whatever the hell we want || j. jordan

~ chapter 1.1 ~

I awoke to a guard banging on my door, slamming it open."Cressida Morgan. Please exit your cell immediately."

My name is Cressida Morgan. I an 17 years old and I live on the worst place there is: The Arc. I got myself arrested 2 years ago for stupid reasons. That's right, a couple friends and I got a little bit high and got ourselves locked up for it. That's the thing about the Arc. Any and all crimes are punishable by death. They lock up us kids until we're legal adults, then that's when they float us. At least, that's what I thought.

"What?" I sat up quickly, throwing on a random outfit and some boots. The guards paid no attention to any of my questions, they just grabbed my arm and pushed me down the hall with the rest of the criminals. I searched for my friends, stretching up to get my head above the crowd. No sign of them. I almost yelled out for them, but decided against it. I didn't want to get on any lists for disobeying orders.

I watched as other kids got thrown out of their cells and pushed along. Whispers and rumors were bouncing about the crowd, trying to figure out an answer for whatever's going on. We kept moving until we reached a launch bay. The whispers and questions grew into demands for answers. Marcus Kane silenced the crowd and explained what was going on. "I know you're all confused and angry, and I promise that there is an answer. You're going down to Earth."

***

As we all pushed into the dropship prepared for our landing, there was much commotion. Yelling, reuniting with old friends, even crying. I shoved my way past everyone and sat down in a seat along the edge of the ship. I let my thoughts wander as I sat waiting.

"Cress?" A familiar voice brought me back. I turned to look for the owner. "Jasper?" I called out, looking for his face. I looked next to him. "Monty? Oh, you have no idea how glad I am that you're here!" I unbuckled and stood up, pushing past everyone else to reach my old friends. After some convincing, Jaspers neighbor stood up and let me have her seat. He grinned at me. That smile has lived in my thoughts since the day we met, back in school. I smiled back, trying to hide the blush that had crawled up my neck and into my cheeks. I leaned across him, trying to shake it off. I greeted Monty again with a smile and a quick wave.
"So, boys. Thoughts on our current situation?" They didn't have much to say, considering how little information we had.

The dropshop shuddered and started shaking. I shut my eyes tight and held onto my seat. "This ship isn't going to make it." I didn't realized I was holding Jasper's hand until he squeezed it tight. I opened my eyes, letting out a small, nervous laugh as I looked into his. He gave my hand an encouraging pat.

A few boys unbuckled and started floating around the ship. A girl with blonde hair starting barking at them. I couldn't make out what she was saying, but she was stern. Suddenly it clicked. Clarke Griffin. The daughter of Dr. Abby Griffin. Of course she had taken charge. Monty moved to unbuckle his seatbelt when I reached out to stop him, shaking my head. Suddenly, the whole ship shuddered and the boys fell to the floor.

***

The ship landed, and after some bickering and family reunion time, the doors opened, and I took a deep breath. Breathing in the fresh, probably contaminated air, I let out a laugh, looking at my friends. I wandered, looking around at the groups already forming. I decided that my best bet was Clarke Griffin. I walked over to her, trying to contribute to the conversation.

"You're leaving? To where?" I looked over her shoulder. She jumped a bit, surprised by my sudden appearance, but quickly composed herself. "Mount Weather. It's our best chance at survival. There's supplies, and we need to get there before sundown." I looked around at the group. I didn't recognize most of them, but Jasper and Monty were somewhere behind me. "Well then, count me in," I offered. "What? I can help. I know plants." Clarke nodded, clearly in need of the help. "You two," She gestured to Jasper and Monty." "You're coming as well." I turned around to look at them and shrugged at them, smiling. Taking a bit of a risk, I grabbed Jaspers hand and tugged him along behind me.

HI this is the first time I've actually really written anything for wattpad, ive usually only written for my own pleasure so like im nervous please dont bully me 🥺 im excited though! I'm kinda vibing with this already and I look forward to developing cress later on!

10/3/24 update: ok im either rewriting or picking this back up (i dont want to rewrite because i will be embarrassed to even reread it) but like bear with me and hold out until season 5 because the writing will get good (better) then