Her Loyalties

Chapter Forty-Three

Clarkes POV

"What?" I shrieked, jumping up. "What do you mean Octavia's gone missing?" Bellamy shook his head.

"I mean she's literally gone. She as in our compartment, now she's not. No ones seen her for a long time. I don't know what to do."

I looked at Lexa, who lay on the bed. She was obviously unable to help. I turned back to Bellamy.

"I'll come." He nodded, and then strode out of tent. Lexa squeezed my hand.

"Go." She said. "I'll be fine here."

"I'll stay with you." Charlotte piped up, and I smiled at her gratefully.

"Okay." I said, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on Lexas forehead. "I'll come back in a few hours."

The two of them watched as I hurried out of the tent. Bellamy had assembled a group of people that included Monty, Jasper, Harper, Wells and Raven. He started talking as soon as I was in earshot.

"Split up, look everywhere. I don't know where she could have gone but the gaurds told me she hasn't left. She has to be somewhere." Everyone split off into pairs and headed for a different area of the Ark. Bellamy went on his own, Raven took Harper and Monty took Jasper. Wells stopped infront of me.

"Should we..." He trailed off as I started walking, falling into step behind me. "Clarke, where are you going?"

"I think I know where she is." I sighed. If I was correct, she had left the Ark, but not through the gates. When we reached the wire fence that had been strung up around the camp, I walked along it, scanning for clues.

Wells trailed behind me, not saying anything for a while. About halfway around the circumference of the camp, he finally spoke.

"Clarke, I...is Lexa okay?" I froze for a second, knowing that Lexa was a touchy subject with him. I had no idea why though. 

"She'll be fine." I mumbled, not turning around. "A few cuts and bruises, but they'll heal."

"I'm glad." Wells said, and he sounded so truthful that I stopped, turning around. He looked me right in the eyes. "Clarke, I can tell that you love her, anyone could see that. And if she makes you happy then that's good enough for me."

I smiled at him, and he held out his arms. He hugged me for a minute, and I could just imagine that we were still in space, floating above a planet that we would never see.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"I'm sorry if I can't be normal around you two." He mumbled against my hair. I frowned. "Clarke, I was going to tell you soon, but now it's too late." I pulled back slightly, very confused.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Tell me what?" Wells sighed sadly.

"I know I shouldn't tell you now, but it's been eating me from the inside." He looked me in the eyes, and I could see the nervousness behind his gaze. "I like you Clarke, I've liked you for years. I never had the courage to say it, and now it's too late. I don't expect anything from you, but I wanted you to know."

I stepped back, bewildered. Wells liked me? But, but we couldn't...

"Thank you." I found myself saying again. "For telling me." And I pulled him into another hug, resting my head on his shoulder.

When we finally pulled away, I continued with my searching. Just as I had almost given up hope, I saw what I had been looking for. There was a scraped area of dirt around a spot in the fence, and faint foorprints leading away.

"There." I pointed. Wells and I ducked around the wires, and followed the footprints into the woods. We didn't talk the whole way, walking in companionable silence. The footsteps led to an opening of a cave, and I could see faint light inside.

There was the sound of people inside, a girl and a boy from what I could hear. There was a rustling sound, and then a kissing sound.

"Octavia?" I called into the cave, not wanting to walk in. There was a squeak from inside the cave. I waited a full minute before Octavia came out, blushing a deep red. Lincoln was right behind her, and he nodded at me. I nodded back before turning to Octavia.

"Please don't tell Bellamy." She pleaded. 

"I wasn't going too." I said. "I was going to say you should sneak away better. He's got the entire camp looking for you."

Octavia made a face and I almost laughed. She had obviously tried very hard to sneak out, and it seemed to annoy her that she failed miserably.

"Go back to your people." Lincoln said to Octavia. "I'll be here every day from when the sun sets. You can come back then." Octavia nodded happily and turned to kiss him quickly. Wells and I looked away until Lincoln disappeared back into his cave.

"Sorry." Octavia said. "I just hadn't seen him in a long time and I..."

"It's okay." I said, cutting her off. "I know what it's like. I can cover for you next time if you want." Wells sped up, walking infront of us, letting us have our private conversation.

"Thanks." Octavia grinned at me.

"I don't know what we're going to tell Bellamy when you get back though."

"I'll just tell him I went exploring." Octavia shrugged. By this time, we could see the Ark and we approached the fence. We slipped back inside, covering up the scrape marks and visible footprints. As I made to step back into the camp, Octavia grabbed my arm.

"What?" I asked.

"Thank you." She said fervently. "I owe you big time now, okay? Don't forget that princess." I rolled my eyes at her use of Finns nickname, liking it a lot more when she said it.

"Okay, O." She grinned as I used her nickname and we stepped back into the camp. I could feel a friendship between us now that wasn't there before.

Bellamy spotted us as we made our way through camp, and he hurried over. He scooped Octavia into a hug.

"Where have you been?" He asked, trying to sound angry.

"Just exploring." Octavia made a suggestive face at me over his shoulder and we both fell about laughing. Bellamy sighed.

"Girls." He mumbled.