Month 7

Dear Ms. Griffin,

My name is Cage Wallace and I'm the am the Creative Director at Travelers of the Ark. I have personally been taking notice of your travels and I am very interested in making you an offer to be part of our wonderful team. We have been recently searching for someone to take over the blog portion of our website when I came across your blog. You have the type of charisma and personality we have been missing from our team for a long time now. We are giving you the opportunity to do exactly as you are right now, but in a bigger way. We would be taking care of your travel expenses as well as pay you for your services and accommodate you in anyway possible. The only stipulation is that we ask you to put the word out there for us. Thank us in your videos and wear our merchandise. I've noticed that you've traveled to 20 different cities in the last six months and in those six months you have gained over 100,000 followers on your site. I could only imagine how many more places you can travel to with Travelers of the Ark backing you. Please consider our offer and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me.

I hope to hear from you soon,

Cage Wallace

Creative Director

Clarke sat there at a café in Oslo, Norway silently reading and rereading the email she had received earlier that morning. Knowing nothing at all about the company that emailed her, she did what any modern day individual would do; she googled them. "Travelers of the Ark," she read aloud as she typed it into the search bar.

From what she could see, they were a sports store. They sold clothing and equipment for everything from snowboarding to horseback riding. Clarke opened a new tab on her web browser and reluctantly checked her bank account, knowing that her funds were getting pretty low.

When her father had died, he had left behind some money for her and it was certainly enough for her to get through most of the nights in the previous six months, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before she hit zero. That time was coming pretty quick as she was spending a good chunk of her time lately drawing tourist in the town square for money. That was the only reason she still had the financial leeway to travel as much as she did in those months.

She took a small sip from her mug of coffee as she contemplated whether or not she wanted to take up this opportunity. She had been traveling nonstop for the past six months and she was getting pretty exhausted, but every time she entered a new city and saw the unexplored territory it had to offer, her energy was renewed. She could always go home and get on her hands and knee and beg for her mom to forgive her and take her back in, but then it would go back how it was before she left and she would much rather starve on the streets than go back to that situation.

Clarke clicked on one of her bookmarked pages and opened up the blog she had been running for the past six months. Realizing that one day she would want to look back on her travels and relive them again, the blonde opted to create a travel blog. She reviewed the past several months of her life, bringing up both good and bad memories.

She spent most of her time in Italy, trying to visit as many cities as she possibly could. Starting in Venice she eventually moved to cities like Naples, Rome, and even Vatican City. Vienna was when she finally decided to leave Italy and it was followed by Prague and Warsaw. She traveled heading north east and then finally westbound towards Norway. She tried to do every insignificant thing possible in every city, but it was starting to get expensive, so she slowed it down to every significant thing she could afford to do in each city.

She was probably halfway through Rome when she realized she could use her talents to her advantage. She was roaming around Rome one day and she found a bunch of artist and musicians in the town square making use of their talents. They did everything from playing drums on the garbage cans to drawing caricatures. It was just like she saw in those old movies her dad would watch with her.

The following day, a very inspired Clarke headed out to the same area with her pencil and pad where she started drawing tourists for small donations. She honestly didn't make much those first days because they were just quick sketches, but she was mainly doing it because for those few hours she was doing something she loved and she got to meet and converse with so many different people from all around the world. So that's when she decided that she was going to make it a point to do this in every city possible.

It was actually a big part of her blog. After she drew all of her customers, she would ask if she could snap a picture of her drawing for her blog. She'd usually post their picture along with a little blurb about what she'd learn about them or even where they were from.

She scrolled through all those pictures along with all the other scenic photos she had been taking in those months. There was no way she was going home when she had barely made a crack in her travel plans and she realized she still had so much more to experience. The reason she left home was to run away from everything, but it became something much more than that.

Her decision was made as she opened up a new tab, creating a new email draft for a Mr. Cage Wallace. Not wanting to seem to eager and get taken advantage of, she opted to just ask him about the benefits and the requirements of the gig.

