a/n: Like I said, I am definitely not the world's best updater. So thank you for being patient and here you go!

It had arrived. The first Friday of my last year of high school. And that meant Finn Collins huge blow out party.

He had one on the first Friday of every year, and(from what I've heard) it was the best night of the year. Of course, I'd never been invited and even though it wasn't a strictly invite kind of thing, I was still way too chicken to go alone.

I was thinking all of this while also staring at Finn from across the cafeteria. Now, I know it's extremely cliche, the dorky, loner girl having a crush on the most popular guy in school, but life is what it is. And Finn Collins was gorgeous.

I sneaked a peek over at my pseudo-boyfriend. One of his arms was touching mine as he picked up a fry and bit into it, laughing at something Raven said. Bellamy Blake had a really nice laugh.

Alas, Bellamy was also my super protective bodyguard so even if I'd wanted to go to Finn's party tonight, there was no way he'd let me.

I sighed, moving the food on my plate around. Bellamy gave me a questioning look, his hand reaching down under the table to take mine.

"Is everything okay, Clarke?"

Damn, he was perceptive.

"Um, yeah." I gave him a smile. "Just thinking."

He frowned, looking like he didn't quite believe me but I quickly struck up a conversation with Raven.

I was just putting my guitar away in last period, when out of the blue, someone snuck up on me, putting a warm hand on my arm. I almost shrieked, but caught myself in time. "Bellamy," I grumbled. "You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that. It's weird."

"Well, I'm sorry I'm weird." I froze. That voice was not deep enough to be Bellamy's. "And I'm also sorry I'm not, what was it, Bellamy?"

I could kick myself. I knew that voice. Spinning around slowly, I laughed, trying to play it off. "Oh, sorry, Finn. I thought you were. . .someone else."

Finn grinned, flashing me his perfectly straight, white teeth. "No problem, Clarke." He put his hands in his pockets. "So, I was wondering, are you coming to my party tonight?"

Well, that was unexpected. "Um," I frowned. "I, uh, hadn't really planned on it."

"Well, do you think maybe you could plan on it?"

I spoke without thinking. "Of course. I'll be there."

Finn grinned, and touched my arm. "Awesome. Well then, I'll see you tonight, Clarke."

"Yeah, tonight." He walked away, and I was left standing alone in the empty guitar room.

I paced my room, staring at my closet, debating whether or not this party would really be a good idea.

On the one hand, my parents would be pissed. On the other hand, this was my senior year. My last chance to experience normal high school things.

Making a decision, I walked over to my closet, pulling out a blue dress, tights, and a leather jacket.

No one had to know, I told myself. I'd be back before anyone noticed I'd gone anywhere.

Walking out of my apartment, I gave a guilty look at Bellamy's door. I was directly disobeying him. But this was something I really wanted.

Sneaking out of the building was surprisingly easy. I just told the guards I had a craving for pizza and that Bellamy would be down in a second. I'd never done anything like this before, so they had no reason to think I was lying.

Finn lived about two blocks from me, only a five minute walk. However, this was New York, and the streets could be a tiny bit dangerous at night.

My boots clanked on the sidewalk as the wind whooshed around me. I pulled my jacket around me a little tighter. For some reason, my brain could not help picturing horrifying things. Like when you're in the dark, and you start to think you hear noises, even though there's no one there.

So when a hand reached out and shoved me against a tall, metal gate I let out the loudest scream I possibly could.

A hand was placed over my mouth, and suddenly I was face to face with a very angry Bellamy Blake.

"We have got to stop meeting like this."

I gulped. Reaching up, I gently moved his hand away from my mouth. "Um, I'm sorry?"

He shook his head. "Try again."

I sighed. "I can explain."

Bellamy didn't let go of me, his voice like steel. "Oh, you can explain why you are out at night without a single guard, completely alone. How you did not tell me where you were going."

"Okay, well, uh, there's this party, and-"

Bellamy finally released me, taking a step back. "Ah, yes. Finn Collin's party."

I nodded, trying not to meet Bellamy's eyes. "Um, yep. That's the one, anyway-"

"I can't believe you did all this for some party."

I finally, looked up at him. "Excuse me. Some party. Bellamy, I've never been to any party." I knew there was fire in my eyes. "Besides, you told me your whole senior year was one big party. Why shouldn't mine be?"

I folded my arms, trying to look defiant. Bellamy took a deep breath, and I could tell he was trying to calm down. "Yes, but Princess no one was trying to kill me!"

I threw my hands up in the air. "Someone is trying to kill me so I should just stop living. Huh?"

Bellamy sighed, all the anger finally leaving his face. "Is this party really that important to you?"

Standing my ground, I nodded. Bellamy looked up at the sky, and then back at me. "Fine. I know I'm probably going to regret this. But you can go."

My eyes widened. Was he serious? "Are you serious?"

He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up on one side. For some reason, it looked incredibly attractive. Bellamy Blake can even pull off lopsided hair. Good to know.

"Yes, I'm serious." He held up a finger. "But. I am going with you."

I bit my lip. "All right. But just, try not to scare anyone off, okay?"

Bellamy took my arm in his, and we started to walk down the twisty New York sidewalk. "I'll scare off anyone I damn well please."

I guess I really wasn't in any position to argue about that.

We arrived at the party at 10:30, and everything seemed to be in full swing already. It was almost exactly like every high school party I'd seen in the movies. There were a few people outside on a slip and slide, and I found that to be a tiny bit unsafe. It was dark and they were probably were a few girls talking by the porch, and some guys playing basketball in the drive way.

Everyone was even holding those red solo cups that are made especially for cheap beer.

"Wow," I said as we stood just on the outskirts of the party. "This is, slightly underwhelming."

