Both Glimmer and I glare at Clove but she just smirks looking self-satisfied. Cato and Marvel share a meaningful glance.
"Just do it, Hermia", Clove urges me and pokes me with her elbow.
I poke her back but move closer to Cato who is just waiting with a conceited smile on his face. I really want to punch him but instead I cup his face and try to kiss him gently which doesn't really succeed because he basically attacks my mouth with his violent lips and slippery tongue. The kiss is actually okay until he bites my lip so hard it starts to bleed. I pull away as fast as I can and look at Cato loathingly.
"What the hell?" I shout and spit the blood out of my mouth.
"Gross! You're making a mess!" Glimmer squeals.
"You're going to pay for that", I threaten Cato, "and so are you", I add turning to Clove.
"Chill. It's only a bit of blood", Clove tries to calm me down.
"Yeah, well", I respond dryly and keep glaring at Cato.
I spin the bottle and it lands on Marvel. He chooses dare as well.
"Punch Cato in the face", I blurt out before anyone has time to react.
Clove and the girl from 4 burst out in laughter and I high-five with them. I can't be mad at Clove anymore. She was just playing the game, Cato, on the other hand, I can be angry with. What an idiot.
"Sorry, man", Marvel apologizes before punching Cato.
"Fucker!" Cato shouts and swings his fist at Marvel's face missing it just slightly.
"Cato, chill. It's just a little bit of blood", I gloat.
"Hey, that was my line", Clove reminds me looking amused.
"Sorry", I apologize trying to sound sweet.
The bottle spins again and then it's Glimmer's turn.
"Truth", she says pretending to be bored.
"Fuck, marry, kill", Marvel states.
"Fine. I'd fuck Cato because he's the handsome one here, marry you because I've known you the longest and kill Hermia because I find her a bit annoying. No offense", Glimmer explains.
"None taken", I smile and Glimmer returns it.
Then she spins the bottle and it lands on Clove who takes dare.
"Please, let me take my revenge on her", I ask with a sly smile.
"Go ahead", Clove provokes me as the others stay silent.
"Okay, do you have any music here?" I ask.
"Yeah", Clove replies, "why?"
"I'll blindfold you and you're going slow dance with someone and try to guess who it is only by using touch", I tell her.
"Some music, please" she demands.
The district 4 girl takes off her scarf and covers Clove's eyes with it as Marvel puts the music on. I dress in Marvel's jacket and take off my heels so it's harder to recognize me. As I start to dance with Clove, Glimmer snickers but Cato silences her with a "shh". I close my eyes and surrender to the soothing melody. I feel safe and content spinning and swirling with the music in Clove's slender arms. A smile creeps to my face but suddenly I feel sad because I realize, she's going to die just like all the others, except one who will become a victor like my brother Seale or my would-have-been mentor Finnick. Speak of the devil, Finnick bursts into the room followed by the little boy from 4.
"Okay, children. It's way past your bedtime", Finnick tells us.
I get out of Clove's arms and help her take off the blindfold. Everybody else is staring at the little boy disapprovingly.
"Come on. The party's over. Time to go home", Finnick continues and everyone kind of snaps out of it and starts leaving.
On the way out Cato makes a few threats to the 4 boy before Finnick pushes him out of the doorway.
"Watch it!" Cato snaps and Finnick turns to glare at him with all his might.
"No, you watch it, boy. You have any idea who I am? Finnick Odair, the man who won the Hunger Games at the age of 14. So if you piss me off, then you just watch your back", Finnick says looking amused.
Cato grunts in frustration and storms out to the aisle where Glimmer has already gone. Clove rolls her eyes eyes and follows him lazily.
"Wait!" I scream after them taking Marvel's jacket off me. Finnick glances at me slightly annoyed and takes the jacket and passes it forward.
"Sorry", I tell Finnick.:
"It's okay. Just don't do it again", he chuckles.
I nod and give him a half smile.
"By the way, which district are you from? You don't look familiar", Finnick suddenly questions.
"Oh, I'm not. I'm Crane's daughter, Hermia", I response tiredly.
Finnick's face stiffens as he realizes which Crane I'm talking about. He wishes me good night and leads me out. I walk carelessly to the elevator and greet the avox. She answers with a smile and shows me in. I give her the order and she takes me to the roof. I get some of the fresh air and clear my head a bit. As I'm sobering up I start feeling morose. I can't stop thinking about the games and all the dead tributes. That or the decreasing alcohol level in my blood makes me nauseated. Time to go home. I get to the right floor and try to find my keys as quickly as possible. I really need to throw up. I finally find them and get the hotel room door open. I face the death glare of the head gamemaker.
"Where have you been?" he asks overly calm.
I signal him to wait and head to the bathroom to vomit. After I'm done I drink a glass of water and then return under the gaze of Mr. Crane. I sit on our bed opposite to him and rest my head on my left arm.
"I was so worried", Crane speaks out.
"I know", I response unapologetically.
Crane sighs and takes me in his arms.
"Where were you?" he repeats with a pained expression.
"As I said before, I went to take a stroll", I answer coolly.
