SIXTEEN.   watch the earth burn

      Since getting the news that she'd been pardoned from her crimes, Tatum was thriving. She didn't have to live her life in fear anymore. She could smile without feeling something bad would happen. She felt free. Swinging her arms as she walked through camp,  she found Raven standing with the other delinquents as they set up a screen. She snuck up behind her and wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, beautiful." She greeted brightly.

Raven flinched until she saw who it was. "Hey, Miss Sunshine." She laughed. "Don't tell me Unity Day's got you all smiley." 

Tatum scoffed. "Fuck Unity Day. I'm smiley all on my own."

She laughed again and Jaha's face appeared on the screen. "My friends, this is a historic Unity Day.  Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this time it is the last time we do so while aboarding her. Next year, on the ground."

"Right. After we did all the work. Someone shut him up." Miller complained.

"Shut up, Miller. No one's forcing you to watch." Said Raven.

"Nah Raven, he's right," Tatum stated. "Why should they get to act all high and mighty about coming to the ground when we've been the ones busting our ass?  Fuck Unity Day."

"Yeah!" Miller cheered and they high fived.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother."

Clarke came outside and Tatum quickly walked over to her. "Clarke,  please tell me you hate Unity Day too?" She begged.

She chuckled. "Why do you hate Unity Day?"

"The Ark only came together after the thirteenth station was blown out of the sky. It's just no one likes to mention that part in their stories. It's like saying we'll come together as a group only after the last person dies. What a joke."

"It gives people hope, though," Clarke insisted and they began walking. "And peace came out of that violence."

Tatum sighed dramatically. "Oh Clarke, dear, will there ever really be peace?"

She couldn't give her an answer.

"Whoo! Yeah!"

The two girls turned around to see Jasper and Monty emerging through the crowd. Jasper had a huge container in his hands. "Monty strikes again!" He announced. "Call this batch Unity Juice! Who's thirsty?" He shouted. He spotted his best friend beside Clarke. "Tatum?"

"Yes sir!" She shouted back enthusiastically and she sprinted over to them. The two boys poured her a drink and everyone watched her down it. When she was done, she threw her hands in the air. "Hell yeah!"

Everyone around her cheered. 

"To our sons and daughters on Earth watching this
message, we will see you soon."

They threw a party that night. Sparks from the roaring fire lifted into the night sky. There was lots of cheering and drinking going on, and it was a chance for them all to let loose and have fun while they still could. Tatum was downing cups of Monty's special Unity Juice left and right. All around them, the teenagers had joyful looks on their faces as they walked around. "Jasper,  Jasper." She smacked the taller boy on the arm. "Do you remember the dance we came up with when we were little?"

Jasper gasped. "Yes, the dance!"

"Dance?" Connor questioned.

Monty rolled his eyes. "They made a stupid dance when we were, like, nine."

"It is not stupid!" Tatum scoffed.

"Should we do it now?"

She gasped. "Hell yeah!" She took his hand and dragged him to the middle of the camp ground.

"Oh no." Monty mumbled and closed his eyes.

The whole camp gathered around to watch the two teens do their stupid, ridiculous dance. Fits of amused laughter radiated over them. "Go Jasper! Go Tatum!"  Connor shouted and it got everyone else to cheer.

On the side, Bellamy shook his head in amusement at them. Jasper spun Tatum around and dipped her,  making her tilt her head back and laugh. He couldn't help but laugh himself.

"They're certainly enjoying themselves." Clarke commented in amusement when she made her way to where he was standing.

"They deserve it. It helps that it's hilarious." Bellamy agreed and laughed when he watched Jasper lift the girl in the air.

She grinned at him and laughed as well. "I don't think i've ever seen her laugh this much."

When the dance ended, they were out of breath but they got numerous cheers and applause from everyone else. The two of them dramatically bowed. "Thank you,  thank you." Jasper shouted.

Tatum laughed watched him jog off and accept the high fives from people. She spotted Bellamy and Clarke standing on the side and made her way over to them. "Hello, my favorite leaders!" She greeted cheerfully.

They laughed at her. "How much have you had, Tate?" Clarke asked.

She started counting on her fingers. "Let's see one,  two. . . three—" she muttered in a daze. "There was four,  five. . . Yeah, five!" She beamed and held up five fingers.

