Chapter 12
The next day or so Bellamy made an effort to pitch in around the apartment. He helped Clarke clean up and do the dishes. He always made sure to tidy up the living room after himself and the guys were awake, and he even cooked a couple of times. At the end of the week he was taking out some vegetables from the refrigerator and setting them onto the counter.
Clarke had seen how attentive Bellamy had been. He kept his distance, but he would appear at her side asking her how he could help out. Since the girls didn't have class, they spent most of their time at home. Lincoln was over most of the time and one day he decided to take the group on a hike. Clarke had agreed but Bellamy hung behind, motioning for the others to go off without him. Finn had met up with all of them and was walking by Clarke on the trail as Octavia stuck by Lincoln and Wells and Murphy headed in their own direction as well. Finn and Clarkes hands were swinging next to each other as they walked up the hill. "So how did you get into art"? Clarke was watching her footsteps on the ground as she moved forward. "My dad". Little to no detail in her answer. "Oh really, I bet he loves seeing everything you've done around here and at home". Clarke looked up as him, "He passed away a couple years ago". Finn looked away feeling like an idiot for even continuing down the chosen path of conversation. "I'm sorry Clarke… I didn't, I didn't mean to". She shook her head. "No, it's ok I can talk about it now. A couple years ago there was an accident with a drunk driver. At first, I was really shaken by it but it's better now. I mean it'll never be ok but I can admit now that he's in a better place". "My parents are divorced". Finn blurted out knowing it wasn't the same. "What I mean by that is I never really spent much time with my dad after the divorce. It left me with a lot of questions about why he left my mom and me but at least now I'm not angry with him anymore". Clarke smiled up at him. "I guess we have something in common then." He quickly made a move to change the subject. "So, what else do you like to do for fun"? Clarke didn't really have a lot of other activities that she indulged in other than school, or art. "I like to dance; Octavia and I like to go out sometimes and hit the clubs. It's fun, like another form of expressing myself other than my art". Finn looked impressed to learn she had a side that allowed her to let loose. "The clubs around the guys frat are actually really awesome. They're on the other side of the Greek homes. There's this one that only opens once a week, its…" Clarke turned around facing him and walking carefully backwards. "It's called Ground, right"? "Yea, it is. I've been there a couple times. You know it"? "No, I only heard of it from my friend Raven. She spent some time bartending there. She said it's cool though, sometimes they play with the lights and do a black out night". She could feel herself getting excited talking about it. "Yea, you know they are open tonight, I figure maybe we can all go if you guys don't have any plans"? Clarke turned around facing the same way as Finn again." "You know what let me ask Octavia". She let him know she would be right back and jogged to check in with her friend.
"Hey O". Octavia was holding hands and talking with Lincoln when Clarke ran by her side. "Hey Clarke, what's up, enjoying the walk"? She nudged her arm looking back at Finn and coming close to Clarkes ear so she could whisper her something more private. "How do you like Finn, he's cute right. Seems like a nice guy". Clarke blushed as Octavia said it a little bit louder than she thought she had. Finn probably overheard her. "Yea, so anyway Finn said that club Ground that Raven used to work at is open tonight, invited the whole group to go. What do you think"? Octavia was usually the one to suggest to Clarke events that she wanted her to tag along to. When Clarke branched out and suggested one, she was happy to see her opening up. "Yea that sounds fun. I'm in, Lincoln?" She turned to see if he wanted to tag along too. "Yea, if Finn's in we can drop you guys off and meet you there later. That'll give you time to eat and get ready". Octavia turned smiling her biggest smile at Clarke. Clarke lagged back so that Finn could catch up with her. "Ok, so tonight then". They walked the rest of the path back down the trail to their car. The guys dropped them off at home and Clarke was excited to let loose a little more that night than she had allowed herself in the past.
When they walked in the door Wells and Murphy plopped down in the living room. "I am exhausted" Murphy said. "I thought this was supposed to be a vacation not boot camp". Octavia washed her hands in the kitchen drying them on a hand towel and throwing it over the couch at him, "Oh stop, it was just a 5-mile hike. Don't be such a baby". She laughed. Clarke thought the house smelled wonderful. She looked over at the kitchen counter to see onions, peppers, cilantro, tomatoes all chopped. She saw a pile of tortillas and fresh graded cheese. Lying next to those was a bowl of chips and what looked like homemade guacamole. Bellamy was cooking something in the pan that gave off a savory smell. He had a towel hanging over his shoulder and his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows.
Bellamy heard the group come in, smiling at his sister as she washed her hands after their hike. Clarke walked over to the sink to do the same. "Did you guys have fun without me"? She dried her hands and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "It was really beautiful; you should have come along. You would have enjoyed it". Bellamy recognized her friendly comment, happy that she mentioned that she wished he had come along. "I just wanted to hang back for the day". She looked over at the chicken he was stirring in the pan. "Did you plan on doing all this, making us dinner"? She pulled a chip out of the bowl dipping it in guacamole and biting a piece off in her mouth. "Oh my god Bellamy this is amazing. When did you learn to cook so well"? Bellamy smiled up at her while he placed the chicken on a plate.
"Well you know my mom had some issues growing up". Clarke looked at him softly remembering the stories Octavia shared with her about her past. "We were alone a lot, and then when we moved into town with you guys, she was working a lot of late-night shifts. I picked up somethings from watching cooking shows, and then I kind of found an interest in putting my own spin on dishes." Clarke had no idea how handy he had been in the kitchen. Murphy got up from the floor walking over to grab some chips on the table. "It's true you know; he makes dinner for me and Wells all the time. He's our own personal celebrity chef". Bellamy laughed at his comment picking up a stem of cilantro and throwing it at him. "You've been really helpful around here Bell, thank you for that. Usually I'm the one doing things around her, but I really appreciate it". Clarke wiped her hands clean retreating to her room.
Murphy looked at Bellamy as he finished cooking and started to clean the scraps up from cooking. "What"? Murphy smiled at him. "So, when were you planning on telling me that you're into her"? Bellamy didn't know what he was talking about. "Murphy there's nothing going on, we're just friends." Murphy nodded his head at his comment reaching for another chip. "Ok so your telling me you are helping out more and being all nice is just you being friendly?" Bellamy cleaned off his hands. "Yeah, that's all it is". Murphy peered his eyes at his friend. "So, it wont bother you to know then that Finn invited Clarke and us all out to the club tonight". Bellamy stopped what he was doing, freezing and waiting for him to continue. "Yeah, he was walking pretty close to her on the trail, brushing her hand as he walked". Bellamy squeezed the paper towel he had in his hand by his side. Feeling like not that he missed the hike that meant he missed out on a chance to get closer to Clarke and allowing Finn to get closer instead. "You'll be happy to know we are all going, that is unless you want to stay behind again?"
Bellamy took out plates for everyone yelling to the house that it was time to eat. He looked at Murphy. "What time do we need to leave"?
