Summary: Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia meet on the Ark. Clarke helps them when they need it, will they return the favor? Met on Ark AU. Bellark.

Weird-But-True: This entire first chapter is pulled from my fic Preamble with small changes. I wanted to keep my OMC and the way Clarke met the Blakes, so I did. Everything after this chapter is new content, feel free to skim if you read the other.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you want.

Chapter One: Preamble

Clarke jumps over the rusted-out stair under the sign that advises her that she is entering Factory Station and comes to the door she's looking for. She holds the key card over the sensor on the wall, and when it beeps throws her body weight against it – the door has never been easy to open. "You home?" She shouts setting her newly purchased banana on the kitchen table.

All Ark apartments are identically formatted – four rooms; two bed rooms (one for the parents and one for the child) a bathroom, and a common room (a kitchenette that bleeds into a living room) – identical except for their vastly different sizes. The entire apartments in Factory Station, for example, could fit in the common room on Alpha Station. In Alpha Station, the common area is large enough that they fit a kitchen table by the kitchenette as well a sofa, love seat, and a chair in front of a large coffee table and a television. You could never fit that here; they were lucky to get a table that folded down from the wall, a beat-up sofa, and a small coffee table from the exchange in the common room here.

She walks to what is intended to be the child's room, they use it as her room, and sheds her jacket, throwing it on the bed before grabbing a hair tie out of the drawer and pulling her hair into a pony tail. She wants to take a shower, but water use is limited and they live by a turn system…it's his. Instead she washes her face in the sink in the bathroom and sighs. She's walking back to the common room as the door opens. "Hey"

"Hey" Avery says, glancing up at her while hanging his key card on the wall by hers.

"You look disgusting" she says. He rolls his eyes even though it's true – he's covered in grease and dirt. She goes to the table and grabs the banana, smiles when his eyes widen, peels it and breaks it in half. She hands him half and smiles at the way it takes him forever to eat it, relishing every bite.

He catches her amusement, "Hey, not everyone has constant access to fresh foods" he says around a bite chuckling when her head dips and she blushes – her status, perceived or otherwise, always managing to embarrass her. "I'm gonna shower" he says, finishing his piece and pushing past her.

"Good" she tosses back, moving to sit on the couch. She pulls out her tablet and calls up a movie that she knows he wants to see. She presses play when he comes out and plops next to her.

When the movie ends, he stands, "I volunteered to go in early tomorrow – I'm going to get to sleep" he says, putting air quotes around 'volunteered'. They exchange 'goodnight's' and he disappears into his room.

Having one foot in the world of Alpha and one foot in the world of Factory is an odd juxtaposition; a way of living that took some getting used to, though she likes to think she has a pretty good handle on it now. She'd been so angry when she found out that her mother had gotten her father floated that she'd wanted to just leave – but she loved what she was doing with her medical apprenticeship and hadn't wanted to just walk away. And part of her though that if she stayed she'd be able to figure out what exactly her father had been into that had caused so much disruption (though she hadn't been able to yet).

And, if she's being honest, she knows that living on Alpha affords her certain luxuries and opportunities and she would not get if she lived on Factory. Avery grew up on Alpha, but when he had to escape his father, Factory was all he could afford, so he left his engineering apprenticeship and went to work and live on Factory – now he's spoken about like a cautionary tale. Something you tell children to keep them in line.

So instead of leaving, she made a deal with her mother. She'd stand next to Council Woman Griffin when public appearances called for it (Avery called it 'kissing the ring') and act, for the outside world, like all was fine. Additionally, she'd sleep at home on Alpha every-so-often and continue her medical apprenticeship. In exchange, she lived with relative freedom. It was not ideal, but it was working so far.

Clarke checks out of medical with a wave to the admittance clerk at the front desk, "Have a nice couple of days off, Clarke" she calls after her. Clarke turns and says thanks before walking out. It's late – around ten, and all she really wants to do is sleep. She's glad to have the next couple of days off, but doesn't really have any plans either. She goes to the Alpha cafeteria and grabs an apple, she's on her way out when she sees Wells.

