Before You Go

went little by little by little

A/N - Thank you to everyone who's still reading, I love this story so much and your support means the world to me!!

"I'm sorry, I'm just totally wiped," Clarke sighs, looking up at him with a smile that feels too fake. Finn doesn't seem to notice, though. He grins and leans in to kiss her quickly, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"It's fine, babe. You wanna go back to your room and like take a nap or something?" he offers. Clarke shakes her head, though, running a hand through her hair.

"No, no, I'm happy to be here," she insists. She looks over to where Octavia and Raven are lying on the beach, chatting. "I think I might go join the girls for a bit, though." Finn pouts exaggeratedly, and Clarke laughs, leaning up to give him a kiss. Then she drops his hand and leaves to join her friends, Finn sighing dramatically behind her.

"Scootch," Clarke orders, poking Raven in the side with her toe. The girls obey, making room for Clarke to plop down next to them with a tired groan. She lies back with an arm thrown over her eyes. Then she uncovers her face and looks at Raven and Octavia. "So what're we talking about?"

"What do you think?" Raven snorts. Octavia glares at her, and Clarke grins, sitting up.

"Lincoln?" Clarke guesses, and Octavia blushes, a rare occurrence that's lately been reserved for the quiet art student Octavia's completely fallen for. He's sweet and gentle and thoughtful and somehow completely perfect for her, despite being almost polar opposites.

"Shut up, both of you," Octavia hisses, looking over at Bellamy. He's lying on his back in the water, eyes closed.

"He's not paying any attention to us," Raven argues. "Plus, you'll have to tell him sooner or later."

"I choose later."

"Well Linc hates Finn, so Bellamy's probably going to like him." Clarke stiffens at Raven's words, and Octavia's eyes widen slightly. Raven instantly looks guilty, "Hey, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, Rae. I know Bell doesn't like him, he's never exactly tried to hide it," Clarke sighs, looking over at him again. "Finn doesn't like him either. They just need to deal with it, cause I love them both." Clarke doesn't miss the look Raven and Octavia exchange, but she chooses to ignore it.

"Anyway," Clarke says, changing the subject, "is Lincoln coming to the party tonight?" Octavia reaches over to grab her phone, squinting at the screen.

"Still no reply. Pretty sure he's got a class right now. I kind of hope he isn't, I'm not sure he's Bellamy-ready yet." Raven and Clarke both roll their eyes at that.

"Please, you're pretty much obsessed with him, Octavia. And he's even more so with you. If it wasn't so sweet, it would be creepy," Raven teases. Octavia sighs and chews on her lip, watching her brother.

"Yeah maybe you're right. If he comes to that party tonight I'll introduce them. Besides, I'm not a little girl anymore. Bell knows that. Plus he's way too preoccupied with you, Clarke, to worry about me right now."

"O, you know that's bullshit," Clarke argues. "You're actually his sister, I'm just the kid he took in because he felt bad for me." Clarke didn't mean for it to sound how it did, but the other girls picked up on it instantly, raising their eyebrows.

"Wow," Octavia says. "You are full of so much shit."

"Oh come on, you know I didn't mean-" Clarke starts, but Octavia doesn't let her get any further.

"And you know you're as much a part of this family as I am," she insists, eyes fierce. Clarke smiles gently.

"I know, O. I was kidding," she reassures Octavia, whose eyebrows are still wrinkled in a small frown, but doesn't argue any further.