A/N- Ahh it's here... part 2 of my three-part story!

This part is based along the time of the second book, so there will be the dreaded Quarter Quell!

I couldn't help myself, so I leaped right into writing this, shortly after finishing part 1. I hope you liked the first part, well you must, otherwise you wouldn't be reading the next part. So, enough with my rambling and I hope you like the beginning of part 2...

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. I only own Zinny and Ethan (oh and Queenie from previous story)

I peeped through the small, rectangular window of the bathroom. I couldn't see much, as a thick cloud of steam filled most of the space inside. I could just make out the shower in the far corner of the room, the patterned curtains pulled tightly across the glass door. As of the steam, the closed curtain and the distant sound of trickling water, I'm guessing whoever lives here is in the shower.

"Psst" I whisper quietly, "Coast is clear here, she's in the shower"

I wait patiently for the response, and seconds later, I hear it.

"Same here, no one in the lounge" Says the reply, hushed but clear enough for me to hear.

"Safe for me to join?" I ask, longing to move from my cramped position.

"Yup, come quickly though" The reply comes back .

I take in a deep breath and squeeze myself out from between the two branches of the tree I'm sat in. It's a bit of a struggle to swing my legs around in the narrow gap, so I scrape my knee a few times and end up with scattered grazes decorating my legs. Little flecks of blood dot around on the cuts, but nothing major spews out. Thank goodness.

Once I've manoeuvred myself from the branches, I drop down the side of the tree, landing softly on the ground, without so much as a cracked twig to disturb the peace. I brush myself down lightly, then casually creep back to Ethan, who's ducked behind a wall.

"Nice tree descending" He whispers in my ear as I crouch to join him.

"Thanks" I mumble back, "Nice wall hiding"

He laughs quietly, his lips forming a smile that turns to a cheeky grin.

"Ok, so what's the plan now?" I ask, still whispering.

"The plan is as follows" He replies, "I pick the dodgy lock, while you keep a look out. Then we sneak in and search for clues"

"And the clues would be...?" I query, unsure what we're supposed to be looking for.

"Anything. Just things that suggest how she's paying for male company when she's meant to be barely scraping by these days" He answers back.

"Ok then... I guess we'll just have to see what's inside when we get there" I say.

"Yup, that's the plan" He says, nodding his head in agreement.

We wait, crouched behind the wall for a few minutes, while Ethan runs through the 'plan'. It's not much of a plan, to be honest, it's basically break in, snoop and run. Sounds simple enough. Until you actually come to doing it.

"Ok... one...two..." Ethan counts, "Three"

On the word 'three', we both spring up from behind the wall, leap over a small gap and creep up to the door, cautious with our footing. When we make it to the door without any unwanted attention, Ethan pulls out a metal contraption and begins to unlock the door. While he's doing this, I keep a look out for any signs of witnesses. So far, it's all safe.

"Hurry up, I thought you said the lock was dodgy" I hiss at him.

"I thought it was..." He whispers back. "Ah, done it"

The lock makes a satisfying click and the door swings open. I tense up, expecting someone to come running and catch us, except no one does. We've made it so far.

"Ok, we're going in" Ethan says in a hushed voice, "Be careful and don't make a sound"

I nod and we step into the house. I scan my eyes around and can see that we've broken into the lounge of the house. The room is quite small and simple, bearing only the necessities of an average lounge; a cushioned sofa, a low wooden coffee table, a cabinet, a large TV screen and various decorative photos and ornaments. As I said, it's fairly simple.

Ethan carefully shuts the door behind us, not making even the slightest creak. He's obviously done this before and I'm not sure whether I should be pleased or worried. Although, at this moment in time I think I'm pleased. I'd much rather be doing this with someone with experience... even if he's a bit too interested in the likes of myself in most of the time that we're together.

"Ok, I'll go check over by the TV" Ethan whispers in my ear. "You go look in the cabinet"

"On to it, boss" I reply, adding a little salute for extra character.

"Was that supposed to be sarcasm?" He asks, his arms folded across his broad chest.

"Course not, I'm just obeying my orders" I wink at him, just to wind him up a little. I see his eyebrows raise slightly, before he turns and goes to inspect the area around the TV.

I walk over to the cabinet, stepping lightly to avoid making any sudden noises that could potentially ruin our plans. Quickly slipping my hands into the soft black gloves Ethan gave me, I turn the handle of the cabinet. It swings open and I peer inside.

It's quite bare inside, for a cabinet. I was expecting a little more than just a few pots and papers. I raise my height by standing on my toes, edging a little further into the cabinet to reach the higher shelves. My fingers trace across the tops of the piles of paper, feeling for anything suspicious. My fingertips finally come across a book shaped object and I pull it down from the shelf. It's a notebook. The cover is a plain, faded red and there's no title. This strikes me as suspicious. However, just as I'm about to look inside, a small crash comes from the other side of the room. I turn sharply and see Ethan clutching to the lid of a pot, the rest of it smashed on the floor beside him.

"Shit" He mumbled, assessing the damage caused.

"What have you done?" I hiss, careful not to make any more noise.

"Dunno, I was just looking and knocked it off, I think" He replies, still clutching the lid.

I'm about to complain about his clumsiness, when a noise stops me in my tracks. We both fall deadly silent as the sound of heavy footsteps came from above our heads.

"Someone's coming!" I say, starting to panic.

"Great... Ok, I'll just shove this under the table, then scram" He says, quickly kicking the broken pieces of pottery under the table.

I turn back and close the cabinet, still holding the notebook. The footsteps come again, this time louder. They must be coming down the stairs. Without hesitation, I shove the little notebook into a pocket and look over to Ethan, who's brushing the final pieces of broken pottery under the table.

