Hey guys! Alright, before you can jump on me for writing this while I'm writing Panem High, I'm going to run them alongside each other since they're both kind of in the same time frame (AU modern-day Panem) and they're all the same characters, so Panem High will still be updated. Panem High, along with this, will be updated sporadically.
Now, enjoy the story! Here is chapter 1!
Night of No End
by ChipetteGirl10
Truth or Dare
"Okay, Peeta, do we have all of the food we're going to need for the weekend?" Katniss Everdeen asks blonde-haired Peeta Mellark as she stuffs some clothes into a bag. Peeta looks up from the stove.
"Almost. I'm making a few more loaves of bread, and then you, Madge, Gale, Delly, and I are set. That leaves all of the others to get their own food, because they will not steal any of ours. I bake strictly for my friends!" Peeta says, pushing a pan with dough on it into the oven. Katniss nods and puts her bow and arrows in a special box. Peeta eyes her.
"Why the bow and arrows?"
"Just in case I need them. You never know what's going to happen when you throw together a bunch of teenagers and twenty-somethings for a weekend," Katniss responds with a shrug, throwing in an extra bow and another sheath of arrows. Peeta shakes his head with a smile.
"So what do you plan to do? Shoot down the rest of us like some mad killer?" he asks in amusement.
"No, just shoot some animals. But if one of us is actually a murderer, maybe then I'd shoot them. I make clean kills and hardly ever miss, so they'd have a hard time killing me," Katniss answers, walking over to Peeta and kissing his cheek before sitting down at a table. She picks up a pad and crosses off a few things.
"Peeta, have you packed up all of your things like your shorts, shirts, and…baking supplies? Why ever would we need those? Bash people to death?" Katniss says with a smirk.
"No! You know I don't kill and kitchen things are cooking things, not weapons! What would I use, a piece of bread?" Peeta says with a laugh.
"Alright, back on topic, have you packed all of your things that you need?" Katniss asks.
"All except for what I'm using now," Peeta responds. Katniss nods and checks a few more things off the list when the front door swings open.
"I'm here with Delly and Madge!" a male voice shouts dramatically. Gale bursts into the kitchen, striking a pose. Madge and Delly walk in behind him.
"Hey guys!" Madge greets.
"Heya!" Delly adds enthusiastically.
"Hi guys, are you all packed?" Katniss says. Delly, Madge, and Gale all nod, taking a seat in the kitchen. Katniss smiles.
"Great! Peeta will be baking us a few snacks, for District 12 only. So I'm hoping that the others make their own things, or at least know how to cook when we use the kitchen there," Katniss explains. The others nod in agreement to the plan.
"Did you all bring a weapon of some sort?" Gale asks.
"Just why would we need weapons?" Madge asks.
"You guys haven't heard of that ancient game, Clue? Or any of those movies? Don't you guys know? I've heard of ancient movies and an ancient board game called Clue. In Clue, the host of the party for some guests mysteriously dies, and one of the guests is the killer. They have to figure out who's killing everyone before everyone else dies. In those movies, it starts with a party with a bunch of people. Then one person drops dead. And then another. One of the killers is one of the guests, one of the friends of the others. In about half the movies, only a few party guests remain and the killer goes to jail or ends up dying by someone else. In a fraction of the movies, more than a few party guests survive. But in some…everyone dies," Gale says, "and that's why we need weapons. In case someone goes off their nut and decides to murder everyone. That way we can defend ourselves."
"I'm bringing two bows and two sheaths of arrows," Katniss says.
"I wasn't going to bring anything, maybe except some loaves of bread to beat people with, but I guess I'll bring some knives, maybe some other kitchen stuff that can hurt people," Peeta adds.
"I can choke people with some rope," Delly says.
"I'll bring rope, too, since I have nothing," Madge agrees.
"I'm bringing a couple of bows and some sheaths of arrows like Katniss," Gale says to the others.
"Johanna is probably going to bring her ax, Finnick is probably bringing a trident, Clove will probably have knives, Cato will most likely have his prized sword, Marvel's gonna probably have a spear, Glimmer…Glimmer has gotten better with bows and arrows, so she'll probably bring those. I think Cashmere is also bringing bows and arrows. Gloss…I don't know about him, probably some knives. Annie would bring rope. Farrah is probably going to end up bringing some rope, too," Katniss tells the others.
