AN: Hi all! Oh MAN was it a long week. I forced myself to wait until Friday so that I could have one scheduled posting day a week, but I finished the last chapter and I have just been so antsy wanting to share it already :P But I know the fic won't be as enjoyable if there's no angst of waiting in between chapters to see what happens next and you're in for a couple of cliffhangers, so I didn't want to rush :) I'm already mentally planning my next story now that I've finished this one. It's a Bellarke, naturally ;) Although I was surprised by how much I loved writing Raven, so she'll probably be another of the major characters too.

Mysterious Guest, sydcasy, Athenyx and Mysterious Guest #2, you guys rock. Thanks so much for your feedback!

Clarke found herself stomping back down to the beach. The violence of her steps helped clear her head and was actually quite a soothing outlet for her anger. As her strides grew longer, she found herself suddenly at the lake's edge, the water licking the toes of her boots as it too churned, as if anxious. A strong breeze carried the magnificent scent of… storm. Though Clarke had been on Earth for a couple of weeks now, she still felt wild wonder thrumming through her veins as each new joy presented itself. The first and last storm they'd had had been a mere trickling of rain. Enough to give them a day or two's reservoir of water until they'd found the springs and lakes a short distance from camp.

She inhaled deeply. She caught petrichor and earth and another scent she couldn't quite describe other than 'electric'. It was beautiful. Not beautiful enough to quell her fury though. The wind tugged at her almost dry hair, reminding her of Bellamy's hair tugs early that morning.

Bellamy.

"What a dick," she muttered to herself before turning on her heel and marching the length of the beach. She performed several laps across the wide expanse of sand before she finally felt herself starting to calm down. She didn't have to love the guy, but she sure as hell respected him in his capacity as co-leader at camp and knew they'd all be screwed without him.

That didn't mean she had to forgive him for spouting that utter shit about her before. And for bringing up her father? She was going to make him grovel if he ever wanted to talk to her again.

She huffed and made for another lap of the beach when she heard her name.

"Clarke!"

It was Finn. And from the sound of it, he was following her down to the beach.

Though the aggressive pacing had helped stave off the excess anger, the blonde was still in no mood to talk to anyone, let alone the boy who'd broken her heart.

Spinning on the spot and realising there wasn't exactly a plethora of hiding places, Clarke seized upon the first bulky tree at the edge of the beach where the woods began and climbed. She fell twice and growled, realising the Sky People had little experience in the exercise compared to the Grounders. That would have to be one of their next matters to remedy once they returned to camp. Running for the next tree that looked both sturdy enough to hold her and provide decent cover with its foliage, Clarke was relieved to find a knot at waist height that would make for a great foothold. Stretching for the lowest branch she could reach, she smiled despite herself as she managed to swing momentarily before locking her foot in place and ascending into the branches.

Clarke was pleasantly surprised to find that climbing a tree wasn't really that difficult once you'd managed to start. And that was how she found herself perched almost comfortably in one of the upper bows and nestling herself against the trunk.

"Clarke!" Finn was on the beach now. If she ducked her head a little, she could see glimpses of him in between the swaying branches. Finn stood by the water, intently searching the immediate area of the beach. Luckily, the wind had managed to cover enough of her tracks that if he thought to look for them, they'd've been half buried.

Deciding Clarke wasn't there, Finn weighed his options with considerable looks to his left and right. When the rain began however, he raised a hand over his eyes and decided the most logical direction Clarke could have taken would have been the woods. Clarke watched from her perch in the tree as he started jogging in her direction, passing almost directly underneath her tree before disappearing in the overgrowth.

