chapter two

"You don't look so great this morning."

Clarke looked up, her eyes bleary. "I felt I needed to drink my own body weight in alcohol to deal with being left alone with Bellamy."

"I just had to drink to block out the image of you and Finn grinding last night. You know nobody wants to see that, right?" Octavia teased, setting a cup of coffee down in front of a grateful Clarke, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Raven laughed. "Finn and I are good right now, I'm not going to deny myself any of life's pleasures."

"Mm, so snow is an aphrodisiac for you guys?"

"Oh, shut up Octavia." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I'm not saying its a bad thing." Octavia shrugged, pulling her oversized jumper down over her knees. "I'm happy for you."

"Me too." Clarke croaked, feeling slightly more human now she had some coffee in her.

"Yeah?" Raven looked surprised.

"Yeah, I am." Clarke confirmed. "Ray, of course I'm happy for you! Both of you - you're in great relationships with great guys, I wouldn't be a good friend if I wasn't happy for you."

"Its just that…" Raven trailed off.

"We worry about you sometimes, Clarke." Octavia finished for her. "I know you don't need to be in a relationship, and its amazing you're so independent -"

"And successful!" Raven interjected.

"…But we don't want you to feel lonely, or like a fifth wheel with us. The three of us have been friends for way too long to let anything like that happen and damage our friendship or whatever."

Clarke took another sip of her coffee, the hot liquid burning her throat in a way she wasn't awake enough to acknowledge. "Guys, I'm fine - honestly. I'll meet someone when I meet someone, right?"

"Right!" Octavia nodded enthusiastically. "But you'd talk to us if you weren't OK, wouldn't you?"

"Of course."

"Good." Octavia beamed. "Now, how quickly can we all look alive and get out onto the slopes?"

"I need at least two more cups of coffee." Clarke replied, stifling a yawn.

"You are going to love skiing Clarke, seriously." Octavia said excitedly, her eyes bright. "Its so much fun."

"Aprés ski isn't bad, either." Raven grinned. "Beer for lunch, its the life."

"I don't know if I can ever drink again after last night - I mean, who thought Boilermakers were a good idea? Its our first night!"

"You have to start how you mean to go on!"

"Ray, I don't think I could handle ten days of that."

"We wont be going out like that every night Clarke," Octavia shook her head. "I mean, I love a good party as much as any other girl, but theres nothing like a bottle of wine by the fire sometimes too."

"Your grandmother has amazing taste in wine."

Octavia nodded. "She does - she lives the kind of life I aspire to have at eighty five. Drinking good wine, going on holidays and having plenty of sex."

"Ew. Octavia."

"What? Its pretty amazing, she's in her late eighties and the woman has booty calls."

"How hasn't she put a hip out yet?" Raven teased.

"My grandmother is made of steel." Octavia laughed. "Seriously, she is."

"As much as I love hearing about your grandmother's sex life, I'm going to go and get another cup of coffee." Clarke said, hauling herself out of her chair and padding across the kitchen to the delicious looking pot of coffee Octavia had left on the counter.

"Eat something too Clarke, you'll be starving once we're out on the slopes if you don't."

"Yes mom!" Clarke responded with a grin, opening the bread bin. "Oh, croissants!"

"You hangover-crave croissants?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

Clarke shook her head. "I would love a McDonalds breakfast, but I'm too hungover to make that trip - croissants are a settle."

"Don't make me want some McDonalds hash-browns Clarke, or so help me God I will make you drive to the nearest McDonalds in your pyjamas right now." Raven said, her stomach rumbling loudly. "I'll take a croissant while you're over there."

"Wheres Lincoln?" Clarke inquired, grabbing the packet of croissants and tossing them on the table in front of Raven.

"He went for a walk."

"In the snow?"

"Lincoln really loves the outdoors, I don't question it anymore. As long as he doesn't wake me up at stupid o'clock when he gets up from a run, its fine." Octavia said.

"He goes that early?" Clarke said through a mouthful of pastry.

"Clarke, he gets up and bangs around the apartment at like five am most mornings he's there, how do you not hear him?"

Clarke's eyes widened. "I have honestly never heard anyone up that early in our apartment."

"Thats because you snore like a baby elephant princess, you'd sleep through a hurricane."

"And you would know that how?" Clarke snapped at him.

"My room is right next to yours." Bellamy shrugged. "Its not like this place is a bunker, you hear things."

"I do not snore!"