"Hey" she says, dropping to the seat across from him.

He startles, looking up from his book and breaking out into a smile when he sees her. "Clarke" he greets with a nod. They're not as close as they used to be. His father floated her father, and she knows that is not his fault, but it can be hard to look at him without replaying the memory of her father being sucked out of an air-lock and in to space. But, she still counts him among her closest friends – not that it's a long list. They chat for a while, mostly about easy, light topics, before she continues towards Factory. She grabs another apple on the way out, having had shared her original one with Wells.

She's fishing her key card out of her pocket, fumbling with the comm device that's threatening to fall out with it, when she hears voices from inside the apartment. It comes back to her, all the sudden, that Avery told her he was going to ask out a girl he worked with, Amelia. Clarke knows her, just barley – they've talked in the cafeteria and in passing but never about anything more than current Ark happenings. She's pretty – tall and brunette, and kind. Clarke knows she could just walk in and past them, to her room, but she is just not in the mood to make small talk so she sighs, shoves the plastic key card back in her pocket and walks down the hall to the large window.

She boosts herself up and sits on the ledge in front of the window – it's just barley deep enough for her to balance on, and eats her apple. She remembers that there is supposed to be a solar flare tonight, far enough away that it is no danger to them, but close enough that they'll be able to see a pretty spectacular show. She tilts her head back until it comes in contact with the glass and angles her face, waiting for it to come into view.

She hears a door open and close down the hall, and she moves only her eyes to see who it is – with no windows in the apartments on Factory she'd expected at least a few people to watch the solar event at the windows on either side of the hallway – the observation deck not an option for them. She'll move when people start coming, she reasons internally. At first, she thinks it's Amelia and wonders idly what Avery did to make her leave (she feels guilty when he second though is that she won't have to sleep back on Alpha tonight if Amelia is leaving). But as the young woman walks closer, she realizes that she is a few years younger than Amelia and herself, and she walks so cautiously that she seems scared. Clarke hops down from the window and the girl jumps, obviously not having seen her. "Sorry" Clarke says, holding a hand out.

She looks from Clarke, back down the hallway towards the apartment she came out of, and back to Clarke a few times before seeming to come to a decision, "That's okay" she finally says, quietly. She walks to the window and puts her hands on the ledge that Clarke just jumped down from, leaning in so close that her nose touches the glass. Someone passes behind them to the stairs that lead to Factory Cafeteria and she jumps again, turning away from them.

"I'm Clarke" she says finally, looking out of the window from behind the other girl.

She doesn't say anything for a long time, just keeps looking out the window, "I'm Octavia" she finally says, at a near whisper

"Like the Emperor Augustus's sister?" she asks. Clarke had a pretty long Roman History phase around age 12, being fascinated by the culture and world they lived in.

Octavia turns around at that, a bright smile on her face, "Yeah" she nods excitedly. She hesitates a moment before, "I thought there was going to be a solar flare tonight" she looks down like she's nervous and Clarke wonders why, "I really wanted to see it" she glances anxiously back down the hallway.

"We won't be in range to see it for another few minutes" Clarke answers. She waits a moment, before deciding that Avery wasn't going to anger Amelia, and maybe a shower would do her good, so she should probably stop stalling at get to Alpha. "Well…" she gives a half shrug, "Enjoy" she finally finishes.

"Thank You" Octavia breathes as Clarke walks away. Clarke hops over the rusted-out stair and into the hallway when a man's voice stops her.

"O! I've been looking everywhere for you. What the hell are you thinking?" he shouts at the young woman she was just talking to. Clarke peaks her head out to look at them, try to see what is going on. But her movement alerts him to her presence and he grabs Octavia's arm to quiet her – she's been apologizing since she saw him. He pulls her towards him and down the hall. He hears him hiss to Octavia as they walk; "Do you have any idea who that is, O? She's the Ark princess, she'll have people here inside of five minutes" it's the last thing she hears before they disappear behind an apartment door.

