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"Okay, Octavia, you ready?" Clarke asks as she fiddles with Octavia's backpack straps.
She rolls her eyes as she slaps the older girl's hands away. "Yes, Mom."
"I am not your mother," Clarke says sternly. "Now, I have to go. Say hi to Monroe, and try not to terrorize the other students too much, okay?"
"One argument!" Octavia shouts at Clarke's retreating back. "I get into one argument and suddenly I'm a bully!"
Clarke just waves without looking back as she jogs to her next class. Octavia sighs, and looks up at the building her college is in. It's a little surreal, because she's only 17, but lots of students go to Grounders College young, so she's not too worried about her social standing. In fact, she feels pretty comfortable with most of her class already, due to the orientation activities she went through last week. So yeah, she feels pretty good about the whole thing. And so what if she got into an argument with another student already, that's what they're supposed to do right? It's a discussion school, and Monroe says there're arguments all the time. Okay, so maybe it wasn't an argument but more of a shouting match in which she called another student a "misogynistic pig" who was "too stupid to know your ass from your face".
In her defense, Sterling's a real dick.
She jogs up to the second floor, where all the classes take place. She loves that the college only has 70 students. She won't be terrified of moving through the halls, which is something she was genuinely afraid of when she used to think of college. She's not really good with making friends, since Clarke is the one that makes the friends, and Octavia just sort of gets them by default. Yeah, she had Del and Fox in high school, after Clarke and Bellamy left, but she's hoping to do better in college, to have an actual social life.
She stops in front of her classroom for her very first class. The door is shut, but she's fifteen minutes early, so she knows it's probably because no one is in the classroom. She still slips into the classroom quietly, however, and closes the door behind her. She's a little nervous, even though Monroe has talked her through basically, well, everything.
She tries to be as quiet as she can, but the single person at the table looks up anyways. Octavia wets her lips looking at him a little, because, well, she never expected philosophy nerds to be this hot.
"Hi," she says, hesitantly. He was obviously reading, so she doesn't want to disturb him, but also she kind of does. At least enough to get his name so she can pump Monroe for information later.
"Hey," he says, and, oh, thank God he's putting his book down. "I'm Lincoln."
"Octavia," she replies as she sticks her hand out. He shakes it briefly, but he's got a strong handshake, and a killer smile, so Octavia's thanking her lucky stars she found Grounders. "Humanities 101 is meeting in here, right?"
"Yeah," he answers.
She smiles. "I'm a freshman, I don't know if you can tell."
"I figured. I haven't seen you around before," he sounds amused, "and that's sort of an oddity around here."
"Yeah," Octavia says, her smile widening. "I got that impression."
He's quiet as she settles in to her seat (next to his, but who would blame her for sitting next to a guy she's ostensibly talking to?) and takes out the article they were supposed to read and her pen. She flips through it a couple of times, just to make sure she read the whole thing.
"How did you like it?" Lincoln asks, drawing her attention once again.
"Honestly?" Octavia bites her lower lip as she flips through the article again. It's Plato's Ion, something Bellamy had read her before as a kid, because he's got such a huge boner for all things Greek, but it's the first time she had to actually put some thought into the dialogue. "I don't really know. It's not my first time reading it, but I guess I didn't really think it was a discussion piece. It just seems like the big points Socrates makes make sense, you know?"
He chuckles. "You might change your mind after this class. Did you ever participate in one of the mock classes we have our entrants do?"
"I actually just sort of came to this school at the last minute," she confesses. "I wasn't a big reader as a kid, or anything, but English was my best subject in high school, and this is close to my brother and my best friend, so I sort of showed up at the beginning of the summer and demanded they take me."
If he's surprised, he doesn't show it. His smile grows wider, though. "You'd be surprised how many of us have that same story. The people from my incoming class that stayed are usually the ones who showed up last minute."
"I heard retention rate is a problem this school has." She bites her lip again, and curses Clarke for rubbing off on her. Her lips are going to be a shredded, bloody mess after today. "Is it true?"
"Yeah," he admits. "Honestly? Only about half the people in your incoming class stick around, three-fourths if it's a good year. A lot leave after the first year, and then the rest who leave leave in the second. There're only a handful of people I know who left after that, because it's harder, because of the credit system most small humanities colleges have."