The sound of rain became louder as it increasingly poured down on the lake. Whilst the occasional drips and drabs found their way leaking through the bows overhead, Clarke found that for the most part, she was perfectly dry in her newfound shelter. She was almost considering staying there, but knew it wouldn't be fair to the others if they thought something had happened to her. Clarke may be pissed, but she wasn't low enough to make her friends fret or worry unnecessarily. Not to mention, the grumblings of thunder were beginning to grow in volume and insistence. It was still music to Clarke's ears, but she wasn't naive enough to think that she'd be safe hiding out from a storm in a tree. Anyone on the Ark could tell you that.

Finding out that climbing down was actually much harder than climbing up, Clarke carefully made her way back to the ground. She'd just placed her foot in the first knot on the tree and was shifting her weight, deciding how best to drop to the ground when a bright flash in her peripheral caught her eye. At first she assumed it was lightning, but after craning her neck for better vantage, her heart leapt into her throat and with a fresh surge of feeling, dropped to the ground, only just managing to avoid rolling her ankle.

The med kit had washed ashore! At present, it was trapped in the current between two boulders, and clanked insistently against each as it struggled to rejoin the water properly again. With a huff of laughter, Clarke ran back down the beach to collect her prize.

"Clarke," Bellamy's voice filtered on the wind as it was tossed down the beach. "Come back inside. You're being ridiculous." Ignoring him, Clarke waded calf deep into the now frigid water and scooped up the metal box, hugging it to her chest. Excess water dripped from the box and bled into her already wet shirt, causing her to shiver as the wind blew what felt like right through her. Studiously avoiding looking at Bellamy, she focused on wading back to shore. Emerging from the water was like emerging from liquid nitrogen, or exposing herself to fire. The wind whipped around her wet ankles, relishing in her chattering teeth.

"Put that thing down," Bellamy ordered as he marched to meet her. He made to grab it but she yanked it from his reach.

"Do you really think I'm going to listen to you right now?"

A giant fork of lightning lit up the sky above and Clarke took that as a sign urging her to return to the cave. With one hand firmly encasing the med kit's handle, she began to trudge up the beach in the direction of Finn and Raven.

"That thing's a conductor and in case you haven't noticed, Princess, we're in the middle of a storm."

Clarke's thoughts had been lingering in longing of the campfire. Her fingers, ankles, face and chest…. warm. Her hair and clothes… dry. She mentally groaned in anticipation at the mere thought.

"Clarke." When Bellamy's hand gripped her wrist, Clarke whirled on him, ready to give him a piece of her mind. They were now half under the protection of her hiding tree's branches, and the semi-reprieve from the rain made it easier to meet Bellamy's eyes as she unleashed her fury.

"Don't think about talking to me ever again until you apologise for the way you spoke to me," she said, having to raise her voice to be heard over the howling wind and cracking thunder. A flash of lightning brought his face into sharp relief momentarily and Clarke was satisfied to see him taking her seriously. "How can you think I don't care about the camp? Our survival means my survival. My survival means their survival. We're all living in a codependent relationship here in case you haven't noticed, Bellamy. But I can't exactly treat people with sticks and dirt. I am trying to adapt, you're just not seeing it." Her face darkened and it seemed as if the thunder growled ominously for her benefit. "And don't you ever – ever – bring up my father again. If you so much as mention him, Bellamy, I swear I'll -"

They were standing so close. Breath ragged and nerves on edge due to the weather. They were focused so intently on each other, and Clarke found herself leaning even closer to expel her threat.

Therefore it took them both completely by surprise when an arm of lightning snatched at the closest hulking tree before leaping off and lunging for them too.

One moment Bellamy had been staring down into Clarke's furious face. The next he was on his back staring up at the tapestry of dripping leaves wondering what had happened.

Despite happening all at once, his brain helpfully broke the event down into three very distinguishable sounds.

A whip-like crack, meeting the surface of an unyielding opponent.

A brief crumbling explosion, like a sturdy body being ripped apart.

A brief scream.

Bellamy swung upright into a sitting position, momentarily going blind as the blood rushed from his head. When the swaying stopped and he was able to retune his vision blink by blink, his gaze fell on Clarke.

