I'm not ready for the rest of the Ark to arrive just yet, so I've conjured up another ship for that sole purpose. It's one of many moments, that is totally 'AU'.
Also, I wasn't planning on making Octavia a sort of lackey, it kind of just happened. She's not by the way but it does seem like it in this chapter. (: I hope you enjoy reading it and please keep the favs, follows and reviews coming!


Clarke

After a week of painstaking waiting for the 'Salutis' ship to be sent down, the day finally arrived, everyone's hopes for the ship had finally payed off. Their life filled with incurable diseases and hunger was finally over. A helping hand for their lives on Earth.

Clarke was cleaning dishes when she first heard the news of the ship's sighting, Octavia was the one to break it to her with utter excitement. She burst into the tent, just about managing to contain the news until she was inside.

"Clarke! The ship, it's here, it's arrived. I saw it while I was taking a break; it..err...landed just behind that ridge in the distance. I've just told Bellamy and he's told me to come and get you; he's got his hands full at the moment." Octavia tried to calm herself down from giving Clarke the news but she wasn't able to. In fact, she even seemed to be jumping from excitement as she stood on the spot just inside the tent. It was understandable when you knew what one of the things Octavia had asked to be sent down on the ship was. It wasn't food or water, not even the medicine or blankets that was causing all this excitement; it was an old childhood necklace her mother made for her when she was seven. To look at, it wasn't anything, just a wire strip, curled into a circle which was simply decorated with a green glass bead, the bead having been given to her mother, allegedly by Octavia's biological father but to Octavia, it meant the world. The only thing she still owned, that was a comforting reminder of her dead mother.

Clarke instantly dropped the plate she was holding, down into the cold water before spinning around quickly towards Octavia. A smile appeared bright on her lips, her eyes showing her happiness towards the news. "Really? Right. Well, we'll need to announce the news to everyone as soon as possible, I'll gather everyone together. Could you get my rucksack from my tent?" Clarke asked, as she quickly cleaned the last plate before placing it on the stack by the sink.

"Sure." Octavia replied, that simple word sounding bright and cheerful.

"Thank you." Clarke smiled, as she shook off the excess water from her hands. She then made her way towards Octavia before walking side by side out the tent with her.

As they walked out of the tent, Octavia's face drew darker, a worried expression appeared on her face. She lent in closer towards Clarke before speaking quietly towards her. "Urmm, there's something I need to tell you. The rumor going around camp about you being...pregnant, well people are really talking about it. There's a few 'out there' theories floating around the gossip pages. I think you might need to talk to everyone about it, just to set the record straight." Octavia moved away but kept her gaze on Clarke, waiting to hear her reply.

Clarke had known that soon enough, the camp would eventually find out, someone would have heard the various arguments shouted about in the last couple of weeks. It was bound to happen but she hoped it could have been on her own terms, in her own way but now, it was out of her hands. She would announce it to everyone in the next few days, when the fresh excitement of the ship landing had gone; people would be listening to her that little bit better. "Thank you for informing me, I'll sort that out soon enough but for now, the ship's the main priority. Meet me outside the drop ship in a few minutes."

Octavia nodded at Clarke before they both parted ways. Clarke weaved her way through the people of camp, telling a few along the way that she was going to make an announcement but she ignored all the whispering and tittering coming from a good group of people. She had a job to inform camp about the ship but that was it. There was far more important things to discuss than Clarke's personal life.

Once she stood on the slope of the drop ship, she took a deep breath in before watching as the camp starting to congregate in front of her, gazes beginning to shift towards her direction. People still carried on talking but most seemed to want to listen to Clarke. She hadn't made that many solo announcements in a while, so it felt a bit strange to not have Bellamy there standing by her but he was busy, so it was up to her to say. Clarke had noticed a few people seemed to not be here, namely Raven, Thalia and Rex which caused her to wonder where they were but maybe they were just busy, like Bellamy, with other things. Clarke scanned the scene in front of her once more before letting words fall out from behind her lips, each word resonating through the crowd.