Bellamy snorted. "At least you're a fun drunk." He said with a light smile.

"Oh yeah. I usually cry after but tonight I feel liberated."

Clarke smiled and laughed. "I'm going to go make sure no one passes out." She told them and walked away.

Tatum smiled widely. "Have fun!" She waved and turned her attention back to Bellamy, who was smiling at her. She titled her head to the side. "What?"

"That was some dance out there."

She lazily pointed behind her. "Oh that? Yeah, we came up with that. I don't know how. I think we were watching a musical and tried to recreate it and it didn't work but it stuck with us." She explained and her words slurred.

Bellamy chuckled. "It was cute."

She smiled and rocked on her heels. "Are you not drinking?" She asked and her arms staring swinging.

He shook his head. "Oh no, i'm more of the observer than a partier."

"Well, that's no fun."

"Gotta make sure people like you don't wonder off."  He teased again.

Tatum gasped and punched his arm. "Hey now, i'm perfectly capable of watching myself."

"I know. Still fun to watch." He responded with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. "You enjoying Unity Day?"

"Listening to Jaha ramble about coming to the ground and watching a bunch of teenagers get drunk off their asses? Yeah, best Unity Day ever." He recited and kept the smirk on his face.

"Well I say fuck it," she contended. "I just want to have fun and let loose. Forget about everything and just live in the moment." 

"And what's in the moment?"

She went silent and looked up at him. Her blue eyes stared into his velvet browns and she got lost in them.  "Us being alive, here with all of our friends, having a good time. . . you and me." She trailed.

Bellamy went soft and she got closer to him. The tension between them grew. His eyes fell on her lips and the way the light shined on her face. She was so beautiful. She was stumbling trying to keep her balance and he knew no matter how badly he wanted to, she would be too drunk to remember. "I can't right now, Tate." He whispered.

Tatum frowned. "What?"

He brushed the hair that fell in front of her face. "Not while you're like this. If we're gonna have our kiss I want you to remember it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know." She grumbled.

He looked down at her and grinned. "Wanna get out of here?"

"Yes, please."

Bellamy carefully walked her to his tent. Her head leaned on his arm and he felt her growing tired. When they got to his tent, he sat her on his bed. "Do you feel sick?"

"No, i'm just tired." She muttered and rubbed her face.

"You can go to sleep. I'll be outside."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "No." She shook her head. "Come lay with me."

Bellamy didn't know why he suddenly got nervous.  Maybe it was the fact that he had a beautiful girl on his bed or it was the fact that she was drunk. "Tatum,  you're—"

"Drunk, I know," she interrupted and rolled her eyes.  "Just for a little bit. Please."

When she flashed those wide blue eyes and a lazy smile, he knew he couldn't resist. "Okay." He gave in.

Tatum shrugged off her jacket and leaned back,  resting her head on his pillow. Bellamy took off his jacket and tugged off his shirt before lying beside her.  His arm circled her waist and pulled her into his warm chest. She sighed in relaxation. Her body freed itself of any tension and she sank into him. "Bell?" She voiced quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really happy right now." She mumbled and started to doze off.

He smiled to himself. "So am I."

It ended being longer than just a little bit. They ended up falling asleep together. Nothing happened like they hoped, it was just them holding each other. But to them, that was more than okay. Bellamy's arm was wrapped around her waist tightly and his other hand was lost in her black hair. Tatum's back was pressed against him warm chest and her face was curled into his pillow. It was blissful and it was perfect.

But of course, the blissful moment couldn't not be interrupted. Clarke flipped open the flaps of Bellamy's tent and walked in. "Bellamy—oh."

His velvet eyes shot up from being startled and he saw the blonde standing at the entrance of his tent with a shocked expression. He looked between her and the sleeping girl next to him. "Uh, we were just sleeping."  He quickly excused.

Clarke smirked. "Right."

That's when Tatum stirred in her sleep and let out a low groan. She rubbed her eyes and opened them to see Bellamy and Clarke looking at her. "Well, this is an awkward."

She couldn't help but snort. "Sorry to interrupt you guys but, uh, we really need your help."

