A/N: Special thanks to amandapsferraz, just_cassie_carlson, Kia, and H for commenting on the last chapter. You guys don't know how happy each comment makes me. It's like a little gift and I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me :)

Chapter 12:

Secrets, Secrets

I've been upside down
I don't wanna be the right way round
Can't find paradise on the ground

All we do is hide away
All we do is chase the day

All we do is play it safe
All we do is live inside a cage
All We Do - Oh Wonder

The flagstones felt like ice under Raven's bare feet as she padded the length of the seventh floor, her sturdy boots dangling by their laces from one hand. The dull grey light creeping through the hall windows emphasized the early hour and Raven recognized sluggishly that it could hardly be later than six o'clock. She could have slept longer in Roan's bed… but she didn't relish the thought of waking up in a room full of 7th year boys.

Raven smiled as she recalled the lazy, half-asleep kisses Roan had given her when she rolled out of his bed. It had been a good night. God, she couldn't remember the last time she felt this gloriously sore from sex. It had taken her and Roan some time to get synced up, but that was to be expected. Plus, the guy had the stamina of a Greek god. Raven was fairly sure she'd only slept for a total of two hours before her body's natural clock woke her up. She planned on sleeping for at least three more once she made it back to her own bed.

Aelis - the bronze guardian of Ravenclaw tower - squawked unhappily at being roused so early, but the riddle was easy enough and Raven left the poor creature to sleep almost as quickly as she had startled him. A yawn fought its way to the surface when she entered the shadowed common room as if her body knew it was home and just minutes away from a feathery pillow.

Her cold toes curled into the plush carpet and a sigh of relief escaped as she dropped her boots to the floor. The sconces along the far wall flickered to life at her movement and Raven blinked as the circular common room came into sharp relief then froze, startled to find she wasn't alone.

Jasper's lanky form was folded awkwardly into one of the winged, high-back chairs. His head lolled at an odd angle, his breath a soft rumble in his chest. Raven grinned, shaking her head, and decided to give him hell about his snoring as soon as he woke.

For now, Raven simply pulled a wool blanket from the cream-colored couch and draped it over her friend. He obviously hadn't intended on falling asleep down here or he would have chosen a more comfortable pseudo-bed. She was almost finished tucking the blanket around his shoulders when Jasper's breathing stalled and his amber eyes fluttered open.

Raven straightened, her hands falling to her side, "Hey."

His bleary gaze widened as he registered who stood before him.

"Oh, thank god," he straightened and had his arms around her before Raven could process his words.

"You okay?" she breathed out, confused. Her hands reached up to pat him gently on the back; he was going to snap her in two with the force of his hug.

"Am I okay?" his voice next to her ear was quietly indignant. "Are you okay? I was so worried! Where the hell were you, Raven?"

The girl in question cleared her throat as her friend finally let go and stepped back. Jasper's eyes traveled down her, stopping at her bare feet. She opened her mouth to answer him as his gaze narrowed, but nothing came out. A blush rose as she struggled for the right words. Instead, she settled on the easiest ones.

"It's none of your business."

Hurt flashed across his features, then confusion, and Raven turned away as comprehension finally dawned. She didn't need his judgment. He had no right.

"You were with Roan? Seriously?"

"Jasper go back to sleep," she snapped, frustrated that he was managing to make her feel guilty. "Like I said, it's none of your business. And honestly— Wait, were you waiting down here for me?"

Jasper opened his mouth then clamped it shut, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe her. Like he wasn't the one overreacting. Raven clenched her teeth, feeling her barriers rise at his disbelief.

"I don't need someone keeping tabs on me," she bit out. "That's ridiculous, even for you."

"What does that mean?" his voice pitched higher, but Raven ignored him.

"Why were you waiting for me? I know you don't like Roan, but really? You're my friend. Not my mom. I don't have to tell you what I'm doing or where I am 24/7."

The tall boy stepped away from her and the arms that had just embraced her crossed defensively over his chest.

He laughed hollowly, "You're right, Raven. I'm sorry for worrying. Sorry for wondering where my friend was when no one had seen her for hours. It's not like a student went missing last week. It's not like no one has any answers for what happened to him. You're absolutely right. What was I thinking?"

Guilt curdled in her stomach as Jasper's words washed over her.

"Jasper-"

"Don't sweat it. I'll tell Monty you're just fine. He wasn't worried either."

"Jasper-"

"It's fine, Raven," he growled and stormed off towards the boys' dormitory before she could think of something to say that would appease him.