"Oh." She's quiet for a moment, then asks, "So what year are you?"
He smiles again, smaller but maybe more genuine. "Third, though technically I think credits-wise I'm a sophomore."
"Octavia!" the door to the room swings open, showing Monroe, and a couple of other people behind her. "When I didn't see you, I thought you were running late or something. I texted you."
"You did?" she pulls her phone out of her pocket. She had put it on silent before coming to school, so it wouldn't go off in class, and, sure enough, there are three missed messages from Monroe. "Sorry, I was talking to Lincoln."
He blushes a little as Monroe turns to him, delighted. The rest of the class, half of whom Octavia recognizes from orientation, is giving them strange looks, but they don't say anything. Sterling's got his head in his book, also mute. Monroe, on the other hand, has no problem chatting. "You talked? For real? Emma's gonna be so pissed she missed it. I think she thinks you're secretly mute."
"Shut up," he says, mildly, as Monroe settles on Octavia's other side. "I talk."
"Please," she scoffs. "It's a miracle you pass any classes at all."
Octavia's brow furrows at this, because he was pretty talkative to her, but as class starts and the lesson continues, she understands what Monroe means. He's pretty quiet during class. He makes a couple of points, but mostly just listens to what everyone is trying to say. The professor is a man who is basically what Octavia would picture if she were trying to imagine a human awkward turtle.
The class sort of goes horribly, in Octavia's opinion. Monroe snaps at a couple of people regularly, for going off on tangents, or not supporting their ideas with textual evidence. Octavia tries to get in for a bit but gets talked over half the time by other students, tries to snap back but gets blown over. Monroe yells at Sterling the second time he does it. The professor doesn't really do anything but ask a couple of questions to make them approach the topic in a different way. Other than that, he seems happy to watch them crash and burn. Which they do.
Towards the end of the class, she gives up, and huffs as she leans back in her chair. Finally, the professor clears his throat. "Alright, class, same time Wednesday. Good job."
Monroe scoffs at this, but he only shoots her a warning look before leaving the classroom. Octavia watches the rest of the class, except for Monroe and Lincoln, pack up and leave before reaching for her stuff.
Monroe pats her arm consolingly. "If it's any comfort, I didn't speak at all my first month. And Lincoln still never talks, and he's still here, so you shouldn't be worried."
Lincoln frowns. "I talked."
Monroe just rolls her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Ugh, I forgot how awful classes with newbies are."
"So it wasn't just me?" Octavia asks. "This was a terrible class?"
"Oh yeah," Monroe reassures her. "All one hundred-level classes are like this, and most of the two hundreds, if I'm being honest. It's because none of you know how to talk yet. It takes like a year to get good at it, maybe more, unless you're special. You were good, keep it up."
"Thanks," Octavia says honestly. "I wasn't sure."
"You just need to learn how to snap back. If some idiot like Sterling talks over you, stop him. Most people don't know they can do that, but you totally can." Monroe heaves her bag over her shoulder. "Well, I gotta go. I've got a meeting with one of the other professors. See you later, Lincoln. And don't forget, Octavia, we have to talk later today about you working with me! Bye!"
Octavia's pleasantly surprised when Lincoln only gets up when she does. "So, I have a question for you."
"Shoot," he says as he closes the classroom door behind them.
"If you're in your third year, why are you taking a hundred level class?" She's worried the question will offend him, make him think she thinks he's stupid or something.
He thinks about it for a few moments before answering. "I was part time, for a while, and this class just fell through the cracks. I should've taken it before I finished the rest of the humanities classes, because I love art, and this is really the only class that covers it, but when you're pressed into a tight schedule, there's not much you can do."
"Part time?" she asks, pushing her luck a little further.
He stops in front of the door to the staircase. "I worked, a lot, my first two years. My family needed some help."
"That's understandable," she says, because it is. "Um, I'm supposed to meet my friend for lunch. She goes to AIT. Do you want to come?"
"That's okay," he says with a smile. "I need to finish my reading for next class. But thanks."
She's a little crestfallen, but thinks she hides it well. "No problem. Bye."
