Chapter Text
The wind blew gently, ruffling the leaves on the trees. Bellamy Blake leaned his head back against the rough bark of the oak tree in which he had taken up residence. The warm spring afternoon was quiet enough to be peaceful, but not so quiet that he was totally alone with his thoughts. It was the kind of afternoon best spent lounging around outside. Perfect for for spending some much needed chill time with friends, before the oncoming storm that was finals. But here he was, tucked away in his favorite tree on campus, hiding from the world.
Well, not the world. One person in particular. Just one person who would never cease to drive him absolutely nuts. One person whom he loved more than anything in this world. His precious baby sister. Not such a baby anymore, a voice in his head reminded him. He creased his eyebrows and sighed.
Running his hands through his hair, he couldn’t help muttering to himself, “why? why is this happening?”
“Why is what happening?” came a bright voice below him. Bellamy looked down, startled. Standing far below, was a petite blonde girl. Well, he couldn’t really be certain of her size, relative distance and all that. But what he could be sure of was the way her golden hair sparkled in the afternoon sun, and the way her light blue sundress fluttered in the breeze.
“Someone’s nosy,” he said gruffly. He wasn’t hiding away from the world, but he certainly wasn’t sitting in a tree so he could make friends.
“And someone’s not very polite,” she said, unfazed. The tree was at the very edge of the quad, tucked behind a maintenance shed. It’s branches were sturdy, but it had very few that hung low enough to climb. Hence the reason why it was such a good hideout. The only way to get up to the branches was to find the loose panel in the window of the shed, and climb onto the roof.
“Not looking for conversation, so I figure it doesn’t really matter,” he shrugged. The girl lifted her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
“Hey, how did you get up there?” she asked critically. He snorted.
“Why would I tell you?” He shifted slightly, dangling his legs in her direction. He didn’t care if he was being rude, he had meant it when he said he wasn’t interested in conversation.
“So you come off as less of a jackass?” she quipped, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
“Someone’s not very polite,” he echoed back at her.
“Please, compared to you, I have the manners of royalty,” she placed her hands on her hips, as though to intimidate him. Bellamy smiled inwardly at her brazen behavior. He was ten feet off the ground, and she couldn’t be more that 5’ 4”, yet there she stood. Eyes flashing, trying to goad him into giving up his secrets. “Are you going to tell me or not?”
“I’m gonna go with not. Princess,” he added as an afterthought, smirking down at her. Bellamy’s comment seemed to have the desired effect. The blonde gave him one more dirty look before she turned on her heel and stormed off. Bellamy watched her go, and then with a sigh, swung his legs back onto the branch. Settling back against the tree, he tried to steer his thoughts back to the real problem at hand. His baby sister. Octavia was a freshman this year at Ark Institute and doing absolutely amazing in all of her classes. Which is why Bellamy couldn’t, for the life of him understand why she wanted to transfer.
He’d been at Ark Institute for almost six years now, working towards a PhD in history, and it felt like home. Bellamy was excited to share his life at Ark Institute with Octavia. Since she was living on campus, as all freshman were required to do, Bellamy didn’t get to see her as often as he would like. Whenever they met for lunch, she would pester him about his classes, and how he was adjusting to living on his own. If Bellamy asked how Octavia’s classes were going, she would brush him off and say everything was going great. It had never occurred to Bellamy that she wasn’t enjoying her time at Ark. He never even thought of it as a possibility.
Bellamy had worked his butt off ever since he could remember trying to support her, and keep her in school. Juggling two jobs, while being a full time college student, and taking care of his kid sister had been no easy task. Bellamy fondly remembered the look on her face when she got home from school the day she found out she was accepted to Ark Institute.
Bellamy heard the jingle of keys in the door, signaling Octavia’s arrival at home from school. He finished screwing the top on the mayonnaise and threw it into the fridge. He tried not to wince at how the light brightly reflected off the mostly empty plastic shelves. They desperately needed to get groceries but he was trying to hold out until the end of the week, after he picked up his paycheck. He grabbed the tupperware from beside the sink and dropped his ham sandwich into it, snapping the lid on tight. He didn’t particularly like ham, but it was O’s favorite, so he put up with it. Taking an apple from the bowl on the counter, he tossed them both into his backpack for later. Bellamy had started working the graveyard shift at a security firm, this way he could work more hours and not disrupt his class schedule. Bellamy was reaching for his latin textbook when the door finally opened.
Standing in the doorway was Octavia, now all grown up. She was a high school Senior with overgrown bangs and her long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her light green eyes were filled to the brim with tears and Bellamy’s heart clenched when he saw them.
He remembered all too well, the little girl who would come home from middle school with tears streaming down her face. He would hold her and pet her hair while she cried about the kids who had made fun of her that day. Some days it was because of her clothes, often ill fitting and worn, bought from the second hand shop at the end of the road. Some days it was because of her address, located on the outskirts of the district where sirens lulled them to sleep at night. He would tell her it didn’t matter, that the kids at school didn’t matter. They had each other and that was enough. Secretly, Bellamy would hold back tears of his own, and wish that he could afford more than their tiny two bedroom apartment on the 7th floor of a building built a little too close to a sewage plant. It had almost been a relief when she’d went to the high school, and trading her tears for a black eye and a call from her principle. At least then he knew that Octavia could stick up for herself.
