Chapter Text
Clarke played with the hem of her skirt as she stood on the front porch of the big white house. The sound of women laughing inside was hardly suppressed by the large wooden doors that stood before her. Every once in a while she could see a swoosh of long blonde hair pass one of the windows on the face of house, and Clarke seriously considered turning around and retreating back to the safety of her dorm room. I mean, what was the worst that could happen if she bailed? She could almost hear her mother’s lecture ringing in her ears at just the thought of leaving, and she cringed a little on the inside. This was where her mother had gone to college, and this was the sorority she had been in during "the best years of her life." It where she had met her best friends to this day, which was how she knew Clarke would love it too if she only gave it a chance. Clarke could do this. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and raised a fist to knock.
A girl only slightly taller than Clarke with pale skin and curly black hair opened the door with a smile on her face. She introduced herself as Maya and quickly ushered Clarke in to join the gaggle of young girls gathered in the living room of the big house. A banner hung over the mantel that read "Welcome Sisters" in bright bubbly letters and an excess amount of glitter.
"So what is your name?" Maya asked looking Clarke up and down critically. She seemed to approve of what she saw. Clarke had replaced her usual jeans and hoodie with a white summer dress covered in red roses that fell just above her knees and showed a little shoulder. Her mother had bought it specifically for this moment and had given it to her upon arriving at campus. In that moment, Clarke had felt that her mother was more excited about her daughter joining a sorority than actually going to college.
"Clarke, Clarke Griffin." She smiled to the older girl politely. "My mother was actually in this sorority and she always spoke to highly of it, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to come check it out for myself." Clarke lied, the other girl ate it up and a large grin quickly spread across Maya's face.
"Oh, I know all about Abigail Griffin!" Maya clapped her hands excitedly. "She is quite the legend in this house. Before your mother, Zeta Beta Theta was one of the lowest ranking sororities on campus, but then Abby Griffin came and lifted us from the ashes. Since then we have been on the top." Maya's face was uplifted and full of pride as she told the story that Clarke had heard a thousand times. "I am so glad you decided to give us a shot. I had heard rumors that we would be meeting a legacy this year." She rested her hand on Clarke's shoulder, and Clarke had to force herself to keep smiling. "Now, why don't you mingle and meet the other girls? I have duties to attend to. It was so nice to meet you, Clarke!" She turned to go before facing Clarke once more and adding, "And if you are anything like your mother, then you are someone we would be happy to have joining us." And with that, the dark haired girl disappeared into the throng of girls. At least it seemed like she had made a good first impression, the only problem was that she wasn't very much like her mother.
Clarke stood awkwardly at the entrance of the living room watching the other girls converse and laugh, making her feel terribly out of place. She wasn't sure how long she stood there staring when a small brunette with golden tanned skin and light blue-green eyes came bouncing up to her.
"I could be wrong, but I think the whole point of this is to introduce yourself to everyone." The girl leaned in and eyed Clarke skeptically. "Let me guess, you're only here because of your parents?" she guessed and Clarke cringed.
"Is it that obvious? I was trying to at least act interested." Clarke sighed.
"Well then, you are a terrible actress," the girl laughed. "It's okay, I'm only here because of the parties promised. That and my dorm mate is a total bitch, so any excuse to leave the room is accepted with open arms." Clarke laughed and felt herself relax a little.
"I'm Octavia, by the way." The girl extended her hand for Clarke to shake. "I have a feeling you are the only one here who is cool, so I might not even waste my time on any of these other tools. You can be my new college best friend." Octavia winked playfully and sipped from the plastic cup in her hand.
"I have a feeling you might be right," Clarke said as she scanned the room, "so I'm in, new best friend." She smiled as she took Octavia's hand and shook on their new found friendship. Maybe this wouldn't be so terrible after all.
"Oh hey," Octavia's face lit up as she remembered something, "they're having a school year kickoff party tomorrow night for all of the rushes. It's supposed to be ZBT and their brother fraternity. We should totally get ready together." She suggested enthusiastically. "I have been told there will be plenty of booze and lots of hot guys. Besides, I think they might dismiss anyone who doesn't go as being not Zeta Beta Theta material, so you have to go anyways."
