Objects in Mirror Are Queerer Than They Appear
Lexa rechecked the time: 6:42. She stood on the curb outside her apartment, dressed like someone who had Googled what lesbians wear to dinner: a button-down shirt, jeans that fit a little too well, and boots. She carried a tiny bottle of breath spray; she was absolutely not going to let Clarke see.
She looked up at the sound of an engine.
A low, unholy rumble. Not a car engine and not a motorcycle. Something⌠bigger and louder. Angry, somehow.
The truck came into view like a spell had summoned it, a giant orange and white U-Haul barreling down the street way too fast for a vehicle clearly designed to carry furniture, regret, and maybe one or two failed relationships.
It hit the brakes hard and bounced like, actually bounced. Lexa instinctively took a step back as it squealed to a stop in front of her, tilting at a slightly concerning angle. It idled there, grumbling. One of the side mirrors was duct-taped. A pine tree air freshener was swinging aggressively from the rearview.
The driverâs side window rolled down, and Clarke leaned out.
No shame. No explanation. Just her elbow on the sill, sunglasses in her hair, and a huge, utterly unrepentant grin on her face.
Lexa just stared. âIs that⌠a U-Haul?â
Clarke beamed. âYep! Surprise!â
âThatâs not a surprise. Thatâs a cry for help.â
Clarke tilted her head. âOkay rude, but also fair. Technically, itâs a fifteen-footer. Her name is Denise.â
âShe told me on the highway.â
Lexa blinked. âIâm sorry⌠on the highway?â
Clarke shrugged like this was all going fine. âI had to merge across three lanes to make the exit. She screamed a little.â
Lexa didnât move. âWhy⌠do you have a U-Haul.â
âMy carâs in the shop. I tried to rent something normal, but they were out of cars, so I said, do you have anything that runs? and the guy just handed me the keys without making eye contact.â She patted the dashboard like it had feelings. âWeâve been through a lot already.â
âThis is a date,â Lexa said, slowly, as if Clarke might have simply forgotten. âNot an emergency relocation.â
âI mean⌠who says it canât be both?â Clarke reached over and opened the passenger door from the inside. It groaned. âCome on. I vacuumed the back. Thereâs Chinese food and string lights and a yoga mat I liberated from Raven for ambiance.â
âYou kidnapped a yoga mat?â
âShe will get over it. You wonât believe the vibe in the cargo bay.â
Lexa stood there, watching her and the U-Haul, weighing every single life choice that had led her to this exact moment. Finally, she sighed, climbed in, and slammed the door.
Inside, the cab smelled like takeout, lavender Febreze, and bad decisions. Clarke had taped a little paper heart to the dashboard. It said, âWhat will be will be.â
Lexa stared at it. âYou are completely unhinged.â
Clarke grinned, putting it in drive. âI know. Isnât it great?â
They roared away from the curb like two lesbians fleeing the law. The side mirror fell off at the next stoplight.
Clarke didnât even blink. Just hit the wipers once like that would fix it and kept driving. Lexa sat rigid in the passenger seat, clutching the edge of her seat like it might detach and rocket her straight into the afterlife.
âThis thing does not corner well,â Clarke muttered, adjusting the wheel with the reckless confidence of someone who had clearly never driven a box truck in her life but had once played Mario Kart with devastating results.
âAre you⌠braking with both feet?â Lexa asked, voice thin.
âNo,â Clarke said. Then, after a beat, âMaybe. Donât distract me.â
The drive took twenty minutes and eleven years off Lexaâs life. Clarke narrated all of it like a podcast host on a true crime road trip.
They made it to a dirt road just outside the city, some gravel overlook spot Clarke claimed sheâd totally seen people on TikTok raving about. The parking job she executed was not technically legal, but the U-Haul was big enough that no one was going to challenge her on it. Denise blocked the entire view, and also most of the access road.
Clarke hopped out and jogged around back like she was unveiling a pop-up art installation. Lexa followed more slowly, still recovering from the whiplash and the very real moment sheâd seen her life flash before her eyes as Clarke veered across two lanes to avoid a rogue cyclist.
Clarke unlocked the cargo bay, shoved it up with a satisfying clatter, and stepped aside to complete the setup.
Inside, she had created a strange, wonderful little shrine to romance and poor judgment. There was the yoga mat, half-unrolled and trying its best. A blanket that looked suspiciously like it had been stolen off the back of a couch. A couple of milk crates turned upside down as a makeshift table, topped with a flickering battery-powered candle and two takeout containers.
There were string lights everywhere. Tangled and twisted. One looped around an old dolly like it was trying to escape. Another blinked sporadically, like it had seen things and wanted out.
Clarke grinned. âWell?â
Lexa stepped up into the truck and looked around like sheâd walked into the romantic comedy equivalent of a crime scene. âThis isâŚâ
She turned in a slow circle. ââŚgenuinely unhinged.â
âThank you.â Clarke looked so proud. âI wanted it to feel like a Pinterest board lost a fight with a storage unit.â
They sat cross-legged on the yoga mat, sharing noodles and laughing in between bites. Clarke talked with her hands, nearly spilled her container, and burned her mouth on a spring roll but refused to admit it. Lexa kept finding herself watching Clarke instead of the skyline which, incidentally, was almost completely blocked by Deniseâs back door. But somehow, it didnât matter.
It was messy, loud, and deeply stupid in the best possible way. Lexa was smiling so much that her cheeks hurt.
Eventually, Clarke leaned back against the truck wall, chewing on a fortune cookie and watching Lexa with a look that had grown quieter.
âI really like you,â she said suddenly. âI mean⌠Iâm not usually like, this, on first dates. I donât normally show up with heavy machinery.â
Lexa smirked. âSo, Iâm special?â
âYouâre deeply unlucky, actually. I was going to take you to a wine bar with mood lighting and pretentious cheese boards, but Denise and fate had other plans.â
Lexa tilted her head. âYou really think this was fate?â
Clarke nodded. âYep. Definitely fate. Or maybe my car battery. Either way, Iâm glad you still said yes after you saw the truck.â
Lexa hesitated just long enough for Clarke to panic internally, then leaned in, kissing her softly, like punctuation on a sentence neither of them had said aloud yet.
When they pulled apart, Clarke blinked, dazed. âThat was either the best kiss of my life or Iâm lightheaded from the Febreze.â
They packed up sometime after ten. The string lights were a lost cause. The dolly had somehow rolled into the corner and wedged beneath the crates. Lexa climbed into the passenger seat again, and Clarke took the wheel like a woman with renewed purpose.
As they pulled away, Clarke glanced at her.
Lexa didnât hesitate. âOnly if I drive.â
Clarke winked. âGreat, because I was thinking of renting us a backhoe.â