The Fashion Show
Lexa kept her face impassive as Clarke slowly stood and grabbed her jacket. Her wherewithal was quickly fading as Clarke dragged her feet towards the front door. She was almost desperate to drop the act and laugh while inviting Clarke to look through her closet at her leisure, but pride was a powerful thing.
Lexa opened the door, and Clarke walked backwards out, her head hung in despair. She really wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking, and her shoulder hit the doorframe with a hard bang.
“Ow, fuck!” Clarke cradled her shoulder, and Lexa’s resolve cracked a little. The smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, begging to be released. “Please, Lexa, let me help make you elegant. You’re not boring. You’re beautiful. I only said that because I was jealous of your ability to make such a simple style so effortlessly sexy. Please?”
“I’m not taking advice from someone who ran into a door.”
Clarke’s mouth dropped open, and that finally cracked Lexa. Her grin was achingly big, and her laughter echoed in her apartment.
“You little shit. You weren’t offended at all; were you?”
“Not really, no.”
“I can’t believe you let me almost walk out of here thinking I hurt your feelings. That’s just plain rude.”
A ray of sunlight suddenly peaked through a cloud casting her front stoop in a dazzling glow. Clarke was quietly laughing about the last few minutes, but Lexa was too struck by the beauty in front of her to join in. There was almost an ethereal glow emanating around Clarke. She couldn’t explain it. It was just past the realm of normal, so she quickly shook her head, determined to ignore this other otherworldly aspect of Clarke.
“Come on,” Lexa reached for Clarke’s wrist and tugged her back inside. She ignored the way her stomach flipped as Clarke bumped into her, and she merely pushed aside all feelings of more than friendship as she led her to her bedroom.
“Ooh! I’ve been over here a few times, and you’ve never let me see inside your dominion.”
“My dominion? Really?”
Clarke hummed as she ran a finger over Lexa’s chest of drawers. She stopped at the small vase of flowers, leaning in to smell their floral bouquet. She gently caressed a petal, and Lexa swore the flower brightened at the touch. The slight wilts vanished, the color boldened, and if it was possible, Lexa could suddenly smell its freshness from where she stood.
Lexa dragged her hands up and down her face, willing herself not to overanalyze something that probably had a very logical reason. She screwed her eyes shut and took in a deep breath. “Hey,” Clarke’s hands were suddenly on her own, tugging them gently from her face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just…” Lexa shook her head trying to find a suitable answer for her thoughts. “You’re just…” Clarke tilted her head to the side, and as she smiled, Lexa felt a wave of heat crash over her. It was as if she stepped into an ocean of lava and the flames licked at her without burning her skin. “You’re just you,” Lexa finished quickly. She cleared her throat. “All my nicer clothes are hanging in the closet. Take your pick.”
Clarke beamed before skipping to the other side of the room. Lexa made her way over to the bed and sat down, content to watch Clarke touch each dress, each blouse, before tossing a few next to her. When she had sifted through the entire closet, she sauntered back towards Lexa.
“Okay, fashion show!”
“What?”
“You don’t really expect me to choose an outfit for you without seeing you in it first, do you?”
“I suppose not.”
“Get to it, Woods!” Clarke thrust the first outfit in her hands and waved her forward. “Don’t be shy. Try it on.”
Lexa stood there and debated whether or not to take her clothes into the bathroom, change there, and come back. It would take so much more time, and the full-length mirror was in her bedroom, not her bathroom. So she gave herself a firm nod, carefully laid the clothes back on her bed and swiftly removed her flannel shirt and jeans, leaving her in just her modest bra and boyshorts.
Clarke’s sharp intake of breath was enough to confirm that she had made the correct decision to change in front of her. She pulled on the pencil skirt and blouse, giving a little twirl in front of Clarke.
Clarke dragged her eyes from Lexa’s legs up to her face, and she squirmed a little under the scrutiny. “It’s nice,” Clarke admitted with a tsk. “But I think we can do better.” She handed Lexa the next outfit, and Lexa disrobed without hesitation this time.
Three discarded outfits later, Lexa stood in front of her mirror admiring her reflection. “I would have never paired these together,” Lexa marveled. She tugged at the navy blue blazer, adjusting it over the plain slightly fitted white t-shirt.
“No?” Clarke was suddenly off the bed. She grazed a gentle hand down Lexa’s back, leaving a trail of unseen goosebumps in its wake. “You look amazing. Pair it with those brown ankle boots I saw in your closet. Oh!”
Clarke opened the small jewelry box Lexa kept on her chest of drawers. She walked back towards her carrying a couple of long silver necklaces that her mother had insisted on buying for her ages ago. “May I?”
Lexa gathered her hair and pulled it out of the way and over one shoulder. Clarke reached around her, her fingers brushing against Lexa’s suddenly heated neck. “There.” Clarke’s voice was thick and stuttered over the one word. Lexa turned to face her, locking her eyes in a pointed gaze. She admired the slight blush that crept from Clarke’s chest to her cheeks. She didn’t miss the way her tongue poked out between her lips and wetted them nervously.
Clarke suddenly gasped and stepped backwards, effectively squashing whatever was just happening. “You look stunning. I’ll… uh… I’ll let you finish on your own. I should get going. Raven will be wondering where I’ve been, I’m sure. I’ll see you later, Lexa.”
And before Lexa could get one word in, Clarke was out her front door. Lexa just sighed. It had been a weird day. She finished getting ready, pulled on her brown ankle boots and headed to the dinner.
She was walking home after dinner, past the entrance to the nature trail, when a flash of blonde caught her eyes. She strained her eyes into the darkness, standing taller when her brain confirmed what her heart already told her. It was Clarke. Darting into the woods. Really late at night.
Lexa stood there for a moment, her brows scrunched in thought. What on earth was Clarke doing out here so late? And why would she be foolish enough to venture down a dark covered path, alone, through the woods, at night? Lexa pulled out her phone. She could text Clarke, see what she was doing. Or she could just follow the woman into the eerie forest ahead.
