Calling All Cadets

[Bellamy Blake]

Tag: Nicolette Carmichael

you think

YOU'RE GUARD MATERiAL

Things were going well. Really well. Bellamy was enjoying his position as a Cadet. He enjoyed the theory, the training, every aspect of it. Most importantly, he wanted to use this position -- or the one that would come once he was officially in the guard -- to help his family. If he could gain access to when surprise inspections were, then his mother would no longer have to do what she did to get that information. Officer Grus would no longer need to be in the picture. He could protect both his sister and mother this way. It gave him hope, and it was why he was giving this job and future career everything he had.

Right now however, it was a more fun, light hearted part of the position. There was a gathering held for all those in the training program. It allowed everyone to mingle and get to know others that were in their program, whether they were a year or a few ahead. They would all be working together eventually after all. Bellamy didn't often attend such things, but today was an exception.

It was important to meet the others, to make those connections. To blend in with the masses. He wasn't planning on staying long though. He didn't like leaving Octavia by herself, especially if his mother was out -- though he had made sure she didn't have to leave the apartment tonight. So with that ease, Bellamy found himself actually enjoying tonight. He made his way over to where there were refreshments being served, seeing a young woman also waiting in line. He casually picked up one of the cups to hand to her. "Would you like one?" He offered.

[Nicolette Carmichael]

Every months since she signed on as being a cadet she had attended these gatherings, even though they weren't really her thing. She didn't like the bustle of all these bodies in one room, but she forced herself to go, just to get among her fellow cadets. One day they would work together, and she certainly needed to show herself, even if she didn't talk to many of them. 
She was always a little nervous going, a tingle in her stomach always making her pause before leaving. But it disappeared as soon as she stepped into the room where the music was blasting loudly and she saw people dancing and having fun. 


She decided to get herself a drink and stood in the line, needing something to do. She waited as people took a cup and decided to start talking without moving on, she was a little annoyed but she couldn't do anything about it so just waited. But then a boy, a few years younger than her held out a cup to her. She glanced at him, a little intrigued. She took the cup from him with a nod and a thank you. She didn't know what else to say, she wasn't very good with conversations with strangers. The boy was slightly familiar to her, she had seen him in the joint class with the first years, but she had never talked to him before, but then she hadn't really talked to many of her fellow cadets. 





Bellamy Blake 

[Bellamy Blake]

Tag: Nicolette Carmichael

you think

YOU'RE GUARD MATERiAL

She nodded and briefly thanked him for the drink. Bellamy gave a small nod in return. He didn't fail to notice that she was a little bit away from the crowd, not quite mingling in it. He knew the feeling. It wasn't that he was socially awkward, but he knew the dangers of getting too close to people. It was why he didn't always make the effort. But being in this program was different. He would be working with these people, training with them . . . and who knows how they could help him in the future.

His entire objective was about protecting Octavia and thus his family, and the more connections he could build, the better chance he had of succeeding. "So what year are you in?" He casually asked her, taking a small sip of his drink. He had seen her around but didn't know much else about her. She wasn't directly in any of his classes and as he was starting off, that meant that she was ahead of him. She looked young though, so perhaps not too much older than himself. It was all he could safely deduce for the moment, as he awaited her answer, wondering if she would engage in casual conversation . . . or if she would prefer to either be alone or in other company.

[Nicolette Carmichael]

The question surprised her, that usually wasn't what people would ask. Usually it started with the question of who are you, how old are you, why are you here? They were all safe questions, and so was this one so she was ok with answering. "Second year. Yourself?" She asked him. He looked about her age, but she knew he definitely wasn't in her year. She recognised everyone from her class, and he wasn't in it. She was curious however at him not hanging out with anyone else. He looked like a guy who could easily make friends, he was approachable. There was nothing intimidating about him. 


She glanced away from him, wanting to avoid awkward eye contact. Nicolette knew that sometimes at these parties people would flirt and hook up. One time a guy had hit on her and she hadn't even realised until he shouted at her that she was stupid. She had been pretty embarrassed, and right now she could see him hitting on another girl on the opposite side of the room. It was another reason she tried to stay away from people. But she would rather be embarrassed than upset. There weren't a lot of girls in her class, and all they seemed to do was gang up on her and make fun. She told herself it was nothing she couldn't handle. 



