The title of this fic is based on the song title by Billy Joel.

This fic is written for el-corazon-y-la-cabeza on Tumblr for Bellarke Secret Valentine's 2019. I had a ton of fun writing this fic and I hope you enjoy. Happy Valentine's Day!

Just the Way You Are

Bellamy couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he knocked on the door to her apartment, the 1kg bag of sugar nestled in his arm. He hoped that she would laugh when she seen the absurd amount of sugar he was 'returning' to her.

When he heard the click of a lock from the other side of the door, his heart skipped a beat and his hands started to sweat. Dammit. He needed to pull it together.

It's just Clarke.

He swallowed thickly at that thought. Exactly. It's Clarke.

Clarke Griffin.

She was a few years younger than him, but they graduated the same year from college, thanks to him taking a few gap years to work and save up. They didn't meet at Ark University though – they met here, in the hallway of their apartment complex.

They met the first day she moved in, actually. He was leaving his apartment with Murphy, heading to the game, when he first seen her. She was struggling to unlock the door to her apartment – the apartment beside his – as she balanced a crate of painting supplies on her hip.

She was covered in dust and grime from moving, her hair was falling messily around her face, and her skin shone from a thin layer of sweat. He was struck by her beauty. She was glowing and she had a smile so wide that it made him want to smile too.

"Guess we're neighbours?" he asked, moving towards her. Murphy snorted and leaned on the doorframe as Bellamy walked up to her. "I'm Bellamy."

"Clarke." She smiled in his direction. Bellamy decided that she was one of the most gorgeous people he had ever seen. Gods, her smile was stunning. "I would shake your hand, but…" She gestured vaguely to the large box in her arms.

He didn't hesitate to ask. "Need any help?"

It was a good decision – going up to offer help to his new neighbour. They'd quickly become friends over the next few weeks. Now, months later, she was one of his best friends.

And he was not falling in love with her. Nope. Not one freaking bit.

"Bellamy!" Her face lit up when she pulled the door open. His eyes were instantly drawn to the red dress she wore. It was barely up her body, clearly just having thrown it on to answer the door. She sounded out of breath too, like she had just been running. Most notably was that her hair was still wet, leaving droplets of water on her shoulders. "Gods, you scared me."

"I scared you?" he echoed, a hint of amusement in the tone of his voice.

"I thought you were someone else," she clarified. She pulled the door open wider, revealing more of herself to him.

She looked stunning, but when was that not the case? She wore a red dress which was unusual. He was certain he hadn't seen her in a dress before. Her hair was dripping wet, like she just ran it under the faucet.

If Bellamy had to guess, it looked like she had jumped out of the shower and threw on a dress to answer the door. She didn't wear any makeup from what he could see and he could see water on her forearms.

"Expecting someone?" He entered her apartment and she shut the door behind the both of them. He was familiar with her apartment; he'd spent more hours there than he could keep track of.

"My date."

Bellamy's mouth went dry and he felt his heart give a small tug of pain. Gods, what was he doing. Why did he even care she was going on a date? It didn't concern him. It shouldn't concern him.

"A date?" He cursed himself for sounding so confused. He tried to hide his confusion with a cough. Before she could question him, he moved into the kitchen and set the bag of sugar down on the counter. Clarke trailed in after him.

He really shouldn't care. Clarke wasn't dating anyone – especially not him. Of course, she would be going out with someone for Valentine's Day. She was stunning and was so caring; he wasn't surprised someone was wanting to date her. Shit, he wanted to date her.

"Mhmmm." He heard her excitement and it made his chest well up with pain. He didn't care. He shouldn't care. In fact, he should be happy that his best friend had a date. He should be happy that she was happy.

And he was, don't get him wrong. He loved seeing her so happy. She was a good person that deserved happiness more than anyone he had met. He was happy that she was happy.

But he also couldn't ignore the pain filling his chest. He couldn't ignore the way his stomach felt heavy. He wished that he didn't feel this way, but he did.

We are friends, he reminded himself. Nothing more.

He refused to let his feelings get in the way of anything, including her happiness. Especially her happiness. She wasn't interested in him and he would just have to live with that.

"Do I know them?" he asked, keeping his voice even. He hoped she couldn't sense his turmoil of emotions.

"I don't think so." Clarke stood beside him and reached for the sugar. She glanced at him, curiosity in her eyes. "Sugar?"

"To pay you back," he explained. He had every intention of making a joke – he had a funny joke on the tip of his tongue, the same one that he thought of when he was in the store – but it refused to come out now. Gods, what was he doing?

