I have this theory about life. At the exact moment one finds balance, the universe tips, because to find complete symmetry in ones life is a total crock of fairytale-like shit. That's why on the day I made the bet, the day I'm still not sure I either fully regret or hold dear, I sent the universe an SOS to tip me completely over the edge.

It was Monday, and I was already tired of school the moment I pulled into the parking lot. Sighing one of those deep-seated, lingering sighs, I jerked the steering wheel to the left and made my way to the very far end of the parking lot where Bellamy and I always park. Bellamy Blake was the town golden boy, and my best friend. Which from the outside looks like a very uncanny relationship, the football god and that random girl that's always on the honor role, and captain of the debate team. The thing is, my friendship with Bellamy would always be weird, and uncanny, but I think that's why we liked each other so much. We were complete opposites, and in some ways, the ways that mattered at least, it worked.

Three people honked at me, but I didn't bother to look and see what they wanted, I never do. It wasn't until I looked up from the music library on my phone that I saw her. Well, more accurately her stark white jetta, which I would have totally judged had I not been seconds away from ramming into her back bumper. Slamming on the breaks, I hit my hand on the horn and prayed that this wouldn't end with me having to call my parents to tell them I'd banged up yet another car. This was my fourth, and I had a feeling even my workaholic parents would begin to notice the fee's I'd racked up on our insurance.

The Jetta stopped just in time, and the driver door flew open. Now, I know that technically, she'd been backing out, and I had obviously not been paying attention, but that wasn't going to stop me from trying to get out of this as best as possible. Seconds later, a face appeared in my window, a light nock followed. I almost jumped when I rolled it down, and turned my head to see her face. She looked frantic, she was flushed and looking me up and down like I was a snapchat close to expiration.

"Are you ok?" She breathed, placing a hand on her heart. "I'm sorry, I should have paid better attention backing out."

I stared at her. Was she seriously unaware that in terms of Maine's road rules I had totally been at fault? Blinking a few times, I finally replied, "I'm fine, everything looks fine."

"Sorry again," She bit her bottom lip, "Um… I'm Clarke, Clarke Griffin."

I raised an eyebrow, "Griffin?"

She blushed, I was starting to think she did that a lot. "Yeah, like the mythological bird that's also a lion."

"Right, well, uh, I'm going to go park now, could you move your car out of the way?" I asked, my finger poised on the up symbol for my window.

Clarke nodded, "Oh, ok, are you sure I mean I know we didn't make contact but would you like to… I don't know exchange numbers, or insurance?"

I paused, and looked at her seriously. "Why?"

She just stared at me, opening and closing her mouth. "Ok, stupid question, I'll move my car now." She trotted off and I continued to stare, I'd never seen her before so she had to be new. I couldn't wait to tell Bellamy how incredibly awkward this girl was, and the fact she thought she was in the wrong in our mini fender-bender.

Bellamy was already leaning against the hood of his truck when I pulled up. Jumping out, I was seconds away from telling him the story when I noticed he was on the phone.

"Yes, I know baby…" he said into the receiver, "Look, I can't just skip practice…"

It didn't take me long to realize he was on the phone with his latest flavor of the month, Harper. I loved Bellamy, he was like my brother, but he was a player and a half. He hung up shortly after I approached him, I leaned back next to him so we were shoulder to shoulder when I said, "Regretting this one?"

"Maybe a little," he chuckled, looking over at me, "How's your morning Lexa, exciting as always?"

I opened my mouth to finally tell him my story, when he stopped me. "Holy shit, Lex." He hit my arm, earning an annoyed 'ouch' from me.

"What?" I whined.

"It's that girl!" He nodded towards the school entrance.

"Nate, there's a lot of girls over there." I huffed.

"No, this one is the girl I've been telling you about, she moved in down the road a couple weeks ago."

I raised one rather unimpressed eyebrow. "Ok, so what?"

Bellamy let out another low chuckle, "Lexa look at her."

I rolled my eyes, "When are you going to get it through your head that just because I also date girls, doesn't mean I think every girl that walks by is hot?"

Bellamy smiled at me, "The Griffin girl is not just hot ok, Lex? She's… She's like a goddess, quite possibly the prettiest girl at our school." He added as an afterthought, "after you of course."

"Wait," I laughed, twirling around and finally laying eyes on the girl he meant. Clarke stood at the doors of the school, her head bent, studying what I assumed would be her schedule, which caused a few sunny blonde waves to fall across her face. "You mean her? Clarke Griffin is your newest obsession?"

"How do you know her name?" Bellamy questioned, grabbing his bag out of the hood of his truck and following me towards the school.

"Because I almost just flattened her with my car." I shot him a smirk, but instead of prompting me for my readily sarcastic rendition of the story, he looked at me like I'd almost killed his grandma.

"So you've… talked to her?"

"Yeah it's crazy, it's this new thing where humans exchange words."

"Shut up, Woods." He smiled, "You have to introduce me to her."

"That's a negative, Blake. I barely know the girl, and her awkwardness makes me feel awkward."

