A/N: Well... Oops, I did it again... :D
DreyMarley - ask and ye shall receive. I just hope it lives up to what you were hoping for. ;)
I own nothing.
His sister was late.
Really fucking late.
She was supposed to check in three hours ago. He knew better than to let her go to these stupid bonfires her friends held. He remembered what that shit was like when he was in school. The tradition continued – as always. And his sister found his way into the thick of it.
Just like he had.
Bellamy ran his hands through his hair, further mussing his curls. It was well past midnight, and his cell phone was burning a hole in his pocket.
Like its mere presence was calling to him.
Why did he have to promise Octavia that he would wait for her call, he was getting past the point of waiting.
That's when he started pacing.
Bellamy hated pacing – it was uncontrolled, and disorganized.
Since his mother had died, Octavia had lost a lot of what made her his O. He'd watched her, his heart breaking, as the child-like wonder left her eyes, and as the cynicism crept into them. Bellamy closed his eyes. The aneurism came out of nowhere. The doctor told him there was nothing that could be done, that as a female smoker with high-blood pressure she'd been at risk – that her headaches had been a symptom that she had never thought to look into.
He was staring at his phone, his sister's contact information pulled up when it rang.
"O –"
"What the actual fuck Bell. What the hell have you been – who the hell have you been doing?!"
His sister's voice was hushed, she was definitely yelling at him while trying to keep whoever was around from hearing. If he listened closely, he could hear the fire crackling on the other side of the line – he could hear the laughter and the voices of the other teens present.
"Octavia, what are you talking about."
"I'm talking about Clarke."
Hearing his Princess's name on his sister's lips stopped him cold. How the hell did Octavia know her name?
"How do you know about Clarke, Octavia?" Bellamy heard his voice go flat, all emotion fled. He hadn't mentioned anything about the girl who ran away to his sister. He couldn't talk about her.
"Because jack-ass, I just met her. She's at this fucking fire you dumb ass." Bellamy could hear the anger in her voice – but he could also hear the slight slur to her words. Fucking hell, his little sister had been drinking.
Reality stopped in those seconds when her words finally hit him.
Octavia was with Clarke.
Clarke was at the bonfire.
Clarke was a high school student.
Bellamy grabbed his car keys, his coat, and ran for the door, "Octavia, I swear to god, if you leave that fire pit I will strangle you in your sleep. You keep that girl there, do you hear me?"
"What are you gonna do big brother? Come fix it? You can't fix this. She's here – other kids know what happened. What you did. How are you going to fix –"
He cut her off before she could finish – "I'm on my way. Just keep her there," his voice softened. "Please, O."
He heard her take a deep breath before she hung up.
Shit.
Clarke wanted to freak out.
She wanted to hyperventilate.
But she didn't, she couldn't. Clarke refused to let this girl see weakness in her right now – not when the proverbial shit had hit the fan.
Octavia's demeanor had completely changed after she had dropped the bomb that had altered the fun of the evening. Everyone had gone silent. They all knew of her brother apparently – his protective streak was legendary. Clarke couldn't stop her heart from beating out of her chest. Instinctually, she knew that she should drink water – to calm herself.
But the only thing available was Apple Pie. So she drank that instead. She'd rather be drunk off her ass than face the questions the kids hurled at her. Finally, Finn stepped between them all – pushed the others away as Monty and Jasper circled around her protectively.
Monty pulled the cup away from Clarke as he spoke, "Clarke – just breathe for me. This is going to be okay. These kids are our friends. We protect each other. That's what we do. You're one of us now. This doesn't leave this fire, okay?"
Clarke felt numb as she nodded.
Jasper spoke next, "Blake is a good man Clarke – but Octavia is just as protective of him as he is with her. When their mom died, it hit them both hard. Octavia feels she took the brunt of it. She lost her mom and her best friend, and was suddenly saddled with a brother who thought he had to be her dad. But growing up, she worshipped him. He's six years older than her and loves her fiercely. They're similar that way."
Clarke saw the way the boy looked at Octavia – the awe in his eyes when he looked at the girl. How hadn't she seen it before? Jasper was enamored with her. That was when Clarke put her big girl face on – the same one she used when her father died. The one she used when her mother told her they were uprooting to a small Virginian town.
Clarke felt her breathing even out as she spoke, "I'll fix this boys, I don't know how – but I'll make this right. I'm not reckless; I'm the good girl – the good student. And I'll fix it." She saw the laughter return to their eyes as their grip on her lessened.
"Alright! Everyone – shit happens. It's a small town right? Everyone get's around," the tension between the teens lightened as Jasper spoke. Everyone visibly calmed, and one of the girls giggled. She freaking giggled, and it was contagious.
It started with Harper, spread to Monroe before Clarke and Finn both burst into laughter. By the time that Octavia walked back into the clearing the entire group had dissolved into giggles.
"Is this shit really that funny, you guys?" The anger in her voice was almost non-existent as the teenage girl felt the laughter creeping into her bones. By the time she spoke again, Octavia too was fighting laughter, "This isn't funny!"
She wasn't fighting it – she was laughing. It was a pure, guttural laugh and as she looked to Clarke she gave her a true smile, one full of teeth and friendship.
"We're in this shit together now aren't we?"
Truer words could not have been spoken, and Clarke gave the girl a restrained smile. She went over to the metal keg, grabbed two cups and filled them silently. Offering one to the small girl, Octavia took it before setting it gently on the top of the keg. Clarke never saw what happened next coming, but when the small girl threw her arms around Clarke it stunned her. She looked over to Jasper and Monty, who were looking at her with wide eyes before Monty gave her a stupid thumbs up, Clarke rolled her eyes before letting her hands go around the small girl – hugging her as fiercely as she was being hugged.
"Just don't hurt him, okay? I can't lose him too." Her words were small as they were whispered into her ear.
Clarke's smile was tight as she nodded, "Not if I can help it."
And Clarke meant it. A stupid one night stand had just gotten one hell of a lot more complicated.
The two broke apart and the group went back to their stupid drunken games, their fun, and their laughter, but the crisp air only had a short reprieve before it all changed.
She heard him before she saw him – his voice cutting through her like a knife.
"Am I interrupting something here?"
Clarke turned quickly, spilling her cup all over the log beside her as she stood.
"Bell!" Octavia's squeal seemed uncommonly loud in the air as she ran to her brother. His arm opened and pulled her into an instinctive one-armed hug. His eyes never left Clarke's, the tension between them unspoken.
The only thought running through her head was like a broken record.
Well, shit.
So, the last chapter required me to branch from my initial plan. But I like this plan better. It'll make the Clarke and Bellamy more like equals instead of forcing the two into a relationship that automatically gives Bellamy significantly more power. I mean, technically Bellamy will still have a lot of power... but - you'll see! Reviews are nice.
