DISCLAIMER: I do not own THE 100 or any of the characters herein. That luxury belongs to The WB and The CW. I'm just a fan that likes to play in the world.
A/N: About ten minutes before 'The 100' finale started I immediately thought of Mushu from 'Mulan', where he says "We're gonna die! We're definitely gonna die! No way we survive this! DEATH IS COMING!" And, oh look! He was right. *dead* Super upset about Clarke leaving, of course (why do the writers keep separating Bellarke?), but the logical side of my brain was like "At least make a survival pack with food, water, and weapons! Gosh..." So on top of being sad/angsty about her leaving Bellamy and, well, everyone... I now have to worry about her safety?! This show, man... This. Show.
Okay, on to the fic: I know there is a good chunk of 'Something Borrowed' that takes place in the Hamptons, and I do love the Hamptons scenes. However, since I have Clarke being a doctor, she rarely gets weekends off. So I felt her going to the Hamptons every weekend would be unrealistic. There will be some Hampton love, however! It's just later in the story. They just won't be going all the time. Bellamy and Clarke have to save lives!
Things start to get a bit tense between our favorite couple... Woohoo! Hope you all enjoy!
CHAPTER SEVEN
The morning after my date with Finn, I barely get out of the shower before my phone starts blaring from the nightstand. Wrapping my hair in a towel, I just manage to answer it before it goes to voicemail.
"Hello?"
"Spill. Tell me everything." Raven.
"Well, good morning to you, too."
"Yeah, yeah, good morning and all that shit. Now spill."
I sigh, not answering right away. Instead I begin to focus on what to wear to the hospital today. Raven is not having any of it.
"Clarke! Don't be coy, you're not good at it. Just tell me!"
"Tell you what? I'm not sure what you're talking about."
"Oh, shut up," she says with a hint of malice that I've long grown accustomed to.
"Well now, do you want me to spill or to shut up?"
"Clarke!"
"Oh, all right! Jeez." I find a pair of slacks and throw them on the bed. "It was nice."
"Nice? Come on, you're not getting away with that." I hear a loud crunch on the other end.
"Frosted Flakes?"
"No, it's this new bran cereal that Bell's making me eat. It's disgusting to be honest. And I just love being honest!" Raven screams the last part, and I know she's no longer talking to me, but Bellamy.
"Bran is good for you."
"Ugh. I'm sick of being surrounded by doctors! Just let me eat my sugary food in peace! It's not my fault I have such a fast metabolism."
"Yeah, a true burden," I mumble, grabbing a random shirt from my closet and throwing it on the bed as well.
"Anyway, no more of this 'it was nice' bullshit. Tell me for real! Did you guys hook up?"
"Raven! It was our first date."
Pause. "So did you hook up?"
I shake my head, letting a small smile escape. "No, we didn't."
"Not even a kiss?"
"He was a perfect gentleman. I had a good time." I am reluctant to say that last part, since it's Raven and she'll most definitely relay this conversation verbatim to Bellamy, but it's the truth.
"Damn, girl! You're making me lose money! I bet Bellamy that you'd go in for the kill and at least get a kiss out of him!"
I head back in to the bathroom and unwrap my hair. "Can you stop betting on me and Finn?"
Raven lets out a big laugh, followed by another crunch. "It's hard not to when Bellamy is so adamant."
"Adamant?" I can't help but ask.
"I swear, it's like he's rooting for you guys to not make it. He's such a dick sometimes."
"Raven!"
"What? He's my fiancé, I can say that."
My fiancé…
"Hey, are we still on for next weekend? Getting the gang together? Charlotte and I were thinking about heading downtown to Monty's new place. I realized we haven't been there yet as a group." She pauses to take another bite of cereal. "Plus, Finn will be there," she adds in a sing-song voice.
"I don't know," I begin. I haven't seen Bellamy since my birthday; I haven't purposefully been avoiding him, it's just worked out like that. After our confusing phone call I had decided to put The Event behind me and pretend like nothing happened. I've still been getting some pangs; mostly when I see the bottles of Blue Moon in my fridge and the pillows I still haven't gotten rid of. But overall I'm pretty proud of myself. Of course, this is all during a time where I haven't seen him face-to-face.
I tell myself now to just suck it up and get it over with; pull it off like a Band-Aid. It'll be worse the longer I wait, anyway. Better to see him in a public setting, so it's not strange and we can go on with our lives. Or I can go on with mine; maybe Bellamy has already forgotten about it. He does have Raven to keep him company at night. My heart clenches as I grab for my brush.
"No! No 'I don't knows' Clarke. You're going. I haven't seen you in ages. You're going. And if you have a surgery: cancel. Or assign it to someone else. Whatever! You're going!" There's a small lull in the conversation, and I take this moment to finish working on my hair.
