Clarke POV
I woke up before my alarm today. I had slept like a rock from last night. I went to push myself up to find all my muscles screaming in soreness. I maneuvered over to swing my legs over my bed and stand up. I shuffled over to my phone and texted Wells to see if he could bring me some. I worked myself back to bed and pulled my book into my lap. I was getting into the rhythm of reading when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" I yelled placing my book the side as Wells entered
"Is there any reason that you requested that I bring you breakfast?" he said placing the Styrofoam box of my lap and handing me silverware. I opened it up and saw a beautiful stack of pancakes.
"I worked out too hard last night and now I can't feel anything," I said cutting the pancakes into manageable bites. I dug in once I had accomplished my goal.
"I don't know why you are so concerned with gaining weight. When have you ever gained weight that you didn't want?" he said taking a bite.
"I know, but it also helps me work work off some of the stress." Except it really just added more tension.
"Well ok. So, what are your plans for today then if you can't get out of your bed?"
"Oh bust out some papers, read, inch my way to the bathroom and mess hall. The possibilities are endless."
"Do you want me to stay just in case you need something?" he said with his fingers circling around my knee.
"I think I will be good. But I would appreciate you staying on standby." He pulled out his phone and turned the volume.
"Can do. Are you sure that there isn't something that I could help you with?"
"I'm positive. Now go have fun with your other friends, it seems like you've been with me more than them recently."
"Oh, they don't mind."
"They may say so, but we both know the truth. Go," I said playfully pushing his shoulder. "I'll be alright. If I get too bad I'll order a life alert button." He cracked a smile and left quietly.
I settled back down to my book after eating. At least you are having a productive day Clarke.
Bellamy POV
The sunlight crept through my blinds, catching me right in the eye. I'm seriously gonna have to get curtains at some point, I thought as I rolled over and checked my clock. It read 9:37 in bold red numbers. Octavia's hair spilled out on the pillow next to me, her left cheek slightly smashed making her look like her younger self. I rolled over and kissed her forehead before getting up.
I was finished getting dressed when I heard her stirring to get up.
"Good morning sleepy," I said to her. She grumbled back at me.
"I told you that third glass of wine wouldn't be the best idea," I said handing her a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water.
"Lincoln didn't stay after?" Her pout continued to make her look like a child.
"The man looked tired, how much of the city did you drag him around? I told him to go home and get some sleep. He wasn't very happy with it, but thankful. He got you into sleep clothes and set you down in my bed."
"Why in your bed?"
"So that if you threw up in the night you wouldn't die. And neither of us wanted to hear you yelling about vomit on your bedspread."
"Are you heading out already? It's so early." She said starting to get out of bed.
"I gotta go make the deals. I think you should stay home for this one." She didn't like that.
"Why?! I've been to plenty before." Her attempt at getting loud backfired on her as she massaged her temples.
"That's one of the reasons. I prefer if they knew as little employees as possible. Plus Lexa is coming today and I don't want to call an ambulance today."
"What if I just sit up in the office and she never even knows that I'm there?"
"What if we have one situation where I'm not at risk of a heart attack?"
"Fine, but that was a low blow for a guilt card."
"How about I make the bribe hurt less with brunch after I get back?" she pondered it, but I always knew the answer.
"Only if you cook it."
"Deal," I said reaching forward and kissing her forehead again. I slipped on my shoes before heading down to the kitchen to see if there was anything to make brunch with. Luckily there was so I wouldn't have to make a trip to the store for ingredients.
I pushed back to the very last box of rice in the top cabinet. I dug to the bottom and pulled out enough cash for sales today. I recovered the rest of the money and placed the box back behind the others. I took my jacket off the hook on the wall and headed out.
I rode my bike there, the feeling of it purr under me was settling. I parked it inside of the club under my office. I sat up there and watched the monitors until I saw them drive up to the delivery door. I could hear Lexa kicking the door from up there and pressed the button to start lifting the door while I worked my way down the stairs.
