Clarke Griffin stepped out of the Los Angeles International Airport and took in a deep breath. This place was going to be her first official home in over five years. All she had on her was a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. For five years that was all she ever had. That's all she every really needed.
She jumped in the first cab that was available, "West Hollywood, please." She handed the driver an address and with a courteous nod, the cab driver smiled and took off towards her new apartment. Everything in Los Angeles was unfamiliar but that was something she was all too familiar with. In the past half a decade she never spent more than a month in each of the cities that she had traveled to. But then again it was never about finding a home; it was about finding herself. She stared out the window and watched as some plane took off in the sky towards its destination.
"Hello miss, is there anything I can help you with today?"
Clarke pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow eyeing the list of departing flights behind the attendant carefully. She looked at the alarmingly long list and quickly made her decision, "Hi yeah, can you show me where Iceland Air is?"
He smiled back warmly and pointed down to the left of him, "Sure thing. It's about halfway down that way. If you pass the escalators then you have gone too far. There's another desk down there to the left if you still haven't found it." He looked back at Clarke and continued, "It that all for you miss?"
She nodded curtly and replied with a small smile of her own, "That's all. Thank you so much." And with that she took off towards the way that he had just directed her. She walked about halfway down towards Iceland Air when a big blue sign caught her eye. With big white letters that said, 'Why not Venice?' and she took that as a sign of her own. Iceland could wait for another day because she was going to start her sabbatical in Venice, Italy. It had been one of her father's favorite places in the world and even if he was no longer around, she hoped that Venice would help her feel closer to him. The warm tears started to blur her vision, but she quickly blinked them away pushing aside the memories that washed up to the shore.
Ignoring her thoughts, she got in the long queue and anxiously waited her turn. Needing the time to pass by quicker she pulled out her phone to play a game or something of the sort. She immediately regretted her decision when she unlocked her phone and was faced with her background photo, a picture of her and her best friend Lexa. They were smiling brightly and Clarke's lips were on the brunette's cheek.
She remembered back to the night that photo was taken. It was freshman year and they were immensely drunk, celebrating the fact that the finals were finally over. They were overjoyed by the fact that summer was there and that they didn't have to think about schoolwork for at least another 3 months. As drunk as they got she could never forget that night. She never really forgot any nights she shared with her friend of 20 years.
She smiled getting lost in the memory but quickly shook her thoughts free and unlocked her phone. Her fingers worked the screen and rapidly she changed the background photo to the phone's default photo, the memory being too painful to bear in that specific moment.
The line was moving at an obnoxiously slow rate but soon she was up by the counter where there was a young blonde with an obviously over exaggerated smile on her face. Clarke could only imagine what it'd be like helping jetlagged and tired people all day. "Hello miss, welcome to KLM. How can I be of service to you today?"
She plastered on a smile of her own as she answered politely, "Hi. I'm looking for the next ticket available to Venice. Can you help me with that?"
She tapped away at the keyboard placed in front of her with nothing more than a nod. It was a couple minutes before she had her answer, "You're in luck. There's an opening on a flight leaving in about 4 hours. Is that something you'd be interested in?"
Clarke didn't let herself think about it too long and nodded quickly, "Yes, that's perfect. Thanks!" Clarke pulled out her credit card and passport, giving it to the attendant who was currently still tapping away, her attention concentrated on the screen in front of her.
The blonde quickly charged her card and gave Clarke her ticket along with the rest of her stuff back, "Just head back that way over there and security will let you pass to the second level. Have a safe flight and have fun in Venice. Thank you for choosing KLM!"
With a quick thanks Clarke followed her instructions and headed towards security. She took a deep breath as she handed the security officer her ticket. This was it. She had her ticket and she was on her way to a whole new world. No more family to nag her. No more friends to help her. The worst of it all was no more Lexa. She was going to miss her best friend dearly, but this trip wasn't about Lexa. It wasn't about Octavia or Bellamy or even her mother. The trip was about finding something she either lost or even something she never had. It was about Clarke Griffin and only Clarke Griffin. Maybe everyone unknowingly pushed her to the decision, but in the end it was all about her.
"Miss?" The cab driver called out. "Miss? We are here." It took a few calls to finally grab the blonde's attention. She looked out the window as saw that they had arrived to a two-story complex behind the main street. Clarke pulled out her wallet and handed the cabbie the fare, plus a little bit extra.
"Thank you so much for the ride! Have a safe day!" She called out behind her as she grabbed her belongings and stepped out onto the concrete. She stared up at the building in front of her wondering if she had made a mistake.
She had found a listing on craigslist a couple weeks prior. A man about Clarke's age had been looking for a roommate as his last one had recently moved out. He advertised a master bedroom, for a decent price, in a low crime neighborhood. She really couldn't say no. She was just hoping he didn't turn out to be a serial killer or some kind of psycho.
Clarke studied the quadplex briefly before she had made her way up the stairs to apartment D. It wasn't the most fancy place, but it sure wasn't condemned so she really didn't mind it much. During her travels she surely had stayed at worse places. Some of the earlier nights she even spent on the streets or a random bench. This was definitely a step up from those days.
