, "You're obviously notjustthe girl he started banging from the gym anymore who are you kidding!"

"He'sgottabe planning to pop the question soon..." Raven adds.

Octavia's face drops slightly as she checks her surroundings before answering.

"I don't know he's been a bit...off lately." She says in a low voice.

"Girl Is heHOMEright now?!" Yells Raven. Octavia shakes her head no, but the impulse to talk quietly remains as she leans in closer to the screen.

"He's just seemed a tad distant, that's all. Preoccupied... I guess. Always messaging Anya and when I ask what it's about he shrugs it off as nothing but it doesn'tfeellike nothing because he's just seemed...I don't know....distracted."

"Well that could all be true about planning a proposal...?" Suggests Clarke, trying to keep the mood up.

"No... It's definitely got to do with Lexa. Just my gut feeling. Hefreakedout on me when he came home one day and I was just messing around on the drums in that back studio....and then barely talked to me the rest of the day."

Raven let's out an annoyed groan, "Ugh you TOO?!?! Why arebothof us being punished over her dramatics??"

Clarke shoots a sideways look, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Is she still not talking to Lincoln either?" Raven says to the girl on the phone screen, ignoring Clarke's question.

"I don't think so? But she did text him yesterday though... he wouldn't tell me what it said."

"How can someone who gets laid as much as she does beSO WOUND UPall the time?!?" Raven exasperates, "It just does not make any f*cking sense."

"Has Anya talked to Lexa at all?" Clarke keeps her tone as even as possible, still trying to put pieces together in light of Lexa's latest text, her passive-aggressively offering Clarke her private jet for her trip to New York coming up.

At that, Raven grunts and stands from the couch, heading over into Clarke's kitchen where her wine bottles hang in a rack on the wall. Before she can even select one though, Clarke calls over her shoulder.

"Can we maybeNOTdrink today?" The last thing Clarke wanted right now was to surrender any control over her thoughts, words, or actions for that matter and if she wasn't going to be drinking she certainly was NOT in the mood to handle Raven consuming an entire bottle herself.

The brunette huffs and moves to open the fridge, pulling out two organic green fruit juice drinks and tosses one to the girl on the couch. Once she's seated again, Clarke looks at her expectantly, still waiting on an answer.

"Well..." Raven sighs as she plops back down on the couch, "She finally came over last night, while I was out picking up dinner..." Raven starts, "But she wasn't there long."

Clarke just stares at her, clearly expecting more details, so Raven adds with a eyeroll:

"And I apologized for how I acted at game night.... but I'mNOTf*cking sorry for what I said after that."

Clarke drops her face into her palm, "Jesus Rae... what the hell did you say?!"

"Nothing that shouldn't have been said aLONGf*cking time ago!" She takes a long swig of her fruit drink and Clarke can tell how badly the girl wishes it was alcohol, with her agitation coming through in her animated gestures.

"She's such a f*ckingBABYabout everything ever since game night like... our back-and-forth used to be hot?!" She taps the blonde's knee,"No offense Clarke....but like... ughhhh....It's not like IWANTto fightwith her...she used to actually be funny!"

Clarke sighs heavily, agitated by her best friend's brazen hobby of getting under her ex's skin. Usually it was always in public, and therefore limited in scope and severity, at events where their sharp comments were tampered behind polite smiles and the scrutiny of a public audience, like the charity gala.

"Whyyyyymust you always make everythingworse?!?" Clarke was not afraid to hide her displeasure but now knew without a doubt whatever Raven said to Lexa had to be the cause for the tone shift in their texting.

"Not my fault she goesnuclearat the slightest mention of Costia."

Clarke's eyes flash over to Raven's as she screws on the lid of her drink and slams it on the coffee table harder than she meant to, "What the f*ck Rae?! Would you leave that poor girlOUTof all this sh*t?! What is your obsession with her???"

