this is it, the apocalypse

Bellamy loathed himself at that very moment, everything he had done recently turned around to bite him. Even if he thought he was doing the right thing, shit seemed to follow him around constantly. Not only was he the reason his sister was found, but he also caused his beautiful girlfriend to be locked up for something that he did. Nicole was the one person he trusted the most, he told her everything including about Octavia as he knew she would understand considering she was a sibling as well.

But he had done his worst to make sure that he was snuck onto the drop ship, which was taking one hundred juvenile prisoners down to Earth. He couldn’t stand back and allow that to happen, not when Nicole and Octavia were both in that drop ship. So he was among the prisoners, not everyone survived the crash landing however he wasn’t thinking about those boys right now. He had been reunited with his younger sister, which only caused them to be stared at by the others.

Now he just wanted to find Nicole and see her again, he hadn’t been allowed to see her while she had been arrested and locked away. Partly because he didn’t know what to say to her, but also because he doubted her family would want him causing any more trouble for the beautiful red head. Scanning the ship he easily spotted her hair, pushing his way over to her as quickly as he could. “You’ve been locked up for how long and still manage look beautiful,” His voice was light, hoping that she wasn’t too angry with him for what he caused her.

---

It all happened much too quickly for Clara to understand, she overheard two guards on the Ark talking about how all the juvenile prisoners were being sent down to the ground. Panic set in as she knew the Earth may not be ready for them, it could still be toxic and kill whatever went down there. Her twin sister had been arrested for treason, apparently they weren’t the only set of siblings on the Ark. Bellamy Blake had a sister who had been hidden, Clara had no idea but it appeared that Nicole did know and hadn’t spoken up about it.

Which meant she was arrested and was now being taken away from Clara all over again, it had been hell living without her twin sister. She knew she couldn’t survive not knowing what happened to Nicole, which is why when no one was looking she slipped through a closing hatch of the drop ship. The journey down to Earth was terrifying, Clara’s heart was beating a million miles a second as she held on with a death grip. The landing was the worst part but it was all over with now, voices soon filled the metal ship but she wasn’t paying attention to the words.

She wanted to find her sister as soon as possible, but then she heard it. Metal shrieking as the door was lowered to the ground outside, fresh air flowed in and for now it wasn’t causing them to drop dead. Without her permission Clara was moving with the crowd of kids who clearly wanted to step onto land themselves, once outside she didn’t have time to take in what was surrounding her. Her eyes were too busy searching for Nicole, she wasn’t paying attention until she felt her body make contact with another.

Nicole stood towards the back of the dropship waiting for a good majority of the others to run out onto the ground before she made a move for the door. Because while she was thrilled that so far the air hadn't been toxic, or at least not enough to kill anyone, she preferred not to get trampled by everyone rushing out at once. And apparently waiting around in the back had given one of the last people she'd expected to see a chance to find her in the mess around them.

Without thinking or taking her time to over analyse the situation Nicole simply reacted, which was practically her throwing herself on Bellamy. "I can't believe you're here," she mumbled into his neck so glad to see him. "God I've missed you so much," she said when she pulled away so she could look at his face again. And all she wanted to do right then and there was just be with him and never let him go. But the moment was shortly lived as she began to wonder how he was there. After all everyone else was there because they'd committed some kind of act the Ark saw as criminal. However, she knew that Bellamy wasn't one of the 100. She knew his punishment for not telling about Octavia was having his sister and girlfriend locked up and his mum floated. What she didn't know was what he'd had to do to be standing in front of her right now.

"You did something stupid didn't you?" She asked him softly holding his face in her hands and looking at him. "All so you could bargain your way onto this ship for Octavia," she added before giving him a gentle kiss. If there was one thing she'd always admired about Bellamy it was the lengths he would go to for his sister. Sometimes he did stupid things, and sometimes she knew his judgement could get clouded because of the promise he'd made to his mum. But at the end of the day, he would always care about his sister.

---

"I'm Finn," Finn said smiling up at the girl who'd crashed into him, of course not on purpose. It was a little hard for people not to crash into one another with everyone rushing out of the drop ship like they were. He understood why they were, though. They were on the ground, a place no one had been in almost 100 years. And until literally only moments before when the door to the drop ship was closed, everyone had thought the earth was unsurvivable.

Of course, they'd only been on the ground about five minutes, so honestly anything was possible. He did, of course, hope that things weren't going to change too much and they really could survive down here. They weren't in space anymore. They were on the ground, and they were free from being locked up in prison. It seemed pretty nice if he said so himself.

"Aren't you one of Eldridge sisters?" He asked once he'd finally gotten a good look at her. Which he only knew because everyone knew who they were. They were part of the only family who'd been allowed to have more than one child for whatever reason without any kind of punishment for it. Though last he'd heard only one of them had been locked up and it hadn't been the brunette one. So unless something had changed in the last 24 hours he wasn't entirely sure how she'd gotten on the drop ship. He didn't suppose it was important, though. After all, they were all on the ground now.

Feeling Nicole in his arms again was indescribable, Bellamy simply wrapped his arms around her body and held onto her tightly. He would let her go again, he honestly never thought he would get a second chance but he was and he wasn’t going to waste it. “I’ve missed you too, more than you could know.” He looked over her face, she grew more beautiful every time he saw her. What she saw in him, he’d never understand. “I did, something very stupid. But I wasn’t going to let them send Octavia or you down here without me,” His voice softened as it was true, he would do everything in his power to be with his sister and his girlfriend. It was his job to keep them safe and protected.

Having her soft lips press against his again was nearly too much for him to take, he returned the kiss and wanted to continue kissing her but knew it wasn’t the place or time. “Who else was going to keep you from causing trouble?” A cheeky grin spread across his face as he looked at her, his arms gently squeezing her body as he wanted to make sure he wasn’t dreaming all of this.

