"So," Octavia said dryly. "This is what you people call a beach house." She broke away from staring at the large, three-story, baby blue building, the heavy beat of rap music blasting out the white shuttered windows, to slide a glance at Clarke.

"Yup," Clarke said, also staring up at the house warily.

"And we're about to go in this house that is filled with people you don't like, and probably won't like me because of where I'm from, because you're trying to make me feel welcome?"

Clarke sighed and nodded. "Yup."

"Well, this should be interesting," Octavia joked.

Shaking her head, Clarke snorted then gave a small grin in return. "You ready?"

"Let's go," Octavia replied excitedly, grabbing Clarke's hand and tugging her towards the front door.

Soon they had caught up to Wells, who had been caught up by some friends in the entryway. As she watched him smile and laugh with the guys around him, Octavia saw why he was so popular: he was nice, and attractive, and funny in a dry way. Curiously, she glanced at Clarke, who was watching Wells with a fond expression. The best friends seemed like they'd be a perfect match, but she wasn't picking up any lovey vibes, either mutual or unrequited. At least that was a relief; dealing with relationship drama between friends had never been Octavia's strong suit. Atom drifted through her mind, but she shook it off. No need to bring that disaster of a situation into her thoughts tonight.

Realizing Clarke was still hanging back, even after Wells had followed the guys inside, Octavia turned to her.

"How am I the one who's not scared to go in?" She joked forcefully.

"I'm not scared," Clarke insisted, tearing her eyes away from staring at a bright red sports car sitting in the driveway. Clearly, she knew whose it was and didn't like its presence here.

"Then come on!" Octavia encouraged, ignoring Clarke's discomfort and stepping over the threshold. As she did, with Clarke following right behind, the sounds of teenage chatter and electronic pop music swelled around her. Her heart thrummed in excitement, and she grinned wildly. Now this was familiar territory. Towing Clarke through the crowd, Octavia easily found the keg and grabbed two plastic cups of beer, winking at the very cute guy manning it.

"Drink it," Octavia yelled over the music.

"I don't like beer," Clarke replied, wrinkling her nose as she sniffed the cup.

"But I bet you dislike these people more. The beer will help with that."

With a skeptical glance, Clarke took a sip then gagged. Octavia laughed, because that was kind of adorable. Raising her cup, she knocked it lightly against Clarke's and then took a few huge gulps. Clarke smiled hesitantly and then did the same, making a disgusted face after her last round.

"There we go!" Octavia called, squeezing Clarke's arm in approval.

"Just the one," Clarke warned.

"Fine," Octavia groaned mockingly, paused a bit to look around the party, then continued, "God, this is an attractive bunch. I've seen no less than five guys I wouldn't mind finding a dark corner with. Or an empty bedroom."

Clarke choked on her beer. "Ugh, no. I would not recommend that."

"What?"

"Trust me, the guys here? Not worth your time, no matter how gorgeous some of them are."

"I have been in lock-up, you know. Deprived of the male sex for six days is a record for me. One night of no-strings fun couldn't hurt," Octavia joked.

Under her breath, Clarke muttered, "Yeah, until the girlfriend shows up."

Octavia raised her eyebrows, assessing Clarke's disapproving and regretful expression. "Well, there is certainly a story there. Care to share?"

"Not really."

At Clarke's sharp tone, Octavia knew she had pressed on a very sore spot. Taking a quick glance at the swaying bodies across the room, she grinned. "Fine. It's story time, or dance time, you pick."

As she had expected, Clarke's eyes widened. "No dancing."

"Alright, then story time it is!"

Sighing, Clarke rolled her eyes before relenting. "Fine, but let's go outside. I don't feel like screaming over the music."

Octavia followed her blonde friend through the crowd with a bounce in her step. She didn't miss the odd looks sent their way; at first she thought it was because of her, but then she realized Clarke was the center of their attention. Apparently she hadn't been kidding when she said she didn't fit in well with her classmates.

After they had finally pushed their way to a free spot on the deck railing overlooking the dark beach, Clarke, rolling her now-empty cup between her hands, began talking. "Okay, short version: I was hooking up with a guy last year, found out he had a girlfriend. Said girlfriend is pretty popular and well liked at school, which didn't help my already low public opinion at all. He said they were on a break, but she hadn't been aware of that apparently. He wanted to keep things up with me, but not wanting to be in the crosshairs, I ended it. They're still on-again-off-again, and I got over it."