Of course, the mere mention of Costia having been the trigger to Lexa's apparent outburst causes the slightest bit of heat rise into Clarke's cheeks. Her heartrate thrummed against her ribcage imagining Lexa jumping to Costia's defense.

But Clarke took it to heart after game night that whatever jabs and comments she might make about Lexa's erotic habits, Costia was the one thing off-limits moving forward.

"It's notMYobsession!" Raven yells back.

"You kinda are though" Octavia chimes in.

"Am not!" Yells Raven.

"Thenwhydo you bring her up to Lexa every chance you get?!"

"Clarke do you evenWANTher to leave you alone?" Raven's tone is suddenly much more accusatory, and the blonde shifts to adjust the way she's sitting to tuck her other foot underneath her.

The sudden silence has her squirming, feeling both sets of eyes on her. She panics and furrows her eyebrows as if she's offended.

"Of course! But that doesn't mean be an asshole about it?!?"

Raven holds her stare for several seconds, like she's gauging Clarke in a way the blonde wanted to end but instead the blonde presses back into it.

"Is that why you told Lexa I'm going to visit Luna?"

Raven squints her eyes, "Now how would you know I did that?"

Clarke decides to show Raven the last message from Lexa. It was harmless without the context of knowingalltheir previous exchanges over the past few weeks. The girl studies the brief exchange while subtly nodding, sucking on her top teeth before speaking again, back with her accusatory tone.

"I'm sorry... was you going to see Luna supposed to be a secret?"

Clarke shakes her head, "No...but - "

"Then what's the problem?" Raven cuts her off.

Clarke is at a loss for words, but now Raven had more to push her friend on.

"So you guys are just back to texting then....since when?" She says pointedly.

"We aren't...not really." Replies Clarke.

Raven lifts an eyebrow.

"I...had just messaged her a few days after Grounders..." Clarke starts rambling, "...thanking her for helping with Finn...and now it's just the off-comments here and there..." Clarke feels like she's starting to ramble, unsure why she feels so nervous trying to explain something that should be so simple, "So we can just be in asomewhatnormal place again....for the sake of the group."

"Yeah well... the slopeonlygets slippery from there." Scoffs Raven.

Octavia just looks on quietly, but Clarke glares between her two friends, annoyed.

"I'm sorry do you twoENJOYyour own relationships suffering because of all this drama?"

She's focused mostly on Octavia, knowing Raven wasn't nearly as bothered by it and the girl on the screen shakes her head sympathetically.

"Okay then..."Clarke sighs, satisfied, "Don't worry about me, I'm a tough kid... I can handle my sh*t."

The brunette next to her looked rather unconvinced.

"I mean it!" Clarke assures, "It doesn't affect anything with Luna to just becivilwith her..."

Raven holds up her hand to speak, pointing at the device on the table.

"Well... you clearly named her'walking red flag'in there for a reason... so like... as long as you don't forget that."

Clarke rolls her eyes.

"Forreal... give it 24 hours." Raven challenges, "I'll bet $100 she does something within 24 f*cking hours to prove me right."

"I'll take that bet..." Says Octavia, "Except instead of money if I'm right you pay for a monthly cleaning service for a year."

"Bitch that's a couple thousand at least!"

"What's that to you anyways Ms. Moneybags?!" Octavia smirks back, "How confident are you?!"

Raven, smugly, "Actually no...you're right... I am that confident."

Clarke make several attempts to initiate or provoke a response from Lexa the rest of that day to test her mood, but all go unanswered.

The only hint she had of what Lexa was likely doing was a tweet by the official Elle Magazine account, previewing their upcoming issue's cover featuring none other than a certain actress.

O kay so she's just doing a photoshoot.... Those take all day sometimes... it's normal that she doesn't even have her phone near her...

But when she still hadn't seen a response by the evening, an uneasy feeling crawled it's way down into her stomach and festered.

Those couple weeks of semi-casual commentary on each other's posts suddenly felt way more important... more meaningful... staring down the possible reality of that being over already.

