Life Is About More Than Just Surviving • | Clexa AU | (in editing)

Chapter 13

Lauren's POV

     I am really nervous to go back into the factory, I have no idea if they moved where the prisoners usually are or not. I know there's someone there I can trust, though. She'll probably help me, and if I can I'll get her out of there too. I need to talk to Bryce. I rushed out of the room and went to look for Bryce. "Lauren where are you going?" I heard Lexa call me. I ignored her, running down the stairs faster. I remembered earlier when we'd found his room while trying to find Clarke and Lexa. I came to the door and softly knocked a few times. I heard footsteps come to the door, and it opened slowly. "Oh, hey Lauren," he said with a smile. "Come in," he stepped backward and opened the door wider, allowing me in. "Do you want to sit?" he motioned to the bed. There weren't any chairs in here. "Or would you prefer sitting on the ground like we did when things were better?" I looked at him with a huge smile. I can't believe he remembers that. "The ground would be nice," I said with a grin and sat down to lean against the bed. He sat down next to me, about 5 inches away. "So, why did you barge in here earlier?" he asked. I let out a small laugh before explaining about needing to find Clarke and Lexa. Now came the hard part.

Lexa's POV

I ran down the stairs after Lauren, Octavia, and Clarke behind me. She didn't hear us, and I didn't care. I just wanted to know where she was going. I started to slow down and told Octavia and Clarke to be quiet. I crept down the stairs watching as she came to a stop in front of a door with a small glass window. She knocked and Bryce let her in, closing the door behind them. "Snooping?" Octavia asked with a huge smirk on her face. "Why not?" I replied. I went down the few remaining stairs and stopped in front of the door, then stopped. "Wait no, the control room. We should watch from there because it's too easy to be seen right now," I turned and ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I reached the control room first, Clarke and Octavia still about 20 stairs down. I ripped the door open and found the monitor for Bryce's room. I quickly took the mouse and turned the audio on. They were leaning up against a bed, looking at each other and laughing. She began to explain that they were looking for Clarke and me when they barged in earlier and that there was something she needed to tell him when Clarke and Octavia walked in. They sat down silently and watched the monitor with me. Lauren looked down at he feet before looking back at Bryce. "I'm leaving tonight to try and free Clarke's people from the factory people. I've come to say goodbye," she said. "No, you can't. It's too dangerous," he looked at her with a worried look. "I'll be fine, I'll be back in about two days," she said to him. "I'm coming along," he said. Lauren just shook her head. "I have to go in alone, no one else can fit. Not even you," he looked down at his feet before replying.

     "Then I'll be there when you go in just being a girl and come out being a hero," he looked at her and smiled. Lauren stayed silent and looked up at him. He was a little bit taller than her, maybe 2 inches. All of a sudden, Lauren put her hand on the back of Bryce's head and pulled him in for a kiss. "Holy Shit!" Octavia squealed behind me. My jaw hung open as it had dropped when I witnessed the sight. I watched as they pulled away, the biggest smile on both of their faces. "I guess I'll see you later then?" Lauren asked standing up. He stood up after her, pulling her in for a hug. "Of course you will," Lauren pulled away, saying goodbye before walking out the door. "Guys we can't say anything, she'll know we were watching her!" I said. "We'll figure out a way to make her tell us, don't worry," said Clarke. "I mean, we have an 8-hour car ride to talk to her so we should get going. I picked up the walkie and asked for Indra, Luna, Lincoln, and Emori to join me at the entrance with their weapons and anything they may need. I grabbed my weapons with Octavia and Clarke and headed down the stairs to find Lauren. She was also waiting at the entrance and Bryce came running down the stairs behind us. "Lexa, can I come?" he asked in a hopeful and hurried tone. I looked at him and nodded, and he walked over to Lauren. "Alright," I announced to the group. I explained exactly what was going on and everyone agreed on coming. "Indra, Lincoln, Emori, Luna, and I will be driving. Octavia, Clarke, and Lauren will come in my car, and Bryce can choose who he will ride with. Any questions?" I asked. No one said anything.

     Bryce chose to ride with Lincoln, and we were all about to hit the road. We all piled into our cars and began to pull out of the garage. "So Lauren, how are you feeling?" I asked. "Nervous," she said quickly. "Remember, I want you to check in when you get inside and check in again when you release them," I reminded her. She nodded and continued to look out the window. "So what's going on with you? We saw you with a huge smile plastered across your face earlier," Octavia said. "Nothing," she said. The next hour was silent, only the sounds of the car kept everyone awake. Then, Lauren began to hum. It was the tune to the song she was singing when we first caught her. I knew the words, so I began to sing. "Are you, are you, coming to the tree, they strung up a man, they say who murdered three," I continued to sing and eventually Octavia and Clarke joined. We were coming to the end of the song, and I looked in the mirror to find Lauren asleep.