Chapter 2

Clarke woke up before her alarm clock. She fell asleep immediately last night but kept having nightmares and felt even more exhausted and tired now. She padded through her place, eyes barely open and started the coffee machine. Breathing in the scent of fresh coffee, she felt awake enough to open her eyes and check her phone. Again, a few missed calls and texts from her mom and her workmate – and one from Octavia.

Octavia (6:32am): Clarke, u know I'm right.. sorry I shouted at u though. meet me for lunch at 2? xoxo

Clarke sighed and took a long sip from her coffee before she typed a short message.

After a shower and a second coffee, she grabbed her keys, pocketed her phone and left for work. It was October, it was sunny and not too cold, so she decided to walk. Twenty minutes later, she arrived at her workplace, a small gallery. While her actual job was at a bar at night, she loved the two days every week where she could help out at the gallery. Art was something that had always been a part of her life, so she was thankful for this opportunity. It wasn't much, but it was something. She spent her morning moving paintings around for the new exhibition and got lost in her thoughts.

"I knew you'd forget about our lunch date, girl!" a grinning Octavia shouted across the gallery, leaning against the doorframe. Clarke looked up, not sure if she was relieved that Octavia knew her so well or if she felt guilty for pretty much forgetting the lunch date. She sighed and made her way to Octavia. She tried to smile but it didn't work out as well as she had hoped.

"Hey Clarke, what's up? No, don't cry. Hey... look at me." Clarke didn't know what to say or do and before she knew, she slowly hugged Octavia and finally noticed the tears that were already running down her cheeks.

"I saw her again last night, O. I dreamed of that day again, I heard her voice."

"I know…"

"I don't know what to do anymore…"

"I know. Let's get you something to eat, it's probably been long enough since your last meal."

Clarke nodded. No matter what had happened, no matter how hard times had been… Octavia had always been there.

"Clarkypoo, I'll leave with or without you! C'mon, get up already! I made you coffee!" Raven was running through their apartment, clearly excited for their weekend–roadtrip. It was way too early for Clarke's brain to function at all and she had never understood how Raven could be so energetic at such an unholy time.

"Clarke! I'm putting on my shoes! … Now I'm putting on my jacket! … Clarke get up!" Raven, fully dressed now and ready to go, stormed into Clarke's bedroom and jumped onto the blonde who was dangerously close to falling asleep again.

"Raven what the actual fuck! Screw you! Oh and fuck off! And get me my coffee. And say you're sorry! And you know what? Gimme a hug because I love you!"

"You're gross, Griffin. Get your gay under control, a certain Mister won't approve!"

"A certain Mister can suck my dick. Where's my coffee?"

Raven smirked at the blonde's comment and brought the girl her coffee.

Clarke smiled at the photo of her and Raven in their tiny old car. It had been almost twenty years old but Raven had always refused to give up on it, claiming she could repair anything. They had gone on many roadtrips together, and Clarke had loved it. Every moment they had spent on the road, at beaches or in cities and towns they'd never even heard the name of.

Clarke missed her. Two months and she still couldn't handle that the girl was gone. Octavia kept telling her it wasn't her fault and that she had to let her go and deep down, she knew Octavia was right.

"But whatttt if I meet the love of my life tonight?" Octavia whined. She was driving Clarke crazy – a typical Friday.

"I'm sure the love of your life will love you, no matter what clothes you wear, O. You look fantastic anyway, so would you please calm down? Thanks."

"Clarkeee you're supposed to help me! What about that shirt? Isn't that better than this?"

"You know what? Just go naked, I'm sure the potential love of your life would like that even more." Clarke was losing her patience. She had to be at the bar at 8pm sharp, 10 minutes left and Octavia didn't seem like she was planning on being ready within the next hour.

Somewhere under the clothes that Octavia had pulled out of her closet, Clarke's phone went off.

"Octavia, I swear if that's my boss and I'm losing my job because you're not willing to go meet your soulmate naked, I'll kill you!"

"Soulmate, huh? Clarke calm down, soulmates don't exist and this is not your boss, it's your mom." Octavia laughed.

"Oh great. Then answer and tell her I'm on my way to the workplace she will never accept, to do a job she'll never accept, waiting for my best friend to show up naked and meet the love of her life, which my mom probably will approve of. Both things. Just bring my phone, okay? I'm out O, see ya later! And you look gorgeous, keep that outfit!"

"I'm not gonna–" Octavia heard the door shut close before she could protest "–bye Clarke." She sighed. "Hi Mrs Griffin!"

She'd been at work for only an hour but to Clarke, it already felt like an eternity. Octavia had shown up 20 minutes later with Jasper and Monty who used to be Raven's workmates and quickly became good friends with Octavia and Clarke, too.

The group seemed to have fun and Clarke felt a bit sad, knowing she had to work at least 4 more hours until she could join her friends.

When her shift ended, Clarke promised Octavia she'd be back in a bit and went out into the cold night, sighed, pulled out a matchstick and lit her cigarette.

"Can I bum one?"

"Sure." Clarke didn't really bother to look up, just handed the other person the pack of cigarettes.

"Thanks. A lighter?"

"What about it"

"Well, do you have one?"

"No, sorry. Was my last match, too."

"Could I borrow your cigarette for a second then?"

If she hadn't been so tired, Clarke would have gotten annoyed by the other person. She looked up and saw something she hadn't expected.

"What the…"

"May I borrow your cig?" The person asked again and her lips formed a shadow of a smile.

Clarke nodded but didn't make a move to hand the burning cigarette over to the stranger in front of her. Honestly, it was too much. The woman in front of her was breathtakingly beautiful with her long brown slightly curly hair, her sharp jawline, her full lips and those deep, green eyes. But those weren't the only things she noticed. The brunette had several bruises on her arms, and her left eye and bottom lip must have caught a serious punch or two.

Before Clarke could react, the stranger leaned in, and lit her cigarette on Clarke's, never losing eye contact with the blonde. As she pulled away, she smiled again.

"Thanks, stranger."

And then she disappeared into the night.