He's back again today. The boy from school. Not that I should be surprised; he's here every Thursday, just like he says he will be. I pretend not to notice though, quickly glancing back down to the paper on the counter in front of me. Though with no one in the shop and my parents in the back room, there's really no one to be acting for.

"Marilyn, I got those herbs for you," he says as soon as he pushes the door open.

"Shh!" I hush him loudly, glancing around fearfully.

He laughs lightly. "There's no one here."

"I know, I know," I say quickly, shaking my head slightly. "It's just… this is illegal!"

He shrugs. "It's no big deal."

"Do your parents know you do it?" I ask quietly.

"Go into the woods?"

I nod.

"Of course. I get a lot there," he says with a grin.

"What?" I cry. This is the most I've ever really spoken to him. Which is kind of pitiful, considering how often I see him. Really, all I know about the kid is that his name is Slade, he's in grade eleven with me, and he lives in the Seam.

"Yeah. Berries. Edible plants. That's it, really. Guess that's not a lot…" Slade shrugs again with a nonchalant smirk. "Some day maybe I'll hunt."

"Shh! You have no idea who could be listening!" I exclaim. "You're crazy."

"What could they do to me, anyway? Kill me? That would only put me out of my misery."

I purse my lips. "It's not so bad around here."

"For you, maybe," Slade responds, jumping up to seat himself right on the counter.

I eye him distastefully but don't say anything.

"I mean, you guys must have plenty of food. Are you ever hungry?"

"Sure, I mean—"

"No. I mean really hungry." His eyes meet mine.

"Well, we always have meals…"

"Then no. You're not. We are."

"I'm sorry…" I say slowly, looking down at my hands. "I wish I could pay you for the things you get me—"

"Oh no, that's alright. I sell plenty of stuff already. This is no problem, really."

I finally look back up at him. An almost sad glint is in his eye. "So your family doesn't always have enough? Enough to eat?"

"Oh, we have enough to live."

I bite my lip. "I'm sorry."

"Look, I didn't mean to make you feel bad," he says, flashing a grin. "We do okay." Then he hops down from the counter. "I should be going. Stuff to sell, family to feed." He gives me a short wave and heads back towards the door.

Just as he is leaving, I call, "Wait!"

He stops, turning slightly. "Yes?"

I move out from behind the counter and then motion for him to come back. Slade complies slowly. I whisper, "I want to come to the woods with you one day."

He raises his dark eyebrows. "You sure about that?"

I nod mutely.

"Well… We could go Saturday? Around noon?"

For a moment, I freeze, wondering what I have done. Then I say hesitantly, " I can do that."

A small smile touches his lips. "If you're sure. I'll come by… where do I go to get you?"

"My house. A few streets from here; I'll wait outside for you. My parents will be here all day, so…"

"Well, sounds like a plan." He flashes me a smile, saying, "No one's ever come with me before. Should be fun. You'll have to be careful though. This is dangerous, you know."

"I… I know."

"Good. I'll see you then." He opens the door, and then slows to a stop. He looks back over his shoulder and says, "Oh, and you might want to tie back that pretty hair of yours."

And just like that, he turns and exits the shop. A long sigh escapes my lips, and I move to go store the herbs he just brought in. All the while, I wonder why on earth he helps me like he does.

;x

With trembling fingers, I pull my hair up into a high ponytail with a white ribbon. A few wisps of blonde still manage to fall down, though. I stare into the mirror for a long time, almost dreading what I've signed up for. I could be whipped. Or locked up. Or killed. That is, if we're caught. I want to trust Slade; after all, he does this all the time. But my knees are knocking all the same.

I pull on a pair of sneakers that seem like they would be good for walking. Or running. Running is something I don't wan to do but am inclined to be prepared to do. I glance at the clock, which now reads a little less than a quarter to twelve. I decide to head outside now.

I step out of the front door very carefully, looking both ways down our street. No one would suspect me of anything, but I am happy to see that there is no visible person on the road. I practically tiptoe down to the end of the walk. Then I seat myself on the side of the road, my eyes fixed on the end of it. I am assuming this is the direction from which Slade will come.

And sure enough, just on time, he comes around the bend and spots me instantly. Slade quickly walks over to me and then holds his hand out to me to help me up. I take it hesitantly and stand.

"So where are we going?" I whisper.

He gives a small laugh. "No need to be so quiet. No one will hear you. But we go to the meadow. D' you know where that is? Off by the Seam at the end."

"…Right. I suppose so."

"We just go over there."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I hesitate. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," I murmur, voicing my thoughts from the last two days.

He just shakes his head. "You wanted to, so let's go." Motioning to follow, he begins to walk.

Feeling obligated, I force myself to tag along. He gives me a small smile.

I stare at the ground most of the way, since we don't talk. I feel as if everyone is looking at us. After all, boys from the Seam don't often hang around with daughters of well-to-do families. At least, District 12's definition of well-to-do. Slade, however, seems perfectly comfortable. He even waves to a few people. I want to tell him to stop drawing attention to us, but I know I cannot.

Soon, the pavement ends, and I suddenly decide it would be best to pay attention to my surroundings. We're in a meadow, with the seam a few yards away. I hurry to his side.