"Uh, yeah, sure," Clarke shrugged. Octavia was nothing if not direct, but it gave her a kind of charm that Clarke knew she wanted to keep around. "You want to come to my dorm since your roommate is such a pain?"
Octavia's eyes lit up and she looked like she had just been offered the deal of a lifetime. "Thank god, I was hoping you would say that!" Clarke watched her deflate a little in relief. "Now if we want to be pledges, we better get our names and faces out there!" Octavia grabbed Clarke's hand and dragged her toward the other girls in the crowd to whom they were supposed to pander to. "Wow Clarke," Octavia whispered to her new friend after introducing themselves to a few people, "I knew you were here because of your parents, but I didn't realize you were such a legacy! You probably won't even have to pledge, they'll just let you waltz right in!" Clarke rolled her eyes at the girls comment.
"Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be! At least with you they actually care to get to know you as a person, they hear my name and suddenly everything else about me is irrelevant. Like, Hello! I'm my own person, not just a carbon copy of my mom!"
Octavia laughed at the frustration in her friend's eyes, "I don't know, them not caring who I am as a person sounds pretty sweet to me right now." She pulled Clarke toward the next judge.
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Octavia showed up at Clarke's door the next day with an armful of dresses and a giant purse full of makeup and shoes. Clarke already had a strappy knee length dress picked out that was the perfect combination of classy and sexy that she knew ZBT looked for. She knew this, of course, because her mother had picked it out for her. Abby had almost gotten Clarke a brand new wardrobe of ZBT approved apparel before they left, but Clarke had managed to stop her after a few outfits.
Clarke curled her hair as her new friend tried on at least five different dresses and asked Clarke for her feedback on each one. Eventually, Octavia picked a small red dress with a high neckline and a deep U exposing her entire back. Clarke helped her pull her hair up in a way that showed off her neck and back. Clarke stuck with her usual light makeup look, while Octavia went a little more dramatic, using a lipstick to match the dark crimson of the dress and a dark smokey eye. Together they could turn any head they passed.
The party was being thrown at ZBT's brother fraternity house, about a block away from the ZBT house. Large silver letters stood above the door reading "OKP" in the classic Greek font. They could hear the music all the way from the sidewalk as they approached the large dark paneled house which contrasted ZBT's white exterior.
Maya found them almost as soon as they crossed the threshold. "I am so glad you made it Clarke!" She shouted above the music, only giving Octavia a brief smile. "I know you met all of the girls earlier, now it is time for you to meet our boys." She gestured for them to go socialize before scurrying off to find other people.
Octavia was almost immediately asked to dance by one of the guys, leaving Clarke once again standing awkwardly in a doorway. Across the room, leaning against the stairway banister, a man wearing a black t-shirt underneath a black blazer that fit perfectly to display his broad shoulders caught her eye. He was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome with strong features underneath a mess of black hair that seemed tempted to curl a little and eyes almost as dark as his clothes. His skin was the kind of tan that made it look warm to the touch, and she could see the faint outline of his chest muscles through the thin cotton. By the time Clarke realized she was staring, he looked over at her with a smile and began to saunter over. Everything about him seemed predatory, this boy was trouble, there was no doubt about it.
"Bellamy." He introduced himself with a crooked smile, his voice was so deep Clarke almost thought she could feel it rumble in her own chest. Clarke was so stunned it took her a moment to realize that he was waiting for her to return the courtesy.
"I'm-I'm Clarke." she stammered and she saw his eyes widen slightly in recognition of her name.
"So you are the infamous Clarke Griffin I have heard so much about." He sounded impressed. "The way Maya has been talking about you, you'd think you were some kind of royalty." He leaned a bit closer to Clarke until his forehead hovered just above hers. It wasn't until then that she noticed the heavy sprinkling of freckles that powdered his sloped nose and smooth cheeks and the small scar that ran down into his upper lip. "So tell me, Princess, do you live up to all of the hype you've caused?" His voice was a low whisper, she was amazed she could hear it above the music in the other room.
"Depends on what she has been saying?" Clarke's voice was just as low and she felt a blush rise up in her neck and around her ears. She didn’t like the idea that people were already talking about her, or the fact that this man seemed to already think he knew who she was when she knew nothing about him.
