Bellamy's POV

One year is a long time when you're surrounded by four walls. Four gray walls that are cold and empty. It was hard being in jail and away from Octavia. But it was easier knowing that Clarke was the one looking out for her. She seemed happy whenever they came to visit. They came almost every weekend as much as I hated my little sister here in this prison I was thrilled to see her happy.

They took to each other fast. Clarke loved that little girl like her own sister. It made me smile the way Octavia crawled onto her lap when they came to see me. Her long brown hair was braided and out of her face. The bruises she had were long healed and faded. She looked healthy. That's all I wanted for her.

I loved seeing my girls, but I hated watching them leave. We were given one hug before and after our visitation. Kissing Clarke goodbye was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Because I wanted to hold her in my arms and never let her go. Without her I never would've found the hope of getting out of this place. She was literally my saving grace.

Her father got a better plea bargain than I ever thought was possible. Murphy wasn't dead, but the assault charges weren't being dropped. Plus I had resisted arrest. I was lucky they were so forgiving with my self defense story and they only gave me a two year sentence. I was getting out early on good behavior.

The buzzer sounded as I stepped out into the sun. When my foot hit the pavement I knew it was real, the gates and chained fence was officially behind me. Clarke stood there leaning against her blue jeep. Her blonde hair was longer, her blue eyes seemed brighter. She smiled as she saw me, letting me take in my new freedom.

After a moment she ran to me. She jumped into my arms, the little bag I had with me fell to the pavement. I took in a breath, breathing in her scent. She smelled like wild flowers and honey. She pressed her soft lips against mine, kissing me the way I had dreamt about for the last year. She tasted like heaven. This girl was my home and there was nowhere else I'd rather be.

"Hey there stranger," she whispered as she pulled away and giggled.

I kissed her again, holding her tightly against me. I knew I'd never let her go, "I can't believe you came to pick me up."

She laughed as I set her feet back on the ground, "I would be a terrible girlfriend I didn't pick you up from jail. You have no idea how long I've waited for you to be on the other side of the fence with me."

We walked towards the jeep, her hands pulling on my hoodie. She turned to face me, her back pressed against the be car as he pressed her lips towards mine again. I pushed my body against her, my heart beating faster than I ever had before. My hands grabbed her hips, the man in me didn't want to stop. A year was a long time without a woman to keep you company.

Clarke groaned against my lips, "as much as I want you to keep going," her voice was filled with air, "we should probably do it somewhere with a door. Not in the middle of the road."

I laughed as I pulled back and her hands grabbed my face, "I've missed you Clarke."

She smiled, "yeah. I missed you too Blake."

She climbed into the drivers side as I ran around to the passenger side and opened the door. The Texas sky was huge, I had never noticed how big it was when we were in the yard. I took in a breath and grabbed her hand off the console, smiling as she kissed the back of my skin.

"I have a surprise for you," she whispered as she sped down the road. I didn't want a surprise I wanted to go back to her place and tell her how I really felt. I wanted her to know how much I missed her, how real this was for me.

But I had a feeling her surprise involved other people, "what is it?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not telling you. But you're gonna love it."

She turned down another back road. I kept staring at her, her skin looked darker. She looked like she had been kissed by the sun, her hair was lighter too. Texas had done her good, she seemed happy. Happier than the girl who helped me find my way here.

Her mom never tried to bring her home. She sent Clarke all the things she wanted in a u-haul and that was it. She said she was happier on her own without Clarke there to annoy her. Clarke's dad was thrilled to have his daughter under his roof until she started school. She had deferred school the last year, she told me she wanted to spend time with the parent would actually wanted to know her. She was getting used to Texas and her father, school would've been an added weight I knew she wasn't ready for.

Plus she was helping a lot more with Octavia, getting her into a school and being a mother she didn't have to be to my little sister. I could never repay her for that. She had no idea how grateful I was to find her.

She had been accepted to all three colleges down here. Texas A & M, university of Houston, and Texas university. She had her pick of schools. She still hasn't told me which one she was going to. She hadn't decided the last time we talked.

It didn't matter what she chose, I was going with her. We'd get an apartment and Octavia would come along. We would be a little family. The one I never thought I would ever have.

She pulled on to her street and it was filled with cars, "having a party?"

She shrugged, "something like that."