Bellamy let go of Tatum and sat up. "Help with what?"  He questioned.

"Finn set up a meeting with the grounders."

"What?" They spoke simultaneously.

Clarke gave them a weird look. "Okay, that's weird. He said the grounder you took, his name's Lincoln, said if we want peace then a meeting is the best way." She explained.

"Wait, wait, Finn talked to him?" Tatum clarification.

"That's what I said. But he said it's already done and we need to go now. We need backup and guns." She continued. "Finn said not to but there's no way we can go without them."

"Okay, alright," Bellamy responded and got up from the bed, putting his shirt on. "Tatum, you don't have to—"

She waved her hand. "It's fine. You think i'm gonna let you guys have all the fun? Let me drink about a gallon of water first and i'll be fine." She got up from the bed and immediately sat back down when she felt a wave of nausea. "Yeah, okay, give me minute."

Tatum walked with Clarke and Finn through the dark woods. "I'd love it if you were right about this but did you ever consider this might be a trap?" Asked Clarke.

"Yep. But since it's Unity Day, I decided to have hope instead." Finn replied lightheartedly.

"That's gonna backfire real quick." Tatum muttered. "Seriously Finn, you're putting a lot of trust in a guy who put a knife in me."

"I'm sorry, Tate, but this is the best option."

Since finding out that Finn cheated on Raven, their friendship had been rocky. They talked when they needed to but other than that, Tatum looked at him in disgust. Finn and Raven had been together for years and to just throw that away for a girl he just met made her feel extremely pissed. She loved Clarke and didn't blame her, but Finn was a scumbag for continuing to lead his girlfriend on.

"We're just trying to keep us alive." Clarke backed her up.

Finn gave both girls a look. "So am I."

That statement would one day backfire on Finn Collins. 

Darkness crept into daylight by the time the three ventured to the bridge. A thin blanket of clouds covered the pale blue sky and a thick fog blocked the sight in front of them until they got close enough to see what they were looking for. Tatum's head was pounding from the growing hang over and she mentally cursed herself for drinking so much. 

Once they got close enough to the trail, they saw the old worn out bridge that they would be meeting the grounders. From below, she saw Octavia pacing back and forth. "So that's how you are this up," Clarke came to a realization. "You helped him escape."

"I trust him." Octavia stated.

"That seems to be be the word of the day." Tatum shot at Finn.

She looked at her desperately. "Please, Tate, just trust me on this one."

She didn't respond and instead looked over to see Bellamy, Raven, and Jasper hiding in the treeline with the grounder. She looked at Octavia for a split second before walking away to stand with them. They followed close behind her.

"How's that hang over, Tater?" Jasper teased when the group of them came over.

"Like I blame you for letting me drink so much." She grumbled.

"Hey, you're a lot more popular now so, jokes on you."

Octavia engulfed the grounder in a tight hug and that's when Tatum backed up slightly, a suddenly nervousness to her. Bellamy noticed and reached forward to grab her hand.

The grounder met her eyes and she shrunk back. "Tatum, it's okay." Octavia reassured her.

She looked back to the very tall, very big grounder.  From first appearance, he was terrifying and not just from the fact that he impaled her with a knife. But then she noticed how close he was standing with Octavia and how she didn't appear afraid.

Quite frankly, she trusted Octavia's judgment more than anyone else's, so swallowed her fear. "Quite an aim you've got on you." she said to the grounder,  referring to her injury.

"I wasn't exactly aiming for you." He spoke. His voice was very low and husky.

"Well, as long as you don't aim for my face the next time, we'll be just fine." Her joking manor eased the tension.

The sound of hooves in the distance made them all turned in the direction of the bridge. They ducked down behind the bushes. The sight of three horses came into view from the fog and Tatum's eyes widened.

"Horses." Clarke breathed out, feeling the same way.

Riding the horses were grounders along with multiple walking behind them. In their hands were weapons which made Finn retaliate. "Hey, we said no weapons."  He snapped.

"I was told there wouldn't be any." Lincoln informed.

"Told you it would backfire." Muttered Tatum bitterly.

Finn attempted to walk forward but the grounder held his arm out. "They go alone." He ordered.

"They?" Questioned Clarke.

He pointed between her and Tatum. "You two."

