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Bellamy stares blankly at the girls in front of him. They both have huge grins on their faces, eyes sparkling with excitement. In fact, their excitement radiates off their bodies like heat, trying to draw him in. He refuses to be drawn in.
“No.”
Octavia pouts, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why not? It’ll be fun.”
“It will not be fun,” he says. “Throwing Clarke a surprise birthday party? That’s the opposite of fun. It’s actually a terrible idea.”
Raven rolls her eyes while Octavia continues to pout. “You’re such an optimist, Bellamy. That’s what I love about you.”
Bellamy pretends she hasn’t spoken. “Everyone knows Clarke hates surprises. And birthday parties. It’s a terrible idea.”
And funny enough, it is true. Clarke isn’t a fan of the unpredictable and hates anything she doesn’t know is coming, which has always led to her dislike of surprises. As for birthday parties, she had a lot of them growing up. So many in fact that she grew to hate them. Her parents used to give her anything she wanted for her birthday, no present too big or too amazing for their princess. But as the years went by, the less she wanted material things and the more she wished they would spend her birthday with her. She started to dread her birthdays, knowing a party would be coming where she would spend the day with literally everyone she knew besides her parents, who were too busy with work to make it. After years of blowing out her candles to the wish that they would finally make it one day, she just gave up on the hope that it would happen. That was the year she turned 18 years old and moved away to college, realizing she would never have to go through another despised birthday again.
It was also true that everyone knew of these hates. Clarke made it known as soon as her birthday rolled around when they all became friends. Her 19th birthday was coming up and she wanted to make sure that her friends knew she didn’t want a party, especially a surprise birthday party. They had appeased this request through all 3 years of college, but it seemed that Octavia and Raven wanted to break the streak for her final year.
“Come on, Bellamy,” Octavia says, her green eyes pleading with him. “How often does someone turn 21?”
He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change who she is, O. It just changes her age.”
Raven punches him in the shoulder, glaring. “She’s not gonna hate us for throwing her one birthday party, moron.”
“You don’t know that,” he says, shrugging. “I’m not changing my mind about this.”
“Fine, but when she loves it I’m rubbing it in your face,” Octavia says, walking away.
“Very mature,” he calls out after her.
Again, Raven punches him. He glares at her, and she gives as good as she gets. “You better at least get her a present.”
Bellamy smirks, his dimples standing out prominently. “My presence there is present enough.”
Raven raises her arm, ready to hit him again. He raises his hands up in front of him, a sign of surrender.
“Obviously I’m bringing a present, calm down.”
With that, Raven huffs and then walks away. “Better, Blake. Since you’re obviously useless at everything else.”
He rolls his eyes behind her, crossing his arms over his chest. He doesn’t give her an answer, knowing that she doesn’t actually mean it. He knows she’s just bitter that he refuses to help, leaving it all in their hands. But in his opinion, it serves them right for going on this suicide mission.
He enjoys his life and isn’t trying to see it end any time soon.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Bellamy has to say he’s impressed. He looks at everything and everyone around him, lightly holding a cup of homemade moonshine that Jasper and Monty made in his hand. He’s surprised, to say the least, that the party seems to be a success, despite all the possible things that could’ve made it a complete and total failure.
Clarke’s in the living room sitting on the couch next to Octavia, who’s sitting on Lincoln’s lap. Clarke and Octavia are laughing loudly, the cups in their hands tilting as they lean forwards towards each other. Lincoln is smiling, obviously also amused by them. Finn and Raven are in the middle of the living room, dancing to the loud music that’s blaring through the speakers and spreading through the house. Jasper and Monty are in the kitchen, putting out another batch of their moonshine, also drinking some more. Lexa and Miller are in the hallway between the living room and the kitchen, talking to each other as they hold their cups in their hands.
