2. Bud Light and Crystal Meth
"Hey Clarke! We're over here!"
Clarke grinned, waving to acknowledge Bellamy's shout and traipsing through the sand to where he sat with Octavia. A stack of books on propulsion systems had been abandoned on a blanket in favour of a 6-pack of Bud Light. Poor choice. Clarke snatched one towards her anyway, dropping down on the warm sand. She cracked it open and chugged half of it down in one.
"Whoa, was it really that bad?" Octavia asked, her eyebrows raised.
Clarke grimaced at the bad taste and nodded. "Great day. Lovely picnic and views. Then I ask him what he got up to in England a couple months ago. I assumed he'd say he was there on holiday, or maybe visiting friends. But no, mumbled and muttered until he finally admitted he was visiting his girlfriend!"
Octavia rolled her eyes but Bellamy chuckled, shaking his head.
"When are you going to start letting me pick your dates?"
"Oh like who? That Murphy idiot you were so chummy with last year?"
"Hey now," Bellamy protested, pressing one hand to his heart. He gulped down the last of his beer and started burying it in the sand. "He seemed like a cool guy at first! And actually I was thinking Octavia here, keep her out of trouble-"
"Oi!"
A wave of sand flew up at Bellamy from Octavia and he buried his face in his hands, a broad grin visible at the sides of his face.
"I'm not going up against Lincoln," Clarke laughed, passing over her half-empty beer to him once the sand settled and pulling her bag forward to unzip it. "Also, you're not allowed to buy beer again. Octavia, why did you let him get that stuff? It's vile."
"Please, like he listens to me. You're the only one who can change his mind-"
"What the fuck?" Clarke interrupted, staring down into the bag. "Uh… guys…"
Bellamy leaned closer to peer inside. "Did a squirrel camp out in your bag- oh!"
The two of them stared inside. Two large clear bags of white powder sat at the top.
"Y'know I wasn't sure about that Finn guy, but I wouldn't have expected this from him," Bellamy muttered.
Clarke turned the bag around to check the front and her heart dropped into her stomach. Her Arcadia Airlines pin was not there. Instead, green badges and pins covered the front with tiny vegan and animal rights slogans.
"This isn't Finn's."
"Then whose is it?"
"What are you guys going on about?" Octavia demanded, tugging the bag towards her.
"It belongs to the girl who gave me a ride back to LA."
Bellamy frowned at her. "You hitchhiked? Alone?"
"Not the problem here Bellamy! What am I meant to do with this stuff?"
Clarke tugged aside the packages of white powder. Beneath was a bag of leaves and another bag, but this one with red powder.
"I've never seen anything like that before. And this isn't weed," Clarke said, pointing at the leaves.
"You guys."
Clarke and Bellamy looked up at Octavia and spoke together. "What?"
She shook her head and pulled out one of the packages of white powder.
"Whoa, what are you doing? Hide that!" Bellamy hissed, leaning over to try and grab it back.
Octavia turned her back on him and pulled the package open, sticking a finger inside.
" Octavia! "
She licked her finger. "Yep. Salt."
"Like crystal meth?" Bellamy demanded, snatching the bag back and burying it in the bag. He looked Octavia up and down as if waiting for her to convulse.
"No. Like sea salt. For cooking. And this is chilli powder, or paprika. This is tarragon."
"That… would make a lot more sense," Clarke mumbled, sitting back and attempting to control the redness rising in her cheeks. Bellamy stayed crouched, seemingly stunned. "She runs a vegan cafe. Wait - that means she has my bag! With my exam notes!"
"You took exam notes on a date?"
"Of course she did, she's Clarke," Bellamy said, zipping the bag firmly shut again and passing it over. "You can have my notes."
Clarke frowned at him and he shrugged.
"Just trying to help! So who is this lady? Is she going to track you down and accuse you of stealing?"
Clarke snorted at the image of Lexa banging down her door and demanding her ingredients back. She couldn't exactly say she was disappointed at the thought of meeting Lexa again, but the circumstances could be better. "Very possibly. But not before I track her down first and get my notes back. The exam is next week! I need those."
She pulled out her phone and was halfway through typing 'vegan cafe LA' into Google when Octavia plucked it out of her hand.
"Nope."
"Hey!"
"If you start searching now you're not going to stop until you find her - and I'm not going alone to judo tonight."
"Take Lincoln."
"It's called ladies' night for a reason, Clarke." Octavia pocketed the phone, rolling out of reach when Clarke reached for her. "You'll get it back after judo."
"Bellamy, tell your sister to stop stealing people's phones."
"Bellamy, tell your bestie she can't always get her own way."
Bellamy scrambled to his feet, grinning as he backed away from them both. "No chance. I'm going to buy more beer."
"No Bud Light!" Octavia shouted after him, dodging Clarke's grab again.
Clarke sighed and rolled back to lie on the sand, wrapping the strap of the bag around her wrist in case. She eyed the slogans on the stickers and badges.
Cows are for mooing not bbqing
Save the beezzz
I'd rather go naked than wear fur
Save the energy, save the world
Eat pussy it's vegan
Clarke snorted down a laugh, ignoring Octavia's curious stare. Lexa had seemed cold and distant for most of their journey except for the very end - but this bag alone was proof she cared about much more than she let on. It was just a shame she never got a chance to enjoy the earth she was so keen on saving.
Octavia had leaned over to read the pins and now leaned back, a smirk playing at her lips.
"Had a nice trip down the mountain, then?"
"No. I mean - yes, but - no, Octavia," Clarke said, stumbling over her words. "No more dates. Anyway, she's probably not single."
"You could always ask. I could always ask for you."
"No."
"Might have to come along and meet her when you exchange bags. Protection, in case she gets angry about the stolen bag."
"Octavia..." Clarke growled.
Bellamy dropped another 6-pack in the sand - Miller, this time.
"What are you arguing about now?"
Clarke sent Octavia a warning glare. "Nothing. Phone."
Octavia shrugged as she grabbed a beer, still smirking. "We can talk about it later."
Clarke shook her head and closed her eyes, stretching her arms up above her head to catch the rays of sun. The hunt for Lexa would have to wait a few hours. There couldn't be that many vegan cafes in LA... right?
Please raise your glasses to slogan-creators the world over for amusing me greatly as I searched for ones appropriate to Lexa.
