Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"So, John!" Clarke looks up from her plate, letting her fork just hang in the air, waiting for her mom to finish. Clarke spares a quick look over at Murphy, who already looks miserable to have been the one called on this time. She grins a little, ducking her head. He deserves it - he's been insufferable for the past ten years. "Would you like to tell us more about this...Bellamy?" Clarke very suddenly wishes that she wasn't here at all, her grin falling off her face when she sees Murphy's own appearing. She thinks that she probably should have expected this, but they had gone the entire dinner without it being brought up. Clarke was so sure that it wasn't going to be brought up, she was convinced, but now she has to sit here and listen to Murphy ramble on and on about his stupid soulmate who he hates. Clarke resists the urge to sigh, opting to lean back in her chair, preparing to fully mentally check out. 

Murphy leans back in his own chair, crossing his arms against his chest. Clarke feels one of his legs rest on her own, and she jerks her leg up as hard as she can, beaming at the sound of Murphy's knee hitting the bottom of the table. "Well," Murphy starts, one of his hands drifting off to under the table, and when Clarke looks down, she sees him flipping her off. She's going to kick his ass as soon as she's freed from this hell. "I think that he makes me significantly more angry than he does anything else," he grins, tilting his head to the side a little. Even with the stupid, cocky look on his face, Clarke can see the genuine affection he has for that dumbass man in his eyes. She doesn't think she'll ever be able to understand just how the hell the two of them manage to hate each other so much while also being so obviously in love. She doesn't think she wants to understand. "He's majoring in history. He works part time at the flower shop past the City of Light. You know, that god awful coffee shop."

Clarke scoffs, kicking Murphy under the table. "It's not god awful," she shoots back, flipping him off when she kicks him again. She's pretty sure that their parents are well aware of what they're doing, but she doubts that they're surprised. They definitely shouldn't be, not after they've raised them for so long. "You're just upset that I took away your family discount privileges." Murphy grins, and she can so clearly see him replaying the memories in his head. Clarke wanted to take it away from the moment that she was told she had to offer it to him, but Indra refused, right up until he started hoarding coupons just to get basically free coffee, like the prick he is.

"Sure," Murphy beams at her, waving a hand. "Anyways. Bellamy's...he's Bellamy. That's all there really is to say," he shrugs. "He's kind of like a bear, I guess. He's tall, he probably would fight anyone who even walked in front of his house and looked at it. He's just Bellamy. And I guess he's my soulmate, or whatever," Murphy sighs, rolling his eyes. "I like him. I wouldn't go as far as to say love, I don't even like him a lot, actually, but hey, apparently tolerating him was enough for the soulmarks to show up," Clarke glances over at Mom, who raises her eyebrows up, directing a pointed look over to Murphy. Clarke listens to him sigh, watching as he rolls up his sleeves, letting his arm hit the table. "Yeah, it's real. Unfortunately."

And there on his wrist is an intricate pattern of shapes and lines. It's abstract, and it hurts Clarke's eyes when she strains to try and make it out. Soulmarks only form actual, real marks when they're looked at by your soulmate. That still doesn't stop Clarke from being disappointed when she can't fully make it out. "That's wonderful, John," Mom beams at him, and Clarke rolls her eyes. It isn't like she's not happy for Murphy, because she is. She knows that he had been convinced he didn't have a soulmate, and for him to finally find out that he does...it's nice. Clarke is unbelievably happy that he's found his soulmate, and that she can actually tolerate said soulmate. She can only tolerate Bellamy when he isn't around Murphy, though. The two of them together is a nightmare, and Clarke will never understand how the fuck the universe decided that that was a good idea, but whatever. "You'll have to let us meet him sometime! I'd really like to meet this fine young man."

"Sure," Murphy shrugs, pulling out his phone from his pocket. "I'll text him, yeah. I'm pretty sure he's trying to get me to come over and meet his whole family. Clarke knows his sister, though, and I'm not sure how much I want to be in the same room as someone who's only heard blatant lies about me." 

"Fu-" Clarke stops herself from finishing that word at the look at Mom gives her. She can't believe that they're still strict on swearing when they've heard Clarke tell Murphy, in great detail, how she plans on killing him. "That's not true at all," she decides to say instead, propping her arm up on the table, resting her head in her hand. "I've never lied about you. I've actually been painfully obvious, which is enough to get the point across. I've never told a lie once in my entire life. And you know what that makes me, Murphy?" 

"Don't you dare."

"The favourite." 

Murphy purses his lips, and Clarke grins at the look that crosses over his face. He can't do shit to her right now, and she's so well aware of that, and so is he. She revels in the moment for a couple of seconds before she hears Mom sigh, warily glancing back over to her. There's no faux disappointment on her face, so Clarke assumes that she's safe for the time being. If anything, Dad will probably just call off dinner and give Murphy a chance to enact his revenge, as if Clarke would let that happen. She'll get to his car before he does, she'll put it in reverse, and she'll watch it drive ass-first into the lake. Easy. 

"Clarke," Mom says instead, and Clarke instantly feels her blood run cold. It isn't made any better by the fact that she sees Murphy's stupid face morph into a grin, and she wonders if he had anything to do with whatever the hell is about to happen to her. "What about you?" Mom leans forwards a little, and Clarke shifts back a bit, the question bouncing around in her head for a couple of seconds. What about her? "Have you been seeing anyone? Soulmate or otherwise?" 

Of course. 

