Hi guys! I started this AU because my heart was aching with all the angst from my other fic. LOL.
Hope you enjoy a little bit of light hearted Clexa!

I want to thank my beautiful friend Gemma for checking this one out so I don't embarrass myself! :)

If you want to check my other fic, it's called They Are Coming!
I'm once-upon-a-sasss on Tumblr, hit me anytime!

Chapter 1 - First Impressions

The alarm clock started its buzzing at 9am. Deep blue eyes opened slowly and blind arms reached around to silence the damned thing. It would be a big day and Clarke Griffin was ready for it.

She got up and made her bed, stretching her body and fixing her blonde hair in a bun. She walked a few steps in the small studio apartment to reach the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face, shaking off the last signs of sleepiness. Back in the room, she reached the kitchen corner and grabbed a bowl of cereal. She made herself a cup of instant coffee and went to sit by the table.

Her studio apartment was very small, but she truly felt home in there. She had her bed by the window as she liked to be able to look at the stars at night before sleeping. Next to the bed, a small wardrobe and a bedside table matched the bed. A small bookcase held art books and a few novels along with some DVDs and CDs. There were posters and photos all over the walls. A small door led to the bathroom big enough for only one person to stand in, and the open plan kitchen held a hob, a fridge and a small counter with a sink and a microwave. Next to the door, a mess with an old easel and boxes with paint contrasted with the tidiness of the rest of the apartment. That was, however, Clarke's favourite corner. A tall lamp stood next to the easel and a number of canvases piled up by its side. It was not much, but it was home.

Clarke reached for her phone and checked the messages she received overnight. There was one unread text from Octavia, one of her best friends. The text was from only a couple of hours before.

Hey Princess, are you up? Let's have lunch today!

Clarke smiled and replied to the text.

Why are you up so early? I don't know if I can do lunch. I'll buy my new stuff today and probably spend the whole day at the park.

She looked across the room and saw the fat yellow envelope lying atop her bedside table. She worked very hard for that. Extra shifts at three different cafes and all the tips she could get helped her to save enough. She was brought back from her thoughts by her buzzing phone.

You're a loser. A talented one, but still a loser. Call me if you change your mind.

"Dickhead..." She said to herself laughing, before replying.

You're always so nice, O. Anyway, I gotta go. I'll call you!

Clarke put her phone down and went to get changed. She chose to wear comfortable jeggings and a light vest topped with a blue jacket. She grabbed the yellow envelope and her backpack and stormed out the door. There was no time to waste.

Clarke walked around with a big smile on her face as if she was in an amusement park. She couldn't help but feel her soul bubbling with happiness when she was inside the art store. There were loads of shelves holding all sorts of materials; easels, brushes, paints, pens, pencils, papers, canvases and much more, she didn't know where to look.

After almost an hour, she reached the check out with her basket full of things. She really needed new materials. Her easel was old and could barely stand properly. She ran out of canvases and her paints and pencils were on its last legs. She felt happy and excited about her purchase.

"Three hundred and ninety-eight dollars and seventy six cents.", the cashier said as she finished scanning the last item.

Clarke opened her backpack and grabbed the yellow envelope. Opening it, she retrieved a small bundle of notes. She counted quickly and held the whole pack to the cashier with a smile.

"Here. There's four hundred."

The woman grabbed the money and counted every single note.

"One dollar and twenty four cents change. Thank you very much."

Clarke grabbed her things and left the store. She looked at her watch, it was twenty minutes past eleven. She wasn't feeling hungry at all so she decided to pass on Octavia's invitation and started walking to the park. It was one of her favourite painting spots, it was quiet and full of colour. It took her less than half an hour to reach the gates of the park.

She found a quiet spot near the lake and opened her new easel right next to the edge. She balanced her new pastel sticks, pencils and a few tubs of an expensive brand of acrylic paint. The small tray beneth the canvas' area of the easel were perfect to fit all her things. She also rested a couple of brushes and pencils and placed the only canvas she was able to buy and carry. It was worth it to buy such an expensive easel. She could fit everything she would use on it instead of having stuff on the floor.

She took a step back and contemplated her new set of materials and tools. She sighed in happiness and grabbed her phone from her back pocket, taking a picture and sending it to Octavia.

I'm a happy bunny!

A few seconds later, her phone started ringing. She quickly picked up and heard her friend's voice.

"Oh my god you spent all that cash on just that? You're fucking insane, Clarke!", Octavia had surprise in her voice.

"Shut up Octavia. Art materials are expensive and besides, I didn't spend it all. There's like two dollars left."

"You better buy me a fucking coffee or something with that fortune you have left, Princess. I can't believe you're bailing on me for a bunch of brushes!"

