The doorbell rang with a loud, high pitched note that sounded through the house. Bellamy wiped his palms on his jeans and checked his hair in the mirror in the hall. It was a mess as always, but the sort of mess that seemed to say "I just rolled out of bed, your bed," He smirked to himself as he made his way down the hall, stopping before the door to take a deep breath. He pulled it open.

And standing there was Finn Collins.

"Alright, mate?" Finn smiled and stepped over the threshold. Bellamy clasped him on the shoulder and rearranged his features into a smile to mask his disappointment. He knew it wasn't her really, she wasn't coming until later, but he had still hoped. He had invited Finn over in an attempt to distract himself from her presence, it might be in vain, but still he would try. At least, he would pretend to try.

As it was, he did relax a little with Finn, playing video games and sharing beers, Finn even rolled them a joint. Having Finn as company however, meant that Bellamy was subject to long talks about the various things Finn and Raven did alone. Finn didn't bring up the fact that Bellamy was all too aware of how Raven was in bed, so neither did Bellamy.

When the doorbell did ring again, it was a welcome reprieve from a long-winded story about things which Bellamy would rather not imagine his best friend doing.

"Bellamy!" Octavia called from the other room, "Get the door, I'm doing my nails!" It was a ploy, Bellamy knew, his sister was still trying to throw him and Clarke together. Not that he minded, his stomach felt tight at the thought of seeing her again, talking to her again. He shot Finn an exasperated look and left the room.

And when he opened the door a second time, there she was. Her lips parted in surprise when she saw him standing there, her blonde hair stuck to her face with rain, her eyes a calm sea.

"Clarke," Bellamy's lips curled up at the sight of her, he couldn't help it, it was just her, what she did to him.

"Bellamy," She replied softly and for a moment they just stood staring at one another before she laughed lightly. Such a beautiful sound, Bellamy thought. "Are you going to make me stand in the rain all night?"

"Not all night, I'm sure it will ease off in a few hours," Bellamy played along, but he stepped back to let her pass. He closed the door behind her and for a second it was just them in the silence of the hall, the only sound was their breathing.

Bellamy stepped toward her, his fingertips running down the soft skin of her arm until they reached her hand, tingling all the way. When he reached her fingertips he gently unfurled them, sliding the strap of her duffel bag out of her grip and into his own.

"Let me carry that for you, Princess,"

"I can manage my own bags, Bellamy," She smiled and it was such a sweet smile that Bellamy almost lost his breath.

"Hey, I'm being a gentleman for once, enjoy it," He feigned difficulty when picking up the bag, much to Clarke's amusement, he was pleased to see. "Christ, Princess, what have you got in here?"

"Homework," She flushed a rosy pink.

"Homework?! You bought homework to a sleepover?!" Bellamy gasped in mock horror, "You need to loosen up, Princess,"

"Maybe I'll have to follow your terrible, terrible influence then," The girl smirked, raising an arched eyebrow as she stared at him.

"Oh," Bellamy breathed, "You definitely don't want to do that," It was like he was involuntarily drawn to her; he didn't remember taking a step forward but suddenly they were only inches apart. Clarke lifted her hand to his face as if to smooth back his hair.

"Hey, Clarke," The pair almost jumped apart, turning to face Finn who had just appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Clarke let her hand drop awkwardly and Finn smiled, shaking his shaggy hair.

"Just came down because I was wondering if we could we order that pizza soon? I'm starving," Finn didn't wait for an answer and strolled through to the kitchen, humming to himself.

Bellamy felt vaguely annoyed, but Clarke was giggling.

"I can carry my own bag, Bellamy, you best go tend to him," She gestured to the kitchen with a nod of her head and pulled the bag back into her own hand. Bellamy might have been mistaken, but he thought he saw her shiver when their hands touched.


Clarke shut the door behind her, feeling oddly short of breath. She had gone to kiss him! Her, straight-laced Clarke who brought homework to sleepovers was about to kiss her best friend's brother, bad-boy Bellamy Blake. Then his friend had bought her back to her senses, killing the mood. He was cute too, Finn, in a goofy sort of way, but he wasn't a patch on Bellamy. She wondered what Bellamy would've done if they hadn't been interrupted, if she had kissed him. Her mind whirled at the thought and Octavia looked up at her with raised brows.

"Hello," Clarke said breathlessly and both girls erupted into giggles. Clarke dropped her bag on the floor and sat down on the bed next to Octavia, reaching to her for a hug.

"Careful!" Octavia squealed, "Don't smudge my nails!" Clarke looked to see them a glistening shade of pink and pulled back, knowing how Octavia got with these things. If Clarke smudged them there would be hell to pay, for sure. But Octavia leaned over and wrapped her arms awkwardly around her anyway. In that moment, Clarke felt very affectionate for her friend.

"So did you kiss him?" And then that moment was gone. Clarke blushed furiously and clapped her hands to her cheeks to find them warm.

