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Clarke always rides the bus to her 10:00 am class every Tuesday and Thursday. Ever since she’s started living with Raven, Harper, and Octavia off campus she hasn’t had a car. She doesn’t have the money what with her student loans.
The bus ride is typically an uneventful 10 to 15-minute ride until she gets to campus. Sometimes there are quite the characters at the bus stop and on the bus. She’s usually able to avoid them having headphones in her ears and that does the job of warding off creeps. She’s just been forgetting to put them in so focused on her emails and studying whatever information is on her phone, preparing for finals. She has had so many guys approach her and hit on her in these last couple weeks and she’s had it. She literally had a guy come up to her and say, “Damn girl, what’s a fine thing like you all alone on the bus.” Thank goodness her stop was letting off right at that moment.
She gets it she’s blonde with a nice pair of boobs but she’s not dressing to impress and her whole aura screams: Don’t talk to me! She has finals coming up and doesn’t want the stress of creeps to be added to it.
Today she’s on the bus once again responding to emails and double checking assignments that are due coming up. The bus hits a bump and she loses her balance a little but still manages to hold onto the pole.
“You okay, miss?” She looks over to see some regular looking guy dressed in a polo, khakis, and name badge.
“Yeah, I’m good, thank you!” She goes back to her school account again, trying to get the assignment requirements to load.
“You go to Arkadia University?” Damn it. She looks up to see it’s the same guy. She realized she wearing her Ark-U sweatshirt. Fine I can make bullshit small talk.
“Yep! It’s my third year! Go wolfs!”
They guy looks excited that she’s making conversation and all Clarke can think about is how long till her stop, 10 more minutes. It’s too early for this.
“Yeah, I graduated last year with my communications degree. So happy to be done with it. What are you majoring in?”
“…Pre-med.” She goes back to looking down at her phone again really hoping he’ll get the message. Clarke opens up her Snapchat to start messaging her roomie group chat for someone to call He walks over towards her a little. She’s done with this.
“I’m Jay by the way.” Shit. He doesn’t get it.
“…Claire.” Why do guys feel like this is fine?
“Hey, why don’t you add me on snapchat?” Double shit.
“…Ummm, no.” Clarke is starting to get a little worried now.
He narrows his eyes and angles himself toward her a little more. “Aw come on, my stories are really funny!”
“No thanks, I’m good.” She keeps her attention on her phone.
“I could answer any questions you have about after college help you out a little.”
“I said I’m good.” She tries to move over a little more but bumps into the lady next to her. “Sorry.”
She starts dialing the first number that’s on her screen anyone so this guy will stop talking to her. She has it raised to her ear as it rings. The guy is watching her. No one answers. She starts to make up a conversation as it rings.
“Hey, so for Johnson’s homework did you end up getting question 27. I was having trouble with some of the conversations.”
The guy finally stops looking at her but doesn’t move away.
“Hello?” It’s Bellamy, her neighbor from across the hall and Octavia’s brother. Also the guy she has a slight, tiny, inadmissible crush on. “What, Clarke what are you talking about?”
“Okay, that makes a little more sense. You mind explaining to me on paper before class?”
“Clarke you woke me up and this doesn’t make sense. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Okay, so what-“
“Yeah let’s grab some coffee after class and we can get a head start on the project sounds perfect.” The bus slows down to her stop. “Hold on a second.”
As she starts to walk off the bus she hears, “Have a good day Claire!” She walks as quickly as she can away from the bus and towards her class.
As soon as she’s away she starts apologizing. “Whew! I’m so sorry to wake you, Bellamy! But there was some creep on the light rail that just wouldn’t leave me alone and I just dialed the first number on there which was you because you’re the last person I called because of the whole Roman art thing from the other day. And I know you were asleep but I just-”
“Clarke! It’s not a problem I was just worried why you were randomly talking about a class we don’t have.”
“Yeah sorry.”
“But you’re okay now? You need me to stay on the phone longer?”