Raven sighed, fatigue seeping into her very bones as if the lack of sleep had only just caught up to her. He had a point, obviously. But so did she and right now Raven couldn't think straight. She just needed another few hours of sleep and then she would diffuse whatever that was. It could wait a few hours. Her tired legs carried her all the way upstairs before giving out when she reached her four-poster. Sleep claimed Raven as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Out on the Quidditch pitch with the sun barely peeking over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, two figures flew between the opposing goal posts, making lazy figure eights. Lexa pulled the zipper of her fleece higher against the chill morning air, then turned her broom to plummet towards the ground. Swift hand work brought her sharply up again into a half curve, knees almost grazing the damp grass below. She climbed swiftly higher and tried to ignore the stinging of her exposed face. The wind was vicious this morning.

Lexa's gaze flicked across the field while she pulled a tight circle. On the other side of the pitch, Bellamy traced a loose figure eight - the same motion he'd been repeating for the last half hour - and even from a distance Lexa spied the yawn half-hidden behind his arm. She shook her head as she practiced a barrel roll. Every weekend she reminded Bellamy that he didn't have to come with her. Yet each Saturday he stumbled out of bed before dawn and followed her down to the pitch. She was grateful, truly. But she would have flown with or without him.

Something about the growing light, the quiet wind through the trees, and the sound of nature waking with the dawn made flying feel like some deep meditation. A way to center herself. And god knows she needed it after last night. The storm had raged for hours if the saturated ground below was any proof. The wet field glistened underneath Lexa in the burgeoning sunrise.

Twist. Turn. Sweep. Dive. Roll. If Lexa kept her body in motion then her mind settled and released its tight control if only for a few hours. Another cursory glance at her best friend assured Lexa that he was still on his broom. Still flying figure eights. Sometimes she worried he would fall asleep mid-air and tumble to the bed of grass below. But it had yet to happen.

Lexa leaned forward into the breeze that blew from the east, trying to forget everything except the feeling of flying. But the trouble with fighting the symptoms and not the disease was that as soon as she stopped medicating, it came back with a vengeance. And today was no different.

A brief stasis of calm enveloped Lexa when she touched down over an hour later. A quick rinse in the locker room felt like heaven, but as soon as she fell into step with Bellamy and the outline of the castle filled their horizon, her peaceful bubbled popped with the weight of each returning thought and worry.

Lexa tried to clear some of the tightness from her chest with a few deep breaths, but dissisted as soon as she felt Bellamy's questioning gaze shift to her. She turned to give him a reassuring nod and noted that his dark eyes looked brighter and more lucid than they had a few hours ago. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lexa's tight smile urged him otherwise and he seemed to pick up the hint because the words never formed as they made their way into the castle.

"I'm starving," Bellamy finally broke the silence when the two of them sat down at the Gryffindor table. The few other occupants of the Great Hall were an eclectic bunch at this hour, but Lexa barely gave them a second glance as she poured herself a large mug of coffee. The rich roast scalded her tongue on the way down, but she didn't mind.

Across from her, Bellamy heaped two spoonfuls of sugar and a hearty pour of cream into his own cup. Lexa's eyebrows shot up as he added a third spoonful of sugar, presumably for luck.

"What?" Bellamy said through a mouthful of oats. "I need the energy."

Lexa shook her head with a smirk and turned her own focus on a piece of toast. She scraped some of the softened butter onto her slice, starting from the furthest corner and working her way across the bread, leaving a thin border. About half a centimeter. The only thing worse than dry toast was over buttered toast; Lexa hated when the fat dripped onto her fingers.

"Wanna talk about it?" Bellamy's voice brought her attention away from the task at hand. His eyes flicked between her and the toast. Two hours and fifteen minutes. Well, just fifteen minutes really. If you only counted the time that they'd been fully awake. Fifteen minutes. That was how long it took for Bellamy to see through her carefully constructed exterior. Was it the toast that had tipped him off? Lexa supposed she had gotten a bit carried away.

"There's not much to say," she sighed, not sure if she was more grateful or annoyed that her best friend could read her so well.

He shrugged by way of an opening. He would listen if she wanted to talk. But did she want to?

Her gaze went back to the half buttered piece of toast. She picked it up and continued methodically as she spoke.

"I just thought things would feel different this time. With Anya, I mean. I've tried to be more open and honest. Sometimes we seem closer than ever, but most of the time…it's like we're on different planets. She's pulling away from me. I can feel it. And I have no idea what to do."

