𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓/𝟏.𝟓.
☆ 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 ☆
"𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓫𝓲𝓰 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻."

☆꧁*꧂☆

"SO, WELLS, HOW long have you been in love with Clarke?" Allaia asked curiously.

   Wells stopped abruptly and faced Alle, quite astonished and taken aback by her question.

"What are you talking about?" Wells implied nervously.

"Oh, come on, it's obvious." Allaia laughed. "The way you look at her... Come on, I'm not going to tell anybody. Spill the tea." She demanded, smiling.

"Since we were fourteen." Wells admitted.

"Whoa, dude, cupid's arrow has hit you pretty hard." Allaia replied. "Too bad you're friendzoned. Wait, no, you're... enemyzoned. Why does Clarke dislike you so much?"

"Doesn't matter." Wells sighed.

"Oh, I remember now." Allaia spoke. "You turned in her dad. She told us on the trip to Mount Weather."

"Yeah, that was me." Wells scoffed sadly.

"No, no it wasn't!" Allaia's eyes shined with realization. "You're covering for someone else." She stated confidently.

"What? No!" Wells tried to deny her accusations.

"You're a terrible liar." Alle told him.

"Okay, fine. How did you know?" He gave up. 

"Your tone." Allaia responded, shrugging. "When I was in the Sky Box, I read lots of books. I'm pretty good at analyzing people."

"So you're saying I'm easy to read?" Wells inquired, sounding offended.

"You said that, not me." Allaia protested, laughing. "But no, seriously, I'm just... observant. I notice things, you know, the details. And my intuition is kind of skilled. It's like my sixth sense." Allaia tried to explain.

"Oh, I get it. Cool. Could be useful out here." Wells admitted. 

"I certainly hope so since I'm no fighter. My lazy ass can't run twenty meters without panting." Allaia pointed out. "I'm not exaggerating." She added when Wells laughed loudly, nudging him playfully. 

   Bellamy was sick of watching Wells being so friendly with Allaia. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't let the two out of his sight since Alle decided to split up with him and Murphy. As Bellamy was glaring at them, an unpleasant feeling rose in his gut; something he's never felt before. That emotion was foreign to him. All he desired at that moment was to drag Wells away from Allaia and take his place. Lai was smiling widely and Bellamy wanted to be the one who could make her laugh so sincerely. When she was happy, a twinkling spark shined in her irises. And Bellamy wanted to be the cause this spark appeared in Allaia's eyes too. 

"Guess we got more in common than meets the eye, huh?" Bellamy quickly caught up with Wells and Allaia. His words were directed towards the Chancellor's son.

"We have nothing in common." Wells fired back.

"No?" Bellamy quirked his eyebrow provocatively, sending Wells a glimpse full of clear doubt. "We both came down here to protect someone we love."

Wells stayed silent.

"Your secret's safe with me." Bellamy continued. "Of course, for you, it's worse. With Finn around, Clarke doesn't even see you. It's like you're not even here."

"Bellamy, just leave him alone." Allaia sighed. "Why do you always have to be so mean?" 

   Bellamy glanced at her and clenched his fists, seeing how protective she's started to become of Wells. The friendship growing between Allaia and him was making Bellamy extremely uncomfortable. 

☆꧁*꧂☆

      ALLAIA AND THE rest joined Clarke and Finn after the two came across a rock covered in a fresh blood. Lai gladly walked alongside the blonde and Finn since Bellamy and his weird behavior really got on her nerves. 

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy inquired, bored out of his mind.

"We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker." Bellamy replied, sarcasm leaking out of his monotone voice.

Allaia rolled her eyes.

"It's called cutting sign. Fourth year Earth skills." Wells explained. "He's good."

"You wanna keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn interrupted, clearly annoyed by their loudness. 

   Then his eyes spotted a small branch. Finn carefully inspected it. He knelt as he found a slight trace of blood on the stone under the stick. Clarke and Allaia crouched as well, looking at the place where blood lined the area. The three glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Allaia sighed heavily, nervously putting a hand on her forehead.

"Hey, Alle, you okay?" Finn asked worriedly, gently rubbing her arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Allaia mumbled, getting up.

   Bellamy watched their short interaction with narrowed eyes, like a hawk.

