C: She's home. Now go to sleep.
B: Yes ma'am. Thanks Clarke.
Bellamy rolled over in bed after glancing at the time: 2:27 am. He was slightly irritated but more than a little relieved after receiving Clarke's text. She had kept her word and informed him about his sister's whereabouts, but it was unfair of Bellamy to even ask.
My sister, my responsibility. The old motto ran its way through Bellamy's tired brain. He wasn't sure he could back off from Octavia completely like this, she was too- too what? Too impulsive and naive, too stubborn and bold and confident. She was barely 18 and had the whole world at her feet, something Bellamy was sworn to protect for her. He had already seen what one bad night could do to a girl…
"Do you think we should wake him up? He's been sleeping for an awfully long time."
"I don't know… Maybe we should just let him sleep."
"What? Scared he'll be mad at you?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"Okay. Glad I'm not the only one, then."
"But if we don't wake him up, there is no way we'll get to the-"
"Get to the what?" Bellamy said harshly, opening his eyes just in time to see Monty and Jasper scamper backwards, tripping over one another.
"Ah, good morning chief," Jasper said with a little wave. Monty offered a tightlipped smile, his eyes darting away.
"What'cha want?" Bellamy asked as his mouth spread in a wide yawn.
"Uh- just to- check in on you?" Jasper said lightly.
"What?" Bellamy wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. "Is something wrong?"
"Not exactly," Monty said slowly, getting Bellamy's heart jumping in his chest. He flung back his blankets and sat up.
"What's wrong, spit it out!" He growled at Monty, feeling only slightly guilty as the smaller boy flinched away. Was it Octavia? Has something happened? Was Clarke okay?
Monty hesitated only a second before his words spilled from his mouth as a gush of syllables. "Octavia has been telling Harper to text me to tell you that you need to wake up and get ready. And then once Jasper heard about it, he wanted to go too, so now I guess I'm going, but really they just want you to go. And it starts in a half hour."
Bellamy stared at Monty blankly for a second before Jasper clarified.
"Intramural dodgeball tryouts! They start at two."
"Dodgeball? Two? Two AM?" Bellamy's brain was still fuzzy around the edges. It was too early for this.
"Two PM," Monty corrected, looking down at the digital watch on his wrist. "Twenty-eight minutes from now."
Things slid into place in Bellamy's mind. He snatched his phone off the nightstand, startled at the nearly 30 messages he had received since he had fallen asleep. Nearly 11 hours ago.
"Why'd you let me sleep so long?" He said to no one in particular, jumping from his warm bed.
"I didn't know you wanted us to wake you up," Monty said lightly.
"Sorry," Jasper said, stepping back as Bellamy moved through the room, flipping on the light and pulling open the blinds.
"No, I-" Bellamy paused, carding his hand through his curls. He opened his phone. Twenty-four of the messages were from Octavia. They were all from over the past four hours, variations of the same idea that Bellamy needed to wake up, text her back, she was coming with him to his dodgeball tryouts, get ready to leave, why wasn't he up yet?, she was coming down there, et cetera, et cetera.
Bellamy groaned and quickly told her he was up.
The remaining four messages were from Clarke. It made his heart rate spike, seeing the little red 4 beside her name. She had never sent him more than one message at a time. Had she needed something while Bellamy was stupidly sleeping the day away? He slid up on her name and scanned the messages.
C: Of course.
C: Do you always sleep this late?
C: Octavia won't stop pestering about this dodgeball thing. I didn't know you were going out for intramurals!
C: Octavia is coming down there if you don't reply to her in 2 minutes. Fair warning.
Only slightly relieved after reading the last message, timestamped one minute ago, Bellamy typed a quick three word response to Clarke and tossed his phone to his bed.
Monty and Jasper were still standing in his room, watching him with wide eyes. They were both dressed in what Bellamy assumed to be their understanding of athletic clothes. Neither of them appeared to be the type to exercise per say.