“I also couldn’t deal with the silent treatment that Clara’s been giving me, I’m surprised I’m still walking around.” He only half joked, although he was closer to Nicole, he had still gotten to know Clara since dating her twin sister.

---

Clara turned to look at who she had run into when she wasn’t watching where she was walking, the boy introduced himself as Finn. She didn’t have the time to stop and chat to anyone, she needed to find her sister. “Yeah, I am.” It was a question that he didn’t really need to ask, everyone knew who she was and not everyone agreed with what was allowed to happen for them. In fact most of the people on the Ark didn’t believe it was right for the twins to live, and she agreed completely but she couldn’t do anything about it and it wasn’t her fault nor was it Nicole’s fault.

“Have you seen my sister? I overheard that she was going to be on the drop ship,” She asked as she hoped her sister was, otherwise she was down on Earth alone. But the guard had said that they were finally getting rid of one Eldridge sister, she could have smacked that guard so hard that it would have made his head spin. But she held herself back and instead snuck onto the ship, although it wasn’t all that hard to do.

She didn’t know much about Finn, but she was certain she had seen him here and there on the Ark. Clara never tended to venture that far on the Ark, and people seemed to prefer it that way. She hated receiving all the cold glares and hearing people openly talk about her family like they were rubbish, it hurt too much to always hear that but she knew the juvenile prisoners weren’t going to take too kindly about both twins being there.

Nicole laughed softly and shook her head before gently hitting Bellamy's shoulder. "If anyone needs to be kept out of trouble it's you," she joked with him. Honestly Nicole knew that they both equaled each other out, so even though he'd done something stupid to secure his spot on the drop ship she was glad he was there. Really she'd kind of been afraid of being on the ground without anyone, but she wasn't going to be alone after all. Now if only her sister were there. She knew though that Clara was still on the ark with their parents.

"Was she okay at least?" Nicole asked biting her lip. "I haven't seen her since I was locked up. Mostly because I couldn't face her. I didn't know how to. And that probably upset her more and she probably thinks it had to do with you." She said hoping one day she'd get to see Clara again and explain everything. On top of that she hoped that Clara could forgive both her and Bellamy for everything.

Nicole was t surprised that Clara hadn't actually tried to hurt Bellamy. Her sister wasn't usually the violent one. Usually when her sister wanted to get back at her she'd use harsh words or give the silent treatment. And there was no one Nicole knew better at the silent treatment than Clara.

---

Finn thought a little trying to wrack his brain to remember if he'd seen her sister. There was kind of a lot of them on the drop ship so keeping up with everyone would take a while he assumed. "I think she was in the back," he told her. "Long red hair right?" He asked wanting to make sure he was thinking of the right girl.

"I can come with you to find her if you want," he said wanting to do what he could to help. Sure it wasn't his sister and yes almost everyone else on the drop ship might've been a little upset that both girls had been allowed to live without punishment. The Finn looked at it however it wasn't their fault their parents had them both. It wasn't controllable having twins so why should the kids be punished.

He really wasn't going to understand if people were upset about them both being down here. Mostly because well there an unlimited amount of air down here. And as long as everyone pulled their own weight surely they'd be able to get enough food and shelter for them all too. So everyone down here right now should get a chance to survive. Regardless of what they did on the ark.

[ I'll reply to the Teen Wolf one later! ]

Bellamy was more than happy that things between them was this easy, it was like nothing had happened. “Ouch Nic, that hurt.” He whined at her after she had smacked his arm lightly, “And I can’t help it if trouble follows me around.” He grinned as his eyes never moved away from her, they had been apart for longer than he liked.

Leaning closer to her, he pressed his lips to her forehead and allowed his kiss to linger a little longer than he normally would, he was grateful that all the kids had rushed out the entrance of the ship. Because he wanted some time alone with his girlfriend, to be able to hold her and kiss her without anyone else seeing them.

“Yeah, she’s okay.” Bellamy finally looked away from Nicole, only because he wasn’t being honest with her and he could never lie to her while he was looking at her. “She was really upset and confused, I tried to be there for her but she pushed me away. I don’t blame her, it’s my fault that you were locked up in the first place. I hate myself for it,” He needed her to forgive him for everything he did and has done since she was arrested, reaching up his fingers tucked her red locks behind her ear.

---

Clara nodded her head eagerly when Finn asked if Nicole had long red hair, that was her and if he remembered seeing her than she was around here somewhere. “You would?” She asked when he offered to help her find her sister, she was shocked by the offer because not many people on the Ark had been nice to her and her family. “Why would you?” Clara didn’t trust easily, after years of having people treat her badly, it took her time to let someone get close to her.

It took months for her to trust Bellamy, and that turned out to be the wrong decision. But if he wanted to tag along with her than he could, she turned around and continued to search for her sister. There were a lot of people hanging around, it was hard to see past them as they were all celebrating the fact that they were on Earth and had survived so far.

“She shouldn’t be that far away,” Clara murmured mostly to herself, she knew Nicole. She knew her sister would still be wary of being on the ground, the air hadn’t killed anyone yet but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t. Nicole wouldn’t just leave the area, she’d stick by the drop ship until she knew the area surrounding them was safe. Her eyes landed on Octavia, it was the first time seeing her but she knew who she was.

[That's fine!]

Nicole sighed and eventually just leant forward to rest her head on his chest. Honestly, she wanted to stay like this forever, and if she could she would've shut the dropship's door right then and there and locked herself and Bellamy away from the outside world. She knew however that that wasn't possible. They were here on the ground, the door was open, and no one had died yet. If they wanted to actually have a chance at surviving down here then they'd all need to work together. Which meant her and Bellamy were going to have to leave the dropship. Someone was going to have to find them food, and they'd need water. They would also need shelter. As much as Nicole didn't want it to be true they were on the ground and they were going to need to survive, which meant putting all her earth skills to the test. She just hoped it would be enough.

