The light in the darkness (Octavia Blake)

Chapter 26

AN: Ye ask and ye shall receive.

I hope you'll like it.

Breathe in, breathe out

Ashley was laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, and asking herself over and over again - did all of that even make sense anymore?

She was sitting in her room, while everyone else was still outside, eating what the Grounders had hunted. She left the medical half an hour ago and there was still an unsettling feeling in her chest after the exchange she had with Octavia. She was mostly disappointed. But also mad and confused because why the hell was Octavia being so reckless? Why was there so much tension between them that caused them to argue? Was it still worth it if lately it was just a push and pull with them?

"Screw this," she muttered to herself and rushed to her feet. She needed to do something. She couldn't bear just sitting here and dwelling on the same thing as always.

She crossed hallways with a speed she never knew she was capable of reaching by just walking.

"Well hello," Raven greeted her, not looking up from the radio she was sitting by.

"How did you know it was me?" Ashley asked, slightly amused.

"One slow, three quick," Raven finally turned around smirking. "You're the only one who knocks this funny rhythm on the doorframe before coming in. Or the only one who knocks at all for that matter."

"Oh," Ashley tilted her head with furrowed eyebrows, standing there surprised for a moment. "I'll surprise you next time then," she chuckled and dropped onto a chair next to Raven.

Brunette looked at her suspiciously, but the tone of her voice was nothing but casual.

"So, did you go 'socialize' with our guests today?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ashley scoffed and leaned her head on her palm.

"Mhm, I see it went great," Raven said sarcastically.

"You know what, maybe let's talk about you. How are you today, Raven?" Ashley tried to change the subject, absolutely not expecting it to work, it was more like a way to signal to Raven that what happened is not a pleasant thing to talk about.

"And why would you ask, hm?" Raven chuckled, playing along.

"Oh, I don't know, you almost died yesterday, so I just thought you might feel a bit upset, that's all," the blonde replied in a nonchalant tone, shrugging her shoulders.

There was a second of silence where Ashley saw that Raven's face went serious for a moment, and when Ashley herself realised that she actually meant what she said. Cause, obviously, she was worried for Raven, who as usual, carried on with her life no matter what shit happened to her.

"Just another Thursday on Earth, trouble. Don't worry about me," Raven shrugged it off with a smile. "Now, tell me what happened, and why do I feel like it has something to do with Miss Pocahontas?"

Ashley rolled her eyes and leaned forward on her elbows.

"You know, not everything has something to do with her," she shook her head at her friend. "Maybe I made a new Grounder friend or just had a terribly awkward social interaction. Or both."

Raven looked at her, amused.

"Did you?"

Ashley glanced at her briefly before looking down.

"No," she sighed.

"Exactly," Raven chuckled. "In your case 90% of things that happen involve her," she said, rummaging through some parts on the table. "You need to do something about it, by the way."