"I've called everyone here to tell you some news. Some of you may already know but for all of you who haven't, the 'Salutis' ship has arrived on Earth!" The news first caused the tittering to grow louder, like people were assuming the news was to do with the baby but when they heard that it was to do with the ship, the tittering stopped, then came a brief flash of confusion over some people's faces before a loud roar of cheer escaped everyone's mouths. Clarke led people's excitement loose for a moment but the announcement had to continue, so at the first sign of the cheering dying down, Clarke carried on, a small smile on her very own lips. "All of you who have been designated the task of helping Bellamy and myself to collect the cargo, stay where you are, we'll be going soon. For everyone else, you can get back to what you were doing. We'll be back by nightfall."

Once people started to dissipate, Clarke walked back down the slope and towards the small crowd left behind. There was Helix and Framka; the 'Ark' couple, Harper, Monroe, Miller and Jones, all ready for their expedition. It was only Bellamy out of 'The Eight' who wasn't here, everyone else seemed raring to go. Octavia walked over to Clarke, handing her the rucksack with a gentle smile. She had been standing in the wings, waiting for Clarke to finish her announcement. "Here you are. I found an Army knife in one of the storage containers on my way here, so I've packed it in there, in case it was needed." Octavia stated as Clarke grabbed the rucksack and flung it onto her shoulder.

"Oh, thank you for that." Clarke smiled before looking over in the direction of Bellamy's tent. Her gaze stayed there for a moment but she continued to speak, directing her words first to Octavia and then to the group. "If you need to go back, you can...I'll, err, be back in a minute. Just got to tell Bellamy..." Clarke then walked off, leaving the group behind and Octavia walking back to the Medics tent.

As Clarke weaved herself through the crowd, she spotted someone in the distance, walking out swiftly from Bellamy's tent and back to her own. She wasn't the jealous type but thoughts began to fly around in her head. What was Raven doing in Bellamy's tent and why did it look like she was crying? Or was it shying away from the camp? Clarke couldn't fully make out what was going on. Whatever the reason, Clarke's legs couldn't help but move faster, right up until she had her hand on the entrance door of Bellamy's tent and pulled it back before walking inside.

Bellamy

"Bellamy! Bellamy! It's here; the ship, it's here. I just saw it when sitting by the fire but I saw it, a streak of light across the sky. It landed just behind the ridge." Octavia panted out of pure excitement, as she ran into her brother's tent where Bellamy was relaxing on his bed. Bellamy was taking as much sleep as he could get right now; he had only slept for about two hours, all because he had spent the night over at Clarke's. He had left before anyone would be up.

At hearing the news, he bolted up off his bed and stood to face his sister. "Alright, I'm awake. Okay, urmm...well, we need to round up everyone who's agreed to come along with Clarke and myself." He pulled on his shirt and jacket, while he woke up fully from his rest. "Have you told Clarke yet? About the ship?" Bellamy asked quickly, while making his way over to his rucksack which was sitting by the entrance of his tent. He bent down and started to unzip it.

Octavia's gaze followed her brother, as she watched him pull out things from the bag before putting them back in again. "No, not yet. Do you want me to tell her?"

Bellamy nodded graciously. "Yeah, that would be great. Got some things to do here before going anywhere." Bellamy picked up the backpack and carried over to his bed. Just before Octavia was going to leave, he turned around to face her, remembering something else to say. "Oh, please don't tell Clarke I was sleeping, tell her something like I'm busy, I've got my hands full...something like that. Oh and tell her that I've asked you to collect her for an announcement." He chuckled lightly, thinking what Clarke would say if she knew she was busy working and he was lazing around. Best not to think about it really, she would be annoyed at Bellamy at the very least.

Octavia mirrored her brother's chuckle before nodding at his request. "Will do. Right, will talk to you later." Octavia bounced outside, leaving Bellamy to get on with some things.

After leaving the tent for a quick wash, Bellamy made his way back to his tent, skimming around the edge of camp to not get in the way of the sudden crowd. He looked over at Clarke who was making her way towards the drop ship, a small smile appeared on his lips. Bellamy soon looked away and walked back inside his tent, expecting to be alone, however, Raven was there to greet him. "What you doing in here?" Bellamy questioned, as he made his way further into the tent.

Raven walked slowly over to Bellamy, talking as she went. "They didn't waste time, I'll give them that." she stated, her gaze fixed to Bellamy.

"Clarke and Finn?" Bellamy asked, a light frown sweeping across his face. He knew exactly what she was getting at, she was like a broken record.