"Pay me back?" She grinned at this. It did strange things to Bellamy's heart. "Is it because I'm so sweet that you're returning some of that sweetness back to me?"

He smiled at her terrible sense of humor. Clarke was funny in her own way. He could tell she was trying to make a joke then – probably because she could sense something was wrong with him.

That was who they were. They could read each other like open books. While he only knew her for a few months, it felt like a lifetime to him. She knew him so well. Even now, she could tell something was wrong simply from the tone of his voice.

He forced a smile onto his face. He hoped it looked genuine. "You're funny," he commented, his voice dry. Clarke's grin widened at that. She was well aware of her strange sense of humor. "But no, it's to pay you back for letting me borrow your sugar last week."

"Last week?" Clarke's grin disappeared as she thought. She snorted. "You mean when you were baking?"

"Yeah."

She scoffed. "I gave that sugar to you, idiot. I didn't really expect you to borrow sugar." Her tone was light and teasing, which he enjoyed. He always enjoyed their banter.

"Well, I considered it a loan."

"I let you have one cup. This is 1 kilogram."

"It was a loan with interest."

Clarke snorted at that. "You're ridiculous," she said. "But thank you." She pulled it off the counter and went to put it into the cupboard. "I hope you know I'm going to bake something for you from this, right? To make up for all the extra sugar."

"It isn't extra. It's the interest." Clarke laughed. A light silence settled over them as Clarke put the sugar away. As soon as she stepped beside him again, he cleared his throat. "So… You're going out tonight?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, her eyebrow raised. "I am. He's taking me to dinner at Sky Alpha."

"Oh. Wow." That was one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. That would explain why she was dressing up so classy. "That's fun." He forced his voice to sound normal. He should sound normal. He was a mess.

"He said he would pick me up for 8:30, which explains this." She gestured to her body, clearly not impressed with the state she was in. Bellamy snorted at her expression. Gods, she was cute. "I would cry if he picked me up this early."

"Well, you'll look good no matter what," he promised her. As if he realized exactly what he said, blood rushed to his cheeks. He glanced away, suddenly interested in an apple on her counter. He picked it up in his hand and gave it a twirl. "I mean… Well. Yeah." Screw it. He glanced up at her. "You don't have to try to look beautiful. You're always beautiful."

Clarke didn't look phased by his words and Bellamy thought he imagined himself saying it. Gods, was that just in his head? It sure looked like it was, considering she wasn't flustered or off-put by his compliment.

"Says you," she pointed out. He couldn't get a good read on her tone. She sounded… distant? Indifferent? It was hard to put a finger on exactly what she felt underneath the light tone she took. "You roll out of bed and could model for a magazine cover without trying," she pointed out, glancing at him.

Bellamy forced a smile onto his face again and tried to squash the warmth in his chest. She was just his friend. Of course she didn't mean it the way he meant it. This was what friends did – compliment each other. Without any additional meaning, you idiot.

Bellamy managed to push his feelings down. How was he being a good friend if he was so caught up with himself? How was he being a good friend by not respecting the relationship that came with friendship?

No jealousy. No feelings. No heat. No passion.

He refused to acknowledge any of those feelings.

He would be a good friend – and that included ignoring any feelings towards her.

Set in this mindset, he turned to face her, determination in his eyes. "Do you need help getting ready?"

Bellamy blew a piece of his hair away from his eye and glanced at the clock once again. 9:10 PM on the dot.

He didn't really expect a different result. He had been looking at the clock every few minutes for the last hour, or so it seemed. No matter how hard he tried to distract himself with something – anything – his gaze was always pulled back to that damn electronic clock under his television.

Why did he even care so much? He swore under his breath and tilted his head towards the ceiling, cursing himself and the thin walls.

She should've been gone by now. He should've heard the door to her apartment shut at 8:30 PM. He should've heard her voice drift down the hall as she talked to her date.

But he didn't. He didn't hear her door shut at 8:30 PM. He didn't hear her walk past his door to the stairs. He didn't hear her laugh as she flirted with her date.

Of course, he could've missed it all. It's not like he was sitting in his living room waiting to hear his neighbour leave. Really. He was just sitting in his living room, sprawled across the couch because he wanted to. It had nothing to do with the blonde beauty next door.

Well, at first it didn't. To him, Valentine's Day was nothing to celebrate. Sure, he had girlfriends before on February 14th, but they only did stuff because they wanted to. Valentine's Day was ridiculous to him. All of the restaurants were booked, every possible date location was up-charged, stores marked up the chocolates and the flowers.

