Authors Note: No I have not given up on this story and thank you so much to all who are sticking with me and it! Work has really eaten up my free time so for future reference all my posts are kinda not following a routine and may have some gaps in between. I'm so sorry and I do hope you stay with me! And thank you for all your reviews, they are so greatly appreciated!

Wick was leaving for another school.

And thought that hurt, it was much easier to focus on that than….other things.

One day at dinner Wick had ever so quietly walked over to their table, his eyes downcast, lips tilted into a frown, and delivered the news in a soft and mournful voice. His hair looked rumple and his eyes a bit red, even his voice was a little hoarse. Later, it would all make sense that he had spoken to all of them after telling Raven. But for now, he just looked like shit and everyone just assumed it was an extremely negative response to the new change. His parents, both employees for the Ministry in the Department of Defense, were given a new assignment that had to move their whole family overseas to America. Without any other relatives around, there was really no other option Wick could consider but to go.

"I'm…sorry" He mumbled, his head slumping even further.

Bellamy jumped up and clapped him on the back. "Hey, it's no one's fault. These things happen"

It turned out, Raven didn't share such sentiments.

"She's not good," Clarke sighed as she took a seat next to Wells in the library. Bellamy placed his book down and leant forward, intent on hearing this part of the story. Wick had told them the news yesterday and would be leaving in two days. Raven hadn't left her dorm since.

"She's deathly quiet and is keeping to herself, but who could blame her? Still, she's blaming Wick, without even some moments of reason, and it's not the healthiest of responses."

"She'll have to come to accept there wasn't anything he could do" Well pointed out.

Clarke bit her lip. "I'm not so sure, you know how stubborn she is. Finn really hurt her and it took a lot for her to let Wick in. This is just…not good. And I'm worried."

"Give it time," Bellamy said for it was the only thing that could be said. They couldn't force Raven to see the light or speed up her process of healing. All they could do was wait and hope.

Raven didn't show up to say goodbye to Wick.

The lack of her presence was a thick weight on all their shoulders and made the goodbyes all the more harder.

They were all shuffling awkwardly in the courtyard, all their eyes unintentionally darting to the door every few moments to see if it would open.

It never did.

The boys shook hands and gave half sort of hugs while the girls embraced Wick tightly and whispered quick words of encouragement in his ear. But nothing seemed to make Wick's frown change in the slightest.

Bellamy was the last to say goodbye and their hug was the longest. No words were exchanged, they weren't needed, they had been friends long enough to know how they felt. There was just a nod of the head and he was gone.

It had been quick, like a bandaid, and Wick had been already so emotional that no one wanted to unload any more feelings on him.

Raven never showed.

It wasn't like she could hide forever though. There was class to go to, no matter how upset she was. And Raven would never let her grades decrease, even by a point, at the expense of a boy. So she rejoined society, albeit in the barest way possible.

She was there for class, and meals, talked when spoken to directly. But there was no usual joking or teasing, not even a smile when Jasper did something stupid. She was there, but not really. And God forbid you actually tried to talk to her about it. Only Octavia or Clarke dare tried to broach the subject about feelings only to get shut down every time. Raven would immediately close off and her frustrating indifference flared into barely contained anger. She grew even more colder (if it was possible) and spat out some harsh biting words, and ordered for the subject to be dropped.

It was not fun to watch let alone even be in hearing distance. Clarke and Octavia had no choice but to stop trying she threatened to stop hanging out with them all together.

Yea, things were that bad.

"She's not okay" Clarke murmured, her eyes darting up to make sure no librarian was near them. "And I think it has nothing to do with Wick anymore."

"And why is that?" Bellamy asked, keeping his eyes trained on his book. They had a test after all and even though he was concerned for their friend, he really needed to pass this test.

"Because I know Raven and she would never let a guy wreck her like this."

"So you really have no evidence to back this theory up?"

"What, you don't trust me?"

He rolled his eyes, knowing full well she was watching him. The jab to his side a second later proved that.

"Clarke, I really need to study."

"But Bellamy, I need you."

"Get Octavia to help you be Sherlock Holmes"

"She's busy."

"Doing?"

Clarke grew not so subtly silent and Bellamy may have noticed the odd, even nervous, look on her face had he not been so focused on his studying. Instead he hesitated before actually looking at her and by that time Clarke had placed a cool mask of indifference on.

"It's not like I'm her assistant, she doesn't tell me everything she's doing every minute of the day."

