Lincoln gave Octavia's brother a look. He didn't get to see him like this before. With his face pale and eyes swollen he almost pited him, but Bellamy still had the hard look on his face that meant he is all for business so Lincoln decided the guy doesn't need pity, what he needs is Clarke back and maybe that way he will stop looking at him like he is holding her hostage.
"She is going to come back."
"She is going to come back! Fantastic!" Bellamy yelled in a sarcastic tone, earning an "What the hell bro?!"-look from Octavia, but nobody says anything as Lincoln starts talking again.
"Anya gave her a choice. She can leave whenever she wants. This is all I know."
"But she didn't come back." Jasper added in a sad tone, feeling both unsure of the grounder's words and betrayed by the fact that Clarke isn't back, maybe she decided to stay with them instead of the 100. Bellamy gives him a stern look, and after that everybody is silent for long minutes. Octavia stays close to Lincoln, but also close to her brother, not wanting him to think she isn't by his side. In these moments her brother can get angry because of anything and he usually finds reasons to get mad at her very easily.
Bellamy glances at Lincoln. "Ok. I'm gonna choose to believe you.", but then he turns to Raven with a dead look on his face. "But Raven, get those landmines ready. If she is not back by tomorrow, we go after her."
Raven opened her mouth to protest at the same time with Octavia but Bellamy was gone before they had a scene to say anything, so they just changed a concernt look.
Soon after that the grounder was out of the camp and Octavia was back at her usual job, annoying her brother with stupid little things, maybe this way he can get his mind off Clarke, she thought secretly. But soon she realized he didn't freak out that bad even when she brought Lincoln to the camp. Then a thought popped up in her head. Maybe she can go spend some time with her warrior, since no one will notice she is gone for an hour or two.
But when she got to his cave, he wasn't here. And neither was his sword. He must have left to his people. But he was there like half an hour ago, so he couldn't get that far. Maybe if she runs she will catch up and turned him back. She just got a feeling that him leaving isn't a good idea. She also picked up one of his swords, the one that he let her practice with and went into the woods, after him.
I finally left their camp, after checking one more time on Tris and a few others that had serious injuries. No one seem to care when I left and it was easy for me to make my way through the woods. The sun was hidding through clouds and only from time to time was shining for a few seconds over the trees. Some woman explained me the way through my camp before I left, and I felt truly scared that they know their way to us so easily. I was humming while marching through the forest, trying to make the time fly faster, but the sound of leaves crunching made me stop dead. I spoon around, but no one was behind me so I hurried towards a tree. The sounds came closer and closer, but I couldn't see anything because of the bushes around. Now I regret not asking for a weapon in case something would happen. But at that moment I thought they would think I don't trust that, which is true, but God that was a bad idea too. Lately all I come with are usually bad ideas, I realize, questioning like the hundred time if making a deal with Anya was truly in our benefit in any way. What's going to happen if they decide they don't need me anymore? Or when the doctor from the sea will come? But I quickly remember I was about to die so many times in the past few days that taking risks shouldn't scare me anymore. But it does, it really does.
After awhile I couldn't hear anything anymore, so i decided to simply take a risk, again, and get away from the tree, maybe even continue my way to the camp. I take a deep breath and straighten my shoulders, moving forward with confident steps. "I must be insane" I think at the moment, but I don't stop. As I get closer to the bushes, my heart beats faster. But before I have the chance to turn around and run, multiple sounds come from near me, and suddenly Octavia lifts her head from under a bunch of shrubs, looking annoyed before she realizes I'm there.
"Clarke?!" She yells at me, surprised and joyfull.
"You are ok! Thanks God! I swear I'd come to hug you right now but I'm stuck here!" She says, motioning to her legs, but I only see her head. I start laughing because she sounds just like her usual self, and she laughs too, but I stop dead after a few seconds.
"Wait.. what are you doing here?"
"I'll tell you but you can't tell my brother. He's already freaking out about you; if he finds out about this he will probably kill me before he kills you."
I chuckle just imagining the look on Bellamy's face if I would ever tell him about what I found in the woods, haha. But that isn't funny, I think again. My lack of sleep is probably the reason why I can't think straight right now. I go towards Octavia, drop to my knees and somehow find my way through the bushes until I see her legs, while she is giggling at me.
