5 YEARS LATER

Lincoln led the way down the aisle of the plane with Bellamy following behind. The two were on their way to Los Angeles from Texas. They had gone back to Texas to spend a couple of days with their old teammates.

"Are you sure they're not going to mind that I came along with you?" Lincoln asked his friend as they put their bags in the carryon compartment.

"Positive. We're on offseason and as far as they're concerned I'm not headed back home for another couple of weeks. They'll be happy I'm there and they've never been upset to have another person hanging out," Bellamy grinned.

The two sat down in their seats and waited for the plane to takeoff. Bellamy was excited to surprise Marcus and Abby for their anniversary. They two had eloped last year after talking to him, Octavia and Clarke. All three had been more than happy with the idea. Abby said she had already done the whole wedding thing once in her life and she wanted to just make things official. She had no desire to have a big celebration and she also knew Clarke was more comfortable not having to attend a wedding.

When Octavia had called her brother to tell him she thought Marcus was developing feelings for Abby Bellamy thought she was overthinking things. Marcus had been one of Jake's best friends and it made Bellamy uneasy to think that Marcus liked Abby. He had immediately called Clarke and asked her what she thought. Clarke informed Bellamy that her mother was clearly swooning over Marcus. Bellamy had asked Clarke what she thought about the situation and he swore he could hear her smiling through the phone, "For the first time since my dad died I can see her being happy. He makes her laugh and I realized that I had forgotten what that noise sounded like," Clarke said.

At Bellamy's first game as a Padre Octavia and Marcus were in the stands. They watched him play his first major league game and after they went to dinner with him. Marcus talked about Abby and Bellamy understood what his sister had said. He could see the way Marcus' eyes lit up when he talked about her. Even though the three kids had noticed the chemistry between their parents the adults kept each other at an arm's distance.

Octavia had taken it upon herself to get the two on a date. Her and Clarke parent trapped the two and when they came back home the girls bombarded them with questions. Clarke wasn't going to let her mom miss out on being in love again and Octavia wanted Marcus to be with someone who loved him. It didn't take much convincing from the girls to get the two to start dating exclusively.

was going to be their first wedding anniversary and Octavia had suggested they do something for it. Bellamy had convinced her that he was doing some endorsement things and wouldn't be able to make it. He promised her he'd send them a gift though. She was content with that answer.

After moving to Texas he rarely came home even though he had planned on being home often. Being in the minor leagues didn't pay as well as he anticipated it would and he had to work during the offseason. He had worked in the oil field making a decent hourly rate, enough to pay the bills and save a bit. Marcus and Octavia had gone to a few of his games and Clarke had even tagged along to one of them. Once in a while he would face time with his family.

The last year had been a whirlwind though. He had been signed to the Padres with Lincoln. Lincoln and him packed their bags and moved to San Diego. They spent all of their free time training and the rest of their time was spent playing baseball. There was no time to see his family even though they lived a couple of hours away. They had come to a few of his home games and that was much as he saw them. He was eager to be with them for more than a few hours.

Octavia had finished up school with a degree in business management and Clarke was still attending medical school. She was taking after her mother and excelling in the courses. Bellamy talked to the girls often, the three of them in a group chat so they could keep up with each other's lives. It was hard to keep up with everyone's lives but Bellamy tried his best to do so. He had numerous group chats on his phone so he could still know what was happening with everyone.

His friends were working jobs and making lives for themselves. Some were dating girls he had never met and others like Murphy were still with the same girl. Bellamy was eager to see Murphy and Emori. He hadn't spent time with them since before Emori had their baby. Everyone had been shocked when Emori announced her pregnancy but Murphy had apparently taken to the role of father easily. Octavia and Clarke would often gush about how cute Cooper was and how he was starting to talk more. The smallest Murphy was supposedly just like his father, and Bellamy couldn't understand how it was possible for a one year old to have as much of a bad attitude as John.

"So what's the plan for tonight?" Lincoln looked at Bellamy.

"It is Halloween, so I figured we should go out tonight. There is a country bar near Marcus and Abby's house."

"A country bar," Lincoln nodded.

"Figured we should stick to what we know," Bellamy smirked.

"And what are we going to wear to the country bar? Are people going to be dressed up?"

"Most likely there will be people dressed up," Bellamy shrugged.

"Should we go in our uniforms?"

