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Clarke can’t even count the amount of small spaces she’s hidden in over the past three months. Ever since she and Raven teamed up against Jasper and Monty in a prank war, she’s been in charge of all the hiding and scaring. Raven’s in charge of the small—harmless—explosions and, together, they come up with the best ways to wake the boys up from the depths of REM sleep.
Monty and Jasper are smart, too, though. And, wow, are they resourceful. Clarke once had to drive the three hours to and from her mother’s house listening to nothing but The Lime in the Coconut song because Monty had rigged her car radio somehow. Raven went to work with magic marker all over her face saying some pretty inappropriate things that she didn’t notice because she always wakes up late and is still getting dressed while she’s stumbling out the door.
So, yeah, it’s nothing new for Clarke to be crouched in a small, dark space, looking through the tiniest sliver to see if her friends are coming for her to jump out and scare them. However, this is the first time she’s doing it in public, so their guards are really down and she’s extremely excited to see how it all shakes out. Raven is hiding, too, but only so she can get a video of it on her phone without being spotted.
They went to IKEA to find a bookcase for Clarke and Raven’s apartment, but the boys came because they love the meatballs and pretending to live in all the little rooms set up throughout the store. Whenever IKEA is mentioned, they usually get the whole group to go. It’s always like a field trip out of the city and no one wants to miss out.
Last she had seen Monty and Jasper, they were sitting in a fake office, pretending to be a therapist and a patient—Jasper laying on a chaise with his ankles crossed and his arms under his head, and Monty sitting at a desk asking him if he thinks Maya is the one . But they can only play that game for so long and they should be coming down her way any second now.
But she can’t see much at all. She’s depending quite a bit on her hearing, especially since she knows how raucous Monty and Jasper can be together. And when she finally hears their voices, arguing about the new Fallout game, she knows it’s her time. She can only hope Raven is ready with her phone. Because it’s going to be good.
She pushes open the doors to the wardrobe and yells, “Boom, bitch,” like she always does, and is the horrified when she realizes—midflight—that she is not jumping at Monty or Jasper, but at a complete and utter stranger.
“What the hell?” he exclaims, right before she hits him, sending them both to the floor. “Are you insane?”
“I’m so sorry,” she says, quickly moving off of him. She’s too worked up, though, and she slides in her flip flops against the smooth floor below them and she falls again, taking him with her again. “Shit.”
She knows she shouldn’t, but she resigns to her failures and rests on top of him. She gets a good look at his face, tanned skin and sharp jaw, a million freckles and a dimple in his chin, and she realizes that he’s more than beautiful. He’s spectacular and her hands itch to sketch him.
“Do you mind?” he asks finally and she sighs, nodding quickly. She stands and offers him her hand. He takes it carefully, not sure he trusts her, which, why should he? She just attacked him in the middle of IKEA while the two people she was supposed to scare are laughing just a few feet away and she can now see Raven filming it all.
When he’s standing, he tears his hand out of hers and runs it through his hair, looking around them. He glares at Monty and Jasper. Jasper stops laughing immediately, but Monty keeps on smirking. “Hi, Bellamy,” he says and Clarke’s eyes widen so much it hurts a little.
“Does she belong to you?” Bellamy asks, hitching his thumb in her direction. Monty nods and Bellamy sighs, finally turning to look at her again. “What the hell are you doing jumping out of a wardrobe? In the middle of IKEA? Where there are people ? You must be, what? Twenty? Get it together.”
“Twenty-one,” she admits, looking at her feet, appropriately embarrassed. “It’s a long story. Monty can tell you all about it since apparently you two know each other.”
“No,” Bellamy says and, this time, she hears a hint of amusement in his voice. “I think I’d much rather hear it from the woman who attacked me while I was looking for a TV stand.”
Clarke sighs again, looking over his shoulder to see Raven is still filming. She glares at her until the phone is put away and looks back at the man in front of her. His arms are crossed over his chest and she can see how his t-shirt is straining over the muscles in his arms. Her mouth goes a little dry, but she perseveres.
“My, uh, friends and I,” she starts, sweeping a hand to the three people still standing around them, “are neck deep in a prank war and it just so happens you were an unintentional casualty. I heard them yelling and I only just barely saw someone standing in front of the wardrobe, so I took a shot in the dark. And as it turned out, my aim was a little off.”
“Just a little,” he agrees and she gives him her best and brightest apologetic smile. He doesn’t flinch, so she sighs.
“I’m very sorry,” she tells him and he nods. “How do you know Monty?”
“That’s Nate’s roommate,” Monty tells her, talking about his new boyfriend who she’s only met twice, and her face goes red. “Bellamy.”
“Hi, Bellamy,” she says, offering him her hand. He uncrosses his arms to shake it and she smiles. “I’m Clarke.”
“I’d say it’s nice to meet you,” he tells her and she bites her lip, “but my elbow still kind of hurts from when you attacked me.”
“Can I buy you some meatballs?” she asks him and his eyes just narrow. He could have easily walked away by now but he hasn’t, so she’s going to try harder to make him see she’s sorry—and not crazy. “You know, to make it up to you?”
She can see Raven smiling at her, like she knows something Clarke doesn’t, and she looks back at Bellamy who’s got a bit of a smirk on his face. “You want to buy me meatballs?” he asks and she shrugs. “I guess I could go for some meatballs.”
“Awesome.” She smiles and he smiles back. It brightens up his entire face.
“As long as you can promise no one is going to assault me on the way,” he amends and she laughs.
“Promise.”
Bellamy nods solemnly and puts a hand on the small of her back, escorting her to the food court. She’s surprised at the touch, but smiles down at the floor as they walk. Her friends fall into step behind them and she can hear Monty and Raven talking quietly, but she can’t make out what they’re saying. She knows, though, that it has everything to do with Bellamy’s hand still on her back and the way she’s leaning closer to him as they walk.
“Did you find a TV stand?” she asks him and he nods, taking his hand away from her quickly, like he only just realized what he was doing. She can’t help but smile again. “I really am sorry I jumped on you. I usually make much better first impressions than that. I’m really charming, actually.”
“Modest, too,” he smirks, looking down at her and she laughs. “It’s fine,” he promises, rolling his eyes playfully. “It’s not every day a hot stranger gets on top of me in public.”
He’s smirking when he says it, but looking directly in front of him, avoiding her surprised gaze. She can hear her friends gasp behind them and she looks back over her shoulder to show them her surprise—and delight—and Raven looks from Clarke to Bellamy a couple of times until she gets the hint.
“Well, it’s not every day I mistake my friends for a beautifully handsome man.” She shrugs and he chokes out a laugh. “I’ve had worse days.”
“That offends me a little,” Jasper calls out and she hears him huff, no doubt after getting punched or shoved by Raven. “What? I’m a beautifully handsome man, too.”
“No, you’re not,” Monty promises and Clarke and Bellamy laugh, looking at each other.
“I’ve had worse days, too,” Bellamy assures her. “Tackled by you and then free meatballs? That’s actually a pretty good day in my book.”
“Glad I could help.”