Four.

Clarke wanted nothing more than to sleep in until midday the day after the cocktail party. She was already so sick of all the drama on this show, and she'd only been there for three weeks. Not to mention she had no doubt that the further she got the more dramatic it would be.

Sadly, since it was a date day, she had to be up early to hear who would be going on the next date with Bellamy. They all gathered in the kitchen, surrounded by cameras as Cage walked in.

"Good morning ladies!" Cage greeted them.

"Hi Cage," they all chanted back.

"Are you all ready for your next date card?" he asked them, holding up the envelope like he was selling it.

"Yes!" all the girls said excitedly. Cage put the card on the table and left the room. Roma was the one to pick up the card.

"Do we think it's a single date or a group date?" she asked the others.

"Definitely group," Monroe replied. Roma took the card out of the envelope and cleared her throat.

"The clue is: Rise and shine," she read.

"Ooh maybe a hot air balloon ride!" Fox speculated.

"Or a bed and breakfast," Anya said with a smirk. The girls laughed.

"And the girl going on this date is…" Roma continued, pausing for dramatic effect. "Raven!"

"Hell yes," Raven exclaimed with a fist pump. "Clarke, come and help me choose something to wear." Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Clarke's hand and dragged her upstairs to her room.

"I'd suggest a cute summer dress or maybe some nice shorts and a blouse…" Clarke began, opening Raven's wardrobe.

"Oh, I don't care about that," Raven told her, sitting on her bed and making sure her microphone was off. "I already know what I want to wear. I just wanted to talk without the other girls or cameras listening in."

"Oh," Clarke replied, a little confused. She sat down next to Raven. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I've been thinking about the whole reason you're here, and I mean, if you want to go you can," Raven said. "Bellamy and I get along really well, and I think that I could really make it all the way to the end. I know how reluctant you were to come here in the first place so you know, if you want to leave you totally can."

"Huh," Clarke said. She wasn't really sure how to take this. "What would you do during the day? You hate all of the other girls."

"That's what Wick is for," Raven told her like it was obvious.

"He's only here three days a week, you would go insane," Clarke pointed out.

"What's the big deal? It's not like you actually have any feelings for Bellamy," Raven said. "I know because your conversations last like, a second before you hurry away from him."

"Yeah well it's like what Anya said, it's better for him to send home the girls he really doesn't like before the ones who don't like him. You know, like Roma," Clarke argued. Raven's jaw dropped and it looked like everything was starting to make sense to her.

"Oh my god, you like him!" Raven accused her, standing up. "I knew it! You actually like the Bachelor."

"I do not," Clarke denied. "I just don't know why you want me gone so badly."

"Because I know you're his pet favourite right now and it would make things a lot easier if you just left," Raven said, raising her voice.

"Last I checked, you were the one who was going on a single date with him, not me," Clarke reminded her.

"Yeah because he's already decided you're making it to the final four," Raven argued.

"How could he possibly know that? You said yourself we hardly spend any time together," Clarke said. "I don't have to sit here and take this from you. I'm going to go talk to someone who doesn't attack me for every little interaction I have with Bellamy."

Raven scowled as Clarke stormed out of the room, fists clenched.


"It should be me on that date," Roma huffed as the girls all sat in the lounge awaiting Raven's return. No one replied, but there were a couple of eye-rolls and annoyed sighs.

"She should be back soon, right?" Fox asked. "She's been gone for hours."

"Well if it's a bed and breakfast like Anya thought they might not be coming back until tomorrow," Monroe laughed and the others joined in, even though they knew that wasn't the case because the whole exchange was staged and there were cameras everywhere.

Raven walked through the door with her hands behind her back and a grin on her face. The others squealed in excitement when they saw her enter.

"Hello ladies, look what I have," Raven announced, revealing the red rose that she had been hiding.

"That's so exciting!" Fox exclaimed.

"Tell us every juicy detail," Harper demanded. Raven sighed happily before beginning.

"Okay so I arrived at this big field where Bellamy was standing in front of a hot air balloon," she explained. "He looked so hot I kind of just wanted to jump on him and make out right then and there. Somehow I managed to control myself." She laughed and the others joined in hesitantly. Saying things like that was kind of awkward in this situation since they were all essentially dating the same person.

