from the ashes (she will rise) ➸ octaven

chapter 28

With Lexa in the hospital, there's a few small changes.

First and foremost, every night at 6 o'clock sharp, without fail, Clarke is on the phone. She's practically memorized the number of the hospital, and she's figured out when to call at just the right time, so she catches the nurse that gives Lexa fifteen minutes to talk instead of ten. Raven and Octavia try and linger around the living room, catching bits and pieces of their conversation. Most of it is Clarke nagging at her, making sure she's eating enough, and keeping track of the changes they've made to her medicine on a little notepad she keeps by the couch.

But some days are worse than others, and those are the nights Clarke hangs up the phone and yanks the cord from the wall. Those are the nights she rants on and on about how Lexa sounds like a robot, and how the last thing she needs it to be "locked up in a fucking prison for weeks."

It goes unspoken that things haven't been going very well lately. Which is why Octavia's wary when Raven calls her at Indra's and asks her to come over. It worries her even more because Raven wouldn't tell her what it was about. So, waiting until Indra's asleep, Octavia sneaks out her window and takes the familiar route to Raven's apartment.

Raven's practically waiting at the door when she gets there, and she quickly lets Octavia in.

"I did something," Raven breathes out, clasping her hands together. Raven's nervousness makes Octavia feel uneasy. "I did something and you might not like it. But I had to."

"What are you talking about?" Octavia tilts her head to the side. Raven just shakes her head and hands Octavia an envelope. It's already been opened, so Octavia just eyes Raven suspiciously and slips the letter from within.

It's addressed to her, and as soon as she reads the first few sentences, she's looking to Raven in utter confusion. "What the fuck?"

Raven's quick to try and defend herself, shaking her head and moving forwards. "Don't be mad," she pleads. "Just hear me out."

"Raven--,"

"It's just a small state college," Raven desperately tries to plead her case. "I didn't want you to just... not try. There's a ton of majors. Hell, you could just take general studies classes. And I can help you. Plus, it's cheap, but it's rated really good and--,"

"You sent in an application for me?" Octavia raises an eyebrow. Raven struggles to decipher how she's feeling, which worries her even more.

"I... I just thought you'd want to have options," Raven says softly. "You didn't read the rest but they're, uh..." she averts her eyes. "They're offering you a scholarship based on your essay."

"My essay?"

"Yeah," Raven clears her throat awkwardly. "I sent in one of your journal entries. Revised, of course, but..." she bites her lip.

"You did what?" Octavia narrows her eyes.

"Please don't be mad," Raven takes a step forward and reaches for her, but Octavia moves away. She just shakes her head.

"I don't--," she cuts herself off, handing the letter back to Raven. "I can't. I... I've got to go."

"Octavia..." Raven makes a feeble attempt to convince her, but Octavia's already made up her mind. Breathing in deeply, Raven looks down at the letter in her hands. Once the door closes behind Octavia, something in her makes her save it, slipping the envelope between a stack of books on her desk.

---

It takes Octavia exactly three days to reach her breaking point.