somewhere | b.blake ✔️

1x02 Part 2✔️

"It's hard to hear your name when I haven't seen you in so long"

Amnesia, 5 Seconds of Summer

*****

The conversation about the wristband fades into the background as Ash and John stop, both of them paling as they lock eyes. Their bodies freeze in place, muscles tense as if time itself has paused around them.

Ash barely registers Clarke's angered voice from up ahead. "The only way the Ark is going to think I'm dead, is if I'm dead. Got it?"

"Brave princess." Bellamy's mocking tone cuts through the air.

"Hey, why don't you come up with your own name?" Finn's voice, unexpected but recognizable, drifts through the trees, despite not having been part of the original rescue party.

Their conversation moves on, but Ash doesn't follow it. Her focus remains solely on the boy standing in front of her. The two of them remain frozen, the reality of their reunion slowly sinking in.

"John...?" Ash's voice cracks as she finally finds the courage to speak, barely more than a whisper.

John's face, which had been guarded and tense, crumbles in an instant. His shoulders relax, and for the first time in what feels like years, he smiles—a real smile, the same one he used to give her before everything fell apart. "Ashile."

At the sound of the old nickname, one she hadn't even realized she needed to hear, Ash's feet move on instinct. She sprints forward, straight into his arms. Laughter bubbles from her chest, a mix of disbelief and joy. "What the hell? You got arrested?"

John's arms wrap around her, pulling her close, and his warm chuckle fills the air. The sensation of his breath tickling her ear feels like home. "Long story. I'll tell you later. But forget about me, you're the one who should be dead. Why aren't you?"

Ash steps back, her heart still racing, and shrugs, trying to play off the gravity of the situation with a nonchalant gesture. "I honestly have no clue."

Their moment is interrupted by a confused voice from behind. "Wait... you two know each other?"

Ash glances over her shoulder, spotting Bellamy standing nearby, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. She grins. "Yeah, this asshole was my best friend back on the Ark before I got arrested."

For a moment, something flickers in Bellamy's eyes, something Ash can't quite decipher before it vanishes. "Yeah, whatever," he mutters, quickly turning and stalking off in the direction Wells, Clarke, and Finn had gone.

Ash frowns at his abrupt exit, her brow furrowing. "What was that about?"

John's jaw tightens, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watches Bellamy's retreating figure. "Nothing. Forget it."

"Okay..." Ash responds, suspicion lacing her voice as she narrows her eyes at him, but she chooses to drop the subject. "Anyway, I'm sure you know why I'm down here. I bet it was all over the Ark—'prodigy mechanic gets arrested' and all that. But I have no idea why you're here. So spill." She nudges him, trying to lighten the mood as they start walking again.

John's expression darkens, his gaze shifting down to the ground. "I got sick a couple months after you were arrested. Not sleeping, not eating—it finally caught up with me. My dad stole some medicine to help me get better... but he got caught. They floated him."

Ash's heart sinks, her stomach twisting with sympathy. "No...Papa Murphy. I'm so sorry, John."

He gives a small, pained nod, acknowledging her words but clearly still wrestling with the weight of it. "After that, my mom didn't take it well. She started drinking. Hard. She'd pass out most nights. The last thing she said to me, lying in a puddle of her own vomit, was that I killed my dad."