atomic man, john murphy.

Earth Kills

"You really should try it, CJ," Harper spoke, gripping a knife in her hands. "Who knows when you may need to use it against a grounder."

"Nah, I'm good," Clove waved her off, eyes flickering to the weapon and back up. "I prefer to kill people with my pretty face and charm."

"Yeah," Harper laughed. "But seriously, it would really come in handy." She then threw the knife at a tree, only for it to fall to the ground.

"Some good all this training is doing you. You suck," Clove droned on, leaning a shoulder against a tree. "Go on then, Fox. Let's see it."

"Everybody get inside!" Somebody yelled, accompanied by several screams.

The three girls glanced each other then saw a kid sprinting past him and into the dropship. They all followed his actions, getting in quickly. "I am left in the dark too often. What is going on out there?"

"I concur. What's going on?" Monty asked. The dropship was full of delinquents, most of which were coughing violently, though not enough to mask the sound of Jasper's moans and groans.

"Air got thick. Everybody's skin started burning."

"Lovely," Clove sighed, rolling her deep, almond eyes. "I totally want to be stuck in a confined space with a bunch of smelly kids."

"You're a smelly kid though," Fox pointed out quietly.

"Hey! I'm 18 thank you very much. Respect your elders, Foxface." Fox held up her hands in response.

The two of them sat up against a wall, side by side. "Truth or truth?" Fox asked, staring out at all the other kids.

"You know, we could do dares now that we aren't confined," Clove pointed out, watching Murphy lay in a hammock from the corner of her eye.

"That's true! Okay, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What? What's the point of being able to choose dare for the first time ever and just choosing truth again?" Fox badgered, running her hands through her chestnut hair, only getting caught on a few tangles. They had actually done pretty well with keeping their hair manageable since Fox's mother had taught Fox how to do all kinds of braids, which kept the hair from getting too messed up.

"I don't feel like choosing dare. Now ask me something before I leave you here by yourself."

"Fine! What's the meanest thing you've done to somebody who didn't deserve it?" Fox questioned, her amber eyes wide in excitement.

"I changed my mind. You're so boring," Clove groaned getting up and going to where Murphy was on the hammock, his arm over his face to block off the lights. "You look like you're gonna kill somebody. It's not me, is it?"

"You can't even see my face."

"You always look like you're going to kill somebody."

"Fair point," He sat up, staring at her. "What do you want?"

"Can't I come visit my bestie just for fun?" Clove teased, tilting her head, causing her ebony locks, which were down for once, to shift. Clove found his presence calming in a way. All the chaotic energy he possessed made her feel at home. Not to mention the fact the, in comparison, Murphy made Clove look like a saint.

"Bestie?" He cocked his eyebrows as he scoffed.

"Well, not quite. But you annoy me less than my only friend so..."

"I guess I feel the same," Murphy replied.

~•§•~

Some time had passed and Murphy and Clove had bantered for a while, but normal conversation, even small talk, did not come easy for the two. With their similar demeanors and attitudes, it would be expected for them to be two peas in a pod. However, their shared traits were what burnt the bridge for true friendship. Both of them were much too closed off and sarcastic to have a genuine conversation. Naturally, that's what Clove liked about Murphy; she doesn't have to be real around him. Being real is too scary.

As the talking on dropship died down, the lights faded and the delinquents began trying to sleep. Typically, Clove wouldn't have a hard time falling asleep, but it was difficult to get any rest with Jasper in the condition he was in. His sounds of anguish could be heard echoing through the entire dropship.

Everybody cried out in annoyance, but nobody was more irritated than Murphy. "That's it," He sighed, getting up. "I'm ending this."

Clove stood up as quickly as she could, hearing a girl speak up. "I heard Bellamy gave him until tomorrow."

"Yeah, well, Bellamy isn't here, is he?" Murphy retorted, glancing to the second floor. "The kid's dying anyway, I'm just getting it over with."

"Come on, Murphy," Clove voiced, putting a hand on his chest and raising her dark eyebrows. "You really can't block that out? I thought it was pretty easy."

Murphy glared at her for a few moments. "I see what you're doing, trying to challenge me. Nice try," He moved past her and Monty scrambled up to try and save his best friend. They both struggled from opposite ends, but in the end, Monty and Octavia were able to secure the hatch, keeping Murphy out. "Both of you better open this hatch right now!"

"Somebody's angry," Clove whistled, taking his spot on the hammock. He shot around and sent her an intense glare, stepping down and stomping over to her. In one motion, he pulled Clove up by her arm and held her against the wall, high enough so her feet didn't touch the ground, causing a few people to gasp. Her boot clad feet dangled in a search for solid ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" He hissed, eyebrows upturned.

"What the hell are you doing?" Clove choked out, knowing how angry she was making him but showing people that he didn't hold any power over her. She knew people would view it as him being weaker than he initially comes off as. And maybe, Clove thought, he deserved it, whether she was in any position to be the judge of that or not. He took death too lightly, and she hated that. "I'm not into this kind of thing. Although I'll admit, you look pretty hot when you're angry."

Murphy let her down, but held his forearm across her chest so she couldn't move, still sneering. "You think you can talk to me like that?"

"I'll talk to you however I like. Whatever the hell I want, remember?" Clove smirked, pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "You can chill out now, by the way. Nobody's watching anymore, except Fox and Harper, but they don't care."

He cocked his head and surveyed the room. "Don't ever talk to me like that in front of people again. People will start getting ideas, and they won't have it as easy as you did."

She hadn't thought of that — the fact that others would see her act of rebellion and think they could do the same. She had only hoped to rile up Murphy, not inspire the delinquents to do something stupid. Nonetheless, Clove wanted to recover quickly and not allow him to see her falter. "Oh please, Murphy. I was just teasing. Besides," She spoke, her ebony eyes meeting his light ones, a glint of mischief shining in them. "Let them try, right?"

"I like the way you think," Murphy smirked.

Clove returned the action, although for a different reason entirely. In addition to humiliating him enough for the attempts on the lives of both Wells and Jasper, she had indirectly gained power. The fact that people feared Murphy was not lost on her, and by threatening him, she had proved herself to some of the delinquents, all while staying out of the spotlight. That was the problem with people like Bellamy or Murphy, they craved the power so desperately that they aren't smart about the way they achieve it. When things turn sour, the blame goes to the leaders. Clove was on her way to having all the power she would need to keep her alive and safe, with none of the burdens.

And making Murphy think that she could be on anybody's side but her own was just an added bonus.