Chapter Text
"And you have all your books ordered right?"
"Of course mom. They should get here tomorrow, with plenty of time before class begins." Clarke pushed the door to her new dorm room open with her elbow, her hands full with a box of her things.
"Okay, okay. I'm just a little nervous you know? My only baby, going off to college." Abby followed behind Clarke, carrying a small backpack on her shoulder that she let slide off and rest on the desk.
"It'll be fine. I have a whole weekend to get settled in and meet my roommate. " Clarke gestured to the other side of the room that was still bare, indicating that her roommate had yet to arrive.
"I can stay for a bit longer, want some help unpacking?"
Clarke looked up from the clothes she had been pulling out of her suitcase and smiled. "Yea mom, that'd be great."
The two spent the greater part of the next hour laughing and talking as they slowly got Clarke settled in. Clothes were folded and hung away in the small closet that was provided, and Clarke took extra care to make sure she organized her school supplies just right.
The sun was beginning to set as the two were finishing up.
"I guess it's time for me to leave you all alone. In your lonely dorm room, with no one to keep you company..."
"Mom, I'm going to be fine. Stop worrying so much."
Abby grinned as she pulled her daughter in for a tight hug. "Alright then. Text me when you find out Octavia okay? I want to hear all about her summer with her brother."
"Of course, I'll let her know you say hi."
"That's my girl."
Abby gathered up her purse and took one last look around the room before giving Clarke a quick hug and leaving. Clarke leaned against the doorway as she watched her mom disappear down the hall before sighing and turning back into her room, shutting the door behind her. The room was empty, but she still could hear other people through the walls, laughing loudly and hitting the walls as they got moved in.
Clarke settled into her desk chair and pulled out her phone, shooting a quick text to Octavia, asking when she got back in. She had a few snapchats from Monty and Jasper too. They had managed to get a room together and had bombarded Clarke with snaps of their room setup. Grinning Clarke sent one back of her own room.
Spinning around a little in her chair Clarke surveyed the room. The two sides were the same, a small twin bed with a little bedside table, two desks and chairs, a shelf or two on the wall for each side, and the little doors that led to their closets. A small window was opposite the door, between the two beds.
It was about the same size as Clarke's bedroom back in her mom's apartment, but with two people it would certainly feel more crowded. Clarke turned back to her desk and focused on rearranging her pictures. There were a few of her and her friends. One with Octavia smiled widely at the camera with her arm looped around Clarke's neck at a concert, their eyes wide in the lights that had been spinning around the concert hall.
In another, Jasper and Monty were suspended in their frame mid air as they leaped from the top of a waterfall back during their summer trip, Clarke grinning happily from the top as she watched them fall. In the next Wells, who Clarke hadn't spoken too in far too long, laughed as Clarke did her best to give him a piggy back ride. Her favorite featured Abby, facing the camera with a sly grin on her face as Clarke bent over laughing next to her, a hand covering her face. All the photos were in action, nothing posed, the kind Clarke liked best.
Clarke was considering getting up to go find the mess hall, she was getting sort of hungry, but before she could do so she heard voices on the other side of her door. They got closer and Clarke froze as she heard a key turn in the lock. She momentarily panicked, should she stand up? Remain sitting? Should she leave to give her roommate some space? Before Clarke could decide the door opened and her roommate stumbled into the room.
She was all hair at first, long, brown, and curly that fell over her shoulders and into her face. Then the girl straightened up and nudged her suitcase in through the door, flipping her hair out her face. She noticed Clarke and nodded, but said nothing more.
Clarke was a little startled but pulled herself together, standing up.
"Uh hi, I'm Clarke." She said, sticking her hand out.
The girl looked down at it and then at the box in her arms.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Clarke smiled, "Want help?"
"No thanks. We've got it. I'm Lexa."
Lexa pushed her way into the room and dropped the box on her bed.
"Lexa?" came a voice from the hall.
"In here Nomon!" Lexa called back.
Clarke stepped back as a woman came through the door, tugging a suitcase, her mouth set in a firm line.
"This is it, yes?" She asked Lexa.
"Yes, of course. Thank you." Lexa answered.
"Is this your roommate?" The woman asked, turning to Clarke.