"I hate to say it Clarke, but you do." Octavia said. "Its not that bad though."

"Not that bad? It sounds like theres a four hundred pound wrestler with breathing difficulties sleeping next door to me!"

"Well, i'm sorry for interrupting your beauty sleep, Bellamy, God knows you need it."

"Ouch. Right where it hurts princess."

"I could punch you in the balls, if you'd prefer?"

"OK, I'm going to put a stop to this lovely conversation." Octavia interrupted, barely holding back an eye-roll. "I want to get out on the slopes!"

Raven yawned. "I'll go get dressed and see if Finn is dead or not."

"Lincoln should be back any minute." Octavia nodded, moving to stand up. "You OK to get ready Clarke?"

"Mm-hm." Clarke nodded, not trusting herself to speak without spewing chunks of food everywhere.

"I just want some coffee." Bellamy said.

Clarke yelped as he leaned over her, swooping in to take her mug. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Getting coffee." Bellamy said, as if it was obvious.

"Make your own, asshole!"

"But you took the last of it, and it takes way too long to make." Bellamy shrugged, taking a slug. "I didn't think you'd drink your coffee black princess."

"It figures you do."

"Whats that supposed to mean?"

"You're a heartless monster and I can only assume your soul is black - like your coffee is."

"You're so funny princess."

"Hey, at least I didn't drop out of college to work at a theme park full time."

"That was fun!"

"Your ambition astounds me." Clarke replied, snatching her coffee out of Bellamy's hands, heading out of the kitchen.

"I'm just an astounding person princess!"

"An astoundingly stupid person."

"You're doing really well Clarke!"

Clarke looked up at Octavia from her position on the floor, snow stuck to her ass and caught up in the bits of her hair that had escaped from the helmet she'd been forced to wear - thats what she got for having zero experience skiing.

"Thats an evil glare." Raven smirked, coming to an easy standstill next to Octavia.

"I have fallen at least one hundred times since we started - an hour ago."

"You'll get there Clarke." Octavia laughed, helping her up. "Make sure you clip the heel bind in properly, you'll kill yourself otherwise."

"How is this so hard?"

"Because its moving around in the snow on a pair of plastic skids, essentially. You'll get there." Raven said. "You'll be hitting the bigger slopes before the end of the week!"

"Still on the baby slopes princess?"

Clarke nearly fell over as as Bellamy brought his snowboard to a stop right in front of her, spraying her with snow, a wicked grin splashed across his face. "Was that really necessary?" She snapped, wiping snow away from her mouth.

"Of course. Thats why I did it." Bellamy replied. "Are you ever planning on actually skiing or do you enjoy sitting on your ass in the snow?"

"I am doing the best I can!" Clarke said through gritted teeth.

"Kind of looks to me like you're scared."

Clarke's head snapped up. "I am not scared."

"Yeah? Then prove it."

"Fine. Take me up to the next slope then."

"I don't know if this is a good idea Clarke, you've just started learning -" Octavia began.

"Or are you too scared that I'll beat you?" Clarke ignored Octavia.

Bellamy snorted. "You'd never beat me - not in a million years."

"Then why are you too chicken to give me a chance to try?"

"You lead the way, princess."

Clarke fixed her helmet, grabbing her ski poles and stomping towards the ski lift. Bellamy easily gliding behind her.

"Your technique is all wrong princess."

"My walking technique?"

"Mm. You're a stomper."

"I'm imagining this snow is your face."

Bellamy grinned. "You know sarcasm is a way of covering up how scared you are?"

"Oh my god, its skiing, why would I be scared?" Clarke half heartedly contemplated stabbing Bellamy in the thigh with one of her ski poles and seeing if he fell down the hill. They were in the line for the ski lift, moving rapidly forward.

"You seem like a pretty scared person to me."

"You don't know me."

Bellamy shrugged. "I've known you for nearly five years."

"Known of me, that doesn't mean you actually know who I am." Clarke said as they clambered into the lift. "So don't tell me I'm scared. I'm not."

"I think you are, actually."

'Are you going to stop being a cryptic bastard and explain why you think I'm such a scared little girl?" Clarke asked, almost too frustrated to watch the beautiful scenery pass them by as they ascended.

Almost.

It was too beautiful to not take notice of, even with the idiot sitting next -

"You stopped painting."

Clarke's breath hitched in her throat. "How do you know that?"

"Octavia told me."

"And what exactly did she say?"

"Just that you don't draw or paint anymore."

