You and Me

Chapter 8

Clarke stared at the dying predator, then turned to Bellamy.

"I'm going to need a little less damsel and distress going forward, Princess."

*

If he was honest with himself, he wasn't surprised there was acid fog, or that out of all his hunting party, it was little Charlotte he was stuck in a cave over night with. He didn't mind, though. He could just be himself, taking care of a little girl. That's all he really knew how to do.

He didn't know how he became the leader of the delinquents. He'd made a few speeches to get kids to take their wristbands off to save his own ass. Now, they turned to him for decisions and to enforce rules. He could handle it, being the leader, he thought, but he wished Clarke would stop avoiding him and making googly eyes with the spacewalker.

The fog dispersed halfway through the night, but with Charlotte he didn't risk the woods until the sun had risen. That was when he found the rest of the hunting party, minus Atom. They split up to look for him, Bellamy letting Charlotte wander a few feet from him while he kept an eye out for Atom. He'd turned away for a moment and she screamed.

Charlotte stood staring into a ditch. He immediately turned her away when he reached her. "Don't look." When he checked, he didn't spot any tears, just a blank face.

Sending children to the ground, what a brilliant fucking idea.

Bellamy moved to Atom, crouching beside the twitching body. "Kill... Me...."

Bellamy didn't want to hear that. He turned to check on Charlotte, but she'd turned from the tree and was now directly behind him. The knife he'd given her was outstretched for him.

"Don't be afraid," she repeated his words. The others in the hunting party arrived at the tree, cussing when they saw Atom.

"Head back to camp." They didn't need to be told twice. It was always easier to let Bellamy handle it. "You too, Charlotte." The girl hesitated but hurried after the rest. Bellamy squeezed his knife and turned back to Atom.

"I... can't.... breathe. Bell-a-my... please." Bellamy crouched back down, angling the knife but unable to move closer. It was too much.

"Bellamy." Her voice cut through the panic in his mind.

Clarke appeared behind him. He didn't have to explain, if she was out here this morning, she'd been out here last night. Clarke approached and crouched next to Atom. "I heard a scream."

"Charlotte. I sent her and the others back to camp." They spoke in hushed voices, Atom stared up to the treetops. His breathing was louder than their voices.

Clarke reached for his blistered neck. Bellamy hated the hope that rose and fell as she checked then confirmed his suspicions. Clarke took the knife from Bellamy's frozen hand and started to hum the moment the knife plunged into Atom's neck. She didn't stop until Atom's eyes closed and chest fell.

"You're not a killer, Bellamy," Clarke whispered, dropping the knife and reaching for his hand. "I don't care what the others are thinking or why they are following you. I know you."

He couldn't deny her words. "They need me to be that."

"You can keep pretending, but Octavia and I know better. You don't need to pretend for us."

He shook his head. "O needs me to be strong."

"Octavia needs you to let her be strong."

Clarke stood up as steps approached. Bellamy watched her wipe her eyes and suck in a breath. He should have done it, Bellamy realized. Clarke would carry the weight of the world for anyone in camp, had risked her life for delinquents that were strangers to her. He remembered the first day as her guard in confinement, the strength she had forced herself to exert when talking to him, just to make him more comfortable.

Not anymore. He vowed to be there for Clarke, protect her, and take the weight she carried off her shoulders.

Bellamy looked down at Atom, then back up as Finn and Wells arrived. They took in Atom, and the knife at Clarke and his feet. Finn stared at Bellamy, unsure how to move forward, but Wells was already in the ditch with them.

"I'll help you carry him." Bellamy nodded, turning away as Finn approached Clarke. The hike back to camp was long, but Bellamy wished it had been longer.

"I need to get boiling water," Clarke was telling Finn a list of things she needed for tending to an injured Jasper.

Bellamy, a step behind them said, "Get Clarke whatever she needs," to a passing group. He was supposed to have been back last night, but the sun had fallen again. Bellamy and Wells set down the makeshift gurney. All eyes went to the still body, then to the Dropship as Octavia exited.

"Thank god you're okay. Did you get the medicine?" O walked right to Clarke, grabbing her arm and pushing her towards the door. Despite entering Doctor-mode a moment ago, Clarke stopped and turned Octavia away from seeing the gurney and body.

"Yeah, I-I got it," said Clarke. "Come inside with me, okay? Let's go talk."

Bellamy watched Clarke put her arm around Octavia's shoulder to lead her into the dropship. Once again, trying to protect him and his sister.

"I'll be there in a minute, Clarke, chill," said O.

"Octavia, something happened last night with the fog," Clarke began, but Bellamy stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Octavia looked between the two.

"Bell?"

Clarke looked over her shoulder at him, and nodded with a sigh, heading in to help Jasper.

"Comewith me, O."