Chapter 8

The evening had passed uneventful. However, the more time passed, the stronger Clarke felt like this wedding was a mistake. There was something inside her that felt like everything was going to come crashing down. There was just no evidence of it. Was she just self-prophesising? Somehow telling herself to look into things further than necessary? She wasn't sure anymore.

Tuesday morning had come quietly. The Maui sun had kept her worries company and that was a welcomed friendship. She loved New York but hadn't realized how much she missed being able to just be present in the sun. Bellamy and Clarke had done some surfing that morning. Together with the morning sun to catch the best waves. They had enjoyed some time away from everyone and pretending to be someone else. Just enjoying the water, sun, and surf. She was now standing under the shower, rinsing off the salt water before the welcome lunch.

Most of the family would be on the island soon. Coming a few days early to enjoy the wonders of the island and extending the trip for a bit of island pleasure. She changed into a knee length skirt with a white t-shirt tied into a knot at the front. She loosely pulled back the top of her blonde layers for her classic half up half down look. Letting the rest wave naturally around her shoulders.

She could hear Bellamy on the phone. She wasn't sure who he was talking to but it sounded serious. He answered in small sentences and kept an even, monotone voice. She made a mental note to ask about it later if he wanted to talk about it.

"You ready?" Bellamy asked as she walked out of the bathroom, putting his phone in his pocket.

"I think so," she responded. She was grabbing some stuff together and putting it in her purse. "You are going to love Vera, Marcus' mother. She is a gem," Clarke added. "I don't know much of the rest of the family coming. But I recall Astrid telling me months ago that Paul doesn't have much family. So, I guess it will mostly be friends and the Kanes."

Bellamy nodded, but he seemed lost in thought. "Another day, another lunch. We got this," he said.

The pair made their way towards the Eligius. It had been reserved for the lunch occasion and the restaurant was bustling with well-dressed people and familiar faces. The Kanes had been a high society family for generations now. Clarke had seen many rooms full of important people at the MET but she had never been a part of such a high standing crowd of people outside of the museum community. Many people in this room were in politics, CEOs of million-dollar companies, lawyers, or doctors.

Bellamy was across the room, chatting with a few men. He was a natural conversationalist. Clarke fiddled with her wine glass. Still feeling the uneasiness that was washing back over her after a relaxing morning. She was watching the crowd. Subconsciously scanning for Paul. He was chatting with his groomsmen while Astrid was making small talk with some of the newly arrived guests.

"I just had the pleasure of meeting your new guy," a woman beside her said. Clarke recognized Astrid's only aunt. "He seems like a fine young man," she continued. Her husband a few steps behind her caught up with the two of them.

"Hi Clarke. How are you?" Jacapo Sinclair asked.

"I've been well, thank you," she answered.

Mrs. Sinclair however was not yet done with her topic of conversation. "Clarke, tell me, why haven't we heard anything about him over the last few months?" Clarke had to hold back a laugh. She barely spoke to the Sinclairs except for at family occasions, and yet she was being accused of keeping her decently new relationship from them as if she had done it on purpose. And although it was all a lie, she still found it interesting.

"We have just been very busy. And Bellamy is away a lot," Clarke said.

"I thought he worked at the base in Brooklyn?" Jacapo asked curiously. Clarke instantly felt a spark of panic. Was a question this simple going to unravel everything?

"Uhm, yes, but he travels for recruitment," Clarke said.

"Of course, of course, but recruitment only happens every few months. Or at least it did when I enlisted in the army. I missed the first window and had to wait weeks to join another class," Sinclair rambled on. Clarke's eye widened. Why had Octavia not prepared her for this? Where was Bellamy to clear the air when she needed him?

"Excuse me, may I steal Miss Griffin for a moment?" a familiar voice came from behind. She turned to see Raven. She was in uniform. Clarke nodded appreciatively.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment," she told the Sinclairs as she followed Raven.

"Although maybe the navy does things differently, I suppose," Jacapo continued more to himself than anyone in particular. Clarke let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps this interruption would shift the topic fast enough for him to leave his thoughts at that.

