Clarke's POV

Most times, she hated to admit it but Bellamy Blake was a born leader. He was flawless at it, really. He had a way with words that could inspire and win over anyone who heard him and it really was no surprise that from the moment they'd landed on the Ground, everyone had turned to Bellamy for guideance.

The only problem with this was-well, there were a couple actually-Bellamy was reckless and often made impulsive decisions and Clarke was hard-pressed to keep in check since everytime they spoke to each other it seemed like, they were always yelling.

But this wasn't the worst of it-surprisingly. The worst was that Bellamy was extremely egocentric. This coupled with the fact that the 100 had automatically flocked to him as their leader, made a very dangerous combination, in Clarke's eyes.

Now Bellamy's egotism was multiplied by 100...literally.

This made her job tougher every single day she took that step outside her tent. Because now being Bellamy's co-leader, this meant that half of the responsibility for decisions fell on her shoulders...and if Bellamy decided to make a stupid decision without consulting her, it also meant she got half the blame.

Today was one such day. There had been questions about who should be allowed to go out on the hunting party which days and of course, they persons in debate had gone straight to Bellamy. One of the boys was younger than the rest-around fourteen-but he made a very impassioned case to Bellamy, stating that if he was old enough to handle chores around camp, then he should be old enough to handle a gun and shoulder food foraging like the rest of them! He wanted to do his part and Bellamy didn't see the harm in it as there was three other boys going along who were sixteen and above.

They would keep an eye on the youngster, he'd told himself and so without a moment's consideration to run it by Clarke, he'd given his permission.

Unfortunately it would come back to bite him in the ass that night. Somehow, Tomas (The youngest hunter) had gotten it into his head that he was more than capable of going on ahead of the rest of the group to check the other traps. He'd figured it would save them time if they split up and he couldn't deny that he was desperate and eager to prove himself to the older boys and especially to Bellamy whom he looked up to.

The other boys, hadn't even seen him venture off and by the time they'd noticed, it was too late.

The game traps that had been set were very strategic in placement and only known by a select few of the hunters. It had always been worked out that at least one of the boys who knew where the traps were, would be sent along with every hunting party that went out to ensure no one else set off a trap unwittingly or got lost. Bellamy insisted that only a few of the boys should actually have knowledge of where the traps were placed so as to avoid anyone sneaking out in the middle of the night and trying to steal extra food. It had been a good strategy in theory but no one had taken into account the ambitious tendencies of an eager well-meaning boy.

By the time they'd found Tomas, he was caught in one of the ground traps, by his ankle. The trap had been fashioned like a spring-loaded mouse trap only this one had been fashioned with crudely sharpened wooden pikes that acted like teeth. Tomas' ankle was pierced through from both sides and he was bleeding profusely.

Once they'd managed to get him free, there was no time to check the rest of the traps and they had to hurry back to camp with nothing but a couple measely rabbits to show for their efforts.

Unforunately for Bellamy, Clarke just so happened to be taking a walk along the camp wall and she was the first one to greet the hunters. When she'd taken a look at Tomas' mangled ankle, she leapt into doctor mode and had the others carry him directly to med bay.

On her way, she'd ran right into Bellamy who had just stepped out of his tent when he'd heard all the commotion.

"What's going on, what happened?"

He was met with Clarke's icy stare and he knew he was in for it. " 'what happened?!' What happened is someone let a little kid go out and play 'hunter' with the bigger boys; what in the hell were you thinking, Bellamy?! And why wasn't I told?!"

"You were out getting seaweed with Finn and besides I had it handled."

"Really?! you call that handled?!" She gestured angrily toward the med bay, turning her face back to Bellamy and glaring at him, waiting for an answer.

But Bellamy didn't really have one, not that he would ever admit it.

"Look, you're overreacting, I'm sure it was just an accident-"

"One that could have been avoided! Miller told me that Tomas wondered off at one point because he must have thought that he could check the rest of the traps by himself! Miller also told me that not everyone knows where the traps are at so there's always a possibility of someone getting caught in one!"

"Look I didn't want everyone knowing where the traps are or else someone might steal extra food!" Bellamy shot back.

Clarke sighed, running both hands through her blonde tresses and then resting them on her hips. "Look Bell it's a good strategy...in theory but if that's how we're gonna work this then we can't be letting little kids go out on foraging trips! They don't listen as well as the others do, their just children and children like to go off running around in the woods! You need to keep the hunting parties limited to those who are experienced and already know the system; that way there is less likely to be any accidents like this."

Her voice had calmed down considerably but her expression was still exassperated.

On his part, Bellamy grimaced and cursed under his breath because for some reason, the thought had never occured to him that Tomas would be so overcome with excitement of freedom that he would just run off without telling anyone. It was careless of him but Clarke was right, he was just a kid and kids didn't think in the same perameters that adults do-or in this case, kids who are forced to be adults.

