Avery let her feet hit the ground of the Earth for the very first time.
The celebratory shouts of the kids around her were distant and muffled yells in her ears; her senses only able to focus on the incredible surroundings she had never experienced before. Most people were running through the forest, hugging one another despite never having met before, and playfighting.
The girl circled on the spot in awe of it all, involuntarily laughing in glee. She hadn't felt that happy in a long while. And sure, it was only temporary, but it was pretty damn good.
She was stopped abruptly by someone bumping straight into her and almost knocking her over. As she yelled out a "Watch it!", the culprit managed to grab her hand and stop her from toppling onto the ground.
The person pulled her back onto two feet and she found herself looking into the eyes of a boy she saw on the Dropship. Specifically, the one who made her feel nervous when she got caught staring at him. He pulled back his hand before she could comment anything snarky, and for once she found herself lost for words.
"Ah, it's my heckler." The boy said softly but teasingly, and Avery let out a scoff to avoid blushing.
"I don't think calling you a smart ass counts as heckling."
She hoped he would ignore the fact she didn't thank him for stopping her fall. Sure, he nearly caused it in the first place, but a decent person would've said thanks for the prevention of it.
"I'm-"
"-Hey, who's this?"
A loud voice interrupted the boy's attempt at conversation, and then two arms slung around each of their shoulders. A boy with shaggy brown hair and a pair of goggles plastered on his head beamed at the pair of them, clearly familiar with the other boy.
"Who are you?" Avery retorted warily, shrugging off the arm.
"Jasper."
The quiet boy sighed in frustration at his friend, clearly wanting to apologise for his weirdness, but Avery had already taken a few steps away in awkwardness. She lingered for a moment, debating whether to shake Jasper's outstretched hand, and then saying in her head, fuck it, why not?
I'm gonna be stuck with these weirdos for the rest of my life, why not befriend them?
"Avery."
Her eyes immediately flitted to the quiet boy, but he was exactly that: quiet. She couldn't tell if he was going to tell her his name in return.
"This is Monty." Jasper patted the boy on the chest, with the boy giving her a sheepish smile and awkward wave as a greeting.
Monty took her interest. Not in that way - well maybe that way too - but in the general sense. There was something about him that just intrigued her. It was as if she knew what was going to happen in the future...
She glanced between the two boys, realising that she had fallen silent whereas Jasper was already chatting away to Monty. He was using wild gestures and hand moments, seemingly very enthusiastic about whatever it was.
Avery suddenly felt very aware of the fact she didn't know how to talk to people.
"As fun as this is," She interrupted bluntly, wishing the ground could swallow her up. "I've got to go..."
She faltered for an excuse to leave, letting her eyes wander around before landing on Clarke. The girl seemed troubled, and she had no intentions of helping.
"... See Clarke."
And with that, she was gone.
Clarke was by the Dropship, a map spread out on the ramp in front of her, and she was planning out a route on it. Wells was by her side, chatting away, his face highlighting his distress. Whatever it was, Avery wanted to be involved.
She could just about tolerate Clarke enough to join her on a trip going wherever - because she'd rather be with her than a bunch of hungry teenagers when they realised they had no food.
Avery wasn't the smartest person. But even she had noticed they didn't land on Mount Weather.
"What's going on?"
She could already see Clarke's face dropping at the sight of her joining them, but Wells just stared at her blankly; clearly completely unaware to who she was. Avery beamed back at Clarke, knowing just how much the girl didn't like her in return but also knowing that she was too polite to refuse to answer.
"We have to get to Mount Weather. We're not going to survive if we don't."
Clarke's grave tone nearly made Avery frown, but she refrained. If anything, she didn't want to show any signs of worry or anxiousness. Clarke would see her as weak, and the only way she wanted to be seen by her was intimidating.
"How do we get there?" She asked in reply, but just as Clarke was about to respond - clearly surprised by her civility - they were interrupted.
It happened to be the same boy interrupting Avery and Monty's awkward encounter, and Jasper seemed just as friendly and chaotic as the few moments she had spoke to him before. She guessed the two boys had spotted what was going on when she went over, and wanted to find out for themselves what was happening.
"Ah, cool, a map." Jasper had appeared between Wells and Clarke, smirking at the girl cheekily. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer."
Clarke didn't respond to the flirty comment, but Wells did. And it became very apparent to Avery in that very moment: Wells was in love with Clarke.
She watched in amusement as Wells pushed Jasper away roughly, as the boy in return backed away with a stammering string of words towards an on-watching Monty. Avery tilted her head to Clarke, widening her eyes as though they were close friends making signals about a boy one of them liked.
"Seems like someone has a little crush on you, Clarke."
Clarke averted her own, and Avery instantly understood that she didn't like him in return. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Wells had heard her teasing comment and stiffened up instantly, shoving Jasper back more roughly.
In that moment, Wells remembered who Avery was. He heard of a few prisoners from his dad, and she was one of them.