"Great idea," Bellamy chuckled, "We'll be able to keep to ourselves walking around in our Padres jerseys."

"Figured it'd get us some free drinks," Lincoln smirked.

"It might. But I'm just going in normal clothes. Maybe I'll put on some boots."

"How festive."

"I'm not going to make myself stick out in a bar. I want to go to the bar and hang out. Have a few drinks them make our way back to the house. If Abby and Marcus are sleeping they'll just wake up and I'll be there."

"You think Octavia is going to be mad that you didn't tell her you were coming home," Lincoln asked. He had never met the younger Blake but he had heard stories about her.

"She'll get over it if she does get mad."

Clarke curled her long blonde hair as Octavia sat in front of the mirror touching up her makeup. The two had decided last minute to not let the night go to waste. They would scrounge up some costumes and head out. Octavia began digging through her closet to find something for each of them to wear. She began tossing out different dresses and pieces of clothing that could make a costume. Clarke went through the pile and grabbed the blue Padres jersey with the name Blake written across the back.

"I'm going to go as Bellamy," she laughed.

"Then you need to put a hat on that hair," Octavia grinned and threw one at her, "Wear it backwards."

"Oh yes, you're brother is forever turning his hat around."

Clarke went to the mirror and put the hat on backwards. Octavia threw some eyeblack at her and she put a mark under each eye. She fixed the front pieces of her hair and put the jersey on. It was just long enough to cover the pair of shorts she had on. She went over to the closet and grabbed a pair of black cowboy boots.

"Boots?" Octavia raised an eyebrow.

"We're still going to a country bar," Clarke winked.

"I'll wear boots too."

Octavia grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a jean button-up shirt as well. She knew there was a red bandana somewhere in her closet. After digging it out she put on the shorts and shirt. She left her hair down and put the bandana on like a headband.

"Rosie the Riveter. I like it," Clarke grinned. "Here's your boots," Clarke handed the shoes to Octavia.

"Thank you ma'am."

"No problem."

Clarke went to Octavia's bed and began putting the extra clothing away. Octavia's room had been rearranged when Abby and Marcus got married. The couple decided that they would live in Marcus' house because it was bigger and would fit all of them comfortably. Octavia's room was the perfect size for the two girls to share. Neither of them had felt comfortable taking Bellamy's room. If they had moved and someone took their room they weren't sure how'd they feel about it, so his room was left alone. That way he'd always have a spot when he was at home.

The girls went down the stairs, their boots clicking with each step they took. Marcus and Abby were sitting on the couch watching TV together and listening for the doorbell to ring. The neighborhood was filled with little kids in costumes and Abby was glad she bought the extra bag of candy.

"Where are you two off to?" Abby looked the girls over.

"To go dancing," Octavia smiled.

"And drinking, I'm sure," Marcus smirked.

"You saying we can't dance sober," Clarke crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's exactly what he's saying," Abby giggled.

"You know I'm not that bad at following along. I just need a guy who can lead."

"Sure," Marcus grinned, "You better have shorts under that thing."

"I do," Clarke lifted up her shirt.

"So here we have a Rosie the Riveter and a baseball player?" Abby asked the girls.

"Rosie the Riveter, yes," Octavia said, "Baseball player, no."

"If she isn't a baseball player what is she?" Abby cocked her head to the right.

Marcus looked Clarke over. She had a blue Padres jersey on and a Padres hat on that she was wearing backwards. Under her eyes was eye black. He burst out into laughter and Clarke gave him a devilish grin.

"What?" Abby asked as Marcus continued to laugh.

"She's Bellamy," he gestured towards Clarke.

"Oh my gosh," Abby chuckled.

"I think she looks just like him," Octavia smirked.

"She's almost got it down," Abby grinned, "I think he has more freckles than you do."

"I can always add some," she smirked. Clarke's phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her shorts pocket. "But it appears I don't have time to do that. Our Uber is here."

"We will see you guys either late tonight depending on how long you crazy kids stay up or we'll see you in the morning," Octavia smiled.

"Have fun," Abby said and the girls nodded.

"And be safe," Marcus added before they walked out the door.

"We will be," Clarke said before shutting the door.

"And just like that they've grown up," Abby sighed.

"Are you feeling nostalgic?" Marcus grinned.

"They grew up too fast."

"They're still kids. They live at home. That alone means they're still kids."

