The Space Between Us / The 100 Fic

The Kiss

From the entrance of the dropship I stood watching the kids. I heard laughter dance through the air, and it was like music to my ears. The happiness, the excitement- it was all there. And for a moment the gravity of the situation was forgotten. Because we had survived the radiation. And freedom tasted so divine on our lips.

My eyes traveled across the scene and landed on Bellamy Blake. His arms were casually crossed against his chest and I noticed that he was watching them too, a smile tugging on his lips as he did so.

There was so much I didn't know about him, so much I wanted to know. Especially after what happened on the dropship. My mind wasn't working properly then, because of the fear that was eating me up inside. I hadn't cared what he'd done to get on, I just accepted it, and focused on getting down in one piece.

But now I've had a few minutes to get my thoughts together. Truthfully, I didn't know what to think. Words have escaped me; thoughts jumbling in my mind. I was lost. Confused. Frazzled by the whole situation. I blinked a couple times, staring at the bright sun above me, before pulling my eyes away and realizing what he had told me before.

"I needed to take care of my sister."

His sister. What sister? Nobody had a sister on the Ark. But maybe, just maybe he did. I had told him I didn't see her on the first floor of the dropship, but to be honest I didn't even know who she was or what she looked like. Was she tall or short? Did she have his eyes? His hair? I thought about it for a moment before trailing my gaze back to his figure.

He was talking to a girl now, her hair smooth and dark, a look of fierce determination sparkling in her eyes. It didn't take long to put the pieces together. He wasn't lying.

Back on the dropship I heard them whispering about it too. About the girl under the floor. I listened to bits, but was more focused on unbuckling my harness to really pay attention.

But now the siblings had my undivided attention and I wondered why it was them that my mind wandered to and not the ground. The vivid colors, the unfamiliar noises, the overwhelming scents. The ground was spectacular. The space was almost endless, the oxygen plentiful, and the sunlight warm. But it was also foreign. It was scary. And as I shifted my body in the entrance of the door, head still leaning against the frame, I realized I didn't like it; didn't like change. I wanted familiar, and I wanted home.

But this is my home now.

And this is so much better.

The thoughts repeated in my mind, and although I tried to convince myself that they were true, I realized they terrified me. Because even though the ground saved us, we were still foreigners here. We had still abandoned it years ago, losing touch with what went on while radiation played its part. These kids are expecting the world to be exactly as it was explained to us in Earth Studies. But it wasn't. It isn't. And it won't ever be that way again.

Because as I continued to lean against that frame of the entryway I noticed the height of the plants, the absence of sound that wasn't our own voices, and the unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me this was all too good to be true.

But I didn't want to dwell on that thought so I turned my attention back on the siblings. On Bellamy. Trying to piece together what little I knew about him.

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(3 years ago)

Mom was angry. I could tell by the way she closed the door. It was a quick slam. Enough to make me look up from where I sat on my bed. Her hair was a mess of ginger curls, cascading down her shoulders. Her eyes were closed and her body slumped against the door.