Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Guess what I heard today,” Octavia sing-songed to Bellamy as she walked in the front door of their apartment and dropped her stuff on the counter.

“Why do I get the feeling that it’s not something I’m going to be excited about?” Bellamy asked without picking his eyes up from the book he was reading.

“Because you’re rarely excited about anything,” Octavia teasingly grinned.

Bellamy lifted his eyes for a moment to glare at her before returning to his book.

“Anyways, someone’s finally renting the penthouse of this apartment!” Octavia squealed.

Bellamy briskly shut his book and questioned, “Why are you excited about this? This means we’re going to have to be even sneakier when we break onto the roof.”

Octavia hopped onto the couch next to him. “Well, it might be easier now because I’m kind of planning on seducing one of the guys that lives there.”

Bellamy sighed, “Jesus, O. You’ve already decided this? When did you even get a chance to see him?”

Octavia kept lightly bouncing on her knees, slightly shaking the whole couch, so Bellamy knew this was going to be a thing. There would be no persuading her otherwise.

“Bell, I met him downstairs when he was moving his stuff into the big elevator. His name is Lincoln and he’s probably the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. And he’s so kind too! He was so smiley and happy when he was moving his stuff, which is a fairly annoying task, so I know that he and I are going to work out so well!”

Bellamy laughed, “Because you’re just a perpetual ray of sunshine?”

Octavia lightly punched his arm. “You know that between the two of us, I am clearly the more sunshine-y one.”

He acquiesced, “That’s true. So is he living there alone? Because he must be pretty fucking rich to afford the penthouse of this apartment. We can barely afford this one.”

“He mentioned having two roommates, I think their names are Clarke and Wells? Anyone, they’re all loaded because they’re a part of this really successful art troupe or something so they do shows and sell paintings all over the country.”

“Three artistic dudes living together? How old are they?” Bellamy asked, skeptical.

Octavia shrugged, “Well, I only met Lincoln and I’d say he’s around your age, like late twenties.”

“Isn’t that a little old to live with other members of your art troupe?”

“God, Bellamy, don’t be judgmental. We’re a grown brother and sister living together. You’ve seen Bridesmaids, you know this can be perceived as weird.”

Bellamy huffed, “We are not like the siblings in Bridesmaids. It’s hard to live in downtown LA and live in a safe area without paying two thousand a month in rent. This is a financial arrangement.”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “Oh really? I thought you just wanted to live with me to spoil all my fun.”

“Hey, I’m not stopping you from pursuing this Lincoln guy. Marry the man, for all I care.”

Octavia laughed at his forced nonchalance as she could see his protective instincts trying to break through.

“Will do, big brother. He actually invited us to come hang out with them tonight when they’re all moved in. And since you have no friends, this is the perfect opportunity to make some.”

Bellamy groaned, “Do I have to? I already have one friend and Miller would get jealous.”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “Shut up. Miller is not helping your social prospects. How are you supposed to get a boy/girlfriend without a wingman that can, I don’t know, actually talk to strangers? Because we all know Miller is not particularly helpful in that department.”

Bellamy sighed, “I don’t have to want a boy/girlfriend, you know. I can be perfectly happy alone.”

‘You could also be perfectly happy with another human being, but you’re not trying. Come on, if you don’t come with me tonight, you’re leaving me in an apartment with three strange men. Who knows what might happen?” Octavia pouts.

As usual, she knows just what to say to make him do what she wants.

Bellamy spent the remaining hours before the gathering dreading every aspect of it. He didn’t want to have to sit and watch his sister “seduce” some guy and he really doubted the other guys would be fun enough to distract him from that.

When it was finally time to go up, Octavia stepped out of her room and eyed Bellamy.

“Are you really wearing that?” she asked.

Bellamy looked down at himself. He was wearing his pair of jeans that fit well and an old Metallica tshirt.

“What? Guys don’t care what other guys wear.”

Octavia rolled her eyes but knew that fighting him on the subject would just make him less likely to go. She started walking toward the door.

Bellamy said, “You know that you’re also wearing a tshirt and jeans.”

“Bellamy, this is a blouse. Also note: ankle boots. Cute jacket. This is an outfit that is good for making first impressions. You look like you work in a garage.”

“It’s this or my tweed teaching jacket which you’ve told me is a nightmare, so it’s up to you,” Bellamy grinned.

“Ugh, whatever, let’s just go.”

The rode the elevator in silence and Bellamy was starting to be a little nervous. Meeting new, rich people always made him feel a little insecure.

It’s not that he doesn’t have enough money to get by, it’s just that he’s never quite had an excess of money. He’s been financially supporting Octavia for nearly a decade and now that she’s in her final year of grad school, his savings have dwindled substantially. There’s only so much money a middle school English teacher can make.

When they reached the top floor, Octavia typed in the code Lincoln must have given her earlier and the doors opened straight into their apartment. Bellamy had to consciously stop his jaw from dropping.

The walls were essentially all-glass, giving Bellamy a beautiful view of the lights of the city. The furniture was sleek and modern, while also looking comfortable, which Bellamy had previously believed to be impossible. But the most incredible things were the bookshelves and the art.

The walls that separated the bedrooms from the main living area were lined with either books or art so that every inch was covered. Bellamy immediately found some of his favorite books in leather-bound editions and thought maybe he could find a friend in this apartment. The art was remarkably interesting as well and Bellamy felt a vague familiarity with it, but couldn’t quite place where he knew it from.

Soon, a man emerged from one of the bedrooms and Bellamy could hear the smile in his sister’s voice as she said, “Hi, Lincoln.”

He beamed back at her, “Octavia! So pleased you actually came by.”

Lincoln gave her a light hug, which she returned.

He then turned to Bellamy. “Bellamy, right? I’m Lincoln, it’s great to meet you.”

Bellamy shook his hand and understood what Octavia was talking about earlier. This guy reminded him of a golden retriever he seemed so happy.

“Your apartment is amazing,” Bellamy said to Lincoln.

“Oh, thanks, but I can’t take any credit. Clarke’s the one who did all the work to find this place,” he said to Bellamy before calling out to his roommates, “Hey, Clarke! Wells! Come meet our new neighbors.”

At that, a shorter, shier black man stepped out of his room and introduced himself to the Blakes.

“I’m Wells, lovely to meet you both,” he said politely, although not quite as friendly as Lincoln.

Following Wells was a petite blonde woman, which made Bellamy draw his eyebrows together in confusion. Was there another guest present?

She extended her hand out to him, saying, “Hi, I’m Clarke.”

Bellamy clasped her hand in return, “Bellamy. And this is Octavia.”

Octavia and Clarke just nodded at each other and Bellamy could sense they were kind of feeling each other out.

To try and distract from the almost-tension, Bellamy said, “You guys have so many gorgeous books. This is almost a library.”

Lincoln laughed. “That’s all Clarke. She’s, um, an avid reader, to put it lightly.”

Bellamy turned to Clarke, “I saw you have some great classics up there. Any particular recommendations?”

“Well, Jane Austen is great, but I’m not sure you’ll be into it,” she murmured.

Bellamy stopped for a moment, “Oh, well, I actually love Jane Austen. She’s brilliant.”

Clarke blushed, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Lincoln interrupted her.

“Clarke, why don’t you go get everyone some drinks? We’ve got wine and beer and probably some harder stuff,” he offered to the group.

Both Bellamy and Octavia requested a beer, and Clarke turned to get them from the kitchen without another word.

Lincoln led them over to the couches and they sat down, Octavia between Bellamy and Lincoln on one couch, and Wells sitting on another near them.

Clarke came from the kitchen impressively balancing five open beers and distributed them. Everyone seemed to feel at least mildly uncomfortable and quickly took large gulps.

As the night went on, more beers were consumed, and as Bellamy got drunker, he became more comfortable. So did everyone else.

With one exception.

Clarke, though keeping up with the alcohol consumed, did not seem to loosen up much at all. Wells was at least laughing louder than was really appropriate and Octavia had gotten comfortable enough to be sitting in Lincoln’s lap, which Bellamy didn’t really want to think about.

But Clarke just sat on a lone-standing large chair, quietly drinking her beer and seeming to hope people would forget she was there.

Soon, Octavia made Lincoln put on music and Octavia squealed something about a dance party. At that, she and Lincoln got up and began dancing with each other, causing Wells to mumble about getting something from the kitchen and Clarke following him.

Though uncomfortable, Bellamy didn’t want to follow them yet in case they were really just trying to make a break from this slightly weird evening.

But when Octavia and Lincoln began making out, Bellamy quickly extracted himself from the room. He made his way toward the kitchen. When he was just outside the door, he heard the voices of Wells and Clarke, quietly talking. He stopped to listen.

“So, what do you think about Octavia and Bellamy?” Wells asked.

Bellamy could almost feel Clarke shrug, “Octavia seems nice enough, but might just like that Lincoln is a famous artist. And Bellamy’s, well, he’s super hot, but he’s not dateable. Verdict’s out on whether or not this being friends with them thing will work out.”

Bellamy didn’t wait to hear why he wasn’t “dateable” and locked himself in the bathroom.

“What the fuck?” he whispered to himself once he was in there and texted Miller.

Bellamy: a girl just said I wasn’t dateable

Bellamy: is it that obvious?

Miller: yes

Miller: no, I’m fucking with you

Miller: I think you’re very dateable and this girl’s an asshole

Bellamy: okay, agreed thanks

Bellamy left the bathroom to find that Clarke and Wells were back in the living area, Clarke sitting alone on the couch as Wells dances by himself and Octavia and Lincoln can’t stop giggling as they sway.

Bellamy sat down next to Clarke on the couch and said, “So, princess, do you not dance?”

Clarke shrugged, “Not particularly, you?”

‘Well, I don’t have the opportunity that often. Probably a side effect of not being dateable,” he ruefully smirked.

Clarke’s cheeks went so red, he felt as if they were going to catch on fire.

Before she had a chance to defend herself, he stood up and said, “O, it’s late. I’m going to go home. I’ll see you later.”

Octavia turned in Lincoln’s arms and said, “Okay, I’ll come home soon. Have a safe ride down the elevator.”

Lincoln, Wells, and Clarke all mumbled their goodbyes as Bellamy made his way out the door.

When Bellamy got home, he grabbed his book and sat in his favorite chair. He tried to read, but inside he was stewing.

How could someone say that about him? Like, sure, he wasn’t LA’s most eligible bachelor, but undateable? So rude. She didn’t even know him! It all had to be based on her perception that he was poor and Octavia was a famewhore/ gold-digger.

He made a resolution to cast her out of his mind. He probably wouldn’t have to see each other that often anyways, unless Lincoln and Octavia started dating. Even then, she shouldn’t be too hard to avoid. Well, they do live in the same building, but Bellamy couldn’t imagine he kept the same hours as an artist. She didn’t have a nine-to-five and therefore he probably wouldn’t see her in the elevator during rush hour.

It would all be fine.

By the time Octavia got home, he had calmed down. Her smile took over her entire face as she danced into the room.

