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Oh fuck, he was late. He was rushing through the streets still tugging on his jacket, his hair still wet from his shower. Bloody hell, what was the address again?
****
She sat on the uncomfortable chair, surround by people, waiting for when they were called in. She'd arrived early, only ten minutes or so, but she didn't want to miss anything, she could be ending up with the man of her dreams. She knew not to get her hopes, hoenstly she was doing it for the money. £2500. She knew it would help her massively, since dropping out of med school she was living the stereotypical life of a struggling artist, broke and jobless.
****
He could see the building now, across the street and he was there, only...10 mintues late, oh fuck.
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She stood from her chair, sighing as she looked down to see a yellow paint stain on the thigh of her dark jeans, god she wish she had noticed that before she left. The waiting room emptied as people filed into the next room following the man who had called them in. People sat and she was left near the side of the room in another damn uncomfortable seat.
****
She looked around her, eyeing each person in the room, suddenly she felt very nervous about who she would paired with for this bloody thing. She silently begged that it wouldn't be the middle aged man sat in the corner, one hand down his trousers and the other slicking back his greasy hair. She also hoped that it wouldn't be the woman two rows ahead, back stiff, collar done to the top and hair in a scraped back bun, she knew that couldn't be a fun few months.
****
Could this thing go any faster, the pathetic elevator music already pissing him off, it was only the fifth floor and he was already late enough. The doors pinged open and he shot out. He literally could not afford to not get the money, his sister's college scholarship only covered so much and at the moment he was barely covering the rest.
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She span around in her seat when she heared the door open, a man best described as tall, dark and handsome rushed in ushering the man at the front to carry on. She definitely would not mind being paired with him she thought.
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He quickly settled himself along the back wall, trying to listen to what the man was saying, from what he could tell nothing important at the moment. He looked over the crowd, his eyes catching on the blonde that had turned when he entered. She was alright, he couldn't really see her face from here though. His eyes moved on and all he could think was, she seemed like the best looking girl in the room.
****
"And now what you've all been waiting for" Bellamy's ears perked up at this "From the tests you completed the other day, we have managed to best match each person in this room to another. You all know, from the contracts you sign, each couple will be assigned an apartment for the 3 months, and will only be paid if they both live there for the entire duration. If there are any emergencies, we require you to contact us. Now we shall get on with it. When I call your and your partners name, please follow one of the assistants. Alright then; Steven Aldrige and Sharon Davies" The greasy man stood and was followed by a similarly greasy woman, clearly they weren't that bad at match making. They called out pairs until there were only six left, Clarke was relieved that the man that was late was still here. "Clarke Griffin" She stood and smoothed out her blouse, she would like to make a nice impression "And Bellamy Blake" She glanced around to see Mr Tall Dark and Handsome start forward, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
He supressed a smile as he got to the front, innocently checking out this girl's, Clarke's, arse and he noticed a long streak of blue paint across her right arse cheek. An artist eh? This could be interesting, he'd always wanted to try modelling he thought unable to keep the smirk of his face. They both followed a petite woman into an adjoining room, complete with a sofa and a small camera in the corner. She indicated for them to sit so he hoped down quickly, while she slowly sat, leg rested underneath her.
"You have twenty minutes to talk" The woman spoke quickly "It is to make sure you are both comfortable with each other. Neither of you know each other right?" Both shook their heads, Bellamy muttering out a small no "Right I will leave you to it then, when you are done, go to the front desk and you will be given your apartment, good day" There was silence as the door clicked behind her.
"I'm Bellamy, nice to meet you Clarke" He held out a hand and she shook it, surprisingly firmly "So you're an artist?" She looked a bit surprised at this.
"How do you know that then?" She shot back, slightly defensive "Whats wrong with being an artist anyway?" She always took the defensive concerning her work, people thought she threw away good thing for nothing.
"Nothing Princess, I was thinking I could do some modelling for you sometime" His smirk returning at the thought. He liked her smile.
"Ha very smooth, but seriously how did you know? And what's up with Princess?"
"Well *Princess*" he deepened his tone "I may have noticed some paint on your arse" He mumbled of slowly.
"Oh" Her cheeks tinged pink "Right, anyway, uh" she stuttered "So Bellamy Blake, what do you do?"