   Finn's attention turned back to Clarke as he stared at her, silently asking the same thing. She nodded and smiled sadly. 

"See? You're invisible." Bellamy taunted mockingly, sending Wells a sneering smirk.

Wells' face hardened as he glared at Bellamy. 

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's invisible here." Wells fired back. " You seriously think you got a chance with her? Why would a girl like her ever notice someone like you? I see the way you look at her, Blake. Quite pathetic if you ask me." He hissed.

   Bellamy needed to restrain himself from lunging at Wells whose mockery made his blood boil. Hostile red has obscured his vision as he clenched his fists tightly in pure hatred. Why was Bellamy getting so pissed off at the mere thought of Allaia not being interested in him? After all, he barely knew her. Yet, Bellamy felt such a strong pull towards Lai that even the slightest idea of her ignoring him and getting intimate with someone else was causing an unknown rage burn inside of him. 

   A painful moan echoed through the woods. Everyone tensed immensely and started looking around, searching for the root of the uneasy sound. Anxiety filled Allaia's body as she was breathing erratically.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy breathed.

"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Clarke said to Bellamy.

   The group ran to the direction where the groans were coming from. They crossed a narrow path covered with tall grass which almost reached their shoulders. 

   Then, a small clearing appeared to everyone's eyes. In the center of the glade was a strangely shaped tree with dangling vines. Moaning Jasper was tied to the middle of the tree. He was shirtless and barely conscious. 

"Jasper." Allaia gasped. "O my God, Jasper?" She started to run towards the boy.

"Allaia, wait!" Bellamy yelled, chasing after her. "What the hell is this?" He murmured.

"Lai, stop! Be careful!" Finn shouted at the same time. 

   Allaia didn't pay attention to her steps. Her eyes were glued to the suffering Jasper hanging on the tree as she was rushing towards him without hesitation. Suddenly, the ground collapsed beneath her feet. Alle let out a piercing shriek as she was falling down to the hole filled with terribly sharp spears that could easily deprive her of life within seconds. 

   Bellamy's arm quickly grasped her wrist in a strong hold, preventing her from falling and dying. He froze, griping Allaia's hand tightly with his own which was the only thing keeping her from getting impaled. His eyes were full of pure worry, fear and something which weirdly reminded desperation. It was like he was paralyzed; his mind was empty and he couldn't move. Their terrified stares met. Allaia was struggling to breathe since pure terror took control over her body. 

"Allaia!" Finn screamed, which woke Bellamy from the trance. "Pull her up! Damn it! Pull her up!"

"Grab her!" Wells demanded. 

   Finn and Wells helped Bellamy pull frightened Allaia out of the pit. When Lai was safe on the ground above, Bellamy quickly kneeled near her and pulled her to his chest rapidly as if it was his instinct to make sure she was alright. She was still visibly shaking. He placed his nose in the crook of her neck, breathing with relief. Allaia put her arms around Bellamy.  She inhaled his scent, trying to calm herself. 

"Thank you." She mumbled.

   The two didn't remain in that position for too long since Finn abruptly ripped Allaia out of Bellamy's hold and hugged her. He gently caressed his sister's head and looked her straight into the eyes.

"Are you hurt, Alle?" He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I'm okay." She assured him and smiled.

   Bellamy growled silently, mad that Finn took Allaia away from him. 

"We need to get him down." Clarke stated, referring to Jasper.

"I'll climb up and cut the vines." Finn offered, rubbing Allaia's back. 

"Yeah, I'm with you." Wells spoke.

"No, stay with the girls." Finn ordered. "And watch him." His words were directed towards Bellamy who raised an eyebrow and scoffed, offended. "You, let's go." He gestured to Murphy.

"There's a poultice on his wound." Allaia noticed.

"Medicine?" Clarke inquired. Alle nodded. 

"Why would they save his life just to string him up as a live bait?" Wells wondered.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner breathing." Bellamy suggested.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." Finn taunted darkly.

   Allaia nervously swallowed her saliva and started playing with her fingers.

"Don't worry, love, I'll protect you." Bellamy nudged her playfully, trying to cheer her up.

"I don't need protection" Allaia scowled, crossing her arms on her chest. 

"You sure? Because from what I've seen, trouble just follows you everywhere." Bellamy pointed out. "But don't worry about it with your pretty head. I'll save you anytime you need, angel." He promised.