"Hey, hey!" A familiar shouting from a few feet brought a smile to Avery's face. "Hands off of him! He's with us."
Murphy.
The boy was accompanied by a long line of others, all hovering behind him as though he were the leader of the pack. The girl couldn't help but step forwards, making herself noticeable to him and shoving him playfully.
"I forgot you'd be here dipshit." He teased, as Avery pouted playfully.
Their friendship was actually completely expected. Since both of them could be entirely insufferable to most, they worked well together in pissing everyone else off whilst entertaining one other.
They met in the Sky Box; their rooms next to one another. Prison got too boring to spend all of it alone. They would chat on occasion, through the wall, and found that they shared a lot more in common than they thought.
Avery didn't know what she expected him to look like, but he actually looked quite intimidating. She wouldn't let him know she thought this: through all of their conversations in the Sky Box, she easily discovered he could be very terrifying when he wanted to.
"Yeah, well I didn't. How could I forget when I knew you'd be so annoying?"
As they joked around, Avery could hear an impatient sigh from behind. Usually, she would've let it slide, but Murphy seemed to amplify her emotions; and in this case, her irritation.
"You have something to say?" She asked Wells demandingly, recognising him to be the source of the impatient noise.
He shrugged, looking between the two of them in irritation. It took him a second to speak, in which he was probably trying to summon some courage to face the consequences of what he was about to say.
"It makes sense that the two of you are friends."
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
She stepped towards him, finding herself genuinely annoyed. Clarke placed a hand in front of her, surprisingly not to reprimand her but to scold Wells. Behind her, she could hear Murphy's insult being chucked out at him.
"Just that it makes sense." Wells said simply, with a shrug. "Seeing as you're a psycho and all."
That's it.
Avery hadn't noticed the small crowd forming around them. Wells' words were too harsh for her to ignore. She lunged forwards to grab him, being stopped by two hands on her shoulders, pulling her backwards.
Octavia was by her side, to her surprise, and glaring daggers at Wells. "Don't waste your time on that privileged asshole."
Despite Wells majorly annoying her, Avery felt a warm feeling spreading over her at Octavia's immediate instinct to defend her. Somehow, she had already wound up with a friend, and a badass one at that.
"Call me a psycho again and I'll end you. We both know why I'm here." She warned the boy, feeling satisfaction upon Wells' frightened expression.
"Relax," He said, after a nervous breathy laugh. "We're just trying to figure out where we are."
"And I'm just trying to talk to a friend when you call me psycho." Avery muttered under her breath, already forming a grudge against Wells.
It seemed that other people were also unhappy with him. Bellamy was more than enthusiastic in his attempt to shut down Wells and Clarke's map drawing.
"We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?"
"We have to found Mount Weather. You heard my father's message, it's gotta be our priority."
"Screw your father." Octavia threw out, bitterly.
"Yeah, full offence, I barely listened to a word he said; it was so boring." Avery chimed in, watching Wells struggle to defend himself.
"You think you're in charge here? You and your little princess?"
It took less than a second for Clarke to launch into a monologue: droning on about how she didn't care who was in charge, and that they all had to go to Mount Weather before they got hungry and it became unbearable.
But of course, no one would listen. Avery almost felt bad for the girl. She genuinely just wanted to help, to keep them alive. And yet, no one was understanding how serious it was.
"You two go." Bellamy called, addressing Wells and Clarke. "Let the privileged do the hard work for a change."
Shouts of agreement sounded out around the crowds, and Avery watched as Clarke looked around helplessly; hoping someone, anyone, would just step in and agree. And as much as Avery could recognise this, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Because she felt the same as the others. Wells and Clarke were privileged; they couldn't possibly understand what life was like for any of them on the Ark. Maybe they should be doing the hard work.
"You're not listening." Wells pushed tiredly. "We all have to go."
Murphy found a moment to take out his anger on Wells then, pushing him hard in the back and sending him stumbling forwards. "Look at this. The Chancellor of Earth."
"Think that's funny?"
Instead of responding, Murphy kicked out his leg and sent Wells to the ground. Clarke tried to intervene but got held back by one of Murphy's crones, and now Avery found herself frowning.
"No, but that was."
Letting out a heavy sigh, she stepped forwards enough to catch Murphy's attention and stop him from going after Wells again. He watched her questioningly, and she simply just shrugged.
"Come on Murphy, it's not impressive. Give it up."
Her attempts didn't do much to deter him, and he simply scoffed, waving her off. Looking back to Wells, he was hobbling on one leg but still holding up his fists as though he was ready to fight. Murphy smirked, holding up his own in return, clearly getting hyped up by the crowds laughing behind him.
This is going to be pathetic.
Before Murphy could get a hit on Wells, Finn had leapt down from the side of the Dropship, placing himself right between the two. Murphy looked at him, his hands down by his sides, and took a few cautious steps back.