"Alright. That's a lot of identical items. So say someone has a slash mark somewhere. They'll know it's either Peeta, Johanna, Gloss, Clove, or Cato. The spear is quite obvious, there's a gaping bloody hole, so we'll know Marvel had something to do with it. The bows and arrows are smaller holes, so we'll know it was me, Katniss, Glimmer, or Cashmere. If someone was hanged or choked with rope or something, there should be rope burns on them, so we can tell it was Delly, Madge, Annie, or Farrah. Finnick's trident should be easy, there would be three big bloody holes all the same distance apart. Should Peeta bash anyone with bread, there'd be crumbs, or if he stabs people with a fork, there would be three small bloody holes, probably in numerous areas," Gale explains.
"That sounds reasonable enough," Peeta comments. Delly and Madge nod in agreement.
"Okay, good. Then we just have to wait for Peeta's loaves of bread to finish baking and for him to pack his stuff, and then we can take the car out to that mansion," Katniss says.
"Alright," Peeta agrees, "I'll start packing up anything I won't need to be using anymore, and some kitchen weapons."
"Don't talk, just do. Or else I won't feel sympathetic when you're the first one dead," Gale says flatly.
"Peeta," Katniss says, jabbing Gale, "don't you have a sword somewhere?"
"Oh, yeah, I do! I forgot I had it in case I needed it. You know…just in case I was ever…attacked. Or I needed it," Peeta replies sheepishly, "I'll, uh, I'll go get it. Delly, watch the bread!" With that, Peeta runs out of the room to find his sword.
"Alright, who thinks he'll be the first to die? Quick, place bets before he gets back," Gale says. Katniss smacks Gale on the backside of the head and Madge rolls her eyes. Delly only shakes her head. That is when Peeta bursts back into the room, holding the sword out in front of him. He glares at Gale.
"I heard that, Hawthorne!"
Gale holds his hands up defensively.
"Don't go psycho on me here, Mellark. I was kidding," he says.
"Sure you were," all of the others in the room respond. Gale crosses his arms and pouts.
Later that afternoon, Gale finally parks the car in the huge driveway of the mansion. The others are all already there, unloading their own cars. Cato and Clove had gotten a ride with Glimmer, Marvel, Cashmere, and Gloss. Johanna took Foxface with her. Finnick and Annie went together.
"Hey guys," Katniss greets, stepping out of the car. The others turn to them with grins.
"Ah, the District 12 pack. We've been waiting for you!" Finnick says to them.
"Yeah, well, Baker Boy had to make some bread," Gale says, "and we ended up losing time."
"Shut up Gale!" Peeta calls, pulling some stuff from the trunk of the car. Gale rolls his eyes.
"Okay, anyway, Gale, I trust you told them about those ancient movies and that board game," Johanna says, interrupting the fight. Gale nods, and Cato, Clove, Glimmer, Marvel, and Cashmere all share confused looks. Foxface shakes her head as she turns to look at Gloss with a smirk.
"You forgot to tell them," she points out bluntly.
"I was busy!" Gloss says defensively.
"Ugh," Johanna moans, "Alright, for those of you who haven't heard, many thousands of years ago, there was an ancient board game called Clue. Clue could have up to six players. In Clue, the host of a party at a mansion mysteriously gets killed, and one of the guests is the murderer. All through the game, you're trying to figure out which guest is the murderer, it could even be you. Then there are a lot of thousands-of-years-old movies in which a mansion party is held, and the guests start dying one by one. The murderer is a guest. The number of guests still living by the end various, but sometimes the murderer is the only one to survive. Gloss, did you at least tell them to bring weapons?"
"Yeah," Gloss responds.
"Okay, good. I'm hoping none of us will go berserk and murder everyone, but that's a possibility. But do you hear me? If you are the murderer, all of us have the permission to kill you!" Johanna exclaims.
"Then how's about we have some buddies? You know, split into some groups of two or three?" Foxface suggests.
"Good idea, Farrah," Katniss comments.
"Alright. I'll go with Peeta and Katniss," Gale says.
"I'm staying with Madge," Delly adds.
"I'll hang out over there with Glimmer and Cashmere," Clove says.
"I'll take Marvel and Cato," Gloss volunteers.
"Annie and I will keep together," Finnick says.
"I guess that means I'll be taking Farrah over here," Johanna concludes.
"What if we're in a group with the murderer?" Peeta questions.
"Then kill that person before they kill you!" Johanna answers.
"Got it," Peeta says.
