❝you know, it's times like these when i realize what a superhero i am.❞

-tony stark, the avengers

♛

THE NEXT DAY, my eyelids droop with exhaustion. I rub them sluggishly and absentmindedly trace my fingers over the spot my wristband used to be. There are five tiny holes in my skin where the transmitters had pierced it, red and irritated. A small pulse of pain from them has me wincing.

Jasper lets out another loud, pained groan from where he lies in front of me. He's still sweaty and pale, and the noises never cease for even a minute. Clarke and I have had no success treating him. We don't have the supplies to stabilize or clean his wounds properly. While the poultice has done some work, it isn't nearly enough to sustain him for long.

Clarke sighs and leans back on her knees so she's sitting on her heels. Her eyes drift from Jasper to me, looking distant and worried in the darkness of the dropship's third level. "Fallon, you look horrible. You need some air. I'll take care of him myself."

At her words, I straighten instantly. "Clarke—"

She shushes me and raises her eyebrows. "I don't know why you came to help me at three in the morning last night and haven't slept since, or why you won't tell me what happened to your wristband." I find my gaze subconsciously trailing down to my bare forearm. "I trust you enough to know that you would tell me if it came down to it. Now go."

I pinch my lips in an awkward, tired smile. "Thank you, Clarke."

I reach over and pat Jasper's bicep. He responds with a throaty groan. I stand and open the hatch that leads to the second level, then continue climbing down to the bottom. 

Before I can even hop off, a female's voice calls to me, and not in a friendly tone. "You found a way to shut him up yet?"

The girl speaking to me has long, black hair pulled into a tight ponytail at the crown of her head. Her deeply tanned skin glows even in the dim lighting and she has impossibly high cheekbones. A heart-shaped mouth is twisted in a semi frown.

I jump down the rest of the way, landing hard on my feet before looking her square in the face with no emotion. "Look, if you had been attacked and harmed by Grounders, and that was you up there, Clarke and I would be doing everything we could to keep you alive and walking again. But it's not. So we're doing it for Jasper. And if you have a problem with that, you have me to answer to. And Clarke." I take a step forward, not exactly threatening her but certainly not trying to make friends. "And you don't want that."

With one last glare to make sure she gets the point, I walk around her and push aside the old cloth protecting the entrance to the dropship. I take a quick breath of the fresh air and jump down onto the ground, noticing with pleasure that my bite wound no longer hurts as much as before.

All I want to do is sleep. It's a luxury that had not been available to me last night. After what happened with Murphy, I was too shaken to close my eyes. Every time I did, I was plagued with images of his horribly smug smirk and the sensation of the blade to my throat. I had decided to abandon all hope of sleep in order to help Jasper.

The breeze rifles my hair and I keep walking. I'm not sure where I'm going, but I do know that I need to get far away so I can't hear Jasper's cries. They chill my bones and send shivers down my spine until every hair is standing upright. Each scream is a reminder of how dangerous the Grounders really are.

"Hey, Amazon!" Bellamy's voice calls to me and I see his blue shirt through the thicket of trees. "Princess need you for anything?"

"Not right now," I reply back, confusion lacing my thoughts as I push through the bushes. "Why?"

When I reach him, I realize with a start that he's not alone. A tall boy named Atom with pale skin and very fluffy black hair is almost pouting, strong arms folded across his chest. A boy named Jones with dark skin and closely-shaved hair appears worried. And then there's Murphy, and my blood chills to ice in my veins. He's smirking at me and Bellamy looks between the two of us uneasily.

"How good are you with a knife?" he asks, taking a makeshift one out of his pocket and holding it up.

I swallow and try to ignore Murphy as best as I can. My hand immediately flies to my wrist, clutching it and swiping my thumb across the tiny holes the needles had pierced into my skin. "Not very good." I hear Murphy scoff and feel anger pulse inside of me. I clench my jaw as I add, "But I'm a quick learner."

That seems to be enough for Bellamy. He tosses me the knife and I catch it somehow without scraping my fingers. I slide the weapon into my pocket, feeling the warmth of the cloth that had been wrapped around the handle for the protection of the user's hand. I'm not sure how well a weapon hand-crafted by a bunch of teenagers could do much good against a real enemy, but I'm not about to complain when I have something to defend myself with. 

"Let's go kill something," Murphy grumbles with a distasteful look toward the dropship. He starts to follow Bellamy, who puts a hand on his chest to stop him.

"You're not going," he says lowly. "I need you to stay here. If the Grounders are circling, we can't leave this place unprotected."

Murphy nods with his busted lips pulled into a thin line. "Fine. Somebody tell Goggle Boy to keep it shut."

His smug eyes drift to me during the last sentence, knowing that I have been helping Jasper— or trying to, at least. He finally turns away and stalks away. I can breathe again once his figure disappears. It's like a fist had been squeezing my lungs, only releasing him now that he's gone. 

"C'mon, Amazon." Bellamy beckons me forward. "We're gonna teach you how to use a knife."

Not long after we set out, we find our eyes on a fat black swine. Its squeals are the only sound in the forest, as none of us dare to speak in case we scare it off. 

