Hey babes! Back with a new chapter for ya! Nothing super crazy yet, but we're getting closer and closer to the penultimate.
Enjoy!
*September 26, 2020*
Music playing through the Bluetooth speaker sitting on her desk, Clarke sings along quietly as she gets ready for the Homecoming dance in just a few short hours. Harper, Zoe, and Maya are getting ready with her, to make things a little more fun for all of them, being able to help each other with their hair and make-up and make any last-minute suggestions about overall looks for the night. And just spend some quality time together.
"Thanks again for letting me come over," Maya speaks up from her place sitting on Clarke's bed. Her make-up and hair are done, and all that's left is for her to change into her dress; something cute and modest approved by both of her parents.
Clarke smiles over at her from where she sits on the floor in front of her full-length mirror as she applies her makeup. "You don't need to thank me, Maya. We're friends. And friends get ready for school dances together. It's just a natural part of high school life."
Maya smiles back. "Well, still, I appreciate it. I didn't think I'd make friends so quickly when I started public school this year."
"We're happy we could be your first real friends here," Harper tells her. "Have you made any friends in any of your classes?"
Maya nods. "I think so, yeah. There are a few kids who have been pretty nice, helping me with assignments and things if I don't quite understand what's being taught."
"That's awesome. If you ever need any extra help, though, we're all here for you. Chances are that one of us or one of the guys has been through whatever classes you're in. Clarke's also an expert tutor."
"Guys, does this lipstick make me look too trampy?" Zoe asks, spinning around in Clarke's desk chair, a handheld mirror lying in her lap.
Harper laughs. "Since when have you ever cared about that? And you could never look too trampy. You're gorgeous."
"She's right," Clarke replies, focusing on the mirror in front of her. "About you being gorgeous, of course."
"Thanks. But that didn't answer my question."
Clarke and Harper just laugh, focusing on their individual tasks, the music that's playing filling the silence.
Zoe groans. "You guys are terrible. I should have gotten ready with my other friends."
"So why didn't you?" Clarke asks. "No one forced you to be here."
Zoe shrugs. "I had a feeling they'd be a little too girly tonight, especially Roma, Jess, and Bree, and I didn't want to deal with that."
Clarke nods. "Good call. Besides, Harper's girly enough for all of us." She flinches when Harper hits her arm, rubbing at it as she laughs. "What? You know it's true."
Harper just gives her a look and then turns back to applying her make-up in the small vanity mirror she set up on Clarke's desk.
A knock on the frame of the open bedroom door pulls her attention and Clarke looks up to see Marcus' hand appearing in view.
"Are you girls decent?"
Clarke smiles, turning a little more on the carpet to face him. "Yeah, we're good."
"Great." His entire body steps into view. "I just wanted to let you know that Bellamy's here with his date. Octavia tagged along too, says she wants to see your dress."
"She's so sweet. And why didn't Bellamy just text me when he got here? He said he would." She reaches onto her mattress for her phone, batting at the blanket for a moment before Maya slides the phone in question across the mattress. She shoots her a quick smile. "Thanks." She pulls the phone closer and looks at the screen to find a couple of unread messages from Bellamy. Her brows furrow together. "Huh. Guess the music was just too loud to hear my phone going off." She glances at the side of her phone and sighs. "Or my phone has been on silent this entire time." She quickly flips the switch to turn on the ringer and then clears the messages from her screen, tossing her phone back up onto the bed. She smiles at her stepdad. "Thanks, Marcus."
He smiles back. "No problem. Are you girls doing okay up here? Do you need anything?"
Clarke shakes her head. "I think we're good. Thanks, though."
"Okay. I'll leave you to it, then." He turns and makes his way out of the bedroom and back downstairs, leaving the four girls alone again.
"Monty and Jasper should be on their way, right?" Clarke asks Harper, turning back to the mirror to finish applying the last of her makeup.
"Yeah. And I think Nate and Murphy are on their way too."
"Do you know who Nate's bringing? He said he has a date but wouldn't tell anyone."
Harper shrugs. "I'm not sure. Guess we'll find out when they get here."
