Snapshots (a Clexa fic)

1

    The early morning is the perfect time to go jogging. No one else is out and about, and the sun has yet to rise. The only sounds Lexa Wilde hears is the local wildlife, the slight breeze ruffling the trees, and her sneakers hitting the pavement. And giggles.

    Wait. Giggles?

    Probably some drunk girl on a bench. It was Sunday, now, and most residents of Polis City had spent the previous night partying. Well, most residents who didn’t have responsibilities or kids or morals.

    Some ducks quack, and the girl giggles again. Then speaks to the ducks.

    “You like these? They’re whole grain. But don’t tell Raven I fed you her bread, she’d kill me.” The voice is a bit raspy, and goosebumps erupt on Lexa’s skin. It’s the air, moving against her sweaty skin, giving her chills…

    Or at least, that’s what she tells herself, even as her feet carries her farther into the park she had been passing by. She jogs up the path to the pond she knows lays at the end, nearly encircled by a small copse of trees. There, at the edge of the water surrounded by a paddling of ducks, is a blonde woman tossing bread crumbs at the birds. The lamps in the park (placed there for joggers like herself, the Council had advertised) emits a soft glow over the pale skin of the woman. It’s just enough for Lexa to see that she wears faded blue jeans and a flannel, the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Her blonde hair is pulled half-way back, tied into a bunch of braids at the back. She holds the bag of bread in her right hand and tosses the crumbs with her left, still giggling at the ducks all vying for some of the treat.

    “It’s calorie free.”

    It takes a moment for Lexa to realize the woman had spoken to her, and she looks at the blonde with wide eyes. “I’m sorry?”

    “The bread.” The blonde holds up the nearly empty bag, tilting her head with a raised brow. “It’s calorie free. Or else I wouldn’t be feeding it to the ducks at all.”

     Right. Because feeding ducks a high calorie food is bad for them. Lexa raises her chin, blinking a bit. “Right. That’s good.” Could she be even more awkward?

     The blonde’s lips quirk up in a smirk, her eyes (they were blue, so so blue, and Lexa couldn’t help but stare into them) sparkling with amusement. “Yeah. I just thought you’d wanna know. Last time I fed the ducks, I got an hour long lecture from this kid with glasses and blond hair.” She goes back to emptying the bag, squatting down. “I wanted to avoid another lecture.”

     Lexa can’t help the lifting of the corner of her lips, visualizing this gorgeous woman standing there while she was lectured by her little brother. Because it was Aden, he had come home that day and spent a couple hours ranting about the locals harming the animals. He’s a passionate kid, protective of the natural landmarks and wildlife still in the city. “You’ll get no lecture from me. I got the same one last week from my brother.”

    She’s rewarded with a beaming smile and a hand thrust at her. “I’m Clarke Griffin.”

    Lexa takes the hand proffered to her, gripping it lightly. “Lexa Wilde.” Another smile tugged at her lips. Another benefit to early morning jogs; meeting pretty girls.

~~~

    The sun is scorching, threatening to turn Clarke’s pale skin as red as a tomato. Nonetheless, there she lays on her towel on the beach. Her two friends, Raven Reyes and Octavia Blake, stretched out on either side, with Monty, Jasper, Bellamy, and Murphy’s stuff all sitting nearby. The three women are tanning (or at least attempting to tan) while the men (read: boys) swam around in the lake. She’s on her stomach with her sketchpad in front of her, pencils piled in the sand to the side. The pad is new, just bought a week ago, and already it’s half full. A series of a certain profile in graphite, and a series of a specific pair of green eyes (done in coloured pencil, watercolor pencil, marker, pen, every medium she had that didn’t bleed through the paper) adorned the pages. She has the pad opened to a fresh page, and nothing marked the pale white canvas just yet.