Bellamy groaned and snapped his book shut. "It looks like I'm not going to get any studying done until I help you do this."

"Fantastic! So here's the plan…"

As it turned out, Clarke did have some evidence to back up the idea something else was going on with Raven.

One, everyday around 3:30, when Raven should have been in potions class, she made a trip to the hospital wing. Clarke only happened to notice the sudden change in her routine because she had recently started shadowing Madame Pomfrey. Even though she didn't work during the time Raven visited the wing, one of Clarke's responsibilities was keeping daily attendance of every visitor and she started noticing the constant appearance of Raven's name.

Two, Octavia spotted Raven taking a quick swig of some purple vial, a vial that kept mysteriously appearing here and there around the bedroom.

So naturally, Clarke theory was that Raven's ailment had something to do along the medical sense.

Bellamy was trying to keep up with Clarke as she rush down the hallway. "Clarke, unless you break into Madame Pomfrey's files, you're never going to find out whats up with Raven unless she tells you."

"Well she's not telling."

"So you are breaking into the files? Clarke your mom-"

"I'm not, I'm not, don't worry. Gotta draw the line somewhere with our recent rule breaking."

"So care to tell me what is the plan then?"

She glanced quickly at him. "We're going to stage a fight."

"Um, excuse me?"

"Stage a fight, you know, yell at each other, trash talk, maybe some light pushing-"

"Clarke" Bellamy grabbed her arm and halted her mad dash. "This sounds insane. Why would us pretending to fight make Raven tell you whats going on?"

"Look, it sounds like a long shot but I really think it's going to work. The fight is going to make me upset, like, exaggerated upset, so obviously Raven is going to talk to me about it."

"And…"

"And she's going to tell me to get over you, for like the millionth time, and I'll just bring up how Wick is making her a mess and she's not getting over it so she'll have no choice but to admit that that is the reason for her crap mood or finally tell me the truth."

One of Bellamy's eyebrows rose up. "Getting over me for the millionth time huh?"

"Shut up, that is not the point right now."

"Look Clarke, this sounds like a real long shot."

"But Bell I just don't know what else to do. Please? Maybe it's stupid and it won't work at all, but it's worth a shot isn't it?"

He was never really good at telling her no.

Good thing was that it wasn't really that hard to stage a fight between the two of them. Wasn't really that hard to make people believe it either.

They decided to pick an easy topic and started a fight over the tension between their houses. Apparently, this time around (as Bellamy was so loudly complaining) Murphy went a little too far with his usual biting comments and insulted Bellamy far beyond anything that could be repaired with his usual empty apologies.

Clarke then claimed he was acting like a child, that Murphy was just being Murphy, and he shouldn't take him so seriously since no one else did. The word "Baby" was thrown in face at least four times.

"Go ahead and defend him just like you always defend your house."

They had drawn a crowd by now which was bound to happen since their little "show" was taking place right in the courtyard. Raven and Octavia always passed this way around now after their Care of Magical Creatures class.

Today, they had shown up after Clarke made a not so subtle remark about the size of Bellamy's patience.

"They're my house, of course I'm going to defend them."

"But I'm your friend" Bellamy argued, making sure his voice had the right amount of hurt and anger in it.

"And so are they so we need to find some kind of compromise here cause this isn't working."

"Or what? You just going to drop me again and pretend I don't exist?"

That threw Clarke off for a few tense seconds. Bellamy's stomach plunged into a pool of guilt as he saw her eyes widen in surprise and a flicker of pain cross them. It's not like he meant it but the comment was believable and it had really just come out.

Damning the whole plan to hell, Bellamy was about to apologize when Clarke composed herself and plunged on.

"Well it looked like you got along quite well without me before, why would now be any different?" She snarked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It wouldn't," Bellamy replied, not missing a beat. "Contrary to what you believe, you aren't special to me Princess. You're just my little sister's friend, nothing more."

And there was the grand finale. It's not like the plan was to have an hour long screaming match. Someone just had to deliver a final, nearly unforgivable blow, and stomp away without looking back. It seemed like Bellamy was the lucky winner.

Clarke gave a convincing look of shock, her mouth falling open and no words no longer coming out, and even as Bellamy walked away she kept on playing the part of a victim.

Bellamy wanted to look back to see if Raven and Octavia were running to her aid, but needed to remain strong and kept on going straight into the castle.

"So, did it work?"

Clarke gave a big smile as he rounded the library shelf into their secret spot.