Clarke doesn't even know why she's surprised, she really doesn't. She should have been expecting this from the moment that they started asking Murphy about his soulmate. Clarke quietly thinks about it for a few seconds before she realizes that she's taken too long. She can't say no now without both of her parents being suspicious of her, she knows them, and if she says yes, then she's going to have to figure shit out real fast. It doesn't help that Murphy is sat right next to her, and he's going to know that she's lying, because he's always managed to know, and-

"Yeah," Clarke says as casually as she possibly can, waving her hand. "I've been seeing her for a little less than a month," she meets Mom's again, refusing to blink. "I actually found out that she was my soulmate a few days ago, but I knew that Murphy had found out about Bellamy, and I didn't want to, you know," Clarke shrugs. "Make it about me, I guess? I don't know, I figured I'd tell you guys soon, I just didn't think it was that important. She's pretty laid back about the whole, you know, soulmate thing, so I didn't think it was a big deal." 

"Clarke! That's wonderful, honey! How long have you two known each other? Is she someone that we know? Is it that Raven girl that you and John hang out with? What's her na-"

She jolts when her phone starts to ring, staring down at the name. Murphy is calling her, and Clarke is about to hang up before she realizes that he's giving her an out. Maybe she isn't going to kick his ass or drive his car into the lake. "Actually, it's her right now," Clarke laughs, standing up. "I'll be right back. Can I tell you guys about her later? I'm kind of interested in how Murphy managed to win over Bellamy despite literally everything," Clarke beams at them, disappearing up the stairs, figuring that that's a safe enough place for her to hide right now. She gasps when she sees Murphy appear in front of her immediately, her hand rushing up to clutch at her chest. "Jesus Christ, Murphy."

"Room. Now," Murphy brushes past her, opening the door to her room. Clarke rolls her eyes, wondering why the hell they couldn't have just used his room. She trails after him, quietly shutting the door behind her, sitting down on her bed next to him. "You're so lucky that I'm a good person," Murphy heaves a sigh, throwing his head back. "So, you're a god awful liar. I still don't know how the fuck they believed you down there, and you're welcome for getting you out of there. You're an idiot."

"Thank you so much for the support," Clarke sneers at him, running her hands through her hair. "I don't know, okay? I just, I panicked."

"So you decided to lie to Mom and Dad about you finding your soulmate," Murphy starts, leaning a little closer to her. "All because they asked you once?"

"When you put it in those exact words, it sounds really, really bad." Clarke sighs, dropping her head. She hasn't felt regret hit her yet, but she's almost certain that it will in a couple of minutes. There's no way that it won't. Fuck. She fucked up, she really, really fucked up. She should have said no, she should have just been honest, but she wasn't, and now she's going to have to deal with it. She can't lie and say that they broke up only a few days after she bullshitted about dating someone. And she said that they were soulmates. She said that they were soulmates, which means there would be a mark, and god. She fucked up, holy shit.

"No," Murphy jabs a finger at her, tilting his head to the side, sounding so unbelievably disappointed. "It sounds really, really bad because it is really, really bad. You just didn't say it out loud. Or spend more than two seconds thinking about it. Where are the soulmarks, Clarke? Where are they? Did you think about that? Or the fact that you're going to have to lie even more? Or the fact that you're either going to have to tell Mom and Dad that you broke it off, that you lied to them in the first place, which isn't an actual option, or that you're going to have to find someone to play pretend with you?"

Clarke flips him off, closing her eyes shut for a few seconds. "Shut up, Murphy. The soulmarks aren't important. It isn't like they're going to demand to see them, especially if it formed on, like, my back. The soulmarks are not the thing that I'm worried about right now."

"Uh huh, sure. Because Mom definitely isn't going to keep asking about that," Murphy pauses, a grin twisting onto his face. Clarke wants to punch him again, and she only resists because she knows that she technically owes him now. He saved her ass from dinner, and even though he already knew she was lying, she's openly admitted to it now. He has way too much leverage over her, and Clarke isn't going to give him any reason to suddenly decide to be a moral person and out her on her lying. "So when you find this girl, which isn't going to happen, because who the hell would willingly date you, even if it's fake, are you guys gonna get matching tattoos to really sell this?"

Clarke tilts her head back, willing God to give her the patience to deal with this bullshit. "No, Jesus Christ, Murphy. God, no. And fuck you, you know what? I can get a real girlfriend easily. Getting a fake one shouldn't be hard," she heaves a sigh, crossing her arms against her chest. "Fuck. Why did it have to be you? Why couldn't I have been with anyone else right now?"

Murphy grins at her, so obviously smug that it makes her want to punch him in the face even more, but she resists. She has to, or else he'll hold this over her head until she dies. There's no way she can let that happen, absolutely not. She would rather die than let Murphy have even more leverage over her. "You gonna tell the rest of our friends?"

"What?" Clarke blinks at him, her eyes widening. "No. Raven can't keep a secret unless I pay her, Octavia is untrustworthy, Jasper would tell Monty, and Monty would just be disappointed, and I don't know if I can handle that. Plus," she pauses, briefly remembering that Emori is definitely still angry at her. She wouldn't even think about telling Echo or Roan, even though she knows that the both of them would keep quiet about it. Roan would never let her live it down, and Clarke doesn't think she would be able to deal with Echo constantly making fun of her in that half-joking half-real way. "Emori would immediately tell Mom. You know she's still angry at me for that one thing."

"That one thing," Murphy starts, giving her a pointed look that Clarke does her best to ignore. "Being you letting out her cat when she asked you to watch him, replacing him, and then never telling her until you found and brought back Ori?" He asks, tilting his head to the side even though he knows damn well that yes, that is that one thing. Clarke doesn't think she's going to be able to resist from beating the everloving shit out of him for much longer, she really doesn't.

