SEVENTEEN

"Neither am I, Beast"

HARLAI WAS FEELING quite uneasy. After her little moment at the depot, she didn't feel like going back to their camp- at least not for the night. The brunette had gotten to the middle of the trail they followed earlier that day, so she turned on her heel and went a different direction. After a while, she spotted a large oak tree that should figured she could camp out under.

She plopped down onto the soil and grabbed her backpack, pulling out a stitching kit. She remembered the first time she needed a break as she pulled her bow and arrows from her back, being able to settle as comfortably against the trunk as she could. That day at the creek, the day they found the radio that Bellamy tried to trash, she had made this beauty. It was something she was really proud of.

Harlai brought a hand up to her forehead where her previous wound from the grounder had reopened because of Dax. She pulled her hand down, wincing as she saw the blood- something she had never been a big fan of. She opened her sewing kit and decided she would try to fix it herself even though she had a little help last time.

Her hands began to shake as Harlai tried to thread the needle, her vision growing a bit spotty. Why the hell was it her who always tumbled into harm's way? A small huff fell past her lips and she closed her eyes.

"You can do anything if you put your mind to it." Her mom used to tell her. Elise used to have the best advice. It was gonna suck ass to not have those comments around, keeping her going. For now, she was going to have to reminisce.

"I miss you so so much, mom." She whispered as she finally slipped the string through the needle. A small smile appeared on her lips and she tied it, grabbing the shard of mirror she had kept before in her bag.

"I can do it." She murmured a few times to herself as she stuck the needle into the soft skin of her forehead. Harlai tried not to jump once she began to sew up the gash. Hopefully it stayed this time.

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HARLAI'S HEART TIGHTENED as anxiety took it over, something her mother said she had gotten from her. Anxiety has always played a role in her life, always sitting in the sidelines of her mind. Naturally, when she came back to camp her mind wandered. People were going to ask questions- questions she didn't really care to answer. So, her best bet was to ignore them.

The night before, she had found the creek they had been to recently to find the radio Bellamy had tried to trash. She victoriously washed the crusty blood from her body, most of it taking up her face. She had also been able to clean her wound knowing that if she didn't, it would probably get infected and she wanted the opposite- for it to go away. She was tired of getting hurt and she promised herself it wouldn't happen again.

Once she walked further into camp, she could feel eyes on her. There it was again, anxiety calling her name. Her eyes fell upon a crowd of people as she heard a familiar voice: Chancellor Jaha. Pushing past some people, ignoring the huffs of annoyance, she stood beside Raven.

"Har, everyone's been worried sick." Raven said, dropping her voice to a whisper while leaning in closer. She was obviously trying not to talk over the Chancellor.

"Doubt it." Harlai mumbled in response, mostly to herself as she trained her green eyes on the tv. Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms over her chest as the friend of hers blinked and leaned away.

"My friends... This is a historic Unity Day." Jaha spoke. Harlai had forgotten all about the holiday, mostly because her family didn't celebrate it often.

"There ain't nothing special about it." Her drunken father used to grumble when young Harlai would ask why.

"Every year, we mark the moments of our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark but this is the last time we do so while aboard her." The man on the tv continued with a proud smile. "Next year... on the ground."

In the background, applause sounded. Harlai glanced around seeing a displeased look on one of Bellamy's followers.

"Right," Miller nodded as he, too, looked around at the crowd behind them. "After we did all the work. Someone shut him up."

In a way, he was right. If it weren't for them, the Ark wouldn't be coming to back to Earth. They were the ones that risked radiation to take the first steps in a century on their beloved land.

"You shut up, Miller." Raven spoke up with amusement in her tone. "No one's forcing you to watch."

Harlai let out a small huff as she looked back to the screen. She was all about keeping what was left of the 100 in check, but the leaders of the group had become real buzz-kills.

"For 98 years, we have eked out an existence hoping someday that our descendants would return to Earth..." The sound of Jaha's voice began to drown out as Harlai turned her head to see Jasper coming out of Monty's tent whooping and hollering.

"Monty strikes again!" He yelled as he held up a container full of God knows what. "We call this batch unity juice! Who's thirsty?"

Everyone began to cheer in response, making a smirk grow onto Harlai's pale pink lips. She glanced at Miller, wiggling her eyebrows to make him laugh. "Now that's something I can get behind."

She turned around, making her way through the crowd of excited people. "I sure am."

Jasper let out a light laugh as he grabbed her a metal cup, filling it to the top. "Here you are, malady."

"Why thank you, kind sir." Harlai made a cheers motion as she pushed back through all of the people, going to a log a bit away from them. She couldn't help but let a wide grin take over her face, bringing the cup up to her lips.

