Longer chapter! Hope you like the dash of Bellicah (horrible ship name) fluff at the end of the chapter.

Warning: strong language up ahead. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The 100. That's all Jason Rothenberg and Kass Morgan. But I do own Micah, Coal, Theo, Elliot and Tevin.

Faya Gada | 5

Henry Shumway was never one for cheating. In fact, in school he was teased for not allowing his classmates to use his assignments. None were surprised when he decided to have a career in not cheating.

So why did he agree to this secret meeting with the former Chancellor? He surely didn't see why they were meeting in a meat locker used for storage when he had an office. And come to think of it, she had one as well.

Diana Sydney had always seemed like a shady woman from all the times he had spoken with her. She appeared to always be at odds with the opinions of councilmen. Her words were always sweet, but Henry could see the hungry look that showed in her eyes when that Chancellor pin was in her sights. Whatever her reasons for seeking him out, he hoped it didn't make him into a fool. He wanted change, and she had offered that.

"Commander…Were you followed?"

"Of course not. Got my men looping back around to Sector 8. I trust that five minutes is enough time?"

"You are correct. Should be more than enough time. Now, did you have any trouble with my instructions?"

"No. And no one suspects a thing."

"Good. With the election only a few months away, we'll have to act soon if our plan is going to work."

"So what do you propose?"

"I know a guy, he's good at drawing up duplicates. Someone got a hand on a certain someone's paperwork, I'm gonna have him touch some things up for us. So we'll have the upper hand at the next council meeting. What I need you to do is arrest more people."

"More people? My quota's already up by 10. 2 percent of the population has already been floated [1]."

"I don't want you to float more people. I could care less about what happens to them in the court hearings. Your job is to just put more asses in that confession chair. The more time devoted to these case hearings is time spent away from my other plans."

So he was a distraction? Mortality rate was already pretty high on the Ark, and he didn't want to make it any higher. What he could probably do was send more kids up to the Sky Box. That way he could do what he was asked to while temporarily sparing some lives. But this was still pretty risky.

"I can do that but…could you make it worth my while?"

Henry could see a smile in her eyes, perhaps intrigued that he would ask such a thing. She had already promised him a place among the council once she was Chancellor. What else could he want?

"I'm listening."

"So when do we get jackets?"

"Theo, is that all you care about?" Coal asked as the seven of them trailed down the hall toward the barracks.

"Johnson," she called him, "I think you meant 'Hemswood'. We use last names in the Guard. I'd like to not remind you again," Micah corrected.

She threw him a look behind her back before flashing her key card in front of the door. Immediately, the many of them raided the drawers to find the chocolate bars. Things like chocolate were an expensive incentive on the Ark, but Micah felt that her boys deserved them. Four months had gone by, and she had not shown any mercy. She felt like it would be a good idea to split the group in two groups of four after four cadets dropped out. She suspected it was due to her rigorous management, but if they couldn't do as they were expected they simply didn't belong there. Anyway, this allowed her room to train them more efficiently. And surprisingly, this lot had held their own and even sometimes exceeded their peers.

Coal Johnson and Theo Hemswood worked very well together, despite one being from factory and the other from Alpha. It helped that Theo didn't occupy the Alpha station archetype other stations depicted as arrogant and self-entitled. He was very humble and patient, which Micah was grateful for as she had been worried about him as well.

Bellamy Blake was very good at listening to commands, but often had trouble deciphering them. This wasn't to say he wasn't a good guard; he was always willing to discuss further how processes worked or where he went wrong. But Micah observed that he was one of the quieter men in the group.

This was the same for Elliot Takada, though it seemed he just didn't have much to say. Being the oldest of the four, it was fitting to name him their leader and he had the qualities for it. He was covertly clever and could reign in his emotions. He also had a friendly and trusting face that seemed very approachable, which would be great when interacting with the Arkers. His willingness to understand and sympathize with all parties was a breath of fresh air. Most guards were more concerned with just following orders, but he took the extra step to verify both information and motive.

"You don't call Tevin by his last name," Theo remarked with a piece of caramel between his teeth. The eighteen-year-old hopped up onto the counter and swung his legs.