"Yeah," she breathes out, her shoulders slouching."Yeah, that one thing. The point I'm getting at is that no, I am not telling our other friends," Clarke pauses, narrowing her eyes at her idiot brother who has more malice towards her than anyone else. "And neither are you."

"Sure I'm not," Murphy beams at her, not at all making Clarke feel better in the least. "I'm telling Bellamy."

Clarke feels all of her hopes, the few that she actually risked having, dissipate instantly. "Do not."

"He deserves to know, Clarke."

"Murphy, please. Come on. You know you don't have to do this to me. I'm already going to have to figure out so much shit for this, and I don't need you blackmailing me on top of it. Don't you dare."

"Guess you're gonna have to give me some incentive to not tell my boyfriend whom I share everything with."

Clarke scoffs, in complete and utter disbelief about the words coming from Murphy's mouth. "That is such a lie. You don't! You don't! You're..." Clarke trails off, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I hate you so much. If you tell Bellamy, I'll tell Octavia about how much you love Bellamy. I'll show her the texts that you've sent me. I have screenshots, Murphy. I have receipts that go to April. And you know that she'll tell Bellamy. You know that she will."

Murphy stares at her, scoffing right back at her. "You suck, what the hell, Clarke? God, fine. Fine. I won't tell Bellamy," he holds up his hands. "You're lucky that it's time to leave," Murphy tells her, pushing himself off of the bed. "It's ten. We're officially twenty minutes over the normal time that we leave. You've got..." he trails off, waving a hand. "Maybe two weeks? You've got maybe two weeks to get yourself a fake soulmate," he beams at her, walking over to the door. "I'm also not going to help you with that, so don't even bother asking. Good luck, princess." 

Clarke doesn't even bother giving him a response, opting to just silently trail after him down the stairs.

She's so fucked.

Clarke looks up from her phone when she hears the bell on the door ring, her good mood instantly disappearing when she sees Murphy. He beams at her, waving, and Clarke flips him off in return. "Hello to you too," Murphy snorts, moving to lean on the counter in front of her. "Slow day?" He asks, tilting his head to the side. She nods, motioning over to the complete lack of customers yet. To be fair, it's Monday, and they never get any customers on Monday. "At least you don't actually have to do anything. You're literally getting paid for just sitting on your ass."

"I still have to do storage," Clarke sighs, sparing a quick glance over her shoulder. "Wait," she pauses, narrowing her eyes at him. "Don't you literally have class right now? You have a lecture that you're missing." Murphy grins, holding up his hands in mock surrender. 

"It got cancelled," Murphy tells her, and Clarke does not believe that for a second. She doesn't think she'll ever fully understand just how the hell Murphy is managing to pass all of his classes when he literally never shows up to any of them. She sighs, flipping him off again, and that only seems to fuel his good mood. "And you're not going to have any room to complain about me missing a stupid lecture in a couple of seconds," Murphy beams, turning around to push his back against the counter, resting his arms on the counter a few seconds later. "You're lucky I'm such a good person."

Clarke frowns, trying to look around Murphy when the door opens, hearing that stupid bell. "What the hell are you talking about, Murphy? Are you serious? I need to-"

"Meet Lexa!" Murphy hops off of the counter, and Clarke stares ahead of where he had been, and holy shit. Lexa is beautiful. She's dressed for summer weather even though it's only spring. She's wearing a white t-shirt, a pair of black cargo pants, and combat boots that practically blend in with her pants. Her hair is wavy and reaches down to her shoulders, and fuck, Clarke is sick and tired of falling instantly in love with women. 

"Why am I meeting Lexa?" Clarke finally manages to ask over the lump in her throat, tapping her fingers against the counter. "No offense," she offers a quick smile at Lexa, who smiles right back at her, and god, she's so pretty. "I'm really sorry you've been dragged into whatever the fuck Murphy is doing."

Murphy scoffs, crossing his arms against his chest. "Whatever the fuck I'm doing? This is fully on you, princess. Lexa is in a similar situation to you," Murphy tells her, his lips quirking up into a grin. It only takes Clarke a couple of seconds to realize what he's getting at. "So, I decided that I'd help you both out. You both owe me," Clarke laughs, shaking her head in disbelief. There's no way. There's no way. "So, yeah. Have fun. I'm pretty sure there are some fake matching tattoos you guys can get. You know, the ones that you just run water over and shit? Yeah, go for those. I'm gonna head out because I can't stand being around you," he directs a grin over to Clarke, "for any longer. Bye."

"Fuck off, Murphy," Clarke laughs, watching as he flips her off as he disappears out the front door. All too suddenly she's left alone with Lexa standing in front of her, and she doesn't know where the hell she's even supposed to begin. Clarke glances down at the counter for a few seconds, risking her dignity to look up, thankfully finding that Lexa isn't looking at her at all. "So," Clarke clears her throat, watching as Lexa jerks her head back to face her now. "I'm sure Murphy already told you, but I'm Clarke," she beams. "Clarke Griffin. Do you, do you go to Arkadia?"

Lexa smiles at her, soft and pretty. Clarke reminds herself to stop being a idiot, pushing down all of her stupid, bullshit infatuation. "I do, yeah. I'm Lexa Woods. I'm going into journalism. I have Murphy in a few of my classes. You two are...friends?"

"Siblings," Clarke sighs. Lexa looks confused for a second before it looks like it clicks in her head, and Clarke can't help but smile. Every single person has that reaction, and it's even worse if they know the both of them. "I'm majoring in art," she beams, leaning forwards on the counter. As much as she enjoys Mondays for being slow and not having to work, she thinks that she's enjoying this Monday for a much different reason. "So, um. You're in the same situation as me?"

