Clarke woke up with a groan. She was definitely too tired to roll herself out of bed. Rolling over and looking at the clock she grimaced.
6:15 am. She didn't have to be at work for another four hours. But once she woke up in the morning, Clarke was never one to fall back asleep. Deciding to try and make the best of it she rolled herself out of bed and into the bathroom, hoping some hot water would motivate her to get moving.
Letting the hot water roll down her back and soothe her muscles Clarke sighed. She had work today then class tomorrow. Saturday classes were probably her favourite. She only knew Jasper and Monty in her Visual Arts class and they were going to be working on drawing models. She wasn't sure how excited she was at the thought of drawing someone nude but she was excited none the less. Rinsing her hair out she shut the hot water off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself.
She quietly snuck the bathroom and into her room, taking a seat at her desk and opening her laptop. She didn't have many people in the way of Facebook friends. Just her graduating class and a few people here and there. Jasper and Monty had been the first two people to add her from Uni, and Finn had been trying to add her but she had been successfully ignoring him. She didn't have the heart to block him.
After deleting all her requests to "Come play Candy Crush!" (Seriously what the hell was with that game?), she noticed the time. She had 2 hours before needing to be at the shop. Shivering a little she got up and threw on a pair of blue skinny jeans and a green and white baseball shirt. Deciding on a pony tail today instead of her regular braid. After fighting for a bit and trying to get the small wisps of side bangs out of her face she decided to give up and go find some breakfast.
Raven hated Clarke's cooking. Mostly because Raven was a protein shake and orange in the morning kinda girl, and Clarke was more into the full on fry up. Her Dad had been the best Sunday breakfast maker ever and even though it was only Friday, Clarke decided to splurge.
Grabbing eggs, bacon, and a pan she set off to work, making sure to grab out the supplies for a protein shake for when Raven woke up. Clarke was just plating things when Raven emerged.
"That smells amazing." She mumbled and Clarke grinned.
"Morning Sunshine! How'd you sleep?" she laughed and Raven let out a small laugh herself.
"Not too bad. Woke up sometime in the night. Thanks for the water by the way. That was a heaven sent." She groaned sitting herself at the breakfast bar.
Clarke grabbed out a second plate and began to dish up for Raven too. Raven only really ever liked Clarkes cooking drunk or hung over.
"How's your head?" Clarke asked.
"S'OK, I guess. I have a bit of a headache but nothing I wouldn't get from Wick." She joked and Clarke smiled. The two ate in relative silence before Clarke got up and began to put her plate in the dish washer.
"Nah don't worry about it. I got it." Raven said taking her plate for her. Clarke shrugged and thanked her before throwing her boots on and grabbing her jacket and a white scarf.
"I'm gonna head out, do you want me to bring anything home tonight?" She asked and Raven shook her head.
"I'm good. Have fun at work!" Raven smiled.
"Will do!" Clarke called as she shut the door behind her.
Starting up her car Clarke drove over to the Starbucks before work. Maybe Octavia would be there again and she could pay for her coffee.
Walking in she sniffed as the sudden change from cold to warm made her nose itchy. Sure enough, a bundle of dark hair and green waved at her from the counter.
"Hey Clarke!" Octavia smiled and Clarke grinned back.
"Morning! Can I get the usual?" she asked and Octavia smiled sadly.
"Yours will be the last one. We're practically out of the pumpkin spice." Clarke frowned too.
"Oh well. It was nice while it lasted right?" Clarke joked and Octavia laughed.
"Yeah. Let me finish up your drink then I can take my break!" She said happily and Clarke laughed. Octavia walked out from behind the counter and handed Clarke her latte, holding one of her own as well.
"Are you headed off to work again?" Octavia asked sipping her drink and Clarke nodded.
"Yeah. I have tomorrow off though for school. Speaking of which are you studying anything?" She asked and Octavia cocked her head to the side.
"What do you mean?"
"Like classes? What are you studying?" Clarke rephrased and Octavia's eyes widened a bit before she started giggling.
"No no! I'm only in high school! I mean, I graduate this year, but no I'm taking high school classes." Octavia laughed and Clarke laughed too.
"Oh wow then. You're still just a baby. I graduated 2 years ago. I thought you were my age!" Octavia beamed.
"Yeah I get that a lot. People say I'm mature for my age. Which I don't get because I'm pretty weird. I feel so much younger than everyone." She admitted and Clarke grinned.
"Well there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, I always feel like I'm a tiny old woman in a 19 and a half year old body." Octavia started laughing again.
"What are you studying then Clarke?" She asked sipping her drink again and Clarke stole another sip before responding.
"I'm studying to be an Art Teacher. I don't need a teaching degree to teach at Ark Secondary because they mostly just want me to have a Fine Arts degree, and since that's what I was taking before I went to the school and asked about the Art Department, I made a deal with the principal there and he's going to let me teach there in a few years when I'm done my degree." Clarke smiled and Octavia's eyes widened.
"You're an artist? That's so cool!" She babbled and Clarke chuckled, blushing a bit.
"Yeah, it's pretty fun. But tomorrow we're drawing nude models and I'm not sure how excited about that I am." Clarke said with a slight grimace. Octavia laughed.
"Well I'm sure you'll be amazing at it!" Clarke scoffed.
"You haven't even seen me draw anything!" she protested as Octavia shook her head.
"Nah I got a good feeling about you. I think that you'll be great at it. Besides you can show me your drawings next time you come in yeah? And we can laugh about those naked models." Octavia winked and Clarke grinned. This was the start of a great friendship.
"My break's almost over so I'm gonna head back. See you tomorrow?" Octavia asked and Clarke nodded.
