Chapter Text
Octavia Blake glares up at the stocky 6ft2" standing before her. "Look, whatever your name is, I'm sure you mean well. But Bell's been through a lot recently, so he's sensitive. If you break his heart I will take upon myself the responsibility of tracking you down and squashing you like a fly. Got that? 'Kay, have fun!"
She sighs, back against the door. She has given the "you break his heart, I break you" speech way too many times this month. Ever since their mum died when Tavia was fourteen and Bellamy was eighteen, he cut all dating out of his life to try and provide for the two of them. Now that they're finally financially stable, she is more than happy that he's back in the game. But none of these relationships seem to last. Maybe it's because her brother's heart isn't really in it. Maybe it's because all of the guys that her brother dates get really scared by the tiny British girl with the eagle glare, staring them down. Maybe.
She's now so used to giving "the speech" that she starts it whenever someone who happens to be her brother's type knocks at the door. Just for the record, his type is massive, tattooed men, so it's not a surprise to her when the doorbell rings at 7:30 and she opens it to find a tank of a man: tall, attractive, with the edges of an intricate tattoo peeping out of the grey t-shirt stretched against his really, really defined muscles.
"Look, whatever your name is," she starts. "I'm sure that you are a nice guy with good intentions, and damn if my brother doesn't choose his dates well, it's just... He's been through a lot recently, and if you break his heart, I will make you sorry that you ever stepped foot on this earth, and- are you laughing?" She stares at him, incredulous.
He chuckles at her, making her even more agitated and confused. "I'm sure your brother is a great guy too, but I'd find it really difficult to break his heart by dumping him, because, well, I'm not gay," he almost whispers.
"Oh," she puffs, dejected ." Then why are you here?" Curious, she leans against her apartment's front door and frowns.
The man smiles, "I just moved in across the hall. Lincoln," he states, holding out his hand for her to shake.
"Octavia," she takes it, smiling back."but most people call me O, and my brother back there is Bellamy."
"Anyway, I was making a crumble for my mother, because she's visiting tonight. Then I discovered that I don't have enough sugar for the topping. So here I am, ever the cliche, asking my neighbours if I could please have a cup of sugar."
"Sure, if we've got any. Come in." She leads him to the kitchen cupboard where she discovers a bag of Kane's Cane Sugar, and hands it to him. "Here you go. You'll have to repay me though."
"With what?" Lincoln inquires.
"Your number," Octavia states triumphantly.
"Of course, here- umm... Do you have a pen?"
"Here you go." As Lincoln scribbles down his number, Octavia is subtly checking him out. This continues after he hands her the piece of paper, salutes, and heads back across the hall to his place.
When she finally shuts the door, she glances at the paper in her hand, and her heart melts a little as she realises that he drew a smiley face next to the neatly written number.
She plugs his number into her phone.
Conversation
U free tonight?
i'm guessing and hoping that this is octavia
Call me O
will do o
Wait a sec- Hoping?
maybe.
So u free on Friday?
yeah, what 4?
Thought I'd show u the town.
it's a date
Her fist pumps the air as she yells out, "Score!"
A sleepy voice from upstairs hollers, "What was that?"
"Bell?"
"Yeah?"
"I call dibs on the boy across the hall!"