April Fool's Day:
It was odd, really, how three people could chatter for hours about absolutely nothing and everything they planned to do with their day at the same time. Jasper Jordan peered over at his best friend, an eruption of "manly" giggles flowing from their mouths before Monty slammed his foot into the ground and Jasper rattled the table. Clarke Griffin opened one eyelid, seeming to roll both of her eyes at their childish actions before removing her feet from the table and straightening her posture. "Was that really called for?" She asked in a slow, exhausted voice.
The boys simultaneously responded, "Yes." Commencing in their weird, best friend handshake at their clone replies. She thought their friendship was cute. She considered their mannerisms a symbol for said cuteness. Jasper continued with the explanation concerning why he woke her up from her afternoon nap, "We have to think big." He said, using his hands to exaggerate the bigness of his plan. "Monty and I have been celebrating this holiday for years. I'm glad you've agreed to join the tradition, Clarkey."
Clarke gritted her teeth, "I'd rather a million different nicknames…but you've yet to explain the tradition of this meaningless holiday!"
"You take that back right now!" Monty faked a gasp, "April Fool's Day is the best holiday known to man, as well as the most underappreciated holiday in the world. I am talking pranks, sarcasm, mean jokes, violence, slightly disgusting moments and humor."
"So, it's a guy's holiday, right?" Clarke snorted, "And somehow my lack of having a real job has created this open gap in my schedule." She was trying not to fester on her demotion but it was very difficult during the idle days where all she could do was twiddle her thumbs.
The boys once more answered her at the same time, this time with enthusiastic head nods. Jasper started talking again, "But we have a girl this year…and you know what a girl can unlock in the world of April Fool's Day? A lot."
"Like what?" She dreaded the question as soon as it passed from her mouth. Jasper smirked devilishly—sweet little Jasper almost looked like Bellamy stalking his prey. Monty was eyeballing her like she was the golden goose. "Stop staring at me like that and explain!"
Monty's eyes were calculating her, his time-for-an-experiment expression on his face. "Pregnancy pranks."
She started to choke on air because she could only imagine. "Are you serious? I can't tell someone I'm pregnant!" Jasper and Monty shushed her, which only caused her to glare at them. "I'm not even having sex."
"That's a damn lie and you know it!" Jasper grinned at her with his whole face, "Last time I checked, you and Bellamy were awfully cozy."
Clarke stammered, "It's not—we're not—it ended, okay?" She crossed her arms tightly around her chest, "Hence the reason we stopped having breakfast every morning and he's been spending all his time with busty Barbra."
"Uh—where'd you hear that nickname from?" Monty played with his fingers, "Because we definitely didn't coin it."
She rolled her eyes, "I have ears and a lot of spare time. It's whatever…it wasn't like we were together. He wasn't my boyfriend. I wasn't his girlfriend. We were hooking up and like most of those relationships, they eventually end." Especially with Bellamy…
There was a certain sadness hanging over their table for a few strangled heart beats but Jasper found a way to recover. "Well, now that you're unattached the prank can go off without a hitch. Tell your mother you're pregnant, let her freak out for an entire day and we can gauge her reaction and have a good laugh about it. After all the laundry duty and shit jobs, I think we deserve a little fun."
"And who do I tell her got me pregnant?" Clarke asked, "She's a doctor and she's chancellor so she's going to want a name."
Monty raised his hand steadily, "I volunteer to be your baby-daddy." If she could die laughing, she would chose that specific moment to fall out of her chair. Her chest constricted as she took in his facial expression and the entirety of their April Fool's plan. She nodded her head in agreement, unable to make any recognizable words push through her lips. "So, how long ago did you and Bellamy—you know?" He made the death motion with his hand, sliding it across his throat making vividly accurate sound effects.
She twisted up the side of her lip before shrugging off any emotional baggage that could seep into her response, "Last week although it was probably over way before that…it was just official last week."
"I didn't think casual relationships needed official endings…I thought they just ended." Jasper was searching her face for any sign of deeper meaning but she steeled herself. It was probably insane how he missed her cold, semi-emotionless expressions, but he did. He used to find some odd amount of comfort every time Clarke put on, what he and Monty coined, her leader face. This comfort probably attributed to the fact that the face meant she was thinking of a plan or there was a plan in motion. "Forget I said anything about it."
She snorted, "Everyone just wants you to forget." The way she said it implied something deeper than an emotional conversation or even a complicated break up. Jasper decided to stop focusing on it. He couldn't go there. If his mind even thought the word freedom one more time, he was going to explode all over the dictatorship known as Camp Jaha. He side-glanced towards Monty, who slightly nodded his head in silent agreement.
"Are you going to meet Lexa tomorrow?" Monty started, all conversation about their funny little holiday slipping away as the spring wind picked up around them.
Her arms tightened around her as if they were the only thing holding her in place, "I wasn't invited." There was a specific disappointment in her voice that caused Jasper to shift in his seat. They were all thinking it, even Clarke. It never mattered if she was invited before. She just assumed her presence was necessary. "Uh, sorry guys…I'm going to talk to Raven about…I don't know, chick stuff." Even her lies were flat these days.
"We need to make this the best April Fool's day ever." Jasper said with conviction in his voice. "In case you haven't noticed, Clarke is in a slump. It started way before the whole Bellarke—"
"What's Bellarke?" Monty squinted.
"Their couple name, keep up dammit!" Jasper explained, "Before the Bellamy and Clarke breakup…Clarke's been steadily slipping away and it's time to remind her of her purpose. First, we bring fun back into her life. We bring organization, plans, and leadership qualities into our scheme as a reminder and then we push the next day and the next day and the next day because that's all we really can do."
"You sound like you've been practicing your inspirational speech."
Jasper shrugged, "She hasn't reached rock bottom, Mont…not yet. This is bad but it could get worse. It's like she's asleep…we just need to wake her up."
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