"I think it's finally time we join the others," she said softly looking towards the open door where light and fresh air from outside were flooding in. She had to stop being selfish, even though she didn't want to. It was the best thing for them, though. Of course, once she really thought about it going out there also meant facing everyone who already couldn't stand her, something she knew she'd have to do eventually. It was just hard.

---

"Why wouldn't I?" Finn asked her as he followed her through the crowd of people all celebrating just being on the ground and still being alive. "After all, it isn't your fault you have a twin sister or that the council decided to let you both live with no one being punished. I don't really see what the big deal is really, or why everyone hated you and your sister so much for something neither of you could even control," He told her shrugging his shoulders a little.

"She's also never been anything but nice to me since we met when I was first put into lock up. And I know you mean a lot to her so why not help you guys reunite," he told her figuring it was a good idea. He wouldn't say that he and Nicole were best friends or anything like that, they were however on speaking terms and if something were to happen to her he'd be upset about it. So they were like friendly he supposed would be the way to explain it.

Bellamy felt whole once again with Nicole in his arms, he never wanted to let her go but knew they would eventually need to join the other hundred kids who he could heard were celebrating the fact they were alive and on Earth and just away from the Ark. “Sadly I agree with you, but I would prefer to just stay here with you.” He smiled softly as he ran his fingers through her long silky hair, if they were all going to survive on the ground then they would need to work together and make that happen.

They wouldn’t last long if they didn’t find food and water and build shelter, none of them knew what the weather was like or how cold it could get. They had to act smart, but who any of them listen if someone tried to take charge of things? They were finally free from the rules that the Ark enforced, however he would give it a try.

Sighing lightly he unwrapped his arms from Nicole’s body but entwined his fingers with her’s, he held her hand as he led her down the ramp and onto the dirt ground. “It’s beautiful down here,” He admired all the green trees that surrounded them, the air was crisp and so fresh. He had been expecting the place to be burned black and dead, but apparently life had either survived or had learned to grow back over time. “Octavia will be excited to see you again,” He looked down at Nicole as she was also taking in the beauty that was all around them.

---

Clara didn’t know what to say to Finn as she listened to him speak, he was one of the few that didn’t seem to blame her for being a twin. He didn’t really seem to care that they weren’t punished for having more child, when everyone else had to follow that rule. Especially after Octavia was arrested and Ms Blake was floated, nothing happened to Nicole or their parents when they were born. She understood why most people didn’t agree with the special treatment that her family received, but it still wasn’t her fault.

“You talked to Nic?” She asked happy that her sister had someone there while she was locked in a cell, “She didn’t allow me to go see her. She always refused when I tried,” She admitted feeling the hurt bubble up inside her as she remembered how Nicole refused her, it hurt her but it also made her angry with Bellamy which is why she pushed him away after Nicole was arrested. Clara blamed him completely and that was obvious, she hasn’t even spoken to him yet as she had given him the silent treatment.

“Thanks for being there for her,” Looking over at him, the sun hit his dark eyes and made them appear lighter but still rich. Finn was definitely attractive but Clara was there for her sister, nothing else mattered. As Clara got closer to the drop ship, a flash of red hair captured her attention. “Nic!” She called out over the noise that everyone else was making.

Nicole let Bellamy lead her out of the dropship and onto the ground awaiting them outside, and she couldn't help but take a moment to just look around. It was so beautiful down here, not at all what she was expecting. There were trees surrounding them which were all filled with beautiful green leaves, she'd even noticed some flowers kind off in the distance blooming from the ground. They were different colours, shapes, and sizes. Nicole wasn't sure how all of this was here or how long it had been here given her entire life she'd been in space far away from all of this. But being here now and getting to see the beauty that earth held gave her a sense of peace she'd never had on the ark. "It's all so beautiful," she whispered just for a moment allowing herself to imagine what else they were bound to discover down here.

Imagining didn't last long, though, because she was opening her eyes at the sound of a familiar voice shouting her name. A voice she had not expected to hear, coming from a person she had not expected to see. "Clara! What're you doing down here?!" She asked both glad to see her sister was clearly alive and well, but worried about what she could've possibly done to get down here and also about what their parents must be thinking. "You didn't do anything stupid, did you? Do mum and dad know you're down here? Are you okay? Finn?" She asked all one right after another until she noticed Finn behind her sister smiling at her, which wasn't as shocking as it was confusing because she hadn't known that he knew her sister. She supposed though they could've just met.

---

"You're welcome," Finn said smiling at Nicole as he motioned towards Clara. "I found her just wandering around looking lost and figured I could help reunite the two of you." He said shaking his head not wanting to get in the way of the two sisters finally getting to see one another again. But he'd be sure to catch up with them both at some point or another. It wasn't really like they had anything else going on down here.

He saw Nicole roll her eyes his way and then flip him off and he just laughed and shook it off. It was just like her. He then saw Bellamy Blake standing beside her and happened to notice their intertwined hands so clearly he was the boyfriend she was always mentioning in lock up. Honestly, for the longest time every time they were given the chance to walk around outside of their cells for even a little bit of time there would be someone hitting on her. Usually, it was the same boy by the name of Jasper. And Finn had heard her on multiple occasion turn him down stating she had a boyfriend. Jasper never believed her though stating that if her boyfriend loved her why did he never visit. Her answer every time 'it's complicated'. So it was easy for people to assume she was making him up, clearly though this proved them all wrong. Sad day for Jasper.

