Clarke stood in the gallery taking in the atmosphere, there were large paintings hanging from the walls, people in gorgeous evening dresses and suits drinking champagne while waiters circled the room with oeuvres. Clarke adjusted her belted midnight blue dress and took a glass of champagne before walking towards the nearest painting. It was a simple piece done in shadow then starling arranges of green, it was the statue of Lincoln but drawn as if it had been neglected over time and the green of the forest growing over the statue. Clarke smiled it was her favourite of Lincolns works.
She had agreed to come to Lincolns Gallery opening as a favour, he was her friend, her mentor he was her people and as much as being here dressed up reminded her of the life she left behind she was here to support him. He was becoming a big deal in this town and she was happy for him, he deserved all the accolades he got. She moved went to move onto the next piece, a portrait of the Greek ruins when she felt someone sidle up beside her
"This will be you one day"
Clarke smiled and turned to face Lincoln "Hey big shot" She shoves him lightly in the shoulder, he is not big on physical contact "Congratulations"
"I am serious Clarke"
She looks back to his painting and shrugs one shoulder "Maybe"
The continue to stand there in a comfortable silence looking at the piece before a commotion draws their attention, a bunch of people in black suits and dresses are talking animatedly
"Artist Managers" Lincoln comments
"Well I guess it is your time to shine then" Clarke smiles at his reassuringly "I will be fine, go on"
Lincoln nods at her before turning and heading over to join the group. Clarke glances around the gallery again looking for anyone she might know, there were a couple of photographers taking photos for the culture section in the paper and she made a mental note to stay far away from them. She did not need her mum seeing pictures of her in the paper.
She moves towards the bar to get a new drink, she couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. She got her drink and took a sip turning around to look at the room again. As she does a pretty brunette in a strapless emerald green dress walks up taking a drink and stands beside her
"Are these things always this stuffy?" as she takes a sip of her drink
"Apparently so" Clarke replies "Clarke" she offers her hand
"Octavia" They shake and look around the room again
"So, how do you know Lincoln?" She asks Octavia
"Oh, I am his girlfriend" Octavia beams at her "And you are Clarke the artist right? Lincoln talks about you, he thinks you are going places"
Clarke drop her head to look at her feet "Lincoln exaggerates"
Octavia raises and eyebrow at that "Both you and I know that is not the case"
Clarke shrugs her shoulders in response
"Ok" Octavia takes a sip of her champagne "Let's do this thing" She links her arm with Clarkes and faces her
Clarke puts her game face on "Let's do it"
Clarke and Octavia spend the next hour or so talking, drinking and exchanging tales about Lincoln. The man himself comes and joins them a few times looking a little uncomfortable at the situation which only makes them laugh harder.
"So how did the two of you meet?" Clarke asks Octavia
Octavia beams at Lincoln who extracts himself to speak with someone about one of his paintings
"He was brought in to consult on a film I was working on"
"So you're an actress?" Clarke asked, Octavia certainly had the looks for it
"Oh no, I do stunt work, mainly swordfights and battle scenes occasional body double work if required , though my brother does not like me doing that part of the job" Octavia glanced around the room "Speaking of, he should be here somewhere"
Clarke takes a sip of her drink and turns back to the painting they are standing in front of, she has a pleasant buzz from the champagne not to mention the fun she had been having talking to Octavia and Lincoln
"Clarke, give me your phone" Octavia snapped her out of her thoughts and she handed over her phone and watching as she programs her number into Clarkes phone and sends herself a message "Your awesome and fun, message me whenever you get sick of Lincoln and want to hang out"
Octavia hands Clarkes phone back and holds onto it for a second "I'm serious, I could use a friend who is female" she rolls her eyes "too many males in my life"
"Noted" Clarke nods to Octavia and smiles
"Now that's dealt with. More drinks!" Octavia declared raising her glass in the air, Clarke met Lincoln's eye from where he stood across the room and he gave a small smile. As Clarke and Octavia move back over to the bar.
