NOTE: I'm so sorry for how long this took to post! I'm currently in the middle of a downward spiral that has become my life and, as a result, writing this had kind of taken a back seat.
As always, your comments mean the world to me and your support gives me life, so thank you all, you beautiful people who keep reading this!
"You sure you two aren't hooking up?" Raven interrupted Clarke, who had zoned out of their conversation and was currently glaring at an equally annoyed looking Bellamy.
"I'm positive. In fact, I'd say I'm the only girl at this camp who hasn't hooked up with him," she bit back, breaking the eye contact that she'd been holding with the man and looking back at her friends who were sprawled out across a patch of grass in the sun.
"Okay, gross; that's my brother you're talking about," Octavia groaned, lying back and covering her face.
Clarke didn't show any sympathy, instead opting to send Bellamy one last glare before she turned away completely, hoping that it would end Raven's speculation.
"You really haven't talked to him for a week?" Octavia asked skeptically.
"Of course I haven't talked to him," Clarke defended herself, sounding more defensive than she had meant to. "He's the one who needs to apologize, not me."
"But he did apologize," Raven nudged, blocking the sun from her eyes and raising an eyebrow at her friend, "You just didn't listen."
"Well I shouldn't have to! He doesn't get to make ridiculous accusations and then claim that he's just looking out for me! And who does he think he is, talking to me about my dad? It's about time he realizes that he can't just do and say whatever he wants and get away with it," she said, her passion building up throughout her speech so that by the time she finished her face was red and she was angrier than she'd realized.
"Right," Raven nodded, not convincing anybody that she agreed with Clarke. "But no matter what you say, I've never seen a platonic relationship with as much passion as yours."
"Eww, no," Octavia whined, "We do not talk about my brother having 'passion' with people. Even if it is true."
"Octavia," Clarke screeched, surprised that the girl has switched sides. "What the hell?"
"What? I'm not blind," she shrugged, high fiving Raven while Clarke covered her face and mumbled incoherent things about betrayal and disgust.
Clarke was still busy muttering insults towards her friends who were rejoicing over their newfound agreement when a shadow fell over her.
"You okay there, Princess?" Bellamy Blake questioned, looking down at her with an amused look on his face.
"You're blocking my sun, Blake," she spat, keeping her eyes closed and attempting to ignore him otherwise.
"Well then I'm probably doing you a favor," he replied, crouching down beside her head. "We've all seen you after a day in the sun; a couple more minutes and you'd be burnt beyond recognition."
"I don't need any favors from you," she opened her eyes then, looking at Octavia and Raven who were both seemed surprised and disappointed at her harsh tone.
"Whatever you say, Clarke," Bellamy sighed, the use of her real name shocking Clarke into finally looking at him. When she did she saw a mixture of regret, exhaustion and apprehension that had piqued her interest, but he spoke again before she could. "Jaha wants to see us about a new project. Now."
She furrowed her brow and watched as he got up and walked away, waiting until he was a few feet away before turning to her friends for help.
"Have fun!" Octavia waved, not offering any advice and not seeming very troubled by the turn of events.
"Thanks," Clarke gave her best fake smile, rolling her eyes before she got up and followed Bellamy, keeping her distance behind him.
She arrived in the Camp Director's office a few minutes later to find that Bellamy was already there, occupying the half of the couch that she usually took. Deciding to pick and choose her battles, Clarke made a point of sitting in a chair that was off to the side of the room and ignoring Bellamy altogether while she greeted Jaha.
"Clarke, I trust everything's going well?" The older man asked casually, not acknowledging the obvious tension in the room.
"Everything's great," she smiled sweetly, not fooling anybody with her sugary attitude. "But you know, I really should be getting back to the Art Room; I've got a group coming in soon."
"I've seen your schedule Clarke, you've got 2 hours," Jaha chuckled, smiling slightly at her attempt to escape. "But I won't keep you for long; I just wanted to talk to the two of you about a project."
"I'm happy to help with anything," Bellamy jumped in then, throwing Clarke his usual smirk when Jaha nodded his head at him appreciatively.
"That's the kind of attitude I like to see," Jaha smiled, causing Clarke to scoff and roll her eyes once again, gaining a disapproving look from the director.
"What's the project?" She asked, wanting to cut straight to the point.
"Over the past few years we've really let certain aspects of this place go," Jaha began, sounding as if he'd practice the speech beforehand. "Obviously we can't make any huge changes, but if we start with the little things eventually we'll get everything back up to calibre."
"What, like plumbing and stuff?" Clarke didn't know where Jaha was going, but she wasn't sure she liked it. "What does that have to do with us?"
"No, not exactly," he replied, before cutting to the chase. "The two of you are going to work together to repaint the murals around camp. I was thinking you could start with the one on the pool house, and then the one on the supplies building, and then finish up with the one in the mess hall. You'll have to run your designs by me, of course, but I expect you'll both excel at this."
"With all due respect sir, I don't know anything about painting," Bellamy stated the obvious, breaking the silence filled with disbelief that had fallen after Jaha's announcement.
"But Clarke does. The two of you work well together; I'm sure you'll figure something out," he countered, not looking particularly bothered by the clear displeasure Bellamy and Clarke were showing.
"No, actually I don't," Clarke spoke then, laughing in disbelief. "I don't paint anymore, and you know it. I don't do any of that stuff."
