"Raven, I'm serious, if you tell him, I'll actually kill you."

Clarke woke up to the same sound she fell asleep to, Octavia and Raven arguing. Why they had to do it in her side of the dorm was beyond her, but she was awake now.

"Yeah? Well if he asks me, I'm not going to lie to him."

"Oh, for God's sake what the hell do you think he's going to ask you? 'Raven, what is Octavia's biggest secret?' No!"

Well that just got more interesting. Clarke kept her eyes closed and listened, wondering what had happened last night between them? It didn't seem like anything was amiss when they came home, but then again, Clarke was a bit wrapped up in herself. With that thought, the pressing guilt and loneliness came rushing back, but Clarke swallowed them down.

"I don't know!" Raven shouted

"I don't either!"

"Just, I'm not going to tell lies, is all."

"I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you to keep this to yourself," Octavia was losing steam.

Raven grumbled. "Why'd you even invite me to join you last night if you didn't want anyone to know?"

"I dunno. I didn't want to go alone," Octavia muttered.

"Why? Are you scared of him or something? Octavia?" Raven asked, her voice no longer irritated.

Who were they talking about? Clarke had no idea what was going on, except that Octavia was hiding something, something she didn't want Raven to tell Bellamy.

"No, it's not that. He just gets busy at work sometimes, and I don't like to sit there alone, and you didn't have anything to do after Finn backed out on you-"

"Jackass," Raven cursed.

"Yeah, he's an ass."

Clarke couldn't agree more.

"But that's it, I promise," Octavia said.

"Okay. I had fun, so thanks. And you know I won't tell Bellamy."

"Thanks."

Clarke thought she heard them hug and was glad they met a resolution, even if she didn't know what it was. What was Octavia hiding from Bellamy? It couldn't be that she was at a bar, because they'd said they didn't even drink. They weren't impaired with any other sort of drug when they came home either, so that was out. Clarke was drawing a blank, but she was interrupted from thinking about it any longer as Octavia shook her awake.

"Better wake up, Clarke. Bell said he got us tickets and we're meeting in the lobby at two."

Clarke opened her eyes and yawned. "I thought the game wasn't til 6?"

"It's not but the boys want to go out to eat or something, and Bell says we've got to get there by four so..."

"Four?"

Octavia just shrugged and pulled her phone from her back pocket. "He's crazy about his football. And knowing this group, it's probably good he said so early because we'll be an hour late."

"Yeah, good point." Clarke grabbed her phone as Octavia started yelling for Harper to find a U of M shirt for Monty to wear because Jasper used his to soak up spilled iced tea last night.

She had a couple of texts from Bellamy. He must have replied after she'd fallen asleep.

B: Perfect.

B: I talked to Miller and got us all hooked up in the same row.

B: I'll communicate with Octavia about the plans. C U later, P.

Clarke rolled her eyes at his texting lingo. She knew he only did it to tick her off, which it really didn't. Not anymore, now it was just a joke between them.

C: Sounds good. How much do I owe you?

B: Don't worry about it. And don't reply to this message! I'm warning you, Clarke.

Clarke groaned at Bellamy's instantaneous reply. She'd pay him back sooner or later.

"Clarke!" Harper ran into the room. "Will you let me braid your hair? So we can all match? And look! I even have ribbons to tie the ends with!" She held up several lengths of maroon and sparkly gold ribbon.

Octavia and Raven appeared in the bathroom doorway, Raven vigorously shaking her head and Octavia making a slicing motion across her throat while they both shot pleading looks at Clarke.

Their opinion on the matter was clear, so Clarke smiled and said, "Sure, Harper!"

"Oh, yay! I told Raven and Octavia they wouldn't have to do it if you said no, but she said yes!" She yelled over her shoulder, but the two dark haired girls had disappeared after glaring at Clarke.

"Just let me get dressed quick."

Clarke pulled on her old University of Minnesota t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts, brushed her teeth, and then let Harper brush and braid her hair back in twin dutch braids that wrapped around the sides of her head. The tails of the braids rested on her collarbone, tied with one gold and one maroon ribbon each. The braids made Clarke feel twelve years old, but the delight on Harper's face and the enraged looks on Raven and Octavia's made it worth it.

