Alright guys, I'm writing this fiction since almost forever. I had a pretty big break in between but I decided to start upload it now (I'm a little ahead of you, so I think there won't be any problems in uploading). I hope you enjoy the fiction as much as I do writing it. It will change between Clarke's and Bellamy's POV. The first three chapters will be a flashback ...

Thank you for my beta Marie ( .com) for correcting my mistakes and the wonderful and-so-we-meet-again ( /users/andsowemeetagain/pseuds/andsowemeetagain) for your feedback.

Flashback to summer 2007 ... Clarke and Bellamy met each other's parents for the very first time ... Clarke's POV

Better Than Me

June 2007

She looked at her parents nervously. Her heart was racing, her palms sweaty and everything in her head was spinning. Would they like him? Would they think that he was good enough for her? Despite that, she didn't care even if her parents thought he wasn't.

She liked this guy, very much. He made her laugh. He made her feel comfortable. She could tell him everything and be herself around him, no matter what. He didn't judge her – not anymore.

They were together for a few weeks only but she knew what kind of feelings she felt when she was with him. When she was thinking about him. It was trust and respect and pure love.

She fell head over heals for him. He was her everything. The most important person in her life. Her big love. She couldn't imagine being without him. She even hated not being with him while she slept.

He did funny things to her body, to her mind and she enjoyed every second. And so did he. She knew because they were writing and speaking to each other all day and all night when they weren't together. She even sneaked out of her bedroom a few times to spend time with him.

It was very exciting and somehow dangerous because no one knew. They didn't want anyone to find out. It was a secret. Their secret … for different reasons. On one hand they liked the tension that was created by keeping it a secret.

On the other hand, and the more important reason, they were scared that the acknowledgement of their relationship by others would destroy its beauty. That they (and their feelings) weren't strong enough for not caring about what others were thinking.

Apparently they were. They started with their friends, who were happy for both of them. Who didn't give a damn about social differences and disparities. Her, the golden princess with wealthy parents and him, the rebel king without any money but a heart as good as gold.

Two different people. Two different societies and yet they had found each other.

Normally she wouldn't say or believe it but it was like he was her perfect match, her soulmate. So meeting each other's parents was such a big and important thing.

"And?" Asked Clarke shortly, biting her bottom lip in impatience.

They just said goodbye to Bellamy's mother and him who'd spent the last three hours in the Griffin's house.

It was the first meeting at all.

Clarke had been incredibly nervous to make a good impression on Aurora, while Bellamy tried to impress the hosts. For anyone who wasn't Bellamy and Clarke it must have been a quite enjoyable and funny night. Two teenagers meeting the others parents for the first time, trying to make a good impression and also helping the other not to go down under their parents glances.

Jake and Abby exchanged an amused smile, which made Clarke even more nervous and a little furious. At these times she really hated her parents. They loved teasing her. When her face heated up Jake barked out a laugh and put his arm around his daughter.

"Oh kiddo, don't be mad at us for loving you and thinking how cute you are." He squeezed her closer, making Clarke roll her eyes and shoving him away – a little.

"Don't mess with me, dad. You know how important this was to me."

"I know," said her father, now more serious.

A little too serious if you asked Clarke. Great – they didn't like him.

Panic started in Clarke's head. She would tell her parents that it didn't matter if they like Bellamy. That she was planning to keep seeing him no matter what, but obviously she didn't have to because her mother smiled from one ear to another and her dad's breast swell with pride.

"You like him?"

Her voice was high pitched, anxious and excited at once. Her heart was jumping harder in its ribcage. Her knees went weak, but not as much as she thought because Clarke jumped when her parents nodded to her question. A loud squeal from the blonde made Abby and Jake laugh again and this time Clarke didn't care.

They liked Bellamy Blake. The guy she liked.

Her boyfriend.

"I think he is a very decent young man," smiled Abby and Jake added,

"Very charming and responsible."

"He really is," grinned Clarke. The happiness spreading through her bones and over her face. "I really like him."

"We could tell."

"And he likes you just as much."

Clarke's heart busted wildly. She was relieved, so fucking relieved that her parents liked Bellamy. She had to tell him. Like, right now. She needed to tell him that her parents liked him. She wanted to share the relief and the happiness she was feeling because everything seemed to be okay and alright.