She was up to something, I could tell. She wasn't the best liar, but I let it go. She threw the car into park and then turned to look at me. She pulled me close once more, kissing me harder than she had kissed me at the gates. I was dizzy by the time we pulled apart.

"I wanted to bring you home and lock us in my room too," she whispered, her lips red from our kiss. My heart was racing, "but there's someone else who wants to welcome you home. Which means both our needs have to wait."

She threw open her door as I sat there confused and surprised by her words. She let out a slow breath as I stumbled out of the car and she grabbed my hand. We walked through her dads house, which was more homely than her mothers, and out towards the back.

There were a million people here. I saw Miller, which surprised me. They were all talking among themselves as kids ran around screaming. Clarke put her hand on my shoulder, "wait here."

I didn't want to separate from her. I had just gotten her back and now she wanted to go off and find someone else. I sighed and I did as I was told. I took in a deep breath as she walked towards the treehouse, "Octavia. I have your present."

I watched as my little sister climbed down and jumped into Clarke's arms. She rubbed their noses together making her giggle. They were both so happy I could barely take it. Clarke set her down and held her hand as she walked towards me. I couldn't hear what they were saying but Octavia looked up and saw me.

My little sister let out the loudest scream I had ever heard, "Bellamy!"

She ran towards my arms as I knelt down to her level. I caught her, somehow staying upright even with the force she hit me with. I hugged her tightly, my nose hitting her shoulder and she held me back. She was taller, she was healthy. Her face was glowing with life I had never seen in all the foster homes we lived in. She was truly happy here with Jake and Clarke and I couldn't believe how much love she had.

"Hey little sis," I whispered pulling away, the tears choking me, "I missed you."

She was crying. There were tears on her cheek as she looked at me, "you're home for good now right?"

I nodded, "yeah," I squeezed her hand as I hugged her again, "I'm not going anywhere ever again."

Clarke was smiling as she watched us together. I noticed her wipe a tear off her cheek as she smiled at our reunion. I shook my head, her smile even more beautiful as our eyes met.

"Clarke!" Octavia turned and grabbed her hand pulling her towards me, "this is the best present ever."

"Yeah," she agreed as she leaned into my side. I kissed her cheek, "it really is. Happy birthday O."

It was strange to see the two of them together outside of the jail. I never thought it was possible to be as happy as I was in that moment. I had my favorite girls together and there weren't four walls waiting for me to come back to. I didn't have to sit and miss them, wonder what they were doing without me. I didn't have to go back to my cell and count down the days I had left in there.

I was finally free in all sense of the word. I had my baby sister, safe and sound with me. I had a woman who looked at me like I was more of a man than I could ever be. I didn't deserve her, but that didn't mean I would ever let her go.

Jake came walking out the house and smiled at me. He nodded at his daughter as she leaned into my side. I wrapped an arm around her waist, "glad to have you home son."

I smiled as he tapped my shoulder and looked at Clarke and then Octavia, "it's really good to be home, sir. Thank you for everything."

"Don't thank me. My daughter loves you. She fought harder than anyone else on your case," Clarke blushed as she glared at her father. I held her closer, "I don't know what you did, but I'm so glad you brought her home to me."

I smiled as I kissed her cheek once more. Octavia stood there watching is, Clarke turning and catching my lips before I pulled away. My little sister let go of my hand as I held Clarke in my arms. This was everything and more than I expected for a homecoming.

"It's true," Clarke whispered as we stood there in our own little world. Everyone else was talking among themselves, "I do love you Bellamy Blake."

"Well that's good. Because I love you too Clarke Griffin."

She giggled as Octavia ran off with more of her friends. I hugged her, the year apart affecting us more than we thought it would. I wanted her to decide this was enough interaction and lock us in her room now. But I knew that there were other people here who hadn't seen me since everything had happened. I knew that I had to at least pretend like the first thing I wanted to do with my freedom wasn't my girlfriend.

Sometimes being a man really sucked. Because my head understood this, but my body was fighting me. I wanted to drag her into the house and stay under the covers until this time tomorrow. I sighed, Clarke giggled as she leaned into me, "don't worry. I have a few other surprises of my own for later."

My eyes went wide. I could only imagine what she meant by surprises. Clarke was full of surprises when it came to us. I laced my fingers through hers as we walked towards the food table trying to take my mind off all the dirty things that kept crossing it.

"Hey man," Miller grabbed my shoulder. I shook his hand, "glad to see you're out and in good hands now."