“No, I should be good now my class isn’t too far. Thank you, and sorry for waking you.”
“It’s okay. You can always call me no matter when or for what.”
“Thanks! Now go back to sleep.”
“Nah I’m up now, might make myself some breakfast for once.”
“Ha, okay well see you later!”
“See you later.” She hangs up her phone and walks straight to class as quickly as she can.
She continues on with her day like normal and nothing out of the usual happens again. Even the bus ride home is pretty relaxed.
When she walks into her apartment she sees Bellamy and Octavia battling each other on some x-box game. Octavia is practically shouting, “HA! How do you like that!”
And Bellamy is not better. “Oh, you think you can handle this? How about now?” Clarke smiles at her two friends being so care free. Bellamy smiling and laughing does funny things to her heart that she tries to ignore.
“Hey, I’m back.” They both look over to her and pause the game. They get off the couch and walk over to the kitchen table where Clarke has started spreading her stuff on.
Octavia is the first to talk. “What the hell girl? You text us and we get nothing back and then you call my brother and not me for this crap?” Octavia pulls her into a quick hug and then playfully smacks her on the arm. “Don’t scare me like that!”
“Ow! And he was the first one on my recents, it wasn’t an ‘Oh I hate Octavia thing.’” Clarke even uses finger quotes.
“You think you’re funny.”
“Sometimes.” They both laugh a little. It’s nice to come home to some goofy fun before diving into the hell and fun that it is to be an art major.
“Whatever, I’m glad you’re okay!” She runs over and turns off the x-box. “By the way Bell I won!”
Bellamy just throws his hands up in disbelief. “C’mon! Cheater!”
“You only say that because you didn’t think about it first!” Bellamy shrugs a little at that truth. “And I do have to study for my Psychology final anyway, specifically regarding domestic abuse and the harm it causes, one of my essay questions.” Octavia runs off to her room leaving Bellamy and Clarke alone to address the issue of the day, the bus ride.
“So you want to tell me what’s been going on? Because it didn’t sound like this was the first time.”
“Yeah it’s not, it’s okay it happens.” Bellamy is concerned for her, it’s clear all over his face. Clarke is touched by it but doesn’t want to seem helpless at the same time.
“Okay, but if I know you, which I do, you would have just told them to fuck off.”
“I did last week and usually I do but after so many times it just gets nerve-racking having some guy creepy up to you asking personal information and you have nowhere to go.”
“I’m sorry.” Bellamy doesn’t know what else to say because there’s nothing he can really do about it.
“Like I know it’s not that big of a deal like there are people who deal with worse.” Clarke starts fiddling with the edge of her shirt.
“Clarke someone getting in your personal space practically demanding things of you is not okay. If you tell someone no, for whatever it is they need to back off.”
“Thanks for validating me.”
“Anytime.” Bellamy sees that she’s still not feeling too okay after this happening just so many times recently, and just seems tired. “Come here.” He pulls her into a hug and they just stand like that for a moment excepting the comfort and warmth. Clarke loves being held in his strong embrace. She wouldn’t mention it to anyone because she would get more shit for it, but Bellamy gives the best hugs.
Clarke starts to get an idea of what could be a short-term solution and just save her some stress for the upcoming weeks.
Clarke speaks up, “Hey.” They both pull away from the contact. “I mean this might be a lot to ask but will you ride with me the next couple times this semester in the morning. I know you don’t have a class till an hour later but maybe you can scare these guys off.”
“You do realize I’m probably way shorter than these guys and not that intimidating.” He has a little smile on his mouth. He’s happy she asked him because it would mean a little less worry for him.
“That’s what you think. You’re all muscle and these guys got nothing on you.” She gives him a playful bump on the shoulder. They both blush for a moment realizing she indirectly called him attractive.
“Not a problem. And hey maybe after my class we can go grab that coffee you were mentioning on the phone.”
“Yeah, I’d love that.”