The next morning I wake up at dawn and pack a bag with enough rations to last a couple of days. I should be able to make the trip to the river and back in one day, but from what we've seen so far I'd rather be ready if I have to spend a night outside. My plan is to slip out of the gates early in the morning, during the change in guard, because today Murphy is on watch duty and I'm sure he'll be late. Bellamy's gonna be pissed, but I'm not about to let any of this kids die because of a small infected cut. If he can't deal with that then it's on him.

I grab one of the rifles, two knives, a couple water bottles and some bandages, making sure I still have room in my pack for the seaweed I'm planning to bring back. I've spent the night wondering if I should ask someone to come with me, but with the fear Bellamy has imposed on these kids, the only ones who wouldn't tell him are Raven and Octavia. Octavia is obviously a no, since I don't really want Bellamy to kill me, and things are too weird with Raven after the Finncident. So after I make sure I have everything I need, I slip out of my tent and head to the gates.

I make sure to give a wide range to Bellamy's larger tent (of course the 'king' would put his tent right in the middle of camp, and they call me royalty) and let a sound of relief when I don't hear a sound coming from it. I turn again towards the gates and freeze.

He's sitting on a rock right next to the gate, his rifle slung over his left shoulder and that fucking awful smirk directed at me.

"Going somewhere princess?" His voice is rough, as if he just woke up, but his posture suggests he's been on that rock all night long.

Fuck, am I that predictable? "Just going for a morning walk" I answer casually and straighten my spine as I walk into the forest.

"Fuck-" he grumbles, and he rushes after me "I told you you're not going anywhere."

He grabs my arms, and I immediately yank it out of his grasp, turning away and continuing in the direction of the river.

"Dammit Clarke it's dangerous out there, get the fuck inside the wall!"

I spin on my heel and he crashes into me, almost pushing me to the ground with the force of the impact "I'm going to the river Bellamy, you can come with me or you can stay, I really don't give a fuck as long as I get that damned seaweed."

His eyes spark and he suddenly turns around and jogs back to the gates, returning a second later with a pack slung over his right shoulder. He smirks and says "Then lead the way princess".

Of course he would do something like this, I should have gone last night, but I'm not a fan of walking around the forest at night.

I turn around without saying anything, to spite him, and stomp through the forest, trying to ignore his light footsteps behind me.

It has been two hours of walking when I cave in and break the silence: "Why did you have a backpack ready if you wanted me to stay in camp?"

I catch a small smile in his face before he turns his face towards the trees. When he faces me again, his usual arrogant smirk is back, and I wonder if I'm just imagining things now. "You forget Octavia's my sister, Princess. Let's just say I'm used to handling stubborn women. I figured if I couldn't stop you from leaving I could at least come with."

I try to hide the surprise in my face, but he sees my expression before I can bury it under a mask of indifference. Both his face and tone soften. "I don't want you to die Clarke, is it so hard to understand?"

I don't answer immediately and just like me, it takes a second too long for him to look away and… is that hurt?

This man is gonna drive me crazy.

"No, it's not" I acquiesce.

We lapse back into silence, and I try my best to push the mysterious headache that is Bellamy Blake out of my head. I should try to figure out the date, that always keeps me busy.

It's true, it's been hard to know what day it is ever since I was locked in the sky box. After a while I started thinking of time as 'before dad' and 'after dad'. It was easier, since my life changed so much after his death. But now it has taken a radical turn again, and in this mess I'd rather know the day it is than try to create more 'before and afters' in my head.

It takes me a while to realize it is already October, and even longer to figure out that there's only one week left until my birthday. The realization strucks me and I stop on my tracks. Bellamy immediately rises his gun. "What is it? Did you hear anything?" I don't answer, thoughts running a mile a minute through my shocked brain. "Clarke?"

He steps towards me and it's his proximity that breaks me out of my reverie. "N-nothing, I-" I take a deep breath, not daring to face him- to let him see how vulnerable I am right now. "It's nothing, let's keep going."

It's clear on his face that he wants to argue, but I guess it's the apprehension in my eyes that makes him take a step back and nod almost imperceptibly. I start walking again and he follows, but now my brain won't shut up and the silence between us feels more stifling and awkward.

One more silent hour and we finally reach the section of the river where the medicinal seaweed grows, the sun beating hard on us as the day goes by.

As soon as we reach the river, I wade in knee-deep and start collecting the algae with both my hands. The faster I do it, the sooner we'll be able to get back to camp. Then I can hide in the dropship- away from him, away from everyone.

It takes me ten minutes to gather as much as I can, ten minutes Bellamy spends with his gun raised and his eyes fixed on the forest. My brain is still going through my earlier realizations, which means I'm not in the mood for chatter, so I get out of the river and stand next to him until he notices me.

"Let's go back." His only answer is a curt nod, his face indecipherable as he turns and walks back into the tree line. I'm just about to follow him when the sound of a horn startles me. Fear seeps into my bones as Bellamy reappears next to me- we both know what the sound means.

Acid fog

He grabs my pack from the ground with panicked eyes and pushes me, startling me out of the shock - "Dammit Clarke, run!"

We both start running and, now that it's awake, it doesn't take long for my brain to slip into survival mode. "We can't outrun it, we need a place to hide!" The adrenaline seeps into my body and a single thought snaps like thunder in my head.

The car.

"I know where to go" I yell, and start in the direction of the half buried car Wells, Finn and I found last time, hoping I can find it in the haze of our sprint.

We run for what feels like hours, but is probably less than ten minutes, my eyes searching for the hidden metal scrap that will save us from a certain death.

I can't find it, and I would've sworn it was right here, but I'm starting to lose hope and the fog is catching up on us, a death wave marching between the towering trees.

We keep running, frantically searching for anything now, anything that will keep us away from the toxic gas. I've almost given hope up and started to slow down when my foot catches on something, and my body crashes against the ground-

This is it- after everything this is how I'm going to die.

-only to realize it's not soft forest grass I've landed on, but a crusty red metal slab.

I look down and see the car's interior through the dirty glass, and I scramble to my feet. "Bellamy! Come on!". He rushes to my side and yanks the door open, both of us jumping inside just as the fog reaches the hole.

He slams the door closed over us, and the only sound in the darkness of the long gone vehicle is that of our labored breaths, with a couple of occasional coughs.

It takes a while for us to calm down, and it's only after five minutes that I look into his eyes- only to find him silently watching me, his face giving nothing away.

"Looks like we're stuck here for a while, Princess."