"Oh, yeah," Lexa looks away, ducking her head for a second. "Yeah, I am. My parents were asking about it, and it just..." Lexa trails off, giving a half-hearted shrug that Clarke understands all too well. "So, um," Lexa takes a couple of steps forwards, pulling out her phone. "I don't want to keep interrupting you since you're, you know," she pauses, a bright smile appearing on her face. "Working, so..."

"Trust me," Clarke laughs, pushing herself up, pulling her own phone out. "You're not interrupting anything. We never get any customers." 

"At all?" Lexa laughs, handing Clarke her phone. She takes it, handing Lexa her own, even though she doesn't think she really needs to. "I wish I could get paid for just having to do nothing all day."

"It's the best job I've ever had," Clarke grins up at her, quicky putting in her information. "There's nothing to do most of the time other than do inventory and storage, and that's really easy. The coffee is really good, too. Not just because I make it." 

Lexa laughs again, her eyes crinkling at the sides. "I'll be sure to bring my wallet next time. Murphy sort of just told me to meet him here, and I didn't get the chance to ask him why before he was already gone," she sighs, though she's still smiling. "Is there, you know," Lexa shifts on her feet, suddenly looking nervous. "A partner discount?"

"Wow," Clarke slides Lexa's phone back to her, taking her own a second later. "You're really just in it for the discounted coffee, huh?" Clarke beams at her, watching as Lexa's nervous smile shifts back into something far brighter. "Yes, there's a partner discount. We can just text about all the details later? When's your next class?"

"In..." Lexa looks down at her phone. "Fifteen minutes. Yeah, texting would be good. Texting would be great, actually, yeah. I'll see you around?"

"I hope so," Clarke laughs. "Bye, Lexa."

"Bye, Clarke!"

And then she's gone, the bell on the door ringing as a reminder of her absence. Clarke lets out a breath, running a hand through her hair. She jerks up when she hears her phone go off, staring down at the notification. 

lexa!: have fun on the rest of your shift :)

Clarke laughs, her heart soaring up into her chest. She should have just asked Raven to be her fake soulmate, it would have been so much easier, but here she is. 

clarke: have fun being stuck in a lecture for the next hour <3 

lexa!: i won't <3 

She grins, shaking her head a little as she pockets her phone. 

Clarke definitely owes Murphy.

lexa!: hi :)

clarke: hi :) finished with classes?

lexa!: finally

lexa!: so what all did you tell your parents? 

clarke: i just said that we've been seeing each other for about a month now 

clarke: & that we found out we were soulmates a few days ago 

clarke: i think i also told them that you don't rly care about soulmates? i don't know, i was high on adrenaline at that point 

lexa!: ofc ofc 

lexa!: okay, that works well enough with what i said

lexa!: i just told them that we've been dating for a few months now, it got serious recently, and that we found out we were soulmates about a week or so ago

lexa!: so that works pretty well :) 

clarke: oh thank god LMFAO did they ask about soulmarks or anything?

lexa!: nope :) they're not super into the idea, they're just happy that you know 

lexa!: i'm seeing someone 

lexa!: "seeing"

clarke: well you definitely saw me today

lexa!: that was awful. i'm reconsidering this entire alliance, clarke 

clarke: ALLIANCE? i can't believe this isn't even a relationship 

lexa!: it's not going to be a relationship if you make the Worst jokes

clarke: smfh, fine fine. my parents want to meet you in a couple of weeks. we have a monthly get-together type thing, and we just had our last one about a week ago 

clarke: so we have time to actually make this believable 

lexa!: is murphy going to be there? 

clarke: unfortunately 

lexa!: since he helped you, he isn't going to do anything to mess with us, right?

clarke: oh yeah he'll be fine

clarke: if he does anything i'll just kick his ass dw 

clarke: so. boundaries for all of this. you're okay with like hand holding and stuff? 

lexa!: i would hope i'd be okay with my girlfriend holding my hand

clarke: i can see why you and murphy get along so well

lexa!: <3 

lexa!: but seriously yes it's fine :) just normal girlfriend stuff 

lexa!: it isn't like it has to be Forever. i can break up with you at some point 

clarke: oh YOU'RE the one breaking up with ME? i don't think so

clarke: i'll break up with you rn

lexa!: sure you will 

clarke: smfh 

clarke: what times do you have classes tomorrow?

lexa!: i don't actually have anything 

clarke: oh sweet 

clarke: my shift starts at ~9am 

clarke: come say hello?

lexa!: do i get free coffee?

clarke: discounted coffee

clarke: fake girlfriends don't get free coffee

lexa!: damn :(

lexa!: i guess i'll take the discount 

clarke: smfh 

clarke: i'm going to fake break up with you SO HARD

lexa!: sure sure <3 

lexa!: i'm actually dead exhausted, so i'm gonna go pass out 

lexa!: i'll see you in the morning clarke :)

clarke: see you in the morning lexa <3 

Chapter Text

Clarke stares down at her phone, narrowing her eyes the longer that it buzzes without her dumbass fucking brother picking up. Right as it's about to direct her to voicemail, Murphy finally fucking accepts, and that's all that it takes for Clarke to start talking. "I need you to come to the City of Light right now. I'm already there. I'll make you coffee if that's what it takes for you to come in. It'll be free, I don't care. You're still not getting the family discount, but it'll be free just this once, unless I need your help again, which I fucking hope that I won't. I don't care what you order. I'll make you five coffees, but that's the max. The door is unlocked, no one else is here, and you don't have class for another two hours, so you have no good reason to not come and talk to me."

