DISCLAIMER: I do not own THE 100 or any of the characters herein. That luxury belongs to The WB and The CW. I'm just a fan that likes to play in the world.
A/N: This is an AU story based on the novel "Something Borrowed" by the wonderful Emily Giffin, so if you've read the book (or seen the film with the same name) then it will seem familiar in parts. I've always loved the book and for some reason the visual of the characters of 'The 100' being in this world got stuck in my head and it wouldn't come out until I wrote it down. So fine, Muse! You won.
This is my first time delving in to the world of 'The 100' so I'm pretty excited. The show lately has been super angsty (because of course it has been), so I decided to write a light(er)-hearted story. I feel like we need more of those for the upcoming episodes. Also I'm still relatively new to the world of fanfiction (and I don't have a beta for this story) so bear with me!
CHAPTER ONE
I can still remember the first time I wanted to turn thirty. It was when I was nine years old, and my mother had just forbid me to watch the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with my best friend, Raven Reyes. We had stumbled across it while flipping through channels during one of our many sleepover parties (really, they weren't "parties" as much as just the two of us hanging out at each other's houses basically every weekend). Raven had all but snatched the remote controller out of my hands when she saw the beginning of the gory film.
"Stop! Stop!" she had screeched, grabbing the pillow she was leaning on and clutching it tighter to her body. "Oh, man…"
"What?" I had asked.
"We have to watch this. Harper from school said she saw this with her older brother and it was so disgusting she couldn't sleep for a week!"
"Disgusting?" I whispered, just barely glancing at the TV screen, suddenly on edge.
"Yeah," Raven breathed, her eyes already glued. When I was brave enough, I turned back to the screen. So far, there was nothing disgusting happening. But if Harper couldn't sleep for a week, it was bound to get worse.
Just when Leatherface was about to attack one of the girls in the creepy house, my mother appeared, and she scared us both more than the film had.
"What are you watching?" she said sternly, as if she already knew the answer. Of course she did; Abby Griffin never asked a question she didn't know the answer to.
Raven and I had screamed so loud we spilled our bowl of popcorn all over my bedroom floor. Raven was the first to recover.
"Nothing, Mrs. Griffin! We were just trying to find something to watch!"
My mother's face softened a bit at her words. She always had a soft spot for my best friend, ever since we became friends in kindergarten and I told her that Raven's parents died in a car accident and she had to go live with her aunt.
"Funny, because it looks like you two were watching something that you're definitely not old enough for." She walked up to my side of the bed and grabbed the remote, turning the TV off.
"Aw, come on, Mrs. G! It's not that big of a deal. It's just a movie." Raven pushed her bottom lip out, making a pouty face that my mother ate up any chance she got.
My mom chuckled. "A movie that will give you two nightmares. Trust me, when I saw that-" She gestured to the blank TV screen with the remote. "-in the theater with your father, I was a wreck."
"Mr. G took you to see that?" Raven scrunched up her face.
"It was our second date."
"Oh, no!" Raven grabbed her pillow again and pulled it over her face, laughing. My mom smiled warmly.
"So, when can we watch movies like that, then?" I interjected, mildly irritated.
My mom thought about it for a few moments. When she made a decision, she smirked and handed me the remote. "When you're thirty. That sounds safe." Smoothing my fair hair out of my eyes, she gave Raven one more smile (because of course she did) and left my room.
Raven sat up and folded her legs underneath her. "Ha! Thirty? That sounds like forever from now." She gave me a teasing look. "Maybe by then you won't be such a scaredy-cat and actually watch the movie!"
"Hey! I was watching it just like you were!"
"Sure you were." She bumped my shoulder with hers. "That's why your blanket was suddenly so interesting to you whenever there was a scary part about to happen!" Laughing, she kicked her legs out and laid down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was quiet for a few moments before she nudged my leg with her sock-covered foot.
"What?" I said grumpily.
"What do you think being thirty will be like?" Raven asked in a low voice.
I scrunched my nose for a few seconds, then shrugged. "I don't know. Just look at my mom. She's thirty-something."