"And what do you think about Aurora?" Interfered Jake into Clarke's thoughts and her high got ticked-off a little.

What was his mother thinking about her? What was Clarke thinking about her?

Aurora had been nice and polite to her, but didn't give any indication away how she felt about Clarke … or her life. Did she like her? Did it matter to Bellamy what his mom was thinking?

Of course they both had said that they didn't care but the truth was – it was the most important thing to both of them.

That their parents liked the other one. She wasn't sure if Bellamy would stay with her if his mother didn't approve. But why shouldn't she? Clarke didn't do anything to offend her, right?

She didn't feel uncomfortable or had been subtly mad. Aurora was a parent just like hers. One who probably didn't want to judge to early or who gave anything away too easily.

Clarke started chewing on her bottom lip again, kneading her palms. "I think she is nice and likable?"

Jake's frowning lightened up a little, which made Clarke feeling a little better, a little safer.

"She seems like a nice woman. Maybe a little quiet but you can't blame her … when your mom is the one who always talks every time."

Her father winked at Clarke and Abby slapped her husband into the shoulder, offended,

"This is absolutely not true Jake!" All three of them started to laugh.

"I'm sure she likes you Clarke. Don't worry about it. She is a mother. And there is nothing more important to us than seeing our kids happy," smoothed Abby, whipping Clarke's last worries away.

And with that she rushed upstairs into her bedroom, heart still filled with joy when she scrolled through her contacts to call Bellamy.

The sound of her heartbeat was echoing through her ears, exciting and desperate for talking to her boyfriend about the evening. She bit her bottom lip down to stop grinning like a goofy, even though it seemed like forever for Bellamy to pick up. Which was unusual because he normally picked up at the first ringing.

But the moment the ringing stopped and she heard him breathing on the other end of the line it busted out of her. Clarke couldn't keep it in any longer,

"My parents like you!"

She squealed out of joy. The grin on her lips was so big that it started to hurt but Clarke didn't care. She was happy. Her parents liked Bellamy.

"Well, this is good, isn't it?" Chuckled Bellamy and Clarke nodded, despite that Bellamy couldn't see her. But she wished he was.

"Oh I wish you were here Bell."

"Me too."

This time he sounded sad. And it wasn't the usual 'I miss you' five minutes later after they had seen each other. It was a different sound, like something was on his mind. She didn't hear this voice often in the last weeks, so it scared her even more. The grin faded a little, her heart beat faster.

She frowned, "Something wrong?"

Silence. Silence was never good. Silence was bad. Worse than bad!

"Bellamy?"

She heard him swallowing. Her stomach tightened. A cold shiver ran down her back. He breathed through his nose loudly before his rough voice reached her ear.

"I just miss you."

His voice was thick, like he was trying not to cry. Not letting it out, keeping his emotions in check. This time it was Clarke who swallowed thickly. Her throat glued together, her heart jumping in the chest but not because of joy but because of worries.

Clarke felt tears pooling in her eyes because his words, his voice, told her that something was wrong. How could it be? They just had a wonderful evening together. He had been away for half an hour, forty minutes max. What the fuck happened that he was like this? That he sounded so broken … .

The first tear fell and Clarke whipped it away furiously, taking a deep breath before speaking to Bellamy, trying to keep her voice under control. He didn't have to know she was crying.

"Bellamy, please tell me what happened. You are scaring the hell out of me."

"Don't cry on me princess," begged Bellamy, panic in his voice.

She knew that he hated seeing her cry. And she hated that he knew even though he wasn't here. That she couldn't keep her voice in check so he wouldn't notice.

"I'm not." Lied Clarke and her voice broke at the end. She sniffled, pressing her hand on her eyes, telling her body to stop producing tears.

"You are."

"Then tell me what your fucking problem is!" Screamed Clarke into the speaker and tears rolled over her cheeks.

"Did I do something wrong tonight?"

"No -"

"Was it something my parents did?"

"No, no Clarke everything was just great tonight. It -"

Again she cut him off, furious and mad that he didn't tell her what happened.

"But it has to be -"

"It's my mom Clarke, okay?!"

He yelled into the phone, his voice mad and desperate at the same time. Her heart skipped a beat. His mother?

"Did, did something happen? Is she okay?"

Her words were shaking. She felt bad for forcing him to tell her just because she thought she did something wrong and couldn't handle being left in the dark.

There was a loud sigh on the end of the line. "She's fine."

"O-okay … she, she doesn't like me?"

"No, she does. She thinks you are a great girl."

Clarke didn't get anything. What was the problem then, if she was okay and Aurora liked Clarke? Clarke licked her lips, shaking her head. "I don't get it Bellamy."

He sighed, long and loud. Then,

"She … she doesn't think it's right."

"What does she mean by that?"

Clarke was afraid of his answer because she already knew it. She knew and still couldn't understand. The evening had been great. They had had fun, despite Aurora had been a little quiet – she never looked like she felt uncomfortable or anything.

The blonde swallowed, the time ticking by. Second by second and Bellamy didn't say anything and yet so much.

So Clarke grabbed all her strength together and asked what she was afraid of,

"And what does this mean?"

"I don't know. It's just – somehow she is right."

"Right about what?"

Her voice echoed in her head, hoarsely. Her heartbeat picked up. Was Bellamy thinking what Clarke thought he was? The palm she was holding her phone in sweated. Her heartbeat was loud and hard.

"She said that, look Clarke, you and your parents … you live in a completely different world than us. You have money and so many great opportunities. Me, I'll never be able to give you what you need. I'll never earn enough money to make your dreams come true. There won't be any holidays in New York or in Europe. No big house and fancy dresses or jewels. I won't go to a big university and become a doctor or judge. I'll be stuck here forever and I don't want to bring you down. I won't let you give up your dreams and chances. You deserve more than the life I can offer. Much more. You, you don't fit into my world in the long run."

His voice was low and thick, rough and shaking. Just like Clarke's whole body. Her heart beat so fast she was sure if it would go a little faster she would die. Her stomach wrenched, one shiver after the other ran down her back, making her sick.

Tears dropping down her cheek because of his words. It took all her strength to speak again, the fear of him breaking up with her, right in her heart.

"That's not true Bellamy. And you know that. You don't know what I want and what I need. Maybe I don't want a life like my parents have, okay? Maybe all I want is you, no matter what. May-maybe I don't give a shit about money and opportunities. This is not fair and you know that … just because your mom –"

"It's not only because of my mom Clarke. We both knew about this –"

"Exactly! This is why I don't understand why it's such a big problem right now. Which it isn't for me! You know that I don't care about money –"

"Not now!" Bellamy cut her off and he sounded sour. Clarke huffed offended, "You don't –"

"Come on Clarke, we both know that you want to study at Yale or Harvard or abroad."

"Maybe I don't want –" Tried Clarke, but Bellamy cut her short again.

"And I don't want to be the reason for you not to go, okay? I couldn't live with that."

"You could come with me!" Suggested Clarke and her voice was filled with tears.

She pulled her legs closer, wrapping her arm around it and wobbling. Clarke couldn't believe Bellamy and her first fight was about their relationship as a whole … and would probably end with a break up … which she didn't want to. Why couldn't he see this? Why couldn't he stop saying all these things? Things that were hurting her, making her cry and sick.

"You know I can't afford to live in a city like Cambridge. How would I earn money? With a job as what? A janitor?" He scoffed. "Yeah, amazing future prospects."

Clarke squeezed her eyes shot. She was shaking her head, sobbing into the phone. Her heart breaking with every beat. How could this happened? They had such a nice evening and now she was talking to Bellamy who … who tried to break things with her?!

"Clarke," his voice was gentle, worry flew with it.

"Please," he pleaded (his voice rough from hiding the tears) and she knew he hated it when she was crying but he couldn't really blame her, right?

"Clarke, please I –"

"What do you want from me Bellamy?!" Nagged Clarke furiously into the speaker, biting her lip down to suppress another whimper. She heard him swallowing.

"What am I supposed to do, huh? You are trying to break up with me and –"

"I don't want to Clarke!" Insisted Bellamy and said, "I just don't want to ruin everything for you. Can't you understand that?"

"No. No I can't understand that Bellamy! Because this is exactly what you are doing right now. Ruining everything by telling me these things. I am happy, okay? I am happy with you right now and I don't care about what people think. I don't care what I want for the future, because I frigging don't know myself, okay? I just want to be with you. Only you. I don't care if your mom thinks we're not worth it. That we won't make it! I just don't want us to break up. Not like this. Not over the phone, not after tonight … not at all! All I want is to be with you. Why don't you get that? I decide what is good for me and not you or your mom or my parents. Only me!"

Her whole body was shaking, she tasted salt on her lips, from all the tears she was crying. Her hand whipped them away and she got out of her bed, knees so weak she had to remain where she was for a second because she was too afraid of falling.

"I'll come over right now!" She demanded, Bellamy trying to stop her.

"No. It's storming outside Clarke! I won't let you walk over. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care Bellamy! I won't let you break up with me over the phone!"

"I am not Clarke. I promise. I'll come over tomorrow, okay? Please – be reasonable. I don't want you to get out of there and –"

"Sorry," said Clarke and ended the call.

She switched off her phone and whipped away the tears. She was 16 but still couldn't drive – getting a driver licenses was harder than she thought it would be – so walking was her only choice. She didn't care what Bellamy told her, she would go to see him!

The blonde took a few more breaths before heading downstairs, hoping her parents wouldn't notice her red and swollen eyes, her thick voice when she told them goodbye, but of course it was different.

The moment she said, "I'm heading to Bellamy's", her parents knew something was wrong. They turned around and Abby got out of her seat so quick that Clarke wondered why the chair wasn't falling onto the ground.

"What happened?" Asked the blonde worried and Jake switched off the television, eyeing Clarke closely.

She had to stay strong, Clarke told herself. She couldn't break into tears again. She –

She started crying the moment Abby put her hand on her shoulder. The woman pulled her daughter into a hug, wrapping her arms around Clarke and hushing softly. Clarke sobbed into her mother's shirt while trying not to fall apart.

"B-B-Bell-Bellamy …"

"Did something happen to him?" Asked Jake and got off the couch alarmed.

"No … no, he …" Clarke couldn't say the words without falling apart.

She clenched closer to her mother, who was holding her more firmly. It took Clarke a few moments before trying to tell her parents what happened a second time. At this moment the phone was ringing and Jake disappeared, while Clarke spoke to her mother.

"He … his mother said that, that I don't fit into, into their … he isn't good enough and wants to … I think he wants to end this because he, he doesn't want me to give up everything and …"

Tears were stopping her from speaking any further. This wasn't fair. This was everything but fair.

"Oh honey," sighed Abby into Clarke's hair and swaying them a little.

Clarke took a deep, shaky breath. The familiar scent of her mother calmed her down. She made her feel safe and comfortable. Like everything was alright and nothing could happen as long as she stayed in these arms.

It was the moment Jake came back into the living room.

"It was Bellamy."

Clarke's head shot up, eyes red and her head already hurting like hell.

"He was worried because he couldn't reach you on your phone. He said you wanted to walk over?" Her father's eyes gazed outside the window, before turning back at her.

Clarke swallowed. "Yeah, I –"

"I'll drive you over," said Abby and Clarke knew that by the sound of her mother's voice that it was final. That she wouldn't accept any arguments.

That didn't mean Clarke wasn't trying to refuse her offer,

"No. I can take the bus mom. It's late and I don't know –"

"This is exactly the reason why I'll drive you Clarke! It's late, it's storming outside and you aren't in your best condition. Like hell I will let my only daughter walk through this hell! I will drive you to Bellamy's and if you want I can wait outside, okay?"

Abby took Clarke's face into her hands. The younger Griffin swallowed.

"You aren't alone Clarke. No matter what happen. Your dad and I will always be there for you. And you can call us at any time. We'll always come for you and pick you up. Okay?"

Her lips were shaking again. Clarke nodded and shot her eyes close for a second before breathing out loudly.

"We love you Clarke," mumbled Abby and kissed her daughter's forehead.

"I love you too." Returned Clarke softly before both women hit the road across the down to the Blake's house.