She makes the rest of the walk to Alpha trying to make sense of what just happened. She doesn't know why the guy was angry or what he thought she was going to do to them. She makes it home, and starts to get ready to go to sleep. By the time she gets out of the shower, she's all but forgotten the odd exchange.

She never stays out in the common area when she's at her old home in Alpha, wanting to avoid contact with her mother as much as possible. So, she's in bed reading when he mother comes in from the observation deck. It's obvious that she's here; she took a shower and has laundry hanging on the line now (hers and Avery's) so she's not surprised when her mom raps on the door. She sits up straighter, then decides to stand before "Yeah"

Her mother breezes in, "How are you, Clarke?". She's dressed in a long dress, her hair curled around her face and her shoes impractically tall. The observation deck is like an exclusive party, when there is something to be observed, and Clarke realizes that her mother must have went after the Council Meeting today. She wonders idly if it was a good show.

She nods, "I'm well, you?" it feels like she is talking to a stranger.

"I am well" he mother says it slowly and Clarke nods into the awkward silence that follows. Abby clears her throat, "Were you on Factory Station earlier?" she's trying to sound casual, but failing, so Clarke knows this is going somewhere.

"Of course, I was" she answers. "I live there" she adds, partially because it's true, and partially because she likes the way Abby's face pinches when she hears it.

"Was anything odd over there?" Abby asks. Clarke narrows her eyes in response. "A citizen reported seeing a young girl that they didn't know on that floor. They said they thought you were talking to her"

Clarke rolls her eyes, "You sound crazy".

"We've had suspicions of a hidden child on that station for a while now, but random searches haven't turned anything up – if you came in contact with it, that would be huge. Someone saw you speaking to a brunette girl they didn't recognize. If you -"

"That is insane" Clarke interrupts, "Hidden siblings are a myth anyway" she turns so she's not facing her mother, the realization of who that girl was and why that boy was so angry she was out dawning on her all at once, "Goose-bump stories the Council spreads to keep people in line. No way a person lives on this ship to be my age without being discovered". Clarke almost believes herself – how has this girl gone un-discovered?

"Then who were you talking to, Clarke?" Abby asks, exasperated.

"Amelia" she answers, remembering how much she thought the young girl looked like Amelia, "She's Avery's new…whatever" she says.

Abby sighs and rubs her forehead, "Clarke, I -"

But Clarke cuts her off again, "Is that all you wanted?"

It's silent for a long moment, "No" Abby finally says at a near whisper, "I heard that you broke up with your boyfriend, and thought you might want to talk about it"

Clarke barks out a laugh, "Ajax and I broke up like six weeks ago," she does not mention that Ajax cheated on her, "And if I did want to talk, it wouldn't be with you" Abby looks genuinely wounded at that and Clarke takes a deep breath, "You and I just see the world differently, mom". She hates that she still ultimately wants to spare her mother's feelings and gain her approval. Abby nods a little, and turns to leave. Clarke sighs when she shuts the door behind her.

She drops to her bed heavily. How did she not know that there was a secret child living 4 doors away from where she slept most nights? How does someone live like that – was tonight the first time she ever walked in a hallway or looked out of a window? She lays back on the bed – she understands a mother wanting to keep her child, but it almost seems cruel – what kind of life could Octavia have? She'd have to be born, live, and die all in the same small room.

Suddenly, the Ark felt a lot bigger.

For weeks, Octavia is all Clarke can think about. She wants to help, but doesn't know a way to approach the situation without scaring the family. "You are thinking real hard over there" Avery's voice pulls her from her thoughts, "It looks painful" he laughs when the pillow hits him in the face.

"I have a very important question" she says and he puts on a mock serious face to appease her tone. "Do people call me the Ark Princess?" she asks, remembering the boy's words to Octavia when he pulled her out of the hallway.

"Uh," Avery stalls, and she grabs the pillow that she had just thrown at him back, to shove her face in, "Yeah" he says finally, "yeah they do" he finishes laughing at her.

"You couldn't even lie to make me feel better?" She asks incredulously, hitting him with the pillow, before putting it behind her head. "How have you never told me this?"