"I'll save myself just fine, thank you very much." Allaia's lips slightly twitched upwards.

"Your loss, sweetheart." Bellamy shrugged, glancing at her with amusement. 

   Finn and Murphy quickly began to cut the vines carefully so as not to injure Jasper even more by accident.

"Hurry up, Murphy." Finn rushed him.

"Be careful!" Clarke warned.

   Then, a disturbing, animalistic growl resonated into the forest. The group stiffened, abruptly looking around themselves. Murphy momentarily stopped cutting the vines and glanced in the direction where the roar came from.

"What the hell was that?" He spoke.

"Grounders?" Bellamy guessed, unsure.

   The growling didn't cease; it intensified. Allaia, who stood right beside Bellamy, was the first to notice a black panther hiding behind the trees. Lai let out a frightened gasp and her eyes glimmered with fear as the animal began to run towards her and Bellamy.

"Bellamy, gun!" Clarke yelled, looking around frantically.

   He reached for his gun, only to realize it was taken when his hands found nothing. Surprisingly, Wells started firing at the panther, missing almost every single shot since he had no knowledge about using a gun. Bellamy became aware that they were completely defenseless. Without hesitation, he gripped Allaia's arm tightly and pulled her behind him, preventing her from any further move. She breathed shakily, trying to search the animal with her eyes. The panther was pacing around, hidden in the bushes, preparing itself tor the strike. 

   Suddenly, all the snarling and movements stopped. Allaia was slightly trembling behind Bellamy who tried to remain calm, but she saw through his layer; he was genuinely scared. She cried out loudly, clinging onto Bellamy as the animal leapt from the grass, lunging straight onto them.

   He pushed Allaia to the ground without second thought. Before she could react, she was laying on her back. Bellamy instantly threw himself on top of her, shielding her from the beast with his own body. Wells attempted to kill the panther once again, firing another shot. The bullet hit the animal, causing it to fall to the ground near Bellamy and Allaia with a loud thud.

   Everyone glared at Wells who was still clicking the gun which clip was now empty. His brilliant idea to steal Bellamy's gun cost them all the bullets that were left. 

   Bellamy was still on top of Allaia. Their rapid breaths were mixing as their lips were nearly touching. Bellamy moved his stare from her hypnotizing eyes to her full lips, wanting to feel the way they would touch against his own. Lai followed his gaze and realized that he was looking at her lips. Her cheeks reddened immensely. She bit her lip, slightly flushed by the position they were in. 

   Then, he collected himself and quickly stood up. Bellamy helped Allaia get up and rested his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. After he made sure she wasn't hurt, he glared at Wells who dropped the useless gun on the ground. Bellamy was furious that Chancellor's son almost got him and Allaia killed because of his thoughtlessness. 

"Now she sees you." He spat, breathing heavily. 

"Now she sees you too." Wells replied.

☆꧁*꧂☆

   THE ROAD BACK to camp lapsed in absolute silence since no one was willing to talk about what happened in the woods. Finn and Wells carefully carried unconscious Jasper as Bellamy and Murphy were carrying the dead panther, so its meat could be used as a meal for the hundred. 

After their arrival to camp, everyone cheered happily. 

"Is he..?" Monty asked shakily, referring to Jasper's state.

"He's alive." Allaia assured. "I need boiled water and strips of cloth for a bandage." She said as she stepped near the entrance of the drop ship, gesturing Finn and Wells to bring Jasper to the upper level, so she could take care of his wounds, undisturbed. 

   Meanwhile, Bellamy and Murphy dropped the panther's dead body on the ground, earning a few gasps of respect from the criminals.

"Who's hungry?!" Bellamy shouted with a hoarse voice.

"Yeah!" The crowd cheered.

   Allaia's gaze locked with Bellamy's. They were staring at each other for a few seconds, until Alle turned around and entered the drop ship without sparing him another glance. 

☆꧁*꧂☆

   ALLAIA FINISHED CLEANSING and bandaging Jasper's injuries. Despite her medical abilities, she wasn't able to help him too much since the Ark hadn't given them any medical supplies, so Alle had to improvise and use only what she could possibly find on the ship and outside. If she'd had access to the better items, Jasper's health condition wouldn't have been on such a big question mark, even in spite of his life-threatening wound.