"Well then I hope they live at home a bit longer," she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Bellamy walked into the Bar with Lincoln and Lincoln took everything in. People were everywhere, at tables, on dance floors, at the bar, in line to get drinks, some were just standing around. The building was two stories with a bar on each floor. Upstairs were three pool tables as well as more tables and even another dance floor. A country bar of this size was not what Lincoln expected to find in Southern California. A couple of girls walked by the men and Lincoln looked them over.

"Cuties everywhere here," Lincoln nudged his friend.

"Why do you think we came here?" Bellamy smirked.

The men made their way upstairs to the bar to get a couple of drinks and start a tab. Upstairs the bar was slower and they didn't have to worry about waiting in line. Bellamy handed Lincoln his beer and the two found a table near the railing of the balcony. They could look down at the main dance floor from their seats. Everywhere they looked there were people dressed in Halloween costumes, most of them were girls but a few boys had dressed up as well. A brunette walked past Lincoln and to the bar. He watched as she quickly ordered a drink and went back downstairs. From his spot on the balcony he saw her walk over to a table where another girl sat. He smirked when he saw the Padres jersey that the other girl was wearing.

"Seems you have a fan," he said to Bellamy and pointed out the girl in the jersey. Bellamy looked out into the crowd and spotted a jersey with his last name on it. He could tell that the girl wearing it was blonde and her friend was a brunette. They had their backs to the balcony.

Octavia gave the boy in front of her a friendly smile as she politely turned him down. He left the girls and went to find someone else to dance with. Clarke sipped her drink to keep herself from laughing.

"Stop," Octavia swatted at her, "There was no way I was going to dance with him. He looked twelve!"

"He did look twelve," Clarke nodded.

"How is it that you always seem to end up with the attractive guys hitting on you?"

"I don't," Clarke laughed, "I've danced with one person here and he was guaranteed sixty years old."

"At least you've danced!"

"You had a chance to! You just turned the poor kid down."

"Yeah, yeah," Octavia rolled her eyes.

"The next song that comes on I'll dance with you."

"What if it's a two step or the cowboy cha cha?"

"Then I'll be the boy," Clarke smiled.

"Let's hope it's a line dance then," Octavia chuckled.

The band finished their song and before they started the next one they told two steppers to find partner. Clarke stuck her hand out to Octavia and Octavia laughed before taking it and being led through people.

"At least I can get behind this song," Octavia said as she put a hand on Clarke's shoulder.

"Does tequila make your clothes fall off?" Clarke wiggled her eyebrows.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Octavia laughed, "Remember it's two steps forward and one step back."

"I know what a two step is," Clarke huffed as she stepped forward with her left foot and Octavia followed. The girls took another step forward and then one back. "Told you I could two step!"

"Just don't try to get fancy Griffin. The minute you try to spin me I'll end up knocking another couple over."

"That happened one time," Clarke laughed.

Lincoln caught a glimpse of the brunette on the dance floor with her blonde friend. The blonde tried to lead and would miss a step every so often. He grinned and glanced over at Bellamy who was talking to a girl. The girl rested her hand on Bellamy's arm as she talked with him. Lincoln went back to watching the girls and chuckled when the blonde tried to spin her friend. They tripped over each other's feet while they tried to get back into the rhythm of two stepping again.

"And your friend's name?" The girl asked Bellamy.

"Lincoln," he responded. The minute the girl had walked over he had a feeling she was trying to just work up the nerve to talk to Lincoln.

"Is he single?" The girl lowered her voice.

"He's actually not," Bellamy gave her a soft smile. Lincoln was pining over the brunette downstairs and Bellamy knew he wasn't going to give the girl in front of him any of his attention.

"Bummer," she said, "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," he nodded and she turned around to go back to her friends.

"I think I'm going to go save her from her friend," Lincoln turned to Bellamy then looked back down at the dance floor. Bellamy searched down below to find the brunette and her blonde friend again. The brunette laughed at something her friend said and threw her head back.

"No shit," Bellamy jumped up from his seat.

"What?" Lincoln cocked his head to the side.

"That's O," Bellamy had a smile plastered to his face.

"Your sister?" Lincoln's eyes widened.

"Yeah!"

"Maybe I shouldn't try to save her from her friend then," Lincoln took a gulp from his beer.

"No. You should definitely go save her. I'm almost positive that's Clarke. No one else leads as terribly as Clarke does," he chuckled.

"You gave the okay," Lincoln finished his beer.