"Wait, am I in trouble for telling you, or for not telling you?" there's a pause while she shrugs and he laughs, "Please tell me that is not seriously what you've been over there lost in thought about" she just laughs, "Seriously, Clarke, you've been thinking hard about something for a couple of weeks now – what's up?"

She sighs, "I think I know something. Something I'm not meant to know" she says and he nods a little, "Something that if people find out, someone could get hurt" she says, choosing her words carefully.

"Well, can you do anything about it?" he asks her. And, she is reminded of why she loves him so much. Anyone else would have asked what it was, but he knew that she couldn't tell him and respected her enough not to ask.

She shakes her head, "I don't think so".

"So, maybe you don't" he says, "I know that's hard for you" he adds with a smile before she can protest, "But, maybe, how you can help is just by staying quiet and hoping it works out".

"I don't think this can 'work out'. I think the best-case scenario is that no one finds out" she says, picking at her fingernails absently.

"Well" he says, "Maybe you hope for that? Maybe you keep the secret…maybe that's how you help?"

"Yeah" she whispers, unconvinced.

A couple of days later, after a shift at medical, she meets Wells at the Alpha cafeteria for lunch. They're making small talk when Wells mentions that they are going to tighten rations the day after next due to an incident at Agro where an entire half of the station caught fire and tons of food burned. It will take six months to replace the destroyed inventory and in that time most rations will be cut in half or more and anyone getting extra rations – like guards or heavy labors, won't any longer. Alpha would be the only station to remain mostly unaffected.

He mentions it in such passing that she's sure he thought she knew, but she asks question after question until he realizes that was not the case. "I'm sorry, Clarke, I thought you knew" he says when she's out of questions he can answer, "Our parents and Kane were talking about it at dinner yesterday" he winces when he remembers how little she talks to her mother these days. "Besides – you won't be affected" he adds in a way that she is sure he thinks is comforting.

She nods a little, "Sorry. I just…you know how much I hate not knowing things" she laughs at the end so he will too and changes the topic.

When she goes home later, she tells Avery what she heard and he waves her off, "Yeah, I heard about something on Agro"

"Why am I the last person to know everything?" she asks. He gives her a half shrug in response. She sighs – she knows that she can take enough from Alpha for her and Avery, but she wonders how others will survive.

She runs into Octavia's brother one day on her way home from work. Literally, she's looking down at a list of medicines and what they do, trying to memorize them and she smacks right into him while he's walking from his door. She laughs a little, "I'm so sorry" she says as she looks up, realizing who it is she plowed into at that moment. He shrugs, tells her that it's fine but eyes her cautiously. He looks pale, sick maybe, and thinner than the last time she saw him, only weeks ago. She walks away – he's obviously uncomfortable and untrusting of her, so she doesn't prolong the interaction, just goes home. It won't dawn in her until later that he must feed Octavia out of his rations – and if they were cut, he couldn't be eating much at all.

Working in medical buys you a lot of good-will and being a Council Woman's daughter buys you a lot of fear. Well, maybe fear is the wrong word – people might not fear her, but she knew that she could make them nervous and uncomfortable. With every crime being punishable by death, even people with nothing to hide got nervous around Council members. It is this combination of good-will and nervous fear that leads Clarke to believe that she can get away with something that people have been floated for.

She walks in the Factory cafeteria and goes to Miles, he's in charge of the lunch shift and is a friend of Avery's, "Hey Clarke, I've got no food to offer you for another hour or so" he says, then seem to rethink it, "Even then, it's not much" he adds quieter. The rationing has only been going on for a little while but it's already been rough for a lot of people.

Clarke smiles, shakes her head. She often works in the Factory Medical Center, it's why people don't question how often she's there, as such, she's one of the only people on the Ark with two cafeteria cards (one for Alpha and one for Factory) since she's never quite sure where she'll be eating, though she tries to eat on Alpha, as not to take away from Factory – also they are given more food there, and she can bring some back for Avery. "No, I'm afraid I need your help" she answers. "My Factory cafeteria card accidentally got incinerated" she says with a small laugh. Miles cocks an eyebrow, "I had to burn a pair of my pants because of a contamination accident in medical, and the card was in them" she explains. The accident and burning of a pair of pants were true – it is what gave her this idea. And, she thought with her old card being 'destroyed', they wouldn't feel the need to deactivate it.

