Common Ground ⇥ Bellamy Blake

[ sixteen ]

[edited 7 February 2017]

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WARNING: this chapter hurt to write.

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A thin layer of sweat had formed across Raine's brow, and she wiped it away absentmindedly as she continued to string meat up. It had been two days since the bridge exploded, and in those two days their camp had changed dramatically.

Bellamy and Clarke had somehow managed to organize the fearful teens, giving them jobs and rosters and more of the like. Raine had offered to work in the meat house with Octavia, not wanting the girl to be around Murphy by herself. Bellamy protested at first, wanting to move both girls to another job until Raine told him to 'quit being dramatic'.

So, here she was, stringing meat up so that it could dry. The shack that she was currently standing in had been built to allow the smoke to filter out without releasing the heat. A fire burned in the centre of the shack that they had to keep going at all times, but they had to be careful not to put too much wood on it or risk the whole shack going up in flames.

"Let's get this party smoking!" A boy named Dal brushed past Raine, carrying an armful of wood that he dumped on the fire with a smug smirk. The fire crackled loudly, the flames doubling in high and almost singeing Raine, who jumped out of the way with a poisonous look on her face.

"You don't want the fire too big, so maybe try to knock it down with some wet leaves." Octavia spoke, her eyes darting nervously between the piece of meat in her hands and Dal.

"Get that from your boyfriend, Grounder Pounder?" Dal spat in response, and Raine quirked an eyebrow.

"Is that supposed to be hurtful?" she quipped, "Because while you're standing there looking like a mistake, she's being useful."

The boy narrowed his eyes at her, and was about to respond when Murphy cut him off with a lazy tone. "She's right; if the fire's too hot it won't preserve the meat as well."

"If you can't handle the heat get out of the smoke house." Dal snapped, "Besides, you should be kissing our asses for being allowed back in the camp."

A sour expression covered Murphy's face, and his eyes watched the boy with deathly silence. Raine let out a snort, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder as she spoke, "Yeah? Well you'll be kissing my fist if you don't shut up."

The boy glared at her, and Raine responded with a simple shrug of her shoulders. He let out a low grunt before moving towards the doorway, muttering, "Whatever. Just keep working."

"What a dick." Raine muttered as she spun back around, lifting her meat upwards to press it onto one of the empty hooks. Octavia sniffed from beside her, wiping sweat off of her face and accidentally smudging dirt across her cheek.

"I can handle myself, Raine."

Murphy's voice was low and ungrateful as she faced him with a questioning look on her face. "Really? Because last time I checked you look like a walking bruise."

Octavia stifled her laughter and despite the comment, Murphy found himself smirking lightly as he shook his head. Raine never seemed to stop amusing him, with her witty comebacks and her willingness to stand up for her friends–