Despite knowing that Octavia was strong, that she could take care of herself, Bellamy couldn’t help but think the worst. During those long, tough years, he had developed the big brother instincts to protect, to soothe and comfort Octavia. He crossed the room in two long strides and pulled Octavia into his arms.
“What happened O? Was it Atom?” he pulled away for a moment, so he could get a better look at his sister. “I’ll kick his ass I swear to god, if he hurt you–“ Octavia silenced him by pulling him back to her, beginning another hug. She squeezed him tight, like she did when she was little, and buried her head in his chest.
“We did it big brother,” her voice was muffled, almost unintelligible.
“We did what?” he asked. She loosened her grip and stared up at him through her long bangs, the grin on her face was bigger than any he had ever seen.
“I got in,” she said, stepping back and holding up a letter in her hand. Bellamy grabbed the letter, his dark eyes scanned it frantically, and he could feel a matching grin spread across his cheeks. Pride bubbled up inside of him. His baby sister had really done it. “I’m going to Ark Institute next year. We did it Bell.”
He hugged her again. Lifting her off of her feet and planting a kiss on her head.
“Put me down Bell!” she laughed, but she didn’t try to break away, or make him put her down.
“I can’t believe my baby sister got into college. I mean, I can believe it, you’re the smartest person I know O. I’m so proud of you,” he finally put her down. He wiped at his eyes and looked down at Octavia. “Mom would be so proud of you,” his voice cracked, but she had the decency to ignore it.
“Mom would be so proud of you Bell. This is all because of you. I wouldn’t be here if wasn’t for you,” she said sincerely.
“You’re my baby sister, I would never let anything bad happen to you,” he said and she rolled her eyes. She shucked off her backpack and headed to the kitchen.
“Your such a sap,” she teased, “I have to babysit in like 20 minutes, but you don’t work until 7 tomorrow, right?” Bellamy nodded following her. “So that means we’re going out for ice cream to celebrate, right? On you, of course” Bellamy laughed. That was the Octavia he knew and loved.
They had worked so hard to get her here, to Ark Institute. And now she’s just going to leave, his stomach churned at the thought. He looked over at some students, laying out in the sun on the other side of the quad. He could make out the girl who had been been bothering him not too long ago, her golden hair dancing as she threw back her head and laughed. She was pointing in his direction and talking to a guy with dirty blond hair. She finished her conversation and picked up a backpack, heading towards the tree. Maybe if I pretend to be asleep she’ll leave me alone. It definitely seemed like a long shot, but he figured it was worth a try. Closing his eyes, he tried make himself seem as unresponsive as possible.
A few minutes later, he heard rustling beneath him.
“One, sleeping in a tree is a terrible idea. And two, I know you're not really asleep,” came the voice from before. He groaned loudly.
“How do you know that I don’t just fall asleep really fast,” he said, opening his eyes warily.
“I don’t, but if you had been asleep, you wouldn’t have heard me. No harm no foul,” she said lightly, while throwing her backpack onto the roof of the maintenance shed. She bent down to untie her sandals, kicking them off carelessly.
“You’re really going to climb up her in a dress, Princess?” he said. “It’s a bit breezy for that, don’t you think?” She stuck her hand in the top corner of tiny window on the shed. She wiggled her hand around for a moment. She let out a triumphantsound and he knew she must’ve found the loose panel that allowed the window to be opened from the outside.
“l’ll take my chances,” she said, pushing open the window. It didn't take her long to scramble up to the roof, using the open window as foothold. The breeze picked up, but again, she didn’t seem very concerned. Bellamy saw a flash of black spandex shorts and realized he was watching her a little too closely. Clearing his throat self consciously, he averted his gaze. Once on the roof, she put her backpack on her shoulders and leapt onto the closest branch. She climbed the tree gracefully, settling on the branch closest to him.
Bellamy let his eyes drift towards the small blonde. She was flipping through the pages of a large grey sketchbook. Bellamy saw dozens of drawings, ranging from full color portraits, to roughly sketched landscapes. There were even several sketches of the very tree they sat in. When she looked up, her blue eyes gazed directly at him.
“It’s rude to look over other people’s shoulder,” she said, pulling a pencil case out of her bag without breaking eye contact. Bellamy’s cheeks grew warm. He let his gaze drop, choosing to study the limb of the tree he was sitting on instead of the planes of her face.
“Well, like I said before, I’m not too worried about putting you off,” Bellamy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He knew it was probably Octavia looking for him, but he was still too upset about the conversation they had earlier. If he answered the phone now, he would just end up saying something he’d regret. Bellamy let his thoughts wander, listening to the quiet scratching of her pencil against the paper of the sketchbook.
After a while he chanced another quick look at her sketchbook, his mouth fell open in surprise. Bellamy saw himself, sprawled out on the branch, looking off into the distance. The sketch was good. Really good. It had his freckles, and the dimple in his chin. She had even managed to capture a faraway look in his eyes. He felt a tug in his stomach and brushed it off as embarrassment.
