I was watching Devious Maids and Poldark and then this happened I don't even know.

Ever since she was a little girl, Clarke's way of dealing with anything slightly unpleasant was to run away.

When she was ten and her mom made her take ballet, even though she was terrible and she hated it. When she was thirteen and she hated school because she didn't have any friends. When she was sixteen and her dad died in a car accident while her mom was behind the wheel. When she was seventeen and her mom started dating Marcus Kane, so soon after Jake had died. Somehow those problems had worked themselves out, after she'd avoided them at length.

So, that's why she was confident that running away was the best option this time, too. And that's how she came to be sitting on the roof of her car on the side of the road, out of gas, the sun setting fast. Her phone was totally flat so she couldn't even call for help, not that she particularly wanted to. All she could do was wait and hope some kind soul would drive past and take pity on her.

She was absentmindedly braiding little braids in her hair to pass the time when an old pick up truck slowed as it approached and pulled up just behind her. Clarke jumped down from the hood of the car and slipped her hands into the back pockets of her denim shorts as a woman got out of the truck.

"You need a hand?" the woman asked as she walked over to Clarke. She was absolutely gorgeous, Clarke couldn't help but notice. Long dark hair and dark eyes framed by generous eyelashes and her bronze skin was totally flawless, though she didn't appear to be wearing any make up. "I know a great mechanic," the woman grinned when Clarke didn't answer right away. "It's me. I'm the great mechanic."

Clarke cleared her throat as she realised she'd been staring a little too long.

"Um, yeah," she replied. "I'm out of gas." You'd think after years of experience in running away she'd have learnt to fill up the tank and charge her phone before she skipped town, but yet here she was. Her mind had been on other things.

"Damn," the woman nodded. "I can't fill you up but I can give you a tow," she offered.

"Thanks, that would be great," Clarke nodded gratefully.

"Great! I'm Raven, by the way," she held out her hand for Clarke to shake.

"Clarke," Clarke responded, taking Raven's outstretched hand.

She offered to help Raven with hooking up the car but Raven waved her away, and in no time she was in the passenger seat of Raven's truck, speeding along the highway.

"Where are we going?" Clarke asked.

"I live not too far from here in a town called Ark Hill. You ever heard of it?" Raven asked. Clarke shook her head. "I'm not surprised," Raven chuckled. "There's nothing there, really. Where are you headed?"

"I'm not sure actually," Clarke replied. Raven glanced at her and Clarke avoided her gaze.

"Running away?" Raven guessed as she turned off the highway and onto a much smaller road.

"Yeah. And I'm not going back either," Clarke said, a little defensively. Not this time. Raven seemed to notice Clarke's defensive attitude.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to lecture you or command you to go back home," Raven smiled. "I ran away too. That's how I ended up here. Ark Hill." Clarke looked out the window as farm land turned into houses.

"I don't see any hills," Clarke observed.

"It's just a name," Raven laughed. She pulled up at a gas station and they got out. Raven unhooked Clarke's car and Clarke filled it up. "I've gotta go," Raven said, one hand on the door to her truck. "Good luck, Clarke," she smiled before getting in and driving away.

Clarke paid in cash, because although she hadn't remembered to get gas or charge her phone before she left, she had stopped at an ATM to withdraw as much cash as she could so her mom couldn't track her cards to find out where she was. She had left a note for her mom, so she'd know that she was okay (she wasn't completely heartless), but although Clarke had asked Abby not to come after her, she knew her mother would most likely disregard her wishes.

It was dark out now, and she eyed a group of boys who were paying her a little too much attention warily as she got back into her car. Now what? She needed to find somewhere to spend the night. She didn't really want to sleep in her tiny car. She wished she'd asked Raven if there was a motel or something nearby. She assumed there had to be at least one around. Ark Hill was small, but not that small. She'd just drive around until she found it.

As she drove around town she realised that the town was a lot bigger than she'd originally thought. She'd driven through the main shopping area, though all the shops were shut, and around some residential area and was yet to find anywhere she could stay. And now, she realised as she surveyed her surroundings, she was totally lost. She had no idea which way she'd come into town and she couldn't remember which way the gas station was to ask for directions.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath. She kept driving, though she didn't have a clue where she was going or what she was going to do. She saw a group of guys walking along the sidewalk and she wondered if it was the same ones as before and if that meant she was close to the gas station. Should she stop and ask them? She didn't have to get out of the car and if they looked like they wished her ill then she could just drive off. She decided to risk it.

She pulled up beside them and left the engine running as she wound the passenger side window down and called out to them.

"Excuse me," she called, though they all already had their attention turned on her. "Could you tell me where the gas station is? Or a motel?" she asked.

"Yeah," one guy answered, after a moment. He approached the car and put his head in the window. "If you go back the way you came then take the first left you'll get to the gas station. If you keep heading this way you'll get to the motel," he told her. Clarke was relieved he was helping her out instead of trying to murder her.