   She walked out of the drop ship, spotting Clarke and Finn standing beside each other almost immediately. Lai decided to approach them.

"He's stable for now, but without medicine..." Allaia spoke sadly. Then, her eyes locked on the crowd of people waiting in line for their meal. "Wait, they're taking off their wristbands for food?" She asked unbelievably. "This is ridiculous."

"No way, I won't do it." Clarke said. 

"Yeah, same here." Allaia added. 

"You don't have to." Finn replied, approaching the campfire. He reached for three sticks with meat without hesitation.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait." Murphy spoke, stopping Finn. "What? You think you play by different rules?" He sneered.

"I thought there were no rules." Finn responded with sassiness in his confident tone, snatching the skewers with meat. He turned around and walked away.

   He handed Clarke and Allaia their portions. They smiled gratefully in return.

   Before Allaia could taste her meal, she noticed a guy walking towards the campfire. He reached for the stick, but Bellamy gripped the boy's wrist and punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground with a painful groan. Allaia gasped, taken aback by Bellamy's action. 

"O my God, are you alright?" Allaia rushed to the boy. She kneeled and carefully inspected his injured face. He hissed when she touched the bruise which was already forming on his cheek. 

   She glared heatedly at Bellamy, who watched her every move with narrowed eyes. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Bellamy?" Allaia snapped, getting up. Pure disgust leaked out of her words. "Here, take this." She gave the guy who Bellamy threw his fist at the skewer with meat. 

"Thank you." He breathed and sent her a small smile. "But, are you sure you don't want it?" He was unsure. 

"I'm not actually that hungry." She admitted. "Plus, you need to regain your strength. I'd suggest you to enjoy your meal since you probably won't have another one for a while, because tomorrow you will have such a nasty bruise on your face that you'll be barely able to speak, let along eat." She joked. 

"Thank you, really. You're so kind. Like an angel." He said, as if he was in awe. "What's your na—" 

"Okay, that's enough." Bellamy growled, interrupting their conversation.

   He grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt rapidly and pushed him away from Allaia. The boy stumbled, almost collapsing, but he managed to keep his balance. He glanced at the girl nervously, but Bellamy's glare filled with hatred and anger forced him to leave quickly. Bellamy gritted his teeth, but his eyes softened when he looked at Allaia. 

   Allaia sighed, clearly exhausted by Bellamy's behavior. She shook her head, as if she couldn't believe what she witnessed has just happened. Bellamy took a step closer to Alle, silently begging her to listen to his explanations with his pleading stare. 

"Angel, look, I—"

"I get it, Bellamy." She cut in. "You're a self-proclaimed king of this camp. You need to keep your appearances. I mean, you can't have some random guy defy your saint orders, right?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Do you really want to be this kind of leader? The one who doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself and solve problems with his fist? Good luck then." As she walked past him, she nudged his shoulder harshly. 

   Bellamy placed his hand on his forehead and sighed heavily. Her words stirred with his mind. He knew Allaia was right and he hated it, given the bad light it put him in. The way she looked at him after he punched that boy made him feel guilty. The influence Allaia had on Bellamy genuinely scared him.

☆꧁*꧂☆

   FINN NOTICED ALLAIA sitting alone; her head resting on the tree. Her eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful, not at risk and safe for once. Danger followed her like a ghost ever since they landed. He waited so long to meet his little sister; he's been dreaming of it since he learned about her existence. He wasn't sure how to approach it, how to explain they were related, even though he imagined this moment and has been repeating it in his head for many years. Finn was actually afraid of Allaia's reaction. Would she be happy? Sad? Angry? Disappointed? 

"Hey, Allaia." Finn sat beside his sister, smiling at her widely, although his tone betrayed the fact he was extremely tense.

"Oh, Finn." She said quietly. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." He confirmed, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No." She denied. 

   The pregnant silence was left hanging above them. Finn was restlessly playing with his fingers and Alle was watching him curiously, but with worry.

"So... Did you wanna talk about something?" Allaia inquired calmly.

"Yeah." He replied, sighing. "I'm sorry, Lai. It's just really hard for me."

"That's okay. Take your time." She encouraged him with a slight