"Let me just grab a drink real quick."

Lincoln followed Bellamy to the bar and Bellamy ordered a shot of tequila. The men went down the stairs and Bellamy found a table off to the side of the dance floor. He watched as Lincoln went over to the girls and asked if he could cut in. Octavia looked to Clarke and she nodded furiously. He swore he could see Octavia blush as she took Lincoln's hand. Clarke spun around and walked towards Bellamy's direction when she got off of the dance floor. As she stepped past him he said, "Tequila, Princess?"

Clarke paused and looked over to Bellamy. He smirked as he held the shot out to her. Her mouth dropped open and she let out a squeal before tackling him. Bellamy quickly raised his hand up so she wouldn't spill the liquor on both of them.

"Holy shit," Clarke beamed as she pulled away from him to look at him.

"You taking this shot or do I have to wait for O to come over here and drink it?"

"Stop being a smartass for a second," she smiled and hugged him again, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"At this bar or home?"

"Both!"

"I came home to surprise you guys. Figured I couldn't miss Marcus and Abby's first anniversary. And I decided to take Lincoln out for a night before getting stuck at home with you guys."

"Shut up. You love being home with us," Clarke released him from her death grip and took the shot out of his hand. She threw it back easily and handed the glass back to him.

"What have I missed?" His eyes widened when he noticed taking the shot had no effect on her.

"When you sit in class full time learning about diseases and human anatomy sometimes when you get home you need to pound a few shots to relax," she grinned.

"That's just what I want to hear. That you and O are drinking ridiculous amounts of liquor when you've got free time."

"Not everyone can go of and be some big shot like you. Mister baseball star."

Lincoln walked off of the dance floor with Octavia when the song ended. She still held his hand in hers and followed him to a table. Clarke was excitedly talking to Lincoln's friend. When she got close enough to them she realized Clarke wasn't talking to some random guy she was talking to Bellamy. She dropped Lincoln's hand and stared at her brother.

"Bellamy fucking Blake," Octavia stopped in front of him.

"Good to see you too," he grinned, "I see you've met my friend Lincoln."

"You ass, you could've told me you were home," she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a bone-crushing hug.

"If I told you I was home I would've missed out on running into you two here."

"Whatever," she smiled.

"So you're the pitcher," Clarke looked over at Lincoln.

"That's me," he nodded.

"And your name is Lincoln, correct?" Clarke asked and Lincoln nodded again. "Did you know you're actually my favorite player? You have been since you guys were Chihuahuas."

"What?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow.

"Ass," Bellamy shoved Clarke and she gave him a devilish grin, "She told me when I left for Texas that I actually wasn't her favorite player cause she didn't know who else was on the team. She decided you were her favorite player since you're a pitcher."

"Been my favorite player since," Clarke smirked.

"Then why're you wearing a Blake jersey?" Lincoln grinned.

"I'm not just wearing a Blake jersey," Clarke stood next to Bellamy and stood on her tiptoes to put her arm over his shoulders, "We're twins tonight. I'm being Bellamy today."

"She was even gonna add some freckles but the Uber got to the house before she had a chance," Octavia chuckled.

"The freckles would've really pulled the costume together," Lincoln shook his head.

"I know," Clarke hung her head down, "I just ran out of time."

"Get away from me," Bellamy pushed her away from him. "And I wear pants with my jersey," he glared at her.

"I've got shorts," she pulled up the shirt, "Your father wouldn't let me out of the house if I didn't."

"Good. Can't have you two running around like a couple of harlots."

"Shut up," Octavia laughed, "Lincoln. You should buy me a drink."

"What?" Lincoln froze. No girls were ever forward with him, they just followed his lead.

"You heard the girl. Get her a drink," Clarke motioned to the bar. Lincoln looked over at Bellamy for permission and Bellamy shrugged his shoulders while he grinned.

"While he gets her a drink you're going to come dance with me," Bellamy grabbed Clarke's hand. She followed him through the bar and found herself standing in front of him. Her right hand holding his left while her left hand rested on his shoulder. His right hand found its way to her left hip and she could feel the heat radiating off of it.

It was easy for her to get over Bellamy when he wasn't home. He was all over the country being a baseball player. His name was said on ESPN and jerseys had his last name printed on them. Fans of the Padres knew who he was and even some people who weren't fans did. He was good at his craft, more than good. She was at home studying and trying to find time to have a social life. Her fondness for him had subsided after he left for Texas, but having him stand in front of her and so closely to her made her teenage feelings resurface.

