"Do you want to come to a party?"

Bellamy looks up from his book abruptly, unable to decipher who is talking to him from their voice alone. He isn't any less confused when he sees Clarke Griffin's piercing blue eyes staring down at him.

"Um," he says, quickly swallowing the chewed up apple he has in his mouth. He doesn't usually get disturbed at lunch time. His friends usually find something better to do than sit around and watch him read. "A party?" he says dumbly.

"You know, one of those things where people gather at someone's house and there's music and drinking and stuff," Clarke continues. He's still not entirely sure she's got the right person. He doesn't remember Clarke Griffin ever talking to him before, apart from serving her a few times at the bookstore where he works, but he doesn't really think that counts.

She's a year younger than him and it's not like they have any classes together. They don't have any of the same friends or interests. They really have no reason to talk to each other. Plus, she's kind of popular, and he's, well… not. And it's not like he doesn't have friends. He definitely has friends. But Monty and Jasper spend their lunches in the science lab and their weekends playing dungeons and dragons. Clarke's friends spend their weekends getting drunk at parties, apparently. And their lunches following Clarke around, watching her interactions with other students from a safe distance, he thinks, noticing Raven Reyes and Wells Jaha standing by tree maybe ten metres away.

"I know what a party is," he huffs.

"So?" she prompts. He takes another bite of his apple to give him some time to prepare an answer. He has no idea why she's inviting him to a party. Maybe it's some kind of cruel prank. He's heard about that kind of thing happening.

"I can't go to a party," he says finally. "I have to look after my sister most nights." Which is not strictly true, Octavia being fourteen now and capable of looking after herself for a night. But it's a good excuse.

"Oh," Clarke says, and she seems weirdly disappointed. "Okay," she nods, and Bellamy is about to go back to reading, figuring the conversation is over. "If you change your mind," Clarke says, and Bellamy lifts his head again. "It's this Saturday at my house. Twenty-seven Mayfield Street."

"Right," Bellamy nods.

"You can bring your friends if you want," Clarke adds, and Bellamy nods again. He doesn't know what else to say (what does one say to someone as pretty and popular as Clarke Griffin?), but she's still standing there, so he feels like he can't just start reading again.

"Did you want to sit, or…?" he offers and she glances over at Raven and Wells who quickly look away as if they haven't been watching the whole exchange.

"That's okay," Clarke says, turning back to Bellamy. "I'll let you get back to your book," she smiles at him, and Bellamy almost smiles back but he manages to control his face muscles. He doesn't even know why he wants to smile. And he really doesn't understand why he has an overwhelming feeling of disappointment when she walks away.

"It's because you're hot now," Jasper nods sagely as he walks in between Bellamy and Monty on the way home from school, Bellamy having just filled them in on the encounter with Clarke.

"What?" Bellamy scoffs. It's not that he doesn't think he's hot. He spent the entire summer working out, sick of being bullied for being a gangly nerd. So, yeah, he kind of knows he's better looking than he was this time last year. But he's still a nerd. His looks don't change the fact that he's spent his entire high school life in the library and that he knows way too much about Ancient Greece. The cool kids have pretty much stopped picking on him, but mostly they just ignore him now. Apart from Clarke Griffin apparently.

"Yep," Jasper nods. "Girls actually talk to me now, but it's just to ask me about you."

"It's those arms," Monty agrees. "I bet if you took off your shirt at school it wouldn't just be Clarke Griffin inviting you to parties."

"If you just lost the glasses it would be like one of those chick flicks where the dorky girl gets a makeover and becomes the most popular girl in school," Jasper says.

"The glasses do kind of ruin the illusion that you aren't a nerd," Monty grins.

"I like my glasses," Bellamy grumbles.

"Face it, my man," Jasper shakes his head. "Clarke Griffin likes you," he teases. Bellamy isn't a fan of the way his stomach kind of lurches when Jasper says those words, even though he knows his friend is just kidding around. Bellamy knows full well Clarke isn't interested in him like that. He's pretty sure Clarke can have anyone she wants; she has no reason to stoop to his level.

"Bellamy has a girlfriend," Monty joins in the teasing and Bellamy has to roll his eyes. "Where are you going to take her on your first date?"

"Take her to the library," Jasper suggests with a grin.

"Take her to your tree house!"

"Clarke and Bellamy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Jasper sings before bursting into laughter.

"Hilarious," Bellamy deadpans. He doesn't miss the look Monty and Jasper share, but he chooses to ignore it. Just like he's choosing to ignore the unsettling feeling that maybe he kind of wishes it wasn't just a joke.

Clarke approaches again him at lunch the next day, this time with Raven and Wells in tow, and he's not any less surprised than yesterday. She doesn't wait for an invitation to sit, just slides into the seat across from him, while he watches her, slack-jawed. Wells plonks himself next to Bellamy and Raven takes the seat next to Clarke.

