"I don't know what to wear!" Octavia cried out suddenly.
Raven and Clarke didn't get up from Clarke's bed. Octavia was always the last to get ready, usually after a long dramatic breakdown. They already knew what to do to help her out of her 'wardrobe crisis,' which happened too frequently.
"We just went shopping, Tav." Raven reminded her, not looking away from her phone.
"You guys." She whined. "You don't get it. Lincoln is coming tonight. He is going to meet Bellamy for the first time. I need something special!" she threw down the skirt she had been trying to match with a top in annoyance, glaring at them when neither had immediately jumped up to assist her.
Clarke sighed. "I am pretty sure your brother and boyfriend won't pay much attention to your outfit." Still, she stood up and walked over to her closet. Octavia had given up on her own closet and turned next to her neighbor. If she didn't find something in here, she would run over to Ravens after. She drew out a white summer dress. "Here. Try this one."
She had chosen a winner. Octavia stepped out a few minutes later in the white fabric. It had an open back, dipping down to her waist line. The front was crisscrossed across her chest, a small diamond of skin showing in the center. The skirt was full, twirling as she stepped side to side. She was beaming.
"It's perfect. Thank you Clarke!"
"No problem. Now go finish your makeup. We're late as it is."
When they were all dressed, they made their way down the stairs. Taking one step at a time gingerly, since they decided to wear heels. Raven carried a huge shoulder bag that had their flats in case they needed them throughout the night. She would leave it in whichever vehicle they took.
"What time do we work tomorrow?" Octavia asked over her shoulder.
"I'm off tomorrow." Clarke responded. "So is Raven, I think."
"Yes I am. Why?"
"Just making sure we can all drink?" Octavia flashed them a grin. The two girls scoffed at that. They all knew even if they worked, there would be drinking.
Rounding the corner leading to Monty and Jasper's place, they saw Bellamy, Miller and Murphy standing awkwardly in front of the door, talking in low voices.
"What are you losers doing standing around?"
They all whipped their heads around to look at the three girls.
Murphy whistled. "Damn Clarke, haven't seen you in ages. You look hot tonight." His eyes grazed down her body.
Clarke swatted him playfully in the arm. "Murphy, you're still a charmer. Why are you guys just standing here?"
At that moment, the door swung open. Monty's anxious face peeked out at them all.
"False alarm, Jasper." He yelled over his shoulder. "We weren't stood up. They're all standing in the hallway." He turned back to them glaring.
"Why are they in the hallway?" Came Jaspers muffled voice from the background.
"We were running late. Outfits are time consuming." Octavia shrugged. "Then we ran into these creepers standing out here." She edged around the guys in the hallway, sliding into the apartment.
"We weren't creeping. We were congregating before knocking."
"Congregating?" Raven scoffed at Miller. "We're here for a night out. Lighten up, officer." She lightly punched him on the shoulder, then followed Octavia. Clarke walked right behind her, Murphy right on her heels.
Bellamy had paused outside of the apartment door to remind the other two of the youth's excitability. More like warn them, he thought.
"They are seriously fun. I'll give them that. But they're all in their early twenties. Remember how we were at that age?"
Miller barked out a laugh. "So, they're going to end up shitfaced and in strange people's houses?"
Bellamy grimaced at that. "I don't want us to babysit them. Just make sure the group comes back all together, yeah?"
At that moment, they all heard a weird clicking noise. Then his sister's voice rang out, and he realized the noise had been their heels. He had to take a moment just to stare. They all looked—nice. He frowned at his choice of words. Octavia was in this white dress that made her glow. Raven was in a black pencil skirt that hugged her small but curvy figure well, a black crop top making her chest seem more voluptuous. Her normal ponytail was discarded, her long hair down her back and straight.
Clarke wore a long pink skirt. A slit ran up her thigh and ended a little below her hip, allowing one of her legs to be flashed entirely. A white lacy top covered most of her chest, leaving a small amount of flat belly to peek out. Her hair was down and wavy. She was beautiful, he thought.