Now she regrets not at leasttryingto have turned any of their fleeting exchanges into real conversation.

Are we really right back to no-contact?

Clarke was tucked under a blanket on her couch, in nothing but an oversized t-shirt dipping apple slices into peanut butter while watching whatever the latest Netflix true-crime documentary was when Raven texted her and Octavia in a group chat to brag about having won her bet.

More than anything, Clarke hated that a much larger part of herself wasnotsurprised than was surprised.

Clarke quickly looked up the profile, clicking into the two most recent photos, one posted earlier that afternoon, the other posted less than an hour ago.

Her eyes are glued to the second image. Following the curve of Lexa's spine down and back up again, shamelessly admiring her body in that lighting and how it perfectly accentuates the ridges and outlines of each muscle. Whether from her profession or extracurricular hobbies, Lexa was anything but shy about showing off her body, evident by the type of photos she allowed Costia to post all the time, and it was hard to blame her when she looked likethat.

Clarke looks over each ridge on her back, the way her long fingers drape over the edge of the pool table, the way her butt sat perfectly up on the edge...and a simmering heat flared in her lower stomach picturing some random stranger's hands running over it all.

Hands that don't know that body the way she does.

OMG THAT'S DEFINITELY LEXA!!😱😍

✨S T U N N I N G✨

So jealous!!! Ugh to be the one taking her pictures😩

Whendoesthis issue comeouttttt👀

NEED TO SEE THESE FINAL PICS!!!

The collarbone lines🥵🥵

How is she so effortlessly perfect🥹🫠

Our perfect covergirl🤍🖤

______________________

HOLY sh*t😳🔥

I am no better than a man.

This is the hottest thing I've ever seen😳

Her back tattoo is sexy AF🔥🔥🔥

LEXA ONE CHANCE PLEASE IM BEGGING😫

*feral growling*

Who says you can't mix work with pleasure😏

I will never recover from this.

THE BACK DIMPLES OMFGGGG🥵😮💨

She wants us DEAD WTF😩😭😭

Proof that every inch of her is perfect❤️

Damn is being blonde REALLY all it takes?!?

f*cking✨GODDESS✨🙌🏼

Please tell me these will be in the magazine too🤭

^^Manifesting the rest of this home 'photoshoot' leaks🤭

I've never been so attracted to back muscles

Just want to take a bite🍑

___________________________

Clarke managed to last 'til morning before her itching fingers finally gave in and sent off a message to the girl who had done someveryexplicit things to her in her dreams the previous night.

She didn't care what she might be starting...if Lexa was already back to ignoring her...how much worse could it get?

It was barely 9am, even though it wasn't necessarily early, Clarke was sure Lexa wouldn't even be awake yet for a few hours with it being a Sunday.

Especially during stretches of filming, her weekend mornings were practically sacred. Clarke used to love being the first one up those days to fetch them coffee and bakery treats from around the corner to bring back into bed. Or they'd keep the blanket wrapped around them and shuffle out onto the rooftop balcony on cooler mornings to eat and cuddle on the large sectional, letting the swirling breeze lull them back to sleep a while longer.

Or, she'd just let Lexa sleep while she cooked some breakfast instead, usually in nothing but a large tee. But the actress, being a light sleeper, soon after hearing the clinking of skillets or glassware would always emerge before it could be served to her in bed, sleepily slinking her arms around Clarke's waist as she stood at the stove.

More than a handful of mornings resulted in the smoke detector blaring, the scent of burnt bacon saturating the penthouse thanks to Lexa pulling Clarke away from the stove for too long, insistent on eating something else for breakfast.

Clarke was certain Lexa was likely still asleep, even more likely asleep wrapped around that photographer.

She pushed the image from her head quickly.

But those three dots appeared within seconds.

Clarke's empty stomach gurgled, equally hungry and uneasy. The tiniest seed of doubt remained, that perhaps the assumptions were in fact unfair to make.

