Logically, Clarke knew that sitting in her car wasn't going to get her anywhere, but she pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes and stayed where she was anyways. The sun hadn't started to set, but it was at the point where everything was a little bit too bright, and after being on the road all day her eyes were overly sensitive to the light. Glancing at the clock on her dashboard, she realized just how late she was. All counsellors were supposed to have arrived at Camp Ark by 4 o'clock for their initiation weekend, and she would have made it on time if she hadn't turned down the wrong road a couple of miles back. Obviously nobody would believe that after almost 20 summers spent at the camp she would have any trouble finding her way there, but she doubted they would question her when she showed up.

She told herself that she was going to leave. That she was going to keep driving down the stupid, dirt road that she had pulled over onto, leave everything she had dealt with behind and never come back, but she didn't. She just sat there.

After another hour or so the sun started setting, and with it her rebellion started to fade. Glancing down at the phone she had turned off and ignored, she realized that her temporary disappearance had caused quite a bit of panic, particularly for her mother. She typed the words 'I'm fine' and pressed send, before throwing the offending piece of technology into the empty passenger seat, starting the car, and driving away.

The sound of the radio breaking through the silence simultaneously startled her and brought her back to reality, but nothing could have prepared her for her arrival. In the hour that she had been driving after her detour, the sun had gone down completely, which for anybody else would have caused difficulties navigating the narrow, dark path of trees that lead to camp entrance, but Clarke had been doing it for years, and managed to get there relatively unscathed in record time, though she couldn't decide if that was a good thing.

Parking her car was one thing, but actually getting out of it was something else completely. Breathing in the fresh air that can only be found far, far away from any big cities and ridiculously close to a lake stopped her in her tracks for a second, and she remembered the last time she had been there and who she had been with.

But that wouldn't do. Shoving those memories aside and glancing at the bonfire by the beach which was surely where all of her friends could be found, she grabbed her bags and walked towards the main building.

Of course, selectively forgetting things has its downsides, one of them being that Clarke hadn't prepared herself for the pictures covering the walls of the building. Feeling ambushed but not defeated, she trekked on and finally found herself in front of the office of one of the last people she wanted to talk to.

Thelonious Jaha looked up from his desk, a weary expression painting his face. "So, you decided to show up after all?"

Ignoring the open hostility that the older man directed towards her, she collapsed on the couch in the corner of his office. "I would've thought you'd understand. I mean, out of everyone else."

His face softened as he took in the girl sitting across from him. Despite the bags under her eyes and the cold, distant expression on her face, he could almost see the ghost of his son sitting on the couch beside her, where their younger selves had spent so much of their time. "Clarke," he said in a voice that was by no standards steady, "it's been months. I know how much it hurts, I feel that every day. But I would've thought that you'd know how important it is to keep going."

He could tell immediately that he had said the wrong thing as a bitter, half smile took over her face. "Really, Jaha? You want to go there?" She said in a sharp tone that clearly indicated the end of the conversation. "What cabin am I in?"

Sighing, the man shuffled some papers on his desk. "You're in 6 with the Blake girl."

"And what activity am I running?"

And that question was what broke the normally calm, composed man. "Clarke Griffin, for as long as I can remember you've been begging to be in charge of this camps art program, and I told you could have the position months ago, so don't think for a second that you're getting out of it now. You can pull this shit with your mother, but it's not working here. I've known you your whole life, and I know you quite a bit better then you'd like to admit, and I know that this'll be good for you, and there's no way you're getting out of it. End of discussion."

Clarke sat, transfixed in her spot on the couch, gaping at the man who was now all but ignoring her, until she heard a noise come from behind her. She spun around, ready to give whoever had dared listen to what Jaha had just said a piece of her mine, and came face to face with none other than Bellamy Blake.

"Oh, hey Princess, you're back!" The insufferable assface said in an overly cheery tone with a smirk on his face that did not waver in the slightest when the girl in question grabbed her bags, storming around him and out of the room.

Sure, she could hold her own against just about everybody she knew, and Bellamy really wasn't an exception, but there was something about him seeing her at her worst that she just couldn't handle. Over the years his constant teasing was something that she'd become accustomed to and had even grown to enjoy, but she just couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that she experienced when people saw her at her worst.

She didn't bother turning around, but she could hear him following her back down the halls and out into the open. "Not tonight, Blake."

"Well, at least let me accompany you to your palace, m'lady," he said catching up beside her and matching her pace with an ease that made her even more frustrated. "Here, let me help with your bags."

