"Bellamy wake up!" Grumbling, he sat up only to be greeted by Clarke's face leaning over him.
"What Clarke?" Bellamy complained, wiping the sleep from his eyes before grabbing his shirt and jacket from beside his bed. The first thing he thought of was last night. He loved being around Clarke. She made him feel a way he never had before. Bellamy couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"We got morning patrol, remember?" Clarke said simply.
"How'd you even get in here?" Bellamy asked. Clarke shrugged, brushing off his question
"Meet you at the front gate in five minutes. Don't be late." With that, Clarke turned and left Bellamy's room without looking behind her. He pulled himself out of bed, pulled on his pants and boots, grabbed his gun from the small table by his bed, and left his room in the direction of the front gate. Bellamy rolled his eyes when he saw who was talking to his partner. He came to a stop beside Clarke.
"Ready?" Bellamy asked, a hand on the gate. Clarke nodded.
"Finn is gonna come with us," she said. Bellamy opened his mouth only to close it again. He knew there was no point in arguing with her, no matter how much he hated Finn.
"Sure," Bellamy said, trying to make himself sound even more pissed off than he actually was. Clarke frowned. She knew the two boys hated each other. Rolling her eyes and gripping her gun, Clarke opened the gate and lead the way into the wilderness. Finn tried to go next, but Bellamy shouldered him out of the way, glaring as he did so. Finn said nothing, but followed.
Finn strayed behind the pair, who were pacing beside each other. Every few feet, Bellamy would cast a glare over his shoulder. Clarke obviously noticed Bellamy's cold behavior, not only because it was a little bit obvious, but she also knew Bellamy quite well.
"What's your problem?" Clarke asked, her voice hushed. Bellamy rolled his eyes.
"I don't like him," Bellamy said. "Simple as that." With that, Bellamy picked up his pace. Clarke slowed, waiting for Finn.
"Hey," Finn said. Clarke nodded and picked up her pace once Finn had caught up to her. He was whistling a tune she had never heard before. While it was beautiful, Clarke found herself getting slightly annoyed. Up ahead, they could hear the sound of rushing water. Once he reached the rocky banks, Finn came to a stop, leaning against one of the boulders lining the shore.
"What are you doing?" Clarke asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. She came beside him, leaning her back against the boulder.
"Admiring the beauty," Finn said, yet he was staring at her.
"Then why are you looking at me?" Clarke asked. Finn grinned.
"You will always be the most beautiful sight I've ever seen," he said.
"Finn-" Clarke started, her heart pounding in her chest so hard it hurt.
"Just hear me out Clarke. The second I first met you, outside the dropship within our very first few moments on the ground, I knew I was going to fall for you. Every minute since then, I've only fallen more," Finn said, looking back and forth between his hands and Clarke's face while he spoke.
"Finn-" Clarke started again.
"Clarke I'm in love with you. I love you," Finn interrupted once more, looking into Clarke's eyes, in which unshed tears had already begun to form.
"You broke my heart," Clarke said, her voice cracked, but remained strong and stern. She pushed her weight off the boulder and began walking in the direction of camp.
"Clarke please-" He never finished that sentence, it was Clarke's turn to interrupt.
"I'm finding Bellamy and then I'm going home. You might as well go ahead, seeing as though you two can't stand each other and I can't even look at you right now," Clarke said without turning around. Finn's head dropped, but he turned around and walked back towards camp, for he knew better than to argue. Once Clarke hit the tree line, she went in the direction she had last seen Bellamy headed, but Finn went on straight, back to camp.
She had no idea that Bellamy was only a few feet away, listening. This was why he hated Finn. He hurt Clarke and there was nothing Bellamy could do to fix it. He didn't know why he cared so much, but he did. Bellamy had convinced himself it was because she was his partner on the battlefield and missions, as well as his co-leader back in camp. Once Clarke was far enough, Bellamy came out of his spot and started walking towards her, making it look like he had only just arrived from the opposite direction.
"We're all clear. Let's go home," Clarke said, not stopping when she reached Bellamy, who had stopped to wait for her. Bellamy frowned once she passed him. He could tell she was hurting. Bellamy can always tell when Clarke is hurting. Before she was out of reach, Bellamy snagged the sleeve of her jacket, stopping her.
