It will be me before it's you (And that's okay)

Chapter 19

Clarke slowly peeled her eyes open, stretching out her legs only to sink right back into the soft mattress and fresh, crispy sheets she had found her way to last night. After silently putting Lexa to bed without a word, she found her room quickly and didn't even have time to unpack her suitcase before she collapsed into the bed, mouth wide open in a rather unattractive snore.

She threw her arms forward in a second, more desperate attempt to escape the comforts of her bed. She managed to sit up, almost choking on the yawn that escaped her lips unexpectedly. Numb legs balanced stiffly on the cool tiles of her bedroom and she lifted her arms in a final stretch, riding out the rest of her yawn as she swayed back and forth in her sleepy haze. Her eyes caught glimpse of the digital clock on the bedside table and immediately woke up.

"Oh... shit!" She exclaimed, partly padding across to her suitcase in a loosely hanging sock, the other long since lost during the night. The time read 10:33 am- almost three hours more than Lexa's usual time to wake up and get dressed. She threw on her suitcase wrinkled clothes and all but ran to Lexa's room.

She skidded to a stop, fresh socks carrying her across the ceramic flooring to the bedside. The bed was empty, the covers pushed to the side in a messy puddle. Her eyes searched the room, lost in confusion. Her chair was still nestled in the corner of the room where she had left it the night before. Where could Lexa manage to go on her own in her paralysed state?

"Lexa?" She called

There was a brief moment of silence before she received her answer "We're out here!"

Her heart finally took a breath as she heard Lexa's bright voice. That slide doors were left open by a crack, something she hadn't noticed in her panic.

She nudged open the door with her foot, fresh socks flush against the delicate slabbed outdoor tiles. Lexa was sat upright in a chair, still dressed in her nightclothes. The long sleeved shirt she wore to bed had it's sleeves rolled up just past her elbows to catch the sun. Lincoln sat opposite her, a glass of water clutched loosely in his hand, evaporated water droplets forming on the outside and dripping down his fingers. He wore darkened sunglasses to protect his eyes from the morning sunlight, and a bright, happy smile. To accompany them, he wore shorts of a baby blue shade that were patterned with pink flamingos. They were most likely a choice made by his significant other, but she wouldn't have doubted he was the type of man to choose shorts with pink flamingos on them.

"Sorry, I should have told you. I brought breakfast from the restaurant not far from here." Lincoln motioned, glass still in hand, to a styrofoam box on the table between them "Don't worry. I got some for you too! You don't owe me either it's on me"

"I told you, I'm paying" Lexa grumbled

"And I told you, I won't let you" he sat back in his chair with sass, bare chest looking to the sun for a fresh tan.

"Thank you, Lincoln" Clarke smiled as she pulled up a chair, sitting down.

Flicking open the take away box, she found a full English breakfast, still warm and so appetising she almost didn't catch the drool that threatened to dribble from her lips.

"English breakfast has and always will be superior to American." Lincoln grinned "God even smelling that makes me want another one"

"How do you manage to stay in shape with that appetite, Lincoln?" Lexa questioned

"It's a gift and a blessing" He flexed his bicep with a wink. Lexa scoffed in response "What? I had you laughing before"

"That was before you winked at a lesbian" She mumbled

"It wasn't flirtatious. I have Octavia. Love of my life? The blossom in my heart? The swelling in my extremely large-"

"Yeah, you can be quiet now" Lexa closed her eyes

"If you say so"

Lincoln was right. Not about his extremely large so and so, but about the breakfast he had presented them with. Although Clarke had never had an English breakfast before, after two forkfuls of bacon and the slice of hash brown dipped in the sauce of the beans, she most definitely preferred it to the typical American breakfast.

"Wow" she murdered through the food in her mouth "Why didn't us Americans think of this?"

"Turns out the English have more than tea and crumpets in their diet. Who knew?" He chuckled

"That's an inaccurate stereotype of the English. I met a man in England when I was travelling. Lovely man, of course. But he hated tea. He said he preferred latés and Dr Pepper." Lexa shook her head "His name was Jayden or something like that"

"It's like saying all lesbians have short hair" Lincoln looked to her for approval

"You-" Lexa paused "Well, you're not wrong."

"Thank you" He sighed in relief. He placed down the empty glass on the table and pushed himself up with the arms of the chair "Now if you'll excuse me, I better get back to Octavia before she wakes up and realises that her boo isn't where he's meant to be"

Lexa's brows pulled tightly together at the grotesque word "Did you say... boo?"

"Aaah!" He exclaimed before laughing at himself, reaching down and picking up the extra styrofoam box that must be octavia's breakfast.

Clarke paused, fork still hovering before her mouth as she processed what he said. It took a long moment- a moment that counted down slowly like an alarm. He had long since disappeared into the distance as she neared her final seconds.

Three... two... one...

"Oh!" She laughed "Oh I get it now"

Lexa looked to her, puzzled "Get what, Clarke?"

"The... the joke?" Her laughter died out "What Lincoln said."

"What?"

"He said 'ahh!'" She stumbled on her words "you know... when you said- never mind"

"You confuse me a lot, Clarke"

"Thank you. I was totally trying to" she rubbed her forehead.

She closed the now empty box, nothing left inside but the faint remnants of tomato juice and beans. She stood, box in hand, and looked to Lexa.

"Well, I don't think I'm macho enough to carry you all the way back inside"

"For a moment I thought you were" Lexa raised a brow at her

"Of course you did." Clarke rolled her eyes at her sad excuse of sarcasm "I'll go get the chair."

"Thank you. I'm not entirely sure, but if I had any feeling in my arms I'd say they feel like they're burning."

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Yes I took a break. Yes I'm sort of still on it. I'm just popping in with this chapter to remind everybody I'm still alive and these books will be finished.

I'm busy with a bunch of stuff atm and I'm trying to maintain a good mental health right now. I hope every body understand that.

BUT I'll still be here and responding to comments and writing every now and then. Don't forget me!

If you enjoyed vote and comment and stuff please it helps my book out.