Bellamy wasn't dreading his second practice as much as the first; if all he had to do was talk to Clarke Griffin, this would be easy. He filed into the auditorium and spotted her platinum blonde head from the back of the room. She was seated in the fourth row, one seat in. Wells sat to her other side, but he had a small feeling she left the aisle seat for him. He tucked his skateboard under his arm and plopped next to her.

"Hey," she smiled at him. Bellamy nodded in response.

"Hey, Wells," he acknowledged.

Wells looked at him and then nodded reluctantly. Wells turned back to the front and Clarke looked to Bellamy with pleading eyes and whispered, "Sorry." Bellamy shrugged it off.

Unfortunately, getting know Clarke Griffin was not all drama practice entailed.

"Today we're going to do vocals for our first group number. Let's split into parts please: sopranos, altos, base, tenor. Then our two leads up at the front please." Mrs. Green pointed her fingers like an airline stewardess reviewing safety instructions.

"That's us," Clarke reminded Bellamy.

"Got it," he replied. Clarke waved to Wells as she exited the row and he went to join his fellow bases. Wells ignored Clarke's goodbye and exited the row the opposite direction. Bellamy felt angry as he saw Clarke's slightly put out expression. If Wells wanted to take out his frustration, he should take it out on Bellamy, not Clarke.

"Right, so let's listen to the track first." Mrs. Green eagerly played the boppy "Summer Nights" song. Twice. Bellamy hated it already, and he wondered how he would feel after hearing it repetitively for three months. He recalled seeing Grease once in middle school; Octavia forced him to watch it. The plot points were still a little hazy, even after reading through (most) of the script last practice. He should probably give it another viewing.

"I'm going to work with the chorus, Clarke do you mind plunking out notes for you and Bellamy in the green room?"

"No problem." She hopped to her feet and tapped Bellamy's shoulder before he fully comprehended the direction.

"You play piano?" He asked.

"Mmmhm. If you want to advance in the music world it's helpful." She explained.

"Is there anything you can't do?"

Clarke blushed; it was a good look on her. "Basketball. Tennis. Anything that requires hand-eye coordination."

Bellamy liked that he had her beat on something. "I've got you there, princess."

"Yeah yeah. Listen to your part." Clarke pushed out Bellamy's notes slowly and although it

wasn't as easy as the Star Spangled Banner, he managed to get the hang of it after a few tries.

"Some of these notes are high." Bellamy remarked.

"I know. It'll get easier the more you warm up and practice. You have a great natural range, you should be able to hit them no problem." Clarke nodded and then played her notes.

He watched her strong jaw open softly as she sung her lines. Her neck was delicate with her waves pulled back into a low bun for concentration. Bellamy had never studied her this closely before.

"Both of us now. I'm just going to play your part because I'm not that good."

Bellamy smirked and followed along well enough. After one full run through, his phone vibrated.

Nathan: Party tn at Lincoln's. Come.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. Nathan always tried to entice him out, and Bellamy always had to work (or made up an excuse to avoid the fray).

"Do you even get text messages on that dinosaur?" Clarke asked nodding to the flip phone.

"Yup. Don't need it for much else."

Clarke laughed. "Of course Mr. Off the Grid. What's up?"

"Nathan wants me to go to some party tonight."

"Lincoln's?"

"Yeah, you going?" Bellamy asked.

"Finn invited me." Clarke looked down at the ivory keys.

"Ahh, prince charming."

She snorted. "Hardly. You going?"

"I work." Bellamy said simply.

"Where?"

"Dropship."

"The kid's pizza place?" Clarke grinned.

"Yeah, shut up. I don't sing for birthdays and I don't clean the vomit out of the play place, so there's very little to make fun of."

Clarke nodded her head in a way that made him sure she didn't believe him. "You could come after."

"Or I could, I don't know, sleep."

"Sorry, grandpa. My fault."

Bellamy planned to retort when Mrs. Green called them back to join the rest of the cast. The first run through of the song was bad. Bellamy wasn't used to all the backup vocals or the extra instruments. But again, he picked it up quickly. Mrs. Green nodded in approval at the end of practice. "Have a good weekend! Practice!"

When Clarke got home from rehearsal, the house was empty. As per usual, she thought. Her and Abby (she refused to call her mom), had a scheduled lunch tomorrow. Once a weekend Abby would add a lunch to Clarke's schedule and it would ping! on her iCal as the week winded down. Clarke rolled her eyes and got out ingredients to cook an easy dinner of chicken and pasta.

She ate her meal in silence while binge watching a few episodes of Netflix's latest comic book series before it reached a reasonable time to get ready for the party. Finn was picking her up at 9:30 and she began her ritual an hour before.

