Shoelaces (A Bellamy Blake Fanfiction)

13 - The Poison Within

~ T h i r t e e n ~

'Oh, thank God.' Sophia smiled in relief as she jumped down from the car. As much as she liked Clarke and was beginning to like Wells, being stuck with them over night in such a confined space, had been beyond awkward. The rest of the night they'd been silent, giving in to the palpable tension in the air. The first time anyone had spoken was when Finn announced that the fog had finally gone.

'Let's go. Jasper's waiting.' Clarke ordered loudly as the boys climbed out of the car. She was eager to get back, eager to get Jasper better.

She took off without another word, walking far ahead of them as Sophia, Wells and Finn walked side by side.

'Last night was pretty intense.' Finn started, unafraid to break the ice. 'You and Clarke ever-' He asked, leaving the question to hang in the air. He wanted to know if Wells and Clarke had ever dated, been anything more than just friends. Sophia could understand how he might think that way. Before Clarke had reason to be so angry with Wells, they'd been pretty much inseperable. Love certainly wouldn't have been farfetched.

'No.' Wells said immediately. 'Not like that.'

'So, help me out, your best friend tells you something fairly explosive. You seem like the type of guy that'd keep it to yourself.'

'You don't know me.' Wells said defensively. Sophia furrowed her brow. Finn was right. The situation didn't add up. If they were such good friends, why would he tattle so easily? It just didn't add up.

'Why'd you do it?' Sophia asked.

'I don't know. Does it matter?'

'Yeah, actually. It does.'

'You knew what the rules were on the ark.' Finn said, stopping to face Wells.

'I made a choice.' Wells stated simply. 'And if she hates me for the rest of my life, I made the right choice.' Sophia blanched at this. How could that be the right choice? They were talking about Clarke's dad's life. Getting him killed was not the right choice. 'And that's all you have to know.' Wells finished before walking away.

'It doesn't make sense.' Sophia said when he was gone. 'Why would getting your best friend's dad killed be the right choice?'

'I don't know. But, I have a feeling there's something more to it.'

***

Sophia hung back as they drew nearer to camp. Finn was talking to Clarke quietly as Wells walked silently up ahead. She was eager to get back, to sleep in a proper tent.

'Oh my God.' Sophia whispered as she came to a stop on the treeline. Atom lay on the ground in front of them, his skin red and raw as if it had been burned off by a thousand degree flame. He struggled to breathe, struggled to move, overcome by pain.

Bellamy looked up then, looking over his shoulder at the two girls. His eyes were filled with horror and pain as they locked onto Sophia's, his usual strength and confidence nowhere to be seen.

Sophia followed Clarke as she walked quickly over to Atom. She fell to her knees at his side, her knowledgeable eyes scanning the damage. As Sophia walked over to the group, empathy and shock filtered through her, burning at the back of her eyes and shaking her otherwise steady hands. She reached out to brush her fingers against Bellamy's shoulder reassuringly before she dropped to her knees in front of Atom. She looked at the skin over his neck and face and the white clouds that had taken up residence in his eyes. When she looked back up at Bellamy, she had to fight away tears.

'Clarke?' Sophia asked as the silence became too heavy. The two girls looked at each other, one filled with concern and defeat, the other with sadness and tears. Clarke shook her head and reached out to take a knife from Bellamy. Sophia choked down a rising sob, not sure if she wanted to see this. But, Atom was dying a slow, cruel death. He didn't need her to cry, he needed her to be strong.