She doesn't tell Clarke about him at lunch because, well, Clarke is in a weird space, and she wants to respect that. As hard as it is for everyone that Jake is on trial pretty publicly right now, its definitely hardest on Clarke. At lunch she meets Monty and Jasper, who she loves almost immediately. They're goofy and surprisingly smart. They're asking her a bunch of questions about Grounders, because they, like Clarke, thought it was a cult.
"Seriously? We're accredited and everything," Octavia says. "This is ridiculous. Take a class, and see for yourself. We're really not that bad."
"Yeah, but you've only been there for a day. Maybe they just haven't gotten to you yet," Jasper says suspiciously.
She rolls her eyes. "Look, I'm taking a film class on Stanley Kubrick. It hasn't met yet. Just take it with me and see for yourselves."
"They'd let us do that?" Monty asks with surprise, looking at Jasper before turning back to her. "What time is the class?"
"Film screenings are at six on Tuesday nights, and the discussion portion is Thursday at 1:45," she answers.
"You do love Kubrick, dude," Monty points out.
Jasper grins. "Let's do it."
Clarke just rolls her eyes at them all.
Monty and Jasper sit next to her during the film screening, which is good, because the only other person she knows taking this class is Monroe, and she's not there that night, due to some scheduling conflict with her therapist, she'd explained. Octavia's a little surprised at how free she is with that information, but Monroe assures her most of the students at Grounders just get used to over-sharing, because everyone will find out everything eventually anyways.
The movie they watch is one of Kubrick's first attempts at filmmaking, called Killer's Kiss, and honestly, it's sort of bad. Monty and Jasper are enraptured, but she's fighting laughter for basically the whole thing. She wonders how they're going to talk about it come Thursday, but whatever. She's enjoying it.
Afterwards, Monty and Jasper won't shut up about how excited they are for the discussion portion before they head back to the dorms. Octavia's on her way out, too, when she spots Lincoln in the Student Life Center, which is really just a small room with couches and computers where students can either nap or browse the internet.
She taps on the glass before walking in. "Hi."
"Hey." He looks surprised. "You in the film class?"
"Yeah," she says. "What's your excuse?"
He smiles at her. "I'm basically a glorified watch dog. The floor's technically open until nine, but everyone leaves at five, so for four hours, someone has to make sure no one just walks off with anything."
"So, you work until nine?" she asks.
"Yeah," he answers.
"You realize that's right now, right?" She points to the clock in the room with a smile.
He laughs. "Right. I was just going through our reading for tomorrow," he gestures with the book, "but if I can go home, I'd rather read there."
"Where do you live?" Octavia crosses her fingers behind her back, hoping it's close to her apartment so they can walk together.
"33rd and Virginia. You?" he asks.
"33rd and Georgia." She smiles. "Want to walk together?"
"Sure." He gestures for her to leave first. "Would you have walked alone if I wasn't here?"
"Yeah," she looks over at him, "why?"
He looks scandalized. "That's pretty dangerous. What time are you going to be leaving campus most days?"
"Four-ish? It depends on what Monroe is having me do for the day." Her brow furrows. "I can take care of myself, you know. I'm pretty good at karate."
"Still." He looks at the ground, considering. "I can walk you back on the days you stay late."
"How late do you stay most days?" she shoots back.
"Between five and nine, why?" he asks.
"That's pretty dangerous." She tries to deepen her voice to imitate his. It fails.
He looks amused. "I'm quite a bit bigger than you."
That's an understatement. He looks like he could crush Bellamy with his bare hands. "Hey. I may be small, but I pack a mean punch."
"I don't doubt it," he says, laughing. After he stops, he looks at the ground, but he's still smiling. "Where do you do karate?"
"I used to do it in high school, with my high school." She bites her lower lip. "I guess I should look into what AIT has."
"It's pretty crappy," he says, and then looks at her. "I go to a kung fu school, though, that's on Center, only about a ten minute bus ride from where I live. You could come, if you want."
"Yeah?" she asks with a grin.
"Yeah," he echoes.
She lets the next block pass in silence, before turning to him again. "When do you go?"
"Saturdays, mostly, from eleven to three or four, depending on what we do." He glances at her. "You could come this Saturday, if you wanted to."
"I would like that," she says with a smile. "It sounds really great."
The next day, during lunch, Monroe drags her into the bookstore and shuts the door behind them. "What's going on?" she demands.