“So, that was my soulmate. Hope you liked him, because he’s the one,” she said happily.

Bellamy smirked, “Okay, Octavia, if you say so. When are you going to see him again?”

She continued to grin, “Next Friday. He’s got an art piece due that day so he’ll be working all week, but Friday night we’re going to go out to dinner and it’ll be so romantic.”

Bellamy nodded and smiled, happy for his sister, “That sounds great.”

At that, she floated off to bed and Bellamy turned in for the night as well.

The week passed without incident and Bellamy didn’t see Clarke except for one time from afar, and he couldn’t even be sure that was her.

When Friday night came around, Octavia would not stop pacing up and down the hallway.

“O, it’s going to be fine. It’s just a first date and you already know he likes you,” Bellamy said from his chair, where he was, once again, reading.

“But what if he thinks I’m just a gold-digger or something?”

“Then he probably wouldn’t have asked you to dinner.”

Octavia sighed, slightly relieved. “Right, right. Do I look too slutty?”

Bellamy didn’t even look up, “Of course not. Do you think I would let you out of the house looking ‘too’ slutty?”

Octavia laughed. “Okay, whatever you say. Also, maybe don’t expect me back tonight.”

At that Bellamy looked up, “And you’re worried about ‘dressing’ too slutty?”

“Oh hush. I’m not sure it’s going to happen; I’m just saying it might.”

“Okay, O. Just shoot me a text or something so I know you haven’t been murdered.”

“Will do, big brother,” she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

Soon, Lincoln was at the door and she was off, Bellamy smiling and shaking his head at her overwhelming happiness.

Bellamy decided to have Miller over because he knew with Octavia gone, he would probably get lonely.

Miller brought a six pack and video games, so the night had all the makings of a perfect evening.

After about an hour of video games and ribbing each other, there was a knock on the door.

Miller paused the game and asked, “Do you have a friend that’s not me?”

Bellamy shrugged, “I don’t think so, but who knows?”

He opened the door to find Clarke standing there sheepishly.

“Hi?” Bellamy said, questioning.

Clarke scuffed one of her feet against the doormat and said, “Um, hi. Sorry to bug you on your Friday night, but I was wondering if I could borrow a cup of sugar? I’m baking and I spaced and didn’t buy any.”

As this was basically the last thing Bellamy had expected to happen, he was quiet for a moment as he processed. Clarke watched him, getting more anxious with each second.

Finally, she said, “Oh, neverm-“

But Bellamy interrupted her and said, “Sure. Come in while I get it.”

He stepped aside to let her brush past him into the apartment then shut the door behind her. She walked into the living room and saw Miller.

“Um, hi. I’m Clarke, Bellamy’s neighbor,” she said to Miller with her hands behind her back, and Bellamy could see her fingers nervously running over each other. It was kind of cute.

Miller nodded and said, “I’m Nathan Miller, but you can call me Miller. Cool to meet you.”

Clarke just nodded and stood awkwardly while Bellamy went to get the sugar. As he scooped a few cups into a ziplock he asked, “So, what are you baking?”

Clarke startled, apparently not expecting him to speak to her again. “Oh, cupcakes.”

“Any special occasion?”

At that, she laughed, “Nothing besides having no better plans for a Friday night.”

Bellamy smiled at her self-deprecation and said, “Well, if you want, when you’re done making cupcakes you can come back down and hang out with us. Especially if you bring us some of said cupcakes.”

Clarke smiled shyly at his offer, but said, “Oh no, I couldn’t intrude.”

At that, Miller piped up, “You would only be intruding if you came without baked goods.”

She laughed again, and Bellamy realized how much he liked the sound.

“Okay, I’ll come back down when they’re done,” she finally gave in.

Bellamy walked her to the door and she thanked him for the sugar before leaving. Bellamy watched her for a moment, but then shook himself out of it.

When Bellamy joined Miller back in the living room, Miller asked, “So, she was hot.”

Bellamy coughed at Miller bluntness, but when he got his breath back he asked, “Why would you say that?”

“Because you have a hot girl living in your apartment complex. I was wondering why you hadn’t mentioned her.”

Bellamy averted his eyes, “I actually have mentioned her.”

Miller turned to him with wide eyes, “She’s the one who called you undateable?”

Bellamy just nodded.

“Why were you so nice to her then? Why’d you invite her to hangout?”

Bellamy shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed neighborly. I kind of felt bad for her not having a bunch of friends here yet and, honestly, I think she owes me a cupcake for calling me undateable.”

Miller laughed. “As long as you have a plan.”

About two hours later, there was another knock on the door, causing Miller to yell “Cupcakes!” and run to get the door.

Bellamy got up to follow him and met Clarke at the door. Miller already had opened his mouth wide to take a bite of the cupcake and Clarke wasn’t even in the door yet.

“Hey,” she said. “Is he always like this?”

Bellamy laughed, “Honestly, he’s never like this. Can I help you with that?” he asked, gesturing toward her precarious tray of cupcakes.

“Yes, thank you,” she handed them over to him and followed him inside.

As they grabbed their cupcakes and settled in to Bellamy’s couch, Miller learned exactly where Clarke lives.

“Wait, you live in the penthouse of this complex? Oh my god, you totally have to have a party!”

Clearly he was still a little too buzzed on the sugar.

Clarke kind of wavered, “I don’t know who I’d invite or if people would actually really want to come.”

“Of course they would! And you can invite all of our friends and the cool people in the building. Also, I’m sure you must have like work friends or whatever. This would be a great way for everyone to make friends!” Miller exclaimed.

Bellamy laughed, “Honestly, you have to do it because I think otherwise, Miller will just die right here.”

Clarke laughed too, that lovely tinkling sound and said, “I suppose I can try.”

Miller quietly fist-pumped then leaned back on the couch.

Bellamy, trying to be a good host while also not being used to having this many people in the apartment, asked, “So, can I get you guys a drink or anything? Or do you guys want to watch a movie? Or have a drinking game for a movie?”

Clarke smiled at his attempts to be nice and said, “A drinking game sounds fun.”

Miller jumped up from the couch and ran to Bellamy’s DVD cabinet. “We’ve gotta do the Harry Potter drinking game.”

Bellamy turned toward Clarke and asked, “Is that okay?”

She just smiled and nodded before saying, “Can I help you get drinks?”

Clarke followed him into the kitchen and watched as he got out shot glasses and regular cups from his cabinet. He handed them all to her saying, “You’re good at the balancing thing, so if you could bring those out to the coffee table, that’d be great.”

He followed her carrying two bottles of wine and a fifth of vodka.

When he set them down on the table, Clarke asked, “Isn’t it kind of bad to mix different types of alcohol?”

Bellamy smiled, “Our drinking games do not necessarily involve responsible drinking.”

Clarke nodded, “Okay, so when do we drink what?”

Miller began to explain excitedly, “Okay, so you take a drink every time someone says ‘Harry Potter’, Ron says ‘bloody hell’, Malfoy is dick, someone mentions Voldemort, or Ron eats. You finish your drink whenever Harry catches a snitch, Hermione breaks a rule, or someone speaks parseltongue. And finally, you take a shot when someone you know the name of dies or when someone uses an unforgivable curse.”

“Oh, wow,” Clarke said. “I might need reminders as we watch.”

Miller nodded, “That’s expected.”

As they watched the movie, Clarke realized just how intense this drinking game was. Considering she was fairly good at holding her liquor, Bellamy didn’t really expect her to get that drunk that fast.

It was nice, though. She laughed a lot more and let her leg be pressed up against Bellamy’s for the majority of the movie. And while that wasn’t the sloppy drunk that happened to most people when they played this game, it seemed like it was pretty drunk for Clarke.

When the movie ended, Clarke made to leave.

“I’m sure I’ve imposed upon your evening enough now, so I’ll head home and go to bed.”

Miller asked, “You sure? You’re welcome to stay for the next one.”’

Clarke smiled, “I think if I drink any more I will not like myself tomorrow, but thanks for the offer.”

Bellamy walked her to the door carrying the empty cupcake tray for her.

When they got to the door, she stopped. “So, I was wondering if I could maybe get your phone number? Just in case I ever have extra baked goods lying around or something.”

Bellamy smiled and said sure before typing it into her phone and sending himself a text.

“Thanks for inviting me over tonight. I had fun time,” she smiled.

“Me too,” he smiled back at her.

“Well, goodnight,” she said, stepping out the door.

“Goodnight,” he said in return, watching her walk all the way to the elevator.

When he returned to the couch, Miller said, “She’s cooler than I expected her to be.”

“Me too,” Bellamy smiled.

Another Harry Potter movie later and Miller was ready to head home. It was one am, so while Bellamy was a little sad to see him go, it was time for him to go to sleep as well.

But as soon as Bellamy had taken out his contacts and gotten undressed, his phone rings. He scrambles for it, knowing that any call this late must be an emergency, and picks it up without even looking at who’s calling.

“Hello?”

“Hi Bellamy, it’s Clarke. Octavia had a bit of a medical emergency up here. Everything’s fine, but you probably want to come up here.”

Bellamy’s mind went blank at the words “medical emergency” but he pulled himself together enough to say, “I’ll be there in two seconds.”

Pulling on the nearest tshirt and pajama bottoms and throwing on his glasses, Bellamy raced out the door and up the elevator. He was in their apartment in no time.

Clarke met him at the door, also in her pajamas and disheveled. If Bellamy was in any state where he could think, he would probably think she looked cute.

“What happened? Is Octavia okay?” he immediately asked.

“Yes, she’s okay, she just hit her head.”

“Doing what?” Bellamy asked.

At that, Clarke fumbled, “Um… when Octavia and Lincoln got back… they kind of… um. It’s a sex injury.”

Bellamy ran his hand through his hair. “Can I see her?”

Clarke nodded and led him to Lincoln’s room. There, Octavia was lying on the bed as a paramedic examined her and Lincoln paced nervously back and forth.

“O, what the hell?” Bellamy sighed when he saw she was awake and doing okay.

“I’m fine, Bell, I just might have a concussion,” she says like it’s nothing.

Bellamy turns to the paramedic and says, “Does she have to go to the hospital?”

The paramedic shakes his head no then says, “It’s best if she just rests here at home for a few days. There’s not a lot to be done with concussions, she just needs to be monitored.

I’ll be on my way now, if you have any questions, here’s my card.”

He handed the card to Lincoln, like he would be the person taking care of her, and left.

Bellamy turned to Octavia and said, “Okay, O. Let’s get you home so you can rest.”

But Octavia started shaking her head, “No, Bell, I think I need to stay here and minimize any movement. Lincoln already said he doesn’t have any work for the next week so he can take care of me.”

Bellamy sighed and turned to Lincoln, “Are you sure? Don’t be afraid to say no just because you like her. She is the biggest pain when she’s ill.”

Lincoln nodded, “I’m sure.”

“Okay, I’ll go get some of her stuff from the apartment and bring it up here and then I’ll stop by in the morning to check on her again,” Bellamy told Lincoln.

