A/N: Well. I'm very sorry. I haven't updated in a hot minute, and I sincerely apologize. I wish I could say I've just been busy, but I've also had a bit of writer's block. June is a difficult month for me, for personal reasons, but I've been trying to push through. I hope you guys enjoy this update, and I hope you don't think I've forgotten about this story. I always say I'll update more often, and I always mean it, but this time I hope I can actually achieve it. This is a really long AN, so I'm going to wrap it up here. As always, read, review, and enjoy!


Chapter Five

Jasper leaned against a pillar in the entrance hall of Ark Estate. Around him, the hustle and bustle of wedding preparations was in full swing. With just a few days until the big event, which had been described by the Los Angeles Herald as the "Wedding of the Year", everyone had a job to do. Lucky for Jasper, his happened to be overseeing the transport of materials for vendors. So basically, he just had to stand by the door and tell people where to go. That he could do.

And maybe he could even get a date out of it, too.

"Where are the vases going for the florist?" A petite brunette asked him, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"To the White Room, down this hall and to the left," he said, trying to smile as casually as he could. "What's your name?"

"I'm Anna. You?"

"Jasper."

"Nice to meet you, Jasper. Do you think you can give me a hand carrying these down there?" She gestured behind her to the two dollies loaded with massive crystal vases.

"Um…" He glanced around, making sure no other vendors were currently transporting anything. Octavia would kill him if he left his spot. Especially just to flirt with a girl. "Yeah, sure. Can you show me how to work this thing?"

After showing him how to take off the brake and roll the dolly, Anna let him lead her down the hallway to the White Room. "So, are you the florist?"

Her laugh was adorable and light. "No, I'm the intern. I've been working in advertising for years, but I've always loved flowers. My mom and I used to have a garden and she'd let me sell flowers while my brother sold lemonade and cookies."

"Chasing the dream now, huh?" Jasper glanced over. She was cute. Short, wavy brown hair, green eyes, and a tiny, upturned nose. Cute.

"That's the plan. It's comforting to know that if I fail, I have enough years of experience to get an advertising job somewhere." She pushed the door to the White Room open with her back and then held it open for Jasper as he pushed his dolly inside. "Well, thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure. Here, let me walk back with you." He raised his arm to push open the door and let her through before him. "So, um, Anna… do you like weddings?"

"I think I would have a little trouble with the whole florist thing if I didn't like weddings." She laughed again, and Jasper couldn't help but smile.

"No, I mean do you like going to weddings?" Clearly his flirting techniques were a little rusty. Who was he kidding? There were a lot rusty, if not extinct. It had been years since he'd tried to impress anyone, let alone ask them out.

"I do like them, yes. I've been to a lot recently, most of my friends are married." She gave him a small smile. "Do you like weddings?"

"I could take them or leave them, usually. This one should be good, though. I've known Octavia for years, since we were in junior high. And then Lincoln came along and her whole life changed. They're a really inspiring couple." That had started out as trying to convince her that he didn't hate weddings, but it ended up being true. Octavia and Lincoln did inspire him. They showed him that there was someone out there for him that would love him for as long as Octavia and Lincoln had been.

"That's adorable." She giggled and pushed at his shoulder.

"I'm not adorable," Jasper said, frowning.

"You are, too. So adorable." Anna teased.

"Would you stop it?" She laughed again.

"You're too easy." She glanced around, noting that they were back in the entry hall. This was his stop. "It was nice meeting you, Jasper. I guess I'll see you around."

"Hey, wait!" Jasper found himself saying as she walked away. And his words caused her to turn back to him. "Do you maybe… want to be my date to the wedding?"

"You don't have a date?"

Jasper glanced down at himself in minor disbelief. "You think I would have a date? Are you looking at the same me as I am?"

"Hey, I already told you you're adorable. Women love adorable."

"Well, I don't. Do you want to go with me or not?" He was getting tired of her calling him adorable. It was definitely not a compliment, no matter what she said.

"Jasper… I think you're a good guy. But I don't think it's a good idea for a vendor to be going to a wedding with one of the guests."