"I'll try to stop by after classes." She smiled, handing Octavia the change for their drinks. Octavia grinned.
"You know, you're a good friend Clarke. I'll see you later ok!" Octavia smiled as she scuttled back to the counter. Clarke blushed, before tightly winding her scarf around her neck and heading back to her car.
Nude models, Clarke decided, were most definitely not her thing. After drawing 3 large men and 2 women, Clarke was sufficiently pink. Never before had she blushed so much. not that Clarke had any issues with nudity or her own body for that matter (Even though she knew she was flawed. It was a constant battle between loving herself one day, and only being able to see flaws the next.), something about staring at someone else's body and not being intimate with them felt strange. She couldn't wait to go back to scenery.
Breathing in deeply the forest air or Ark, she smiled. She would show Octavia her portrait today. Clarke had decided that maybe even showing her would be OK. Clarke wasn't sure if Octavia would get irritated or creeped out by Clarke drawing her, but based off her response to Clarke telling her that she was an artist she hoped it would be OK. maybe she's even pose and let Clarke finish the picture. Clarke had gotten all the shading in the face done, but Clarke felt like the eyes were off. Octavia's eyes were such an interesting shade of blue, a clarity like ice that was difficult to capture in graphite. So Clarke had opted to colour the irises in, leaving the rest of the portrait in black and white.
Grabbing her bag and making sure her sketch book was inside it, Clarke left the warmth of her car and walked up to the Starbucks. Clarke remarked drolly in her head that she had been spending a lot of time here lately.
"Hey Pumpkin Spice!" Octavia greeted happily as Clarke walked in.
"Hey Octavia." Clarke smiled. "Can I get a peppermint mocha?"
"Sure thing. Grande OK?" Octavia asked, reaching for the cups.
"Better make it a venti, Sinclair has me on closing duty tonight." Clarke sighed and Octavia nodded.
"Sure thing. That's $5.25."
"So how's work today?" Clarke asked as she handed Octavia her change and moved over to the serving counter.
"It's pretty good. My brother has work tonight so he can't pick me up, looks like I'm walking it!" She said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Clarke frowned.
"Do you want a ride? My shift doesn't start for and hour and half, two hours. I could drive you home when you get off before then." Clarke offered and Octavia's eyes lit up.
"Really? I get off in an hour! Are you sure you don't mind?" She asked, handing Clarke her coffee and Clarke shrugged.
"I don't have anywhere to be." Octavia beamed.
"Thanks Clarke. You're awesome!" Clarke laughed.
"Well I have to make sure you don't get frostbite on the way home. Otherwise who would make me my coffee?" She asked cheekily and Octavia stuck her tongue out at her.
"Meanie."
Clarke sat in the large comfy chairs by the window until Octavia finished her shift. She worked on the portrait until she was sure that there was no more that could be done to the picture. Clarke beamed happily at the portrait for a full minute. Rarely is an artist happy with their work, and her the bridge of her nose might have not been in perfect proportion to her eye brows, but Clarke knew when to call it quits so she didn't drive herself insane over things.
"Is that me?" A voice asked quietly and Clarke jumped.
"Jesus you scared me!" Clarke said trying to hide her blush, turning to look back Octavia stared wide eyed at the page.
"Did you draw me?" She asked in disbelief and Clarke shifted uncomfortable under her gaze.
"Yeah. I needed something to draw and you were here and I, uh, yeah I did." Clarke stuttered and Octavia gently took the picture out of Clarke's hands, still staring.
"It's amazing." She said quietly. "Clarke you made me look beautiful!" She exclaimed and Clarke rolled her eyes.
"I couldn't draw it if it wasn't there already." She said shrugging and Octavia lept up and grabbed her in a massive hug.
"Thank you. No one's ever told me that I'm pretty before. Well besides my brother but I don't think that he counts." She said into Clarke's hair and Clarke laughed.
"You aren't pretty. You're stunning." She smiled hugging her back.
"Now c'mon, what do you say we get you home?" Clarke offered and Octavia pulled back and nodded happily.
"You can tear it out and keep it if you want." Clarke said grabbing her bag and Octavia some how managed to break out into and even wider grin.
"Really? You have to sign it first then. So that when you become huge and famous I can have something to show off one day and say "I knew her way back when"!" Octavia teased and Clarke laughed, taking out a black pen and signing her first initial and her last name.
"Griffin?" Octavia asked as the pair walked out the door.
"Yep."
"Ok so you just make a left here and it's the last town house on the right hand side." Octavia instructed as Clarke pulled into the Arcadia Complex. it was a nice little housing system made up of two floor homes. The many speed bumps, Clarke noted, she could do without.
"Thanks so much for the picture Clarke. It truly is stunning." Octavia beamed and Clarke smiled.
"Sure thing Octavia." She waved.
"You can call me O, if, if you want. That's what Bell calls me sometimes." Octavia said shyly and Clarke giggled.
"Okay there O." She said warmly and Octavia grinned.
"See you later! You should come hang out sometime!" Octavia waved as she unlocked the door and walked inside her home. Clarke briefly spotted pale grey walls in the entry way of the home before Octavia shut the door. As she drove away she had the fleeting thought that the wreath on the door looked similar to the ones they sold at Sinclair's.
Yaaaaaaay 6th chapter! from what I've read in the reviews everyone is liking the story so far and I'm really glad you all are finding it so interesting! I'm doing my best to write and I write chapters in advance in my third block class and usually post them whenever the mood is right so I hope that's OK for everyone. I'm never good with keeping a set day in the week to update things, just because i forget or get writers block or I'm just being lazy so I usually have 2 or 3 chapters written in advance.
Please leave a review and I hope you guys liked this chapter. Bye! :)