Tatum's eyes widened.  "Me?"

"Her?" Jasper asked, his tone the exact same.

"Both of them?" Said Raven.

"You risked your life to save your friends and you stand your ground." Said Lincoln. "My leader respects that and requested both of you."

"No way." Bellamy immediately denied.

She looked at him. "Bell—"

"There's no way i'm letting you—"

"Bellamy!" Tatum said louder this time, making him go silent. She gave him a look of reassurance. "It's okay. I can handle it."

Bellamy titled his head, still against it. She raised her eyebrows, basically telling him she was going anyway. The others looked back and forth between them. Finally giving in, Bellamy sighed and looked away.

Tatum glanced over at Clarke. "Ready, blondie?" 

"Not really."

"Neither am I." She responded and grabbed her hand. Together, they followed the path to the end of the bridge and walked down it, meeting the grounder's leader in the middle. A heavy feeling rested on Tatum's shoulders the closer they got and she squeezed Clarke's hands. "What do we do if someone attacks?"

"Bellamy brought guns. We'll just have to use them." Answered Clarke.

Tatum smirked. "I like you more and more every day, blondie."

The leader was a tall woman with a uniquely shaped face. Parts of her face were painted black to camouflage her eyes. A stern, spiteful expression rested on her face and her eyes were cold and expressionless. "Your name's Clarke?" She spoke firmly.

Clarke nodded stoically. "Yes."

Her eyes drifted to Tatum. "And you are?"

Tatum's stomach twisted. "Tatum." She squeaked out.

"I'm Anya." The woman introduced but her voice and face were still stoic.

Clarke reached her hand out for her to shake but Anya simply stared at them. She awkwardly retracted her hand. "I think we got off to a rough start, but, we want to find a way to live together in peace." She began to explain.

"I understand," said Anya monotoned. "You've started a war you don't know how to finish."

Tatum retaliated. "We didn't start anything. You attacked us for no reason." She said and tried to hold back the spiteful attitude.

"No reason?" The grounder woman fired back. "The missiles you launched burned a village to the ground."

The girls looked at each other with wide eyes and realized the flares they sent caused damage to the said village. "The flares? That was a signal meant for our families, we had no idea." Clarke stated innocently.

"You're invaders. Your ship landed in our territory."

"We didn't know anyone was here," Tatum spoke again. "We thought the ground was uninhabited."

"You knew we were here when you sent an armed raiding party to capture one of us and torture him," Anya hissed. "These are all acts of war."

God dammit, Bellamy.

"I see your point. That's why we need to put an end to all of this." Clarke tried to reason.

"Lincoln said there are more of you coming down,
warriors." 

"Yes, guards. But also farmers, doctors, engineers. . . We can help each other, but not if we're at war."

Anya was still skeptical. "Can you promise that these new arrivals won't attack us? That they'll respect the terms you and I agree on?"

"We can promise to try." Tatum answered but she was very unsure about the answer.

The grounder woman looked between the teenage girls with a dark look. "Why would I agree to an alliance that your people can break the moment they get here?"

Tatum almost groaned at how stubborn the woman was being.

"If you fire the first shot, those people coming down won't bother negotiating," Clarke challenged. "Our technology, they will wipe you out."

Anya did not falter. "They wouldn't be first to try." She said with a slight smirk.

From down below in the treeline, Bellamy and the others watched the two girls carefully as they spoke with the leader. "Grounder Princess looks pissed." Raven said out loud.

"Our princesses have that effect." Bellamy replied, his eyes solely staring at the back of Tatum's head.

She smirked. "You mean your Princess?"

"Shut up."

"I don't know why you haven't made a move yet." Said Jasper, butting into the conversation.

"Haven't exactly had a good time," he responded bluntly. "She's almost died twice."

As Raven continued to tease him about Tatum, Jasper's eyes wondered to one of the many trees and they squinted. He could see a shadow moving at the top of one of the trees and then he saw a gun pointing downwards. His eyes widened. "Oh no, this is bad."

The two quickly looked at him. "What the hell are you talking about?" Bellamy questioned.

"There's grounders in the trees."

He followed the boy's eyes where he was looking. "What? Where?"

"Are you sure?" Asked Raven, looking as well.

