EIGHT.   dancing around the lies we tell

      Tatum should've felt weird. She confessed her forbidden secret to a nearly total stranger because she thought she was going to die. But she didn't and know Bellamy knew everything. He knew the reason why she killed Riley, but even more than that, he knew things about her that she swore to secrecy. The story of her miscarriage was something that tormented her everyday.

So she should've been at least afraid that he would tell everyone. But he didn't. In fact, it sorta made them closer. The stolen smiles were just one thing. Tatum actually liked to be around him, which was strange, because she wanted to strangle him in the beginning, make him suffer. Now, she smiled whenever he was near. She hadn't felt like this since Riley. And that terrified her.

She still struggled to put her clothes on. The scars on her back were still healing and according to Clarke, she wasn't allowed to lift anything heavy until they fully healed. She walked out of her tent and saw Charlotte struggling to gather logs. "Need some help with that?"

Startled, Charlotte looked her way and widened her eyes. "Um. . . no, i've got it. Besides, your back is still hurting."

Tatum waved her hand. "Please, it'll take more than a cougar to take me down." She teased. From the corner of her eye, Connor collapsed on the ground while working. "Connor," she gasped and quickly went to help him. "Connor, are you okay?"

"Hey!" Shouted Murphy. "You think the grounders are just going to sit around and wait for us to finish the wall? Maybe we should let the little girl do the lifting for you, huh?"

Tatum stood up and casted him a glare. "I'm sure she's doing a better job than you."

"Can it, Adler." He sneered.

Connor let out an exhausted sigh. "I just need some water, okay? Then i'll be fine."

At the same time, Bellamy came over, watching the scene with his usual hard eyes. "Murphy, give this guy some water." He demanded.

Murphy stormed off. He turned to Charlotte and pointed to the wood. "Hey, you got this?"

She blinked and reached down to gather them up. Bellamy smiled and held his hand out. "I-I'm joking."

Tatum smiled briefly. She went to help Charlotte but he quickly stopped her as well. "Hey, hey, no heavy lifting for you."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, I'm fine."

He only shrugged. "Not according to Clarke."

"I think I know my own body well enough to know that, thank you very much."

She sat her hands on her hips. This time, Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it, Star Girl."

She raised her titled head. "Star Girl?"

He let go of the wood and looked her way again. A boyish smile tugged on his lips. "Yeah, well, you said you only let people you like give you nicknames. I'd say we're well acquainted, right?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, sure. If you say so."

His smile grew. "So I was thinking hard about what to call you." He stood up straight and walked towards her. He looked to the sky. "We did live in the stars after all. Stars are also pretty. I think it suits you."

Tatum tightened her jaw to keep the smile she could feel coming away. But the corner of her mouth worked up anyway. "Have you always been this slick, Blake?" She questioned.

"No, no, not at all."

His face was forced dotted in freckles. A starry eyed boy with constellation skin. She didn't try to fight the smile that time. There was a warm feeling in her stomach, a feeling that made her feel both sick and at peace.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Murphy?"

Hearing Connor shout, the two of them snapped out of their daydream and looked over to see Connor covered in Murphy's piss, the zipper of his pants down as evidenced.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

"You wanted a water break. Get back to work!" Murphy barked at him.

Tatum scoffed out loud. "You're just a dick, Murphy."

"You've got a smart mouth don't ya, Tatum?"

He strutted closer to her and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, you do bring out the worst in me." She mocked him.

"Are you sure? I thought it was Riley."

As much as she wanted to elbow him in the face, she kept her composure. "You think your words affect me? I don't give a shit what you think of me."

He took another step closer to her. "You used to."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We were friends at one point, weren't we?" Murphy continued to taunt her and then smirked. "In fact,  pretty sure we were more than that."

Bellamy immediately looked their way. "What?"

"What?" Said Charlotte, her eyes wide.

Tatum scoffed again. "Please, you're so over dramatic.  It was one kiss."

"You two kissed?" Bellamy butted in again.

"We were twelve and it was a dare." She clarified and continued glared at Murphy.

"Yeah, there was that time. . . Then the time after that. . . Oh, and the time after that. . ."

She made a chocking motion with her hands. "I'm going to strangle you. . ." She paused. "In a non criminal way."

"Tatum, Bellamy!" Octavia shouted their names and they saw her running in their direction.

"Octavia, what's wrong?" Asked Bellamy worrisome.

"You two have to come with me."

"Why? What's wrong?" Tatum questioned and turned her attention away from Murphy.