Clarke forgot all about last night's upsetting feelings as she and Harper attempted to wrangle the other girls. They ran around and around the dorm, in and out of the bathroom and around through the hallway, shoving against locked doors and trying to trap them. They made a last ditch attempt to hide and barrade the bathroom doors, but Clarke and Harper eventually cornered them in the shower when they collapsed into a laughing heap.

Harper got their hair braided into submission and they sulked, but Clarke knew they were all having fun. Raven actually seemed to enjoy having her hair played with, if the placated look on her face was any indication.

It was nearly 2 PM, the designated meeting time, when Harper whipped out the face paint. Octavia was all over it, much to Harper's excitement. Clarke was more reluctant to the idea of becoming Octavia's canvas, and Raven was adamantly opposed.

"There is absolutely no way I'm doing those cliche as hell dots around my eyes! I'll feel like I'm back in high school, surrounded by cheerleader whores!"

Harper and Octavia both turned from the mirror, their guilty faces covered by alternating yellow and maroon polka dots, which snaked from under their left eyes, across the bridges of their noses, to above their right eyebrows.

Clarke cackled as Raven groaned, "You have got to be kidding me."

In the end, Raven agreed to have the M logo painted on each cheek, one in yellow and one in maroon. Somehow, Clarke ended up with both designs.

"C'mon Clarke! Bell is going to have our heads, it's already 2:12!"

"Coming!" Clarke said, stuffing her money and phone into her back pockets. She snagged her jacket off the back of her chair as she hurried out of the dorm and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Run!" Octavia yelled from where she was holding the elevator door. Clarke rolled her eyes and shook her head as she broke into a jog to catch the elevator as Octavia let the door go.

"Harper, did you remember the shirt for Monty?"

"Oh shoot! I knew I was forgetting something!"

"Welp, too late now," Octavia muttered, leading the way out of the elevator.

"Oh no," Harper murmured.

"It's alright," Clarke said, turning to her friend. "I'm sure he at least wore something maroon, or at least red."

"Where the hell did you get those?" Octavia had stopped dead in the middle of the lobby, causing Clarke to run into her. She peered around Octavia to see what she was making a fuss about, and immediately started snickering.

Standing before her were Murphy, Miller, and Bellamy, wearing the most atrocious articles of clothing she'd ever seen: baggy yellow and maroon pinstripe overalls.

Bellamy smirked as Octavia turned her appalled face back at the other three girls, who were all having a good laugh.

"They're game bibs" Miller said, as if it were obvious.

"Bellamy, there is no way I'm going to be seen in public with you looking like that."

"Oh, get over yourself. You look like Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz," Murphy quipped, tracing his fingers down the side of his head where the girls' braids were, and Octavia snapped back.

"At least I don't look like the lovechild of Old McDonald and a circus clown."

"Piss off. Why don't you click your heels and head back to Kansas?"

"Knock it off, you two. 'O', tons of people are going to be wearing stuff like this," Bellamy said reasonably.

"Yeah. He's right. Some guys even wear animal costumes."

"What?"

"That's why they call the student section The Barnyard. They always get on the jumbotron when they dress up like livestock," Monty explained. "Do you have my shirt, Harper?"

Harper shook her head regretfully.

"Out of all the shirts you could have picked, you wore a Badger's jersey?" Raven asked.

"Seriously dude. You're gonna get jumped wearing that around here," Miller said.

Monty looked scared as he defended himself. "Bellamy said to just put on something red or yellow, and this was all I had!"

"I thought it would just be common sense not to wear a Wisconsin jersey to a Minnesota game," Bellamy said.

"You can't very well wear that," Harper fretted, plucking at Monty's sleeves. "I can just run upstairs and see-"

"No! We're already twenty minutes late!" Murphy interjected.

Harper frowned, looking near tears. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. Here, just wear this, Monty." Bellamy unbuckled the fasteners on his overalls and slid his t-shirt off in one fluid motion. He tossed the inside out shirt to Monty and it hit him in the face before dropping down into his hands.

Clarke had to admit she was a bit captivated by the sight of Bellamy's bare chest and stomach.

"Bell! No!" Octavia scolded.