Clarke lets out a breath and sets her tools down, smiling at herself in the mirror and admiring her handiwork. "Well, in the meantime, I'm gonna go down and say hi to Bellamy real quick, then I'll be back up to change." She stands and makes her way out of her bedroom and toward the stairs, leaning over the top railing and smiling when she spots Bellamy and Octavia standing in the entryway talking to Marcus. Echo is standing with them, though she's not saying much. "I thought I heard my favorite people in the world."
Octavia looks up and grins. "Clarke!"
"Hey, O." She makes her way down the stairs and pulls Octavia into a hug when she reaches the bottom. "I heard you wanted to come see my dress."
"Yeah. Why aren't you wearing it?"
"Because I'm not done getting ready yet, but I wanted to come see you and your brother first." She smiles up at her best friend. "Hey."
He smiles back. "Hey. You look great."
She rolls her eyes playfully. "I don't even have my dress on yet."
He shrugs.
"Alright, well, I should finish getting ready before everyone else gets here. Echo, I love your dress."
"Thank you," Echo replies. "Though, this wouldn't be my first choice for an outfit for tonight. It's for my aunt's benefit. I have a suit I'm going to change into at school."
Clarke blinks. "Oh. Well, you don't have to wait if you don't want to. You can use one of our bathrooms and change."
The edge of Echo's lips quirk. "That would be very nice. Thank you." She turns to Bellamy. "Is your car unlocked so I can get my things?"
He nods. "Yeah, it should be open."
"Great. I'll be back in a moment." She turns and makes her way out of the house.
Clarke looks at Bellamy and chuckles quietly. "She seems nice."
Bellamy shrugs. "She's not much of a talker. Go get ready, I'll show Echo where the bathroom is when she gets back."
"Okay. When Finn gets here, just let him inside, please. Thank you." She kisses Bellamy's cheek, wiping her thumb across it when she accidentally gets some of her lipstick on his skin, and then makes her way up the stairs.
As soon as she steps into her room, she makes a beeline for her mirror, sitting down to grab her lipstick and reapply it.
"Everything good?" Harper asks, already getting into her dress.
Clarke nods. "Yeah. I just got some lipstick on Bellamy."
Harper appears behind her in the mirror, her dress halfway on and sporting a wide grin. "Wait. What?"
Clarke rolls her eyes. "Relax, I just kissed his cheek. I have a boyfriend."
"Yeah, I know."
"Okay, so we're dropping the subject now." She drops her lipstick back into her makeup case and stands from the carpet again, turning around to face her friends. "Is everyone almost ready? I just have to get changed and then I should be good to go."
She moves across the room to grab her dress off its hanger and lie it across the top of her bed. She quickly strips out of her pajamas and then pulls on her dress, carefully zipping it up and making sure it's settled perfectly against her body. Stepping over to the mirror, she runs her hands down the fabric to smooth it out.
"Clarke, you look as gorgeous as ever."
She turns around and smiles at the other three girls, all dressed and ready to go with smiles on their faces. "Why, thank you, Harper. You girls don't look so bad yourselves." She grabs her phone off her bed and opens the camera app, stepping over to her friends and holding the device out.
They snap a few group selfies that Clarke promises to send to them, and then they all gather up their purses and whatever else they'll need for the night ahead. Clarke slides her phone and ID into her small thin strap bag, as well as a small handful of cash just in case. She slips her lipstick into her bag and pulls the strap over her shoulder.
She follows her friends out the door, flipping the light off as she goes, and walks behind the others down the stairs, double-checking the battery on her phone. Thankfully it's charged up enough to hopefully last her the entire night. She doesn't plan on being on her phone a whole lot while she's at the dance, but anything can happen.
Looking up as she slips her phone back into her bag, she smiles wide when she sees her boyfriend standing in the entryway, dressed nicely in a pair of slacks and a button-up shirt. Thankfully he listened to her and the color of his shirt matches her dress perfectly.
"Finn."
He turns toward her and smiles, stepping forward to meet her at the bottom of the stairs. "Wow. You look amazing."
"Thanks. You look very handsome too." She leans forward to kiss him, lingering for just a moment with her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. She smiles against his lips, a giggle escaping when he starts peppering kisses along her jawline.
"Clarke! I'm gonna lose my dinner over here if you two keep at it like that."
She rolls her eyes and turns to look at Murphy. "No one was asking you to watch."
