Love to Hate [1]

There may be something there that wasn't there before.

Song: Something There // Beauty and the Beast (hella corny I know)

Nessa's POV

It had been two days. Two days since we had blown the bridge. It seemed like the whole camp was on edge, waiting for the inevitable. No one said it, but everyone knew getting rid of the bridge had only slowed the Grounders down. They'd still be coming for us - and probably ten times more pissed than they were before, if that was possible. Everyone was working trying to build up defenses before that happened. Jasper was working on making more gunpowder, Raven on getting us more ammunition and trying to make landmines, Bellamy increasing patrols around the fence, Clarke and Finn still trying to find a way to get us out of this mess. Even Murphy was working for a change, storing and smoking all the meat we had gotten so we had enough to survive winter. If we survived the Grounders, that is. 

I sighed and shifted my position on the branch I was sitting on. Bellamy had added me to the patrol detail after everyone had recovered from the virus. At first I was surprised. Was he trusting me enough to let me go out on my own and not get killed? But no, of course not. He had us paired together on patrol so I was never out of his sight. At least I wasn't stuck in the smokehouse with Murphy like Octavia was. As far as protecting me goes, this was definitely the preferable option. I still didn't understand why he kept trying to protect me in the first place. I wasn't his sister. Maybe he felt like he owed me for what had happened on the Ark. At this point though, I could care less. It felt like that had happened in another lifetime, to a different girl. All that mattered down here was surviving. And to do that we all had to work together.

Bellamy was standing about five feet from the tree I was perched in. I admired his ability to stand so straight and still for so long. I had tried doing that but had given up after my legs started cramping an hour in. I felt more comfortable in the tree anyway. Gave me a birds eye view, let me see farther off into the forest. I watched Bellamy. He seemed to be lost in thought. His brow was furrowed and his dark eyes looked filled with worry. I realized how tired he looked. Hell, we all probably looked like that. His dark curls were tousled carelessly over his forehead, and I felt a twinge of jealousy. Weeks of no washing and his hair looked like that? While I was stuck with this braided, red rat's nest on the top of my head? Talk about unfair. 

At that moment he looked up at me. Shit. I squinted into the trees, trying to look as if I hadn't just been staring at him and his perfect hair. 

"How's the weather up there?" he called, obviously trying to start a conversation. His gaze was back on the trees around us. 

I almost snorted. "Wow, that's really original," I shouted down. "But if you really want to know, it looks like there might be some rain later." I laughed to myself, reaching for the water pouch around my neck and unscrewing the top. I held it over his head.

"Wait, really?" Bellamy asked, looking up. At that moment I emptied the water pouch on him. It poured right on his face. "What the hell?" he sputtered, wiping his eyes, his hair plastered to his forehead. He looked so ridiculous, I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. Real, feel-it-in-your-belly, laughter. Once I started I couldn't stop. This might have been the first time I had really laughed in a very long time. Tears even started to form. 

Bellamy tried to stay serious, but he even started to chuckle. "You better watch it, Stevens. You have to come down from that tree at some point," he growled playfully. Shit, he was right. And he'd have plenty of time between now and then to figure out a way to get me back. I was about to respond when we heard a crash and shouts from the camp behind us. 

"What the hell was that," I asked Bellamy. He shook his head, clearly confused. Then we heard it.

"FIRE!"

---

Bellamy's POV

As soon as we heard the shout, Nessa immediately jumped down from her branch, landing catlike on her feet. We raced into the camp to find the smokehouse ablaze. People were yelling, trying to get away. Figures stumbled out of the structure. I recognized one.

Octavia.

I ran over to her and grabbed her arm. Her face was black with ash but otherwise she looked unhurt. "Are you ok?" I asked her.

She coughed. "Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to look over the rest of her to make sure.

"This is all your fault!" A voice yelled from behind O. I looked up and saw Murphy striding towards another kid. "We told you there was too much wood!" he yelled again, shoving the kid. 

"Get the hell away from me!" the kid shouted, pushing back. They started to get into a real fight. I got up to step in, but Nessa got there first. Somehow she put her small frame in between the two much larger boys. 

"Hey, assholes!" she shouted. Stupid, but brave. "It doesn't matter whose fault it was. It's done, nothing can change that and it's a waste of timing fighting about it. We need to save that for the Grounders." Murphy and the other kid stared each other down over Nessa's head. I tensed, waiting to step in and pull her out. But eventually, they both walked away. 

"Bell, what the hell are we going to do now?" Octavia asked me. There was a tremor in her voice and it seemed like she was close to tears. "That was all our food!" I stared at the burning building. She was right. There was no way we would get back all of that food before the Grounders came. 

What the hell are we going to do?