Oh wow. It has been so long since I last wrote anything and I have been so nervous to even post this. I'm sorry if it is awful!

Since I last posted, I have graduated, and have been pretending to be a full time adult (pretending is the key word here). I guess that's where the inspiration for Clarke's situation has come from for this story - I am by no means an artist, but I have felt like the daily office life can be blegh. Also, I started binging the 100 about 2 weeks before 3.07, and I have refused to watch that episode or any afterwards. I promise nothing like that will happen in this story.

I don't know how often I will be able to update, but I promise to at least ~try~ for a Saturday/Sunday update...

/

It was finally Saturday, and Clarke sprung out of bed before her 7am alarm. Usually Clarke was not a morning person - even at 24, she hadn't managed to get into a stable sleeping routine. Sleep was hard when the internet provided so many distractions. Her mum joked that she was just an overgrown child. Her roommate joked that she was secretly a vampire, which, of course, completely made sense given her hatred of garlic. Clarke would just laugh along, shaking her head. Somehow it seemed almost shameful to tell them the truth. The sooner Clarke went to bed, the sooner the next day would start.

Clarke felt that she really had to get out of the dead end job she had found herself in. It was the same old story as so many of her peers - she'd been told her gift for art was something extraordinary. Her parents and teachers had fawned over her work, encouraging to follow her dreams and apply for university. Clarke had poured so many hours of her life, so much of her soul into her degree work, only to find herself faced with a non-existent job market. A choice between a soul-destroying office job and funds for art supplies, or living back at home with no independence or art supplies, well it had seemed logical at the time.

She thought she would be able to put on a smile and just get through every day. She lasted exactly three weeks. Clarke couldn't put her finger on it - was it the endless spreadsheets and meetings or the completely clueless colleagues that made her feel so empty? Clarke had been walking around a mere shell of herself, caught up in the monotony of the office for maybe 17 or 18 months. She had given up counting the months she was caught up in her own personal hell; the only counting Clarke did was the count down to the weekend now.

Given that she was a master of rushing, Clarke was nearly ready less than 10 minutes later. She twisted her hair into a bun, and secured it with a tartan scrunchie she had found in a drawer. She wasn't quite sure where it had come from, but it went nicely with the shirt she had chosen. She decided to give her skin a rest from the make up she would routinely use. Today was all about relaxing, not worrying about appearance. She grabbed her bag and turned to her door, to have it open before she even touched it.

"Morning sunshine! Or should I say good evening?"

"Seriously Rae?" Clarke covered her ears jokingly, before placing her bag by the front door. "Indoor voice please. You know I get tired this late in the evening!"

Raven Reyes beamed.

"Ha! I knew it Griffin! For finally being honest about your status as a vampire, I'm gifting you with this"

Raven held out a cup of coffee, in Clarke's favourite mug, no less.

"Thank you." Clarke took the first sip of her coffee before taking a seat at the table. "How come you're up so early anyway?"

"I could ask you the same question." Raven paused for a moment before a smirk creeped across her face. "But since you asked, I didn't actually make it to bed…"

"Hmm?" The realisation hit Clarke suddenly. "Ah, so your date went well with Leather Jacket girl?! Do you think you're going to see her again? You have to tell me EVERYTHING!"

Raven started playing with her half empty cup. Clarke had known her roommate for years, and had only seen her act like this once before. Raven only acted like this when she had it bad for someone. Clarke only prayed this wasn't another Wick situation. Seeing Raven hurting was like some sort of alternate universe stuff - she just radiated confidence, the Reyes magic.

"Well, we met up at the bar down the street… You know, the one with the neon 'Open' sign…" Raven chewed her lip in thought. "Nope, the name is gone. It doesn't matter - we met and had a couple of drinks. The important thing is she was wearing the leather jacket - to be honest, she was HOT." Raven's eyebrows shot up at that last word. "Seriously Griffin, you have got to see her."

Clarke drained her coffee cup. "I'm sure I will be meeting her if your night went that well. Though I'm convinced that isn't everything…"

Raven clapped in delight. "It's 7:20 and you're already on the ball! Gold star for you! But yes, you're right, I have missed a few details. I was thinking I could come along with you today and see where you hide yourself away on Saturdays."