"Yes, hi I'm Clarke." Clarke gave a small wave, a little intimidated.
"I am Indra, Lexa's mother."
"It's nice to meet you."
Indra just nodded once before turning to Lexa and saying something in a language that Clarke couldn't understand. Lexa responded in the same language and the two continued on for a bit like that. Feeling awkward in not understanding, Clarke sat down on her bed and leaned against the wall, checking her phone again. She had a text from her mom telling her that she had gotten home safe and wished Clarke a nice first night. Clarke responded saying that her roommate had just arrived and would let her mom know more soon.
She had another text from Octavia, a picture of a departure sign in Italian accompanied by a 'headed home!!!!!!!!!!' text. Clarke smiled at Octavia's enthusiastic face next to her brother's grumpy face, no doubt unhappy to be bringing his sister to the airport at one a.m. by their time. Clarke texted back, wishing her a safe flight. She looked back up when she heard Indra and Lexa speaking English again.
"You will study well, Lexa." Indra said as she rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders.
"Of course."
"No distractions?"
"No distractions." Lexa confirmed.
"Then I leave you in well being. I hope to return to the same."
"Yes Nomon."
Indra nodded and pulled Lexa in for a brief hug before nodding at Clarke once more and leaving.
Clarke, a little unsure of what to do, looked around the room again. Lexa's items were minimal and most of her stuff still appeared to be packed.
"Do you want any help?" Clarke asked, gesturing to Lexa's still full bags.
Lexa shook her head. "No thank you, I will be fine."
"Alright then, I'm, uh, just going to go grab something to eat." Clarke tried to sound open in case Lexa wanted to join her, but the girl just nodded and then busied herself in unpacking her bag.
Okay then, Clarke thought as she grabbed her phone and dorm key and left the room. Not really wanting to eat alone, she texted Jasper to see if he and Monty wanted to meet in the mess hall for dinner.
She got a text back immediately with eager confirmation. Checking to make sure she had her ID, Clarke set off through the halls, determined to find her way. Ten minutes and several wrong turns later, Clarke finally found the right building. Monty and Jasper were leaning against the wall right next to the door, heads bent over something on Monty's phone.
"Hey guys, Clarke said as she jogged up the steps.
"Hey Clarke!" Jasper said as he pulled her in for a hug.
"Clarke, you have got to check out the robotics hall they have here. The mechanics are unbelievable."
Clarke laughed. "Nice to see you too Monty, and I'm sure they're amazing."
"Yea. Monty's robots aside lets go eat, I'm starving." Jasper said, bouncing excitedly on his toes.
"You had pizza, like, an hour ago," Monty said as he followed the other two in through the door.
"Yea, exactly." Jasper gave Monty an exasperated look, as though anyone wouldn't be hungry after that.
"Anyway Clarke," Monty asked as the three stood in a small line for subs, "did you meet your roommate yet?"
"Yea, briefly."
"How is she?"
"Uhm I'm not sure? She's quiet I guess, sort of reserved, maybe she's just shy. Her mom was intimidating as hell though."
"Ooh rough. Maybe the girl will turn out to be a total party person, stumbling in at three am every night bringing with her the smell of lingering booze."
Clarke raised an eyebrow at Monty, "Very realistic description that I totally needed. I don't think that'll happen though, her mom seemed pretty strict on the whole 'study well' thing."
"There's always hope."
"Hey have you guys heard from Octavia?" Jasper said as the three sat down at a table.
"She's boarding her plane soon. She sent me an picture from the airport."
"Aww, why don't we get airport pics?" Jasper said with a pout.
"She's probably planning on showing up without telling us and then hiding behind a corner or something to jump out and scare the shit out of you." Monty said.
Jasper nodded, "Seems like her."
Clarke grinned at her sandwich, glad to be back among her friends.
----
When Clarke got back to her dorm not too long after that, Lexa was gone and her stuff had all been put away. She still had minimal decorations, at least compared to the posters that Clarke has taped up and her abundance of photos. Lexa's desk held only her textbooks, her backpack rested in the chair, and a few pictures were taped to the wall above her desk. Clarke leaned down to exam them but then quickly leaned back up. Was this an invasion of privacy?
