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Clarke spotted Monty walking through one of the quads and darted between coeds till she could walk alongside him. “Every gym you pass today I need you to knock down to a one and then text me.”
Monty looked up from his phone, “What? Are we talking about Pokemon?”
She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and nodded towards his phone. “I need you to help me get all the gyms down to a one so I can go behind you and take it over.”
“Why would I put all the effort into leveling down a gym and not take it over myself?”
“Because I need it.”
Monty snorted. “I find that unlikely.”
With a growl Clarke grabbed Monty’s arm and stopped him, ignoring the looks from the other students who had to maneuver around them. “Here, look at this.”
He looked down at her phone which she held out in front of his face.
“Is this your Tinder?”
“Yeah." She’d told Monty about her foray into Tinder and constantly updated him on the messages she’d received and the dates she went on. Monty swore the more she told him about her dating fiascos the less he wanted to date himself which was a shame because someone should get the pleasure of dating Monty. “I matched with this guy and he has every gym on campus.”
Monty’s eyes widened and Clarke knew she had his attention because Monty did not impress easily. “Every gym?”
“Yeah, I asked him if he was the same guy and he said it was him.”
“And you responded eloquently with ‘how the fuck,’” Monty pointed out with an amused twist to his lips.
“Because seriously, how the fuck.”
Laughing, Monty headed back towards his class and Clarke fell into step beside him. “What did he say?”
“He said it was because he was awesome,” Clarke informed him, still reluctantly amused by the guy’s response.
Monty chuckled. “So, you want to go around and take over every gym he has? You have a strange way of hitting on people, Clarke.”
“I’m generally incompetent about a lot of things,” she admitted without shame. “Will you help me?”
“Let me see this guy,” Monty evaded and because Clarke knew she’d appreciate the guy, she held out her phone so he could go through the guy’s profile and pics.
“Okay, I’ll admit, he’s hot.”
Clarke leaned over his shoulder, practically attaching herself to his back. “Did you see the glasses one?”
“The glasses-Oh.”
With a grin, Clarke took the phone back. “Exactly. I was kind of iffy about him at first because he seemed kind of pompous in his profile but then I saw the glasses pic I thought he was worth giving a shot.”
“And now you’re going to try and take over his gyms in an attempt and imitate a human mating ritual?”
“Yes, but I can only do it with your help.”
Monty sighed dramatically and adjusted his backpack on his shoulders. “Yeah, but only because you’re so pitiful.”
Clarke slid her phone into her back pocket. “I’ll take it.”
“I’ll text Jasper, he’ll help. Maybe Harper too.”
Reaching out, she put a hand on his arm and squeezed it once in lieu of a hug. “Thank you. I got to get to class, just text me when you have a gym down to a level one and I’ll take it from there.”
Monty nodded but as she stepped away he heard her yell out behind him, “You know you can just ask him out!”
In response, Clarke flipped him off.
By ten o’clock that night Clarke had been working for over an hour, attempting to catch up on the shit she’d neglected to do during the day in order to take over as many gyms as possible. She still had three chapters in two different textbooks to read not to mention an art project to start and as she glanced over at the Netflix button on her computer, she debated whether it would be procrastinating to just listen to a show instead of watching it.
When her phone vibrated, she considered it a sign from the universe telling her to take a break. With a grin, she saw it was a message from the guy she’d been talking to earlier that day.
BELLAMYB
SERIOUSLY?
ME
I TRIED TO GET ALL OF THEM BUT ALAS TAKING OVER EVERY GYM
ON CAMPUS IS TIME CONSUMING AND I HAVE TO STUDY
BELLAMYB
YEAH. I KNOW. DO YOU REALIZE HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO GET
ALL OF THEM? HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THAT MANY IN ONE DAY?
ME
I HAVE A POSSE
BELLAMYB
A POSSE?
ME
THEY COME IN HANDY ON OCCASION.
HOW DID YOU GET ALL OF THEM? SORCERY?
BELLAMYB
YEAH. I’M A WIZARD.
YOU CAN’T TELL BECAUSE WE’RE TEXTING
BUT THAT WAS WRITTEN WITH AN EYE ROLL.