He laughs at her story, like she hoped he would. "Let's get you set up with a new one, huh?". She lets out a breath and hides it behind a smile.

For a week, she makes sure to use both cards, the old and the new, every day – she needs to make sure that its safe and that no one will figure it out. Everything is going well, until one day at lunch time, she is in front of Miles in line. She doesn't even think about it until she pulls her old Factory cafeteria card out of her pocket and places it between her teeth so she can pick up her tray. It's beaten up and obviously old, and has a 'My Little Pony' sticker on the front because Avery think's he is hilarious. Miles chuckles at the sticker, and either doesn't remember or doesn't mention that her card should be shining and new.

She sits on the card for another week, until she's sure it's safe. If something was going to happen it would have. So, she folds the card into a piece of paper and writes Octavia's name on the front before taking a deep breath and walking four doors down the hall and stopping on front of the one she saw Octavia pulled into all those nights ago. She just stands there for a long moment, before she takes a deep breath and slides the card under the door.

She's turning to walk away when the door swings open and the boy that dragged Octavia away is standing in front of her, card in his hand. "What is this?" he asks angrily.

Clarke presses her lips together for a moment, "Cafeteria card" she answers. He rolls his eyes. He pulls the piece of paper that it was folded in out of his back pocket and shoves it on front of her face, tapping his finger against Octavia's name. "Look, I – I just – I wanted" she stutters a little, "I was just trying to help" she says finally.

"Help what?" he challenges her, she's surprised by how small he can make her feel with just a look. She stands, silent and shocked, in front of him and he lets out a long breath, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. She notices then that he looks sick, tired and worn down. She wonders if he's eating at all.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I did this all wrong" she waits a beat, "I'm Clarke" she says. She waits for him to tell her his name but he doesn't. So, she sighs and nods a little, "I was just trying to help" she repeats in a whisper before walking away.

What Clarke doesn't know is that when she walks away, Bellamy shuts the door and Octavia comes out of his room sobbing, "I'm so sorry, Bell. I shouldn't have gone out" she leans against him and he can feel her tears soak through the shoulder of his shirt as he promises her that it'll be okay – that he won't let anything happen to hey.

A month after rationing starts and extra rations for guard's end, cadet portions get cut in half again. For a week, Bellamy basically starves and he's sure they can't continue like this. He sits in his room, turning the card Clarke gave him in his hand over and over – it's got to be a trap or a trick, nothing comes easy, not to him. But Octavia is hungry all the time and he hasn't had more than water in a week, so he decides it's worth the risk. When he swipes the card, and is handed a tray, he thinks he'll sob with relief. He takes that food back to Octavia and brings his card back to the cafeteria, when that gets him another plate of food he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before eating.

"No, I'm not going and you seriously… you can't make me" Clarke says, holding up her hands to deflect the pillow Avery throws at her in response.

"Come on, Mellie wants to go and I need a wing woman" he says. She shakes her head and then rolls her eyes.

"What happened to Amelia?" she asks and he shrugs noncommittally. She laughs and shakes her head a little. "Whatever – I don't care. I'm not going" she says again.

"Calrkeeee" he draws her name out in a whine, she arches an unsympathetic eyebrow. He sighs, sits up straighter, and then the bargaining begins.

In the end, she agrees to go, but he's doing her laundry for a month…she considers it a win. She rethinks that when, a few days later, she is standing in front of a grimy mirror picking at her mask. "Remind me why I agreed to this" she calls out, tilting her head to the side and pulling at her top.

"You hate laundry" Avery says, passing behind her.

"Makes sense…I do hate laundry" She says. She's mostly talking to herself as Avery is too busy staring at his reflection to pay her much mind.

"You ready?" he asks bowing dramatically and holding out his hand for her to take. They both laugh when she slaps her hand into his. They make their way down the hall and to the masquerade. They meet Millie inside and Clarke gets abandoned pretty quickly after that.

