Chapter One: "I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door"
This week she'd promised that she'd post an episode of drunk cooking with Lincoln, and she'd completely forgotten about it. The only reminder had been the text from Lincoln during her lunch break asking whether it was a vodka or tequila kind of night. They were both her party drinks, tequila more so, but it also makes her cry if she has too much.
The both of them were YouTubers and have been since freshman year of University. Now they were both twenty three with steady jobs, yet YouTube stayed. Lincoln posted survivalist videos along with choreography. Clarke was more of an activist vlogger.
Online she was known as Activism4Art where she posted videos having to do with either art, activism, or her life. A lot of her vlogs followed her journey volunteering for Planned Parenthood, and the women's shelters. The last video she'd posted was the "Walk a mile in her shoes" walkathon. She'd even roped Lincoln into it, and finding him a pair of heels had been a challenge of itself. The first minute of the video had been her teaching him the art of walking in heels.
Outside of Youtube, Clarke was an art teacher at the high school in downtown New York City. It paid the bills so that she could volunteer. Lincoln taught dance to middle school age girls. Clarke liked to tease him that he just liked being adored, even though it was certainly not the case.
So after work, Clarke rushed home to find the easiest recipe in her mothers stacks of cookbooks that always went unused. Living with her mother at twenty three wasn't exactly what she had pictured for herself as a teenager, but living in New York was expensive and her salary would never cover an apartment with her spending habits as they were. She'd rather own a fancy camera while living with her mother than not being able to do what she loves on her own.
The file wasn't even hidden all that well. While Clarke was looking through cookbooks, a manila folder fell off the shelf when she pulled one of the larger books out. Papers fell all over the floor, along with photographs and charts. At first she'd thought it was one of her moms patient files that had somehow been misplaced. But when she started to pick up the pieces, she found a photo of her father.
Jake Griffin had been executed two years ago for treason. If Clarke were being honest, she knew little to nothing about the whole event. He'd been arrested when she was only eleven years old, and her mother had prevented any contact from that day on. It had broken her in the worst of ways. Clarke had practically worshipped the ground her father walked on. Ever since then, the relationship between Abby and herself had been strained at best. Most days it was like living with a stranger who would cosign a loan with her.
She hadn't seen a photo of Jake Griffin since the day after he was executed, in the news paper. Her mother had started screaming at her saying that he wasn't apart of their lives anymore and that she just needed to forget him. Abby had burned every photo of her father, prevented Clarke from finding any piece of him. After the years that followed, she'd given up.
So seeing Jake Griffin's mugshot felt like a punch to the stomach. His hair flopped down against his forehead, and his smile was bright despite the circumstances. The crinkle in his eyes, and the lines around his mouth. Without thinking she stuffed the photo into her jacket pocket and started to quickly ruffle through the papers when she came across a statement from the lead detective on the case.
"The conclusion of this investigation is Jake Griffin in innocent." Clarke could see her hands shaking, but wasn't sure she could feel it. The blood rushing to her head made her feel out of body, part of her was sure it was all some sort of nightmare. The beating of her own heart was loud in her ears, she couldn't hear anything else.
"How did you find that, Clarke?" Abby asked from behind her, her voice stone cold. Clarke quickly turned around, standing up to face her mother.
"How do you have this? It says they thought he was innocent!" Clarke yelled before leaning down to gather the contents into her arms. She didn't know what to say, all she wanted was to get out of the house and never come back.
"Clarke, it's so much more complicated than it appears, your father.." Abby started before Clarke cut her off.
"My father was innocent and you kept that information from me!" Her Mother recoiled as if she'd been slapped. Shock was all over her face like a mask.
Clarke turned on her heels, quickly running to her way to her bedroom. In her mind she'd already started a checklist of what she needed and where to find it. When the door slammed behind her, Clarke locked it and pulled out her phone while starting the search for her suitcases.
She pressed on the last dialed contact while pulling the ugly suitcases out from her bed, the ones she'd inherited from her awful grandmother on her mothers side. The only thing inside them were a pair of sandals and a bathing suit that she was sure she'd lost.
"Yeah Clarke, what do you need?" Lincoln asked as he answered the phone. She could hear the loud music in the background along with the gossiping of his dance students.
Clarke started haphazardly throwing clothes into the bags, along with her laptop and filming equipment. "I'm leaving. Can you help me pack my car when your class is over?"
The was a long silence over the line before he said, "Of course, what happened?"
"Apparently my Dad was innocent. She knew and kept it from me. Who does that?" She breathed, taking even deep breaths to stop herself from either screaming or crying. Maybe even breaking something.
On the top shelf of her bookshelf she kept her emergency cash and taser, she dumped both into her bag along with her clothes and equipment.
"I don't know, I really don't." Lincoln conceded. "Where do you think you'll go?"
