They all walked down to the diner, the oldest establishment in town with the exception of the post office. The entered the busy restaurant, a series of Hello's were sent in their direction on the way to a booth in the back.
Octavia and Clarke slid into one side together and Bellamy slid in across from them.
"Harper, I haven't seen you in a long time" Bellamy said seeing the waitress approach the table.
"It has been awhile, how's everything?" she asked. Harper was the girl in town everyone got along with, she didn't care who you were, what you did, or where you were from, she was nice to everyone.
"Everything's great and you?"
"Great also, thanks for asking, what do you guys want to drink?" She asked looking to the girls.
"Water" They replied in unison.
"I'll take a coke" he replied. She gave them a nod.
"I'll be right back with that"
Before a conversation could start at their table, a girl came over and sat on the edge of Bellamy's seat.
"Sorry to interrupt, but can I get you to sign this?" She asked holding out a photo of Bellamy riding a bull at one of the events in Vegas.
"Of course, what is your name?" he asked giving the young girl his attention.
"Charlotte" she replied. He wrote a quick message and handed it back to her.
"Here you go, thank you for watching" he smiled.
"I want to ride like you one day" She said eyes wide waiting for him to respond. She reminded him of Clarke at that age, she always used to tell him she was going to ride, they were close back then, up until they began riding in the circuit. She became his top competition and he pushed her away, the tension of the scoreboard causing them to drift even further apart.
"Practice, Practice, Practice, and I'm sure you will be better than I am, the world doesn't have a lot of girls that are brave enough, just a select few. If that is the path you choose you have only one way to go and that's up" he said to her.
"Thanks so much" She smiled giving him a hug and heading back to her table with her friends.
"That was very nice of you" Octavia stated.
"Yeah, where did that Bellamy come from? the one that is accepting of females in the rodeo world?" Clarke asked skeptically.
"It's hard to not be accepting, especially when your whole amateur career was spent trying to beat a woman so you could make it to pro- circuit" he said shooting her an accusing look.
"That's funny, I recall you telling me you won because it wasn't a woman's sport" she replied with a slight huff.
"I was young and stupid, does that still bother you?" he asked a slight concern to his voice, she just avoided his eyes and looked out the window.
"Clarke, look at me, you are a more than capable rider, better then half the guys in pro, it was the luck of the draw, we rode the same, I just drew the lucky hand that day, as for the comment, I'm sorry, young and cocky does stupid things to a boy's mind" he stated. Clarke's eyes were locked on his, he could see that one stupid comment must have knocked her to the ground, worse then any bull did. She gave him a nod that she heard him, just as Harper slid drinks on the table.
"Ready to order?"
"Yeah, the Greek chicken wrap please, with the salad on the side instead of fries." Octavia ordered.
"Buffalo chicken wrap and fries, blue cheese dressing on the side please" Clarke put hers in. They all looked to Bellamy.
"The hot roast beef sandwich, fries please" he responded.
"Alright, I'll put that in, be back when it's out, flag me down if you need anything" she said hurrying to the next table.
"If it isn't Blake and Griffin at the same table." a voice sounded from behind Clarke. Bellamy stood.
"Dax, how have you been man?" he said extending his hand to shake his.
"I've been great, see you on t.v. every now and then, taking the world by storm huh? you on hiatus or what?" he asked nodding a greeting to the girls. Clarke looked at Octavia rolling her eyes. She couldn't stand him, not one thing about him.
"Yea more like a permanent hiatus, I miss home, that constant on the road shit sucks." Bellamy stated.
"Lots of women and whiskey, plus the riding and the paycheck, how could you complain"
"Trust me, it gets old fast. The women are after the paycheck or that two second photo op when you win, you can't live on whiskey, and one day the bull will win, permanently, gotta quit while you are ahead, my head wasn't in it, I was thinking about the ranch and you know as well as I do, a distracted rider is a dead rider." he replied honestly.
"Yeah, well it's good to see you back, if you ever wanna go out one night let me know, the bar on the corner is pretty good, big crowd. I'll buy first round." he stated
"Sounds good, I will let you know." Bellamy replied.
"Well I have to be going, Octavia good to see you." Dax said before looking back to Bellamy.
"You and Griffin getting along huh? That takes a strong willed person" Dax stated.
"Your right, and obviously you are not up to the challenge" Clarke snapped.
"Maybe if you weren't such a bitch all the time" He said in a lowered voice to avoid drawing attention.
"Enough of that, I'll stand for a lot but talking to her like that, not so much" Bellamy stated, his voice low but serious. Dax looked from her to Bellamy.
"See you around Blake, offer still stands, we get together on Friday's around 9 usually." Dax stated as he turned and walked to the door.
"I'll stop in one night" Bellamy replied taking his place back in the booth.
"What is that about?" he asked Clarke.
"He's an ass, and I don't need you to defend me, I got it under control." Clarke stated looking back out the window. Bellamy studying the ads on the place-mat, Octavia sighed.
"She got drunk at the bar and got in a fight with him, a screaming match that escalated. He shoved her, she hit him, and he most certainly hit her back" Octavia stated. Clarke shot her a look and Bellamy's head shot up looking at the two of them.
"He hit you?" the anger in Bellamy's voice evident. Clarke was still fixated out the window and silent.
"Miller arrested him, and then some, because I'm sure Clarke only got one hit in, and Dax's face the next day showed more than one hit, Those bruises didn't come from her hand" Octavia stated.
Bellamy kicked Clarke's shoe under the table. She looked at him questioningly.
"You have it all under control? yeah, I see that" he stated sarcastically.
"I didn't ask for your opinion on my life, so spare me" she replied, he shook his head giving her a smirk.
"Stubborn as ever" he commented.
"Alright guys, plates might be hot, so careful" Harper stated as she stopped at the table unloading her tray in front of them.