"Who am I? Who are you?!" The tall dark stranger spat angrily.
Clarke clutched her towel closer to her body, suddenly feeling incredibly vulnerable.
"I'm Clarke, I live here. Your turn." Clarke raised a brow, almost challenging him.
"You live here? Since when?" The stranger looked at her like she'd grown a second head.
"Since about two months ago, I answered an add in the paper. Are you going to tell me who you are or shall I just call the cops?" Clarke asked, crossing her arms across her body.
"Go ahead, but you can't physically force a man out his own house." He challenged, mimicking Clarke's actions.
"Wait, you're Octavia's brother aren't you? You're Bellamy?" Clarke pointed at him.
"Wow, annoying and smart. Well done you." Bellamy rolled his eyes. He began to turn away but Clarke stopped him.
"Wait! Octavia said you were away for at least another year? How come you're home so early?" Clarke asked.
"Did Octavia say exactly where I was?" Bellamy asked.
"No. She just said you were working away." Clarke shook her head.
Bellamy didn't say anything else. He simply turned on his heel and walked towards his room. Clarke watched carefully as he pulled a small silver key out his pocket and unlocked the door. She didn't get a chance to see inside the room, Bellamy had slipped into the room and slammed the door shut quicker than she could blink.
Clarke stood there for a moment, stunned but mostly embarrassed. She hadn't expected anyone, let alone her landlords brother, to bump into her while she was dressed in nothing but a towel. Clarke shook her head again and headed towards her own room to get dressed.
Once she was done, she decided to go downstairs and get dinner prepared for when Octavia got home. Her new grumpy housemate was nowhere to be seen and Clarke was relieved. She wasn't usually one to judge a person before getting to know them, but something about Bellamy gave her a bad feeling. He didn't know her and he'd already insulted her.
Clarke wasn't sure whether she was expected to make enough food for Bellamy aswell but she decided it was the mature thing to do. Just because he didn't seem very fond of her, didn't mean Clarke had to sink to his level. She dished out three plates of food just as Octavia walked through the door.
"Mmm, something smells good!" Octavia grinned as she stepped into the kitchen.
"Just in time." Clarke smiled.
"Three plates? Are you expecting someone else?" Octavia asked, looking confused.
"No? This ones for your brother. We didn't have the greatest introduction and I thought I'd do the civil thing and at least make him dinner." Clarke shrugged.
"Wait, did you say my brother? My brother is coming?" Octavia shook her head, confused.
"He's already here, scared the shit outta me when I got out the bath earlier." Clarke rolled her eyes.
"My brother? My brother is here?" Octavia repeated.
"Didn't you know he was coming home? He's in his room." Clarke looked at Octavia with equal confusion. Why wouldn't Bellamy tell his own sister that he was coming home after working away for so long?
Octavia turned and rushed out the room. Clarke could hear her footsteps pound up the stairs and across the hall. She heard muffled voices but couldn't work out what they were saying. Rather than trying to listen, Clarke finished serving up dinner and set the table.
~~~~
Octavia panted for breath as she hammered on the door to the room that had been vacant for so long. She heard shuffling and a slight groan before the door opened a crack.
"What?" Bellamy spat. His eyes widened as he saw his sister looking back at him. "O?"
"You're really here!" Octavia whispered.
Bellamy opened his door wider just in time for Octavia to launch herself into his embrace. His arms wrapped around her tightly. He'd missed his little sister so much.
"Why didn't you call or write to tell me you were coming home?!" Octavia asked, pulling away.
"Thought I'd surprise you." Bellamy shrugged with a smile.
"But I don't understand. I thought you wouldn't be home for at least a year?" Octavia shook her head, baffled.
"I'll explain later." Bellamy dismissed.
Octavia pulled him into a tight hug once again. "I'm so glad you're home. I missed you so much."
"I missed you too, but I'm home now, I'm not gonna leave you again." Bellamy whispered.
