"So, Clarke, you interested in coming with Octavia and I to Grounders tonight? Meeting the rest of the gang and experience the nonstop excitement of Arcadia nightlife?" Bellamy asks her on the drive back from the river.

"Why not, I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

Once they get back to the house, it's closer to five o'clock; Clarke showers, and takes extra care with her appearance, she wants all of Bellamy and Octavia's friends to like her, their acceptance would make the next few days pass more easily. She decides to keep her hair down, taking a few strands from the front and pinning them at the crown of her head to keep her hair out of her face, and limits her makeup to mascara and chapstick.

She had included a pair of jeans when she packed, she's proud of her body, loving the way her favorite low rise pair helps to show off her curves. She picks up a dusky rose colored top with a burn out back and loose half sleeves, which she had originally bought to wear over her swimsuit, and pulls it on over the olive grey tank she'd almost worn earlier today. There's a knock on the door and she's pleasantly surprised to see Octavia, not Bellamy, on the other side; apparently having returned from her earlier errand.

Clarke takes a moment to observe the other woman's outfit. The lean brunette is wearing a gray tunic style top with a bit of ruffle at the bottom and black skinny jeans . Relaxed and feminine, Clarke felt more comfortable that she'd chosen an equally appropriate outfit. She just needed to relax and stop feeling like she was on display for one of her mother's fancy dinners.

"Hey! You look great! Bell wanted me to check to see if you were almost ready. We usually head out around 6 when we're all meeting at Grounders, but with the slight delay everyone must be dying of curiosity. You wouldn't believe how persistent Raven was earlier when she was asking about you. I'm pretty stubborn, she didn't get anything outta me. Told her she'd have to wait like everyone else to find out about the mystery truck." Octavia said as she entered the room, sitting on the edge of the bed watching Clarke put on her shoes, a well worn pair of converse.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting any longer. Shall we?"


It was a bit of a walk to Grounders, which, when calling it a bar, was selling it short; but calling it "Grounders Bar and Grill and Dancehall and Billiards" wouldn't fit on the moniker. From the outside, it had a very rustic, hole in wall, bar in a country song look, but once you walked inside, it was like the someone took the Tardis approach and turned it into the one stop shop for Arcadia's 21 and up crowd.

Originally, Clarke was nervous about not having had lunch or dinner, but there was a larger selection of food than what she was expecting. There were booths lining half the perimeter, starting at the front of the house, with a full bar to the right of the door, and tables and chairs leading to the small dance floor at the back of the building, with several pool tables to the side. There was a good mix of people, a few girls dancing, some sitting and eating, others shooting pool. Upon closer inspection, she recognized the two men that were at one of the pool tables, Miller and Murphy. They were conversing with a group of men and women at a nearby table,they were all clearly enjoying their night. She was almost 100% positive this was the group of friends she was to meet.

"We're back bitches!" Octavia greets the group at the table, consisting of two guys and three girls.

"It's about time y'all got here! we'd have to send Miller and Murph to find you!" A boisterous brunette greeted them as they got closer to the group. "Hello there. I'm Raven Reyes. Guys, bring some more chairs!" She came around the table from where she had been sitting, enveloped Octavia in a hug and threaded her arm through Clarke's as she directed her to the rest of the group. Bellamy followed the three women, smiled and gave everyone a quick wave, but then made his way over to his co-workers, Clarke sent the two cops a small wave in greeting, a flicker of her fingers.

"So, let me introduce everyone to you and then you can tell us all about yourself." Raven brings her over to a new seat placed to the left of the one in which she had been sitting, Octavia went to the seat to Clarke's left.

Octavia proceeds to introduce the individuals at the table, she recalls bits of and pieces of her conversation with Bellamy from the night before and can put names to the stories she was told. She smiles and nods at each member as Octavia names them one by one. There's Monty Green and Jasper Jordan, the moonshiners who've also been best friends since birth, the self-proclaimed "brilliant masterminds behind a few of the house brews on the menu and even more that are not"; and Maya Vie, Jasper's more even tempered girlfriend. Lastly, Harper Reese, a quiet girl that seemed shy, but turned out to be quite the feisty wildcat once Murphy came from behind her to steal what looked like the last hot wing from her plate.

Clarke introduced herself, and was quickly bombarded with question after question- where is she from, what brings her to Arcadia, how long will she be here for, how does she know Bellamy, the usually icebreakers. Until Murphy, casually leaning on his pool cue as he rests his chin on her shoulder, pipes in- "She's a guest of the town of Arcadia. Bellamy popped her for indecent exposure and he can't resist a pretty face. That's why she's staying with him and not in lock up with the other delinquents."