It seems only Bellamy is off to the side, by himself. But as he sees the scene around him, he doesn’t mind. Seeing everyone so happy puts him at ease. Especially knowing that a certain blonde is particularly happy, despite having been so sure that she would hate it. If he had made a bet, he would’ve most definitely lost. He’s surprised Octavia hasn’t come up to him to rub it in his face yet, but it seems she’s a bit too busy having fun to do it tonight, for which he’s grateful.
“Octavia told me you specifically asked not to have any part in this.”
Only then does Bellamy realize he’s been zoned out for awhile, not noticing that Clarke has walked up to him and that now Lincoln and Octavia are on the makeshift dance floor with Finn and Raven. But he finally focuses back on the moment, taking a good look at Clarke up close.
Her blue eyes are shining brightly, crinkled at the corners from her wide smile. Her cheeks are a light, rosy pink and her lips are now dark pink, almost red. She looks flushed, but in an amazingly good way. Her blonde curls are down, framing her face perfectly. She doesn’t have a speck of makeup on, every feature of hers standing out just the same. It strikes him that she might be the most beautiful woman he’s ever met.
Pretending he hadn’t just been openly staring at her, he nods his head and says, “I did. I thought you would hate it, since you don’t like surprises or birthday parties.”
Clarke lifts a shoulder, not really a shrug but close enough. “If anyone had asked me if I would enjoy a surprise birthday party today, I would’ve said fuck no. But as soon as I opened the door and saw all of you, the only thing I could feel was happiness.”
Bellamy tilts his head, wondering why that could be. He figures out the answer to his own silent question at the same time that Clarke opens her mouth to supply it.
“I think it’s because all I’ve ever wanted was to be surrounded by people who love and care about me on my birthday. I never got that growing up, not really. I never had my family around on the one day I desperately wanted them there.” Clarke takes a look around the house, sighing happily. “But I do now. My family is here to celebrate my 21st birthday with me today, and I couldn’t be happier.”
He gets this warmth in his chest that spreads across his entire body. He knows it isn’t from the alcohol because he gets the same feeling every time he looks at Octavia. It’s a warmth that comes from the heart, a warmth that’s permanent and ever present. One that doesn’t seem like it’ll be going away soon. Or ever.
“That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said about me,” a voice says from behind Clarke.
Clarke turns around as Bellamy looks past her, seeing Octavia standing there next to Raven. Octavia’s eyes are tearing up, her more emotional state probably due to the alcohol she’s had throughout the night, but the love that is seen in her eyes is definitely 100% intended and real. She’s biting her lip, smiling at Clarke. Even Raven seems a little misty eyed, a wide smile on her face.
“We love you too, dork,” Raven says, letting out a laugh that’s a little breathy, almost as if she’s overcome with emotion.
Clarke rolls her eyes at them, but Octavia and Raven come at her with a bear hug. They squeeze her tightly and all 3 of them laugh loudly, enjoying every second of it.
Suddenly they hear Monty and Jasper yell, “Group hug!”
Everyone throws themselves at the 3 girls, griping each other tightly. There are shrieks and squeals, and most importantly, more laughter. Even though everyone is slightly drunk, it isn’t the alcohol influencing them, this is just who they are.
Bellamy is the only one off to the side, rolling his eyes at the display of affection in front of him. He’s not a group hug type of guy, but on the inside a small part of him knows he’s craving the hug, but he’s just too proud to show it. Thankfully he doesn’t have to think too much about it because he feels a small delicate hand grip his wrist and pull him into the circle. He can’t see her, not her face or her body or anything for that matter, but by the way she holds on tightly to him, he knows it’s Clarke.
The pull has made him spill moonshine on his clean jeans and new sneakers, probably onto the floor as well. He wonders if he might’ve accidentally spilled some onto Lexa too, since she’s standing right next to him in the circle of love. But as he stands there, squished between a bunch of laughing and tipsy fools he calls friends and a small but strong hand holding onto his wrist tightly, he realizes that as long as he has these fools by his side, he doesn’t really care what happens.