"Alright, now, off the topic of death and murderers, who's up for a mansion party?" Glimmer says. All of the others cheer, and they drag all of their things into the entrance of the mansion. On the left is a very fancy-looking living room. On the right is a grand marble staircase, and straight ahead is a plethora of other rooms. Finnick crashes onto the couch in the living room and turns on the giant flat-screen TV. Annie sits next to him, and Finnick wraps his arm around her. Clove rolls her eyes and takes a seat on a red leather recliner. Peeta and Katniss head off toward the kitchen, lugging Peeta's bags with them. Gale and Madge occupy one of the three love seats in the room. Delly rolls her eyes at them and occupies another couch with Johanna, Foxface, and Glimmer. Cato and Marvel squish onto another love seat together. Cashmere and Gloss each take a recliner.
"Peeta," Katniss says urgently, the kitchen door swinging closed behind them, "forget about using kitchen weapons. I was joking. But any of these people could be the murderers. Kitchen utilities aren't going to cut it. You need your sword, and keep it nearby at all times. There's something inside of me telling me tonight is gonna be deadly, someone's gonna die."
"Relax Katniss. Just…don't worry about me, okay? I'll carry my sword around, and I won't let anyone kill me. I need to protect you," Peeta says, putting his hands on Katniss's forearms.
"Promise?" Katniss asks.
"I promise," Peeta responds, kissing her forehead.
Katniss pulls him into a hug and rests her head on his chest.
"Don't leave my side," she mumbles.
"I won't," Peeta says back to her, "Now we better get going back into the living room. People are going to wonder what happened to us. Don't forget, we still haven't told them we're a couple." Katniss nods and the two of them part, and they proceed back into the living room. The others are watching the official Panem news channel, looking for anything interesting. Katniss sits down on a vacant love seat, and Peeta takes the seat next to her.
"Have you guys found anything?" Katniss asks.
"Bank robberies in District 3, a fire in District 8, and terrible neighbors in District 9. Nothing really," Cato responds.
"Nothing really," Clove mutters sarcastically.
"You and Peeta were gone for longer than you should have been, Katniss," Delly observes.
"He wanted to put some of the stuff away, but I insisted on keeping them in their bags for now. We argued for a few minutes before leaving them where they were," Katniss says quickly. Delly nods, not buying the entire thing. She directs her attention back at the TV. Katniss leans into the cushiness of the love seat. Peeta smirks at her, the smirk going unnoticed by everyone else.
"So…what do you guys want to do? The TV is boring, it's not dark yet, and we're all sitting here making small talk that lasts three sentences," Johanna says, breaking the awkward silence.
"Let's play truth or dare," Gale suggests, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.
"I challenge you!" Marvel shouts from his position on the love seat.
"Let's do it spin-the-bottle style. I'll go find a bottle," Johanna says, stepping out of the room. The others sit in a circle on the floor, and in order going clockwise, Finnick sat down with Annie next to him, then Katniss, then Peeta, and then Gale, and then Madge, then Glimmer, then Marvel, and then Cato, followed by Clove, Cashmere, and Gloss, and then Foxface. There is an open space between Foxface and Finnick for Johanna to occupy. Johanna returns a minute later with an empty bottle. She sits it in the center of the circle.
"I'll spin first," she says, spinning the bottle around. The end tip points at Cato. Johanna smirks deviously.
"Cato, truth or dare?"
"Truth, because your dares are probably brutal," Cato says.
"Oh, no, my truths can range from better to much worse," Johanna says. Cato groans.
"Just tell me what I'm answering."
"Do you have a crush on anyone?"
Cato thinks for a minute and blushes.
"Uh…yeah, I do…" Gale wolf-whistles while all of the girls in the room look at each other.
"Okay, enough! It's my turn to spin the bottle, okay? Just…just shut up!" Cato says, giving the bottle a hard spin. It spins for a while before finally pointing to Madge. Cato grins.
"Madge, truth or dare?"
"Truth?"
"Is that an answer or a question?"
"TRUTH!"
"Alright, gosh. Have you ever stolen something of value, illegally? Don't worry, anything that happens in this mansion stays in this mansion," Cato says.
"Fine. I have. I once stole a pearl necklace from a jewelry store. But I was three! A-And we gave it back, too!" Madge answers, blushing. Cato rolls his eyes.
"Goody-goody. Alright, your turn to spin." Madge spins the bottle and it lands on Gale. Madge grins at him deviously.
"Oh, no. That look is never good."
"Gale, truth or dare?"
"Well, I'll go with dare, it can't be anything too embarrassing, right?"