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Clarke and Octavia were well and truly drunk by the time 11pm came around; Octavia had been telling Clarke about the time she was being a body double for a high profile actress which had Clarke in stitches she was leaning on Octavia trying to control her breathing when she hears a deep voice behind her
"Sorry I'm late O"
Octavia's face lights up "Big Brother!" she launches herself at the person behind Clarke
Octavia pulls back and turns to Clarke "Clarke this is my big brother, Big Brother this is Clarke"
Clarke looks to the person besides Octavia, He is tall with a head of curly black hair, wearing a suit that fit him like a second skin, his dark eyes were looking her over and Clarke got the feeling she was being judged.
His eyes met hers and she gave him a small smile and held out her hand "Nice to meet you"
He looked at her hand then back to her before turning to his sister "So what have I missed?"
Clarke moves her hand back to her side and turns to face the bar; well the brother is a delight. Octavia sidles up next to her "Sorry about that, he can be an ass sometimes" Octavia picks up a drink and turns around. Clarke turns to join Octavia facing the room, she can see her brother shaking hands with Lincoln and he gives him the same cold detachment that he gave Clarke
"He takes on too much" Clarke looks at Octavia as Octavia continues "He works a lot, he always has. Now they are all trying to bring him down"
Clarke looks back at Octavia's brother who is now taking to the Managers around Lincoln; he is all charm and flirting now. It is like a different person that she met a few moments ago "What does he do?"
Octavia looks at her with a confused expression "You don't know who he is?"
Clarke shakes her head
"He's Bellamy Blake, star of the Mount Weather movies" Octavia tell her with sarcasm and a roll of her eyes
"I haven't seen them" Clarke studies him for a moment "But you are right your brother is an ass"
Octavia laughs at her comment "I knew I liked you"
She and Octavia continue to talk until Bellamy comes over to them "Hey O, Lincoln asked me to take you home he is going to be here for a while now"
Octavia throws back the last of her drink before turning to Clarke "Are you alright to get home?"
Clarke nods "Yeah I am just going to catch the train"
"No you won't" Octavia objects "Not this late, Bell will drop you home won't you Bell" She looks up at her brother with what Clarke would describe as doe eyes
He sighs "Sure O" They all turn to walk towards Lincoln to say goodbye. As Octavia is saying goodbye to Lincoln Bellamy discreetly puts his hand on Clarke's lower back. Clarke is shocked by the action; he leans in close to Clarke's ear
"Just because I'm giving you a lift home does not mean that you are getting anything else from me"
Clarke looks up at him slightly shocked at his presumption, Octavia returned to them and they walk towards the coat check. There is no way that she is going to let someone speak to her like that.
Bellamy helps Octavia with her coat and then turns to help Clarke with hers she looks over her shoulder at him leaning in closer and says "Who says I want anything else from you?"
She finishes putting her coat on and smirks at him which causes him to smirk back "Well, shall we?"
They all head out to his car and he proceeds to drive them home, they pull up in front of Clarkes building and Octavia reminds her to call her or text or just make some form of contact. She thanks Bellamy for the lift and he just grunts in response.
She lets herself into her building waving as she watches them drive away, she lets out a sigh of relief as she makes her way up the stairs to her apartment. Well that is all done and dusted, she has never been more happy that she left that part of her life behind.
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Clarke woke the next morning and immediately remembered why she stopped drinking champagne. She rolled over rubbing her eyes and looked at her alarm clock it was barely 11am and she had nothing on for the rest of the day, Clarke smiled as she stretched she had a painting she was working on and she could turn her phone off and spend all day blasting music and painting.
Clarke got up and walked across her studio apartment to the kitchenette, she put the kettle on to make some tea and grabbed her phone off the bench where she had left it to charge. She had a few missed calls from Raven and Wick and a message from Octavia. She quickly shot off a message to Raven to let her know she was having what Raven has termed an 'Inspiration day' she put her phone down when the kettle went off turned and poured the water into the teapot (she invested in a cheap 2 litre teapot which will keep her going all day) She switched off her phone and took her teapot and cup over to her easel. She turned on the radio and sat down to paint
She was mid-way through trying to fix the shading of the dark sky in her picture when her front door slammed open; she jumped at the noise and whipped her head around to see Raven march through the door with Wick casually strolling in behind her.
