The sun beat down hot against Rosie's face. They had finally made it to the desert, which meant Jaha thought they were close. In reality, Rosie had a feeling he had no clue where they were. She pulled tighter at the cloth she had wrapped around her face, the best way they could think of to avoid sunburn. Her father had taken to walking beside her for a few hours, although neither spoke. At the front of the group, her mother and John walked alongside Jaha. Everyone seemed sluggish, and Rosie realized the morale had never been so low.

"Sir, do you recognize anything?" A man asked as the group slowly came to a halt.

"The tent was near here," Jaha declared, pointing out a shaky hand towards the sand dunes before them. "I'm sure of it."

Rosie felt her stomach drop at the sound of the second part. She wasn't sure if he was saying it to convince them, or himself. She watched as a few of the members shared tentative glances. Perhaps they were finally starting to realize what a mistake this was. She too shared a nervous glance, first with her father then with a pair of eyes that had already been resting on her. Piercing green eyes that belonged to none other than John Murphy. He was the first to break the gaze, pushing through two men that were sharing their inhibitions.

"What's the matter?" He started, before turning to look back at the men. "You guys got someplace better to be?"

Rosie felt a smile creeping onto her face at his insistent sarcasm. Even now, when they were low on water and supplies crossing the freaking desert, he was still being a humorous ass. She hoped he would never change. Her father caught a glimpse of her smile before it disappeared, causing fear to grow inside of him. The last thing he needed was for his daughter to get involved with someone like John Murphy. Not when he was trying to get her back.

"So, ya got a boyfriend?" Her father awkwardly questioned, scratching at the back of his neck.

"What?" Rosie's eyebrows shot up at the question. Her father and her had hardly spoken on this trek, it felt a little late for him to be playing protective dad now.

"Girlfriend?" He pushed on, trying to show he was openminded. He stuck out his hand to his daughter as they began to descend the dunes and was shocked when she accepted it.

"No to both." She replied after a few seconds, careful not to lose her footing. The last thing she needed was to stumble and go hurling down the mountain of sand.

"What about that Blake boy? Don't you room with him?" Her father pressed on, somewhat hopeful.

Since the ark came down, he had hardly spoken to his daughter. Not because he didn't want to, but because his wife wouldn't let him. Even when they were fighting to survive, his wife only cared about appearances. And in her book, associating with their daughter was a negative. He had kept tabs on her, though. He'd ask around about her, check to make sure she got into her room safe, beg Abby not to let her go on guard missions, no matter how hard she tried. Lucky for him, she was a terrible shot anyway. She just wanted to stay with Bellamy. All of those things combined had led him to believe she had a relationship with the boy, and he even came to accept it. At the end of the day, he knew she could always date someone worse. Like John Murphy.

"Just friends." She replied shortly, hoping she could stop discussing her love life with her estranged father.

"Seems like a nice kid, maybe—"

"Dad." She cut him off sternly, hoping he'd take the hint and let it go. 

It was the first time she'd referenced him like that since the ark came down. His heart filled with joy as he realized maybe there was still hope for their family. A smile grew on his face and just as he was about to point it out, she stopped walking. She didn't have time to process what she had said, she was too busy staring ahead. In front of her, Murphy and Jaha stood side by side staring at something. Rosie could see it too, and it looked just like an old abandoned cart. She was suddenly filled with hope, perhaps there could be some food or water on it.

"You see anyone?" Murphy questioned quietly.

The group scanned the surrounding area with their eyes, no one getting too close to the cart. To Rosie, it seemed abandoned, but she also knew how foolish it would be to rush it without a second thought. Jaha was the first to move torward it, making deliberate strides. Even if she thought he was full of it, she was thankful he wasn't a coward. As expected, when Jaha moved, the people followed. Just as their leader was about five feet from the cart, a movement caught Rosie's eye and made her stop in her tracks. In one swift motion, a person was swinging themselves out of the cart with a blade drawn. 

"Bak yu op o ai na frag yu op!" The voice screamed out, holding a threatening stance.

Rosie was suddenly filled with a sense of pity for the grounder in front of them. They stood there in numbers armed with guns, while all they had was a blade. They seemed to be alone, and judging by the shaking of their hand, Rosie inferred they were scared. She preferred being alone, but she would never want to be alone out here.

"We mean you no harm," Jaha spoke in a calming manner, raising his hands up in the process. "Do you speak English?"

"What do you want?" Rosie could now tell the figure was a woman and was pleasantly surprised she knew English.

"Nothing," Jaha answered. "It looks like you could use a hand, what're you doing out here all alone?"

The grounder woman undid the wrap tied around her face and reholstered her blade. Rosie studied the girl's face, looking at the intricate tattoo that ran down her forehead and covered much of her cheek. She had dark brown hair that fell loosely to her shoulders, a few pieces knotted or in braids. Rosie also noticed the slightest hint of a scar on her other cheek. She found the woman utterly intriguing.

"My brother and I were on our way to the City of Light when wastelanders attacked. They took our horse, all our water, everything. This cart is all I have left." By the time the woman finished, she was shaking. Rosie felt her heart ache for the woman, never before caring so much for a grounder. Perhaps she felt like she could relate, to being alone and having no one.

