The Bushes
Lexa tugged on Clarke’s hand, guiding her behind the bushes. She squatted low, never letting go of Clarke and pulled her down.
“What’s going on? What are you doing?”
Lexa wrapped her free hand around Clarke’s mouth, silencing her more from shock than the palm stifling her voice. She peered through the leaves, her eyes straining in the darkness.
Lexa’s breath caught in her throat as the shadow drew nearer. The fingers still wrapped around her own squeezed gently, and when Lexa turned to face Clarke, she was met with raised eyebrows and blue eyes that looked at her and then down. Lexa followed her gaze quickly and flushed when she realized she still held her hand over Clarke’s mouth.
Lexa hastily removed her hand and leaned forward, her lips ghosting over the shell of Clarke’s ear as she whispered, “Sorry. Someone was following you. They’re just beyond the bushes. I don’t think they saw where we went.”
Clarke sucked in a stuttered breath and her face morphed from surprise to scared to thankful in the span of one second. She nodded, and Lexa turned back to the leaves, slowly, carefully pushing them aside to get a better look. The figure was close now, and Lexa held her breath.
“Hey, Mom. Yeah, I’m fine. How’s Jackson doing? You know I love that dog. He’s like a brother to me. Fine. How’s my real brother doing? Yeah, yeah, I’m sure Daniel is just the cutest thing ever...”
Lexa waited, hunched in the bushes, her calves and quads burning from exertion as she listened to Clarke’s scary stalker ask his mother about his beloved family dog. Her chest fell, and part of her wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. She had severely overreacted, and what was worse, Clarke was right next to her, her body shaking as she tried to contain her laughter.
The boy continued walking as he spoke to his mother, and when his voice was no longer mocking her very existence, Lexa dropped Clarke’s hand and marched from behind the bushes. She had every intention of just tucking her chin low, power-walking to her apartment, and hiding under her fluffy duvet until so much time had passed that Clarke would forget about this whole evening.
However, as luck would have it, Lexa just wasn’t that fortunate.
“Lexa, wait!” Clarke grabbed her bicep, halting her retreat and spinning her around.
Lexa kept her eyes low; her cheeks still flushed from adrenaline and embarrassment. “I’m sorry I overreacted. Can we please just forget this ever happened?”
“Lexa.”
Lexa ignored Clarke’s soft expression and outreached hand. She sheepishly shrugged her shoulders and couldn’t help the ramble as it spewed from her mortified body. “I just thought I saw someone following you, and I reacted without thinking. I’m sorry. I should have waited to figure out what was actually going on before-”
“It’s okay.” Clarke’s verbal interruption might as well have been a hand thrown over Lexa’s mouth. “Really,” Clarke nodded. “It’s fine.”
“But-”
“But nothing,” Clarke reached out again, and this time Lexa allowed her to place a gentle hand on her upper arm. “It turned out to just be a harmless freshman talking to his mom. But it could have been something not so harmless.”
“I-”
“I’m going to stop you right there because I’m pretty sure that’s another apology on your lips. Look,” Clarke squared her shoulders. Suddenly, Lexa was surrounded by Clarke, both her hands were on Lexa’s shoulders, aligning herself perfectly, and Lexa's heart pounded with the sudden proximity. Clarke ducked her head, making sure she was looking Lexa directly in the eyes before speaking. “I’m not going to tell anyone about your adorable chivalrous streak if you don’t want me to.”
“Really?” It was more than Lexa could have hoped for. Not only was Clarke not upset or turned off by her overreaction, but she was standing there, promising to keep Lexa’s mortification to a minimal level.
“Really. Although, I think you owe me just a little.”
Lexa stiffened at that stipulation, and Clarke noticed. She dropped her hands at once, took a small step backwards, but kept a smirk on her face. “Have coffee with me. Tomorrow night, 7:30, at the shop just off campus.”
“What?” Lexa exclaimed, and she mentally chastised herself, because what was with her and all these one-word responses. She was far more articulate than she was currently proving to be.
“I would very much like to go on a date with the woman who is not only intelligent and gorgeous but also cares about me so much she’s willing to throw herself behind some surprisingly prickly bushes just to save me.”
Lexa really didn’t need to think about her answer, and she was pleasantly surprised that her voice didn’t come out as overly excited as she felt. “Okay.”
“Okay!” Clarke grinned. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She looked like she was debating saying more, but in the end, Clarke just wiggled her fingers goodbye and continued walking in the direction she was before Lexa pulled her into the bushes like a moron.