"By now, you've all heard the rumour." Abby starts, sweeping her gaze over the people.
Ethan glances to his right to see Murphy at the edge of the crowd, and as if sensing his stare, the brunette tilts his head and makes eye contact. He looks between Ethan and Clarke like there's something to be seen there.
"And unfortunately it's true. The grounders are coming."
Blinking in shock, Ethan turns back to Clarke, "What? When?"
"You haven't heard?"
"No, I've been locked inside."
Clarke glances his way, brows pinched. She barely gets the beginning of a question out before Abby is cutting her off, continuing the speech.
"We have a difficult decision to make. Thankfully, Chancellor Jaha has made his way back to us. And we're discussing all options." The Chancellor finishes, allowing Jaha to step in front of her and continue.
Jaha snatches the crowd's attention. "But to be safe. You need to pack. Now." He glares, his face set in stone. "Whatever you can carry. We may need to leave at a moments notice."
The crowd starts asking the real questions. Where would they go? How far? What about supplies? Jaha explains that he doesn't know, but he's simply heard of a place.
Ethan wants to scoff. As if they'd leave on a hunch. The City of Light, whatever that's supposed to be.
"Given the alternative. I think it's good enough an option to me." Jaha nods.
And leave their friends behind like nothing has happened? Move on to a better land while they suffer alone? Ethan scowls.
Clarke steps forward, voicing his thoughts. "Not for us." She says, "If we leave here, what happens to our people in Mount Weather?"
"As your mother said," Jaha glances at Abby, "That is a very difficult decision we have to make. But the time has come for each and every one of us to ask. Is this how the story of our people ends? Did we come all this way, just to die tomorrow?"
The crowd murmurs, a surprisingly good amount of people disagreeing with Jaha's plan.
"I have faith," Jaha says.
And Ethan scoffs. He turns around to find Murphy, knowing they share a similar hatred for the old Chancellor.
When he makes eye contact with the boy at the edge of the crowd, a hand grabs him and he panics, trying to twist out of the grip. But all he sees is Bellamy's frowning face and breathes out a sigh of relief.
"Dude," Arms connected from wrist to elbow, Ethan sighs, "You okay?"
Murphy rolls his eyes from where he stands, taking a step back as though he'd never instinctively moved forward. He shoves his hands back into his pockets and watches them converse for a second longer, eyeing the distance between them with a frown.
"I'm fine. We need to get to the dropship." Bellamy says, tightening his grip.
Ethan notices that Octavia isn't with him. He nods, "Yeah, okay. What's there?"
Bellamy glances at Jaha, still talking.
Does a double-take, his mouth parted in question, deep lines across his forehead.
"Yeah, that happened." Ethan says, glancing at Jaha himself with his lips curled down. When he looks back Bellamy is shaking his head, releasing the hold he still has on Ethan's arm.
Then, "Lincoln."
Ethan almost gets whiplash looking at him. "You found him?" He's sensing a but coming along.
With a nod, Bellamy lowers his voice, stepping closer to be heard. "He's a reaper."
"What the fuck?" Ethan plants his feet on the ground like he's afraid he might fall over from the news, "How?"
"We're not sure." Bellamy looks over his head to see Clarke, "Come on."
Clarke moves to walk away, following the crowd that's parting but flinches when Bellamy tugs her back. "Where have you been?" She asks, brows knitted.
Bellamy repeats the same rushed conversation as seconds ago, with an added: "Meet me at Raven's gate." Before he parts ways.
Ethan heads for the Ark. He manages to get all the way to the room, grab his bag, and get out of there before his eyes lock onto Lorelai standing outside on the grass. She looks right at him, her arms crossed.
He attempts to turn around and walk the other way but stops in his tracks then too.
Because Michael's also there.
"Ah, fuck."
He'd like to know how they're so coordinated.
Clarke stops beside him, easing his worries a little. She's familiar. She's safe.
"You ready?" She sees the clench of Ethan's jaw, follows his narrowed eyes to the guy across the courtyard. She catalogues his appearance. This must be the guard he was talking about.
Ethan tightens his hold around the strap of his bag. "I was."
He glances over his shoulder and Clarke follows his gaze to see Lorelai.
Abruptly, Clarke follows Ethan in clenching her jaw. "She can't keep a leash on you like this."
"Yeah," He tightens the hold on his bag straps, "I'm working on it."
They watch Lorelai stomp across the clearing towards them and hurry their conversation. "Can you sneak out?" She asks, glancing at his tense face.
"Last time I tried I was cuffed to a bunk bed." Ethan exhales through his nose. Clarke's troubled eyes swing his way and she opens her mouth but Ethan knows and there's nothing he can do when it's his mother making the decisions. "Update me, alright?"
"Yeah," Clarke lets out a controlled breath, "When we get back, tell me everything. About them."
Ethan shakes his head a little, "Clarke, it's not that serious-"
Her glare hardens, a no-nonsense look.