Raven didn't acknowledge his question, instead she just carried on talking, her words and expression clear of emotions over Finn's betrayal and her seeming hatred for Clarke. "What was it? A day and a half? Three days? How long was it until they were sleeping together?"

Bellamy sighed quietly before speaking. It was becoming clearer why she was here. "I don't know but it's time to move on." He kept his gaze on her as he took off his jacket, watching to see what her reaction was going to be but it seemed she still had her emotions in check; he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Raven kept her gaze on Bellamy for a few seconds, before she slowly sauntered over towards Bellamy's bed and sat herself down. Without pausing, she started to unzip her boots, kicking them away before taking off her jacket.

"What are you doing?" Bellamy asked, looking over at her with uneasy eyes.

Raven stood up before unzipping her pants and teased them off. They fell smoothly down into a neat pile on the ground. "Moving on." she replied simply before making her way back over towards Bellamy, pulling her hair out of her ponytail. "I've never been with anyone but Finn." she added as she walked that bit closer towards Bellamy, her gaze moving over his body. "Take off your clothes."

"Raven..." Bellamy muttered, not interested in doing so. Raven however, thought differently.

"Fine. I'll go first." With that, Raven pulled off her shirt, revealing her pert breasts.

Bellamy stood there, trying his up most best not to look any further down than her neck. He wasn't perfect, so it was one of the most challenging things he's ever had to do. Raven was desperate to get back at Finn, Bellamy could see that but this here, nothing was going to happen. Bellamy didn't think though, that she knew that. Maybe his reputation of being a bit of a ladies man had succeeded him but finally, for probably the first time ever, he was going to do the right thing. He had to stop this from going any further. "If you're looking for someone to tell you you're just upset and not thinking straight, I'm not that guy."

Raven just looked at him before whispering softly "Good." Then she placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him with a desperate need to do this.

As soon as Bellamy felt Raven's lips on his, he took hold of her hand which was pressed against his cheek and peeled it away as quick as he could. "No, you don't have to do this." he told her firmly, sighing lightly. "You need to sort things out with Finn. Sleeping with me isn't going to help." That was a sentence he never thought he'd hear himself say; turning down sex. Right there on a plate. He couldn't go through with it though, however tempting it was to him.

"It will." she whispered before leaning in to kiss Bellamy but he just pushed her away before she could kiss him again.

"It won't Raven. Just go before you do something you regret." Bellamy's voice grew sterner, his arms now crossed over his chest. He moved backwards, away from Raven, giving her a clear walkway out. He was going to let her go on her own accord, with no physical force from Bellamy but if she didn't leave soon, he would have no choice but to drag her out of his tent himself.

Raven wasn't listening though, she did put her top back on but that was all she did. "Is it because of Clarke? I'm sure she's just using you to get back at Finn. I mean, finding out the guy you've been sleeping with already has a girlfriend...I mean, that's rough!" Her words sounded every bit as sarcastic as she was intending. "It's just sad if you think she actually likes you."

Bellamy just found everything she was saying completely tedious and boring, to say the least. Was she trying to make him jealous? Doubt himself over Clarke? What was it she was trying to do because as sure as hell, wasn't working. In fact, Raven's words were only fueling the fire of wanting her out of there; out of his tent, away from him. He walked around, collecting Raven's belongings before dropping them in Raven's arms, whether or not she wanted them. "Here! Just stop talking. Now get dressed and go." He was meaning it this time and Raven seemed to be picking up on it but she still seemed to be wanting to stay, as she didn't move for a few seconds. Eventually she listened, Bellamy's eyes shifted away as she changed.

A sudden roar erupted from the crowd outside, Clarke must have said something of big interest. "It's really sad." Raven commented with a naughty smile on her lips; she just continued to attempt to twist the knife further into Bellamy's figurative wound but it wasn't doing anything other than winding him up. Without saying a word, Bellamy took hold of Raven's arm and pulled her the short distance to the exit and pushed her out of his tent. Bellamy didn't even look to see if she was going but he could hear the swift steps of her feet against the ground outside. At knowing she had finally gone, Bellamy walked over to his bed and sat himself down, pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose, letting a jagged sigh out from his mouth.

It felt like only a few seconds had past before Bellamy had company once again. Clarke walked through the entrance with considerable speed, only stopping when she saw him sitting on his bed. Bellamy jumped at her arrival before standing up and faced her. He could tell something was going on behind her poker face but for now, she had her steely game face on, a complete lack of expression on her face.