She figured it wasn't. After all, Clarke had her pictures there so that other people could see them. Leaning back down Clarke immediately recognized Indra in the first. She was standing tall and strong in the photo, but had a small smile on her face. In her arms was a small child, maybe three years old, beaming at the camera. The child had little fuzzy curls framing her small face and Clarke grinned, assuming it was Lexa at a young age.
The next featured Lexa, older now, probably fifteen, and a boy that was likely a year or two older than her. They both had wide smiles on their face. The one next to that featured the same boy and Lexa, a little older though, along with another girl that appeared to be Lexa's age. The boy was smirking in this photo and Lexa's smile seemed shy almost while the girl was full out laughing, her face obscured by her wide smile. The last photo featured the same dark haired girl but by herself this time. Her smile was smaller and Clarke could see her face better. She was really pretty, Clarke decided, and she briefly wondered who the girl was to Lexa.
Walking back over to her side of the room Clarke decided to go ahead and get ready for bed. Maybe she could get ahead on some of the reading for her english class. She grabbed her shower bag and slipped out the door. Just as it swung shut behind her Clarke froze with the realization that her key was still inside the door.
It wasn't like she could do anything about it. Clarke decided to go ahead and shower, hoping that maybe by the time she got back Lexa would be back as well. Clarke took her time in the showers, spending the first five minutes actually figuring out how to work the handles and get the water to a not scalding hot or icy cold temperature. She yawned as she thought of the two days she had before class began. She planned to familiarize herself with the campus and meet up with Octavia, who she had barely seen all summer. She was especially excited to check out the library and art hall the campus had boasted about, her sole reason for coming to this school.
Clarke let the hot water soothe her body before reluctantly turning it off and grabbing her towel. She changed in the little stall that was attached to the shower, carefully maneuvering so that her bare feet didn't touch the tile floor. She toweled her hair off as she walked to the row of sinks. Clarke brushed her teeth as slow as she could, constantly trying to buy time so Lexa could get back from wherever she had gone off too. Clarke gathered up her things and headed back down the hall. It was 9:30 by then, plenty of time for Lexa to have gotten back and still be awake.
The door seemed to be untouched, but then again it was just a door. Clarke shifted her stuff to one hand and knocked, listening intently. She didn't hear anything and raised her hand to knock again. Seconds later the door flew open, revealing Lexa's back as she walked away.
"Thanks," Clarke said as she closed the door behind her. "I forgot my key."
Lexa just nodded and went back to her desk where her computer was open. Clarke busied herself with putting her shower stuff away. When she turned back around, Lexa was still in her chair, twirling a pen between her fingers. Her gaze was above her laptop though, on the photos. Clarke thought about asking about them, but Lexa appeared deep in thought and Clarke didn't want to bother her.
Instead she pulled out her english book, a compilation of essays that she was required to read, and curled up in her desk chair. She did her best to focus but it was boring and the dorm room was too quiet, even with Lexa across the room. Clarke sighed and hung her head back, spinning slightly to see what Lexa was doing. The other girl now had one knee tucked under her leg and the other leg bent so that she could rest her chin on that knee. She had her headphones in and seemed to be reading something on her computer, her mouth every so often moving along with the words.
Clarke was right then, about Lexa being serious about her studies. She supposed that would make her a good roommate, and a good reminder for Clarke to keep on top of her grades. Spinning back to her own desk Clarke looked again at the pictures she had. She was particularly fond of the one of her and Wells at the beach. It had been during their spring break earlier in the year. Wells, a year older, had gone off to college first and that was the last time they were able to see each other. After that, Wells was always so busy with his finals and then his new job and Clarke had her senior year and college to worry about that the contact between the two had died down. Clarke considered texting him but decided against it, it was pretty late after all.
Clarke closed her laptop and began fishing out her phone charger from where it had gotten tangled in her covers. It was only 10:30, but she figured that with her morning classes coming up she should probably work on her sleep schedule. Clarke reached behind her nightstand to plug in her phone charger and then crawled under her covers.
Lexa was still bent over her computer, typing furiously now. Clarke figured she would get to bed soon enough and turned to face the wall, pulling up the covers as high as she could in order to block out the light from behind her. It worked well enough and soon Clarke was asleep.