ME
THANKS FOR THE CLARIFICATION
BELLAMYB
CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING.
ME
BUT SERIOUSLY. HOW?
BELLAMYB
I WORK FOR CAMPUS SECURITY.
ME
FUCK THAT! YOUR JOB IS WALKING AROUND CAMPUS! THAT’S CHEATING
HOW MANY POKEMON DO YOU HATCH IN A NIGHT?
BELLAMYB
A FEW.
ME
YOU’RE AN ASS
BELLAMYB
CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING, PRINCESS.
ME
WRITTEN WITH GRUMBLING RESPECT AND ONLY MILD IRRITATION
BELLAMYB
I’LL TAKE IT.
ME
ALSO, FOR FURTHER CLARIFICATION MY POKEMON USERNAME WAS PICKED
BY MY FRIENDS NOT BY ME. I DON’T CALL MYSELF PRINCESSCLARKE
BELLAMYB
SURE YOU DON’T.
ME
WHERE ARE YOU AT?
BELLAMYB
The library?
ME
CAMPUS SECURITY PATROLS THE LIBRARY?
BELLAMYB
I’M OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY HEADED TOWARDS THE JAHA BUILDING.
Clarke looked down at her ‘I’m staying in so I don’t give a shit’ attire and after a quick debate she decided changing would be a waste of time. The guy could be an actual asshole, she didn’t want to waste makeup or a clean shirt for a guy who might be a terrible human being.
Pulling on shoes and a jacket because it was cold outside, she texted Monty to let him know what she was doing.
He replied: Don’t get murdered before quickly following up with questions about her location, when she expected to be back at her dorm, and a request she text him in a half hour to let him know she was okay.
It was cool, having a friend to worry about her the way Monty did. She hadn’t had that in a while.
She texted him back, thanked him, and a few minutes later Clarke was rounding the library and saw the lone figure walking down the sidewalk dressed in almost all black.
Before she could call out to him he turned around, his hand resting lightly on the waist of his pants.
“You’re not going to shoot me are you?” she asked casually, stuffing her hands into her pockets.
He stared her for a second before saying a confused and bewildered tone of voice, “Princess?”
Clarke grimaced dramatically at the nickname. “Generally, I go by Clarke.”
“I don’t know,” he grinned but it was almost a smirk. “Princess is kind of growing on me.”
“You’re shorter than I thought you’d be.”
Instead of being insulted, he laughed and he looked almost surprise by the sudden burst of joy. Clarke was charmed. “My dad was Filipino and my mom was short and Irish so I didn’t have a lot of genes to draw from.”
“It works for you.”
He grinned again and she thought he might be blushing but it was hard to tell under the street lights. “Thanks? What are even you doing out this time of night?”
“Don’t worry,” Clarke assured him as she started walking in the same direction he’d been headed when she found him. He easily fell into step beside her. “I know a security guard so I’m safe.”
“I’m literally a stranger,” he reminded her. “I could be the worst security guard in the world.”
“Fair enough,” she pulled out one of her hands from her pocket and showed him the mace she’d brought with her. “Never leave home without.”
“Smart,” he nodded with approval. “Do you have your ap up? Because all this walking is going to be a waste if you don’t at least hatch an egg.”
“Shit, you’re right.” Clarke pulled her phone out of her other pocket, keeping the mace handy because he could still be a serial killer. She pulled up the Pokemon ap and adjusted the screen brightness to use less battery. “How does your phone not die while you’re out here doing this?”
“Extended battery,” he tapped what she assumed was his phone attached to his belt. “It was my splurge with my tax return.”
“Do you like being a security guard?” she asked companionably, her shoulder just brushing against his as they walked down the sidewalk.
“No.”
The answer was so final Clarke couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t hold back, let me know how you really feel.”
He smiled down at her but she noticed he kept his head up and his gaze was constantly moving around the area. Whether he liked the job or not, he took it seriously. “I get to take classes here at a discount by working the night security shift,” he admitted. “It’s a means to an end. You didn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t remember what it was,” she admitted and studied his profile, mentally drawing it with charcoal because she thought it would suit him.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Oh. I was trying to catch up on my homework, I was a little distracted earlier today,” she hinted by nudging his elbow with hers. “And I was thinking about taking a break when I got your message so I figured I was supposed to come out here and see you.”