"Since when have you ever helped me before, Bellamy?" She sighed, starting to feel defeated. "I really don't need your pity right now."

"That's not fair, and you know it." For the first time in their conversation, the smirk on his face started to disappear, but it wasn't gone for long. "Remember the paintball war of '07? You would've been dead in 5 minutes without my help. And I still haven't told anybody about that whole swimming thing? And what about that one time when-"

Clarke stopped walking suddenly and turned to face the man beside her. Getting a good look at his face, she realized just how true his words might be. Looking into his eyes wasn't something that she made a habit of, but when she did do it on occasion she was always startled by the raw honesty that lived there.

"Really?"

"Really," he reassured her. "Besides, what kind of a Head Counsellor would I be if I let you carry these all by yourself, in the dark? You could get mauled by a bear! Or worse- you could run into Murphy!"

Relieved at the light hearted turn the conversation had taken, Clarke finally gave in, passed her heaviest bag along to Bellamy who took it with ease, and resumed walking, this time at a more relaxed pace. "What is it with you and that story? I've spent the better part of two decades here, and I haven't encountered anybody living in the forest- let alone a crazy person who tries to lure people into his hut by hitting rocks together."

"I'm telling you, Griffin, Murphy's out there, just waiting for pretty girls like you to wander through these parts by themselves."

"Oh, so you think I'm pretty now?" Clarke teased, partially because she was curious about the comment, but mostly so that she could see his face turn a shade of red that was noticeable even on the dimly lit path they were walking. Like every other girl that attended Camp Ark, Clarke had once had a crush on Bellamy, but those days were long gone. She had grown up and left her awkward, 13-year-old self behind, but that didn't mean that she couldn't get back at the boy who'd spent a summer tormenting her about her feelings for him.

Luckily for him, they were currently passing the bonfire, and had barely stepped into the dim light created by it when they were noticed by none other than Octavia Blake. The girl let out a screech that had everybody's ears ringing, and threw herself at her best friend, ignoring her brothers presence entirely.

"Clarke! Oh my god, I knew you'd come!" She gushed, which only made Clarke hug her even harder. The bubbly, brown haired girl had a way of getting under peoples skins and going straight to their hearts, and it was impossible to be around her without getting excited about something, which was exactly what Clarke needed at the moment.

"It's really good to see you O! I hear we're roommates?"

"Hells yeah we are, and this year there are more cabins than counsellors, so I managed to get us our own!"

At that revelation Clarke finally, truly smiled. Sure, she loved just about everybody and everything at camp, but there were very few people she could handle being around 24/7. Luckily, Octavia was one of them. "That's fantastic! Cabin 6, right? I was just going to drop my bags off!"

"Okay, go, go, go! And then come back! And bring this one," she gestured at her brother, who had stood by their sides with a smile on his face throughout their reunion.

"Okay, we'll just be a second," Clarke laughed, before her and Bellamy continued their way down the path.

A happy, comfortable silence followed them for the rest of the walk, which was fine by Clarke's standards- if her past experience at the bonfires told her anything, quiet was going to be hard to come by for the next few hours.

Arriving at the cabin, Clarke opened the door and immediately dropped the bags that she was carrying onto one of the beds that hadn't been claimed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I could've taken more than one, Princess," Bellamy chuckled looking at the small, exhausted girl in front of him.

"But I gave you the heaviest one!" Clarke protested.

"If you say so," Bellamy bragged as he made a show of lifting the large suitcase with one hand and then throwing it onto the bed, 8 feet away from where he was standing.

"Alright, alright Mr. Muscles, very impressive."

"Really, Princess? Mr. Muscles? That's the best you can do?"

Choosing to ignore the fact that she had yet to find a nickname for him that was quite as catchy as the one he had for her, she started unpacking her bags. "I'm just going to freshen up a bit- I've been driving all day. You can head down to the bonfire without me; I'll just catch up in a few minutes."

"I look forward to it, your highness." Clarke turned around just in time to see him complete an incredibly elaborate bow that she couldn't help but laugh at.

As soon as he left she went back to her spot on the bed, leaning on the pile of bags that were beside her, surprised at how tired she was. Taking the moment to look around the cabin, she realized that it was one she hadn't actually camped in before, which was rare, and she had assumed it had been done on purpose. There was still an air of familiarity around it, which was something that she was used to at the camp, and she wouldn't trade anything in the world for it. No matter what other feelings came with being at Camp Ark, this was truly the only place Clarke felt at home, and for that she would just have to suffer through the rest.