Splash
A Bellarke Lifeguard AU, co-written with Kazziiee, or you can find her over on Tumblr, her username is frickenfreckle, and her blog's worth the visit!
Clarke loved swimming. Ever since her father ran into the freezing cold water of the Atlantic Ocean with her under his arm when she was four years old, Clarke could never spend enough time splashing around in the silver liquid.
When she was eight, she read a book telling her about how all life began in the oceans, how water is the very foundation of life itself. She found that oddly beautiful.
Growing up in Virginia, she didn't have a lot of opportunities to swim, save for the weekly classes she forced her father to take her to. He called her his 'Little Mermaid'.
The only time she stopped swimming was when her dad died when she was eleven. Car accident. It took her two years to get into swimming again.
At almost-eighteen years old, the petite blonde got accepted into UCLA's marine biology programme, so at the end of her high school education, she couldn't get away from Virginia fast enough. She had found a small apartment on the beach front, and had applied for a multitude of positions. Clarke had decided to seize the opportunity and apply for a lifeguard position in the lifeguard station that stood right in front of her apartment building.
She hadn't expected to get it, after all, she had absolutely zero experience in the field, save for that lifesaving course she did last summer. She wasn't used to the sand, waves or the multitude of hot, shirtless guys distracting her.
Still, she walked into the lifeguard station with her head held high, feigning confidence in order to disguise her nervousness. The fact that she was the only woman in the room just made things infinitely worse.
"You must be the new girl." The first guy said, practically leaping out of his seat by the window. "I'm Jasper."
"Clarke." She replied, shaking his outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Monty." The other guy said shyly.
"Hi." Clarke greets, shaking his hand too. "So, are you two the only guys that work here?" She asked.
"Oh, God no. We're just manning the tower while the rest of the guys are down savin' lives." Jasper says, gesturing towards the setup of binoculars, cameras and computer screens all lying on the long desk underneath the window.
"Speaking of which." Monty says, reaching out to grab his walkie-talkie, "Hey, Bell, the new girl just arrived. She's in the tower." He speaks into the device, pressing down on the button as he does so.
"Copy that." A muffled, male voice crackles through the speaker. "Be there in five."
Monty smiles at Clarke. "Okay, since your training guard is on his way here, let us give you a quick run down of how things operate around here."
"Sounds great." Clarke replies.
"Okay," Jasper begins, "lockers are in the back room, one's already got your name on it, showers are in the building across the boardwalk."
"Medical supplies are over there, and there are first aid kits on all the dune buggies."Monty continues. "Here's your uniform, you can change in the back."
"That's the basics, I'm sure Bellamy will give you a more comprehensive idea of the rules of the beach." Jasper says.
"And Bellamy is?" Clarke asks.
"Your supervisor. He'll show you the ropes." Monty replies.
"The rest of the lifeguards are on the beach. You can introduce yourself as you meet them." Jasper tells her. "Lunch break's at one. If you haven't met everyone by then, I'll introduce you."
"Thanks, guys. I'm gonna go get changed real quick, before Bellamy gets here." She says, gesturing to the back room. "Oh, and I'm just wondering, is there any kind of initiation-prank-type-thing here? 'Cos if there is, I'd like to be prepared."
"Nah, we're not like that around here." Monty tells her. "Just hope you don't get some horrible nickname."
"Nickname?" Clarke repeats.
"Yeah. We all have nicknames on the beach. While some are fine, others are not." Jasper says. "Monty's just Mon, and I'm Goggles." He holds up a hand. "Don't ask."
"And who comes up with these nicknames?" Clarke asks. She's only had one other nickname before, and no-one has called her that in almost seven years.
"Depends. Usually it just happens. Someone calls you something as a joke, the name sticks." Jasper says. "Do you really think I like the name 'Goggles'?"
"Awh, come on Goggles, I think it suits you." Another voice chimes in.
Clarke's eyes widen slightly. She doesn't think she's ever seen a man that gorgeous.
Standing in the doorway, all Clarke can see is his silhouette contrasting against the bright light of the sun. Even then, she can see he's shirtless, his dark hair plastered to his head.