"Right." Jasper nodded. That was a good point. It was probably just a convenient excuse, but at least she had the decency to make it a good one. "Good luck with the rest of the day. Let me know if you have any more questions." He shot her a quick smile before turning back to his original place. He didn't see her face fall and her bite her lip.


Clarke needed to get out of the hotel room. She'd kissed Bellamy that morning. Well, technically, he kissed her and she kissed him back. It didn't matter who kissed who, it resulted in her wrapped around him and his tongue in her mouth. And the worst part was, she liked it. A lot.

"How about breakfast at the diner? It looked really good." Clarke took that back. The worst part was that Bellamy was acting like it never happened. He was just normal, like his entire life hadn't changed by kissing Clarke. Because she was pretty sure her entire life had changed.

"Yeah, breakfast is fine. I'm ready now if you are." She grabbed her sweatshirt from the chair she had flung it over and made her way to the door.

They arrived at the diner in silence. They were seated by the window and Clarke stared out it. Looking at Bellamy's stupidly handsome face was not a good idea right now.

"Did you sleep well?" His voice broke into her thoughts. But she still refused to look at his face.

"Yeah, it was okay. I guess tonight won't be as comfortable."

"Why not?"

"Cramped bed, next to you."

"Ah, yes. It's the next to me part that really gets you, right?"

Now she looked at him. "What makes you think that sleeping next to you would be anything but uncomfortable for me?"

"Right, of course. Back to this." He nodded, looking out toward the street.

"What do you mean, 'back to this?'"

"I mean, this morning we kissed. And you and I both know you liked it."

"Yeah, I liked it. Ever think it might be because I haven't been kissed in a long time, and not because you were the one kissing me?"

He jerked back at her words. "You don't mean that."

"Don't I? Your sister has been trying to get me laid for about nine months now. Ever since Finn and I broke up, she's been trying to get me with someone. And I haven't been kissed since then. So yeah, I kissed back. Sue me because I like kissing."

"Okay. Fine."

A waitress approached their booth. "Morning, folks. My name's Taylor. What can I getcha?"

"I'll have scrambled eggs with onions and pepper and a piece of toast. And a side of strawberries." Bellamy said and handed his menu to Taylor.

"I'll take the waffles with whipped cream and syrup and a side of bacon." Clarke smiled at Taylor as she handed back her menu. The waitress left and Clarke was left with nothing to say. She felt bad for lying to Bellamy. She had liked the kiss, and she sure as hell had kissed him back because it was him. Truth be told, he was probably part of the reason that she hadn't been with anyone since she and Finn had broken up. But she was determined not to end up hurt again, and she was positive she had feelings for Bellamy. But he was all about pleasure. Temporary pleasure.

"Still eating junk food, I see?" She glanced up at his words and saw a teasing smile on his face.

"Yeah, well, some of us can't be bothered to worry about all those calories and nutrients and crap. I just go for an extra long run and then I feel better." She shrugged. If he wanted to keep it light, she could keep it light. Better to be stung now by the fact that all he wanted was sex than to find out later when she was full on in love with him. If she wasn't already there.

She wasn't stupid. She knew all the fighting was a smoke show. She knew that no matter how much she wished it weren't true, and how much she tried to hide it, she had feelings for him. Bickering was just a defense mechanism to disguise how much she actually cared about him. She had always assumed it was the same for him, but apparently that wasn't the truth.

She must have been zoning out for a while, because the next thing she knew, food was being set down in front of her. Delicious, syrupy, whipped cream goodness on a plate in front of her. And a plate of health food in front of him. If they couldn't even be compatible with their food, how could she expect that they would be compatible in real life?


Jasper was so lucky, Monty thought as he made his way through the kitchen. All he had to do was stand there and tell people where to go. Monty, on the other hand, had to go down to the kitchen, double check all the ingredients, menu items, and make sure everything was running smoothly. Octavia had called it 'kitchen liaison' or some shit like that, but really he was just an errand boy for the kitchen.

