Chapter 9:

The blonde could bet an entire month's rations that Jasper Jordan knew of her, er, situation. Time after time she caught him staring at her with an unnatural amount of concern—if not unnatural, than certainly unusual. When the realization hit her, she was angry but she found herself eventually getting over the entire "betrayal" realizing that Monty and Jasper were a single unit and they did not keep secrets from one another. Admiral, she supposed. Her gifted friend, Monty, barely thought on the subject before spilling his guts...at least, that's what she told herself so she wouldn't strangle the destructive dynamic duo. There were three people besides herself who knew of her pregnancy, two of them only the basic details and the other one lacking a few symptomatic details. It was hard not to feel her previously sturdy walls constricting her every cell like a python until she was nice and blue. Time, in a wishful sense she wished she had more time to gather her thoughts before the announcements started.

But for now, her mind was swirling with a newfound level of worry for Bellamy. It'd been at least sixteen hours since she last saw him and the rising sun was killing her hazy eyes because she found herself unable to rest. Her watch said it was 7:40 AM but her mind told her it was Panic O'clock. He should be back by now, she internally sighed before moving a stick through the embers of last night's fire. After Monty's convenient escape from the drop ship, Bellamy informed her of his reasoning for barging through her parachute haven in the first place. He wanted to tell her he was leaving to collect the guns. "If we don't get them now, it might be too late. We need to start training." He told her calmly, although she imagined his original speech was much tougher and slightly disrespectful since he currently needed to keep a straight face for his boys until they had that discussion.

The hard one about actually telling people and establishing what they are...

Reluctantly, she nodded her head because he was right. The grounder could return at any point with an army despite Octavia's certainty. Her people—their people—needed protection from the enemy. But the rest of the afternoon passed eerily as people directed all their problems to her. In truth, she'd compiled too much stress over the last couple days and then an unsettling train of thought struck her. That thought being that Bellamy took their best hunters and might never return crossed. Her teeth picked at her lip as she stole glances towards the main entrance for the tenth time after she decided she wasn't going to be able to sleep. What if he took off? What if he can't handle this? Oh my god, I can't be a single mom…I'll screw up the whole thing. I don't—

"Charlotte said you weren't looking too good this morning." Octavia commented behind her, nearly causing Clarke to jump three feet in the air. Her friend let out a small giggle before returning to her line of conversation, "I told her it was just stress. With Bellamy gone, there's a lot more responsibility on your shoulders but she's worried about you, Clarke. After that little incident yesterday, that you failed to mention by the way…I'm just... You'd tell me if you had something life-threatening was going on, right?"

Clarke cleared her throat, "Of course, Octavia. Really, I'm fine…I just want Bellamy to return safely." Too late, she forgot she needed to sound a little displeased with his tardiness and less nervous about his well-being but she could not find it in her to actually fix her emotional slip. Candidly, she was tired of masks and charades—she felt for him, at times deeply and he fathered her baby, she should be able to publicly express whatever she was feeling for him. Which was a lot at the moment...

Pregnancy symptom or am I just psychotic?

"Wow, that's…unexpected, I think. What the hell happened on your day trip with my brother? You two hook up?" Octavia arched an eyebrow and Clarke shook her head. She could tell that Octavia was reading her and knew she was hiding something but Clarke was also sure she recognized that she was also telling a version of the truth. "Uh, Clarke…do you like my brother?"

No response.

Rather than answering the question, her mind drifted to the darkness of last night. Charlotte cried as usual but eventually she found peace. Still, Clarke's mind was filled with other thoughts. The way she wanted Bellamy beside her, the way she missed his scent and his comments and his gravelly voice and how it tickled her ear. She liked Bellamy...cared for him and if she were being completely honest, there was just something about him that compelled her—made her obsessively think about him even if she still whole-heartedly believed he was a dick. Maybe her emotions were prompted by the pregnancy, maybe she was forming a connection with him due to the baby but she couldn't shake it and she couldn't find a reason to think there was something wrong with her forming a connection with the father of her child that surpassed their initial opinions of each other.

They were, like most things, evolving.

Her long lashes touched her cheeks before she met Octavia's eyes, "You do like my brother…and not just as a friend, oh my god you're completely smitten."