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Bellamy Blake

[Bellamy Blake]

Tag: Nicolette Carmichael

you think

YOU'RE GUARD MATERiAL

She revealed that she was in second year, which did indeed make sense. It would explain why he saw her around, but not directly in any of his classes. "First year," he revealed to her. He was rather enjoying the academic aspect to the training, and was just enjoying the theory based part of the program. Though that didn't mean he wasn't looking forward to the physical training part when he joined Cadets. "Funny to think that in a few years time, we'll be the ones chaperoning these kinds of events." For it was what Cadets were often tasked with. His mind was already filling with the possibility of potentially taking Octavia to a dance . . . but that was down the road.

Right now, he had to focus on his schooling, on the heavy courseload. He then casually followed her gaze to where she rested it, which seemed to be on a male conversing with a female. Bellamy was trying to figure out if she was eying him in particular for a reason, or if her gaze had just meaninglessly rested on that sight. "Friend of yours?" Bellamy questioned, deciding to address his curiosity, but really, it was more for the sake of making conversation than anything else. He didn't know if it was something she would appreciate or not. Perhaps she would prefer to be left alone and if that were the case . . . he supposed he would find out based on her reaction to his words.

[Nicolette Carmichael]

She wasn't surprised to hear him say he was in first year, but she didn't know what to say so she just stayed silent. She was awful at conversations. Only when she was with friends she could be able to make good conversation. But this was not the case. 
The boy, who she still didn't know by name made commented, "Funny to think that in a few years time, we'll be the ones chaperoning these kinds of events."
She nodded, it was odd, but she would rather be chaperoning than attending. So in a way this was good practise. "Yeah. It's pretty crazy. Though I'd like that better." For here there was only just under 2 years of her training to go before she would be a full cadet and she was excited about the prospect, it had been her dream for some time. 


She was still watching the boy, Curtis, talking with a grin on his face. She didn't know where else to look, everyone was dancing or drinking. "Friend of yours?" The boy beside her asked. 
She glanced at him with a smile and a small chuckle. "Oh. No. I was uh-" She stopped herself mid way, not sure if she could continue her embarrassing story. But she also didn't want him to think she had a crush on this guy either, because it was far from it. He wasn't a nice person at all, she could never like someone like that, no matter how handsome they were. 

Bellamy Blake

[Bellamy Blake]

Tag: Nicolette Carmichael

you think

YOU'RE GUARD MATERiAL

She stated that she would like chaperoning better. He supposed it made sense for those who weren't a fan of such social gatherings. For Bellamy, it worked either way. He would certainly feel more productive if he was chaperoning a dance rather than being one of the participants in it. "Not a fan of these?" He asked her casually enough without prying. He supposed she would share what she was comfortable with. And on the topic of prying, it seemed his inquiry had caused her . . . well, had it not been for the smile and slight chuckle, he would have assumed it would have made her uncomfortable.

As he had previously established, he certainly didn't want to pry into her personal life if there was some sort of history with the male she had been casually eying. "You don't have to explain if you don't want to." An offer to move the subject along, as well as an offer for her to talk about it if she so wished. Either way, Bellamy could listen attentively enough. For the time being however, until it was determined which course she would take, he took a sip of the beverage that had brought him here and thus, in her company.

[Nicolette Carmichael]

He had asked her whether she was a fan of these events or not, but she wasn't sure how to answer. She didn't hate them, or else she wouldn't come, but she didn't particularly like them either. "I'm indifferent." She replied with a shrug. "I don't have a lot of friends, you see." This was probably the first time someone actually wanted to have a conversation with her at one of these things. It was surprising, and nice too. Her only friend, Benny, he was going into the political business. So she didn't have anyone to go with to these events. She didn't completely mind though, people watching could be interesting enough. 


After her awkward pause, he had asked her "You don't have to explain if you don't want to." 
But how could she not? She had started a sentence, might as well finish. The only person she had told was Benny, but this guy didn't seem to be too judgmental, so she thought, might as well answer. "Ok, so here's the thing. It's a little bit of an embrassing story. But I'm gonna trust you with it." She started, looking at him once again with her eyebrows raised slightly as if this was a serious story. "It was about a year ago, and I was at one of these events, and I was standing around, people watching and drinking. When suddenly this guy walks up to me, handsome smile, drink in his hand. I recognised him from my class, but I had never talked to him. He started talking to me, asking me questions and what not. The questions got more and more intimate, and I was so oblivious. He did the cheesy, tuck your hair behind your ear thing. And he was funny, really funny. I was actually enjoying myself. And so on and so forth. It took almost the whole night, but then he started to get really aggressive and angry. He shouted 'I give up! You're absolutely hopeless! How could you not see what was going on? You are so dumb!' And I was just so confused. He walked off muttering, 'Couldn't even get her into bed'." She gave a loud chuckle. "I really was dumb. I hadn't even realised that he was flirting with me. I had laughed along with his jokes, hadn't even realised the subtle signs. I now realise that he is a flirt, and was trying to get every girl in our class to sleep with him. Which is all of 4." Even now it seemed like such a dumb thing, it was kind of funny to her now, embarrassing but funny. 
She glanced over at Curtis again. "Curtis, he hasn't talked to me since. Sometimes he'd flash me his smirk, thinking one day he would get his prize." She shrugged again. The loser wasn't worth it. "So there we have it. My history with Curtis." She was kind of glad to be able to tell someone, it really meant that it happened and that she could move forward, the only thing it had taught her was to try and avoid men as much as possible. 


