Bellamy pushed back his hair and rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt. The weather outside was cold and rainy as winter drew in, but inside The Swan restaurant where he worked odd shifts, the air was hot and musty. He wiped a light sheen of sweat from his brow before approaching a table with his notebook in hand.

The table he was serving was taken by a family with a teenage girl who flirted shamelessly with Bellamy as he took the orders; asking for the hottest thing on the menu and stroking his arm. He jerked back abruptly and stalked away. A month ago, he would have found that sort of behaviour extremely flattering and might even have pursued it, asking for her number or inviting her out with him. Now though, he only found it irritating and unprofessional. How could someone throw themselves at him like that while he was at work? The girl had no shame besides, which was alright for some, hell, he had been alright for him once, but now Bellamy only had one girl on his mind.

She was stubborn and sarcastic and quick to temper, but then so was he, perhaps that was why he liked her so much. And she was kind, caring, funny, intelligent and beautiful. Clarke. She'd been on his mind too much to be altogether healthy over the last few days, not that he could admit it. He thought about her in the quiet moments when there was nothing else to do, he thought about her before he went to sleep and he thought of her every time he saw something she might like. He cursed himself for being such a sap. No one person should have such an effect on him. Though despite his internal protesting, he almost liked it. There were worse things to think about, for sure.

What he kept coming back to was that afternoon at her house. Bellamy had been with lots of girls, and they had all been nice, attractive. But he had never thought about one of them so much as he did Clarke. He could see it in his mind's eye at the most inappropriate of times; laid out before him, her body curving in all the right places, her golden hair splayed out around her head and the way she had looked at him. The way she had felt when she quivered beneath him. The way she had tasted when he kissed her.

He shook his head to clear it as he walked back into the kitchen to collect an order. Lincoln was there, washing a dish. Lincoln had gotten a job there a few weeks back and Bellamy found he enjoyed sharing shifts with him. It was nice to see a friendly face at work. He wasn't as close to the boy as he was with Finn, but he was perhaps easier to be around. He was a quiet boy who generally kept to himself and he was mature beyond his years, making him a large deal better than most of the boys at college in Bellamy's eyes. Stupid people irritated him, and he seemed to know an abundance of them, so it was a relief to be around someone of intelligence.

Lincoln looked up as Bellamy entered and smiled at him slightly.

"You look happy," He commented in his deep voice. Bellamy made a face and ran a hand through his hair.

"Do I?"

"Yes, much more than you usually do," Lincoln didn't look at him as he spoke but focused on the task at hand.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'll try to be a little more sombre," Bellamy said dryly with a light laugh.

"It's a good thing, Bellamy,"

Bellamy rolled his eyes and left the room with a plate on his arm. He was happier than he usually was when he thought about it. To say it was all due to Clarke would be foolish, but she was a considerable part of it. Octavia had had a good birthday, and it always pleased Bellamy to see his sister happy. He'd been hanging out with his friends more often, his job was going well and he was all caught up with his coursework. He had a party to go to the next day, and hopefully, with Clarke on his arm.

Bellamy wasn't a fan of showing his emotions, so he smiled internally, and that was enough for him.

"You're sure it's not too much?" Clarke pouted as she smoothed down the fabric that was stretched tight over her hips. Octavia was lounging on Clarke's bed with her phone in her hand but she was gazing at Clarke with approval and amusement.

"No, it's hot," She grinned, "You're going to look hotter than me, no fair!" The Blake girl teased and Clarke tutted as she turned back to the mirror, admiring her costume for the upcoming Halloween party. It was a lot sexier than the clothes she usually wore, but she found that she liked the way it hugged her figure.

"Not likely, O," She tossed her hair over her shoulder to examine the neckline of her outfit as she talked to her friend. "You always look stunning," She shot a wink and a grin at Octavia.

"So kind Clarkey, thanks," She put her phone face down on the duvet and sat up, suddenly serious. "So, when were you planning to tell me that you had my brother round the other day?" Clarke's cheeks turned a fierce shade of red.

"He told you?" She spluttered as she avoided Octavia's knowing eyes.

"I have my ways of coercion," Octavia grinned evilly as she twirled her dark hair around her finger. "I mean it's totally gross, don't get me wrong, that's my brother!" She feigned gagging, "But I'm glad you're getting some,"

"Octavia!" Clarke gasped causing her friend to shake with laughter. "We didn't anyway, I mean," She trailed off with a cough.

"You didn't have sex you mean, he just showed you his talents," The girl winked before realising what she had said and wrinkling her face in disgust. Clarke was sure no one wanted to imagine their siblings being intimate, though luckily as an only child, she would never have that experience.

"Spare me the details, but...better than Wells?" Octavia cocked her head to the side mischievously before she had to swerve to avoid the balled up cardigan that Clarke had aimed at her head.

A/N It feels like so long since I've updated so I'm sorry for that, I've had a pretty busy time recently and also struggled with writer's block, so this chapter is both very short and long overdue. I'm not entirely happy with it, but the next chapter will be longer and better (hopefully!) for the party. I'm going away on holiday so I may not be able to update for a while, though I am taking my laptop so I might do some writing. Who knows? Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed this chapter and thank you very much to everyone who has followed, faved and reviewed! - J x