Lincoln just nodded.

Then Bellamy moved closer to Octavia, “Why do I feel like you planned this?”

She grinned, “It really did work out in my favor besides this pounding headache.”

Bellamy smiled then went to leave. On his way out, he saw Clarke wringing her fingers in the living room and when she saw him, she walked quickly toward him.

“Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

He thought that was an odd question to ask; he didn’t hit his head during sex. But maybe he wasn’t that good at hiding his stress.

He nodded and said, “Thanks for calling to let me know. If it was up to O, I’d find out when she didn’t come home tomorrow morning.”

Clarke smiled softly, “Of course.”

“So, I guess I’ll be seeing you around some since Lincoln is going to be taking care of Octavia the next few days.”

Clarke’s smile got wider, “I guess so.”

“Well, have a good night, Clarke.”

“This feels a little like déjà vu. Goodnight, Bellamy,” she said before wandering back to her own bedroom.

Bellamy trotted down to his own apartment, gathered some of Octavia’s things, and ran them back up to the penthouse without seeing anyone.

When he settled back into bed, it was two am, and Bellamy was just exhausted. He fell asleep quickly and slept soundly until ten o’clock the next morning.

He rolled out of bed and went straight to the shower. Bellamy always thought best in the shower. Something about the hot water let him relax enough to view everything as rationally as possible.

But this whole thing with Octavia and Lincoln was completely irrational. He should be the one taking care of his sister, not her new boyfriend. And it hurt that she was already choosing Lincoln over him. It just felt indicative of the fact that Octavia was going to move on with her life and leave him to wake up every morning alone in his apartment.

And yes, there was a part of him that thrived on being alone. But even that part could get tired of loneliness. It made him wish that he could find someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Like, he knew he could handle life pretty well on his own and he wasn’t going to marry the next person that came along just because he didn’t want to be alone, but the idea of finding someone worth falling in love with was appealing. It just didn’t seem particularly possible.

As the water began to run cold, Bellamy reminded himself that he was only twenty-eight. He had a whole life to live and plenty of time to fall in love with someone and grow old with them. Just because most people he knew were in fast-tracked relationships didn’t mean he had to be in any kind of relationship.

Just between Octavia with Lincoln and Miller’s new boyfriend Monty, it felt like his friends were fading fast. Octavia was right. He needed a larger friend circle.

Bellamy toweled off and got dressed, immediately going up to see Octavia, even skipping breakfast.

Having the code to the penthouse still felt like such an invasion of privacy. It was basically having a key to Clarke’s house when he didn’t even know her that well. And, because he was contemplating that in the elevator, fate decided to place Clarke mere feet in front of the elevator doors.

Normally, that’d be okay and Bellamy would just talk to her like a normal human being, but her pajama shorts were just so short and Bellamy couldn’t help but pause on the shape of her legs.

He tried to quickly avert his eyes, but Clarke was blushing, so she must’ve seen him.

Because of the way they’d met, Bellamy had a tendency to forget that Clarke was really pretty. Like, many would venture to say downright beautiful, but Bellamy didn’t want to think like that because he stubbornly didn’t want to like her.

He’d actually done some research that week that had further implanted that necessary thought. Her parents were incredibly wealthy politicians that apparently wanted her to follow her dreams, because they gave her a bunch of money to take her shot at being an artist. She used the money to start the art troupe that the entire penthouse was a part of, which, sure, is cool, but it’d be way cooler if she wasn’t just given the money that started her career.

Bellamy struggled to be around people like that and honestly, Clarke seemed like a bit of a snob. Like, she was nice enough and he could be neighborly, but no way in hell was he considering any romantic attachments between them.

Which made the noticing-that-she’s-beautiful thing a little more annoying that need be.

“Morning,” he said brusquely. “Octavia up yet?”

“Not yet. But I’ve made some breakfast if you’d like some while you wait for her.”

Bellamy nodded and followed her into the kitchen. She made him a plate with pancakes, bacon, and eggs, which he begrudgingly knew would be delicious.

“So is life always this lively around the Blake household?” Clarke asked as Bellamy began to eat.

After Bellamy swallowed, he answered, “Pretty much never. The life of a middle school teacher and his grad student sister is generally lacking in the excitement department.”

“Oh, you teach? That’s lovely. I’ve always admired people who were willing to do that difficult of a job for the pay you receive,” Clarke smiled.

Bellamy wasn’t sure if she was complimenting or insulting him, so he just shrugged and said, “It’s what I love to do.”

Clarke nodded and they were quiet again for a moment.

“This is really good,” Bellamy said, referring to the food.

Clarke smiled back, “One of the few things I’m good at.”

“I find your self-deprecation mildly insincere,” Bellamy teased.

Clarke laughed, “It’s true! Cooking is my only domestic skill!”

“There really aren’t that many domestic skills. Cooking, cleaning, and, I don’t know, gardening? One for three isn’t bad for someone who’s like 22.”

“I’m glad you think so. At 30 you must be incredibly accomplished,” she smirked.

“Hey! I’m only 28. Don’t age me prematurely,” Bellamy pouted.

Clarke smiled, “So you’re not denying that you thrive in your wifely duties?”

Bellamy scoffed, “As an unmarried guy, I’d like to say I don’t have any wifely duties, but if you’re just saying I’m good at being an adult, I’d also have to disagree.”

Clarke’s eyebrows raised, “Really? Octavia’s clothes were folded pretty nicely for someone who’s not good at adulting.”

Bellamy rolled his eyes, “Okay, I’ve figured out laundry. Raising your baby sister for ten years is bound to give a person some domestic skills.”

Clarke quieted. “You raised Octavia?”

Bellamy shrugged, but didn’t say anything more.

“Okay, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Oh! I just finished a book you might like.”

Bellamy perked up at that, “Oh yeah?”

They chatted innocuously about books until Lincoln came into the kitchen to let them know Octavia had gotten up. Lincoln stayed in the kitchen while Bellamy went to see Octavia.

When he walked in, Bellamy was struck by the thought that he rarely saw Octavia that still. Even in her sleep, she thrashed around like she was on fire, but now, her only movement was the rise and fall of her chest.

“Hey, O. How’re you feeling?”

“Actually pretty great. Lincoln’s taking fabulous care of me, so don’t worry a bit.”

“You know that I will worry regardless.”

Octavia laughed, “True. But I’m in very capable hands.”

“I feel like it just took everything in you not to waggle your eyebrows.”

“You’re right, it did. That’s just how much I love you, big brother. I sometimes avoid making you uncomfortable through sexual innuendos.”

Bellamy laughed, “Well, okay. As long as you try sometimes. Just so you know, I’m probably going to just hang around this apartment for a while. Ours is too big with you gone.”

Octavia smiled, “And this one isn’t too big? I feel like I’m going out to the grocery store every time I go to the kitchen. It is that far away.”

Bellamy’s head fell back with laughter, “See, how could I live without gems like those?”

Octavia smiled, “I am pretty irreplaceable.”

“Wow, I don’t think there’s even room to breathe in here with your ego,” Bellamy teased. “Can I get you some breakfast?”

Octavia nodded.

For the next few days, Bellamy spent most of his time in the penthouse. He only really went home to shower and sleep, and eventually went to work when Monday rolled around. But one of the perks of teaching middle school was his short work day, so he still spent the majority of his day hovering around Octavia.

Lincoln, Wells, and Clarke all were on a bit of an artistic break. Their most recent work had just been put in a gallery, so they were taking a sabbatical before going back to work.

Wells had a girlfriend who lived across town, so he wasn’t around much and Lincoln was always locked up with Octavia, so Bellamy ended up spending a lot of his time reading with Clarke on the couch. He wanted to be constantly with Octavia, but Lincoln’s size made his bedroom just a little small for three people for extended periods of time.

But he was actually having a pleasant time with Clarke. She didn’t talk much and their reading was companionable. She also let him read anything on her shelves, so he couldn’t fully hate her. He still resented her wealth, life, and freedom, but he didn’t hate her.

She also had excellent taste in books, even if she didn’t always take Bellamy’s recommendations in return.

“Clarke, you can’t just not read Moby Dick. It’s like required reading,” Bellamy argued from his side of the couch.

Clarke primly said, “The English literary canon was established by old white guys, so I’d rather read things I actually enjoy rather than the things the old white dudes told me I should enjoy.”

“Don’t read it for the old white guys. Dead it for me, the young, decidedly not white guy who’s reading all the books you suggest.”

Clarke groaned, “But it’s so dull! I don’t care about whale anatomy.”

“Dull? You recommended Walden! Literally nothing happens in that!”

“Fine! I’ll try the miserable Moby Dick again.”

Bellamy smiled, pleased to have won. “Why do you fight all my recommendations?”

Clarke thought for a moment, “I generally find the tastes of others… trifling. The simple act of someone suggesting it turns me against it instantly.”

“You know that’s crazy right?”

Clarke shrugged, “I’m sure there are worse faults to have.”

“Yeah, your stubbornness is particularly annoying too.”

Clarke gasped a laugh and stretched out her legs to push against his legs with her feet.

Bellamy laughed and they returned to their respective reading.

By Thursday, Octavia was becoming a little stir crazy and everyone decided she was probably well enough to return to daily life.

As Bellamy was leaving the penthouse with the piles of Octavia’s stuff that had built up over the past few days, Clarke stopped him.

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know that you can come by a borrow books anytime. I paid way too much for them to be the only one that reads them,” she smiled.

Bellamy nodded, “Thanks,” then continued on his way out of the apartment, feeling like he probably wouldn’t end up taking her up on the offer.

Over the next few weeks, Lincoln became a bit of a staple in the apartment. Bellamy didn’t mind too much; they both seemed so happy that he knew some of his resentment came from bitterness and the eerie feeling of his sister growing up and moving on.

One evening, Lincoln and Octavia were feeling particularly amorous, so Bellamy excused himself to go to the grocery store. It was a bit far too walk, but he wanted to give the pair ample alone time.

It was nice and cool during Bellamy’s walk and he reveled in the perfect weather. He loved to walk, but it was a little more difficult in LA where if you were outside for more than twenty minutes, you tended to sweat through your shirt.

When Bellamy finally made it to the store, he ambled aimlessly.

There was a sudden crash in the aisle next to him, and Bellamy hurried to see what the commotion was. When he turned the corner, he saw about a hundred boxes of cereal on the floor and a man staring down at them in shock.

Bellamy hustled to help him put the boxes back on the shelves, and his movement pushed the other man into action.

After a moment of companionable quiet between the two, the man finally said, “Thanks for the help. I’m Cage, by the way.”

Bellamy smiled, “I’m Bellamy and no problem. I just have to ask, how did you manage to knock all of these over at once?”

Cage laughed, “By clumsiness knows no bounds. I’m helpless at getting something off the top shelf.”

Bellamy smiled and they slowly finished up putting everything back.

Once they were done, Bellamy asked, “Oh, which box were you initially going for?”