Maybe it's not fair that we jump to conclusions.

Maybe it's not what it seems.

Clarke's holding her breath at those damn three dots....

Clarke loudly grunts her frustration as she throws her comforter off herself to get out of bed, heading into her kitchen to start on some coffee.

Immature...

Infuriating....

Insufferable....

Noneof this is the girl she knew. The girl she misses so much it makes her bones ache.

Seeing this...this....impostercontinue to flippantly throw herself around with so little self-respect angered her for reasons she could never quite nail down. It was more than just jealousy, but then why isn't it that much easier to let go?

You used to shine so bright... but I watched all of it fade...

Why does this even still matter to me?

It shouldn't matter to me.

This isn't the Lexa I knew. This isn't the Lexa I LOVED all those years.

She's not mine anymore. She hasn't been for so long.

She can do whatever she wants.

She can f*ck every girl she meets.

Their one recent night together proved to Clarke that at the very least she alone still held the key to Lexa's secret desires. Something that would only ever belong to the two of them. A level of intimacy they had discovered together, organically, over years of learning each other's likes, dislikes...what turns her on, what drives her crazy....and every fantasy in between.

Yearsof growing so close, so comfortable that they could speak to each other from across a room. Through a simple touch.

At least noone else can do what I do for her....

It was the only thought she could hold onto, the only comfort that sat in the back of her mind over months, thenyears after their split... with each post, each headline, each pompous display of yet another woman sheknowsLexa doesn't care about and probably won't ever see again.

The buzzing in her hand cuts her thought process.

Clarke used to think she knew Lexa's games well enough. So sure she still held the true upper hand.

But this is Lexa f*cking Woods we are talking about....

That night Clarke is up well past midnight texting with Luna. Being in the early stages ofwhateverthis was meant conversation still came almost all too easily, as every little thing served as a doorway to learning something new about the other and their family, their work, their friends, interests, viewpoints, hobbies or just life in general.

Clarke found herself enthralled by Luna's stories of travels abroad, volunteer work she's done in conflict zones helping displaced children orphaned by war. They'd helped build new homes, dug wells to provide entire villages with clean drinking water, provided tools and resources to help communities rebuild.

Luna's smile never looked wider than in the photos she shared of herself in a dusty, dessert-looking climate surrounded by emaciated kids with bright eyes and even brighter smiles despite their bare feet and tattered clothes, all clamoring to be as close as possible to her for each photograph. It was so endearing the way she held several of them in outstretched arms, as always wearing one of her signature wide-brimmed hats. This one was made of hemp or canvas material that looked well-weathered and more similar to those donned by a few of the older women in the background of some of the photos, while others wore brightly-colored scarves around their heads, bent over wooden washboards and buckets of water.

Sometimes it made Clarke suspicious...curious... as to how long it would be until the veil was lifted.

No one is this good. This good and still single??

Luna was an enigma.

And trying to unravel her mysteries seemed like the perfect escape from her life in L.A. right now.

There's escape in escaping.

******( The next week )*********

Clarke was all packed for her flight in the morning. More nervous than excited. Anxious to step into Luna's world, to start letting any of her walls down, and to tempt herself with an easy outlet while struggling with the lingering residue of her night with her ex a few weeks ago.

I told her we shouldn't make it messy. For everyone's sake.

Though she doesn't knowhowLexa would've known exactly when she was set to leave for her trip, it could notpossiblyhave been a coincidence that her ex chose this night to meet up with the woman who gave ten grand to charity for a night of Lexa Woods' company.

It was meant to just be more gossip fodder, when Raven texted her to come over.

They both had seen Lexa's snap story, showing the entire interior of Trishana - the most exclusive rooftop restaurant in L.A. - completely cleared out and another of her in what appeared to be a hotel room getting ready.

It started off fun. One outrageous speculation after another about what Lexa might have planned to "showoff" her status or connections to impress a woman.

