The alarm on my phone went off relentlessly at exactly six in the morning. I moaned and hit my phone until I managed to turn it off. I slowly opened my eyes. The sight was breath taking. Clarke was lying next to me her blonde hair fanned out on the pillow beside her. A few unruly strands hung over her face. I reached over and brushed them behind her ear. My hand lingered on her cheek, and that's when I decided there was no way I was going into work today. I had slept next to Clarke every night for the past few days. And every morning it just got harder to leave her.

I reached over and grabbed my phone. I sent a quick email to my boss letting him know I wasn't going to be able to make it. I told him I had some kind of stomach virus. As soon as the email sent I tossed my phone to the floor and wrapped my arms around Clarke. She sighed in her sleep and nuzzled in closer to me. It was odd how used to her I already was. I knew her smell. I knew the way her hands looked after she had been painting. I knew the way her eyebrows knitted together when she was frustrated.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. The first time I had ever seen her she had looked so innocent. Just another freshman getting their I.D. Finn had been in before her, he was a sophomore but he lost his freaking I.D. once every couple months. I was already irritated when she walked in, so when she asked me to take her picture again. I had acted like such an asshole. Her eyebrows knit together and she crossed her arms. She had looked like some spoiled brat, and that when I had dubbed her Princess. Of course Murphy came in after and gave me hell. He needed me to update some information on his card. He just kept bitching about how if it had been done right the first time he wouldn't have had to wait in the long ass line with a bunch of fresh meat.

I was just all around pissed by the time I finally made it back to my room. All I wanted to do was go to bed. The second my head hit the pillow someone started to bang on my door. I was ready to raise hell when I opened the door and lo and behold it's Princess. I wanted to be mad. Really, I did. But she just looked so darn cute. Looked like a little lost bambi. I took pity on her. She was just a goofy freshman.

When her cries had woken me from a dead sleep, my protective instinct had kicked in. The only thing between her bed and mine was a thin wall and it was torture listening to what sounded like a really awful dream. I grabbed my universal key not even bothering knocking . When I got there my breath got stuck in my throat. This beautiful girl was hugging her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hair was plastered to her forehead as she sweat through her shirt. My heart constricted at the sight of it all.

Now I'm here holding her, and I don't want to let go. I like our new sleeping arrangements. At first I kept telling myself it was going to be temporary, at least until her roommate moves in. But I don't think I could do it. I had to admit that I slept like a baby when she was in my arms. It scared the hell out of me that within the last four or five days that I've known her I have grown attached to her. That's not normal. But then again our whole relationship wasn't normal. She depended on me to fight off her nightmares. We were heading down a road of really good friends. But maybe I'm starting to think that maybe that's not the road I want to take.

Her leg hitched around mine. I had to resist the urge to run my hand down her bare leg. This girl before me was a beautiful, smart, talented, goofy, and so incredibly strong. If I did anything this year, it would be to help ease her pain, to take away some of her burden. My whole life I had taken care of others. Hell, I had practically raised my baby sister Octavia. There was something different though about Clarke. She didn't need someone to baby her, she needed someone to treat her like a normal human being. She needed someone to push her, help her live her life. She needed someone to catch her when she falls and hold her when she has a bad day. I might be a bit biased on the matter, but I full heartedly believed that Clarke needed me.

Clarke stirred in my arms, "Are you gong to make a habit out of staring at me?" She stretched like a cat before finally opening her eyes and unleashing their blue depths on to me. "Not that I'm complaining. The look you're giving me now would make a weaker women drop her panties."

I leaned forward to rest my forehead on hers, "Oh please… feel free. That really would just make my morning." Her eyebrows knit at first as she contemplated if I was serious or not. I wanted to tell her I was joking, but was totally down for it if she was. But that might sound a bit desperate. She shrugged and reached down under the covers. Moments later her hand returned with her underwear.

My eyes bulged and my mouth hung open as I tried to find something to say, but the part of my brain that made words had entirely shut down. She put her hand on my chin, pushing it up to close my mouth. "I don't want you drooling all over my bed. I'm getting in the shower."

Was that an invitation? She stood up and walked over to her bathroom. I would be lying if I said I didn't watch her ass the whole way, and may I say, what a fine ass it was. I started to get up to follow her but she closed the door. So that's the game she wants to play huh? I chuckled as I walked next door to take my own shower.