Cage pointed to the top shelf, “Um, the Star Wars Lucky Charms.”

Bellamy reached up to grab it for him and said, “Big fan?”

Cage lightly blushed and said, “A bit.”

“Me too,” Bellamy responded. “Have you seen Rogue One?”

That of course started a tangent that lasted until they were both in the checkout line and continued once they were out of the store.

“Oh, I walked here. I live that way,” Bellamy pointed.

Cage said, “Coincidentally, me too. Do you want to walk together?”

Bellamy smiled and said, “Sure.”

But before they’d even made it a block, Bellamy literally runs into Clarke. They had both been turning the corner at the same time and smacked right into each other, spilling Bellamy’s groceries all over the ground.

Clarke immediately started apologizing, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I really need to watch where I’m going.”

Wells was with her, and all four of them bent down to begin picking up the groceries.

Bellamy murmured something about her not worrying about it.

Once everything was picked up, Clarke finally looked at Bellamy’s companion. “Cage? How do you know Bellamy?”

Bellamy interjected, “We just met at the store. You two know each other?”

Clarke nodded and Cage’s mouth was set in a firm line. Wells, sensing discomfort, said, “We’re having a party this Friday. You both should come!”

Bellamy turned toward Wells and nodded, “We’ll try to make it.”

Clarke said, “Okay great!” with enough cheeriness that it felt fake and then continued. “Well, we really must be going. See you guys Friday!”

She and Wells hurried off and Bellamy turned to Cage. “So, what was that about?”

Cage shrugged, “It’s kind of a long story, but we were neighbors as kids. Best friends, really. One day, when we were like 15 or so, she declared out of nowhere that she loved me and tried to kiss me. But when I told her I was gay and wasn’t interested, she totally freaked out. She said she never wanted to see me again. After that, we didn’t see each other much, especially since my family moved the following year. Every once in a while we run into each other at family gatherings, and it usually goes about as well as that just did.”

“Jesus,” Bellamy mumbled. “And she’s never apologized?”

Cage shook his head, “Nope.”

“Well, I’m officially not friends with her now.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure she’s grown a lot in the past seven years. Don’t dislike her on my account.”

Bellamy shrugged, “I wasn’t exactly her biggest fan before this, so you’re not ruining my opinion on her.”

Cage laughed, “Okay. We’re always accepting new members to the hating-Clarke fan club.”

Soon, they were at the ground floor of Bellamy’s apartment.

“Well, it was really cool to meet you,” Bellamy said.

Cage smiled, “Yeah, you too. Do you think that I could maybe get your number?”

Bellamy grinned and typed his number into Cage’s phone.

“See you around,” he said before turning into his building.

“See ya!” Cage called after him.

When Bellamy made his way up to the apartment, Lincoln had luckily gone home, and Octavia was alone.

“What’s got you smiling?” she asked, peering at him.

“I met a guy at the grocery store.”

“Wow, scandalous. Tell me about it,” Octavia perched on the edge of couch Bellamy had fallen onto and stared intently.

“Before I do, did Lincoln tell you about the party they’re having on Friday?”

She nodded, “Of course. He says he wants me to meet all his friends.”

“Was I invited?”

“Yeah, I just wasn’t going to tell you until the last minute so you wouldn’t have time to back out,” she said with a Cheshire cat grin.

Bellamy rolled his eyes, “You know me too well.”

Friday came around sooner than expected.

“Octavia!” Bellamy called, “What the fuck am I supposed to wear to this thing?”

She sauntered into his room with her hair half-straightened. She went straight to his closet and pulled out a shirt and jeans.

Handing them to him, she said, “Here. You’d think you’d have figured out how to dress yourself by now.”

He called after her retreating form, “Thanks!”

After that, he stood in front of the mirror over his bathroom sink, staring at his face. He couldn’t decide if he should wear glasses or contacts. While he usually wore the contacts, he had been told that the glasses really rounded out his hot librarian look. But also, he’d met Cage wearing contacts, and he wanted to make sure he could pick him out of a crowd at the party.

With that in mind, he went with the contacts and met Octavia in the hallway. She looked amazing in a pale blue dress that almost looked white and towering heels, so Bellamy said, “You look great, O.”

“So do you, Bell. Especially since I picked out your outfit.”

He rolled his eyes but offered his arm, “Shall we?”

She put her arm through his and they made their way over to the elevator.

“I shouldn’t be nervous, right? Lincoln’s friends will all like me,” Octavia said as they waited for the elevator to arrive.

“Of course they will. Everyone likes you,” Bellamy reassured.

She turned her attention to him, “Did Cage ever say if he was for sure coming?”

Bellamy shook his head, “No, but he seemed like he was going to. Although, I’d understand if he didn’t want to be around Clarke.”

“True. I can’t believe she was that awful to him. That doesn’t seem like her at all.”

“Well, apparently she’s not what we thought.”

As Bellamy said that, the elevator arrived full of other party-goers, cutting off the rest of their conversation.

They stepped into the elevator and Octavia mumbled, “I didn’t know Lincoln had this many friends.”

Bellamy said quietly, “Am I underdressed?”

“No, the less fancy you dress, the more important people think you are.”

Bellamy rolled his eyes, “Great.”

The elevator pinged and everyone got off, walking into the absolutely packed penthouse. Luckily Lincoln was close to the door and Octavia cut a path for them to make their way over to them.

As soon as they were within reach, Lincoln wrapped his arms around Octavia’s waist and lifted her, kissing her soundly.

“I’ll just leave you guys too that,” Bellamy said, even though neither of them acknowledged him.

Bellamy texted Miller to see where in the party he was then made his way to the kitchen for a drink.

Soon, Miller met him in the kitchen, dragging his boyfriend Monty behind him.

“Hey!” Bellamy exclaimed, happy to see the familiar faces.

Monty enveloped him in a friendly hug and Miller just nodded.

“So, is that guy coming?” Monty asked, glancing around the kitchen like he expected to see him nearby.

Bellamy frowned, “Not sure. I should text him.”

He quickly pulled out his phone to shoot Cage a text.

Not a minute later, his phone vibrated with the message:

Cage: had to go out of town for work see you when I get back

Bellamy blew out a sigh and said, “He’s not coming. I’m sure it’s because of his thing with Clarke.”

Miller asked, “Have you talked to Clarke about that?”

Bellamy shook his head, “I’m not particularly concerned with her side of the story.”

Miller just shrugged, but Monty looked concerned.

The three of them huddled together in the kitchen for a while, slowly drinking more and more as they realized how few people they knew at this party. Monty worked for Clarke’s mom, so he kept running into work acquaintances, but none that he particularly liked.

By the time Clarke saw Bellamy, he was pretty drunk.

She joined their circle saying, “Hey guys! Are you having a good time?”

They were all drunk enough that they were fairly enthusiastic in their positive responses.

“Awesome! Any chance one of you would be down to dance? With me?”

She looked sincere and Bellamy was drunk, so he said, “Sure, why not,” and followed her into the main room. He shrugged back at his friends with a kind of what-can-ya-do air then slid his hand into Clarke’s to follow her through the crowd.

The dance floor was crowded and they were pushed close together. Clarke rose up on her toes and spoke into his ear so he could hear her over the crowd, “Are you dating Cage?”

Bellamy pulled back and soundly shook his head no.

A bit of relief broke on Clarke’s face and she continued to dance, apparently ready to drop the issue.

Bellamy leaned down to her ear, “What’s up with you two?”

Clarke grimaced and replied, “Long story.”

It was too loud to pursue that long story, so Bellamy decided they might as well just dance. The more he danced, the drunker he got as the alcohol pulsed through his system. He got more and more caught up in the feel of Clarke, her hands trailing over his shoulders and down his chest, the roll of her hips where his hands held her.

They made eye contact and it didn’t break. Bellamy lost his awareness of the surrounding crowd and was drawn toward the bright blue of Clarke’s eyes, slowly moving toward her until their foreheads met. Bellamy’s mind was both screaming and silent; he was just a physical being for a moment. Just as he began to bring up his mouth to kiss Clarke, he heard his sister’s yelp from across the room.

He immediately pulled away, searching for where she was. Quickly, he found her, standing on a table and holding her head as the chandelier swung back and forth over her head.

“Shit, Octavia,” he mumbled, half to himself, half to Clarke.

Clarke’s pupils were blown and she looked confused, so he wasn’t sure if she understood. He pulled her close and directed her gaze to Octavia, then said “I gotta see if she’s okay. See you later.”

Clarke nodded, but Bellamy was already making his way over to Octavia. Before he made it over there, though, Lincoln had already pulled her down and was carrying her away as she laughed.

Monty and Miller were drunkenly making out in the corner and Bellamy didn’t want to interrupt them and he didn’t want to deal with whatever that thing with Clarke was, so he headed toward the elevator.

He quickly made it back to his apartment, where he immediately collapsed onto his bed.

How drunk had he been to almost make out with Clarke? There was no denying that she was hot, but he didn’t like her and that would’ve been so messy. Was Clarke into him? No way, she probably just got caught up in the music like he did. Or she was just drunk and horny. There were a million plausible explanations, the most prevalent of which include the huge amounts of alcohol happening.

But the more Bellamy thought about it, the more Bellamy settled on the idea that hate sex with Clarke would actually be pretty good. Well, not hate, but dislike sex. It would get the pent-up aggression out of their systems and maybe after that they would argue less. He wasn’t going to, like, actively pursue it or anything, but if it fell into his lap, he wouldn’t say no.

His mind then moved to Cage. Honestly, he was a little over it. If Cage didn’t like him enough to face tiny Clarke, then he didn’t like him enough for Bellamy to invest time into it.
Bellamy drifted to sleep, thinking of blue eyes.

The next morning, he was brusquely awakened by Octavia flopping onto his bed, sobbing.

He immediately sat up to hug her and asked, “What happened?”

In between sobs, Octavia gasped, “They’re…leaving.”

“Who? Lincoln? I thought they were on an artistic sabbatical.”

Octavia kept crying into his chest, “They got hired… for some… art tour thing… They just left.”

Bellamy pulled back, “How did they just leave? Did they sell the apartment overnight?”

Octavia shook her head, “They’re keeping the apartment; they just won’t be there.”

“Well, how long will they be gone?”

Octavia shrugged, “They don’t know. The trip is indefinite.”

Bellamy rubbed Octavia’s back as she continued to cry, “I’m sure they’ll be back soon if they’re keeping the apartment.”

Octavia didn’t respond, but her crying began to slow.

“Do you want me to make waffles?”

Octavia nodded against his chest.

“Okey, then. Let’s go,” he helped her stand up and brought them both to the kitchen.

After they ate their waffles, Octavia went back to bed and Bellamy began to scroll through Instagram before he started his day.

At the top of his feed was Miller wearing a ring and kissing Monty with the caption, “ENGAGED, BITCHES!”

Bellamy hated himself for being so caught up in his own crap that he missed the proposal last night. He immediately texted Miller, “Congratulations! When’s the wedding?”