"Want to borrow some shorts?" Bellamy asked suggestively, nodding at Jasper's khaki cargos and Monty's navy blue sweatpants. The boys looked down at their pants, then at each other, then at Bellamy in perfect unison. It was almost comical how in sync they were.
"You do. You definitely do," Bellamy said decisively, digging out three pairs of basketball shorts, tossing his only pair of size mediums to Jasper. Monty would have to make do with a large.
Bellamy had no more than changed and given his teeth a quick brush when he heard someone pounding on his dorm room door. He inwardly groaned, but thanked Clarke that he had at least a couple minutes of warning.
"Bellamy? Let me in!" Octavia yelled as Bellamy undid the lock. The door swung open, narrowly missing Bellamy's bare feet, and slammed into the wall.
"Goodmorning, O."
"Morning? It's way past noon!" Octavia frowned at him, then her face turned into a glare as she accused him; "You forgot! You completely forgot! I told you we were going to go to this dodgeball thing, and you forgot."
"Slipped my mind," Bellamy mumbled, noticing for the first time the girls in the hall behind Octavia. The whole crew was there, Clarke smiling at him, Raven looking thoughtfully at something on the floor, and Harper turning to greet Jasper or, mainly, Monty, as they exited their own door.
"Ugh." Octavia made a noise and grabbed Bellamy's arm, dragging him into the hall.
"Wait, let me get my shoes." Bellamy wanted to be irritated at his little sister ordering him around, but with Clarke standing right behind her, his mood brightened considerably.
Seconds later, Bellamy was hopping down the hall, trying to get his second tennis shoe over his heel, following the motley group towards the elevator.
"What are you all doing here?" Bellamy asked, stomping his foot to the floor, settling his shoe into place.
"Are you trying out for the team?" Monty asked, somewhat hopefully.
"Heck no!" Harper was quick to say.
"I wasn't going to miss out on the chance to see some people get hit in the face with balls," Raven joked.
"That's what she said!" Jasper said loudly and Monty snickered. Harper made an appalled face, but her eyes were smiling at the two boys.
"I just had nothing better to do," Clarke said easily. She had found her way to Bellamy's side and stayed there as they all stepped into the elevator.
"And I had to come to make sure you went." Octavia slapped Bellamy on the back and he frowned at her.
"Why do you want me to play dodgeball so bad?"
"Because you love dodgeball!" She said, as if the answer was completely obvious. Bellamy had a suspicious feeling about Octavia's motives, but he tried not to think about it. What would it be anyway? It was hard to think in the crowded elevator anyhow, what with Jasper starting to argue with Raven about RAM on his phone, Monty and Harper talking in hushed tones, and Clarke standing right beside him. He glanced down at her, hoping she was feeling alright in the elevator, surrounded by friends as she was. He wasn't sure, as she only stared straight ahead at the sealed doors, her blond waves covering part of her face.
She was the first to exit the car as it came to a halt on the first floor, everyone else tumbling out behind her.
"You know where we're going, O?" Bellamy asked his sister, who nodded confidently, leading the way outside.
"Recreation center."
"The University Recreation and Wellness Center?" Jasper recited like he was a campus tour guide.
"Yes."
"We only have 20 minutes to get there." Monty said in a tone edging on nervousness.
"Relax. We'll be fine," Octavia said, turning around and walking backwards, drawling her words out at the boy. He looked a bit intimidated and Bellamy was amused. "It's only like, half a mile."
Octavia led the way and they fell into pairs behind her on the sidewalk. Monty and Harper followed right after her, and Bellamy saw that Clarke did have a point. They did look pretty cute, what with Harper giggling and turning her face away as Monty flashed a pleased grin whenever he succeeded in making her laugh. Raven and Jasper were still in a heated conversation about phone storage, so wrapped up in technological terms and acronyms they hardly noticed where they were going.
That left Bellamy and Clarke to bring up the rear of the group. Bellamy turned and looked at Clarke, noticing her soft smile as she watched her friends.
"It's nice for Raven to be able to argue with someone who actually understands what she's talking about," Clarke said, noticing Bellamy's attention on her.