"Like a charm. Why do you ever doubt me?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Just spill Miss Know It All"

Instead of doing just that, Clarke bit her lip and cast her eyes to the floor. "Um, about that…"

A groan escaped his lips. "Seriously Clarke? You're really not going to tell me after making me look ridiculous back in the courtyard?"

"Well, technically, I was the one who got the verbal beat down-"

"Clarke"

"I do want to tell you because I did pull you into this and I am sorry for that. But what Raven told me, well, it is kind of personal. And if it was something truly alarming then of course I would say something but at the moment-"

"It's not life threatening?" Bellamy guessed.

"No. Difficult, yes, and now I'll be there for her but…" She helplessly shrugged her shoulders. "It's not really my secret to tell and when she's ready, I'm sure she'll fill the rest of you in. I'm sorry Bellamy."

In response, Bellamy let out a sigh, more out of tire then frustration. "It's fine. I get it. Just as long as she has you know to help her through it."

Clarke smiled in relief and nodded her head. "And thank you, really. Couldn't have done it without you."

He smirked. "You mean get in a screaming match in front of the whole school? I'm sure if you put your mind to it you could have accomplished with about anyone else."

Clarke chuckled softly. "Yes, but no one can quite fight like you and I do."

"Speaking of which…" Bellamy took a step forward, getting into her personal space. "What was Raven's advice about getting over me this time around?"

Their agreement to wait and promises of some day and, most importantly, the kiss had happened three months ago. Two months of getting over the breakup with Echo, pushing down their untimely feelings, coming to terms with their guilt, and trying their best to be the friends they always had been. It was working, by some miracle, and Bellamy was happy about it. They were getting to a place they could finally be together without any hang-ups.

So this bold move and blunt flirting, well, maybe it was a bit of a reward for their good behavior.

Clarke looked a little unsure with the closer proximity, as if she wasn't sure whether he was serious or not. So she answered slowly, not exactly flirting back but not being unresponsive to him either. "The usual, I'm a idiot, you're an even bigger idiot, and that if it hasn't happened by now it's time to move on."

"Is that so?" Bellamy murmured, tilting his head to the side. One of his curls fell across his forehead and he watched how intently Clarke followed its movement. "Exactly how long have you and Raven been discussing….us?"

Though it was dark in the dimly lit corner of the library, Bellamy could still clearly see the rush of blood in Clarke's cheeks. The question threw her off, making her lashes flutter and her mouth fall open and close a couple of times. Finally, she stuttered out, "T-That's not important."

Getting even closer, Bellamy angled his head toward Clarke's, his breath now fanning across her red skin. "It's important to me Princess."

"Oh really? So I'm not just your little sister's friend?"

Bellamy laughed lowly. "Knew that was going to come back and bite me in the ass. You know I didn't mean it."

Clarke narrowed her eyes, but there was a certain playfulness shining back at him. "Oh yea? And how do I know that?"

Now, that was flirting back.

Bellamy grinned and raised his hand. He brought his fingertips to the side of her face, gently skimming them down the expanse of skin and pushing away any stray strands of hair. "Because," He whispered, placing his lips dangerously close to her ear. "I don't get this close with just anyone"

"Bellamy," Clarke warned, but they were so close he could feel her body shiver at his words.

"Tell me Clarke," Bellamy softly demanded. "Tell me how long you've wanted me." He began to now skim his nose against her skin, making a slow trail down to her neck.

"You wanted to wait," Clarke breathed, blatantly ignoring his question. "Are you…are you done waiting now?"

Bellamy pulled away from her, just enough to look into her heavily lidded eyes. "You tell me."

"Bellamy"

"Clarke" He teased right back.

But apparently she was done with his teasing. Her hands gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him forward, not being anyway gentle about it. Their lips brushed in the slightest way, not exactly kissing but more than just touching too, when a shout from somewhere in the library nearly gave them both heart attacks.

"Library is about to close!" The voice called. "Everyone gather their things and head towards the exit!"

They separated immediately, as if the person had barged right in on them.

"Um," Bellamy scratched the back of his head.

"Yea, ah, let's…." Clarke looked just as clueless what to say. "Um, table that? For another time?"

"How romantic."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. Besides, this isn't what I would be most concerned at for the moment."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well there's the public apology you'll have to give me and Raven's wrath for our little scene to begin with."

Oh crap. "Clarke"

"Good luck with that!" She chirped before grabbing her bag and dashing around the bookshelf.