Ah, to be young and in love. Not everyone had that luxury. Clarke found herself spending her free time between classes as far away from the university as she could. It wasn't uncommon for her to go off campus, lately though she all but avoided it in the hopes she wouldn't run into people she recognized. She spent some much needed time alone studying, or browsing a select few stores in town. Between all her classes in university and working at her moms practice, it left her social life much to be desired. For now though she'd kind of needed that time away from people to recuperate from a recent breakup. Too many constant reminders kept creeping up. She hated the questions about how she was doing.
The bookstore had been the choice of retreat for the day. Smelling that freshness to the books freshly out of the printers had always been one of her favorite things. If she could get addicted to that she probably would have a long time ago. Rather than browsing in no particular order like she usually would, Clarke actually had something in mind, so made a beeline to that section.
She wanted to purchase some books going into deeper detail about numerology. It was a silly astrological thing with absolutely no merit. The book dives into one theory that the numbers marked on every individual is somehow tied into their personalities. Sort of like how birth signs play their own part in what supposedly makes a person who they are. It was not something Clarke would put too much into without a more logical or scientific explanation. For her though, taking a more open approach to something unexplained might be the only way to solve it. It had always been her dream to crack the code no one else had yet answered:
What algorithms do the numbers use?
Every single child on earth is born with a series of numbers marked somewhere on their body. The placement is always random and seemingly the numbers are too. Scientists have spent years trying to find out if a number is somehow related to what their ancestors were given. So far no luck. What's more curious are the rarer duplicate numbers whereby two people will have the exact same digits.
Such individuals have been highlighted throughout all of history. Some of the most famous couples were said to have matching numbers; Adam and Eve, Napoleon and Josephine, Bonnie and Clyde. While science couldn't explain it, this phenomenon has regularly been mentioned as one finding their soulmate. To find another with the same number was like trying to find a four-leaf clover. Common enough that it wasn't always coming up in the news, but uncommon enough for most people to believe they won't ever find a duplicate of their own number.
Clarke had taken a deep interest in birth numbers as a whole, but for herself personally she'd never really placed too much importance on them in her life. Like many, she settled into relationships where their numbers mismatched. Accepting the numbers weren't the answer to all of life's relationship problems, as much as it sometimes felt like it could be. Flicking lazily through one of the books she'd picked up, the number 3 was listing 'artistic, imaginative and scattered' as some of its personality traits. Clarke scoffed, recounting the first digit to her own number. Maybe putting personality traits to them had some small truth behind them after all.
"Uh, hi…"
The deep voice coming from close by came as a surprise. Her blue eyes peered over the top of the book to see the source. Clarke wasn't expecting the voice to have been talking directly to her, maybe someone else, yet she was met with a pair of brown eyes staring back no sooner had she looked. There was a man standing just arms length away from her. He wore thick rimmed glasses which seemed to tie in with the splash of freckles across his nose and cheeks. His mop of scruffy dark hair splayed wildly in all directions. She was almost taken aback by the sudden need for smalltalk with someone so attractive.
"Oh, I'm just browsing. I'm good thanks" she piped up quickly, offering her most sincere shy smile. This was all while she internally cringed at herself for turning him away so quickly. It was second nature to do so, but still that didn't seem to make this guy move on.
A smile of his own appeared and his head dropped down to look at himself before rising back up. He seemed almost embarrassed. "Ah, no. I don't work here, even if I do look the part... actually I wanted to ask if I could buy you a book?" He did look the part, wearing a grey buttoned shirt under a dark red sweater. Clarke was convinced if he wasn't employed at the bookstore he looked like he could have been a teacher.
"A book?" she repeated and gave him a puzzled look. The one in her hands lowered slowly now that he'd caught her attention. Her brows knitted together into a small confused frown.
"Yeah, I'd buy you a drink, but-" he gestured around them and Clarke suddenly clicked.
"Oh! ohhh... So you decided to try your luck in a bookstore?" She mused, finding herself feeling more flustered by her vocal observations. It didn't seem to faze him though, he simply shrugged and smiled. Damn that smile.
"I don't usually do this, but I saw you and it felt like the right gesture to break the ice. How am I doing so far?"
And how many times has he used that line before? Clarke thought to herself bitterly, her recent breakup still making her cynical. Look at him, he looked as though he could get just about any girl he'd set his mind to. Shifting her weight she protectively brought the book closer to her chest. "Well I don't even know your name, so I'd say not too great. How do I know you're not some kind of-of serial killer or something?" First thing that came to mind and her stutter made that obvious. Clarke was seriously kicking herself. Such a stupid comment.
He chuckled at that and her stomach knotted up. "I think I'll leave the killing to literature. The names Bellamy by the way, how about you?" God even his name was attractive. His hand reached out expectantly and Clarke swallowed back her nerves. He wanted the book and she had a split second to decide if she wanted to send him away again or not. Clarke placed the book into his hands. Her fingers brushed against his which she quickly pulled away from.
"I'm Clarke." Her voice went unusually high which she quickly fixed with clearing her throat. By now Bellamy was already reading the cover of her book, he peered up at her curiously but went back to looking at the book she'd picked out.
"Clarke's a nice name. So luck isn't the only thing you believe in?" He spoke plainly, his free hand tapped against the cover of the hardbook she'd handed over. Clarke felt her cheeks flush pink. Gosh what must he think of her?!
"It's research, not a personal belief. I'm a student at Arkadia? Planning on doing a paper on some known algorithms for peoples birth numbers."
"Ah, I see." He nodded, she couldn't read his thoughts and silently wished otherwise. Clarke stayed silent, letting the quiet between them linger in the hopes that Bellamy would expand. It felt awkward not to fill the space, but thankfully a moment later Bellamy took the bait.
"I, uh, work at the museum. Definitely don't miss writing papers. So am I allowed to get you this book now, or am I still under scrutiny?" His head tilted a fraction and Clarke realized she was just delaying the inevitable.
"I think we're good now" she spoke with a small smile and a nod. He seemed easygoing which she liked. The attention shifted to him now, something Clarke was way more interested about than that book. "You mentioned you worked at a museum, which one?"
"Just the local one, Polaris." Bellamy turned on his heel and began slowly walking towards the cash register. Clarke wasted no time catching up to match his pace and walk alongside him. She rattled her brain trying to remember if she'd seen him before.
"Huh. I don't think I've ever seen you around." She'd been to that museum hundreds of times, but was certain she'd have remembered someone this handsome working there.
"That's because I'm more the background guy. Any new temporary exhibitions are my doing, along with a few other things. Promise you it's more interesting than I make it sound." Interesting was one word for it. He could make anything sound interesting in that voice.
Bellamy turned the book over to staff to scan and sell. She stood beside him and watched. Clarke still felt blindsided by how her day was turning out. She still felt a little raw even though the breakup had been over a month ago. The last thing she was expecting was to put anyone on her radar. Yet somehow, Bellamy made it happen almost effortlessly. Buying her a book certainly put him in her good graces. It was different to what guys usually did, refreshing. No one's ever done something like that for her before.
They left the bookstore together, once outside Bellamy turned to her and held out the bag containing the newly purchased book. "This comes with no strings, but if you'd ever want a personal tour or just go for a coffee… here's my number" Once she'd taken the bag he dipped into his pocket to pull out his wallet and pass out his business card. Clarke took it and pocketed it without hesitation.
"Thanks. I'll see you around, Bellamy" she smiled. Clarke was more optimistic than what she had been just a short while earlier. She walked away from him to head back to her campus, leaving Bellamy to stand and watch for a moment before turning to head in the other direction.