"Which one do you think?" Grey asked Murphy, holding up two equally large tee shirts that she could probably wear as dresses. Kane, Abby and whoever else was in charge decided that the newly embraced earth holiday was a perfect excuse to redistribute clothing salvaged from The Ark and Mount Weather. According to Grey the only reason the celebration was happening was because of all the supplies they took from the Mountain after the War; including food, utensils, clothing, and even music.

"I don't give a shit Grey," he replied while rummaging through a pile of pants. Murphy had been wearing the same pair for months now and they were starting to deteriorate.

Grey sighed and settled on a vintage looking Unity Day shirt, while Murphy's fingers came across something incredibly soft in the pile. It was a baggy pair of sweatpants and immediately Murphy grabbed them and swung them over his shoulder.

"Shouldn't you get some real pants," Grey asked, staring up at him, "I mean we only get to pick one item."

"Feel," Murphy held them out to her and after touching the sweats she held them to her face.

"Holy shit," she moaned, "Good decision."

Murphy smirked down at her, and for a moment she just looked at him placidly, with a careless smile on her face. Murphy barely knew what Christmas was, but he assumed it had a lot to do with the warm feeling that graced his whole body at that moment.

"Oh, gotta go," exclaimed Grey after looking at the time, "I have a shit ton of work to do!" She threw the sweatpants back at him and practically ran out of the Redistribution Center.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of Murphy dawdling around until the Christmas Party. Most jobs had cancelled, but it's not like Murphy would've been working anyway since they hadn't had fresh meat in a week. It seemed like winter had driven away all the animals with its gusts.

He settled on the floor of his room and lingered on the last few pages of Wuthering Heights before finally closing it. The ending was melancholy to him; almost all the characters introduced at the beginning of the story had solidified into stone markers on foothills. The story did end with love, but it ended with death as well.

Murphy felt very much like Heathcliff, like he had had all the love beaten out of him. Well, maybe not all, but definitely most. Heathcliff craved vengeance the same way Murphy did, it consumed him in a way that could not be stopped, but his life was treacherous and full of everything Murphy feared.

"Fuck this," Murphy exclaimed, throwing the book at the far wall with a hollow clang. He wanted to leave it there, open with its pages splayed out on the floor, but he sighed and picked it up, closing it delicately before placing it back on his cot.

X

X
X

"What the fuck is this?" Gagged Grey, after downing a shot of Monty's famous moonshine. The delinquent just grinned at her as he set another pitcher out on a table.

"It's not supposed to taste good," Monty insisted, "But it does good, trust me."

Grey found it hard not to trust his adorable smile and wondered why she hadn't talked to Monty before. They were almost done setting up the room where the celebration was to be held. All the food and drinks had been set out, and there was enough open space for everyone to dance. In the front was a huge radio like thing (that Grey had no understanding of) that filled the entire room with music when discs were put into it.

She walked into the kitchen that morning and was (finally) titled as Head Manager of the department by Kane. Grey spent the whole day doing her usual thing, directing everyone around and avoiding catastrophes (like when someone confused sugar and salt) and finally getting something to roast (by forcing Bellamy to go on an overnight hunting trip). All the work paid off; they had two huge panthers roasted to perfection, enough alcohol for an army, and a dozen cakes courtesy of Mt. Weather.

Monty handed Grey another glass when he saw her slumped down at one of the tables. She was about to pass out and the party hadn't even started.

X

X

X

It was more than Grey could hope for. 7:30 and everyone was on there feet swaying to the impossible music surrounding them. And most importantly everyone was drunk.

Kane was right about boosting morale, never since touching the ground had the Ark Survivor's been so lively, so joyous. It was almost surreal. But Grey was still sitting in the back of the room, talking idly to Raven and glancing ever so often at the door.

She felt all the moonshine rush to her head as she stood, dancing circles around the mechanic before pulling Monty off of Miller so they could dance. Everything seemed to sparkle in Grey's eyes; the once dull metal walls were now lively as they reverberated ancient music through her ears. She wasn't thinking about the cold or the Grounders or the graveyards, there was only her body spinning through it's own moment in time and space.

But Monty stopped twirling her and Grey was brought back to stillness to see Murphy leaning against the wall.

"Where have you been?" Grey sang, leaving Monty for Miller as she wrapped her arms around Murphy's neck.

"Around," he smirked down at her, returning Grey's gesture ever so slightly by resting one hand on the small of her back.

"I didn't want to come until I knew it was a party."

"Oh it's definitely a party," she took his hand and twirled underneath it, giggling as she went.

"You're drunk," he stated the obvious, trying his best not to move his body to the music.

"And you're not!" Grey pulled him to the nearest table and thrust a cup into his hand, "You need to be on my level Murph, I haven't felt this good in my entire life, like ever."

He laughed into his drink, "Have you even drank before?"

Grey shook her head but it soon turned into a dance and she was off on the floor again, leaving Murphy smirking in her wake.

X

X
X

It was weird seeing everyone happy, Bellamy and Octavia laughing, Miller and Monty grinning, it was like they were fresh off the dropship again. But Murphy still wasn't in the mood, so he sat up against the wall drinking away by himself while the rest of the Ark Survivor's danced like idiots to centuries old Christmas songs.

