Us (Bellarke Fanfic)

[chapter twenty - bellamy]

It's the night of the long awaited party, and I can't help feeling a little excited. 

It's been a while since we've had people over - plus, Octavia and I are still kind of in a rough patch, so having other people here will entice her to be nice to me. Plus I get to cook, which is way more fun for large groups of people. 

Octavia has everything planned down to the detail, which doesn't surprise me. She wants dinner done in half an hour, so she can get right to the games and whatever. 

So I decided to go back to the basics and make hamburgers, since they're quick and easy. Plus I can impress Raven by dumping in as much garlic powder as I want. 

The burgers are already sizzling in their pan while I start coating the top of the buns with a garlic butter I made yesterday. 

I almost wish I had music. Normally I like cooking in silence, but I can hear Octavia ordering Clarke around in the other room, which ruins the vibe. 

"We have to put these over here," Octavia says, exasperated. 

"I can't reach," Clarke says timidly. 

"I'm literally shorter than you, and I can reach."

"That's because you're standing on a chair, Octavia."

Octavia sighs loudly. "Why don't you go set the table?"

"Now you're managing me?"

"I'm sorry," Octavia says quickly. "I'm kind of a control freak."

Clarke laughs. "It's fine. I'm gonna go get something to drink."

Clarke appears in the kitchen seconds later. 

"Hi," she says to me, opening the fridge door and grabbing the jug of orange juice. "Those smell amazing."

"Thanks," I mumble, setting down the knife I was using and laying the buns out on a tray. 

"I can't believe you know how to make all this stuff," Clarke says, pouring herself a glass of juice and returning the jug to the fridge. "I mean, I guess if you know how to make one thing you just have to change the recipe to make something else, but it kinda seems like its a whole other language."

"It's just food," I say, laughing. 

Clarke hops up to sit on the counter behind me. "I guess. But it's still cool."

She's silent for a moment, and I slide the bun tray into the oven. Once they're heated, the garlic butter will melt, and we'll have garlic hamburger buns. I've never tried it before, but I remember reading something about it in a magazine I accidentally read while I was waiting for Octavia to get her hair cut. 

"Caesar salad," Clarke says suddenly. 

"What?"

She laughs. "Sorry," she says. "It's just, I was thinking. Caesar salad is really the only thing I know how to make. My... my dad and I used to make it together, with this dressing recipe he got from his grandmother."

She smiles at the floor. "He'd never let me just buy anything from the store - and anything we needed we'd have to get from this little farmers market an hour away. We grew our own lettuce in the backyard, and we tried to grow a lemon tree but it kept wilting before we could get any lemons. He'd act like we were making some super gourmet meal, and Mom would get so excited when we were making it for dinner."

I lean against the counter while I listen. 

"When he died, I... I haven't been able to make it anymore." She pauses. "I know this is a totally stupid story and whatever, sorry. I kind of got caught in a moment there."