And Murphy beat him to commenting on it. His stomach twisted slightly at his roommate's flirting, but he felt better when Clarke didn't reciprocate. They all went into the apartment after the girls.
Monty and Jasper were in the living room. Clarke and Octavia had all surrounded Maya, complimenting her attire. Bellamy greeted her warmly before turning to fist bump Jasper.
"Let's just take shots, then head out. It's already late and I reserved a table at the Dropship." Monty explained to them all, flipping his black hair out of his face.
"Well, where's the alcohol then?" Clarke hooted.
Jasper clapped his hands together. "This way, my friends. To our new kitchen table."
"You sure you and Maya don't want to give the table a test run before?" Raven threw out, winking at Maya.
"Who says we didn't already?" Maya blew a kiss at Jasper's shocked face and skipped into the kitchen. Bellamy didn't know what specifically they were talking about, but he had a small clue.
"And we're going to drink off of that now?" Murphy called out, but followed the line into the kitchen anyway. On the table were shot glasses. Bellamy counted quickly. Eighteen shots. Enough for two each.
"Go hard or go home." Monty stated, shrugging then picking up a glass.
Clarke was the first to grab another glass. "You're technically home." She reminded him, before throwing back her drink quickly. She smacked her lips together and set the glass upside down on the table in front of her.
"A girl who can handle her liquor." Murphy muttered. "Now that is hot." Everyone was busy downing their drinks, so only Bellamy heard. He grabbed his drink, tilted his head back and bitterly swallowed the alcohol. He agreed, but like hell he wanted to hear it from Murphy.
The night had barely started and Bellamy was already in a grumpy mood. He frowned at himself. So what if Murphy made the moves on Clarke? It's not like she was taken. It's not like he specifically wanted to 'make moves' on her. It's not like he had actually enjoyed himself the other night.
"What's with you, big brother?"
"Nothing. Long day at work." He lied. Then, to his delight, Clarke walked over.
"Here." She handed him a shot. "One more, and you won't care about your exhaustion." She smiled warmly at him. The tight feeling in his chest dissipated at that moment. "Together?"
Octavia answered before he could. "Together!"
Bellamy chuckled, and raised his eyebrows at Clarke in exasperation. She laughed at his sister's interruption, but raised her shot along with the siblings.
"Wait! The last shot is for a toast." Monty called out quickly. Bellamy stopped himself before the liquid touched his lips.
"A toast?" Miller looked amused.
"Yeah. For a fun night. All we have to do is survive two more weeks and then we are off on our vacation!" Monty looked fondly at everyone around the table.
"I'll toast to that." Raven called out, Maya whooping loudly beside her.
"Two more weeks till Party Cabin!" Octavia yelled. Everyone else drank to that toast as well.
The Dropship was packed that night. The only reason they didn't have to wait in line was because of Lincoln. He was a co-owner of the club. So naturally, he always kept his girlfriend and her friends on the list. And Clarke loved him for that.
They were able to skip the line, people grumbling at them and their luck. Clarke walked into the building beside Raven. The two girls had their arms linked, wide grins splattered on their faces. When she said the club was packed, it had been an understatement. It was brimming with bodies. The dance floor was a few steps down from them. A pulsing blue light made up the floor, lights glowing and illuminating people. She held up her hand in front of her. Her skin looked foreign under the lights. Clarke loved this part, how she felt like an alien in here. The bar was filled, no stools were available. The bartenders were flying around behind the counters, keeping up with the steady demand of drinks.
"The table is this way." Monty yelled over at them. They walked over to a large booth. Miller left them to head to the bar, promising to bring back a pitcher of something.
"Where is Lincoln?" Octavia surveyed the large room while trying to act like she wasn't.
"He'll pop up. He always does." Maya assured her. Clarke nodded her agreement, sliding in besides her friends.
"Hey ladies." Wick appeared besides them. Raven grinned wider, standing up to hug her boyfriend. He murmured something in her ear that made her blush, but over the loud music, only Raven could hear him. Clarke turned away to give them some privacy, noticing Bellamy gazing at her.
