the world as we know it -- bellarke au

chapter twenty four - distractions

b e l l a m y   b l a k e

I slammed the door as quickly as I could, my heart pounding. That was not what I had been expecting to see. I just wanted to find Clarke and make sure she was okay --- that the idiot guy we'd seen in the hallway earlier hadn't tried to come find her again. 

I stood outside her door for a second, not really sure what to do. I couldn't really process what I had seen. Clarke. On her knees. For Luke. 

I quickly rushed down the hallway, my stomach lurching. 

I wanted her on her knees for me. 

The thought made my throat hurt. I had been trying to do everything I could to not think about Clarke --- I was spending time with Georgia, working double time with the guard, trying to remember that Clarke was my friend. My best friend. And still, nothing was working. Somehow, she always found her way back into my head. 

---

I was walking around for about an hour. I wasn't really sure where I was going, but eventually, I ran into Georgia. She was hanging up food request forms down the hallway, part of a new healthy-eating program she was trying to set up for the younger kids. When she saw me, she ditched her stack of papers on the floor and threw her arms around me. 

"I was wondering where you went off to," she said, looking up at me with a sly grin. "Come on." She pulled me around the corner into one of the dead-end hallways used to store cleaning supplies. 

At first, I was grateful for the distraction. She kissed down my neck and slid her hands up my shirt, and I kept my hands on her waist. I liked Georgia, I really did. She was the sort of person it was easy to be around --- and I knew she didn't take things too seriously, which was good for me. I didn't take things seriously either. 

Her hands moved lower, and she met my gaze mischievously as she slipped her thumb past the waistline of my pants.  I pressed my head against the wall, breathing heavily. 

Then, from around the corner, I heard voices. Georgia didn't seem to care, but I couldn't help but listen --- especially when one of them mentioned Clarke. 

"---avoiding me now," a gruff voice said. "Like she wasn't the one coming onto me at the dance. And she's got some dumb boy sticking up for her now, like she can't defend herself."

"Dude," another voice said. "Just show her who's in charge."

"I would," said the first voice. "But who cares, really. I have better things to do than waste time trying to teach manners to a slut."

"That's it," I grumbled. 

"What?" Georgia asked, but I was already storming around the corner. Sure enough, there I found the guy from earlier, with his stupid smug smile and his stupid ego. 

"Seriously?" he said when he saw me. "Do you patrol corridors now, or---"

I cut him off with a sharp blow to his jaw. 

"Woah!" his friend yelled, taking a step back. 

The guy I'd punched flexed his jaw, then fought back with a swing at my stomach. I kind of wasn't thinking that far in advance, so the blow caught me square in the abdomen, knocking all the wind out of me. I elbowed him in the ribs, which just earned me another blow to the face. 

His friend joined in too, putting me in a headlock while the first guy punched me in the face again. In hindsight, I probably should've stayed hidden around the corner. But I still had one more secret they didn't know about.

I managed to reach down and lift the hem of my shirt, revealing my gun. I got my hand around it, and both the boys froze. 

"Back off, or I shoot," I said. "And I just got off rookie patrol, which means I have enough authority to have it warranted. Both of you can be under arrest for harassment and assault in the blink of an eye." 

That wasn't true --- I was still on rookie patrol, and I genuinely had no idea how to go about arresting anyone. But these guys didn't look like the sort of people who would go into a fight against a gun, and sure enough, they backed away. 

"Whatever, man," the guy's friend said. "Could've just told us to shut up."

They hurried off, and Georgia peeked her head around the corner. 

"What were you thinking?" she scolded. "You look terrible," she added. 

I felt pretty terrible, too. My nose was bleeding, and I was pretty sure one of the guys had busted my lip. 

"I'll be fine," I said dissuasively. 

"Let me take you to medical," she said, grabbing my face in her hands. "You might need stitches."

"It's okay, really," I said, pulling out of her grasp. "I dealt with worse on the ground. I'm just--- I'll just go back to my room for a bit."

"Bellamy," Georgia said seriously. "You don't have to tough it out anymore. We have the medical supplies to fix you up."

"I don't need to be fixed up," I said, a bit harsher than I'd intended. "I'll be alright. Just... you have a shift for dinner, don't you?"

Georgia frowned. "Yeah. But I can trade---"

"Georgia," I said. "Go. It's fine."

She didn't look happy about it, but she left me alone in the hallway. 

I winced, reaching up to touch my forehead. Apparently, that was bleeding too. My stomach was still aching, and blood was dripping down my face. If anyone saw me, they'd probably think I'd tried to murder someone. And I couldn't exactly go waltzing into the medical facility after being the one to initiate the fight that got me into this condition. I didn't want to give President Wallace a reason to kick me out. 

I wiped my nose on my sleeve and headed back down the hallway towards our rooms. Hopefully, Luke was out of Clarkes room. If a blowjob was lasting more than an hour, he seriously had a problem. Clarke had been our doctor on the ground, and I knew she wouldn't ask many questions. Probably. 

I reached her room in no time and knocked. I had stupid butterflies in my stomach. I didn't want to have feelings for Clarke. But God... just looking at her made me feel better. She was so sure of herself, so sure of everything, that it made me want to be sure of things too. She was the only person, I think, who saw me in layers, instead of just the person I was on the surface. Even Octavia, my own sister, didn't really get me like Clarke did. 

Still, there was part of me that didn't want to see her. If I could live in denial, she could be with Luke, and I could be with Georgia, and we wouldn't complicate any of the living conditions at Mount Weather. The more I saw her, the more I couldn't help myself. I had no self control. I knew that. Clarke knew it too.

Eventually, she pulled open the door, gaping at me. "Bellamy?" she said. "What--- what happened?"

I shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said I fell?"

She held open the door, allowing me inside. Luke was gone, thank goodness. 

"Sit down," she said, shaking her head. Her cheeks were a bit flushed. I wondered if I should bring up what I saw --- the whole thing with her and Luke. I didn't really want to talk about it, and I was pretty sure she wouldn't too. "I'll go get some stuff to clean you up."

She disappeared into the bathroom, and I sat on the floor by the end of her bed, waiting. 

---

a/n: SORRY IT'S ANOTHER SHORT CHAPTER buuuuutttt i think there are some. very cute. moments. personally. 

GUYS THE COMMENTS ARE KILLING ME

i think maybe it's almost time to give you more angst (because this entire book absolutely hasn't been angst what why would you think that) SOOO enjoy a classic cleaning-someone-up-after-a-fight scene! i love them. you love them. everyone loves them.

see you in two days for the next update!! MWAH