Hey there,
Given the current state of the world and the fact that tomorrow is my birthday, I decided I'd not only push updates for my current published stories but give you two new ones! That's right, I now have four published works up and a fifth in the starting process. They are all a little different, so if you like my style feel free to dive into a new read. One of the two new reads is a canon divergent intended to be a bit more dramatic. And the last is another modern AU that I am very excited about writing, but won't spill much about. ;)
Please, be safe. Stay sane and enjoy life as best you can in these times. I hope me adding some chapters is keeping you somewhat entertained.
Winter faded out into the colorful bloom of an infinite amount of flowers. Snow showers gave way for frequent rain showers that would wash away the yellow dusting on vacant cars and life just seemed to come alive from the previous more dormant months. That meant it was time to dust off the old and bring in fresh air which is exactly what the girls were doing. The apartment was all but turned inside out. Even the hallway outside their front door was being used.
"Stop dripping paint you idiot!" Raven's voice cracked over the music pumping through the apartment and her target rolled his eyes.
"I am not dripping." He indignantly replied, but her cold stare guided him to the droplets of paint on the tarp at his feet.
"Oh real- Hey! Don't step in it." She rushed to push him and he left a footprint in a light brown paint on the tarp.
"Oh." Murphy sounded defeated.
"Yeah, oh, you dingus. Take your socks off and put the roller down. You're off duty indefinitely."
"So bossy." Murphy goaded her but complied with her requests.
"And you love it." Raven picked up the roller to take his place but Bellamy quickly swooped in and stopped her.
"Yeah. Clarke wants you in the kitchen." Clarke heard him say but it was a lie. She gathered he was trying to get Raven to relinquish her roller for a less daunting task, for her sake. It made the blond smile. Always a protector, she thought. Raven quickly appeared in the kitchen.
"You rang?" She questioned, sidling up to her best friend.
"I ordered us lunch about twenty minutes ago, it should be here. Steal my cash monies and go harass the delivery guy?" Clarke suggested, giving her a new task off the top of her head. Raven didn't question it because Clarke wouldn't ask one of the boys to go get into her wallet. It was second nature for Raven though. She leaped to it and Clarke just hoped that the delivery would be there. Sometimes it took them twenty, sometimes it took them forty-five. The thought of food soon being there made her stomach react with a rumble.
Finishing what she was doing, Clarke rubbed her hands off on a nearby towel and rejoined the men in the living room. Surveying the work that had been done, she was surprised.
"Didn't you guys just start that wall?" She asked, leaning against the back of a tarp-covered couch.
"Like an hour ago?" Bellamy suggested and Murphy added on. "While you were off doing the easy shit." His gesture flailed a hand to the kitchen.
"Yeah, cleaning up after you." Clarke bit back with a laugh and Bellamy chuckled. Murphy was defeated and he rolled his eyes.
Bellamy continued on the wall, it was the second to last wall to be completed. "So, where did you send Raven?" He asked quietly.
Clarke kicked the ground idly. "Foooooooood." Her hunger showed in her enthusiasm for the meal to come. "Lunch is in-bound. Thai food."
"Oh did you-"
"Yes, man-child. I got you fried nanners." Clarke said through a smile, mocking his need for that specific dessert. He would eat it all and not have a normal meal if they let him.
Looking around, she saw a vacant roller in a pan and an unmanned brush in the white.
"Alright, let's get this shit done. Murphy, man the other roller. If you keep dropping paint though, I will help her murder you." Clarke moved off of the back of the couch and took the lone brush into hand. It was loaded far too much with a stark white paint. You boys knock out that and the last wall and I'll finish the trim behind you. If we can get this done in under thirty, I may let you eat." Her threat was charming and empty. She was too hungry and knew better than to set a time on when they could eat but she wanted her living room to be back in order too. The boys didn't argue. Bellamy and Murphy dutifully finished the walls in less than twenty minutes. Raven had reappeared and was watching them as they enjoyed music and Clarke explaining her threat. When the goal was met they quickly packed up the paint, dropped anything disposable in a bag and cleaned up. Every surface in the room was covered or being used so the squad took spots around the floor where tarp wasn't covering a rug for the hardwood. Raven put down throw pillows and they enjoyed a meal of Thai food. Murphy begrudgingly ate what was ordered for him before they all enjoyed fried bananas and ice cream.
Satisfied and full-bellied, the crew spent longer socializing than they wanted to admit but they eventually peeled themselves off the ground and went back to their task at hand. The four of them cleaned the room up and Clarke finished final touches of the moulding.
"It looks so much better in here now." Raven looked to the finished product as Murphy and Bellamy rearranged the room at the girl's guidance.
"It really does. Less… sterile." Murphy's word choice made Clarke cringe. She hadn't thought about it that way but stark white walls, white trim and a basic hardwood did seem sterile or at least boring. When she thought of sterile, she thought of the pale neutral blue or blue-green painted on hospital walls. The thought suddenly made her smell bleach. The room looked warm now. A very light brown, slightly on the grey-neutral side. It brought out the hues in the hardwood the building was full of and contrasted nicely from the refreshed crisp white trim and ceiling.