"And that makes me scared?"

"Mm." Bellamy nodded, jumping out of the now still ski lift. "I think it does. You're a better painter than you are a legal aid."

"Oh, fuck off."

"Make me." Bellamy grinned wickedly.

Clarke ignored him, looking down the rather steep incline, her heart pounding. She definitely didn't have the skills to make it down the hill, but if she backed out now…

"This was a stupid idea Clarke, lets go back down the lift."

It surprised her to hear Bellamy call her by her actual name.

"Why, are you scared?" Clarke said, and pushed off before he could respond. As soon as she started moving, Clarke knew it had been one of her worst ideas - she could feel that she wasn't clipped into the ski properly, her foot coming half loose in a matter of seconds.

"CLARKE! Jesus Christ, CLARKE SLOW DOWN FOR FUCKSSAKE!"

She was going too fast and gaining too much momentum. Regardless of how much she tried to keep herself upright, Clarke was falling in less than a minute, head over heels down the slope. Clarke scrambled to stop herself, her fingers grabbing uselessly at the snow, tumbling over and over.

"Clarke! Clarke, are you okay?"

"CLARKE!"

"Princess, that was a hell of a way to prove a point."

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with you in the afterlife." Clarke mumbled, curled up in a ball in the snow.

"You're not dead Clarke."

"BELLAMY BLAKE! If my best friend is dead because you decided to have a pissing contest, I will tear you limb from limb - I mean it!" Octavia roared, struggling towards them in the thick snow. She'd abandoned her ski's, trudging towards them in her boots, Raven and Lincoln not far behind her.

"She's fine Octavia, she just took a tumble."

"I feel broken." Clarke mumbled, opening one eye. Bellamy was sitting next to her in the snow, his snowboard still attached to his feet. The sun felt blinding, bouncing off the snow she was practically embedded in.

"Don't move her, the medics are on their way over, Finn's with them."

"Guys, she's fine -"

"Bellamy, she just rolled halfway down a mountain attached to a pair of ski's. I'm going to let the medics judge how fine she is - considering this is your fault, anyway." Octavia snapped. "Clarke, you okay hon? Does anything feel broken?"

"I think I'm just bashed up O, I don't need to go to hospital -"

"Its safer, you might have hit your head."

Clarke didn't have the energy to protest as she was bundled onto a stretcher, closing her eyes in an attempt to block out the blinding light and noise as she was moved to a waiting ambulance.

At least it was a break from falling on her ass….

"Octavia, I am fine! Seriously, let me go and get my gear, I want to go skiing with you." Clarke protested pitifully from where she'd been ordered to stay on the couch.

"Nope. You fell down a mountain yesterday Clarke."

"It was a small mountain."

"Still a mountain. You're staying here and resting today, okay?"

"I'm going to be so bored."

"That's why Bellamy is staying with you! Its his fault you fell anyway, so he's going to stay here, wait on you hand and foot and keep you company."

"I'd rather stay on my own."

"Someone needs to take care of you Clarke." Octavia said. "Anyway, we won't be late - Lincoln is cooking dinner tonight, so we're going to ski for a few hours and then go into town to do some shopping. We'll be back before you know it."

"Please don't make me stay inside with your brother all day."

"We can watch Legally Blonde and paint each others nails, princess." Bellamy grinned from where he was standing in the doorway. "And hey. I'm missing a day on the slopes because of you. I'm not exactly happy either!"

"Please, go snowboarding. Leave me alone."

"NO!" Octavia shoved Bellamy towards the couch. "Bell, you're going to take care of Clarke. Clarke, you're going to shut up, rest and let Bellamy make you coffee and bring you blankets. Got it?"

"I'm really fine."

"Great - after a days rest, you'll be amazing, and you can go back out skiing." Octavia said, kissing Clarke's forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too O…" Clarke sighed, watching as Octavia, and everyone else trekked out of the house, Finn throwing her an apologetic look she refused to acknowledge.

He wasn't exactly sorry enough to stay behind and not leave her alone with Bellamy, was he?

"So, princess," Bellamy said, putting his feet on the coffee table, his socks absolutely ridiculous and fluffy. "What are we watching?"

My sanity crumble.

Clarke grabbed the remote from him. "Whatever I want to watch, asshole."

author's note - thanks a million for the feedback last chapter, it means the world! unfortunately the next update wont be so quick, but it'll be up before the end of the week. hope you enjoyed!