So sorry this took me so long to cross-post. Things with uni have been hectic. But has everyone seen the trailer?! And the con this weekend? Anyway, if you wanna come yell with me about things on tumblr I'm over at blueshirtbell!
This prompt is longer than usual, it sort of ran away with me.
Prompt fill for youleftme-clarke on tumblr: "my current partner is possessive and violent and i need a reason to break up with them so will you pretend to be my ex' bellarke au with super protective bellamy?"
Additional tags: emotional abuse, protective!bellamy, friends to lovers, Fake married
Clarke pushed the cart down the aisles and tried to remember what she needed. She mentally cursed herself for not making a list, but she'd been in such a rush to leave the house she hadn't given herself time. She tried to remember what snacks Michael had said he'd wanted. A cold chill went down her spine at the thought of her boyfriend and she pushed the thought away, not wanting to think about that now. She rounded the corner to the confectionary aisle. She spotted a familiar mop of black curls and mentally cursed, not wanting to deal with Bellamy Blake today. She was about to turn the cart around and carry on when he popped his head up.
Clarke stopped in her tracks, like a deer caught in headlights. Bellamy smiled and she took a deep breath. Not wanting to appear rude, she made her way over to him. Her and Bellamy had a somewhat strained relationship, to begin with. They'd argued like hell the first few months, before their friends told them to cut the crap and they begrudgingly started a truce to appease them. Eventually the truce worked and they became sort of friends. A pang went through Clarke at the thought of her friends – she hadn't actually seen them in months.
"Hey, stranger," Bellamy teased, a smirk playing on his face. She felt her stomach drop and forced a smile onto her face.
"Hi," she replied, coming to a stop next to him. "I've been busy." She rushed out, trying to stop the conversation before it even started. Her eyes darted away from his, checking the area for her boyfriend. It was stupid, she told herself, he was at work, she knew that…but it didn't stop her worrying.
"Clarke?" Bellamy asked. Her eyes snapped back up to his face to see it full of concern.
"Yeah?" She asked, trying for an airy and easy-going tone. It came out breathless and strained and she mentally cringed.
"Are you okay?" Bellamy asked, worry evident in his voice as he placed his basket on the ground. Clarke felt a lump form in her throat, not prepared for his concern, or this conversation in general. Bellamy came to stand in front of her and his eyes scanned her face. She looked away, not trusting her eyes to not betray her. Bellamy sighed as she picked at one of the threads from her sweater.
"Clarke," he said quietly. She looked up to his face, shocked by the softness in his tone – she assumed it was the same tone he used with his elementary students and that made her feel even worse. Tears prickled her eyes. "Please let me help," he pleaded and she huffed a laugh.
"I don't think you can help, Bellamy," she told him, gripping her cart, ready to leave. Bellamy stepped in front of her and she stopped.
"Try me," he challenged and she sighed. He wasn't going to let up on this one.
"I have shopping to do, Bellamy," she told him firmly and he stepped away with a sigh. She saw a defeated look cross his face but looked away, avoiding his gaze as she passed him.
Flustered from her interaction, she quickly did the rest of her shopping and headed home before she ran into Bellamy again.
She unloaded the shopping from her car and made quick work of putting it away. As she returned from the car, she caught a glance at herself in the mirror and stood shocked. Her hair looked dull on her shoulders, she hadn't washed it in days, the dark shadows under her eyes made her face look thinner and made her normally bright blue eyes look dull. No wonder Bellamy was worried about her, she looked a sight. She sighed and pushed her limp hair away from her face and started getting dinner ready. Michael would be around soon and he would only get angry if dinner wasn't ready for him when he got home. She felt a pull of dread in her stomach at the thought of Michael getting angry at her but pushed those thoughts away as she re-entered the kitchen.
She was halfway through dinner when the doorbell rang. She frowned, she wasn't expecting anyone apart from Michael, and he had a key. The doorbell rang again and she sighed.
She opened the door to see Bellamy on her doorstep, she smiled at him.
"Hey, Bellamy," she said in greeting. "What's up?" He frowned at her easy tone.
"Clarke, can I come in?" He asked and she felt panic rise inside her. If Michael found Bellamy in her flat he would assume the worst and would almost definitely get angry with her.
"Bellamy..." she trailed off.
"Clarke, please? I know something is wrong, I'm worried about you." He moved forwards and Clarke sighed, knowing she'd already lost. She was touched by his concern and she felt her resolve crumble. She stepped aside and let him into her house.
He followed her into the kitchen where she made herself busy making coffee for both of them. She was spooning coffee into the filter when she felt a warm hand cover hers, she didn't realise how badly her hands were shaking until that moment. She looked up to Bellamy and her breath caught in her throat. Every worry and stress she'd felt over the past few months built up and she felt a lump rise up in her throat and tears prickle again.
"Clarke, whatever it is, I'm here," he said softly and she felt all her restraint leave her. Tears fell from her eyes and Bellamy pulled her to his chest, coffee long forgotten. She melted into his embrace and could not contain the tears and sobs as they ripped themselves from her chest. Bellamy held her through it all and rubbed her back soothingly.
When she had calmed down she pulled herself from his arms and wiped the tears from her face, knowing it would be red and blotchy.
"Sorry," she said in a watery voice.
"Please tell me what's going on?" Bellamy asked and Clarke sighed. She gestured with her head and they made their way to the front room. If she was going to talk about this, she needed to be sat down.
Bellamy sat close to her, closer than he normally would and Clarke could feel the heat radiating from his body. It was weird, she thought, they were barely friends and she was about to tell him something she hadn't even told Raven, her best friend, but this felt right.