She had already placed herself out on one of the couches, an arm was thrown over the back. I walked past her guards and sat down next to her. Her dark hair swung around her in waves.
"Nice to see you again Lexa," I said to get it kicked into gear.
"Not so much to be here in the morning." She said turning her head towards me, her gold nose ring shining.
"Oh, is that really how we are gonna be today?"
"Just give me the money so we can give you your shit already. I got other things to do today." She said in a pointed tone.
I dug into my pockets and pulled out the pad of cash that I was charged. I handed it over and she flipped through each bill. Once she had finished and deemed it worthy, the signaled to her goons to hand everything over. I reached out to take them when Lexa captured my wrist in her hand.
"Impatience makes me think you have something to hide Blake." She said as she pulled a knife from her belt.
"I'm not hiding anything from you."
"But you are never this impatient. Bellamy Blake keeps calm."
"Well, this Bellamy didn't get a good amount of sleep last night." She didn't like my joke. I really knew this because she rested her blade on the side of my neck by my jaw.
"This Bellamy Blake had better learn some manners before something tragic." Her eyes bore into my, dark and pitiless.
"Yes, ma'am," I said biting my tongue.
"That's what I thought, but just for measure." I felt the blade move quickly, opening a small section under my jaw. I didn't wince, I couldn't give her that. Her goons placed the product on the chair next to them and walked out, towing behind Lexa. I slammed the palm of my hand onto the down button and placed a hand on my neck.
There wasn't much blood when I pulled my hand away. I picked up the package. Everything was there that I bought. I took it to inventory and placed it accordingly. The bar stash got a couple more products and I scribbled the prices on the box. I pressed a napkin up against the cut and waited for it to stop before heading back home.
Octavia was standing at the island, chopping vegetables for the brunch. We set into a comfortable rhythm, carefully moving around each other. We ate around the island and that's when she noticed the cut.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to question you." She said quietly. All I could give was a nod at her while continuing to wash the dishes.
Clarke POV
I regained the ability to move a bit quicker as the day went on. Sure it hurt like a bitch, but I kept pushing through so that I wouldn't move like a mummy when I had to go to work. Ugg, I have to work like this tonight.
Shit! I have to work tonight! I rolled onto my side to grab my phone. It read quarter till 8. I wrapped up the chapter I was working on and went to the bathroom to shower. Once I was clean and dry, I headed back to my room. I checked my phone again which had a text from Octavia.
"Don't worry about clothes or shoes. I should have something here to fit you."
I was relieved because I don't think that I had anything near club attire. I don't think I even knew what club attire was apart from short and tight. I called an uber one more time. I should probably look into like riding the bus or something. My mom is probably freaking out about the charges.
I got there early for once. I walked into the club and shifted my backpack. There was a guy behind the bar who saw me enter.
"I'm guessing you're the Princess." He said coming around the bar.
"Yeah, I'm Clarke." I reached out my hand.
"Murphy. Just go down that hallway and your name should be on one of the doors."
"Thanks."
I walked down the hallway, which is covered in hairspray and different music pumped from each room. The door with my name on it was open, Octavia lounging on the inside. I placed my book bag on the ground, starting her from her daze.
"Oh good, you are here. Sit, we have a lot of work to do." I tried not to be offended by that as I sat in the chair in front of the vanity.
"Once you get some money you can start getting stuff for here. Your room is yours to decorate, put anything you want in it. Most of them keep their dance stuff here in the closets. I pulled a couple things from Raven's and my closet at home to help you out for now."
"Thanks." She wasn't paying attention, just pulling curling irons and makeup out of her bag.
"Your welcome. What do you want to listen to anything?" she said placing her phone in my lap. I scrolled through, not really finding anything until my eyes landed on something. I connected her phone to the speaker on the vanity and felt at ease as Wagner filled the room.
"Shocker Princess." She said pinning my hair out of my face and picking up a brush and getting to work on my makeup.