She needed this to take all the stress away, to keep her mind at ease. As the liquid hit her tongue, she wrinkled her nose up at the taste. She felt someone's presence beside her as the hot liquor snaked its way down her throat.

"How is it?" Monty asked standing beside her, his arms naturally falling over his chest in a crossed motion.

"Vile yet somehow the best thing I've tasted in a while." She replied as she tilted her head up to look at him, making Monty chuckle in response.

As the afternoon grew older and night began to fall, Harlai had downed several cups of Monty's infamous Unity juice. Seven to be exact, and she was feeling each cup. Some people started banging on makeshift instruments to uplift the party and as if her feet and body had a mind of their own they took her to a spot beside the drummers to dance. She swayed her hips to the beat of the music, somehow avoiding spilling a drop of her liquor. Her mind was fuzzy, not allowing any negative thoughts to harbor at bay. She was having a blast... that is until Bellamy appeared beside her.

"You look like you're having a good time." He said over the music.

Harlai wanted to be mad at him, but there he stood in all of his handsome glory. The man she absolutely adored, but had a hard time of keeping it that way.

"Yeah, I'm actually having fun for the first time in a while." She slowed to a stop and she took a sip from her cup, only to have it taken from her by Bellamy.

The brunette let out a huff of resistance as he tasted it, a look of disgust appearing on his face. "I don't see how you're drinking that."

Harlai had grown silent as she took the cup back, tilting the bottom up towards the sky as she downed the rest. "I'm tolerating it."

A silence had grown between the two as Harlai glanced over at the fire, their people dancing and carrying on. The only sound was their commotion and the music.

"Listen, Harlai..."

She cut him off as she shook her head, her eyes seeming to be anywhere but him. "I don't understand. After everything we've been through you chose to leave."

A guilt-ridden expression had found its way onto Bellamy's tanned face only for a split second, not enough time for Harlai to notice. The young woman went to walk away, but she stumbled and began to fall due to her drunken stature. Bellamy reached a hand out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him out of habit. She rested naturally against his body, her eyes falling onto his chest. She knew if she looked him in the eyes she wouldn't be able to help but forgive him.

"I think you need some rest." Bellamy said, his arm having snaked around her waist to keep her steady.

"In my own tent." Harlai grumbled as she pulled away from him. She knew if she stayed in his embrace any longer she would stay there forever. Even though she didn't want to at the moment, she almost instantly missed the feeling of his arms around her. She felt safe in them.

"In your own tent." Bellamy repeated with a nod and a quiet chuckle. The man took a hold of her hand in his, something he hadn't done before. Harlai let her teeth snag her bottom lip between them as she held on tightly and began to walk towards her tent, Bellamy following close behind to make sure she didn't fall.

Once they made it into her tent, Bellamy helped her sit down on the mess of sleeping bags she had put together to form a clumpy mattress. She reached a hand up to pull her ponytail down, letting her long brunette locks fall across her back. Running a hand through the tangled mess, she glanced up at Bellamy who was surprisingly still standing there.

"I didn't want to leave you." Bellamy finally said as his eyes fell onto her, his lips forming a thin line. "Trust me, I didn't, but if were able to leave it was better off than being sentenced and possibly murdered. I wanted to protect you and Octavia-"

"I don't need protecting, Bellamy. I'm a big girl now." Harlai mumbled as she let her head fall, looking down at the fabric poking through her crossed legs. Her voice grew shaky as she thought of camp without him. "You, Clarke, the rest of them. You're all I have now. I can't handle losing you."

Bellamy kneeled down in front of her, using his finger to lift her chin up. When their eyes met, Harlai felt as if everything was okay. They would be okay. "You aren't losing me, Sleeping Beauty. I'm not going anywhere."

A small smile curled her lips as her brightening eyes searched his. She felt as if her heart was going to thump right out of her chest. "Good and neither am I, Beast." She said, earning a soft laugh from him. It was a sound she wished she could hear more often.

She let her hand travel up his arm, feeling his biceps through the fabric of his jacket. This moment was one she wished could last forever. Just the two of them, away from everyone and everything in the world. It was like time slowed for just a second. Her fingers came to a stop at the nape of his neck, feeling his dark locks as they tickled her fingertips. As they did so, she could feel his finger leaving her chin to slide his calloused palm over her cheek.

As her eyes met his once again, she saw him begin to lean in. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for again. Letting her eyelids flutter shut, she felt his lips press lightly against hers. Just as they began to mold against one another, she heard Clarke's voice from outside her tent.

"Harlai, are you in there?"

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WORD COUNT: 2071