"That's because Inspector Graham and I are best friends. And get off the counter, you look like a child." And Micah was right, Theo did look much younger than he was—like he was just starting his 9th year of schooling [2].

"But he has a point," Coal cut in. "I've overheard you calling the Councilman, Marcus."

Micah rolled her eyes. "If that's an attempt at manipulating me into admitting something that you want to know about, you'll have to try again."

Elliot lightly smacked Theo's leg, urging him to get down before turning to Coal. "In other words, shut up."

Theo laughed with him, dropping from his platform. Bellamy was leaning over the counter on his elbows, chocolate bar in hand. "I heard that you can't lie…" Micah knew he was testing the waters and not just trying to be an ass. "Is that why you won't answer a lot of our questions?" He saw her otherwise stoic mouth twitch in the corner at his challenge like she knew a secret.

"Nah, I simply don't care to share much about myself. By the way, I've never called the Councilman by his first name." She cringed. That would almost be endearing, hence why neither of them had called each other by first names.

"Yeah. Sometimes it's hard to think of him as a person. In factory, we call him and the Chancellor 'Lucifer' and the antichrist."

Micah arched a brow. "If that's what you think of our leadership, why do you wanna be a guard?"

Coal dropped his playful smile and grew serious for what seemed to be the first time.

"There were close-to-no guards from factory and we're the ones who get picked on the most. I guess I thought that if I became a guard, I could show all factions that it doesn't matter where you come from. Anyone can do what they want to help out the Ark, and we can all work together."

Theo crossed his arms. "Is that the same attitude you had when you called me 'hoity toity'?"

"Dude, in my defense your hair was near perfect and you asked for a 'saucer' to put under your cup."

As the two began to argue about their past first impressions of the other, Micah rolled her eyes before asking Theo the same question.

"There are a lot of Alpha guards but they have a thing for abusing their power. Gives us good guys a bad name."

"You guys sound so noble," Elliot cut in. "My parents are chief engineers so everyone expects me to take their place. Been stuck around fans and generators my whole life. Last year, I really got sick of 'em. So I joined because the Guard was my fastest way out."

"Who knew ole quiet Takada was a rebel," Micah smirked. She had been wondering why a guy like him was just now joining the Guard. He was at least two years older than her.

"Not my parents, for sure. They kicked me out [3]."

Micah smiled fondly. "I remember that being when my life started."

Bellamy remained quiet, mutely munching on his chocolate hoping no one asked for his motivation behind joining the guard. He silently applauded Theo and Coal in the back of his mind for being moral agents. The guard certainly needed more people like them. And not like Bellamy. His sole purpose for joining was to use abuse his power so that he could take care of his mom and Octavia.

"Gosh, look at the time! I should've been in bed half an hour ago!"

"Geez, Teach. You have a bed time?"

"You should too, Johnson. We all have drills to run at 0500 hours."

The men groaned. Bellamy threw away his rapper and stepped toward the door. "Well, I guess I better head home too."

"See ya, Blake," the others called to him, heading to their own beds.

Micah met Bellamy at the door. "You don't sleep here?"

Bellamy opened the door for her, letting her pass through first. "No." When he didn't elaborate on his answer, she gave him a look. "I worry about my mother." And sister, he thought.

"Well aren't you a good little soldier. Helping your mommy." She didn't mean for the words to sound bitter.

Knowing that she didn't live with her parents, Bellamy figured her home life wasn't all that great. But it's still probably better than mine.

"Daddy issues, in case you were wondering."

"I'm sorry."

The majority of the walk to Micah's apartment was filled with the clink of their boots. "Wish I could help you out, but I never knew my father."

"Be glad you don't know mine."

"Mr. Pike?" The teacher was always encouraging and helpful toward all his students. He tried his best to push his passion for farm culture onto them because he truly believed it was really important.

"I mean know him on a personal level. The guy is judgmental as fuck. I couldn't stand him."

"You can now?"

"I'm sorry again. I sometimes have trouble saying what I mean the first time." A piece of hair had fallen out of her neat braid and it began to bother her causing her to scowl. "I meant that I don't see him anymore, so I don't have to be around it. Hence 'couldn't'."

