Work Text:
Pushing through the doors of the local market, Clarke lets out a breath as she pulls the thick scarf away from her mouth, allowing herself to breathe a little better, though not by much. She tugs the wool hat off her head and shoves it into her coat pocket, followed by her gloves, and then unzips her coat just enough for her to move her head without feeling trapped.
Glancing around the market to find the right aisle, she walks in the direction of the food and drinks, eager to get her search over with so she can get back home. Thankfully there aren't too many people in the store right now, which isn't a surprise considering how cold it is outside; she wouldn't be out right now either if she didn't have to be.
Once she's in the correct aisle, Clarke lets out a shaky breath of relief when she sees what she came for and reaches out for the only box of hot chocolate on the shelf, only to be stopped short when another hand grabs at the box at the exact same time. Looking up, she finds a dark-haired teen standing in front of her, bundled up just like she is.
He stares at her for a quiet moment, then glances down at the box before looking at her again. "Are you going to let go?"
Her brows furrow together tightly. "What? Why would I do that?"
"Because I want this box of hot chocolate and it's the last one in the store."
"Well I want it too," she replies. She shifts on her feet but keeps her hand securely on the box. "Look, I'm sick and home alone right now, and my car is in the shop and I wasn't able to get a ride so I had to walk here in the freezing cold, and this is the very last box in the whole damn store." She lets out a heavy breath. "All I want to do is drink hot chocolate and watch The Polar Express and then go to sleep."
His jaw tightens for a fraction of a second before he lets go and sighs. "Fine, take the box. I'll just have to tell O that we won't have hot cocoa tonight."
Her brows furrow. "Who's O?"
"My sister. She's ten, very opinionated, and incredibly stubborn."
"Ah." She looks down at the box, tapping her fingers against it, contemplating the situation. Does she really need the cocoa? Letting out a heavy sigh, she closes her eyes and holds the box out. "Here."
"What?"
She sighs again, looking up at the guy. "Just take it." Her body chooses that moment to be overcome with a half-violent cough, but she manages to cover her mouth quickly enough. "Sorry." She swallows. "Take the box, make your sister some cocoa. I'll be fine."
He takes the box from her, a slight furrow to his brows. "Are—are you sure?"
She nods, slowly backing up and taking her gloves out to put them on. "Yeah. I've gone the whole day without any hot chocolate and I'm sure I can go the rest of the night without it too."
His eyes flit down to the box and then back up at her. "Um...thanks, I guess. You didn't have to—" The sharp trilling of a cell phone goes off and the guy in front of her digs it out of his pocket. He answers the call and holds the phone up to his ear. "Hey, O."
Clarke tilts her head at the muffled voice on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, I got the cocoa, I'll be home in a bit. Had a bit of a dilemma with someone else wanting the box too, but it's all been figured out." He tosses her a small smile.
She gives him a smile back, shifting from one foot to the other. She feels weird listening in, even if she can only hear what the guy in front of her is saying.
"No, O, I'm not doing that." He lets out a heavy sigh, looking up at her and moving the phone away from his mouth just the tiniest bit. "I know this might be a little weird, but my sister wants to know if you want to come over to our place to share the cocoa." He covers the receiver of the phone, lowering his voice to a whisper, "You're in no way obligated to say yes." He turns his attention back to the phone, removing his hand. "What is it, O?" His eyes go wide. "What? No, you're not…" He sighs heavily. "Fine." He holds the phone out to her with an apologetic smile.
Clarke's brows furrow together, hesitating for just a moment before taking the phone and holding it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hi!" a perky voice on the other end of the line responds. "I'm Octavia."
"Um...it's nice to meet you, Octavia. I'm Clarke. I take it this is your brother that's here at the store getting hot chocolate for you?"
"Yeah. He was gonna get it for us so we could watch Christmas movies. Do you wanna come over and watch with us?"
Clarke smiles. "That's a very generous offer, Octavia, but I'm sick right now so the last thing I'd want to do is pass it on. Maybe another time?"
Octavia sighs. "Okay."
"Good. I'm gonna go now so I can get home and try to get some sleep, but it was really nice talking to you."
"You too. Bye."
The line goes dead before she can end the call and Clarke hands the phone back to the boy in front of her. "She hung up. So what's 'Bell' short for?"
"Bellamy." He pockets his phone and then offers her another small smile. "Sorry if she was overbearing at all."
Clarke waves him off. "It's okay. No harm done. But uh, I really should be going now."
Bellamy nods, shifting on his feet. "Right, yeah, of course. Have a good night. And feel better."
"Thanks." She gives him a small wave as she turns and moves toward the front door of the shop. Even if she can't have some cocoa, she still has soup at home that she can heat up, though it won't be nearly as satisfying as hot chocolate. But she'll just have to make do.
She smiles politely at the cashier as she passes by the front counter, heading for the sliding doors that will take her back into the cold night air. She stops for a moment to pull her gloves and hat back on, then tightens the scarf and tucks it in close around her mouth, mentally preparing herself for the cold again.
As soon as she steps outside, a shiver runs down her spine, but she quickly shakes it off and then turns to start heading back to her house. It's thankfully not a long walk, but it's definitely one she isn't exactly looking forward to.
"Clarke, wait."
She stops and turns, brows furrowing slightly when she sees the curly-haired figure approaching. "Bellamy?"
He moves closer, giving a small smile and wave. "Hey, hi. Uh, Octavia and I don't need this entire box for one night, so here." He offers her a couple of the packets of cocoa, shaking them slightly to try and entice her.
She reaches out to take the packets and shoves them into one of her pockets. "Thanks. That was…this is really gonna make my night."
"Glad to hear it. Also, I wanted to give you this too." He holds out a small slip of paper.
Her brows furrow slightly. "What is it?"
Bellamy's lips quirk up. "My phone number. I thought maybe, when you're feeling better, you could call me and we could hang out. Though, Octavia might pester me into letting her join us."
Clarke blinks. "Oh, um…okay." The corners of her lips tick up without her permission. "And I've actually got plans all through Christmas, but what are you two doing for New Year's?"
Bellamy's smile widens. "Nothing. Nothing at all."