"Why do you always sit here alone?" Raven asks. "I know you have friends."

"They hang out in the science lab," Bellamy manages to tell her, as if this occurrence is totally normal.

"Different book from yesterday," Clarke notes, toying with the cover. "You read a lot."

"I guess so," Bellamy muses, unsure what else to say. Clarke's hand brushes his as she pulls away and he has to stop himself from rubbing the spot where she leaves it tingling.

"Is it good?"

"What?"

"The book, is it good?" Clarke asks.

"Oh. Yeah, it's pretty good," Bellamy nods. He doesn't elaborate seeing as he's pretty sure Clarke isn't actually interested in what he's reading. He's sure there's some ulterior motive as to why she's sitting here with him, he's just not sure what it is yet.

"Maybe I can borrow it when you're done?" Clarke proffers.

"Sure," Bellamy nods. Clarke glances at Raven and Bellamy swallows uncomfortably. Is he supposed to be making conversation? He's kind of just waiting for her to get to the point. She must want something from him, a favour of some kind. Or else this is just some elaborate ploy to humiliate him.

"You work at the bookstore, right?" Wells asks him. Bellamy nods. "Thought so. We saw you there over the summer. Doing that program where you read to little kids." Bellamy suddenly feels a sharp pain in his shin, and he's fairly certain he's just been kicked.

"Ow," he says, frowning, and Clarke's face turns bright red.

"Sorry," she says, grimacing. "Foot spasm." Raven snorts and Wells chuckles like it's some sort of inside joke, and Clarke takes a long sip of coke. Bellamy is left utterly in the dark.

"I think I might have seen you guys there," Bellamy says, finally deciding he should actually properly join the conversation. They obviously aren't getting to the point soon, and he's pretty sure he's coming off as a jerk with all the short answers he's giving. He does remember seeing Clarke at the bookstore a few times, though he can't say he made a note of Raven or Wells. He's surprised they made a note of him.

"Clarke really discovered a passion for reading over the summer," Raven says, smirking. "I think her book collection doubled." Clarke shoots her friend a look that Bellamy doesn't understand.

"If you want to come in when I'm working sometime I could… give you some recommendations if you like," Bellamy offers, and he's not entirely sure why he's offering. It's probably dumb. She'll probably say no and think he's a complete idiot.

"Okay," Clarke says, her eyes sparkling as she beams at him, and this time Bellamy is unable to stop himself from smiling back.

"We have to go to the party," Jasper urges. It's Saturday night, and Bellamy's only excuse for not going to the party is currently at a friend's house. Jasper and Monty barged into his house ten minutes ago to try and persuade him to go, but he's ever been stubborn.

"I don't even understand why I'm invited to the party," Bellamy groans. None of his interactions with Clarke so far have shed any light on the matter. She didn't come and sit with him at lunch on Friday, and he couldn't focus on his book, some part of him expecting her to show up. He almost approached her at her locker after school, to give her the book she said she wanted to borrow, but she's always surrounded by so many people. So he'd put his head down and walked on by.

"You'll never find out if you don't go," Monty points out. Bellamy pouts.

"Come on!" Jasper whines. "I've never been to a party. We never get invited."

"Well you guys can go," Bellamy shrugs. "I'm going to stay home and read."

"We can't go without you," Jasper huffs, as if it's obvious.

"Why not?"

"You were the one that was invited," Monty explains. "We're just an extension of you."

"She only said we could come because she thought it might get you to go," Jasper says exasperatedly. Bellamy rolls his eyes.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Monty shrugs.

"Someone could throw eggs at me." Bellamy scowls.

"Have you been watching Never Been Kissed again?" Jasper rolls his eyes.

"Drew Barrymore is a very talented actress," Bellamy says defensively.

"We're getting off topic here," Monty shakes his head. "You have to go to at least one high school party in your life. It's part of the experience. If you hate it we can go home."

Bellamy sighs. The truth is, part of him really wants to go to the party. He just doesn't think it's the rational part of him. It's the part of him that's telling him Clarke will be there and he kind of wants to see her. And it's such a cliché, the nerdy guy having a crush on the cool popular girl, but here he is and now that he's admitted it to himself there's no going back.

"Fine," Bellamy relents. "But let it be noted that I was against this," he says. If anyone asks, Jasper and Monty dragged him to the party kicking and screaming.

"It doesn't count if we don't go inside," Jasper says as the three of them stare up at Clarke's house. They can feel the bass of the music thudding through the pavement under their feet and the party is obviously in full swing. It's a little daunting, in truth, but they manage to drag their feet towards the front door.

"Do we ring the doorbell?" Monty asks.

"I doubt anyone would hear it," Bellamy replies.

