Chapter Six: Legends Told in the Stars
Monty tried to keep calm as he sat in the backseat.
Never in a million years would he have thought that he'd be riding in the backseat of Bellamy Blake's car. And it wasn't that Monty was afraid of Bellamy, because he wasn't.
Bellamy wasn't exactly popular in the traditional sense that typical movies like Mean Girls try to portray. Everyone knew that he was working three jobs and taking advanced classes in attempts to get into a recognizable college. Everyone knew that his main goal at this point was to get a degree in social science.
The hard work and dedication that Bellamy had been putting into his work since starting high school was notable and everyone respected him for it or held him in at least some high esteem. Almost everyone. Clarke was too oblivious by their rivalry to view him any differently from the boy who dumped a pail of sand in her lap in kindergarten.
The car ride wasn't long at all—maybe ten minutes at the most. Jasper and Monty stayed quiet while Octavia filled the silence with a recap of her day while Bellamy listened. "Thanks for the ride, Bellamy," Octavia said as she pushed the front-seat forward enough for the two boys in the back to scramble out.
Bellamy eyed Jasper warily before glancing back to Octavia. "What time do you need a pick-up, O?"
Monty noticed Bellamy regard Jasper suspiciously again and Monty wondered if it was because he was Clarke's brother or if Bellamy knew of Jasper's crush on Octavia. "Few hours," Octavia said and let the seat spring back into place. "I'll call you."
"Are they going to need a ride too?" Monty had expected Bellamy's tone to be hostile but it was surprisingly calm.
Octavia glanced over at Jasper who shook his head. "No, uh," he hesitated, looking nervous, "Clarke's supposed to come get us."
Bellamy scoffed slightly, shaking his head. He muttered something under his breath—"the princess" Monty heard—then he nodded. "Okay, I'll be back around ten to get you, O."
Octavia scrunched up her nose, clearly disappointed. "Why so early? I said I'd call you."
"Mom doesn't want you out later than that. Plus, I'm going over to Miller's and I don't need to be worrying about the trouble you're getting into while I'm over there."
"Fine. But don't show up even a minute before ten."
"Someone's being bossy. Makes me wonder what you're up to." He tilted his nose down and Octavia blushed slightly.
Monty turned away politely, pretending to take an interest in an ant crawling between the cracks of the sidewalk while Octavia hastily hissed at her brother. When Monty looked up, Bellamy was pulling out of the parking lot and Octavia's face was returning to it's normal color.
"Everything good?" Jasper asked upon her return to them.
Octavia nodded, rubbing circles into her arms. "Just Bellamy being a dick, per the usual. Come on, I can see Sterling's car parked near the front."
…
After having gotten his M&M blizzard, Jasper followed Octavia to a table where a few of the other soccer kids decided to settle.
The entire place was full of people that Jasper recognized from the team and most of them had other friends along with them. The noise decibel was through the roof, reminding Jasper of when he was forced to eat in college cafeterias on field trips. He found not being able to hear the person sitting across from him rather annoying.
Octavia slid into a booth with Harper, Fox, and Sterling which Jasper found appropriate. Other than being on the soccer team, he knew that the three of them also resided on student-council because on more than one occasion they had been over to help Clarke out with something or other.
When Harper smiled at them, Jasper made sure to nudge Monty in the side roughly and he almost tripped head first into the table except he was able to right himself at the last moment. "Hi," Monty tried to cover it up but his face was still slightly flushed and his voice was weak.
Jasper had to keep from laughing, but then Octavia grabbed him by the cuff of his hoodie and pulled him over so that their shoulders brushed as they sat. He took it that his face said it all because suddenly Monty was the one refraining his giggles.
"You guys did great today," Harper gushed excitedly to Sterling and Octavia.
Octavia shrugged nonchalantly. "Not a big deal. Right place at the right time."
"Yeah," Sterling agreed, crossing his arms on the table. "It was kind of a fluke. It only went in the net because the goalie tripped over his own feet."
"Who cares?" Jasper's stomach twisted as everyone's eyes turned to him. God, he was so awkward. "I mean, we won right? Flukes still count."
Everyone stayed quiet for a second, but then Fox said "Jasper's right" and the growing pit in his stomach stopped deepening.
"We beat Mecha Prep and that's what matters." She planted a kiss on Sterling's cheek.
Quickly licking the ice cream off of his spoon, Japser stuck it back into the lump of ice cream and then held the cup up over the table. "To winning!"
He felt stupid for a second, but then Monty's cotton candy and Octavia's double-chocolate chip cookie dough blizzards joined his in the middle followed by everyone else's. "To winning!" they cheered, breaking out into giggles.
As more people filtered in, the louder the room got. Some of the kids who happened to be present were trembling behind their parents, terrified of the older kids hanging around like they owned the place.
Octavia must have read his mind because she called over the noise, "You guys wanna go to the elementary school play yard?"