"We just walk across the grass like this? Out in the open?" I ask.

"Yep."

I knot my fingers together, checking over my shoulder.

"Stop," he says quickly. "Don't look like you're doing anything wrong. No one will care if you don't act like you're breaking rules."

"Breaking laws," I correct nervously.

He shrugs uninterestedly. "Whatever. Same thing."

Then we get to the fence, and I stop short. He reaches towards it, but I exclaim for him to stop. "Isn't it charged with electricity?"

"No, definitely not. You think District 12 can afford all that? It's rarely on."

He ducks below it. But I, still unsure, am very slow to touch it. Even once I do, it takes me a little bit to manoeuvre beneath it. Slade helps me the best he can, and I soon manage to squirrel through and behind the fence.

And then I take a deep breath, staring at District 12 from past the fence.

"Oh my gosh," I breathe. "Oh my gosh. I'm a criminal now."

He only laughs, grabs my hand, and pulls me deeper into the woods. "Don't want to hang around there too long, Marilyn," he murmurs as he lets go of my hand.

I pull it back to me, glancing back to the District. "Alright. Well now what?"

"Now we gather," he states. "You can look for some of your medicine stuff, if you like. It's all around here somewhere. Or you can help me look for things. Or both. Just come along near me."

I gulp, eyes darting anxiously about. "Alright."

For the next thirty minutes or so, we duck around bushes and trees to gather plants. I find a few things we can use in the shop, as well as a few different things for Slade's family to eat. Personally, I like finding food for him much better.

Abruptly, though, he freezes. His eyes survey the area in an instant. Then he grabs my hand and pulls me over to a tree.

"Climb," he commands sharply.

"I don't know how—"

Without hesitation, he then jumps up to the lowest branch. He hangs a hand down, eyes flying one direction worriedly. I reach up and feebly take his hand. Slade tries to help me, but it is hard for me to keep hold to him. I have no idea what he is afraid of, but it's definitely scaring me too. It takes a little readjusting on his part, but Slade manages to hurriedly pull me up onto the limb with him. But that's not good enough. He begins to pull himself up onto a higher limb, and I just stare helplessly up at him.

And that's when I see it. The huge, wild dog slinking through the bushes only a few yards away. I look up at Slade dependently. He hooks a leg around a branch and then reaches down for me. He is able to get an arm around my waist and a hand on a branch in order to pull me up. I fumble slightly once I'm at his level, and that's when the animal suddenly spots us.

Its bark rings through the entire area. I whimper, struggling not to scream. Slade whispers, "Don't freak out. It will leave soon enough."

He then points to a branch only a foot or two higher, and I can get myself onto it without help. I straddle the branch, leaning against the trunk. I stare fearfully down at the dog as it circles the tree. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

I feel Slade put his hand over mine. I peek over to him, offering a frail smile.

The dog jumps up on the trunk, and I flinch violently and nearly lose my balance. Slade grabs my hand tightly.

"I hate this," I say under my breath.

"Yeah, this doesn't usually happen," he replies slowly, eyes watching the animal carefully.

"I would think not."

It takes a long time for the dog to lose interest. And then once it does, we stay up for another few minutes just to make sure that it is really gone.

Then I voice my biggest concern. "I don't think I can get down from here."

He looks over at me warily and then lets out a laugh. "Oh. Well… just jump down. It should be easier than going up…"

"I… don't know…"

I gradually make my way down the branch directly below us. Then I freeze. Slade comes down next to me and gives me a questioning look.

"Can you do it?"

"I don't want to fall…"

"Oh, you won't fall."

"How do you know?" I ask, panic in my voice.

"Because I won't let you. Now go. Here, how about I go down first."

He lowers himself on the branch and then drops smoothly down to the one by which we came up. His balance doesn't even wobble. He then motions for me to do the same. I take a deep breath and then try to repeat his motions. And I manage to, right up until the landing part. I feel my foot hit the branch wrong. I let out a short noise, but I get cut off by Slade's arm wrapping around my waist. I scramble to steady myself, grasping onto the tree's trunk.

I give him a weak smile and a short word of thanks.

"See, told you I wouldn't let you fall. Now, let's get to the ground." And just like that, he leaps down to the grassy earth.

I stare down at him with a sigh. "Will you catch me, if I jump to you?"

"I can try," he offers slowly.

Then without any hesitation, I leap down towards him. The first thing I feel is his hands, catching me just under my shoulders. But then, before I know it, I'm tumbling to the ground with Slade right next to me. I gasp loudly, the impact knocking the breath out of me.

Slade laughs. I cast him a disbelieving look as I push myself to a sitting position. The world around me spins for a second, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Once it clears, I look over to see him stays lying on the ground, just smiling as he stares up at the sky.

"What's so funny?" I ask, pulling the ribbon from my hair.

"Nothing," he breathes. He then props himself up on his elbows.

I just shake my head slightly as I pull my hair back up. "I think… I'll stay out of the woods." With my hair fixed, I begin to rub my side where I hit the ground. "That kind of hurt."

"I would imagine so. Perhaps we'll just stick with me coming to you?"

I give an airy scoff. "Yeah." A smile touches my lips as he stands and moves to help me to my feet. "I would have it no other way."