She was lying in the sand, spread eagled on her back with her left leg bent toward the lake. And at the end of her outstretched arm innocently lay the taunting white box.

"Clarke!?" If it was possible for there to be a sound that expressed one swallowing their own throat, Bellamy had just delivered it.

Pushing to his knees, he crawled over to the girl, skidding sand on her hip. Clarke's cornflower blue eyes stared wide and unseeing above. Already this scene felt too familiar to him. With two fingers coated in wet sand, he reached clumsily for her neck and upon finding it, pressing as gently as he could. Which turned out to be not gently at all, given his own pulse was pounding in his ears and he hardly hear a thing from hers.

Relief flooded through him. A strong heartbeat.

"I'm okay," she told him as she slowly came back to herself. She blinked the rainwater out of her eyes.

"Are you?" he asked earnestly.

"Yeah. Was just a bit shocked." Her lips quirked up as they both realised the double meaning to her words. "Ha," she said.

"Clarke!"

"Are you alright?" Raven demanded as she and Finn also dove for the sand. Within seconds, the pair had been soaked. Bellamy didn't think he'd faired any better, despite his lack of feeling at the present moment. The rain was falling so thickly now that their canopy-umbrella was failing. There was a faint burnt-wood smell now in the air, though the tree hardly looked worse for wear.

"Help me up?" Clarke's voice was too flat and too quiet and Bellamy didn't like it one bit. Yet when he reached out a hand for Clarke to grasp, she ignored it in favour of Raven's. Together, the girls got to their feet. Bellamy righted himself to find Clarke leaning against Raven. What was even more surprising was Raven helping her back up the beach. A quick glance at Finn showed the other guy wasn't managing to hide his own surprise half as well.

"The med kit," Clarke suddenly yelped, half turning under Raven's arm to return and retrieve it.

"Leave it," Bellamy said gruffly, throwing out a hand toward it to dissuade anyone who sought to argue. How he loathed that damn box. "It'll still be there in the morning. It's not worth getting killed over."

Bellamy lagged behind the group, partially lost in thought, partially to ensure Finn didn't sneak back to secure the med kit in the hopes of securing Clarke's favour too. By the time he got back to their cave, Raven had deposited Clarke and herself against the closest wall to the fire and both relaxed. Clarke stared unseeingly into the fire, but answered any question thrown her way by her well-meaning compatriots. At Clarke's request, Raven performed a once over to confirm Clarke hadn't received any burns or scars as a result of the lightning. Bellamy received a similar examination and was also declared fine.

"You sure you're alright?" Raven asked when she noticed the weight growing against her right side. It was clear their relationship was certainly facing change after this crazy trip.

Clarke hummed. "Just a bit tired," she said, coughing lightly.

"Is it safe to sleep?" Finn asked with concern from across the fire. "What if you have a concussion?"

"I don't have a concussion and I was tired before anyway." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the wall. "I suggest everyone who isn't on Watch sleep now, because we'll be up early to get back to camp."

After a few unsuccessful tries of finding comfort against the cold rock, the blonde slumped, half asleep against her makedo bedpost. Raven met Finn and Bellamy's gazes before tentatively shrugging her arm out from under Clarke and wrapping it around the girl. Clarke, like the rest of the Hundred, may have to be tough as nails during the day, but they all knew how vulnerability crept in during the nights.

"I'll take first Watch," Raven said.

Awwww, their burgeoning friendship is just too cute! Also, side note: what Clarke and Bellamy experienced is known as a Side Flash, where lightning strikes a taller object (such as a tree) and a portion of the current from that leaps from that taller object to a similarly grounding one nearby (esp if there's too much energy for that one initial object to take). It happens a lot more than you'd think, since a lot of us hide from storms under trees to get away from the rain or hail! Of course, if you've got an OTP so distracted by their own arguing, they're not really going to be having safety on the forefront of their minds, are they? :P

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