"So anyway we got in the hot air balloon and floated around the city and drank champagne which was really beautiful and it was so romantic," Raven continued. "Then when we were back on the ground he took me to a vineyard where we walked around talking and eating grapes, and he led me to this adorable picnic he'd set up. We drank some more wine and then he gave me a rose and we totally made out." She smirked as she said the last part and jaws dropped. There was some awkward laughter and Raven looked around smugly at their shocked faces. Clarke just rolled her eyes.

The conversation continued for a little bit longer as Echo pressed Raven for details, but finally the camera crew decided they'd got what they needed and everyone dispersed to do their own thing. Clarke pulled Raven aside.

"I hope you're ready to apologise," Clarke demanded.

"No, why would I do that?" Raven wondered.

"I don't know, maybe because of all the accusations you made before you left," Clarke explained obviously. "You got the first kiss. You win the Bachelor."

Raven scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I stand by what I said, Clarke," she told her. "I was the one who initiated the kiss, and him kissing me back just means he isn't ready for me to leave yet. If it was you on the date I bet he would've initiated it."

"Okay, except that I wasn't the one on the date so what does that tell you?" Clarke reminded her.

"It doesn't really tell me anything," Raven said with a shrug. "Look Clarke, I've watched every season of this show. The girl who wins isn't always the one who got the first kiss, the first rose, or the first single date." She didn't give Clarke a chance to reply before she joined some of the other girls outside.

Clarke stood there dumbfounded. After the whole Finn ordeal where they'd both been dating the same person but didn't know it, they'd promised never to let a guy get between them again. And yet here Raven had led them right into that situation again – on purpose. It was a little too much for Clarke to handle and she needed to be alone.

She was heading up to her bedroom and was halfway up the stairs when she noticed Wick looking around the hall like a lost puppy.

"Can I help you?" she asked, incredibly confused. "I thought you were done filming for the day."

Wick looked up at her, startled. "Clarke, hey," he greeted her. "Have you seen Raven? I need to… talk to her. About something."

Clarke raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What about?" she queried.

"Uh, just about… Something she did… On her date. Which I filmed," he told her hurriedly. "So have you seen her?"

"She's outside by the pool," Clarke informed him. "I hope you don't get fired for this."

Wick nodded at her thankfully before hurrying outside, and Clarke couldn't help but chuckle at the poor guy, chasing after a girl he had no chance with.


Clarke arrived to her group date at the beach two days later with Monroe, Fox, Tris, Emori, Echo and, to Clarke's dismay, Roma.

She would have been perfectly happy to stay at home that day away from the Bachelor and away from Roma, and she had made a point of mentioning this to Raven who had just rolled her eyes and muttered something about how Clarke would probably put up with someone twice as annoying as Roma if it meant being near Bellamy. After that comment Clarke thought that it was better Roma than Raven.

The girls were all thrilled to see a shirtless Bellamy meet them by the water but, not wanting to seem desperate, they all tried to play it cool. Even Clarke had to admit he had a great body and she could understand the subtle giggling that was going on between Tris and Fox.

"Hey girls!" Bellamy greeted them. "Are you ready for some fun?"

There were excited shouts of 'hell yeah' and 'of course' from all of the girls followed by an eye roll from Clarke who was getting sick of pretending to be excited by everything for the sake of 'good television'.

"I've got a game set up, so everyone get into pairs and I'll explain it," Bellamy told them. They all paired up and Clarke somehow managed to be on Bellamy's team, causing the other girls, particularly Roma, to give her dirty looks. "Okay, there's a rope attached to two poles in the water. One team member runs around the rope then back to the sand and tags their partner who will do the same. First team to have both people back at the starting line wins!"

"I call dibs on being first," Clarke told Bellamy. She kind of thought the game was lame but she was still incredibly competitive and wanted to win.

"Sounds good to me," Bellamy agreed. He turned to the other girls. "On your mark, get set… Go!"

They all raced off to the water, Emori leading and causing her partner Roma to squeal excitedly, which was even more annoying than when she was talking. Clarke somehow managed to overtake her just as Tris and Fox tripped over each other. It didn't look like they were in too much trouble so Clarke kept going without bothering to help them up.

Clarke hurried out of the water and up to the start line where she slapped Bellamy's hand and he began running towards the water only seconds before Roma. For a second it looked like she might overtake him, but as he started to run up the sand towards Clarke it was pretty clear they'd won. As Bellamy crossed the finish line, Clarke forgot all about her rule to stay away from him and in the heat of the moment jumped into his arms, lifting both her feet off the ground. He was a bit surprised at first but quickly wrapped his arms around her happily. With their bare skin touching and Bellamy's firm chest pressed against hers, Clarke felt involuntarily tingly all through her body.