"It's hard not to when you two are right there, out in the open for everyone to see."
"Give it a rest, Murphy. Clarke can do whatever the hell she wants. You know you can't make her do anything she doesn't want to do."
She smiles. "Thank you, Bellamy."
He smiles back. "Just speaking from experience."
"Clarke, you look really pretty," Octavia speaks up with a bright smile.
"Thanks, O. I'm glad you like it."
"Bell likes it too. His eyes got all big when he saw you."
She pointedly avoids eye contact with her friend, with all of her friends, actually. They all love to tease her and Bellamy, and she doesn't need to see whatever looks they're all wearing right now. If Octavia were a few years older, she'd most definitely be in on the teasing. Right now, the young girl is just being hyper-observant and incredibly honest.
Marcus clearing his throat grabs everyone's attention, thankfully. He's standing by the front door, a slightly older digital camera in his hands and a small smile on his face. "Sorry to interrupt, but Clarke, your mom asked me to get a few pictures of you and your friends before you leave for the dance."
"She can't be here to see me off herself? Big shocker."
"Clarke…" Bellamy warns her quietly. She knows he doesn't particularly like it whenever she bad-mouths her mom, considering how close he is with his own, but he never actively tries to stop her. It's not like she would, anyway. At least, not completely.
She sighs heavily. "Fine. Sorry." She stands up a little straighter and addresses the group. "Do you guys mind taking a few group shots before we leave? It shouldn't take too long."
Head nods, shoulder shrugs, and quiet mumbles of agreement come from everyone in the room.
Clarke nods once. "Okay. Let's all stand over here, then." She waves everyone over to the staircase and they all slowly start moving toward it, positioning themselves in the best spots so they'll all be able to be seen in the photos.
Clarke remains on the stairs but pulls Finn to stand beside her so they can wrap their arms around each other. She notices Monty and Harper doing the same, with Jasper on Harper's other side, the three of them squished together. Maya is standing next to Jasper, still looking like she's trying to get used to being around so many people. Nate is standing on Maya's other side with a boy Clarke doesn't recognize, though she suspects it's this mysterious date he wouldn't tell anyone about. She'll have to grill him for all the details later.
Echo doesn't look particularly enthused about taking group photos, but Bellamy manages to convince her to join them. They end up standing right next to Clarke and Finn, and she shoots her best friend a big smile. He smiles back at her and her heart jumps.
Quickly shaking the feeling off and turning back toward her stepdad, she notices Murphy standing somewhat off to the side, hands in the pockets of his jeans (leave it to Murphy to wear jeans to a school dance), and his eyes looking everywhere but at them.
Clarke frowns, gently hitting Bellamy's arm to get his attention and then gesturing in Murphy's direction. She knows he understands without her having to say anything.
"Murphy," he calls out. "Get your ass over here. You're part of this group too."
Murphy groans. "Do I have to? I don't have a date."
"Neither does Maya but she's still taking a picture with us."
"Zoe doesn't have a date either," Clarke points out.
"Nah, I prefer flying solo."
She jumps, one hand flying to her chest, when Zoe pops into her peripheral view, standing right between her and Bellamy. She turns a glare on the other girl. "What the hell was that for?"
Zoe shrugs with a smile. "I thought it'd be funny. Turns out I was right. I can't believe you didn't notice me standing here."
"I guess I was a little preoccupied. Murphy, come join the group photo."
Murphy groans once more, his head falling back. "Fine." He moves slowly over to the group, stopping when he's standing next to Nate's date. He looks up at Clarke. "Happy?"
She grins and nods. "Very." She looks at Marcus. "Okay, I think we're ready."
Marcus smiles. "Great. We'll get a few group shots, and then you all are free to go." He shifts on his feet, holding the camera up and pressing a few buttons. His brows furrow together tightly. "Sorry. Just...give me a moment. I'm not sure what's happened."
"I'll help him," Monty speaks up, stepping forward to have a quiet conversation with Marcus over the camera's technology. When he's satisfied, he moves back to his place between Harper and Jasper, letting out a breath. "Okay, we should be good. Don't press any other buttons, Mr. Kane," he says. "The camera's ready, you just need to press the shutter button on top."
