Clarke Griffin hated shopping. Growing up, shopping had consisted mainly of her mother ordering sales women around the entire shop as Clarke stood in the middle of the room, trying on whatever type of material handed to her. Ignoring the pang that went through her heart at the memory of her mother, she rounded on her two best friends.
"Fine, I'll go." Octavia Blake and Raven Reyes both smirked at her, already knowing they would wear her down eventually. "On one condition." Clarke held up one finger.
"What do you want?" Octavia glared at her.
"I drive." Clarke finished saying her demand, then ducked down behind her couch pillow to avoid being hit by any flying objects.
"Deal. Raven's driving scares me too."
"Oh my god. Nothing is wrong with my driving!" The flying pillow caught Octavia in the face. Clarke grinned over at her from behind her shield.
"I'm going to go get dressed now." Clarke jumped from the couch they had been lounging on and ran to her room.
She stopped to survey herself. A wall length mirror near her door confirmed what she already knew. She looked horrible. Her blonde hair usually hung down her back in flowing curls, but at the moment, it was balled up into a messy bun that flopped pathetically on the top of her scalp. There were heavy bags under her eyes, making her face look sunk in.
Clarke sighed and discarded her current attire, if you could call yoga pants and her large college tee-shirt an attire. She changed into her favorite jeans, needing the reassurance of the tight material. She put on a black flowy tank top and her converse then headed back out into the small restroom she shared with Octavia.
Entering the restroom from the door in her room, she stood in front of the sink and ran a brush through her hair quickly before throwing it back into her bun. She added some mascara and a small amount of pink lipstick. Clarke figured this was the best she could do on such short notice. The small restroom she was in held two doors, one leading back to her room and the other leading to Octavia's room. Both girls were connected through the small restroom, being able to go into the other's space easily. Walking into Octavia's room, she spotted Raven lounging on the bed.
She stopped to stare at her friend for a moment, wishing she had the natural beauty Raven possessed. Her olive skin glowed. She and Clarke were the same height. Raven was thinner, wirier. She had long jet black hair that was always in a ponytail, but when it was down it was full and luscious. Raven's eyebrows were naturally arched, making her almond shaped brown eyes seem large.
"Where is Tavia?"
"Somewhere in Narnia." Raven didn't look up from her mechanic magazine, waving her arm in the general direction of Octavia's closet instead. Clarke grinned at her friend, then walked over and threw herself next to Raven.
"Hey there, ma'am. Put that magazine down. We are officially on vacation now. No more reading." Snatching the magazine away from Raven before she could protest, Clarke threw it out into the hallway through Octavia's open door.
"Ugh, you are so rude, Griffin." Raven muttered, a small smile confirming she wasn't going to tell her off. "But you are correct. No more classes!" the two girls bumped shoulders, smirking at the idea of their new found freedom.
"Hurry up, Tavia. This was your idea." Clarke called out to the closet. Octavia came out at that moment, a new outfit already fitting her tall frame. She was a tall girl, hovering over Clarke's small height. Octavia's hair was dark brown, hanging down in a straight curtain to reach her waist. She was beautiful, of course. Her round brown eyes always crinkling in the corners, her full lips constantly turned up in a grin. Right now, she was wearing small black shorts and a white crop top, leaving her toned abdomen bare.
"Whatever. I am ready. Let's go!"
The three girls exited their apartment, making their way down the hallway to the stairs. Their apartment complex didn't have an elevator, a downfall that always hit them the hardest when they wore heels.
"So, where we going first?" Raven asked.
"Mm, the mall. We need summer outfits."
"Can we stop at a book store after? I need new reading material for the summer." Clarke added, ignoring her friends groans. "No really. How else am I going to relax fully?"
"Oh, I don't know. You can go out with us every night? Meet new people?"
"Tavia is right, babe. You really should socialize more."
Clarke didn't respond to that. They had reached the bottom of the stairs. Pushing open the doors leading to their parking garage, the girls continued their bickering.
"Shot gun!" Octavia bolted forward first, beating Raven to the door of Clarkes Jeep. Clarke laughed, pressing the unlock button on her key chain. Raven shook her head but jumped in the back seat without complaining.
