Not All Fun and Games

Chapter 36

I wake up to bright sunlight pooling into the hot tent. Bellamy's arm is still holding me close to him and I turn around to face him. He's still asleep. His face is peaceful as his chest rises and falls at a slow, calm pace. I decide against waking him up.
I check the time: it's 8:35 in the morning. My stomach rumbles and I realize how hungry I am.
I crawl quietly out of the sleeping bag, being careful not to wake Bellamy, and pad my way to the tent flap.
"Clarke?"
I spin around, almost loosing my balance.
"Whoa, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," he laughs.
I recover from the surprise, steadying myself as I join him in laughing. "You're awake."
"Nah, I'm just sleep talking," he jokes without missing a beat. I roll my eyes, shaking my head. "Oh boy."
"I know you enjoy my jokes."
"Uh huh. Whatever you say, Bellamy," I say and he winks, causing an unexpected shiver to run down my spine. What was that?
"So are you going to eat?" He asks.
I nod.
"Mind if I join?" He playfully batts his eyelashes at me.
"As long as you never do that again," I tease him, smiling.

***

We join Raven and Finn, who are already sitting outside. They munch on tree nuts and small amounts of yesterday's wolf meat.
"Jasper and Monty are serving whoever wants any," says Finn, smiling at us welcomingly. "They've calculated how much everyone gets in order to have enough food for the rest of the day without anyone starving."
"I'm not hungry, actually," says Bellamy, taking a seat next to Finn. "How about you, Clarke?"
At that moment, a deep rumble sounds from my stomach. Raven laughs. "I guess that answers your question."

I pick up a plate and recieve a handful of nuts, a few strips of meat and a pear from Monty. "I get a pear, too?" I raise my eyebrows, but thank him.
"Well, you're pretty much the most important person here. I mean, we can't let anything happen to our healer, can we?" He replies, returning my smile.

I sit back down next to Raven, digging into my meal at once.
A light conversation is tossed around for a little while, until I realize that Raven and Finn know nothing about Zoe and the meeting with the grounders.
I explain to them that Zoe is pregnant with a grounder baby, and about the grounders that wish to make peace with us. Finn and Raven are keen on the idea of the meeting, although they seem slightly uncomfortable about me going alone to talk to the commander. I tell them, just like I told Bellamy, that it's what must be done for our people. The commander probably wants to speak to another leader, and since she's a woman, it would be preferable for me to go instead of Bellamy-according to Zoe.
"When do you plan on seeing Calvin to discuss your meeting with the commander?" Asks Finn.
"Zoe and him are supposed to meet tonight at 7 o'clock. She'll bring me with her to meet him," I answer.
"Clarke, you don't know if he's going to be okay with you coming. If you do one thing to set him off... You know what the grounders are capable of. Can I come with you?" Asks Bellamy. His eyes beg me to say yes.
Once again, I'm torn between two sides of me: the one that says no, that it would be easier and more logical to go on my own, and the one that pleads for me to say yes, just so I don't have to refuse Bellamy. This time, my second side wins, and I find myself nodding.
"Yea, sure you can come."
His worried frown disappears and his eyes brighten joyfully. I wish I could lean over the table and kiss him on the spot, but I decide against it. It would be awkward with Finn and Raven sitting right next to us. Besides, I don't even know what we are, Bellamy and me. Does he feel the same way about me that I do about him? His actions tell me yes, but it's not like he's never kissed-or slept in the same tent as, for that matter-another girl. I force myself to push those thoughts out of my mind, focusing back on our discussion.
"-with the baby." I catch the end of Raven's sentence, but I don't have the slightest idea what she's talking about.
"Sorry, what did you say?" I ask apologetically.
"I said it's going to be hard for Zoe, with the baby and all. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe the grounders have a way they could help. This definitely wouldn't be their first time dealing with a pregnancy on earth."
I nod. "Yea, that's a good idea."
I'll admit I'm really curious to see how Calvin takes the news. Will he be upset? Completely unaffected? Happy even? I guess I'll find out at 7:00.

***

After breakfast, I spend a couple hours in the dropship with Alex, changing her bandages, feeding her more painkillers, and simply conversing with her.
Come lunch, Bellamy gives into his hunger and has Jasper serve him some food. We eat together, talking about what the evening would bring. Finally, the hour comes. At 10 minutes to seven (we know the precise time, thanks to my watch), we set off to meet Calvin. The three of us only have to walk for a few minutes until we reach the meeting point.
"I suggest you guys stay here, for now," says Zoe. "We usually meet right there." She points to the clearing only several meters in front of us. "He might be surprised by the presence of three instead of one," she explains.
"Yea, good idea," I nod. Bellamy looks like he disagrees, but he doesn't say anything.
Zoe smiles and walks towards the empty patch of grass circled by trees in front of us. She only has to wait for a minute before a large figure emerges from the trees and swoops her into his arms. She laughs, bringing her lips to his.
My eyes widen as I look at him for the first time. He is not what I had expected. Every time I picture a grounder, I see a dark, malicious face. Calvin, however, has friendly eyes and a gentle face. He isn't wearing any black paint on his cheeks and his clothes aren't as thick as the grounders' that attacked us in the woods.
Before I know what's happening, my feet are bringing me towards Zoe and Calvin.
"Hi, I'm Clarke," I hear myself say.
At first, Calvin seems startled. He tries to push Zoe behind him, but she stops him.
"Calvin, these are my friends Clarke and Bellamy. I was just about to tell you that they came along with me," she explains.
I realize now that Bellamy is at my side.
"Sorry if we scared you," I tell the earthborn. "We don't mean any trouble. I just need to talk to you about your people."
Calvin's face turns grave. "Yes, I am so sorry about what they are doing. But you need to know that we're not all like this." He has an interesting accent and his words are very well pronounced. I still can't get over the fact that earthborns can speak English.
"Well that's actually why we're here. We wanted to set up a meeting with your commander."
Calvin raises his eyebrows, nodding slowly. "A meeting?"
"Yes."
He takes a deep breath, wrapping one arm around Zoe. "I think that can be arranged. But I can't guarantee your safety."
I nod. "No, of course not. I do not expect that from you. All I want to know is if you could talk to your commander about a meeting. Zoe told me she's a young woman. I could talk to her alone, face to face. I'd be happy to come to your camp," I say.
"Yes, I will do what I can and meet back here tomorrow at the same time as today, if that works for you," he says.
I nod gratefully. "Thank you." I look to Zoe, who is looking at Calvin, admiration in her gaze.
"Do you want us to leave now?" I ask her, feeling slightly awkward.
"Oh," she says, snapping out of her haze. "No, that's okay."
Calvin looks at her, clearly confused.
"Calvin, there's something I need to tell you," she says.
I look away, not wanting to intrude, as Zoe delivers the news.
At first, Calvin says nothing. When I can't help it anymore, I look back at them. His cheeks are flushed, his eyes wide. And then, suddenly, his face breaks into a wide, joyful smile and he picks her up again, spinning her around in the air. I can't help but smile a big, ear-to-ear beam that could only be caused by something this special. Zoe's face is bright and relieved, and even Bellamy is grinning. He reaches for my hand, taking it in his and squeezing it.
For the moment, the atmosphere is filled with joy. Every particle of air around us seems to contain either relief, happiness or love. And something I've learned since the dropship landed, is that those three things, amongst many others, feel better on Earth.