A/N: this fic is entirely done, save editing, so I will be posting a chapter a week until it is all up. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'd want.

Summary: Something about her blue eyes and self-conscious smiles pulls him in - even though she represents everything that he hates, everything that he can never provide for Octavia. A modern AU.

Chapter One: Foundation

"I never would have forgiven you if I knew it meant I had to come to these things again" she whispers under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear, while she picks at her dress. He lets out a bark of laughter before he can stop himself and everyone turns to look at them, champagne glasses still raised, from the toast they've interrupted. Wells throws up an apologetic hand and Clarke offers a smile to the crowd who slowly turn back to face Marcus Kane who continues his speech with an eye on them. When it's over Clarke and Wells clink their glasses of champagne together dramatically and down them before Wells shoves Clarke playfully in retaliation. She's wearing heels that are much too tall for her and she's off balance for just a moment, but it's long enough for her to stumble about half-a-foot backwards and into a waiter who is passing behind them. She doesn't crash into him or anything as dramatic as that, but she bumps his arm with her back while he's balancing a tray of drinks. She spins around, apologizing several times, but he just compensates for her lack of balance with the tray he's holding – the drinks not even teetering, Clarke notices, impressed – and nods at her. He's clearly not amused by her, but wouldn't be allowed to do anything but nod back at her. He walks away and Clarke spins back on Wells, smacking his arm, "Thanks" she says, sarcasm and incredulity in her voice. Wells laughs, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture as she rolls her eyes.

Clarke glances up at the screen on the wall of the dining room, 'The Crystal Room' the script above the door reminds her, and sees a picture of Wells and Cynthia Jaha from years ago. She closes her eyes against the memory of who Cynthia was before she was just a picture on the wall, encouraging people to donate and pulls in a deep breath. She'd loved Wells' mother and Cynthia had treated Clarke like her own until the cancer finally won out in the end. She and Wells were so young when it happened, they'd clung to each other at the funeral, promising to be Best Friends Forever. But, she hasn't been at one of these events in years, having been convinced that her best friend had been responsible for her father's ousting at Wells' dad's business. She holds her hand against the watch on her wrist, painfully out of place in a room of sparkling shoes and perfect hair. Wells must notice, because he leans over and pinches her bicep lightly, bringing her back to reality.

Sometimes it's hard for Clarke to believe that she only knows Wells because of their parents, that there is a world where they could have lived their whole lives as strangers. To hear her father tell it, the three of them came up together, their parents having been close as well. Jake went on to become an electromechanical engineer, while Abby became a world-renowned surgeon, based out of the hospital just on the other side of town, but often flying to where her expertise are required, while Thelonious founded Camp Jaha Investments in New York City, a hedge fund company that Clarke doesn't fully understand and Wells only knows enough about to know he didn't want to take it over one day but probably will anyway. Even though Abby and Jake had their own careers, they both served on the board of Camp Jaha Investments, Abby still does.

Clarke is clutching her college acceptance letters in one hand and her keys in the other as she runs down the stairs. She's already late meeting Wells and needs to know if they got into all the same schools. She's on the last stair when she hears her parents talking, it feels important so even though it's something she's never done, she flattens herself out against the wall and listens. She can't hear everything, but she understands the gist. At first, Jake thought he found a mistake in the books of Camp Jaha Investments, but further review told him that he found an intentional discrepancy; the funneling of millions of dollars of money people donated to the Camp Jaha charity that sends kids to summer camp directly into the bottom line (and therefor bonuses) of a handful of board members. The silence that follows the information tells Jake and Clarke that Abby already knew this. It's a blur while Abby tries to explain to her husband that it's all for a greater good, that the charity will get its money and that it isn't a shell – there is a complicated explanation that Clarke doesn't understand and Jake doesn't seem to believe. Abby walks away, refusing to have the fight and Clarke makes it a point to make some noise on the stairs to announce her presence and kisses Jake's cheek before going out to her car and going to meet Wells. She tells him what she heard in-between tearing open envelopes and makes him promise, no swear, not to tell anyone. He links his pinky with hers and swears.