The two strangers emailed back and forth for a couple of weeks, trying to come up with a salary that was fair for both parties. When they had finally settled the final details of the contract, Cage and his father Dante, the CEO of Travelers of the Ark, invited the young blonde back to New York to sign the papers.

She had been gone for almost eight months at that point, and she had yet return to US soil even once. She couldn't yet. It was also too close to home. It was too close for comfort. She refused his offer and said that the only way she was going to agree to those terms and sign the paperwork was if the came to her.

After some convincing from Dante, Cage begrudgingly agreed to meet Clarke in the UK, London, England to be specific. They had a small office out there and the date was set for them to meet.

Clarke herself was actually ecstatic that they were supposed to meet in London. She had never been to the city and London was a great place to start her new journey. Now with Travelers of the Ark on her side, she could travel anywhere she wanted. She could go to Carnival or see the Northern Lights. She could go to Pride in Amsterdam and see a show at the Sydney Opera House. A whole world of opportunities were open and all she had to do was wear their clothing and use their equipment, as well as speak highly of their brand.

The following week Dante flew Clarke out to their office in London and she signed the papers, officially kick starting her new blog in London. That day was the birthdate of Grifscape.

Clarke suddenly awoke to the sound of a car backfiring and she quickly picked up her phone in an attempt to find out what time it was. "Damn it."

In her rush to sleep, she had completely forgotten to charge her phone. She brought her wrist up to her sight to check the time, but she hadn't charged her watch since the morning before her flight, so it was completely dead as well, "Fuck!"

Just her luck, she was in a strange city and she didn't even know the date or time. For all she knew, she could have slept for days, considering her new mattress had been one of the most comfortable beds she had ever slept on.

She swung her feet over to the side of the bed, got up quickly, immediately regretting it as the head rush hit her heavily and she found herself needing to steady herself against the wall. Shaking it off, she made her way to her carry on and rummaged through one of the front pockets, trying to find her charger. She finally found it, "Fuck me." She tossed the cord and the useless brick onto her bed, after realizing that she was now in America and her phone charger was ultimately useless.

She pulled out a towel and some fresh clean clothes, deciding that, if anything, she could at least take a shower. She opened her room peering out to see if anyone was in the main room, but when she found it empty, she stepped out into the hall, silently closing the door behind her.

She walked down to the end of the hall and made a right turn into the bathroom. She placed her items on the counter, where she found a note beside three small bottles, which contained shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. She picked up the note and read it with a smile.

I'm assuming you probably didn't have a chance to head to the store yet. I usually have some of these laying around in case some friends decide to stay over, but I'm sure you'd enjoy it more than any of them right now. I hope you have a successful first day in L.A. I had to head into work early, but text me if you need anything.

Miller.

P.S. I'm still down for Ikea tomorrow if you are. I need to pick up a few things anyways.

She was definitely blessed to find such a great roommate like Miller. She exchanged the note for the bottles and placed them neatly in the bath stall. The blonde stripped herself free of her dirty clothes and turned on the water, praying that it would heat up sooner rather than later.

Once it was hot enough, she jumped in and drowned herself in the steaming water, needing to wash away all of her nerves. Her day consisted of picking up a few necessities and then heading over to the large studio to check out her new gallery.

She was excited, but it was always nerve-racking starting over, especially because she really didn't know much about starting a gallery. She only knew as much as she had picked up from other gallery owners during her trip. She had the art aspect of it down, but the business aspect was definitely going to be a struggle.

When she exited the shower, she rapidly dried herself off and got changed, ready to leave her new apartment. She grabbed her phone and put it into her purse as she exited the residence, locking the door behind her.

She basked in the beautiful Los Angeles day and took a deep breath as she walked to the local Target nearby. As she walked the few blocks to the store she realized how strange it was for her to be crowded by Americans again. For the majority of the previous years she was surrounded by so many different foreign languages. At least if she got lost this time, she could stop and ask for directions with ease.

She quickly browsed the store and grabbed some of the things she needed including a new American charging brick and a portable charger for the time being.