"Why are you not answering your phone?" Raven demands picking up Clarke's phone and checking it
"Hey Clarke" Wick adds while opening her fridge on the hunt for god knows what (there is never anything in her fridge)
Raven and Clarke had met under Original circumstances to say the least. Clarke met and started dating Ravens long-time boyfriend while Raven was working offshore. When she returned it was clear that both Clarke and Raven did not know of each other's existence the band together and both threw him to the wolves, and as they say a beautiful friendship was born. Wick came along about a year later and made Ravens life a living hell (according to Raven) before she folded and they had been together since.
"You turned it off!" Raven exclaimed turning her attention back to Clarke
"Inspiration Day" Clarke gestures to her easel, her paintbrush still in hand "Hi Wick"
"So you are telling me you have not spoken to anyone today?"
"Not until you barged through my door, you know that key is for emergencies Raven not just for whenever you feel like coming over"
"It's totally not for that and you know it"
Raven walks over to Clarke and looks at the painting, Wick somehow has located a tub of yogurt and has taken up residence on her couch turning on her tv.
"Alright I am just going to show you this and try not to freak out" Raven types something in her phone and holds it out to Clarke. Clarke places her paintbrush down on her pallet and takes the phone.
She gasps when she sees what is in front of her. There is a photo from the opening last night, she thought she had avoided all the photographers but they appeared to have spotted her. She scrolls down to read the snippet of an article underneath:
Bellamy Blake star of the Mount Weather movies spotted with a mystery blonde at a Gallery opening Friday night, sources say the couple where quite affectionate and left the opening together. The blonde (name unknown) was seen drinking and talking with Bellamy's sister Octavia who also left with the couple. Could this be the girl to change Womaniser Bellamys ways or is she just another notch in his bedpost?
The photographer has seemed to catch the moment Bellamy pulled her aside as he is standing beside her with his arm on her back whispering in her ear. There is also another photo when he was helping her with her coat, the photo makes it look like she is completely melting into him her head is angled up to his and his head is down near her shoulder it does look remarkable intimate.
"Shit" Clarke looks up at Raven and back to the phone "Shit, Shit, Shit"
She stands up, gives Raven back her phone and marches to the kitchen to grab her own. She paces while she waits for her phone to turn on. Raven taking a seat next to Wick who is watching on animatedly
"On the bright side they did not name you" Raven reasons with her
Clarke drops into her armchair as her phone finally finishes loading she looks through her phone. She has a message from Octavia
I am so sorry, and so is Bell
Don't worry is not your fault
Clarke checks her missed calls there she finds 10 missed calls from her mother
"It may not name me, but you can still recognise me" She shows Raven her phone "My mum has been calling"
"Shit Clarke, I'm sorry"
Clarke shrugs
"So have you been holding out on us Clarke?" Wick asks "How did this all happen?"
"Nothing happened; I literally met him last night for like 2 seconds and he was a complete ass"
"He has a nice ass" Raven adds quietly
"Hey!" Wick exclaims with fake hurt
"His sister is nice though" Clarke adds
"Nice as in friendly nice or nice, I want to jump her nice?" Raven asks
"By the looks of those photos he was the one you wanted to jump" Wick comments
Clarke chuckles "Friendly nice, she is Lincoln's girlfriend"
Clarke throws her legs over the arm of the chair
"Look they did not name you, so it doesn't matter it will all blow over" Raven flings her legs over Wick outstretched legs, feet on her coffee table "No such no talking tv"
Clarke smiles at her friends and she feels her phone go off again, it is a message from Octavia
Regardless we are sorry, coffee tomorrow?
I don't drink coffee but sure, there is a place near me called Dropship. Tomorrow at 1 sound good?
All good we will c ya then
We? Clarke thinks looking at her messages before shrugging and turning towards the tv, content to spend the day veg out with her friends.
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Clarke walks into the Dropship at 1 on Sunday, she looks around for Octavia but she doesn't appear to have arrived as yet. There are not many people in the Dropship surprisingly for that time on a Sunday. She walks up to the counter where she sees Harper working. Harper is the nicest girl ever and Clarkes favourite barista
"Hey Clarke" Harper greets her "Don't normally see you here on a Sunday, you want the usual?"
