West Ark High

Dark Days

Bellamy twirled the pen in his fingers two rotations before he lost his grip and it fell to the floor.

Only Miller and Wells had noticed, the previous even chuckling slightly, but the others present were focused on Clarke as she spoke. Bellamy considered picking it up, but that would attract more attention and it wasn't like he needed his pen.

Instead, he rested his head on top of the podium. "Do you have the location picked out?" Clarke's voice asked beside him.

Bellamy wasn't sure who the question was addressed to but Monroe's voice answered, "Yeah. The Thai place said that they'd donate twenty-percent of the bill of people who say they're representing West Arke. It'll be on November nineteenth."

Clarke jotted something down in her yellow notepad. "Good job. Today's the fifth so that gives us two weeks to get the word out about it."

"I was thinking," Sterling sat up straighter in his desk, "What if we had one of those lock-in things?"

"To raise money?" Miller shook his head. "Why would someone pay money to stay in the school longer?"

"Shh shh." Finn held his arm out to shush Miller, then nodded for Sterling to continue. "Elaborate."

"What if we had a movie showing and some games?" Sterling's voice got smaller as he continued his sentence.

"It's an idea," Clarke said with a tight smile. Bellamy grinned to himself, knowing fully well that that smile and subtle head nod was her way of saying afraid not.

Bellamy picked his head up off of the podium and glanced around the room. Wells was fighting to keep his eyes open, Sterling was twiddling his thumbs in embarrassment, and Miller was playing on his phone while Monroe leaned over his shoulder to watch. Finn looked to Clarke, waiting for her to say something.

Bellamy specifically noted that Raven had failed to show up to the impromptu meeting. In the time since the previous weekend at Murphy's house party where Raven had made a move on him, he hadn't seen her more than once. She had become elusive, but it made him wonder if she was avoiding him out of shame or embarrassment.

"I think we'll just wrap this up." Clarke closed her notepad. "We've got a fundraiser going and two Quiz Bowl practices scheduled over the next month so I feel like today's been productive enough."

"Finally." Miller slid off of the desk he had been perched on and scuttled out the door.

"Hey, wait for me!" Monroe shuffled out after him.

Bellamy wanted to leave as soon as possible; in the past, he had tended to skip stu-co meetings that had been scheduled on Fridays, let alone impromptu meetings, but Clarke had twisted his arm when she said that he had to take responsibility as president.

She had also reminded him that she didn't get her car back for another three days and that he was her and Jasper's only way home. Bellamy wasn't sure at what time along the road he had become responsible for Clarke getting home every day but for some reason it didn't bother him the same way it would have at the beginning of the year. In the end, he decided to stick around for the grueling two hour meeting that consisted of a couple dozen phone calls to ask about fundraising.

It was almost becoming alarming as to how much Bellamy was willing to sacrifice for her.

Bellamy crouched down to pick up his pen, but as he fumbled around on the floor he heard Finn's voice from on the other side of the podium. "Did you need a ride home, Clarke?" Finn asked.

Bellamy's nose reflexively scrunched up at the thought of Clarke going home with Finn; then he realized how ridiculous he was being. He justified the reaction by the fact that she had already asked him to take her home today and it would have been a waste of his time if she left with Finn...yeah that had to be it.