Now thinking of Tomas' condition, Bellamy was sickened with guilt and he ran a shaky hand through his messy chocolate curls. "Look, You're right." He forced out the admission and Clarke's blue eyes widened because she knew Bellamy was never one to admit he was wrong.

"I just didn't think-he's most likely never been outside the wall before so seeing it for the first time-" He trailed off, running a frustrated hand down his face and Clarke caught the guilt and worry deepening his dark eyes.

She knew Bellamy was doing his best and overall, he had good intentions it's just that he had this tendency of not thinking things through and more times then not, it had cost them.

But he was doing his best.

And Clarke could see his genuine remorse as his eyes flickered worriedly from her to the med bay and back.

Feeling a tinge of guilt for berating him so harshly, she took a step towards him and gently touched his arm.

The gesture was uncharacteristic and it caused the rebel leader's eyes to snap down to her hand resting on his arm and back up to her eyes.

"It wasn't as bad as it could have been; he's alive and that's what matters. Okay?"

Bellamy pressed his lips together and nodded reluctantly. "But it's bad...isn't it?" He nodded his head towards the med bay before meeting her eyes almost pleadingly.

Clarke took a nervous look over her shoulder, gnawing on her lower lip.

Her fingers tightened on his arm in an attempt to reassure him. "I don't know. I need to get a better look at him. You can wait here if you like, I promise I'll give you an update when I can."

And with one last comforting squeeze to his arm, she gave him a rare small smile before turning and marching purposefully into the med bay to assess the needs of her patient.

Miraculously, Tomas injury wasn't serious; the puncture wounds were deep but they had missed his major arteries, no bones were broken and he made a mostly-full recovery with only a limp that in and of itself was nearly imperceptible unless you were looking for it.

Clarke had never been more relieved-but a big portion of her relief was on account of Bellamy. He hadn't moved from his place outside the med bay since the day Tomas had been brought in and there were quite a few times she would catch him anxiously pacing with one hand on his hip and the other nervously combing through his hair. Other times, he'd be sitting stiffly in the chair she'd had brought for him but wouldn't last anymore than five minutes before he was back to his pacing; he was starting to act like a caged wild animal and Clarke was getting worried for him.

Once the news of Tomas' good chance of recovery had reached him, she watched as he visibly sagged with relief and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he sank into his chair.

"He's gonna be laid up for awhile and most definitely bored out of his mind but...he's gonna be just fine."

Bellamy exhaled, letting the ghost of a relieved smile touch his lips. "That's really good news."

But Clarke's smile faded and her eyes filled with worry when she saw the tightening of Bellamy's jaw and the way every muscle in his face pulled taught, as if he was struggling to hold back his emotions.

He must have been worried sick over Tomas and then some.

For the first time, Clarke felt a warmth in her chest when she looked at Bellamy.

She stepped closer to him, coming to stand in front of him where he was still seated, elbows resting heavily on his knees as he slouched over.

She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Hey." She spoke earnestly yet softly.

The calming tone of her voice roused Bellamy out of his self-loathing thoughts and once again he was taken off guard by the gentle pressure of her small hand on his shoulder. He could feel the warmth of her flesh as it bled into his shoulder, spreading downwards to his chest.

"He's gonna be fine, Bell." Before she knew it, Clarke had pressed her hand against Bellamy's cheek, looking earnestly into his dark eyes and wondering when Bellamy Blake had become so beautiful in her eyes. "It could have been any of us who made that call, it could have been me...don't punish yourself." She tried offering him a reassuring smile, her fingers lightly carressing his face as she did so.

Bellamy's throat had tightened and his mouth felt thick and dry.

Since when was Clarke so tender towards him? So understanding? He couldn't fathom what had come over her in the last ten minutes but then again he couldn't really concentrate on it, what with her touch on his face doing terribly confusing and delicious things to the rest of his body.

All he could do was just stare up at her and wonder why the tender look in her eyes both thrilled and hurt him all at once. "Clarke..."

"Get some sleep, Bell." She uttered softly, her thumb brushing along his cheekbone in the most natural of ways as if she had always been touching him like this. "You look exhausted."

Bellamy nodded but he didn't move. Clarke's eyes had him spell-bound and he couldn't tear his away.

As if reading his mind, he swore he saw a hint of red flash across Clarke's cheeks when she smiled down at him again but then his mind had been strung up for days from worry and stress, he could imagine a lot of things.

For herself, Clarke couldn't bring herself to mind Bellamy's staring and for once, they both resided in a frozen moment of time where Bellamy wasn't the rebel leader and Clarke wasn't the brave princess, each fighting to keep the 100 alive; no, they were just Clarke and Bellamy, two people needing a brief moment to escape into each other's eyes and let the rest of the world fade away.

Yes, Bellamy Blake was egocentric...but at heart, he had the best intentions.