Clarke laughs dutifully at something that a woman who has made her way over to her and Wells says and nods, even though she's not sure what she's nodding along to. After the woman leaves, Wells spots Sasha on the other side of the room, a girl he's had a crush on since Middle School. He turns to look at Clarke, but she puts her hand on his elbow, "I'm going to get some air, you go" she shoves him in Sasha's direction lightly and he trips over his feet a little, waving a hand behind him at Clarke's laugh as he crosses the room. There is a Smokers Patio attached to the Crystal Room, and Clarke thinks it'll be too cold for anyone to be using so when she steps on to it, she's surprised to find Kane and Thelonious talking. She's muttering an apology for the interruption when she sees a staircase and crosses to it. She has one hand on the railing and one bunching up her dress so that she won't trip over it on the stairs when Thelonious' voice stops her 'We could start a foundation for your father, if that's something you'd be interested in' he says it soft and slow like he's trying not to spoke her. She doesn't even turn around to face him, just starts on the stairs. She hears him sigh behind her and she just moves faster, tears gathering in her eyes making it hard to keep them open.

She makes it down the stairs and drops her bunched up dress so she can wipe at her eyes a little, she feels silly and childish, but then she walks straight into someone and feels stupid too. She drops her hand from her face and comes face-to-face with the waiter she's bumped earlier in her fun with Wells. "Sorry" she says, then realization dawns on her face, "wow…again…I have walked before I swear" he nods a little and she half smiles, hoping he will too. He doesn't. She clears her throat, they're behind the building in an area really only used when an outdoor event is happening – there is a fountain bubbling next to them, riddled with pennies, and a path to the pavilion next to that. She clears her throat a little, "I didn't think anyone would be down here" she says finally, conversationally.

"Yeah, me either" he answers offhandedly and she nods a little. She feels like an intruder.

She opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to figure out what to say, but in the end, she half shrugs, "I can go…" she offers quietly "I just didn't want…I just needed a minute" she feels obligated to explain herself even though she's not sure why.

He barks out a laugh, despite himself, "No" he runs a hand down his face, looking over at her for the first time, "No, Princess, you stay. My break is about up anyway". She narrows her eyes at the nick name, but nods all the same, her hair is braided intricately around the crown of her head with flowers woven into it, she probably does look like a princess even if she doesn't feel like it. He glances down at his watch and nods to himself, then seems to notice her dress "You're going to freeze" he says it conversationally, like he's not concerned as much as he's just informing her. She laughs a little, despite herself and mumbles a 'maybe' before he looks at his watch again, "I'll see you in there" he says, turning. She can feel the annoyance he must have for everyone at this event as he starts up the steps.

"Wait" she says, taking a few steps towards him. He stops, turns slowly like he's still deciding if he should, "What's your name?"

He hesitates for a moment, "Bellamy" he says, watching her.

"I'm Clarke" she answers, not sure that he cares. He nods, once, before he turns to go back inside.

Clarke spends most of her last pre-collegiate summer waiting for what her dad found to come back up. She starts to wonder if she imagined the whole thing because nothing changes at all. Finally, about a week before she is meant to leave for school, she corners her father in his study and asks him. He's shocked that she heard and she apologizes for eavesdropping in a stutter. Jake puts his hand on her shoulder and tells her that he needs proof, that he can't just accuse the board of something that big without it. And he makes her promise to stay out of it. She only ever talks about it with Wells.

In the end, they don't go to school together, Clarke can't stay at home and Wells can't leave. When she gets to college, they unload all her stuff into the flat she's rented. Clarke decided to go to the Imperial College in London, they have a great medicine program and she thought it was the only place she could grow up at all without her parents smothering her.

She's been in London less than a fortnight and she's in her room, pouring over a course catalogue, BBC News playing in the background. She's not really paying attention to the news, but hearing 'Jake Griffin' pulls her attention. The news program talks about a snafu at Camp Jaha Investments and the ousting of a founding board member and she grabs her phone from the table next to her. He doesn't even get his 'hey, can't decide on your classes' out before she's yelling, "Did you do this? How could you do this?" she has to explain what she's talking about to him, and it only serves to make her angrier. He sputters, talks in fits and starts trying to tell her how sorry he is, but she's not interested in his apologies. "Wells, why would you do this? I trusted you" she almost whispers and she hears him sigh, can practically see the way his eyes flit around when he's trying to think. He pulls in a deep breath and she holds her, she hears 'I don't know Clarke, I thought my dad would help, talk to him, I didn't think…' and she snaps her phone shut, burying her face in her hands. He calls her every Monday and Friday, she never answers.

When she goes back inside, she finds Wells in the crowd and raises her hand in a wave. He nods and smiles a bit, she's fulfilled her best friend duties by being here and she smiles back before turning to leave. She passes by Bellamy who is coming out of the kitchen with a carafe of water and smiles, "see you around" he nods a little in response, looks kind of surprised to be spoken to, and she goes to the coat check and then to Wells' house. Though she's probably technically still lives with her mother, she's not there much, she finds it hard to be – they'd never been close, but after her father's death they found it difficult to find any common ground at all.