She felt herself warm up under his scrutiny. The blue lights made his dark skin glow brighter, but it darkened his eyes. He looked dangerous at that moment, even though Clarke knew he was anything but. Shivering slightly, she noted the way his lips were drawn into a straight line. She had noticed he was being crabby tonight, more withdrawn. She wondered why. He had been fine the night before. What if he regretted being so friendly with her? Maybe he didn't want her thinking he liked her like that.
She looked away from him, frowning slightly, but promising herself not to let him get to her tonight. Clarke hadn't drank with her friends since the night of Bellamy's return. She was determined to enjoy tonight as fully as she could.
"Who wants to dance?" She yelled over the music at her table. Octavia, Maya and, much to her dismay, Murphy agreed to go with her. Clarke stood up and swept to the stairs leading down to where everyone was dancing. Octavia wound her hand between Clarke's, gripping her tight to not lose her in the overflowing crowd. They grinned at each other, and began to dance once they reached the center of the crowd. The song was from Kid Cudi. She could just make out the lyrics of Pursuit of Happiness. Swaying her body, she let herself forget about dark eyes and changing moods.
The lyrics rang out 'I'm on the Pursuit of Happiness and I know everything that shine aint always gunna be gold. Yeah. I'll be fine once I get it. I'll be good.' She chanted the words as she danced, arms thrown over her head. Octavia and Maya joined in, throwing their voices up in the air as they twisted around to the beat.
Bellamy watched Clarke walk off to the dancefloor with his sister. Murphy had jumped up also, but he had spotted another female who caught his eye, and he headed that way instead of following Clarke. Good, thought Bellamy.
"Hey, you look like you could use a drink" Miller appeared beside him, carrying a bottle of Jack Daniels. He shrugged at Bellamy's questioning glance. "A bottle is better than a pitcher, no?"
"Hell yeah it is." Jasper chirped up.
"Why aren't you out dancing with your woman?" Miller asked him. "She's going to end up going home with one of those girls if you aren't careful."
"They honestly would steal Maya." Jasper muttered, looking over at the writhing girls. "Come on Monty. I don't want to be the only guy dancing." Monty opened his eyes wide.
"Drink before we go?"
"Definitely."
Scoffing, Miller poured them both a hefty amount of alcohol into two glasses and slid it their way. The two guys chugged it. Monty shook out his shoulders, as if preparing for a fight.
"It's go time."
"Hurry before I change my mind." Jasper stood suddenly, taking off after his girlfriend. Monty scrambled after him.
It became apparent why they were hesitant to go out in the first place. They were as uncoordinated on the dance floor as they were anywhere else they went. Monty bobbed his head constantly, resembling a chicken pecking for food. Jasper tried sliding in smoothly beside Maya, but managed to stumble. She reached out to steady him while he turned a shade of pink. Bellamy and Miller both cracked up.
"So what gives, man?" Miller asked after they had watched the two guys integrate themselves with the girls. "You didn't work today. Which you told Octavia was the reason you're pissed." Bellamy didn't say anything. "You were fine when we got to the apartment." Again, Bellamy kept his silence. Miller passed him a glass full of Jack. "Here." He said. "To help ease the stick out of your ass."
"Shut up Miller." Bellamy muttered, but he took the drink.
He downed three glasses before making his way to the restroom. A small buzz was starting to creep up on him. He kept watching Clarke, trying not to be obvious about it. The girl could dance, he gave her that. She moved her body so fluidly and without hesitation. He felt himself flush at the image of her swaying hips. That one leg jutting out was tantalizing. He shook his head, trying to focus.
"Bellamy! Fancy meeting you here." He turned at his name, spotting the waitress from the diner Octavia had taken him too. She was in a skimpy black dress that showed all her—assets. He couldn't remember her name, his slurred mind not helping him catch it. "It's Harper." She told him after his hesitation. "I'm a friend of Octavia's."
He nodded at her and smiled slightly. "Yeah, I remember. How's it going?"
"Oh, it's going." She leaned in closer to him. "Are you here with your girlfriend?" she asked innocently enough, but he knew what she was aiming for.
