Chapter 9:
MIDDLE EAST ISSUES THREAT TO U. S.
Clarke hesitantly took a sip from her coffee mug, turning away from the recently updated newspaper article. It'd been live for four hours. Any minute her phone would ring…all she could do was wait. She closed her eyes and let slight amounts of fear enter her system. Did she make a mistake coming down to Earth? She breathed through her nose greeted by the smell of pot brownies? Her eyes shot open as the side door opened from the kitchen. Monty stood before her, "I read it."
"And you thought drugs were the answer to all our problems?" Clarke attempted to sound like an adult but she faltered, snatching one of the brownies off the tray and shoving it into her mouth. "Your recipe is…quite perfect."
He smiled, taking one of his own treats and shoved it in his mouth. "I'll put these in the fridge."
"Okay." Clarke said, moving towards her living room with her coffee mug and laced treat. "She never came home until 4 AM. She's already gone and it's not even noon." Clarke commented, "Bellamy is on his way, I assume."
"Are you scared?"
"That the world could end in the next few weeks?" Clarke asked, "I'm terrified."
"We packed this morning." Monty said, "Only the things that mattered…I feel like my parents packed before they were accepted. We're ready to leave at any moment."
"It's not fair." Clarke said for the hundredth time. "None of it…the fact that the Middle East is capable of wiping us out is scary and it's a real possibility. It makes me wonder why I'm even here right now."
She felt her phone ringing in her back pocket. "Hey…" She said tentatively as she answered. "I'm fine. There's no need to worry."
"No need to worry, Clarke? They've declared war." Miller said, his voice raising. "Issues threat? What kind of bullshit euphemism is that? The Middle East is plenty capable of destroying the entire country. It's time to come home."
She was silent, "Not yet…I still have things I want to do down here. It's fine. I'll be fine."
"You're really killing me here." Miller said slowly, almost shakily. "Clarke, baby, please come home. Don't put your life at risk…"
"I love you." She said, "I'll talk to you later. It's going to be okay."
"I love you too but Clarke—"
She hung up on him and turned to Monty. "How about another one of those brownies?" Monty didn't smile at her, he didn't even go for the brownies. He grabbed her by her shoulders and said the worst thing he could possibly tell her:
"It's time to say goodbye, Clarke. Before it's too late."
She heard her front door open and in walked Octavia and Bellamy Blake. He nodded towards her, trying to tell her something that she was too out of it to understand in that moment. Clarke smiled at Octavia, "Did you want to try on those dresses now?"
"I don't foresee there being much of a later, do you?" Octavia asked.
It was odd how someone could smile under such shock and fear—but they managed two shaky grins and ran off into Clarke's room. After trying on dresses and making meaningless conversation, Clarke and Octavia sat on her bed. "I'm not sure what the future holds." Octavia said, "Bellamy applied for the guard program today…" Octavia was faced away from Clarke and didn't see her pull out her phone.
Clarke: When are you coming home?
It was the first time Clarke let herself feel it. The realness of the situation they were all facing. Terror pulsed through everyone's veins like ice water and it was hard to move—it was hard not to put on a fake smile and go on.
She didn't even hear Jasper running up the stairs when her door opened. He looked at Clarke, "Put on something pretty, meet me at the courthouse in an hour." He started to run down the stairs again.
"What?" Clarke asked, "Why?" She stood up to follow him with Octavia quick on her heels. Jasper was downstairs with Lincoln, Monty, and Jasper. "What's going on?"
Jasper looked at Clarke and smiled widely, "I'm getting married, C."
She heard her phone beeping in her pocket but she couldn't move. "Married?"
He continued to grin at her despite her confused expression, "I can't leave Harper here to die." He explained, "Knowing that…my best option is to marry her and take her with me."
"What about her family?"
"She doesn't have one." Lincoln said, "Foster child. A shame, really."
"So you're doing this?" Clarke asked, "You're really getting married in an hour."
"Yeah." It was the happiest, scared word she ever heard. Suddenly, she was smiling too.
Clarke wrapped her arms around Jasper's shoulders for the brief moment of hope. "I'll get ready." She declared. Octavia hugged Jasper, too.
"See you in an hour." Octavia smiled as their friend ran out of Clarke's house. Lincoln and Bellamy looked at each other without saying a word. Their silence wasn't awkward—there was something implied in it; respect.