"Just come on!" She exclaimed and grabbed her hand, dragging her away and Bellamy followed close behind.

When Tatum entered the tent, she saw a stressed out Clarke and Jasper. "What's up? What happened?" She questioned.

Clarke said nothing and moved from in front of the table, revealing to them the problem. A pair of severed fingers sat on display and Tatum looked horrified. "Oh my god."

"Someone killed Wells last night." Jasper told them.  "Octavia and I were walking in the woods and I found them."

Clarke showed them the weapon beside the fingers. "This knife is made of metal from the drop ship."

"Who else knows about this?" Bellamy finally spoke, his voice dark.

"No one. We brought it straight here." Octavia answered.

"It means the grounder didn't kill Wells," Clarke informed and by the look on her face, Tatum could see that she was upset. She and Wells were beginning to get back on good terms but she would always feel betrayed by him. And now he was gone and she couldn't help but feel guilty.

"It was one of us." Said Tatum once she realized.

"So there's a murderer in camp?" Jasper inquired.

"There's more than one murderer in this camp." Said Bellamy. Tatum look at him. He cringed slightly. "Sorry. . . This isn't news. We need to keep this quiet."

But Clarke had a mind of her own. She moved to walk out of the tent but he blocked her from leaving. "Get out of my way, Bellamy." She demanded.

"Be smart about this," he uttered. "Look at what we've achieved. The wall, the patrols. . . Like it or not, thinking the grounders killed Wells is good for us."

"Oh, good for you, you mean," she sassed. "What? Keep people afraid and they'll work for you? Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it," Bellamy said with annoyance. "And besides, what are we going to do, just walk out there and ask the killer to step forward? You don't even know whose knife that is."

"Oh really?" She questioned and took the knife off the table, showing him the initials. "J.M—John Murphy. The people have a right to know."

Tatum's eyes widened slightly and she stepped forward. "W-Wait, Clarke, think about this. Bellamy's right—"

"Tate, you saw how Murphy treated Wells. And you hate him!"

"Of course I hate him! But look, there's a hundred people down here and if you go out there and start something, you're going to get one person riled up and it'll cause a riot." She tried convincing her.

"Listen to her, Clarke." Bellamy stated.

But Clarke ignored them. She pushed past him and walked out of the tent. "Why do I even bother?" Tatum groaned and followed her.

Clarke marched up to Murphy and shoved him, shocking him and everyone around them. "You son of a bitch!" She shouted.

"Whoa, what's your problem?" Spat Murphy.

Tatum stood by Bellamy's side and watched the scene unfold with an unsettling feeling. 

Clarke held up the knife. "Recognize this?"

"That's my knife. Where'd you find it?"

"Where you dropped it after you killed Wells."

Her words caused gasps and whispered to spread amongst the other delinquents. Tatum was extremely worried. As much as she couldn't stand Murphy, she knew Clarke accusing him would end in something bad. "Where I what?"  Murphy asked in pure confusion. "The grounders killed Wells, not me."

"I know what you did, and you're going to pay for it,"  Clarke spat again and got in his face. 

"Clarke, hold on—" said Tatum but Bellamy held his arm out in front of her, signaling for her to stay out of it. 

Murphy stared back at her challengingly. "Really?" He questioned and looked at the man in front of him. "Bellamy, you really believe this crap?"

Tatum glanced his way. Bellamy just stood there with his jaw tightened and a glare on his face.

"You threatened to kill him," Clarke continued. "We all heard you. You hated Wells."

"Plenty of people hated Wells. His father was the chancellor that locked us up."

"Yeah, but you're the only one who got in a knife fight with him." 

"I didn't kill him then, either."

"Tried to kill Jasper, too." Octavia spoke, stepping into the argument.

Tatum felt startled. She looked at Murphy and her gaze darkened. "What?"

That time, Murphy looked slightly afraid. "Come on, this is ridiculous. I don't have to answer to you. I don't have to answer to anyone!" He claimed.

"Come again?" Bellamy nearly threatened.

"Bellamy, look man, I didn't do this." He spoke desperately. He looked at the girl by his side, who stared back at him, looking betrayed. "Tatum, come on. You know me."

"I thought I did." Her voice wavered. Everyone knew when it came to her friends, she didn't play around.

"They found his fingers on the ground with your knife," Bellamy continued. 

Knowing Murphy, the boy didn't hesitate to hurt anyone who got in his way. But standing before her with his eyes full of desperation, Tatum wondered if he really was telling the truth.

"Is this the kind of society that we want? You say there
should be no rules, does that mean we can kill each other without punishment?" Clarke announced to everyone.