"No!" Her voice came out squeakier than she intended, sending Octavia sprawling with laughter.

"But you want to," It wasn't a question, that much was clear in Octavia's beautiful blue eyes.

"I don't know, O," Clarke whispered, and continued before the girl could say anything else, "Wells kissed me the other day," Octavia's eyes turned so wide that they were more whites then irises.

"What!?" Her full lips were parted in such a gape that it was comical. "Tell me everything, when, why, how! Are you okay? Are -"

"O, calm down," Clarke ran her fingers through her damp hair, easing out the tangles in her blonde curls. Octavia repositioned herself so she was sat cross-legged, looking patiently at Clarke for the story; she looked like an excited school child.

"I went to his on Tuesday, after Bellamy had hit him," Octavia opened her mouth to speak but Clarke shot her a look and she sighed but held her tongue. "I felt bad, Bellamy had hurt him because of me, and I don't know I guess I wanted to see him again, to believe that we wouldn't always be hating each other. But when I went over, he got too close and, I told him not to, but he kissed me anyway, so I pushed him away. And then he told me that Bellamy wasn't good for me,"

"That son of a bitch!" Octavia cried out as soon as Clarke was done. "Bellamy may be a whore but he's a damn sight better than Wells! And at least he's heard of boundaries! I can't believe Wells just tried it on with you like that, awh Clarke I'm so sorry," She pulled Clarke into an embrace as she babbled.

"I'm going to set you and Bells up, you're going to be the new power couple, so help me, you will," She murmured into Clarke's hair and Clarke couldn't help snorting with laughter.

"Please don't mention this to him, Wells doesn't need another bruise, I'm sure Bellamy would be all too happy to give him one if he knew," Octavia frowned but agreed. That was good, Clarke thought, Octavia made good on her promises. Unlike some people, she thought sourly.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow, yeah?" She perked up and Clarke sighed. Shopping wasn't really her thing. "Oh come on," Octavia tugged at Clarke's arm, "It'll be fun! We need to get dresses for my party! It will help you forget all about Wells, I promise," She smiled before she leant in and pressed her lips close to Clarke's ear. "We can even buy something that Jasper and Bellamy will like, if you know what I mean," She pulled back and winked, out of breath laughing at Clarke's look of horror.

Clarke felt for sure that her cheeks would still be burning by the time she saw Bellamy again.

Sure enough, when the boys called her and Octavia downstairs for the pizza, she spotted the familiar tinge of pink on her cheekbones as she checked her reflection in the mirror. Her hair had dried all frizzy and she had tried to tame it back in a braid but wisps kept loosening themselves from the tie and framing her face; her eyes looked too wide with adrenaline, a mixture of nervousness and excitement and her bottom lip had a ragged patch where she always chewed it. It's not getting any better than this Clarke, she told herself, better just get on with it.

She had however neglected to change into her pajamas just yet; usually she and Octavia donned their pajamas for comfort and true slumber party etiquette as soon as Clarke arrived, but Clarke was a little apprehensive about Bellamy seeing her in her plaid pajama shorts and oversized snoopy tee, to say the least, so she had remained in her jeans and top for a while longer.

When they sat down and ate pizza from the box watching a sports match that the boys were interested in and that Octavia liked for the attractive players, Clarke found herself wedged between Bellamy and Finn. They were squashed up so close on the Blake's tiny sofa that both of her thighs were pressed up against someone else's. Her legs tingled through the denim of her jeans as Bellamy brushed his fingers up her thigh 'accidentally' as he reached for another slice of pizza and he shot her a grin so beautiful and mischievous that Clarke thought she might melt.

"So, vegetarian huh? That's pretty cool," Finn drew her attention back to him with his question and a smile across his lips. His eyelashes were much too long for a boy, Clarke decided as he batted them at her, seemingly unconsciously.

"Finn, earlier you were complaining about it because you wanted to order the meat feast," To her other side Bellamy laughed, though there was an underlying tone to his voice. Clarke's heart rate picked up when she realised it might be jealousy. Or maybe that had something to do with the fact that his hand had come to rest on her thigh, his long fingers spread out across the grey fabric. Heat seemed to emanate from where he touched, filling her with warmth. Her eyes met Octavia's across the room where she sat curled up in an armchair, her phone in her lap, presumably texting Jasper about the underwear she was going to buy tomorrow. Clarke cringed at the thought.

"Shut up Bells," Finn laughed back, "Trying to pull," He teased, as he bit into his fifth slice. Bellamy tensed beside her and Clarke's stomach flipped with excitement. He was jealous. And if he was jealous of Finn's comments, then it must mean he liked her. Mustn't it? She certainly hoped so.

Clarke's eyes fell upon his hand where it rested on her leg; tanned and strong and long-fingered. She wondered briefly what it would feel like to have those hands tangled in her hair.