"C'mon, I've been lusting after her for days!" We stop at his locker, which is decorated in streamers and football stickers courtesy of his cheerleading clan of admirers.

"Oh god, a couple days? However will you survive?"

"Christ, Lexa, are you blind?" He snorts, shutting his locker and adjusting the strap of the backpack slung across his shoulder. He turns to look at me, but then his face goes slack, and he's staring over my shoulder like nothing in the world could possibly be more interesting. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and when I turn, I know exactly why Bellamy looked like a love struck 6th grader.

"Hi," Clarke says, biting at her bottom lip. "Look, I just wanted to say uh, sorry again, almost causing an accident on your first day isn't exactly the best way to start, you know?" She smiles after that, and I swear I think I heard Bellamy sigh. Fucking sigh.

Bellamy Blake loves girls, and girls love him, but this felt different. For the first time in… well, forever, I think Bellamy was actually nervous over a girl. I take this moment to really look at Clarke, because sure, even I could admit she was certifiably hot, but what was it about her that was making Bellamy so jumpy? She had longish blond hair that fell down over her shoulders, half of it was pulled away from her face and showed it off quite nicely. It was her eyes though, it had to be. They were a deep blue, and as I stared at them longer, I think I started to understand more and more why Bellamy was so caught up.

"It's alright." I say, after a moment of trying to regain my composure, and act like I was not just totally checking her out. And then, because I am a literal angel sent down from heaven, I turned to Bellamy. "Clarke," I say, surprised at how nice that name feels rolling off my tongue. "This is Bellamy Blake." I leave it there, because that's usually all that is ever needed. I mean it's Bellamy. Tall, broad, devilishly handsome Bellamy Blake, captain of the football team and resident High school heartthrob. Clarke looks from me to him, and smiles, "Hi," she says, again, "It's nice to actually meet you in person, I met Octavia just this morning, I've just moved in across the street."

"I know." He replies, too quickly, and a little breathless.

I turn to look at him as well. What the hell was that? I ask telepathically. He looks back at me blankly, which I know is his universal sign for 'help me'. Surprisingly, however, when I turn back around I find that Clarke is looking at me again, and she's smiling, and she has got a really nice smile.

"So, I didn't quite catch your name this morning," she prompts, searching my face.

I open my mouth to speak, but I am quickly cut off.

"Lexa." Bellamy says, "her name is, Lexa."

This time when I turn around, it doesn't take ten years of friendship between Bell and I to be able to read the message I am shooting him with the look on my face. Why are you acting like such a weirdo?! I silently scream at him, and he looks back at me, panic clearly evident in his tight-lipped expression.

"Ok well, I guess it was nice to meet you, Lexa." I turn back around to face Clarke, and she's grinning now, at me, and definitely not Bellamy.

"Thanks," and for some reason I'm smiling too, smiling much bigger than I ever do, because my usual demeanor during school hours never really includes smiling. I'm as stoic as they come. "I guess it was sort of nice to meet you too, Clarke."

"See you around, Bellamy." She chuckles, stepping around us and on what I assume is her route to class. Just before she's out of earshot, she looks over her shoulder and smirks at me. "And I hope to run into you again Lexa, preferably not in a parking lot though." Then, she winks. At me. Me. This really hot, and quite awkward, yet sort of also mysteriously sexy new girl winks at me.

"Holy shit." Bellamy says, once she's gone. "She's totally into me."

I'm about to laugh, but then I look back up at him. He's staring after her, and he's also completely serious.

"Ok Casanova, I'll see you at lunch." I say, turning around.

"You don't believe me?" He calls after me, grinning like an idiot.

"When do I ever?" I call back, not bothering to turn back around.

I see Clarke again at lunch. I'm heading for my usual table, when I feel myself collide with someone, sending their lunch tray sprawling to the floor. I start to apologize when I look up, and get distracted by a sea of blue.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." Clarke smirks, leaning down to pick up her, thankfully, empty lunch tray.

"That we do," I smile back, and internally I'm yelling at myself because real and genuine smiles are a rare occurrence for me and are generally reserved for Bellamy, and occasionally my older sister, Anya. "Finished already?"

"Yeah, I've got this art project I really want to work on."

"Wow, I didn't peg you for an art geek." I regret it the moment I say it, because when talking to pretty girls it's best not to accidently offend them, but Clarke just smiles. I'm really starting to like that smile.

"I didn't peg you for an actual geek, but all those debate team trophies in the school entryway say differently." Clarke's eyes are sparkling, and I can't look away. She's got the cheekiest smirk settled on her lips and I'm trying to regulate my breathing when I realize she's really taken notice of me. Beautiful, mysterious, and adorably awkward Clarke Griffin, has noticed me.

"You're a charmer, aren't you?"

"Bellamy seems to think so."

I'm laughing now, and staring at her like she's the sun and I'm growing more and more flustered while in her orbit. "You say that now, but you won't be so blasé about it when he's actually put the moves on you."