“That’s definitely the only conclusion to come to,” he commented wryly.
“Are you saying you don’t want me here?” she asked, eyebrows raised in a challenge.
He seemed to seriously consider the question before shrugging. “You’re better than the raccoon.”
Clarke laughed. “The raccoon?”
“Bert.”
“Bert the Raccoon,” she repeated, her smile wide at the surprising whimsy coming from the seemingly stoic campus guard.
“He follows me around sometimes when he’s bored.”
“Do you feed him?”
“Fuck no, I don’t want rabies.”
“Well, if you do get bitten I’m pre-med, so I could probably drive you to the hospital.”
He smiled again. “Gee, thanks.”
“I’m here to help. Ooh! A meowth.”
“Those aren’t very good in battle,” he warned her but Clarke waved his advice away with a hand.
“I don’t care, I really like the Persians. But my favorite is Ninetails.”
“I really like the Flareons, but they’re not great for anything.”
“That’s adorable.”
“Fuck you,” he said but there was no heat behind the words so after she caught her meowth she immediately transferred it because it had a low XP.
“Not on a first date,” Clarke told him in an attempt at seriousness. “Well, not usually anyway.”
“You’re a cheap date.”
“I could use a soda.”
“There’s a vending machine around the corner, if you kick it you get can get a free soda but it’s not always the same one.”
“It’s like a gumball machine,” Clarke said excitedly, remembering all the quarters she’d wasted on grocery store jewelry. “You never know what you’re going to get.”
“All right, I’ll buy you a drink.”
“Awesome, then I’m going to bed because I have class tomorrow. Please tell me you don’t have class at the ass-crack of dawn.”
“Ass crack of noon,” he assured her. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
“Because it’s your job,” she asked as he stopped at the vending machine. “Or because you want to?”
He didn’t answer at first, instead he raised his booted foot and slammed it into the side of the vending machine and a grape soda came out. Reaching down, he picked up the can and held it out to her.
“Can I say both?”
She put her hand on the can, accidentally on purpose touching his fingers with hers. “Yes, absolutely.”
“Then both.”
“Cool,” she took the soda and opened the top. She took a long drink and held it out to him. He hesitated only a second before taking it from her, taking a drink, and handing it back to her.
His fingers brushed hers and Clarke felt butterflies for the first time in years.
"That was surprisingly hot, by the way. I really hope you don’t turn out to be a dick."
“I am,” he admitted. “But I don’t hurt people if I can help it.”
“Good enough,” she started back towards her dorm and he walked alongside her, sharing the drink and small talk on the way back to her building.
When they got there Clarke tossed the empty can into a recycling bin.
“We should do this again sometime.”
“Maybe when I don’t have a schedule to keep and we can do more than get a free soda from a vending machine?”
“Dinner?” Clarke asked, trying to tamp down the attraction and affection that she could feel beginning to bloom. It was too soon to get her hopes up but she thought she might really, really like this guy.
“Yeah,” he agreed with a nod. He took his phone out its holder and held it out to her. “We can trade numbers?”
Clarke gave him her phone and she typed her name and number into his before handing it back.
“It was nice meeting you, Bellamy.”
“I’m trying really hard not to kiss you.”
Hope and butterflies swirled in her ribs near her heart. “Maybe after dinner.”
“After dinner.” He took a step back and she saw that first smirk again on his face. “Have a nice night, Princess.”
Clarke groaned but there was laughter behind the sound as she let herself into the building. “Night!”
When Clarke woke up the next morning she had half as many gyms as she’d had the night before but she also had a text from Bellamy asking her if she liked Italian so she figured it all balanced out in the end.
She texted him yes, and then texted Monty telling him the gym-stealing-mating-dance had worked.
Only you, had been his reply. I’ll see if he has a friend for you, Clarke sent back before she flopped back on her bed with a grin and for the first time in a while she felt the glimmer of excitement running through her veins.