I smiled, "thanks for helping me even when you didn't have to," I cleared my throat, "how did you get here?"

"Clarke sent me a ticket. She put this all together. She wanted you to know you weren't forgotten while you were away."

Her blue eyes were bright as she shook her head. She kept filling her plate, "yeah I got lucky. I don't know how, but I did."

"Yeah man. Don't let this one go."

I didn't have to tell him I never intended to let her out of my sight. Because she was the only one for me. She had seen me at my absolute worst and there was never anything I could do to repay her.

The party went on for a while. Jake built a fire, we all gathered around as the sky got darker. The stars were brighter than I had ever seen down here in Texas. It was beautiful, I couldn't stop staring.

Clarke leaned against my chest. I held her from behind as we watched the fire. I kissed her shoulder, her body shivering. I knew it wasn't from the chilly air. I pushed her hair over her shoulder and smiled as I pressed another kiss against her neck.

Octavia had fallen asleep an hour ago. Jake was getting ready to take her into the house when I stopped him. He understood and let me take her out of his arms. My sister, my responsibility. I wasn't about to forget that now that I was free. I carried her to her room, looking at the space she had. She was so loved here in this home with strangers who didn't have to love her. She had a castle painted on the wall of her room, she had so many toys it made me jealous. She was truly blessed to have found Clarke and Jake.

After I wandered back out to the yard Clarke pulled me down beside her. I wrapped my arms around her and we stayed quiet. The fire was bright and warm, both our thoughts entertaining us. I took in a breath as she laced her fingers through mine.

"One year is nothing compared to how much time we have left together," I whispered as I held her tighter against my chest. The quiet was starting to wear on me. The party was winding down and everyone was finding their way home.

Jake was cleaning up but refused to let me help. He said he wanted me to occupy his daughter who had been more than restless the entire time I was gone. I took in a deep breath as Clarke stayed quiet.

"Clarke," I called for her attention, "a penny for your thoughts. You aren't rethinking this are you?"

She laughed as she turned half her face covered by the shadow of the fire, "never," she whispered, kissing me gently. She laid her head on my chest, my chin tickled by the top of her head. She took in a deep breath, I felt it as she inhaled.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked quietly.

"Us," her voice was small. Her dad was inside. It was just the two of us. I had been yearning for that since we had gotten to the party. Now that we were alone I wasn't ready to talk about the big things just yet.

"What about us?" I wasn't sure where this was going. She kept staring ahead of her, she didn't look at me.

"When you were gone it scared me, how much I missed you. I've never felt this way about anyone. But all I wanted was you. Now that I have you, I'm afraid it'll change. What if it was only because I couldn't have you?"

She picked her head up and looked at me. I kissed her slowly, my arms staying around her. After a moment her hands found my cheeks and she held turned so that she could kiss me better. My mouth moved easily with hers, my hands begging to wander the rest of her body. I took her in like she was the air that filled my lungs. I held her like she was a piece of glass I would break if I pressed to hard.

I pulled away from her, the fireworks disappearing as her lips fell off of mine, "how did that feel?"

"Amazing," she whispered as she opened her eyes.

"I know in this moment you are everything I never knew I wanted. Nothing can change that Clarke. It's you and me. We're in this together. I promise."

She nodded, kissing me once more before leaning against my chest again. I knew I needed to give her time to adjust to us. She wasn't used to feeling like this. I would show her that we were good together. I would be the one who finally woke her up and kept his promises.

One year was a long time apart. It was enough to make even the loyalist of people doubt their feelings. But I knew what we had was real.

As we sat there I saw a shooting star. I made a wish, to always find the happiest moments like this one. I knew that if I had Clarke by my side I'd never need another wish. Because she was it for me. I was done lying to myself and the people around me. We were good together.

We were in this for the long run, together.

It was ironic really. I had been running from my past only to find my future. She had blue eyed and blonde hair. She was perfect and somehow she was all mine. There was nothing else I needed to wish for. Everything I would ever need I was right here in my arms.

I guess I had done something right. Since a monster like me had found a happy ending. I never thought I deserved the princess, but then again I had always been hard on myself. Clarke saw through my demons and found me on the other side.

I could never repay her, never love her enough for a million lifetimes over. But that didn't mean I wouldn't try. I'd spend the rest of my life showing her all the ways I love her.