The wandering blonde's stomach started growling by the time she had paid for her items and left the store. In that moment that she realized that she hadn't eaten since before she got on her final flight, because she slept through her meal on the flight. The famished girl plugged her phone into the portable charging brick and made her way around to corner to find something to eat.

Clarke was lucky, only having to walk a block before she found a small but crowded café to her left. She walked straight in, eager to find some food for her empty stomach.

The queue was only a few customers long, which gave her enough time to browse the menu. They had everything from salads to sandwiches, but she decided on a their turkey burger, as she hadn't had proper American food in years and she was really craving a burger. They didn't have any beef burgers, so she had to make do with the turkey one. "Next!"

Clarke stepped up to the counter and gave the small Hispanic woman behind the register a smile, "Hi! I'll have a turkey burger and a green tea espresso please!"

The lady was completely focused on the screen, "Turkey and green tea espresso. Okay! Anything else?" Clarke shook her head no and handed the woman her card. "Here or takeout?"

"Here. Thank you." After the woman handed Clarke her card back, she signed the receipt and walked outside finding herself a nice seat in the corner by the street. Sitting down she pulled out her phone and turned it on, glad she was finally able to tell the time.

It was only 3:15 PM which meant Clarke was only a little behind schedule. She had enough time to eat lunch before heading down to the studio to grab her key from the owner.

She placed her phone on the table and took in her surroundings, finding many people her age having lunch with each other and joking around. It reminded of her days back in D.C. but she made her choice and left, so it was a price she had to pay.

She looked up and found a beautiful, tan, dark haired girl walk up the steps and towards the entrance of the café. The girl's top rode up just a bit and Clarke could see a set of perfectly sculpted abs. She realized a little too late that she was staring averted her eyes up where she found that she was caught by the girl.

The other girl just chucked and winked at the now flustered blonde and continued her walk inside. Completely mortified now, Clarke picked her phone back up and decided to look up Ikea's website and start searching for furniture.

It wasn't long before her order arrived to the table and she was thankful because she honestly didn't think she was going to survive another five minutes.

Clarke bit into the burger and let out a satisfied moan. She hadn't had proper food in days and the burger definitely hit the spot. She was about to take another bite when the same girl from earlier walked by her table and whispered, "I'm sure I can make you moan louder than that."

Clarke was thanking every god that she had already swallowed her food because she was on the verge of choking on air when she heard the other girl's voice. Clarke sipped her drink and watched the stranger saunter away with a bag of food in her hand.

"I could get used to California," she said to herself before averting her attention back to her food.

"Lexa!" Raven called. "What did you want for lunch?"

"Whatever you aren't cooking!" Lexa replied from the sofa in the other room, chuckling to herself.

"RUDE!" Raven exclaimed walking in the room finding Lexa lying with a book in her hands. "I'm gonna buy you a potato. A raw fucking potato."

Lexa continued laughing placing the book on her stomach, but not getting up from her previous position. "Ask Officer Blake. She's still on her way home, right?"

Raven nodded and tapped away on her phone while Lexa put her full concentration back on the book. After several moments the girl finally said, "O says she doesn't care as long as she gets a cookie."

Lexa rolled her eyes, "Of course. Just get me a turkey burger from that place on Melrose. It's called Urth Caffé. They have the best organic chocolate chip cookies. Get her a couple of those. Oh yeah, and can you also get me a hot black dark roast?"

"Dude, your taste in coffee is atrocious. You drink like an old white man. Black coffee during the day and whiskey on the rocks at night. No wonder you don't date often. They must have a serious granddaddy complex if they come back for round two with you," Raven insulted. "Do you lure them in with Werther's Originals too? Sweeten the pot with some black licorice?"

Lexa shook her head with a small smile, "Sue me, I have a classic menu."

"If that's what you wanna call it. I'd call it a 55+ menu." Raven retorted again.

"Shouldn't you be out there getting food?" Lexa asked wanting nothing more than to be completely immersed in her new book.

"Fine." The shorter girl huffed, "Text me if you need anything else." She walked out of the room towards the front before yelling out, "I LOVE YOU, PAPPY!"