Clarke could recognise the joking tone in her friend's voice and smiled.

"I love how you support my only dream and hope for the future, O. Thank you, it means a lot.", she said sarcastically.

"Well, that's what I do.", Octavia said laughing. "Anyway, you know I love you and I think you're fucking awesome so I'll forgive you, I guess. Have a good time with your new stuff. I'll come round later to see what you've managed to create!"

"Deal. See you later, O!"

She pressed the end button and put the phone back in her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she looked over her easel and took in the view. She loved the park. It was so beautiful and peaceful. The perfect place to empty her brain and fill her canvas.

She took a pencil and started drawing. She looked up and back to her canvas, moving her hand with skill. In no time, shapes of the trees and the lake started to form on the white surface. Clarke brought the wooden end of the pencil to her teeth and stared at her creation.

"This sucks...", she said with a sigh and started rubbing the eraser on the fabric, making the lines disappear.

Starting over, she grabbed a different pencil and started doodling a few lines of trees that stood on the other end of the little lake. The girl added details and traced the margins of the lake and the vegetation around it. Paying attention to all details, Clarke lost track of the time. It felt like an eternity had passed when she finally stepped back and let a small grin grow on her lips.

"Much better!", she said, putting the pencil down and taking a medium sized brush.

She reached for her bag and got a plastic palette, leaving the bag opened. One by one, she grabbed the tubs of paint from the little tray on the easel and squeezed them lightly into the small compartments of the palette that was now fitted on her fingers. She started to press the brush against the canvas, applying small bits of green to the top of the trees and blue to the sky. She was completely immersed into her painting, like there was nothing around her.

After a while, she was half way through the painting. The colours and shades of the scene were now clear and she started to add details. As she started to stroke the canvas again, she heard a voice that sounded far from where she was. She decided to not pay attention to it as it was getting late and she wanted to finish her painting before the sun started to go down.

The voice started to move closer and closer to her.

"Don't move so fast birdie! Don't move so fast!"

She started to turn around to see what was going on when she felt herself being hit hard and pushed backwards against her easel and materials.

Clarke felt like she was seeing things in slow motion. She felt her body crashing against the wooden object with force, making it bend backwards. She saw it slowly falling and she tried to move her arms to grab it, but it was all too fast. She closed her eyes and felt her knees hitting the ground and a heavy weight falling over her, bringing her down completely. She then heard the easel falling in the lake with a loud noise that made her open her eyes in despair.

She quickly pushed the weight from over her body and got up, trying to reach her tools and materials, but it was in vain. The water and the wind had already taken it a bit too far from the shore, just far enough for her not to be able to reach.

She brought her hands to her head in disbelief and felt tears starting to pool in her eyes.

"No! No no no no no! This is not happening! This is not fucking happening!"

Turning around to see what had hit her, she saw a tall brunette getting up dizzily with a camera in her hands.

"Ouch, that hurt...", the brunette said, not noticing Clarke's angry gaze.

"Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck d'you think you're doing?"

The girl raised her head and looked at Clarke with confused eyes. She then moved her gaze to the lake and saw the floating easel and materials. Her green eyes widened as she brought her hand to her mouth.

"Oh shit... Oh shit I'm so so sorry! I was trying to take a photo, I didn't see you there!"

"I don't give a fuck what you were doing, do you have any idea how much I had to work to buy all that shit? And I only bought it today and it's fucking gone thanks to you!"

Clarke could only see red. She had indeed worked really hard to save enough for the new art supplies. She had no idea how long it would take to save it all over again, on top of paying her bills and putting some money away for her art school fund.

She turned her back to the girl and knelt on the ground. Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she stared at her things floating on the lake.

"We can try to grab it! We can call, I don't know, someone! There must be someone who takes care of this park, they can probably get it!"

"It's made of wood! Are you an idiot? It's ruined! And the other stuff as well, it's a canvas, pencils, paints! What do you think happens when it gets fucking soaked with water?"

"Look, I'm really sorry, I'll replace it all, just tell me what you had there and I'll replace it."

The girl had an honest tone, she really seemed to be sorry about it but Clarke could not see reason.

"Fuck you!", she said, grabbing her bag and walking away without looking back.

The brunette sighed and stared at Clarke while the blonde brisked up her pace towards the exit of the park.

"Oh man...", The brunette said to herself while turning around. As she stepped forward, she felt something under her foot. Looking down she saw a blue wallet lying on the floor and crouched down to grab it. Opening it on the ID compartment, she looked at the photo of a blonde girl with blue eyes for a moment before looking up to the floating art supplies.

"Nice to meet you, Clarke Griffin." She said to herself in a regretful tone.