His body glistens as he steps inside, bathing in the artificial glow of the lamps, partly from the sea, partly because of sweat. The dark skin of his chiselled face is splattered in even darker freckles, and his eyes are the deepest chocolate brown she has ever seen.
He extends a hand. "Clarke, right?" He asks, snapping Clarke out of her daze.
She meets his gaze, taking hold of his hand. She could swear that she felt a spark of electricity travel from his hand through her entire being. "Yeah." She replies, somewhat shakily.
"Bellamy. Although most people call me Bell." He says, releasing his grip. Clarke immediately misses his warmth. No, Clarke, he's your boss. You can't think stuff like that. Plus, you just met him. What the hell are you thinking?
"Bell." She repeats. "Nice to meet you."
"You too." He smiles. Oh God, Clarke thinks, his smile. It may just be the best smile she's ever had the pleasure of receiving. "I'll be your TO. We can get started straight away."
"Great." She says, composing herself. "I'll just go get changed."
"Yeah, of course, through there." He tells her, gesturing to the back room.
She nods, slipping into the room.
What she doesn't see is Bellamy's gaze following her.
Geez, Bell. Compose yourself. She's just a girl. Stop acting like a complete idiot. He was trying (and failing) to stop thinking about the newest addition to their small team, and the fact that she was literally feet from him, most likely half-naked. What? No! Stop. Don't think about her like that. She's your trainee.
Her being his trainee did not change the fact that he couldn't stop staring at her porcelain skin and golden hair as they trekked down the beach.
Now dressed in the standard lifeguard blues, a plain navy one-piece suit that reached her mid-thigh poking out from underneath. She sported a blue baseball cap and aviators, with her blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail.
He gave her a warm smile as she walked alongside him.
"You okay, Clarke?" He asks, noticing her hands wrapped around her chest.
She nodded quickly. "I'm just wondering... am I the only girl who works here?"
"That's what you're nervous about?" He chuckled slightly, leading her over to one of the stands to grab her a whistle. "You know, us guys are pretty nice here, no need to be afraid. But no, you're not the only girl. We've got Octavia and Raven. O is surveying the south end today and Rae's got the day off."
"O and Rae are their nicknames?" She asked as he handed her the whistle and she put it around her neck.
"Well, Rae is Mec most of the time, O's just O." He answers her.
"Mec?"
"Yeah, she's a zero-gravity mechanic. Well, training to be."
"Wow. Not many people go into that field." She says.
"Well, she's got the smarts. And with the advances in space travel and all..." He replies. "What about you, Newbie? Why move all the way to LA?"
"I'm pre-med at UCLA. At least, I will be, come September." She answers.
"Future doc. I see." He smiles brightly at her.
"What about you, Bell?" She asks, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones.
"Nah, college isn't for me. Not enough time to surf." He smiles.
A long silence falls between them as Clarke chews on her lip nervously. "Should I worry?" She asks.
"Nah, just don't do anything too embarrassing and you'll be fine." He assures her.
"Bellamy!" A voice called out to him from behind.
"Yes, Boss?" Bellamy calls, turning to meet the larger man's gaze.
"I asked you to report to me when the newbie arrived," he scolded, now turning to face Clarke.
"I'm Lincoln, but most people call me-"
"Scary," Bellamy butted in, smirking up at him.
Lincoln glared down him before looking back at the blonde. "Most people call me Linc. Or wise guy over here calls me Abe."
Clarke raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Abraham Lincoln, Abe is short for Abraham," Bellamy explained.
"Ah, I see." Clarke says.
"Anyway, you're Clarke, correct?" Her new boss asks her.
She nodded, shaking the hand that he held out to her.
"Bellamy is your boss for now, but I'm in charge of this place so if you can't find Bellamy come to me and any problems that need urgent fixing will be reported to me straight away, understand?"
"I understand." She replied, nodding her head.
"Good, okay Bell over to you." He says, smiling slightly at Clarke and narrowing his eyes at Bellamy. "Do not get her involved in your shenanigans. I don't need the both of you causing trouble around here."
Bellamy raised his hand in mock salute. "Sir, yes, sir." He smirked.
Lincoln rolled his eyes as he left, walking towards the tower.