"Fine! But I shotgun the Aux cord!" as Clarke slipped into the driver's seat, Raven leaned forward, grabbing the cord connected to the radio and throwing herself back before Octavia could stop her. "Ha ha. In your face, baby Blake!"
"Oh god, Wick needs to find better nicknames for me!"
"I like that nickname. It's cute." Raven sniffled in the backseat, turning on Pandora from her phone. Loud music blasted from the speakers. Clarke recognized the song as Radioactive from Imagine Dragons. Octavia gave a loud whoop.
"I can't believe we are on vacation!" she swiveled in her seat to face Clarke. "Can you smell the freedom?! No more finals. No more essays. Holy shit. WE'RE FREE BITCHES!"
Raven joined in the whooping, throwing her arms up to touch the ceiling of the jeep. The euphoric feeling creeped out to touch Clarke as well. She let go of the steering wheel and threw her arms up, letting the excitement settle in her heart for a moment, before grabbing the wheel once more. The rest of the car ride was full of more songs and them singing along to the radio at the top of their lungs. They had rolled down the windows, the wind whipping at their skin only added to their exhilarated state of happiness.
Six hours later and the jeep was laden with bags and boxes. Octavia was in the backseat now, jammed next to a stack of their purchases.
"Shit, where are we going to put everything?" She looked doubtfully at the pile next to her.
"What are you talking about? You were the one making us buy everything. NOW you're having doubts?" raven looked at her incredibly.
"I began having doubts after I pushed my credit card to the brink of extinction." Octavia huffed. "I am definitely going to have to pick up a double shift this week."
"I think we all do, Tavia. Don't sweat it though. We just won't go shopping the rest of the summer. I honestly think we stocked up for the next two years anyway." Looking in the mirror, Clarke could tell Octavia was already shaking off her doubt. The girl opened a bag and took out a glasses case, popping it open and putting on the shades. Clarke grinned and looked back at the road.
"Jasper and Monty made us dinner." Raven was looking down at her phone. "I'll quote, 'You beautiful classy bitches better not forget to make it to our humble abode. We made you all dinner. And miscellaneous. Of course.'" Raven read out loud the text Jasper had sent.
"My god, that boy has a way with words, doesn't he?" Octavia scoffed.
"For real. He should be majoring in literature instead of chemistry."
"If he switched majors, he wouldn't be able to get us drunk though!" Clarke added in defense for her friend.
"I think regardless where we are in life, or what our field of work is, Jasper and Monty will never fail to get us intoxicated." Raven said, finishing up a reply to Jasper.
Jasper and Monty lived in their apartment complex, two floors down. They were all students in Ark University. Clarke met Octavia during her freshman year. Jasper and Monty were Octavia's childhood friends, so when she befriended her, they were a part of the package. They managed to finish their freshman year in one piece, adding Raven to their list of friends through an unfortunate event. That summer, they decided to look for apartments near to each other, and near to campus. AU was down the street from them. They had managed to find a college student neighborhood with plenty of opportunities.
They parked in the garage, leaving their packages inside, and ambled up to the third floor. They didn't even bother knocking, sweeping through the front door.
"Honey, I'm home." Raven called out sarcastically. Monty popped his head out from the kitchen, smiling at them. His dark straight hair flipped stylishly around his face.
"Hey guys! Foods ready. Sit around the table in the living room though. Our kitchen table broke." He frowned.
"How did you break the kitchen table?" Clarke asked, noting the way Monty glared behind him.
"Ask that fucker." He dipped back out of view. The three girls looked at each other in confusion. Octavia was the one to follow Monty, as raven and Clarke took a seat.
Thirty minutes later, everyone was sitting around the coffee table, plates on their laps, cracking up at the hysterics that were their friends.
"And then there was a loud crack. Next thing I know, Maya and I are on the floor, along with the table." Jasper shrugged sheepishly, avoiding everyone's eyes. Maya was sitting next to him, pushing her food around on her plate. She was beet red, but a small smile lingered on her face. They had just recounted how their sex adventures led to a newly broken table. Even Monty was laughing, feeling better since Jaspers embarrassed confession.