"So, we just go in," Jasper says hesitantly. He looks a little pale actually, and it seems the prospect of a party is not quite as appealing to him now as it was twenty minutes ago. Bellamy and Monty nod, but neither makes a move to open the door. The three of them only hesitate a moment longer before the door swings open and someone flies past them.

"My mom is going to kill me!" the unidentified teenager yells as he runs through the yard and onto the street. Bellamy, Jasper and Monty watch him as he continues to run down the street, presumably back towards his home. When he's out of sight the three of them turn their attention back to the party. The door stands wide open and Bellamy figures they can't stand there any longer without looking like total idiots, so he takes the first hesitant step inside, Monty and Jasper right behind him.

There are more people at this party than Bellamy thinks he even knows in total, and he only vaguely recognises half of the faces he can see. He's not even sure most of these kids go to his school.

"Now what?" he asks Jasper. He's regretting coming already. What's he supposed to do, just wander around until he finds Clarke? Does she even want him to find her? He couldn't even approach her at school, on fairly neutral territory, how is he going to work up the courage to talk to her at her house, at a party where she's most likely surrounded by drunk teenagers who think he's a total loser? He's still not entirely sure she doesn't think he's a total loser.

"Find the alcohol?" Jasper suggests. Monty nods with enthusiasm so Bellamy follows them further into the house, all the while keeping an eye out for Clarke.

Jasper manages to find the alcohol with surprising ease for someone who has never set foot at a house party before, and Bellamy hadn't been planning on drinking but he figures one drink might calm his nerves a little. At least, that's what Jasper tells him.

"You look tense," he says, handing Bellamy a cup full of unidentifiable alcohol. Bellamy eyes it suspiciously. "It's punch," Jasper tells him, which doesn't really clear up the situation as to what's actually in the cup, but Bellamy figures everyone else is drinking it so it can't be too bad. He takes a long swig, and it tastes mainly like tropical fruit juice but with a strong kick to it. He hasn't tried enough different types of alcohol to be able to tell what the juice is mixed with, but there's definitely a lot of it.

"Nice," Bellamy lies, squinting a little before chugging the rest of it and handing the cup back to Jasper to fill up again.

"That's the spirit!" Jasper grins, filling the cup and giving it back to Bellamy. "This party is going to be awesome." Bellamy still isn't so sure about that, after all they've been here five minutes and not one person has even acknowledged their existence. Kinda exactly like how it is at school. But there's plenty of alcohol, and Bellamy plans to make the most of that.

"You should go and find Clarke," Monty tells him and Bellamy's stomach lurches at the mention of her name. "She invited you after all." Bellamy knows Monty is probably right, but the thought of going up to talk to her while she's surrounded by her friends makes him a little sick, so he downs the rest of his punch, fills up his cup again, takes a deep breath and then makes Jasper and Monty go and find her for him.

"You don't actually have to talk to her," Bellamy begs. "Just see where she is so I don't look like a complete loser walking around trying to find her."

"You just want us to look like total losers," Jasper deadpans.

"Come on, please? You're the ones who made me come to this dumb party," Bellamy reminds them. Jasper sighs and looks at Monty for assistance. Monty just shrugs.

"We did make him come," Monty agrees. Jasper sighs again.

"Fine, but this better end with you and Clarke making out in a secluded corner somewhere," Jasper concedes, turning to leave the kitchen, Monty right behind him.

"It's not like that!" Bellamy calls after them. He doesn't know what it is like, but he's certain it's not like that.

He feels a little looser now, the alcohol kicking in, making his head swirl a little. He thinks maybe he should have taken it a little slower, seeing as he isn't really used to drinking. He keeps drinking what he has in his hand anyway, mostly just for something to do while he waits for Jasper and Monty. People come and go from the kitchen, filling their cups with punch or grabbing a can of beer from the cooler by the fridge, but none of them pay him any attention.

A song comes on that he recognises, something a little older than the rest of the stuff that's been playing, and he finds himself nodding along, maybe even enjoying himself a little. Someone walks into the kitchen, a guy he thinks might be in his English class. The guy notices him standing there and raises an eyebrow at him.

"You're a fan of this song, I take it?" the guy smirks and Bellamy immediately stops bopping his head. The guy laughs. "Bellamy, right?"

"Yeah," Bellamy agrees, though he's not entirely sure what he's agreeing to.

"Miller," the guy gestures to himself. "We have English together."

"Cool," Bellamy says. His head feels kind of weird and everything kind of looks like he's in a dream.

"You don't have to stay in here, you know," Miller tells him. "There are people dancing in the living room if you want to join them."

"Do you know where Clarke is?" Bellamy asks abruptly. Miller gives him an amused look.

"Got a thing for the resident golden girl, huh?" he says.

"No," Bellamy says quickly. "I mean… I don't know," he shrugs.