"Thanks, I needed that," Clarke mumbled when Raven and her were alone. Raven had escorted her to the coat room and shut the door.

Raven shot her a small questioning look but moved on right away. "Clarke, I was talking to some of the other staff and one of the maids, Maya, overheard Paul on the phone. It wasn't much but she said he literally used the words 'this wedding will be good for business'. I just thought you might want to know," Raven said.

"That is kind of an odd thing to say about your own wedding," Clarke agreed.

"I haven't seen them around much but the hotel offers every couple that has a wedding at the resort an adventure package. As far as I know they haven't done a single inclusive activity together yet."

"Which wouldn't be that strange if they wanted to safe them for the honey moon, but they aren't staying on the island after. They are honeymooning in Bali…" Clarke added. "I'll keep it in mind." Clarke thought about how often she was with Bellamy the last few days. Just generally they were in each other's company. And although it was partly because it was part of the plan, they also just spend time together because they genuinely enjoyed each other's company. There was no other reason she had to go surfing with him that morning besides wanting to. They had evening snacks on the balcony and chatted about life because she was genuinely interested. No one could see them, there was no ploy to play out. "I'm not even dating my boyfriend and he pays more attention to me than Paul does to Astrid."

Clarke instantly tensed up. She couldn't believe she had just said those words out loud. Her eyes went wide and she snapped up to look at Raven, who's mouth was basically hanging open and her eyebrows were raised in questioning.

"What?!" she basically shook Clarke by the shoulders for an answer.

"Uhm…" Clarke didn't really know where to start. Yet somehow, she thought maybe getting it off her chest to someone not involved would be a relief. Clarke ended up telling Raven the whole story. "So that's how I ended up with a fake boyfriend at my step-sister's wedding."

"Which is why when I pulled you away from the Sinclairs you didn't mind," Raven said.

"Exactly, I didn't really have a proper answer, so hopefully you rescued me from that," Clarke admitted.

Raven let out a deep breath. Processing the whole story for a moment. "Honestly, you had me fooled."

Clarke had rejoined the lunch not long after. Feeling slightly better but also worse about everything. She had found Bellamy sitting at a table, sipping a beer. She was about to plop into the chair beside him when he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap instead. "Hey Griffin," he said casually. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Then he pulled away but only a few centimeters. "You okay?" he asked sincerely. He had seen the look on her face when she had walked back into the restaurant. His eyes piercing with something that seemed most like worry. "You disappeared on me for a while there," he added. He was whispering, his voice soft and low.

Clarke nodded. "Want to go for a walk?" Bellamy agreed. He let his hand remained on her waist as he basically lifted her off his lap and back onto her feet.

Later that evening

Clarke called her sister's cell. It rang twice before she answered. "Hey, Clarke, what's up?" Astrid asked.

"Hey, Bellamy and I were wondering if you and Paul wanted to come to this little café we heard about in Lahaina for dinner. Get away from the craziness for a few hours? Our treat," Clarke added. She waited on the phone as Astrid went to check with her fiancé.

"Paul said to thank you guys, but we're probably just going to order some room service and spend some time together. It feels like I haven't actually seen him in days," Astrid said, she sounded lighthearted but there was a hint of painful truth to her words.

Clarke wished them a good night and hung up the phone. "They are staying in tonight. Want to see what Raven and Wick are up to?" Clarke asked Bellamy.

"Sure, sounds fun."

The four of them were sitting around a table at a cute little café in the middle of town. Late dinner had mostly consisted of fresh fish tacos. They had now all officially met. And it was nice for Clarke and Bellamy to be able to be themselves for a few hours. No charades, no proving their relationship, no random questions about this or that. Just a simply good time.

"No kidding," Wick said after hearing the story.

Raven thought for a moment. "Like I said, had me convinced. But if I can offer one tip?" Clarke and Bellamy nodded, open to outside feedback on their acting. "Maybe use more terms of endearment, I think I've only ever heard you guys call each other by your last name," she joked.

"You're not wrong. It's something we've just always done I guess," Clarke said, thinking about how ridiculous it would be. She could easily take a few kisses on the cheek but calling someone by a cutesy nickname wasn't really in her real personality, but perhaps she could try to fit some into her fake one.

