A/N: Hello again, my lovely readers! I know this is a fast update, and I would love to say this is going to be a regular deal, but the chances of that happening are very slim. But I will do my best to upload as regularly as I can! This one just wouldn't leave me alone, and I needed to get it out. Now as always, read, review, and enjoy!


Chapter Two

Carrington, Indiana really was a cute little town. There was one main road lined with shops and boutiques, and a few streets spreading outward with townhouses. It was a beautiful day out, sunny with a light breeze. But all of that was ruined because Clarke had to call Octavia and tell her they were stuck in Indiana for a few days and wouldn't be able to make it to all the preparations.

"Hey, best friend!" Clarke's voice was sugary sweet when Octavia answered the phone.

"Oh, no. What's wrong?" Twenty years of friendship had the unfortunate side effect of making it impossible to fool each other.

"The car broke down. We're in Indiana. The mechanic said it's an easy fix, but he doesn't have the part, so it'll be a couple days until we can get back on the road." Clarke sighed.

"Will you be here in time for the wedding?"

"We should be! The maid of honor and best man can't miss it! The mechanic, Joe, said he should have us ready to go by Tuesday, and we'd be in Portland by Thursday night."

"So you'll miss everything except the rehearsal dinner and the day itself?" Clarke could tell Octavia was bummed.

"Yes, but we will be there! And in one piece."

"Are you sure you're stuck? Can you get a bus ticket?"

"I'm not leaving my car in Indiana, Octavia. And besides, Bellamy can't afford a bus ticket right now. The only way he could get there was by driving with me, and I'm graciously not making him chip in for gas."

"Fine," Octavia huffed. "I guess I'll see you at the end of the week, then. Keep me posted."

"Will do," Clarke agreed. "And if you need to vent about anything, I'm in cell range. I'll be able to take your calls."

"Okay. Be safe, and don't kill my brother." With that, Octavia disconnected the call. Clarke hadn't even thought of the fact that, because they were stranded, they'd have to bunk in together.

She crossed her arms and turned back to the surly man by her side. For a thirty year old, he sure had the petulant child pout down pat. "She's grudgingly okay with this."

"So she whined, but gave in in the end?"

"Pretty much," Clarke said, feeling the odd desire to smile. And that was frightening. "But we have another problem."

"Enlighten me, Princess." And there went the desire to smile.

"We need a place to stay."

"Call the presses. I hadn't realized."

"You're a dick. But it seems to me this town might not have that many places to stay. What if we have to stay… together?" She almost shuddered to sell it, but thought the better of it when she realized it was a bad idea to poke the bear.

"You're right, that's the worst part of this situation. But I have a feeling we'll push through. I saw an inn down the street. I'm going to check vacancies. You're welcome to come if you want." He started off down the street on those long, strong legs of his.

It took her a second, but she rushed after him. It took her a while to catch up to him, as her legs were significantly shorter than his. When they walked into the inn, Clarke was pretty sure they had been transported back to 1956. "This place looks like it was decorated by a Stepford wife."

"Hello, there!" A perky blonde woman, probably in her late fifties, pushed through a set of double doors at the side of the entry hall. "How may I help you two?"

"We're stuck here for a couple of nights, and we were looking for a place to stay. Do you have any vacancies?" Bellamy moved towards the desk the woman had moved behind.

"Lucky for you, we do!" She smiled brightly at Bellamy, and he flashed her that smile of his that made women weak in the knees. Every woman except Clarke, of course. "We have a suite with a king bed that will be vacant for the whole week. Is that okay with you?"

"Do you have anything with two beds?" He asked, glancing quickly at Clarke.

"Unfortunately that suite is the only room we have available. There's a farmer's convention in town this week, and we're almost booked solid." The inn keeper smiled wryly. "You're lucky the suite's available. If you waited until tomorrow, it would probably be booked."

"Well, then, I guess we have no choice but to take it." Bellamy said.

"Okay, what name will it be under?"

"Clarke Griffin," Clarke interrupted, moving up to the desk.

"Okay, and can I see a credit card and ID?" The woman asked, writing in a guest ledger. "Your card won't be charged until the end of your stay, but we like to have one on file."

Clarke handed the woman her driver's license and credit card, but Bellamy grabbed her arm before she had fully extended it. "Let me pay for it."

"Bell, you can't afford a plane ticket, and you're already paying for another hotel room. I got this one." She tugged her arm loose and smiled at the inn keeper.

"Alrighty, here are two keys to your room. It's on the third floor, to the left of the staircase. Room 303. There's a couch, a TV with cable, and that king side bed." She smiled brightly at Clarke and Bellamy. "I'm Shelly, I own this inn, and if you need anything, my daughter or I are available around the clock. Breakfast is served tomorrow morning at nine AM."

Clarke and Bellamy made their way up the stairs to their room. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing their room. The bed sat against the back corner, with a couch in front of it, and a TV on the wall next to the door. "I'll take the couch," Clarke said, dropping her bags next to it.

"Not a chance, Princess. You need your beauty rest."

"I don't know the last time you went to the doctor, Bell, but the last time I checked, you're about six inches too tall to fit on this couch. And I am not spending a week with you being crabby from sleeping on a couch that's too small for you." She sank down onto said couch and laid her head against the back.

