"Everyone understand the plan?" Jasper asked, looking to Monty, Raven, Octavia, and Bellamy, receiving nods from all but Bellamy. "Bellamy? Bellamy!"
"Huh? What? What is it?" Bellamy shot up from his bed, looking confused.
"Dude. Were you really just sleeping?" Jasper laughed. "You're like an old man."
The look of derision Bellamy gave him made Jasper shut up quickly.
"Wait! I take it back!" Jasper squeaked and hid behind Monty when Bellamy got to his feet.
"Dude, why are you hiding behind me?" Monty yelped, hiding behind Raven.
Raven rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"
Bellamy pressed his hand to his forehead and rubbed, feeling a headache coming on. "You guys..." Raven shared with him a look of exasperation.
Octavia piped up, "So...guess I'll fill you in, then. Old man." She grinned at his glare. "We're gonna throw Clarke a welcome party. You know, get her drunk, learn all her dirty secrets – figure out who she really is. I mean, seriously, why is someone as young as her working as a manager in this dump? Seems fishy to me."
Everyone nodded their assent in unison, though Bellamy had his reservations. He felt uncomfortable with their goal to air Clarke's dirty secrets, even if he was just as curious. However, if he wasn't there to control the gang...he didn't have much of a choice but to tag along.
"Fine," Bellamy said, "but we're not doing it in my room."
Monty left his hiding spot from behind Raven, looking smug. "That's okay, because we're doing it in Clarke's."
Bellamy raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Really? Did you ask her?"
Monty's noncommittal shrug confirmed his suspicions. "If she says no, we'll do it in your room." He hid behind Raven again."Err, I mean, we'll do it in my – no – Harper's room!"
And since Harper was not present for this meeting, she had no say. Bellamy sent a silent apology to the unaware girl as he grunted his compliance.
Clarke was curled up on the couch, absently watching the news. The amount of free time she had was disappointing – with the way Thelonious went on, she was sure she'd have no time to herself.
Maybe she should invite the tenants over; she could cook dinner, make a party of it.
She was halfway to her door when she heard the sound of knocking. She opened the door to find Jasper standing behind it, still in mid-knock.
"Ms. Manager!" he yelped. "Wow, you're fast."
Clarke laughed. "I was just on my way to find you, actually. I was thinking of having everyone over for dinner."
Jasper's jaw dropped. "R-really? Great! Let's do it! I'll go, uh, inform everyone."
Well, that was quite the reaction. "Um, sure, that'd be really helpful, thanks. Does six sound good?"
"Six it is! We'll be there. I'll go assemble the forces. Hi-ho silver, away!"
And with that, Jasper took off with what might be described as a gallop.
What a strange, strange man.
Bellamy laid on his bed, playing with his phone, as Jasper listed off items from his checklist for the party.
"Monty, moonshine?"
"Check!"
"Octavia, shot glasses?"
"Yup."
"Raven, time?"
"Quarter 'till six."
"Bellamy, suave?"
"What does that even mean?"
"It means, are you, y'know...suave?"
"Uh...yes?"
"Great! Everyone remember their roles?"
"Sir!"
"Yup."
"Sure thing."
"What?"
"What do you mean what? Your role. You're gonna seduce Clarke, make love to her, and in the afterglow you'll interrogate her."
"You're...joking, right?"
"Bellamy, you're the only one who can do this! Unless...Clarke's a lesbian. Hey, Raven-"
"Jasper, I swear to God-"
"Alright, alright! No need to get violent. We'll scrap the seduction technique. But if this mission ends in disaster, it'll be on your head."
"Tragic. Let's just get this over with."
"But there's still twenty minutes."
"Then hand me some of that moonshine."
"Pre-gaming. I like your style, Bellamy Blake."
It was nearing six, and Clarke had just finished laying out the the food for the party. She wanted to make a good impression, and while she's not an especially good cook, she felt she did a pretty good job.
Now all that's left is to wait...
Knock knock knock. "We're here!" rang out Monty's voice from the hallway.
Right on the dot! It's good to know the tenants are punctual, at least.
"Just a sec!"
She made some final mental checks and took a deep breath – it had been a while before she'd hosted a party – before opening the door.
"Welcome! Please, come in," Clarke said, her best smile on display.
"Thank you," replied Jasper with a winning smile of his own. "Oh, and here – I brought some wine."
He handed Clarke a bottle of liquid that definitely did not look like wine, but she accepted it gracefully anyways.
Jasper, Monty, Octavia, Raven, and Bellamy all filed in, exchanging light pleasantries as Clarke motioned them to take a seat at the table.
"I'm sure you're all hungry, so I made plenty. Don't be shy!"
"It looks delicious! My thanks, dear Clarke, for this wonderful spread of delicacies." Jasper made a motion as if to tip an imaginary hat, while Monty grunted in agreement as his mouth was currently stuffed full of food. The others took it as a sign to dig in, and began filling up their plates.
Bellamy was forced to sit directly opposite of Clarke, per the evil plan of the gang. He was supposed to make small talk and...'woo' her, though oddly enough he found he didn't give a damn about the plan. So instead, he initiated his own plan of eat as slowly as possible and keep an eye out on things, make sure the gang didn't get too crazy.
"So Clarke," Jasper spoke around a mouthful of food. "How are you liking the Casa? Anything or anybody you particularly like?"
Of course, things wouldn't go so smoothly with Jasper and Monty running the show.
"It's been great so far! You've all been really welcoming. After all the...stories I'd heard, I was a bit worried, but I think Thelonious was just exaggerating."
Raven snorted aggressively, resulting in her choking, coughing, and sputtering on her food.