Murphy is silent for almost two minutes, and Clarke is three seconds away from threatening his life, but he eventually lets out a low sigh that goes on for much longer than it should. Dramatic prick. "Yeah, you know why no one else is in the shop, Clarke? Because it's six in the morning, Clarke. It's six in the morning, Clarke. Do you know when your opening shift is? It's at nine, Clarke. That's three hours away. My morning classes start at eight-thirty. I didn't have to be up for another hour and a half. You literally could have texted me, and I'd have texted you back, what the fuck is wrong with you? Oh my god."

"No, you wouldn't have," Clarke scoffs, already grabbing cups. "You'd have ignored me, and you know it, so fuck you. And waking up early is good for you. It isn't my fault that you probably were awake up until ten minutes go. That isn't my problem at all. You know what is my problem, Murphy? Lexa. And you know who put that problem into my life? You. And don't you dare even start talking about how it was for my own good, because you know that's a lie. You wouldn't have responded to any of my texts even if I sent them. You literally almost didn't respond to my call."

"Because it's six in the morning!" Murphy whisper-shouts, and Clarke can hear someone else in the background, who she recognizes as Bellamy. "I was not being loud. You followed me out here, asshole," Clarke rolls her eyes as she listens to Murphy immediately start to argue with Bellamy, wondering how the hell they manage to tolerate being in the same vicinity as each other before she promptly remembers that they don't. "What? Yeah, it's Clarke. Who else would call me at six in the fucking morning? Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with her, either. Trust me, I did not want to be awake right now. Don't look at me like that. Bell, fuck off. I need to yell at Clarke for being a fucking dick. Clarke," Murphy's voice shifts from the tone of voice he uses with Bellamy, still irritated and exhausted, but laced with a fucked up sort of affection, back into his regular irritated and exhausted tone. "You're a fucking dick."

"Yeah, I heard," Clarke waves a hand, as if he can see her. "What do you want? A latte with enough espresso shots to stop your heart? Because that's what I'm giving you." Murphy heaves another sigh, going quiet for a couple of seconds before he sighs again. 

"Yeah, that's what I want. I'll be there in a couple of minutes, fuck you. I hate you. Bye."

"Hate you too. Bye." 

Clarke goes to hang up on him before he can do the same to her, bur Murphy is only a few seconds faster. She rolls her eyes, glancing up at the front door. Technically, Indra prefers them to only show up on their shifts and never early, something about lacking trust, but Indra isn't here right now, and Clarke needed a place that she could talk freely in. She refuses to let Murphy into her apartment from a moral standpoint, and the City of Light was the next best thing. Plus, it's Tuesday. No one ever comes in on Tuesdays. It also helps that it's six in the morning and the store doesn't open for another three hours. As much as Clarke absolutely hates having to listen to Murphy act like he's morally better than her, she does need his help, and she knows that he'll be significantly more bearable if she gets it through his dumb fucking head that she's actually serious about this. 

Him practically dropping Lexa at her feet was both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing in the sense that Clarke actually has someone to be her fake girlfriend for a few weeks or so, someone who also needed the same kind of help. It's a curse in the sense that Lexa is way too fucking pretty, exactly her type, and Clarke is self-aware enough to know that her chances of accidentally falling in love with her are sky high. It doesn't help that they're definitely not soulmates, or at least Clarke heavily doubts it. There's no fucking way, and the fact that she's basically set up to fall in love with her is just going to make everything so much worse. She really should have just paid Raven to do it for a couple of weeks. She'd probably have gone into crippling debt, but at least there would be absolutely zero chance of her actually falling in love. 

As much as she loves Raven as one of her best friends, the idea of dating her makes Clarke want to cry. Plus, Raven is Murphy's best friend. Clarke wouldn't feel right dating her for real, and she knows that Murphy would also not feel right. Which she would normally be fine with and flaunt in his stupid fucking face, but this is one of the very few things that she actually agrees with him on. There isn't anyone else that she knows who would be willing to pretend to be her girlfriend for a few weeks, and even if she had lied and said she had a boyfriend instead, there would still be no one willing to do it. Echo would rather die, Clarke can't even fathom the idea of her dating Jasper, Monty would probably begrudgingly do it, but she doesn't think she could handle him being disappointed in her. Roan would definitely do it, but he'd make her life a living fucking hell as payment, and Clarke would end up killing him, and fuck, she's so fucked.

Even though she has Lexa and everything is situated and being worked out, Clarke is still convinced that she is completely and utterly fucked. Lexa is exactly her type, and Clarke has only known her for less than a day. She briefly considers fleeing the continent and changing her name, but decides against it because she knows damn well that all of her friends would manage to find her, anyways. She looks over at the door when the bell rings, watching as Murphy stalks in, his beanie covering the majority of his face. 

"You look like shit," Clarke tells him as a greeting, and he greets her in return by raising both of his middle fingers at her. "Murphy, I don't know if I can do this," she breathes out, leaning over the counter. "With Lexa, I mean. I don't know how you managed to choose a girl who's exactly my type, but you did, and I'm starting to second-guess all of this, like, a lot." 

Murphy makes his way over to the counter, resting his arms on it. "So what?" He asks, tilting his head to the side. "You could be her type, too. I mean, I don't know anyone who would have you as their type, but maybe she's different. If you guys end up being real girlfriends, good on you. I don't see the problem."