Atom had told me the basics right away. How to hold the knife, how to position my arm, and how to use just the right amount of power to throw straight. I just hope I can put the information to good use. We couldn't afford to waste much daylight teaching me, so he'd only had time to explain and then position my arm for me. My thoughts swirl with thoughts of straight throws and arm placement as I watch the animal put its snout to the forest floor.

"Shh-shh-shh-shh," Bellamy whispers with his hand extended toward Atom and I. "She's mine."

Tomahawk in hand, he slowly creeps toward the animal. Just as he raises his arm, the snapping of twigs causes him to swiftly change direction and hurl the weapon toward the source of the sound. It thuds into a tree, narrowly missing the head of a wide-eyed little girl who can't be more than twelve.

"Oh my God," I gasp as the swine bolts away and the rest of the boys chase after it. I run toward the girl, crouching in front of her as she looks at me with terrified brown eyes. Her blond hair is pulled into the cutest two braids ever. "Sweetie, what are you doing out here?"

Her shoulders stiff, she barely chokes out, "I—"

"Who the hell are you?" Bellamy asks harshly, stepping toward us. I narrow my eyes at him like, Bellamy, language!

"Charlotte," she answers in a thin voice.

"I almost killed you," Bellamy growls. His eyebrows are pinched, jaw set in anger as he looks her over. "Why aren't you back at camp?"

"Well, with that guy who was dying, I just — I couldn't listen anymore," she admits, letting her shoulders relax a bit.

"There's Grounders out here," Atom tells her, voice more gentle than usual. "It's too dangerous for a little girl."

"I'm not little," Charlotte defends, and I grin. A small laugh escapes my lips as I stand.

"Well, you're littler than we are, so, for now, you're stuck with us," I say lightly.

Even Bellamy can't help but smile a bit at her response. "You can't hunt without a weapon."

He digs into his pocket but comes up empty, forgetting that he had given the extra knife to me. I produce it and place it carefully in her small hand.

"Amazon—" Bellamy starts, but I hold my hand up to silence him.

"She needs it more than I do."

Charlotte holds the weapon, completely unsure what to do with it. Bellamy seems even more amused by this.

"Ever killed something before?" he asks. Scared eyes shifting between the three of us, Charlotte shakes her head. "Who knows? Maybe you're good at it."

I can't fight the smile that works its way onto my face. Bellamy is spectacular with kids. I can only imagine how good of an older brother he was with Octavia.

"C'mon, Charlotte," I urge softly as Atom turns and walks away. "We'll keep you safe. I promise."

--

I'm hell-bent on keeping my word to Charlotte, especially now that we're frantically running from sulfuric acid fog.

I fight my way through the forest, heart thudding erratically as the musty yellow mist laps at our heels. Every few seconds, I glance over my shoulder to make sure Charlotte is keeping up, but the fog burns my eyes and makes it difficult to see through the tears that blur my vision. It takes me a second to realize I lost sight of her long ago.

"Come on!" Bellamy shouts from somewhere in front. "There are caves this way."

I cough and notice with dismay that it's catching up to me rapidly. I sprint hard, my legs pushing me along even though there's a cramp blossoming in my side and my leg stings. I clench my teeth and keep running.

I feel the fog barely graze my heel and trails of fire lick up my leg, tracing their way to my brain in strong waves of scorching pain. It fries my nerves. I cry out loudly, pushing myself even harder.

Somewhere behind me — or beside me, I don't know — I hear someone trip and hit the ground with a thud. A male starts coughing and choking on the fog that's already washed over him. I feel a prick in my heart, but force myself to ignore it, no matter how painful it may be. It'd be suicide to help them. 

"Bellamy!" Atom starts screaming, and I realize that it was he who fell. "Bellamy!"

My foot snags on a rock and I feel like everything is happening in slow motion as I tumble to the soil. I cough and sputter, the acidic fog swallowing me up. My skin begins burning with a heat so intense I feel like someone is trying to peel it off. There's a sizzling in my eyes, forcing me to keep them squeezed shut while hot tears slip out. I scream long and hard at the agony. 

"Fallon!" I hear Bellamy yell from not too far away. But with the amount of pain I'm in, I feel like he's light-years from me. "Amazon!"

"Bellamy!" I choke on his name, barely able to get it out. "Bellamy!"

Just when I feel like giving up, a pair of hands turn me onto my back. My eyes continue to burn too much to open them, so I blindly wrap my arms around whom I guess is Bellamy's neck as he scoops me up into his arms. I press my face into his shirt, trying to prevent the poisonous fog from entering my lungs.

Bellamy coughs and stumbles his way to wherever we are headed and I suddenly remember Charlotte. Is she okay?

I don't stay conscious long enough to find out.

--

My head rests against something hard and cold. A warm piece of fabric is draped over half of me. As I start to regain a sense of my surroundings, I realize that there's a dull ache in my head.

My eyes open and I wince, sitting up and rubbing them. I blink rapidly to try and clear the burning sensation that I feel every time I open them. When it finally subsides, I wait until my vision clears before finding out where I am.