"No, just put the couch back." Raven sighed in frustration as Clarke zoned back into the topic.
"Make your mind up woman," Murphy whined at her.
"Let's just leave it how it was. Our layout was good for this room." Clarke offered the final suggestion and they went with it. The furniture was arranged the way it had been for years only a new rug sat under the couch and of course, the walls were painted. When all was said and done everyone but Bellamy plopped down onto the couch.
"I'm going to take this out." He held up the large black back of trash that had come out of this project. No one protested as Murphy turned the TV on and Clarke bid him a thankful smile. When he returned, he sat in the armchair off to the side, reclining.
"You know, we could make it to hang out with the gang tonight," Raven suggested. The lack of agreeance was telling and they all settled in for their own little movie night. Only they didn't watch a movie, they binged a few episodes of The Witcher on Netflix before Murphy started snoring like a bear. Raven shoved him and took his sorry tired ass to bed. Bellamy joined Clarke on the couch and they cuddled up to one another for another episode before he had to carry her to bed. The apartment fell silent with sleep from a hard day's work.
Bellamy felt a breeze on his bare chest and reached for warmth from Clarke's body only to feel disappointment through his entire body when his arms felt nothing but an empty bed. This pulled him out of his morning stupor and his lush brown eyes flicked open to scan the room. She wasn't even in the room. An uncontrollable pout forms on his face but he brushed it away when he ran his hands over his face and into his hair. After a refreshing stretch, he peeled himself out of the bed and padded out to the living room. The TV was on and he could smell coffee, but he could also hear the shower in the main bathroom. No one was around and he found that odd but he figured he'd find out why when whoever was in the shower got out. He made himself a tea in lieu of coffee. A few minutes later the shower shut off and out stepped Murphy in only a towel.
"It's like you live here or something." Bellamy cracked at the man as he walked into the living room in his bold fashion statement.
Rolling his eyes, Murphy poured a cup of coffee. "Right back at you."
Bellamy laughed. "I have clothes on. You should try the same."
"Calm down Blake, you won't see anything you don't want to." He playfully shot a wink to the other man and sat down on the couch, again, in only a towel.
"Murphy, go put pants on." He tried to not let it bother him, but this wasn't their place and he felt it was rude of him to walk around like that. Murphy, of course, didn't care. He rarely did care about anything but himself.
"You're such a grumpy old man." Murphy resigned to oblige him. He quickly disappeared to Raven's room and re-emerged fully clothed. "Happy?" He taunted.
"Yes." He curtly replied. "Where are the girls?" He finished his tea and put the dish in the sink before moving to the living room where Murphy sat. He took a seat in the armchair.
"They are over at Harper and Maya's. Apparently we skipped out on some juicy gossip last night and the girls are discussing it now?" He suggested, not really sure.
"Is everything alright?" Bellamy was concerned.
Murphy dismissed the topic with a flick of his hand. "It's girls and gossip." He chuckled and rolled his eyes.
Bellamy let out a huff of curiosity but didn't focus on it. Murphy was probably right, they were girls and the four of them loved to gossip together. It was the one traditionally girly thing they allowed themselves to do. Halfway through a second episode of Iron Fist, Raven and Clarke walked through the door. They had gone over in their loungewear and slippers and he smirked at how cute it looked.
"Morning," Bellamy said as Clarke found her way to him. She leaned down and stole a kiss that he was more than willing to give her.
"Did you get to talk about boys and brush each other's hair?" Murphy sarcastically asked and the girls didn't take kindly to it. They actually didn't smile at all. "Wait, what's up?" He quickly turned his tone from being a troll to being a caring boyfriend. Even when he dated Emori he was like that but none of them ever got used to it. It was even more strange to see him be that way toward Raven.
Bellamy turned his own concern on and looked to the girls. They were both a bit pouty and just glum.
"Is something wrong?" Bellamy asked, taking Clarke into his lap.
"Just bummed." She started, and Raven finished. "Maya and Jasper are moving."
"What? When? Why?" Murphy rambled, getting off the couch and moving to Raven's side.
"Well, they flew out to Maine to visit her father. He told her about a job opportunity up there that would be really great for her. I guess they talked about it and decided to go for it, together." Clarke shrugged.
"That's fast." Bellamy warned.
"It's Jasper, he'd jump off a cliff for her." Murphy joked but it fell on deaf ears.
"So when do they leave?"
"The first week of May," Raven added and silence befell them. It was a bummer for their friends to be leaving but if it was a good move then they would support it. They sat about and discussed the details for a bit before Bellamy decided it was time to go home. Clarke pouted, but he wanted to give the girls space. They didn't live there and while he couldn't speak for or control Murphy, he could at least control himself. He opted to head home and get some chores done for the next work week.