If anyone asked me what happened at the funeral, I wouldn't have been able to provide any details. It was nothing but a blur for me which was fine. Raven had driven us to the funeral and back.

Following me up the stairs, Raven said, "So, that just happened."

I looked over my shoulder and replied, "It did. Please tell me that the guys have a plan to make today more bearable."

She gave me a wicked grin and said, "They do indeed, my dear. So, hurry up and change. Hey, you got something I can wear?"

We walked into my room and I replied, "I thought you brought some with you?"

"Well, I did, but it's in the car," she said, whining slightly.

"Then go get it," I replied. "You know my clothes will not fit you. You're too skinny."

She sighed heavily and pouted, "That's not nice and your face is telling me something completely different."

"My face is not telling you a damn thing, Rae," I said, turning around quickly so that she couldn't see me blushing because I had been imagining her in my clothes. "Just run back downstairs and grab your clothes."

"Fine," she huffed and left to go get her clothes.

I quickly changed into my favorite pair of jeans, tank, and boots all before Raven had made it back to my room. Raven stopped short when she saw me and her eyes strayed to my shoulder.

"That is one gnarly scar, Clarke," she said.

I looked down at my shoulder and stared at it, "It is what it is, Rae. Doc says that I'll probably never get full range of motion again. I'm more upset with the fact that I look like one of those chicks from the 90's. You know the ones that only shaved half their head. I cannot wait for my hair to grow back."

"Well, you could always shave the other side," she said as she started changing. "You know, give yourself a Mohawk."

"I don't think so," I replied, smiling and shaking my head. "No way am I going to subject myself to looking like a punk rocker. Next, you'll be telling me I should dye my hair some bright ass color."

"It'd give your fans something to talk about," she said smirking. "You know, besides how beautiful your paintings are. Might even drive the prices up. Tragedy strikes hot artist into angsty woman. That's newsworthy."

"Please," I scoffed. "That image would completely contradict my paintings. Peaceful versus angsty. That is a solid no."

She had finished changing and I took a moment to let my eyes roam the length of her. From her calf hugging boots, up her legs in a form fitting black pair of jeans, to her own dark red tank top with a black Carhartt work jacket.

"Like what you see," she said, teasingly.

I swallowed thickly and replied, "You know damn well, I do. God, why do you have to be so beautiful and as straight as they come."

She laughed heartily and said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, "Sorry, babe. Can't make myself ugly."

"Argh," I replied and stood up, "Let's just get out of here. I need to get drunk."

"Well, that can certainly happen tonight," she replied. "Let's go."

We clambered down the stairs and we hugged my mom goodbye. We got in her car and headed deeper into the forest. We reached the clearing that was nearly a second home for us. The guys had already built a bonfire and we could hear loud music blaring from one of their trucks. Stepping out, we made our way to the group and before I knew it, I'd already downed two cups of beer.

"I'm glad you could make it, Clarke," Octavia said as she came over to me and gave me a hug.

I grinned as I felt my body start to relax and replied, "Wouldn't miss it for the world, O. I've missed you guys."

"Well, come on," she said tugging me closer to the fire. "This is the night to forget our worries and just enjoy what the night has to offer."

"My lady," Bellamy said, smiling and bowing to me. "It is an honor to be in the presence of such a beautiful creature as yourself."

I laughed and pushed him, "Oh, shut up with that crap, Bell. You spend way too much time with your nose in those damn books."

He laughed and replied, "We love what we love. Mine happens to be classical literature and yours happens to be art. To each his own."

"And you should be teaching at some university and not at our high school. You were meant for much greater things than babysitting those little beasts."

"We were once those little beasts, Clarke."

"Hah, as if we were ever little," I said, taking a drink from my cup. "You're just too damn good of a person to stay here."

He shrugged and said, "There's not many places where we can easily blend in with the masses."

"True, but that doesn't mean we have to be stuck in this one horse town."

"Always the dreamer," he said, smiling gently. "I'm sorry that Jaha isn't giving you choice."

I shrugged, "It is what it is, Bell. I was only stalling the inevitable."