"Clarke," Bellamy said softly. When Clarke turned around, Bellamy could see the tear stains running down her cheeks, more tears in her eyes.
"What Bellamy," Clarke said quietly, shifting her gaze to the ground. Bellamy pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. Clarke stiffened, but finally she did was Bellamy wanted her to do: her arms wrapped around her neck and she let go. Bellamy ran his hand up and down her back while she cried into the crook of his neck. Only once her cries subsided into an occasional sniffle did anyone speak.
"Come on, let's go home," Bellamy said. Clarke nodded, removing her arms from around him. The two headed back in the direction of home, walking close enough to feel the fabric of their jackets touching.
"I kinda lied, I didn't finish," Clarke said, exhaling forcefully. "I just wanted to get away." Bellamy glanced at her and shrugged his shoulders.
"Than lets just double back," Bellamy said, turning around and heading back in the direction they had just come from. "No big deal." Clarke smiled slightly, looking at the ground as she fell in behind him. Everything was still quiet where Clarke had already patrolled as they pushed deeper into their territory. Territory that hadn't been patrolled since three people were killed. Clarke stiffened as she paced alongside Bellamy. Her partner and co-leader picked up on her sudden movement, and he instantly knew she saw or heard something.
"What?" Bellamy asked as Clarke dropped to the ground. He followed her movement. The war cries and chants answered his question before Clarke had a chance to open her mouth.
"They're not supposed to be anywhere near here," Clarke whispered, remembering what Octavia had said and looking at Bellamy who had already brought the scope of his gun to his eye. She turned back to her own gun and brought her scope to her eye as well. She could tell Bellamy was counting the number of enemies before them.
"Clarke there's a whole army of Grounders out there," Bellamy whispered, his voice filled with panic. He pulled away from his gun and glanced at Clarke. She was equally as panicked as her partner.
Suddenly, the bushes around them sprang to life, taking both leaders by surprise. The two loaded their weapons and began firing at their attackers, trying to prevent them from coming to close. Bellamy eliminated the last Grounder on his side and turned to see Clarke shoot down the last Grounder in the ambush.
"Is that all of them?" she asked, turning her back to the bushes and wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. Clarke hadn't even realized the small cut that was now oozing blood from her hand. Bellamy didn't come out unharmed either. A wound on his forearm was starting to bruise and the blood around it had dried up. A cut on his temple now had blood running down the side of his face, but he took no notice. Bellamy was just relieved to still be alive.
Just as Bellamy nodded, a Grounder jumped out of the nearest bush and pounced on Clarke, taking them both down to the ground.
"Clarke!" Bellamy yelled, aiming his gun at the pair wrestling in the dirt. He didn't want to shoot her instead of the Grounder. Bellamy squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath and opened his eyes to pull the trigger before flinching at the powerful sound of the gun. He quickly opened his eyes, hoping he didn't kill his best friend.
Clarke was still sitting in the dirt, trying to push the dead Grounder of her. As Bellamy dropped to his knees next to her, he grimaced at her injuries. She had a deep gash above her eyebrow, a clean and deep cut on her thigh, and was just covered in bumps, bruises, and dirt.
"You okay?" Bellamy asked. Clarke nodded, but gritted her death when she began to put pressure on the slash on her thigh, which would no doubt require stitches.
"You saved my life," Clarke said through her gritted teeth. Bellamy smiled weakly and moved his hands to apply more pressure to the still bleeding wound.
"You've saved me plenty of times," Bellamy said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "You would have done the same thing." He moved his face closer to Clarke's thigh, further examining the damage done. Clarke couldn't pull her eyes off him. The love and concern in his eyes drew her in and wouldn't allow her to look away. Without even thinking, Clarke raised one bloody hand to Bellamy's chin and lifted his head slowly so he was only inches away. She smiled softly at him before leaning forward slightly and closing her eyes. Clarke needed to know if he felt the same way as she did. She needed him to finish closing the space between their lips. Clarke was finally pulled from her thoughts when Bellamy tangled his clean hand in her hair and gently pressed his lips against they broke apart, Clarke's eyes fluttered open, looking straight at Bellamy. He was beaming.
