𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐚 ➪ 𝐛. 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞.

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy questions Finn, who was currently in the lead. "We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker." Bellamy claims, making his way over to me. "It's called 'cutting sign.' Fourth-year earth skills. He's good." Wells states.

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn denoted, stopping at a broken branch and crouching to the ground. Bellamy mumbles something to Wells which seems to upset him, but I no longer care when I hear painful moaning from the distance. I recognize that voice anywhere, and knew immediately who it was coming from. "Jasper-" I whispered, starting to sprint in his direction, not thinking logically. "Astoria wait!" I hear Finn shout after me.

I stop in my tracks, gasping as I see Jasper tied up to a tree, the others catching up to me. "Oh my god." I choke up, Clarke running to my side. "Jasper-" Her words are cut off when she falls into a ditch surrounding the tree, the floor beginning to collapse beneath me too. Finn already has a grasp on Clarke's hand, pulling her up with the help of Wells as arms wrap around my waist, tugging me away from the ditch. Slowly, the grasp releases from me as I turn, meeting Bellamy's eyes. As I open my mouth to thank him, Murphy questions from my side; "You ok?" My eyes leave the Blake boys' for a second as I nod in reassurance, swallowing hard as I try to stabilize my breathing. "Yeah."

I disperse the silence by telling them we needed to get Jasper down. "I'll cut him down, keep an eye on him." Finn motions to Bellamy, making his way over. Murphy follows as the rest of us stay planted below. "There's a poultice on his wound." Clarke says, taken aback. "Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Wells asks her as Finn examines it. "Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing."

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us."

-

Growling came from the distance as Murphy and Finn struggled to cut Jasper down, startling everyone. "What the hell was that?" Murphy inquires, which Bellamy assumes to be grounders. Something appears in the clearing from the distance, but before I could make out what it was, it was already lunging at us. "Bellamy, gun!" Clarke yells as it heads straight for her. I see the panic in Bellamy's eyes as he realizes he doesn't have his gun, but we soon discover where it is when Wells begins to shoot. The bullets hit the animal, but doesn't take it down. It circles us, nearing Bellamy and I.

I'm frozen in fear, not knowing where it was or when it was going to attack, but Bellamy grabs on to my wrist yet again, pulling me behind him as he uses himself to block. It goes quiet, but the silence ends when the black panther lunges at us. A gun shot fires, knocking it to the ground, along with the two of us; toppling me on top of him. We look at each other for a split second, heavy breathing, before I remove myself from him, collapsing at his side. "You really have a knack for grabbing my wrist, huh?" I ask exasperated. "You're welcome." He responds, getting to his feet and looking to Wells. "Now she sees you."

-

We arrive back at the camp, murmurs surrounding us as Finn and Wells carry Jasper. Monty comes up to us, worry painted across his face. "Is he-"

"He's alive. I need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandage." Clarke responds before I can even say anything, entering the dropship. I stay outside, giving them the space they need. "Who's hungry?" I hear Bellamy yell from the campfire, drawing my attention. Everyone cheers, excited at the fact they finally have food to eat. My wrist begins to ache; I wince at this, looking down, I see that blood streams had dried around my wrist from underneath the band, probably from the amount of times Bellamy has grabbed and ripped away at it. Everyone began lining up at the campfire, seemingly getting their wristbands removed for food.

"You've got to be kidding me." Finn says from beside me, causing me to jump. "They're making you take your wristband off for food now?" He scoffs, examining the scene ahead. "I'm starving... but I'd be going against my word if I gave in." I state, holding onto my wrist. "Toria, you're bleeding-" He slightly gasps, picking up my hand. "No shit." I shake him off, taking my hand back. I try to come up with a solution, landing on one. "I don't have someone expecting me to be alive up there, and it's a pain in my ass. As much as I was trying to support Clarke's cause, I really need to be released from it. This shit hurts pretty damn bad." I sigh, looking to Finn, hoping he wouldn't react as I know Clarke would.

"Go for it." He responded, nodding his head toward the food. "What about you?" I asked him as he cracked his knuckles. "You know how Clarke will be if I do." He states, looking to the ground. "Wait- So you do like her or something?" I question, making my way toward the fire. "No, I never said that-"

"Not actually, but it's extremely obvious." I raised my eyebrow, bumping into Bellamy. He turns to me, annoyance displayed in his eyes, but they soften slowly upon seeing me before his face hardens again. "So... you mind getting this off?" I asked him, holding my wrist up. "Unless you prefer that it stays on, that is." I joke as he shakes his head, grabbing a tool to slide under. "I thought you were trying to convince everyone to keep them on with Clarke." His gaze remains on the bracelet as he speaks. "I think my circumstance can be an exception... I don't think anyone is going to notice if I show up as dead on some screen." He pauses before ripping it off, and I sigh at the release of pressure being punctured into my skin, nodding at him. "Thanks, Blake." I said, knowing exactly what his response would be as I took a piece of meat. "What did I say about using my last name." He firmly says, tossing the wristband to the ground.

"Nothing, actually." I shrugged, taking a bite into the meat. "Thank you." I softly spoke to him, to which he glanced over in confusion. "For saving my life... twice." I smile to him. "Oh.. you're welcome." He responds, returning his glance to the fire. "Just don't make it a habit, can't always be the hero." He smirked, slowly turning to face me. I laugh, finishing the meat and throwing the stick to the pile of others. "No promises." I hear him chuckle as I walk away, and I leave feeling a little better than before, knowing that Bellamy Blake may not be a complete uptight asshole.