A/N: Hey there! This just popped up in my head and I wanted to try and write a story myself for ages. This is my first story and I´m not a native speaker, so please be gentle. I would be so so grateful for any constructive criticism and please feel free to point out any errors in grammar or words. I rated this T because I´m not exactly sure where this is going, if it is going somewhere.
Anyway, I hope you like it!
"Bellamy is coming here!"
Hearing Octavia storming into the café, Clarke looked up from the table she was cleaning. She turned just in time so catch a breathless Octavia, who threw her arms around Clarke in a bone crushing hug. She stumbled back a few steps from the force but managed to keep them upright and returned the embrace, laughing.
"He´s coming to visit you? That´s great, O! When…," She didn't get to finish her question, since Octavia was too excited to listen and kept talking a mile a minute. "No no no, he´s moving here Clarke," the girl almost shouted. "I can´t believe he´s coming to live here, I haven´t seen him in so long! I know I know we still talked and skyped and… It´s just not the same you know, I mean I always thought I would love a little more space, he´s sooo overprotective and can be so annoying but I really really missed him! Don´t get me wrong, I´m so glad he finally doing something for himself but… Oh my god, and you guys finally get to meet and…"
"Octavia!" shouted Clarke laughing, catching the girls shoulder in a firm grip and shaking her lightly. "Don´t forget to keep breathing," she grinned when Octavia gasped and quickly asked "So, when is he going to get here?" before the brunette could continue her happy rambling.
"On Friday," Octavia didn´t seem able to stand still and kept bouncing on her feet. "Do you mind if I take the day off? I know it´s bad timing, the bar will be busy and everything, but I will make it up to you, promise! It´s just, he will be here at four and I don´t want him to have to get back from the airport alone and then be on his own on his first evening in town and…"
"O!" interrupted Clarke again "of course you can take the day off. In fact, take the weekend off if you want, I can take your shifts at the bar myself. Spent some time with your brother, we will manage."
Squealing, Octavia hugged her again but pulled back a moment later, a little frown marring her happy face. Before her friend could say anything, Clarke added "And don´t worry about missing out on the money. You can work some of my shifts in the café instead or switch with Harper or Monroe a few of theirs. Whatever fits your schedule." She knew very well that Octavia was busy with classes during the week, but they would make it work. The young woman had been working for her for almost three years now and they had formed a close friendship despite the five year age gap. Clarke had never met Octavias brother, but Octavia told her quite a bit about her family history over time and Clarke knew that her brother had basically raised her by himself even before their mother died when O was eleven. He was the only family left to Octavia and Clarke was happy to give her friend time to catch up with him. Her own relationship to her only living family member, her mother, was strained to say the least. Clarke considered her friends to be her family. They were the people she relied on, who were there for her when she needed them and to whom she trusted.
"Thank you so much! I have to go or I will be late for class," Octavia said with glance to the big clock behind the cafés counter "but I wanted to tell you straight away. Love you!" With that she took off running, waving to Maja behind the counter on her way out.
"I highly doubt that she will be able to sit long enough to last the entire class." Clarke, as well as a few regular customers waiting for their coffee, laughed at Majas words. The barista was a gentle person, who had only recently started to work at The Dropship but got along very well with all her coworkers, café and bar alike. Although Octavia usually worked late shifts in the bar located in the basement, she, like any other employee of Clarkes, regularly hung out in the café due to its proximity to the campus and was well known by many of the regulars.
"Me too," grinned Clarke, feeling genuinely happy for her friend. "Will you be alright by yourself Maja? Harper should be here in twenty minutes, hopefully before it gets really busy. I planned on catching up to my paperwork on the weekend, but it seems I´m going to be busy." She sighed inwardly at how lame that sounded. Paperwork on Friday and Saturday night? She felt really old and boring saying it. Maybe O and Raven were right, she needed to get out a bit more instead of working her ass off all the time. They called her a control freak, doing as much work as possible herself and checking everything twice. Not that she didn´t trust the others, she just liked to see for herself that everything went as smooth as possible. Maybe she was a little control freak, okay? Nothing wrong with it. It was her business after all and everything she had left from her father. She was going to make him proud.
"Don´t worry, Clarke." Majas voice brought her back from her musings. "I will be fine. Or call for help if it gets too much."
"Okay. I´m upstairs, then," Clarke turned around, making her way to the stairs that led to the first floor of the building and trying hard not to roll her eyes at the only slightly ironic "Have fun," she got from the barista. She failed.
The ground and first floor of the building were connected by two spiral stairs and belonged to the café. While the ground floor with its tables for small groups looked like a normal café, the first floor actually resembled more of a giant living room. The whole room was packed with groups of couches, armchairs and even a few rocking chairs around low tables. Three walls were lined with bookshelves, containing all kinds of books for everyone to read who wanted to. Clarke never said anything about it but the unspoken rule for the first floor was to be quiet. Some people curled up with a book and a pot of tea in one of the armchairs or studied in little groups or alone. But even if they just wanted to catch up with their friends, people tended to do so quietly so they wouldn´t disturb anyone. Anybody who was being too loud was quickly hushed by the students themselves. The fourth wall consisted of two huge windows, separated by a glass door that led to a balcony that stretched over the entire front side of the house, making the room seem even bigger than it was. Clarke loved the way the windows and doors location allowed the room to be filled with sunlight almost the entire day, even in winter. Screw the bills, it was just too beautiful to be replaced by some solution that was less of a power consumption disaster.
Clarke crossed the room to another staircase in the far corner, absentmindedly checking the few unoccupied tables for empty cups or books left behind. Satisfied that everything seemed to be in its proper place and no dirty dishes were left on the tables she climbed the stairs to the second floor. Facing two opposite doors on the short floor on top of the stairs she quickly turned left and entered her office. Better not to think about her comfortable couch. She knew she would most likely fall asleep as soon as she sat down instead of actually getting any work done if gave in to temptation and took her paperwork to her living room. The constant lack of sleep was nothing new to her, it came with running one business during the day and one that stayed open until the early hours of morning. There was always something to do and then something more. Lately Octavia and Jasper had convinced her to let them close the bar and more or less ordered her to go to bed earlier when the dark circles under her eyes started to look like bruises. She still didn´t get quite enough sleep, but Clarke appreciated their concern.
Clarke let out a groan when she finally sat down after making herself a cup of tea. Maybe a five minute break wouldn´t hurt after all. She smiled to herself, thinking of Octavias reaction to the news that her brother would be living in the same city again. The younger Blake had told her bits and pieces about her brother over the years and complained often enough about him and his overprotectiveness, but Clarke knew how much she missed the man. Growing up as an only child she could only imagine the connection these two must have. O told her that he started working straight away after high school to support her mother and herself instead of going to college as he wanted to. Then, after Aurora Blake had died, he gained guardianship for his sister and worked even more. He made it possible for her to get to university, get the education that he missed out on. Clarke could only admire that.
She decided to give Jasper and Wick a call to see if they would want to switch shifts or have a day off. Or she would rearrange the café schedule a bit, as she had told O. Making sure her friend could have a few days with her brother. Clarke had to admit she was a bit curious about the man, after all she had heard about him quite a lot, but she was pretty sure she would get to meet him at some point. O wasn´t someone to sit at home on a Saturday night so they would probably turn up at the Dropship anyway. With that last thought Clarke sat down her by now empty tea cup und turned towards her paperwork.
Thanks for reading!