"I've wanted to do that for longer than you think," Clarke said. Bellamy stood and extended an arm to help pull her up, all while smiling to himself.
"Let's get you back to camp," Bellamy said, wrapping an arm around Clarke's torso in order to support some of her weight. The pair only managed to move a few feet before a blood curdling screech pierced the air right behind them. Bellamy tried to shoot the Grounder, but he was too late. By the time the bullet struck and killed the Grounder, the arrow it had shot was now in Clarke's shoulder, having pierced the skin from behind and making it all the way to stick out from the front of her shoulder. Bellamy froze, all the color draining from his face. She blinked a few times before stumbling, but Bellamy managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
"No Clarke. No, no, no, no. Don't close your eyes. Stay here with me, stay right here, please. I need you," Bellamy whispered, tears running down his face and one hand on the side of Clarke's face.
"Bell," she whispered. Bellamy ran his hand up and down her cheek.
"Don't you dare, Clarke," Bellamy whispered, his voice cracking. Her eyes closed and her body became limp. Without saying another word, Bellamy threw both guns over his shoulder and lifted Clarke into his arms and headed towards camp as fast as he could without causing any more damage.
...
The camp was mostly quiet by now. The sun was just about to drop completely behind the horizon. Some of the kids sat in the middle of the camp around a bonfire, just talking and laughing. But not Octavia.
"They should have been back by now. They should have been back hours ago," she said, completely cutting of Jasper mid sentence.
"Honestly they're probably hooking up in the forest or some shit like that," Murphy said, earning himself a powerful punch delivered by Raven. The two began arguing back and forth when Octavia interrupted again.
"Guys shut up. Do you hear that?" Octavia asked, standing up from her seat around the fire and looking in the direction the noise had come from. Once everyone was quiet, they heard the cries for help just outside the gate.
"Help! Please help me! Its Clarke!" everyone recognized the voice as Bellamy, so they sprang into action.
"Jasper, go find Finn. Monty hurry and open the gates. Harper prepare a bed and operation table in Medical. Raven, medical supplies," Octavia barked, running towards the gates to assist her brother. When she saw her brother carrying a seemingly lifeless Clarke, she felt like she was about to throw up. Octavia rushed to Bellamy's side to help him support the dead weight that was their leader. Monty joined them once he closed the gate. When they entered the Medical Bay, they were greeted with silence and pale faces.
"Clarke," Finn whispered as Bellamy gently laid Clarke down on her side on top of the operation table. "What the hell happened out there, Bellamy? How could you be so stupid and let her get hurt this is all your-."
"Don't you dare Finn! I would never let her get hurt, and she's a big girl pal she knows how to take care of herself. So shut the fuck up with your accusations. I'm not the one who intentionally shattered her heart, that was on you," Bellamy shouted back, getting up in Finn's face. Monty and Jasper jumped in between the two while Raven looked at her feet, embarrassed. Bellamy gave into their efforts to separate a fight so he dropped on his knees beside Clarke's face without putting up a fight.
"What did happen out there?" Jasper asked, deeply disturbed at the sight of his leader with and arrow going completely through her shoulder.
"Right now that doesn't matter. We need to get the arrow out," Raven said loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Hand me a razor, alcohol, and some bandages." It was at that moment Clarke's eyes flew open and she cried out in pain.
"Clarke, its okay," Bellamy said, his one hand cupping her face. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. She tried to move, but ended up letting out another cry of pain.
"Stop moving, Clarke. We need to remove the arrow," Raven said sternly. "This is gonna hurt more now that you're awake honey," she added softly. Clarke nodded.
"I know," Clarke muttered through her teeth. Jasper handed her a thick leather belt.
"Bite down on this so you don't hurt your jaw, ok?" Jasper said, his voice full of worry and concern. Clarke nodded, opening her mouth just enough for Jasper to slide the leather strap in, and once it was she bit down on it.
"Ready?" Raven said, razor in hand. Clarke nodded, clearly preparing herself to be in even more pain than she already was. Bellamy took both her uninjured hand in both of his own.
"Don't be afraid to squeeze, I promise you won't hurt me. Hell, I don't even care if you do. Just don't leave me, Clarke. I need you. I can't do this without you," Bellamy whispered close to Clarke's ear, trying to prevent the others from hearing him. He didn't think they did, but they did. Raven was forced to suppress a grin. Bellamy's eyes were glossy with tears, but he quickly wiped them away with his shoulder. Clarke gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as she closed her eyes.