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Bellamy Blake

[Bellamy Blake]

Tag: Nicolette Carmichael

you think

YOU'RE GUARD MATERiAL

She told him she was indifferent before stating that she didn't have a lot of friends. He knew the feeling. He had people that he spent time with, but he supposed having a best friend, a true friend, involved the ability to completely trust them with anything. To feel comfortable and at ease with that person. He didn't have that. Nor could he ever. Because he had a secret that he could never endanger.

He had Octavia. In many ways, it was all he should need. It was all he could focus on. But he pushed the thoughts aside for the sake of her explanation, welcoming the distraction. She was trusting him with it, and for that he was grateful for. He found himself open to whatever she wanted him to be in this moment, even if it was just a pair of ears to listen with . . . and a non judgmental stance on the situation. As she began to explain it, it was abundantly clear what kind of guy this Curtis person was.

He waited until she was finished speaking before responding. Guys like him gave others a bad name. He supposed that was one way to say it. Males who thought they were entitled; who thought they had some sort of power or authority over a woman. As if the other sex owed them something. Such a patriarchal mindset should be something of the past, only history, but it wasn't.

In some ways, it still existed today and idiots like Curtis proved that. "Hey, the only one who's dumb is him," Bellamy assured her. She wasn't the slightest bit dumb nor should ever feel so. "You have a right to say no to someone, and to be with whoever the hell you want." Perhaps it was the fact that was raised by a single mom, and was raising a sister that made his protective instinct over women go into overdrive.

He knew that Nicolette didn't need him to fight her battles. He wasn't one to coddle. But he still felt compelled to at least give her some reassurance that she should not fault herself for anything. "At the very least he deserves to get a broken jaw." A punch right across his cheek . . . something that he had a feeling Nicolette was quite capable of administering. "Guys like him give the rest of us a bad name," he said with a slight smirk, and even slighter shrug of his shoulders.

"But I promise, we're not all like that," he said almost teasingly, but with truth in his words. Bellamy's gaze went over to where Curtis was standing. A man who would get his prize as she had described him. Really, it sounded revolting for him to perceive her that way. As a challenge; a victory; a prize that he felt he had claim over. "Bet he can't stand the fact that you're talking to another guy right now," Bellamy said almost jokingly. But something about the way she described him made him feel like it was a safe assumption to have.

[Nicolette Carmichael]

Nic was kind of glad for this man's company. He definitely wasn't like the other boys in her class. He seemed to be very against what Curtis and his gang thought was ok. "At the very least he deserves to get a broken jaw." He told her. And she laughed at that.
"Well, I wished I could. Maybe one day it will happen. Wipe that smug look off his face." She said, imaging it now in her mind. She could punch hard, she knew that, and it would definitely be satisfactory. But she couldn't just go up to him and punch him. She would definitely get told off. She didn't need that in her life.
  "Guys like him give the rest of us a bad name,"  He replied. "But I promise, we're not all like that."
She smiled at that and nodded. "I know. But there are plenty of guys out there that are like him." She sighed once. "But hey then there's you, and my best friend, Benny!" Benny was a good man. He would never do anything so selfish and stupid. Nothing so morally inappropriate. If the girl was willing, well that was a different story. But the fact that he HAD to try and sleep with all the girls, well... That was just childish. "That's two."

"Bet he can't stand the fact that you're talking to another guy right now," The man said, a little jokingly. But he was right. There Curtis was, glancing at her, who was glancing at him. She raised her eyebrows at him, and he glared, looking between her and the man she had only recently met. The one who looked like he could easily beat the crap out of Curtis. Yeah, this somehow made her feel good.
"Oh, look." She laughed. "What an idiot." She didn't like to call people names, except for herself, but he really was. "You know, I should probably ask your name." She realised. He was definitely worthy of knowing her name. "I'm Nicolette Carter, but you can call me Nic." She gave him a bright smile. It was the nickname Benny had given her. She thought it was kind of badass, rather than Nicolette, which sounded so... Not badass. 

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Bellamy Blake