Things weren’t great, but Bellamy felt better now that he had been reunited with Nicole. He felt things would work out because she was there, she did always make everything better for him. Always encouraged him and gave him a different aspect on problems, she thought differently than he did and it always seemed to help. He was more of a go-getter, while Nicole thought things through before she acted. They hadn’t been outside for long before a familiar voice hit his ears, a voice he never ever wanted to hear unless it was back on the Ark. Clara. Clara had somehow gotten herself on the drop ship, turning his head he saw her and he felt sick.

He didn’t want either twin to be on Earth and now both of them were, but he should have known Clara would find a way to be with her sister. He had done the exact same thing, he wasn’t going to let his sister go without a fight. His eyes moved behind her to where a boy was standing, a boy that Nicole obviously knew somehow. He was confused at not many people liked the twins, but Nicole was being rather friendly with the guy who he did remember seeing here and there on the Ark. “Clara… you should have stayed on the Ark.” He told her softly as he knew she was still angry with him for being the reason Nicole was locked up.

---

Clara wrapped her arms tightly around her sister, she didn’t want to let go. She was scared someone or something would take Nicole away from her again, she didn’t deal well with it the first time. “No, I didn’t do anything stupid. It’s not my fault that someone left the door open on the drop ship,” She told her sister honestly, “I said a quick goodbye to mum and dad. They knew this was happening and they didn’t do anything to get you to safety,” She explained to her sister although she wasn’t sure if her parents could have done anything to stop this, the order was made and they had to allow it to happen.

“I wasn’t lost,” She glanced over her shoulder to where Finn was standing, “You two know each other?” She asked before her attention was captured by the last person she wanted to see, Bellamy was there too. He had to have done the same thing that she did, he got onto the drop ship to be with his sister. “I thought I told you to stay away from her, it’s your fault that she’s down here. Neither of us would be here if you just stayed away,” Clara’s voice turned harsh as she sent a glare in Bellamy’s direction, but it was how she saw the whole messy situation. Nicole had refused to see her so no one had explained what really happened, Bellamy had tried multiple times but she never listened to what he said.

Nicole was happy to see her sister, she was also happy that clearly Clara was alive and healthy. The moment of happiness that came with being reunited didn't last long, however. It was very clear that Bellamy and Clara weren't on good terms, and Nicole understood why. She hoped though that she could explain everything to Clara and her sister would realize it wasn't Bellamy's fault. Nicole needed them to get along, simply because they were on the ground now and in order for them to survive everyone was going to have to work together and get along.

"I'm glad you didn't do anything stupid to get here," Nicole told her sister biting her lip. "Mom and dad couldn't do anything. Once the council decided they were sending us down here that was it, everyone locked up was getting sent to the ground. It didn't matter who you were. And I accepted my fate a long time ago," She added wanting to make it clear that Nicole wasn't blaming anyone for getting locked up. Honestly she knew it could've all been avoided, she could've just turned in Octavia and Bellamy as soon as she found out and saved her own ass but she didn't.

Nicole sighed before she went on again. "Clara," she said giving her sister a look. "It's not Bellamy's fault I'm down here. It's my own. Because I convinced Bellamy to trust me with his secret. And from the day he did I knew about Octavia. I knew he had a sister he was keeping hidden, and I helped him take care her of when he needed me. I knew he had a sister when it wasn't allowed to have more than one child on the ark, and I didn't tell anyone. Because I couldn't. I knew what would happen if I did. So when the council did find out about Octavia they felt I needed to be punished, but I wasn't old enough to be floated so they locked me up." She told Clara hoping it would make her sister like Bellamy a little more.

---

Finn rubbed the back of his neck not entirely sure what he'd walked into. "We were locked up together, oh and we took earth skills together," Finn said knowing Clara wasn't asking him, but he decided to answer either way. Though he was pretty sure he'd already told Clara that, maybe she'd just been trying to get reassurance from her sister. Why he'd lie about something like that though he didn't know, after all, there were things that Finn had and would lie about again given the chance. But the people he'd met in lock up wasn't one of those things.

"Oh I'm Finn by the way," he said finally remembering he hadn't actually been introduced to Nicole's boyfriend. "And you must be Nicole's boyfriend," he said not really sure he wanted to step into all the drama that clearly was revolving around the three of them, but he was already here so if he did get sucked in it was his own fault.

"I've heard a lot about you," he said though his name had never been one of those things. He knew who Bellamy Blake was. Everyone did really he was a little older than most of the prisoners, and for a while, he'd been on the guard or training to be on the guard. Once his sister had been found out about everyone knew him as her brother. He'd never talked to Bellamy before now, though.

Bellamy honestly didn’t know what else he could do or say to Clara, he had once been close to her as well. Saw her as another sister who he had to protect, it was very important to Nicole that he got along with her family but mostly her sister which he understood completely. He didn’t blame Clara for blaming him, technically it was his fault that all of this happened. He shouldn’t have taken Octavia to that stupid dance, he knew it was too dangerous for her to be outside where people could see her. He knew Clara was just protecting her sister, he knew what it felt like to have a sister taken away and locked up.

He decided to keep his mouth shut before he made things worse for himself, so he turned his attention onto the boy who clearly knew his girlfriend. He listened as the boy told them how he and Nicole knew each other, he had heard all about this guy. The Spacewalker, that’s what people called him after he was caught taking a spacewalk on his own when no one was allowed. He was arrested because he was under eighteen, “Bellamy. Thanks for helping her,” He glanced in Clara’s direction, he should have given the sisters some space but he also didn’t want to go too far as he was scared about losing Nicole again.