He turned his attention back to the beauty in front of him. "Let's get going."
He showed her the north end where Jasper and Monty were supervising. Well, if supervising meant 'who could make a bigger sandcastle' competition, then that's exactly what they were doing. He then led her through the building where he showed her the locker area, each changing room, the showers and the bathroom. Afterwards he showed her the café where she had a 10% discount as she was staff and gave her the keys to the supply closet, which held towels, whistles and the first aid equipment, including the defibrillator, the spare oxygen tank, and their store of highly effective pain medication.
"Whatever you do," He says, "do not let Jasper and Monty get to this stash."
"Or else?" She challenges, raising an eyebrow.
"Bad things will happen Clarke. Bad things." He tells her, his voice lowering to a whisper.
She let out a small laugh, and he's sure that it's the most beautiful sound to ever grace his ears.
She must have noticed him staring at her, as her skin blushes a light shade of pink. "So...when do I get to do rescues?"
He coughs lightly. "Um...well you have the training, right?" He asks.
"Yeah. I mean, I know CPR and First Aid, I'm a pretty good swimmer, so..."
"Okay, so all you need to do is grab a board. They're hard to operate at first..." He trails off, disappearing behind a storage unit, and reappearing seconds later with a bulky, bright blue rescue board that must have been at least two meters long. "...but you'll get used to it." He smiles, handing her the piece of apparatus.
Clarke struggled to grab hold of the board properly. It was heavy, heavier than the ones they had at the beach where she did her training last summer.
Bellamy smiled, chuckling softly at Clarke's clumsiness. He grabbed his board and began walking toward the exit, where a small dune buggy was parked. He secured his board on the side of it before returning his attention to Clarke. By now, she had managed to tame the board, dragging it behind her as she walked towards Bellamy.
Deciding he should help the rookie with loading up the buggy, he carefully grabbed the board and showed her how to snap the board into place.
"Come on," he says, "we'll go patrol the south end. Octavia's dying to meet you. She loves having new people around to annoy."
Clarke raises a perfectly arched eyebrow at him.
"She's just friendly." He answers her unasked question. "A little too friendly sometimes."
Clarke smiles slightly as she jumps into the passenger seat beside him.
They travel quickly down the beach in silence. They pass a number of tourists, a woman running with her dog, and a group of surfers before pulling up to another buggy, occupied by a young woman who was standing up on the drivers' seat, poking her head out over the top of the vehicle while shouting through a bullhorn.
"This area is dangerous!" She shouted. "Please move towards the red and yellow flags so that you don't drown? Thank you." She finishes her statement with a slightly sarcastic note.
"Hey, O! What did Abe say about harassing the beach goers?" Bellamy scolds her.
"They weren't listening to me!" She shouted, gesturing to the group of teenagers that were now moving sheepishly across the sandbank.
"Okay! Geez, O, calm down a bit." He tells her.
"Who's this?" She said, looking at Clarke.
"Hi. I'm Clarke Griffin." Clarke greets, extending her hand.
"Oh!" Octavia exclaims. "You're the new girl!" She accepts Clarke's hand, but instead of shaking it, she pulled the taller girl into a hug. "I'm Octavia."
As Clarke pulls away, Bellamy looks at Octavia with a disapproving look. "O, come on, don't scare the new girl off."
"Oh come on, Bell. Lighten up a little. You know, if you weren't such an emotionless robot, maybe Granny would stop nagging you to get a girlfriend." Octavia retorts.
"She does not nag me." He defends, quieter than usual. He feels a heat rise to his cheeks, suddenly hyper-aware of Clarke's presence beside him.
"Not to your face! But who's the one who has to sit there a listen to her ramble on about how she wishes you'd meet a 'nice girl'. That's right. Me." She says, pointing to herself. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." She continues, now focused on the water.
Holding up the bullhorn, she shouts, "Yo! Spacewalker! Have you forgotten you're on shift? Get the hell over here, I don't want to have to rescue you." She turns off the bullhorn, facing Clarke and Bellamy. "Again." She says with a bored expression on her face. "Anyway, welcome to Ark Beach. I hope my brother hasn't been treating you too badly." She tells Clarke.
"Oh!" Clarke laughs. "You're siblings...that makes a lot more sense."
