undertow | bellamy blake (book one)

22 | promise me

Today was Unity Day. It wasn't particularly a monumental day for Jovie. She never got to celebrate it like the rest of them did on the Ark. It just felt like another day that they were remembering something that happened many years ago.

"My friends, this is a historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year, on the ground," Jaha said over the broadcast.

"Right. After we did all the work. Someone shut him up," Miller said. Jovie snorted as she sat on one of the boxes, sharpening her knife.

"You shut up, Miller. No one's forcing you to watch," Raven said as she listened intently to the Chancellor. Jovie found it a bit surprising that Raven actually wanted to hear this. Raven struck her as the type who didn't seem to care about this kind of stuff.

"Whoo! Yeah! Monty strikes again! Hey! Call this batch Unity Juice! Who's thirsty?" Jasper suddenly screamed as he ran out of Monty's tent with a large quantity of alcohol. As the delinquents started to crowd around to get their share, Jovie watched as Octavia used the distraction as her opportunity to sneak out of camp to go to Lincoln's. It seemed that she wasn't the only one who noticed though. Finn was watching her too, but she supposed there were worse people to notice Octavia sneaking out... like Bellamy.

"Not a fan of Unity Day, Sunshine?" Jovie looked over when she heard Bellamy approach her.

"I don't see what there is to celebrate for. It's bullshit," she said, putting her dagger into its holder before standing. "But it gives us a reason to drink, doesn't it?" Bellamy watched on in amusement as she climbed up onto a table. "Alright, bitches, who's ready to party?" Jovie screamed. The delinquents cheered and threw their cups in the air. Bellamy thought she was just doing this to get everyone excited. Little did he know she was doing this to create a distraction for herself. Jovie jumped to the ground and threw her arm around Bellamy. "C'mon, buzzkill, have a drink."

"Just one," he said. She smiled and shrugged. Just one was all she needed for him to lose a sober mindset. She poured him a large cup and handed it to him as she took a sip of her own, cringing a bit at the taste. It was real strong, she would give Monty that. "This is disgusting," he said as he took a swig, coming to the same conclusion as Jovie.

"Bellamy, come play with us!" One of the girls yelled, motioning him over to play a drinking game with a few of the delinquents. He opened his mouth to turn them down, but this was a perfect way for Jovie to get away.

"Go, you deserve to have some fun," she insisted. She may have been just saying that to get his attention off of her, but she did think it was true that he did deserve to let loose. She deserved to too, but she had more important things to worry about at the moment.

"I don't-"

"Go!" She said with a laugh. He rolled his eyes but there was a faint smile on his lips. What Jovie was going to do could cause some tension. In fact, it would cause tension, so before he could walk away, she grabbed his hand to stop him. "Wait, Bell." He turned to look at her, confused at what she was suddenly sounding nervous about. "Just... if anything ever happens, please don't hate me." He furrowed his eyebrows, taken a bit back by her random words.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Just promise me," she urged.

"I could never hate you," he replied simply. Jovie leaned in and gave him a quick hug before pushing him forward towards the others. He looked back at her, still obviously very confused what that was about but let it go as he walked away. As soon as she saw that he was distracted, she slipped away into the darkness. Just as she turned to leave camp, she collided into someone.

"What the hell?" She said as she looked to see who she ran into. When she saw it was Finn, she raised her eyebrows. "Where are you going, Spacewalker?"

"Where are you going, Blondie?" Finn replied.

"I asked you first," she said, crossing her arms across her chest in defense. He sighed, figuring there was no way he was going to win this.

"I don't think fighting has to be necessary," he said vaguely, not really answering her question. But he didn't need to because she was doing the same thing. She paused for a second, debating whether or not he had true intentions before deciding yes, he did. This was Finn. He was a peacemaker, not a fighter.

"Perfect. Let's go," she said, grabbing his arm to pull him out of camp. "You know the way to Lincoln's cave, right?" Her original plan was to try to track Octavia, but this was even better.

"Lincoln?" He asked. Knowing his name meant they could communicate with him. Jovie nodded. "Yeah, I know the way."

♛

It didn't take long before Finn walked into the entrance of the cave, Jovie following closely behind. At the sound of them, Lincoln greeted them with a sword pointed straight at them.

"Lincoln, wait!" Octavia said.

"Hello to you too," Jovie said sarcastically as she pushed Lincoln's sword down. When he realized it was her, he relaxed.

"I think you lost this," Finn said. He held out the knife that Lincoln had stabbed him with. Lincoln paused before grabbing it from him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Octavia asked, directing the question at Finn. She knew Jovie was coming to meet them, but she wasn't expecting Finn to show up too.

"I could ask you the same thing. I could also ask how long you've known he speaks English, but I won't," Finn said, moving his attention from Jovie to Octavia. They were clearly on Lincoln's side. He then showed the horn that Lincoln had blown to help save them from the other Grounders. "You blew this when your people were hunting us. You saved our lives. I have to believe there's more like you."

"I stabbed you," Lincoln said.

"And we tortured you. If the two of us can get along, then maybe there's hope. Learn from history instead of repeating it, right?" Finn pointed out. Jovie nodded her head. It was exactly what Jovie was hoping for.

"How are we going to do this?" Jovie asked. They all wanted the same thing, but figuring out how to get it was a different story.

"For starters, no more killing," Finn said.

"I don't have the power to call a truce," Lincoln told them.

"Then bring us someone who does," Jovie said, stepping forward.

"Hey, look. The rest of our people are coming down here. The first ship lands in two days," Finn said.

"It's true," Octavia confirmed. This was their time to do what they could to save them all. Otherwise, it might be too late.

"And because of the attacks, they're sending mostly soldiers, the people that enforce our laws. The Ark is about survival at any cost, and they'll kill people who fall out of line. When those people get down here if they feel threatened, they will start a war, and I don't want that. Neither do you, and I think that's why you blew that horn. Once the soldiers get here, it will be too late, and we'll have no power to stop them, but if they see that we're at peace, then maybe we have a chance to stay that way," Finn spoke. Lincoln processed the boy's words for a moment before making a decision.

"Alright," he finally said. "You bring your leader, I'll bring mine."

"What, Bellamy? He'll never go for this," Octavia said. She was right. That was why Jovie hadn't told him about this. He would never let her go and he would never let them try for peace with the Grounders.

"No. Not your brother," Lincoln agreed.

"Clarke," Finn said. Clarke was still a long-shot, but she was a lot more willing to listen than Bellamy was.

"If they agree to this, they'll want you too," Lincoln said. They all turned when he realized he was talking to Jovie. She raised her eyebrows.

"Me? What'd I do?"