Rosie was quick to slip away from both John and Bellamy. It was easy to ignore Bellamy's stern yet concerned gaze, but it broke her heart to tear herself from John after their time apart. Their first interaction had left her confused, and truthfully a little hurt, and now she needed to get a breath of fresh air. Some part of her felt foolish for assuming they would pick up and finally got to be happy. Nothing was ever that easy.

Rosie made her way through the familiar corridors of the ark, her heart beating harder than normal. It was hard to focus on anything other than John's peculiar words, and the strange look he held in his eyes. The last times they were together, he looked at her as if she put the stars in the sky. Now, he gazed upon her as one would gaze upon a stranger.

When Rosie finally made it outside, she leaned against the cool metal of the outer ark, letting her eyes squeeze shut as she drew in a deep breath. People milled around her, but they paid her little attention. Like they always did. She'd have it no other way, though.

Rosie was pulled from her efforts to calm herself from a familiar voice. A voice she would have gladly never heard again. Her eyes flew open and her head shot up, searching for the source. She found it, not far away. There he stood, preaching to a few Arkadians who had gathered. Thelonious Jaha.

Images of his crazed sermons and the many things he would do to survive flashed through her brain as she stared at the man. Her blood began to boil and she felt herself clench her fists tightly at her sides. Although she couldn't exactly prove it, she knew he had done something to John. He was to blame for his bizarre change in behavior. The realization struck her that he had been behind the decision to lock her up at the age of 12, rather than look into why someone so young, someone filled with so much light and potential, would carry out such a crime. He threw her away without much of a trial, and now he had taken away the first thing to make her truly happy in years. Somehow, the second was so much worse.

Before she could truly think about it, Rosie stalked closer to where the man stood. She had missed the beginning of his speech, but she realized she didn't truly want to hear it anyways. He stood casually, lazily leaning against a pole as he smirked out at the crowd. If it weren't foolish, Rosie thought she may just stomp up and wipe the smirk right off of his face.

"We all have pain." Jaha preached. "Some of it is physical, from injuries or age. Some is mental. Living with the loss of our loved ones. If you think about it, whether we fight that pain or succumb to it, the result is the same."

Rosie scoffed.

"Diminishes our lives. Robs us of our passions and our pastimes, and damages relationships between friends and lovers. What would you say, if I told you there was a way to eliminate that pain?"

She couldn't deny that he spoke eloquently. Especially as she gazed around at the other group members listening, and they seemed enthralled. But, truthfully, she knew that he was entirely a fraud. He could stitch together pretty sentences and promises, but ultimately they were empty. It was why he had made such a convincing chancellor.

"I'd say you're full of crap." A female voice spoke up from beside Rosie.

Glancing to her right, Rosie found that Raven had appeared beside her. Raven cast a glance sideways at her, before returning her eyes upwards at Jaha. He had a familiar smirk on his face, one that read as if he knew so much more than anyone could fathom, and it made Rosie sick. Her anger was only mounting, and she wanted nothing more than to stop him before he could continue with some half-hearted response. As Raven took a step forward to continue, Rosie gathered her strength and held a hand out, effectively silencing the brunette girl. Raven shot her a confused, and somewhat annoyed, glance, but Rosie ignored it.

"You know, I think it's ironic." Rosie tore her eyes from Raven, glancing up at the man she had blindly followed a few months before. "You speak of others pain as if you haven't been the greatest cause of it for so many."

Jaha shifted his gaze from Raven to the girl. He looked almost taken aback, clearly not expecting her to speak up. Still, there was a hint of amusement lingering behind his eyes, which only fueled Rosie further.

"Or have you forgotten the way you damned children to potential death on Earth? Wells, ring a bell?" Rosie bit back. A flicker of hurt crossed Jaha's expression, only momentarily, then it was gone. "Maybe that was too long ago. How about more recently, when you sacrificed anyone in your way to find the City of Light? Or, when you left me and John to starve in a locked bunker, without a second thought?"

"No one is perfect, Roseanne." Jaha smiled down at her. "All that I can do now is offer you a way to work past that resentment. There are no grudges in the City of Light, only peace."

"Not interested." Rosie scoffed, crossing her arms. "I've spent enough time chasing the perfect city you promised, just to end up disappointed." Rosie took a step forward, shocking herself and those around her when she didn't begin to shake or cower. "You take advantage of broken people, Jaha. You should be ashamed."

He began to reply, but Rosie blocked him out. She had no desire to hear whatever response he had, knowing it would be well-articulated nonsense. So, instead, she spun on her heels and grasped Raven's forearm, tugging the girl away from the group. Much to her surprise and delight, a few others followed, abandoning Jaha's sermon. Even if she couldn't convince all of them to turn away, it relieved her that she had saved some poor souls from the wretched man.

"Didn't know you had all of that in you, Goldsman." Raven spoke when they were a few paces away, pulling her wrist from Rosie's grasp. The use of her last name sent a shiver down Rosie's spine as she recalled the way it sounded falling from John's lips.

"Yeah, well," Rosie shrugged, slowing her pace. "That man is a monster, no one should listen to him."