Clarke wasn't someone who invested a lot of time into getting ready each morning, but she did make an effort when going out. She curled her already wavy hair and added touches of makeup. She pulled out her few skirts and chose the high-waist denim with a white crop top. She added a choker, because the 90's style had come back full force this year at Arcadia High. She then slipped on her cleanest pair of Converse (bright red) and called it a day. Clarke refused to be uncomfortable in heels; at a party no one was looking at her feet anyway.

She took a small shoulder bag and threw in her phone and few 20s (just in case). She jotted a hasty note to Abby:

Dear Mom, (Abby didn't know that in Clarke's head they were on a first name basis)

Out for the night with a couple of friends. Be home before morning.

Clarke

Then, she sat on her couch again and proceeded to wait until her phone vibrated.

Finn 9:47

Here.

Clarke could be annoyed Finn was late, but she didn't care deeply enough about him to be offended by his behavior. Instead she walked out to the car and smiled as she got in his beat up Honda civic.

"Hey, Griffin."

"Hey," Clarke said back and immediately reached for the AUX chord to play something other than the Top 40 radio station bopping pleasantly in the background. She clicked to the latest Lumineers album and nodded along to the beat of one of their more uptempo songs.

"God, how do you listen to this?" Finn complained.

"What, decent music?" Clarke shot back.

"It's so slow! We're going to a PARTY, Clarke. Not a bookstore." He clicked back over to the radio and Chris Brown's latest hit echoed through the speakers.

Clarke rolled her eyes and kept silent, placing her forehead against the cool glass of the window.

"Hey," he said looking a little concerned.

"Yeah?"

"You have terrible taste in music but you look great." Clarke smiled despite herself.

After a few minutes they pulled into Lincoln's already crowded driveway. "Ready?" Finn asked.

"Guess so," Clarke agreed. Parties weren't her cup of tea, but unfortunately it's what kids her age did to entered and were hit with a strong scent of weed, alcohol and stale, hot air from many bodies. "Woah," Clarke noted.

"Yeah, we must have gotten here at the perfect time," Finn smiled. "Drink?"

"Sure," Clarke said.

"Meet you in the living room."

Clarke nodded and decided to do a lap. Every party was the same; there were the couples gyrating in the middle of the dance floor, the group of jocks steadfastly holding their place by the keg with beer pong or some other drinking game set up. Then, the extra long line for the bathroom, the popular girls that stood in small clusters on the edges of room to survey the scene and talk about people passing by, and the socially awkward people that somehow found the party and make unfunny comments from the center of the room. She waved at a few people from classes, but didn't stop to talk to anyone. Wells was her best friend and he rarely came out. The only time Clarke did was when Finn asked her to.

"For the lady." Finn handed her a cup of frothy, warm beer.

"Thanks," Clarke said and they sat down on the loveseat pushed against the wall of the living room. The chatted aimlessly about their weeks and a few of the drunker party guests.

"So things with Raven?" Clarke asked once Finn had drained two cups of alcohol.

"Not good. I'm pretty sure we're done this time, for real. She got jealous over the stupidest thing…"

Clarke tried to focus on Finn, but saw a girl stumble into the room and nearly fall. When she put her head upright, Clarke noticed it was Octavia Blake. Lincoln, a senior on the soccer team and host of the party, rushed in and looped his arm under her shoulders to keep her steady. Clarke wondered idly if Bellamy was aware his little sister was currently drunk at a senior party.

"...I don't know. I'm over it. I don't want to talk about her, I'm here with you," Finn finished, but Clarke knew he wasn't sincere. Finn did love Raven. And even if he liked Clarke's body and thought she was fun to hang out with, he didn't care for her the way he did for Raven. As Wells frequently noted, and Bellamy did the first day of practice, it wasn't a great relationship for Clarke to maintain. But, it was what she wanted. Clarke got to have fun and keep Finn at arms length.

"That you are," Clarke said in a low voice.

"Wanna dance?"

"Sure."

Finn pulled her up by the fingers and against him on the edge of the crowd. Clarke let her hands slide up around his neck and pressed her legs in between his. He traced his fingers down her sides until they rested on Clarke's hips and gripped them tightly. She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the feeling of his warm body and swayed to the base of the music. She turned around so her back pressed on his chest and traced her hand down his neck. The feeling was intoxicating and-

"Finn?!" A shriek came from the corner of the room. Clarke's eyes snapped open and saw an enraged Raven (recognized from instagram and facebook) standing in the doorway. Finn dropped his hands and stepped away from Clarke.

"What the hell are you doing? We broke up yesterday and you've already got your hands around some slut?"

Clarke's cheeks flushed red and Finn stepped in front of her. "Hey, leave Clarke out of this-"

"Clarke? So that's the girl who pops up on your phone. This all makes so much more sense!" Clarke's eyes widened. She always assumed part of the "getting back together" process with Raven involved Finn confessing his fling with Clarke, but apparently he never had. Raven had no idea Finn was involved with Clarke. Not now, not ever. Suddenly, the room felt hot and small. The music stopped and people were eagerly watching the drama unfold.