As soon as he sent the text, his phone was ringing and it was Miller.

“Hello?”

“I’m freaking out and I’m coming over, see you soon.”

Before Bellamy could even respond, Miller hung up. Twenty minutes later, Miller barged in the front door without knocking.

“You would not believe the morning I’m having.”

Bellamy raised his eyebrows, “Yeah, mine’s getting pretty exciting as well.”

“Clarke’s mom is throwing my wedding.”

Bellamy’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean? You don’t even know Clarke’s mom!”

Miller’s hand pushed through his short hair and exclaimed, “I know! But she’s Monty’s boss and apparently with the election coming up, she wants to make sure everyone knows how pro-gay she is, so she’s throwing us this super fancy wedding in Santa Barbara in a month! It’s so ridiculous I don’t even know what to think.”

“Are you okay with her shamelessly using you to get elected?”

Miller waved his hand, “She’d get elected regardless, and this way I get a nice wedding that I don’t have to plan.”

“So why are you freaking out?”

Miller’s eyes were wide, “Did you hear the part about it happening in a month? I just got engaged last night and in a month, I’ll be married. This is so fucking fast.”

“But it’s Monty. You two are the closest I’ve seen to soulmates, so I’m sure it will all be fine.”

Miller sighed, “Of course, of course. It’s just my life turning upside down all at once. I’m overwhelmed.”

“Obviously, because you haven’t even asked me to be your best man yet,” Bellamy teased.

Miller laughed and began to breathe again, “Just like you to assume you’re my best man.”

“Well, you don’t even have any other male friends, so I’m going to be surprised if you can even whip up an appropriate number of groomsmen.”

“Clarke’s mom can probably hire actors to make sure everything is aesthetically pleasing.”

Bellamy let out a laugh, “Honestly, I wouldn’t be that surprised.”

The more they talked about the ridiculous things Clarke’s mom was bound to do for the wedding, the calmer Miller got. He didn’t care so much about the wedding itself, he was just excited to marry Monty.

The month until the wedding passed slowly. Octavia moped around the house, just going through the motions at school and not even trying at home. Luckily, after three weeks, she was offered an amazing opportunity to finish her thesis in Boston. There was a professor at Boston College that was the foremost expert in her field and up until then, they had only been communicating by email. But the professor seemed to notice she was losing steam and was personally invested in her thesis being incredible, so he invited her to come work with him in person.

She was upset that she would have to miss the wedding, but the thought of throwing herself into work made Octavia get closer to her previous lively self.

The week between Octavia leaving and the wedding was a rough one for Bellamy. Miller’s schedule was completely taken up with tuxedo fittings and all the last-minute wedding decisions and without him, Bellamy didn’t really have any friends. Cage hadn’t texted him and he hadn’t really thought about Cage much since the almost hook up with Clarke.

Clarke though… he’d been thinking of her more than he ever expected to. At first it was when he realized she had left when he was halfway through one of her books and when he finished it, he didn’t really have a way to give it back to her. Then he got sidetracked by the fact that she had really good taste in books, for the most part, but she was so stubborn about taking his recommendations. It was weirdly cute, and maybe when the artists came back, he and Clarke could be friends.

By the time Friday rolled around, Bellamy found he was really excited for the wedding, if for no other reason than he got to finally see his best friend again. He only hit a minimal amount of traffic on the drive and got to Santa Barbara an hour or so before the rehearsal dinner. He checked into the hotel and texted Miller that he had arrived, expecting him to be too busy to see him until dinner.

Once he got into his room, he decided to call Octavia and see how she was doing.

She picked up after only a couple rings, “Hey, big brother.”

“Hey, O. How’s it going?”

She made a noncommittal sound, “Could be better, could be worse.”

“At least it could be worse,” Bellamy joked.

“How’s the wedding looking?” she asked and he could hear a small smile.

“Ostentatious as fuck, as expected.”

Octavia laughed, “Am I missing out on anything?”

“Well, Miller and Monty are probably going to be sickeningly adorable, so there’s that.”

“I don’t know if that’s actually something I feel sad about missing.”

Bellamy laughed, “No, probably not. I gotta run to get ready for the rehearsal dinner, but you’re really doing okay, right? I don’t need to fly out there and binge eat cannoli with you right?”

“Yes, I’m fine, but I would not be opposed to binge eating cannoli with you. Maybe when I get home next week.”

“Okay, it’s a plan. Love you, O.”

“Love you too, Bell.”

With that, Bellamy hung up and raced to get ready. Before he had even finished buttoning up his shirt, Miller was knocking on the door.

Bellamy opened it to find Miller in a full-on suit and said, “Goddammit. Why am I consistently underdressed?”

Miller rolled his eyes, “You’re fine, no one cares what you’re wearing as long as it’s clothes. Put on some shoes and let’s go.”

Bellamy stumbled out the door after him, trying to put on his shoes and walk at the same time.

“Why do we have to be there early again?”

Miller sighed, “Clarke’s mom wants to meet the whole wedding party and make sure the arrangement will be aesthetically pleasing tomorrow.”

“So what happens if I’m not aesthetically pleasing enough?”

“Then you’re kicked out,” Miller grinned at him.

Bellamy shoved his shoulder.

Miller laughed and said, “Actually, you will probably be the most aesthetically pleasing one of the bunch.”

“Can we never say ‘aesthetically pleasing’ again after today?”

“We can certainly try.”

The burst through the doors of the hotel’s main restaurant and everyone turned to look at them.

Bellamy whispered, “Shit, we really are late, huh?”

Miller just nodded as they made their way over to a regal-looking lady at the head of the table.

Miller introduced her as Abby Griffin, and Bellamy extended his hand for her to shake.

“You’ve got quite a disheveled look about you, Bellamy.”

He flushed, “Uh, yeah. Sorry. I was running a little late.”

She just nodded and Bellamy tried to avoid eye contact as the woman turned her attention to Miller. He scanned the table, but stopped short when he saw Clarke sitting at the table. She waved shyly when she saw he had noticed her.

Of course, Abby noticed their small interaction.

“Bellamy!” she exclaimed. “Do you know my daughter Clarke?”

“Yes, a little. We used to live in the same apartment building in LA.”

“Oh, I’m so happy she’s not living there anymore. If she’s pursuing this ridiculous art thing, she should really be in New York where the serious artists are. God forbid she start teaching when people don’t want to buy her art anymore.”

Bellamy baulked and turned to Clarke with a look of confusion. She just shrugged and looked down at her place setting.

Still not knowing what to say, Bellamy turned back to Abby, who continued, saying, “Anyway, you should go sit next to her since I don’t think she knows anyone else here.”
Bellamy nodded and took a seat next to Clarke, simply saying, “Hey, didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Yeah, I’m required by contract to go to a certain number of my mother’s events a year. I figured that at least this one is at the beach.”

Bellamy nodded, “How’s your traveling art thing going?”

“Well enough. We’re all selling a lot, so that’s good.”

Bellamy nodded, “Do you know if you’re coming back to LA anytime soon? I still have that book you lent me.”

“I’m not sure of the scheduling right now, but don’t worry about the book. You can just hang on to it.”

“No, I can’t. It’s leather-bound and beautiful; it probably cost you a fortune.”

Clarke waved him off, “Consider it payment for watering my plants.”

“I haven’t been doing that.”

Clarke laughed, “Okay, then consider it an incentive to start.”

Bellamy smiled back and thought again how maybe they could be friends.

“Why isn’t Octavia here?”

“Oh, she got this opportunity to work with a professor in Boston, which is like her dream, so she’s there now working on her thesis.”

Clarke’s eyebrows rose, “That’s really cool. How’s she doing?”

Bellamy shrugged, “She’s been pretty upset about Lincoln leaving unexpectedly, but this trip is doing a lot to lift her spirits.”

Clarke nodded, “That’s good.”

They spent the rest of the dinner companionably, making light chitchat and eating the admittedly delicious food.

Once dinner ended, they realized their rooms were in the same direction and decided to walk together.

“So what’s with your mom?” Bellamy asked.

Clarke laughed, “No beating around the bush, huh? She kind of sucks. Very classist, fairly racist, and doesn’t think art or teaching are great careers. She just wanted me to be a politician’s wife and make art a hobby. She’s only okay-ish with it right now because I’m making money.”

“That’s fun.”

“Totally. But one good thing is that she’s friends with Wells’ dad, so he and his girlfriend are coming tomorrow. You’ll love Raven; she’s basically the coolest.”

Bellamy nodded, “Can’t wait.”

They stopped in front of her room, “Well, this is me. See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Clarke.”

She smiled and then slipped into her room. Bellamy’s room was only a few doors further and he was unbuttoning his shirt before he even got the door open. He forgot how much driving and socializing could take out of him – he was exhausted. He quickly got ready for bed and fell asleep thinking he and Clarke weren’t as different as he had thought.

His alarm blared way too early and suddenly, the morning was passing in a blur. People were running all over the place, moving flowers, straightening his tie, and attending to other details. Before Bellamy knew it, it was afternoon and he was standing at the altar, watching his best friend get married and realizing that he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Luckily, the reception had more food than he had ever seen in his life, so he stuffed a plate and sat down at his assigned table. Wells soon came up to the table with a beautiful girl on his arm, who he quickly introduced to Bellamy as Raven.

He said, “Raven doesn’t really know anyone here, so is it cool if she sits with you while I get us some food?”

Bellamy gestured to the seat next to him and said, “Of course.”

Raven sat down and glared at the back of Wells’ head as he walked away. “Sorry about that. He thinks I need to be babysat or something.”

“It’s okay, I don’t know a lot of people here and Clarke says that you’re the coolest, so.”

Raven’s eyes lit up, “You know Clarke?”

Bellamy nodded, “We live in the same building in LA.”

“Oh, does that mean you know that Octavia girl? The one Lincoln was dating? I heard she was kind of a gold-digger. That’s why Clarke and all them left, you know. Clarke wanted to get Lincoln away from that train wreck.”

It took every ounce of Bellamy’s self-control to not let his jaw drop. “Clarke would really do that?”

Raven nodded, “Oh yeah. She’s very devoted to her friends.”

Bellamy just nodded, his jaw set.

Luckily, Wells was back soon with food and Raven turned her attention to him, letting Bellamy stew in his own anger. The dinner portion of the evening was quickly over and as dancing and drinks started, Bellamy went to the bar to do shots. He did six shots before he decided to switch to beer, but still continued to drink them quickly on the edge of the party.

He watched Monty and Miller dancing happily and making the rounds and Bellamy made sure to say goodbye to them before they left at midnight. After they were gone, his mood just continued to sour as he watched everyone having a great time, besides him.

He could see Clarke across the party, on the outskirts like himself, and felt a little better seeing that she looked rather uncomfortable and nervous. At least she wasn’t having a better time than him.

Bellamy looked away to get another beer, and when he looked back to where she had been standing, she was gone. He shrugged it off and decided that after this beer, he was turning in for the night.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder and almost jumped out of his skin.

