#clarkebell

When the Ark stole both of them from him, he grew bitter. He reinforced the walls he had built up, placing himself carefully behind locked doors as he prepared himself each morning for his new reputation as a brother. The once smiling girls now passed by whispering in low voices to each other about their good fortune in avoiding getting caught up in relations with someone of such low-class. Criminal relations. Bellamy could only sigh and move on to the next filthy corridor.

Shumway approached him not long after one girl had smirked as he passed. She’d laughed when he gave her a small smile, and he chided himself for thinking things had changed. Bellamy agreed surprisingly quickly to Shumway’s proposal, and within the month he was on the earth with his sister by his side and blood on his hands.

The girls on earth smiled at him, and he gladly smiled back. Things felt as though they’d be restored, but Jaha’s blood still tainted every thought and action. His dying form haunted Bellamy, even when pretty girls would stop by his tent.

Clarke Griffin did not smile at him. Neither did her friends. He tried not to let it bother him so much, but the masochist in him craved the punishment. The screams sent his way and the challenging tilt of her eyebrow. He wanted her to smile at him if only to know he’d done something right.

When she did smile, he started to get greedy. He wanted her to laugh at his jokes. He wanted her to support his ideas. He wanted her to stare while he worked. He wanted her to moan under his ministrations and crave his touch.

Bellamy Blake has never been in love. But Clarke Griffin made it extremely difficult to remain that way. He hadn’t seen her approaching his blockades, but now she stood there with her wit and her wrath and he couldn’t protect himself for long.

Even Octavia had taken notice. “You can’t do this to yourself. Or her, for that matter. She’s not all you’re making her up to be. If you keep her on this pedestal much longer, one of you is going to get hurt.”

He had gaped at her. His little sister knew she was the only person in his life. He didn’t plan on starting to branch out any time soon. But her raised eyebrow and smug smirk told him this wasn’t a battle he could win. So, he relented. “Well, what would you suggest?”

She pursed her lips, looking around her for a few moments while the thoughts tossed around in her mind. “I suppose the only viable option for you going forward would be to try to win her over.”

"This isn’t some teenage romance novel. I’m not just going to win her over with grand gestures and declarations of affection." He huffed, gathering his legs in his arms and blushing when Octavia burst out laughing.

"You definitely need to work on your game, brother." She wiped tears from her eyes and took a minute to calm herself down. Fairly unsuccessfully, if you asked Bellamy. "Ok, Shakespeare, you’re going to need to try better than that. Maybe compliment her?"

Bellamy tilted his head to the right, pursing his lips. That might work. He’d have to do it subtly, and outside of Octavia’s earshot so she couldn’t make fun of him while he was wooing Clarke. But it might work.

As it turns out, it didn’t. Every time Bellamy tried to compliment Clarke, she turned her head and negated his words. For every “you really handled that bone break well,” he received a “Lena’s nose will be crooked though.” For every “you’ve done a great job integrating us back into Ark society,” he got a “let’s just hope my mother and I can avoid any major disagreements going forward.”

Clarke was completely oblivious, and that frustrated him. He even resorted to storming into Raven’s tent while she was working on the radio. He paced around the room several times before she finally sighed and pulled herself away from the work. “What’s the matter, Lover Boy?”

"Clarke can’t be wooed. I can’t win her over, no matter how hard I try." He plopped into one of her makeshift chairs with a sigh and buried his face in his hands. "This is helpless."

Raven just chuckled, going back to her radio. “You’re going about it all wrong. Clarke already likes you. She respects you. You just need to get her to see you in a new light. Do something romantic for a change. Though, you might not know the definition.”

Bellamy covered his offended gasp with a grunt. He walked out of the tent hurriedly, mumbling to himself. “I know the definition of the word romantic. I even know the definition of the word with a capital R.” Laughter followed him as he left Raven’s company. He tried not to let it bother him too much.

When it came down to it, though, the most romantic thing Bellamy could think of was bringing her flowers, but even the flowers he’d picked were dying and a tad smelly. Which is why he stood outside of the med bay, turning back and forth between the entrance and the path back to his tent.

"Bellamy?" He whipped around to see Clarke with her arms held tightly across her chest and her mouth in a think line. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, yeah, fine." He nodded his head furiously before realizing how silly he must look. He settled for holding his hands behind his back with a goofy smile plastered across his face.

"Are you holding dead flowers?" She leaned over to get a better look, but he turned to the side, fumbling over the right words to say. "On Valentine’s Day?"

Shit. How could Bellamy be so foolish to forget that today was Valentine’s Day? In his defense, it was an antiquated holiday that most people neglected to practice. “Well, uh, yeah. I mean, people should have flowers on Valentine’s Day, right?”

“Wait, those are for me?” The corner of Clarke’s mouth twitched, and she let a smile take over her features. “You got me flowers?” Before Bellamy could reply, Clarke held up one of her fingers and ducked back into the med bay with a rushed “wait here.”

Bellamy waited anxiously outside, doing his best to avoid the knowing looks of the people passing by. Raven had no right to look at him with a smirk and shake of the head. She was the one who had the idea in the first place.

“Here.” Clarke shoved a book into his hands with a nervous smile. “I saw it in one of the bunkers and thought you’d like it.” She rocked back on her heels as Bellamy shook his head and glanced down. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. “Do you like it? I wasn’t sure if you were into plays.”

“No, it’s great.” His smile widened as he flipped through the pages, full of annotations and dog-ears from its previous owners. “It makes me wish I’d gotten you something better than flowers.”

She gasps and hits his shoulder lightly, “But I loved them!” He chuckles and shakes his head at her smirk. “Honestly though, I appreciate it, Bellamy.” He smiles to himself and keeps his eyes trained on the dirt he’s kicking as she turns to walk back into the med bay. When he raises his eyes, they catch hers immediately and she grins brightly, ignoring the blush creeping up his neck. “I’ll see you around, you dork.”