She's standing by a wall when she catches sight of Octavia's brother. She's not sure what to do, so she inclines her head a little in acknowledgement and frowns when he only looks away. She wonders if he's used the cafeteria card that she got him – hopes so. Avery comes up behind her and grabs her hand, spinning her in a circle and then onto the dance floor.

Bellamy watches her spin and laugh and wonders why she is here; she is the Ark Princess, but she slumming it on Factory. He wonders if the boy spinning her is some kind if act of rebellion against her parents. It's all he can think of. His eyes scan the crowd for Octavia and he smiles when he sees her – in the middle of a group of people with her hands above her head, jumping and dancing with everyone else. He's been so uncertain about bringing her, but he knew there might never be another chance. And it'd been more than a month since Clarke had slipped the cafeteria card under their door – he was sure they'd fallen off her radar. He'd traded shifts and planned it all so carefully – watching her now made it all worthwhile.

Avery releases Clarke to dance with Mellie and she goes to the small bar set up in the middle of the room. She's knows the girl who is working and makes idle chit-chat with her. They're laughing at her impression of a guy who is dancing when the loud speaker comes alive able them with a crackle.

A disembodied voice on a speaker announces that due to an unforeseen solar flare, the fun is over – everyone must take off their masks, show an ID card, and disperse. Clarke takes a long drink of water, she turns to the girl behind the bar and asks if she's okay to get home, when she says yes and inclines her head towards her boyfriend on the other side of the room, Clarke smiles and hops off her stool to find Avery. He tells her to go, get home, the guards won't stop her, will be too afraid to incur the wrath of a Council Woman's daughter. She reluctantly agrees, tells him that she'll see him at home and walks towards the other side of the room, the hallway that will lead her home.

She's in the thresh hold of the hall when she hears a scared voice behind her 'which way is home'. She's not sure why, but it catches her attention. She glances behind her and is shocked when she sees Octavia, looking up at her brother. She must not yet realize what kind of danger she's in, because she looks confused and inquisitive…but he looks downright terrified. His eyes dart desperately in every direction, true panic setting in. He can't just leave, there are guards on every exit now, and if they stay Octavia will be discovered for sure.

There is a guard approaching Octavia and her brother, and Clarke knows she only has a moment, so without really deciding to, she runs over to them, grabbing the key card that he'd been holding out for Octavia and stuffing it in her tiny purse before taking Octavia's hand, forcing her voice into a high-pitched giggle when she says "I've been looking everywhere for you!". She watches his eyes dart between her and the guards, hopes that he sees the sincerity in her intentions.

He doesn't have much choice but to trust her though, not when she is unknown and the alternative is certain and painful, so he nods to his sister who clutches her hand tight. She's starts to tug Octavia towards her when the guard finally makes his way to them. When he asks for their ID's Clarke spins a story about how they left them at her apartment on Alpha when they snuck out to the party, and he can totally come back and scan them, but really, they just have to get home before her mom finds out. He rolls his eyes at her childishness and cocks his head to the side, tells her to be careful getting home and she goes. She hears Octavia's brother getting instructions as she tugs Octavia away sharply, know that he will likely be there all night. Hope the guard wasn't able to see the barely concealed panic in his eyes.

She has to basically drag Octavia back to her apartment. When they get there, she lets them in with the key card she'd snagged from Bellamy and hangs the card on the hook by the door, hoping that is what it is there for. When she turns to Octavia, she is basically hyperventilating, the reality of what almost happened catching up to her. Clarke hugs her awkwardly, rubbing her back softly. "Do you think Bellamy is okay?" she hiccups out.

"You're brother?" Clarke surmises, "I think so" she nods a little, "Right now, I think he's probably just mostly worried about you". Clarke leads her to the couch, helps her sit, "It'll probably be a few hours until Bellamy can slip away, so just stay here and stay quiet" she says, alternating her weight from one foot to the other, unsure if she should stay or of that is just an invasion.

Octavia looks up at her from the couch, "Please don't leave" she whispers, looks down, "I don't want to be alone" she adds, wrapping her arms around herself.

