Chapter 9

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The deal struck between the new friends went on longer than anticipated. Addison tried to help at first, but in her defence, she was distracted by the multiple conversations she and Monty shared. They traded funny stories from the Ark, sometimes one-upping each other's, and also discussed old Earth films they were forced to watch a hundred times.

"I remember that one! I don't know what was more annoying: watching the same movie or her voice," Addison almost grimaced, recalling one of the English teachers.

"She was awful," Monty said. "Jasper and I would always sneak moonshine into her class—never suspected a thing."

She squinted in disbelief, "No way."

His lips upturned mischievously, "Yes way."

"She would've been the teacher to do that with," she applauded the Agro-raised boy.

Monty pointed the thin, metal tool he had in his hand at her, "And that's exactly why we did it in her class."

"I can't believe you snuck alcohol into class. I don't think I'd believe it if someone else told me." Addison leaned-up against the dropships' wall.

After an hour of talking, Addison felt as if their acquaintance increased to a real friendship. Monty was a funny boy who's not as quiet as everyone—with the exception of Jasper—made him out to be. A few minutes of silence had passed between the duo before Addison was up on her feet with a quiet grunt.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then. See you around, Monty."

He did a little wave. "See ya, Addison."

She climbed down the ladder, jumping the rest of the way into the first level once she was about halfway down. There wasn't a soul in the dropship. But seeing as it was a nice day and the fact they spent their entire lives in a metal container out in space, who wouldn't want to be outside in the Earths' elements?

Addison buried her hands in the pockets of the navy blue zip-up jacket she wore as she walked down the ramp. She then surveyed the lush green surroundings at the end of it. The different greens and browns and the colour of the sky through the trees were colours she hasn't been able to comprehend, not yet anyways. All around their new home, there were several groups working: one built tents while another made weapons, and a select few played on makeshift drums that filled the air with a soft upbeat tune while a few more groups did things Addison couldn't make sense of from where she stood.

"What are you looking at?" Surprised, she spun at the familiar new males' voice. She locked eyes with the blonde-headed boy from earlier. Hale. Addison's forehead creased, and he chuckled softly, "Clearly I'm not welcomed."

She relaxed her facial features, and shook her head with an awkward laugh. "I—No, sorry. I'm not very good at controlling what my face does or what my mouth says."

"Dually noted." Hale motioned to her with a jut of his chin. "Addison, right?"

"Let me guess, Murphy's been running his mouth?"

"He was, when you guys were gone. But since he's the one that's gone now and since what happened with Atom a couple hours ago . . ." he trailed, insinuating Atom was the one blabbering. Hale stuck out his right hand, "Dawson. Dawson Hale."

She eyed his hand before slowly taking it, "Addison Anderson."

He flipped her hand and held her fingers, planting a soft kiss to the back of it. "Pleasure to meet you by not saving your ass."

Addison's lips curled up. She then cleared her throat and pulled her hand back, like he burned her. "Charming."

"Not impressed? The girls loved it back on the Ark."

"Well, incase you haven't noticed," Addison folded her arms, "we're on the ground, not the Ark."

A little smiled appeared on Dawson's lips when she turned her head, observing more of her surroundings, and he hummed quietly to himself. "Where you headed to, then?"

"Out," a new voice joined the conversation. They looked at them, Addison the most surprised. They were looking at Dawson with slightly narrowed eyes, arms crossed.

Addison's brows furrowed. "What?" Octavia quickly widened her green eyes and raised both of her arched brows, a silent gesture to tell the brunette to "go along". "Uh, y-yes. Out?" Addison met Dawson's confused blue eyes, one of his own dark blonde brows lifting. "See you around?"

Dawson slowly nodded once. "Yeah, definitely. I'll catch you later." He walked off toward the weapons-making group.

Addison looked at Octavia, "What was—"

"Come on," Octavia took the brunette's hand, "I wanna show you something."

Addison yelped in surprise as Octavia pulled her out of camp and through the woods, soft laughter escaping the raven-haired girl's lips the further she pulled Addison into the woods. Addison ducked out the way of a low hanging branch, laughing out confusedly, "Octavia, where are you taking me?"

