The first thing Clarke thought as she rolled out of bed this morning was 'Shit. Shit shit shit.'
Today was her interview at Ark General for a dream apprenticeship on the paediatrics ward, and in true Clarke fashion, she had slept through her alarm.
Bellamy, however, was a completely different story. He was up just at the right time to have a shower, go grab a coffee at his favorite cafe and take a slow drive to work to start his usual shift on the paedatric ward.
Clarke tore through the house, barely pausing to take the coffee out of Raven, her roommate's outstretched hand and almost tearing her arm off with it.
Before Raven could even ask what was going on, Clarke was gone. She had managed to get ready and look almost, almost presentable, in under 5 minutes. Thank God she had picked out her outfit the day before. She had chosen to go responsible, but classy, deciding on a navy blue knee length pencil skirt, a black blouse and a blue blazer, the dark colours making her icy blue eyes pop. What? They were her best feature.
In her mad rush to the car, Clarke managed to spill her coffee all over the floor, narrowly avoiding herself. She would have kicked herself for this; if she had the time that is. Like practically all American's in their twenties, Clarke couldn't function without her coffee, as Raven knew all too well (Hence why she was waiting downstairs with a thermos all ready to go). Great, now she'd have to speed through traffic to stop off at the coffee shop first. Thankfully she still had half an hour to get to the interview.
Just as Bellamy pulled up to the coffee shop he noticed a flustered looking blonde scrambling around in her bag for what he presumed would be her purse. He sauntered over to the doors at the same time as her, allowing him to get a good look. She was pretty. Petite, with golden blonde hair piled neatly on top of her head. And her eyes. Wow, they were like crystal clear tropic oceans that looked as though they could peak into your soul and steal all of your secrets. Definitely his favorite feature, he thought to himself. Without even realising, Bellamy had been staring at the woman far longer than socially acceptable, something that she hadn't failed to notice. He quickly broke eye contact and swung the door open, waving an arm to gesture for her to go first. She nodded an awkward thanks and made her way over to the counter.
The small blonde ordered his usual- double shot espresso with steamed milk to go. 'What are the odds?' he mused to himself. As she made her hasty exit from the store, he could only pray that he would see her here again. She was clearly in a rush otherwise he would have made a move, obviously.
Glancing at her watch, Clarke realised she still had 20 minutes to get to the hospital, even though she was already pulling up. She wanted to make a good impression but she didn't want to look too keen. Clarke decided to finish her coffee in the car which allowed her to waste a further 5 minutes, 'perfect' she thought.
As Bellamy hopped out of his car, he swaggered up to the reception feeling pretty good about the day ahead. Suddenly, a streak of blonde hair drew his eyes to the elevators. It couldn't be? Could it? Only one way to find out. The doors drew open just as he began making his way over to her and he was not going to miss this opportunity.
'Hold the doors!' he yelled, hoping she would wait for him and thankfully, a small hand flew out of the elevator to stop the doors from closing. He smirked to himself as he made his way inside, jabbing the button for the 4th floor. As he turned to thank the woman, she reached around him before stopping short, noticing that the tall mystery man had pressed the button for her floor. She smiled in gratitude to him when a sudden look of shock flashed across her face as she realised just who she was riding the elevator with. Almost as if she was looking at a mirror, he pulled a similar expression before smiling politely at her.
This allowed Clarke the perfect opportunity to observe the handsome stranger's features in detail. He had flawless olive skin, with freckles splattered unevenly across his high cheekbones and deep, chocolate brown eyes that melted her at the very core. Definitely her favorite feature, she thought to herself. Suddenly and without warning the elevator came to a screeching halt, jolting them both against each other on the back wall. Clarke would have been intimidated by their close proximity had it not been for the fear that was currently coursing through her veins. As if sensing her discomfort, Bellamy pulled away and cleared his throat while trying to wrap his head around the situation.
'Uhh I think the elevator's broken down' he mumbled awkwardly to her, not really knowing exactly what it would achieve. 'Yeah I got that part' Clarke bit back at him in a tone way harsher than it was meant to sound.
She knew that she had to apologise quickly, but she was panicking due to her fear of confined spaces. 'I'm sorry' she croaked, unsure of when she had become teary and beginning to flush with embarrassment. 'I just have a fear of confined spaces and I'm supposed to be in an interview with the head of paediatrics in 10 minutes and I think I'm having a panic attack. Oh god. Oh...my...god'. Clarke had begun hyperventilating somewhere around the middle part of her speech and Bellamy couldn't help but feel sympathy for her.
'Hey, hey, it's going to be okay, we're going to get out soon, You'll be at your interview in no time, I promise.' Bellamy cooed, unable to determine whether it was too creepy for him to pull her in for a hug so he settled on placing his hands on her shoulders.
The petite stranger looked up at him between sniffles and smiled with a slight sense of uncertainty. Bellamy couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as she ceased crying and begun to visibly calm down. 'You know, my sister had the same fear when we were younger. It was silly really. She was playing hide and seek with some of her friends when she got stuck in the coat closet under the stairs. She was trapped for hours and couldn't be anywhere even slightly crowded or enclosed. After she talked about her fear it seemed to get easier. So, you know, if you did want to talk about it, I'm happy to listen.'
All at once Clarke felt the somewhat inappropriate desire to disclose every last fear to this man, knowing that he would almost certainly be able to chase away any ghosts she might have. Without even thinking, Clarke began; 'When I was younger, me and my dad would go long drives around the countryside. We would sit for hours painting in empty fields, enjoying nothing other than the songs of birds and each others company.'
' When winter came, my dad and I got really excited because winter frost always made for the most beautiful canvases. We decided to go the field right on the edge of Ark so that we could see right across the city. On the way back, we tried to turn a tight corner while another car was coming round. We skidded on black ice and flipped a few times. We were trapped in the car for hours and my dad was unconscious and bleeding while I was awake the whole time, unable to move or do anything to help him. He died just after they got me out and I haven't been able to stay in small spaces for long since.'
The now red faced girl wiped a stray tear to turn to look at Bellamy. There was a look of sympathy in her eyes that she had never quite seen before. He reached out and cupped her cheek, speaking in a tone not much louder than a whisper 'It's time to let go of your pain. It wasn't your fault.'
'I'm Clarke' she said softly while offering a small smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. 'Bellamy' he stated softly with a curt nod. Clearly he was having an effect on Clarke as she began to blush again, lowering her head in an attempt to cover it. 'God I hope they get us out of here soon, I've been trying to get an interview for this for almost a year now and I will not screw this up today. Not after everything' Clarke responded quietly, leaving Bellamy unsure of whether she was trying to make conversation or if she was making a statement to herself. 'Hey, the head of departments a pretty understanding guy, I'm sure he'll be very reasonable with you' Bellamy reassured her.
'You know the head of department?' Clarke asked, seemingly surprised at his revelation. 'I am the head of department' Bellamy told her simply with his signature smirk which only grew when she snapped her head up at him almost painfully, so it seemed. 'Oh, uhm, well...' She stuttered, unsure of how to reply to his revelation. 'Don't worry about the interview, I'm sure we can rearrange. Say tomorrow...over coffee?' he said hopefully while finding an area of ground to explore with the hope she won't feel to uncomfortable with his request.
'I'd love that' Clarke offered, along with her sweetest smile. Now it was his turn to hurt his neck by turning to look at her in the eyes. For the rest of their time in the elevator, they stood in comfortable silence, both very excited for their date the following day. 'Nice work man' Bellamy rewarded himself.