"Woo, you two are something else." Octavia gasped between laughs.
"Seriously, I did not think you two nerds had it in you." Raven agreed.
"Hey, I heard it's the nerdy people who are true freaks in bed." Added Clarke. Everyone turned to look at her. She widened her eyes and looked around the table. "What?! It's just what I heard!"
"What kind of sex stories do you have Clarke?" Jasper waggled his eyebrows at her.
"Shut up, Jas! You should not be talking right now."
"Well, I think it's time for some alcohol!" Monty stood up and headed to the kitchen. He brought out three large pints of golden colors liquor. We had decided on the name Moonshine.
"Wait, before everyone drinks. I kind of have an announcement!" Maya interrupted Monty's distribution. He smacked his forehead in a gesture that made it obvious he forgot about whatever she was going to say.
"Since we are all on vacation, we wanted to rent out a cabin out by Mt. Weather. It's right near the lake. I found this brochure." She took out a pamphlet and laid it in front of the three girls. "Its remote, so it'll be only us, but a thirty minute drive will lead us to a small city, so we won't be totally on our own. There's a store where we can rent out stuff for the water, like jet skis, canoes, stuff like that. It would seriously be fun!"
Octavia squealed next to Clarke. "Oh my god, look how pretty it is! I am in! For how long can we stay there? And when would we go?" Clarke grabbed the pamphlet from her hands, looking down at the pictures. She had to admit, it really did look peaceful. She could almost picture herself sitting outside, drawing the natural beauty into her sketchbook. Clarke passed the pamphlet to Raven, turning back to hear the responses to Octavia's question.
"We would leave in a month. That way we can all have time to put in a notice at work. And we can choose how long we want to stay. But we'd have to choose right now, to reserve the cabin." Jasper answered.
"How much would all this cost?" Clarke asked. Monty and Jasper exchanged a glance between each other. Before they could answer, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Monty jumped up and went to open the door.
"Are we really going to do this?" Raven looked over at Clarke, her eyebrows raised.
"I think it could be fun. Don't you?"
"I'm not sure. I'm not exactly an outdoor kind of girl. But what is the point of me staying behind if everyone I know is down at that damn lake?" Clarke scoffed, bumping shoulders with her friend.
"Why don't you invite Wick? I am sure Prince Charming will make you forget about the outdoors." Raven shrugged, a smile beginning to form. Clarke knew she was in. Footsteps sounded from outside the living room. Monty was back, leading in a tall man.
Octavia yelled loudly, making everyone jump slightly. The brunette sprang up and rammed into Bellamy with enough force to cause him to step back a few times. That didn't stop him from wrapping his muscular arms around his sister, sweeping her into a tight hug. Clarke smiled at their reunion, even though her stomach twisted in annoyance. The few times she met her best friend's brother, she was thoroughly reminded of his dislike towards her.
"Oh my god, Bell! Why didn't you tell me you were back in town?" Octavia leaned away from her brother's grip to look at his face, but she didn't step out of his embrace.
"Well, I wasn't sure I was going to come down or not. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure. I just got the okay yesterday." Bellamy broke away from his sister and held her at arm's length. "Shit, you're big now." Then his eyes narrowed. "Why are you wearing that? You can see everything." His voice was gruff with disapproval. Octavia grinned and rolled her eyes.
"You got the okay for what?"
"I'm transferring over. My company built a new branch here. I requested to get placed in the new branch so I could be closer to home." He looked down in sudden embarrassment. Everyone at the table was staring at the siblings still.
Monty cleared his throat and turned to Maya. "Can we get back to drinking now?"
At everyone's cheers, shot glasses were passed around. Clarke scooted closer to Raven and Maya moved closer to Jasper. They both opened up a new spot so the Blake siblings could sit together. Octavia gave her a grateful smile and grabbed Bellamy's hand, leading him down to the floor.
"Come on big brother. You're drinking with me tonight." Bellamy smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners the way Octavia's did. He didn't object, sitting down besides Clarke.
"Hey Princess." Clarke rolled her eyes, and the entire table groaned.