"She is?"
"I think so," I mumbled. I found a thread sticking out of my blanket and began to pick at it. "She got a toaster for her birthday. My dad got it for her. She seemed to like it."
"A toaster?" Raven laughed again. She likes doing that, laughing.
Another moment of silence. "Well, since you're older than me, you'll have to let me know what it's like before I turn thirty, too!"
"I'm only a few months older," I said under my breath. My birthday was in May, Raven's in October.
"Pffft!" Raven sat back up and grabbed the remote out of my hand. "Whatever, Clarke, let's watch something before I die of boredom."
We dropped the subject after that, but when Raven settled on an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, I couldn't get it out of my head. As a nine year old, the thought of turning thirty sounded so foreign, so strange. It was something I couldn't fathom; a year that sounded like it was from a science fiction novel. Maybe there would be flying cars and hover boards, like Marty McFly got to ride on. Nine-year-old me thought that was awesome, so I couldn't wait to turn thirty.
However, here I am now, twenty-nine years old, and all I want to do is hide under the covers of my bed and stay twenty-nine forever.
I am standing in front of The Ark, a bar that my friends and I frequent whenever we have a free night. Clutching the strap of my purse so tight my knuckles are turning white, I take a deep breath and step off the curb and begin to cross the street.
I let out a loud yelp when a taxi speeds by, just missing me by a few feet. The driver lays on the horn, screaming some angry, indiscernible words out the window.
I only just get my heartbeat back to normal when someone comes up behind me and gets it racing once more.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say that was simply an accident. But since you're turning thirty…"
I turn sharply on my heel and give the man behind me a disapproving glare. He raises his hands up in mock surrender.
"Whoa, okay, sorry. My mistake; you're stoked about turning thirty. How could I miss that?"
"You really need to shut up, Jasper."
Jasper Jordan, one of my best and oldest friends, simply gives me a big smile and an even bigger hug. "How are you doing, Clarke?"
"Dreading this horrible night, how about you?"
"Oh, come on," Jasper runs his hand through his dark hair, pushing it out of his eyes. "You can't call this night horrible before you even step through the door!"
"Sure I can," I shrug.
"Come on, believe it or not, thirty is not that bad. I, for one, have been thirty for a whole ten weeks, and lemme tell ya, it's great."
"Didn't you break up with your fiancée?" I spit out without thinking. As soon as the words leave my mouth, I immediately regret them, my eyes widening. "Shit. Jas, I'm sorry –"
Jasper raises one of his hands, palm up, and I bite my lips closed. "No need," he says simply, a wry smile gracing his lips. "Now, come on, isn't tonight supposed to be us drowning in your misery?"
"Hardy har," I mumble under my breath, letting Jasper guide me (safely) across the street and into The Ark.
When we enter, the lights are shut completely off. It is mildly disorienting at first, and I grab for Jasper's arm. "What the hell –?"
"SURPRISE!" Suddenly the lights snap on and Jasper and I both jerk our heads back, our eyes trying to get used to the sudden influx. Blinking quickly, I see that there are dozens of people standing in front of me, wide smiles on their faces and drinks in hand. A giant banner hangs over the bar with bold, block letters spelling out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLARKE!" A few people even throw their arms in the air, letting go of handfuls of confetti that they had clutched in their hands.
I turn to Jasper and watch as the green and blue confetti lands in his floppy hair. He turns to me as well with a small smirk. Glaring at him, I am about to ask what the hell he was thinking, giving me a surprise birthday party with way more people than I originally thought, when I hear a loud shriek come from behind the wall of guests.
Jasper laughs at my shocked face. "Like you really thought that I was the one that set this whole thing up?"
Before I have a chance to respond, a tall, thin woman with dark complexion and even darker hair barrels into me, knocking the wind out of my lungs. She's vibrating with excitement; rocking on the balls of her feet and gushing in my ear.
"Oh, my gosh, Clarke, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Did you like the surprise? Oh, I hope you did, it took me forever to get this set up for you! I hope you like it!" She pulls away and looks into my eyes, her hands still clutching my shoulders. "So were you surprised?"
