Chapter 2
Clarke had just gotten out of the shower when she heard her phone ring. She looked at the screen and let out a little sigh when she saw Octavia's number. The younger girl had been calling her non-stop for the past few days, gushing over a new guy she had met. Clarke imagined the call would last a minimum of 40 minutes, and her curly, blonde hair would frizz out if she did not deal with them before they dried.
"What now, O.?" she answered the phone regardless.
"You are gonna love me, that's what!" said the girl gingerly.
"I already do." smiled Clarke. Octavia was a bit much when excited but Clarke loved seeing her so happy. "What's up?" she asked, sitting down on her bed, preparing herself for a long reply.
"We are going to a bonfire tonight!" Octavia almost squealed over the phone.
"We what now?"
"Lincoln is having a bonfire with his friends tonight and we are going. It's going to be so romantic! I can't wait to..."
"I don't know Octavia." interrupted Clarke.
"What do you mean? You love that kinda stuff. Aren't you the one who always complains that we never do bonfires every single time we walk by the beach and see other people's?"
"Yes, but I'm also the one who doesn't like crashing other people's fun."
"We were invited, Clarke."
"YOU were invited."
"He said to bring my friends too."
"He was being nice..."
"Clarke, stop! What is it with you and fun?" sighed Octavia. "You don't need to overanalyze everything. We are going and it is going to be great. I've already told Raven and Monty and they're game. I thought you might like to invite, oh I don't know, Finn maybe?"
"Are you still trying to make that happen?" Clarke rolled her eyes. "Finn and I don't work like that. We've tried. We are better off as friends."
"Okay, okay, fine! Maybe you'll meet someone there tonight, who knows?"
"I think they hardly even want us there..."
"I'm hanging up now. I'll text you the details. You're bringing your guitar." Octavia yelled and hung up before Clarke had time to protest the idea.
Octavia had been in foster care most of her life and more often than not she hadn't gotten it very easy. She had recently turned 19 and with a little help from Clarke's family she was slowly starting to build a better life for herself. She was a fighter if Clarke had ever seen one, but knowing where she came from, Clarke could easily see the pain she was fostering inside and it was difficult to say no to her. She looked at her guitar. Maybe it was not a bad idea to bring it with after all. Clarke loved to play and if it was awkward around Lincoln's friends, she would at least have something to distract herself with. Besides, "Music makes everything better." as her dad often said while teaching her the chords. He would have liked Octavia; the two of them were cut from the same cloth, Clarke thought to herself. She looked at her clock and shot off the bed. It was almost time to babysit her baby brother while her mum and step-dad headed to a last minute city council meeting. She got dressed quickly and stared at her frizzy hair in the mirror. With a swift motion she put half of them up in a messy bun and right on cue, her mum called up to her and she headed downstairs.
Jacob was in his dad's arms, sucking on his thumb. When Clarke stepped closer to them, he smiled up to her and stretched his little arms out for her to pick him up.
"Thanks again, Clarke." said Kane while handing her the baby. "I hope you did not have any plans this morning."
"Don't worry about it. It's my pleasure. I love the little dude."
Clarke really did enjoy spending time with her little brother. He was such a good baby too, never gave her any grief. He loved to sleep a lot as well, which meant she could take a few moments to focus on her art. She liked to draw silly animals and monsters that she would make up stories about and tell Jacob when he would wake up. The characters that he seemed most fascinated by, she would colour in and hang around his room.
She was fixing up some snacks for the both of them, humming a melody she came up with mimicking Jacob's bubbling noises when she heard a knock on the door.
"Orion full on made out with me out there." Raven said, wiping her mouth with her top. "When will he accept that I am not into guys?"
"He is a dog, Raven. And you love him." Clarke laughed, heading back to the kitchen after letting her friend in.
"Just about the only male i'd ever let tongue kiss me!"
"You're forgetting Finn."
"I'll fucking kill you."
"I'm kidding."
"I was young, naive, drunk. What with that long hair, I probably thought he..."
"...he was a girl." Clarke finished her sentence. "I know, I know. I was just joking, Rav."
"I don't appreciate the joke." frowned the girl. She had her brown hair up in a ponytail and her work clothes were stained with grease and car oils.
"I thought having kissed the same person automatically gave me teasing rights." said Clarke and put the plate with the sandwich she had made for herself in front of Raven.
"Your sister thinks she can buy me with food." Raven looked at Jacob. He was sitting on his high chair, munching on some fruit Clarke had cut up for him earlier, not paying any attention. "And she's right." she continued, taking a big bite out of the tuna mayo sandwich. Unlike the guys that worked with her at the auto body shop, she did not have anyone to pack her a lunch. So during her break she would usually go into a café nearby to eat, or Clarke would bring her a portion of whatever they had had for lunch that day.
"You going to this thing tonight?" Raven asked in between bites.
"I don't think Octavia left me much of a choice. Apparently, I'm performing a few songs too." Clarke sat opposite the girl with a new sandwich.
"Of course you are." Raven said with a chuckle, almost choking on a piece of bread. "Not that I am complaining though."
"You don't even like the kind of songs I sing."
"Shut up! It's highly entertaining to watch everyone's jaw drop when you open your mouth."
"Fair enough."
"I'm going for the hot chicks anyway."
"I think you might be setting yourself up for disappointment."
"You did not just question my flirting abilities." Raven raised an eyebrow.
"Not even a little bit." Clarke replied, her cheeks turning a little red suddenly. She had met Raven at an LGBTQ party years ago. It was Clarke's first such event. She had gone alone and had spent most of the night being too self-aware to have any kind of fun. She vividly remembered seeing Raven for the first time. She was very hard to miss. Not only was she stunning but she exuded such confidence and charm that she had heads turning everywhere. She had been wearing skinny jeans and a sleeveless top, perfectly accentuating her athletic figure. By the way she was working the room, Clarke had immediately picked up the player vibe off of her, but when Raven approached her it was not hard to see why all the girls fell for it. And that was just about the last thing Clarke remembered from that night before blacking out from all the 'liquid courage' she had been consuming. She had woken up the next morning, on Raven's couch with a wet cloth on her forehead and a full tray of breakfast food, plus two aspirin tablets on the table next to her. Raven had left her a note saying she had to go to work but to feel free to use the shower or whatever else she needed. Clarke went to thank her the next day with a plate of homemade brownies and, since the way to Raven's heart had always been through her stomach, they became fast friends.
"Damn right!" Raven said and carried her plate to the sink. She took a quick look at her watch and let out a sigh. "See you tonight, then."
"Yea, see you tonight." said Clarke softly while wiping the fruit juices off Jacob's hands, chin and chair.
"Thank you for lunch." Raven said and gave Clarke's shoulder a rub and the girl smiled up to her. Before heading for the door she patted Jacob's head. "Bye, J-man." she said and the baby waved goodbye.
Clarke put her brother down for a nap with a little song and took out her drawing pad. Absent mindedly she sketched a bonfire low on the paper, the smoke rising up to form two human figures intertwined. She looked at it and shook her head. Octavia and Raven had gotten into her head about the romantic nature of a beach fire. The idea of love was one she had started to give up on for herself. She was 21 and had never once even gotten close to falling in love. She drew a dinosaur holding a towel to dry over the fire to cover the smoke figures. Jacob liked dinosaurs she thought and smiled to herself.