"You're a fighter, Amazon."

I jump at the sound of Bellamy's voice and discover he is sitting against the wall across from me. With a quick look around, I notice we made it to one of the caves he had mentioned. His jacket had been draped equally over both me and Charlotte as we slept. Seeing that she's okay makes me sigh in relief.

"Why did you come back for me?" I ask with a hoarse voice. I clear my throat before speaking again. "You didn't go back for Atom, and he was your friend. Yet you went after me. Why?"

Bellamy pauses, not looking at me but something in his lap as he answers, "You were much closer than he was."

A silence lapses between us, and I spend it watching the boy whom I can't decide whether to trust or hate. But for the time being, I'm extremely grateful. "Thank you."

Bellamy looks from the floor to me, dark eyes looking black in the lack of lighting. He purses his lips and nods. "You're welcome." A short pause. He glances at something in his lap.

I notice this and become skeptical when he doesn't say anything else. He looks like he wants to speak, but the words are stuck on the tip of his tongue.

"What?" I ask, sitting up and spreading his jacket across Charlotte's peaceful, sleeping body. Then I sit with my legs crossed as I wait for an answer.

This time he is the one to clear his throat. "You dropped your notebook."

My heart plummets to my stomach then quickens its pace. I momentarily forget about the dull ache in my head. "Y-You didn't read it, did you?"

He almost seems to roll his eyes, and the action is so him that it makes me feel grounded, like even though I had been so close to death, everything is still the same now. "No, I didn't; don't worry."

I sigh in relief and feel a weight lift off my shoulders. "Good. Now give it to me. Please."

He pauses like he's contemplating something. A teasing smirk crosses his face. "Why, don't want me knowing about your massive crush on me?"

"Just give it back to me, King of the Jungle." I'm not up for his jokes, though my cheeks heat up. My skin faintly stings and my eyes are starting to burn again. I just want to go back to sleep.

"I'm tempted to keep it, Amazon," he taunts. I know he's enjoying this little game, and my reactions are only adding to his fun. By resisting him, I'm basically handing him his teases by the truckload.

Now I know exactly what he wants. I decide to surprise him. Leaning back against the wall, I cross my arms over my chest and shrug nonchalantly. "Fine. Keep it. I'll have no problem getting it back, anyway."

Sure enough, I've caught him by surprise. He blinks at me, my words not registering in his mind. He hadn't been prepared for me to agree with him. "What?"

"You heard me. By all means, keep it." I raise my eyebrows. "Unless, of course, you were only kidding, and in that case that'd be pretty embarrassing for the both of us because I'm completely serious. I don't know about you."

Bellamy's eyes flicker from the old notebook in his hands to me. They then linger on the cover for a while and I can see his pupils tracing the intricate designs drawn on the cover. A swirling sun similar to the one on the floor of my cell is at the center. Other miscellaneous things curl in and around it, leaving little idea of what the color underneath all the marker is.

He stares at it for a long time. Or, at least, it seems like a long time as I sit in the dark cave with a little girl and someone who had taken a long time to decide whether or not my life was worth more than a wristband.

And it hits me. Hard and fast. That's why he rescued me today— he must feel guilty about what happened last night and had come to my aid immediately this time. Plus, he probably understands that Clarke and Octavia will pummel him if he is ever somehow responsible for my death. That, and he might even think of me as an acquaintance. I won't go as far as to say friend.

I barely realize he's handing my notebook back to me until he's practically leaning on top of Charlotte. I smile and take it from him, sliding it into my back pocket where it belongs.

"Since you've regained consciousness, I can go to sleep, now," Bellamy says, starting to lie down. "You should probably try to fall back asleep, too."

For a few moments, I feel frozen. Bellamy has been awake just to be there when I came to? I feel a massive surge of gratitude. I owe a lot to him now.

"You know, when Murphy made me choose between your life and the wristband..." he begins, voice more somber than usual. My ears perk up. "I wasn't waiting because I was deciding. I was trying to find a way to get you out. So you could keep the wristband."

Shock inflates me. I don't hide it in my voice as I ask, "Why?"

"Whatever the hell we want, right?" I can almost hear the smirk he's wearing. "Force isn't really working out for me."

I'm quiet for a second. "That's a good thing." A pause. "Goodnight, Bellamy."

Whatever had just conspired between us... I'm not sure if it'll be there in the morning, or when we return to camp. If it'll ever happen again. If we'll just go back to petty quarrels and glares. But, for what it's worth, I hope we don't. I had seen some hidden, kind part of Bellamy tonight. I hope it continues to stay. 

I use my hair as a pillow and curl up in a ball to keep myself warm. The steady sound of water dripping onto the ground lulls me to oblivion.

It's only minutes later when Charlotte starts screaming.

---------

originally this chapter was going to take a completely different turn. trust me, be glad i decided to fix it. things would never have mended between fallon and bellamy if i had decided to keep the first draft.

but anyway he saved her life!!!! *chants* fallamy fallamy fallamy fallamy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-kristyn