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Soft voices had been emanating from the conjoined room for some time now to the point it had become a sort of white noise to the delinquents within the large holding cell, but with the chime of the front door of the station that peace snapped. Loud muttering and angered cursing followed suit as a few sets of new foot steps entered the equation. It wasn’t long before the door that separated the rooms was peeled open and an agitated blonde with piercing blue eyes was led into the room. Her eyes were set firmly on the ground, a fierce fire bubbling within them as she locked her jaw. Handcuffs were locked tightly around her wrists and a man of larger stature led her from behind, a loose grip on the cuffs. A third person trailed behind; this one had no cuffs and was around the girl’s age and appeared to be quite worried if the creases in his forehead had anything to say about it.
“Come on, Kane, she doesn’t need to be locked up.” The boy had sped up his stride so that he could get around the pair and he had sidestepped to get in front of them. He was a relatively tall fellow with a darker complexion and a set of dark eyes that rounded as he looked sadly down towards the disheveled blonde.
“Wells, it’d be best if you just head home and notify her mother to pick her up tomorrow morning.” The man, Kane, was playing with a large loop of keys now as he searched for the cuff’s keys. They clinked for a good minute before he found the right one with a little “aha” and he started to work the cuffs off of the girl’s wrists. Once they were off, the girl ducked her hand into the cop’s jacket pocket to retrieve an old watch. She quickly hooked it back onto her wrist.
“Clarke was trying to get away, shouldn’t you be forcing her back home as punishment instead of basically rewarding her?” This comment caused Clarke to turn a glare on the boy, a curl to her lip as she parted her lips to make a snide comment before she snapped her mouth shut again. Wells seemed to take this as a sign to continue because it didn’t take him long to start talking again, “She’s not a bad kid. You know that, sir.”
“Well miss ‘not a bad kid’ must not remember that.” There was a hint of amusement in the older man’s voice as he set his hand on Clarke’s shoulder and pushed her along softly towards the bars of the holding cell. The night had been a busy one so there were already about a dozen kids behind the bars, all of which were failing to hide their interest in the conversation. Anyone who was anyone in this city knew that Wells was the son of the mayor and that Clarke was the daughter of the sheriff. Ex-sheriff as of very recently. Jake Griffin had been killed on the job only two week ago when a man had pulled a gun on him during a routine traffic stop. Unfortunately for Kane, the thought slipped his mind for a moment. “You’d think the Sheriff’s kid would behave better.”
The words barely had time to slip off of his lips before his face drooped and his feet froze in place. An apology hadn’t even formed on his lips yet when the short blonde wheeled around with her fist leading the way. She might’ve been small, but the crack that sounded next pushed a gasp out of everyone’s mouths as the delinquents and Wells froze in place. Clarke had shaken out her fist once before she had lurched towards the man again, this time with her hands pressed against his shoulders to back him up towards the wall. Her lips were drawn thin and a snarl was making it’s way onto them as she smacked her hands against his chest angrily, jaw lowered in preparation to spit venomous words at the startled man.
“Stop! Clarke! What the hell do you think you are doing? You already have one assault charge, stop adding more!” It was Wells who got the first word out and who was immediately hauling Clarke away from the pinned man. He had an athletic build, but even so he seemed to struggle as he lifted the flailing girl.
“Let me go!” It only took one snap from the girl before his arms loosened up and he let her tumble forward, barely snatching her by the shoulder in time to keep her from actually falling flat on her face. Clarke immediately shrugged off his hand as she wheeled around, a sneer pulling at her lips before she stalked towards Kane. The man stuttered a short apology, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck, as she plucked the loop of keys off of his belt. She promptly turned back around and headed towards the holding cell, ignoring the dozen gazes set on her as she ran her fingers through the various keys and picked out one. She unlocked the door and slid it open, taking a step in before turning back to toss the keys at Wells’s chest.
“Just give it a rest, Wells. I’m fine. Leave.” Her voice was a bit edgy as she grounded out the words, her eyes set firmly on his as she pinned him on the spot. He gave a sharp nod before retreating out the door, tossing the keys towards Kane on his way out. The chime of the front door rung out and Clarke’s shoulders drooped slightly before promptly straightening once more when the cop locked her inside of the cell. She turned slowly to face the rest of the crowd, eyes flicking from face to face as she began to size up her temporary roommates. They seemed to all be around her own age, except for one man in the back of the holding cell that had an unruly head of dark curls and eyes to match. A sneer slipped across her lips as she decided that the group was nothing to worry about. Probably all petty crimes and illegal substances.
“So, what are you all in for?”