"I'm gunna go…" Clarke said quietly and started to back out of the middle circle. A sharp grip landed on her arm.

Raven pulled her back. "What the fuck is your problem? There are no guys at Arcadia High? You need to take someone else's boyfriend?"

"Raven, enough!" Finn shouted and attempted to step in between the girls.

"We've been sleeping together for eight months," Clarke spat. Raven let go of Clarke's arm in shock. Raven looked up to Finn and then back to Clarke. Before Clarke understood what was happening, a slap stung across her left cheek. The onlookers gasped and then laughed. Raven stormed out of the room and Finn stood by Clarke clutching her cheek.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry.." but he was distracted. His eyes were glued to the door Raven exited from and for the first time, Clarke truly felt she was second place to someone else.

"Go," Clarke said, gently removing Finn's hand from her face. She took a step back and Finn didn't move towards her.

"Are you-?"

"We're done here," Clarke said finally. And Finn's eyes fell, realizing Clarke's true meaning.

She backed out of the room and fled down the hallway, out the door. She stepped over abandoned plastic cups to exit the yard. The cool March air hit her exposed limbs, but she crossed her arms and ignored the goosebumps.

Clarke pulled out her phone and scrolled to Wells' name. She clicked the phone icon and listened to the line ring. He didn't pick up. Clarke let out a groan of frustration. She let Wells know she was going to the party, and usually when she went out he would stay up for a while incase she needed a ride; he never trusted Finn to be sober enough to take them home. Judging his sour mood this week, Clarke was guessing his offer expired. Although she didn't make the cast list, and she didn't decide to be an on-stage couple with Bellamy, he was still taking it out on her.

Clarke could call Abby, but then she would be forced to sit in a car and explain what she had been doing out in the first place. Plus, her breath probably smelled like beer. She wasn't drunk, but her mom would panic. Clarke enjoyed the amount of freedom she currently had and didn't want Abby to tighten the reigns. There were acquaintances from school, but no one Clarke knew well enough to ask for a ride at 11:23 on a Friday night. Bellamy crossed Clarke's mind, but she never got his number.

She nodded her head resolutely: she was walking. The party was only a few miles from her house, if she hustled she could be home in an hour. Even though some of the side streets were dodgy, she could avoid them by taking a few longer routes.

Only when she had decided on a course of action did she let tears prickling behind her eyes fall. Her cheek still stung red, but that was minor nuisance compared to how she felt when Finn attempted to comfort her as he looked for Raven. She always knew Finn didn't like her as much as the other girl, but it was another thing to see Raven in person and see Finn react to her. She felt stupid and insignificant. She mentally berated herself as she walked down the sidewalk and away from the dying noise of the party.

Meanwhile, Bellamy's night had been dull. He pulled six hours at Dropshift and then made his way home to eat pizza and relax. His mom was god knew where and Octavia left a note:

Going to the movies with some girlfriends and sleeping over! See you in the morning!

Xoxo Octavia

Bellamy was glad Octavia had friends. She was always the more social of the two of them and he wanted her to create a network of people to support her; he was enough of a loner for both of them.

He was just settling in to watch something on TV when his archaic phone lit up.

Nate 11:01

Dude, come to Lincoln's

Bellamy 11:02

Nah I'm crashing soon

Nate 11:05

Octavia's here

Bellamy felt his blood run cold: Octavia lied to him. They were always incredibly close, and to his knowledge she never lied to him before… Why did she start now? He was standing with his keys in his hand before he realized what he was doing.

Bellamy 11:07

Omw… address?

Nate texted back the address and Bellamy took off in his used truck. A few minutes into the ride he received another message.

Nate 11:16

Clarke Griffin just got SLAPPED !

"Shit," Bellamy swore under his breath. Nathan didn't know Bellamy and Clarke had become friendly, so he was sending that text as a form of shocking gossip, but Bellamy was concerned. He turned onto Lincoln's street and saw none other than Clarke Griffin herself rounding the corner, hugging her arms to her chest. He pulled over and threw on the car's hazards, jumped out of of the driver's seat and waved.

"Clarke!"

She turned around and he could see the faint red mark on her cheek and glistening tears down her face. Her pain triggered an instant flare of protectiveness, he wanted to know what happened and he wanted (needed) to help.

"Bellamy?"

"Hop in." She hesitated for a moment before climbing into the passenger seat.

"What-?" he asked immediately

"Not yet. I need a minute," Clarke cut him off. She sniffled and wiped the hair out of her face. She took a deep breath and looked like she was willing herself to keep it together.

Bellamy frowned. "Okay… Did you see Octavia in there?"