"Smitten, really Octavia? What are we—"

"I can say whatever I goddamn please, Princess." The brunette exhaled loudly, "Don't you worry, Clarke. I'm going to get you with my brother because you both deserve to be happy. I'm not saying it's going to be easy because I know you two are both stubborn…but don't give up on this sudden crush. I can make it happen, you'll see."

"The thing is, Oc—" Clarke stopped talking when the gate opened. For the first time that morning, she felt relatively at ease. She moved too quickly, jumping up on the balls of her feet so she could welcome the boy's home. Jasper seemed to catch the signs of her mid-trip because he caught her right before she hit the ground. She would find a way to blame Bellamy. They stood awkwardly for a second, Jasper cradling her like she was a cripple who needed help walking, and possibly standing. It was hard to judge just how far his help extended. He looked down at her, eyes wide because he knew, that she knew, he knew. An audible gulp echoed in the air between them. "Jas…" She warned in a hushed whisper, "If you breathe a fucking word—"

"Aw, don't you two look nice a cozy." Murphy's voice overrode anything she planned to threaten Jasper with. "Even the Princess has to get a little lovin', right?" Out the corner of her eye, she watched Bellamy stiffen. His muscles were so tight, so coiled as if he were prepared to take Murphy down as soon as she gave him a hint of a signal.

"Back off, man." Jasper told him loudly, his chest puffing out as if Clarke assigned him the title 'Protector of the Womb' with her dagger filled glare. "You don't know what you're talking about." Still, she appreciated his effort. It was nice to have good, reliable friends.

"Defending her honor?" The asshole snorted, "How noble? Tell me, are you Prince Charming or the Clown?" Oh, hell no...

She didn't understand why he had to be that way.

"Murphy!" Bellamy barked, stepping closely behind his comrade. His eyes met hers as if to ask her if she were okay, like Murphy's words packed punches and razor blades instead of his own insecurities. "Leave her alone or you'll have me to deal with directly, you understand?" He clenched his jaw as Murphy swung around to look at him. Clarke mentally pleaded with him to contain himself. No need to make a scene. "Now, I believe you have some clips to go through, correct? Assist Raven."

"Yes, sir." Murphy scoffed before turning towards Clarke again, bowing in front of her to make a scene before he headed in the direction of Raven's tent. An uncomfortable silence settled over Bellamy, Clarke, Jasper and Octavia. At least, she felt uncomfortable under Jasper's puppy dog loyalty and Bellamy's analytical, disapproving, overprotective gaze. Octavia just appeared to be confused with the mutual respect they were displaying quite recently.

Too many unanswered questions, not enough time in her case, though.

Clarke was thankful when she averted her gaze and found Miller with a nice gash on his forehead. His palm covered the extent of it but she knew it was managable. She really just wanted to avoid the continuation of the awkward moment. Mumbling softly, she walked away from the group and told Miller to follow her into the drop ship.

Upon her departure, she barely heard Jasper squeak, "There is nothing going on with me and Clarke, just so you know. I would never—well, I would I guess but Clarke looks like the type to eat a man alive and I imagine she has a type...If we were ever to get together in that capacity it would be for my mind. She appreciates intelligence and I'm going to shut up now because I am clearly rambling—please, Octavia punch me in the throat before I say something stupid." Jasper pleaded and Octavia furrowed her brows. It was clear she felt out of the loop but how was one to explain without hurting her feelings? If she was going to find out that Bellamy impregnated Clarke, it was going to be from her older brother and most likely Clarke, herself. Not from a boy who wore goggles as a fashion accessory.

"I have guns to look at." Bellamy grumbled, stealing a glance towards the drop ship before he walked in the direction of Raven's tent with Atom on his tail. He looked like he was going to punch something, or hug it. Octavia wasn't exactly sure what he was going for with that screwed up expression on his face. Fucked, maybe?

Either way, she knew she had to help Clarke let her feelings run wild and gain her brother's attention.

REVIEW:

Confusion, confusion. Jasper knows their secret! How many more jabs can Bellamy take before he hurts Murphy? And what about Octavia—her little plan might become a hilarious problem in the future…

Let me know what you're thinking! Thanks!