"I'm cutting the point of the arrow off so I can pull the rest out cleanly," Raven said repositioning herself and holding the arrow steady with one hand and a razor in the other right in front of Clarke. The second Raven began sawing through the wood, Clarke's whole body stiffened and her face became contorted with pain, but she wasn't squeezing Bellamy's hand. She let out a groan of pain.
Bellamy could tell Clarke was trying not to squeeze his hand. He positioned himself so he was now squatting near Clarke's head instead of on his knees. He ran his thumb back and forth over Clarke's hand.
"Its off," Raven said, discarding the point. "I'm pulling it out now."
The second Raven began pulling the arrow from her shoulder, Clarke let out noises of pain that the people in the room had never heard before. The few people who stayed in the room, those who were closest to Clarke, shifted uneasily on their feet. To see and hear the level of pain Clarke was in left them feeling powerless. She was their leader, she was the toughest of them all, but a close second to only Bellamy. They needed her, they didn't know how to survive without her. Especially Bellamy. He completely depended on Clarke. The two had a special relationship and everyone knew it. Now they were just waiting for the pair to finally realize how perfect they would be together.
Clarke finally gave into her pain and squeezed Bellamy's hand, hard. He managed to hold in a groan.
"There you go Clarke, almost done. You got this," Bellamy whispered. Clarke nodded, biting down hard on the leather in her mouth. Bellamy placed a quick kiss on Clarke's forehead. He thought his display of affection went unnoticed, but everyone saw it. However, now was not the time for jokes and high fives, so no one openly reacted. Underneath their sad and concerned exterior, they were all glowing.
"Done! Pressure Harper," Raven exclaimed, turning to discard the arrow, for now anyway. Harper pressed down on both sides of the now open wound with cloth while Raven prepared stitches. Clarke spit out the belt and Jasper took it off the operation bed and put it aside.
"That sucked," Clarke mumbled, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. Bellamy smiled a brief grin of relief, if Clarke was cracking jokes, he knew she'd be ok.
"You don't want the belt for the stitches? I have to do your leg too," Raven said. Clarke shook her head.
"Stitches are a walk in the park," she said, slowly sitting up with Bellamy's assistance. Raven moved to Clarke's bareback, and quickly did three stitches. She moved to the front of Clarke's bare shoulder and did the same thing.
"I need the pants off," Raven said to Clarke. Clarke nodded and tried to stand.
"No Clarke sit, let me help," Bellamy said. He took her shoes off with ease before he started wiggling the pants off. Clarke whinced as the fabric of her pants rubbed against her cut. The other teenagers realized Clarke was taking her pants off, they all left except for Raven and Bellamy. With one last tug, Bellamy pulled Clarke's pants past her ankles. He gently folded them and placed them on the other end of the table.
"Ready?" Raven asked hesitantly.
"I'll go," Bellamy said, giving Clarke's hand one last squeeze. But Clarke didn't let go.
"Stay, please," Clarke whispered, looking into Bellamy's eyes. He swallowed nervously and nodded.
"Always," he said, jumping onto the table to sit next to Clarke. Clarke nodded to Raven.
Clarke tried not to watch Raven work, so she looked at Bellamy. She studied his face as he stared straight ahead. His black wavy hair, his eyes, his lips. Everything about him became more perfect the longer she stared. She noticed the freckles that splashed across his nose and onto his cheeks.
"Take a picture, it lasts longer," Bellamy whispered, smirking. Clarke rolled her eyes, an attempt to hide the blush creeping onto her face.
"And I'm done," Raven said. "I'll get you a pair of shorts and a tank top."
"Oh, ok," Clarke said, her tone of voice totally changing as she realized she was sitting in front of Bellamy in nothing but her undergarments. Now she couldn't hide the blush. Bellamy chuckled and turned around.
"Don't worry princess, I'm only here if you need my help," Bellamy said, facing the opposite direction. Raven came back in and helped Clarke pull on the new clothes. Clarke took a bandage herself and wrapped one around her hand, one around her shoulder, and one around her thigh. Harper re-entered the room.