"Thanks, so much," she said gratefully as the guy removed his head from inside her car. She was about to wind the window back up when she heard a click and she whipped her head around to see one of the guys opening the car door. She tried to slam her foot on the accelerator, but she accidentally hit the brake instead and then the guy was dragging her out of the car kicking and screaming while a friend hopped in the passenger side. Clarke tried to bite her captor but he elbowed her in the face. He threw her onto the bitumen forcefully, while the other guys got in the car.

"Where's the money?" he yelled at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clarke spat.

"Don't play fucking dumb with me, you cunt. We saw you with a big wad of cash. Where is it?" he kicked her in the side to illustrate his point.

"I don't have any money," Clarke groaned. If they were going to take her car she needed all the money she had.

"Liar," he kicked her again and she was about to retaliate when he pulled a gun on her. He knelt down beside her, still pointing the gun at her as he rifled through her clothes, trying to find the money, spending a little too long groping at her chest. She spat at him, hitting him in the face, a risky move when he had a gun at her head. He growled at her and hit her with the gun.

"You have three seconds to give me the money," he told her. "One…"

"It's in my shoe," she told him reluctantly.

"Hurry up, Murphy!" one of the guys in the car yelled. "Someone's coming!"

Clarke and Murphy both glanced up to see someone had just pulled up across the road and was coming towards them.

"Hey!" a deep voice yelled. "What's going on?"

"Shit, it's Blake!" the guy in the passenger seat yelled at Murphy. Murphy quickly pulled off Clarke's shoes and took them with him, as well as the cash they held, as he jumped into the driver's seat of her car and sped off. The man who had yelled out was at Clarke's side then.

"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down beside her.

"Yes," Clarke replied, but she burst into tears the second the word was out of her mouth.

"Can you stand?" the man asked her. Clarke nodded, though he probably couldn't see her very well in the dark. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet.

"We should go to the cops. I know who those guys are," he said.

"Okay," Clarke replied, still sobbing.

"Do you think you need to go to the hospital?" he asked her.

"No, I think I'm okay," Clarke sniffled.

"Come on, I'll take you to the police station," he offered. Clarke nodded and followed him to his car. The car was really nice. She didn't know what make or model seeing as she wasn't really into cars, but it was definitely expensive. She wondered why a guy who obviously had so much money was living in some shithole town instead of a big city.

"What's your name?" he asked her once they were in the car.

"Clarke," Clarke responded. She wasn't crying anymore but she was pretty sure she'd start again if she had to talk too much.

"Clarke what?"

"Clarke Griffin," she answered.

"Bellamy Blake," he returned. He wasn't exactly warm and comforting. She thought someone else would probably spend more time making sure she was okay. Maybe hug her or at least hand her a tissue. But, regardless of his seemingly uncaring manner, she was grateful for his help.

He came inside with her when they got to the station.

"This girl has just been mugged and had her car stolen," he told the cop at the front desk.

"Alright, well, just wait over there and we'll get to you in a second," the cop nodded. Clarke expected Bellamy to leave then, but he walked over to the waiting area and sat with her.

"Why are you in Ark Hill?" he asked her. Clarke just shrugged, glancing at him out the corner of her eye. Now that they were inside in the light she could make out his striking features and she wanted to study them further, but she couldn't seem to meet his eye.

"Okay, we don't have to talk," he said after a long silence and he settled back against the wall and closed his eyes, giving Clarke a chance to gaze at him uninterrupted. He was older than her, by how much she couldn't say. He was dressed simply but his clothes were nice and she found herself wondering what he did for a living. It looked like he'd tried to tame his dark curls with some kind of hair product but it didn't really seem to be working for him.

"Blake," a cop walked out and gestured for the two of them to follow him. He led them to his desk where he introduced himself as Officer Miller and began asking Clarke a lot of questions about what had happened. She answered them all, managing to not cry again.

"Can you describe what any of them looked like?" Officer Miller asked.

"There's no need, Miller. I know who they were," Bellamy interjected.

"Who?" Miller prompted.

"John Murphy and his gang," Bellamy replied. Miller nodded and wrote it down.

"Alright, we'll look into it. You can go now," he said.

Bellamy walked with Clarke outside into the warm night air.

"Have you got somewhere to go?" he asked her.

"No," she sighed. Bellamy nodded thoughtfully for a moment.

"How long are you staying?" he asked. Clarke looked at him and screwed up her mouth.

"I don't know," she replied.

"I have a proposition for you," Bellamy said after a moment of thought. "I'm looking for a maid and housekeeper. Live in. You can have the job for as long as you want it. If not, I have a spare bed for tonight," he offered. Clarke thought for a moment, thought there wasn't really much to think about. She didn't want to go home. She had no car and no money and who knows how long it would take them to track down Murphy's gang. She had no future plans.

"Okay," she nodded.

"Okay?" Bellamy repeated. Clarke nodded again. "Alright. You're over eighteen, right? I don't need to call your parents and make sure this is okay with them?"

"I'm eighteen," Clarke assured him.

"Alright. Let's go," he unlocked the car and the two of them climbed in and drove to his house in silence.