That's Why I Love You

Chapter 9

Clarke

Raven, Mom, Kane and I had already discussed the plan. It was sloppy and last minute, but at this point, it was all we had, Lincoln and Octavia wouldn't know until it was too late. They couldn't. Brave Lincoln or Octavia would try to get rid of Pike themselves if they knew. They'd want to do it on their own, where no one else would be in danger.

I saw Bellamy sitting at a table, eating alone. He would've been surrounded by his friends and family before Pike. He was loved.

I walked over and sat next to him. He glanced up at me, and then back down at his food. I searched my head for some way to start a conversation, but nothing came to mind. There wasn't much to talk about.

"What do you want?" Bellamy grumbled. That's one way to start it off.

"I want you to talk to me." I said.

"About what?"

"Anything. Tell me about Gina. What was she like?" I asked. I hoped I wasn't hitting an uncomfortable spot.

"She was great. Simple. And then Lexa killed her." Bellamy spat.

I tried to ignore every ounce of anger in me. Lexa wasn't involved with that. Her enemy was. Hell, Lexa was there when we found out about Mount Weather being blown up. She was just as surprised as the rest of us.

Bellamy looked up at me. "What, you're not going to defend her?"

I swallowed. "No." I would defend her until my last breath, but he couldn't know that.

Bellamy seemed intrigued. "And why not?"

"Because I'm done with her." I said shakily. "She just wanted to make sure I was okay when she called, and then she said that she was tired of trying to excuse Skaikru. She says that us being in the Coalition will remain intact, but separated. There won't be an Ambassador for Skaikru, and limited contact."

Bellamy looked confused. "She can do that?"

I nodded sadly.

"Well..." Bellamy said, trailing off. "I...I didn't expect her to do that to us. To you."

I shook my head. "Me neither. But she was always thinking politically and thinking of her people."

Bellamy hesitated a second. "I'm sorry."

I smiled sadly. "Don't be. I'm starting to realize who really has my best interests at heart."

And then I did it. I reached forward and grabbed Bellamy's hand, holding onto it and smiling up at him. I didn't think I could drop anymore hints than this.

But it all felt wrong. Bellamy's tough, cold hand was like ice on my skin. His fingers were too big to loop with mine. This should be Lexa.

"I'm sorry for wasting so much time. I'm sorry for leaving when you needed me the most." I said, continuing to hold onto his hand.

He nodded. "Thank you. It was hard without you."

Lexa wouldn't have said thank you. She would've understood. I smiled and he smiled back. I shouldn't be doing this.

"I got the poison." Monty said, lifting the vial and tossing it towards me.

"Hey, easy there." I said, barely catching it. This vial was pretty much the entirety of our plan. Everything depended on it, and if it we failed, we failed.

He smiled and moved to the table, cleaning all the beakers and test tubes and herbs.

"Thank you for this." I said.