I was back over ten minutes later, showered… but not exactly dressed. I wanted to give Clarke a piece of her own medicine. I made it back just as she was walking out of the bathroom, steam following her into the main room. I stood there in nothing but a towel. She stopped dead at the sight of me her eyebrows shot up as she ran a towel through her hair. She gestured in my direction, "What's all this?"

I smirked, "Oh I just thought an ass for ass. Fair is only fair." I turned around and pulled my towel down showing her my ass. I sighed, "Oh yes, I like this. Very breezy." I heard her squeal before she threw a pillow at me.

"Bellamy put some clothes on!" I quickly got dressed and when I turned around she was wearing a pair of leggings and a big t-shirt. Not just any t-shirt. My t-shirt.

I tugged on the hem of her shirt, "And why exactly are you wearing my shirt?"

She smiled, "I don't know. It's very comfortable. You left it here the first night you slept over." Gosh that seemed like forever ago, but in reality it had only been three days since that night. She found a way to make my Atlanta Braves shirt look cute. I am almost one hundred percent sure it didn't look that good on me.

I reached my hand out to her, "Shall we go out for some coffee?"

She smiled and interlaced our fingers, "I would love too. As long as its not the piss poor excuse for coffee in the common room."

I laughed, "No I was thinking something more along the lines of an actual coffee house. There actually one on campus. It's in the social science building." I knew it wasn't going to be long before she found out what a dork I am. So I might as well bring her to my regular spot and get it out o the way.

We walked arm in arm across campus and into my favorite building. She gave me a smile, "I don't know if you're aware of this but your face quite literally lit up as we walked in here. Is the coffee really that good?"

I squeezed her hand, "Well first of all yes, the coffee really is that good. Second of all this is the social science building. This is my favorite place on campus." She was giving me a stupid grin and I rolled my eyes, "I may or may not be somewhat of a history nerd."

She let go of my hand and wrapped her arm around my waist, "We all have a passion. You know a lot about me." She slightly frowned, "More than most people. Actually more than just about anyone…" She shook her head to clear whatever dark thought was clouding her head. "Anyways I think it's my turn to learn about you." I could tell by the tone her voice, she wasn't asking, she was telling. There would be no discussion, I was going to open up to her whether I liked it or not.

After we ordered our coffee I lead her to the elevators. I hit the button for the top floor. We shot up all eight floors in silence. When the door chimed to signal its opening I swear she jumped a little. I pulled down hallway after hallway before finally stopping next to a door. She stopped in front of it and studied for a minute before turning her gaze to me, "This says it's a supply closet?"

I smiled and looked around to make sure no one was around to hear me, "Yeah but there's some stairs in here that lead to the attic. Well its more of a storage room but its really cool. Come on I'll show you." My heart quickened as I pulled her up the hidden stairs. The stairs that I had never shown anyone before. When we reached the top I let go of her hand and walked over to the giant window. Beneath it was an old squishy couch and a coffee table. "This is my secret hide away."

She walked around and admired the room. It was full of random artifacts and pictures. The artist in her was probably in heaven right now. "Are we even allowed to be up here?"

I smirked, "I got caught studying up here one time by professor Kane. He saw I was doing any harm and said I had permission to be up here as long as I didn't break anything."

I sat down on the couch and watched as she flitted from one thing to another, admiring everything. She eventually made her way next to me and sat down. She took a deep breath before turning all her attention to me, "So Mr. Blake? Lets hear it. Lets hear your life story."

Most of the time I would be worried about girls running for the hills when they hear the story I'm about to tell. But I know deep down Clarke isn't that kind of person. She's been through hard times as well and if anything she'll be able to identify with my pain. I sucked in a breath, "Well I never knew my dad. From what I've been told he was an ass. My mom was a drunk. I had to learn to take care of my baby sister and myself at a young age. My mom died two weeks after my eighteenth birthday. It's been O and me ever since. I've worked a lot of long hours at a lot of odd jobs to put food on the table. I studied hard to get a scholarship. I aspire to one day be a high school history teacher. I want to help kids out in the way my high school teachers never did. I lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone and to just about everyone I was the degenerate kid of a dead beat and a drunk. Most people didn't even waste their breath on me."

I had been staring at my hands the whole time, nervous to look at her reaction. She put a hand on my cheek. "Like you said Bellamy, we all have skeletons. It was nice meeting yours." And with that she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Her blush was bright red and her eyes were alight with wonder. This girl was going to be the death of me.