Bellamy was surprised he was having this kind of conversation with this woman, whom never revealed any personal details about her life.

He saw her unravel her hair and watched it fall down her back. Then she pulled it back atop into a messy bun of twisty locks. Bellamy had always seen her as pretty, but there were definitely more attractive women on the Ark. But now, he was suddenly aware of how close they were walking together and he suddenly became aware of the freckles sprinkled across her nose.

When she turned to him, he realized he had been staring. He knew that if he didn't say something, she was going to make this into an awkward situation or worse. She'll think I'm challenging her. When he tried to come up with a response, he panicked.

Fuck, what were we talking about?

"Are you alright, Blake? Your face is changing colors."

He honestly couldn't remember what their subject had been about, so he decided to just play it honest. From what he learned about Micah, she was good at detecting lies. Even good ones.

"I just realized you had freckles."

He winced after the words left his mouth. Don't be that honest, dimwit! He thought for sure he would get a slap, at the very least. But he didn't.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that she had stopped walking behind him and had a curious expression. One he hadn't ever seen on her face. The only faces he'd seen was annoyed, disgusted, the occasional smirk, and—her personal favorite—no expression at all. She had a tendency to subconsciously think she knew everything. Curiosity wasn't something that came to her naturally.

"I have freckles?"

Bellamy couldn't stop the grin spreading across his lips. Micah still stood in amazement. When Bellamy arched a brow, she couldn't fight her own smile at his teasing look. Bellamy was almost certain he was the first person to make her smile like that in a long time. But he didn't have time to celebrate.

"…What does that look mean?"

"How can you not know your own face?"

Micah scoffed at how ridiculous she probably seemed. She tried to remain silent, but soon a laugh escaped about the same time Bellamy's had.

"I know it sounds really bad," the two continued to laugh before it slowly died down. "I never really look at myself. Like in the mirror."

She sounded almost sheepish in her answer and she straightened her back, trying to come back from sharing something so peculiar about herself. But now Bellamy could see the twenty-two year-old girl that she was, and not the cold soldier.

"Anyway, they're probably atrocious," she remarked, letting her mask slip back on.

Bellamy frowned at this. He remembered his own sister having similar things to say about her own freckles. "Don't say that. They help make you Micah." Oddly enough, she didn't correct him like he thought she would. "And I happen to like them."

When Bellamy saw her mouth move, he almost rejoiced but she had stopped at a twitch. "Says the King of Freckles."

Before either of them could say anything else, they heard footsteps falling beside them. A guard swept past them, almost shouldering Bellamy.

"Get a room, you two."

After that moment, they hadn't said another word to each other but Bellamy could feel heat on his cheeks.

Footnotes:

1 – Totally made this statistic up. Means that Shumway has arrested ten people more than his normal 'quota' he has set. He's at like fifty people for the year, so it's safe to say a lot of people hate this guy.

2 – The Ark uses something similar to the American public school system. Kind of. There are twelve grades, but kids start a year earlier (so 5-6). And only ten grades are mandatory. Around 11th grade, the kids get to decide whether or not they finish school or do something else (like work or do special studies). There is the option to stay in school, but only concentrate on studies that benefit your future career (i.e. Ag kids would focus more on Earth Skills, botany, irrigation). In Micah's case, she finished school but also started training for the Guard at the age of 15 alongside Tevin. A lot of the poorer kids may choose to just drop out and go work with their parents (factory or whatever).

3 – I'd like to mention that in my depiction of the Ark, people stay with their families until they get married or start a family or something (unless you live in Alpha where special privileges are given). It's not uncommon for thirty-year-olds to still be living with their parents. Not only is there limited space on the Ark, but there are strict regulations on living standards that would be a bitch to have to worry about as a new 'homeowner'. In Elliot's case, his parents were able to throw him out because they know he's a cadet and would be able to just live in the barracks. Micah's father kicking her out was more a brash decision that he regrets. Pike wants her to come back home now that she isn't a cadet anymore, but she has found a place with Callie. Since they live in Alpha and both are prominent citizens, they are able to legally do so without much trouble. Plus, Micah doesn't want to go back home.