Twelve days before the end of her second term at university she walks out of her OChem study group and checks her phone. Missed calls from Wells: 8; Unread texts from Wells: 19; Missed calls from Mom (doctor emoji): 3. All of them are some variation of 'call me, it's important', she walks back to her Flat before she calls her mother.

She packs a bag and flies into New York City that night, she spends the nine-hour flight with 'Clarke, your father is dead' playing on an endless loop in her brain. She emails her professors during the flight and arranges take-at-home finals she's not sure she'll ever actually take. Wells is standing in her families drive way when they pull up to the house and he looks at her tentatively when she gets out of the car and walks up to him. "I don't ever want to talk to you, stay away from me" she says, starting out low and sad but screaming by the end. She can hear Wells, 'Clarke, please' and 'I'm sorry' but it doesn't help and she doesn't care what he has to say, so she takes the steps to her room two at a time and doesn't come out until the funeral (Wells' is there, of course, watches her fall apart in her stoic mother's arms, watchers her apologize to her mother over and over, watches from the other side of the casket while Clarke never ever looks at him).

Wells gets home a few hours later to find Clarke in sweat pants watching Netflix. "No Sasha?" she asks, throwing a Cheese Puff at him. He scoffs, mumbles a 'yeah right', picks the Cheese Puff off his suite jacket and pops it in his mouth. Clarke rolls her eyes, apparently, they've been doing this the whole time they've been at NYU, this almost thing – Clarke thinks it's crazy, had told him once that had she been around, it never would have been let to stand, and they'd laughed awkwardly, remembering why she wasn't around, before Wells shrugged and mumbled 'yeah whatever' at her, his cheeks tinging a little pink.

Her father has been dead for four months. It doesn't seem real, no matter what she does. She tried to go back to school but she couldn't focus at all and was failing basically all of her classes, so when they offered her a break from classes, an intermission, she took it. She packed the things she wanted, sold her car, donated the rest and flew home. Her mother was steadfastly against the idea, but convinced herself that it would only be a term, maybe two, and she would go back…or maybe go to Johns Hopkins like she wanted all along. She sits at the chair in his study, looking at the photograph of the two of them at the Zoo in the city taken when she was four or five and cries, pushing papers around on his desk that he'll never get to finish working on. That's when she sees the ledger and his words ring around in her mind 'I need proof'. She thinks about how he'd called her and said things might change the week before he died, thinks about how he needed proof, thinks about a car T-Boning him on the highway in perfect weather. She looks through the papers, but doesn't know enough about it to know what it means. She keeps all of it, but tells her mom that if she doesn't find a way to get everyone their money back she'll give it to a reporter. The Board 'finds' the discrepancy and refunds the people who donated the next week. It hits her then, that Wells wasn't the only one who could have told his father about Jake's findings – she just never thought that her mother could be capable of turning on her husband like that. At her darkest, she's pretty sure that Thelonious was involved in her father's death somehow and she feels a pit form in her stomach at the fact that very little happens with Thelonious that her mother is not involved in.

She packs a backpack and shows up at his apartment, a few blocks from NYU and cries when he opens the door. She knew Wells would accept her apology, he was too good of a person not to, but she never dared hope that their relationship would just fall back into place like it did. Slowly, she moved everything she cared about into his spare bedroom and she could be found there most nights, now.

Around ten the next morning, she gets a text from Raven 'Coffee Grounders, nowish?' and groans a little, pulling herself in a sitting position and pausing Netflix. 'I need 20' she texts back, going to take a shower and change into jeans a sweater before leaving. She passes her car in the driveway in favor of walking, she'd gotten used to it in London (though she had a car there, she only drove a handful of times) and now preferred it.

About halfway through her first term at school she meets a boy named Finn. He actually goes to NYU, but is 'doing the semester abroad thing'. He's nice and he's sweet and he's charming and he makes her feel like she could be light and things could be easy, if she'd only just let them. It feels like a whirlwind to her, the type of romance she felt like she'd never have, so when he presses butterfly kisses to her shoulder and tells her that she's beautiful, it's easy to let him.