Marcus nods. "Right. Just the shutter button on top. I can definitely do that." He's quiet for a moment, shifting again. "Okay, everyone smile."
They spend a few minutes taking group shots, both serious and goofy, Marcus suggesting a few of the poses which they're all more than happy to do. Well, most of them are fairly willing. Murphy grumbles the entire time and Echo seems a bit awkward about doing the goofier poses. Maya seems to be enjoying herself, though, thankfully.
When they're done taking photos, everyone starts filing out of the house to the cars outside, though Bellamy walks Octavia back home first. Clarke says a quick goodbye to Marcus, promising to let him know when they get there and then when they'll be on their way home, and then joins the rest of her friends outside.
They split up into their different carpool groups, figuring it'd be easier to go the dance in as few cars as possible, which is fine since only a few of the group can actually drive other people. So it's up to Bellamy, Nate, and Finn to drive everyone to the dance. Thankfully, they all manage to fit into the three cars, and then they're off.
.
.
.
"Who out there's having a good time tonight?" the DJ at the front of the room says into his microphone, riling up the crowd of teenagers.
Everyone in the room cheers loudly, some of the teens even throwing their hands into the air to emphasize their excitement. Clarke is among them, naturally, being as loud and excited as she can be. She loves school events, especially dances. Getting to spend time with her friends is always a good thing in her book, and getting to let loose a little is never a bad thing.
The DJ smiles wide. "That's what I like to hear. Now then, here's the next song coming at ya, and it's a pretty slow one, the first of a few for the night ahead. So grab that special someone if you have them, and hold them real close." He puts the microphone away and a few seconds later a new song begins to play through the speakers.
"Clarke," Finn speaks up from beside her, holding out a hand, "wanna dance?"
She smiles apologetically. "Actually, Bellamy and I usually save the first slow dance for each other. No matter if we're at a dance with someone or not."
"Does it have to be a slow song? It can't be something else?"
She shakes her head. "No. Relax, okay? It's just a dance. I'll be back in a few minutes." She leans forward to press a kiss to his cheek and then moves off to where Bellamy is talking with Murphy and Zoe. "Bellamy, time to dance." She grabs his hand to pull him onto the dance floor without giving him any time to answer, looking over her shoulder at Zoe and Murphy. "I'll give him back in a few minutes."
"Don't bother," Murphy calls after her. "We don't want him."
Clarke just laughs as she leads Bellamy onto the floor. "So, I'm assuming that Echo found her actual date once we got here?" she asks, turning to face him and resting one hand on his shoulder.
He nods, placing one of his hands on her waist, their remaining hands clasping together in the air. "Yeah. I don't think I know her. But they're over there." He nods in the general direction of the edge of the floor. "They seem to be having a good time."
Clarke follows his gaze and smiles at the sight of Echo dancing slowly with a girl she doesn't recognize. Based on how closely together they're dancing, though, she's assuming they've been together for a while. Which she's surprised that she doesn't know who the other girl is if she's dating Echo. Echo's not exactly shy about her sexuality, hasn't been for a few years, but maybe this other girl is a bit on the shier side, which is why neither of them recognizes her. "Screw Echo's aunt for not accepting her for who she is. She's happy. That's all that should matter."
Bellamy chuckles. "Alright, calm down. Now's not the time."
She huffs, turning back to face him with a nod. "You're right, sorry. I'll focus on the dance."
"Good. Are you sure Finn is okay with this?" he asks her as they slowly sway from side to side.
"Of course he's okay with it," she replies with a small scoff. He raises a brow at her and she sighs. "Okay. So maybe he's not exactly okay okay with it."
"So then why are you dancing with me right now?" He goes to pull away but Clarke stops him.
She looks at him pointedly. "Don't. You are my best friend, Bellamy Blake. And just because I have a boyfriend who's not exactly pleased whenever I hang out with you, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to stop hanging out with you and being your friend just because Finn might have a small problem with it."
"It's more than a small problem, Clarke."
She nods her head slowly. "Maybe. But that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is spending some quality time with my best friend. And that means dancing to a song that just so happens to be about being in love with your best friend."
Bellamy smiles softly at her. "Maybe in another life."
She smiles back up at him. "Yeah, maybe."
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!