The next two weeks passed by rather slow. One reason was that Commander Duke had made the physical training for us cadets extremely more difficult and painful. The hours were longer, the number of exercises we had to do increased, and every day my muscles grew sorer and sorer. 

Another reason was that almost every night my dad came home exhausted and more stressed than I had ever seen him. I begged and begged for him to tell me what was going on, but he wouldn't budge.

Also, not to mention that the amount of time the cadets had guard duty was also increasing. On Thursday, Bellamy and I had six straight hours of patrolling the halls. It honestly wasn't that bad considering we took many breaks to make out.

We had successfully been sneaking around without being caught by anyone. Well, except for a janitor one time, but I doubt he even cared, and even though the whole secret affair was exciting, I wanted to be able to be with Bellamy in public.

I knew my dad would never approve, and I knew not many other people would, but they were going to find out eventually. So, I came up with a horrible very terrible idea.

It was a Thursday night, right after I had finished patrol with Dallas and Bellamy when I decided to bring up my very horrible terrible idea to my father. We were watching an old soccer game, and for once my dad had made it home before midnight.  

I glanced over at him nervously as my palms began to sweat. Now or never Winters. Now or never.

"Hey, Dad."

He turned his head, "Yes?"

"How would you feel if I said that I had a new..." what even was Bellamy? A boyfriend? We hadn't had that talk yet. "boy that I was getting to know, and wanted you to meet."

"I'd say that I definitely want to meet him. You know all boys you date have to pass the Dad test."

"Yep, who doesn't love the Dad test?" I didn't love the Dad test. "Anyway, is it cool if I invite him and his mom over for dinner Sunday night, and we can all get to know each other better."

"Sure, I don't mind company," He replied. "Who did you say this boy was again?"

"It's a surprise," I answered with a smile. "A really, really big surprise. You'll be so surprised that you won't even know what to do with yourself." Or you might have a heart attack.

He raised his eyebrows, and before he could answer there was a knock on our door. My dad gave me a worried look as he stood up to answer the door. It was past curfew, which probably meant the person at the door would be Jaha, coming to tell my dad about some emergency Council meeting.

Sure enough, Chancellor Jaha was behind the door when my dad opened it. They spoke in hushed tones for several moments before my dad turned back to me.

"I'll be back in a few hours." Then, he left and the door shut behind him.

That was it. I was getting some answers.

~_~_~_~_~

"Ok, you have officially lost your mind. I'm pretty sure what you're asking is, what's the word again? Oh yeah, illegal!"

It was around two in the morning as I sat across from Archie on his bed, "Can you do it or not?"

"Not," He answered. "Well, I can do it, but I won't. Do you know what would happen to us if anyone found out? We'd go to prison. I can't go to prison!"

"You won't go to prison," I gave him a pleading look. "No one will know, ok? Please, Arch, I have to find out what's going on."

Archie gave me a frustrated look as he let out a long sigh, "Fine, but just know you will owe me a lifetime of favors for this."

I flashed him an appreciative smile as he went over to one of the drawers on his dresser. he pulled out his laptop and came back over to sit across from me. For several minutes, he was just typing rapidly on the keyboard with his eyes trained to the screen.

Not only was Archie a ladies' man, a clothing expert, and a great advice giver, he was also a secret hacker. I knew that the Council always recorded their meetings, so if Archie could hack into that recording system, we could listen in on their conversations and figure out what was worrying my father so much.

I waited anxiously as Archie continued typing. A few more minutes passed before Archie's face lit up. He threw his hands up in victory and let out a quiet cheer.

He gave me a smug look, "Admit it. I'm awesome."

I rolled my eyes, "Ok fine. You're awesome."

"All we have to do is press play, and we'll be listening in on a very top-secret Council meeting," Archie glanced at me with his fingers on the keys. "You sure about this?"

I nodded, "Do it."

A second later, I heard the sound of Jaha's voice. I shot Archie a concerned look as I listened carefully to his words.

"The number of arrests in people under eighteen has gone up rapidly in the past three years. A majority of those delinquents are from Factory Station."

Another voice, Marcus Kane, spoke up, "We all know that tensions between Factory and Alpha are higher right now than ever before. The people in Factory Station are coming closer and closer to complete anarchy."

"What do you suggest we do?" The next voice belonged to Abby Griffin. "Factory Station is no different from us."