"The problem is that there's no fucking way she's going to want to be real girlfriends," Clarke mutters, running a hand through her hair. "We're not soulmates, either. I mean, I don't, I don't care about that. I don't care. But she might, and since we aren't soulmates, than it isn't like she's going to want to stay with someone who isn't her soulmate, and that's totally fair, it isn't like it's a new thing, but it's-"

"Jesus, Clarke," Murphy reaches out, placing both of his hands over one of hers. "Listen. It's only for a few weeks, if that. You don't even have to introduce her to Mom and Dad. They're not going to fucking hunt her down. They're definitely going to ask for her to come over, but if you make it clear you're not comfortable with that, they'll back off. They always have. And if you really think you can't do it," he pauses, squeezing her hand. "Just call it off. I can do it for you. I'll tell Lexa, it isn't a big deal. She's pretty cool, she'll understand. You're freaking out over nothing, Clarke." 

Clarke breathes out, turning her head to the side. "I'm freaking out over a pretty girl. That's not nothing, Murphy. That's pretty significant," Clarke watches as he rolls his eyes, feeling some of the tension leaving her body. He's right - she's freaking out over nothing. It isn't like this is the end of the world. If anything, it'll just end up being an embarrassing story she'll be constantly reminded of for the rest of her life. "I can't believe I nearly had a crisis over a girl."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Murphy grins at her, and Clarke scoffs, shoving his hands away from hers. "What? I'm just saying! Listen," Murphy's grin fades into something softer. "You've got this. Plus, you two are complete fucking strangers. It works out so well. If something goes wrong, you literally never have to see her again. And if it goes right, hey, maybe you get a girlfriend out of it. Or at least a friend," he shrugs. "And you don't know if you're not her soulmate. It could happen. I mean, I was pretty goddamn convinced I wasn't Bellamy's soulmate, and it turns out that I actually am, unfortunately. You've got this in the bag, princess."

"I hate it when you actually make sense," Clarke lets out a breathless laugh, rolling her eyes. "Okay. Right. Okay, yeah. You're right. I've got this. And, I mean, she's pretty, but it isn't like I'm in love with her. It's just...my brain being a fucking bitch," Clarke dips her head. "Alright. Thank you, Murphy. Seriously. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Die, probably," Murphy beams. "Not a problem, dumbass. However," he leans forwards a little more, quirking up an eyebrow. "Can we schedule it so your breakdowns aren't at six in the fucking morning? I could have been sleeping right now. We both could have been sleeping right now! Next time you think you're going to have a mental breakdown and it isn't past nine in the morning, just stop."

Clarke laughs, shoving him back off of the counter. "Just stop? Yeah, sure, I'll tell my brain to put my breakdown on the back burner, sure. Fuck you, dipshit. Get the hell out of my store. I'm telling Indra that you've been harassing me. She likes me more than she likes you."

"That's because you lie about me!" Murphy protests, grinning like an absolute idiot. "And sure, me giving you the best goddamn advice in the world totally counts as harassment, uh huh. Fuck off. You're such a dick. I can't believe that I'm so supportive all the time and this is how I'm repaid. I'm telling Mom about the one time you spilled nail polish in her car and blamed me for it."

"Really, Murphy? You're bringing up shit that happened ten years ago? I can't believe this. I want you out of my establishment right now. I'm definitely telling Indra that you're harassing me. I can't believe that someone like Lexa knows someone like you. You know what? I want you to stay away from her. She's my fake girlfriend, which is basically a real girlfriend, and when have I ever let you near one of my real girlfriends?"

"Niylah," Murphy immediately responds. "I literally fucking introduced you two. I have a list on my phone. I can pull it out right now, see? Watch, watch me!" Murphy reaches for his phone, and it's all Clarke can do to not jump over the counter and brutally murder him.

"Okay, I get it! I get it!" She holds up her hands in surrender before he can even pull out his phone, because even if he's bluffing, which Clarke doubts, he definitely still remembers. "My god. You're such a fucking dick, Murphy."

Murphy grins at her, and she wants to punch him in the face. "Yeah, sure. Okay," he looks down at his phone, narrowing his eyes a second later. "I need to go back, because I didn't bring anything with me. I just left all of my shit back at the apartment because I was too tired to grab it, because someone woke me up at six in the fucking morning," Murphy rolls his eyes. "Just remember that you've got this, princess. If you need my amazing advice, please text me at a reasonable time. Okay?"

Clarke rolls her eyes, leaning back on her heels. "Okay. Thanks again, asshole. Have fun sitting through your lectures."

"I fucking won't. See you later, fucker."

"Bye, dumbass." Murphy shoots her one last grin before he waves and walks out the door, and Clarke smiles as soon as she's positive that he's gone. She really isn't sure what she did in life to have a brother like Murphy, but she's glad she has him, no matter how much she wants to brutally murder him. 

With her worries diminished for now, all she has to do is wait for Lexa. 

Clarke thinks that she's going to do just fine. 

Clarke no longer thinks that she's going to do just fine. 

She was pretty confident in herself for about an hour or so after Murphy left, but as the clock started getting closer and closer to nine, she stopped being confident altogether. She isn't entirely sure just how the hell she's managed to go from being extremely confident to being terrified of that stupid fucking bell ringing, but she managed, and now she has to deal with it. Clarke taps her fingers against the counter, scanning the front of the shop quietly. No one is here yet, mostly because it's a Tuesday and not at all because it just opened, and she isn't sure if she should be grateful for that or not. At least if there were people she would have to work, which would keep her busy, and if she were busy, her mind wouldn't automatically revert to thinking about Lexa every five seconds. 

