Conflate | Bellamy Blake ¹ ✓

※ | chapter three

❝you know, the last time i was in germany and saw a man standing above everyone else, we ended up disagreeing.❞

-steve rogers, the avengers

♛

MY STOMACH TWISTS WITH anxiety as I watch Finn tighten the vine for the fiftieth time. The only way to Mount Weather is across a deep river, and since we can't swim across it, Finn gave us the ingenious idea of swinging across. I'll admit that this is the last thing I thought I'd be doing on Earth. However, I had yearned for adventure, and now I'm getting it, so I'm not going to complain.

"You wanted to go first, now quit stalling." Clarke raises her eyebrows expectantly, amused at Finn's sudden nervousness. She chuckles at the fact that he's trying to hide the fact that he's afraid. "Mount Weather awaits!"

Jasper stands next to Finn and gives him pointers quietly. "Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine."

Finn stops messing with the vine and turns to him with confusion in his eyes. "The apogee, like, the Indians, right?"

Jasper looks like Finn has just compared an apple to a watermelon. He blinks. "Apogee, not Apache."

"He knows," Clarke dismisses exasperatedly. "Today, Finn."

He salutes her, holding the vine with one hand and the other raised to his forehead. "Aye, aye, Captain." Then he turns to Jasper, who bounces with nerves and keeps glancing at Octavia. "See you on the other side."

At the last second before Finn swings across, Jasper stops him. "Wait."

Finn grunts and skids to a stop, preventing his gained momentum from swinging him across the water. by digging his heels into the rock. "What?"

After giving Octavia another glance, Jasper says, "Let me." Finn hesitates. The young boy's voice becomes tinged with confidence. "I can do it."

Finn hands him the vine and pats his shoulder proudly. "Knew there was a badass in there somewhere."

Jasper clings tightly to the climbing plant and notices for the first time how far he'll have to swing. The current in the water. The fact that none of us can swim. All the excitement melts into nerves, and his breath turns shallow, brown eyes going wide so the whites around his irises are extremely visible.

"Hey, it's okay to be afraid, Jasper," Finn coaxes gently. "The trick is not fighting it."

"You can do it, Jasper!" I encourage, noting that he probably needs it to calm his nerves. "Just don't lose your goggles on the way across."

He glares at me playfully, not pleased. "Thanks. I'll try not to." Turning to Finn, he gives him a nod. "See you on the other side."

Jasper takes a few deep breaths, moves back a bit, pulls his legs up, and swings. He screams the whole way across, his whoops echoing through the forest. My heart hammers with nerves.

"Uh oh." At first I may think he'll miss, but he nails the landing and rolls, looking dazed. All of us rush to the edge of the rocks as the vine swings back across. Finn catches it, though his attention is still on the boy across the water from us.

Jasper stands, a look of awe on his face as he realizes that he made it. He raises his arms above his head, pumping his fists with each syllable. "WE ARE APOGEE!"

We all cheer in response, praising him for his bravery. I don't know who's more excited– Jasper or us. He jumps around merrily, making us laugh at his antics. He's utterly adorable.

"My turn," I say, pressing my lips together and turning to Finn.

"You sure?" Clarke asks. There's an unsure crease between her eyebrows. Honestly, she should know me better by now– I've always been the more reckless out of the pair of us.