"Yes but I thought you'd just go see the aisles or the roof or something like that. You've obviously been somewhere else. And what happened to your lip? It looks a bit swollen", Crane rants with a worried tone.
"I'm sorry. Now could we talk about this tomorrow?" I say more harshly than I intend to.
"Fine. Good night, Hermia", he complies.
"It's not Hermia and you know it", I snap and get out of Crane's reach.
"You need to get used to that name", he says distantly and and gets up.
He wanders to the window and opens it letting the cool night air fill the room. It makes me shiver. I walk to Crane and hug him from behind. He doesn't take notice of it, just stands there quietly in his own thoughts. I breathe in his smell which kind of resembles the scent of bergamot with a hint of nutmeg. I place a kiss on Crane's nape. He quivers and turns to gaze at me with his piercing blue eyes. I let him take off my dress and carry me to bed. Crane undresses and gets on top of me. He peels off my stockings and underwear and starts to leave trails of kisses on my neck and upper body. We share a 20 minutes of frail touches, ragged breaths and clouding desire that comes lurking in without a sound and eats you up lie in each other's arms naked and vulnerable, still out of breath and slightly flushed. Everything feels a bit foggy, just like time and space didn't exist or like the world had went a bit awry. It feels like we're just floating in nothingness for forever. I'd like that. It sounds so serene. I smile to myself wistfully as I realize the peculiar feeling is probably just the pot and nothing more.
"What are you smiling at?" Crane asks softly.
"Nothing really. I'm just happy", I tell him.
Crane climbs out of the bed and leaves me feeling deserted. I crawl under the covers for warmth and security. Crane smokes a mint-scented cigarette in front of the window trying to keep the smoke out but without a great success. What does it matter though? I still have to sleep next to him. I close my eyes and fall into my thoughts. Now that I think of it, I don't believe Crane smoked before he met me. I guess he started a couple of days after he took me to the Capitol. If there wasn't enough stress as the head gamemaker, now there was with all this secrecy and fear of getting caught. What if Crane actually loves me? He's putting everything at risk for me, his job, his position, probably even his life. Then again, we're talking about Seneca Crane here. No way. He must have other reasons. I just haven't figured them out yet. I feel Crane returning to bed and getting under the covers.
"Good night, Lynn", he whispers thinking I'm already asleep.
The next day I spend most of the day inside treating my hangover. After Crane has finished his day at work, he takes me shopping. It's the first time I actually go out after I was smuggled to the Capitol by train. We visit loads of little boutiques and clothing stores where Crane buys me all the ritzy, colorful clothes I choose no matter what they cost. At first it's fun but then I start to feel kinda cheap in my high heels and shimmering makeup looking like a painted Capitol whore. Crane looks at me from head to toe as if trying to decide if he should buy me or not.
"Spin", Crane demands and I obey like the well-behaved daughter should.
"Oh, that's marvellous!" our personal shopper shrieks excitedly, "That crimson really suits her skin."
"We'll take it", Crane agrees, "or, Hermia, what do you think?"
"Yeah, it's fine" I reply plainly.
The personal shopper gives me his 2000-kilowatt smile and leads us to the counter. Crane pays with his card and after that we leave the shop. As we're getting into his car I declare:
"I want a job."
"You don't need one, dear", Crane answers with a sugary voice.
I swallow my annoyance and response just as sweetly:
"Well, what about school then, dad?"
Crane smiles quickly and grants:
"Sure. I'll arrange it. After the Games."
We get into the car and start to head home. I sigh and fall into a coma-like state where I can't see or hear anything but my own thoughts. In unknown amount of time Crane tells the driver to stop the car. We're back. At the hotel room I collapse on our bed dead-tired.
"So how did you like it?" Crane inquires.
After pondering on it for a minute, I answer:
"It's a bit overwhelming. I haven't made up my mind yet."
He nods understandingly and sits next to me.
"So about last night…" he starts carefully.
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have stayed that long. I just got a bit carried away", I try to apologize.
I wait for Crane to say something but he doesn't so I continue:
"I actually went to the rooftop. There I met one of the tributes, a boy from district 2 and we kind of talked. He asked me if I wanted to meet some of his friends, or well tributes. And I agreed and went with him to the floor where district 4 tributes stay. We were there for a while and then we kinda got busted by Finnick who then drove us out. But before you say anything, note this, I told everybody I'm your daughter so there shouldn't be any problem."
Crane clears his throat and demands:
"Well, what did you do, you and the tributes?"
"Umm, we talked and smoked some pot", I reply.
"And what, did you accidentally bite your own lip?" he lashes out.
"Oh, that. It was just a stupid dare", I assert.
"I see", Crane states coldly.
"You know, I really need some air. It's damn stuffy here", I say wanting to get out of the situation.
"Open the window", he suggests tiredly.
"It doesn't help. We've already tried that", I claim subtly.
"Fine, go out then. Take a walk on the roof", Crane grunts.
"Thanks, I'll be back in 15 minutes" I assure and plant a kiss on his cheek.
On the rooftop I find Cato standing on the edge.
How have you liked my story so far? Please review. I'm open to criticism. :)
