Arcadia Academy

Chapter 15

Clarke watched through the common area window as her friends walked across the quad towards the parking lot. It was thanksgiving break and their parents were here to pick them up.

Her parents wouldn't have been able to be home for Thanksgiving but it didn't help ease the pain of knowing that they might never be around for another holiday again.

Wells and Jaha had been working on getting Clarke to change her mind about skipping Thanksgiving at their house all week. She wasn't much in the mood to celebrate and decided to stay at Arcadia Academy.

Clarke heard movement behind her and turned in surprise thinking everybody had left. Lexa was walking over to the couch with a book under her arm.

"What are you still doing here?" Clarke questioned.

"I stay here over breaks." Lexa shrugged.

"Why?" Clarke asked, immediately regretting it.

"I have nowhere else to go." Lexa said looking down at her book with a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry." Clarke felt guilty for asking after she heard the answer she should've known was coming. She knew Lexa's parents had died and she never talked about other family figures. Not that Lexa talked about herself often but Clarke still felt like she should've known it might be a sensitive subject.

"It's not your fault." Lexa didn't hide the sadness in her voice.

"Who is your guardian?" Clarke asked.

"Anya." Lexa answered.

"The combat strategies professor?" Clarke questioned in surprise.

"Yeah, she worked with my father, he was her mentor. She adopted me when he died."

Clarke nodded sitting down next to Lexa on the couch. Lexa closed her book and turned to look at Clarke.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" she asked.

"Yeah." Clarke nodded.

"I'll get us some snacks you can pick a movie from Bellamy's collection, he won't mind." Lexa stood up and walked over to the kitchen area.

5 minutes later they were back on the couch with a blanket, popcorn, and m&m's. Clarke pressed play and the menu screen disappeared. Clarke had chosen Transformers which Lexa had never seen before.

"Can I ask you a question." Clarke asked mid movie.

Lexa took her eyes off the screen to look at Clarke and nodded.

"Why did you ignore me after the haunted house?"

Lexa looked down at the floor. "I was embarrassed that you saw me like that." Lexa said quietly.

"You don't need to be."

"I'm sorry that I avoided you." Lexa apologized.

"It's okay, I understand, you put up a lot of walls and you don't like it when they fall down."

Lexa looked away, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Is this the part where I've said too much?" Clarke asked.

Lexa looked at Clarke again. "I guess it usually would be, yes."

"Usually?" Clarke questioned.

"Not this time." Lexa smiled slightly at Clarke.