"You really didn't kiss him?"
"No, Raven, I really didn't kiss him," I wince when my brush catches on a tangle.
"Damn. Is it okay if I tell Bell that you did? I really don't want him to win this bet."
"Please stop betting on me, Raven."
"Come on, who else is gonna bet on you, girl?"
The week passes in a blur; my schedule at work was jam-packed with surgeries, which helped me get my mind off of certain things. But now it's the weekend, and I'm dreading going out. I told myself all week that it'll be good for me to finally get out and be social; to finally see Bellamy. But now my stomach is in knots and I can't for the life of me decide what to wear.
Giving up completely, I grab a knee-length black dress that I haven't worn in a few years, and thank my lucky stars that it still fits. Going simple with my makeup, I finish my ensemble off with black flats (definitely choosing comfort over style tonight) and a small clutch. Heading out of my brownstone, I hail a cab and start the journey to Raven and Bellamy's apartment, which is where we decided to meet. I tried to convince Raven to let me meet them at the bar, but she refused, saying she wanted us all to carpool together and have it be like old times. I almost let it slip right there that it will never be like old times.
When the cab pulls up to the apartment, I pay the driver and listen to him speed away as I look up at the window that I know leads to Raven and Bellamy's bedroom. I see a shadow move behind the curtains, and picture Raven getting ready for tonight. She probably tried on several different dresses and modeled each one for Bellamy, asking him which one looked good. He probably answered that she looked gorgeous in all of them, that no matter which one she wore he would be unable to keep his eyes off of her. She probably giggled in that way that would make me grit my teeth, and padded over to him, giving him a long, deep kiss that would be full of promises for later. When they were finally alone.
I shake my head and rub my temples. Yeah, this is already going swimmingly.
I head up the stairs to their front door and smooth my hair back before knocking. Almost immediately the door flings open and I prepare myself for the deep, dark eyes of Bellamy's.
I am looking at deep, dark eyes, but they're not Bellamy's.
"Clarke!" Octavia gives me a swift hug before she pulls me inside, closing the door. "You look amazing, girl!"
"Thank you," I laugh and smooth a hand down my hip. "You look beautiful, too, O."
She twirls a few times so her deep red dress flares around her knees and I laugh again. "Thank you, dahling," she drawls. "God, I've been needing a night like this for forever."
"Me, too," I say, not really meaning anything by it, but Octavia raises her eyebrows. I backtrack.
"I mean, work has been kicking my ass. I had so many surgeries this week I almost fell asleep standing up in the break room at the hospital."
She laughs sympathetically. "Oh, no!"
We head to the couch in the living room and I chance a glance around the apartment. "Where is everybody?" I ask flatly.
"Raven's taking forever to get ready. The hair." Octavia points to her own, rolling her eyes. "Charlotte's also getting ready in the guest room; she only just figured out what dress to wear. Finn's on his way, and he's bringing his buddy Atom." She shrugs. "A friend of the boys' from high school. Those three getting together, and adding Monty?" She shakes her head playfully. "It'll be quite the event!"
Event. "I asked Jasper if he wanted to come."
Octavia's eyes light up for a moment, but then it's gone in a flash. I can't help but smile. "Is he?" she asks with a hint of nonchalance that sounds almost too forced.
"He's going to meet us there."
Just then Bellamy walks in to the living room and spots us on the couch. We lock eyes and he lets out a low "Hey."
And just like that, after two weeks of telling myself that my birthday didn't mean anything – that it was a mistake and I need to just put it behind me and forget it ever happened – all those thoughts and all my hard work is thrown out the window. Gone. Erased. My palms turn sweaty and I discreetly wipe them on my dress.
"Hey," I try to say casually, but it just comes out sounding breathy. I close my eyes in embarrassment.
Octavia gives me a weird look and opens her mouth to say something when the three of us hear a screech from the bedroom. "Octavia!" It is Raven, and she sounds desperate. "I need your help!"
"With what?" she screams back, and Bellamy levels her with a glare. "I mean, coming!"
She pulls herself off the couch and sends a grimace my way. Before leaving the living room and heading down the hall, Octavia stage whispers in Bellamy's ear. "Just so you know, you should probably tell your fiancée that when she wants us to be ready by ten o'clock, that includes her, too."
Squeezing his shoulder, she gives him a cheesy grin and disappears down the hall before he can respond, and just like that, we're alone. Alone. In his living room.
Oh Lord, the sweaty palms are coming back.
Bellamy slowly walks to the space on the couch that Octavia recently vacated and sits down. I try my best to surreptitiously make some more space between us. Unfortunately he notices.