Lexa plainly ignored her and went back to her book, trying to get in as much peace and quiet before Octavia got home with Lincoln.

Officially, Octavia lived with both Raven and Lexa, but she had spent most of her nights at Lincoln's house when he wasn't working. They had been together for almost three years, meeting when Lincoln had showed up and saved their apartment.

They had been inseparable since and Lexa was glad because she found that they were perfect for each other. Octavia brought Lincoln out of his shell and Lincoln reels Octavia back in when she's ventured off too far.

Lexa was completely lost in her book, as she didn't hear her roommate return back home, "Lex! I'm back! With food! Are O and Linc back yet?"

"No!" Lexa replied, eyes still glued to the page.

"What are you talking about? We've been home for over 20 minutes!" They heard their other roommate yell from the top of the stairs.

"Hey, Lex! Hey, Raven!" Lincoln added coming out of the room hugging his girlfriend from behind.

"Oh. Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to the door." Lexa admitted. "Hi, Lincoln. Octavia."

They made their way down the stairs while Lexa sat up and put her book underneath the coffee table, making room for the group.

Raven walked over and placed the food on the table, "There was this cute blonde chick at the place. She was mad checking me out guys."

"Your ego is inflated enough. You really don't need another boost, do you?" Octavia joked as she pulled out her chicken salad and handed Lincoln his small pizza.

"She was staring at me and I winked and she got all cute and flustered. It was adorable, so I decided to try to make her choke on her food on the way out."

Lexa swallowed a bite of her food before commenting, "There you go. Raven Reyes, saving lives by night and assaulting the public by day. Raven, you really are the perfect citizen."

The table of friends laughed at her comment and continued to make small talk while they consumed their food and enjoyed their well-deserved day off.

By the end of their late lunch they had all decided to rest up and watch a movie or two before making their way down to Octavia's brother Bellamy's bar.

Raven mass texted the rest of their squad and they all decided to make it a group hangout.

Somewhere in between the first and second movie though, Lexa found herself fighting sleep and in the end sleep won.

Week 1

Octavia and Lexa sat on Lexa's bed with letter in the latter's hands, "It came this afternoon after I got out of class."

Octavia ripped the letter from the other girl's hands, shaking her head, rereading the letter again for the tenth time, "There's no way. This is Clarke we are talking about. She'll be back by next week. She just needed a break."

Lexa gently took that same piece of paper back, and folded it neatly before placing it back in the envelope it had arrived it. "You're right O, she'll have her moment of freedom and be back in no time," Lexa said reassuringly trying to comfort her friend.

"Let's just watch a movie," Lexa offered, tightly wrapping her left arm around the smaller one's shoulder as she turned on her laptop with her free hand.

The two of them spent the rest of the night in that exact position, neither of them needing or even wanting to move.

Week 2

"Any word from Griffter yet?" Octavia ask hopefully as she hopped on her roommate's bed.

Lexa was sat in her desk chair reading a new book, "Nope. Nothing. No new letter. No email. No text. Facebook still deactivated. Twitter still silent. Tumblr is still just a queue."

"How do you know it's a queue?" Octavia asked curiously as she played with her phone.

"I was there when she was adding to the queue and I remember some of those posts." Lexa replied blandly, not looking up from her book.

"Oh." Octavia instantaneously looked up from her phone at the other girl, "Hey! How come you get to know her user and not me?"

The girl in question laughed dryly, "I guess that's just one of my benefits."

"What other benefits do you have?"

"Picking her up from her one night stands," Lexa replied seemingly disinterested in anything besides the book she was holding.

Octavia laughed, "Okay, then I guess you deserve to know it."

Week 4

[Octavia] Still radio silence?

[Lexa] Not even white noise

[Octavia] Lexa, it's been a month. Maybe she wasn't kidding after all.

[Lexa] She was never kidding. We just expected her to get tired of it sooner.

[Octavia] Are we even sure she's okay?! What if something happened to her?

[Lexa] I'm sure she still has her I.D. on her. If anything happened I'm sure her mom would be notified. I talked to Mrs. Griffin the other day and she still hasn't heard anything new. She's losing her shit.