"Well then it's about time you start again," Jaha said frankly, looking Clarke in the eye and showing no sign that he planned on backing off. "You've spent the past month teaching kids art. You've seen how much they enjoy it; surely it's reminded you of the same thing."
"You don't get to do this," she objected, her voice rising in what sounded like thinly veiled panic. "You can't make me do this."
"Clarke, I'm not making you do anything," he sighed. "You don't have to paint if you don't want to; just design with murals with Bellamy's help and get the kids to do the rest. Hell, get the kids to design them, I don't care. Just make them look good."
"That's it?" She asked tentatively, resigning herself to her new job.
"That's it. I trust that the two of you will do a good job," he finished, and when neither of them spoke up he dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
Clarke was the first to stand up, ignoring the surprised and slightly terrified look on Bellamy's face and racing out the door, hoping that she could escape before he caught up with her. Of course, luck had never been on her side so she wasn't surprised when she heard footsteps catching up to her just before she'd reached the front door of the building.
"You're still ignoring me, Princess? Won't that make it a difficult to work together?" Bellamy fell into step beside her, opening the door when they reached it.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she feigned ignorance but didn't have it in her to throw in a smile.
"Clarke, I've apologized five times; I'm not going to do it again," he argued. "This is just you being stubborn, and I know that but it's getting old pretty fast."
"Fine, Bellamy, you're forgiven," she snapped, stopping and pivoting so that she was standing in front of him, narrowly avoiding a collision. "Happy?"
"Ecstatic," he deadpanned, narrowing his eyes and looking ready for a fight. "You ready to work on these murals?"
"We've been working together for the past four years and my feelings towards you haven't gotten in the way before; I don't see why that'll change now." When she saw the corner of his lips turn up she realized how her words sounded and regretted them instantly.
"And what exactly are those feelings, Princess?" He put his hands on his hips and leaned his head down so that it was a little bit closer to hers, raising his eyebrows as a smirk took over his face completely.
It was then that Clarke realized just how close together they were standing, and just how flustered she was becoming. However, she was never one to back away from a challenge, so she leaned closer to him, tilting her face up towards his, looking him directly in the eye while she was doing it. She was incredibly aware of the electricity sparking between them, and when his eyes flickered down to her lips she knew that Bellamy was too. It was only when his tongue darted out to lick his lips that Clarke took mercy on him.
"Oh, nothing," she gloated, grinning at the way his face fell, but feeling slightly disappointed despite her apparent victory.
Clarke could tell the second that Bellamy realized what was happening, when his eyes turned cold and his features all hardened slightly. To anybody else it would have been impossible to notice, but with how close they were standing and their uncanny ability to read each other, Clarke could tell that he felt the disappointment too. That revelation was altogether too much for her to process, so she broke the eye contact they were still holding, and spun around, meaning to walk away without another word. Of course, Bellamy could never just leave things alone, so she wasn't surprised when she felt him grab her arm and tug her back towards him.
"You really want to play this game, Princess?" He hissed, showing more emotions that she had expected. "Fine. But you don't get to take your anger out on me. I am not your punching bad."
"Bellamy, I-" Clarke began to protest, stopping midsentence when she realized that she had no idea what she was going to say. Instead she sighed, her shoulders sinking and her whole body relaxing when she looked up at him and realized that he wasn't necessarily angry; just frustrated. "You're right."
His features softened at that, and while he wasn't smiling he did look incredibly relieved. "What else is new?" He joked easily, and Clarke was relieved that he didn't push her on the topic.
"Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it," she tried to hide the smile that was forcing its way out, turning her face away from him and shaking her head.
"Come on now Princess, it's about time you recognize my genius," he continued, falling back into their usual banter with an ease that finally made her feel like things were right again.
"Is that what you're calling it these days?" The asked, groaning when his only response was a wink that would likely made lesser people swoon for days. "God," she scoffed.
"I actually go by Bellamy, but call me what you like," he smirked, and despite his cheesy behaviour Clarke threw her head back laughing.
"That's enough out of you," she commended, turning to walk towards the Art Building and feeling a slight flutter in her chest when he once again fell into step beside her.
"So, the murals?"
"What about them?" Clarke sighed.
"How are we going to do this?" He asked.
"I was thinking I'd ask the kids in my classes to brainstorm some ideas, and see what they come up with. Once they do that I'll go check out the buildings and see what we're working with," she planned, not looking forward to the work they would be doing and hoping to get it done in the least hands-on way possible.
"That sounds good," he agreed, though sounding somewhat hesitant. "Is there anything I can do?"
"When it comes time to actually paint them you can organize the supplies and help supervise the kids, but I think I've got it for now," she smiled, turning to face him when they came to a stop in front of the art building. "I'll let you know what they come up with."
"Alright," he nodded, still sounding more reserved than usual. "And you're sure you're okay with this whole thing?"
"I'll be fine," she smiled tightly, looking away for a distraction. "It's just a few murals; how hard can it be?"
"That's not what I meant, Clarke," he pushed, trying to catch her eye.
"I know," she looked back at him, letting out a deep breath when she saw just how much worry was laced into his expression.
She didn't say anything else and neither did he, but he continued searching her face until he finally nodded, as if he had found something that she didn't know was there.
"Okay," he complied, reaching out a hand and gently placing it on her shoulder, as if he was trying to communicate something that he didn't want to say. "I'll see you around, Princess."