Lexa let out a curse as the melted butter dripped off the toast and broke the perfect border. The Gryffindor threw down the piece of bread with disgust.

"I thought you didn't have much to say," Bellamy joked and handed her his own toast. It didn't have a nice border, but the butter was easily contained. It was fine. She took a bite and rinsed it down with more coffee, trying not to give him the stink eye. He was only teasing.

"I dunno, Lex," he continued. "I mean, you don't seem very happy. Maybe you two should just call it?" He stumbled on when she threw him a dirty look. "...or make a big gesture? Maybe she's still worried that you can't open up."

Lexa pushed air out of her mouth, eyes flashing.

"Hey, don't look at me! You know what girls can be like. She might be feeling insecure and need more reassurance."

Lexa's mouth snapped shut. He was right. Just because she felt like she was stripping herself bare, didn't mean that it was enough for Anya. But what else could she do? They were getting dangerously close to Lexa's limit. She was already stretched well past her comfort zone.

"So big gesture, huh?" Lexa sighed. "Any ideas?"

Bellamy snorted, "You're asking me?"

"You're right," she chuckled, "Forget I said anything. Maybe I'll brainstorm in the library. You coming?" Lexa swallowed the last part of her coffee.

"You don't need me."

"True, but you're moral support. You can just sit there and look pretty."

Bellamy grinned at her and shoved two whole pieces of toast in his mouth before attempting to say something that sounded almost like, 'Lead the way.'

"I can only look pretty for a bit though," her best friend said when he finished chewing and hurried after her. "I have plans later."

Lexa peered back at him, "What do you mean 'plans'?"

"Just homework."

"And does this homework include a certain blonde?"

"Possibly."

"This is the same blonde with whom you partnered for Defense, instead of your best friend, whom you expressly promised to work with, but in reality abandoned to defend herself against your fiendish sister? That blonde?"

Bellamy had the grace to wince, "Maybe…"

"You're so predictable, Blake," Lexa sighed, but she wasn't really mad. Well, not fully. She understood why he wanted to partner with Clarke Griffin. What she didn't understand was the strange curiosity that seemed to overtake her whenever he mentioned that particular Slytherin. Maybe it was the awkwardness from their last encounter. Thinking Clarke was Costia… No, it was probably just that Lexa felt protective of Bellamy. She didn't know enough about Clarke to be sure that she was worthy of her best friend. Few people were.

Lexa opened her mouth to make another snarky comment when they rounded the corridor and almost ran into the younger Blake. Bellamy's face split into a grin and his mouth opened in greeting, but Octavia just shouldered past both of them. Lexa didn't miss the panicked look on the younger girl's face when she spied them.

"O! Hey! Octavia!"

Bellamy's voice trailed after her, but Octavia tuned him out and added extra effort to each step. Ever since Lincoln had given her that ultimatum, she heard the Hufflepuff's stern words echoing in her head whenever she looked at her brother, leaving her mind reeling. Tell him. Don't tell him. Tell him. The words ran on repeat in her head until all Octavia could do was bolt before she managed to disappoint either of them.

Her blood boiled as she stalked down the hall. Angry that her brother's protection meant keeping everyone at a distance. Angry that Lincoln didn't understand. Angry that she found herself in the middle of it all. Angry that she was pitying herself instead of doing something about it.

She sneered at a passing portrait that seemed to think it was his business to tell her to 'slow down,' muttering about 'kids these days.' The Gryffindor considered snapping back about his age, but knew she'd feel more foolish about taking her anger out on a portrait than satisfied with the quick comeback. She needed to find Raven. Needed to talk to someone about what to do. Raven had witnessed Bellamy's antics first hand and would understand her trepidation.

Her footsteps softened as she determined a plan of action, her anger somewhat mollified. When Octavia reached the Entrance Hall, she veered off and sat down on a stone bench in one of the many recesses. Raven was an early riser and would come down sooner rather than later; it would be easy work to spot the Ravenclaw from this vantage point. Plus, no one would think to look for her here. The shadowed alcoves were favored for a quick tryst or a shady deal. She'd seen Jasper and Monty emerge from the recesses a fair share of times, presumably bartering their better batches of moonshine, but either way, Octavia wouldn't judge.

The Gryffindor bounced her legs up and down, trying to let the minutes slip away. She waited for what felt like an eon and when she finally heard the distant chime of the bell indicating she'd sat there for well over an hour, Octavia decided to give up. There was still no sign of her best friend and patience was admittedly not her strong suit. Or even in her deck of cards for that matter. And considering how long she already waited, Octavia felt close to sainthood.