"Relax, 'O'," Bellamy said cooly, refastening one of the straps, meeting Clarke's eye as he did so. She instantly looked away and busied herself fixing the bow on one of Raven's braids to prevent her cheeks from blushing. It didn't work, but hopefully the face paint would disguise the redness.

"Oh, I like that look," Murphy said.

"You keep your clothes on," Octavia growled, and Murphy lifted his lip at her like a rabid dog.

"Okay, let's go," Bellamy said, waving his arms towards the door, herding the group outside into the breezy afternoon. The flag whipped on it's tether, the metal on the rope clanging against the pole with each gust.

Clarke was glad to have her hair braided back or else it would have been at the mercy of the wind, flying out of control all around her face.

"Where are we going?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah, I was wondering that too," Monty said.

"We are going to the one, the only, Buffalo Wild Wings. The only acceptable pregame spot. Complete with over twenty different flavors of chicken wings, the best french fries I've ever had, lots of Bud, and surrounded in flat-screen TVs," Miller said, looking pleased with his spiel.

"Chicken wings?" Octavia groaned.

"Chicken wings are good," Raven said and Murphy high fived her.

"Definitely. Now move," Bellamy gave his sister a little shove and she scoffed at him before starting down the sidewalk.

"Wrong way, 'O'!" Bellamy called after her and she spun on her heel.

"I knew that. Just testing you."

Bellamy rolled his eyes at her antics and followed after her. His bare shoulders were as suntanned and freckled at his face and arms; a clear indication that he spent time outdoors with his shirt off often.

Jasper and Murphy started in on a conversation about Family Guy while Clarke prayed it wouldn't be a repeat of the Hey There Delilah disagreement. They were keeping it civil for now, laughing over some episode they'd both seen once upon a time, back in high school with old friends in another state.

Clarke thought back to her own high school, and life back in Oregon. High school hadn't been the highlight of her life as it had been for some people. She'd mostly kept to herself, even before her dad passed away. After that, she'd become more withdrawn and people just hadn't bothered with her. She'd put her head down, gone to class each day, gotten straight A's, graduated top of her class, and gave a speech at graduation that was devoid of any emotion. It was a generic, we have our whole lives in front of us, go out and live them!, type of speech.

But all that was behind her now, she lived in Minneapolis now, and had a great group of new friends. She was attending the college of her dreams, and was on her way to her first college football game. It was slightly bittersweet, as Clarke always imagined her dad by her side for this moment. He'd been the one who bought her the shirt she was wearing now, several years ago when she'd first discovered the medical program at the U of M, and had fallen in love with the school. That had been only a few months before his accident…

"So, how'd you sleep?" Clarke was startled from her thoughts by Bellamy's voice. When he'd dropped back to walk beside her was beyond her.

"Uh, good," Clarke said lightly, not looking up at him.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked, clearly sensing her quiet mood.

"Nothing."

Bellamy clearly didn't believe her, but Clarke knew he wouldn't press. That made her feel guilty, so she told him.

"Sorry, I was thinking about my dad. We used to watch the Gopher's games together, and I always thought I'd go to my first game with him… but he's not here," Clarke sniffed.

"Oh, Princess." Bellamy looped an arm around her shoulders and it settled in place, the crook of his elbow hugging her shoulder into him, and it just felt so… good.. Clarke wanted to lay her head against his bare chest and let him comfort her, but no. She wasn't going to make him do that. Not anymore.

So she pulled away, even as her body was yearning to lean deeper into his touch, she pulled away.

Bellamy gave pause and his steady walking pace faltered. "I'm sorry, Clarke, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't be," she said quickly. "I'm fine Bellamy, really." Clarke finally mustered the courage to look at his face, which was glowing in the sunlight, highlighting his jawline and the gentle slope of his nose, and bore an upset expression, somewhere between concern and hurt and confusion. He was not making this any easier for Clarke.

"I know you are," he said carefully, as if treading on eggshells now, desperate not to crack them.

Clarke only nodded firmly and turned back around, ensuring their conversation had no onlookers or eavesdroppers. They didn't seem to, everyone else seemed to be caught up in easy chatter or laughter.

Then Bellamy said something that made Clarke freeze. "I'm sure your dad would be proud of you, if he could see you now."