"You're wrong," It was Jaha again. "They are different. They're more violent, more prone to rebel against the system of the Ark. We have to contain them before their chaos spreads to other stations."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" My breath caught in my throat at the sound of my dad's voice. I couldn't breathe for a few moments. "We can't forget that Factory Station has the workers. Without them, the Ark wouldn't survive."

"I know that Daniel" Jaha answered. "But, we cannot tolerate their ignorance of the law."

"What we need to do is make an example of them," I heard Kane suggest. "We need to find the ones inspiring this idea of rioting to the people, and we need to float them."

"Hold on there, Kane," My dad spoke up again. "What you're saying is we should execute people for disagreeing with the system. There hasn't been an actual riot yet. The last time I checked, everyone still had the freedom of speech."

"I agree with Daniel," The next person to speak was Jake Griffin. "Until an actual crime is committed, we can't do anything."

"Can't you all see they're plotting against us?" Kane seemed to be getting angry. "If we don't act soon, it could be too late. Just think about the casualties if an actual riot was to happen. You all know Alpha Station would take losses too. Are we really willing to risk that?"

There was a moment of silence among the Council members, and I gave Archie a nervous look. I had no idea Factory Station was so unstable.

Finally, Jaha spoke up again, "Do you have any suspects at all?"

"Just one so far," Kane answered. "He is friends with all four of the people we arrested yesterday for starting a fight with the guards, and he was seen talking to them right before the fight broke out."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Bellamy Blake."

~_~_~_~_~_~

I was still processing what I had learned two nights ago while I was on my way to meet Bellamy in our special spot; the spot where we had our first date. Nerves ate at the pit of my stomach as I rehearsed what I was going to ask him in my head.

Did I believe that Bellamy was the one behind all the talk of an uprising in Factory Station? Of course not, but maybe he knew who it was, and I could get him in the clear.

I stepped into the large classroom that was still unused. The newly installed lights flickered on as the door slid shut behind me.

I grinned when I felt strong arms wrap around my waist from behind me. I felt Bellamy's lips by my ear as he whispered, "Did anyone see you come in?"

"Nope, I'm very sneaky," I answered as I turned around quickly in his embrace.

My hands tangled in his soft hair as I pulled him forward for a slow kiss. As his lips moved against mine, I almost forgot why I asked him to meet me.

He rested his forehead against mine, "I have a feeling you didn't just ask me here so you could kiss me."

"I wish that was the only reason," I replied as I pulled back so I could look into his brown eyes. "We need to talk."

"I love hearing those words."

"I'm serious, Bellamy" I answered. "I found out something. Something that I shouldn't know." His eyes suddenly were overcome with worry and concern, "It involves you and all of Factory Station."

Understanding filled his gaze, "This is about the whispers of an uprising isn't it?"

"You knew about that?" He nodded. "Well, did you also know that you're the main suspect?"

"What?" Bellamy stepped away from me with shock on his face. "Who told you that?"

"I may have hacked into the Council's secret recording system and listened in on their meeting."

"Are you insane?" Bellamy shook his head, his words coming out with an angry tone behind them. "Do you know how dangerous that is, Harley? You could get arrested!"

"I had to know what was going on!" I matched his loud tone. "And thank God I did. We have to find out who is encouraging these riots, or they'll try to get dirt on you so they can float you."

Bellamy ran his hand over his face in frustration, "I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but it's true that Factory Station is treated like we're below everyone else. We have the smallest living spaces, the worst jobs, and no privileges like all the other stations. Something needs to be done about it, Harley."

"So you think there should be an uprising?"

"No," He sighed. "No, I don't think that violence should be the answer. I think we should send a representative to talk to the Council in a civilized way."

It made sense, and what Bellamy said about Factory Station was true, "So what do we do?"

"We have a station meeting," Bellamy answered. "We find out who is behind the rumors, and we convince them to talk to the Council instead of having a riot." He stepped towards me, taking my hand in his own. His eyes locked onto mine. "We'll figure this out, ok?"

I nodded slowly as Bellamy brought me in for a hug. I rested my head on his chest, right above where his heart was beating steadily, and in that moment, I truly believed that we could work everything out.

"Bellamy?"

"Yeah?"

I closed my eyes, letting myself take comfort in his embrace. I let all of our troubles fade away. I just focused on Bellamy and the sound of his strong heartbeat. It was like we had slipped into our own oblivion, and all that mattered was that we were both alive and we were both together.

"I really do like your freckles."

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