There wasn't exactly a road up to the mountain cabin Clarke had booked for the group on their winter break. It was more of a trail that had to be hiked from the bottom – which took approximately an hour for Clarke, Lexa, Bellamy, Jasper, Monty and Murphy to crawl up.
"If Murphy hadn't taken his sweet time getting his shit together, we would have actually been able to watch the sun set tonight," Clarke pestered him.
"Not my fault your girlfriend takes forever in the bathroom to put on her eye makeup!" Murphy argued.
"Enough, you two," Bellamy interjected.
The group was mostly quiet the rest of the journey up, save Monty and Jasper whispering and giggling, following up the rear. By the time they had reached the cabin, it was near nightfall and moonlight shone through the trees in shattered fragments. The cabin was quite large and overlooked the mountain ranges from over the peaks of the trees. The windows were lit up like a beacon, calling them to their final destination and resting place.
"Finally," Murphy sighed.
Once inside, Bellamy got a fire going and everyone went off to their bunks. The cabin was one open room with bunks at one end, a living area in the center and an open kitchen near the entrance. Two doors to the bathrooms were against the wall beside the bunks. A ladder led up to a loft that bordered the beacon window – overlooking the scenery.
"This place is amazing!" Lexa marveled, her eyes scanning the height of the tall ceilings as she threw her duffel bag on the top bunk above Clarke.
"You know, I heard this place was haunted," Jasper suggested, attempting to spook his companions.
"Shut up," Monty rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face.
"No! Seriously! There used to be this guy that lived here and he got into this tussle with this giant bear that attacked him and they both ended up slaying each other. They say both the bear and the guy haunt the grounds here," Jasper continued in an eerie tone, "both looking for their next fight."
"You're so full of it," Monty chuckled.
Murphy made for the top bunk but Bellamy pushed him aside and threw his bag up there before he could even lay a hand on the ladder.
"Nice try," Bellamy smirked evilly at him. Murphy pouted and opened his bag onto the bottom mattress, spilling out its contents. He then proceeded to lie down on top of everything in an exhausted mess.
"We literally just got here and I'm already finding one of Murphy's socks mixed in with my stuff. How do you manage this?" Clarke sighed, exasperated from two bunks away. She threw the sock back at Murphy, hitting him in the face. He peeled the sock off and threw it on the ground beside his bed, chuckling to himself in response.
Once everyone was unpacked, they all began to wind down for the night. Clarke and Lexa were snuggled up on the couch as Clarke was reading a book by the firelight ("You're going to hurt your eyes if you do that," Lexa warned her futilely). Monty and Jasper had fallen asleep in their respective bunks with their gameboys in their laps (probably Pokemon) and Bellamy sat in his bunk listening to music that blasted through his headphones.
Murphy tried to sleep, rolling over in his mess of clothes and blankets. Comfort never found him, nor did sleep. Irritated and bored, Murphy sat up and got out of bed. The fire had died down to embers and Clarke and Lexa had fallen asleep on the couch beside the hearth. He snuck past them and grabbed his coat, opening the door…but he did not go unnoticed.
The night air was crisp and cool, nipping at Murphy's cheeks with prickling chills. He walked out into the night and kicked at pinecones and rocks. Suddenly, two large hands grabbed his shoulders and a shout from behind him sent him jumping straight into the air with fright.
"Damn it, Bellamy!" Murphy murmured angrily, but smiled in an attempt to take the joke well.
"What are you doing out here all alone?" Bellamy asked, still beaming.
"Couldn't sleep, you?"
"Couldn't let you wander off and have all the fun." Murphy could see right through Bellamy's lie and tilted his head forward to glare at him.
"Alright, I wanted to make sure you were okay," Bellamy admitted.
"I'm fine," Murphy sighed. A twig snapped, causing both of them to fidget nervously.
"Did you hear that?" Bellamy asked anxiously.
"Do you think it was-" A low grumble came from down the mountain, gurgling with a slight echo.
"We should go," Bellamy suggested, wide eyed. He quickly grabbed Murphy's hand and pulled him back to the cabin. Once back inside, they heaved their chests breathlessly and Murphy looked down – Bellamy's hand still clutching tightly onto his.
"You okay?" Murphy smiled reassuringly at Bellamy. He turned to him, realizing and let go. His eyes quickly broke contact with Murphy's.
"Fine," Bellamy blushed, embarrassed.