Well, here we go. First real chapter of the Liar's Princess. Today i went to my friend's play( Les Mis- it was great) and chilled around my house. i got really sunburned yesterday, and i'm hecka sore which is why this wasnt up like 3 hours ago. so, here we go!
Rose POV:
The group of teens in front of me don't say anything. The blonde, Atria, is the leader I assume. She walks out first and leads me over to a small house. The paint is chipping and the windows are missing glass, but its still in fairly good condition.
"Hey, so you're Rose Mellark, right? Well, we don't really ask questions, but we do guarantee the fact that we're just as screwed up as you are." Atria grins at me, and Dom snickers behind her.
"Yeah, I'm the Mellark girl-child, and I'm way more messed up than you are." I grin, and Kardia laughs.
"Kiddo, I was dead, and I'm pretty sure you can't say the same thing. So, I'm more messed up than you are." I pause to think about it for a moment.
"You're the girl from District Five, the one my mom called Foxface right? I though your name was Finch." Atria and Kardia look at each other, then Atria replies.
"Yeah, and Finch is her middle name. The Capitol just thought her real name was to weird, so they changed it. There was a girl one year named Akilanna but they called her Ali because they couldn't say her real name. Anyways, you can stay here while you deal with whatever issues you have."
"That's kinda stupid, don't you think? And thanks." I smile at the quartet, and they grin back.
"Yeah, its really stupid, but they name their kids stuff like Cupcake and Moonbeam. And they make kids fight to the death, I think we can agree that they aren't the sharpest spoons in the drawer." Dom says with a smirk.
"If Cal and Kardia are twins, was Cal a Tribute too?" I ask, and Dom an Atria laugh.
"They're not really twins, but Cal is three minutes and twenty years younger than Kari, they like the same things, have similar thoughts, and they hate each other. Therefore, they're twins." Atria explains, and confusion must reflect on my face at the nickname, so Dom adds a bit to her explanation.
"Kardia is a long name, so we shorten it to Kari, Dia, or Kar. Atria becomes Ria or just A. Dom is my real name, and Cal is short for Callen."
"Which is a stupid name," Cal picks up the thread, "but I don't mind the nickname. And as for my so-called twin here, she doesn't mind her real name, but hates her Capitol name."
"But its kinda nice, like I'm two different people." Kari picks up the narration. "When I'm acting, pretending, I'm Finch, the Tribute who was as sneaky as a fox. When I'm being me, and having fun with these idiots here, I'm Kari, Dia, Kar, or even Kardia if they're being serious."
"And so," Atria continues, "We all have our masks and such, but Dia has a name for hers." watching their conversation is like watching a game of tennis. They pass it back and forth, picking up where one leaves off.
"You guys are good at that." I say, and four faces smile at me. They share a glance, and Dom starts again.
"So, Rosie, here's what we do. We move from place to place, helping out kids like us. Kar and Cal are both fourteen, the youngest. I'm fifteen, and Ria is seventeen, the oldest."
"Since I'm the oldest, I run the show so to speak. We pick up kids like you, who have family problems, or are just all alone and help them out." Atria continues.
"Recently we started helping out some of the Tributes who can't settle down because they're family's all dead. Since the bodies were too decayed past the seventy-third games, its not too bad. I get the loneliness, the depression." Kari adds.
"My twin here was all alone, until we stumbled upon her at a party. She was living with that horribly happy Effie Trinket. We took pity on her and invited her into our little group." Cal picks up the conversation with ease.
"So now you can crash here, and talk to us if you need to. We won't judge, and when and if you pick up the courage to go home, we'll support you. And if you want to stay in contact, great. A lot of the others didn't, they needed to put this aside and move on." Atria finishes.
"I don't think I'll stop talking to you because I came to peace with my inner demons, I think you guys are the kind of friends that stick by you and I need more of those types of people. For the record, my only problem is heartbreak." I say with a slight smile.
"Look, Rosie, I liked this one girl and she was great. Then I found out she was dating me for popularity and bragging rights. I loved her, or I thought I did, and that broke me. Hell, I'm still broken because of it. Sometimes something simple hurts the most. And if you don't want to talk about it now, I'm always here for you." Dom says, wrapping me into a hug.
"My parents hit me." Atria says quietly. Dom grabs her arm and pulls her onto his lap, and Cal loops an arm over her. Its obvious that they already knew. The words were for me.
"I'm so sorry, Atria." I say,my voice as quiet as hers was.
"Don't be, its not your fault. They only did it because they wanted me to be perfect and smart like they were and I didn't fit their expectations. My mom studies genetic disorders and mutated genes, and my dad is a brain surgeon. I want to be an artist, not the Biology major they wanted me to be." her smile is regretful, but still a smile.
"For what its worth, I think you're going to be a great artist if you put your mind to it. I bet you'd be good working with people too." I offer, and Dom and Cal smile in thanks at me.
"For a newbie, you're good." Cal remarks. "A lot of people just brush it off and are like, 'yeah, whatever'. You actually care."
"And you're nice." Dom adds, "Unlike some people." He coughs something that sounds like Kardia, but there's laughter in his voice so I know its a joke.
It's nice knowing there's friends like this, who love each other unconditionally.
Review, if you have time and want to give ideas, critisism, or just want to say hi. also, go read Joshhutchersonlover's amazing fic! you'll thank me later