A/N: Now that Ella and Murphy have had their moment, it's time to cause some more trouble. ;)

Chapter 21

Raven Pov

Raven sat at the table bent over a complicated string of wires that she had been trying to untangle for the last half-hour in the dimly lit tent that had been set up for her Monty and Jasper to work in.

The light from outside was just enough to illuminate the interior of the tent, but she knew that she had to work fast if she wanted to finish before nightfall.

Her eyes were becoming tired from looking at the string of wires for so long, and her aggravation was growing by the minute. Just when she was about to throw it across the tent, she felt a tap on her shoulder, making her jump tent feet in the air.

"Sorry!" Monty apologized quickly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Raven sighed, lifting a hand to her forehead, then racking it threw her hair which was currently up in a pony tail, making it looser than it already was, and causing even more strands to fall from it.

"That's okay," she breathed.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a frown, taking the seat opposite her at the table.

Her eyebrows raised. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"It's just that, you seem to be kind of jumpy lately."

As he talked, he picked up another mess of wires and started to untangle it as well.

"I think I'm just stressed. Bellamy is expecting so much of me – of us, and without Jasper, it's just making things harder," she lied.

Monty nodded, looking at her from across the table.

"Well, whenever you need me, I'm here for you," he said shyly.

This made Raven extremely guilty for leading him on like she had been, and knew that Ella was, right, that she should stop, but had no idea why it was so hard. It felt good having someone admire her the way Monty did. She only really ever saw Finn at night in the tent they shared. During the day, he was either off doing something important with Bellamy or Clarke, and took his meals in the Dropship.

She knew that Finn loved her, and when he was with her he was always kind and loving.

Maybe she was greedy, but she wanted more than just being with someone who loved her for only an hour a day.

Raven smiled sweetly at Monty, then ran the back of her hand over her forehead as if she were hot and stood up to slide her jacket of her shoulders. She placed it on the back of her chair and stretched, arching her back as Monty watched her, his cheeks turning pink.

He coughed and snapped his eyes quickly back to his work when she looked down at him with a smirk.

Raven took her seat again, but instead of going back to work, she leaned over the table, bracing an elbow on the surface and resting the side of her head in her open palm.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Monty?"

His eyes snapped back to her so quickly that she thought it had to have made him dizzy.

"W-what?"

"Well, I can't imagine that you've been single your entire life as charming as you are," she said with a sly smile.

He swallowed, the blush returning to his face at full-force.

"No, I never have," he said quietly, clearly embarrassed to admit it.

She smiled at how innocent he looked.

"Now that is surprising. Any girl would be lucky to be with you."

She was leaning over the table so much that her cleavage was clearly visible from where he was sitting.

"R-Really?" he stammered, leaning over to get a better view without even realizing that he was doing it.

Why did it have to feel so good to have this kind of power over someone?

"Really. I know I would," she said seductively.

Just then, the flap of the tent opened, causing Raven to quickly move back in her chair and pick the tangle of wires back up as Monty too snapped out of his trance and set to work.

"Hey," came Finn's voice from behind her, making her stiffen, not expecting him to be the one to walk in.

"Hey," said Raven, turning around in her chair to look at him, hoping that he couldn't see the guilt she felt written all over her face at seeing him.

He stared at her for a while as if he were trying to read her mind, and she squirmed around in her chair, his intense gaze making her very uncomfortable.

"Bellamy wanted me to give you this," he finally said, handing her a circuit board that she guessed had been a part of the Exodus ship. "He had it in his backpack and forgot to give to you when we returned."

Once she took it from him, he turned right around, lifting up the flap again to leave.

"Wait," she said quickly before he stepped back outside. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for a while?"

He looked from her to Monty with narrowed eyes.

"No, I've got work to do."

"Finn-" she started, but he had already ducked under the opening, letting the flap swing closed behind him.

She huffed, her heart sinking as she mentally kicked herself.

She looked back at Monty, but he seemed very interested in the piece of wire he was untangling, not returning her gaze.

Raven sighed and placed the circuit board on the table in front of her, suddenly feeling restless and fidgeting around in her chair. She wanted so badly to take a break and go for a walk to get out of the awkward tension inside the tent and try to get rid of her restlessness, but she didn't want to chance running into James.

He was really starting to give her the creeps and was the real reason she had been feeling so jumpy lately. He wouldn't seem to leave her alone even though there were dozens of other girls in camp for him to pick on – she had no idea what made her so special.

Even in a camp full of people in broad daylight she didn't feel safe around him. The only person she could think of to take a walk with would be Monty, who she figured would not help her cause at the moment. She could try to find Ella, but that would defeat the whole purpose of not walking around by herself.

Raven looked back at the wires in front of her, the sight making her sick, and pushed them away like a child pushing away her diner.

"I'm board," she said, not taking her eyes off the wires and leaning back in her chair, making it tip slightly backwards with her arms crossed.

Monty glanced up from his work to look at her, not knowing what to say to that.

She suddenly wished that Jasper was here. He always seemed to be the glue for anyone he was with, keeping conversations light, always knowing what to say even in the awkwardest of situations.

"I wonder where Jasper is," said Monty, breaking the silence, mirroring her own thoughts. "Maybe he could help us with this."

"Doubt it," she said more bitterly than she had meant to.

Monty didn't seem to be taken off guard by that, but looked angrily down at the table.

"Yeah, he's completely ditched us."

Raven was surprised to her the anger in his voice. She didn't think that she had ever seen Monty angry before.

He looked back up at her quickly after he said that, his features instantly softening.

"I mean, I don't know," he said quietly.

"How long have you two known each other?"

"Our whole lives. He's by best friend, or at least he was. He really doesn't hang out with me that much anymore," he said sadly.

Her heart squeezed for him.

"I'm sorry," she said, letting her chair fall forward again. "But, hey, at least you have me, right?"

He smiled up at her and she smiled back.

Stop it, Raven, she thought. Listen to Ella. This is going to blow up in your face.