“All bad, yeah?” He knew what had been said about him wasn’t the best, he hid his sister in secret for years but allowed her and his girlfriend to be arrested. He had a bright future being a guard, although that only happened because his mom had begged for him to be trained up so he could better protect Octavia and keep their secret hidden. He had never wanted to be a guard, but he did it for his family and he wanted to make Nicole proud of him. “And thanks for being there for Nic, I couldn’t face her after what I caused.” He looked over at his beautiful girl, how had he gotten so lucky? He asked himself that every day, and yet could never find an answer.

---

“That wasn’t your fate, Nic. This isn’t your fate,” Clara didn’t understand how or why her sister was so calm about this, or why she didn’t blame Bellamy for everything that happened. She did know that their parents couldn’t have done anything to stop this, she hoped that they hadn’t agreed to this. Knowing them they wouldn’t have, but if they were out voted then they had no more say in this. But why they were sent to the ground was beyond Clara, she didn’t understand why the Ark would send kids who had been locked up to the ground.

Sure if the ground wasn’t survivable, the Ark wouldn’t lose anyone important. But did they really trust a bunch of kids who did something bad enough that they were arrested? “It is his fault, Nic. Why can’t you see that? He shouldn’t have told you in the first place, he knew what would happen if anyone found out about Octavia and found out that you knew about her. He should have kept it to himself,” That is how Clara saw this whole situation, Bellamy knew telling Nicole about his sister could be damaging.

Although Clara didn’t know much about relationships and love, putting your complete trust in someone else because she has never been in a serious relationship before. She had dates here and there with boys, but nothing ever came of it. The only people Clara trusted was her family, she knew they would never let her down and boys could do that so easily.

"Maybe you don't understand because you've never been in love, but I have. I am. I love Bellamy and when you love someone you share your secrets with them because you know you can trust them. Or at least you know you should be allowed to trust them. And he trusted me with this, it doesn't matter if everyone thinks he shouldn't have he did. And I love him plus I knew what it was like to care about someone so much you'd do anything in the world to protect them. So I kept his secret." Nicole said doubting she was going to get through to her sister. But she had to at least try.

There wasn't anything that was going to make her stop loving Bellamy. Sure she hated that nine times out of ten he just jumped right into something without thinking things through. She hated that he always blamed himself for things that he had no control over. And it bugged her to no end how willing he was to believe that somehow it was his fault she was locked up or that Octavia was locked up. Even if it was his fault she didn't want him beating himself up about it, especially now, because well they were all three on the ground and she and O were free from prison. None of those things made her love him less, however. Because they were all a part of who he was and she just accepted it. She did hope though that Bellamy didn't plan on trying to be overprotective of her or Octavia because she already knew that wouldn't work out well.

---

"A mixture of good and bad honestly," Finn told him glancing to the sisters. "I mean I heard the usual chatter that most people heard which was usually the bad things. But then Nicole was always talking about you. She never actually told anyone it was you she was talking about but now it's clear." He told Bellamy looking back and remembering all the times they'd have like visiting days or something and him and Nicole would just step out of their cells and chat when no one came to visit him. Honestly, he kind of felt like he and Nicole had kept each other sane. Because while he knew she usually declined visitors, for whatever reason, he didn't. But sometimes Raven was busy tied up with something and couldn't make it because of what she did and had he not had someone to talk to it would've been maddening.

"I'm sure you've heard a fair amount about my as well," he said knowing that everyone thought he was locked up for taking a spacewalk when in reality he hadn't been the one taking a spacewalk. He'd been with Raven who'd taken the spacewalk and he'd just switched spots with her before anyone could figure out what really happened. He'd known what would happen though if anyone saw her in the suit. They'd float her without even thinking about it because she was eighteen. He however only being seventeen would be locked up for almost a year before anything could really happen. And now nothing up there could happen because they'd sent him down here to the ground. Which he felt gave him a pretty good chance of surviving. As long as it was actually survivable down here. He wasn't sure he'd ever see Raven again, but he supposed at least they were both safe and alive.

Bellamy was glad that Nicole had someone she could talk to while she was locked up, he wasn’t sure how often she allowed her family to see her. He never tried or asked to see her, he didn’t have any right in going to visit her. He did know from Clara that Nicole usually refused to see her sister, it was something he didn’t understand because the two sisters were always inseparable. Maybe Nicole didn’t want Clara to see her in that cell, or something like that. “Thank you for being there for her, she can never stop talking for longer than five minutes. It would have been hell for her not being around people,” He need he had to thank Finn for being there for his girlfriend, maybe this boy wasn’t all that bad and he sounded like he could be trusted.

“I have heard all the stories about you, not sure if I believe any of them though.” He stated as he had heard a rumour that Finn couldn’t possibly have been on his own, for someone had to work the controls in the air tight room. Although Bellamy didn’t really care what Finn did, whether he did the spacewalk on his own or someone helped him or someone else did the spacewalk. He was there now and he knew Nicole, that’s all Bellamy needed to somewhat like the guy. “We’ll need to start setting ourselves up here shortly, explore what we have around.” He told Finn to see if he was interested in helping, he wasn’t celebrating like the others were and he had taken time to help Clara find her sister.

---

Clara somewhat understood where Nicole was coming from, she hasn’t been in love yet but she did know what it was like to trust someone completely. That person was her sister, she would do everything and anything for Nicole. That showed because she was on the ground along with them, “But he was meant to protect you. He promised me that he would keep you safe, having you locked in a cell isn’t my idea of keeping you safe.” She looked at her sister, she had asked Bellamy to protect Nicole when they first started dating. He had promised her that he would, Clara saw Nicole being locked up as Bellamy breaking his promise to her.