"Yeah, thanks Harper" Clarke looks around again "kind of quiet for a Sunday isn't it?"
Harper shrugs "its lunch time we are generally quiet around now because we don't serve super lunchy dishes"
"Fair Point" Clarke turns back to Harper "Can I get a Chocolate Brownie also, please"
Harper rings up Clarkes order and tells her is will be out shortly, Clarke takes a seat in her favourite corner table and pulls out her phone flicking through it waiting for Octavia to arrive. Just as Clarke was debating buying a new set or brushes that she didn't really need she hears someone calling her name, she look up to see Octavia rushing towards her
"Clarke!" Clarke stands as Octavia crushes her in a hug making Clarke laugh
"Sorry we are late; I hope you have not been waiting long"
"Not at all" Clarke shakes her head sitting down again
"Have you ordered?" Octavia asks, Clarke nods in response
"Cool I will let Bell know and I'll be right back"
"You will let who?" Clarke begins to ask but Octavia had already turned and was walking over to the counter where she stood next to someone, Octavia turns to walk back and Clarke can see who it is one Bellamy Blake.
Bellamy and Octavia take a seat at the table, Octavia sits in front of her so Bellamy is forced to sit beside her .Octavia is basically bouncing out of her seat while she tells Clarke how Lincolns opening went, apparently there are a lot of people interested in his work and there is currently a bidding contest on one of the pieces which is why he couldn't be there with them.
"Anyway" Octavia continues "Bell has to say something to you"
Clarke looks his way with a raise eyebrow he had been sitting there quietly drinking his drink which had been delivered by Harper to their table while Octavia was talking
"Bell" Octavia commands and Clarke hears a thump from under the table quickly followed by Bellamy sending a glare in Octavias direction.
Bellamy meets her eyes "I apologise for my behaviour last night"
"And" Octavia prompts
"What O? I apologised it's not like they named her or anything"
That more than anything makes Clarke laugh, which causes both the siblings to turn and look at her
"You are kidding right?" Clarke feels her heckles rising "Just because they didn't list my name does not mean that justifies your behaviour or that behaviour had on my life"
"What could have possibly happened in your life that has injured you so badly overnight?" He comes back at her matching her intensity
"You don't know my life Bellamy Blake"
"And you don't know mine, Clarke. You don't know what we have been through what we have done just to get here and now they are trying to take it all away"
"Bell" Octavia tries to calm him down
"No O, I'm out of here. I will meet you in the car"
Bellamy gets up and with a last look to Clarke as he walks out of the door, Octavia and Clarke watch as he walks down the street kicking a lamp post as he goes before turning towards the car park. Clarke looks to Octavia and Octavia sighs
"I'm really sorry about that Clarke" Octavia looks down at the table in front of her "I should probably go"
"It might be a good idea" Clarke mutters
Octavia stands up "I'll text you ok, I'm really sorry Clarke" Octavia walks out the door leaving Clarke sitting alone at the table.
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After that day Clarkes life continues in a familiar fashion apart from one text Raven had sent her with a screen shot of some gossip website with a grainy photo of Bellamy and herself with Octavia at the dropship, the whole Bellamy Blake saga seems to be over. She texts with Octavia though the week and quickly comes to realise that Octavia really does not have any female friends, she is surrounded by her brother and his friends and if Clarke knows what the brother is like she can only imagine what the friends are like.
Clarke works as a tour guide at the Museum of Modern art during the week, that was she can pay her bills as well as being around art which she loves, it also inspires her in her own work. She had a particularly slow Wednesday when she gets a text from Octavia
What up bitch?
Clarke has quickly come to learn that Octavia like to refer to everyone a Bitch
Not much, slow day
Clarke glances around no-one is near the tour station so she looks back to her phone
What are you doing on Friday night?
A whole lot of nothing, why?
Linc and some others have been invited to a party at grounders on Friday night, u want in? u can bring whoever u want
Will your brother be there?
Not as far as I know
Count me in then, better add Raven and Wick also
Awesome! C u all at 9 on Friday night bitches!
Clarke smiled at her phone, It has been months since the gallery opening and she could really use a night out and she knew parting with Octavia would be fun.
