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“Hey, Mary Poppins, wanna play slap cup?”
The crowd around Clarke Griffin laughed at the sentence.
“Yeah, sure, why not.” Clarke waved goodbye to the group of people she had recently befriended and walked up to Jasper, who shot her a smile.
“Having fun yet?” he asked.
“Of course, but the real question here is why you’re throwing a costume party in December? Halloween was two months ago,” Clarke laughed.
“Eh, the whole ugly Christmas sweater party is overrated. And besides, who doesn’t love an excuse to wear a costume?” Jasper asked, slinging his arm over Clarke’s shoulder.
Clarke couldn’t argue that point. She spent a week making sure her Mary Poppins costume was absolutely perfect. She’d loved the film since she was a little girl, and she loved it even more now that she was eighteen. Mary Poppins was an intelligent female doctor (or at least something like that, she sang a song about medicine and that was good enough for Clarke, honestly) who got to dance around and sing, and that was pretty damn fun.
Jasper and Monty were certainly embracing the costume spirit as well, both of them wore matching costumes, dressed up as Merry and Pippin. The hobbit look might have been a little ridiculous but Clarke couldn’t help but smile at how well it fit them. Jasper escorted her to the table set up for a game of flip cup. Clarke loved drinking games. She was competitive and she loved alcohol, how could anything be better than a good drinking game?
Clarke scanned the group of people getting ready to play, the only two she recognized were Raven and Octavia. Two girls she went to high school with, though Raven graduated two years ahead of her and Octavia was a year below her. While she knew Raven fairly well, they were lab partners in AP chemistry, Clarke only knew Octavia through her brother, Bellamy. Bellamy was honestly the one person from high school Clarke had zero intentions of seeing ever again. They had a fierce rivalry until he graduated her junior year. She hadn’t seen him since.
“Griffin!” Raven exclaimed, pulling Clarke into a hug. Clarke giggled at Raven’s elaborate astronaut costume, and returned her warm embrace.
“Ready to get your ass kicked?” Raven asked excitedly.
“Oh, you wish. I’m not one to brag, but I think I wouldn’t be downplaying myself by saying I’m a champion at this game,” Clarke smirked.
Jasper clapped his hands and announced that the game was about to begin, some people standing nearby gathered around to watch. The game was messy and intense, Clarke chugged about three beers and by the time the game ended she was spinning where she stood.
“So… who won?” A voice sounded over her shoulder.
“Octavia. I have no idea where she came from, but she pretty much drank us all under the table,” Clarke laughed and turned around to see who was talking to her. Her jaw dropped.
Bellamy Blake was towering over her, smirking. Not only was Bellamy-Fucking-Blake smirking at her but he was wearing a matching costume.
“You are not dressed like chim-chimery-chim-chim-cheroo. This is not happening,” Clarke’s speech was slurring and she had to grip the table behind her to stand upright.
“Actually, if you were a real Mary Poppins fan, you’d know his name is Bert. You make a rotten Mary, anyways,” Bellamy shot back.
“Excuse you! I make a fucking brilliant Mary Poppins!”
“You look absolutely nothing like her.”
“I look close enough! Oh, you know what? Whatever, fuck you. I haven’t seen you in years and I’d like to keep it that way. Goodbye, asshole.”
Clarke ran into the nearest bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Fuck, fuck fuck. Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin had matching costumes. Oh my god, Clarke thought, what if people think they came together? That could not happen, she decided. The last thing she needed was to be another piece of town gossip. She liked living a happy, quiet life. She liked her small group of friends, and the last thing she needed was for Bellamy Blake’s group of loud obnoxious friends to think they were some sort of item. Clarke unbuttoned her oxford, and adjusted the tank top she was wearing underneath. She took away all her little accessories, wanting to look the least like Mary Poppins she possibly could.
She took a few deep breaths, and stared into the mirror, forcing herself to calm down. It really wasn’t as big of a deal as she was making it feel. Now that she didn’t look like Mary Poppins, the rest of the night would go without a hitch. A knock sounded on the bathroom door.
“Clarke, are you alright?” Jasper said, as he slowly opened the door and closed it behind them.
“Yeah, I guess. Did you see Bellamy’s costume? That dick totally copied me.”
“Yeah, I saw it. Clarke… he’s really not the same guy he was in high school… he’s been really nice to me and Monty lately, that’s why we invited him. Maybe you should try giving him another chance?” Jasper asked tentatively.
“Another chance? He bullied me for three years, Jasper!” Clarke huffed.
“Clarke, you were co-captains of the debate team, I don’t think he really ‘bullied’ you, per-se. You just had some… conflicting views,” Jasper smiled.
“Conflicting views, my ass. He was belligerent.”
“So were you,” Jasper pointed out.
Clarke sighed. So maybe, Jasper had a point. She had certainly matured since high school. Maybe he had too. Maybe… she could try to give him a chance. Clarke smiled at Jasper and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. He nodded his head at her as a reply.
Clarke opened the door and immediately locked eyes with Bellamy. He gave her the slightest of smiles. As Clarke walked closer to him she noticed the freckles scattered across his skin. He really did look so much friendlier when he smiled. Maybe she could try again with him after all.