A private night helicopter ride over the skyline, maybe down the coast...

After-hours access at the Griffith Observatory...

A private tour of Staples Center, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall, or any museum really...

Clarke ran through a mental list of all the places that felt somewhat date-like and honestly hoped it was any one of them...out in public...and very muchUPRIGHT.

Raven had been messaging a little with the woman who had won the prized date at the auction, even met her for coffee once so she freely gave her observations and opinions of the mysterious woman who, by all accounts, seemed to actually beverymuch Raven's type.

Raven babbled on and on about the woman's quiet, seductive demeanor. The way she devoured you with her eyes while looking you over, almost studying you as you talked. Clarke had seen her impeccable physique in person briefly at the charity gala, but that, combined with Raven's clear infatuation off just a few interactions made it difficult to hide that it was affecting her.

Clarke's forced indifference was quickly waning, as the two sit on Raven's couch in sweats, well into their second bottle of wine. Every word out of Raven's mouth, every scrap of information they found on the internet only made Clarke's resentment towards her best friend grow for having invited this into her life.

Well...into Lexa's life.

"She's definitely got sex eyes too." Says Raven.

"What's that even mean?"

"Like resting bitch face....but instead it's an 'I will f*ck you right here and now' look..." Raven tries to imitate a seductive gaze, slightly squinting her eyes while holding her lips slightly pinched in a sultry expression.

Clarke's face drops, unamused.

"I'm serious! I thought she was gunna drag me into the bathroom in that coffee shop!"

"And would you have let her?" Questioned Clarke.

Raven waves it off, "Bitch of course not, don't be silly."

Clarke only half-believes her though.

"But her and Lexa... alone in a room...phewww..." Raven whistles, "Lexa might have met her match finally."

The nausea only got worse once they found the girl's Instagram, which was practically the ONLY digital footprint she had. There was nothing else anywhere, causing them to discern that Echo must not be her real name.

"Who this bitch think she is Zendaya?!?!" Squawks Raven.

Even with the tech guru's only barely-legal hacking tendencies, they could not find anything about what she did for work, where she's from, or any personal or professional associations.

Despite the massive sectional couch, Clarke's criss-crossed legs overlap Raven's as the two are sitting so close together with their phones almost side by side in their laps as they continue to stalk and scroll.

"Damn she's definitely into some freaky sh*t, I just know it." Raven comments scanning the woman's IG feed, subconsciously licking at her lips.

Clarke is staying mostly silent as her eyes flit back and forth across the screens, letting Raven voice all of the observations and assumptions while practically drooling, and her nausea only continues to build the more she sees.

The sharp features, the confidence practically oozing through the screen. At least there wasonearea Clarke knew the girl would be lacking as far as Lexa's preferences were concerned.

Well at least she's not the FULL package.

"She might be an escort." Says Raven.

"I don't think an escort would go bidding several thousand of theirownmoney for a date with a stranger." Clarke replies back.

Clarke though was still confident that she knows Lexa better than anyone. And while yes, Echo is undoubtedly and insanely attractive, her whole suave persona on display in her profile seemed very much who Lexa aspired toBErather than what she actually wentAFTER.

These two egos can probably barely fit in the same room.

Clarke reasoned Lexa would see it as a challenge. A fun game in itself for the night and nothing more.

After all, the woman bid on a date with Lexa Woods based off aSPECIFICreputation. Not that the notion helped the cyclone whirling in Clarke's stomach, thinking about Lexa and her sky-scraper sized ego trying to prove she could out-alpha another alpha, or simply give $10,000 worth of org*sms in a singe night.

A true test of her bravado.

Bravado that's all bullsh*t to begin with.

She simplycannotbelieve Raven actually auctioned Lexa off practically as a sex toy at a company event. But in no way could she convey that she's bothered by any of this. She leaves in 14 hours to the airport to go see Luna. Which Lexa somehow must know.