"Fine." He rolls his eyes.
Their shared gaze is swiftly interrupted by the visit of Lorelai, her palm already held out expectantly. "Ethan. Pass me the bag. You are not leaving until the threat of the grounders is gone, you hear me?" She snaps.
Ethan rolls his tongue against the back of his teeth, "Just saying bye, Mum." He drops a hand on Clarke's shoulder and squeezes, "Stay safe."
She nods, slipping a rectangular device into his jacket pocket. A walkie-talkie. Sending a glare towards his mother, Clarke turns around and leaves.
Ethan watches her go with a sinking feeling. He desperately wants things to go back to normal, back to before the Ark landed and it sounded so selfish. Having Lorelai here was supposed to make him happy. Not conflicted.
He hates being out of the loop, and it's all because of her.
Lorelai still has her hand out despite the disappearance of Clarke. Ethan grinds his teeth but keeps a straight face, dragging the bag off of his shoulders and dropping it into her hand.
He feels Michael step up beside them before he even sees him, "Piss off."
Lorelai frowns, "Language, Ethan." She looks at Michael, next, and reassures, "It's okay. He's not going anywhere."
Ethan lowers his head, pinching tiredly at the space between his eyes. "Look, I get it. I can't go anywhere, your partner in crime has an eye on me, you'll be upset, yadda yadda." He rolls his wrist around and around to emphasise, "But surely I can at least socialise? Outside? I can't be locked in the room all the damn time."
"Language," Lorelai warns, her stance growing more rigid every time she has to remind him.
"Damn?"
"Didn't you just hear her?" Michael tilts his head.
"Oh, I'm so sorry that my words have offended you." Ethan snaps, and gestures between them frantically, "Since when was this even a thing? How are you two friends?"
Lorelai glances at Michael and shrugs, "He guaranteed the council didn't know about my involvement in Raven's take off. And after that, he was there when I fought through the lack of oxygen. I trust him."
Why does he sound like such a good guy when I'm trying to prove a point?
"Then why go this far for wanting some water?" He jabs a finger at his bruised cheekbone.
Lorelai smiles like it's a joke, the sun's glare bringing out a malicious glint.
"Oh, come on. Michael told me you tried to fight him." She tries to reach forward and brush a finger against his face but he steps back, shaking his head. "Honey, don't be stubborn."
"Okay," Ethan scoffs, "He's a liar for one. And for two, he fucking threw me to the ground and stepped on me, I don't know what else I'm supposed to say -"
He can feel himself choking up, "Why won't you believe me?"
"Michael, this true?" Lorelai crosses her arms, turning her head to acknowledge the guard.
Michael scoffs, jolting back like it offended him. "It's an exaggeration if I've ever heard one. I shoved him when he refused to enter, and cuffed him after he kicked me in the nuts." He pins Lorelai with a fake look of hurt, then gestures towards Ethan, "He's a terrible liar, I mean, look at him. He's getting all red."
Ethan's lips are starting to tremble. It's embarrassing. He bites his tongue to stop it, but the burning of his face and ears is harder to calm.
It's one thing for the council not to believe him for the circumstances of his lock-up. They didn't know him.
It's a different thing for his own mother to hang onto Michael's every word but not her own son's -
Ethan flinches hard at the arm that swings casually over his shoulder, a warm body suddenly pressed against his side.
He glances with wide, red eyes, seeing the side of Murphy's smirking face.
"Hey, man." Murphy didn't come here with a plan. He frantically searches for an excuse, feels Ethan's stray hairs tickle against his ear. Got it. "You said you were going to fix my hair."
Ethan relaxes under his arm.
This can't be Murphy, it has to be an imposter.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just waiting for-" He gestures, still speechless, to Lorelai. From here he can see the scars curling around Murphy's neck, visible in red scratchy lines.
The silence lingers.
Lorelai looks Murphy up and down in disdain, eyeing the arm he has over her son's shoulder.
"Oh, and uh, Harley's waiting for us. You told him we'd help out." Murphy directs Ethan's head so he's seeing the guard over by the boxed supplies.
With the way Michael's face sours at the name, it was a good idea to bring him up.
Lorelai nods, still glancing cautiously between Ethan and Michael, before finally, "Fine. Go help them. But-"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't leave camp."
Eyes trail Lorelai all the way back inside. Michael scowls, feet still planted.
"You got a problem?" Murphy asks, hitching a brow. He huffs in success when the guard rolls his eyes and walks the other way.
Slipping his arm from Ethan's shoulder, Murphy pats the boy hard twice on the back, his fingertips lingering. "You're welcome."
Ethan twists to face him, a shiver following the touch across his spine. "I-"
"I don't like him either. That's all." Murphy glances at the guard still watching them from a distance. He frowns and starts to wander over to Harley, Ethan a few steps behind him, trying to escape Michael's line of sight.
Ethan smiles dopily at Murphy's back.