She stepped up to the door and knocked on it a few times, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet nervously. It wasn't too long before the door flew open and there was a tall, dark, and handsome man standing there. He smiled brightly and put out his hand for Clarke to shake, "You must be Clarke! I'm Nathan Miller, but you can call me Miller!"
Clarke accepted his hand and shook it firmly, "Yeah, I'm Clarke. It's nice to meet you." When he released her hand, he took a step back and gestured her to walk in. She stepped beside him and took a look at the inside of the apartment. It was much cleaner and brighter compared to the outside. There was a nice and compact dining table to the left and straight ahead was a white leather couch placed in front of a large flat screen TV that was hung on the wall. As she stepped further towards the living room she found matching love seat sitting by a coffee table.
"Have a seat!" She heard him call from behind, "Did you want something to drink?"
"No, I'm good. Thanks." Well if he was a serial killer, he was definitely an upbeat and courteous one.
The handsome stranger lead her to the couch and the both sat down in front of what seemed to be a contract laying on the coffee table. "So, like I said, I'm Miller. I'm a manager at a local bar. I'm extremely gay, so if you aren't into that then you should just walk out right now. But I do have a special someone so you don't have to worry about me bringing any drunken randos home. I work mostly nights so you'll find it usually quiet here at night. Occasionally, I'll have a party here and there but nothing too fratty. I'll definitely give you a heads up beforehand though."
A slight chuckle escaped his throat as he finished off with a joke, "I also love long walks on the beach and I'm a fantastic cook."
Clarke laughed and shot him a smile as well, "Well I'm Clarke. I've been traveling the world for the past five years. Originally I'm from D.C. but I left for personal reasons. During my travels I ran a travel blog called GrifScape; maybe you've heard of it."
He shook his head politely, "Sorry, can't say I have. You know, I've never been but my boss is from D.C." He paused for a second before questioning, "Can I ask why L.A. though? Why not head home to D.C.?"
Playing with her hair out of habit, she thought about her answer for a quick moment before answering. "Been there, done that, I guess. Needed a fresh start. Plus, I have about five years worth of photos and art lying around so instead of putting it to waste, I want to put it to use. I rented a space nearby and I'm trying to open a gallery. I know first hand how hard it is for a struggling artist so I'm also looking into local amateurs and whoever wants to get their art out there. I remember how much of a struggle it was for my art back when I was going to school, so I wanna give others a running start."
He could see the excitement in her eyes as she spoke about her passion, "That's great Clarke! It's really admirable that you're doing what you love. I'd love to check out some of your work sometimes if you don't mind my meddling. Do you have a name picked out for the place yet?"
The girl nodded and smiled, "Escaping Reality. And yeah, I'll have a personal hand written invitation for you on opening day."
"Perfect! I can't wait," Miller exclaimed as he picked up the stack of papers on the table. He scanned the papers quickly before continuing, "We already agreed on a rent. It's due no later than the 4th of every month. I'm pretty flexible though, so just give me a heads up. The entire house is communal besides the obvious being my bedroom. If you want to invite anyone over, that's fine as well. I really don't mind, just please clean after yourself."
Clarke interrupted, "You don't need to worry about a thing. I have no friends or family here so you're safe."
He frowned sympathetically, "I'm sorry. That must suck. I know what it's like not knowing anyone. Military kid."
Clarke nodded understandingly.
"But I'll introduce you to my boyfriend, Monty. He's a paramedic, so maybe he can introduce you to a firefighter or something." He offered suggestively with an adorable wink.
"Not really looking for anyone special right now, but it would be nice to have someone to talk to. Traveling for half a decade doesn't help you keep steady friendships."
With a small smile, he pulled out a pen and offered it to her along with the stack of papers, "Give it a quick skim and sign it when you're ready. The room comes with a queen bed, but that's about it."
Clarke read through the contract, listening to him as he continued to speak. "If you want other furniture, there's an Ikea nearby and we can use my truck to haul it back here. I'm free the day after tomorrow if you need me."
She signed and dated the papers before they exchanged first month's rent for a set of house keys, "Thanks Miller! I'll keep that in mind, but for today I think I just wanna go lie down. Jetlag is kicking me in the ass. Remind me to never take another 14-hour flight again."
He grinned, "Sure thing. Go ahead. Your room is the last door on the left. If you need anything just text me."
She walked down the hallway dragging her stuff behind her when he offered, "Also if you're hungry, my bar has a great burger and some of the best tap in town! "
She looked back at him and smiled, "Thanks! I'll think about it."
"I'll leave the address on the fridge. I'll be working tonight so I'll offer you the roommate and newbie discount. Completely free when the owner isn't watching." Clarke laughed along with him and was thanking the gods for offering her a sane roommate.
She closed her room door behind her and plopped on the bed not really surveying the room beyond the bed. She could check everything out after a nice nap. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep easier than she had in years. Life on the road was exhausting and she was finally getting her much needed rest. She still had a lot to figure out, but she was definitely on the road to normalcy for the first time in years.