"Everyone else is in the bridge. We need to know what happened and what you saw," Harper said. Clarke nodded, and tried to stand. Her knee gave out under her, but the arms of both Raven and Bellamy caught her before she hit the ground.
"Let us help," Bellamy said. Clarke nodded and using her uninjured shoulder she threw an arm around Bellamy's neck. He wrapped one around around her back, gently resting on her waist while the other hand extending upward, holding Clarke's hand. Raven walked beside her on the other side. Together, the four made it back to the bridge. As soon as she got there, Clarke collapsed into the nearest chair, panting. Bellamy stayed beside her, one hand on the back of her chair.
"Where were you?" Octavia asked, her voice stiff.
"Same area as the attack on the hunting party," Clarke said.
"How many?" Murphy asked, his eyes dark. Bellamy gulped, and looked to Clarke for help, but she simply gestured him on.
"Basically all of them," Bellamy said. Clarke reached over her shoulder and gave Bellamy's hand a quick squeeze. The group all looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"No more hunting parties in that area. All patrols are to be unseen and may not engage unless they throw the first punch," Clarke said. The group nodded.
"We need to figure out why they're here," Monty said.
"I got that covered," Octavia said. Bellamy's gaze flicked over to his sister.
"And what exactly do you think you're gonna do?" Bellamy asked, his voice overly calm. Octavia scowled.
"I'm going to sneak into the Grounder camp and go see Lincoln. And before you say no, I'm the only person who the Grounders won't shoot at," Octavia said, looking at everyone else first before setting her eyes on her brother. His face didn't change.
"No," Bellamy said. Octavia growled.
"You can't stop me," Octavia said, turning to leave the bridge, clearing heading back to her own room. He didn't see Clarke whispering something to Raven because he instantly started to go after her. Raven stopped him before he even got halfway to the door.
"I got this one," she said, pushing Bellamy behind her with one hand and then hobbling after Octavia. He watched her go, looking at the hallway for a few extra seconds even after Raven was out of sight. Bellamy turned around. Harper clearer her throat.
"Clarke you need to rest so your body can heal," Harper said. Clarke nodded.
"I know," she said softly. Bellamy paced over to her, extending his arm.
"C'mon," Bellamy said. Clarke smiled and reached out her uninjured arm for Bellamy to hoist her up. The walk from the bridge back to their rooms felt like it took a lot longer than usual at the fastest pace Clarke could manage. When they reached Clarke's door, Bellamy pushed it open, helping Clarke get inside and helped her sit on the edge of her bed.
"Thank you," Clarke said once she caught her breath. Bellamy's face was filled with concern,
"You don't need anything?" Bellamy asked. Clarke shook her head.
"I'm good. Goodnight," Clarke said. Bellamy nodded.
"Goodnight," he said before leaving Clarke's room and retiring to his own for the night.
It only took one scream to wake Bellamy up. Without bothering to throw a shirt on, Bellamy leaped from his bed out into the hallway and into Clarke's room. She was still in bed, but she was sweating and thrashing, with an occasional tear. Bellamy got on the edge of the bed and started shaking her gently.
"Clarke," he finally said, and Clarke's eyes popped open. Bellamy saw pure terror in her eyes until she realized it was him.
"Sorry," Clarke said quietly as she sat herself up, clearly embarrassed.
"What's going on?" Bellamy asked. Clarke sighed.
"Its nothing I can't handle," Clarke said. Bellamy rolled his eyes.
"I never said you couldn't, but that doesn't mean you can't tell me," Bellamy said. Clarke looked up at him.
"Nightmares," Clarke said, frowning. Bellamy moved closer to her, pulling her into a hug.
"They're not real, I promise you," Bellamy said.
"Can you stay?" Clarke asked quietly. "I-I just don't want to be alone right now." Bellamy's heart skipped a beat.
"If it makes you feel safe, always," Bellamy said. Clarke moved over and Bellamy climbed into the bed. He leaned his back against the headboard, but Clarke dropped her head back to her pillow. Bellamy placed his hand on her arm, tracing circles with his fingers and playing with her hair until she fell asleep. Bellamy couldn't stand to wake her once she did, and he ended up falling asleep himself beside Clarke.