The girl was about to leave when the murmur of hushed voices pushed her back onto the stone bench. The voices intensified, coming closer, until they seemed to stop just on the other side of Octavia's recess. A flash of blonde hair whipped into view as Clarke Griffin - Slytherin Princess - stepped back towards the center of the Entrance Hall. Her arms crossed defensively over her chest as she glared at whoever was still concealed. A pause stretched out while her companion presumably spoke.

"Fine," Clarke hissed and stepped forward, disappearing into the neighboring alcove. "But this looks more suspicious."

Octavia's eyebrows shot up, curiosity peaked and ears straining. Another voice answered Clarke's, but the words were murmured too softly to be understood.

"Seriously, Anya?"

Anya? Octavia leaned closer. The plot thickens.

"No, I haven't told anyone," Clarke's irritating voice snapped back, the fury evident in her tone. "Why? Because it's not something I'm particularly proud of, considering how you've acted since."

Another murmured response.

On the other side of the stone wall, Clarke barked out a laugh, completely unaware that the conversation between her and Anya was no longer private. The tumultuous emotions inside of her burned steadily brighter. She spun on her heel, ready to never speak to the other Slytherin again, but before she could take a single step, Anya reached out to grab her wrist.

"Please, Clarke! I haven't been able to sleep. Just promise me! Promise me that you won't tell anyone about what happened between us."

The girl's voice was desperate, but Clarke couldn't find it in herself to care. All the barriers that had been slowly peeling away since arriving at Hogwarts seemed to rear their ugly heads, bigger and more monstrous than before. She felt like she might throw up from the whiplash of her emotions.

"I don't have to promise you anything, Anya," Clarke ripped her arm out of the older girl's grasp. "You haven't spoken to me in weeks and only now you come to me, telling me to keep my mouth shut as if fucking me was some dirty little secret. I may be a cold, unfeeling bitch, but even that stings."

"Clarke, I didn't mean—"

"Save it. Seriously. I don't care what you meant."

Anya's face fell and the concern retreated behind an indifferent mask.

"Look, you can hate me. Fine. But just don't tell anyone, especially not Lexa."

"Why the fuck would I tell your girlfriend, Anya? I've spoken to her for all of five minutes. But seriously, congratulations, sounds like you two have a strong foundation. Can't imagine anything going wrong."

"Don't be a bitch."

"I can be whatever I want."

"You're so—"

"Clarke? That you?"

The two girls froze as the deep voice penetrated the shadows of their alcove. Clarke's stomach dropped as she recognized Bellamy's low baritone. Fuck. He had bad timing.

"Hey," she greeted tightly stepping out of the recess, coming face to face with the Gryffindor. Had he been there long?

Bellamy's eyes darted between her and Anya as the older girl emerged behind Clarke. A look of confusion swept over his face and Clarke felt Anya freeze behind her.

"Sorry," his eyes kept flickering back and forth. "Did I interrupt?"

"No," Anya stepped forward smoothly. "Clarke was just passing off an assignment from her mom. I missed my last Potion's class."

"Oh, okay," his eyes shifted to Clarke. For a moment, Clarke considered blurting out the truth. Just letting the chips fall where they may. But then she imagined Bellamy's face. His disappointment. He'd have to tell Lexa and then maybe he wouldn't want to hang out with Clarke anymore. That thought settled like acid in her stomach. God, she didn't want to lose him. The group of people she could trust was so fucking slim as it was.

Clarke inhaled sharply, forcing a smile, "You know me. So helpful."

"See you around then," Anya waved casually and took off.

"Yep."

Bellamy frowned at her, "You good?"

"Yeah, fine." Clarke tried to return her features to normal. Whatever that looked like. "I just hate being the fucking go-between. I think my mom does it just to piss me off."

"Do you still want to practice for Defense?"

"Yeah, can we get out of here though?"

"Whatever you want, Princess."

Clarke tried not to smile, but the corners of her lips turned up slightly. She hated that nickname. She really did.

It took them barely any time to reach the edge of the Forbidden Forest and even less time to make it to their cave. The route was so thoroughly ingrained in both of their minds by now. Last night's storm had wreaked havoc even inside the sanctuary of the forest. The familiar rough path was strewn with small boughs which had broken off in the strong winds and it took Clarke a second to register the difference permeating the Blackthorn grove.