Bellamy chuckled softly. "Good for Jasper, too. I'm sure he hasn't talked to anyone besides Monty since he came to the U of M."
"Hmm. But hey!" Clarke spoke up, whacking Bellamy on the shoulder with the back of her hand, "When were you going to tell me about this whole dodgeball thing?"
Bellamy rubbed his shoulder. "Ouch." Clarke rolled her eyes at him. "To be honest, I didn't even know I was going to go through with this until-" He checked his wrist for a watch that didn't exist. "- nine minutes ago."
"Bellamy!" Clarke giggled. "The way Octavia made it sound, it seemed like you've had your heart set on playing intramural dodgeball since the day you were born."
"I mean, I suppose I have. There's nothing quite like throwing balls. And catching balls. And getting hit with balls... You know, I think I've changed my mind." Bellamy stopped in his tracks.
Clarke laughed, reaching back and grabbing him by the wrist, securly looping her arm through his, as if to keep him right by her side. Bellamy was pleasantly surprised by her action, especially when she didn't drop her arm back to her side, but left it there, loosely clutching his bicep as they continued down the sidewalk. Bellamy marvelled at the fact that this was the first time he remembered Clarke initiating contact between them when she wasn't in a state of distress. Was it that she was recovering from her experience, or that she just felt so at ease with Bellamy she was comfortable doing it?
They didn't speak the rest of the way, but Bellamy didn't mind. The sun was warm on his face and it was catching in Clarke's hair, making it glow like a golden crown around her head. The wispy strands brushed against his arm and neck, teased by the wind. It tickled, but Bellamy didn't want Clarke any farther away. She felt just so right on his arm, walking like they were a couple.
The feeling ended all too soon, with Clarke dropping his arm as they arrived at the front of the complex. It was an impressive building that Bellamy had been to a few times before. He wanted to get back into his workout routine, but things had just been so hectic this first week of school. Besides, the first time he was planning to go, Clarke was baking a cake. The choice between the two activities was nonexistent really.
Raven, ever observant Raven, caught Bellamy's eye as Clarke caught up to her. He knew Clarke's roommate had her suspicions about the pair of them. Bellamy wasn't going to confirm nor deny any questions she might ask. Perhaps it would be a protection to Clarke, if Raven thought they were dating?
She didn't look upset or disapproving. If anything, she looked faintly amused as she gave Bellamy a wink and turned, her long ponytail swishing behind her as she held the door open for Clarke, who was rushing ahead, her attention caught by something.
Bellamy paused a moment as he was apprehensive. Maybe he shouldn't let Raven go on believing something that wasn't true?
"Hurry up Bell!" Octavia jarred him from his musings. "You need to sign in at this table or something."
Bellamy jogged into the building and across the foyer, feeling the rush of air conditioning wash over his body from the large vents above the door.
"This is an awfully big room to be run on a mini-split system," Raven commented, much to Jasper's disagreement. He looked up from the registration table and shot a glare at her.
Bellamy was quick to tune out their second geek argument and focus instead on the clipboard thrust into his hands. He started to fill out the basic information with Octavia hovering at his shoulder. Harper got Jasper back on track with his registration form, chiding Raven for engaging him. Raven smugly grinned and folded her arms over her chest.
A moment after Bellamy handed the completed form back to the guy behind the table, they were approached by a pair of guys.
"Hey, did you guys know you need to have a five person team to get into the gym?" A young man asked, the question clearly directed at Bellamy. Bellamy had noticed over the years that people always gravitated towards him as the natural leader of whatever group he was in.
"Oh. Guess not." Bellamy, straightening up, glancing around at his sundry crew. Jasper and Monty were hovering behind him, and the girls were loosely grouped around a table a dozen yards from where they were.
The man shrugged. "We didn't either."
"Get to the point, Miller," The second guy spoke up, pushing the first man to the side and asking, "Do you want to join up or not?"