Clarke hadn't even thought of that. She'd been in New York City as long as she could remember. There was Chicago, Seattle, DC, Baltimore, "Los Angeles. I'm going to LA."
When the room in her bags ran out, she started piling things into her bed sheets, planning to just drag the whole thing into her pickup truck that had been her fathers. Being an art teacher didn't exactly give her much money for fancy cars or houses. But at least she could afford her cameras.
An hour later, Clarke was confident that she'd found everything she couldn't part without. Thankfully soon after Lincoln had come and started to help pack everything into the trunk of her truck.
"You can't just leave, Clarke!" Her mother continuously yelled.. It was a constant flood of panicked words that Clarke didn't even bother to register.
In the end, her truck was filled with three suitcases, two sheets full of belongings and four trash bags filled with more clothes, shoes, and other things she refused to part with.
When she jumped into the drivers seat, Lincoln closed the door for her and leaned up against the truck, "You got everything, Clarke?"
She nodded at him, giving him a small smile. "Yeah, except for my best friend." She said sadly, leaning out through the window to give him a hug goodbye.
"Make sure you take pictures, and meet new people, don't you dare lock yourself up in your room. We don't need another repeat of sophomore year, now do we?" Lincoln joked, nudging her arm with a friendly supportive smile on his face.
"What am I going to do without you?" She asked, nerves getting the best of her.
"You'll do just fine. We'll talk all the time, it'll be like you never left," He assured her. That was something he was always good at, giving her strength in her moments of weakness.
"May we meet again, Clarke." He said, backing away from the truck, hitting the side of it, signalling for her to go.
"May we meet again, Lincoln." She replied as she backed out of her parking spot, heading onto the main road. On the visor was a sticky note that read, 'You better call, or I'll find you and lock you to a cave wall.' She snorted, looking out the rear window, smiling back at her best friend before he was out of sight for the last time.
June 25th 10:03 PM Youngstown, Ohio at Roma's Motel and Truck stop
If there had been anyone else in the car, she was sure she would have annoyed them to death. She'd constantly drum against the wheel while loud music played off of her phone. Clarke preferred to listen to artists off of YouTube in an effort to support the online community. Currently she was obsessed with Against the Current.
Clarke drove straight through Philadelphia without stopping, crossing over into Ohio. Right at the border there was a town called Youngstown where she finally decided to stop.
When Clarke pulled into the parking lot of the motel, she'd been driving for approximately six hours. Her eyelids were drooping and her back ached for staying in the same position for so long. On the way to her room, she started popping every joint she could, searching for that relieved feeling in her bones.
The room itself was small and reminded her of those movies where people stay the night and get hacked up by a serial killer. The walls were covered in a dark grime that Clarke refuse to inspect. Clarke only brought her small bag into the room that held her smaller camera, her laptop, a change of clothes and hygiene products like shampoo and shaving cream.
All she wanted to do was flop down on the bed and sleep till ten in the morning. But she had two things to do before sleeping, and unfortunately they were a little time consuming. Posting a video, and showering away the smell of truck fumes.
After she got all of her shower products out her bag, she started to put together her makeshift setup consisting of her laptop, her camera, and every light in the room turned on. Before pressing record, she braided her hair back and put concealer under her eyes so that she didn't look like the zombie she felt like.
Overall the lighting was unflattering and she still looked half dead when she pressed the red button.
"Hey guys, it's Clarke. I know you were expecting a drunken cooking video with Lincoln posted tonight, but circumstances have changed," She said, taking a deep breath. Sometimes her nerves got to her, she was speaking to 4.8 million people after all.
"I'm moving to LA! This has been completely spur of the moment, so I currently have no idea where I'll be living. And if anyone knows a high school that needs an art teacher, that would really help. I'm currently six hours into the drive and I'm in this place called Youngstown in Ohio. I estimate I'll be in LA by the end of the week. Sorry for the short video but I'm exhausted and in need of a shower, so I'll post another video when I can." She smiled, waved, and pressed the stop button. Her small breath of relief caused her anxiety to melt away.
Quickly before posting, Clarke added a background track of music that wouldn't cause the video to be taken down. It was simple and short, and in the description she wrote 'Thank you Lincoln.'
Clarke smiled to herself as she pressed "Post" before hurrying off to the shower, which ran cold enough to shiver. In the June heat, it was nearly pleasurable. When she was out, Clarke wrapped a towel around her chest and flopped down onto the bed, intending to get dressed, except she fell asleep within moments of her head hitting the pillow.
June 26th at 5:46 PM Iowa City, Iowa at Sinclaire's Bed and Breakfast.
After over nine hours of driving, Clarke pulled over at the first place she saw. It was a little more expensive than she wanted, but she wasn't sure she could manage driving for another hour. Her phone's notifications had been blowing up since she'd posted the video last night. Mostly they were messages from fans asking questions, but there were a few offers. Some more sketchy than others.