Suddenly the music changed, it wasn't a Christmas song, it was something more full. Murphy had trouble keeping still to the powerful melody but the way Grey was twirling and swaying her hips made Murphy wish he were dancing beside her. Instead there was Bellamy, who grabbed her arms and spun her around and made her laugh in delight.

It made Murphy angry, jealous even, and he took another hateful swig of moonshine. Why was it upsetting him so much? Grey was just a friend, of course she would dance with other guys, but why did it infuriate him the way it did?

The song ended and the Arkers shouted until it was replayed, while Murphy laughed at all the drunken adults letting loose together on the dance floor. He was soon pulled away from his seat by Grey, who he gladly let drag him to dance.

Murphy probably looked more idiotic than the adults, but he figured everyone was too drunk to care anyway. The moonshine seemed to glow through him as Grey pulled him into her, laughing with her brown hair flying around her face. Her cheeks were flushed from all the alcohol and dancing.

They were waltzing and spinning and laughing like the teenagers they were. Murphy had forgotten what it felt like to be happy, to be normal. This is how life should be, he thought.

The song was replayed again, and again, and on the fourth replay Murphy and Grey collapsed at the nearest table.

"You were right," Murphy said, "I haven't felt this good before."

"Then Christmas was a success," Grey grinned, "It was really just a plot to make you actually smile," she joked.

Murphy crossed his arms and returned to his usual straight face.

"I feel like I'm floating and spinning but I'm also on the ground," Grey slurred, laying her head on the table. Murphy began to laugh but scowled when he saw the redheaded guy Grey hated approaching the table.

"Hey Head Manager," he said while taking a seat beside Grey, "Can we still hang out now that you're my boss."

"No Ryan," she sighed, lifting her head slightly off the table, "Shouldn't you be doing dishes?"

"I took a little break if that's okay?"

Grey sat up completely, looking confused, "No it's not-"

"Come dance with me," he insisted, putting a sleazy hand on her thigh.

"Not right now," Grey moaned, looking at Murphy.

"Oh Grey," Ryan sighed, "Just dance with me, I know you want to."

He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring at her breasts, and Murphy could feel his knuckles turning white from clenching them so hard.

"Not right now, I'm tired," Grey emphasized by putting her head back down on the table.

"Ok babe," he grinned before coming behind Murphy's chair.

"Don't even try," Ryan hissed in his ear, "She's mine."

Before Murphy could tell him to go fuck himself Ryan was already stalking away towards the moonshine.

"Do you really let him talk to you like that?" exclaimed Murphy, "What a piece of shit!"

"I know," sighed Grey, "It's whatever, I just try to ignore him."

The song ended, and flowed into something softer, it was slow and all the people on the dance floor began to sway in each other's arms. Grey looked at Murphy hopefully and he raised an eyebrow in return.

"Really?" Murphy joked.

"Please!" Grey insisted, "I've always wanted to slow dance!"

Murphy rolled his eyes and let Grey pull him yet again towards the dance floor. It was impossible to take his eyes off of her as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and she grinned at him when his hands found the small of her back.

"Isn't this nice?" Grey joked.

It's really nice, Murphy thought.

"Um, I guess."

Grey responded by pulling him closer and resting her head in his chest.

Holy shit, Murphy thought.

They were swaying, spinning ever so slowly, and Murphy saw everyone else doing the same. He made a point to smirk at Ryan who was glaring at them from the wall, but it ended all to soon. The music became fast paced again and Grey was dancing harder than ever with Miller and Wick, so Murphy made his way back to his chair and moonshine.

"Did you warm her up for me?" Sneered an inebriated Ryan at Murphy.

"You stay the fuck away from her," Murphy said as he stood to meet Ryan's glare.

"Do you really think a psycho like you can get a girl like Grey," he laughed, "I mean come on."

"And what makes you think she likes you?" sneered Murphy, "From what Grey's said about you, you sound like a complete ass, but it's not like she needs to tell me that."

"She's just playing hard to get," Ryan explained stubbornly.

"Or," Murphy cocked his head sarcastically, "She hates you cause you're an asshole pervert who can't keep his hands to himself."

"Like you're any better," Ryan snickered as he turned his attention back to Grey on the dance floor, "I mean look at that ass! She's like-"

The rest of Ryan's words were lost, brutally shoved back down his throat by Murphy's fists. He had his grip on Ryan's collar as he threw him down on the ground and tackled him. It felt good to beat his knuckles against Ryan's jaw, it felt good to see him bleed.

The only music was the sound of Murphy's own heartbeat in his ears as he fought. He had clearly won the battle but he couldn't seem to stop. The party had dissolved around him and it was just Murphy's fist and Ryan's bloody face, but the face was contorting and changing, until the person Murphy was beating was his own father.

A firm hand wrapped around his wrists and pulled him off the ground. The party had dissolved back into place, but Murphy couldn't hear anything besides the dry voice of his mother shouting,

You killed him John! You murdered him!

His feet felt heavy as he walked and he realized the hand pulling him was connected to an arm, and a body.

"John!" Grey was screaming, "Come on! Run!"