✫彡
in which nova finds solace in an outcast boy who happens to be more similar to her than she first thought.
( the 100 s1 )
( extended summary inside )
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
(warning: description of a panic attack. please don't read this chapter if you think you will be triggered by this)
AS the sun goes down and the darkness takes over, the small log fire becomes bright and vivid, as though someone has shown a spotlight on it. This is the first night in a while that Nova has spent with her two friends, away from the boy that occupies her thoughts for most of the day. Granted, she's kept most of her encounters with him a secret, the only person aware of her antics still being Harlo. Lincoln doesn't know. He'll attempt to put a stop to it, scared Nova will get herself into the same danger he puts himself in. Astoria, still, is blissfully unaware of Nova's secret and she prays to the high heavens that it stays that way.
Harlo swigs a bottle of outdated alcohol, gulping a mouthful down, wincing at the bitter taste.
"Hey, give me some of that." Nova holds out her hand as he glares at her before handing it over. "We all need a little relief, Harlo."
"What, from collecting logs all day long?" Astoria chimes in with a friendly dig at Nova, a smirk on her face. The restrictions placed on her by Indra still haven't been lifted, so all she is able to do is collect wood for the fire or clean the village. She feels useless around the camp, but sneaking out to see Murphy makes her feel like she's useful at something.
"Something like that." Nova smiles, tight-lipped as she drinks another mouthful before passing it to Astoria. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Harlo narrowing his eyes at her, catching onto her vague response that wasn't so vague to him.
"Okay, so, impending war...how long until everything kicks off? I'm giving it two days."
"God, Nova. Can you get anymore depressing?" Astoria rolls her eyes with a condescending tone, not humoured by Nova's lack of concern over the threat of war that they all face.
"Oh, lighten up, Ast. If you can't laugh about it, you're going to cry about it. So humour me, please?" Nova looks at her friend, pleading with her eyes for her to just give into her dark humour. It takes Astoria a few seconds of thinking, a nudge from Harlo and another swig of alcohol for her to agree.
She reluctantly gives her answer, "Okay, uh, I'm saying about five days."
"Five days? You're optimistic." Harlo scoffs with wide eyes. "I have a bad feeling about tomorrow, you know?"
Nova laughs at how casual he comes across as he predicts the end of the world will happen tomorrow. Astoria doesn't react and instead stares at the ground with a blank expression. Narrowing her eyes at her friend, Nova tries to figure out why she appears so distant. Simultaneously, Harlo catches onto the weird vibe around the campfire and questions, "Is everything okay, Ast?"
