Quinn and Puck are tributes in the Hunger Games.
Slightly changed the Hunger Games in that two tribunes can survive the games, and please forgive any other Hunger Games mistakes as I've only seen the movie so haven't memorised all the details of what you can and can't do.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
They sit in silence drinking wine coolers and she wonders if she was right to let him in. He is the competition after all. Is he here to check things out, to size her up as a threat?
If that's what he's after, she is not who he needs to be worried about.
Looking around the training hall earlier today when they all met for the first time, she'd done the maths, and its not looking good for her. If this is about size and strength, she thinks she's about tenth of out the twelve. Only the 14 year old and the scared 12 year old boy are punier than she is.
In the end, it's every man, woman, boy and girl for themselves, one against each other and the strengths she thought she had in her previous life - popularity, head of the cheer squad, looks, intellect - don't count in this world. She'd never let on because her family has trained her to hide her true feelings and always only show her best face to the world, but the truth is inside she's terrified about how this is all going to play out.
She'd had this feeling before they had even left her district, but arriving here in the capitol today and coming face to face with her opponents now she's sure she's going to die in the games. Probably from someone like the guy sitting in front of her.
He's looking at her, and she stares back at him, raising one eyebrow after a second. If he wanted to come here, is he going to start a conversation? Or is he just trying to mess with her, play mind games?
He folds his arms and sits back in the chair. "That Cato's a complete ass. Who's he think he is? Captain fucking America?," Puck starts, looking pissed.
It's only taken an hour before this guy and Cato got into a fight at the training hall.
Quinn looks at his face, and sees the black eye starting to form. "Who won then?," she ventures, curious.
She'd seen them take it outside but she hadn't seen what had happened yet.
"With these guns?" Puck replies, raising his eyebrows as he flexes his muscles, "No contest."
"Yeah," he says, nodding to himself. "Come in handy in a fight. The ladies like em well enough too. Been known to make their knickers fall right off by themselves just from getting a feel."
"Your can touch em if you want?" he offers, smirking at her.
She gives him a look, and then her mouth quirks. That deserves a response. He's kind of an ass, but he's also kind of ...hot, it has to be said. But, she reminds herself she's settled on Finn, and she hasn't been raised to be the kind of girl who plays around. With anyone, let alone two guys at the same time.
She wanders over to him and gives him arm a quick sqeeze. "Oh look, my knickers are still firmly in place. Looks like you lost your mojo."
He grins back at her devilishly. "Baby, I'm also trained in manual labour. I can whip em off in five seconds flat. Just say the word."
She shakes her head, exasperated even though she's only known him like five minutes. What is he up to, is he seriously just here to hit on her? Doesn't he realise this is serious. Deadly serious.
She thinks about what their instructor said today. Twelve tributes, and two will get to live.
"Why are you really here?" she asks, and she's not laughing any more.
He shrugs. He's told himself he wants to find out more about the other guy - Finn. Aside from that douchebag Cato, that guy looks like his only real competition. And she's his girl.
That's his main motivation, but the girl is also hot and he likes a challenge. Not ordinary run of the mill, find you down at the mall hot. He doesn't even know how to describe it. When he saw her in the room, she shined so bright he felt like he'd been blinded.
She's still like that now - all golden hair, amber eyes, long lashes, perfect pout and slender limbs and so fucking beautiful it hurts to watch her.
So yeah, he thinks having her would be worth it and it would also put him one up on his competition before the games have even started.
He's used to older woman, but she's a little different. She has a cute little yellow sundress dress on, and a yellow band in her hair and it just screams virgin from a good home.
She's probably completely freaked out to be here and preparing to go into the games. It would suck to be a girl in this, specially a girl like her, who's clearly not been raised for it.
He's pretty confident that he's gonna be ok, because his reign of terror started at kindergarten and he's got fighting down, though he's not sure he's cool with actually kiling someone so he's tried not to think about that too much yet.
But it would suck to be her.
He plays it casual, cos he doesn't want to scare her. "Just wanna talk to you. You seem kinda cool, so thought we should get to know each other."
She considers it. If she stays here by herself she's just gonna think about her future. Her monumentally short future and she thinks she'll probably cry. Better to be distracted, especially as Finn's staying out late to practice some moves.
"Ok," she says, leaning to pick up a second of the wine coolers that he brought over with him. "Shoot."