"Ethan, we've gotta go - now! I whisper sharply, my eyes looking towards the stairs.

"I know, I know. C'mon, let's get outta here" He replies, heading towards the door.

I swiftly, but cautiously make my way across the room and reach the door, escaping outside just in time. Ethan doesn't have time to fix the lock properly, so he just shuts the door behind him and nods to run.

"Who's there?" A sharp voice echoes from inside the house.

We don't look back as we take off down the back garden, stumbling over a few plants on the way. Ethan reaches the wall within seconds, shortly followed by myself. He turns and cups his hands in front of the wall. I place my foot on his hands and he boosts me up the wall. I scramble over quickly, almost losing my balance a few times. I at last get over the side safely and land on the other side, tripping as I do and falling onto the ground below. Ethan quickly scales up the wall and jumps down beside me.

"No time for a rest sweetie, they'll be on our trail" He says, offering me his hand.

"Sorry, boss" I reply, taking his hand and he swiftly pulls me to my feet.

He rolls his eyes at me, "Whatever, let's go - quick"

My heart beats fast with adrenalin. The owner of the house got out quite quickly, so we had to leg it fast. We've darted in and out of crowds, occasionally bumping into the odd person here and there. A few people called out insults to us, but we were sprinting so fast that we were too far to hear ay of them. Oh well. Thinking about it, we couldn't have looked any more guilty, but still, it's all part of the fun.

Ethan takes a sudden turn down an alleyway and I follow him, starting to feel tired from all the running. He stops at the end of the path and leans against the wall, catching his breath again. I walk up beside him, also resting against the wall. He wipes his forehead, dampening the back of his hand with his light sweat. I lean my head against the solid wall and gaze up into the gap between the buildings. Only small rays of light escape through the gap, making the alleyway quite dim.

I can hear Ethan's breaths, deep and often. They're gradually slowing down as he catches his breath again. I notice that I'm breathing at the same time as him.

We stay there for a few moments, just listening to our simultaneous breathing patterns and cooling ourselves down in the shade. It's pretty hot outside today, with the sky clear and the sun blaring down on the ground. There's not much of a breeze either, making the air sticky and clammy.

"Hot today, isn't it?" I finally break the silence.

"Hmm, yeah. That's probably the reaction you get from standing near me" Ethan replies, grinning.

I shove his arm sharply, but I'm grinning too. "You're not that great looking you know"

"That's what you would say if..." He shrugs, still grinning.

"If I was what? Desperately in love with you?" I ask, folding my arms tightly across my body.

"Maybe" He replies.

"Maybe? What's that supposed to mean?" I query, eyebrows raised.

"I mean, you're so clearly attracted to me" He says, as if it's a proven fact.

Which it's not. Exactly.

"What makes you think that?" I ask, a hint of sarcasm present in my tone.

"It's just obvious" He says, shrugging his shoulders.

"No it's not. You seem way more interested in the likes of my ass, rather than the other way round" I protest.

"Just cuz I share my thoughts and you don't, it doesn't mean you don't like me" He says.

"I don't... I don't like you. Not like that, anyway" I tell him, not looking in his direction.

"Really?" He quizzes.

"Yup, rea-" I begin to reply, but I'm stopped by his sudden movement.

Ethan shifts quickly from his position against the wall and now stands in front of me. His hazel eyes look down into mine, making me feel slightly nervous. When I don't react, he moves in closer to my body. His body practically pressing against mine, and his arms either side of me, pushing against the wall I'm leaning against. I still don't move.

I can feel his heated breath on my cheek, tickling my skin and sending flutters down my veins. One of his hands pulls from the wall and takes hold of a strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger. When he releases it, the hair hangs in a loose curl on the side of my face. His finger moves to my jaw line, tracing it softly. His touch sends even more flutters down my body. It feels soothing, but risky at the same time.

"Really?" He repeats in a low, husky voice. He's taunting me, but I can't stop myself from falling for it.

His finger climbs up to my lips and he slowly brushes it across them, before removing his hand from my face. It's only when I no longer feel his direct touch, that I notice how close he is to me. His chest is dangerously close to my body that I can almost feel his heart beating. His eyes are now staring deeply into mine. And his lips are dangerously close to mine.

So close, they eventually touch.

I don't pull back from him, I just carry on allowing his lips to stay on mine. I think I'm incapable of letting go, it just feels so perfect right now. Him against me. Me against him. Letting our lips communicate in silence feels better than talking. A lot better.

His hands now rest on my hips, closing over my small waist and holding me safe. My own hands are draped over his shoulders, my fingers intertwined with his thick hair, winding it round in my fingers like he did to mine. This feels right.

We go on for minutes, enjoying each other's scent and touch. I'm completely lost as we stand in the alleyway, locked in an embrace. After several minutes, we finally pull apart. My heart has slowed down dramatically and my breaths are now easy and calm. I look up at Ethan, him seeming the same as me. Different.

"That was...um..nice..." He murmurs, fiddling with my hair again.

"Yeah, it was" I say back, murmuring too.

"We should probably get back, Monroe will be wondering where we are" He whispers in my ear.

"I suppose" I agree.

"Are we gonna tell him?" He asks.

"Do you want to?" I ask.

"He might not like it..." He says uncertainly.

"Well, what he doesn't know won't kill him, right?" I decide, placing my hands back on his shoulders.

"Decided" He agrees, putting his hands around my waist again.

He then pulls me in to his body and kisses me firmly on the lips.

A/N- Aha, another love interest for Zinny... could this cause a few problems later on in the tale? Keep reading to find out!

So yeah, if you like what you've read or fancy making my day, please REVIEW x

Thanks, FireflyLlama x