Bellamy was slightly taken aback by his brusque tone, but appreciated his directness. He turned and glanced back at the pair behind him. Monty was looking hesitantly at the guy, but Jasper nodded his head.
"Sure," Bellamy said.
"Great," The second guy said, sounding bored. "I'm Murphy. John Murphy. And this idiot is Nate Miller."
Miller glared at Murphy and said, "Glad to have you. We'd better get going though, we'll have time for introductions later."
Bellamy nodded and followed him as he started down the corridor, towards the gymnasium. They walked past the girls, who looked up and followed along. Harper and Octavia were in a fit about something, giggling and slumping into each other. Bellamy raised a brow at Clarke in question. Her only response was a good-nature eyeroll and a friendly shove to Octavia, who had bumped into her.
Then, Bellamy watched Clarke's face shift. He followed her gaze to see her eyes locked on Murphy, who was walking ahead of him. She looked confused, then concerned as she watched him, and Bellamy dropped back to be beside her. He wanted to be there, just in case something had upset her.
"I'm fine," Clarke quickly clarified, upon Bellamy's arrival.
He wasn't sure if he wanted to press the issue or not. Clarke's feelings were a sensitive subject and Bellamy was still learning how to navigate. If he asked questions, and they only served to further upset her, then he would be the bad guy.
In the end, it was Clarke who decided for him, again.
"I was just trying to think of where I knew him from. I've seen him before. Heard his voice. But I couldn't place it until just now," she explained. "What's his name? Something with an M, right?"
"Yeah, Murphy."
"Murphy!" Clarke exclaimed, a little too loudly. The boy in question turned over his shoulder at the sound of his name. Clarke flushed red and apologized, but Murphy seemed to have the same realization that Clarke had.
"Hey! You're the girl from the elevator!" He said, pointing at her like he'd made a grand discovery. "Remember? Last week, I don't know what day, but you were moving in. With that real dopey looking guy, with the long hair."
Now Bellamy knew why Clarke's face had paled at the sight of Murphy. The association to-
"Finn?" Raven asked curiously.
"I dunno his name," Murphy shrugged. "I just know I nearly ran him over, because Miller here stole my Hot Pocket!"
"Heaven forbid. Was it pepperoni? Because then we have a real crime on our hands," Bellamy said, trying to get the subject off Finn.
Raven was uninterested in the flavor of the Hot Pocket though. "Is that the first time you met Finn? He told me about that, that some jackass came flying out of the elevator and broke your basket."
Bellamy swallowed, thinking desperately on how to spin this conversation for the protection of Clarke.
"Yes," Clarke answered quietly.
"Hey now! The real jackass of the situation is the Hot Pocket thief," Murphy protested.
"I have to side with Murphy on this one, but do answer Bellamy's question. Was it pepperoni?" Jasper asked, invested.
"It was four meat."
"Gah!" Jasper cried out like he'd be struck, falling dramatically into Monty, who caught him under the arms, supporting his limp body. "Miller, you're a monster!"
Monty nodded, pushing Jasper off of himself, into Miller, who struggled to grab hold of the gangly boy. For the second time, Bellamy was glad for the boys' antics. Both times, it was for the benefit of Clarke. He glanced down at her now, and she was smiling faintly at the scene in front of her, despite her pale face.
"Sorry. But a man's gotta eat," Miller said. After righting Jasper, he looked amused at this new group of friends he'd stumbled into.
"No excuses. The Royal Court of College Boys demands you pay your fee in full, to one John Murphy." Jasper decreed with a finger in the air.
"My fee?"
Monty continued where Jasper left off, the pair of friends so in sync with one another. "Yes, the fee for Theft of Hot Pocket is double the amount of the item stolen. So, you stole one Hot Pocket, you must repay Murphy with two Hot Pockets."
"Two?"
"Ah ha! I knew this would come back around to my favor!" Murphy cried, shaking Miller by his shoulders.
"Whatever man. A box of Hot Pockets is like, two bucks."
"I'm a broke college student! Free food is free food," Murphy said easily. Bellamy remembered Clarke saying the same thing to him last night, when they were talking about going to grocery bingo.
