A/N: hey... I haven't written in a while, but I was able to finally finish this idea that's been swarming in my head. I feel like Bellamy might be a bit ooc in this, but in this fic his mother and sister are both alive and there not being hunted down and dying so this is how I thought he'd act. I recommend listening to bartender by Lady antebellum before reading this since this was influenced by that song. Anyway enjoy.

I've always connected to music, so it wasn't a surprise when I found out the truth about Finn (That he was a liar and a cheat who already had a wife down in Alabama) that I feverishly skipped through my Pandora feed for a good song to cheer me up. After a few aggressive moments the station finally landed on a country beat that felt right.

The tune filled the almost empty bedroom, bouncing tauntingly off of every object that belonged to the jerk. I sneered at the random items swallowing the bitter taste of the memories with each one. How dare he continue to ruin my evening when he wasn't even here. Without a second thought, I dumped the cardboard box I had that held my recycling and angrily stuffed his junk in it. With a final huff I left it outside my door, at this point I didn't care whether it got back to him or to the strange Mr. Hughes across the hall, I was just glad to be done with him.

I stormed into my bedroom and threw my self on my bed. The finally verse of the song was blaring out as I thought. The lyrics swerving in my brain. I was tired of being the perfect girl. I hated being the sweet little nurse who everyone took advantage of, and as the words slowed to an end I decided I wouldn't be, at least not for tonight.

Before I could change my mind, I rushed to the closet picking out my most attractive dress, a knee length red one I had been saving for my Birthday at the end of the week. I slipped on the pretty fabric quickly and hurried to my bathroom, where I carelessly undid my braided bun from hours in the clinic.

After a little bit of makeup and some earrings I didn't look too bad, and I decided if I was going to do this I better do it before I lost my nerve.

It didn't take long to drive to the closest bar. Music was already blaring and all sorts of people where running in and out. I'd never dare go to the bar, I always feared the night crowd, and being a newly graduated medical student id never had the time to mess around. With a gulp, I marched in to the bar.

I took a seat at the bar and observed the room while I waited for a bartender.

It was Cozy with random neon signs on the walls, pictures of friends and family, and an old jukebox blaring music in the corner. Couples were dancing in the center of the room and there was a group of laughing girls in a booth. I smiled this wasn't so bad.

"What can I get for you, princess?" I jumped, surprised by the sudden voice and looked back at the bartender. He was quietly laughing and you could see the start of a grin on his face. I blushed at my horrible overreaction and tried to stumble through an order, "I'm not sure. I don't come here often. I don't actually drink that often. I'm always at the clinic and things get out of hand. It gets really busy, so I'm not sure what I would like."

Finally, probably because he was sick of my ramblings, he interrupted me, " I'll surprise you." He smiled a contagious grin and I couldn't help myself from smiling back.

He turned away from me and I focused again on the music. It was catchy and loud and I loved it. I started tapping my foot and nodding my head along to it as I waited for my drink.

"Hey princess, you got a name?" I heard the bartender call. I smiled and focused again on him. He was flipping bottles and filling glasses with ease as he smiled and talked to me. I noticed then that though there were plenty of people in the bar, I was the only on still sitting on a bar stool, everyone else had moved on to the dance floor.

"Maybe," I said with a wink taking a sip of the drink he'd given me. It was sweet and it burned my throat. "Want to dance?" I asked, which surprised me, I'm not the type of girl to flirt with strangers. He was shaking his head slightly and smiling when I looked back at him. "I don't see the problem with one dance, but I'll be expecting a name afterwards," he said before taking my hand and leading me towards the dance floor.

We danced and it was thrilling, and sweaty, and fun. The way the bartender smiled and laughed and towered over me was beautiful and it wasn't long before I'd forgotten about Finn and was genuinely having fun. The song didn't last long and when the last beat had played he led me back to the bar.

"So, does the Princess have a name?" He asked before refilling my drink. I smiled and outstretched my hand, "Clarke." He grinned and shook my hand, "Bellamy."

After that it was pretty boring. We talked about everything and nothing: about how he loved his sister, about how I always wanted to be a doctor, about how he was horrified of bees, and about how I always wore mismatched socks. We laughed with each other and at the other bar tenants and when the music was good we danced, but for the most part we just talked. Surprisingly I never told him about Finn, I know that's the big thing you're supposed to do when you're sad, tell a bartender about your heartbreak, but I couldn't fill the heartbreak that night.

Eventually the bar closed, I helped scoot the last few people out the door, paid my tab, and headed to the exit. It was late heading towards 3 in the morning, and as tired as I would be tomorrow I couldn't bring myself to regret the trip. "Goodnight Bellamy," I said waving as I went to open the door. "Wait," I paused confused, "let me drive you home your in no condition to drive."

"Oh," I forgot about that. "I'm sorry, I should have thought that through," I said blushing. "It's fine, just wouldn't want something to happen to you. I'll just be a minute," he said before disappearing in the back.

I sat on the booth and gently swayed to the music. It was a lot quieter now, when the bar had started to empty Bellamy had turned it down so we could hear each other without yelling. I was surprised to hear that country song again. It was interesting how much had changed in a few hours. I smiled before walking over and shutting it off, I didn't need it anymore.

Bellamy came out again and he drove me home. I went back the next day to get my car. And then next day he picked me up to go the movies. And the next day we ate Chinese takeout while studying. And before I knew it he was a part of my life. It wasn't years later that I told him what had led me to his bar that night, and though it took quite some convincing for him not to take the next flight to Alabama to beat Finn up, he finally decided he was grateful for the jerk because if not for him, I'd never would had asked a bartender to dance.