Clarke sighs, glancing over her shoulder and out of the window that's by her side. She doesn't see anyone on the sidewalk by the shop, but she does see people on the other side of the sidewalk, casually wandering around Polis. Clarke considers just escaping through the window and fleeing back to her apartment before Lexa gets there, but she figures that she probably shouldn't risk accidentally running into her. She doesn't know where Lexa lives - for all she knows, Lexa could live in the same goddamn apartment complex as she does. Clarke purses her lips, closing her eyes for a second as she tries to get that thought out of her head. She really, really does not need more things to worry about right now. 

Clarke has to bite down on her tongue so she doesn't automatically shout when she hears the bell ring, spinning on her heels to face whoever's walked in, her heart briefly stopping when she sees Lexa. She also looks mildly startled, and Clarke figures it's probably because of how fast she snapped her entire body around to face her. "Hi," Clarke breathes out, offering the world's most pathetic smile. She can't believe she let herself get scared that easily because of how much she just wasn't paying attention. "Sorry, I wasn't..." she waves a hand, making a vague motion over to the door, then to the window. "I wasn't paying attention. I didn't think you'd be in here, like, right after nine."

"I can leave," Lexa offers, pointing back at the door. "And walk back in? And then we can pretend like that was the first time I actually came in." Clarke laughs, rolling her eyes at the genuine look of sincerity on Lexa's face. She doesn't think she's ever going to understand just how the hell someone like Lexa is friends with someone like Murphy. It makes absolutely zero sense to her, and she can't help but wonder if Murphy just randomly approached her and asked her to do this. 

"We don't have to go that far," Clarke beams at her, leaning over the counter. "Do you want anything to drink?" She asks, gesturing over to the side. "I can make you something. It's still pretty early."

Lexa blinks at her, frowning a little. "No, it's fine. I'm not going to make you make me something. I know we joked about it, but I don't feel like I should get anything for free or at a discount. It feels wrong." 

Clarke definitely does not understand how the fuck someone as kind and sweet and good as Lexa is friends with someone as god awful as her brother. There's no way that they're actually friends. She doesn't think that that's possible, she really doesn't. There's no fucking way. She thinks that she's going to have to interrogate Lexa on just how the hell she met Murphy and decided to not immediately run as far away as possible. 

"Lexa. This is my job. I do this for a living," Clarke laughs, tilting her head to the side. "It really isn't a big deal. I'm not going to die from doing my job. And why wouldn't you get a discount? We're dating, babe." 

Lexa blinks at her, and Clarke considers jumping out the window to escape again. She shouldn't have said babe, what the fuck is wrong with her? "Babe?" Lexa raises her eyebrows, resting one arm on the counter, the other pressed against the side of her face. "Wow. You're moving pretty fast, Clarke. I'm getting the idea that you might try and hold my hand. Or, godforbid, want to meet my parents." 

"Okay, fuck you," Clarke laughs, grinning at her. "I'm just trying to, you know, make it work! Make it seem real! If this were an actual, real relationship, I'd have broken up with you before we even started dating," Lexa grins right back at her, her eyes practically sparkling, and Clarke doesn't know just how the hell she's going to manage to get through this. "No, don't even look at me like that, because I'm dead serious. Look at my face. I am dead serious." Clarke stares at her with the most stone cold look that she can manage, only mildly disappointed in herself when she immediately starts to laugh after a few seconds. 

"Uh huh, sure," Lexa grins at her. "Because your face is just screaming "dead serious" right now. I can't believe my fake girlfriend would have real broken up with me," Lexa heaves a sigh, tilting her head to the side, her eyes still sparkling. The light from the window hits her face just perfectly, and Clarke wonders how the hell she's supposed to not fall in love. "We should probably get to know each other better," Lexa laughs, dipping her head. "You know, since we're dating."

"Since we're dating," Clarke agrees. "Uh, okay, let's see. My birthday is October twenty-forth, my mom's name is Abby, and my dad's name is Jake. I'm twenty-two, my best friend's name is Octavia. Murphy is actually dating her brother, Bellamy. They're soulmates," Clarke explains. "I'm an art major, and I kind of regret not going to an actual art school, but Arkadia somehow had more classes I was interested in. Plus, I was pretty sure I was gonna be a doctor up until, like, a year ago."

"A doctor?" Lexa asks, and Clarke nods. "I can definitely see it. My birthday is in July, the first, actually. My dad's name is Titus, my mom's name is Lorelei. I'm twenty-three, and I'm majoring in English. Specifically journalism," Lexa smiles. "Which is how I met Murphy, and how I met you. I don't really officially work there, but I spend a lot of time at the youth centre. My best friend, Anya, she was actually the reason I got into the programme. She was the person who would come and talk to me, and that made me want to do it. I only moved to Polis for Arkadia about a year ago, and I'm still learning where everything is. It's a massive city." 

Clarke thinks that Lexa unofficially working at a youth centre makes way too much sense. "That's really sweet," Clarke tells her, smiling. "I think Murphy was seriously considering going to do that, too. After college, probably. And yeah, Polis is fucking huge," Clarke laughs, shifting a little so she's resting her head on her hand. "If you want, after I get off of my shift in a couple of hours, I can show you some of my favourite places here. Assuming, you know, you haven't seen them before."

Lexa laughs, ducking her head again. "That would be nice. The youth centre is one of my favourite places to be. The kids there are all great. There's this one boy, his name is Aden, and he's such a good kid. Maybe I can take you there sometime? It would make sense for you to know what I do in case my parents ask," Lexa rolls her eyes, though she doesn't actually seem annoyed. "I mean, I know what you do."