"I currently work in a restuarant, I'm a chef, well sous chef, well maybe sous sous chef, I make the salad really that's it. But it's a job and a way to support Octavia through college" She looked slightly taken aback at his mention of Octavia "I should clarify Octavia is my younger sister. She's goes to University of Florida, she plays hockey, got a part scholarship, but I'm doing the rest. Honestly it's the only reason I'm here"
"She must be good" He gave a smile "The money is why I'm here too. You know, I'm kind of struggling at the moment, new to the art scene. I used to be a med student, my mum's a doctor, she wanted me to be the same. But I got bored, dropped out and now I'm here" She speaks faster, as if getting it out quickly will stop him judging her like everyone else. Instead he just looks at her.
"Good for you" Before he had a chance to continue an alarm buzzed, clearly their twenty minutes was up.
****
The location of their temporary appartment is good for Bellamy, it's only four blocks from the restaurant, and Clarke, well she said she could paint anywhere. He's a gentleman because he carries her boxes of art supplies to the fourth floor. He didn't bring much with him, just clothes. Everything else was supplied for them. Even though things were placed everywhere Clarke went to look around the new, slightly small apartment.
The kitchen was nice, not too big but, she was hoping since he was a chef he would be doing most of the cooking. A breakfast bar opened into a living/dining area, with two doors of to the side. The bathroom wasn't much, but a shower and a toilet were plenty for her. The issue occured when she entered the other room. Bellamy was inspecting the kitchen, it was far from the standard of the restaurant but a hell of a lot better than his own at home. He heard her call his name.
"Bellamy" She called again "We have a problem"
"What is it Princess?" He asked as he entered the bedroom.
"There's only one bed, there's two of us" She glared at him when he laughed.
"Well, there are these things called double beds" He slowed his words as if she were an idiot, earning another glare "They fit two people, which is perfect because as you pointed out there is two of us" He wondered why it surprised her so much "You know this entire experiment thing is to see if couples work on statistic compatability, and generally couples share a bed"
"Yeah, yeah of course. You're right" She chewed her lip, and cast her eyes down "I'm just going to, uh, the bathroom" Pull yourself together Clarke. Don't be a fucking idiot. He was a nice guy, it was innocent, just sharing a bed. Nothing like her and Finn. There is nothing wrong with sharing a bed with someone.
To say her first serious relationship ended badly is an understatment. It was a fucking catastrophe. Finn Collins was a charmer, nothing that she'd known before. They met at Uni, he waltzed over to her the first day, worked his charm and she fell for it, like an idiot. He was the first boy she shared a bed with, a shower with, herself with. And he fucked it all up. 4 months of dating, taking her time to trust him, he told her he loved her. 5 months in she had a black eye, from his girlfriend. HIS FUCKING GIRLFRIEND, she got played like a fool. 6 months in she dropped out of med school. And her eshe was now, 10 months in and hiding in the bathroom from Bellamy Blake.
"Prawn or chicken? Just answer me"
"Prawn" she croaked out, she was embarrassed by how much this still affected her. She heard the front door click shut. When he returned she was curled up on the sofa, a blanket on her lap watching 'How I met your mother'. She looked surprised to see him, clearly wondering where he had been, all he had to do was hold up the bag of chinese food in his hand.
"Prawn noodles for you Princess" She laughed as he bowed to her, offering up her food.
"Oh get your hot arse over here and watch a film with me" He looked taken aback by her comment, but quickly it turned to a smirk as he joined her on the sofa. In the end they settled on Captain America, he was shocked when she cuddled into him after she finished her chinese. After the film finished they got ready for bed.
"I'll take the sofa tonight Princess"
"What? No, why? Oh because of earlier, it was nothing, I'm fine. Please stay" When she pulled that face, the slight frown and sad eyes he couldn't resist. He took off his shirt and when he looked to Clarke he had to stop himself gawking, she was wearing just a t-shirt and underwear, yes it was a long t-shirt, but her legs we're firm and long and he wanted to touch her. She climbed into bed in silence, followed by him soon after, they didn't touch, but god he wish he could.
"Bellamy" She whispered out into the dark "Bellamy, are you awake?" He turned his body to lie on his back.
"I'm awake" He muttered back.
"Ok, good. I wanted to say sorry for earlier, the bed thing. It's just my last relationship before this, well it was, uh, it, well -"
"It's ok Clarke, you don't have to tell me anything, you have nothing to be sorry for" He heard her sigh in relief. He felt the duvet move a bit and then he felt her warm hand seeking out his. She reached for his hand in the dark, the warmth of him made her smile. His touch made her feel safe, even though she had known him less than 24 four hours.
At that moment they both thought; maybe this social experiment won't be so bad after all.