How dare he… Clarke couldn't respond, not that she knew what to say anyway. Clarke would be absolutely mortified if her father knew what had happened to her, and he would most certainly not be proud of the person she had become since college, what with her constant reliance on Bellamy Blake and her difficulty sleeping and her irrational fear of her roommate's boyfriend appearing at any moment. No, he would be sad if anything, maybe even disgusted.

"Clarke, I didn't mean it like-"

"Doesn't matter how you meant it," she said tersely, realizing now that she had stopped walking and jogged a few paces to catch up to the group, Bellamy keeping pace at her side. "This is the only time I've ever been glad that he died, so he never has to find out about any of this."

Clarke couldn't put the thoughts of her father out of her head for the entire meal. She'd sat at the end of the table beside Raven purposely so Bellamy couldn't sit beside her. He deserved time to just be a college guy and joke around with his guy friends and do guy things. Clarke was certain his constant concern over her was preventing him from doing that, and she was determined not to further burden Bellamy's life.

She shared a plate of fries with Raven, tried several different flavors of barbecue sauce, and watched in amusement as Jasper tried to eat a chicken wing slathered in Blazin' sauce, the hottest on the menu, after a dare from Murphy. Clarke figured Murphy just enjoyed seeing others in pain, judging by the look on his face as Jasper begged for mercy while tears streamed down his flushed cheeks.

He found salvation in a glass of ice the waiter brought out, and tried to sooth his scalded tongue for the remainder of the meal, letting the rest of his appropriately seasoned wings be eaten by others with a dejected look on his face as he nursed an ice cube. Monty gave him an earful after laughing at his friend's expense.

Despite Clarke's relative absence from the conversation, the several hours they spent at the restaurant felt more like minutes. She was still feeling a bit upset and conflicted and wanted to keep to herself for now, trying to get herself in order. She really did want to enjoy the game.

It wasn't as if anyone missed her in the conversation; this was a rowdy group, and they received more than a few sideways glances from fellow diners, but Clarke didn't really feel guilty. Who came to Buffalo Wild Wings for an upscale experience? They should have known better than to dine here, especially when the college that was just a few blocks away had a football game today.

Apart from Jasper's unfortunate lost dare, Raven and Murphy got into another heated debate about the scoville scale, Miller whooped loudly at the Clemson Tigers game on the TV, and Octavia complained more than three times to the waiter about her meal.

Time flew by, and before Clarke knew it, Bellamy was herding them towards the door like a chaperon on an elementary school field trip. Jasper grabbed an entire handful of mints from the container on the counter and raced out of the restaurant like a bandit, but no one knew what he had done, so they all ended up running after him, which attracted several more glares.

Despite what the other patrons might have thought, they were not dining and dashing. They had all paid for their meals, after Octavia complained that she didn't know boneless wings were more expensive than traditional ones, and got three dollars knocked off her tab.

On the walk to the stadium, Raven told her about a Minnesota Vikings game she had gone to with Finn a few years ago when he had won tickets at the church raffle. Clarke managed to keep her cool and even respond when appropriate during the entire conversation, which was a definite win in her book, and helped bolster her mood, which was nearly restored by the time they pushed through the heavy metal doors.

Bellamy distributed the tickets he had been carrying, and they made their way through the turnstiles and metal detector, only after Murphy had been pulled aside by a security officer when he said, loudly, "Did you remember to take the pipe bomb out of my back pocket this morning, Miller?" He had received a rather rough pat-down and a stern scolding before he slunk back to the group and got another round of scolding at and an open handed whack on the back of the head from Miller.

"Worth it," Murphy said, rubbing his scalp.

"Where are we going?" Jasper asked. They had grouped loosely along the wall as they waited for Murphy while people thronged around them, all decked out in their maroon and gold, and to Octavia's dismay, several more college guys dressed in game bibs.

Octavia's guess of an hour later than Bellamy's plan was pretty accurate, it was nearly 5 pm by now, and all of the pregame activities on the field were going to start soon.

"Uh, the student section is in the East end zone. We're row 22," Bellamy said, reading off his ticket stub. Clarke glanced down at hers, seeing 22D printed on it.

