✮ Her head wished she had went on thinking he was an infuriating, overly-confident, horribly handsome asshole, that hated her people and always put himself first. Her heart knew he wasn't any of those things. He was a celestial; a man plucked from t...
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"Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to."
— Mitch Albom
Astoria didn't understand Unity Day.
It was seemingly a celebration according to the man on the small screen—Chancellor Jaha—that a group of teenagers were watching, one to commemorate the 'joining of the twelve stations' however many years before. She understood that, coming together to pay tribute to those that got you to where you were, but why would they hold such a large celebration when their home was dying? The people on the Ark killed three hundred of their own when they believed the ground was not survivable, and now instead of using every minute of the day to find a way to get down from the sky, they were hosting a party.
But the teenagers seemed to enjoy the excuse to have fun. Astoria leaned against the dropship to watch as they crowded around Jasper and Monty to get some of his unity juice. She didn't bother getting herself a cup, wanting someone to have a clear head if the grounders decided to attack.
During herself and Bellamy's walk back from the supply depot days before, they didn't speak a word. Surprisingly, once back at the camp, they had met with Clarke and collectively decided on a plan to keep the teenagers safe whilst also allowing them to be armed.
Afterwards, Astoria found herself being cold to the man. She couldn't help it—it was an instinct. When he tried to find her in the trees to have a conversation, she would remain silent and let him retreat back inside the camp walls. If he was walking towards her during the day, she would quickly distract herself with helping Raven make more bullets or talking to Finn about the tactics her people may use if they decide to strike. After the first few days, Bellamy stopped trying.
She couldn't face him, not after their kiss. She wanted to say it was because she didn't want to hurt his feelings when rejecting him, or that she felt embarrassed for allowing it to happen at all. But truthfully, she was afraid that once he spoke to her, she wouldn't be able to resist kissing him again. She assured herself it was purely lust; Bellamy was attractive, and a very good kisser. She had no romantic feelings for him; she barely had any friendly feelings towards him.
When Octavia told her that she managed to get Lincoln out of the camp whilst everyone was hallucinating off jobi nut's, Astoria had smiled so widely it surprised the girl under the floor. Not only was her friend free from the hundred, but it had happened whilst she was gone. No one could blame her for his escape. A part of her wanted to go to make sure he was alright, but she was too ashamed to see him. He refused to say a word to her in the dropship when she tried. Perhaps he never wanted to see her again.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
The sun set and the festivities truly began. Nearly all the teenagers were drinking and being rowdy, and for once Astoria let them. The grounders knew where they were; it didn't matter if their fire was too large or if they were being too loud. It was refreshing to see everyone having a good time.
