"This is a big deal, Bellamy." It's the first thing Clarke had said since Bellamy had found the weapons, and he looked up from where he was loading one of them with ammo he had found in a box nearby.

"Hell yeah it's a big deal, we're finally going to have somewhat of a chance against the grounders. We won't be sitting ducks anymore." Clarke felt her shoulders droop from where they had been unconsciously tensed, recognizing Bellamy's finally familiar behaviour.

"Well, yeah, but we can't just have guns around the camp with no order to it. They'll be dangerous, especially in the hands of kids who probably have no idea how to use them." Clarke replied, watching as Bellamy grabbed a blanket and hung it on the wall, a big 'x' getting drawn on it at some point.

"Speaking of people who have no idea how to use them," Bellamy responded, the rest of Clarke's words seemingly going in one ear and out the other, "You need to practice. Ready to be a badass, Clarke?"

Clarke stared blankly at him for a moment, still feeling his excitement fluttering in her stomach. Then she glanced at the gun in his hands, and the blanket he had hung up, the pieces clicking together in her mind.

His grin only widened at her reaction, and suddenly she felt fluttery in her stomach for a whole different reason.

"C'mere," He nodded her over and she obliged, walking close enough for him to place the gun in her hands.

"We shouldn't waste the ammo," Clarke reasoned, and Bellamy scoffed lightly.

"You need the practice," He obviously wasn't taking no for an answer, so Clarke turned to face the makeshift target and placed the butt of the gun against her shoulder, taking on what she guessed was a good stance.

"Like this?" She asked, hoping she was at least somewhat close to how she should be positioned.

"Yeah, uh," Suddenly, Clarke felt a warmth on her back as Bellamy placed his hand there, stepping a little closer. Her heart skipped a beat.

"A little higher," Bellamy said, his voice quieter than a moment before as his hands adjusted the gun.

"Yeah, uh-" He cleared his throat after a couple seconds of silence, and Clarke could feel energy rolling off him in waves, mostly nervous. "-that's good, uh... Watch and learn."

With that, Bellamy stepped away and broke contact, and Clarke felt herself relax. Suddenly realizing how fast her heart was beating.

Bellamy picked up another gun and Clarke watched him aim it at the target and pull the trigger. There was a clicking sound, but no bullet was fired. Clarke frowned.

Bellamy sighed, looking somewhat exasperated as he reloaded and repeated the action. Again, just a click, and nothing else.

"Still watching," Clarke couldn't help but tease, and Bellamy rolled his eyes.

"My bullets are duds, try yours," Was his response. Clarke looked at her own gun and held it back up the way that Bellamy had shown her before.

She tried to aim at the center of the 'x', but the kick from the gun must have skewed her shot, because when she pulled the trigger and a live bullet came out, the hole left on the target was about a foot away from where she had aimed. It didn't stop a wave of excitement to course through her, though.

"That... was... amazing." Clarke laughed, staring at the target. She could practically feel Bellamy's smile from here, and it caused her to turn around and face him.

"Am I horrible for feeling that?" She asked, and his smile grew as he shook his head. The corners of her mouth turned up as she met his eyes.

"Try again," He said, motioning toward the target.

"We really shouldn't waste the ammo, other kids have to practice too. Besides, we should probably start heading back soon." She replied, and Bellamy's face suddenly fell at her words and he averted his eyes.

She felt Bellamy's uneasiness and nervousness and... guilt?- swirling around in her stomach. The sudden change in emotions took her by surprise. Something she had said had triggered it, but she couldn't put together what.

"Yeah," Bellamy responded quietly as Clarke went over her words, trying to figure out what she had said that upset him so much.

"Bellamy, what's going on? You've been acting weird all day." She asked, her concern only growing when he clenches his jaw and still won't meet her eyes.

She puts down her gun and takes a few steps towards him, putting her hand on his arm, trying to force him to meet her eyes.

"Bellamy," She starts, trying desperately to make sense of the situation. She glances around and her eyes land on his pack, practically overflowing with all the rations he had taken.

"The rations..." She voices her thoughts trying to come to a conclusion that makes sense. When she does, her stomach drops.

"You're running."

Clarke had meant it to come out accusatory, angry even, but she ended up sounding hurt. Betrayed.

Bellamy must have recognized the tone of her voice, because his eyes finally met hers, and they were swimming with emotion. Clarke swallowed as her throat closed up, taking a step back, distancing herself from Bellamy.

"You-" Clarke starts, her voice cracking over the word. She tries to think over the situation rationally before acting on her emotions. That's what she always does. But right now, her emotions are overflowing and the only thing she can think is that she can't lose him.

"I can't stay there, Clarke." Bellamy finally speaks, but each word feels like a stab in her chest. "When Jaha comes down he's going to kill me. I have to leave."

Deep down, there's a part of Clarke that's worried he's right. She'd been worried about it ever since she'd found out what Bellamy had done to get down here, what he had done for his sister. And although she did believe if they talked to Jaha, they could work something out, she'd been worried out of her mind that they couldn't. But they at least had to try.

"Bellamy, you can't run, you can't. We can talk to Jaha, like we planned, it could work, we have to try-"

"Think about it, Clarke. I shot him. No one's gonna forgive me for that." With that, Bellamy has grabbed stormed out of the bunker, muttering something about 'getting some air'. Clarke felt something in her break.

She sighed heavily and pushed the palms of her hands against her eyes, trying to think of a way to reason with Bellamy, to at least get him to come back today and run away later, anything at all. But before she can continue that train of thought, her vision is swimming and suddenly she's on the ground, not even remembering falling over.

She tries to stand up but she feels so wobbly and everything is spinning and she can't make sense of her surroundings until she hears a voice saying her name. It's familiar, but she can't quite place it.

She tries to find the source of the voice, squinting her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision. The voice calls out her name a few more times, each time becoming less of an echo and more of an actual, solid sound.

"Clarke."

It's then that Clarke finally recognizes the voice, and her heart drops in sorrow while simultaneously racing in excitement.

"Dad?"

...

hi this is another pretty short chapter so i apologize for that, but im going through severe writers block with this story right now and im really trying to work on that. im grateful for all of the reviews im getting because they really help keep me inspired so thank you! and this story will start diverging from the storyline of the show really soon so im really excited about sharing some of my ideas with you guys in the chapters to come :)

dont be a silent reader