Elastic Heart

Bellamy's hand moved up to grasp Blair's face as his astounded lips finally began to respond and move in sync with her own. The kiss was rushed and unyielding, urgent with an undercurrent sense of need. Somewhere within Blair's desire-driven daze, her ability to think returned. A small trace of guilt began to grow as she allowed herself to acknowledge the fact she was kissing Bellamy Blake; the pig-headed, self-appointed leader hellbent on sabotaging any hope of the Ark and it's people of ever returning to the ground. But as Bellamy deepened the kiss and unlocked a new level of lust inside of her, Blair pushed the feeling of guilt aside. It was a feeling she would no doubt dwell upon later. Letting the guilt fastly burn in among the fire of her longing, Blair could finally let herself appreciate how right the moment felt. His lips were surprisingly soft as they brushed against the contradicting cracking texture of her own. Knotting her hands in the mop-like hair at the base of his neck, she clung to him as if he were her personal life-line. Even the unforeseen deprivation of air to her lungs wasn't enough to spoil what Blair believed to be a perfect moment. Clarke's voice on the other hand was, and it was Blair who grudgingly pried the pairs mouths apart as she called for them all to come quickly. Letting her arms sag down heavily until her hands rested against Bellamy's rapidly rising and falling chest --his jagged breathing struggling to find its usual pace-- Blair kept her eyes cast down as she breathlessly spoke. "I'm glad to hear it."



Luckily for Blair, the indication of Jasper's presence which Clarke and Finn had found near the edge of a waterfall left her little time to talk or think. The group moved as one following behind Finn, entrusting him with the task of tracking Jasper and the Grounders route. Blair kept a good distance between herself and Bellamy, choosing it best she walked with Clarke instead. There was a certain atmosphere looming in the air which she couldn't quite define. Idly she wondered whether Bellamy could sense it too. Things had changed between them now and Blair no longer knew how to react around him. Her feelings towards him had grown in such a short amount of time. Before coming to earth she knew nothing of him, and now she felt she knew him better than most. Clarke and Wells saw him as the puppeteer pulling all the strings, but Blair knew there was more to his explanation then he was letting on. She knew he had a tendency to hide things, she had called him up on being ominous once before. In her heart she knew he wasn't a bad guy, but his blatant disregard for her father's life made it hard at times for Blair to see. Until she understood and he accepted her unwillingness to conform, she knew their kiss would lead to nothing more. Absentmindedly, she glanced down at her wrist and sighed.

"How do we know this is the right way?" the blood-boiling voice of Murphy asked, startling Blair from her thoughts. So much for little time to think.

"We don't," Bellamy replied over the collective sound of their boots crunching against the stones which formed the dried-up riverbed. Bravely, Blair risked a glance in his direction, his large brown-eyes instantly meeting her blues. Both captivating and endearing, she found it impossible to look away. "Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."

As Wells stepped in to defend Finns tracking-skills, Blair tore her eyes away from Bellamy's and continued walking with her head down. Zoning out from the conversation taking place around her, she pointlessly inspected the rocks beneath her feet. It was harder now to imagine not living life on the ground. Although she and the one hundred had only been on earth for three days, everything felt so natural and true. But as Blair paid closer attention to the unique cracks and colors which defined each individual stone, she realised it was all still so new.

A groan in the distance could be heard and Blair instinctively became alert, raising her head and scanning the direction she believed the groan had come from. Glancing around at the rest of the group, Blair noticed they were all doing the same.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy asked the question on all of their minds.

Bellamy stepped closer to Blair and noticed her flinch ever-so-slightly as his fingers lightly brushed against her lower-arm. She looked up at him and mildly smiled, appreciating his reassuring gesture but still feeling on edge as the groan grew louder.

"Now would be a good time for you to take out that gun."

Clarke and Finn rushed into the trees with Wells and Murphy following slightly more hesitantly behind. Bellamy did as Clarke had suggested and removed his gun from the waistband of his pants before taking Blair's hand and leading her towards the agonized sound. Although she had already decided their kiss was futile, Blair found comfort in his contact and trailed silently behind him.

The group didn't need to walk far before they entered a large clearing, and Blair gasped as a strung up Jasper came into view. Hung on a tree with his top removed, the place at which he'd been impaled could be seen. The rise and fall of his chest was next to unnoticeable as the group convened a good few feet away, rooted to the ground with an undeniable sense of fear. Pulling her hand free from Bellamy's, the undeterred girl rushed forward, not allowing herself to be gripped by her growing perception of foreboding.

"What the hell is this?" Bellamy questioned from close behind her, but the sound of twigs breaking and leaves falling silenced her before she could give her theory. She turned toward the source of the sound to see Clarke's body falling into the spear ridden trap, and screamed her name just as Bellamy reached down and caught her. The three boys behind rushed forward to help Bellamy pull the small blonde up and Blair played a part by grabbing tightly onto the back of his Guardsman jacket. Together they pulled Clarke back onto the safety of solid ground, but Blair kept a hold of Bellamy's jacket all the same.