"Wait," she called out, her hand bracing Bellamy's chest to stop him from moving further into the clearing. "Someone's been here."

"What?"

"Look," Clarke pointed urgently at the cave. The branches which usually covered the cave's entrance lay a few feet away, and the mouth stood uncovered, exposed.

Bellamy laughed at the horrified expression on Clarke's face, causing it to pinch even tighter. Was he not worried?

"It's probably just from the storm," he laughed again. "Who knew you were such a worry wart."

"I'm not," Clarke said, stunned as he shook his head and moved into the clearing. "I'm not!"

"Sure, Griffin. If you say so."

"Bellamy!" Her voice rose sharply as he moved further away. Fuck it. He could call her whatever he wanted, she still felt like something was wrong here.

"Come on, Clarke," he threw over his shoulder. "As much as I enjoy hearing you scream my name in those dulcet tones, I'd rather you not nag me for the rest of the day."

Clarke rolled her eyes and snorted when he glanced back and a crooked grin spread across his face. She had forgotten how cocky he could be. Clarke marched forward, ignoring him as she passed on her way to the mouth of the cave.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go fir—"

"Shut up."

Bellamy chuckled roughly as they descended into the darkness. Despite his mirth, Clarke noticed that he too held his wand ready by his side.

"Lumos," Clarke muttered quietly as she reached the bottom and stepped through to the central part of the cavern. She sent a few glowing orbs around the cave, her eyes scanning the space for any abnormality.

"See? What did I tell you?" Bellamy voice echoed behind her, breaking the stillness.

Clarke sighed. He was right. There was nothing out of place. No sign that anyone else had discovered their spot. A mixture of relief and annoyance griped her as she turned to face the Gryffindor. He was insufferable sometimes. Still, she couldn't help the half-hearted smile that tugged at her mouth when she saw his wide grin.

"Come on," she grabbed his arm and lead the two of them back into the bright light of the clearing above. When she turned around the smile on Bellamy's face was softer and the look in his eyes made her feel uncomfortably warm. Clarke cleared her throat pointedly at him.

His eyes crinkled, "Yes?"

"Well, do you want to practice or not?"

"All work today, aren't you?"

"When am I not 'all work'?"

"Good point."

"So are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"To practice!"

"Practice what?"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

Bellamy threw up his wand in defense and watched in satisfaction as Clarke's eyes narrowed and her spell ricocheted off of his opaque shield spell. He forced down the self-satisfied smirk and widened his dark eyes dramatically.

"Are you trying to knock me on my ass, Griffin?"

"Stop being willfully obtuse, Blake."

"I have no idea what you mean."

Clarke glared at him and began to circle, arm stretched taut, wand pointed directly at his chest. Bellamy felt his heart tug at the fiery determination in her eyes and gave ground without complaint, mirroring her movement.

"Petrificus Totalus!" He shouted and yellow sparks shot out of his wand. Clarke countered quickly slashing her wand down to form a vertical shield and spinning out of the way as the milky veil absorbed the impact of his spell and shattered.

"Impedimenta!"

"Protego!"

"Levicorpus!" Clarke's shout rang out and Bellamy threw his body sideways to avoid the curse. But his movement wasn't fast enough and he realized his error when he felt the heat of the spell graze his thigh. His stomach rolled over as he was lifted skyward; the blood rushing to his head made Clarke's crow of triumph seem ten times louder than normal. Twisting midair, Bellamy hurtled a jelly-leg jinx at her and knew the spell had taken effect when he plummeted towards the ground. Air pushed roughly out of his lungs as he hit the forest floor, winded.

"Relashio!" Clarke's breathy cry was his only warning that she'd already managed to break his jinx. Bellamy rolled in the damp grass and shot to his feet as the spot where he had just been exploded, dirt and red, crackling magic mixing in the air.

"Expelliarmus! Incarcerous! Stupefy!" Bellamy threw over his shoulder in quick succession as he ran for cover.

Clarke's laughter filled the clearing behind him and he shook his head. He tried to focus on anything but the tightening in his abdomen. Fuck, she was fierce. The Gryffindor pressed his back up against a tree on the far side of the grove, lungs heaving. He tried to pull his thoughts together as he caught his breath. Peering around the trunk of the tree, Bellamy caught sight of Clarke stalking towards him. Her pale hair had come loose and her cheeks were rosy and eyes bright with excitement. Bellamy groaned and closed his eyes, deliberately ignoring the fact that he was half-hard just from dueling with her.