And for what? He got it; Valentine's Day was a day to celebrate the love you had for another person. It was a day where you went out of your way to show how much you loved and appreciated your partner. He had nothing against that. He had nothing against showing his love and appreciation for his partner, but he felt like that should be every day.

Why should he feel more obligated on February 14th to get his girlfriend flowers, or to spend the evening out on a date, or to tell her how much she meant to him? He wanted to do that every day. He didn't want to wait around for a single day to do those things.

So, really, what was Valentine's Day? It was a day with overpriced chocolate and too many crowds.

He'd been in his apartment for most of the day, other than when he went to the store earlier and after he hung out with Clarke for a bit. After that, he'd decided it was a good day to sit on his couch and watch Harry Potter. It was cold outside – February was always freezing where he lived – the crowds were big, and the roads were slick. He didn't need much convincing to stay indoors.

He wasn't exactly waiting for Clarke to leave her apartment because that was creepy as hell, but he started listening for her because he was worried. She should've been on her date already.

He tried to convince himself that she was already on his date and he just missed her leaving, but he knew that wasn't the truth. He knew she wasn't on her date because he could hear her next door.

Damn those thin walls.

He could hear her speakers blasting some music and he could hear her microwave beep every so often. She was still home and it was driving him wild not knowing what was going on.

Bellamy's fist clenched. While he didn't know exactly what was going on, he had a pretty good guess. Her date stood her up.

While he didn't particularly care bout Valentine's Day shit, he cared about Clarke. He wasn't an idiot either; he knew it was an extra special slap in the face to get stood up on Valentine's Day. Out of all days in the year, that was the day meant for romance – not for getting forgotten about.

Maybe it really wasn't his business, but he cared about Clarke and he didn't want to see her hurt. Maybe he should've let her come to him, but screw it he wasn't going to let her suffer alone if his suspicions were correct.

He pulled out his phone and opened their text conversation. She was listed as Princess alongside several of the crown emojis in his phone, which was one of their any many inside jokes. The last time they texted was yesterday, when she was asking him how much to water her cactus (like he knew, but it made his heart warm that she turned to him).

Gods, he was hopeless.

Deciding to approach with caution, he sent her a picture of a frame from Harry Potter. That was safe, right? He wasn't bringing up Valentine's Day and he wasn't bringing up the fact he could still hear that she was home. If she was stood up by that asshole, this wouldn't remind her of that fact.

His heart leapt to his throat when his phone vibrated with a reply.

Princess: Half-Blood Prince?

Bellamy: Our favourite.

Bellamy chewed on his lip as he waited for the bubble of ellipses to show up. Part of him hoped she would bring up the topic of what happened, to save him from having to figure out how to bring it up without potentially upsetting her.

Princess: You're still home? I never asked what you had planned for Valentine's Day.

Bellamy: Still home.

Bellamy: I don't really do Valentine's Day.

Bellamy: Plus… singles club.

Bellamy cringed. Singles club? He was hopeless.

Princess: Can I come over?

Princess: I made popcorn.

Princess: You don't have to pay me back for "borrowing" food from me this time.

Bellamy grinned at that. She didn't sound too upset, which was a good sign. One thing was clear; she wasn't planning on going out tonight. What happened to her date?

Bellamy: ofc. Door is unlocked.

Bellamy tossed his phone onto the couch beside him and flicked back to the menu of the movie, planning on restarting it for Clarke. As he did, he heard his door open and shut. He glanced to look at her.

Instead of the red dress that he had seen her wearing earlier that day, she was in a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater. Her hair was still pulled up and she still wore some makeup, but he doubted she planned on going to Sky Alpha dressed like that.

Not that she didn't look beautiful – she did – oh, gods, she did – but he doubted it met the dress code.

He turned back to the television to ensure he wasn't staring. He reminded himself of his earlier resolution; he was going to ignore all the flutters of his chest. He was going to be a good friend – and only a friend.

"Hey," he said, hoping his voice was even. He was burning to know what was going on. Gods, if she was stood up, he'd also want to know who her date was. He would gladly give him a piece of his mind.

Only an asshole would stand someone up on Valentine's Day. Only an asshole would stand up Clarke Griffin – period.

"You should've texted me when you started," she said, her voice light. "I didn't realize you were still home." She flopped onto the couch beside him, a bowl of popcorn in her lap. She nudged it towards him and reached for the remote, pressing play on the movie.

"I didn't realize you'd want to watch," he said, still treading cautiously.