"I already told you. I didn't kill anyone."

"I say we float him!" Connor shouted to the crowd. A chorus of agreements came from the rest of the delinquents.

Tatum's eyes widened. "Now hold on—"

"That's not what i'm saying." Clarke said over her,  denying Connor. 

"Why not? He deserves to be floated. It's justice."

"Revenge isn't justice—"

But Connor still disagreed. "It is justice. Float him!"

Before they knew it, Murphy was tackled to the ground. Tatum grabbed Bellamy's arm. "Bellamy!" She shouted.

He looked down at her. "Just stay out of it. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Stop!" She yelled over everyone's multiple screams and cheers. 

The crowd of wild teenagers surrounded the one boy and kicked and dragged him around brutally. Then,  one of the teens wrapped a red belt around Murphy's mouth to prevent him from yelling. 

"No, stop! Let him go!" Tatum screamed desperately and tried to get them away, but Bellamy held her back. "Bellamy, let me go!"

They raised Murphy to his feet and harshly thrown down the muddy hill. "You can't do this!" Clarke tried to intervene but it was no use. The hundred teens kicked him around till he was covered in dirt and mud,  his face bloody and unrecognizable.

Tatum broke away from Bellamy and followed them,  sprinting on her feet. She tried to push through the wild teenagers and see what they were doing to him.  Her eyes widened in horror when she saw Connor throw a rope of the tree and tie it into a noose and that's when she realized, they were going to hang him.

"You can stop this! They'll listen to you!" She heard Clarke shout at Bellamy through tears.

She whirled around and grabbed his arm. "Bell please,  stop them!" She pleaded

His eyes bored into her bright blues, seeing the fear and desperation lingering in her irises. He was confused and conflicted. He thought she hated Murphy. But Tatum also had a good heart and she didn't want to see someone she had known since she was a kid be killed. 

"Bellamy! You should do it!" Connor encouraged, gesturing to the crate under Murphy's feet. They had wrapped the noose around his neck.

Tatum covered her mouth with a shaky hand. "Murphy, no. . ."

The crowd started chanting Bellamy's name. Before she could stop herself, she cupped his face in her hands, making him look at her again. "Bellamy, i'm begging you. Please don't do this." She pleaded again and her vision clouded with tears.

Bellamy knew if he did what they wanted him to do,  he risked her going back to hating him forever. That was the last thing he wanted. But he had something to prove as their leader. He dropped her hands and rushed away. Before they had time to object, Bellamy kicked the crate from underneath Murphy and he dropped, the noose choking him.

"No!" Tatum cried and felt like she was shaking to pass out. She felt someone grab her and hold her up. It was Jasper. "Stop!"

There was cheering. So much cheering. Their cheers made her feel physically ill. They were not animals but that's what they were becoming.

"Bellamy, no!" Clarke cried again.

"This is on you Princess! You should've kept your mouth shut!" Bellamy screamed in her face, angry at her and himself for what he just did. 

"What the hell are you doing!" Finn pushed through everyone, shocked by what he saw. "Cut him down!
Charlotte, get out of here now! Cut him down!"

"Stop, okay!" Charlotte suddenly shouted. "Murphy didn't kill Wells. I did!"

Tatum felt dizzy and disoriented as she pushed off of Jasper and snatched the axe from Bellamy. She ran toward Murphy and cutting him down from the tree. He hit the ground with a hard thud and she dropped to her knees. "Oh my god, John. I'm so sorry." She cried out. She took the noose off and undid the belt around his mouth, all while her hands were trembling and she was a sobbing mess.

"Tate, come on!" Octavia urged and she grabbed her hand, pulling her up from the ground.

"Wait–Murphy!" She shouted as Octavia pulled her toward the tent not far from them, the others following them inside with Charlotte.

Her vision blurred and she felt nauseous. She was beginning to love Charlotte. She reminded of her of what she could have had. But she killed one of her new found friends and almost got her oldest friend killed as well. Tatum could not look the younger girl in the eye as they entered the tent.

Tatum felt nauseous. Her stomach was a bottomless pit. One of her childhood friends was almost killed. She cut him down. Even though they hadn't spoken in years and she quite sure they hated one another, Tatum knew John Murphy for a long, long time. Now she couldn't stop seeing him hanging from that tree and she wanted to throw up. "Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" She could hear Murphy shout from outside the tent.

"Why Charlotte?" Bellamy pleaded with the child.

"I was just trying to slay my demons. Like you told me." Charlotte trembled.