[Octavia] Damn Lex, I know she was strict on Clarke, but this was a new level of tantrum. I can't imagine what must be going through Mrs. G's head.

[Lexa] Same things going through ours but maybe just more intensified.

[Lexa] Keep your head up O. It's only been a month. She'll be back soon.

[Octavia] I hope so. I miss her. And you've been so busy with Costia. I swear I never see you anymore. It's like I lost both of my best friends.

[Lexa] We'll hang out next week after I get back from NY with Cos okay?

[Octavia] Promise?

[Lexa] Promise with a cherry on top.

Week 13

"She's not coming back is she?" Lexa jumped, startled by the sudden presence of the other girl in the room. Lexa was just sat on her floor, focusing at something on the carpet below her when Octavia walked in gloomily.

She just silently shook her head, never removing her focus from a strand of blonde hair on the ground that must have escaped her vacuums wrath earlier that day.

The girl by the door wordlessly made her way to the floor next to her friend, leaning her head on the other girl's shoulder when she finally sat.

They sat there quietly for what seemed like hours before Octavia spoke, "So what now?"

"Move on. Live our lives just like she is living hers." Lexa answered quietly.

"We're not even gonna look for her, Lex?" Octavia asked hopefully.

"She doesn't want us to, O." Lexa answered, this time a little louder than the last. "She doesn't need us." She continued getting louder with every word. "She doesn't fucking need us. So we don't fucking need her."

Lexa hastily stood up causing Octavia to fall over, as she no longer had a support for her head. "I'm tired of this shit, O! I'm tired of thinking about her. I'm tired of worrying about her. The whole world doesn't revolve around Clarke Griffin!"

At this point Lexa was close to screaming and the tears that she had been holding in for months started to stream down her face. "I'm tired of wondering if she going to come home! I'm tired of wondering where she is now! If she's got a place to sleep. Or fucking food to eat. Or if she's fucking dead in a ditch in the middle of fuck knows where!"

Octavia quickly rose to her feet and wrapped both her arms around her best friend trying her best to keep herself together because it was obvious that the other girl needed her right now, "I'm exhausted, Octavia. It's time to stop thinking about her because she's obviously never thought of us."

Octavia just stood there holding a crying Lexa for sometime before they got tired and moved to the bed. Lexa spent the rest of the night cuddled in the other girl's arms as they silently consoled the other with nothing but each other's presence.

After Clarke finished her meal, she walked the several blocks to her new studio, and picked the key to her future. After the paperwork was signed, her landlord Ms. Tsing left and she was left to her own in the large and empty room.

With a huge smile on her face, Clarke took in a deep breath and let it out. It was going to be a lot of work, but she knew that in the end it was going to be worth it. She was going to release her artwork and even give other struggling artists a chance at doing what they love for a living.

She walked into the back where there was a small room right besides a restroom and opened it's doors. It was a small room, but it had more than enough space to fit a desk and some filing cabinets.

She stepped back outside into the larger empty room and where others saw a bare room, she only saw potential. That room had the potential to be anything Clarke wanted, and she wanted it to be a success.

She spent the next couple hours daydreaming and planning the space before she realized that it was quickly getting dark and she should start walking back home. She took one last look at the room before locking it up carefully and leaving.

Another reason she loved Miller's apartment was because it was only a ten-minute walk from her studio. She had always hated driving, so she was glad when she found that everything was in walking distance. It gave her an excuse to not drive and get some air and light exercise every day.

It was dinnertime by the time she entered her new apartment and she was starting to feel hungry again. She found herself aimlessly walking into the kitchen and she smiled as she read the post-it note Miller had left her on the fridge, just as he had promised the previous day.

Blakeology.

Corner of Melrose and La Cienaga

Big red and white sign

Can't miss it

But if you do text me

I'll be there from 8 til closing

Hope to see you there!

REMEMBER THERE'S FREE FOOD

miller.