"Nothing?" Octavia tries. "What are you talking about?"
"How did you get Lincoln to talk to you?" She crosses her arms over her chest. "It took me three semesters, and we came in in the same class! You're here for like three days and I walk into class to see you chatting like old friends."
Octavia smothers a laugh. "I don't know. I guess I'm just more likable than you."
Monroe rolls her eyes, a smile on her lips. "Yeah, I guess that's it."
On Saturday, she walks over to Lincoln's apartment. Or, at least, it should be, according to his text, which she finally replies to. He must see it pretty quickly, because he's out the door thirty seconds later. "Hey," she says.
He grins. "Hey. You ready?"
"As I'll ever be." She smiles. "I'm gonna kick your ass."
"Okay," he laughs.
It turns out they're doing Monkey Fist kung fu, something that looks a lot more complicated than what she was doing. Everyone seems pretty surprised to see Lincoln with someone, but she doesn't get much time to dwell on it, since she apparently has to now prove her worth. It turns out, after she's shown him her basic moves, that the teacher, who they call Sifu, thinks she's got a lot of promise, as long as she starts coming regularly. After they work out, Sifu takes the regulars, which now includes her, apparently, to lunch. It's her, Lincoln, two women named Anya and Indra, and a guy named Nyko. "There's usually more," Nyko explains with a gentle smile, "but it's been a busy month, with school starting."
"The important people are here," Sifu says briskly. "That's what counts."
"You don't think Curtis is important?" Anya asks mildly.
"Don't tell him," Sifu grumbles.
Octavia has no idea who Curtis is, but she wants to be a part of this group and find out.
Lincoln is pretty quiet (although not as quiet as he is in class) but nobody mentions it, so she thinks maybe that's typical here, too. Is she really the only one he talks to? She bites her lip, thinking it over, as they ride the bus back to 33rd street. Once they get off, she turns to him. "Are you sure you're okay with me starting kung fu? You'll be spending a lot of time with me now."
"I don't mind." He looks ahead, but she thinks she can see the pink in his cheeks.
"If you're sure." She smiles as she looks ahead, too. She thinks about making a move on him, but she's really only got him and Monroe at Grounders right now, so she probably shouldn't jeopardize one of the two friendships she has.
After that things pick up a pattern. She has classes Monday through Friday, does kung fu with Lincoln on Saturdays, and then hangs out with her brother, her roommates, and their friends on Sunday. She infinitely prefers it to living alone with Abby, and going to high school. Sterling is still a dick, but she's snapping back now, like Monroe told her to. He's in her third class, the one she doesn't have any friends in, but after a truly spectacular take-down of him one day, she makes another.
"Hey, can I just say, I'm like your biggest fan right now? Sterling is awful." This boy walks up to her, and she struggles to remember his name.
"Thanks, Atom?" she replies, half-asking/half-saying.
He grins. "Right. You're really good in class, too."
"Thank you." She grins back. "Want to get lunch?"
She now has three friends. It's pretty great. She tells this to Clarke when they have lunch together one day. The other girl looks at her in concern. "You only have three friends?"
"I mean, at Grounders. I'm not including Monty and Jasper," she explains, "they're AIT kids."
"They're not aliens," Clarke says mildly. "They take classes at Grounders, too."
"Not really. They're different." Octavia winces, knowing how it sounds.
Clarke laughs. "Wow, maybe Grounders is a cult."
"Shut up, I'm doing better than you," Octavia says as she snags a bit of the cookie Clarke bought.
"It's not a competition." The older girl frowns as she tugs her cookie away.
Octavia grins cheekily. "That's only what losers say."
"You're worse than your brother, I swear." Clarke rolls her eyes, but it's all affection. It always is, with Clarke, and Octavia is glad she has her.
"Hey," she says, "I love you."
Clarke smiles. "I love you, too. Bring your friends to Christmas."
"That's a month and a half away," Octavia reminds her.
Clarke shrugs. "Still. We aren't doing anything for Thansgiving, but we should have a Christmas party, at least."
"Yeah," Octavia says quietly. "I know."
So things continue to go well, until it's what students at Grounders call Hell Week, and every paper she's ever had to rewrite is due. She's got what feels like twenty, and is only alive because Bellamy force-feeds her soup. She shows up to class on Friday, the last day of class and the day everything is due, in sweatpants and greasy hair. She sort of wants to die.