"We'll have to see." She throws me one last grin, and then turns to leave the Cafeteria, while I try to wipe off the identical grin I'm still wearing while I make my way over to Bellamy.

He's seated at our table with Octavia and Lincoln. I'm still always so surprised at how close Octavia and Bellamy are in and out of school, and next to Bellamy Octavia was probably my closest friend.

"Hey, Lex." She says, smiling. "Did I just see you talking to our new neighbor over there?"

Bellamy looks up at this, a mouthful of food in his mouth. "What?"

"I ran into her…again." I try to ignore the way my heart quickens when I think of her, and those eyes, and that adorable smirk.

"Did she say anything about me?" He asks.

"Unfortunately, yes." I roll my eyes, "she's not that taken by your suave moves this morning."

"This morning?" Octavia asks, "what happened this morning?"

"Bellamy made a complete fool out of himself in front of his dream girl." I smirk at him.

"Whatever," he huffs, "I've got it covered. I'll have her by the end of the week."

Something about the way he said it didn't sit right with me. Octavia rolls her eyes at him, "Don't be a dick, Bell, it's not a good look on you."

"I thought it was his only look?" Lincoln pipes up from his lunch, and Octavia promptly slaps him on the arm, while I tip my head back laughing.

"I'm telling you guys, I'm gonna win this won."

"Not if the commander of the debate team gets her first." Octavia says, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

I shoot her a look, "C'mon, O."

"What?" She laughs, "are you telling me you didn't see the way she was flirting with you?"

"We were talking, don't be ridiculous." I reply.

"Yeah, O, don't be ridiculous." Bellamy adds, and I turn to look at him. "What? You're hot Lex, but it's quite obvious that she's not on your team."

"And how would you know that?" I bite out, Bellamy was really pushing it today.

"I've got a feeling." He replies, simply, like that explains everything. As if he had a built-in, fail proof gaydar.

I wasn't really thinking when I said it, all I could remember was imagining Bellamy and Clarke flirting, and kissing, and eventually Bellamy doing what he does best, breaking a heart. And suddenly I couldn't let that happen, suddenly, I absolutely wouldn't let that happen. He'd broken countless girls hearts over the last four years, none of which I was too concerned over because Bellamy was my friend, not the desperate and annoying groupies he kept around. Yet the thought of him hurting Clarke, the thought of him actually touching Clarke, sort of made me want to vomit. I guess that's why I said it, and I also guess that's what got me into this mess in the first place.

"You're on."

Bellamy looks at me, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Whoever gets Clarke to admit feelings for them first wins." I say it nonchalantly, while taking a bite of my wrap. Like I wasn't having an intense internal debate with the moral compass inside of myself.

"You've got to be kidding." Bellamy says, eyes wide in surprise.

"Oh, quite the opposite, Blake."

"She's straight, Lexa, don't set yourself up for failure." He says this sincerely, and if I wasn't so angry about the fact that he thought Clarke was his for the taking, I might find it sweet that he was looking out for me.

"I like a challenge."

"We need rules!" Octavia pipes up, smiling in excitement.

"Oh no," Lincoln, ever the sensible one, says, "You are not getting involved in this."

Octavia grabs his hand in an act to calm him, but ignores his statement, pressing on. "So what's the time frame?"

"A term," I say.

"A month," Bellamy says at the same time. I glance at him, a bit shaken by his confidence.

"ok, a month." I reply, not wanting to show any doubts.

"We need to clarify 'admitting feelings'" Octavia says, and Lincoln sighs, clearly defeated.

"She tells one of us she wants to become official." Bellamy suggests, and he's smirking like he's got it, like he's already won.

"She admits to being in love." I say, staring straight into Bellamy's eyes.

Lincoln snorts. "That is just-"

"Deal." Bellamy and I are staring at each other, and I can feel my heart thumping in my chest. What the hell did I just agree to?

"Alright, you've both got a month to make her fall in love with you." Octavia states, "now, let's put some pressure on. Winner gets what?"

"Oh, I don't know," Lincoln huffs, "maybe Clarke?"

"If you win," Bellamy begins, "you get, Carson."

The table goes silent. I swallow the lump that has appeared in my throat, Carson was the motorcycle Bellamy had spent four years begging his parents to let him buy. He adored that thing, and he also knew I'd wanted it since the moment he got it. If ever there was a time to doubt that Bellamy wasn't serious in his pursuit of Clarke, I was definitely not now.

"Bell-" Octavia begins, but Bellamy holds his hand up.

"And if I lose?" I ask, but I wish I hadn't, because I feel my uneasiness grow with every second.

"You, miss goodie-two-shoes, have got to streak across the football field." He looks up after a moment, and adds, "during the halftime show."

Lincoln and Octavia's jaws have practically hit the floor, I don't dare look at them, for fear I might come to my sense, and surrender Clarke right now.

"Deal." This was going to be a very interesting month.

Hi Guys! I would absolutely love some feedback on how you're feeling about this story, I've had this idea for quite a while and I'm very excited to finally get to writing it. New chapter coming soon, please remember to review.

Thanks for reading -R