Until, in the last week of the term, his actual girlfriend shows up. They're at his flat, drinking tea at the island when someone knocks at the door. Finn answers it and a pretty girl with tanned skin and dark hair throws herself into Finn, kissing him soundly. Clarke makes a sound from the back of her throat as the pieces come together. She's up and gathering her things when the girl giggles and sees her over Finn's shoulder, "Oh, sorry, didn't see you" she sticks out her hand for Clarke to shake, "Are you one of the roommates? I'm the girlfriend" Clarke shakes her hand, not knowing what else to do and sputters for words.

Finn jumbles over himself, introducing them to each other, and Raven takes a half step back watching the exchange. It all comes together pretty quickly after that. She's angry, obviously, and though she looks at Clarke incredulously "You didn't know he had a girlfriend?" she says it like she needs confirmation (Clarke shakes her head violently, 'no, I swear') and she directs her anger at Finn. On her way out she hears them talking and thinks that Raven is going to give Finn another chance, but she leaves her phone number on top of Raven's luggage anyway, with the note 'in case you need a friend'. Four days later Raven comes to her place to stay for the last few days of her visit and Clarke takes her sightseeing.

When she gets to Coffee Grounders, Raven is already outside at a table, two cups in front of her. Clarke picks hers up as she sits and Raven looks up at her with a smile. They talk easily, about everything except Finn and that is how their relationship works best. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?" Raven asks all the sudden, her excitement going up a notch, staring at her phone.

"…why?" Clarke asks wary of her excitement.

"Okay, good" Raven says taking her answer to mean that she's free.

"No set ups" Clarke warns, serious.

Raven nods, "Promise" before sending a text, "Octavia wants to go to that bar in the city tonight, Polis, wants to introduce Atom around to try to get them past that fight" Raven makes a face and Clarke shrugs. "Annnnnd we have to keep Atom safe from her brother, who I guess is going to be working". She's met Octavia a few times, the girl is in her last year of high school, but met Raven at the Community College where Raven takes some of her core component classes, since she can't afford to take all her classes at NYU's prices and Octavia takes college courses sponsored by her high school. But, it's mostly been in passing – Clarke shows up to meet Raven and Octavia is just leaving to get to work, that kind of thing, so she wouldn't say that she knows her well. Raven seems to like her though, and that counts for a lot with Clarke.

Atom doesn't show. He and Octavia had fought the week before when Atom started a fight with someone Octavia didn't know at Polis and Octavia's brother told him to 'leave Octavia the fuck alone' – Octavia had told her brother to 'stay out of her shit' and Atom told her that he didn't care what her brother said, but then he started ghosting her after that. When Clarke gets to the bar, she sees Jasper and Monty next to piles of Raven and Octavia's things and she hardly has her jacket off before Monty points to the bathroom and Jasper whispers, "Mom, go take care of it". Monty and Jasper have, apparently, known Octavia for years and became friends with Raven last year. She's hung out with them, through Raven, a few times and Jasper started calling her 'mom' when it became apparent that she has a tendency to take care of the people around her.

"Take care of what?" she asks confused then remembers herself, "And don't call me mom" she glares at Jasper who just laughs. They tell her that they don't know what's going on but that it looks like tears were shed, she sighs when she pushes back from the table.

She goes to the bar to get a water and when the bartender turns around she's left staring at him with her lips parted for a long moment before she breaths out, "Bellamy".

He looks at her for a long moment, and she's sure that he forgot about her until "You're a long way from home, princess" and she shrugs a little. It takes her a moment to remember why she's there but when she does she kind of just blurts out that she needs a water and shakes her head at herself when he turns to get it. He hands a bottle of water over and their fingers brush when she takes it and she looks up at him from under her lashes to see if it was intentional, but can't tell anyway.

Octavia, Raven, and Clarke sit on the disgusting bathroom floor and talk about how stupid Atom is for a solid twenty minutes while Octavia drinks the water and Raven fixes the leak under the sink, because the sound of water dripping into the bucket under the pipe was driving her crazy. They come out a little later, the only sign of Octavia's tears is the slight puffiness to her eyes under her reapplied make up. Bellamy catches her arm as they pass the bar and Clarke watches them talk while she helps Raven and the boys move their stuff to the bar so they can talk to Octavia's brother. When Octavia comes and sits between Clarke and Raven, Bellamy watches her carefully, his eyes shifting between Clarke and Octavia several times like he's trying to figure something out. Octavia must interpret this as him wondering who Clarke is because she sits up a little, "Clarke, this is my brother Bellamy, Bellamy, Clarke, I met her through Raven" she explains gesturing between them. That's when it dawns on her that 'Octavia's brother' is Bellamy.