"You okay?" Lincoln asks, concerned.
They've made a ritual of coming to class fifteen minutes early and talking about the reading before the actual class. It helps her organize her thoughts for the class, and she can't imagine what next semester is going to be like if she doesn't have a class with him. "Yeah, just, you know, Hell Week." She tries to laugh, but she's pretty sure it comes out choked.
He pats her arm. "It'll be okay, you'll see."
"You have to come to Christmas," she blurts out. Later, she'll blame her sleep deprivation.
"What?" He gives her a concerned look.
"I don't know what you're doing for Christmas, but the 20th, we're having a party, me and my roommates, and you should come. Monroe and Atom are coming, too, so you won't feel weird or alone, I guess, but you should because my friends want to meet you and -" She's stopped by his hand coming to rest on her shoulder.
"Hey," he says softly. "I'll come."
She grins. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," he echoes. She thinks for a wild minute that maybe they're 'the Fault in Our Stars'-ing this shit, with the 'Okay? Okay', but she's also had like, no sleep in three days, so she keeps that to herself.
He comes to the Christmas party and chats with her friends, though mostly with Clarke, who seems to approve. She and Raven want to know all the details, even though there really aren't any, but she talks about him all the same. She really, really likes him, but she's still a little afraid to put herself out there. He talks to her, yeah, but he's still pretty quiet, compared to her loud group of friends. Maybe he's asexual? She's never heard him even remotely flirt with anyone, and Monroe pretty much says she thinks he is, too, so she's pretty nervous about the whole thing once New Year's rolls around, and he's at the party Bellamy and Miller throw.
They're talking quietly in a corner, about the upcoming semester and who they think is going to stay and who isn't going to come back, when Monroe loudly announces it's almost midnight. Lincoln looks at the clock on the TV, and back at her. He's about to say something, when the train wreck that is Raven Reyes and Kyle Wick finally leaves the station. She straitens her spine, and gathers up her courage in those moments, and when there's three seconds left on the countdown timer, she turns to him, and says, "Lincoln, if you don't want me to kiss you in the next three seconds, you should probably let me know."
His eyes widen, but he grips her hips as she stands on her tiptoes to press her lips to his, pulling her closer to him.
The kiss is glorious, and she mentally kicks herself for not trying it sooner very briefly, before he changes the angle of their lips and slips his tongue into her mouth, and all coherent thoughts slip from her mind completely. Her arms wind around his neck, and he leans forward, so she doesn't have to stand on her tiptoes as much. One of his hands goes into her hair, and she can't stop herself from biting his lower lip, wanting to have more of him.
"I'm not drunk enough for this," Monroe says loudly, and they spring apart guiltily. It's a false alarm, however, because she's apparently talking to Jasper, but it still serves as the cold reminder that her brother is in the same room and, even though he's quite smaller than Lincoln, she knows that won't stop him from trying to intimidate her maybe-boyfriend.
So, instead, they hover closer together than they were previously, but don't touch, until everyone is leaving, and she shoves him in the car with Clarke as she drives them back. Raven and Wick had already left, and were probably passed out after fucking loudly, if Octavia had to guess. In the car, it's quiet, save for Clarke drunkenly humming 'Auld Lang Syne', as she stretches in the backseat. Octavia keeps glancing at Lincoln in the passenger's seat, who keeps glancing back, and she smiles as she tries to keep her eyes on the road. Once they park outside her apartment, she wraps an arm around Clarke's waist. "I'll be back in ten, if you want to talk," she says softly, before biting her lip.
"Sure," he agrees, and shoves his hands in his pockets.
Octavia doesn't know if she's ever moved that quickly before, putting Clarke to bed in five minutes flat before rushing back outside. Lincoln is looking up at the sky when she walks to him. "Sorry about that," she says.
He looks down at her, a soft smile on his lips. "It's cute, the way you care for her. Your friends," he pauses for a moment, "you've created a family. It must be nice."
"Yeah," she admits, reaching out to slip her hand into the pockets of his sweater, "it is. You could," she wets her lips, "you could be a part of it, if you wanted."
"Octavia," he begins, and she winces.