He was so annoyed with his assignment that he didn't notice the person standing right in front of him. So he bumped into her and knocked her over.

"Hey!" She yelled on her way down to the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Let me help you up." Monty looked down at the girl on the floor who was covered with cold shrimp and marinara sauce. Damn, that would not come out easily.

"No, no, you've done enough already." She waved his hand away and stood on her own. She was average in height, with long, straight black hair and fine features. She was gorgeous. And he just covered her in shrimp cocktail. Not that she would have been in his league before, but he definitely wasn't getting a date now.

"Really, I'm so sorry. Can I help you get a new shirt or something?" If he wasn't going to get a date—because really, who was he kidding?—he might as well be a nice guy.

"I have one in my purse. Can you grab it for me?" She was patting down her shirt and didn't spare him a glance. Well, not until he stood there dumbly for a moment. Then she glanced up at him and jerked her head to her purse. He nodded and went to her purse. He pulled the shirt out and turned around to give it to her.

And found her half naked in front of him.

"Oh, um…" He turned around and held the shirt out behind him. "Here's your shirt."

"Thank you." He could hear the amusement in her voice as she took the shirt from him.

"Well, I'm sorry again. I need to be getting to the kitchen. I hope your day gets better from here." He started walking away, not wanting to chance her not being decent again.

"Hey, wait!" Monty stopped at the sound of her voice. He turned around slowly, relieved when she was fully clothed. "What's your name?"

"Monty. But I'm actually late, so I have to run." He smiled at her and went to continue on his way.

"Monty?" He could hear her walking fast to catch up with him. "I'm Lily."

"Lily, it was nice meeting you. Well, I guess it really wasn't for you, but I really do need to be going."

"I'm Lily."

"Yeah, I got that."

"The caterer."

"The- oh."

She laughed. "Yeah, oh."

"Now I feel even worse about spilling your own food on you."

She laughed again. It was a nice laugh. "Well, I'm not saying you shouldn't feel bad about getting marinara all over my shirt, but it happens. I won't hold it against you. Though I definitely will never trust you in my kitchen."

"That's unfortunate. I guess I'll have to have Octavia assign someone else to be her kitchen liaison." He smiled again, a bit self-deprecatingly, and turned to exit the kitchen.

"Slow down, buddy. I'm joking with you. Please don't leave." She reached out and snagged his arm before he could leave the kitchen. "What is it that Octavia wanted us to go over?"

"Um, a couple things, actually." He glanced around. "I have a question first, if you don't mind."

"Shoot."

"If the wedding isn't for a few more days, why are you preparing food now?"

"Well," she motioned around at the bustling kitchen. "Some of it is practice. Making sure the recipes are correct for the appliances in this kitchen, checking over ingredients, that sort of thing. Some of it is preparing for the rehearsal dinner. Hopefully, we'll be ready to go the morning of the wedding. We'll be cooking all day and we have to deal with coordinating with the baker and all sorts of stuff like that."

"You're kind of young to have a catering company, aren't you?" After he said it, he realized how it sounded. "I didn't… mean it like that. I just meant that it's a lot to have accomplished by your age. It's impressive, actually."

She smiled. "Thank you. It's actually my parents company, my brothers and I run it now."

"If you need any help on the day of the wedding, let me know. I am the kitchen liaison, after all." He smiled at her. Still didn't have a shot in hell with her, but he figured he could gain a new friend.

"Oh, no, that's okay." She shot him a smile that he could almost interpret as shy. Maybe nervous. "You should enjoy the day. You're in the wedding party. Besides, I wouldn't want to tear you away from your date."

"Oh, I don't have a date."

"Shame on all the women you know." She smiled at him and he felt something like… butterflies in his stomach.

"We should get down to business. Octavia game me kind of a long list of things to discuss." Monty eyed Lily as he laid out the list Octavia had given him. His flirting game had never been strong, but he felt like she was hitting on him. On the other hand, she was so far out of his league it was laughable. Regardless, she couldn't be his date for the wedding because she'd be working all day. He would have to look elsewhere if he wanted to win the bet.