Clarke smiles at the same time Bellamy nods, "I know her" Bellamy says, it's short but it's not unkind. The other bartender, Miller, walks behind Bellamy and nods to Octavia who smiles brightly at him

Octavia keeps trying to get drinks from the bar, more out of how much fun she has enraging Bellamy than an actual desire to drink, and Bellamy spends all night stopping her, while Raven spends all night dramatically drinking her beer in front of Octavia and talking about how good it is. Jasper and Monty leave about a few hours after Clarke gets there; Monty is an environmental engineering major so 'I am obviously on the grounds keeping crew at the Ark' and has an early shift the next morning – Jasper is his ride. And Octavia is giving Raven a ride home and Bellamy reminds her several times that she has school in the morning, so they leave not long later. Clarke sits at the bar and Bellamy watches her expectantly, "You don't have someplace to be, Princess?"

She laughs, shakes her head, "Nope" pops the P and he shakes his head a little, curly hair falling in his face as the humidity in the bar pulls it forward and he hands her a drink. The bar closes at two, but except for a couple of guys in the far corner and Clarke, it has pretty much cleared out by one, so Bellamy and Miller start cleaning up. Bellamy is at the bar, picking up a bus tub to take to the back when he sees Clarke, she's wiping down tables and flipping chairs over onto them. He watches for a long moment, can't make himself stop, before he sets the bus tub down and walks out from behind the bar and to her.

He catches the chair she is in the middle of flipping and takes it from her, he sets it on the table and grabs her wrist lightly, "You know we're not going to pay you, right?" he asks, his voice light and teasing.

She smiles, "Really? I guess I'll go then…" she gestures to the door he smiles at her. She thinks it's the first real smile she's ever seen from him and she's a little transfixed by it, stares up at him until he clears his throat lightly.

"Seriously, stop working" he says it like a joke, leading her back to her seat at the bar by the small of her back. She leans into his hand a little until she sits back down.

He sets the bus tub to go through the dishwasher in the back and when he comes back out, she's wiping down the bar. He sighs, exaggerated and loud, and she just looks up at him and smiles. He rolls his eyes and she shrugs. The three of them leave the bar at 2:15, when they get outside, Miller turns to them, "Nice to meet you Clarke" he smiles at her and she smiles back, "later" he says to Bellamy, pulling his collar up around his neck and walking towards the city.

"You drive?" he asks her, looking around a little, for her car maybe. She shakes her head. "You hungry?" he tries another question and she nods.

"I could eat" she says and he walks her to the Buick he bought from his old neighbor when he was fifteen and had a not-at-all convincing fake ID. It's old and it's falling apart, but when he opens the passenger door for her she slides in.

He walks around and gets in the car, it takes a minute to start but she doesn't say anything when it revs a few times, he's grateful and he turns the heat on and it sputters for a moment before blowing hot air in their faces. He drives about ten minutes, outside of the city, to a dinner that stays open 24 hours. They have the best pancakes and good coffee and it's on his way home so he stops there a lot. He parks by the door and walks around the car to meet Clarke as she climbs out. They walk in and the girl working throws a "Hey Bellamy" over her shoulder as they settle in a booth. He nods back, but turns his attention to Clarke who picks up a menu from behind the napkin holder and studies it.

"Hey Roma" he says when the waitress sets coffees and waters in front of them. Roma asks Clarke what she'll have and Clarke orders blueberry pancakes and Roma smiles as she walks away.

Clarke turns to Bellamy, "You're not going to order?"

Bellamy pulls his hand through the hair at the nape of his neck, "I uh…I always get the same thing…I come here kind of a lot" he's a little self-conscious. She nods, puts the menu back behind the napkins and taps lightly on the linoleum table top. "You go to NYU?" he asks, remembering that Octavia said she knew Clarke though Raven.

Clarke's nose scrunches up a little, he smiles despite himself – it's cute (whatever) before she shakes her head, "I went to school in London for…not even a year, but…" she trails off and he nods even though he doesn't understand. "I don't really…I don't…I'm between stuff…" she stammers. She sounds pathetic in her own ears, her father left her everything that was in his name alone, so she doesn't have to work and hasn't found what she wants to do with her life or her time yet, and going back to London hasn't felt right so she's not in school.

Bellamy shrugs across the table and reaches over to touch the top of her hand lightly, "I get it". And she both knows he couldn't possibly and thinks he might when she cracks a smile.

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