After the End [ The 100 ]

20. Oh, so now he's your friend?

contents under pressure

[eiden]

"Get out of my way, Miller! Now!" Clarke shouts before pushing her way to the front and going up to the grounder.

Ali's head is on my shoulder, but I quickly whisper, "Hey, let me see what she's doing."

"Clarke'll be fine. Look at him, still tied up."

I settle back where I was, frowning slightly as I watch Clarke with the grounder.

She holds up a knife. "What's on this?"

When Bellamy approaches her, she tells him that the grounder poisoned the blade.

My head dips to the side, and I've suddenly forgotten everything from the past couple hours.

"Is there an antidote?" she fires at the grounder.

Octavia, once again, steps in. "Clarke he doesn't understand you."

"Come on. He has an antidote! He has to. He'd be stupid not to," Clarke's voice fluctuates.

"Answer the question!" Bellamy yells.

The grounder doesn't. He stares at... Octavia. What the hell?

Maybe I was right about that Stockholm syndrome. "I should help," I tell Ali.

"I'll get him to talk!" Bellamy yells.

"No, you see what he's doing. That's what you want to be a part of? That's how you help, Eiden." The disappoint is clear in her voice.

"He wants Finn to die," Bellamy says.

It's getting worse.

I finally give Ali's hand a squeeze before standing. "I have to," I say as I stagger to my feet.

"Do it," Clarke says.

My head cocks to the side before I approach them. She couldn't look at me. Now she's on board. I finally finish my trek until I'm standing beside her.

Octavia tries more, goes on and on but Bellamy slices open the grounder's gray t-shirt.

I see the glint of another seatbelt in his hands, and fearing the worse I grab Clarke's shoulder.

"You don't need to be here for this," I tell her.

I flinch when I hear the buckle make contact with the grounder's skin. But I don't look, only hold Clarke's gaze.

Clarke shakes her head, not in protest, but to hold back tears.

"We'll let you know, okay, let's just go."

Turns out, it was in protest. "No. I'm not going anywhere without that antidote."

"Well, I can't watch this."

I walk, sliding my hand off her shoulder, my eyes meeting Ali's. There's no emotion on her face as I make my way down the ladder.

But I hear her footsteps behind me the lower I go.

"What's going on up there?" Raven asks when we make our way down. She'd been dabbing Finn's forehead but stopped when she spotted us.

I send Ali an exhausted look before clearing my throat and approaching Raven. "Clarke agreed with Bellamy."

Raven's frown deepens, goes from tired to frustrated. "To do what?"

"Anything to the grounder to get answers," Ali answers for me, plopping down onto a drop ship seat. Her wrapped hands fall between her legs.