“Captivated by my good looks, I see,” Bellamy said lightly, trying to distract himself from the feeling.
“Hardly.” She resumed sketching. “Remember what I said about looking over people’s shoulders,” she added, a little defensively. Bellamy could see the slightest hint of a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Her words indicated that she didn’t want to be watched, but she didn’t move. Her sketchbook was still very clearly in Bellamy’s line of view. Bellamy bit his lip, considering his next words.
“Why are you drawing me?”
“I like to draw things that make me feel,” she answered easily. She didn’t even have to stop her sketching this time. Bellamy felt the same tug in his stomach.
“I make you feel things,” he said with a mischievous smile. “What kind of things?”
This got her attention. She picked her head up and looked him straight in the eyes. “Annoyance,” she said evenly. The blush was still on her cheeks, which made Bellamy think there may be more to it than that. “Now, in case you couldn’t tell, I’m not really looking for conversation. So I if you could just return to brooding in silence, that would be good.” She returned to her drawing.
Bellamy felt his smile fade. “Artists,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. He went back to contemplating the problem at hand, Octavia’s proposed transfer, but he found his thoughts kept wandering back to the girl sitting next to him.
“Bellamy Blake, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S–“ came a singsong voice from below.
“I swear to god, O, if you finish that statement–“
“If I finish that statement you’ll what?” Bellamy could practically hear his sister rolling her eyes at him. Sure enough, when he looked down, he saw Octavia with a hand on her hip. She had her head tilted at an angle, making it clear that she was calling his bluff.
“Just don’t, okay,” he conceded. Bellamy could just make out the smug grin on Octavia’s face, the one she always made when she knows she’s won. “You’re a pain in the ass.”
“Don’t I know it,” she said sweetly, switching gears, she directed her next question at the person sitting next to him. “Who’s your lovely lady?”
The girl next to him laughed, it was light and musical, Bellamy found himself admiring the cadence. “I’m as much his lady, as he is a knight in shining armor. And I’m Clarke, Clarke Griffin.”
“Is he in a mood again?” Octavia asked narrowing her eyes in his direction.
“What do you want O?” Bellamy wasn’t very pleased that his sister had managed to find him. He was even less pleased that she was acting like nothing had happened. The reason Bellamy had come to this spot in the first place was to get some space and clear his head. It was becoming increasingly clear that wasn’t going to happen.
“I came to make sure that you weren’t sulking,” she said over dramatically, making sure to emphasize his moodiness. Clarke snickered, trying to cover it up with a cough.
“Got something to say, Princess,” he shot at her. His patience was wearing thin.
“Oh, he’s been sulking big time,” Clarke said, directing her statement to Octavia.
“Thanks a lot,” he huffed.
“Oh I’m sorry, was that rude,” she said with a smirk. She closed her sketch book and stuffed it in her bag. After taking a moment to tie her loose hair into a knot on top of her head, she lowered herself down the tree and made her way to the ground.
“I’m waiting Bell,” Octavia said impatiently, her foot tapping. Bellamy sighed deeply and made his way down to the ground.
He heard his sister introduce herself to Clarke.
“Octavia, you look familiar,” Clarke said, squinting her eyes. He saw her eyes widen, “I know you from my painting class.”
“O? Painting? Fat chance,” Bellamy scoffed. To the best of Bellamy’s knowledge, his sister had never stepped foot in an art studio, let alone picked up a paint brush.
“She is the subject, of a painting in my art class. Thank you for your input though,” Clarke said cooly, looking at him briefly. “Courtesy of Lincoln, I believe.”
“Oh. Cool,” Octavia said, her nonchalant tone contrasting with the smile playing on her lips. Bellamy scowled. She turned her attention to him, “You and I have got some business to discuss.”
“You wouldn’t want to exclude our present company, O. That would be rude,” he said gesturing to Clarke.
“That’s okay, I need to excuse myself anyway. I have to get back to the studio and work on a few things,” she said quickly. “It was nice to meet you Octavia,” she added warmly, smiling at the girl. Octavia smiled back, it looked like she wanted to say something. “If I see Lincoln, should I tell him you say hi?” Clarke asked with a knowing smile.
“Um, sure,” Octavia said lightly, “Yeah, that would be great.” She grabbed Bellamy’s arm and began to lead him away. “Hopefully I’ll see you around,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yeah, I hope so,” Clarke said, “bye–“
“Bellamy, my grump of a brother,” Octavia offered, answering her unasked question.
“Bye Bellamy,” Clarke said, the ghost of a smile on her face.
Bellamy started to say goodbye, but she had already turned away. He swallowed his words, and watched her leave.
“You are such a dork,” Octavia said from beside him. Bellamy tore his eyes away from Clarke and looked at his sister.
“You’re such a dork. Uh say hi to Lincoln for me,” he said in poor imitation of Octavia. She punched him the shoulder.
“Shut up, let’s go. I’m starving,” Octavia said, pulling him in the other direction.