The hurt in Clarke's voice was clear, even this long after the fact, and it resonated with Octavia. She leaned into the railing further, the smooth surface cold against her skin. Her thoughts drifted to Atom again. "My last boyfriend was dick too. Got so jealous he thought he could start invading my privacy, insisting on checking my phone, even tried to lock me in the house one night to keep me from going out with friends, paranoid that I was cheating on him."

Octavia felt Clarke shift uneasily beside her, so she flashed her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I kicked his ass to the curb, threatened him with going to the police. He stole cars for a living, trading them in to local chop shops. So I knew exactly how to nail him, and he backed right off." Then she frowned as the rest of the story resurfaced in her mind, remembering how her brother had found out about the house incident, and the rest of it, and had decided to make doubly sure Atom stayed away from her.

"Care to share?" Clarke said, interrupting her thoughts. She wore an expectant expression, clearly having noticed Octavia's change in mood.

Octavia sighed, realizing fair was fair. "My brother found out about what Atom had been doing and went after him at a bar one night. They had worked on the same construction crew, which is how I had met Atom in the first place. Bellamy took it as a betrayal not just of me, but also of their friendship. Atom ended up in the hospital. If the bartender hadn't been a longtime friend of the family, Bell would've been arrested."

"Holy shit," Clarke murmured, her cup crinkling in her tight grip.

"We Blakes love a little too hard, I guess," Octavia said lightly, trying to ease the tension in the air.

"Wells repeatedly body-checked Finn for me during one of their soccer games," Clarke said, mouth curving up into a half-smile. "Somehow, he managed to convince the coach it was an accident, every time."

Octavia laughed. "Boys are dumb."

Nodding heavily in agreement, Clarke echoed amusedly, "Boys are dumb."

As they smiled at each other knowingly, listening to the rhythmic sound of waves crashing on the beach, Octavia was suddenly glad she had ended up here. Clarke was quiet, maybe too serious at times, but she had a steadiness to her that felt balancing. Turning to thank Clarke for welcoming her in, she noticed a group of girls approaching them.

"Surprised you'd show here, Griffin," the girl at the front said, stepping forward. Her brown hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, a fierce expression on her face. As she crossed her arms, her red crop top rode up, exposing a pierced belly button. Octavia felt her hackles rise in defense of her friend and glared at the newcomer.

"Murphy invited Wells, Wells invited me," Clarke said coolly. "So take it up with them."

"I just don't know why you would bother coming. It's not like you have any friends here."

Annoyed at the brunette's rudeness, Octavia interjected, "She has me."

"And you are?"

"Someone who could kick your ass," she retorted menacingly, pushing off the railing to lean into the other's girl's space just a bit. Sizing her up, Octavia figured she could take her, despite the brunette appearance of being in very good shape.

"Well, it looks like the princess finally found a bodyguard," the girl jibed.

"Don't call me that," Clarke said sharply, stepping up to Octavia's side.

With an angry glance, the girl spat out, "Guess you only like it when Finn calls you that, huh?"

"Clarke!" A familiar voice called out, and the whole group turned to look at Wells, who was pushing his way through the crowd towards them. "There you are. I've been looking for you and Octavia for forever. Ladies," he said, nodding nervously at the other girls. His glance lingered a bit too long on the brunette, a soft wanting glazing over his brown eyes. Octavia choked back a laugh, because oh boy, did Wells have it bad for this girl.

The brunette didn't even give Wells a second glance, keeping her focus on Clarke instead. "Oh look, now the prince has shown up. You ever fight your own battles, Clarke?"

"Go away, Raven," Clarke responded evenly.

"You want to go get a drink?" Wells asked Raven, clearly trying to divert her attention away from Clarke. Frowning, Clarke shot him an annoyed glance. Octavia watched as Raven noticed Clarke's disapproval and grinned widely, placing her head smoothly on Wells shoulder.

"Only if you are the one pour it for me," she said, voice rising flirtatiously.

Wells laughed nervously, throwing a pleading look at Clarke, who just scowled in return. Not caring about the exchange, Raven just grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the house, her friends following close behind.

"Well she is a ray of sunshine. No wonder her boyfriend wanted to cheat on her," Octavia growled.

"Raven is—there's more to her than that," Clarke said in a tired voice. Octavia looked at her skeptically before she continued, "After the whole debacle, while Finn was trying to explain himself, he told me some things about her family, about her mom. Let's just say she's more bark than bite."

"If you say so," Octavia mused doubtfully.

"God, I need another drink," Clarke moaned, dropping her head to the deck railing.

Laughing, Octavia replied, "Now that I can fully support. Let's go."

"I have to pee," Clarke yelled over the music into Octavia's ear.