Bellamy reached down to take my hand in his. "Welcome to high school parties. The most underwhelming events you will ever attend."

I gave him a quick smile, and then we walked into the party. The inside of Finn's house looked kind of like a stampede had recently happened. There were people everywhere. On the stairs, in every single room, clogging up the bathrooms.

"Hey, Clarke!" A voice called to us. "You made it."

Finn walked up to us and I discreetly dropped Bellamy's hand. "Hey, Finn. Thanks for inviting me."

I could almost feel Bellamy's glare, and it wasn't even directed at me.

"Oh, right. Uh, Finn this is Bellamy. Bellamy, this is Finn." After an awkward moment, Bellamy finally nodded, and Finn nodded back.

All righty.

Finn quickly looked back at me. "So a bunch of us are in the living room. You wanna come?"

I nodded, but I was slightly nervous. What did 'a bunch of us' mean?

Finn led us into a room with two huge green couches facing each other. A bunch of Finn's football friends were already sprawled out on the couches. There were also a couple of girls that I would guess were their girlfriends.

I felt slightly awkward walking in with both Bellamy and Finn. A couple of the guys stared at Bellamy, clearly wondering who the hell he was.

Bellamy did not seem to feel awkward at all, striding in to the room like he owned it. He pulled me with him and we both found a seat on one of the green couches.

"Clarke's in guitar with me, guys." Finn said. "She's probably the best player, too."

I blushed a little. One of Finn's friends, I think his name was Shawn said, "Acoustic or electric?"

"Acoustic, usually. But I do have an electric guitar at home, too."

Shawn nodded. "Cool, I play too. But only electric."

Wow, this socializing stuff wasn't too hard. I began to relax leaning back into the couch a little. However, I could still feel Bellamy's heat from beside me, making me feel just a tiny bit uncomfortable.

We talked for a little before someone finally asked. "So what's the deal with you two?"

I glanced over at Bellamy, who looked back at me, waiting for me to explain. "Um, Bellamy's my boyfriend."

One of Finn's more obnoxious friends, Liam, snorted. "Dude, how old are you? Do you even go to our school?"

Bellamy grinned, but I could see his fingers tense on the couch cushions. "Just transferred in this year, actually."

I grinned, patting him on the chest. "Yep, we met this summer and he liked me so much he decided to switch schools for me."

Kylie, Liam's girlfriend, blinked. "Really?"

Bellamy laughed. "Not quite. My parents just moved here. It was only luck that I got to go to school with Clarke."

I smiled. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Where is it, Finn?"

Finn smiled at me, "Just down the hall, to the left."

I hummed happily, walking into the bathroom. This was actually going pretty well. And nobody here seemed to think I was a dork. Which was probably because of Finn, but oh well. You take what you get.

Walking back into the room, I could tell that the atmosphere had changed drastically.

Bellamy was glaring at Liam, who was looking very smug and slightly drunk. "I'm just saying, dude, that girl of yours is a bit of a dork. There 's no way she puts out. You could be doing so much better."

Finn spoke up. "Shut up, Liam, you're drunk and you're being an asshole."

"Whatever man," Liam snorted. "Live while you're young, and I mean, Clarke Griffins, is not really living it up."

Uh oh. Bellamy looked like he was going to rip someone's throat out. I honestly didn't care what Liam had said about me. He was obviously a prick, but I did not need Bellamy putting someone in the hospital tonight, or worse, getting the shit kicked out of him at a stupid high school party.

Just as Bellamy was about to get up, I sat down in his lap. Putting my hand on his chest, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Leaning in, I whispered, "Bellamy, it's fine."

Bellamy's murderous expression softened a little, and his arms encircled my waist, pulling me closer to this chest. I could feel his chest against my side, and it was slightly. . . distracting.

Somebody said something, but I couldn't focus. Bellamy's body felt so nice wrapped around mine. Bellamy leaned his head on, our foreheads almost touching. "That guy is an asshole, Princess. Don't listen to him."

I sucked in a deep breath, and I could smell Bellamy's fucking soap. Even this boy's soap was sexy. How was that possible? "He is an asshole. And I don't care what he has to say about me."

Bellamy shifted a little, and I could feel something hard pressing into my ass. I looked down at his lap, surprised. I looked up at him, a blush on my cheeks, but his gorgeous brown eyes only had a smile in them.

Suddenly, this party was just too much. I needed to get the hell out of here. Standing up, I pulled my dress down where it had ridden up. "You know what, we should probably get out of here, we have plans with some people later."

Bellamy stood up, glaring at Liam once more.

Finn stood up, too, walking us out of the room. "Clarke, I am seriously really sorry about that. Liam is a real asshole when he's had too much."

I shook my head, giving Finn a smile. "Don't worry about it, Finn. And thanks for inviting us."

Pulling Bellamy behind me, we walked down the stairs of Finn's house, back to the cold, quiet streets of New York.

We walked in silence for a moment. "Well, if that's how all high school parties are, I don't know why people bother."

Bellamy laughed beside me, a real laugh, that I couldn't help but reciprocate. "Oh, Princess. You have no idea."

I knocked my elbow against his shoulder. "But thanks for taking me anyway. Now I know I'm not missing anything."

He smiled at me. "You're welcome. Although, I didn't really have a choice, did I, what with you running away whenever you want to."

I blushed a little. "I said I was sorry!"

He grinned at me. "Maybe I was wrong about you. You're kind of starting to be more trouble than I had originally planned for."

I shrugged my shoulders in a whatcanyoudo manner. "That's what happens when you become a glorified babysitter to a seventeen year old girl, Bellamy."

He ran a hand through his hair. "You got that right."

a/n: Don't worry, I don't plan to leave you hanging too long this time. And as always, suggestions and comments are always appreciated.