Clarke sat down at the table inside the B&B, and the owner said that they'd have some food right out for her. Overall they'd been extremely kind, more so than any hotel in New York.
The one that caught her eye while scrolling through them all was a video by someone called "BeatUpMakeup", and their video was called "RE: Moving to LA!"
She shrugged and clicked on the link, which lead to a video with a girl with olive skin and long dark hair. Her smile was bright and inviting. Behind her was presumably her bedroom, all light colors, very appealing to the eye.
"Hey! I'm Octavia, I saw your video about you moving and not having anywhere to go or a job. Well, if I'm not being too forward, my building has multiple openings and I know a high school that needs an art teacher!" She said, waving her hands excitedly, her smile only getting brighter.
"Also, if you need a couch to sleep on, we have a guest bedroom while you get on your feet. We as in me and my older loser brother. He has a music channel on here, by the way." She smiled with pride.
"Okay so my friend Jasper, also a Youtuber, told me to tell you a little about us so that you aren't worried we'll murder you or something. I go to college campuses to teach girls self defense, kind of the best job ever if you ask me. Currently I live with my big brother, he's twenty six. He's my only biological family left. He does the whole music thing and he teaches guitar and choir in a local high school."
The woman who runs the kitchen sets down a large plate of macaroni in front of Clarke. It looks amazing, she says her thanks before returning to the video.
"We have a little family of Youtubers, I'm sure you'd fit in great. I've loved your videos for years. So theres Jasper and Monty, they get drunk and do chemistry. Raven and Wick build things, yell at each other, and have major sexual tension. Then the Blakes, as in my brother and I. We'd really love to meet you, I'd love to show you around the city. If you're interested just reply to this video. I really hope to hear from you!" Octavia grinned at the camera one last time before the video stopped. Clarke found herself grinning at her phone screen, extremely glad she'd pressed play. So Clarke mentally noted to herself to reply to the video after she cleaned up.
Dinner was extremely quiet, Clarke was pretty sure she was the only guest in the whole place. The creek the stairs made as she dashed up reminded her of when she was a kid trying to slip downstairs to sneak a peek at Christmas presents, and her Dad would always catch her. They'd sit down and eat all the cookies and drink the milk, keeping it as their own little secret.
Clarke allowed herself to collapse onto the bed, her hair pooling around her head like a halo. Scrolling through her music on her phone, she decided on a cover of "I wanna get better" by Against the Current. The song always made her bob her head with a smile on her face.
She decided to let the music keep playing when she pressed the record button on her laptops webcam. "Octavia, against my better judgement, I'm going to take you up on your offer. Please tell me your brother knows," Clarke chuckled, pulling her hair back into a messy bun.
"Send me your number in a message and I'll text you in the morning. I can't wait to get to know you. But right now, I've been driving for nine hours and I feel a bit insane from talking to myself all day. So if you'll excuse me, a long night sleep awaits me." Clarke grins, letting her excitement come across on screen. Clarke didn't bother to add anything before posting the video as unlisted. Before shutting down, she sends the link back to Octavia.
Quickly she plugs in all her electronics to charge overnight before crawling into the sheets, letting the comfort lull her to sleep.
When she woke up in the morning, Clarke found an LA number in her inbox. During breakfast Clarke punched the numbers into her phone and set up a contact for Octavia Blake. Clarke piled her plate high with pancakes the size of hubcaps before she dashed out the door headed for the open road. The sun had barely risen, and exhaustion still clung to her like a blanket.
Before starting the car, Clarke sent a text to Octavia's number.
From: Clarke Griffin
6:28 am
Octavia, this is Clarke!
June 27th 1:22 PM Half way between Iowa City and Denver at Rest Stop 09
After stopping for a break, Clarke found herself laying in a patch of green grass, staring up at the sky. There was no one else around, it was oddly peaceful. Within minutes she'd taken off her sandals and gripped the blades of grass between her fingers. The buzz of her phone had pulled her out of the trance, and she let out a groan of annoyance. Clarke really hoped it wasn't her Mother.
From: Octavia Blake
1:23 pm
Hey! Hows the trip? I'm going to clean up the guest room today.
She couldn't help the sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't her mother.
From: Clarke Griffin
1:23 pm
It's actually great. This means a lot to me, you didn't have to do this.
From: Octavia Blake
1:24 pm
Not a problem. I'd want someone to do it for me! Where you at right now?
From: Clarke Griffin
1:25 pm
At some rest stop half way between Iowa City and Denver! I'll be stopping in the city late tonight before starting up again in the morning. I'm two days out at my rate. I'll be in Las Vegas by nine oclock tomorrow night.
From: Octavia Blake
1:26 pm
You've got to take a break in Vegas! Bring a souvenir for my brother, I'll pay you for it!