"Oh god, are you okay?" Clarke got out of her seat to give Raven a hand, though she waved her away, still coughing uncontrollably.
"I'm –" hack "o – " wheeze
"She's okay," Monty smiled disarmingly as he whacked Raven's back with his palm. "She has trouble digesting food sometimes."
Clarke sat back down tentatively, still looking concerned at Raven who was starting to recover with just the occasional hack. "I – I see. If you need to use the bathroom–"
"So, Clarke," Jasper interrupted. "Have you gone to town yet?"
"I have, actually," Clarke replied, tearing her eyes away from Raven. "With Bellamy, actually."
Jasper's eyes lit up. "Really? Tell me more!"
Bellamy groaned. He did not want to hear this story from her perspective.
"Well, it wasn't anything special, really." Clarke looked at Bellamy with a smirk. "We just picked up his sister from her boyfriend's house."
Bellamy slammed his hand on the table. "That was not her boyfriend!"
Monty gasped. "I didn't know Octavia had a boyfriend!
Clarke's smirk widened further. "She even stayed the night."
Everyone at the table gasped, even Raven who'd finally recovered.
Except Bellamy, who rose angrily from his chair. "Let's get something straight here, she is not –"
"Oh sit down, idiot brother," Octavia cut in, sighing in exasperation. "I'm not dating anyone."
Bellamy, red-faced, sat back down. "Damn right," he grumbled.
"Sorry, my mistake," Clarke said, smiling sweetly at Bellamy, who glared in return.
"Well that's boring. Hey, let's all have a drink! To celebrate, uh...Octavia not having a boyfriend." Jasper poured everyone a shot of 'wine' and handed them out.
Bellamy immediately raised his and nodded in agreement.
Clarke stared at the cowboy-themed shot glass in front of her. "Wine in a shot glass?"
"It's hip," said Monty as he raised his glass.
Clarke shrugged and raised her glass as well, clinking it with everyone. "To Octavia being single!"
"Cheers!"
Clarke took the shot, and teared up immediately afterward. "W-what in the hell was in that thing?!" she sputtered.
Jasper burped loudly. "Ninety-proof wine."
"Ninety-proof – what in the–"
Raven laughed, pouring herself another shot. "Welcome to the Ark."
"Gimme another one o' those," Bellamy slurred.
"You guys are" cough "having another one?" burp "oh god." Clarke turned red.
"Hell yeah we are!" Octavia cheered.
"You're not," Bellamy slurred sternly.
"Of course not, brother," Octavia assured him as Raven poured her a glass.
"Let the party begin!" Jasper declared, grabbing the bottle from Raven and taking a swig.
Monty grinned, pulling out a flask of his own. "Finally."
Clarke moaned in despair. "What have I gotten myself into?"
Clarke had never been this drunk. Ever. She was sure of it. She had to be at a new level of drunk. There's no other explanation for her current situation otherwise.
"Clarke, left hand on red! Come on!" Bellamy urged, struggling to maintain his inhumanely twisted body position.
"I can't! I'll fall!"
Bellamy groaned. "Clarke, you can do it. I believe in you. This is your moment. Everything leading up to this was just preparation. You can't fail here. You were meant for this! And besides, we can't lose to those buffoons!"
"Argh!" Clarke mustered all her strength and courage and pulled her left hand out from under Bellamy's right leg, stretching it to its limit to reach the red objective. Letting out a fierce war cry, she broke past her physical limits and focused her entire mind on one single purpose: winning this game of Twister. She could feel herself entering the zone, and the entire world darkened around her – all she could see was a lone red circle.
And her pinky was on it.
"You did it! You did it! We won!" Bellamy cheered, and she felt herself being picked up into a hug.
She did it. The thought brought Clarke immense relief, and she broke out in laughter along with Bellamy as he spun her around in celebration. She looked into his eyes and could see how proud he was of her, and it sent tingles down her spine. Even after putting her down, they continued to look into each others' eyes, and she felt herself pulling closer.
"Oi, idiots! It wasn't over! There was one more spin to go!"
And the world came crashing down around her.
"Mind if I sit here?" Bellamy asked Clarke as he collapsed on the couch beside her.
Clarke moaned, feeling sick to her stomach. "Sure, whatever."
"You okay?" Bellamy, surprisingly, looked concerned.
"Probably not. Think I'll be puking, either tonight or tomorrow."
"Woo! Nailed it! Eat it, suckers! I'm the best in the world!" Monty screamed at the top of his lungs.
Clarke groaned, covering her ears."God, do they ever stop?"
Bellamy scoffed. "They're usually worse. Think they're toning it down tonight, in respect for you."
Clarke searched his eyes, trying to ascertain if he's being serious. "You're being serious."
"Yup."
"How have you survived?"
"You get used to it."
Clarke snorted in disbelief, though she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Maybe it was more than she'd ever ask for, but if this was how the Casa de Ark really was, then...well, it'll certainly be distracting. Not to mention...
Bellamy couldn't help stop himself from smiling. Clarke just looked so...cute, right now. So carefree. So easygoing. Adjectives he'd never thought he'd use to describe her.
Sitting there with her, bantering with her, laughing spontaneously with her, it all felt so right. And he couldn't push away the fierce desire to be closer to her.
Closer.
Closer.
Her smile faltered, she turned her head away, she sat up straight and shifted subtly out of reach.
"Well, I'd better go to sleep, it is way past my bedtime." She stretched her arms and yawned.
She stood up, turned to him, and gave him a small smile. "Goodnight, Bellamy."
His mind raced through excuses that would make her stay; he found the perfect one, and replied with a small smile of his own. "Goodnight, Clarke."