"Octavia said you were busy?"

Clarke

Bellamy jumped at seeing Clarke arrive. A big sign of guilt or nerves, the latter, Clarke knew Bellamy didn't suffer from. All these various thoughts and questions rattled around Clarke's head but there wasn't time to ask them now, all she could do was keep on the topic of the ship. "Octavia said you were busy? We're all ready to go, just waiting for you." She tried her best to keep her words calm as she took a brief scan around the tent to look for any clues.

Bellamy pushed his hand through his hair, as he gave Clarke a charming but light smile. "Yeah, I...urm...I'm done. I'm ready when you are." He then headed past Clarke towards his rucksack which was sitting, once again at the entrance of his tent. He picked it up and flung it onto his shoulder. Clarke watched him as he walked out of the tent, wondering what had gone on while Raven was here. Clarke knew of Bellamy's past with women, she had even been told by Monty about the type of person he was. 'A power hungry, self serving jackass. He doesn't care about anyone but himself.' Those were the words Monty had used to describe him but Clarke had been able to see far deeper than his exterior shell...or so she thought. She did trust him but maybe it was wrong of her to do so. There was only one way of settling these thoughts and doubts and that would be to just ask him outright. Was he sleeping with Raven? Clarke started to walk in step with Bellamy, ready to ask him her question, ready to finally put these sudden doubts to rest. "Bellamy, I need to ask you something..." she started, as she got herself ready to say some more. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I saw Raven walking out of your tent..." She didn't say anymore, as Bellamy started to talk, his words coming out quick and direct.

"I didn't sleep with Raven, if that's what you're asking." Bellamy slowed his strides and turned to look at Clarke. His face showed he was genuine with what he was saying but there was still a feeling Clarke couldn't quite shake off.

"What was she doing in your tent? She looked in a hurry when she left." There were many different reasons why Raven would have been there, Clarke knew that but this was Raven, in an upsetting time for her and, well, Clarke was sure she would do something to 'get her own back' on Finn or on Clarke. It was only a matter of time.

Bellamy did that hair thing he does when he's thinking, stressed or basically flirting. This time it was while he was pausing to speak, unsure of how to start. "Raven...she kissed me, hoping to make Finn jealous. She wanted more but...I said no." Bellamy kept his gaze on Clarke, her heart sinking at this news. That sinking feeling soon became a fiery burn, a burn fueled by her feelings against Raven. She didn't think she'd fall so low but then again, Clarke couldn't say a thing. She had done a similar thing which partly caused this whole mess. That fuel soon subsided. "She only kissed me, that was it, nothing more. I think I may have pissed her off by kicking her out of there." Bellamy chuckled lightly, hoping to lighten the mood but Clarke wasn't feeling it right now, all she felt was a feeling of sadness that Raven had acted this way.

Bellamy seemed to, at least partly see what Clarke was feeling and thinking because as they walked the last bit of ground towards their group of gatherers, Bellamy leaned in and whispered something in her ear. "It's not your fault, Clarke. Please don't tell me you're going to do anything stupid."

Clarke whipped her head around to look Bellamy straight in the eyes but instead of the sad expression she had been wearing, a subtle smile fluttered upon her lips. Was she so transparent that Bellamy could see the cogs in her head, working hard to settle this childish fight once and for all? No, she wasn't going to do anything stupid, that wasn't her style but something had to be done. Maybe an idea might come while Clarke was away from camp, maybe just not being in each other's pockets would calm things down a little. Any how, the 'Salutis' ship wasn't going to empty itself. Clarke laughed softly before replying. "No, I'm not going to do anything stupid." Clarke and Bellamy walked over towards the group before Clarke announced to them all. "Right, we're all here. Ready?" A round of nods and quiet 'yeahs' went through the group. Clarke nodded before letting Bellamy lead.

"No, ladies first." Bellamy smiled, holding out his hand out in the direction of the path. The not so hidden flirting seemed to have been noticed only by Clarke, no one else seemed to twig.

"Thanks." Clarke replied, giving Bellamy a quick, smile before her expression turned back to business as she led everyone out of camp and into the land of the Grounders.


Got another chapter up! I wanted to get this one done before going away and now I have! Phew! Will continue this story when I can. (: