Raven sat on the edge of the double bed she shared with Clarke, head over knees, exhausted from another grueling day of classes.
She craned her neck just enough to stare at the mountain of textbooks on the bedside table she needed to crack open. Groaning, Raven inwardly pouted at all the homework she had ahead of her that weekend.
This was not what she was hoping for when she got to Ark University. On a Friday night, at least once, she had expected to attend a decent party where she could dance until she dropped.
Raven straightened at the sound of the door opening. Clarke walked in with her own textbook mountain, looking as tired as Raven felt.
Clarke dropped her books on the desk by the window before joining Raven on the bed with an obnoxious collapse to her back and exaggerated groan causing Raven to laugh.
"Long day?" Raven asked as she laid beside Clarke, gentle fingers gliding back and forth over her girlfriend's stomach.
Raven decided to let last night's events go. She was just too exhausted to fight and missed being close with Clarke.
"You have no idea. I have a thesis due Monday, an exam Tuesday, and that's after all the homework I need to get done this weekend. No one was kidding how much of a drain med school would be."
"Sounds like we could both use a break. I was thinking we could go out tonight? Maybe find a new bar? Go dancing? Do something different for a change?"
Clarke sat up with a start, anger slowly lacing her brows.
Uh oh…
"Did you not just hear how much work I have to do? No, Raven. We aren't going anywhere tonight. Or for the weekend for that matter. You should be studying too."
That didn't sit well with Raven. Since when did Clarke get so controlling? With a huff, Raven shot to her feet and grabbed her thin red sweater before turning to Clarke. "I'm going out. Don't wait up."
Raven slammed the door in her wake. She was so frustrated with Clarke lately. First, the sexual rudeness, not caring about Raven seeing her moms, and now Clarke was trying to tell her what she could and couldn't do?
Enough was enough. Raven was already overstressed with school, she didn't need the overbearing weight of a controlling girlfriend.
They were supposed to be in this university thing together, they knew it would be challenging and had agreed to push each other when needed and offer a comforting hand of support when over worn. Couldn't Clarke see how stressed Raven was too?
Raven stormed past the parking lot and kept walking. She was too angry to drive. Plus, she planned to get sloshed that night. She needed to clear her head anyway and could use the fresh air.
No plan in mind, Raven followed the sidewalk as she thought about Clarke, school, and all the other stressors of the day.
Eventually, Raven's concentration was broken at the sound of a rowdy group of thugs across the street. More specifically, across the tracks.
The brunette's anger immediately bubbled away, replaced with panic and intrigue. She had gotten so lost in her thoughts she hadn't realized she'd walked right into the more unsavory part of town.
Raven recognized the group of leather wearers across the street in an instant. They were known as the Grounders Gang. All of them wore bandanas and matching leather jackets with their gang logo. She'd never been able to get close enough to see that symbol.
The few times she had seen them, they were just a blur on their motorcycles or were too far across the tracks. They were known for mischief and thought to be the scum of Polis. Raven, however, had always secretly thought them to be free spirits.
She yearned to join them on many occasions, often fantasizing what life might have been like had she been born on the other side.
Would she have been a Grounder? Free to roam as her spirit saw fit? No schedules, studying, or fake masks to portray during the day and languid sleep at night so she could do it all again?
The freedom of such an existence proved incomprehensible to the mechanic. Which side of those tracks you grew up on determined your identity. Either you had nothing or everything, a ridiculous sentiment Raven wished would lift.
Especially now as the gang revved their motorcycles and howled at the sky in glee. All of them alive with verve, that kind of free nature was exactly what Raven wanted to be that night.
Raven continued to watch them as several members started to rough house in a playful spar while others cheered them on. There must have been twenty of them, maybe more. Those who weren't spectating hung out by their bikes, chatting in various groups, but all remaining together. They seemed close, like family.
But they were also dangerous, and most likely, would never befriend a privileged girl like her.
That's what Raven thought until she noticed a certain Grounder, in particular, staring at her from across the railway.
The gang member was blonde and beautiful and breathtaking. Raven's heart fluttered as she took in the sight of the alluring woman staring at her with those gorgeous honeyed-hazels beneath a deep blue bandanna.
As their eyes locked, Raven's breath hitched. She froze in place unblinkingly, unable to move, even as the mysterious blond smirked and sent Raven a head nod.
Raven felt herself smiling. This brief moment whatever it was breathed life into the mechanic, allowing the brunette to feel alive for the first time in her life. How was that possible? How was it possible for a mere glance from an attractive woman able to breathe life back into you?
The blonde said a few words to a woman with dark braided hair before the brunette nodded and rejoined the rest of the group. Now the beautiful blonde was alone. And she was looking right at Raven.
Breaking from the crowd, the grounder approached the tracks, hands in the pockets of her thick leather gang jacket. To say she looked amazing would be a harsh understatement. This woman had literally stolen Raven's breath away.
Raven felt her feet moving before she even remembered giving them permission to do so. She hurried toward the tracks, her eyes never leaving the gleaming hazels trained on her.
They each came to a stop just at either side of the rail line, never crossing. The blonde removed her hand from her pocket and held it out to Raven, offering the brunette a helping hand to cross to the other side.
Should she do it? Should she cross the tracks?