Everyone's stunned speechless, it's one of those moments where it's so crazy it just might be true, but thankfully Harper calls Murphy out on his bullshit with a playful elbow to his stomach. "John, be serious." She giggles and the two make eye contact, alluding to a private joke of which the rest of the group is blissfully unaware. "Really, what in the world brings someone to Arcadia? Especially from out of state?" Harper asks as she turns her attention back to the table.

"It really isn't as exciting as you'd think. I was passing through the area and my car gave me some trouble. Bellamy came across me while I was stranded in the middle of nowhere and was kind enough to help me out. He needed to stop back at the police station to pick up what he needed to get me back on my way, hence meeting the guys while they were on duty at the station. It was the end of his shift and I had already been driving for way too long to safely continue and he offered me the use of their guest room to rest." The group nodded in understanding, and as Clarke explained that she was taking a road trip while on summer break from studying to become a doctor; the three cops went back to their game of pool.

"Well, I think it's such a great thing to be able to see what the world outside has to offer. Don't get me wrong, I love living here, but sometimes I feel like I'm never going to go any further than Mount Weather." Maya said as she sipped her drink, the young woman also studying medicine, but at nearby Mount Weather University. She worked in the town's hospital, helping Dr. Nyko, the general physician when she's not in class or studying. "But I totally get the feeling of never having any downtime. It always feels like the moment I leave the clinic I'm right back in there."

"Right, well, enough of this, I'm thirsty. Drinks? Everyone? Yes?" Jasper gets up from where he's sitting and Monty goes to accompany him to the bar, leaving the girls to continue to chat and eat. She's right at ease with the four women, laughing like old friends, especially when Raven tells Clarke that the slogan for the guys' beer "Change the tide of your night" came from Monty trying to find the moon so he could change the ocean's tides while on a bad trip.

As Jasper and Monty return with a bottled beer for everyone, they join in the chatter. Clarke tells the occasional anecdote about dealing with drunk frat boys, both at parties and in the campus clinic, and then the embarrassing time she had to chase down a naked three year old in the hospital while interning at the hospital where her mother was one of the lead surgeons. "It was horrible, he somehow managed to lather himself in lotion or triple antibiotic and was slipping out of everyone's grip." The group is roaring with laughter, no doubt imagining a group of hospital staff trying to round up a hyped up child, lubed up like a greased pig.

"So Octavia, has Bellamy lightened up about Lincoln yet?" Harper asked as she reached for the basket of chips and salsa sitting in the center of the table.

"I think he finally has, it's definitely less stressful approaching conversations about dates or spending time with him." Octavia answers and she smiles, the fact that she's completely smitten with Lincoln evident on her face.

"Well, speak of the devil." Jasper adds, and the group looks towards the door. There's two men, both tall, one being a mustached blond and the other, if she recalled Bellamy's description, is Lincoln. What is in the water in this town? The guys are hot!

The two men make their way to the table, the blonde man going to Raven's side, and Lincoln makes his way to Octavia and he plants a kiss to the top of her head. "Clarke, this is Wick, the damn engineer and owner of this place" Raven gestures to the man next to her.

"And this is Lincoln." Octavia says and she wraps one arm around the man's waist and leans her head against his chest. "Hey babe, you're not the newbie in town anymore. That honor goes to Clarke here. She just got in last night." He smiles in greeting.

"Lincoln, I hear you're an artist!" Clarke asks, and the two begin to discuss everything from artists, to favorite pieces, medium of choice and whether selling as a private commission is an option for either of them. Chatter around the table increases and Bellamy, Miller, and Murphy come by the table every now and then, joining in or telling a tale of their own, sneaking bits of chips or other appetizers the group is indulging in, mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, and fried mushrooms.

The group is now laughing at the retelling of that time everyone waiting to hear their current class rankings got higher than a kite when that "bitch of a guidance counselor" had her favorite incense mysteriously replaced with weed in what was an effort to get her fired. She had dared to suggest that Monty and Jasper could better devote their talents to respectable jobs than trying to develop a winning entry for a nationwide microbrew contest. She'd constantly spoken down to everyone, and tried to undermine the school's administration resulting in her having earned the hatred of the student body. Chief Kane was more than overjoyed at the opportunity to hear she had contributed to the delinquency of minors, but she fled the town before he could arrest her. They'd disagreed on many things, one major topic being security at the high school. "Seeing as he knew someone, or certain someones, were behind the herbal exchange, but he just couldn't prove it because all the evidence went up in smoke." The group roared at Monty's play on words.