That's the only reason she's doing this.

She doesn't actually care about how tonight goes, or what she gets out of it.

"Hold on...I'm getting to the bottom of this..." Raven pulls her phone back towards her as she types a long message and the 'whoosh' sound of an email sending prompts Clarke to ask who she's asked and what.

Raven innocently shrugs and sips her wine.

"Nothing I just...don't like to go breaking the law myself... so I have a person who does it for me...that's all."

"Rae!" Clarke slaps her arm with the back of her hand.

"I'm just having them run her name through a few databases, searching it as an Alias as well as an actual name!"

"It's not your assistant is it?!"

She wants to blame it on the wine but Raven still seemed to have all her faculties this far.

"It's part of what I pay him an obscene salary for!" Raven yells in her defense.

"How much is obscene?!?"

Raven goes quiet but the corner of her mouth slides up, before pulling both her lips between her teeth like she doesn't want to say it.

"I mean for an assistant? Like... three million a year."

Clarke's eyes almost pop out of her head as she slaps her friend again.

"BITCH I'd go get you coffee and breakfast and do semi-illegal stalking for you for three mil a year!"

"He has a special set of skills though! It's why he got the job!"

Clarke fake gags, "Oh ew do I want to know what those are?"

"GROSShow dare you!" Now it's Raven slapping Clarke, "No he's a dark web hacker." Raven explains, getting up to fetch a fresh bottle of wine, "I helped get him out of a teeny bit of legal trouble and then convinced him to come work for me instead."

Clarke gets up to head into the bathroom, looking for just a tad bit of privacy to pour over the pictures of the girl being pampered with Lexa's 'A-game' tonight. It's been hours by now, it's half past ten. They should be long done with dinner...and the unknown 'after' is what's festering under Clarke's skin more than it should.

Honestly though, was this random stranger any worse than another?She thought to herself.

Would it be BETTER if it were Costia? Or one of Lexa's other friends with benefits?

No. Definitely not.

This at least is just a one-off.

This is purely ego-driven tonight.

Clarke thought all she had to do was get through a low-key weekend with Luna of letting herself indulge in good, wholesome connection - sure some flirting and intimacy - but keeping things on their same slow trajectory for now.

Maybe it really does turn into something...eventually. She wasn'tagainstit, she just wasn't in any sort of rush to get there.

Keeping things nice and slow gave her what she needed most....time.

So that on the other side of this weekend, she could try to get back to where her and Lexa had been the last few weeks.Could we get back to neutral?Had Lexa maybe been on the verge of changing?

Is it killing her like it's killing me?

Clarke had the one thing no one else did.

Every time she's held her keyring lately she finds herself fiddling with the tiny silver one she'd all but forgotten about until about a month ago. Mindlessly rubbing her thumb back and forth over it, just wondering if the last timereallywas the last time.

The blonde is splashing her face with some cool water when Raven practically screeches out from down the hall in the living room.

"OHHHHMYGOD! Clarke! Get in here!"

Clarke lets her head hang between her shoulders as she braces against the vanity, letting the water droplets fall off her face into the basin of the sink. She doesn't respond to Raven's shrieking, which only makes the girl come running down the hall to bang on the bathroom door.

"CLARKE!!! We found her! Holysh*tno wonder she's hard to research!"

The nausea is rippling and gurgling against the walls of her stomach, building to a head and several waves of chills fan across her as she feels the blood drain from her face at the same time Raven proudly yells through the barrier between them.

"She's thefounderof The Alchemy!"

Clarke puffs a small bit of air out of her mouth and braces against them sink tighter.

"What the hell is The Alchemy?"

"Umm I'm pretty sure it's a f*ckingsex clubfor celebrities!"

Upon opening the message, the blonde barely registers the text in between two images because as soon as she sees the photos and who it's from, her head is promptly over the toilet emptying the entire contents of her stomach.

___________________________________________________________________________