The 100, How I Ended Up On Earth

Chapter 9

Haiden's POV
(Four Months)

"Look, that flag goes with this country, the United States of America. The country was made of things that were like mini countries but all ruled by one overall government. Right before nuclear war broke out, this base, "Mount Weather" was built in Virginia, near their capital city." She pointed to to the map.

I watched her, her green eyes lit up with excitement. A hint of a smile on her rose lips as she showed me different parts of this country that was supposedly so great.

"If it was so great, than why weren't we all down there in this country being kept safe?" I asked, cutting her off.

For a moment she looked at me angrily for interrupting me, but than a look of pure thought covered her features, her eyebrows pulled together and she bit the left inside of her lip, shifting her jaw and lips slightly to the right.

I smiled as I watched her.

She obviously loved this stuff. She couldn't get enough it. She continued to go on and on and I listened to every word she said, but the words seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

I wasn't paying attention to be facts, I was paying attention to her movements, her reactions, her words.

She was interesting, different. Like a breathe of fresh air. Or more accurately up here, not having to do laps during our training exercises.

Plus, under the light of the flashlight she looked as amazing as she always did.

I just wished one day, I could see her up in the hallways, in public with everyone instead of being locked in a dusty old storage room where it was like we didn't know one another and our relationship, friendship I mean, didn't exist at all.

It was nice down here, don't get me wrong. It was nice just the two of us, talking, laughing, joking almost every day.

I just wished that it didn't always have to be this way, that we had a choice in the matter.

After a few minutes of going on, she turned to look at me, and I saw her head tilt to the side. "Are you even listening?" She asked, slightly agitated.

"Yeah I am. You were talking about the states and a country and stuff." I replied as I watched for her reaction.

Her eyes narrowed. "I talked about that probably ten minutes ago."

I shrugged, "But today's been a long day, so why not just take a break." She sighed and slowly closed the textbook.

"Fine." She said as she pulled her bag over and slid the thick textbook back inside of it. "So we still have an hour, do you want to get home or what?" She asked.

"I just wanna talk. We haven't really talked much."

She looked at me curiously as she pulled her bag right up against her right side. "I thought the whole point of this was just to teach you? No ties, no nothing."

I looked down. "It's a little late for that, don't you think?" I looked up at her and reached down, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it. "We don't know names but we know one another, traits, some flaws, some stories. And plus, we consider one another friends." I stopped myself from raising my hand to run it through my hair.

She slowly removed her hand from mine and set it in her lap, squeezing her hands together as she looked toward the far wall.

"I know." She whispered. She turned and looked back over at me. "Promise it won't go further than that?" She smiled shyly as she looked down. "I'm not sure I want you to know my real name yet, if you do than you might fall in love with me and hunt me down." She joked as she looked up and moved her elbow, poking it into my side.

I smiled, even though that joke wasn't a joke, even though I felt something different. I lied a little. Only a little. "Alright, alright." I looked up at her. "So what next? Reading romance novels and gushing over the guys in them?"

She laughed as she stuck her arm out and pushed my shoulder. "Hey I don't do that!" She exclaimed.

I raised an eyebrow at her and her face turned a slightly dark shade of pink. "Ok maybe a little." I began to laugh as she yelled, "Occasionally only occasionally!" She exclaimed as she moved some of her straight honey gold hair from her face.

We laughed, talked and smiled for another hour until it was time to go. She stood up, taking her bag in hand and slinging it around her neck and than twisting it around to her back.

She was too smart for her own good.

I popped the vent cover off and boosted her up so she could climb in, and than followed quickly behind her, closing the vent behind us.

When we got to the exit vent, climbed out and sealed it behind us, she went to leave like usual, but this time I placed my hand in her arm. "Do you want me to walk you to the library?" Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

The words suddenly registered and immediately she shook her head. "People can't catch on to us. Otherwise we'd both be in trouble." My face fell and immediately I saw the guilt in her eyes. She stepped towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck, she had to stand on her tiptoes to do so. "I'm so sorry, but it has to be this way, if things were different-" she stopped herself and pulled back.

She flashed me a sad smile before she opened the door and left me alone.

She did have a heart of gold, but like usual even though she didn't finish, she was right, we were part of two different worlds up here, and we could never be friends.