"So he decided to not file charges against anyone. And Miss Sydney never came back. Good riddance to bad rubbish." Jasper finished. The duo high fived one another in their own way, still pleased at antics of their younger selves. "And our talents and brilliance resulted in quite the golden goose."

"But there was nothing more funny than having to reassure the debate team captain he was 'the most beautiful broom in a broom closet full of brooms'" the group, minus Lincoln, Wick, and Clarke chimed in on the quote. "And seeing him in the yearbook with that as his Senior Superlative. Brilliant." Raven said as Jasper got up from the table, with a peck to Maya's cheek.

"Alright guys, we whipped up a new batch of 'shine. Wanted to see what y'all think before we launch this in a few weeks for the Fourth of July celebration." Monty says as they see Jasper go behind the bar. "Plus, I just got the newest expansion pack for Cards Against Humanity." He pulls out the deck and by now, the whole group has expanded to three tables. Bellamy sitting between Octavia and Miller, and Murphy next to Harper. She still thinks Murphy's an ass, but is surprised to see him acting civil to the other girl, offering to share the last fried mushroom with her.

Jasper comes back as the cards are dealt, pouring everyone a glass from a junior sized keg.

"I'd like to propose a toast," Octavia says, her words begin to slur and Clarke tries to remember exactly what round of drinks they're about to indulge in, "to friendships, both new and old." Everyone lifts their glasses to one another and to Harper's embarrassment, she going to be the one to play the first black card of the night - "If found unconscious, please attempt the following:"

Clarke takes a drink of the newest brew, a rich, molasses tasting beer with a warm finish. She has to admit it, the duo is sure to make a pretty penny with this one. She savors the taste on her tongue and takes a look at her white cards to find which one would either make the most sense, or be completely, off the wall hilarious. To spice up the game, at the end of each round the "losers" have to take a shot. The groups is having so much fun, not caring for the time, and of course being with the owner of the bar, not getting kicked out at closing time is quite the advantage.

Wick, Bellamy, and quite surprisingly, Murphy are the ones with the most black cards and with the addition of Miller, the most sober. Raven, Octavia and Clarke are slumped against each other, giggling every time Harper plays a card with the word "Penis" on it, which is almost every other round, the poor girl turning more and more red. The night begins to wind down as the more sober members of the party start picking up the plates and cups, not wanting to leave a mess behind for the employees at their next shift. Wick goes to help Raven to the chair in his office so he can get said dishes clean before they head back to his apartment.

The group begins to head their separate ways with Jasper, Maya and Monty getting a lift from Miller. Murphy and Harper are leaving together, hand in hand, he's a big softy after all. He's still abrasive and sarcastic, but as Clarke discovered, it's his overall demeanor and his comments the night before were just Murphy being Murphy.

Lincoln and Bellamy are speaking softly and Octavia is halfway asleep with her chin propped up in her palm, her eyes heavy lidded. Bellamy nods his head, and Lincoln goes to his girlfriend, picking her up and placing her gently on her feet. Clarke feels like she's an intruder to their private moment as Lincoln places a gentle kiss to Octavia's forehead. They're speaking too softly for her to hear, but it's clearly agreeable to Octavia, as smiles widely and engulfs the much taller man into a fierce hug. Upon first glance, she could understand the reservations about their relationship that Bellamy had mentioned last night while they were talking on her tailgate, he's visibly older than Octavia's 21 years, and the tattoos given the strong, silent man an even more intimidating countenance, it's plain to see that he cares deeply for the petite young woman.

She feels a stirring in her chest, wonders what it would feel like to have they kind of relationship these two have, the connection. She's able to stand from where she's sitting, wobbling as she gets to her feet, unsteady from the buzz, and she's pretty sure Monty's and Jasper's newest concoction did more damage to her tolerance than anything before. She feels a little lightheaded, but not enough to make her feel like she can't walk.

Bellamy pops up beside her, she hadn't even noticed he walked away. "Hey, brought you a bottle of water. Help you sober up. It's a bit of a walk back to the house." He says, holding out one of said bottles. His other hand makes his way to the small of her back as he beings to lead her to the exit of the bar.

Clarke has that same awareness of the heat of hand as they walk out into the cool, crisp air outside, the temperature is warmer than the air conditioned interior of the building, but compared to the heat of the daytime, it makes for another beautiful night. They continue in silence, not able to rely on the steady stream of conversation from the group of friends. She wants to ask him about whether or not he was ok with Octavia offering her extended use of their guest room, among other things. She looks at him in profile, glances at him through her lashes, not wanting to draw attention to her perusal. He's wearing another pair of dark jeans, she couldn't help but noticed how they hugged his "assets" while he took his turns shooting pool with Miller and Murphy, leaning over the edge of the table to line up his shot. More than once she almost salivated at that sight, watching the muscles in his arms bulge and flex in the navy blue henley. She felt her body temperature rise and hoped he didn't notice the shiver that made it's way up her spine.