“I highly doubt I’ll find love now,” She murmured as she glanced around her, she had always dreamed of finding that one man who would love her entirely. She wanted the love that her parents shared, but now that she was on the ground and not sure if she was going to survive. Love didn’t seem possible, Nicole was lucky. She found Bellamy and a relationship blossomed quickly between them, it was something that Clara was constantly jealous about although she kept that a secret. “I wasn’t that nice to him, Nic.” She admitted to her sister, she had been an utter bitch to Bellamy but she felt like she had a right to act like that. She never stopped to think how he was feeling, Clara just jumped to blaming him for what happened instead of talking to him or listening to what he told her.

Nicole laughed softly at her sister, "ya know we're on the ground and there are plenty of cute guys down here, so who says you won't find love?" She said shrugging her shoulders. Sure Nicole was positive that being on the ground surrounded by criminals wasn't exactly what her sister expecting finding love would look like. And she was sure that their parents wouldn't be entirely pleased with it either. However, Nicole didn't see how it could really hurt anything. Plus she'd met quite of few of the kids down here with them now while she'd been locked up and they were actually rather nice. Locked up for minor crimes that would probably just be a slap on the wrist down here. Like Finn for example, he hadn't killed anyone or done anything to harm anyone else. He'd just 'went on a spacewalk'. She wasn't sure she believed it was him, or at least he wasn't alone, but still it wasn't that awful of a crime. Or how about Jasper and Monty. They'd never hurt anyone, just ya know gotten high a lot.

The point was Nicole knew that not everyone who'd been locked up was bad. A lot of them were just locked up for something minor that the council didn't think they could overlook. "Besides not everyone who was locked up is a bad person." She said knowing fully well she'd use everyone one of the examples she'd thought to herself to convince her sister of that as well if she needed to.

"I think he understands," She replied glancing over to Bellamy and just smiling to herself because it really was so amazing to see him again. "I mean he blames himself for everything too and I know he feels awful that everything happened." She said biting her lip as she realizing something. "Even if I hadn't been locked up had Octavia been found out even without me knowing she still would've been locked up, and I know him. He still would've found a way onto the drop ship to be down here with her. And I wouldn't be able to let him go like that so I'd have to follow him. Which brings me to the conclusion that I really do believe being on the ground is where I should be." She told her sister knowing it probably still didn't make sense to her, but that was okay.

---

Finn laughed softly, "no problem," he told Bellamy more than happy to have helped. Honestly, he was pretty sure he and Nicole kept each other sane in lock up. He talked to her for comfort and just to have someone to talk to while she always seemed to do the same. So really it was kind of a two-way thing. They helped each other out. "I mean I think we were both pretty good at keeping the other one sane." He told Bellamy glad Nicole and him were reunited. Honestly, he kind of just wanted everyone to be happy and seeing two people who given their situation couldn't have been happier to see one another.

"Believe what you want. I mean I could tell you what happened but unless you were there you'd never know if it were the truth or not. And even then everyone's still already made some kind of judgment about the whole situation so even if my story didn't match what they thought they knew they would still see me as a spacewalker." He said shrugging his shoulders. He was used to it, and he was glad that people believed his story because it'd kept Raven safe. It wasn't like it mattered anymore anyways. They were on the ground now and so far it seemed they had an unlimited amount of air so it wasn't like he could use too much of it down here. "You're probably right, we should probably start to get ourselves set up," he agreed wondering if anyone else down here had a plan or any idea about where they might've landed so maybe they'd know where best to look for food and water.

What Finn said was true, no one knew the truth about why he was locked up but himself. Just like only Nicole, Octavia and himself knew what really happened, he had tried to explain it all to Nicole’s family and the only one who didn’t listen was Clara. He simply nodded his head before the subject was changed to how they were going to survive on the ground, “The main question is how and why we should start.” None of them knew where they were or what was around them, that was until he looked over the group and noticed a blonde was holding a piece of paper in her hands. As much as he wanted to celebrate being on the ground like the others were, he had come all this way and he wouldn’t let it be more nothing.

He had been on the drop ship for Octavia and Nicole, he would make sure to keep them and now Clara safe. They were really the only people he trusted, knew they had his back so he needed to think up a plan on keeping them alive. “She’s got something,” He murmured to Finn to keep the sisters from overhearing, he recognized the blonde to Clarke, at least he thought that was her name. He couldn’t remember why she had been locked up, something to do with her father being floated was the rumour he heard, not that he had been paying attention.

Walking towards her he saw from over her shoulder that she was holding a map of sorts, there was a circle around a Mount Weather so obviously someone had told Clarke to head towards that. But could she be trusted? Bellamy couldn’t be certain so instead he turned to Finn who seemed eager to help, “There’s a mountain somewhere. We should aim for that, not sure where it is though. We’ll need to find water and food first,” He told Finn as water and food were more important right now.

---

“I haven’t seen any cute guys yet,” Clara stated to her sister, she wasn’t going to bring up how cute she thought Finn was. Nicole knew Finn and Clara didn’t, she only knew his name and that he had gone on a space walk on his own and got arrested for it. This wasn’t how she had planned for her life to turn out, she had wanted to get married on the Ark to a man she loved and adored before having a child of their own. Sneaking onto the drop ship for her sister and being sent to Earth wasn’t in her life plan, she still couldn’t believe what she had done but she wouldn’t change a thing. “I know you would have been here either way, which means so would I.” It was something she shared with Bellamy, they both were on the ground for a loved one.

Glancing back to where Finn and Bellamy had once been, she frowned when she didn’t see them anymore. “What are they doing?” She asked her sister when she did find them, they were talking about something amongst themselves. “We haven’t been down here for an hour and he’s already up to something,” Looking at her sister it was obvious Bellamy was doing something, what it was she wasn’t sure yet. So she linked her arm with Nicole’s before they headed over to where the boys were standing, “What are you doing?” Clara asked as she wanted to know, if they were making plans then she wanted to be involved.