She started from the beginning, explaining how she'd met Michael online by accident and how it had all seemed normal and he was really nice. She explained how the first couple of months had been great and she really loved spending time with him, but then he'd turned on her. She couldn't help the tears falling as she explained how Michael had gotten possessive, how he'd stopped her from seeing her friends and slowly bullied her into stopping seeing her mother.
"Clarke," Bellamy breathed, pulling her to his side. She crumpled into him, the tears flowing non-stop. "Has he ever hurt you?" He asked, suddenly tense next to her. She shook her head into his chest.
"No," she replied. The not yet left hanging in the air. Bellamy tightened his arms around her and she continued to cry into his shirt. Bellamy didn't say anything else, just held her while she cried and Clarke was thankful.
The key turned in the lock and Clarke froze, petrified as she heard the front door open.
"Bellamy," she hissed as she pulled herself from his embrace. "You need to leave." She pleaded with him, her eyes searching his face.
"I'm not leaving you alone with him." His words were final and Clarke sighed. "Just follow my lead," he instructed and Clarke frowned. She wiped the tears from her face. She knew it was a futile attempt without even looking, her face was often blotchy from crying herself to sleep and simply wiping the tears wasn't good enough.
"Clarke?" Michael called from the hall and Clarke froze again. Bellamy took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Before she could pull her hand from his grasp, Michael had rounded the corner and was stood in the doorway. He took in the scene before him and stopped in his tracks. Clarke saw anger cross his face and she subconsciously stepped closer to Bellamy, scared he would lash out.
"What the fuck is this?" He seethed as he stepped into the room. Bellamy stepped in front of Clarke and Clarke felt anxiety rise up in her chest.
"Who are you?" Bellamy asked in a calm manner, letting Clarke's hand go so he could cross his arms over his chest. Even from the other side of the room, it was clear that Bellamy would tower above Michael.
"Who am I?" Michael scoffed as he stepped closer to Bellamy. "Who the fuck are you?" He asked, his voice raising. He moved across the room slowly, like a panther stalking its prey. Clarke had seen this behaviour from him before and it did only made her worry more. At least this time, she told herself, Bellamy was here.
"I'm her husband," Bellamy replied slowly, cocking his head to the side in a silent challenge. Clarke stood frozen in shock. She stepped from behind Bellamy and shot him a quizzical look. His answering gaze said "trust me" and she nodded, turning back to a very confused Michael.
"Clarke? What the fuck?" Michael spat. He was closer to her now, but she didn't feel scared like she usually did, Bellamy was here with her and he'd protect her.
"It's true," she replied, holding eye contact with him. She saw a flash of anger in his eyes and he stepped backwards and regarded her up and down.
"And you didn't think to tell me this when we started dating?" He asked, a cold laugh escaping him.
"I thought he was dead," Clarke whispered. Clarke refused to look over at Bellamy and held eye contact with Michael. "He was in the army and didn't come home for months." She looked away, not trusting her eyes not to give her away. Bellamy moved forwards and put his arm around her.
Michael frowned and spluttered at her. He stood there for a few moments trying to make sense of everything.
"You are such a bitch!" He exclaimed abruptly, stepping towards her again, the anger was clear in his stance, it was almost vibrating from him and Clarke flinched. Bellamy moved to stand between them and Clarke pressed herself behind him.
"I think you should go," Bellamy said in a cool, clipped tone.
"Or what?" Michael challenged, moving to stand right in front of Bellamy.
"Or I call the police and report you for trespassing." Clarke held her breath as the two men held a silent face off. Clarke couldn't see any of what was going on. She heard Michael suck in a breath and she heard a shuffle as he moved away.
"You can leave your key too," Clarke called, stepping around Bellamy and crossing her arms over her chest. Michael sneered at her but complied. He all but slammed the key down on the cabinet before storming out of her house.
The front door slammed and Clarke sagged in relief. It was over, he was gone. She turned towards Bellamy who was almost vibrating with rage.
"Bellamy?" She asked cautiously. He snapped his gaze to her and instantly softened.
"Clarke, I'm so sorry," he said as he walked towards her.
"It's not your fault my boyfriend was an asshole," she said as he came to a stop a few feet from her.
"I think asshole is putting it politely," he joked and a ghost of a s mile crossed her face before she was remembered what just happened.
"Thank you," she whispered. He nodded in response and she pulled him in for a hug. Bellamy stood shocked for a second before wrapping his arms around her tightly.
They stayed like that for a while. Relief washed over Clarke again and again and before long she was laughing with happiness. If Bellamy thought this was odd, he didn't say anything, just held her there while she let everything out.
When they finally pulled away, Clarke was at an instant loss of the contact. Bellamy's hand came up to her cheek and he wiped away some of her tears with his thumb. She leant into the embrace and smiled up at him.
"So, it turns out I might have cooked too much pasta…" she joked and Bellamy chuckled.
"Well, I'm never going to decline free food," he replied. She sighed in relief, not wanting to spend tonight alone after that. Bellamy understood that and she felt her heart swell.
They washed up and got ready for dinner. It was slightly overdone, after everything, but Clarke didn't care. She was too relieved to be away from Michael.
Bellamy sat across from her and it was one of the nicest meals she'd had for a while. At one point, Bellamy reached across and took her hand, she squeezed back. She knew it was too early to be thinking about relationships after everything with Michael, but Bellamy was here and that was enough for her. Clarke felt herself smiling properly for the first time in months and she finally started to feel like herself again.
Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to send prompts/chat with me on tumblr (blueshirtbell). Reviews/comments are always appreciated!