Now I almost always complained when my mom made me put on to make. I only took about ten minutes to do mine. I have to actually start bracing myself during the thirty minutes that she spent poking random size brushes around my eyelids. When she finally finished with my eyes she let me have a five-minute break. When I opened my eyes I jumped a little back.
"I look like a baby alien."
"That's because I haven't blended anything in. Have you never contoured before?" Ok, now she was definitely the one that was alien.
Once my break from makeup was over, she was back to torturing my face. She went on the brown streaks with a sponge and bouncing it repeatedly over. She went back to my eyes, lining dramatic cat eyes.
"I'm gonna trust that you know how to finish up your face. All you have left is your eyelashes, they need mascara and curled, blush, highlight, and pick a lip color. I'm gonna start on your hair." She set down the makeup in my lap and picked up a brush and started brushing out my hair.
Luckily she did leave me with makeup steps that I know how to do. She set to work curling my hair and pinning each one up once she finished it. I looked a little less like an alien and now more like a show poodle. Once she was done, she pulled me out of the chair and throwing a robe at me while she started sorting the clothing on the couch. I turned from her, stripped, and pulled the robe. It was silky and cool that flowed as I turned back to Octavia.
It was very apparent right now that I had basically become her dress up doll. She held up multiple outfits, swapping things in and out. She did want to hear my opinions on some things but wasn't too keen on it. Once she had set aside a couple of outfits, she hung them up in order of her most or least favorite and arranged the shoes in order as well. She picked out one towards the middle and showed it to me.
"Since you aren't dancing on the main stage, no need of bringing out the best outfits. But this will help you blend in." She said showing me a white skirt and tight blue crop top. She was kinder with the shoes, sticking me in black wedges. She helped to get me into the clothes without ruining my hair and makeup. Octavia retouched her own hair and makeup before going back to me.
She spun me away from the mirror to finish the process. She took another brush, dipped it in glittery highlighter, and started brushing it over myself then herself. She took the pins and clips out of my hair, the weight of each becoming more and more obvious. Once she had taken all of them out, she helped me into my shoes. She brushed her fingers through my hair quickly before taking out her phone to document the moment. She gave a twirl motion and I followed the order.
The first thing I noticed was the hair. It was voluminous and almost doll like. The top curved around everything while the skirt jutted out from my hips. My face was sharper, cheekbones were extremely pronounced. The heels left my legs looking longer and leaner. I looked almost completely different. I just kept turning from side to side, baffled by what was in the mirror.
"Well, I would say that I did a good job if the Princess is speechless." She said while typing away on her phone. I turned to her.
"Thank you so much. I could never of."
"Don't worry Princess, you'll get the hang of it too. But for right now, anyone here will help you." She said placing her hands on my shoulders.
"Thank you," I said while wrapping her arms around her in a hug.
"Now," She said while stepping out to check everything "Before you get to get all messed up, we need to take some pictures for social media announcing your arrival." she said grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room and through the windows.
I wasn't normally comfortable having my picture taken, but something was different. Whether it was being actually directed what to do or the total makeover, the whole thing was joyful. There was only one rule for every photo that was posted, half of your face should be covered to protect identities. Weird, but something that wasn't unreasonable.
She left me in my dressing room for the time between anyone showing up and when I was to be called out to help. There were lights above the door that would signal if it was our time to dance or is the bar needed help. I grabbed my backpack, turned up the music a little more and cracked open my books and laptop.
It was a good forty-five minutes into the night before the light went off for the first time. I slipped everything to the side and pulled my shoes back on. Outside of the room, the music was almost deafening. I gladly got used to it and walked towards the door that leads to the actual club. I braced myself once again and opened the door.
If I thought that the music was loud, I was really babying myself. I could really even think properly in here. It wasn't horribly crowded, but people were reluctant to move quickly. I looked up and saw Octavia wave me down from the bar. I moved over there as fast as I could.
"I think starting you out serving drinks with me would be the best option. So that you can get used to everything." I barely caught all of this. The guy, Murphy, who I had met earlier passed over two bottles of champagne to us.
