The Coffee Equation

one ➵ concern

Dedicated to thedaisyanatomy for helping me out in this chapter, for being my friend and for sticking to her roots throughout the years.

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Friday nights had always gave Clarke mixed feelings. The cafe was hectic once the clock reached seven in the evening but that meant that she was getting closer to the weekend. The weekend was the time she savored most, it was a moment for relaxation. Even if it was only a few minutes it was enough for her to love the weekends. She would spend her day slacking in her pajamas while binge watching her favorite shows like Teen Wolf. She missed the days where she could silently fangirl about Stydia. The situation was much different than it was two years ago however. There was barely an empty space on her schedule and it drained her energy, which made her feel absolutely exhausted.

It didn't help her state that she worked longer hours on Fridays. She didn't have much of a choice even if she really disliked the idea of working more. Financial problems has been a part of her life since she was only fifteen. Life was hard and as Clarke started to get more independent, she learned that the perfect family doesn't exist. The fantasies of a perfect family was a string of lies. A lie that Clarke wished she had found out later. 

Her mom and dad, well their presence was barely even felt anymore. It was like dust - there, but, not at the same time. A situation like this was not to be felt by any seventeen year old. Sometimes, she envied the lonely. She would rather much liked to be alone but at the same time, she knew she couldn't go through without anyone.

The cafe was dim now as she stood behind the counter, waiting for anyone who wanted to grab a cup of coffee at midnight. She appreciated the quiet atmosphere that surrounded the cafe, the only thing keeping the place from becoming eerily silent was the soft music playing throughout the cafe. It gave her some time to ponder about what she would do once she got her next pay check. She wondered back and forth if she would go and buy herself a new bicycle or just save more money in case. The piece of junk that she uses to ride to school was crap. It was getting rusty and the brakes were sure to fail on her at anytime.

A ring from the door opening caused Clarke to look up from the book she was reading. She quickly folded the top corner of the page and wasn't surprised that it was Daniel. The guy that she played soccer with together when they were twelve, the guy that brought her ice cream when her parents were being unbearable.

"Didn't I tell you to not work more than you should?" Daniel questioned as he raised an eyebrow. He stood there with a black jacket and his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

"Didn't I tell you not to come and bring me home anymore?" She retorted. Daniel felt the need to check on her - Clarke was starting to slightly drift apart from him, but he couldn't blame her. She had dark circles under her eyes and often, she would drink coffee to keep her from falling asleep. Their friendship was one of the only things that ever worked out for her but she didn't want or need the pitiful looks that were given to her every single time. She had grown to despise it; she didn't want pity. It felt like someone took their better lives to just rub it in her face. 

Her best friend rolled his eyes, "I'm taking you home now."

"My shift hasn't ended yet," she yawned and Daniel chuckled. He admired that she still had a strive to get what she needed, even if it meant sacrificing some things.

"I'll wait for you okay?" His tone was soft and sincere, "I'll also have a cup of coffee while I do. You didn't forget about what I like to drink right? If not, I'll have to give you a ticket."

"And why do I need that ticket for?" She questioned, amusement hinted in her tone.

"A ticket to spend Sunday playing soccer with me. I miss those days, I hope you do too."

Just like that, she knew that he would be there for her, even if she didn't want it sometimes. She was grateful for someone that cared about her as much as he did. He knew how to lift some weight off her shoulders, but to also be able to make her laugh when she really needed to. So as Daniel sipped on his coffee that Clarke made in less than a few minutes, she had a slight smile on her face. A smile that had managed to make her feel better. 

Daniel had noticed, but it still wasn't what he wanted from her. He wanted her to be able to smile like there was nothing else to ever worry about in the world. He wanted to be the one that made her smile genuinely -- but even if he would do a lot of things for her, as would Clarke -- they both had a mutual respect of just staying like they always had been, best friends. Love was too complicated for either of them right now, a feeling that was especially irrelevant compared to Clarke's problems.

Daniel pat on the wooden chair that was beside his -- he sat at a table near the counter after she finished making the hot drink, "Come and sit."

Clarke could feel Daniel gazing at her when she made the coffee and his gaze still not leaving her as she reluctantly walked over, wondering why Daniel wanted her to sit down. Her brain started coming up with all sorts of scenarios -- one of them being him telling her that he was terminally ill. She couldn't help if she was a pessimist as she was told by her other friends a few times, although she always thought that she was more of a realist. 

"What do you want to talk about?" She managed to say even though her heart was rapidly beating faster. Daniel had a concerned look, which was why whatever he was going to say next made her nervous. 

"How many hours are you sleeping her day?" 

Clarke visibly relaxed, glad that nothing bad came out of his mouth but simply just a question. "I don't know, maybe five hours on weekdays and 6 hours on weekends." 

The boy that sat with his hands over hers sighed, "You have to make sure that you take care of yourself."

Clarke was honestly trying her hardest to get as much sleep as possible. What Daniel didn't realized was that she had chores, homework and work that needed to be attended to first. That was her main priority. She didn't feel like talking about her well-being too, "Can we not talk about it? Enough about me." That was then that Clarke realized that Daniel was wearing a new jacket, "Are you wearing a new jacket? It looks good on you."

She was trying to change the topic and knew that Daniel would know, but it was worth a try. "Don't try to change the topic."

Clarke bit at her bottom lip." Please, I really don't want to talk about it." She tried to give the best innocent look possible knowing that he could easily fall for it. 

"Screw you," Daniel said. "I'm taking you home now."

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Word count: 1238

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Please bare with me, this is the first chapter so i'm just trying to introduce the relationship that Clarke and Daniel have with each other. They are strictly just friends though, so don't forget. However, Parker will be introduced in the next chapter.

I would really appreciate it if you guys could give some feedback cause that's always good. This story might be a bit slow paced but it'll be packed with a lot of things going on. I hope to be able to update the next chapter soon but to be honest, the only reason I took so long to write the first chapter was because I absolutely suck at writing the start of the story. Once again, please bare with me and give this story a chance.

Thanks guys! -Charlotte