"Any thought to where you might go next?" Bellamy asks and he looks everywhere but at her, continuing to keep his pace easy for her to keep up with.

"I'm still not sure yet. I think I'm going to scrap some of the planned locations that Wells and I had decided on and focus less on scheduled stops and timeframes, school is always papers and deadlines, vacation shouldn't follow such a rigid structure, you know?" She looks down at the ground as they continue their trek to his home.

"That's a valid point, you can't expect to enjoy anything if you're constantly worrying about when and where you've got to be in a few hours, and vacations are supposed to be restful."

"Well, thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol and laughter, this has definitely been the most fun I've had in about three years. I'm actually pretty glad to have got stuck in the middle of nowhere. I'll look back on this when I'm bored out of my mind when school starts back up in September." She laughs, throws her arms in the air and twirls, the buzz of alcohol still in her system.

"September, huh? Are you heading straight to school from vacation or stopping back in for some time with your family before then? I know you said things are strained with mother, but what about you father?" Bellamy's a bit wary about the question, because she hasn't mentioned anything about her life other than school and her mother, he doesn't want to overstep.

"He passed away before I finished high school."

A heavy silence overcomes both of them.

They make it a few more blocks before Clarke speaks again. "I planned on going home for about a week, just to reassure my mother that I'm still alive and to pick my belongings back up before I move into the on campus apartments. So probably mid-August for my return to real life."

He doesn't respond right away, he does that slow nod, processing the information. He knows there's a spark of something between them, something he really wants to explore, he remembers the back and forth flirtatious banter from the night before and he hopes his next question is answered in the affirmative. He stops and turns to her, a solemn expression on his face. "So it might be a bit of a stretch, but, if you don't find yourself deciding on another destination...what about spending the rest of your vacation here, you know, stay in the guest room? It looked like you were enjoying yourself, and as you said, most fun you'd had in years. I know the rest of the the group would love to have you around by the way they took to you tonight."

Clarke looks up at him, pulls on her lower lip with her teeth as she considers his offer, pleased since this means she got her answer to her unspoken question from earlier about her staying in his home. She's also more than delighted at the prospect of being able to visit the clearing by the river to sketch and maybe paint, she could ask Lincoln where to get more art supplies nearby, maybe it's the alcohol that makes it so easy for her to decide.

"I'd love to, and I really did have a great time tonight. And if you're going to let me stay in your guest room for the next two months, I'm going to insist on either paying rent or groceries or something!"

"Well, we'll see about that." He smirks in her direction. "I'm really glad you said yes. I thought I'd have to arrest you for public intoxication to keep you here."

"Bellamy! Stop flattering yourself, I'd have said it to either Miller or Murphy if they'd have been the ones to stop." She says, feeling a small rush of victory as his smirk disappears.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night princess."

Bellamy looks up at the stars, points to the Big Dipper, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor and tells her the story of Callisto, her son Arcas, and how one god's lust results into the two being transformed into the bears we still see in the night sky as they continue the walk to what could possibly be her home for the next two months.


Clarke woke up with the biggest hangover since she was a freshman in college. She clearly underestimated Monty and Jasper's abilities when it comes to chemistry applied in practical applications, those guys clearly knew what they were doing when they perfected their batches of alcohol. She wondered if she could convince her mother to help finance the two young entrepreneurs. Maybe find a way to ensure that Clarke could have a permanent supply of whatever they decide to name last night's flavor.

She drags herself out of bed, body aching and head pounding, makes her way to the bathroom to wash up. She trudges to the kitchen, guided by the scent of coffee, she's loving the fact that coffee is already made and she won't have to struggle to make it herself. She's still in her pajamas and her hair's not quite the mess it was when she first looked in the mirror to brush her teeth, but messy buns are supposed to be messy, right?

Bellamy looks up at her as he sips from his coffee, "Good morning, sunshine. How's your head?" He's trying to hide his laughter, but there's still a huge grin on his face. She might be the most hungover she's been in years, but she's not blind.

"Oh shut up. They party harder than people at my college. How is that possible? Never again will I underestimate the combined drinking prowess of Octavia, Raven, Monty and Jasper. Never again."

a/n: i tried uploading this from my mobile (never again) and it did some funky things with the coding. Seriously, wtf moment. Ahyhoo, hoping this one comes out as intended. Thanks for reading, let me know what y'all think and have a fabulous day!