They both paused their steps, taking a moment to look over one another. It seemed as if Raven was trying to get a read on Rosie. Although the red head had become remarkably more open, she liked to think she still was a bit hard to read. They both looked at each other for a moment longer before Raven offered a curt nod, then limped away.

❀

Rosie was sat in the cafeteria, alone, when an emotional looking Octavia marched up to her. Behind her, Rosie saw Jo trailing behind, desperately trying to keep in pace with the girl's steps. Rosie furrowed her brows as they approached, sitting up just a bit straighter. When Octavia reached her table, she leaned forward, resting her weight on her palms and searching Rosie's face. When she spoke, her voice was low, but urgent.

"They've taken Lincoln."

"What?" Rosie furrowed her brows further, leaning towards the girl. "Who has?"

"Pike. And Bellamy, too. The guard as a whole." Octavia sneered. "They've thrown all of the grounders here into lockup."

"It's ridiculous." Jo shook her head from beside Octavia, her arms crossed over her chest. "It's as if they've learned nothing from my people. This place will turn into chaos."

"I think it already may be." Rosie spoke sheepishly. "John's back. Jaha, too."

"What? Murphy?" Octavia straightened up, her expression confused. Of course, no one really knew about Rosie and John's relationship, other than Bellamy. It probably was weird to hear him be referred to as anything but his surname. "What're those two rats doing back?"

Rosie shuttered at the degrading comment. She knew she couldn't blame the people of the ark for hating John, because not long before she had felt the same way. Still, it irritated her. 

"I don't know, but they're acting strange." Rosie answered, biting back her anger. "John—I mean, Murphy—was saying the weirdest things, and Jaha's trying to convince people he has a way to take away their pain. I just, I have a bad feeling."

Octavia and Jo shared a confused glance before looking back at the seated girl. While Jo seemed somewhat concerned by her words, Octavia seemed ultimately unphased. Truthfully, Rosie couldn't blame her. With the safety of her love on the line, it made sense that she couldn't focus on anything else. It was the same reason why Rosie could think of nothing but John's strange behavior. It was why she had been avoiding him since seeing him.

"We need to focus on one thing at a time." Octavia spoke sternly. "We may be able to get Lincoln and the others out, but we'll need help from the inside. So far, I think we can get Miller on our side, and Clarke is speaking with Bellamy now."

"Clarke?" Rosie raised her brows. "I thought she was with the grounders."

"She was, but after the bloodbath our guard caused, Clarke's come to try and convince Bellamy to smooth things over." Octavia answered. "I snuck her in and lead Bellamy there."

"I don't think that was such a good idea." Rosie bit down on her lip, nerves beginning to fill her.

Rosie knew Bellamy and Clarke's relationship was rocky, to say the least. Back when they first came to the ground, they were constantly butting heads. Rosie knew Bellamy feigned more dislike for the girl than he truly held, she knew some part of him secretly respected her natural authority and leadership skills. She also knew there had been a significant shift in their relationship during the time Rosie was gone. Still, she knew Bellamy was stubborn. He'd be quick to turn on the girl if he truly felt he was doing the right thing.

"She's our last hope." Octavia pointed out. "Unless you think you can sway him."

"No." Rosie shook her head firmly. She didn't want to expand much, and neither Octavia nor Jo asked her to. Bellamy and her friendship was private, it was sacred, and it was between them. What they were going through right now was messy, and she wasn't comfortable sharing the details with others.

"Well, then, we've got to see if Clarke can convince him." Jo shrugged. "If you can't, I'm sure she's the next best bet."

"I guess..." Rosie trailed off, not keen on arguing. She knew Bellamy, and she knew this wouldn't work. Some part of her knew Octavia must recognize that, too, but she was too blinded by her flurry of emotions to come to terms with that. 

"There's no point in debating this, anyways," Octavia snapped. "They're already speaking right now. We've just come to find you to tell you. If you don't want to help, just tell me now."

"No, I do." Rosie shook her head.

"Good." Octavia nodded approvingly. She stood taller, beckoning Rosie to do so as well with her hand. "Then let's go check on them."

Rosie nodded and stood. Her movements were quick as she followed Octavia and Jo to wherever they had left Bellamy and Clarke to speak. She didn't want to voice it, but she was nervous about the outcome of this plan. Some part of her knew something would go wrong, just as she knew it would be extremely hard to pull Bellamy on their side.

As they hurried through the corridors, doing their best to look casual, Rosie's mind trailed to John. It was often that it did so. While Octavia was content to write off her worries, the dreadful feeling pooling in Rosie's gut wouldn't let her dismiss it so easily. Something was truly wrong here, and she was fearful that without him completely by her side, it would be harder to work through than she'd hope.

John Murphy had built up her strength, effortlessly pulled her from her shell. Now, she feared he was the one person who could just as easily shut her back away forever.

A/N: shortish chapter, but boy am I glad to have updated. I wanted to thank you all for the kind comments I've received recently, it really really makes my day.

Currently I am on a month break from school, and I hope because of that I will be able to pump out a few more chapters. Thank you all for being patient with me.

Also, I apologize John isn't directly in this chapter, but trust me now that he's back he'll be in it A LOT. A lot of trouble is brewing. Let me know what you think!