"How can you lose when you never stop fighting?"
Cassiopeia Walker-Simmons looked at her star from a tiny window in space her whole life. She never imagined that it'd be even more beautiful from the ground. Yet every time she gazed upon the dazzlin...
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PEACE IS TEMPORARY
By the time it came to it's end, she felt drained. Her throat felt raw and she was gasping for breath. Yet she felt her shoulders loosen, even with the threat of the grounders looming over them, even with the potential death of a fellow criminal.
She felt like the weight had been taken off of her shoulders.
She couldn't help it. A bubble of laughter escaped her, and it evolved into full blown laughter. When she imagined being on earth, she never pictured herself screeching aimlessly at the sky. Now it felt like her entire life had led up to this one moment - with her freeing herself of the world for just a moment.
"Wells Jaha," Cassie breathlessly remarked, tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder. "I thought I was meant to be the one protecting you?"
"How can you help someone else when you can barely help yourself?"
Instead of becoming a whirlwind of anger like she would've done before the relief, she just stared at him. "I think that's why I wouldn't make a good Mother Teresa."
A moments silence passed between them.
"Thank you, for this." Cassie gestured to the space around them. "Turns out that you're the one who's protecting me, huh?"
"I think we protect each other."
Cassie snorted, smacking Wells' arm again. "Don't get sappy on me. I can barely deal with people, yet alone feelings." Silence ensued again. "We should get back, the rumours are probably already flying about how we got down and dirty."
He shook his head, leading the way back to the camp. He walked with a confidence Cassie didn't have - she honestly had no idea how Wells knew where he was going, the path looked the same to her. His oozing confidence made her follow in his footsteps.
"How do you know the way so well?" Cassie inquired, turning to Wells. He kept his head down, his eyes averted.
"Gut instinct."
His short reply struck fear into Cassie. Immediately she stopped. "Are you saying that you brought me all the way out here without even knowing how to get back? Are you trying to get us killed?"
Her hands found her jacket pocket, fumbling for the knife she had there. It wasn't there. Sudden realisation hit her - she'd left it in the drop ship when she slept. They were defenceless.
"Don't panic."
Cassie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah I mean it's not like we just screamed at the top of our lungs and alerted every grounder where we are. No need to panic."
Wells didn't reply, only shoving his hands in his pockets and soldiering on.
"Hey, jackass! I'm talking to you!" Cassie pushed his arm, but this was nothing like before. Instead of it being playful, it was full of malice. "If the grounders find us, we're both dead! I don't know how you feel but I feel rather attached to my beating heart."