"Yeah, well, the inevitable can suck my tits," Harper said as she laid an arm around my shoulder, making me wince slightly from the pressure on my shoulder. "You should be allowed to take on Jaha. The town would benefit from you."

I blushed and replied, "Thanks, Harper, but the laws won't ever change. So, I've got a month to find a place and get out of dodge before the hangman comes a'calling."

"Is he serious about that? That's just cold."

"Laws are laws and I'm a female with Alpha potential. I leave on my own two feet or find myself in a coffin, six feet under."

"Ugh, that's enough doomsday talk," Raven said loudly as she came back over. "This is a party! Let's get our asses drunk!"

There was a loud cheer and we all proceeded to make it happen.

The night turned to day and I woke up bleary eyed with a massive hangover. I felt a weight beside me and I turned my head to find Bellamy curled up behind me. I smiled and gently lifted his arm that had been around my waist off of me and slowly got up. He made a noise that sounded like a huff and curled his arm across his chest, his face in a brief frown before it relaxed again.

I sighed and smiled sadly. If things had turned out differently, I could imagine that we would've dated at some point. He was just too low in the pecking order to be even considered dateable.

I looked around the remnants of last night's revelry, at the bodies currently in slumber, and wished that this could still be a part of my life. I shook my head to dispel the sadness and stepped out of the clearing. I stripped and shifted, running through the familiar forest, memorizing every last bit of it before I had to say goodbye for good.

When I got back, everyone was nearly awake and someone had started a fire, the smell of coffee wafting through the air. I walked back into the clearing, pulling my bomber jacket on, and made my way to the coffee. Nate was tending the fire and he looked up at me, smiling.

"Have a good run," he asked as he handed me a mug.

I nodded and crouched down by him, rubbing my shoulder and replied, "Yeah, it was good, but it looks like my shoulder is shot. I was only able to run about two miles before it became too painful."

"I'm sorry about that," he said sympathetically.

I shrugged and taking a sip of the still hot coffee, replied, "It's fine. The good news is that both plates molded well to the shift."

"That is good to hear. The oatmeal's almost ready," he said, nodding to the large pot next to the coffee.

"Great, because I'm starving," I said, chuckling.

I got up and wandered over to where I saw Raven and Bellamy talking quietly. They looked up, startled, hearing me approach. My brow creased in worry when I saw their expressions.

"Alright," I said, "What's going on?"

They looked at one another and Raven shrugged.

Bellamy looked at me and replied, "We've been talking about something since we graduated and we're not sure how you're going to take it."

I crossed my arms and stared at them hard, "What have you been talking about?"

"Well," Raven said, grabbing my arm and moving us closer to the fire, "we made a pact. Me, Bellamy, Octavia, Harper, Monty, Nate, and Jasper. We decided that if you were ever forced to leave the pack, we'd come with you."

"No, absolutely not," I said, adamantly. "I can't let you do that. You all have lives here. Going with me means that you no longer exist to the pack. You'd lose your families. Your homes. Everything."

"Clarke," Bellamy said gently, "Some of us don't have family holding us here. The rest of us don't really fit the mold that Jaha wants us to project. We'd honestly be doing Jaha and the pack a favor by leaving on our own."

"If y'all leave with me, it would look like I'm forming my own pack with his people," I argued. "There's no way, he'd let that happen."

"We thought about that too," Monty said, coming up and joining us. "We just stagger our departures over a few days. Meet up somewhere down the road. Some of us will get 'lost' on our way to whatever destination we were headed to and just never return."

"And you know," Nate said, carrying a several bowls with him, "the only reason why I haven't been thrown out is because of my pops. Being the son of the Chief Deputy can only get me so far. So, my leaving would help him out a lot. It wouldn't even look bad, if I left with you."

"If you really think about it, Clarke," Raven said after swallowing a mouthful of oatmeal. "We've been our own little pack since we've were kids. We've always stuck together."

"You'd guys would follow anyway, wouldn't you," I said, sighing heavily.

Everyone cracked a huge smile and nodded.

"Fuck," I said crossly. "Fine. At least I've got the damn money to find a big place. Just make sure y'all keep your damn traps shut about this."

They all whooped and hollered, making me smile slightly. It didn't look like I'd have everything taken away from me.