Bellamy straightened away with another smirk. "Oh you know, the usual. Apparently your mom was some big hotshot. You have some pretty big shoes to fill, Princess." He eyed her up and down as if sizing her up. Clarke frowned at this new found nickname, she had a feeling it was going to get real old, real quick.
"I'd like to think I'm bringing in my own pair of shoes." She puffed out her chest in pride and Bellamy grinned down at her. "I'm more than just my mother's daughter." There was nothing she wanted people to know more than that.
"I'm glad to see it." He nodded approvingly. "Why don't I get you a drink? You drink beer, right?" He raised an eyebrow as if this were a test.
"Yes, I drink beer."
He gave a subtle look of relief at her answer, apparently that had been the answer he was hoping for. "Good. Stay put, Princess." He rushed off into another room with one last look at her over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.
Clarke let out a breath when he was out of sight and couldn't help a small smile from creeping across her lips. She had one thing right, this boy was trouble. She wasn't really sure how long she stood there waiting for Bellamy to return, but she had a feeling that getting a beer didn't take this long so she made a decision to investigate. She followed the path she had seen Bellamy take and it led to a small kitchen filled with tubs of ice and beer with a few bottles of harder alcohols mixed in and a couple kegs in the corner. She scanned the faces for one in particular, but moved on when she couldn't spot a single black curl in the crowd. A doorway on the other side of the kitchen led out into a hallway where she found her missing person with his tongue down some red head’s throat and hands in places that should be reserved for a much more private setting. Clarke rolled her eyes and scoffed in disgust, disappointed but not exactly surprised. Her prediction of trouble was proving correct, it only came with an unexpected dose of douche-baggery. It was better that she found out now rather than after she fell victim to his charm. If he tried flirting with her in the future, she now knew to deflect. She wandered the house a little further. The night was still young and she was not going to let some frat boy horndog ruin it for her.
"You don't exactly look like you are having the time of your life." A voice called out to her as she passed the stairway. That seemed like a bit of an understatement. Clarke turned to see a guy coming down the stairs, his eyes trained on her as he approached. He had dark brown hair that hung around his face, and she had to admit it was a nice face. His features were much softer and rounder than Bellamy's, and Clarke couldn't help but feel pulled in toward the kindness and gentleness that shone in his eyes where Bellamy had only shown predatory power. "It's a party. Shouldn't you be socializing?" He spoke again as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I suppose I could say the same to you." Clarke commented on his solitude and the boy let out a laugh, pushing a few dark strands from around his face behind his ears.
"Touché." He nodded and raised his beer in a signal of defeat. "If I'm quite honest with you," he leaned in close with a lopsided smile and a glint in his eye, "these parties aren't really my thing." The pulsating mob of people pushed around them causing them to sway towards each other.
"Isn't that kind of the whole point of joining a fraternity?" Clarke eyed him in mock suspicion.
He laughed again, the sound light and playful. "I suppose it is." He looked at her a little longer before continuing. "One of my buddies wanted to join and sort of pressured me to come along, but as soon as we got here he of course had other things to worry about and ditched me."
"I feel your pain. The girl I came with disappeared before we were fully through the door." Clarke frowned. "And if I might be so honest, I'm only here because my mom is determined to have me follow in her footsteps."
"Well maybe we might offer one another some reprieve." He held out his arm for Clarke to take and guided her into the backyard, where it was considerably quieter and less crowded. "My name is Finn, if you were wondering." He smiled as they sat on the stairs to the back porch. Finn scooted a little closer to Clarke so that their shoulders were touching and Clarke couldn't help but smile a bit.
"Clarke." She offered and extended her hand toward him. He took it, placing a small kiss on her knuckles and Clarke let out a small laugh at the cheesiness of the little gesture.
"A pleasure."
They ended up talking the rest of night until they noticed that the music had stopped and almost everyone had already left the party or turned in for the night. Clarke was amazed at how easy he was to talk to, how well he listened, and how much he seemed to care about what she had to say. He played the part of a perfect gentleman, never making any passes at her or saying anything disrespectful. When it came time to part, he asked her if she might be interested in a date sometime, and Clarke accepted quite enthusiastically.