"You'll see!"

"For the record, I hate surprises!"

"You'll like this one, I promise."

"If you say so," Addison muttered. She then picked up the pace. To her, it seemed like they'd been running all day through the woods, especially now that she couldn't hardly keep up with Octavia anymore. Her side aches and legs and lungs burned. "How does someone . . . who never got out . . . have stamina, on a planet they never been on?" Addison panted, coming to a halt when Octavia stopped, still linked by their hands.

Octavia met her eyes with heavy but not as rapid breaths, and smirked a small shrug. "I'm a natural, I guess. Jealous?"

"No, not really. I'm okay with being ordinarily un-athletic. But I do hate you for saying that."

Octavia rolled her eyes in a playful manner before yanking Addison forward, but instead of running they simply walked, enjoying one another's company in the silence of nature. Octavia then stopped. She bought her index-finger to her lips then released their joined hands and whispered "stay here" to a confused Addison.

Octavia spun and walked into the middle of the little clearing, arms held out at her sides. Within seconds, tiny, glowing blue-purple butterflies flew and landed on her arms.

Addison's brown eyes widened, a little smile appearing on her lips. Octavia looked at her with a grin and gestured her over with a small motion of her head, careful not to scare the little creatures. Slowly, Addison walked to Octavia then held out her arms, allowing the strange, bioluminescent butterflies to land on her arms, an airy laugh escaping her lips.

She truly felt happiness, the kind that reaches your heart and deep within your stomach that radiates throughout your body —a feeling she hadn't felt in so long.

"This is incredible," she had whispered, watching as the butterflies fluttered around the duo in their blue-purple hue.

"Told you you'd like it," replied Octavia, in a cocky tone.

The brunette glanced at her with a little smile before looking back at the butterflies. "Thank you, Tavia." Their eyes met again, smiles slipping.

The blue-purple glow of the butterflies illuminated their faces in a soft hue. Addison was stuck in a trance she didn't want to—couldn't—break from. A butterfly landed on her nose, her brown eyes crossing.

A tickle sensation began to fill her nostrils. She felt a sneeze brewing, but she didn't wanna scare any of the butterflies. The one fluttered up then landed back on Addison's nose, this time causing a sneeze to stir that scared the butterflies back to the trees.

She rubbed her nose, sniffling. "Sorry," she'd sheepishly said.

Octavia bumped Addison's shoulder with her own, smiling. "Come on. It's getting late." Addison merely nodded and followed the youngest Blake back to camp. "I never thanked you for what you did."

"What did I do?"

"'Rescuing' me from Atom," Octavia dramatically replied, a small chuckle following.

Her dramatics amused Addison. "It looked like you needed saving from those—" she lowers her voice in a playful manner, "—horrid boys." She looked at Octavia, voice returning to normal, and refers to the snake-serpent fiasco, "So much for you saving me again."

Octavia shoved her with pressed lips. "Shut up."

"I'm so scared. Terrified, even."

"Hey, there'll be a day when I get to save your ass." Octavia defended, sure of herself Addison almost believed it.

"Mm. I'm sure there will be. And I'll be patiently waiting for that day." Addison looked at an unamused Octavia that made the brunette smirk a little.

Camp was still a little ways out, if Addison remembered correctly. Or was it down this slope? She looked around, but it all looked the exact same, especially in the dark —woods.

Addison didn't realize it was as late as it had gotten. She wondered if Liam was waiting for her at camp. Was he hurt?

"How come you don't smile?"

Taken back —by the question and being lost in her own head— the brunette whipped her head to the youngest Blake, forehead creased. "What? I smile."

"You do, but it never reaches your eyes. Not like it did back there." Addison looked away at the statement, jaw tightening. It was hard for Addison to smile out of genuine happiness. Since her mother's death, her temper's controlled her actions, and emotions. "It's okay if it always doesn't." Octavia slowed so she was walking beside Addison. "Everyone's different. But I will know."

They snuck back into camp. Octavia had bounced to the closest campfire that several delinquents were seated or stood by.