But as I move forward in all fours, I look up and my eyes meet Lincoln's. I wanna scream but instead of doing that, I just give him a surprised look. Man, even this looks funny and I wanna laugh so bad. But that would be so unpressional of me. I'm the leader of the 100, and showing weakness in front of a grounder wouldn't be a good thing.
"Oh yeah, I can see how stuck here you are!"
She laughts, and Lincolns laughts too as he is holding one of her thights, and I can't help it so I joyn them.
"Oh my God, Octavia! Your brother would kill us if he could see us right now."
"Yeah, that's also funny!", she remarks while Lincoln gets up and I continue my way throw all these thickets until I'm fully out of them.
I get up quickly and wipe my pants of dirt and some leaves.
"Clarke, you look like hell." Octavia comments and I give her a small smile.
"Tell me about it.." I say as she and Lincoln exchange a worried look.
"Come on, I am that bad?"
"Oh no, you are actually fine." She hurries to add. Well, I haven't slept in a very long time, I think there are more than 48 hours and I feel muddy and sweety and my eyelids tend to want to press together every few minutes but the thought of getting back to the camp makes me feel better, and I can't lie, meeting Octavia and Lincoln here in the woods also makes me feel safer.
They move first, and I just awkwardly follow behind them. None of us says anything for a while, then Octavia explains that we are not very far from the camp, and that in half an hour we should be there. After her comment we are silent again, until I decide to make some small talk.
"So guys, what were you doing there?"
"That's a funny story actually.", Octavia replays smiling, and I figure out it's also a top secret story that her brother doesn't need to know.
Lincoln only gives me a cold look and keeps moving, letting Octavia tell me about how she went to see him and he wasn't at his cave, but he was before that in the camp so she thought he left to the other grounders and decided to follow him but she was actually more quickly than him so she scared the shit out of him when they finally met in the woods, at that comment she had to stop just to laugh for like a minute, then she went on, telling me about how he wanted to go and get me back, for her.. and at that i glanced at Lincoln and he looked at me too but he didn't say anything so I decided to keep it like that, and the story went on, they wanted to get back but they heard me humming and they didn't know who's there so they hid in those bushes.
Bellamy wouldn't be happy about any of this, I think, but I don't say anything.
When we get to Lincoln's cave, they kiss and I look somewhere else, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, it's Octavia and a grounder, or Octavia, kissing better than me, a grounder. He tells her he will see her tomorrow and she smiles before leaving his side and motioning for me to go with her. We continue our way to the camp in silence, but she speaks sometimes.
"My brother is gonna be happy to see you, trust me. Even though he might feel like killing you."
"You've said that before…"
"Yeah, well I think he thinks that you abandoned us or something. I can't figure it out." , after that I don't respond with anything, because I don't have anything to say or add. I could try to explain to his sister that that isn't true but I am not very sure of that myself so I just leave it like that.
"He wants to come after you. Bring you back. But now he doesn't have to, luckly.", I stare at her, surprised, than I remember sometimes Bellamy makes bad decisions too.
"Oh you know how he is under the influence of craziness.." She adds when she sees my experession. I simply nod, frowning at his very very bad idea. I could have been dead and he would surely be if he decided to be heroic and come after him. Some day I will really have to talk with him about all this heroism and bravado instincts and how it's better to shut them down sometimes.
Thinking more and more about him I realize my sleep will have to wait, because we'll have to discuss important things first, like my deal with the grounders.
"Hey, Finn came back, right?" , I suddenly ask Octavia, remembering about him.
"Yeah, he is fine."
We can hear the loud sounds coming from the camp and in the dark I already spot some lights.
"Ok, I'm going to go and leave you alone to enter the gates. My brother can't see me with you."
I approve her plan easily because it's a good plan. Bellamy would freak out if Octavia would be with me. She disappears in the dark and I make my way to the front gates, spotting Miller, he wears his cap like always, Jones and a few others.
"Hey guys! It's Clarke! Clarke is back!" I heard one of them screaming and than the sounds got louder and the gates opened for me, and I felt home again.
And home felt so good.
I ran towards the gates, stopping only after I was in.
Soon I met Finn's eyes but i felt like I was looking for something else. Then I spotted Octavia who simply smiled at me, before turning to her brother.
Then I met his eyes.