*Bellamy*
"People do look different when you fall out of love with them."
- Jessica Thompson
Valentine's Day was in a little over a week and I was freaking out. Apparently holidays just really weren't my forte.
It wasn't that I didn't know what to get Clarke. I could think of plenty of presents and dates to make the both of us happy. I guess it was just the fact that I'd never had a significant other on Valentine's Day. Like ever. No candy valentines when I was a kid or even pathetic, lonely hookups. And it had never occurred to me that this was odd until Clarke came along.
"I was kind of a player." Clarke admitted with a laugh, throwing a piece of popcorn in the air and catching it with her mouth.
"So cocky." I replied, pretending that this information didn't make me feel like a complete dork.
We were in the packed sitting area of the local movie theater, contemplating what to do with ourselves. After seeing an incredibly lame movie, we needed something to redeem the night, especially considering it was barely 9 o'clock. Although, I had a feeling that we both wouldn't mind going back home and just sleeping.
"Well, its true!" She exclaimed, "I had a new guy every other week. The only person worse than me was Raven."
"That I can believe."
"That was before we were friends though." Clarke's smile slowly vanished and I understood what she really wanted to say. Before Finn.
"Well I was a dork in high school." I said, pulling her out of the sad thoughts I knew were swirling through her head.
"Oh please, you were ROTC. Isn't that where all the badasses are?"
"God no." I shook my head, remembering the stiff uniforms and false feeling of pride. "That's where all the assholes are. They think they're all high and mighty because they can do more push ups than anyone else." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I got kicked out, remember?"
"That's pretty badass if you ask me."
"No one else thought so." I grinned, ignoring the awkward feeling in my chest. A crease formed between Clarke's eyebrows and it looked like she was about to say something when my phone rang.
Oh no, I thought, doubtfully pulling out my phone. He'd been calling me almost every other day now, saying the same thing. Just thinking of it made me anxious, especially since Clarke started seeming more suspicious. But luckily, the number on my phone was one I didn't recognize.
"Hello?"
"Is this Bellamy Blake?"
"Yes." Clarke raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged.
"Your girlfriend is in the hospital."
My stomach dropped for a moment before I realized that that didn't make any sense.
"My girlfriend?" Clarke's eyes widened and she leaned forward as if she'd be able to hear.
"Yes, Lexa. You're her emergency contact, Mr. Blake. You should come down as soon as possible. She's asking for you."
Clarke wasn't too happy. Even after I explained that Lexa was never actually my girlfriend and that no, I had no idea why I was her emergency contact. She pretended not to be but it was obvious by her brooding silence and the feeling that she could stab me at any moment. We had a long motorcycle ride to the hospital.
All the while, I was worried about Lexa. We were never more than just friends with benefits, if you could even call us friends, but that didn't stop me from being concerned. I knew she could handle herself but that raised the question of why she called for me in the first place. I mean, I hadn't seen her in months, not since before the kitchen fire anyway. Ironically, she was the date that bailed on me, leading me to the blonde across the hall who looked like she wanted to set me on fire all over again.
So we were in a sticky situation. Clarke had never been angry with me and Lexa had never tended to care about me and I had never felt so irresponsible in a serious situation in my life. Walking through that emergency room had me feeling like a doe eyed kid, unsure of every move I made. And it didn't seem that Clarke knew any better. When we finally weaved our way to the nurses station, I considered bursting into tears so that I might have a little more leeway than just blank staring and robotic questions.
"I'm, uh, looking for someone." I said, glancing at the curtain surrounded beds where people of varying degrees of injury were laying. To the left was a young guy with bandages all around his hand, scrolling through his phone and to the right was an older woman speaking quietly with what I guessed was her husband.
"Do you have a name?" The woman at the desk asked, giving me a forced smile. She must've been working for hours judging by the amount of paper coffee cups on her desk and for a moment I considered taking that as a sign to leave altogether. Jesus, I was being such a baby.
"Bellamy! Over here!" As I opened my mouth to give the name, Lexa herself yelled out a few feet away. I didn't know how she could tell it was me since I couldn't see her myself, but I glanced at the nurse who gestured for me to go and Clarke and I hustled away.
Behind a blue and green curtain, reclining in a hospital cot was Lexa, with blood striping her face and a purple bruise under her eye. She couldn't have been there too long since nothing was bandaged or cleaned for that matter and honestly, she looked terrible. I went to tell her that when suddenly Clarke made a noise from behind me.
Lexa's eyes widened, looking over my shoulder. "Clarke." She said firmly, giving my girlfriend a once over.
Clarke did the same, her whole body stiff. "Lexa." She nodded.
"Is there something I'm missing?" I asked hesitantly, looking back and forth between the girls who looked like they were having a duel with their eyes.
"We...uh..." Clarke hesitated.
"Dated."
"Oh."
Why was I even surprised? My life was weird enough. Of course my girlfriend would be the ex of my sort of ex.
"That's not relevant." Lexa said dismissively, finally looking away from Clarke. "Sit down." She nodded to the chair beside her bed.
I went to argue but Clarke swerved around me and took a seat, leaving me to awkwardly brace my hands against the back of the chair and pretend that this wasn't the weirdest thing to happen to me in a while.
"Why did you call me?" I asked, attempting to gain back some leverage. "I haven't seen you in months and apparently I'm your emergency contact."
"You're one of my only exes that wouldn't sock me if they saw me again." Lexa shrugged. "It was strategic."
"Yet you still got socked?" Clarke said
"Precisely."
"How did this even happen?" I demanded, feeling my temperature slowly rise as I watched her stretch out on the bed like this was no big deal. Like I didn't have a life of my own.
"I may have insulted a couple guys. I may have been in a biker bar. They may have had weapons and drank a little less than I did." Lexa shrugged.
"Jesus Christ!" I blew out a huge breath and started pacing, running my hands through my hair. Being with Lexa had been infuriating but I had never been this mad with her. Honestly, I was always afraid to even cross that line. Now though, it was like something snapped inside of me.
"What's your problem?" Clarke asked, spinning around in her chair and giving me a glare. That had me stopping in my tracks. Lexa looked on quietly, her face impassive.
"This is riduculous." I tried keeping my voice calm. "We shouldn't be here right now."
"Bellamy, she's hurt, we can't just leave her."
"She's an adult, Clarke, I think she can take care of herself."
"I'm right here." Lexa lazily waved her hand, "and let me just say that I wasn't asking for you. I was dazed and said something that sounded like Bellamy. And then, because you're my emergency contact, they called you and escalated the entire situation." She sighed and leaned back in her pillows. "Now, I need a drink."
"See." I said, gesturing to Lexa. "Let's just go."
Clarke's eyes turned to ice and she held my stare for a moment. In that time, I thought my whole body might explode with the force of her eyes. "I'm not leaving."
As soon as she said it, my phone started ringing. And of course, it was just who I didn't want to talk to. Lexa glanced at me with a grimace.
"Murphy?"
"Murphy?" Clarke asked.
Oh shit.