"Again?" Octavia replied amusedly as she swayed next to Clarke on the dance floor. "You just went fifteen minutes ago."

"You're the one who wanted to do another round of drinks, so this is your fault," Clarke teased in a tipsy voice.

"Fine, but meet me outside after you're done. I need some air."

Octavia squeezed Clarke's hand as she left, maneuvering through the grinding crowd to find the exit. Dodging drunk bros and giggling girls, Octavia finally made her way to the deck, down the stairs, and hopped down onto the soft, warm sand. She kicked off her shoes, gathering them up in her left hand, and walked down towards the water, passing pockets of people gossiping and laughing. A warm summer breeze rolled down beach, throwing her hair into wild disarray. As it whipped around her, Octavia smiled, reveling in the freedom. She hurried towards the water, eager to feel it on her legs. Without caution, she splashed in, letting out a quiet shriek at the chilly temperature.

"Don't you know it's not safe to go swimming in the dark?"

Octavia whipped around, eyes landing a boy with flopping brown hair grinning at her from the edge of the water line.

"Don't you know it's a bit creepy to sneak up on a random girl?" She quipped back.

"Well, since I'm friends with the guy who lives here, how about you tell me who you are, because I haven't seen you around school. You could be a trespasser for all I know." He quirked his lips in amusement, eyes twinkling with humor.

"I know Wells," she said, guessing the stranger would be more receptive to his name than Clarke's.

Surprisingly, the boy's expression fell, darkening a bit. "You with him?"

"Just friends," she said. "He's not my type. Besides, he has a thing for someone else." Suddenly, Octavia shivered, the cold water finally getting to her.

"You should get out, before you lose your toes," the boy advised.

"Don't tell me what to do," Octavia sniffed teasingly, marching out of the water and passing him.

With a laugh, he followed her up the beach. As she approached one of the many abandoned campfires, he stood next to her, knocking his shoulder into hers.

"So, do I get a name?"

"Maybe," she said, looking at him through her eyelashes. He was cute, in a puppy dog way, and would make a fun distraction for the night.

Slowly, he reached up, pushing her tangled hair behind one ear. Octavia couldn't help but blush as his fingers brushed warmly against her cheek.

"That better?" He asked lowly.

"Finn! There you are!"

Startled, Octavia pulled away turned to see Raven storming towards them. The name suddenly clicked in her head, and she glared at the boy next to her.

"Unbelievable," she muttered, sliding quickly away to the other side of the fire. She stared at the flickering flames as Raven sidled up next to Finn and brushed her hand against his arm. "I've been looking for you," Raven murmured in his ear, though not quietly enough to keep Octavia from listening in.

"Yeah?" Finn asked, glancing towards Octavia. She glared stonily back, watching Raven frown at the exchange. Shaking it off, the girl turned back to Finn.

"Thought you'd be looking for me too. You said you wanted to talk, you know, about cotillion, and you know, us."

Finn smiled thinly, sliding an arm around Raven's waist. He pressed a kiss to her temple, and the deep affection in it surprised Octavia. Given his history with Clarke and his flirting with her just now, she had expected him to be the stereotypical skeeze. As she watched him melt against Raven, who also seemed softer in their embrace, Octavia realized Clarke had been right, that things were trickier with them than it appeared.

As she carefully watched them, she heard loud voices approach.

"Octavia!" Clarke called out happily, clearly not having seen the pair with her.

Wells tried to pull her back, glancing warily at the bristling Raven and uncomfortable Finn, but the blonde continued to drunkenly stumble their way. Octavia rushed to meet her, but by then, Wells and Clarke had fallen within the light of the fire. She heard Raven laugh abrasively behind her as Clarke tripped on the uneven sand.

"Oh," Clarke said, her voice wavering as she realized whom Octavia was with, cheeks reddening.

Raven tightened her arm around Finn's waist, eyes narrowing at Clarke. "Seems like somebody still has a little bit of a crush," she taunted, and Clarke's cheeks flamed brighter. "Oh, look at that, she's blushing. How cute."

"Looks like someone still has massive insecurity issues. Bitch," Octavia muttered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Raven said, pulling away from Finn and stepping aggressively towards her.

"Oh, I called you an insecure bitch. Did I not say it clearly enough?"

Raven lunged, and her fist connected with Octavia's eye before she could duck. Damn, too slow - Bell would be disappointed, she thought dazedly as she straightened, trying to regain focus so she could retaliate. Throwing out a punch herself, she hit Raven's chin, causing Finn to shout in protest. As Raven came at her again, an outraged cry sounded at Octavia's side, followed by a flash of blonde.