"Gale! You just jinxed yourself!" Katniss exclaims. Madge's grin widens.
"You jinxed yourself, too, Katniss!" Katniss gives Madge a look of horror.
"Just what is going on with you, my blonde friend?"
Peeta looks at Madge's grin, and then back at Gale and Katniss.
"Gale Hawthorne, I dare you to make out with Katniss Everdeen." Gale looks at Katniss. Katniss's face drains of color. Peeta's fists ball.
"Err…must I?"
"Either that, or each time you chicken out on a truth or dare, you have to remove clothes!" Johanna says, grinning. Gale groans.
"Why did I ever suggest this?" He shakes his head and leans in, grabbing Katniss by the shoulders and kissing her. It takes all of Peeta's willpower not to beat down Gale right there. Katniss didn't look pleased with it either. Gale seems neutral about the situation. Katniss tries to pull away, too early much to her dismay.
"According to me, make-outs are twenty seconds and longer," Madge states. Peeta suppresses a glare and watches as Katniss and Gale keep kissing. Madge smirks.
"Alright, twenty seconds are up!" she says. Katniss collapses on the floor. Gale's face is flushed.
"Gale! I would've taken off clothes!" Katniss shouts at him. Gale shrugs sheepishly and grabs the bottle, spinning it hard. It lands on Peeta. Peeta looks at Gale. Gale grins at him.
"Truth or dare, Peeta?"
"Truth."
"Darn it. Oh, I have a good one for this, too. Are you dating anyone? Surely, a merchant boy like yourself would have a girlfriend," Gale says. Katniss tenses.
"Yeah, I do," Peeta answers.
"What's her name?" Gale prods.
"You already asked me a question. My turn to spin," Peeta responds, taking the bottle and spinning it. It lands on Glimmer.
"Glimmer, truth or dare?"
"I'll take a dare," Glimmer says in responds.
"I dare you to kiss Marvel. It's only five seconds," Peeta says innocently, smirking all the while. Marvel looks pleased. Glimmer looks at Marvel, and then at Peeta, and then at everyone else. Finally, she makes up her mind and removes one of her socks. Marvel's face falls in disappointment as Glimmer grabs the bottle.
The bottle lands on Katniss.
"Truth or dare, Katty?" Glimmer asks.
"Meh. Dare, I suppose," Katniss responds.
"I dare you to go in that closet with Peeta for five minutes," Glimmer says. Katniss had briefly forgotten she had told all of the girls in the room about Peeta and the bread when they were eleven. Katniss sighs.
"Alright," she agrees, stalking toward the closet, trying to look irritated. Peeta walks in after her and shuts the door. Johanna locks it from the outside. Peeta and Katniss sit down on two boxes. Peeta grins at her.
"Nice acting irritated. It was super believable," he says.
"It wasn't that hard. People irritate me a lot. I'm just glad Glimmer picked you. I told all of the girls about the bread when we were eleven, and I suppose they're trying to use that against me. Anyway, I wonder how you endured the kiss between me and Gale. I saw your fists curled, ready to pound Gale," Katniss says.
"I can't believe I didn't. Remind me to kill Madge later. …Wait, no, with the whole murder thing…that came out wrong. I need to talk some sense into her later," Peeta says.
"At least they don't know we're dating, or else every boy would be kissing me," Katniss responds.
"Speaking of kissing," Peeta says to her, wiggling his eyebrows. Katniss smirks and pulls him into a kiss. Johanna knocks on the door a minute later.
"Time's up!" she says. Peeta and Katniss pull away just in time. The door opens, and Katniss stalks out, looking more irritated than when she went in. Peeta glares at her before returning to his spot. Katniss spins the bottle, and it lands on Marvel.
"Truth or dare, Marvel?" Katniss asks.
"Dare!" Marvel says giddily, looking at Glimmer.
"I dare you to go run outside in your boxers," Katniss responds. Marvel's grin drops.
"Um, no." With that, Marvel takes off a sock.
He spins the bottle, and it whirls around the circle before landing on Clove.
"Clove, truth or dare?"
"Truth," Clove responds.
"Do you have a crush on anyone?" Marvel asks.
"Way to be original!" Johanna snaps.
"Well, yeah, I actually do. But I'm not gonna tell you, if that's what you're all thinking. That boy shall remain nameless!" Clove answers. With her answer, Clove spins the bottle. It lands on Cashmere.
"Cash, truth or dare?"
"Dare me," Cashmere says.