I let out a sharp exhale, smiling as truthfully as I could. "Of course I was. I love it, Raven."
She squeals at this, clapping her hands and kissing my cheek. She turns to the rest of the party. "She loves it!" she screams, and the crowd cheers. Jasper makes quick eye contact with me and makes a funny face, sticking his tongue out and squinting. I elbow him quick in the stomach and he lets out a harsh grunt. Raven turns back to me and finally seems to notice Jasper. "Oh."
"Hey, Raven. Long time, no see. How long's it been, two weeks? How you been, girl?" Jasper slings his arm across my shoulders, and I give him a look that tells him I will hit him in the stomach again. Seeing this, he pulls away slightly, smirking.
Raven puts on a bright smile and her eyebrows raise to almost her hairline. This is the look she gives to people she doesn't like, but tries to be nice to anyway. "Jasper! I didn't know you were coming."
"Yeah, Clarke's birthday. Her best friend in the entire world. Of course my presence would be a big question mark." Raven's eyebrows raise even higher at this, if that is at all possible. I close my eyes tight.
"Hmmm," she bites her lip and turns back to me. "Why do you still not have a drink? Come on!" She grabs my arm by the crook of my elbow and pulls me to the bar, leaving Jasper behind. I turn and give him an apologetic look, and he simply shrugs, one side of his mouth tipping up.
Making our way to the bar, Raven is pushing people out of the way, but doing so in such a way that people are apologizing to her.
"Move, please! Move! Best friend of the birthday girl coming through!"
When we finally make it to the bar, Raven orders two martinis with extra olives and gives the bartender a sultry smile, which of course he returns in kind. I scoff softly, but she catches it. Turning to me, she gives me a flirty smile. "What? I can't enjoy the view?"
"You have a fiancé, don't you?"
Raven smiles widely, grabbing the martinis the bartender places in front of us. He hovers for a few moments, his eyes never leaving Raven, but she's not paying him any attention. Frowning, he finally turns away and moves on to the next customer.
"Like I said, I can't enjoy the view?" Raven gives me a wink over her martini glass, slowly perusing the dance floor. I only get one sip in when I see her place her now empty glass down on the bar with a clack. I raise my eyebrows at this. "You want another?" I ask, gesturing to the empty glass.
Raven waves her hand at me, a sign of dismissal. "I'm fine for now. I had a jump start, what with you getting here late." She turns to give me a hard stare.
I sigh softly. "I'm sorry, Raven. Work was a bitch today." She clucks her tongue at this.
"Work. Work is always a bitch to you, isn't it?" She taps her finger to her lips for a moment.
"Well, today was especially difficult. I'm dealing with this patient who –"
"On second thought, I think I will have another." Cutting me off, Raven turns back to the bar and like magic, the bartender is back and leaning against the counter, invading our space. I pull away slightly, but Raven basks in the attention.
Smiling her trademark sexy smile, Raven slides her long dark hair behind her bare shoulder, and the bartender follows the motion. Knowing she has him in the palm of her hand, Raven lets out a soft giggle. "Hello again, Mr. –" She squints at his nametag. "—Wick. Do you have time to make a girl another quick drink?"
"I've got all the time in the world for you," the bartender named Wick replies, flashing a wide smile to match Raven's. She giggles again. I turn away to take another drink of my martini, rolling my eyes.
"I'm going to make the rounds," I say into Raven's ear. Still smiling at the bartender, she doesn't respond. Sighing, I grab my purse off the bar and head toward the area where I saw Jasper last. I need a serious buffer tonight, since half the people here aren't even my friends, but Raven's.
I am just about to give up on Jasper and slip into the bathroom when I suddenly run into something hard and firm. Scratch that, someone.
"Shit! I'm sor –" My voice dies in my throat when I look up and see who it is.
Bellamy Blake, Raven's fiancé.
A/N: Reviews are greatly appreciated, of course. I'd love to hear what you think!