It Takes As Long As It Takes

Chapter Two

Beep.

She heard the text alert coming from her phone on the dresser. A quick glance at her bedside clock told her it was 6:47 AM. There was only one person who would text her this early. And it was not because that person was an early riser. No, it was quite the opposite. Raven had probably stayed up all night last night working on one of her wayward projects, now high on caffeine and adrenaline and needing attention and interaction. Either that, or she needed to be picked up from her engineering lab after it was shut down due to an exploding gadget, for the third time. Clarke chose to assume the former, because she really, really wanted to sleep in a little bit more this morning.

Her phone remained silent for the next five minutes, allowing her to gently doze off again, before suddenly beeping several times in rapid succession, jolting her awake again.

Letting out a heavy groan, she turned over in her bed, grabbed the phone from her dresser and looked at the screen.

R: Clarke.

R: Clarke, wake up. It's me, Raven.

Clarke rolled her eyes. I have your number, Raven. She scrolled down.

R: I made a breakthrough in my project and I need to share it with someone.

R: Guess what? You're the lucky someone! Congrats!

R: Come pick me up. I'll buy you breakfast and tell you all about it.

R: Do it.

R: You might as well. If you're reading this, you're up already.

R: I know you want to see my face. This face:

Clarke clicked on the thumbnail and it opened to a picture of Raven sticking her tongue out at her. She found herself reluctantly smiling as she typed her reply.

C: You do know it is illegal to text someone before 7 AM on a weekend, right?

R: Well, Blue, not if you love them very much and want to share your happiness with them.

C: I am definitely not coming if you're going to call me that.

R: Haha, just trying out new nicknames!

R: Don't you get tired of being called "Clarke" all your life?

R: I mean, doesn't it get boring for you?

R: Hmm, how about Arty? Haha, get it? Because you art and stuff.

R: And it rhymes with Clarke!

R: Wait, does it?

Clarke was still half asleep, so it took her several seconds to process all of Raven's rambling texts. She shook her head to clear the morning haze.

C: Wait, what?

C: No, just . . . Don't answer that.

She fought a weak internal battle with herself, already knowing she would lose, before typing again.

C: I'll be there in 30 minutes.

She threw off her soft, warm covers, silently cursing Raven as the cold air hit her body, hauled her legs over the bed, and painstakingly pushed herself up. Just before she made her way to the bathroom, she stopped and picked up her phone again.