"This way," Miller said, taking the lead. He'd clearly been here before, and easily led them through the facility. Clarke people watched; her dad used to say there were two places where you could see people from all walks of life: Walmart and the subway. Clarke added professional sporting events to that list, wishing her dad was there in person so she could tell that to him. She imagined the way he'd laugh and nod, then say something sort of cliche like, 'Lets just be glad we ended up in the normal lot. The semi normal lot, that is.'

Bellamy dragged Monty and Jasper away from a food stand, muttering about how they could possibly be hungry, and he wasn't going to have them get lost five minutes in. Clarke thought he looked like a dad, not her dad, but just a dad whose kids were starting to get on his nerves. He held each boy by the shoulder as they whined and dragged their feet while Jasper cried out that he needed an ice cream cone because his tongue was still throbbing.

"Capsaicin will do that to you," Clarke said, coming up beside Jasper. "I'll walk back with you once we find our seats."

"Okay! Did you see the twist cone? It's like a tornado of swirled vanilla and chocolate!" Jasper said, wrenching his arm away from Bellamy. Clarke chuckled as he darted off to inspect a row of framed jerseys hung on the concrete wall.

"I don't know whether they're 18 or 8," Bellamy muttered.

"They're just having fun. Maybe you're just showing your age, old man," Clarke teased.

"I'm barely five years older than the rest of you," Bellamy protested.

"Five years is five years," Clarke said, smirking at him.

"Shut up," he said and Clarke cooed,

"Oh, did I touch a nerve there? Poor Alexander, he's too old for all this tomfoolery."

"I've never heard anyone under 80 say that word."

"What can I say, I'm an old soul."

Bellamy nodded his head, "I can see that."

"Yeah, must be why I can stand to be friends with an old man like you," Clarke laughed.

"Oh, so we're friends again? I was starting to think you were shunning me," Bellamy said, and although his tone was light, Clarke heard the undercurrent of seriousness.

"I was just… having a moment," Clarke said calmly.

"That's okay. I'm still here."

"That's the thing, Bellamy. I-" Clarke fumbled over the words. She doubted that any of their friends could hear them over the din. The concrete walls and floor did little to absorb sound, but this wasn't really the time or the place to have this conversation.

"You what? Don't want me around? Just say so if you don't," Bellamy said and Clarke turned to him, surprised at his expression of genuine hurt.

"No," She said quickly, trying to soothe him. He wasn't supposed to look like that… he was the strong one. "That's not it at all. In fact, it's the opposite."

"You want me around more?" His look slid from upset to cautiously curious.

"No, I want you around just the right amount. The right amount for you, not me. I don't want to be so dependent on you," Clarke explained, finding this conversation a lot easier than she had originally anticipated. "I feel like I'm, I don't know, holding you back from doing what you actually want to do."

"Trust me Clarke, if I was tired of you, I'd let you know."

"Really? You promise to tell me to back off?"

"Yes, I will not hold back, nor will I spare your feelings when I tell you just how annoying I find you, and how I can hardly be in the same room as you, and whenever I'm around you, my skin starts to crawl with disgust."

Clarke giggled and bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth. "Well, okay then."

Someone up ahead exclaimed, "Wow!"

They followed Harper down a few concrete steps, then the field was in full view. The sun shone down brightly on the impossibly green field, branded in vivid color with the University's logo in the center. The end zone was a vibrant maroon, bearing the word MINNESOTA is all capitals like a banner. The stadium was so much larger than Clarke had ever imagined it would be. She remembered reading that TFC Back Stadium could seat over 50,000, but it seemed impossibly huge.

"Trust me, Clarke. There is nowhere else I'd rather be right now," Bellamy said, and Clarke turned to him. Only, his eyes weren't darting around the stadium in amazement as hers were, but fixed firmly on her face.

AN_

Aww, football and The 100! An unlikely duo? I think not. I love football (American football, that is) and grew up on the high school football field with my dad, who was the head coach, and my brothers. An intersection of two of my greatest loves was inevitable in my eyes. :) My oldest brother was a fly back, and his build reminds me a lot of a lot like Bob Morely, haha. Anyways, a bit of personal backstory and a promise of more football in the next chapter, so hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading,

-Birch66724