"So, you think maybe we need to push him in the right direction a little?" Wick asked the group, changing the subject. The other three gave him a look that told him to expand on his plan. "You all have a bad feeling about him but he isn't really showing it. Which makes sense. If he isn't faithful to marrying Astrid just because he loves her, then this is the most stressful time not to mess up. He just wants to get through this week and finish it with a definitive 'I do'. So, we might have to set him up for failure. Or at least to choose failure," he added.

The group sat for a moment. "Like maybe have someone flirt with him, hard," Raven suggested.

Clarke sighed. "What if we are just pushing this too much. Astrid sounded like she genuinely just wanted to spend some time with him tonight," Clarke retorted. Not wanting to paint someone in such a bad light without concrete evidence.

"What about that phone call Maya heard?" Raven chimed in.

"A wedding being good for business doesn't have to be a bad thing," Bellamy offered. Trying to give Clarke a little hope. He had noticed she had certainly become more stressed ever since he had mentioned what he had seen on his run yesterday morning.

The conversation stayed on that topic for a while as they ate. But slowly it moved on to discuss other matters. Raven and Wick shared their story of meeting in school, both studying mechanics, and moving to the island together for a few gap years of island life. Clarke talked about her job. And Bellamy shared stories from his time in basic training. The evening slowly grew later.

"After this delicious meal, what do you guys say we hit the dance floor?" Raven suddenly suggested. The three friends looked up from their plates.

"You're thinking the Vibe Bar in Kihei aren't you?" Wick asked with a smile on his face.

"This might be the only night. Why not finish off with something fun. The club at the resort is usually full of barely legal kids. The Vibe Bar is more for the locals. You guys in?" she asked.

Before they knew it, Bellamy parked the red sports car beside Wick's in Kihei. It had been just a forty-minute drive. It was already dark but the moonlight sparkled off the rolling waves. The nightclub was located right on the main street. It was lively and full of energy. Lots of people their age were enjoying themselves and dancing to some great live DJs.

Wick and Raven made their way to the dance floor and disappeared within the crowd. "I'm just going to grab some water. Want anything to drink?" Bellamy asked.

"Didn't your sister quiz you well enough to know?" Clarke joked.

Bellamy smiled but then checked his watch. "Oh, it's after one and you've already had two drinks with dinner. So, you'll want water as well."

"You know me too well, Blake," Clarke half shouted back over the music. She watched him make his way to the bar. He ordered two waters and returned shortly after. They sat for a while.

"Want to dance?" Clarke asked. She wasn't sure why but the question had come with a funny feeling in her stomach. Something felt slightly knotted. She wrote it off on the tacos when Bellamy reached his hand out to hers. They joined Raven and Wick on the dance floor. A while went by. The clock almost hit two and the group decided it was a good time to start making their way back to the resort.

Bellamy was walking a few steps in front of Clarke when he suddenly came to a halt. Clarke only noticed when she walked right into him. "Geez, Blake," she hissed, grabbing his hand to steady herself. She looked up when Bellamy squeezed her hand in return. She realized why he had come to a stop. He had almost run into someone. Paul.

"Uhm, hey Paul," Bellamy said. Not really knowing what else to say.

Paul took a moment to respond. Giving a quick look between Raven and Wick and Bellamy and Clarke. Quickly making the connection that they were out together.

"Hey guys," was all he said. He rubbed the back of his neck. He pointed to Murphy who was mingled into the crowd. "Better get back," he said.

"Is Astrid with you?" Clarke asked quickly.

Paul shook his head. "She said she was tired," was all he offered. He didn't really say anything else. He offered a half wave and made his way towards the bar.

Outside the air had chilled a little. "That was weird," Clarke remarked. Three heads nodded in agreement simultaneously.

"And now he's seen us together, so Kyle and I can't even go back in, it'll be too suspicious," Raven said.

In the meantime

Paul turned around and watched as the four friends walked towards the parking lot. He took his phone out of his pocket. "Hey man," he said when the line was finally picked up.