"Excited to see your boyfriend tonight?" he asks in a deep voice, and I turn his way. He's not looking at me, but at the coffee table. He's leaning forward, his arms resting on his knees and his hands clasped between them. His fingers look like they're squeezing tight; his knuckles white from the exertion.
"He's not –" I begin, confused. His posture is rigid, tight. His voice has a hint of malice to it. Why is he angry? I want to put the whole thing behind me, to go back to the way things were – for the most part – and instead of him doing the same thing, he's decided to be snarky with me? What the hell?
Suddenly I'm no longer nervous and jittery, but irritated and defensive.
"He's not…?" he prompts, still not looking at me.
At least look at me.
"Actually, I am," I say smoothly. "I haven't seen him since last week, and after the crazy week I had at work, I can't wait to have fun with him." I leave it at that, heavy with double meaning.
He finally pulls his eyes from the coffee table and gives me a piercing stare. "That's great," he says, the malice still prevalent, the look too loaded. "You two make a swell couple."
In the seven years I've known Bellamy I have never heard him use the word "swell," and I wish I could laugh and diffuse the situation, but I can't. So I just sit there, my body as rigid as his, my arms crossed over my chest. "Thanks," I spit out. "So do you and Raven."
His eyes – my God, those gorgeous eyes – are burning through my resolve, and all I want to do is set the record straight; apologize and tell him that Finn and I aren't a couple, that nothing's happened between us. But suddenly there's a loud knock at the door and we both nearly jump out of our skins, jerking our heads toward the door.
Bellamy runs his hand over his face and pulls himself off the couch to answer the door. Suddenly the living room is full of voices and laughter when Finn and his friend Atom enter. The three men exchange welcomes, complete with handshakes and pats on the shoulders. After a few moments I lock eyes with Finn, and even though I just went through an emotionally charged moment with Bellamy, I can't help it; I answer his bright smile with my own – albeit a bit stiff.
"Princess," he says, pulling me off the couch and into his arms. I laugh when he lifts me off the ground to spin me around a few times. When he puts me down, I do my best to focus on Finn and what he's saying and not the daggers that are no doubt coming from Bellamy's eyes.
"Your week of hell is finally over! Ready to party?" Finn lifts his arms in the air and wiggles his hips in some sort of strange salsa dance that makes him look ridiculous, yet it works.
I sigh deeply, my smile still in place. "Hell yes," I answer.
Finn and Bellamy's friend Atom comes to join us and introduces himself. He is taller than Finn by a few inches, and his dark hair is piled high on top of his head in a 'just-rolled-out-of-bed' look. He has cool green eyes and a dimple when he smiles. He is a friend from high school, and played basketball with Finn and Bellamy as well.
"Yeah, we were pretty much the shit when it came to basketball, huh Bellamy?" Finn calls over to him.
I turn to see that Bellamy is no longer in the living room, but the kitchen, which opens up to the living room, only separated by a small breakfast bar. He has a beer in his hand, and he takes a long drag from the bottle, not breaking eye contact with me. I gulp and turn away.
"Bell!" Raven comes out of the bedroom and heads to the kitchen, plucking the beer out of Bellamy's hand. "You promised to be the DD!" she pouts, placing the bottle on the counter with a small click!
"Right," he says.
Octavia soon follows Raven out of her room, Charlotte right behind her. I give Octavia a small smile.
"Everything okay?" I ask.
"Crisis averted," she answers, throwing her hands up. "There was a curling iron emergency, but we got it handled."
"I'm glad," I chuckle.
"Okay! Everyone ready?" Raven asks, looking around. "Good, let's get the hell outta here!" Clapping her hands together, she leads the way out of the apartment, her friend Charlotte not far behind.
Octavia gives me a quick look, raising her eyebrows before following suit.
I'm about to follow Finn and Atom out when I feel a warm hand on my bicep. Knowing what's about to happen, I pull my arm away without looking Bellamy's way.
"Clarke –"
"We're not doing this," I say coldly, surprising myself.
"Can we just –"
I turn my body halfway, so I can only see him with my peripheral vision. "We are not doing this right now. They're waiting for us. Your fiancée is waiting."
I feel Bellamy's body tense, and suddenly it's back to the hostility. "Right," he says coolly. "As is your boyfriend."
I choose that moment to fully turn to him, making eye contact. "Exactly." Before he can answer me, I turn on the heel of my sensible ballet flats and head out the door.
A/N: Ruh-Roh.
I'm going through final exams this week, so I wanted to get this up before they start tomorrow. Ugh... Wish me luck! And I hope you're enjoying the story so far!
*goes back to studying and listening to RAIGN's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" on repeat*