"You didn't mention me?" Octavia asks, folding her arms and looking slightly hurt.
"No, I-"He begins, being interrupted before he could finish.
"Are you kidding me, O? The surf was unreal!" Finn says to Octavia.
"Oh, deal with it, Collins. You have a job to do." Bellamy scolds him.
Finn groans, turning on his heel to face Bellamy, with the full intention of giving the guy a piece of his mind. He stopped, however, when he laid eyes on the stranger of the group.
He shot a charming smile at the blonde girl, a bright, dazzling smile that usually has girls melting at his feet. But the girl smiled back, a pretty, bright smile that almost had him melting at her feet.
He lets his smile fall into a lopsided grin, saying, "Hi."
The small woman smiles back. "Hi." She replies.
Out of the corner of his eye, Finn sees Bellamy roll his eyes. "Clarke, Spacewalker, Spacewalker, Clarke." Bellamy says, looking at the ground.
"Finn." He corrects. "Finn Collins."
"Nice to meet you, Finn-Finn Collins." The woman- Clarke says. "I'm Clarke Griffin."
He chuckles lightly, dropping his gaze to the sand below.
They are saved from an awkward silence as Octavia jumped into action. Grabbing her board, she said, "as much as I would like to stay here for this total flirting fest," she peels off her lifeguard t-shirt as Clarke and Finn go bright red, "duty calls."
Clarke's gaze follows the smaller woman as she rushes into the water, figuring she may want to pay attention to this.
The young child was dangerously close to a group of sharp rocks, in danger of being bashed against them by the strong swell any second.
Octavia moved through the water with graceful efficiency, arriving at the girl's location in less than a minute. She hoisted the girl up on the board in front of her, turning the board around and heading back to shore.
Falling off the board, Octavia said with a smile, "swim closer to the flags down there. You have less of a chance of getting hurt, okay sweetie?" The girl nodded, proceeding to run towards the spot O directed her to.
"Nice rescue." Clarke complimented when Octavia returned.
"Thanks." She smiled, pulling back on her t-shirt and putting sunglasses on. "That's the nice part about our job, y'know? You can help people all the time."
"Yeah." Clarke says. "It's the main reason I signed up. I'm all for helping people."
"Genius here is pre-med at UCLA." Bellamy informs. Finn and Octavia look at her with slightly shocked expressions.
"I will be. In September." She corrects.
"At least we'll have someone who actually knows how to treat patients from now on." Finn says. "All we have right now is our mediocre First Aid training and the pain relievers, which, by the way," he says, turning to Bellamy, "I think Jasper and Monty are using again."
"I'll do inventory tomorrow. Those two are such idiots sometimes." Bellamy says, shaking his head.
"Uh, so, what about you guys? You in college?" Clarke asks.
"I'm starting at Cal State in the fall, music major." She smiles.
Clarke nods at her. "You play music?"
"Drums mostly. I sing, too." She replies. "You?"
"I tried learning guitar when I was a kid. Did not work out well." She laughs, her eyes drifting to Finn once again.
"What about you, Collins?" She chuckles. "You an astronaut or something?"
He smiles at her. "No, I'm an Environmental Science major."
"Then what's with the nickname?" Clarke asks.
"Raven took us to a place with a zero-gravity simulator, at the university. Genius here," Octavia says, gesturing to Finn, "thought it would be fun to break the rules and get out of his seat before the gravity thingy was on full power. He floated for a second, then fell splat on the ground. It was hilarious. Hence, the nickname, Spacewalker."
Clarke laughed loudly. "Oh, I bet it was."
"Anyways," Bellamy says after a few seconds of silence. "we should get going. We have work to do."
"If you say so, boss." Clarke complies, following Bellamy towards their buggy. "Bye, Spacewalker." She smiles, waving flirtatiously at Finn.
He winks back at her. "Bye."
Octavia rolls her eyes as Clarke and Bellamy depart.
"What?" Finn exclaims.
"Aren't you dating Raven?" She asks, hopping into the drivers' side of the buggy.
"Right." He replies, not sounding the least bit sincere.
Hope you guys liked it, please review/favourite/follow/whatever you want :)