Apparently, Bellamy couldn't find an argument to her logic, and moved past her to the bed. She had just closed her eyes when his deep voice broke into her thoughts. "Thank you, Princess."


"Welcome to the Ark Estates, everyone. Your rooms are all upstairs, along with a schedule outlining your duties for the week. We didn't bring you here just to work, we also want you to have fun. Your first activity is a dinner tonight, after the vendors arrive, at six o'clock. See you all in the dining room!" Octavia clapped her hands after she'd briefed the bridal party.

Jasper Jordan, one of the groomsmen, turned to his best friend Monty Green. "I have an idea."

"Is it another bet? Because the last time you had an idea both of us were running out of a casino in New Mexico without pants on." Monty deadpanned.

"It is another bet, but we're not betting against someone else. We're betting against each other!"

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Just listen. I bet you that I can find a girl here first." Jasper said smugly.

"Right, because you're a huge ladies' man."

"Hey, I'm smooth."

"I once saw you try to slide across the hood of a car and fall so hard on your ass I needed to help you walk for two days."

"Well, then, you should be confident that you'll win. Do we have a deal?"

"Fine. What do you want if you win?"

"If I win, I want… tickets to the premiere of the next Star Wars movie. And not just any tickets. Your tickets."

"C'mon, man, you know they only give the crew one set of tickets each!"

"Then you better win."

"Okay, if I win, I want you to clean my house. There are still Cheetos behind the couch from that rager you threw last month."

"Alright, buddy, you got a deal." Jasper stuck his hand out, where Monty grasped it and shook firmly.

Across the room, Raven Reyes slunk over towards Octavia as she stood by the stairs of the estate. "Hey, Raven. How's my acting maid of honor?"

"Yeah, you know, calling me that doesn't make me maid of honor, and it definitely doesn't mean I'm hosting your bachelorette party." Raven grinned at her friend.

"I will wear you down," Octavia promised. "What do you need, Rav?"

"I had a question, actually." Raven bit her lip.

"A boy question? That's a boy lip bite." Octavia grinned at her.

"Who is that?" Raven nodded across the room at one of the groomsmen, who was talking to Lincoln, Octavia's finacé.

"That's Kyle Wick. He's one of Lincoln's friends from the force." Lincoln was a cop for the Portland police department.

"A cop, huh?"

"Yep. And he's one hundred percent single. And he's a really nice guy."

"Ugh, a nice guy?"

"Raven, you could use a nice guy in your life." Octavia crossed her arms. "I know Finn was the original bad boy and everything, but you need someone to settle you down."

"Here's hoping he's more bad than good, because that boy is hot!" Raven fanned herself with her hand and laughed with Octavia.

"You know, Raven, you should go talk to him." Octavia said quickly, glancing across the room to Lincoln and pushing her friend along.

"What, now? I need time to think of what to say! Are you just doing this so you and Lincoln can sneak out and have sex? That's not fair, man. You guys are getting married on Saturday. I promise you can wait-" Her exclamation died on her lips when she spotted the reason for Octavia's panic.

Finn Collins stood in the middle of the room. His hair was still that same disheveled mess of inky strands that hung down to his neck. His eyes were still the same deep brown, and his smile still had that hint of cockiness that had once made Raven's knees buckle. Except this time, his arm was around a tall, slender, tan, brunette with mile long legs and supermodel hair.

"Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" Raven asked quietly.

"I didn't want to upset you. I know you're over him and everything, but he and Lincoln are still friends and I couldn't tell him he couldn't have Finn as one of his groomsmen. I'm really sorry, Rav."

"You know what? It's fine. He's happy now, I'm happy now. It's all good."

Octavia nodded slowly. "Okay, honey. You'll be fine. Now I have to go, because the band is about to arrive." She slowly let her friend go, and crossed the room to her finacé and Wick.

"Hey, beautiful." Lincoln smiled and pressed a kiss into the side of her head.

"Hi. Wick, do you mind if I steal him? We need to help the band get settled in when they arrive."

"No problem," Wick said with an easy smile. "See you at dinner."

"Thanks!" Octavia called after him. After he was down the hallway, she turned into Lincoln's chest, allowing his arms to circle her and pull her into his body. "One week from today, we get married." She smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"I can't wait." Lincoln smiled back at her. "Are you sure you're okay with this Clarke and Bellamy situation?"

"I can't do anything about it." She shrugged. "I'm just going to have to have Raven pick up the slack."

"Okay, but if I see you getting crazy, I reserve the right to intervene."

"Deal," she smiled, leaning up to kiss him again. They stayed wrapped in their loving embrace for a few moments before a throat clearing made them break apart.

"I take it you're The Grounders?" Lincoln asked, taking in the group of men standing in front of them. They had a couple of guitars in cases and rolling suitcases loaded with amps.

"Yes, sir." The front man stepped forward. Octavia lifted herself on her tiptoes to glance over Lincoln's shoulder at the band. And she gasped when she saw just who the front man was. "Atom?"

"Well, hey, Octavia. I had no idea this was your wedding." But his grin said otherwise, and Octavia let her head drop into the back of Lincoln's shoulder. It appeared this would be the wedding week from hell, and she hadn't yet hit rock bottom.