"The kid's got one leg. How about you wait until it's a fair fight?"
"Hey, spacewalker, rescue me next." Octavia's flirtatious comment did well in dissipating the anticipation for the fight, and now people were drifting from the scene to continue exploring the land they found themselves on.
"Nice one spacewalker." Avery murmured quietly, and Finn chuckled as they both watched Murphy disappear through the crowds.
Clarke had floated towards the Dropship to check over Wells' leg, and Avery could see Finn eyeing them both up as if he wanted to interrupt. Having decided she wanted to be as much of a part of it as possible, she told herself mentally that she'd join them in a little while, and then wandered off to find something less depressing to do than talking to the two most hated members of the 100.
Octavia was busy talking to her brother and Murphy was probably off sulking somewhere. This left Avery with only one option, that she told herself she hated more than she did. She didn't really hate it at all.
The girl weaved her way past a few groups of people and found Jasper and Monty standing close to the Dropship with a few others. She greeted them with a cautious smile, wondering if they'd really want to talk to her after her outburst at Wells.
"Hey, Avery!" Jasper met her presence with a burst of energy that she found infectious. "We're trying to see if there's any pot growing here. Gotta have fun somehow, right?"
She chuckled softly, watching Monty pluck a leaf from a plant growing close by and inspect it carefully. He met her eye with a shrug, holding it out to her.
"Can you guess if it is?" He asked in amusement.
She took it from him, glancing uncertainly to both the boys and then back to the small green leaf in her hand. There was a beat of silence in which they all looked at it; as if expecting something to happen.
"I've gotta be honest boys, I really have no idea."
They broke out into laughs, the girl's cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. The boys weren't laughing at her however, but with her. Monty took the leaf from her grasp again, smiling knowingly.
"That's okay." He shrugged, lifting it up towards his face as if he was going to smell it. "Growing up in Farm Station means you learn these sorts of things."
"Yeah you don't really get that sort of lesson in Factory Station." She replied, smiling at them both as she watched Monty with the plant.
It was then that Monty and Jasper's shoulders were grabbed from behind. They were spun around by Finn, involving them in a conversation with both Clarke who was looking irritated, and Wells who was looking troubled.
Wells was sprawled out on the ground, his leg stretched in front of him; presumably injured from where Murphy knocked him onto the ground. Clarke was stood in front of him, her disinterest obvious in the way she was turned away from him and towards Finn and the others.
Avery had to wander around to Monty's side to see what was going on, feeling surprisingly keen. She grabbed the leaf still in his hand, releasing it from her grasp and watching it float to the ground.
"It wasn't pot, by the way." He whispered to her quietly, making a smile grace her lips.
"Shame."
"The four of you are gonna carry enough food for a hundred?" Wells asked Finn unconvinced, but the boy in return just shrugged; Avery knowing that he was silently asking the boy if there were any other options to choose, and in great frustration too.
"Sounds like a party, make that five." Octavia chimed in, clapping her hands together and smirking at the group in front of her.
Avery couldn't help but smile too, knowing that if Octavia was there, it'd be a lot more enjoyable. Even her brother couldn't stop her from going; seeing as he couldn't control her.
"I'll go too." She offered up then.
Avery instantly caught Clarke's grimace in response. The girl bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from angrily insulting her. The blonde tried to shake her head fervently.
"We don't need anyone else." She said firmly, and Avery found herself frowning.
"Hey, Avery can help." Octavia defended, folding her arms over her chest and challenging Clarke with her eyes.
"You need more people to carry food, right?" Avery questioned.
She knew that Clarke couldn't really stop her coming, but it would be nice to get her approval. Avery could scarcely believe what she was thinking; wanting Clarke's approval?
The radiation in the place is definitely going to my head.
"It's fine. You can come."
Avery smiled triumphantly, and met Octavia's hand in a high five. Wells emphasised Clarke's need to be careful, and the girl couldn't help but think it was ever so slightly due to the fact she was joining them.
Avery didn't really care if Wells thought badly of her, or if Clarke thought badly of her. She cared about the others though.
It was something that was becoming increasingly more obvious the longer she spent on the ground: The desire for validation.
Octavia wanted her there, she didn't have to worry about her. She knew Finn didn't care either way, which was fine by her. Jasper still looked as enthusiastic as before; flashing her a thumbs up and a toothy grin which let her know he was happy she was tagging along.
It was just Monty.
He didn't even look like he felt negatively about it, he just looked guarded. Avery didn't know she put him on edge a little; because he found her pretty. To her, it simply just looked like he was cautious of her, and she couldn't blame him if he was.
She decided then that she had to turn it all around. Monty didn't know her, not yet. But still, he seemed wary of her. Or at least; that's what the paranoid part of herself said.
That wasn't the impression Avery wanted to make on people.
Something deep down inside of her told her she wanted to be kind. And joining the group on a mission to get food and water from Mount Weather seemed the perfect way to start.