"Oh god Bellamy." She reached in front of her, grabbing the full shot glass. "This is a happy moment. Do not be a jack ass." She raised the glass up in the air. "Just be happy."
Everyone around her lifted their glasses. Bellamy hesitated, but looking over at a beaming Octavia, he sighed and lifted his glass as well.
"Happy." He agreed. They all tilted back their heads and downed the shot in one gulp. The liquid made its way down her throat, a burning sensation that warmed her insides.
Three hours later, everyone was slurring, but still going. It had been Clarke's idea to play drunk jenga.
"Holy shit, I cannot take this one out. There are no more left!" Maya whined. Jasper leaned around her, poking at the tower of blocks, looking for a loose one. Maya swatted his hand away before Octavia could swoop down on them. "No cheating, mister." She still reached to pull out a block that jasper had managed to loosen. "It says, 'never have I ever.'" Maya frowned, looking up at them. "What's that?"
"It means we have to say something we've never done. If someone in the circle has done it, they have to take a sip of their drink. If they haven't, they don't drink." Monty explained.
Maya nodded and sat up straighter to think of something to say. "Never have I ever," she began "had sex with a girl." She smiled down at Jasper, who grinned and took a sip. Bellamy and Monty took a sip, and much to everyone's surprise, so did Clarke and Raven.
"What?" Bellamy rounded on the two of them. Raven grinned lazily. Clarke shrugged.
"What?" she retorted.
"I remember your lesbian phase!" Octavia called out, shoving Bellamy back so she could look at Clarke. "What was her name? Uh—"she tapped her forehead lightly.
"Lexa." Jasper answered. Clarke groaned and rolled her head back.
"It was not a lesbian phase. I genuinely liked the girl. Weird." Clarke took another sip while Octavia, Jasper and Monty laughed at her expense. "You're turn." She pointed at Jasper.
"Never have I ever failed a class." At this, no one took a sip. "Ahh, I am surrounded by intelligent college students. I am glad. I am definite glad." He beamed at them all in turn. "Your turn Mont."
"Never have I ever been arrested." Jasper gasped exaggeratedly at him, taking a sip. As well as Bellamy and Clarke. "Seriously Clarke? You too?" Again, Clarke merely shrugged her shoulders. Bellamy scoffed softly next to her.
"I'm sure Princess spent the night in PD then got discharged in the morning with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. That doesn't count."
Glaring up at his smug face, Clarke corrected him. "Actually, Princess had no bail money. So I sat in county for a month before having a court hearing. I was released after that but I had to do a year of community service. Your turn Raven." She looked over at her friend, not allowing Bellamy to comment on her admission.
The game continued on until well into the night. By the time Clarke checked her phone, it was already five in the morning. She looked around her at all the unconscious forms laying in the living room. Monty was leaning on the table, his face inches away from the moonshine pint, snoring slightly. Octavia was curled on the couch with her head resting on Bellamy's legs. Jasper and Maya were leaning against the couch. Clarke was almost sure they were asleep. Raven was crawling out of the restroom.
"Oh god, the world won't stop moving." She complained. Clarke giggled and crawled to meet raven half way. Both girls collapsed in each other's arms. They lay on their back, looking up at the ceiling.
"Why did you get arrested, Clarke?" Raven whispered to her. Clarke turned her head to look at Raven's face. Her friend had her eyes closed and she was breathing deeply through her nose. She knew it was to try and not throw up.
"I was sixteen." Clarke began, turning her head to look at the ceiling again. "I needed to sleep. So I snuck into an empty house. It was one of those houses they left open so you could walk in and check it out. For some reason it was always open, even at night. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I stayed there for a week. I think a neighbor saw me, because a cop randomly showed up while I was asleep. I got arrested for trespassing and breaking and entering. Even though I technically didn't break in." Clarke shrugged. She lifted her arms over her head, holding them up to examine them. She was so drunk, even her hands looked hazy.