Clarke was standing behind him, looking a little sheepish, “Hey, sorry to scare you. Can we talk?”

Bellamy just nodded, his anger quelled by his surprise. Clarke began walking into the hotel and he followed after her.

When they entered the elevator, he asked, “What did you want to talk about?”’

She took a deep breath and said, “I’ve missed you.”

He turned to face her, eyebrows drawn together in shock. “You did?”

Clarke smiled, “Does that surprise you?”

“Honestly, yeah.”

She turned so her whole body was facing his and took a step into his personal space. “Didn’t you miss me?” she asked, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

Immediately, it was like the elevator was on fire. Bellamy blamed the alcohol, but he couldn’t stop looking at her mouth. Finally, he couldn’t bear it anymore and nodded before pushing her up against the wall and capturing her lips. She moaned as she opened her mouth to him and Bellamy hands began to roam over her body.

The elevator dinged and they made their way onto their floor without breaking contact. The fumbled down the hallway, bumping into walls and tangling their hands in each other’s hair. At Clarke’s room, she turned to use the card key to open the door and Bellamy performed ministrations on her neck. She giggled and when the door opened, pulled him in behind her.

Once they were in the room, clothes started falling. Clarke pushed Bellamy’s jacket off his shoulders then started to work the buttons down the front of his shirt. He turned her around to unzip her dress, kissing the newly exposed skin as he pulled the zipper down.

The dress fell to the floor and he spun her again before backing her onto the bed. She fell backwards onto the bed and he crawled over her, kissing his way up her body.

As he paid particular attention to her boobs, Clarke sighed, “I’m so glad this is finally happening.”

Bellamy mumbled his assent against her skin.

Her hands trailed over his shoulders and down his arms as she said, “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

Bellamy tried to get her to stop talking by kissing her lips, but she stopped him, “You have to let me tell you how much I love you.”

Bellamy stopped, “What did you say?”

Clarke held the back of his neck and said “I love you.”

Bellamy couldn’t get off the bed fast enough. What are you talking about? You don’t love me.”

Clarke sat up, a little angry now, “Yes, I do.”

“Well, that sucks, because I hardly even like you.”

Clarke’s jaw dropped.

“Why would you think that I loved you back?”

“Because five seconds ago, you were tearing my clothes off!”

Bellamy ran his hand through his hair, “I thought this was like a hate-fuck situation”

“Seriously?! I know we argue sometimes, but you hate me? Where do you get off, hating me?”

Bellamy scoffed, “Do you really think I could like the person behind the scheme that has left my sister crying in her bedroom for weeks? Who separated her from the first person she’s cared about in years?”

Clarke argued, “Octavia didn’t like Lincoln as much as he liked her. At the party, she was flirting with everything that moved. She just wanted Lincoln for his money.”

“Oh my God! You are so dense! Octavia is just friendly; she loves Lincoln more than pretty much anyone. She doesn’t care about his fucking money.”

Clarke just stopped for a moment, but Bellamy bulldozed on. “And what is this bullshit with Cage? What kind of homophobic bitch are you?”

She got off the bed and stood before him, “Cage?”

“What kind of friend cuts someone off when they find out they’re gay? That’s completely ridiculous! And I’m bi – how could that be okay but Cage being gay isn’t? I don’t get you.”

Clarke’s face was fierce, “So this is what you think of me. Thanks for explaining, I guess. By your accounts, I really suck. But maybe my faults would not bother you as much had you not been insecure in our differences in station or if my mom wasn’t the biggest bitch around.”

“Your mom has nothing to do with it! I could never love you because of who you are, regardless of money or status. I knew this the moment I met you, and I know it now. You are the last woman on earth I could muster any true affection for.”

Clarke held up her hand. “You’ve made your point. I understand. Sorry for ruining your chances of getting laid for the night.”

She walked to the door and yanked it open, gesturing with her hand that she should leave.

Bellamy quickly grabbed his shirt and jacket from the floor and walked out of the room, Clarke slamming the door behind him.

…

The next morning, as Bellamy was just about to leave, there was a knock at his door.

He swung it open to reveal Clarke, who held up her hand before he could say anything.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to fight. I just wanted to give you this,” she said as she handed him a letter.

Bellamy’s eyebrows drew together.

“If you’re going to hate me, you better well know the full story.”

With that she turned and went back to her own room and Bellamy retreated into his.

He couldn’t decide if he should actually read the letter or not. Like, she gave him an out – she just wanted him to be well-researched in his hate for her. He didn’t have to ever talk to her about it.

But, on the other hand, he had said some pretty horrible things to her. Not that he didn’t think she deserved it, but maybe he should give her the benefit of the doubt.

So, I’m not going to waste this letter telling you how I feel about you. You know, and you’re not down, and that’s that. But the idea of you not loving me back is a lot easier to deal with than the idea of you completely hating me. So I’m taking this opportunity to explain myself.

First, I’m sorry to be the cause of so much pain for you and Octavia. I truly believed that she was not as invested as Lincoln was and I didn’t want his heart to be broken. So while that is remarkably stepping out of bounds for acceptable friend behavior, I had the best of intentions. I know you would similarly steer Octavia away from anyone who could potentially devastate her.

Next, we have Cage. I don’t know what he said to you about our past, so I’ll just tell you everything. Cage and I were childhood friends and neighbors. Once we were about fifteen, Cage decided that more people would like him if he had sexual experience. He knew I was thinking I was bi and saw that as an opportunity to make me choose a side. He tried to coerce me into doing things with him by threatening to steal and hurt my dog. I was terrified and told my dad, and he was so appalled that he got the Homeowners Association to forcibly remove Cage’s family from the neighborhood. I didn’t see him again until he was with you.

So while I haven’t spoken to him in years, I cannot imagine a person like that gets better with age. You of course may disagree, but you deserve all the facts.

I’m sorry so much between us is founded on miscommunication, but hopefully this letter will allow us to be, at the very least, indifferent at our next encounter.

All my best,

Clarke

Bellamy couldn’t even think. He needed to drive.

As he drove down the 101, Clarke’s words just kept bouncing through his head. She was right about the Octavia part; he would behave similarly to protect his sister. It didn’t mean it was right to be in control of someone else’s misery in such a way. She wasn’t in the right, but she wasn’t as malicious as he had originally thought.

The thing about Cage was rough. He wasn’t sure who to believe. Cage had more to lose in being found out, so it felt like him, but Bellamy didn’t want to excuse the behavior just because he had essentially already written him off.

But even if Clarke was lying, this letter exposed something in him. Honestly, Bellamy hardly even knew Clarke; he knew what books she liked and what she looked like in her underwear, but he didn’t know anything about her past besides what he had googled.

Why had he decided to dislike her so much? She’d really been rather kind to him, if a little awkward. Was he really that prejudiced against people with wealth? He thought he had overcome that when he became financially stable, but apparently those talons sunk deep.

What did this mean about him? Were there other people in his life he had horribly misjudged? Clarke certainly wasn’t perfect, but she was not even close to the monster he had made her out to be in his mind.

How had he been so trusting of Cage, but so wary of Clarke?

As he drove, Bellamy kept pulling out the letter to reread bits. It was like he was in shock and didn’t know how to process it. He just entered this cycle of rereading, rethinking, revising until he realized he was going 90 and the last thing he needed was a speeding ticket.

“I should just call her, right? Or I should just call Cage. I should just call someone and get all this shit figured out,” Bellamy said to himself.

In the end, he didn’t call anybody. He didn’t even call Octavia.

But when he arrived home, Octavia called him.

“Don’t freak out; I was tracking your phone so it notified me when you got home. How was the wedding?”

“Weird,” Bellamy sighed.

“Was anyone fun there?”

Bellamy paused, the said, “I met Wells’ girlfriend. Her name’s Raven, she’s pretty hot.”

“Good for Wells. Were any more of our artistic neighbors present?”

“Clarke was there since her mom was running the whole thing or whatever.”

“Oh, cool. Did she say anything about Lincoln?”

“No, but she asked about you.”

“Ah, it’s nice to be mentioned.”

Bellamy laughed, “I can’t wait for you to be back home.”

“Me neither, big brother. See you in a few days.”

…

He was so excited to pick Octavia up from the airport that his thumbs were tapping a beat on the steering wheel. Miller and Monty were still on their honeymoon and he hadn’t wanted to bug Octavia during her last few days with the professor, so he had spent nearly all his time with Clarke’s letter. He’d reread it so many times he could probably recite it backwards if he tried.

He had also reconsidered every interaction they had ever had through a new lens. Bellamy was starting to realize that she had been flirting with him, in a kind of unconventional way, and he had been flirting with her too, at least a little.

But still, he honestly couldn’t tell you if he liked her or not. He thought she had some serious balls and he respected her, but he couldn’t figure out the spin of his deeper feelings. Were they positive or negative? Who can be sure.

Surely not someone who has spent days sitting by themselves trying to figure out their feelings.

Octavia arrived, throwing her suitcase in the back and kissing Bellamy on the check as she slid into the front seat.

“Hey O, good flight?”

She shrugged, “Good is relative.”

Bellamy smiled, “Okay, good two weeks?”

Octavia beamed, “The best. I got so much amazing information for my thesis you would not believe.”

“That’s awesome. And how are you feeling about the whole Lincoln thing?”

“I’m really fine. He could move back in tomorrow and I don’t think I’d be bothered at all. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Bellamy nodded, not taking his eyes off the road and not completely believing her.

As Bellamy walked through his front door, his pocket started vibrating.

He pulled his phone out, muttering, “Hello?”

Octavia tossed her bag in the corner and collapsed onto the couch.

“Mr. Blake? Hi, it’s Harper from Woodrow Wilson Middle School.”

Bellamy smiled, “Hi Harper. I’ve told you a thousand times you can call me Bellamy.”

She chuckled, “Yes, sorry Bellamy. I was actually just calling to ask you a favor.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. So I’m taking the seventh graders on a trip to see the Griffin estate in Beverly Hills this coming weekend because their art collection is the largest in the state, including the
Getty. But because so many students signed up to go, I need another staff chaperone. I know you teach English, but I’ve heard you minored in history and I feel like you’d be more of an asset than any of my other options,” she said in a rush.

“It’s this weekend, you say? Will the Griffin family be there?”

“No, I don’t think so. Mrs. Griffin is on the campaign trail and I assume her husband is with her. And the daughter spends little time at the estate, rumor has it. Does that mean you’re in?”

“One sec.”

He covered the speaker of the phone and asked Octavia, “Is it okay if I chaperone a field trip this Saturday?”

“Duh, of course.”

He spoke into the phone, “Yeah, I’m in.

They went over the details and once Bellamy hung up the phone, he fell onto the couch next to Octavia.

“You sure you’re okay with me being gone all day Saturday?”

Octavia laughed, “You do remember I just went two weeks without seeing you and lived, right? Anyways, this gives me an opportunity to marathon SVU without you getting ideas of how I could get murdered.”

“I’m convinced that show is just telling horrible people how to get away with crimes.”