"Clarke, no!" Wells called out, and Octavia looked up, head throbbing, seeing him restraining a furious Clarke from attacking Raven. "Let's go, come on, let's go," he pleaded. As Wells tried to calm Clarke and Finn herded Raven down the beach, Octavia sucked in a large gulp of salty air. Be smart, O, her brother's voice warned in her head. Glancing up at the deck, where a large crowd was staring and whispering at the commotion with phones out and probably documenting everything, she nodded at Wells.

"We need to go," she said, stomach sinking as the charges of underage drinking and assault and battery flashed in her mind. She was sure Mr. Griffin would surely drop her case if the police came, especially given she had dragged his daughter into this.

"Clarke was supposed drive us home," Wells finally answered.

"Shit," she said. "I didn't know. It's my fault she's drunk."

Wells sighed. "Trust me, Clarke doesn't do anything she doesn't want to. She's stubborn that way. I'll have to call my brother to come get us."

"Let's head towards the driveway in the meantime," Octavia advised, as the crowd on the deck hadn't lessened.

"Good idea," Wells agreed. He wrapped an arm around Clarke's waist and tuckered her into his side.

"You are good friends," Clarke mused sleepily.

Octavia laughed, her worry momentarily eased, and moved over to support her other side. "Back at you, tiger."

By the time green Jeep wrangler pulled up in front of the house, Clarke had fallen asleep against Wells, who was doing an impressive job at keeping her upright. When they walked to the car to get in, Octavia's heart leapt as she realized who was in the driver's seat.

"Lincoln," she said in surprise. When he gave her a soft smile, she felt heat bloom in her cheeks.

"Octavia," he replied, voice low and even.

Wells looked up from his struggles with buckling Clarke into the backseat, "You two know each other?"

"We met the other night," Lincoln clarified briefly. "Hurry up, little brother. We need to get back before Dad gets home from the hospital."

He glanced at Octavia quickly, a question in his eyes. Grinning, she hopped into the front seat. "Shotgun," she called out cheerfully.

"Mm, good," Clarke hummed. "Now I can use Wells as a pillow."

Lincoln chuckled at that, and said, "Glad to see your finally going through your wild-child phase, Clarke."

Mumbling a half-hearted protest, Clarke fell back asleep, her head thunking against Wells' shoulder as he buckled himself in finally. With an amused sigh, Lincoln pulled slowly out of the driveway, guiding the car onto the road with steady movements. Octavia watched his arms flex as he turned the steering wheel, feeling her throat dry up as she imagined them doing the same thing, except wrapped around her. When he looked over at her, he must've seen what she was thinking, because his eyes darkened and his mouth curved into a wary half-smile.

"You're trouble," Lincoln whispered, glancing in the rearview mirror as if to make sure his words were heard by only her.

"Like you care," she murmured back. He laughed quietly again, and Octavia snuggled down into her seat, a pleased, happy feeling welling in her chest. As the car sped down the coastal roads, a sleepy haze fell over her. She could barely keep her eyes open by the time they pulled into the Griffins' dark driveway. Taking a minute to wake up, Octavia stayed in the car as Wells maneuvered a now fully asleep Clarke from the backseat. As she went to reach for the handle of the door, it opened, and Lincoln was standing there. He extended a hand, smiling at her. Grabbing it gently, Octavia hopped down from the car, bringing her suddenly chest-to-chest with Lincoln. Her breath caught, and she tipped her head up to stare at him. His brown eyes had that dark look in them again, and she shivered despite the warm end-of-summer breeze wafting around them.

Then, like a bucket of cold water, reality dropped down on her as she focused on the house behind Lincoln, the one that wasn't hers. She wasn't Clarke's cousin from D.C.; she wasn't the girl he thought she was, the one he had met at the end of this very driveway.

Looking away quickly, Octavia stepped around him and said, "I should go. Wells, let's take Clarke to the pool house. Less chance of her parents waking up than if we take her to her room."

Wells nodded in agreement, and started off around the side of the house. Octavia followed him, not looking at Lincoln. Just as she rounded the corner, though, she did give him one last glance. What could it hurt? She'd be gone by Sunday, anyways. He hadn't moved from his position by the car, just stared after her intensely, the same way he had last night. His gaze caught her up, made her pause.

Unable to resist, she called out, "Thanks for the ride!"

A slow, intimate smile spread across Lincoln's face, causing Octavia's mouth to do the same. Then she quickly turned, running off like she had before, the smile remaining even as she helped Wells get Clarke into bed, even as she crawled in beside her new friend and slipped into a restful sleep.