Bellamy took a few bouncing steps forward, as if he were heading into camp. Clarke shook her head firmly this time. He stopped, though he didn’t look happy about it. Clarke mouthed a few words and gestured toward him, as if waving him away. He shrugged, and just before he stepped farther back, he gave a little mocking salute before disappearing into the trees.
Glass turned to look at Clarke, who was blushing slightly. She knew Wells was with Sasha, but it hadn’t occurred to her that Clarke could also have met someone new so quickly. Things certainly moved fast down on Earth.
“So, why are you keeping Bellamy in the woods?” Glass teased. “Do you want to make sure you get him all to yourself?” She meant it as an icebreaker, an attempt to tell Clarke that she knew she and Wells had moved on. As soon as Glass uttered the words, though, she realized it hadn’t come out that way.
“I’m not keeping him anywhere,” Clarke said, shooting Glass the same look she used to give her when she said something ditzy during tutorial.
Glass flinched. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
Clarke must have realized how harsh she’d sounded. Her face softened. “No, I’m sorry,” she said, exhaling. “That wasn’t fair. There’s just… there’s just a lot going on that we haven’t told you about yet.”
Glass let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I’m starting to figure that out.”
“Does that mean you know about Wells?”
“About him and…” Glass trailed off, not sure whether Wells’s secret was hers to share.
“… and Sasha,” Clarke finished for her.
Glass nodded, relieved that Clarke knew as well. “So, you’re okay with all that?” she asked hesitantly.
Before Clarke could respond, a boy with red hair and freckles dashed over. “Clarke, one of the new people says he can’t breathe and he needs a shot of something.”
She let out a small sigh. “He said all that?” The boy nodded. “If he can talk, he’s fine. It’s probably just a mild panic attack. Tell him I’ll be there in a second.” The boy nodded again and ran off.
“Yes, I’m definitely happy for Wells and Sasha. Things with Bellamy are… I mean, I know it hasn’t been that long, but it almost feels like—”
“It’s okay,” Glass said, cutting her off with a smile. Clarke might be all composed and in control when in doctor mode, but talking about boys made her endearingly flustered.
Clarke looked like she was weighing whether to speak or not. “Did Wells tell you anything about Bellamy yet?”
Glass shook her head.
“I’d better let him talk to you first, then.”
Glass scanned the bustling camp and turned back to Clarke. “I think it’s going to be a while before Wells has time to gossip with me. What’s going on?”
Clarke hesitated, biting her lip.
“Come on, Clarke,” Glass cajoled, slightly amused by the fact that although she’d known Clarke for most of her life, they were having their first proper chat on Earth. “I’m sure Wells won’t care if you’re talking about your own boyfriend.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.” She looked from side to side to make sure no one else was in earshot, then turned back to Glass with a small smile. “So, this is crazy, but what do you think the odds are that the second guy I fell for would turn out to be the secret half brother of the first guy I fell for?”
Glass stared at Clarke, certain she’d misunderstood. “Wells has a brother?” she said slowly, bracing for Clarke to burst out laughing and correct her.
But to her amazement, Clarke nodded. “The Chancellor and Bellamy’s mother had a secret affair before he married Wells’s mother.”
Glass had heard a lot of confusing things come out of Clarke Griffin’s mouth over the years, especially during math tutorial, but nothing as mind-blowing as this. “I can’t believe it.”
“I couldn’t either at first, but it seems to be true. And that’s only the beginning.” In a surprisingly calm voice, she told Glass about what Bellamy had done to get on the dropship with his sister, Octavia, how he’d taken the Chancellor hostage before knowing that he was his father. Clarke’s face grew even more serious when she told Glass her biggest fear, her worries about what the guards would do to Bellamy when they discovered that he was responsible for the Chancellor’s shooting. “I’ve been trying to get him to leave camp, but he refuses,” she said in a tone Glass couldn’t quite read, a strange mixture of frustration and pride.
Glass struggled to take it all in and made a mental note to talk to Luke. Maybe there was something he could do to throw the other guards off Bellamy’s scent. “Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s even crazier than my spacewalk.”
“You spacewalked?” Clarke’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“I spacewalked,” Glass said, a tiny hint of pleasure sneaking into her voice. “It was the only way to get to Phoenix. Otherwise my boyfriend Luke and I plus a whole lot of other people would have died on Walden.”
The girls stood in silence for a moment, each struggling to process the momentous news the other had just shared. Then the door to the hospital cabin opened behind them, and Octavia stepped out.
“Clarke,” she called. “We need you in here for a sec.”
“Coming,” Clarke replied. She turned to Glass. “I’m glad you’re here, Glass.”
“Me too,” Glass said with a smile. It was true that she was pleased to see Clarke. Whether she was happy to be on Earth was another matter entirely, but at least it wasn’t quite as cold and lonely as she’d always imagined, staring down at the thick shroud of gray clouds from the ship. Especially now that it seemed like she might have a friend.
CHAPTER 6
Bellamy
“Screw this,” Bellamy grumbled to himself, kicking a clump of dirt into the air. He watched it sail in a smooth arc between two trees before landing with a plop a few meters away. Footsteps pierced the silence of the woods, where he lurked behind a cluster of tall trees, keeping himself out of sight. He peered through the foliage into the clearing, watching three of the new arrivals—a man and two women—wrinkle their noses at the deer roasting over the fire. The deer Bellamy had killed that morning and had passed to Antonio to take back to the camp. They could either learn to eat meat or starve to death. Or, better yet, let them find their own food.