Clarke took both cups to the sink, buying herself some time. Her art time was precious, it was the one thing she looked forward to every week. However, she did want to hear the rest of Raven's story.

"Okay, but we are leaving now if you're coming."

"Deal." Raven beamed.

Clarke faltered. "Rae, you're wearing the same outfit you went out in last night."

"And I look as hot as I did last night!"

Clarke just smiled at her friend. She grabbed her keys, and her bag.

"Come on Rae, I'll even treat you to coffee on the way."

/

By the time Clarke pulled up at the Starbucks drive through, Raven was already in a deep sleep. Whatever the mystery girl did last night, she wore out Raven. Clarke knew that must have been no small feat. The walls were thin in their apartment, and she knew more about her friend than she would have ever wanted or needed to know.

Luckily, Clarke also knew her friend's Starbucks order. Clarke ordered two Vanilla coffee frappuccinos - large, because the purpose of a Saturday is to have a treat. She put both coffees in the cup holders before carefully continuing her journey. Their destination was only 10 minutes up the road, but it was 10 minutes of extra quiet time.

When she turned off the engine, Raven stirred from her nap. Clarke knew her well enough to put the coffee in her hand - a caffeinated Raven was a happy Raven. Clarke pointed out the path she would be taking to her drawing spot, and told her to take her time. There was no point in having her rush in her post-snooze haze.

With her bag on her shoulder, Clarke followed the path she had walked for so many weeks. The ground was so dry that it was almost dusty, and the tops of the trees met over the path in an archway shape. Clarke's hand found the bushes lining the path, and she let her fingers run along the leaves as she walked, familiar but new. The trees began to clear, and Clarke found herself in the familiar spot she had first found more or less a year ago.

The scenery was stunning. The ocean glittered under the sun's rays. The white sand looked untouched beneath the cliff Clarke was walking along. In fact, it seemed completely isolated, a world away from the never ending daily misery. Clarke noticed that more daisies were scattered in the grass by the bench that she had claimed as her spot than were there the previous week. Fond memories of making daisy crowns in her garden crossed her mind. With a smile on her face, Clarke settled herself down and took a moment to drink in the sight.

Clarke didn't notice Raven joining her 15 minutes later. She had her sketch pad ready, and was concentrating on the shoreline. Ever the perfectionist, Clarke hadn't even made the first stroke. She was always anxious about the first stroke, she felt the need to ensure that it was perfect. Once that was over, the sketch came naturally.

"Earth to Clarke." Raven was suddenly poking Clarke's rib cage. "Did you hear anything I have just said?"

"Of course I did," Clarke turned to her friend, and smiled sweetly, "But who am I to stop you from repeating yourself?..."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You know, I'm convinced there has got to be a way to modify my body so that I can have my eyes roll back far enough to express just how frustrated I am with you sometimes, Griffin."

"They'd never stop rolling. What can I say, I like to excel in whatever I put my mind to." Clarke stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Whatever." Raven sipped her coffee. "So back to the important stuff. Leather Jacket girl - Ocatvia - ordered a couple of beers, and we were talking about things. Turns out she works for Ark Industries."

"They're only the biggest business in the city, Rae." Clarke pointed out. "I don't know why you're so surprised by that."

"I'm not. You didn't let me finish." Raven paused and gave her friend a stern look. "Am I allowed to continue?"

Clarke let a smile take over her face and nodded.

"Well thank you. Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say that her area is running a community project. Something about not seeming to be a big bad company - all that stuff about the taxes they weren't paying didn't do much good for their image. I'll be honest, I didn't spend a huge amount of time concentrating on her words as such… Basically the long and short of it is that they need artists and I gave her your name."

"Wait, what?" Clarke looked stunned.

"You're an artist. A damn good one. And you need projects to be working on, because sitting here looking out at the same scene isn't doing your sketchbook much good." Raven waved in the general direction of the sketchbook that Clarke rested on her knees. "And Octavia needs artists. Plus she liked the design on my phone case." Raven held her phone up at Clarke as if she had planned that point, with a triumphant smile on her face.

