Before You Go

it kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless

A/N - I'm gonna run out of song lyrics yikesss XD Comment below song suggestions for chapter titles/insipration!

"All good?" Bellamy murmurs in Clarke's ear as he joins them. He watches her reaction carefully, taking note of how her eyes flit to his and then back away quickly, and how she takes a breath and swallows before smiling and nodding. She's not all good, but she definitely wants him to drop it. So he does, despite not wanting to. Clarke clears her throat and Finn pulls her further into his side, away from Bellamy. Bellamy clenches his jaw, but says nothing.

"Finn was just telling us about this party later," Octavia informs Bellamy, trying to break the tense silence hanging around them. Bellamy sees Clarke flash her a grateful smile before looking at him.

"Yeah, his friend Monroe is throwing it. Maybe you can come for a bit before heading back to Trikru," she suggests. Bellamy doesn't miss the way Finn's fingers tighten slightly on her waist, or how she looks up at him, brow furrowed, before he gives her a quick kiss and smiles at her. Clarke, seemingly reassured, relaxes again. Finn just glares at Bellamy.

"Sounds fun. I don't have anything else to do tonight," Bellamy replies, enjoying the way Finn's eyes narrow and his jaw clenches. "Besides, if last night was any indication, you idiots'll need someone to watch after you." At that, Raven groans loudly.

"No way. I am not drinking tonight," she insists. The rest of the group exchange skeptical glances, and Raven shoves Jasper into the water. Things escalate quickly, and soon they're all just splashing and having fun. That lasts for a while before Finn pulls Clarke away, over to some rock and they sit together, laughing and chatting. Bellamy's chest burns at the sight of them. Raven and Octavia decide to take their towels and lie on the little beach, and Jasper and Monty continue to wrestle. Bellamy wades over to shallower water, sitting down and leaning back against a conveniently placed rock as he watches them (mainly focused on Finn and Clarke if he's being honest). He lets his mind wander, finding himself thinking about the day he moved Clarke out of her house.

Clarke sat in the seat next to him, squished between her and Octavia. Bellamy had debated getting a new car several times, to make it easier for the girls and their friends, but a) he definitely didn't have the spare money, and b) they seemed to like the old pickup just fine. Monty and Jasper would usually just ride in the bed whenever they got a ride. Given the size of their town, the group could walk mostly everywhere. Clarke always seemed perfectly content to squeeze into the middle seat.

That morning, they had all woken up sprawled on the living room couch, Clarke snuggled into Bellamy's chest with Octavia's head in her lap. Bellamy had woken up first and grinned at his girls, both still fast asleep. He had brushed Clarke's hair out of her face, his chest swelling as he looked at her. He gently traced the mark on her cheek, anger flashing through him, quickly quelled with the reminder that he was getting her out of there today. He had stayed in place, softly stroking Clarke's hair as he turned on a quiet show on the tv, not wanting to wake the girls.

It was about 45 minutes until Clarke had finally stirred, Octavia following closely behind. Then, Bellamy had gotten up and made them all a waffle breakfast, feeling celebratory. The morning went by normally, it was only when they had all piled into the truck that a tense silence had taken over, blanketing them all.

Clarke was drumming her fingers on a bouncing thigh as they turned onto her road, looking lost deeply in thought. Octavia had her forehead pressed to the window, practically buzzing with energy. Bellamy had reached over and squeezed Clarke's knee reassuringly. She shot him a grateful smile before refocusing on the road. She took a deep breath when they turned into her driveway, and Bellamy smiled when he saw Octavia take her hand. They had walked up to the house together, a Blake on either side of Clarke, flanking her. Abby was not going to touch her. Bellamy had knocked on the door once, twice, three times before the woman finally answered, looking entirely unbothered. She completely ignored the siblings, instead focusing her hard stare on Clarke.