Project Iphigenia (Bellarke)

Chapter 21

11 Years after Start of Program

"Bye Simon! See you later!" Octavia said, waving goodbye as Bellamy shoved his friend from the room and locked the door.

"Ugg..." Bellamy rolled his eyes, "I don't know how you put up with her sometimes." He grunted.

"Well, she's just bored and cooped up. I guess if I had to spend every moment at home with her like you, I'd go crazy too." He pointed out, giving a little smile, "I do feel bad for her though. I guess I always feared what we'd do with Charlotte if she ever got to around this age..."

Bellamy gave a nod. Telling Simon about his sister was the best choice he'd ever made, even if he thought it was for slightly selfish reasons. Now, there was someone he could drag home when he really needed a break to keep his sister occupied. And it wasn't a secret his sister had a slight crush on Simon, although that might be because it was the only guy she'd ever met that wasn't related to her.

If Simon even had a smidgen of attraction to his sister, Bellamy couldn't tell. Him and Uma were happily 'together' (although, they didn't use words like 'dating' or such) and this was for the best anyway. If Simon and Octavia did get together and then had an awful break up, Bellamy would once again be the only person for her to talk to. A good, non-threatening friend to bring around was exactly how this needed to stay.

He wondered if Simon even noticed the way Octavia batted her eyes and giggled around him. He was terrified to even ask because maybe Simon didn't see her that way at all and it would make things awkward.

Simon's pager beeped on his side. He looked at it, and groaned.

"It's your friend Benny." He said, putting it back, "Give that kid an inch, and he'll make a bright, sparkling, gaudy mile."

"You're referring to the Unity Masquerade, then?"

Benny had recently been given his first break; to organize the electronic aspects of the teen's Unity Day dance this year. Simon was assigned as one of his workers, and this was the fifth time Bellamy had been around his friend when he'd be summoned yet again to go execute some wild idea.

"Hey, you can't hate his enthusiasm." Bellamy shrugged.

"Sure I can, especially when he expects you to make a gigantic light-up gazebo."

"Well...don't you have places to be?" Bellamy asked when his friend just shut off his beeper casually.

"Oh, I'll go in a bit." Simon said, "Let some other lackie answer his call. By the way, do you know if you'll be supervising it?"

"It's three days away. Of course I know." Bellamy scoffed, "What kind of deal do you thinks us guards run? That we're always disorganized?"

"Well-,"

"Shut up. But yeah, I am." Bellamy couldn't let his grin slip out.

"Geeze, most people I've talked to are moaning the fact they have to watch a bunch of horny teenagers with masks practically make out in the dark." Simon said.

Bellamy glanced around furtively, then pushed Simon into a crevice.

"I asked." He said, which made Simon's eyebrows rise in surprise, "I think I'm going to try to take Octavia."

"What?" Simon all but yelled. Bellamy slapped his hand over his mouth, glaring.

"Be quiet, okay? I don't want anyone to hear." He lectured.

"You're crazy! What in the world are you fucking thinking?" Simon hissed in a low whisper.

"It's a masquerade dance. No one will know. I'll take Octavia home; pretend she's sick, before midnight happens. She's dying in there, man. I don't know if she'll ever get this chance again."