"Give her some water," Jaha demanded, clearly as moved by the girl's story as Rosie.

Murphy was the first to move, bringing his bookbag around to fish in the contents. Rosie felt herself smiling for the second time because of the boy. He had this act, where he pretended he cared about no one but himself, but she knew that wasn't true. If it were, he wouldn't be sacrificing any of his water. He has a soft spot for other's that he'd never want to admit.

"No, no, no. We barely have enough for ourselves here." One of the men from the group called out, placing a hand on Murphy's bag to stop him.

"Touch me again and I'll end you." Murphy threatened, only pausing when he saw the look on Jaha's face, adding a sickly sweet smile. "In a non-criminal way."

Murphy reached out and handed the woman his canteen, reassuring her with his smile on the way. She looked hesitant, but her need for water got the best of her as she accepted the offer. She immediately undid the cap and took a gulp, lapping up any excess water on the sides. After a moment, Jaha took the time to speak again.

"We're on our way to the City of Light as well, what's your name?"

"Emori." The grounder answered before pressing on. "Everyone in the dead zone is looking for the City of Light. Almost no one finds it. I can get you there, if you pull my cart."

Rosie looked hesitantly towards Jaha, then to her father. A quick once over the cart showed there wasn't much in it. Anything that was could easily be stored in their bags. Pulling the cart would simply exert more energy and make it harder for the group in the end. So why take it? Her father seemed to be thinking the same thing because his eyebrows were stitched together in confusion.

"Done," Jaha replied with a smile. "Caspian, you're on the first shift."

"Sir, don't you think—" Rosie's father started, only to be cut off by the former chancellor.

"I said it was done."

"Thanks for the water." Emori voiced to Murphy with a smile, handing him back the canteen.

"It's uh— It was no problem." He responded sheepishly, still smiling as the woman turned and walked away.

Rosie eyed the boy suspiciously, suddenly realizing he may have had ulterior motives for helping her other than the goodness of his heart. In all the time she knew him, he never got choked up or nervous around girls. Nor did he look at any of them the way he was looking at the grounder woman. It seemed John Murphy had a type, and it was the complete opposite of Rosie. She found herself rolling her eyes, unsure of why the idea bugged her at all. 

Murphy seemed to shake from his trance when the rest of the group started moving around him. His eyes found their way to Rosie, whose gaze was still fixed on him. The blush in his cheeks was starting to disappear and his nervous smile was being replaced with his signature smirk. 

"What're you staring at, Goldsman?" He teased, the first time he'd really spoken to her since their previous altercation.

"I could ask you the same thing," Rosie muttered before trudging ahead towards the group.

"Is someone jealous now?" Murphy jogged up to catch the girl, the same smirk still plastered to his face. "I thought you wanted me to leave you alone."

"I did." Rosie snapped, only realizing her mistake when his smile grew bigger. "I mean, I do."

"Uh-huh, sure you do." Murphy stuffed his hands in his pockets and faced forward. "I'll make you a deal, admit you missed talking to me and I'll forgive you."

Rosie scoffed at the proposal and rolled her eyes. She let her eyes train themselves on her boots and the sand, not wanting him to be able to see her face and read what she was thinking. She wasn't even sure what she was thinking. All she knew was even if Murphy was annoying, she did somewhat enjoy his company, and she had felt pretty lonely during the silent parts of her trip.

"Come on Goldsman, about to take the offer off the table." Murphy tapped at his wrist as if there were an invisible watch counting down there.

"Fine, I missed talking to you, but only because I was tired and didn't realize how boring this trip could be alone." Rosie defended herself, not needing him to get any other ideas.

"I'll take it, you're forgiven," Murphy replied cheerily. He then quickened his pace slightly and fell out of step with her, getting closer to the group ahead of them.

"Where are you going?" Rosie questioned, confused by the interaction.

"You're forgiven, but maybe I want to be left alone from you for a little bit," Murphy called back over his shoulder.

Rosie crossed her arms of her chest as the boy reached Emori and struck up a conversation. He shot one glance back at the red-headed girl, offering her a little wink before returning his attention to the grounder woman. Rosie found herself rolling her eyes, again, at the boy's incessant flirting.

Rosie let her arms fall to her side and begrudgingly trudged along, settling into the fact she was going to spend a lot more time alone. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much, she enjoyed being alone. Back in the delinquent camp or in Arkadia, she preferred to be alone and always would seek out solitude. The only time she wanted human interaction was if Bellamy was free, and sometimes she didn't even want to be bothered by him. 

A fear grew inside of her as she wondered what possibly changed with her. Why did she now care that she had to make this trek basically alone? She should be ecstatic. She searched her brain for any explanation possible and decided on what she felt was the simplest one. She had spent full days being bugged by John Murphy and had become accustomed to it. She was used to being annoyed by the boy. All she needed was to get used to being alone again, and she would be fine. That had to be it.

In the back of her brain, she knew it wasn't the reason. But she suppressed that down, not wanting to think of an alternative. John Murphy was an annoying criminal, and she would be fine without him. She hoped.

A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying so far :) Vote & comment!