Clarke took her friends phone, and traced her fingers over the pattern. She had designed it with her friend in mind, full of ornate cogs, wrenches and other miscellaneous mechanic's tools. She had assumed that Raven had only used the case when she was with Clarke.

"She seriously liked it?" Clarke couldn't help but keep the hope out of her voice.

"Yes, silly!" Raven threw her arm around her friend. "Of course she did. It's an awesome design. She sent a picture of it to the project manager, and said you would get some feedback at some point in the week."

"Okay…" Clarke could feel the dread fall over her. "What if they don't want me?"

"This is one more opportunity than you had last week. If you don't start putting yourself out there, you're never going to achieve anything in life - you know that right?"

Clarke nodded. Her friend's words were comforting, but it didn't change the face that the possibility of rejection petrified her. She decided it was a good idea to change the subject then.

"You still owe me date details, Rae."

Raven just grinned back at her, one eyebrow raised.

/

Two hours into her work day, and Clarke was feeling pretty miserable. Not only was it Monday, but one of her colleagues had decided to become even more useless with computers than Clarke had thought possible. It was creative though, who knew there were so many ways to mess around with Microsoft Word. The IT department were stretched beyond belief, and took at least three hours to respond to any request, no matter how urgent. Being the youngest in the office, there was an unspoken understanding that Clarke was the unofficial technical support.

"See, Clive, this button here undoes all of the mess." Clarke forced a smile onto her face.

"And I haven't lost my work?" The older man blinked at Clarke.

"No, it's all there. I'd save the file now though, just in case."

The man mumbled his thanks, and Clarke waved it off. She wandered back over to her desk, wondering how soon was too soon for her to be making another coffee. The office clock said 9:34. Clarke promised herself she would have a coffee at 10am.

She settled back into the mind numbing routine of checking two spreadsheets against each other. About a month into the role, Clarke had created and presented a macro that would complete the task instantly to her project manager. He hadn't understood the functions behind the creation, so had refused the proposal. It would have freed Clarke up to work on more challenging tasks, and given her a chance to use her brain a bit more. She had been upset about it, but Raven had assured her that she had done nothing wrong.

Clarke snapped out of the monotony when her phone began ringing. It was a number she didn't recognise, so she braced herself to tell them exactly what they could do with their offer of No Win No Fee accident claims.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is this… Clarke Griffin?" It was a woman speaking.

"Yes… Can I ask who is calling?"

"Clarke, my name is Lexa Woods, and I work for Ark Industries. How are you today?"

Clarke locked her computer, and went to stand outside the building to take her call. She was a firm believer that work was work, and her colleagues did not need to hear anything about her life.

"I'm really well thank you." Clarke got a few glares from colleagues for taking a phone call while walking through the office. She took no notice - it was none of her business and she had kept her voice down. "How are you?"

"I am good thank you… I'm calling about your art. The submission was… interesting."

"Oh." Clarke's heart fell. "You didn't like it?"

"Clarke. We loved it."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Not only was the artwork itself intricate and unique, but to present the piece on a phone case? Well, that's a level of creativity beyond our expectations."

Clarke furrowed her eyebrows. Raven hadn't handed over the actual case, she had seen it on Saturday. But Raven had also seen Octavia since then… She made a mental note to pick up some beers for her flatmate on the way home.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed the piece."

"We did Clarke. We would like to invite you to our offices on Saturday to discuss the projects we have at the moment. Are you available?"

"Yes, I would like that. I'm assuming you mean the headquarters?"

"Yes. I can email you over all of the details. I'm assuming the email address Octavia gave me is correct for you?"

"It's a gmail account - cgriffin92."

"Yes, that's what I have here… Well I'll send this through now, and I look forward to meeting you on Saturday."

"You too. Goodbye."

Clarke made her way inside and back to her desk with a slight spring in her step. She was sure her colleagues had noticed, but she didn't care what they thought of her. Opening her email, she saw the promised message from Lexa.

Hi Clarke,

It was a pleasure talking to you today. I've attached the details for Saturday to this email.

I look forward to meeting you then.

Lexa Woods

Project Manager

Ark Industries