I Never Meant To Fall

18. A Proposal pt.1

Clarke:

Aaron wouldn't stop talking. Most of camp was already asleep.

Sure he was friendly, funny even and he wasn't so shy with her anymore, that she was glad for. She didn't mind sitting there and listening to him talk but she would have rather been sat on the beach, in the open breeze with Bellamy...perhaps taking a midnight swim under the moonlight.

She was vexed with her mum. Her mum had paged her to come home, Clarke had thought there was an emergency.

"I couldn't find you, and Aaron was looking a bit put out. He doesn't really know anyone, im sure he'd really appreciate it if you sat with him a while." Her mum had said.

Clarke, who had just run all the way back from the beach almost swore. She'd been called back to keep Aaron company...she supposed it was fair....sort of....her mum had just assumed she was elsewhere within camp...but it wasn't true that Aaron knew no one. He had plenty of friends, he was quite popular! When he wasn't with Clarke in medical or with her at lunch, she often saw him goofing around with a bunch of lads.

Clarke had never been good at holding onto her anger though, and she just decided to please her mother and please Aaron....even if it meant dissapointing Bellamy and sacrificing her own wishes...she wasn't sure it was worth it. She'd need to apologise to Bellamy tomorrow.

It was late when Aaron decided to go to bed and Clarke, drowsy and hungry for sleep, dawdled back to her tent.

She walked in to find her mum pacing around.

"Mum, I thought you'd be asleep." Clarke exclaimed in surprise and her mum smiled, ceasing her pacing.

"How was it?" She asked, her eyes glittering, her expression filled with an eager anticipation that made Clarke uncomfortable.

"How was what?"

"Your evening, with Aaron oh you do seem to get on well!" She exclaimed and Clarke's mouth went dry.

"Um I guess but why-"

"So you like him? Oh you do like him dont you dear?"

"Yeah sure I do mum but what's this all about-"

"Wonderful! Oh that's just wonderful, he is a sweet boy is he not? And he's much improved since you have started teaching him, he must listen to you carefully."

Abby was pacing again and Clarke blinked at her in dismay.

"Mum are you alright? What are you raving about?" Clarke snapped, that repressed anger surfacing again.

"Oh, I just want you to be happy you know darling-"

"MUM!" Clarke cried, growing dizzy from her mums madness.

Abby halted.

"Mum." Clarke said quietly, "would you slow down? You're scaring me." She said and Abby rushed over, smiling tightly as she clasped her daughters hands in her own.

"A wedding." Her mum whispered and Clarke, not understanding, frowned. Was her mum getting married? To who? When had this happened? Was that the reason for her hysteric excitedness?

"A wedding? Whose?" Clarke cried.

"Oh I shouldn't be saying this, I was supposed to wait until he proposed." Abby muttered, looking down as if she were about to start up her pacing again. Clarke yanked her back by the hands. "He was going to propose tomorrow. I shouldn't say." Abby muttered

A strange thought flickered in the back of Clarke's mind that went, bellamy? What if he and her mother had talked.... but the thought was gone in a second and she returned to believing her mother was refering to herself and some stranger.

"Mum, whose going to propose to you?" Clarke asked, unsure if her mother was losing her mind, or if she should be happy at the possibility that her mother had found someone....or if she should be angry. Clarke's mind was racing.

And then, to confuse things further her mum made a face of disgust. "Me? Oh darling no one is proposing to me!" Clarke merely blinked at her. "Aaron! Aaron is going to ask you to marry him. Tomorrow. At sunset. Oh there I said it!"

Abby flung her hands up in the air and walked away. Clarke was frozen a moment, her mouth half open ready to speak but no words came. What words were there? It was beyond bizzar.

"Mum, what are you talking about?" Clarke said slowly, growning naseaus and afraid.

Her mum calmed considerably then and sat down in her bed of blankets as if she were light headed. She looked a little guilty too.

"I just wanted what was best for you." Her mum sighed.

"Mum, what did you do?" Clarke asked very slowly and then, all of a sudden her mother looked very weary and run down. She dragged her hand accross her wrinkled face and through her slightly greying hair.

"The camp is barely built and it's falling apart. The teenagers don't want us here and the council don't want to hear them at all. Riots are breaking out, people don't know what to do, what rules to follow, who to follow! I thought...I thought maybe a wedding, a unification, a happy event might distract people while the camp is built and settles. It can be something for people to focus on." Abby must have seen the growing rage and confusion in her daughters expression because she hurried on "I know Aaron is a sweet boy. He's liked by everyone and you two seemed to take so well to one another. I know he really likes you. I suggested my idea to him - I know it may seem rash or unfair but you said you liked him and....you'll be safe with him. Happy with him. I know you will."

Clarke could not think of what to say. It was mad.

"You don"t seem to have many friends, I know you were their leader, and I firmly believe the 100 look up to you, I know it, but i'm afraid you are all alone. With Aaron you won't be."

I have Bellamy... was Clarke's first thought.

Clarke was shamefully on the verge of tears. Exhaustion was consuming her, fear, anger, pain, confusion, loss and horror were just some of the emotions sweeping over her. She was drowning.

Numbly she allowed her mum to usher her into bed but as soon as the lamps were put out and their tent was plunged into darkness, Clarke lay awake staring ahead, unable to sleep.

She couldn't marry a stranger and Bellamy....well Bellamy....well she wasnt sure where Bellamy fit in....did he? Would Bellamy think this concerns him? She began to doubt...but all she wanted to do was run to him.

A few more minutes passed until she decided she couldn't sit there any longer. Bellamy deserves to know!