He crouched down behind the tree counting each step that brought the Slytherin closer, matching it with each breath that entered and exited his lungs. Just a bit more. A bit farther. He raised his wand. Tucked his elbow in. Twisted his head to the left, back braced against the trunk. Clarke's breath whispered against the trees as she drew closer. A twig cracked under her feet. The toe of her black Converse poked just into Bellamy's vision. He knew the minute she'd spotted him because her breath caught. His gaze snapped up to meet hers.

"Immob—"

"Incarcerous!" Bellamy breathed out, wand pointed at her feet. Thick rope cinched her ankles together and Clarke gasped in shock, effectively cutting off her own spell. Her arms flailed for balance and before Bellamy could stand completely, she'd grabbed onto his shoulders in an effort to remain upright. He let his wand fall so he could brace her, but his own balance was compromised from his awkward half-squat and the result sent them both toppling into the thorny underbrush.

Bellamy inhaled sharply as his back hit the ground, then exhaled when a second weight fell directly on top of him. Pain exploded in his skull as Clarke's forehead cracked against his own, sending sunspots through the canopy of branches and blonde hair overhead. A groan escaped his lips when Clarke's hand dug into his diaphragm in her attempt to stand up.

Her knees shoved into his groin and nails bit into the skin of his stomach. "Clarke! Stop. Fuck!"

"Sorry!" she gasped and then fell flush against him again as her hand slipped in her effort to backtrack.

"Ow," Bellamy grimaced.

"Sorry," she repeated breathlessly, squirming.

"Clarke. Stop."

"I can't see the rope around my legs. Can you…?"

"I dropped my wand."

"Of course, you did."

"Excuse me?"

"This is your fault. The least you could do would be to fix your own jinx."

She squirmed again trying to look behind her. Bellamy groaned, all too aware of her body on top of his. Warmth crept up his neck as he felt his body respond. Fuck. He needed to do something before she noticed. His hands came up and clamped around her arms, holding her still.

"Just. Stop," Bellamy breathed in through his mouth, closing his eyes, trying to cut off any and all stimulation. But instead of smelling her floral scent, he could taste her which was infinitely worse. "Give me your wand." His voice sounded choked and strained his own ears.

"What?!"

"Clarke. Please," he opened his eyes and forced himself to look past her blue gaze to the treetops above. Cool wood pressed into his hand and he glanced at her briefly before clamping his fingers around her thin wand.

"Okay. Don't move."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Just get on with it."

Bellamy rolled his eyes at her bossy tone and brushed her hair out of the way so he could look over her shoulder. Her cold nose brushed against his neck and he hissed at the cool touch. How the fuck did they end up here? His heart fluttered, panicking. Bellamy held his breath so he couldn't smell or taste the overwhelming scent that clung to her blonde tresses and stared down her back at the thick rope tied around her ankles. He recited potions ingredients in his head, narrowing his gaze at the target.

"Relashio," he muttered and the blue spell shot out of Clarke's wand, slicing through the bindings. He dropped his head back onto the forest floor, eyes falling shut.

Clarke's chest vibrated against him and it took his mind a moment to realize she was laughing. The sound burst forth from her, washing over him and drawing him into her mirth. He chuckled and slid his gaze to hers where she stared down at him. Bellamy shook his head in amusement as tears leaked from her eyes and her body shook. Her head dropped against his chest as the laughter took hold of her and Bellamy's breath stalled, trapped inside his lungs as he was suddenly unable to move or think.

"Bellamy?" She raised herself slightly to look at him, brows furrowed questioningly as he fell silent. He opened his mouth but no sound came out and the earlier heat suffused his body at her closeness. The blue of Clarke's gaze dropped to his lips, brows furrowed deeper still, then returned to look at him. Bellamy watched, entranced, as her perfect lips parted and she breathed in sharply. His eyes sought hers again, startled by the clarity there.

"Clarke?" he breathed out, electrified by her gaze. The single word fell like a prayer from his mouth, a plea, a promise. And before he could overthink anymore, he drew his hands up to push the hair out of her face and pull her closer.

A/N: Don't kill me for the cliffhanger. This update took a bit longer than I intended and I apologize for that. My aunt passed away recently and while it wasn't unexpected, it was and is still really sad. Writing always manages to make me feel better so hopefully the next update will be sooner rather than later. Either way I appreciate your patience.

And as always I love hearing from you guys and knowing your reactions to each chapter. Every comment puts a smile on my face and I truly appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you love/want from this story. You guys are the best xx