"I don't know how to do this," she cuts him off, nervous he's going to say no. "I don't know how to tell you that I really like you, and that I want to go out with you, and to date you, without sounding like an idiot."
He laughs, his smile lighting up his entire face. "You never sound like an idiot."
She pulls him down so she can kiss him again, slow and sweet. His arms come around her waist and he picks her up, smiling against her lips when she squeaks, before tugging on her bottom lip. She smiles and presses a chaste kiss to his lips as he sets her down again. "So?" she asks after she catches her breath.
"So?" He raises an eyebrow, prompts her to continue.
"Does that sound like something we should do? Date?" She wraps her arms around his waist, looks up at him.
"It does," he agrees. "We should do that."
"Yeah?" She's smiling so much, she thinks her face might be stuck like that.
"Yeah," he echoes, and she's pretty sure his smile is matching hers.
She pulls him in for another kiss, long and deep this time, before releasing him. "Okay, I need to go inside before I jump your bones."
"I would be fine with the jumping," he says hoarsely.
She giggles. "I would be, too, but I don't want to freak out my drunk roommates." She steps in close, and presses a kiss to his jaw. "Next time," she promises.
"Next time," he agrees.
So they start dating, and, after school starts, it basically just means they do everything they've been doing, except now there is much more kissing involved, and also that she basically starts living at his apartment, because Raven and Wick are loud. "More time for me to spend with you, though," she says to him after she's done complaining about it. She doesn't have any classes with him this semester, so she's glad she gets him every night, at least.
"This is true," he smiles as she sprawls across his lap, "and I am definitely not complaining."
"Good." She kisses him. "Now, I need to finish this reading. So, shhh."
"I should probably do my own," he tells her, looking at her in amusement.
She pouts. "But you're comfy."
He presses a kiss to her hair. "Let me just grab my book and I'll come back, I promise."
"Fine," she whines as she moves. She gets to watch his butt as he walks out of the room, though, so it's not a complete loss.
"I can't believe you landed that," Monroe tells her one day as they eat their lunch in the bookstore, pretending to be working again. The actual work they do takes all of three hours a week, but they get paid for ten, so they just hang out in the bookstore a lot, sometimes with Atom, though only when he's not at his job with AIT. "I was like 300% sure he was asexual."
Octavia shrugs. "Nah, just waiting for me."
Monroe snorts. "Sure," she says as she takes a bite of her sandwich. She chews her food for a bit, before swallowing and continuing, "I mean, I have to say, though, at the Christmas party, well, I guess I'd never realized how much he gravitates to you before. When you guys kissed on New Year's, I wasn't totally shocked, I guess."
Octavia chokes on her burrito. "What?"
"Your kiss?" she says, as if Octavia should know this. "You know, the first kiss you ever had with your boyfriend."
"I thought no one saw!" Octavia groans once she finally clears her windpipe.
"I definitely saw, as did Clarke, I think, but, anyways, why did you think I kissed Jasper?" she demands.
"To shut him up?" Octavia tries.
Monroe slaps the desk they're eating at. "To cause a distraction. After everything you've told me about Bellamy, I somehow doubted he would be down for his little sister sucking face with some dude he's only met once before." She takes a sip of her water, before asking, "Which reminds me, how did that conversation go, by the way?"
"Um," Octavia says, trying to think of what to say.
"Oh, my God." Monroe sits up straight in her chair. "You haven't told him yet, have you?"
Octavia slumps forward and sighs. "No."
"Why not?" Monroe raises an eyebrow at her, as if she already knows the answer.
"I'm just not really looking forward to that fight," Octavia admits.
"I'll fucking fight him, I don't care. Hell, I could take him." Monroe makes a fist, mimes a punch.
Octavia thinks about it. "Probably? Maybe bring a knife for backup, though."
"Good thinking," Monroe agrees.
After the chat with Monroe, Octavia decides to tell her friends all at once the next Sunday. That way, if Bellamy tried to do something, there would be at least like four other people to stop him. Raven, she was unsure of, mostly because Raven liked violence, and she also definitely would like to see Bellamy get his ass kicked, and of course Wick would do whatever Raven did. She plans it so that he's currently winning against Monty, Miller, and Jasper, while Raven and Wick are squabbling over something stupid, and Clarke is in the kitchen. Octavia notes that Bellamy and Clarke have been acting weird again, avoiding each other, but whatever, maybe this will bring them together. "I'm dating Lincoln," she all but shouts.