If Clarke were honest, a part of her really wanted to stop in Vegas, she'd never had the opportunity to go there before.
From: Clarke Griffin
1:27 pm
I.. I'll stay a few hours extra. Should be in LA by one o'clock in two days. Is that okay?
From: Octavia Blake
1:28 pm
OF COURSE. We can't wait to meet you. Safe travels, Clarke.
From: Clarke Griffin
1:30 pm
See you soon.
Clarke ended the conversation with a grin on her face, quickly dialing the number she knew best in the world. Lincoln shouldn't have a class right now, and she hadn't talked to him as much as she'd like.
He answered the phone quickly, "Clarke! Hows the road?" He asked, sounding happy to hear from her.
"It's honestly amazing. Nothing like New York. I thought I'd miss it, but I feel great." She said, relaxed. Slowly, Clarke moved her arm to rest behind her head, as she crossed her legs.
"The girl that reached out to you, she messaged me assuring your safety. Who knew I'd ever have someone assuring your safety, of all things." Lincoln chuckled, Clarke could practically see him shaking his head.
"At least she's really nice, I could see being friends with her." Clarke smiled, switching the phone to her other hand.
"Yeah, I checked out her channel. She seems great, strong and confident." He said, his voice even.
"Do I detect feelings, Lincoln?" She asked, trying to sound as exaggerated as possible. By his response of groaning and hanging up, she knew she'd been successful.
June 27th at 9:27 pm Denver, Colorado at Jacksons Motel
From: Lincoln
9:27 pm
Are you dumb? Because what you're doing right now is just dumb.
It was literally impossible for Clarke to stop the groan that came out of her mouth. Mostly because Lincoln was right, this may be one of her dumber ideas. But if Clarke wanted to do something exciting in Vegas, she couldn't afford to stay in a hotel during this stop. When she found information on hiking trails, the idea came to her.
Camping.
Clarke had pulled out an old sleeping bag and one of her scented candles that always made Lincoln sneeze, and set up camp. If she was honest, Clarke wasn't sure about the legality of the situation.
From: Clarke Griffin
9:29 pm
I'm not dumb, but the situation is. Shut up, it's beautiful.
From: Octavia Blake
9:30 pm
Do you have Skype on your phone?
She stopped for a minute, trying to remember if she did. Clarke knew she did at one point but after breaking up with a long distance boyfriend she may have deleted it in a tipsy rage. Quickly she scrolled through her apps, finding it on one of the last pages.
From: Clarke Griffin
9:31 pm
I do! Activism4ArtClarke
From: Clarke Griffin
9:31 pm
I think Octavia wants to skype me. Do you want me to put in a good word?
From: Lincoln
9:32 pm
I'm doing that just fine on my own, thank you.
Her mouth quickly formed an 'O' shape, but was interrupted by the video call coming through Skype from "OfficialOctaviaBlake"
Suddenly Clarke was extremely aware of how she looked at the moment, her hair pulled back while she was makeup free. It was obvious how exhausted she was. Especially when she was looking at Octavia who looked pristine as if she were about to go out to a party.
"Hey Clarke, wait, where are you?" Octavia asked, looking perplexed. The only thing behind Clarke was an enormous tree, so it was questionable considering the time.
"Funny story," Clarke snorted, "I'm camping!" She came off way more excited than she felt. But the downward curve of her lip told another story.
"That explains the message I got from Lincoln," Octavia replied with a light smile. Clarke's eyebrows shot up immediately.
"Have you guys been talking?" She asked, leaning back against the tree, despite how uncomfortable it was. The ground was worse after all.
"Maybe a bit. It's no big deal. Anyway I was calling because if you want it, Bellamy was able to get you an interview with the high school he works at." Octavia said with a shrug, as if it were no big deal.
The 'O' Clarke's mouth was making made it obvious that it was a very big deal. "No kidding! Really?" She asked excitedly, her fingers wrapping tightly around her phone as if it were a rope and she was hanging over the Grand Canyon.
"Yeah absolutely. He's a closet fan, it didn't take much convincing." Octavia snorted.
Before Clarke could say anything else, behind Octavia a door swung open and behind it was a shirtless man, slick with water and towel around his waist. He looked pissed.
"Octavia Blake, what have I told you about leaving your wet towels all over the ground. I about broke my god damn neck! Pick them up, you slob." He said, sounding suspiciously like a father. As quickly as he came, he was gone. Octavia's face was pink with blush, and she was shrugging, obviously embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, that's awkward. I should probably- Wait a second. I'm a twenty-two!" Octavia said, sounding insulted. "I have to deal with my brother, I'll see you when you get here, Clarke!" She said, rushed, as the screen went dark and the words "Call Ended" popped up.
When her phone powered down, it only took a few moments for sleep to claim her under the stars.