Clarke threw a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth. "I'm always game for Harry Potter." She pulled her feet onto the couch to tuck under herself. He was hyperaware that her shoulder was only inches away from his.

He tried to pull his attention away from her, but he couldn't. He knew he shouldn't pry, but he couldn't fight the urge to protect her. Not like she exactly needed protecting, but he really wanted to make sure she was okay.

Enough was enough. Bellamy couldn't take not knowing any longer.

"You're not going out?" he asked, his words unsure. He really hoped that she wasn't upset. Of course, he would be there if she was – he would do his best to comfort her and make things better – but he hated seeing her upset and in pain.

"No." She chewed on her lip and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I… I cancelled, actually."

Bellamy choked on the piece of popcorn he was swallowing and coughed wildly, leaning forward. His eyes were widened from shock and all of the thoughts froze.

She what?

"What?" he gasped out. He turned to her, feeling more confused than ever. Her expression was composed. "But… Your date?"

"He didn't really care," she told him, waving her hand as a dismissal of that thought. "Our mothers set us up anyways. I don't think either of us really wanted to go in the first place."

"Oh." He tried to relax his face, hoping she didn't see how shocked he was and start asking questions. That was just him being a friend, right? He was surprised… as a friend?

Of course. It had nothing to do with the way his heart was racing. It had nothing to do with the way fire filled his veins when he was with her. It had nothing to do with the fact he was falling in love with her.

"Yeah. I mean, it would've been nice, but…" She shrugged, showing her disinterest. "I wasn't really into the idea of spending hours waiting for our reservation, and then spending hundreds of dollars on food that is only mediocre, and then having to figure out a way to tell him I wasn't that into him and not want a second date."

"You don't know you wouldn't have been into him," he pointed out.

Clarke glanced at him. "I know." She turned her gaze back to the television. "Besides, I would have to spend all night with this guy – someone I don't even know – with no way to escape. What if he likes Lord of the Rings over Harry Potter?" Her tone was mockingly serious.

Bellamy snorted. "The horror."

"Right?" She threw a few more pieces of popcorn in her mouth. "The food would've sucked. My mom always says how it's so expensive, but tastes so bland. I was planning on ordering pizza anyways. Tastes so much better."

"You're the only person I know that would pick pizza over Sky Alpha," Bellamy pointed out with a laugh.

They watched the movie in silence for only half a minute before Clarke was turning towards him again. "I thought you'd have plans?"

"No plans." He dared not to look in her direction. He didn't want his expression to give anything away. "I knew I wouldn't be into any of the dates either."

"You don't know you wouldn't have been into them," she said, repeating his words back to him from earlier. He smirked at that, suddenly feeling like he understood how stupid that statement was.

He knew. He knew without a question that he wouldn't be into any date he went on.

He knew because the only person he wanted to go on a date with was sitting right beside him.

Bellamy swallowed thickly and glanced back over to her. "I know." Her lips pressed tighter together. He forced his gaze not to travel to look at them, no matter how enticing they were. Friends don't want to kiss each other, he reminded himself. "I'm not interested in anyone that would've asked me."

"Have your eye on someone special?" she questioned, her eyes glinting.

He smirked, pretending that his heart wasn't thumping wildly in his chest. "Something like that." He tried to ignore the way butterflies erupted in his stomach. From nerves, from excitement, from love – he didn't know. There was no way in hell she would know he was talking about her; he shouldn't have been nervous. Calm down.

"Same here," she responded. His mind must've been playing tricks on him. He swore that she glanced to look at his lips for a split second. "I don't want to waste my time with dates when I know I wouldn't be in love with any of them."

Bellamy swallowed thickly. He loved torturing himself, apparently. His mind was trying to convince himself that she was talking about him.

"That's why I cancelled. Because I knew we would just both be wasting our times."

"You'd rather do nothing than go on a date tonight?" he wondered out loud.

Clarke smiled and lifted the bowl of popcorn. "I'm not doing nothing now. I'm with you."

"Well, before." His throat felt tight. Talking felt impossible in that moment. "You didn't know I was home. You were just going to sit at home all alone?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "That's what you were planning to do, wasn't it?"

Shit. Well, she wasn't wrong.

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing." She sounded cocky for having caught him. "I would much rather spend time alone than with some random guy trying to flirt with me." She pulled a face. Then, she locked eyes with him. Her expression softened. "And now I'm with you." Her tone was soft and it made Bellamy's heart ache. "This is much better than any date I could've been on."

"Much better," he agreed. He hated how his voice sounded weak in that moment.

It wasn't a lie. He would rather hang out with Clarke any day than go on a date with any girl.

