Chapter Text
The door slid open and the woman peered out to see a young boy with chestnut locks and bright blue eyes standing in front of her.
Roman noticed that she had been crying, for her eyes were red and swollen. Slipping his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans, he greeted her.
"Hello, Aunt Abby." He said awkwardly. He had never really spoken to the chief doctor by himself before, he was usually with Clarke whenever he spoke to her.
"Oh, hello, Roman," Abby said, regaining her composure and wiping her eyes. Her voice was very hoarse and shaking. Roman wondered what happened for her to be in such a state, did she get into a fight with her husband Jake or Clarke. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just wondering if Clarke was here," Roman responded, looking down at the ground. "She said that she wanted to talk to me about something, it was about school."
Okay, that last part was a lie. Clarke told him to come for another reason. It was very important. She also told him not to tell anyone about it, this was a secret between him, Wells, and her.
Abby tried to hide a sob by covering her mouth, but Roman noticed. He pretended he didn't because he didn't want to upset her even more.
"Clarke's not feeling well, she said that no one must disturb her," Abby mumbled as if she herself was trying to believe her own words. "Does your father know you're here?"
Roman raised his eyebrows in surprise. Abby never really cared about his father or his friendship with Clarke. Why would she care now?
"I thought I'd just talk to Clarke and get back before he comes home."
Abby nodded solemnly. She lifted her hand as if to try and stroke Roman's cheek, but she recoiled and recollected herself. He wasn't fazed by this, she had done this many times when he came over. It was probably her stopping herself from treating him as if she was his mother. But Roman didn't mind if she did it, the Griffin Family were like his second family. "You should go home then."
"But – "
"I'll tell Clarke that you dropped by. I'm sure your father will be home soon."
Roman wanted to say more, but it was clear that Clarke's mother was uncomfortable. He didn't want to annoy her with his questions. He could always just talk to Clarke tomorrow.
"Okay, send my regards to her. Goodbye, Aunt Abby." Roman tried smiling, turning around. The moment his back was facing her, he heard the door slide shut after him.
Something was wrong, Abby was clearly upset by something. And Roman guessed that it had something to do with Clarke.
Roman began walking back to his family's quarters, deep in thought.
He wondered what happened. To be honest, he had noticed slight changes in Clarke's behavior over the past few weeks. She was quieter than normal, he knew because he was the quietest out of their friend group, consisting of himself, Wells – the Chancellor's son – and her. But recently, she had been quieter than even him. He would have to talk about it with Wells, he might know what's going on or how to fix it.
Roman was so lost in thought that he nearly bumped into the door of his quarters. He jumped back in shock. He didn't realize that his home was that close to Clarke's.
Why am I friends with such a klutz? That sounded like something Clarke would say. She and Wells always made jokes about how clumsy Roman could be sometimes. He didn't do it on purpose, it just happened when he was focused or in deep thought that he would accidentally trip or bump into something, which was very often.
He punched in the code to enter his house on the keypad. The door opened and he made his way in, only to stop in his tracks.
His father was sitting on the couch, looking at something on his tablet. He looked up and made eye contact with his son. Roman stood awkwardly, his back straight and his arms glued to his sides.
"Hey, Dad." Roman finally managed to say, moving his gaze to the ground.
"Roman." His father greeted him, placing his tablet on the table and sitting back on the couch.
"You're home early," Roman said, noticing his untied shoelace. That explains why he nearly fell on the way to Clarke's.
"We finished a lot earlier than we planned." His father replied, his voice monotonous. "Since you're here, take a seat. There's something I have to tell you."
Roman shuffled his way towards the couch and sat down next to his father, leaving a small distance between the two of them.
"What do you want to tell me?" Roman asked reaching towards his untied shoelaces to tie them.
There was silence. Roman could hear his heart beating. He didn't know what was going to happen. Was he in trouble? Did he mess up? Was his father going to yell at him ... again?
"Jake Griffin was floated today." His father finally said.
Roman's head shot up and he looked at his father in horror. "What?! How?"
His best friend's father was killed. That explains why Abby was crying.
"He was arrested for attempting to disclose information about the Ark. His daughter knew about it as well, she's been placed in solitary confinement."
Roman sprung up from the couch. "That can't be true! Clarke and Uncle Jake would never do anything to harm the Ark! I know them! I know Clarke!"
"We all thought that! But the Council voted, and the majority won. Jake was executed and Clarke was arrested."
"You didn't vote against them, did you, Dad?" Roman asked – no, he was practically praying that his father didn't vote against them.
His father looked away from him, Roman's heart sank. How could he look Clarke in the eye again – if he ever did see her again – if his father was one of the people who voted for her father to be killed and sentenced her to her own death.