“So do you want to watch it now?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

Octavia turned it on and that’s what they did for the rest of the day.

The week passed slowly, and Bellamy became a little excited to see the Griffin estate. He was equally excited that he wouldn’t see Clarke, because he didn’t know how he would deal with that yet. He should probably apologize for kind of being a dick, but he was a little scared to even talk to Clarke at this point.

It was early morning when Bellamy made it to the school parking lot and met up with Harper.

“Hey, thanks again for doing this. The kids were so excited and I’d hate for them to miss out.”

“Of course. I’m kind of excited to see it myself.”

“Yeah, the art collection’s reportedly amazing. I bet the daughter had a lot to do with that.”

Bellamy nodded, “Probably.”

The kids began to arrive and Bellamy began checking them onto the bus. The estate wasn’t too far away from the school, but LA traffic makes everything take three times as long as it needs to.

Once everyone was checked on, Bellamy settled next to Harper for the ride. They chatted innocuously; Bellamy had always liked Harper on a coworker level and she taught art history so he respected that about her, but they had never hung out or anything.

The drive went quicker than expected and before they knew it, they were pulling through a gate that had a large “G” configured in the ironwork.

Bellamy choked when he saw the mansion or estate or whatever. He didn’t even know what the proper word was to describe the home. Like he knew Clarke’s family was wealthy, but this level of rich was beyond his wildest imagination.

Luckily, everyone else seemed to be similarly in awe. The kids were getting out of their bus seats and pressing their noses against the windows.

“Jesus,” Harper said from beside him. “It’s so much bigger in person.”

Everyone filed off the bus and Bellamy was immediately scrambling to stop kids from running straight through the front doors. There was a docent waiting for them who greeted them cheerily.

“Welcome to the Griffin estate!”

The students chorused back a round of hi’s before the docent continued.

“We are so excited to have you here, but I must remind you that this is a home and the owners have requested that you all stay within the confines of the tour. Please do not touch anything and remember to have fun!”

The kids began mumbling because asking them not to touch things was essentially a challenge. They were definitely going to try to touch as many things as possible before they got caught.

They began to follow the docent and Bellamy trailed behind all the students and stared up at the painted ceiling. It was beautiful and made Bellamy feel like he was in Italy during the Renaissance. He got so sidetracked that he had to jog to catch back up with the group.

They walked into a hall with art lining the walls and Bellamy wondered what it must’ve been like for Clarke to grow up in a museum. Was she not allowed to touch things as a child? Was she ever really able to be a child?

After nearly two hours of wandering through rooms of art, they arrived in the room that housed the family portraits. Bellamy found one of an eight year-old Clarke wearing what amounted to a ball gown, scowling at the painter. He laughed to himself and the docent noticed.

“Enjoying the portrait of Miss Griffin?”

“Um, yeah. I know her a little and it’s funny to see her as a petulant kid.”

The docent smiled softly, “If you want to know a secret, she’s my favorite Griffin. Half of these pieces are ones she chose and she also was the one to decide to open up the collection to the public. I wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for her.”

“Yeah, she’s definitely into art.”

“She cares a lot about certain things and people. She’s incredibly devoted to her friends and you should see her with her father. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for him.”

Bellamy nodded, aligning this information with what he already knew about Clarke. She was this ever-evolving entity in his mind and he got the feeling he might never actually figure her out.

“Hey, where’s the restroom around here?”

“Around the corner to the left. We’re headed out to the gardens after this, so look for us there when you’re done.”

Bellamy thanked him and made his way down the hall.

Once he was done, the group had already moved outside, so Bellamy went what he thought was the most reasonable route outside. As soon as he was out the door, he knew he had gone the wrong way.

He had walked out onto a patio that looked out on a large pool where a woman was swimming laps. There was a flutter in his stomach that made him think that by some twist of fate, it was Clarke.

Bellamy stood there for a few minutes, trying to figure out if it was actually Clarke and forgetting to think about how awkward this situation would be if it was.

During this time, she finished her laps and after she wiped the water from her eyes, she asked, “Bellamy?”

That jarred him out of his contemplations and he awkwardly lifted his hand and said, “Hey, Clarke. Sorry to interrupt you. I was on a tour and I kind of got separated from the group.”

Clarke laughed and said, “Don’t worry about it; it happens all the time.”

She pushed herself up and out of the pool, walking toward Bellamy while dripping wet and suddenly Bellamy felt like he was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

He shook his head to get the image of Clarke taking off her bikini top out of his mind as she grabbed a towel and started drying off.

“I thought you weren’t back in LA.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m just stopping by for a couple of days. My mom’s not here and my dad is, so it’s the perfect time to visit. Oh my God, you should totally come meet my dad,” she grabbed his hand and started pulling him back inside.

“Oh, thanks, but I should probably get back to the tour.”

Clarke waved him off, “I can show you the grounds later if you want, but you’re not missing much.”

Bellamy figured resistance was futile at this point and he thought that it might be kind of cool to meet Clarke’s dad.

She quickly pulled him up some stairs that were hidden away in the corner, almost like they were a secret passage, and then knocked on the door at the top before swinging it open.

As soon as Bellamy entered, he saw where Clarke got her thing for books. The walls were lined with shelves and Mr. Griffin ever had some manuscripts in glass cases.

“Dad, this is my friend Bellamy. Bellamy, this is my dad.”

Bellamy extended his hand, saying, “Great to meet you, Mr. Griffin.”

“Oh, call me Jake. Lovely to meet you as well, Bellamy. Have a seat.”

Bellamy sat slowly on the small leather sofa and Clarke sat as well, still just wearing a bikini with a towel wrapped around her.

“Are you here with the class trip today? Clarke’s mentioned you were a teacher,” Jake asked.

Bellamy shot a quick glance at Clarke before answering, “Yes. I actually got separated from the group and kind of stumbled upon Clarke. I’m really sorry to intrude; I didn’t know anyone was home.”

Jake waved him off, “You’re not intruding. I far prefer good company to work. But you teach English, right? Tell me what you’re teaching your students right now.”

“We’re doing ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’ right now. I think it’s a good introduction to Shakespeare.”

“Oh, yes! Lovely. I believe that was Clarke’s first experience with Shakespeare as well,” he looked to his daughter.

Clarke nodded, “Dad’s a little bit invested in my reading habits.”

They all chuckled lightly and Jake gestured around him. “I like books, if that wasn’t obvious. And I believe that everyone in this room shares that that trait.”

Clarke blushed lightly, clearly embarrassed that she had told her dad so much about Bellamy. Bellamy just grinned.

The group continued to talk books for a while until Jake got a call.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I really must take this. It was a treat to meet you, Bellamy. Please come by any time.”

“Thanks, you too,” Bellamy quickly shook his hand before following Clarke out of the office as Jake picked up the call.

They walked slowly down the hall and Clarke said, “So that’s my dad.”

“Well, I like him a lot more than I like your mom. Which isn’t saying much, but your dad is pretty cool.”

Clarke smiled, “I’m glad you think so.”

“He also seemed to know a bit about me,” Bellamy teased.

Clarke pushed her hands through her hair and said, “Uh yeah. I might talk about you sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

“Okay, a lot,” she laughed.

“Seems like it’s mostly good things, so I won’t complain.”

Clarke smiled, “Good. Now, your class is probably about to get back on the bus, if you want me to lead you back to the front.”

“I thought I was going to get a private tour of the grounds,” Bellamy smirked.

“You’ll just have to come back for a private tour,” Clarke grinned.

“I just might.”

All too soon, they had reached the front door and turned toward each other.

“It was really nice running into you today, Bellamy.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I came.”

He gave her a quick hug before mumbling a quick, “See you later.”

When he pulled away she was blushing and she cleared her throat before saying, “Yeah, see you later.”

Bellamy trotted down the front steps and hopped onto the bus.

“Someone had a better tour than the rest of us,” Harper accused.

Bellamy continued to smile, “What can I say? I got lost.”

“And show up right at the end with a hot blonde. Like that wasn’t on purpose,” Harper smirked.

“Sorry I dipped; Clarke kind of made me meet her dad and we got caught up.”

“No worries. Josh and Avery almost knocked over a priceless sculpture, but otherwise you weren’t particularly needed.”

“Glad to hear it,” Bellamy smiled.

It was early evening when Bellamy got home, and as soon as the door shut behind him, Octavia came running.

“Bellamy, you will not believe what happened!” she shouted, shoving her phone into his face.

He pushed down the phone and said, “Why don’t you just tell me? I can’t read with the screen that close to my face.”

“You remember that guy Cage that you almost had a thing with a few months ago?”

Bellamy nodded.

“He’s been charged with twelve counts of assault against bi guys! It’s in the news! Clearly he’s hugely biphobic and I guess his dad is some big guy in some business and this obviously looks super bad. He’s in jail awaiting trial. Can you believe it?”

“Oh my god,” he grabbed her phone and started reading.

Octavia was right – Cage had apparently been assaulting bi guys while trying to get them to admit that they were just gay. Clarke was right about him.

“This could’ve been me. We almost had a thing! Oh my god,” Bellamy’s fingers began to pull at his hair.

“Good thing he was so scared of Clarke. Do you think that’s why he never contacted you again? He was scared of her?”

Bellamy sighed, “Probably scared of what Clarke would tell me about him. Holy shit, she was right. I owe her so many apologies I can’t even count.”

“That’s not particularly out of character. You’re kind of a dick.”

“Thanks.”

Bellamy moved to his phone to delete Cage’s number and after he did, he considered texting Clarke to tell her the news. But then he looked up at Octavia and decided against it. She probably had already heard and Bellamy still wasn’t sure how he wanted to deal with Clarke. Obviously she was right about Cage, but she was still wrong to separate Octavia and Lincoln and while he liked spending time with her, he wasn’t sure he if he was fully ready to forgive her.

Until a week later, when he and Octavia were lounging on the couch and heard a knock on the door. Bellamy rose to get it and opened in to find Lincoln on the other side.

“You’re back,” Bellamy said, a little dumbstruck.

“Uh, yeah. Is Octavia home?”

“Yeah. Come in,” Bellamy opened the door wider to let him through.

As soon as she saw Lincoln, Octavia scrambled off the couch, pulling at her top and smoothing her hair, trying to look presentable.

“Hi, Octavia.”

“Hi. How was your trip?”

“Um, fine. How have you been?”

Octavia shrugged, “Fine.”

“Okay, cool. Just wanted to let you know that we were moving back in upstairs. We’re all back.”

Octavia nodded, “Cool.”

“Cool. Okay, bye,” Lincoln turned quickly on his heel and hurried out of the apartment.

Octavia slumped on the couch and said, “What the fuck?”

“That was super weird, “Bellamy agreed.

“I guess now we can see each other on the elevator and it won’t be weird.”

“It will definitely still be weird. You’re both totally in love with each other, but aren’t together. I can’t imagine that ever stops being weird.”

Before Octavia had a chance to deny her feelings, Lincoln was back.

