Grounders(#wattys2016)

Chapter 8 This and That

Octavia POV

I really enjoyed dinner with my brother last night. I missed him in spite of his mini meltdown. He kept asking me roundabout questions about work, aka Clarke. He won't admit it yet but he has a thing for her.

I had to chuckle to myself. I don't think he could handle her.

As I glanced at the clock I realized I had to hurry, I was meeting the girls to shop. Clarke said my wardrobe needed an upgrade, I couldn't argue with that...

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When I got to the coffee shop where we were meeting, Clarke, Raven and Indra were already there.

Indra was unofficially the fashion coordinator of Grounders and chances are if it was made of leather, lace or fringe, Indra would reccommend it. She was also in charge of teaching the girls basic self defense. Even though we had Lincoln, Clarke wanted to make sure all of the girls could defend themselves, sometimes we could get some real freaks at the bar.

Indra was kind of a bad ass and my personal hero. During my first week of work some guy got a little grabby and before I could even protest she grabbed his arm, flipped him over and stared down at him telling him to keep his hands to himself.

She started teaching me some moves the next day and it was then that I learned that she and Lincoln were childhood friends.

I'll have to remember to ask her what he was like as a kid, I thought to myself with a smile.

When we got to the first store Raven went to try on an outfit while I asked Clarke how she started the business and came up with the name. I mean she's only 22.

"Well, I had some money saved but not nearly enough to open on my own. I met Raven through a mutual friend and she had some money from a relative and here we are. " she says with a smile.

"Why the name Grounders?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

"I figured Victoria's Secret has their angels but we are more down to earth. More grounded, real, attainable. " she shrugs then adds "My mom hated that I dropped out of med school"

I gasped, "You dropped out of med school? "

"Yeah, it's not what I wanted to do." She shrugs.

"Wow, my brother would have killed me."

"I find that hard to believe Octavia. You have your brother wrapped around your finger. You also seem to be able to hold your own with him" She gives me a smile.

"Yeah, I give him hell allright" I smirk thinking of my brother.

"He seems really overprotective" she adds thoughtfully.

"He can be, mom died when I was fourteen and Bell's been looking out for me since then. He held two jobs while finishing school to get us through." I frown for a minute thinking how hard it was for him.

"Wow. That must have been hard."

I shrug, "We made it work"

"Ok, how do I look?" Raven interrupts us wearing a white flared skirt and a red midriff top.

"You look hot" Clarke approves.

"Rae, you know your skinny butt can wear anything right?" Indra remarks.

The rest of us just laugh. As Raven says, "Well I guess I'm getting this then."

I end up with a pair of black leather pants and a bright blue silky top that is tight across my chest but floats loosely around my waist. The girls swear it brings out my eyes.

Clarke gets some black skinny jeans a blak lace tank with a sheer white lacy overlay.

Indra keeps it simple and sporty, blue jeans, a baseball tee and a biker jacket.

With our purchases in hand we all head our separate ways but I hang back with Clarke for a minute.

"Bellamy feels really bad about the other night" I say

"Oh" she laughs, "yeah, don't worry he's already apologized several times"

"He did? When?"

"I ran into him at this coffee shop the other day and he bought me a coffee."

I stare at her in silence.

"Well I gotta go, a delivery is coming in an hour, later O" and she dashes off while I am left wondering if she has a thing for my brother.

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"Again Octavia! You can do this."
Indra's voice spurs me on as I try to get away from Lincoln, who has grabbed me from behind pinning my arms to my chest.

I open my hands, palms facing down and thrust sharply downward, breaking his hold. Then I stomp on his foot.

"Ouch! Hey!! This is just practice!" Lincoln complains.

"Sorry" I wince.

Indra laughs, "Octavia that was awesome! Didn't expect that did you Linc?"

"Well I think it's safe to say she can handle herself." Lincoln huffs.

"That's enough for today anyway, we open in a couple of hours. See you guys later." Indra says while we head out the door.

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A/N

Sorry for the filler Chapter but I wanted to include Indra in this story. Next chapter Bellamy goes back to Grounders... It wonder how that will go. ;)