She quickly put her feet back on the ground and Bellamy let her go. Clarke gave him a sheepish smile and he smiled back, the confusion showing on his face.

"Hey, Clarke, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked her as the other girls grabbed sodas and snacks from the cooler that had been supplied. Clarke looked over at them, a little unsure, before turning back to Bellamy with a smile.

"Yeah, sure," she decided. He led her over to some rock pools far enough from the other girls to have a private conversation. They sat down on a large rock on the sand and Bellamy got straight to the point.

"Have I done something to upset you?" he wondered. Clarke looked at him, taken aback.

"No, what makes you say that?" she answered truthfully.

"Every time we spend time together, it seems like we're getting along really well," he explained. "But then it's like you get scared off and you have to hurry away somewhere. If you aren't interested in me I'd rather you tell me now."

Clarke nodded her head in understanding, almost laughing.

"Raven said the same thing to me the other morning," she told him. "But that's not it at all. I know we haven't known each other that long but I like you well enough."

"Okay…" Bellamy said hesitantly, still confused. "Then why do you keep running away from me?"

Clarke took a deep breath, knowing she was going to have to lie. "The thing is… I've been hurt before." Not a complete lie, but not the real reason. "And it's hard being here knowing you could be interested in all of these women and you could have a great bond with some of them and I would have no idea. Then if I get too close to you and don't win, then what? I just go about my daily life like none of this happened? Like we never shared intimate moments together?"

Bellamy nodded in understanding and remained silent for a moment as he processed what Clarke had said. While she waited for his response she began to wonder if maybe more of it was true than she thought. Maybe being here wasn't all about Raven after all. Maybe a part of her had come here for herself, and now she was chickening out because she liked Bellamy more than she expected to.

"I can understand why you're scared," Bellamy finally said. "And I don't know how I can make you feel more secure because everything you just said makes complete sense. But I can honestly tell you that out of all the women in this competition, you're the only one I had an instant connection with. And I really want to get to know you better, to know if maybe you are the one I'm supposed to be with. But I can't do that if you completely close up on me."

Clarke sighed. "You want me to be more vulnerable?" she asked. Bellamy shrugged.

"I'm not asking you to tell me all of your secrets," he reasoned. "I just hope that you can be open to the idea of really talking to me. Even if it's just as a friend and not a potential husband."

Clarke smiled up at him. "Okay, I can do that."


The cocktail party that week was rather uneventful. As usual, Bellamy took a few girls aside to talk to them and everyone else small-talked and drank for most of the night.

They were all relieved when the rose ceremony came around and they would all be able to go to bed straight after. Except, of course, for the one girl who went home.

"As you can see, Raven has already received a rose, meaning she will not be going home tonight," Cage was saying. "Unfortunately one of the rest of you will be leaving. Bellamy."

Bellamy stepped forward and picked up the first rose. "Clarke," he said. Clarke couldn't help but smile as she walked towards him. "Will you accept this rose?"

"Yes, thank you," she replied before going to stand with Raven.

"Echo," Bellamy went on. Echo accepted her rose and took her place next to Clarke. Bellamy continued to call out the names until it was only Tris and Roma remaining.

"This could be your night," Anya whispered to Harper, who was trying hard to keep her composure, despite the fact that she was incredibly excited that Roma would be going home. That was until…

"Roma," Bellamy called. Everyone's mouth dropped. Tris started to cry. The camera's were zooming in for good reaction shots. Roma accepted her rose with a kiss on the cheek and a smug smile.

"Tris, unfortunately you did not receive a rose," Cage informed her. "Please take a moment to say your goodbyes before leaving the mansion.

Tris didn't bother to say individual goodbyes to any of the girls. She was already crying enough as it was. Instead she just gave Bellamy a hug and waved the others goodbye before leaving.

"Next week might be our week!" Anya said to Harper, Clarke and Monroe.

"I personally hope she stays in just a week longer," Monroe countered. Clarke laughed.

"You're only saying that because that's your week," she said. Monroe shrugged unapologetically.

"If it means being $15 richer I don't mind having to put up with her for a bit longer," she told them.

"Yeah well don't be so sure," Anya said. "I've got a feeling I'll be the one winning all your money."

"I don't really care since I'm already out of the bet," Harper said. "I just want her gone."

Clarke sighed. "Don't we all."