"How ... how could you?" Roman's voice was hoarse. "She ... she is my friend! She isn't even eighteen yet! You took her life away from her."
"I'm truly sorry Roman. I know how close you and Clarke were. But we have to uphold the law of the Ark. I was just doing what's best for our people – "
"No!" Roman yelled at his father. "You were just doing what's best for yourself! You knew that if you voted, you'd gain people's favor, and they'd vote for you as Chancellor! Was being Vice-Chancellor not good enough for you?!"
Roman's father stared at him in disbelief. Roman could see the anger boiling in his eyes, but he was too angry himself to even care.
"Roman Kane." His voice was dangerously soft. "Don't you dare speak to me like that! Why can't you be more obedient like Wells."
"What has any of this got to do with Wells?"
His father stood up, placing his hands on his hips and looking down at his young son.
"Wells was the one who told Chancellor Jaha about the situation," he answered. "He is loyal to the Ark."
Roman couldn't believe this. Not only had the man he considered an uncle been killed and one of his two most trusted friends had been arrested, but his other friend had also been the one to sell them out.
When he woke up that day, he just wanted to survive the day without screwing up, not to have his entire lifestyle changed.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. As if on instinct, he slapped his father's hand away and glowered at him. His father knew how much Clarke meant to him, and how much he wanted to follow in Jake Griffin's footsteps. And he still voted to have them killed, all because of that stupid law.
"Just when I think you can't ruin my life more than you have already." He growled, stepping away from the larger man. "Now I understand why my Mom wanted nothing to do with you."
Roman didn't even care that he mentioned his mother in front of his father. His father may have not directly pulled the lever that killed Clarke's father or locked Clarke away himself, but he allowed it to happen.
There was a sudden ding coming from the door, someone was outside. Roman spun on his heel and stormed up to the door and pressed the button that opened the door.
He clenched his jaw when he saw Wells standing outside, looking at him anxiously. He looked like he had been running.
"Roman, thank god!" Wells gasped, trying to catch his breath. "Listen, there's something I need to tell you about Clarke - "
Roman didn't give him the chance to finish as his fist connected with Wells' face. The other boy fell to the ground with a thud. Roman couldn't believe he had punched someone in the face, he usually just hid behind Wells and Clarke in their group and only spoke when he wanted to. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, being the son of Marcus Kane, the Vice-Chancellor of the Ark.
"Roman!" He heard his father yell behind him. Roman shrugged him off.
"I thought you cared about Clarke!" He screamed at Wells, who sat up staring at him in shock. His nose was oozing so much blood that Roman almost felt sorry for punching him, but now was not the time to feel remorse. "She was our best friend! We've known her since we were small! And Uncle Jake was nothing but good to you! This is how you repay them!"
"Roman, let me explain." Wells pleaded, but he shut his mouth when Roman raised his hand to stop him.
"There's nothing to explain! You chose the Ark over people who care for you!" Roman yelled at the top of his lungs. "I want you to leave my home and never come back! I don't want you anywhere near me!"
Roman pressed the button and the door slid closed with Wells still outside. He turned to his father, standing there with his arms crossed and a disappointed look on his face. Roman held his head high and stormed past him, purposefully slamming his shoulder into him.
"Don't bother calling me for dinner." He snapped coldly making his way to his room.
After the door closed behind him, Roman stumbled to the bay window looking out into the vastness of space. Sitting on the ledge, he leaned his head against the cold glass, examining the vast darkness of space with small specks of light flickering in the distance.
Finally, Roman found a small tear falling down his cheek. He lifted his hand and wiped it away.
He didn't know how to feel. He knew that he hated his father and Wells, that was for sure. He was obviously upset that his Uncle Jake was dead and Clarke was arrested. He was angry at the Council for making that horrible decision.
He had known Clarke ever since they were seven years old, he met Wells later when their fathers became Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor. Jake Griffin had agreed to take him under his wing and help him become an engineer. That's what he and his friends had planned. Wells was going to join the guard, Clarke was going to become a doctor, and he was going to become an engineer. They were going to make the Ark a better place and change those stupid rules, maybe even help with the return to Earth.
And now, all those plans were gone.
There had to be a reason that they were arrested. Roman was going to find out what that was. He was going to get Clarke out, hopefully before her eighteenth birthday. He wasn't going to let Wells or his father or the Council stop him. He was going to save her.
This is my first fanfiction so please be gentle! I really enjoyed the 100, even though season 7 wasn't my favorite. I thought it would be nice to write this story in my own way while also adding my own character. And I thought I'd make him Kane's son because I thought it would be nice.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the next chapter, Roman is going to have an encounter with another character from the 100 (my personal favorite), I think you might figure out who it is. I hope you enjoy it. See you next time!
~ Author