"Oh my god." Tatum mumbled and rubbed her face, the nausea coming back. Jasper's hands rested on her shoulders.

"Bring her out Bellamy, now!"

She stood up and started pacing around. She couldn't look at Charlotte without feeling a million different emotions. She was angry, confused, she felt unsettlement, betrayal, but most of all, she was scared. How was a twelve year old capable of killing someone so much older and bigger than her?

And then she thought about herself. Riley was eighteen when she killed him. He was bigger than her. She had a reason. What was Charlotte's reason?

"Please Bellamy, Tatum, don't let them hurt me." Charlotte again begged, desperation laced with fear in her voice.

Tatum let out a shaky disbelieving noise. "Oh god. . . you do realize what you did, don't you? You killed someone Charlotte. That lives with you forever!" She nearly shouted with tears in her eyes.

Bellamy held his hand up. "Tatum, calm down." He looked at the others. "If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up." It went quiet once they realized they had no actual plan. "Now you stay quiet." He grumbled.

"Those are your boys out there." Finn claimed, gesturing to the people outside.

"This is not my fault. If she—" he looked at Clarke.
"—had listened to me, those idiots would still be building that wall." He fought back.

"You want to build a society, Princess?" Murphy shouted again from outside. "Let's build a society. Bring her out!"

"What do we do?" Tatum questioned and dragged her hands down her face.

They went silent again, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry, Tatum." The little girl said in a sad tone and broke the silence in the tent.

She looked into her eyes and realized she was just a scared little girl like she once was. Yes, she deserved to be punished, but not like Murphy was wanting. It was inhuman. She wanted better for her life. For all of them. Tatum released another long breath and squeezed her eyes shut for a total of three seconds. When she opened them again, she looked at Bellamy. "You and I are going to go out there and talk to him."

"Whoa, are you sure that's a good idea?" Finn intervened and held his hand out.

Jasper shook his head. "I don't like that idea."

"Anyone else have a better one?" She snapped, eyes dancing between all of them. They didn't say anything. "I didn't think so." She pointed at Charlotte. "Stay here and listen to whatever they tell you. Got it?"

She nodded silently.

"Good. Bellamy, let's go." She ordered and moved past Clarke to walk of the tent.

Bellamy blinked multiple times and swiftly following her out. The two of them exposed themselves to the others outside, their faces full of anger. They simultaneously walked side by side and met Murphy half way.

"Well, well, look who decided to join us," he taunted. "The King and the Queen. I always had a feeling it would be you two."

Tatum ignored his words and continued to glare at him.

Bellamy evidently felt the same way. "Dial it down and back off." He spat.

Murphy marched up to them and scowled. "Or what? What are you gonna do, Bellamy, hang me?"

Tatum stepped in. "We didn't mean for that to happen, Murphy." She said gentler.

"I was just giving the people what they wanted."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. Why don't we do that right now?" Murphy inquired and turned to face the crowd. "Who here wants to see the real murderer hung up? All in favor?"

Out of ninety something teens, only a few raised their hands, and Tatum felt absolutely disgusted.

"Oh, I see. So it's okay to string me up for nothing, but when this bitch confesses, you wanna let her walk?" He growled in anger. "Cowards! All of you are cowards!"

"Hey, Murphy, Murphy! It's over." Bellamy roared.

He started at the man with a blank but harsh expression. Tatum was worried what his next move would be. But to her surprise, he shrugged lightly with emotionless eyes. "Whatever you say, boss."

As Bellamy turned around, Murphy swung a wooden log and hit him across the back of the head. "Bellamy!" She shouted out when he fell to the hard ground. A burst of panic filled her body and her face. "Murphy, what did you do!" She yelled at him.

"Come on, let's get the girl." He said to the boys that crowded around him.

Before he left, Tatum quickly grabbed him. "John, please don't do this." She implored.

He shook his head. "It's too late, Tatum." He said and shook her off of him.

Her eyes turned down in sadness. "No, it's not. I'm sorry we fell off like we did but I know you, Murphy. You're not like this. Please. . ."

He blinked slowly and his face fell at the same pace. She was absolutely terrified and it showed in her face. If Murphy didn't have a reputation to uphold and something to prove, he wouldn't have done what he was about to do. He swung his fist back and it collided with her face, the feeling of her teeth cut his knuckles. He watched her fall to the ground with a shriek. "Let's go." He ordered his followers. He walked away with them, but not before looking over his shoulder at the girl he grew up with lying on the hard ground, blood coming out of her mouth.