"Sounds good!" Harper shouted back.
Jasper slid out of the booth, falling into step with Monty as Harper and Octavia led the way through the restaurant and to the door. The elementary school was just down the sidewalk from the Dairy Queen, making it an ideal spot for them to unwind.
"Are you going to talk to her?" Jasper nudged Monty. Harper and Octavia were talking in depthly with their hands.
Monty scowled. "No way."
"Why not?"
"Unlike you, I don't have an entire battle plan drawn up on how to get a girl to like me."
"I can get my box of crayons and colored construction paper and have one drawn up for you in like, thirty minutes."
Monty rolled his eyes. "No thank you."
"Okay," Jasper shrugged as they stepped onto the school yard field. "But I'm always here to help you with your girl problems, buddy."
They took their time crossing the field opposed to the mad bolt to the merry-go-round that Octavia had opted for. Harper called out to her to slow it down, but then she took off to intercept Octavia at break-neck speeds.
"Come on," Jasper laughed, pulling Monty along once they made it within a reasonable jogging distance.
Octavia's hair whipped around as she held onto the metal bars, leaning her torso off the edge as far as she dared. Even in her dirty, yellow uniform and clashing flip-flops she looked so beautiful.
Jasper was so busy staring at her, he hadn't even registered that Monty had already climbed onto the merry-go-round or that he was just awkwardly watching them spin with a dopey smile on his face.
"Jasper!" Monty cupped his hands around his mouth. "Make it go faster!"
"Yeah!" Harper whooped and Octavia's grin just widened, but it was enough to motivate Jasper into running what felt like a mile around in a circle to help it gain speed before jumping on himself.
"Oh my God," he panted, falling flat on his back in the middle of the rotating disk. "This thing is so heavy, especially with you giants on here."
"I'm a giant?" Monty snorted, obviously trying to be heard. Harper chuckled.
Twisting her leg around the bars, Octavia stood up and stretched her arms out. From his spot on the ground, Jasper couldn't see anything but the blue sky and clouds revolving around her as she stood freely against the wind. From the gentle smile on her face to the deep inhalations to the way her hair barely touched her face as they moved, Jasper could tell she was in a bliss.
And right now, while she was sweaty and covered in dirt, he couldn't think of a moment where she looked more beautiful.
…
Darkness came too early in Octavia's opinion.
The covers of darkness first started taking it's dim hold on the sky around nine and only continued to darken since then. Now at a quarter to ten, she knew that she was going to have to leave soon, even though the darkness called for to stay.
After the merry-go-round, Octavia and the others alternated between the different pieces of playground equipment, acting like they were kids again. At one point, they busted out Jasper's soccer ball and used it as a basketball on the blacktop. When Harper left about a half-hour after dark, the rest of them decided to settle down and enjoy each other's company.
Originally they had been sitting on the top of the monkey bars, but that soon grew to be uncomfortable so Monty suggested they chill out on the grass.
"Do you guys ever wonder what's out there?" Monty murmured suddenly.
Octavia turned to her right where Monty was lying. "What do you mean?" Jasper asked from her other side.
Monty sighed, keeping his eyes trained on the stars. "Do you think there's other life other than our planet? Or if there's something out there that could support human life?"
Octavia rolled on her side, waiting expectantly for Jasper's rebuttal. "Maybe," he said finally. She noticed how he kept his gaze on the sky intently as well.
"What about you, Octavia?" Monty's voice came from behind her.
Octavia returned to her initial position on her back. "I'm not really big into the whole science aspect behind the galaxy. I'm more into the history behind it."
Jasper pursed his lips. "Isn't history and science the same thing?"
Octavia laughed wistfully. "Not the history I'm thinking of."
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't done this in awhile," she started. "Watch the stars, I mean. I used to do it all the time with my brother when I was a bit younger. He's really into mythology and stuff so he would tell me the stories behind the constellations."
Octavia pointed up at what she distinctly knew as Orion but could be easily seen as a clump of stars. "That's the Hunter, Orion. He fell in love with the goddess Artemis, but she swore herself to eternal maidenhood. Apollo, Artemis's brother, was so furious that he shot and killed Orion on the day he was supposed to marry Artemis."
She pointed out another group of stars that could've easily been overlooked by the untrained eye. "And that's the constellation of Andromeda. She was a princess of Ethiopia who was doomed to being mauled by a sea monster after her parents pissed off Poseidon. But the demigod Perseus saved her on the condition that her parents let him marry her, which they agreed to but kind of forgot when it was all said and done. But Andromeda upheld her parents end of the bargain and married Perseus, so the goddess Athena put her in the stars as a reward."
"Wow," Jasper breathed. "That's really cool that you know those stories."
Octavia grinned, rubbing her palms against the grass. "I don't know nearly as many stories as Bellamy does. He's like a walking encyclopedia for Greek myths. He could probably recite an ancient story for how every star that's visible from earth came to be."