It was silent as everyone attempted to calm their spiked breathing, Blair letting her head rest against Bellamy's back as she did. She was more certain now of what this set-up was than she had been before. With Jasper tied up and dugout holes in the ground disguised and hidden; a trap was the only logical explanation. As she took a few seconds to consider what the Grounders were trying to capture, she tightened her hands in Bellamy's jacket when the likely possibility came to mind that it could be them.

"We need to get him down," Clarke said, her voice smaller but still carrying its assertive tone. Finn volunteered to climb the tree and cut the vines, Wells stepping forward to do so too. But Finn told him to stay with the two girls and keep his eye on Bellamy, ordering Murphy to help him instead.

"I'll help," Blair offered, lifting her head and releasing the back of Bellamy's jacket. She knew she had been gripping it tightly, but it wasn't until she noticed her knuckles had turned white that she realized just how tightly she'd been clutching him.

Finn looked back at the sound of her voice and shook his head. "No, stay with Clarke. Murphy and I have got it."

"There's a poultice on his wound," Clarke said more to herself then to the others, but Blair moved in-between her and Bellamy to get a better look.

Bellamy's eyes followed her as she walked. He knew she was planning on moving before he saw her because the grip on his jacket was gone, and he missed it. Blair had been distance since the kiss, despite his best attempt to keep her close. At times she was as readable as anything and other times she gave nothing away-- like a closed off island-state, leaving him a drowning man stranded at sea. Since they had met on the dropship he knew he wanted to keep her safe, but now that they had gotten closer and his feelings had grown stronger, that wanting was becoming more of a compulsive need.

From further back Blair hadn't noticed that something was covering Jasper's wound, yet closer and without the sunlight obscuring her view, she saw it clear as day. "I don't understand. What is it?"

"Medicine?" Wells replied, making it sound like another question. "Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"

Blair listened as Bellamy suggested that whatever the Grounders were trying to catch liked it's dinner to be breathing, but it was Finn who voiced what she herself had thought. "Maybe what they're trying to catch is us."

"Whatever it is they're hoping to catch," Blair began, making brief eye-contact with everyone before fixing her gaze on Jasper's limp and lifeless body. "Lets make sure we're gone by the time they come back to check on the success of their trap."

"Queen Bea's right, lets hurry this up and get the hell back to camp."



Finn and Murphy were up in the tree cutting Jasper free whilst the other four stood guard, Bellamy and Blair on one side of the tree while Wells and Clarke stayed on watch on the other. Steady breathing and the splitting of vines was all Blair could hear as she kept her eyes facing front at the vast forest of towering trees. She wasn't sure what she was keeping her eye out for-- what with a Grounder yet to be seen-- but Blair hoped she'd know when something looked untoward and out-of-place.

"Are we going to talk about what happened before?" Bellamy asked softly for only Blair's ears to hear. She didn't need to look at him to know he was smirking.

She kept her eyes straight as she replied, her voice equally as low. "There's nothing to talk about."

Beside her Bellamy chuckled and shook his head, her serious demeanor bringing no conviction to her words. "You're wrong. I felt something and I know you felt it too. You like me, admit it."

The breath caught in the back of Blair's throat. He felt something. But then reality kicked in. Regardless of whether she felt the connection too, admitting she liked him was something she simply could not do.

"What exactly did you feel?" she questioned, turning to face him with her voice marginally louder than it was before. "An opportunity to rid me of my bracelet? Because besides from Octavia that seems to be the only other things you care about." Even as she said it, Blair wished it wasn't true

An unprecedented sound from behind Blair grabbed the entire groups attention, and Blair was turning on her heel in search of the source emitting the novel sound. Her most open and honest conversation with Bellamy deserted. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as Blair continued to survey the area and as Murphy asked what the noise was, Blair relaxed slightly believing even from Murphy's spot higher up on the tree nothing could be seen. But as twigs snapped under the weight of a large, black big-cat, Blair stumbled back into Bellamy's rock hard chest. Everything was a blur as the shadow-like figure charged at the group, rearing closer to Bellamy and Blair then the others. In one swift motion Blair was pushed behind Bellamy, her uninjured hand holding his upper-arm pulling him backwards away from the oncoming danger. Together they flinched as shots were fired from behind, Bellamy's waistband absent of his gun. The animal and its vicious growls disappeared from sight and sound as the rapid gunfire seized. Wells must have killed it, Blair thought.

Suddenly it reappeared, leaping out from the overgrown grass intending on pouncing on Blair and Bellamy. The girl allowed herself to scream as Bellamy turned away from the creature and protectively placed his arms around Blair, waiting for the inevitable blow.

BANG! A final gunshot rang out and the body of the animal fell to the ground with an almighty thud.

Blair looked up at Bellamy as he eased up on his hold around her but kept his face close. She felt it again, the desire to kiss him, but this time she restrained.

"You were wrong again," Bellamy whispered. Whether it was to keep others from hearing or because he was slightly breathless, Blair wasn't sure. "Octavia and the wristbands aren't the only things I care about." Without elaborating, he released Blair completely and answered on her behalf when Clarke asked it they were both alright.

Looking at the blooded body of the now dead beast Bellamy was willing to get attacked by in order to protect her, Blair didn't need him to expand on the other things he cared for. A part of her already knew, but now she was sure.

He cared for her.