"The VIP lounge ordered bottle service, so that is probably where the two of us are going to be spending the night. VIP members will have a silver paper wristband, all the drinks are just billed to up there." I nodded as she gave me a bottle and started to move towards the stairs by the bar.
The lounge was a tad quieter than the main floor. They all exploded when they saw the bottles of champagne though. They ordered both bottles be opened in celebration. I couldn't tell you what they were even celebrating since they had pregame pretty hard beforehand. They threw down two twenties.
I shuffled around a while with Octavia, handing out drink up there and on the floor. The main floor was a lot my difficult to find a clear path. The tips weren't as good, but still a decent amount. Octavia dismissed me after the needs of the VIP lounge died down and I headed back into my room.
I grabbed the wad of cash I had stuffed into my bra. I pushed it to the back of my backpack and went back to studying without thinking about it again. I turned my music up and settled into a groove.
It was about an hour and a half, maybe more, before the light signaled again. I was about to get up again when there was a knock on the door. There wasn't much of a waiting period since the door was open right after and Bellamy walked in.
"Trying to just get this to you." He said placing a wad of cash and a slip of paper on the vanity. "From a generous admirer." He added.
I pushed my laptop to the side again and went over to him. I took that bundle from the tablet. I was trying not acknowledge the height different when I threw the money on my backpack and opened up the slip of paper. The handwriting was terrible, but I worked my way through the note.
"You're hot. I'm single. Give me a call."
"And they say that romance is dead. Just woo a grown women with a note and a wad of cash." Bellamy said over my shoulder.
"Romance may be dead, but my bank account isn't now. How did you get this by the way?" I said looking up at him, there was a cut across his neck.
"Dude stumbled up to my office and demanded that he give to you. I took it and told him that I would deliver it to you." I picked up the wad of cash and pulled a twenty out and handed it to him. "I'm not taking it." He said sternly.
"Well consider it payment. It's the 'delivery and keeping jerks away from me' charge." I reached it out with more emphasis.
He grabbed it reluctantly and looked around the room, his eyes landing on the stack of books. I shoved the rest of my money into my backpack before I noticed he was in my study area.
"What are you in college for?" he said flipping through my notebook.
"Does it really matter?" I said rubbing my arm.
"No, just wondering." He said placing it back where he had found it. He was almost out the door when I spoke up.
"I'm pre-med." He stopped for a second and looked at me. He had a stupid smirk on his face before leaving without a word. The door wasn't closed for too long before it swung again and Raven walked into the room.
"We need you out there right now until the bouncer lets more people in. Just dance around, socialize, and just have fun." She held the door open while I slid on my shoes and fluffed my hair. I followed her out to the main room again and tried to follow here before I lost here. The beat bounced through my whole body rattling my teeth. I was surrounded by plenty of people, moving and jostling around. I gave myself a second and attempted to fit in with the ground around me.
Bellamy POV
I slipped the bill Clarke had handed me into my desk and shut it away until it was time to write checks for the week. I walked out my office and scanned over the crowd. Bodies flooded up on each other, hand reaching up from the waves. I found the bouncing blond curls. I popped open a beer and watched.
The night was done, all the customers were gone and they had left their mess. I was busy helping Murphy collect all the glasses when I heard Clarke talking.
"I'm fine Finn. My car is already here anyway. But thank you for the offer."
"You are spending too much money on getting rides. We wouldn't mind taking you home."
"I'll take you up on it later, ok? Goodnight Finn." She said walking away from the dressing rooms. I set down my tray and walked over to her and followed her. When we got to the door, I sped up to open it up for her and to see the expression on Finn's face.
It was much colder outside than the beginning of the night. I watched her cross her arms and took her in. She was back into normal clothes of jeans and a top. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, the curls loosened and slack. Her makeup had been wiped from her face so she didn't resemble Octavia's doll. I couldn't bring anything up.
When the car pulled up, I opened the door again for her. As she slipped in, I pushed the twenty into her backpack.
"Goodnight Princess."
"Goodnight Bellamy."