“Doesn’t the front door automatically lock?” Bellamy asked.

“I don’t know; I didn’t close it all the way. I just had to collect myself in the hallway. Can I speak to Octavia alone please?”

Bellamy glanced at Octavia before leaving the living room and hiding in his bedroom. He was still nosy though, and left the door cracked so he could see a glimpse of what was happening down the hall.

Lincoln started, “Let me just say, in these past months, I’ve been the biggest asshole to ever live.”

Octavia crossed her arms, “Kind of, yeah.”

“And I know that it will take time to earn your forgiveness, but you need to know that this time apart has made me realize that I don’t want to live without you. Ever.”

With that, Lincoln sunk onto one knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket. Octavia’s jaw dropped and her arms fell loosely to her sides.

“Will you marry me?”

A smile broke across Octavia’s face and she said, “Yes. A thousand times yes.”

At that moment, Lincoln got off his knee and lifted her off the floor. They both laughed as he spun her around and Bellamy shut the last crack of his door to give them privacy.

He sat against the closed door and somehow was certain that Clarke had played a hand in this. She brought them back because she was trying to right her wrong. Classic Clarke to move everyone around at her will, but Bellamy couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at her. She had just given his sister back the person that makes her the happiest.

And she had actually listened to him. Clarke Griffin, the girl who wouldn’t even take a book recommendation, had listened to him. He told her that Octavia really loved Lincoln and she believed him.

He kind of wanted to call her to thank her, but he also knew it was kind of late and didn’t want to interrupt if she had plans or was already sleeping.

He decided he might as well get ready for bed if he was trapped in his bedroom. He took out his contacts and switched them for his glasses. He took off his jeans and switched them for sweats, knowing that he probably wouldn’t be able to actually sleep for a while.

Bellamy crawled into his bed and cracked open a book and began to read.

About forty-five minutes later, Octavia peeked in his door and asked, “Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

She bounded in and jumped onto the foot of his bed, then stage-whispered, “I’m engaged.”

Bellamy smiled, “I heard. Let me see the ring.”

She held out her hand and showed him the square diamond with sharp edges.

“If people were diamonds, this would be you.”

Octavia’s grin threatened to break her face, “Right? It’s perfect.”

“So where’s Lincoln?”

“He went up to his apartment. I’m going to follow him as soon as I’m done telling you.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you. Go hang out with your fiancée.”

She leaped forward to hug him and said, “This is the happiest I’ve ever been. I hope you find a person that makes you this happy soon.”

Bellamy smiled, “Don’t worry about me. I think it’ll work out.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

Octavia practically skipped out the door.

There was a small part of Bellamy that was nagging himself for letting Octavia get engaged to a guy after only dating him for a few months, but he wasn’t going to add another obstacle for them. And after Octavia’s weeks of melancholy, he couldn’t take away her happiness. Lincoln was a great guy and they were perfect for each other; who was he to get in the way?

Bellamy continued to read for a bit, but when he dropped his book due to drifting off, he decided to turn off the light and go to bed.

But in the middle of the night, he was suddenly woken up by a pounding on his front door. He ran to the door and yanked it open, expecting an emergency.

So when he saw Abby Griffin standing in the doorway, he was confused.

“Hi?”

“Hello, Bellamy. Can I come in?”

“Uh, yeah.”

She entered and he closed the door behind her before showing her to the living room.

“Can I offer you some water?”

“I appreciate the good manners this late at night, but no. I don’t expect this to be a long visit.”

“Okay…” Bellamy didn’t know what to say.

“Are you dating Clarke?”

That really wasn’t how Bellamy expected this exchange to go. “What?”

Abby sighed and rolled her eyes. “Are you dating my daughter?”

“Why?” Bellamy asked, still remarkably confused.

“Why? Don’t be foolish. She’s moved back into this building. You’ve met Jake. That implies dating and I came here to persuade you to not date my daughter.”

“Wow, this is crazy.”

“Are you dating my daughter?”

“No.”

“And will you promise me that you’ll never date her?”

“No.”

Abby became frustrated. “Do you really imagine it’ll work out? You and Clarke come from different worlds. You couldn’t make her happy for long. Do what’s best for both of you and stop pursuing her.”

“Okay, you woke me up to come tell me not to date your daughter. And when I tell you that I’m not even dating her, you still feel the need to tell me how I’m inferior to her in every way. I’m okay with being woken up and I’ll put up with being insulted in my own home, but asking me to deal with both at the same time is asking too much. I think you need to leave.”

Abby stood, “That’s remarkably rude.”

“Good. It’s only fair.”

He showed her out and slammed the door behind her. After, he slid down a wall until he was sitting on the floor. When had his life become so dramatic?

Bellamy knew he was too amped from the conversation to sleep, so he decided to head up to the roof. Once he made it up there, he realized the sky was already brightening and the sunrise would be soon. He placed his forearms on the edge and looked over the city, watching the streetlights go out one by one.

He turned when he heard the door to the roof open and saw Clarke walking out in those tiny pajama shorts and a sweatshirt that completely engulfed her.

She strode quickly toward him, her flip flops slapping the ground with every step. She stopped when she was in front of him and said, “Hi. Sorry to stalk you, but my mom called me and Octavia said you’d probably be up here.”

Bellamy smiled, “Thanks for bringing Lincoln back. I know that was largely your doing and Octavia’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her.”

“I’m very happy for her and Lincoln, but you surely know it was a little for you, too. And obviously my mom thought so as well.”

Bellamy nodded, “Yeah, your mom and I kind of had words.”

“I’m so sorry she accosted you like that, but something she said gave me hope. If you still feel like you did at the wedding, stop me, but I think your feelings may have changed. So let me just say that you have consumed my every thought for months. I went to the wedding just because I knew you’d be there and I had to see you. I’ve been checking all your woefully underused social media accounts every day because I wanted to know what was happening in your life. I love you. I never want to spend a day away from you.”

Bellamy held her hands and stroked his thumbs slowly over the bumps of her knuckles.

“That can probably be arranged,” he smiled.

Clarke surged up on her toes and kissed his smiling mouth, and he quickly began to kiss her back. He released her fingers to grasp at her waist, pulling her against him. Her fingers found his hair, and as she pulled, he opened his mouth to her.

She moaned against his mouth as he skimmed up and down her sides. He moved to kiss from her jaw down her neck and she sighed, “The sunrise is beautiful today. I really want to paint this.”

Bellamy laughed against her neck then pulled back. “You want to paint us making out as the sun rises? Isn’t that a little cliché?”

She rested her forehead against his, “So what? I’m feeling a little cliché.”

Bellamy laughed again and said, “I love you too, by the way. Even if I only inspire cliché paintings.”

She beamed at him, but said, “Don’t make fun of me!”

He just kept grinning as he ran his fingers over the skin where her thighs met her shorts. He felt the goosebumps on her skin.

“Are you cold?”

“Half cold, half excited,” she smiled.

“Well, you know I have an empty apartment downstairs, where there are blankets and a bed, and just, you know, general warmth.”

“Oh really?”

Bellamy nodded slowly, “I could take you there.”

“Okay,” Clarke grinned before slipping her hand into his and leading him off the roof.

By the time they made it through his front door, there were already kissing again. Bellamy lifted her so she wrapped her legs around him and he walked them down the hallway,
his lips never leaving her skin for long.

He laid her on his bed after they made it to his bedroom. When he crawled over her and began lightly kissing her forehead, nose, cheeks, and lips, his glasses slipped and hit Clarke’s face. They both erupted into laughter.

Clarke asked, “So, how well can you see without your glasses?”

“Pretty much not at all.”

Clarke chose that moment to flip them so that she was on top of him, her legs straddling his hips, only able to be done because Bellamy wasn’t expecting it.

“I guess I’ll be on top then,” she said, her smile devilish.

Bellamy adjusted his glasses and smiled up at the glowing girl above him, “I can work with that.”

…

Around noon, Bellamy made his way to the kitchen to bring back sandwiches. As he began walking back down the hall, Octavia slammed through the door and he froze.

“Are you always naked when I’m not home?”

“No…”

“Then why now?”

Bellamy didn’t look up from the floor, “Clarke’s here.”

“So? Why does that mean you’d be naked? Wait. Oh my god. You’re not serious.”

Bellamy shrugged, “I am.”

“But I thought you hated her?”

“No, I just didn’t realize what I was actually feeling. I’ve cared about her for a long time.”

Octavia nodded, “Okay… weird, but okay. How’d it happen?”

“It’s kind of a long story and I’m not clothed right now, so, raincheck?”

“Sure, sure, but just one thing. This is going to be at least a semi-permanent thing, right? Because it’s going to be super awkward at my wedding otherwise.”

Bellamy chuckled and said, “Yeah, it’s pretty permanent. I love her.”

“Cool, cool. As long as you’re happy and my wedding won’t be awkward.”

“Glad your priorities are in order.”

She just finger-gunned at him as he awkwardly shuffled back into his bedroom with his sandwiches.

“Just ran into O in the hallway. Cat’s out of the bag,” Bellamy said as he handed Clarke her sandwich before falling onto the bed next to her.

“Cool. If Octavia knows, everyone will know soon enough. Now we don’t even have to tell people,” Clarke grinned.

Bellamy raised his eyebrows, “Whoa, you’re right. This is great!”

The moment Bellamy said that, both of their phones blew up with vibrations and text tones.

“Uh oh,” mumbled Clarke.

“Maybe we should just turn them off?”

They both switched their phones off and Bellamy slowly crawled over to Clarke.

He pressed his forehead against hers and murmured, “Much better.”

Clarke nodded lightly and her nose skimmed Bellamy’s before he captured her mouth in a kiss.

18 Months Later

Bellamy and Clarke stepped out of the church and were soon hit with handfuls of rice.

Octavia was at the front of the crowd with Lincoln and held a protective hand over her ever-growing belly. She blew Bellamy a kiss when he caught her eye and Bellamy grinned back at her.

He squeezed Clarke’s hand and she turned to look at him, her smile growing impossibly larger.

Soon, they were in their “Just Married” limo and Clarke had her head resting on Bellamy’s lap, the skirt of her dress taking up half of the seating room.

“Hey husband,” Clarke smiled up at him.

“Hey wife,” he responded happily.

“God, that sounds great, doesn’t it?”

Bellamy nodded in response, “It’s the best.”

“So, how much longer do you think I have to keep this dress on?”

“Well, I’m a strong advocate for you being naked in general, so you don’t have to keep it on for my account.”

“Don’t we have to have sex while I wear the wedding dress for it to be official?”

Bellamy laughed, “Well, I’m down to try, but I’m not sure I could find your body under all this tulle.”

“Damn my mother and her need for me to look like a princess at my wedding.”

“You’re a beautiful princess,” Bellamy smiled before leaning down to kiss her.

Clarke chased his lips when he sat back up then said, “Okay, then lets figure out the logistics of this wedding dress sex in a limo.”

They both laughed and Bellamy thought to himself that Clarke was going to be the highlight of his life.