A/N: Funfact!I had written out chp. 4 a few days ago but I ended up hating it so I re-wrote it. C:
Also, I finally read the book and have gathered my thoughts to figure out a game plan so I'm not just writing aimlessly. Depending on 1x09 I may continue loosely following the show, who really knows at this point. I'm not happy where this ended so I'm sure another chapter will be up soon.
Oh, your reviews are all so lovely. 333 The Bellarke slow build is still happening and when they do kiss I think you all will (hopefully) like it!
When Clarke awoke, she found the familiar comfort of the human touch upon her fingertips. As her sleep speckled eyes fluttered open, they found themselves staring at the peaceful body of Bellamy Blake. Through the quiet emptiness of the bunker, his breathing became music to her ears, the lyrics to a beat caused by the dripping water which echoed through the worn bunker walls. In comparison, the sound was practically nothing to the sweet music created by earthmade objects which had only been played for the more fortunate on the ark. However, the ark and the music were no more; the illusion of happiness had long faded making the steady rise and fall of Bellamy's chest the most peaceful thing she had seen in days.
His fingers pressed into her hand before he had actually moved his body. It felt unusual to be waking up next to a man she had despised with every ounce of her being a few days ago but then again normality was not something that came very often anymore.
"It's not polite to watch people as they sleep, darling." Bellamy's voice was muffled by his jacket as he slowly rolled his head over to face Clarke.
At some point during the night, he had apparently taken off his jacket to use as a pillow and had rolled over onto his stomach. If Clarke were more awake, she would have shot him a quizzical look as to why they were still hand in hand seeing as he was clearly conscious enough at some point to make himself more comfortable. Instead, she blinked bewilderingly, passing off the accusation he had shot her way.
"I didn't mean to offend you, ma'am." Her eyes were too heavy to shine but the smile that crept into her cheeks brought out enough playfulness to get the message across.
"Hey," Bellamy opened his eyes, getting his first good look at Clarke since their conversation last night. Whatever witty retort he was about to throw at her slipped away leaving only a faint smile in its place.
"Yes?"
"Nevermind. We should uh, we should get going."
As if her touch suddenly became toxic, Bellamy quickly retracted his hand and rolled off the bed. The air between them grew silent, Clarke gingerly watching his every move. The more she looked at him the more she felt the tiny sliver of confusion spread throughout her body. A night ago, she had justified her attraction to him by identifying his similarities to Finn. They were both charming and brave, willing to sacrifice themselves for the ones that they cared about. Danger lingered on them with every step that they took but through the misleading loneliness of earth they had both appeared to be viable matches for human companionship. Of course, Finn had turned into a delusive mistake and Bellamy, well Bellamy was too concerned with Octavia to let any other woman into his life.
"Yeah. They're probably worried." Banter aside, Clarke let the smile slip away from her face and focus back on the reality of the situation.
They arrived back at camp around midday and after some grand speech from Bellamy everything had seemingly fallen back into order. The supplies they brought back with them were stored appropriately, the guns distributed to the kids who were currently on watch. Bellamy had busied himself going over the proper handling of the guns while Clarke found herself making the normal medical rounds.
She checked on Octavia first, mainly to see if the girl had forgotten the harsh memories of the torture. To Clarke's dismay, Octavia greeted her with a cold shoulder and a piercing stare that could have easily murdered a man. The next person Clarke checked up on was Jasper, not that he had really needed it. The wound from the spear had been healing quite nicely. Beside the occasional need to clean it, he never sought out Clarke for medical advice. Leaving him and Monty to continue their crazy antics was bittersweet. She would have rather been needed by Jasper than to go check up on Finn but the situation was unavoidable.
Once inside the tent that Finn had shared with Raven, Clarke took a kneeling stance next to Finn. Raven remained eerily close behind her, perched on the cot like a vulture. Her gaze was practically burning holes in the back of Clarke's head but Clarke couldn't bring herself to acknowledge the situation.