"Uhh—no girlfriend. Just a group of friends." He gestured vaguely behind him. She perked up at his words. Placing her hand on his elbow, she blinked up at him.
"Want to get a drink?"
They danced for what felt like hours. Coming back to the table, Clarke found out they had danced for two hours straight. Miller was sitting at the table next to Murphy. She hadn't noticed his disappearance from the dance floor until that moment. Yet, she noticed Bellamy was gone the second they walked up to the table.
"Where's my brother?" Clarke was glad Octavia asked. She had been trying to look around for him discreetly.
Miller looked up at them. "He just left to the restroom."
Raven and Wick walked up to them. "Hey there, happy feet." She poked Clarke in the ribs. "Can we take shots now? I am too sober."
Clarke sighed her relief. "Yes. Definitely shots time."
"Let's play the quarter game!" Maya clapped her hands excitedly.
"Let me go order more drinks. This bottle is almost out." Monty stood up. "I did promise you all a round." Winking, he spun around and headed to the bar, pushing past the hordes of bodies standing around.
They distributed what remained of the bottle. The Moonshine they normally drank boosted their tolerance for 'normal' alcohol, which meant they had to drink a bit more to match their buzz from Jasper's creation.
"Shame we can't bring in Moonshine. My ol' faithful." Jasper mirrored her thoughts.
"No shame. We need to give our livers a break every so often." Raven scolded him.
They put a glass in the center of the table, each holding their own cup of liquor in front of them. Wick pulled out a quarter from his pocket and neatly bounced it from the table directly into the glass with a clean pinging noise. He looked down and grinned at Raven, making it obvious she would drink first.
"You are an obnoxious chemist, Kyle Wick." She rolled her eyes at him, gulping down half her drink quickly.
"What does my major have to do with anything, wrench monkey?" Clarke laughed loudly at their cute bickering. Raven merely ignored him, fishing out the quarter. She bounced it, but missed by a few centimeters.
"Chug what's left!" Murphy called out, grinning wickedly.
Octavia was next, making her shot. "Murphy, your turn. Let's see if you can handle your shit as well as we can." He scoffed at her, but drank from his cup steadily.
Clarke followed, the quarter landing squarely in the cup. "I call on Miller!"
"You professionals are getting us old timers drunk on purpose, huh?" He chuckled, drinking up.
"Guys. Guess what I just saw!" Monty came running up to their table, a bottle of Skyy Vodka tucked into his arm. "Bellamy making out with Harper!"
Clarke felt her breath leave her. Octavia gasped next to her. "What? My brother? With Harper? How?" She turned to look at Clarke with large eyes. Clarke tried to make sure her face looked indifferent, but she might have been a second too late because her friend reached out to squeeze her hand lightly under the table.
"I didn't even know they knew each other." Maya looked confused.
Octavia groaned, dropping her head in her hands. "That is my fault." She glanced apologetically at Clarke, but quickly looked away and gave the same look to Maya, so no one would question it. "I took him to the diner the night after he came home. She had her flirting face on! Harper must have spotted him tonight."
Clarke stayed silent as her friends talked around her. She had to admit, it did hurt her a bit. They had gotten along so well. But she had been stupid to think it was anything more than just a nice night. It's now obvious Bellamy had no feelings for her.
She frowned at herself. Feelings? God, she was being absurd. Like she told Octavia while they cuddled, they had only interacted twice. Feelings aren't created in that small time frame. Besides, Octavia had always told Clarke about her brother's—floozy ways. And Clarke Griffin was anything but floozy. So of course, she wasn't his type.
"Hey Clarke, you want this as a shot? Or do we order you juice?" Jasper brought her out of her musings. He was fixing everyone with more alcohol.
"I'll take the shot, Jasper." She wrinkled her nose at him. He shouldn't even have to ask that ridiculous question.
"Come on Jas. You know us better than that." Octavia rang out. Jasper bowed in a sarcastic apologetic way, pouring the clear liquor into their empty glasses.
"So what other games do you youngsters have?" Murphy asked.