Addison followed suit, but took her time. She stood at the fire where less people were, shifting her brown eyes for a spot to sit. She caught green eyes, and Octavia waved her over. Atom was on her unoccupied side, much to Addison's dismay as it made her blood run hot, but she refrained from stupid actions.

She walked over a little too quick, weaving between delinquents and pushing aside the ones that didn't see her, then carefully sat down beside Octavia, ridged due to Atom's presence.

He side-eyed the brunette before leaving them alone. Addison relaxed when he disappeared into the darkness of camp. She then shifted her gaze to the flames, mesmerized by their dance, and soothes by the crackles and pops of the wood.

"Thank you for showing me the butterflies," she said quietly.

"Don't tell Bellamy."

"I won't." Addison didn't want to give Brother Blake another reason to hate her besides breathing the same air as Octavia. She looked at Little Blake, who inspected the little bruises on Addison's left-knuckle. "It doesn't hurt." Their eyes met in the firelight. "Just annoying when I forget about them."

"That was some punch." Octavia scouted closer. "Looks like you've done it before. That why you got locked up?"

Addison's jaw tightened. She diverted her focus to the flames again. She could feel a cage form around her heart and emotions she's let slip, her cold exterior she covers with snarky remarks engulfing.

Her arrest .  .  . that was a topic she isn't fond of discussing, let alone with someone she hardly knows. Hot or not, Addison didn't know Octavia.  She went into a dark place when she was sent to Solitary Confinement.

"They're back!" a boy had yelled, Addison releasing a small breath of relief. "Over there." She looked in the direction the delinquents were focused on.

Octavia was up first. Addison followed shortly after, the delinquents murmuring to one another as the Search Party came into view. A pit in her stomach formed as she scanned the outskirts of camp for Liam.

She stopped in her tracks with wide eyes. She was so worried about Liam she'd forgotten about Jasper, and he did not look remotely decent —he was incredibly pale in the firelight from a nearby fire. Addison moved next to Octavia, Monty joining at the same time.

He worriedly watched Finn and Wells carry his best friend, his brother, up the ramp and into the dropship. "Is he—"

"He's alive," Clarke replied quickly. Addison certainly thought he had expired —she was just being nice to Monty by feeding him naïve assurances. "I need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandage."

Now that it's been confirmed Jasper is, in fact, alive-ish, Addison moved onto the most important (to her) task: finding Liam. She blocked out the commotion and conversations that blended into inaudible mumbles, and searched the area the Search Party had come from.

Liam wasn't carried into camp like Jasper, and that worried: was he just left for dead like an animal in the woods? The delinquents had begun to cheer for Bellamy, like he was some deity. If Liam wasn't still missing, Addison would be scoffing and rolling her eyes at his egotistical ass.

Addison tore her eyes from him and focused them on Clarke. She walked a little closer. "Cl-Clarke?" Clarke was at the top of the ramp, she too tearing her eyes from Bellamy Blake and his arrogance. "Did you find Liam?" Clarke flickered her eyes behind the brunette.

"Addison."

She whirled, all of her worries and fears melting. She jumped up a little and wrapped her arms around Liam's neck, his arms enclosing her, holding her close. "You're alive," whispered Addison, relieved.

Liam chuckled lightly into his best friend's hair. "Yeah. Yeah I am."

She pulled back, inspecting him as best she could. Dirt smeared his face, his left-cheek decorated in dry, crusted-blood that was hard to see how bad the minor injury is in the dim fire-and-moonlight. There were some small holes in his jacket and the front of his shirt, but other than that, he seemed fine, physically.

Addison was drawn back to his wound. "Does it need stitches?"

"I don't think so, but don't worry, Clarke said she's gonna check it out once Jasper's taken care of."

"What happened out there, Lee?"

"After I led the Grounder away from us, I hid until Clarke and the others found me."

"And your face?"

"A branch, a thorn from a bush, my own fingernail, I don't know. I ran a good ways," Liam replied. He looked over a shoulder at the dropship, "I'm gonna see if Clarke needs any help."

"I'll be in in a minute," she stated, drifting her gaze to Bellamy with a clenched jaw as she heard Liam's footsteps retreat. Now she was scoffing and rolling her brown eyes at his egotistical ass.

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