"How are the stitches?"
"Fine." Raven answered before Finn could even open his mouth, her tone more hostile than informative.
"Finn, do you mind if I take a look at them?"
"Go ahead."
Clarke pulled back the blanket and pulled up Finn's shirt, revealing a bloody bandage. For the most part, minus a bit of stretching, the stitches were fine.
"They look good but you really need to stay in bed. We found some medical supplies last night but I haven't been able to go through everything. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stitch you up again so you better take care of these."
Normally Clarke would have offered her patient a friendly smile to assure that the healing process was going smoothly but no such thing graced her face. Her hands were quick to apply a new bandage within the thick silence of the tent. The burning stare of Raven grew hotter with every passing second, only to finally be interrupted by Finn.
"Raven, do you think you could get me some water?" A swoon worthy smile danced across his mouth, persuading his girlfriend to finally leave his side.
Once Raven had left, the silence in the air grew heavier. Clarke knew where things were headed but she was not ready to speak to Finn about what had happened.
"Clarke, we need to talk."
"Your wound is fine and I've told you that you needed to stay in bed. There isn't much else to discuss."
"Clarke, I'm sorry. I should have-"
"Yes. You should have. But I also should have known not to trust someone who was willing to waste oxygen for his own selfish reasons."
The last of the medical tape had been applied to the bandage but a force had been preventing Clarke from moving. It wasn't the sheer sight of a desperate Finn pleading for a second chance. It was his hand which was firmly wrapped around her wrist.
"I spoke to the grounder before he escaped."
Clarke's eyes widened in shock but no words came out of her mouth. While she had been out camping with Bellamy, the grounder they had tortured to save Finn had escaped unseen. At least she thought. When they got back to camp and heard the news, both Bellamy and Clarke had wanted to blame Octavia for the escaped prisoner but she hadn't fessed up.
"What? Finn! You aided in his escape? Bellamy is going to kill you if the grounders don't do it first. What were you thinking?" Clarke's words came out no louder than a whisper. The sight of Finn might have caused her heart to ache but that feeling had quickly disappeared with the revelation of such news.
"No, no. I don't know how he got out but I was the last person he saw before he left the camp." Finn propped himself up on his elbows so that the distance between him and Clarke was shorter.
"It was the middle of the night and he left wearing ark clothing. I handed him my knife as a peace treaty of sorts and that was when he spoke to me."
"And?"
"He said we aren't safe. He said we're all going to die."
"You really needed a grounder to tell you that?" The shock from Clarke's face quickly faded, an unamused expression taking its place. Every day that they were on their own they faced death. The second the ark had exiled them they lost the comfort of safety. It was only a matter a time before the ark came down to recolonize the planet but until then, death was always a bigger probability than their survival.
"No, Clarke. I'm being serious. I think we need to try and contact the leaders of the grounders. Form some type of truce. With winter approaching and a possible war on our hands we are looking at zero chance of survival."
"I'll talk to Bellamy about it but I don't think we can trust the grounders. They've killed most of our people, why would they want to negotiate now?"
"You can't trust the grounders but you trust Bellamy with your life?"
"Are you implying something?"
"Yes. You're being stupid Clarke. Wells died because we trusted Bellamy to lead a group of criminals down a path of righteous civilization."
Clarke narrowed her eyes, the name of her deceased best friend burning the edges of her soul. He had no right to bring Wells into this mess. Wells was her best friend and her last friend. She had put so much trust into him and had spent a good part of her life hating him because he was protecting her. Unlike Finn, Wells had actually put his life on the line to protect the one he loved. In that aspect he was a lot like Bellamy and with that thought the confusion was finally starting to clear up.
"I trust him."
"Clarke."
Right on cue Raven popped her head into the tent, water in hand. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion at the lingering silence. No words were spoken as the girls traded places but an odd weight had been lifted off Clarke's shoulders.