Bellamy forced himself to turn back to the movie. He was imagining things; imagining Clarke looking at him with longing eyes, imagining her glancing at his lips. Gods, and he couldn't stop doing the same to her.

He wanted to kiss her. Her lips were calling to him. They were parted slightly and her tongue kept darting out to wet them. He really wanted to kiss her.

Maybe he should've pretended he was busy when she asked to come over. Maybe it was better that he wasn't spending Valentine's Day alone with Clarke. After all, she just said that she would rather spend time alone than with someone trying to flirt with her.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to wish anything different. He would gladly give anything to spend time with Clarke. She was funny and he loved spending time with her. She was someone he could talk about anything with and she had such a kind heart. He wanted to spend hours and days and months and years with her.

"I…" Clarke sighed heavily and fiddled with her fingers. "I cancelled because I couldn't stop thinking." She glanced up at him. Bellamy couldn't keep his eyes on the movie even if he wanted to. "I couldn't stop thinking about you, Bellamy."

His head whipped around to stare at her. A wave of shock went through him. Surly he was imaging this. He blinked at her several times, still struggling to comprehend what she was saying.

His tongue darted out to wet his lips nervously. "Uh… What?"

She looked nervous. Her face was lit up in a bright blush and her bottom lip was between her teeth. Her fingers fidgeted with the bowl of popcorn on her lap. Finally, she moved forward to place the bowl on the coffee table, away from her restless hands.

Her eyes flicked down to his lips and, in that moment, he was sure he wasn't imagining it. Her eyes lingered a little too long for his imagination to play that on him.

"I was thinking about you," she clarified, her voice steady. She met his eyes again. They held a determination he hadn't seen before. "I don't want to waste my time with other guys because I was thinking of you. I want to waste my time with you," she joked. He was too stunned to form a proper sentence. She didn't look away from him. He didn't dare looking away from him either. She held so much emotion in her eyes – it was captivating. "I know I wouldn't be into my date because I'm into you."

His chest felt like it could burst open. His heart was beating so fast that he was sure she could hear it. He couldn't form words, he was so stunned.

So, he didn't.

He moved forward, closing the distance between them. Clarke moved forward as well, meeting him part way for a kiss.

Her lips were soft and her hands were warm. Her fingers brushed against the side of his jaw as she cradled his face, making his heart absolutely ache. His own hands made their way to cup her cheek, brushing some of the stray pieces of blonde hair away from her face.

His heart felt like it was going to break if he didn't pour his soul into the kiss.

I am falling for you. I want you. I love you.

When they pulled back, their chests were heaving. It was too short of a kiss, but she still managed to make his head go fuzzy and she still managed to stop his heart. Gods, that kiss lit him on fire, yet soothed every inch of his body at the same time. It was one with so much tenderness that it made his heart ache.

He locked eyes with her and licked his lips, too stunned for words. She let out a breathless laugh, one that made Bellamy's heart stop.

She was gorgeous. She took his breath away.

Her hands dropped from his face and he pulled back, his heart reluctant to do so. He wanted to spend the rest of the day tangled in her arms.

Suddenly, as if he broke away from a cloud of fog, her words came back to him. She was thinking of him when she cancelled her date. She was thinking of him when she decided she didn't want to spend time going on dates with other men.

Bellamy swallowed thickly as he recalled her final words before their kiss. I'm into you.

He locked eyes with her again, his widened and shocked. He nervously wet his lips again and shook his head slightly. He was in disbelief of the whole situation.

"I…" He let out a breathless laugh and tried again. "I love you, Clarke."

She pressed her forehead against his, her eyes fluttering closed. She smiled, causing warmth to bloom across his chest.

"I love you too, Bell."

She closed the distance once again and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. This one was softer and sweeter than before somehow. Maybe Clarke was right when she was joking earlier; maybe Clarke Griffin was just that sweet.

When they pulled away again, she moved to settle into his arms. Her head rested against his chest while his arm wound around her shoulders. It felt so natural for her to be in his arms. It felt good. It felt like home.

Clarke reached for the bowl of popcorn on the table, pulling it back onto her lap. Bellamy cracked a smile as she threw a few pieces into her mouth. She was adorable.

Bellamy pressed a brief kiss to the top of her head. "Did you want to go out?" he asked, glancing at the clock. Most places would probably be closed or full by now, but he would brave the crowds if Clarke wanted to. She deserved a good Valentine's Day.

"I don't care about romantic stuff," she said, her nose wrinkling. "Let's just watch movies and cuddle."

Yup. He loved her.