"I don't know where she is," Miller tells him. "But she'll be around somewhere." He grabs a beer and then heads back out to the party. Bellamy decides he's had enough hiding in the kitchen and follows him, drinking down the rest of his punch and throwing the cup in the trash.

There are a lot of people in the living room, some of them dancing, just like Miller had told him, and it's easy for Bellamy to join in without even really being noticed. He closes his eyes while he dances, his head and his heart thudding to the beat of the music. He doesn't know how much time passes before someone is tapping him on the shoulder and he opens his eyes to see Clarke standing there, grinning at him. He sees her mouth move but he can't actually hear what she's saying.

"What?" he yells. Clarke shakes her head before standing on her tiptoes and leaning up towards him. For a second he thinks she's going to kiss him, and he panics, but she just presses her lips to his ear.

"I didn't think you were coming," she says. He can feel her breath against his neck, her body just touching his ever so slightly, making all the nerves on his body stand on end. He opens his mouth to reply, but in the next second someone shoves into him, sending him flying to the ground, into the speakers, and the music abruptly shuts off.

"Sorry man!" says the guy who shoved into him. Murphy, Bellamy thinks.

Everyone's staring at him, and all of a sudden all the insecurities he had about coming to this party in the first place come flooding back to him. He doesn't belong here. None of these people even want him here or even know who he is. He has no business developing feelings for one of the most popular girls in school. Now he's gone and made a fool of himself, just like he's feared would happen. This is probably what Clarke wanted all along.

"Sorry," he mutters as he gets up, no one moving to help him, except Clarke but he brushes her off. He sees Monty and Jasper hovering by the door and heads towards them, trying to pretend his face isn't flushed with embarrassment. "Let's go," he says to them quietly and for once neither of them argues. He leads the way to the front door, Monty and Jasper trailing after him.

"Bellamy, wait!" he hears Clarke call after him but he keeps walking because this doesn't need to be any more humiliating. She probably just wants him to pay for the damaged speakers. If he keeps walking she'll leave him alone. If she's that desperate for him to pay for them then she can find him at school on Monday.

He's out the front door then, walking down the path towards the street and he thinks he's home free, but then he hears her call his name again. He keeps walking.

"Bellamy," Monty says, struggling to match Bellamy's stride. "Don't you think you should stop?"

"No," he says stubbornly. Monty looks back, and stops suddenly, and Jasper falls back as well. Screw them, Bellamy thinks, but no sooner has he thought the words than he feels someone grab his arm and he halts in surprise, turning to see Clarke standing there.

"Bellamy," she puffs, obviously having run to catch up with him.

"What do you want?" he scowls. "Why did you invite me here?" he yells.

"I – thought you might like to come," Clarke swallows. Bellamy huffs out a humourless laugh.

"Come on," he says. "You wanted to humiliate me. That's how you and your friends get their kicks, right? Making fun of the nerdy kids?" Clarke looks angry then, her nostrils flaring, and she glares at him. He glares right back.

"Are you serious?" she snaps. "Is that what you think of me?"

"What an idiot," Bellamy hears Jasper whisper.

"I invited you here because I like you, you dense asshole," Clarke continues angrily. Bellamy feels the wind knocked out of him. His jaw goes slack and he looks at her in surprise.

"You like me?" he repeats dumbly. Clarke nods, her jaw still a little tight, but she looks less angry now. "Why?"

She stares at him, eyes wide, like she'd never considered the possibility before that someone could not like him.

"Because…" she pauses. "Because you care about things," she says.

"I care about things," he repeats, not sure he understands. Everybody cares about something.

"Like how you do that reading program at the bookstore," Clarke explains. "And how you look after your sister. And you read at lunch time even though other kids make fun of you for it. You don't let other people dictate what you should enjoy. I like that."

"Yeah?" he smiles.

"Yeah," Clarke nods. "And you kind of… light up when you talk about the things you love. Like books or your sister. It's cute."

"Cute?" Bellamy raises his eyebrows in disbelief. She thinks he's cute?

"And I like your glasses. And your freckles. And your smile. Also, I think you're really hot," Clarke grins a little bashfully.

"Knew it!" Jasper yells, reminding them that he's there. Bellamy ignores him, still staring at Clarke, knowing she's not lying because there's just something so sincere about her expression. Yet, he still finds it a little hard to believe. She likes him.

"So, uh," Clarke licks her lips. "Do you like me? Or should we just pretend this never happened?"

"I like you," he assures her, a huge smile spreading across his face. "Sorry about what I said before."

"You're an idiot," Clarke rolls her eyes, her smile matching his. "How did you not know? I thought I was being really obvious."

"He's not that bright, this one," Jasper says, sidling up beside Bellamy. "It's true what they say, you can't be hot and smart." Bellamy rolls his yes.

"I think he's bright," Clarke disagrees, giving Bellamy a wink. "I think he's as bright as the sun."