you can call me babe for the weekend

december twenty-sixth

There was a reason Clarke Griffin left home without warning. There was a reason she left everyone except her parents and Raven behind. There was a reason she'd refused to come home until Friday. There was a reason she was on a train heading home the night before she'd planned to head back to California.

That reason was Bellamy Blake.

She pressed her her head against the glass window of the train car. The moonlight reflected off the snowy ground, and God, she missed the snow and home. She missed her friends, her parents, and she missed him. Her phone lit up. A message from a clearly pissed Raven, judging by the contents of it.

WTF Clarke

Frankly, she didn't blame Raven for being pissed; in fact, Raven had every right to be. Clarke Griffin had once again skipped town without warning, and by default bailed on hers and Raven's breakfast plan as well.

She stormed back into the diner, slamming her glass on the bar and snatching her purse as she walked past the booth full of her friends. She should have never come back to this place.

Clarke stood outside the diner door. Through drunkenness and the tears streaming down her face, she still navigated her phone to call an Uber.

"What the hell was that about?"

"It's nothing, Murphy. Just go back inside."

She sat down on the curb and stared at the street.

"You're running again, aren't you?"

"I can't be here anymore. It hurts too much, and I don't want to be where I'm not wanted."

"Clarke, you are."

"Not by him."

"So? Why does Blake matter? Fuck him."

Murphy sat down beside her. She let out a laugh that she didn't know she had in her, and snorted while doing so.

"Loser."

She laughed once more and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Cancel your Uber. There's no sense in paying for one to take you home and then to the station. For whatever reason, I decided against drinking tonight so I can take you."

"Are you sure?"

"What are friends for?"

"Didn't know you had it in you."

"I do, but if you tell anyone I did this or  that I let you put your head on my shoulder, I'll come to LA and kick your ass."

Clarke hadn't realized she was crying. She turned her body more towards the window to avoid prying eyes, not that there were many awake to begin with. Seeing as it was midnight, many were settled in their seats. The man across the aisle pulled his jacket over his shoulder. She wiped her eye and unlocked her phone, texting back.

Please try to understand xx

Surely Raven would understand and if not, then eventually. The first time, sure, but being as this was the second time, Clarke hoped Raven and everyone else would. She shoved her headphones into her ears and the case back into her coat pocket. Evermore seemed like a good album to silently cry to on a train back to DC.

She just wanted to forget tonight, this weekend, and get the hell out of Virginia.

"Damn it, Clarke, I didn't ask for any of this weekend shit."

He was resting against the brick wall of the diner, but now, he was standing with his hand in his hair. He tossed his cigarette to the ground. She knew it was coming. The last time they had a fight as colossal as what she knew was about to happen was freshman or sophomore year. She prayed it wouldn't come to that. Everyone inside would hear.