Is There Somewhere?

Part 23

War of Hearts – Ruelle

Lexa woke up late the next day. Aden was basically pounding on her bedroom door, shouting that he had to be at school in less than fifteen minutes. Her head pounded as soon as she opened her eyes and she groaned.

"Lexa! Come on!"

"I'm coming!" She snapped back, "Just give me a second." She added a silent fuck as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and snatched a hair tie from her bedside table. She tied her hair up into a messy ponytail and stood up, sliding a pair of basketball shorts on over her underwear. She snatched a hoodie from where it hung over the lounge chair and threw it over her head. If she wasn't going to be getting out of the car, she could look like a bum.

She opened her bedroom door. "See? Ready!"

Aden rolled his eyes, his fingers flicking over the keyboard of his phone before he tapped send and slid his phone into his pocket. "I'm meeting Holly before first period, so if you don't mind..." he gestured towards the door.

Lexa paused, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Whose Holly?"

"Does it matter? Let's go!!!" He was at the front door and throwing Lexa's keys at her before she could respond. She barely caught them before they slammed into her face.

"Excuse me! Is Holly the new girl? The one you think is so hot." Lexa stated dramatically, following the excited boy out of their apartment with a chuckle.

Aden rolled his eyes at her, "If you must know, yes. She is."

"Told you she wouldn't judge you because you're a foster kid. So why are you guys meeting before first period? Going to find a broom closet or something?"

"Ew, what are you even talking about, Lexa? No." He hit the button for the elevator repeatedly until it finally arrived with a calm ding—the complete opposite of how urgently he wanted to get to school.

They stepped into the elevator together and it shook from Aden's constant bouncing. "Then why are you so nervous?"

"Because I want to see her, okay? She's nice and I like talking to her."

Lexa sighed and leaned against the wall, "Yeah, I get it." Her mind drifted to Clarke and their conversation the night before. It was fun to talk and laugh without any expectation. The attraction was still there, at least on her end. Lexa wouldn't mind shoving Clarke up against a wall and having her way with her like how they used to, but there was something more. Something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. As if what they had before was expanding into something that could shift the Earth on it's axis.

"Oh! I met Clarke yesterday. Now she's hot."

Lexa blinked then shoved the boy's shoulder playfully, "Nice try, kid, but that was a horrible attempt at changing the subject."

"Come on, Lexa. Why do you need to know?"

"I'm your guardian, basically the mother figure in your life and you should tell me about this girl you like."

"You're no mother figure, more like an older sister that barely has her shit together. But you do have a nice closet." Aden shoved Lexa back, sending her thumping against the wall.

The elevator opened, and they stepped out, wandering through the lobby before entering the attached parking garage and finding Lexa's car. "I'm kind of offended, but maybe I could help you get girls."