Clarke nodded. "Yeah, she looked pretty out of it… I think Lincoln was helping her? I'm sorry it got crazy... " she faded away.

They arrived to the driveway and Bellamy parked on the end of it. He turned to Clarke and touched her shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "Okay, here's what we're going to do." He took a breath. He was calm in intense situations from putting out so many of his mom's fires. "You stay in the car, I'm going to go get my sister. We'll leave here, hopefully before I end up fighting someone."

Clarke nodded, the tears had mostly stopped. "I don't mind helping."

Bellamy looked at her skeptically. Her cheek still glowed pink under the street lights. "That's okay. I have Nathan, he's going to help me grab her. Maybe clear off the back seat? We'll put her back there."

Clarke nodded, enjoying the concrete task she was given to focus on.

"I'll be right back," Bellamy promised. Before he exited the car, he grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. For a guy who didn't want friends, he was very comforting. Clarke nodded, and he disappeared into the lawn. Clarke didn't watch his progress toward the house, she didn't want to turn her eyes back to that stupid party. She was glad he didn't have her come back in as well; she only offered because she had nothing else to offer him for his act of kindness.

Bellamy bellowed through the lawn like a pissed off rhino, ignoring the trashed cups and random drunk kids sitting or laying around. He kept flexing his fingers trying to release the pent up aggression that was telling him to attack. Attack this Lincoln kid for being near his sister, attack Finn for being such a selfish dick, or attack anyone who got in his way-he wasn't feeling particularly choosy.

It didn't take him long to reach the nucleus of the party in the living room and saw Octavia slumped into Lincoln's shoulder on the couch. She seemed to be unconscious and he was looking concernedly down at her, petting her hair. Nathan saw Bellamy enter and linked up to his side.

"I'm taking my sister home." Bellamy boomed and Lincoln actually jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Of course, man. She threw up, I gave her some water and…"

"Shut your goddamn mouth." Bellamy snapped. He bent down and looped his arms under her, lifting her like a limp, drunken princess. Lincoln relinquished control of her immediately.

As Bellamy started to step away, Octavia stirred. "Hey… put me… ground… on ground…" Bellamy rolled his eyes. Octavia started thrashing, making it difficult to carry her.

"Nathan!" Bellamy yelled.

"Behind you, boss." Bellamy nodded to his side and Nathan appeared, ready to loop his arm under Octavia and help support her as they lowered her to the ground. And with both young men, they easily supported the weight of one drunk girl. Really, they should have made it effortlessly to the truck, helped her into the backseat and Bellamy could have driven them all home.

Except…

Except as the trio was shuffling toward the exit, Finn Collins was next to the front door, engaged in a fierce lip-lock with Raven Rayes, and pressing their bodies into the wall.

Finn Collins who came to this party with Clarke Griffin.

Finn Collins who fucked Clarke just to discard her like an old tissue the second Raven called him up. (Clarke may be sometimes holier-than-thou and annoying, but didn't deserve that. No matter how okay with it she claimed to be.)

Finn Collins who saw Clarke get slapped and humiliated by the same girl he was kissing.

Finn Collins who clearly had no sense of decency or honor.

"Get Octavia to the truck," Bellamy said in a dangerous voice. Nathan looked over at his best friend and saw the fixed gaze on Finn.

"Dude, you do not—"

"Get her to the truck." His tone silenced Nathan. He took more of a controlled stance and shifted Octavia to bare all her weight. Bellamy waited until they were outside before he tapped Finn on the shoulder. Finn pulled away from Raven and turned to face him.

"Yeah?"

"You're an asshole for what you did to Clarke. And to her too—" Bellamy pointed to Raven. "And by the way, if he did it once, he'll fuck someone else again so maybe you shouldn't be jumping back on it." Raven looked at the floor.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Finn declared. Bellamy could tell by his lack of eye focus that he was quite intoxicated. "Also, why the fuck do you care?"

"Because Clarke is a good person." Bellamy answered quickly, before he could think. "And she didn't deserve your shit."

"Clarke is a slut," Finn said simply.

Before thinking, Bellamy pulled back his fist, like he had done so many times before, and punched Finn across the face. He went down quickly, not alert enough to retaliate. Bellamy shook out his hand and then stepped to the left and out the door. He walked in large steps to his car and entered without looking back.

"Everything okay?" Clarke asked as Bellamy threw the pick-up into gear and peeled out of the drive way. She spotted red on his right hand gripping the steering wheel.

"Here's what we're going to do. We're going to go to my place and put Octavia in her bed. Then, we're going to heat up Dropship pizza and talk about things. But for this drive, I'm going to be silent. Okay?"

Clarke looked taken aback. "Okay."

Bellamy nodded and cranked up the stereo, leaving them both to their thoughts.