"I dare you to admit your lifelong feelings about him to Peeta," Clove responds with a smirk. Cashmere nods and grabs Peeta, pulling him up to his feet. Katniss looks on sympathetically.
"Peeta Mellark, all of my life ever since I've met you, I've loved you. Watching you, stalking you for all of those years has been a true gift! Peeta, please love me back!" Cashmere says, gripping Peeta in a hug and placing a passionate kiss on his lips. Peeta grimaces and pulls away, and sits back down in his spot. Cashmere takes her place and spins the bottle. It lands on Gloss.
"Truth or dare, my brother?"
"I feel adventurous. Dare," Gloss says.
"I dare you to go outside and dance in the rain with Katniss. Oh look, conveniently, it's actually raining!" Cashmere chirps. Gloss grabs Katniss by the hand and opens the door, leading her outside. The others all peer from the windows. Peeta, unfortunately, has a front-row seat as Gloss twirls Katniss, tosses her in the air, catches her, dips her, and then finally, they both fall on the ground. And then he kisses her. Peeta feels jealousy raging within him as they come back inside. Katniss is flustered, and Gloss looks satisfied.
He takes hold of the bottle and spins it. It lands on Annie.
"Annie, truth or dare?"
"Truth! Just truth, none of that embarrassing stuff!" Annie says. Finnick places a hand on her shoulder.
"Annie, it's truth or dare. It's gonna be embarrassing. Unless you want to chicken out of whatever they say…but then you have to take off something of your clothes," Finnick says.
"Relax, Annie. I'll give you an easy one. Do you think Finnick really loves you?" Gloss asks. Annie nods vigorously and grabs the bottle, spinning it hard. It lands on Delly.
"Delly, truth or dare?" Annie asks.
"Truth," Delly chooses.
"Are you jealous of anyone in this circle?" Annie asks. Delly looks around at everyone and slowly nods. Everyone gasps out loud. Delly shrugs and grabs the bottle. It spins hard and fast around the circle before finally coming to a halt on Peeta. Peeta groans.
"Peeta, my friend, truth or dare?" Delly asks.
"Dare," Peeta answers.
"I dare you to go kiss Clove," Delly responds. Clove looks at Peeta, and Peeta looks at Clove. Peeta slowly yanks off his sock. He glares at Delly before grabbing the bottle and spinning it. It lands on Finnick.
"Finn, truth or dare?"
"I'll go with dare," Finnick responds.
"Alright, Finnick. I dare you to go kiss Johanna," Peeta responds with a smirk. Finnick rips off one sock.
"That is a big no-no," Finnick responds, taking the bottle and spinning it hard. It lands on Foxface.
"Farrah, truth or dare?" Finnick asks.
"Dare. I thought that was obvious," Foxface responds.
"I dare you to go kiss Peeta over there," Finnick says. Foxface smirks and runs across the circle, tackling Peeta and pressing her lips to his. Peeta struggles to get away from her and Katniss sits there, trying not to let her anger show through. When Foxface gets off of Peeta, he looks mad.
"Stop daring people to kiss me!" he shouts.
"Nope," Johanna says flatly from her position. Foxface grins at her and spins the bottle. It lands on Johanna herself.
"Jo, truth or dare?"
"Truth," Johanna responds.
"Do you have a vendetta against any of us?"
"Nope."
Johanna grabs the bottle and spins it, and the game continues.
"Something tells me you guys know about me and Peeta," Katniss says with grit teeth, after just enduring Gale kissing her again half an hour later. Johanna nods with a grin.
"While you guys were in the closet we all listened in to your conversation," she explains. Katniss glares at her.
"Alright, let's end the game," Finnick interrupts, "because if anyone takes off any more clothes things are going to get awkward." Everyone else agrees and slides their clothes they had taken off back on.
"What do we do now?" Cato asks.
"We do something. Maybe order a pizza. I'm hungry," Johanna says.
"I can make one!" Peeta shouts.
"Alright, stop shouting and calm down Peeta. Don't make me kiss Katniss again just to shut you up," Gloss says. Peeta glares at him and steps closer to Katniss.
"Alright Baker Boy, make our pizza then," Johanna instructs. Peeta is about to get up when the lights go out.
And then somebody screams.
Cliffhanger! Alright, so I've decided to run this along Panem High, so that story and this one will be updated sporadically. Who do you think screamed? Who do you want to have screamed? Who don't you want to have screamed? Let me know, and I'll see you in the next chapter!