"Wait, are we going to get done in time for grocery bingo?" Bellamy asked the whole group.
"Yeah, I was counting on getting a box of granola bars," Monty said.
"We'll be fine if you just hurry up and get in there!" Octavia said commandingly, herding the boys towards the gymnasium door. They allowed themselves to be pushed, taking in the scene before them in the large space. Groups of people stood around, gathered mainly around a table in the center of court, talking and laughing.
"Where do we try out?" Monty asked, confused.
"Oh, this is intramurals," Miller said, unhelpfully. Bellamy was a little fuzzy on the terminology of college sports. This was obviously not a pro-level team, but there were different levels of sports that you could just play for fun. Intramurals and club sports.
"What's that mean?"
"It's just for fun. There are games on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays," Miller continued.
Monty glanced around. "I thought we had to like, audition."
"Audition? This isn't some theatre production," Murphy said in a crass tone.
"Wait, you mean we don't get to see you guys get reemed in the face today?" Raven was clearly disappointed.
"Oh no. You will," Murphy grinned. "The first tournament starts at 2:30, to get all of the teams seeded, so then they can make weekly brackets."
"Seeded? Like a garden?" Jasper said with disdain. Bellamy looked at him, utterly dumbfounded. Murphy fixed him with a stare that then slid to Bellamy reading, 'Is this guy stupid or what?'
"I take it you didn't play too many sports growing up," Bellamy said, suppressing his laugh. He noticed Clarke's bemused look as well, She hadn't left his side since Finn's name had been mentioned in the hall.
"Or play any," Murphy groaned.
"I still don't get it," Jasper pouted.
"It's like, a number of how good your team is. The best team is the highest seed, or the 1 seed, and the lowest seed is the worst seed. Then they match up the best team with the worst team, to weed out the losers," Clarke started explaining. "So like in the March Madness tournament, the 1 seed plays the 16 seed, then the 2 seed plays the 15 seed and so on. The games of the closer seeds are usually more competitive. The 1 seed and 16 seed games are usually blowouts." Bellamy was thoroughly impressed with the Princess. He didn't take her as a college basketball fan, but she was full of surprises it seemed.
Everyone else seemed to have the same reaction, and Bellamy could swear he saw Murphy drooling. But Clarke wasn't done dazzling them, seemingly enjoying the fact that she had them all stupefied.
"Bonus points to any who can tell me the only 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed," she beamed.
"2018, Virginia lost to UMBC!" Murphy cried out, throwing his hand in the air like Clarke was a teacher who would call upon him.
"Very good Murphy!" she praised him. "Now, extra bonus points to whoever can tell me UMBC's mascot?"
Bellamy smirked to himself, watching Murphy's face fall at the realization that he didn't know the answer.
"UMBC retrievers beat the University of Virginia Cavaliers by exactly 20 points before going on to face Kansas State."
Clarke turned her warm smile on him. "Excellent, Bellamy!"
"Okay! Enough trivia. This is dodgeball, not football," Octavia interrupted.
"Basketball," Bellamy said at the same time as Clarke and Murphy. They all three smirked at one another.
"Whatever. Go sign in!" She shoved Bellamy towards the table at the middle of the court.
Miller called after him, "Wait, we'll need a team name!"
Bellamy turned back around to face the group and Jasper piped up immediately.
"The Delinquents."
A beat passed.
Even Monty was looking at Jasper like he had sprouted a second head.
"The Delinquents?"
"Have you ever committed a crime in your life, Jasper?" Miller asked, doing the nest to hide his expression from him.
"I jay-walked once, in front of the library," Jasper said meekly, taking note of the faces surrounding him.
Murphy started cackling and soon they had all joined in. Jasper turned red in the face and started laughing along, whether as an attempt to save face or simply because he found it humorous, Bellamy wasn't sure.
"I'm not against it. I've got nothing better." Bellamy said, watching the other three boys shrug and nod.
"The Delinquents it is."