Everyone in the room freezes, Miller hitting the freeze button on the controller. Everyone stares at her blankly before Clarke pops her head into the room. "Oh, you and Lincoln are officially together now? That's fantastic!" She reaches out to pull Octavia into a hug. "I'm so happy for you, O."
"Um," Bellamy stands up, "excuse me? Lincoln, the guy from Grounders, Lincoln?" There's a muscle in his jaw working. "Sorry, O, but you can't date him."
"And why the fuck not?" she demands, putting her hands on her hips.
"For one thing, he's fucking old!" Bellamy shouts. "Another thing, he looks like he's been arrested at least once."
"Okay, we're just going to go now," Jasper says as he follows Monty and Miller, who had been trying to make a quiet exit.
Octavia ignores them. "Good thing you don't decide who I get to date, asshole! In case you haven't noticed, I'm an adult. And, wow, way to not judge a book by its cover, jerk."
"You're not even 18 yet!" he bellows. "I'm your brother!"
"We're going to go, too," Wick says as he tugs Raven and Clarke out of the house.
Octavia waits until she's sure they're all out of hearing distance before she steps in front of Bellamy. "Look, big brother," she glares at him, switches to Tagalog, because she only ever breaks out Tagalog for the serious stuff, "if you want to be an ass about this? Go ahead. It's not going to stop me. Lincoln really fucking likes me, okay? And I also like him a fuckton. You're not a part of our relationship." He opens his mouth to yell, but she cuts him off. "If you want to be an ass about two people who like each other finally getting together, don't worry, you're already doing that to Clarke."
"I -" he stops, considers what she's said, "what?"
"You're a fucking idiot, Bell!" she yells. "She looks at you like the sun comes out of your ass and all you do is push her away! For fuck's sake, either tell her you're in love with her or leave her alone."
"You're getting away from the point!" he says angrily. "You can't date Lincoln."
"Too late! If you continue to be a brat about this, don't think I won't hesitate to stop speaking to you. It's bad enough you're hurting Clarke, I'm not letting you hurt me, too," she tells him. "Now, I'd like it if you left, seeing as this is my apartment. That I pay for with my own money."
He looks deflated and defeated, but Octavia refuses to feel sympathy for him. She only told him what he needed to hear.
Next Sunday she invites Lincoln, and everyone warms up to him, except for Bellamy, but she wasn't expecting that. As long as he shuts up and smiles in Lincoln's presence, that's all she wants. Lincoln seems really confused about it, though. "I thought he wanted to kill me," he confesses to her one night as they lay curled around each other in her bed.
"I took care of it," she says before pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "I told him that he should be worried about how he's treating Clarke, not how you're treating me."
"I thought they were together, when I first met them," he tells her. "Any good reason why they're not?"
"They're both stubborn as hell," she explains, "and my brother is an idiot."
"Ah." Lincoln traces patterns on her back. "I'm afraid idiocy can stop the truest of loves."
She laughs. "Unfortunately." She's still got a smile on her lips when she looks up at him. "Hey. I love you."
He grins. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she says. "Hey, is 'yeah' our 'okay'?"
He raises an eyebrow at her. "Like Hazel Grace and Augustus?"
"You know where that's from?" She sits up in excitement.
He laughs. "Some of the teenagers at kung fu are really into John Green. But yes, 'yeah' can be our 'okay'."
"Good," she tells him as she settles back down.
He presses a kiss to her head. "I love you, too, you know."
"I know." She presses her face to his side, smiling and happy, before she reaches for his lips. The kiss goes from sweet to dirty in record time, and soon she's straddling her gorgeous boyfriend.
After, he's tracing lazy patterns on her back again, and she thinks about how lucky she feels to have him. She's never really had a person who's just hers, who she doesn't have to share with Clarke and Bellamy. It's amazing that there's someone who loves her, who loved her first. She's kissed other boys before, but none like Lincoln. She loves him, and she's pretty sure she'll love him as long as he lets hers, so, hopefully, forever.
All that's left to do is wait and find out.