She felt like she had to prove to everyone there that she would get her hands dirty, that she would be involved and could be trusted. Clara knew she wasn’t liked all that much and she knew if she was to survive, that needed to change. As Bellamy looked to Nicole, with a look of uncertainty on his face Clara turned to Finn. “We’re all down here together, we’re going to do whatever it takes to survive.” She wondered if Finn would tell them, as Bellamy wasn’t because he probably didn’t want to keep Nicole out of it.

Nicole had hope that in time her sister would lighten up a little and be more likely to find someone or at least some way to be happy. Because like it or not they were all on the ground now and they weren't going back to the ark. She didn't know how likely it was to actually happen but did hope that it would. Once her sister had brought to her attention that both Finn and Bellamy were up to something, however, she was quick to follow Clara and see what was going on. She, of course, trusted both of them, that didn't mean she wanted to be kept in the dark, though.

"What's going on here?" She asked looking between Bellamy, Finn, and Clarke, a girl she'd only heard rumors about honestly. Because even though Clarke had also been locked up for something regarding her dad or something according to what everyone always said, she'd been put in solitary and wasn't let out to visit anyone. That or maybe no one came to see her. Or maybe it was something about Clarke not wanting to see anyone. Which if the latter were true Nicole could understand not wanting anyone to visit. It was hard being locked up for something stupid, but Nicole hadn't wanted her family to see her and make things worse with their reactions. Plus time was so limited on visiting days she felt seeing them once a month and that was it would've made her miss them more than she did. Which would've made being locked away from them harder

"They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain," Nicole heard Clarke say as she looked up from the map in her hands. "And that's a big deal," she added looking between everyone, "because that mountain has supplies that we're going to need to survive."

---

Finn sighed and ran his fingers through his hair and looked between everyone. "I guess we should get going then, hun?" He said not sure if anyone else was up for an adventure to a mountain that was at least a day's journey away or not, but if Clarke was right and they needed the supplies that were in this mountain he didn't see why people wouldn't be all for going.

After all, Finn wanted to actually survive down here. He was glad he wasn't on the ark and locked up anymore. And he under no circumstances wanted to die in some short time span because he didn't have food, water, or something else that was important for them to survive. "Let's getting going then because I'm sure it'll take at least a day to get there and that's as long as we don't run into anything that could get in the way," Clarke said most likely talking about the terrain. Which was true. There was no telling what may or may not between them and Mt. Weather.

"Hold on a second," Nicole said butting in quickly before anyone took off in any direction. "We should at least let everyone else in the camp know what's happening. Because if more people want to help they should be allowed. Also, don't you think you should put even a little bit of thought into things before just wandering off into the forest? Surely I'm not the only one who paid attention in Earth, related classes. You should always make sure you have travel bags packed with even a little bit of food and water in case you don't find any on the journey. Does either of you have a weapon of any kind in case you need to hunt for food? Or I don't know protect yourselves from any animals?" She asked not because she wanted to be a leader or boss everyone around, but because Nicole didn't want people dropping left and right if it could be prevented.

Bellamy couldn’t stop the proud grin that formed on his lips as he listened to Nicole speak, he always knew one day she would be a fantastic leader. If she so wished, of course. “Nicole’s right, there are bags on the drop ship with some food and water inside. Take one and leave the rest, try to form a small group as there’s more safety in numbers. But we’ll stay here, look after everyone else.” Bellamy informed the small group, he wasn’t about to leave now to and hike to some mountain and he didn’t want Nicole leaving his side right now. He needed to stay and convince the other criminals that they all needed to somehow remove the metal bracelets from their wrists, it was selfish of him and he knew that.

But if The Ark saw how many of them were ‘dying’ then they wouldn’t follow them down onto the ground, and Bellamy wouldn’t get killed for what he did. His hand found Nicole’s back in hopes that she would agree to stay there with him, she already knew that he did something stupid to get onto the drop ship. She just didn’t understand how serious it was and that he would die for it, besides if Clarke thought she’d be able to boss them all around then she was mistaken. Why should any of them even trust her? She came from a privileged family, she was given everything when everyone else had to work hard for what they had. He had a much better chance of leading the kids because he was exactly like them.

“Fine,” Clarke spoke before she turned around and shouted at the group of misfits, Bellamy wasn’t interested in listening so he turned to Nicole. “Stay here with me, we don’t know what’s out there. Besides that stupid thing I did, it will get me killed. I’m sorry Nic but I didn’t have a choice, you still trust me right?” He looked into her sapphire eyes as he hoped he knew what her answer would be, she had always trusted him while they were on the Ark so he prayed that the trust she held for him hadn’t changed since she was arrested because of him.

---

Clara watched in silence, Bellamy refused to join Clarke and Clarke called out for anyone else who wanted to help her. Finn seemed keen to go on the journey to Mount Weather, but she wasn’t sure what Nicole was going to do as she hadn’t said anything else. She watched as Bellamy’s sister put her hand up to join, before two other boys offered their help. Apparently their names were Monty and Jasper, from what she saw Finn seemed to know them pretty well. Clara was torn, she wanted to survive and help out as much as she could but she was still terrified.

Clarke had found a bag inside the drop shop and placed the straps over her shoulders, it was right before the group were about to head in the direction of Mount Weather when Clara finally stepped forward. “Wait… I’ll come too,” She announced even if she might not be much help, she still wanted to do what she could. Glancing over to her sister, she sent her a reassuring smile as if to tell her not to worry.