"Do you really?" Clarke questions, grinning. "You've never seen me work. You've only seen me behind the counter, and honestly, I probably don't even work here. You don't know that for sure."

"I'm kind of going off of assumptions," Lexa agrees, grinning right back at her. "But I think that the apron, the nametag, and the fact that you've very specifically told me that this was your job is enough for me to be justified in that assumption. Does this place seriously just never get business?" Lexa asks suddenly, spinning around on her heels. "It's been at least twenty minutes since I got here. No one has even come in. Is this normal?" Lexa whirls back around to face her, her eyes narrowed. "How is this place still open if it never has any business?"

Clarke snorts, shrugging. "I honestly don't know. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be paid as much as I am for how little business we get. I think our record for a day was, like, ten people. And it wasn't even at once, it was maybe one person every hour and a half. The first person came in at, like," she pauses, tapping her fingers against the counter. "I think they came in when I opened, so at nine. And then the last person who came in showed up at the end of Octavia's shift, so at eleven at night. I think that my boss is running a crime syndicate, or something. There's no way that we're getting enough money to pay us and keep the shop open." 

"Because that's only mildly concerning," Lexa laughs, running a hand through her hair. "What kind of art do you like the best? Anything specific? I know a lot of people like one kind of style and hate everything else, but..." she waves a hand. Clarke raises an eyebrow at her, watching as Lexa blinks at her. "What? It's important! I mean, okay, I guess it isn't life-threatening if I don't know, but I think it would make sense for me to know. Considering the, you know, fake dating." 

"If your parents grill me about my major, I'll leave," Clarke threatens, grinning at her. "I like realism. I mostly draw realism, anyways. What about you, what kind of..." Clarke pauses, opening and closing her mouth a few times, frowning. "What kind of English are you into? No, that's definitely not fucking right, okay."

Lexa laughs, her eyes crinkling at the edges. "What kind of English am I into? Wow, okay, that's a hard one. Hm," she only laughs harder when Clarke flips her off, shaking her head in disbelief. Clarke thinks that she can put her accidentally falling in love with Lexa to the side to make room for her accidentally murdering Lexa. "I like writing a lot. Not, like, essays and news articles, but just writing. I can't stand poetry. So, out of, like, creative writing, news articles, informational papers, poetry, editing, stuff like that, I'd go with creative writing."

"I think I'd also have to choose creative writing," Clarke laughs, shaking her head. "Do you write a lot?"

"As much as I can. It's kind of difficult sometimes," Lexa sighs. "With college and how much time I spend at the youth centre. But yeah, I think I write a lot. I immediately burn and delete everything I write after twenty-four hours, but yeah."

"Oh, god, same," Clarke heaves a sigh. "I can't even look at anything that I draw if it's been more than thirty minutes. I think my mom actually has all of my sketchbooks saved and put far, far away from me, because she was afraid that I'd ignite them if I had the chance. Which she'd be right about, but still." 

"You're your own worst critic," Lexa agrees. "What time do you get off? I don't want to loiter."

"Loiter, really?" Clarke grins. "You're not loitering, Lexa. Also, it's literally only us here. I'd have to be the one to report you loitering, and I would never do that to my fake girlfriend," Lexa rolls her eyes, but Clarke can see her smiling despite how she tries to hide it. "I get off at one. I mean, I could ask someone to cover my shift if you wanted me to take you out now."

Lexa raises an eyebrow. "Take me out? As in a date?"

"No, as in murder," Clarke deadpans. "Yes, Lexa. As in a date. I told you that I'd take you to see some of the best spots around Polis, and it might as well be a date. We've been dating for, like, a month or so now. It would make sense that we did the date part in dating."

"I can't wait to fake break up with you," Lexa mutters, and Clarke can't help but laugh, already pulling out her phone to blackmail Monty into coming in for her. "Maybe I shouldn't have offered to take you to the youth centre. You'd be a bad influence."

"Me, a bad influence?" Clarke asks, not looking up as she continues to text Monty. "I don't know what you mean. I'm only lying to my parents about having found my soulmate, leaving work early so I can pretend like I'm showing you around, but it's actually just so I can leave work, and I'm totally skipping out on half of my lectures because I hate my professors. That doesn't make me a bad influence."

Lexa sighs, but her smile is still shining through. "Uh huh, sure it doesn't, Clarke. Hey," Clarke stops moving, turning to look at Lexa, who's right next to her now. "Are we going now? You only just texted your coworker. There's no way that they're going to get here in the next three seconds." 

"Lexa," Clarke pulls out her phone again, looking at the time. "It's nine forty-eight. It's been about an hour since you got here. And have you seen anyone even look at this place?" Lexa pauses, opening her mouth to say something before promptly snapping it shut. "Exactly. There's no way in hell that anyone is actually going to come in here. Plus, I'll lock the doors. Just in case." 

"Not for safety reasons," Lexa laughs, shoving her hands in her pockets. Clarke grins at her, making her way towards the door. "Just in case, not for safety reasons."

"Definitely not for safety reasons. This place is already a hazard. I don't think there's much else you can do to it to make it more of a hazard, honestly," Clarke says, holding the door open for Lexa, the keys to the shop already in her hand. "After you, babe."

"Thanks," Lexa grins back at her, walking through the door. Clarke locks it, ignoring that stupid bell that goes off when she closes it. "So. Where are we going?" Clarke beams at her before she starts to walk, her heart beating just a little too fast, her chest tight with excitement. She's definitely going to fall in love, holy shit.

"You'll see."