Bellamy led her around easily. Clarke was never good at leading when it came to dancing but she could follow. "And I'm going to spin you out then back in," Bellamy looked down at her and she nodded. She spun in front of him then back towards him and he grabbed her other hand again before going back into the steps.

Clarke had grown up since the last time he saw her in person. Her schedule was more hectic than Octavia's and she took classes over the summer. Octavia would drive down to San Diego once in a while to visit him, but Clarke was always busy studying for some paper or test. He'd seen her over face time calls but it had been almost a year since he saw her in person. Her hair was longer and blonder and her skin was almost porcelain, most likely from all of her time spent in classes. He could still picture her at eighteen. Her eyes still hid the pain from recently losing her dad. But the blue eyes he looked into currently had a spark in them. She was a pretty girl when she was a college freshman but the twenty-three-year-old in front of him was stunning.

It was easy to leave her when he was young and starting to follow his dreams. If he could feel the chemistry between them before he left for Texas he may have never left. Her standing so close to him and dancing with such ease with his direction made his heart start to beat faster. Clarke was something else, he always knew it, but seeing her up close under the dim lighting in the bar made him wonder how long he had been missing out on her. He had never said anything to her about his feelings when they were younger so he never knew how she felt about him. But the six years also felt like such a big gap between them. Now the six years felt miniscule.

Clarke spun back into him as the music ended. She smiled up at him, "Thank you, Bell."

"Anytime, Princess."

"Is that what they teach you in Texas?"

"What?"

"How to dance so you can get the girls?"

"I guess," he chuckled.

"Cause the baseball thing. It's really not that attractive. You get off the field and smell like butt," she smirked.

"Shut up," he shook his head and grinned.

Octavia opened the front door of the house and the four quietly stepped inside. The kicked off their boots at the door and headed into the kitchen. Clarke had mentioned that there was pizza in the fridge from last night. She hopped up onto the counter and Octavia followed suit and sat next to her. Their legs dangled from where they sat while Bellamy grabbed the pizza from the fridge and put it on the table. They each grabbed a slice and whispered to each other.

"Marcus," Abby shook his shoulder. She had heard an explosion of laughter come from downstairs and swore it sounded like there were boys over.

"Hmm," he mumbled with his eyes still shut.

"I think the girls are home."

"Okay."

"I think there are boys with them."

Marcus opened his eyes and tried to hear any male voices. There was whispers coming from downstairs and it seemed to be more than just Clarke and Octavia.

"I'll go see," he kissed Abby before sitting up in bed.

"I'll come with. I swear if they brought boys home," Abby turned to look at the clock, "At two in the morning."

"We'll ground them."

The couple went down the stairs and could see that the kitchen light was on. The whispers were more audible and it was clear that a couple of them were men.

"Octavia, Clarke," Marcus said before he entered the kitchen.

"You guys know you're not supposed to bring boys home," Abby went to turn the corner with Marcus right behind her.

"Even me?" Bellamy asked as the two came into the kitchen.

"Bellamy!" Abby smiled and walked over to give him a hug.

"Surprise," he chucked.

"What are you doing here," Marcus went over to hug him as well.

"Figured I'd surprise you guys for your anniversary."

"Well we're surprised," Abby grinned.

"This is my buddy Lincoln. He came out here for a few days with me before he heads back down to San Diego," Bellamy motioned to his friend.

"Nice to meet you," Marcus shook his hand.

"We've heard lots about you," Abby hugged Lincoln.

"Good things I'm hoping," Lincoln smiled.

"If they're hearing things from Bell it's bound to be about how much you suck and how your pitching blew the game," Octavia smirked as the pulled a piece of pepperoni off Clarke's pizza and popped it into her mouth.

"I told you she's not sweet," Bellamy raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"Octavia," Abby scolded her and laughed, "She's kidding. We've heard all good things about you. And it's a pleasure to have you here for a few days."

"Thanks for letting me be here," Lincoln nodded.

"You two can have Bellamy's room. There is a bed in there and a couch. You can kick Bellamy to the couch," Marcus said.

"I'm feeling very welcome in my own home," Bellamy looked at Marcus.

"As you should," Marcus grinned.

Honest feedback, did the time jump work? Or not at all? Love it or hate it?