Octavia pulled away and smiled warmly at him. She really had missed Bellamy. He was the only family she had left. As much as she loved having Clarke around, it wasn't the same without her big brother.
"Come on, Clarke's made us dinner." Octavia grinned.
"Yeah, about this Clarke. Who is she and why is she living here? You had enough money to keep this place running until I got home." Bellamy asked.
"I was lonely Bell. It was just me alone in the big house and she needed a place to stay. She's had a tough life and she needed a fresh start. She's an amazing person Bellamy, give her a chance." Octavia pleaded.
"How much does she know about us? About our past?" Bellamy asked seriously.
"Nothing. All she knows is it's just us and you were working away for a while, hence why I needed a new housemate." Octavia explained.
"Do you trust her? She's a complete stranger O, who knows what she's really like!" Bellamy argued.
"Bell, I've only known her two months and yet she's become one of my closest and most trusted friends. I trust her with my life. Besides, like I said she needs this Bellamy. She hasn't told me much but I can tell she's been through some shit." Octavia reasoned.
"Fine. If you trust her then I trust you. But don't expect me to open up to her. Just because you trust her doesn't mean I do." Bellamy said, folding his arms across his chest defensively.
Octavia rolled her eyes and walked away from Bellamy. She knew there was no point arguing with him or trying to get him to change his mind. Bellamy was too stubborn for his own good sometimes. The only way Clarke would ever get Bellamy to fully trust her, would be to give him time and give him absolutely no reason not to.
She heard footsteps behind her as Bellamy reluctantly followed her down to the kitchen where Clarke was serving up their dinner.
"This all looks amazing Clarke, honestly you didn't have to do all this." Octavia smiled as she looked across the table.
"It was nothing. Although I'm not sure how good it'll taste, I'm not the best cook." Clarke shrugged meekly.
"I'm sure it's great, it smells amazing." Octavia glanced at her brother. "Doesn't it Bellamy?"
Bellamy's eyes snapped up to Octavia. "Huh? Oh yeah great."
Octavia rolled her eyes once again as she took a seat. Bellamy sat next to her while Clarke sat opposite Octavia. Clarke was still acting cautious around Bellamy. She'd already annoyed him once today, she didn't want to get on his bad side.
They all began eating in silence and Clarke tried not to visibly cringe at how truly awful her cooking was. She'd never been a great cook, only able to cook simple, standard meals. Cage had always criticised her cooking and so Clarke simply let him do it.
She chanced a glance at her two housemates and wasn't sure whether to be relieved or nervous that she couldn't read their expressions.
"I'm sorry, this is really awful isn't it." Clarke shook her head, putting her fork down.
"No, it's fine. You went through all this trouble to cook for us, it's really not that bad, right Bell?" Octavia insisted.
"Chickens dry." Bellamy said bluntly.
"Bellamy!" Octavia scolded.
"Just being honest. She was the one that said it was bad!" Bellamy said defensively.
"You don't have to eat it." Clarke narrowed her eyes. Bellamy's attitude towards her was starting to bring back terrible memories of her relationship with Cage. Memories she didn't want resurfaced.
"I'm going out." Bellamy pushed his plate away and stood from his chair. "Don't wait up."
Without giving Octavia to ask where he was going, Bellamy grabbed his coat and left the house.
"I'm so sorry about him. I don't know what's got into him." Octavia sighed.
"If me being here is too much, I can find somewhere else to live." Clarke said carefully. She didn't want to leave, she loved living here with Octavia. But she didn't want to come between the siblings, knowing they only had each other. She also didn't want to live with another vindictive, rude mannered man who was going to treat her like crap.
"No, no don't be silly! You're not going anywhere!" Octavia smiled kindly. "You just have to give him time. Bellamy finds it hard to open up and trust new people. I know he's difficult right now but just give him time. I'm sure you guys will be great friends in no time."
It turns out, Octavia couldn't have been more wrong.