"Why not?" She asked herself aloud as she put the piece of paper in her wallet and walked into her bathroom to freshen up. She spent the next 15 minutes doing her makeup before she changed into a black blouse with dark skinny jeans, feeling like that had more of a bar vibe than what she had on previously.

She placed her watch on the now plugged in charging block and replaced it with a simpler analog one. The watch had originally belonged to her father and no matter where she went, she had always carried it with her. It didn't even work anymore but it was like a piece of him, and she never wanted to lose it.

The only other thing she had kept with her during her entire travels was a simple gold necklace with a small house shaped charm on it. That was the one thing she never took off. It was like a security blanket for her.

She double-checked herself in the mirror as she played with the charm between her fingers out of habit. Feeling completely satisfied with the way she looked, she left the home once again and made her way into the streets of West Hollywood.

The late winter air was crisp as she peacefully walked towards the bar. She had passed a few groups of friends, who were all enjoying their Friday nights, free of any worries. They all joked around, obviously buzzed at the very least as they made their ways into the local clubs and lounges.

Even at her calm pace, she quickly made it to her final destination, Blakeology. She walked inside and made her way straight to the bar where she saw Miller shaking up a drink for a taller blonde man who was clearly flirting shamelessly. He had his hand on her roommates forearm and threw his head back violently in laughter when Miller had said something.

That was when Miller looked up and made eye contact with Clarke, waving her over with a bright smile plastered on his face. He poured the man his drink as she walked over and the man left a 20 note on the counter before walking away towards his group to the side.

"You made it!" Miller said loudly over the music. "Grab a seat!" He grabbed a menu and handed it to her. "I'm going to give you this out of courtesy, but you should really order the Blaking Hell Burger. It's the only non-alcoholic item we are known for."

Clarke just nodded with a laugh putting her hand out to reject the menu, "Sounds great! I'll take one of those and a bottle of your best beer."

"Awesome. A BHB and a bottle of Swordfish coming right up!" Miller left the counter for a minute before coming right back to the blonde and handed her a bottle of beer with a drawing of a swordfish on the front.

"I thought you were the manager," she asked before taking a sip of the beer.

He started to reply as he wiped the counter clear of excess liquids, "I am, but one of our bartenders, Finn, is running late. I'm just holding the crowd off for him."

"Ahhh. I guess that's what you get for being a manager." Clarke replied with a nod.

"How's your first full day in L.A.?" He asked curiously as he waved at someone behind her.

"It was alright. I had lunch at Urth Caffé and I picked up my key for the studio. Over all I'd call today successful." Clarke replied with a smile.

He gave her a quick smile before he started to talk to someone behind her, "Hey! Is Monty here yet? I want to introduce him to my new roommate!"

Clarke turned around to face the person Miller was talking to and was met with a familiar brunette. "CLARKE?" And that was the last thing she saw before her face was met with the blunt force of her old friend's fist.

"Finally!" Raven exclaimed as she and her friends walked into Blakeology. "This was literally the longest week ever!"

"You always say that." Lexa mentioned with a scoff as she took a seat in the back of the bar. "Every week we get a drink here and every week you say that it was the longest week ever. In the words of Oprah, 'what is the truth?'"

"Technically every week could be longer than the last." Raven reasoned.

"Whatever ever you say." Lexa responded with a small smile wondering why she ever bothered to argue with the other girl.

They both sat there making small talk for several minutes before seeing Miller across the room behind the bar. Both of the girls threw a wave at their friend. That was when Raven spotted the blonde girl at the bar turn around. She had only been facing their direction for a total of two seconds when Raven watched their other roommate punch the familiar girl in the face.

"What the fuck?" Raven exclaimed.

"What?" Lexa asked completely immersed in her phone.

"The girl I was hitting on is at the bar… And O just totally wailed on her face!" Raven answered animatedly as she imitated the scene she just watched unfold.

Lexa, finally finding her interest, looked up at the bar and found the girl she had been dreaming to see for the past five years. "Clarke?"

Author's Note : Hey guys! How's it going? Hope you enjoyed my latest chapter. Tell me your thoughts. I should be updating soon. Thanks for reading!