Clarke nods, sits down next to her, wraps an arm around her shivering frame, "Of course". After a few minutes of silence, Clarke points absently at the tablet on the table, "Do you want to watch a movie?" thinking that a distraction might be nice.

Octavia nods, wiping at her eyes with a half-shrug. Clarke grabs the tablet and pulls up the movies, noticing that there are only about two dozen on there – she must have seen them all a thousand times, she realizes looking at Octavia before handing her the tablet so she can choose and going to the kitchenette to get her a water.

They start the movie, but neither of them pay it much mind. After a while Octavia sighs softly, "Has it been too long? Do you think he's still okay?" she asks in a quiet voice. Clarke really does think that he's okay, that he's still clearing people out and escorting people back to their apartments. But looking at Octavia, she wonders how she'd feel if it was Avery facing the possibility of being caught for something that can get you floated.

Clarke reaches out and pauses the movie, Octavia looks at her curiously, but she just pulls her comm device out of her pocket and calls Avery's name up to the screen, pressing the little picture of his face. She puts it on speaker, so Octavia can hear and presses her finger to her own lips so the younger girl knows to stay quiet. He answers after less than a ring, "Where are you, are you okay?"

She scrunches up her nose, "Yeah, I was supposed to meet you at home, I got distracted…sorry". She'd forgotten, in all the chaos.

"Where are you?" Avery asks with a little sigh.

"At a friend's" She says with a small smile for Octavia. "Listen, I have a weird question -"

"Don't you always?" he cuts her off.

"Ha ha" she dead pans. She asks him how long ago he left the Masquerade, and finds out it was just a few minutes ago, that he'd been about to call her to find out where she was. "When you left, was there a cadet there?" she asks, he interjects to tell her that they were a lot of cadets there, "Like your height, brown hair, lives in your hall" she describes Bellamy until Avery knows who she is talking about.

"Yeah, when I left he was with Shumway, scanning ID's. They had him walking some people back to their apartments, I think". The tension drains from Octavia's body in a way that is obvious and visual and she smiles in relief. "Why?"

Clarke laughs a little, "Just a weird question, just curious" she says. He makes a voice from the back of his throat that tells her he doesn't believe her. She's not surprised. She's sure he thinks she has a crush or something. They exchange good byes and as soon as the comm is back in her pocket, Octavia practically tackles her in a hug.

When Bellamy walks in the apartment, Clarke and Octavia are on the couch talking. He barely registers that though, his wild eyes darting to Octavia, crushing her to him in a hug when she stands. Octavia laughs, the sounds muffled by Bellamy's chest. Clarke stands, hangs back by the couch, she thinks she should just go, give them the moment, but they're right in front of the exit path.

"Thank you" he says, over the top of Octavia's head. It gets quiet and he swallows heavily, "thank you" he repeats, releasing his sister and crossing to Clarke. She nods slowly, "I don't know what I would have done…" he shakes his head, "It was so stupid to take her there, anything could have happened…" he trails off again, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"You got out okay? They don't suspect anything?" she asks.

"I'm sure they suspect plenty" he says, a dark chuckle escaping him.

"They were suspicious before" she says suddenly, remembering what her mother told her, "I don't know why or how, but they were suspicious of a hidden child, that's why there are so many random searches here" she says it quickly, wanting to make sure she gets it out.

Bellamy nods, "We'll be more careful". Clarke nods, mumbles an okay.

"I guess I should…" she points at the door.

Bellamy clears his throat, "Yeah" she turns, her hand is on the doorknob when Bellamy's voice stops her, "I'm Bellamy, by the way" she laughs lightly.

"Hi Bellamy" he smirks at her.

"Hey Clarke" Octavia's voice fills the room, "Do you think you could visit?" she's self-conscious, picking at imaginary lint on her dress. She's never had a friend before, and she really, really, wants that.

Clarke glances back at Bellamy before turning to Octavia and nodding, "Of course" she says, grabbing Octavia's hand and holding it for a moment. She smiles, before turning to leave.

Please Review!