Besides Clara was certain that Bellamy wouldn’t let anything happen to Nicole, he loved her and right now that’s all Clara needed to know. “I’ll see you when we get back,” She told her twin as she followed Clarke who held the map in her hands, she hadn’t been expecting this of herself. She thought she would want to stay close to Nicole as they had already been separated for so long, if Bellamy wasn’t there then Clara wouldn’t have left. Maybe she didn’t blame him as much as she thought she did, turning she walked away hoping this was a good idea.

Nicole was being pulled in two separate directions right now because she badly wanted to follow her sister just to make sure she was safe. They had after all just been reunited. At the same time though she'd just been reunited with Bellamy as well and she knew that he needed her too. Then there was the fact that he'd done something stupid that would apparently get him killed if the people on the ark followed. It was hard having two people she loved more than anything down here.

She looked at Bellamy and pecked his lips softly. "Of course I still trust you, I'll be right back okay," she said softly before running to catch up with the others. First, she made sure to hug Clara, and when she finally pulled away she looked between Finn, Monty, and Jasper and bit her lip. "You guys be careful okay, I need you all to come back alive," She told him not entirely sure what she would do if one of them didn't make it. Sure Clara was her sister so that made sense, and the others might not have to anyone else, but Nicole had spent a good amount of time with all three of the boys while they were all in lock up and she'd formed bonds with them. She also knew that no matter what anyone else said they all had skills that would be useful for them to survive.

Once she'd said her goodbyes Nicole made her way back to Bellamy. "So what exactly did you do on the ark?" She asked him deciding then and there that she needed to know what had happened in the ark that was so bad that were they to follow he'd end up being killed for it. Because it was clearly something awful, but Nicole couldn't for the life of herself figure out what could be so bad they'd want to kill him for it. It must've been bad, though.

---

"What'da ya know maybe Nicole has a soft spot for you after all Jasper," Finn joked as they followed Clarke away from the campgrounds. He wasn't sure where they were headed, or how long it would take them, but he did hope that they found what they were looking for. He was also planning to keep his eyes open just in case there was any danger out there. Of course given that as far as all of them knew earth hadn't been survivable at all in the last 100 years so he wasn't exactly worried about other humans jumping out after them. He didn't know though if he should be worried about animals or not.

"Shut it, Finn," Jasper said back rolling his eyes. "I'm not an idiot, there's no way I'd make a move on her now knowing who her boyfriend clearly is. I mean he could break in half," he said not even wanting to take any chances with that.

Finn just laughed but kept walking. "So Clara, I already know what these two like to do in their spare time. I also know what your sister enjoys in her spare time. So what do you enjoy?" He asked figuring if they were about to be on some long journey to a mountain at least a day's journey away he might as well make small talk with everyone to try and make the time pass a little bit faster.

Bellamy watched as Nicole hugged her sister tightly before returning to his side, which is when she asked him the one questions that he didn’t want to answer. He didn’t want to tell her what he did, or who had given him the deal. But if she knew then she would understand what his next move was, he needed the delinquents to remove the metal cuffs around their wrists. If The Ark couldn’t track their vital signs then they would assume they weren’t surviving and wouldn’t follow them to the ground, which would keep him alive but it also meant that Nicole would never see her parents again. “That’s something you don’t need to worry about,” He didn’t even know how to tell her, he was scared if she knew then she would see and think of him differently and he would never want that. If she decided she didn’t want him and couldn’t love him anymore, it would break him more than he wanted to admit.

Apparently she wasn’t impressed with his answer because she was giving him the look, the look that always made a cold chill run down his spine and made him uneasy. It was the look that could get him to spill his guts to her, tell her what was on his mind or how he was feeling about something. “Let’s just say that I hurt someone important, I was given a deal that if I did this task then I would be on the drop ship. I didn’t know what else to do, everyone was constantly watching me.” Hopefully that would do for now, he couldn’t tell her that he shot Councillor Jaha and was able to pose as a guard so he could sneak onto the drop ship. He couldn’t even think about it without him feeling sick to the stomach, he could barely look at Wells knowing that he killed his father. “You worry about me too much,” It was obvious he was trying to change the subject, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him so he could kiss her lips again. “All you need to know is that I’d do anything for you,” He whispered as he rested his forehead against her’s.

---

Clara didn’t want to let her sister go but needed to otherwise it would take them longer to make it to Mount Weather, as the small group left the surrounding area of the drop ship Clara did consider just heading back. That was until Finn walked beside her and started talking to her, “I read a lot.” She told him as she would read whatever books she could find on the Ark, she liked learning about what she didn’t know. Nicole often had to drag her out of her room because Clara was happy to stay there and read, that was also because she wasn’t all that liked on the Ark and it was safer to be in her room then to be out and be treated like dirt. “I also would be in the Earth Skills room just to practice, and because no one would bother me in there.” She wouldn’t say that she liked being on her own, but things turned out that way when Nicole met Bellamy and started spending more time with him. Looking away from him Clara looked around her, the tall trees looked healthy and the leaves were green. The sun rays hit them as they walked in the direction Clarke was leading them, she had been expecting everything to still be dead and non-existent.

“I always pictured Earth to be black and burnt, but everything is so beautiful.” The fresh air felt wonderful in her lungs and it all smelt fresh, she wondered if the plant life grew back then did animals continue living? She hadn’t seen or heard any yet but she was hopeful, “It’ll be better when The Ark gets down here. I still have to expect to my parents why I’m down here in the first place,” They wouldn’t be happy with her, they had the chance of losing one daughter and now they could have lost both. Clara couldn’t imagine how they were feeling, it was selfish of her to sneak onto the drop ship but it was something she had to do otherwise she would have regretted not trying anything. “Do you have any hobbies?” She asked turning her attention back onto Finn, the boy she knew nothing about apart from the rumours that he had gone on a space walk on his own. A rumour that she didn’t believe, but felt like if she asked he would think she was being nosy.