"Truth or dare." It was Wick who suggested this. "When this lot gets drunk, they get nasty about this game. It's all good fun to watch though. Until it's your turn." Raven leaned into his side, his arm snaking out to cover her shoulders. Clarke looked away from their cuteness, no longer finding it amusing.
Suddenly, Octavia leaped up. "Lincoln!" the tall man lumbering his way to them was Octavia's boyfriend. Her eyes sparkled as she went to hug him. He was a full head taller than her, which is pretty tall since Octavia herself was far from the short side. He leaned down and gave her a deep kiss.
"So, truth or dare huh?" Clarke called out, giving the couple some privacy. "Who goes first?"
"I will." Maya raised her hand. "Jasper, truth or dare."
"I'm feeling brave." He sat up straighter, puffing out his chest in a mocking bravado way. "Dare."
Maya nodded like she knew he would say that. "I dare you to kiss Lincoln hello as well."
They all sat in amusement, watching Jasper stroll casually up to the couple. Lincoln extended his hand to Jasper, which he grasped firmly. Before Lincoln knew what hit him, Jasper leaned in quickly, planting a loud kiss on the corner of his mouth. Then he ducked away quickly, rushing to explain what just happened before he was hit. Those left at the table broke out in laughter. Clarke's sides hurt. She was bent down, trying to stop the laughs that kept worsening her cramp.
"Monty, you're turn." Jasper returned to the table, Lincoln and Octavia right behind him. The couple looked amused and ready to join in.
"Alright. Miller. Truth or dare."
"Truth."
"If you had to choose someone to sleep with from this table, who would you choose?"
Miller scoffed. "Damn, I need another shot before answering that." He chose Murphy. 'I need to know a person fairly well before sleeping with them,' was his excuse.
Finally, it was Octavia's turn. "Clarke." She knew her friend would choose her. Groaning, Clarke took a large gulp of the disgusting but heavily needed liquor before turning to look at Octavia. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare." Damn it. The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it. She meant to choose Truth, which is far safer. But she was already feeling the effects of all the shots she'd taken. Her tongue was too loose and her bravery had been falsely amplified.
Octavia grinned wickedly at her. "I dare you to find a willing man and make out with him. After making sure he is single, of course."
"I volunteer as the willing man." Murphy raised his hand. This brought on a chuckle from the table.
"Too easy." Raven chided from the comfort of Wick's arms.
"Fine, let me rephrase. A willing strange man you've never met before. And Maya has to go with you to confirm it actually happens." Octavia smiled at her contently, a gleam in her eye as she surveyed Clarke.
Murphy deflated while Miller sympathetically patted him on the shoulder. Clarke stumbled her way out of the table with Maya following in suit.
"Want to head to the bar?" Maya gestured to the crowded counter. Clarke frowned. No, she thought. That was where Monty spotted Bellamy. Fuck Bellamy Blake, she howled in her mind.
"No, too many drunks. Let's go to the dance floor again." They slithered their way between bodies, Clarke scoping out any guy who looked willing. There were a lot actually. But if she was going to do this, she didn't want to set her standards low. She would find the hottest option. Dancing with Maya's arms wrapped around her, Clarke danced her ass off. She moved like she had never moved before. The sky vodka settled heavy in her veins, making her bolder than she would be sober. Doesn't alcohol always have that effect on a person?
"Hey, a guy is checking you out. And he is a hunk. Definitely choose him." Maya breathed in her ear. "No, don't turn." She added when Clarke tried to look at the direction she had indicated. "He is trying to make his way over here. Let him come." Maya stepped slightly away from Clarke, leaving room for the mystery man to join her.
Clarke kept dancing, glad the music had shifted into a faster beat. When she felt herself collide with someone, she looked over at Maya for confirmation. At her nod, she put on her widest grin and turned to see who she would be kissing tonight.
His dark hair was longer than she remembered, falling past his chiseled face. His lips were parted slightly, full and inviting. Dark eyes looked at her warily, waiting to gauge her reaction. Clarke gasped slightly, her body coming to a standstill. Someone behind her bumped into her and she felt her equilibrium abandon her (it had probably abandoned her somewhere after her fifth shot of vodka).
She fell into the arms of Finn Collins.