Before You Go

storm to weather

"Victory!" Clarke laughs as, with a final push, Raven topples off of Finn's shoulders and into the water. Finn pushes his hair out his face, a sour look on his face. Clarke smiles at him, her fingers playing absentmindedly with Bellamy's wet curls.

"Oh, c'mon Finn, don't be a sore loser," she teases playfully. Finn just pouts at her and she laughs again.

"Ok, anyone else wanna challenge us or have you all accepted that we're the champions of chicken fights?" Bellamy taunts the others, bouncing Clarke lightly as he rests his hands on her knees.

"Yeah, fat chance of that happening," Octavia growls, grinning as she walks over to a panting Finn. "Get down, Collins." Finn sighs, but smirks and drops under the water so Octavia can climb on his shoulders.

"You good for another round?" Clarke checks as the other pair gets situated. Bellamy scoffs.

"Oh, I can go all day Princess," he replies, jumping a little. Clarke laughs again and then Finn and Octavia are shouting that they're ready. Without hesitation, Bellamy charges them. Instinctively, Clarke tightens her hold on him, hooking her feet around his back as she holds out her hands, ready for the collision. The pairs grapple for a bit before, in sync, Bellamy and Clarke both shove their counterpart to the side. That does it, and Octavia and Finn crash into the water.

"Undefeated!" Bellamy shouts, bouncing Clarke as she chuckles. The rest of the group exchange a look as the defeated duo resurface. Clarke's stomach plummets, but Bellamy squeezes her knee, whispers, "We got this," and then all five of them are charging the pair. Clarke kicks at them, trying to help from her too-high position, but within a minute, she and Bellamy are dropping back into the water. Clarke, laughing, releases her hold on Bellamy. He stands up, shaking out his hair and laughing as well.

"That wasn't fair," Clarke complains, still grinning. Raven shrugs and Octavia smirks. Finn still looks unhappy, but Clarke chooses to ignore it. His issues with Bellamy are just that- his. She pushes her hair back, out of her face, then turns toward the bank, wading out of the water.

"Clarke, where you going?" Octavia calls after her and Clarke smiles over her shoulder.

"Just checking the time," she lies. But she can't fool Bellamy.

"Clarke, it's still too early for him to have posted grades. It probably won't happen for a few days," he calls. She flushes and runs out of the water. She knows he's right, but whatever. Grinning, she reaches for her phone, drying her fingers quickly on her towel before turning it on. The grin falls off her face and her heart drops into her stomach when she sees the notification. She has a missed call. A missed call from Abby. Who she hasn't spoken to in over half a year. Hasn't seen in nearly a full one. Clarke swallows thickly, her throat already feeling like it's closing up. What does she want? Why is she calling Clarke? What does she want? Clarke can't breathe. She feels claustrophobic, even though she's outside. She's vaguely aware of someone calling her name and of dropping to her knees, but she can't think about anything other than her inability to breathe and why the fuck is Abby calling her. Clarke closes her eyes tightly, trying to block out the memories that threaten to drown her. Someone is in front of her, their hands on her shoulders, and Clarke knows they're telling her to breathe but she just can't.

-

Bellamy chuckles to himself as he watches Clarke jog over to their stuff, shaking his head. Patience has never been Clarke's strong suit. He sees the instant it happens, right after she picks up her phone. Her shoulders tense, then her knees give out and she's dropping to the ground. His stomach twists. Shit. Clarke's been having panic attacks for years, since right after Jake left. But she hasn't had one- at least not one he knew of- in months. And that can only mean one thing- Abby. Bellamy's already running out of the water, the others frowning in confusion, but he doesn't care to answer. He just needs to get to Clarke.