He didn't have time to respond and his eyes widened when he saw the weapons rise in the grounder's hand.  "They're gonna shoot!" Jasper yelled and stood up from behind the trees. "Tatum, Clarke, run!"

Bullets started flying in the direction of the grounders and spears and arrows were thrown in the direction of the delinquents. Tatum grabbed Clarke and dragged her to the ground.

"Girls, go!"

The two girls immediately sprinted off the bridge as chaos broke. "Tatum, come on!" Bellamy's shouted.

The sound of his voice made Tatum's feet run faster.  Her breath hitched in her throat when an arrow zoomed past her head. She let out a small yell and ducked down all while still running off the bridge. Once she reached Bellamy, he ordered her to duck and that's when fired a shot at the grounders.

The group of delinquents dashed through the forest all while dodging the many arrows and spears that were thrown in their directions. Smoke and gun powder clouded around them and mixed with the early morning fog. Once they were far enough from the bridge, they came to a halt to catch their breath.

Bellamy immediately cupped her face. "Are you okay?"  He asked breathlessly.

Tatum nodded. "Yeah. I'm definitely not hung over anymore." She responded and tried to catch her breath.

If he wasn't so annoyed with Finn he would have laughed. He just shook his head with the tiniest smile and motioned for them to keep running. By the time they got back into the camp walls, they were out of breath and tired.

When they got outside of camp, Bellamy felt Finn's glare on him. "You got something to say?"He fumed.

"Yeah, I told you no guns!" Barked Finn.

"We told you not to trust them!" Tatum stepped in.

"And why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" Raven snapped at her boyfriend.

"I tried, but you were too busy making bullets for your
gun!"  He jeered at her.

"You're lucky she brought them!" Bellamy hollered in her defense. "They came to kill you, Finn."

"You don't know that!"

"They brought fucking guns after being told not to, Finn!" Yelled Tatum out of frustration. "What the hell do you think they were doing?"

"Jasper fired the first shot!"

At the mention of his name, Octavia spun around and glared at Jasper. "You ruined everything!" She almost yelled.

It caused Tatum to look away from Finn and shoot her a stern look. "Watch it, Octavia."

"I saved you!" Jasper fired back. He looked at all of them and scoffed. "You're welcome." He grumbled and disappeared into camp.

"Well, if we weren't at war already, we sure as hell are
now," Finn continued to argue. "You didn't have to trust the grounders." He looked between Clarke and Tatum. "You just had to trust me."

Tatum scoffed. "You're so naive, Finn."

"Why the hell are you so pissed off at me?"

Tatum got in his space. "I don't have enough middle fingers to let you know how pissed off I am!" 
She jeered

Clarke grabbed her arm. "Tatum, calm down."

She ripped her arm away and glared at him once more before storming off. Bellamy quickly followed her. "Hey, hey, Tatum, hold on." He urged and grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around. He placed them on her forearms. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and sucked in a deep breath. "I'm just so tired of almost dying." She exhaled deeply.

He frowned at her words but squeezed her arms in attempt to cheer her up. "I'm tired of you almost dying too." He joked.

She managed to chuckle.

A faint rumble sound came from the sky and made everyone look up. They could see a bright light appear through the stars. "The exodus ship?" Bellamy spoke softly.

Tatum shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "It can't be. They're early."

Clarke came over and stood by them. "They're early."  She repeated the same words.

"That's what I said."

A smile grew on her pretty face and she looked at Tatum. The girl looped her arm through hers and squeezed it, saying how happy she was for her. But the excited expression fell once she noticed how fast the ship was dropping. "Wait, something's wrong." She spoke cautiously.

The camp of delinquents watched in silence as the exodus ship fell to Earth and disappeared behind a tall mountain. Then, the powerful and heart shattering sound of an explosion went off. Tatum gasped loudly and quick covered her mouth. From beside her, Clarke's body froze in horror and her legs went wobbly.

The blonde started to collapse but she was quick to grab her and fall to the ground with her. Her arms wrapped tightly around her frame. She did not speak, for she was in too much shock so Tatum whispered encouraging words in her ear to ensure her she was with her. She felt her own heart breaking, for she had no family on the Ark, but she just watched hundreds of people fall to their death.