West Ark High

I Don't Like You, Remember?

Clarke's mom had been remarried for close to four years now, but it was still the first time that her dad didn't drop her off at the front of the school on her first day back. That alone was enough to ruin Clarke's day, but it was her dread of seeing the one responsible that was already beginning to make her blood boil.

"Clarke." Jasper waving his hand outside her window drew her out of her head. His voice was muffled by the glass between them. "Are you going to get out of the car or are you going to sit in there all day?"

Sit in here all day, she thought. Anything to keep her from facing Wells. She was afraid that she might punch him too hard if they crossed paths, and it wasn't out of pity for him either— she didn't want to be held accountable if she did any damage to his head from the impact.

Still, Clarke knew that holing herself away from the world wasn't going to get her into med-school, so she opened the door against her better judgement. "Jasper?" Her stepbrother was sitting crisscrossed on the parking-lot pavement, leaning with his back to the car and his messenger bag in his lap. "Why are you on the ground?"

He scrambled to his feet, taking care to wipe gravel from the back of his jeans. "I wasn't sure when, or if, you were going to come out."

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know." Clarke pressed a button on her keychain and the vehicle locked behind her.

Jasper shrugged. "Maybe not, but it didn't feel right to leave you behind."

Clarke tried for a smile, even though it was clear to both of them that it was slightly forced. Jasper knew just as well that the first day of school had always been a sacred ritual for Clarke and her father, and now she was going into her last year without it. Jasper didn't comment on it, though.

She had walked through the front building of West Ark High over a million times in the last three years, but this time it was different. But if she had to have anyone else by her side, Clarke was grateful that it was Jasper.

They had barely gotten through the front doors before Jasper was rammed in the side from out of nowhere. There was a blur of black hair and a grey hoody, and then Clarke saw Monty and Jasper bro-ing it out in the middle of the hallway.

"Now that," she admitted, "is hard not to smile at."

Monty grinned, shoving Jasper out of the way ("Hey!") and made a move to hug Clarke, who received him with open arms. "You doing okay?"

Clarke inhaled sharply, then sighed into Monty's shoulder. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

"This entire situation is just shitty," Jasper muttered off to the side.

"Nothing that I can't handle," Clarke assured them, trying for another weak smile. Just from the tight smiles that Jasper and Monty returned to her, Clarke could tell that they weren't buying it for a minute.

"Do you want us to walk you to class?" Jasper gripped her shoulder.

"No, it's really fine guys. It's really not that big a deal—I'm just being a little hyper-sensitive about this I guess."

Monty and Jasper traded concerned frowns. "Okay," Monty said slowly. "We'll meet up with you later, alright?"

Clarke nodded stoically, accepted Jasper's side-hug, then watched the two boys as they disappeared down the the east hallway. They both turned around to check on Clarke only to whip back around when they realized she hadn't moved and was still watching them.

A rush of warm air washed over Clarke's back as a new wave of students wandered into the building, and for a minute, she considered doubling back to her car and camping out near the bay all day. Anything to keep her from facing Wells. But then she decided she owed it to herself to get to class on time.