Bellamy
We arrived back in Polis late the next afternoon. Roan was speaking with Echo's family and showing them the bunker. Echo and I were walking through the streets in comfortable silence, no destination and no plan. We were just walking.
"Thank you," she said so quietly that I barely heard her.
"It was nothing," I shrugged. I'd do anything for her.
"No," she stopped, grabbing my arm. "It meant a lot, Bellamy. Probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." Her eyes were sincere, burning into me.
Electricity. That's what I felt when I was around her. It was stronger when she touches me, like right now with her hand resting against my arm.
We were growing closer, that much was clear. Growing closer when she spared Riley's life, growing closer when I defended her against Trikru, growing closer when we agreed to fake a relationship, growing closer when she told me her story, growing closer when we went to find her family, growing closer as we laid in the bed together last night, cuddling and oblivious to the world around us.
Yes, we were growing closer. And we should probably talk because we had to face the facts: we had feelings for each other. I might even love her.
"Echo, we should probably talk about this."
She eyed me. "Talk about what?"
"You know damn well what we need to talk about."
She groaned. "Do we have to?"
I chuckled at her. "Yes we do."
She rolled her eyes but started back towards the tower. "We can speak in my room. I'm not doing this out here."
"There's nobody around."
She shrugged. "Don't care."
I'll never understand girls.
Echo
He wanted to talk. No, he wanted to talk about feelings and emotions. The two things I'm not good at, the two things I don't even know about. Nia made sure of that. I'm feelings things I don't understand and it's scary, it is. I know how to be a cold, fierce, unfeeling warrior and spy. Not how to be somebody's lover.
How do I deal with emotions if I don't understand them?
The lift brought us up the many levels to the top floor. I led him down to my room, the room right next to the commander's—or Roan's now—quarters. I sat on the bed, arms folding. He sat beside me with an amused look.
"You're cute when you pout," he blurted out.
"I don't pout!" I whined. Crap.
He laughed at me. I glared at him and he put his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, I'm sorry."
We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then he ruined it.
"Okay, we really do have to talk."
"Why? Why can't we just…I don't know, just keep going on like we've been?"
He met my gaze with such intensity. "Is that what you want? To just go back to the way things were?"
It took me a moment to find my voice. "No."
He moved closer. "Then what do you want?"
He was close enough I could feel his breath on my face. Every cell in my body was tingling. I wanted him. I didn't know to reply to him, so I did the next best thing: I showed him what I wanted.
I leaned in and my lips met his.