"He must be great at parties."
Octavia laughed out loud. "Yeah. One day, I want to be a legend in the stars. I want people to recount the epics of Octavia Blake every time they see a certain constellation."
"That's a lot cooler than asking about aliens," Monty conceded.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking in the cool atmosphere. It was the first time in a long while that Octavia genuinely felt at peace.
"Hey, look." Jasper nodded toward at red light that flashed in intervals as it crossed the inky blue sky. "Satellite."
Octavia shivered. "How could people ever voluntarily live in space?"
"I think it could be cool," Monty said. "Not forever, but it'd be cool to see the planet from a different angle."
"Not to me." She shifted her legs so that they were pulled up to her chest. "It sounds claustrophobic and restricting. No fresh air. No soccer. No pizza. Oh my God, no pizza." She faked a groan. "But especially no fresh air. I'd lose it in space. I need the freedom of the ground, ya know?"
"I understand that." Jasper smiled, tearing his eyes away from the sky.
For a minute, Octavia was tempted to lean over and kiss him. It didn't have to be big or extravagant; a quick kiss under the stars sounded perfect. She was already starting to lean in when her phone buzzed where it sat on her stomach, surprising everyone.
Jasper fell back in the grass, and if it weren't for the cover of darkness he probably would have been visibly red in the cheeks.
"Hello?" she answered as harshly as she could into the phone.
"I'm in the parking lot outside of the Dairy Queen but it's closed. Where the hell are you?" Bellamy's voice came from the other end and Octavia didn't even stop her eyeroll.
"We're just down a block. At the elementary school."
"You're not alone are you?"
"Jasper and Monty are here with me."
"Still?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't they be?"
"I just assumed Clarke would—you know what? That's not important. Come to the sidewalk; I'm gonna pull over and get you."
"See you in a minute." She hung up the phone. "That was Bellamy."
"We figured," Monty said. Jasper shot him a look, but Octavia figured that Monty couldn't even tell with how thick the dark was. "You want us to walk with you? It'd be safer."
Out of the corner of her eye, Octavia saw the headlights of a car pulling over to the side of the road. "No, that's okay. I see him now. Thanks for the offer though."
She stood up and Jasper quickly scrambled to his feet. His hair covered his eyes. "Well thanks for inviting us. I sure had fun."
"I did too," Octavia smiled. "I'm glad you guys could hang out for a little bit." She cupped Jasper's face and placed a kiss on his cheek. "See you guys on Monday!"
She snatched up her hoodie from the ground, then jogged to where Bellamy was waiting. "Hey, big brother," she greeted whilst climbing into the car.
Bellamy put the car into gear and pulled back out onto the road. "So how was it?"
"Told some Greek myths." She felt satisfied when his face perked into a smile. "I'm the life of the party."
"Well that's good, I guess. I don't know how I feel about you being the life of a party."
"Nothing bad happened. We were just eating ice cream and playing on the playground."
"It's not you I don't trust."
A slight rush of anger filled Octavia's stomach. "Jasper and Monty are good guys."
Bellamy's fists tightened on the steering wheel and his body tensed against his seat belt. "I don't know them, O, so I can't know that for sure."
"If you trust me, then why can't you trust that I'm making a good decision?"
"Because I know how some guys can be, O. I've hung out with people like that before and I don't like the idea of my little—"
"—please stop." Octavia slammed her fist against her lap. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but I can take care of myself."
Bellamy's tone remained calm even though his body was more tense than she had ever seen before. "You're still just a kid, Octavia."
"I'm only a year and a half younger, alright, Bellamy? I'm not some helpless little fifth grader who doesn't have friends on the playground anymore. I can take care of my damned self."
This time, Bellamy growled and his eyes flashed. "I can't demand that you respect me, but at least you could pretend you do."
Octavia gritted her teeth. "Fine, then. How was your student council meeting on Monday?"
She was still seething, and everything about her tone was sarcastic. At this point, she couldn't care less.
"It was fine, thanks for asking." Bellamy was just as pissed as she was. She could tell not only by the body language, but also by the fact that he almost bypassed the street that led into their subdivision. "I'm stuck being co-president with Clarke."
"Good," Octavia snarled. "Maybe she can teach you some manners."
"I'm pretty sure that she and Wells have enough etiquette for everyone," he snapped back. He pulled the car to a stop in their driveway and ripped the keys from the ignition.
"News flash, dipshit," Octavia climbed out of the car, "Clarke and Wells broke up." She watched as Bellamy's jaw slacked, then dropped.
She didn't wait for him to respond before slamming the car door in his face and then locking herself in her bedroom.
...
so this was mostly just a filler chapter, but we'll be getting to the main plot of the story within the next few chapters! finally !
i hope the jasper/octavia fluff was good.
what's you're favorite subplot so far?
1/30/16