"Why didn't anyone bail you out?" Clarke squeaked in surprise, dropping her hands quickly. It wasn't Raven who had asked that question. One look at Raven and it was obvious she had passed out. Clarke propped herself up on her elbows, blinking rapidly to try and make the three Bellamy's merge into one. He was sitting up, running his hand through Octavia's hair but his gaze was fixed on Clarke. When she met his eyes, the room stopped swaying and there was only one Bellamy. "Why did you stay so long in there?" Bellamy asked her again, his voice quiet.
Maybe it was because she was drunk, or because of how sincere Bellamy looked at that moment, but she opened her mouth and gave him her truth. "I had no one." Her voice came out sadder than she had meant it to. She noted the look of surprise that flashed across his face. His mouth popped open slightly and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Family?" he asked, trying to break the silence.
Clarke laughed at that. She dropped back down on the floor, facing the ceiling again. Thankfully, at that moment Maya's head drooped off of Jasper's shoulder. She jerked awake, looking around frantically before realizing where she was.
"Babe, come on." She nudged Jasper. "Let's get everyone to bed." Maya looked over at Clarke, smiling softly. Clarke smiled back and sat up. "How are you still awake?" Maya shook her head at Clarke in awe. "You drank way more than me. And I need to—"she broke off at that moment, turning slightly green. Maya jumped up quickly then stumbled her way to the restroom. Jasper still hadn't woken up.
"Get Jasper, will you?" Clarke didn't stop to see if Bellamy listened to her before she made her way to the back of the apartment to help Maya. The restroom was at the end of the hallway and she could just make out the slumped form hunched over the toilet. Flipping on the lights, Clarke held Maya's hair out of the way. When the girl finished spilling her guts out, Clarke helped her up. She left Maya to brush her teeth and went to get her some water and an aspirin.
By this time, Octavia and Jasper were both sitting up, blinking blearily. Bellamy must have had to move Octavia to get to Jasper, thought Clarke.
"Your girlfriend is dying in the back." Clarke reminded Jasper. He groaned and tried standing up but failed. She reached down and grabbed his hand, trying to yank him up. But the boy weighed a ton. "God Jas. You are skinny. How the hell are you this fucking heavy?" tugging on his hand once more, jasper finally managed to right himself. Only to sway in her direction. Before she could step out of his way or right them both, Clarke felt herself fall under Jaspers body. Two arms shot out and grasped Jaspers shoulders firmly, easing his weight away from her. Clarke stepped back, right into Bellamy. His chest was against her back, his arms on either side of her face. She looked up at him, holding her breath. He gazed down at her, smirking slightly. Clarke shivered, but quickly stepped under his arm and went around to help Jasper.
"Oh shit. Sorry Clarke. I am so fucking dizzy." Jasper shook his head lightly. "Where's Maya?"
"In the restroom. Here, a cup of water and aspirins. Both of you should take some. Need help getting her to bed?"
"No, I got her. Maybe you can get Monty though. I think he is getting too friendly with that bottle." Clarke looked over at Monty, who had snaked one arm around the Moonshine and was using it as a prop for his head. She couldn't hold in a snort. Before she helped him, she took out her phone and took a picture.
"That is just mean, Clarke." Octavia muttered. "Send it to me."
After helping Monty into his own room, Octavia and Clarke debated on whether they should crash in the living room or try and trudge up the two floors to their own room.
"I am just so tired. I don't care where we sleep." Octavia muttered, curling up again on the couch. She yawned and closed her eyes, asleep in an instant.
"I hate how she can just sleep at will." Clarke stated out loud. Bellamy chuckled at that. He was sitting on the couch opposite of Octavia, next to the sleeping figure of Raven.
"Yeah, she always had that habit. Which was a blessing to me, since putting her to bed was my responsibility." Bellamy gave Octavia a warm look, his full lips puckered up in a small grin. Clarke noticed how at ease he was with anything regarding his sister. Though he was a douche to the rest of the world, his heart shone through his chest when he spoke to or about his baby sister.
Shaking her head, she turned away from Bellamy. She had to stop ogling him before he thought she was a creep. Clarke splayed out on the floor near the couch. Reaching up, she took a pillow off of the couch and placed it under her head. The last thing she heard before knocking out was Bellamy's voice grumbling out something she couldn't catch.