A/N: Finally getting in to the M rating. :D
SIXTH MONTHS BEFORE THE REAPING.
The mock Games we participate in don't allow for killing, but there's often bloodshed and near death moments. I've seen kids taken from our fake arenas in stretchers and they don't come back to train for days or even weeks. So when I feel blood trickling down from my temple, it doesn't surprise me. Glimmer's just slashed my forehead with her knife and I'm declared dead. I curse harshly at her but she doesn't even blink an eye as she runs off to get the next Tributes. There's always a lot of harsh name calling in the arena and our coaches don't really care. All part of the game, they assure us.
Glimmer is "killed" soon after me, and I spy a thick cut across her collar bone when she comes to sit in the observation deck with me and the two other fallen mock Tributes. I'm annoyed she killed me because she's not exactly known for being the best in the arena, but I am.
"Fucking cheap shot," I say to her, not even lifting my gaze from below, watching the Tributes run around.
"Not even," she replies. "You tried to attack me first, I wasn't even going for you."
I haven't gone to the infirmary to have the healers patch my forehead for me, so there's blood trickling down the side of my face and my bottom lip is busted from another guy's elbow meeting it roughly during the first few minutes of the Game. I can feel the metal taste in my mouth but I'm too angry to wipe it away. Glimmer had gotten up and returns back to me with two alcohol soaked cloths. She holds out one for me to take but when I don't even acknowledge it, she sighs and begins to wipe my forehead for me. It's not unusual. I always eventually get her to clean my wounds for me so I don't have.
"Such a sore loser," she's saying in a condescending tone, but my gaze is to her wounded collarbone, the blood spilled there having soaked the v-neck of her grey tshirt.
When she's settled down in her chair and drops the used and now bloody cloth on my lap, I look over at her to watch her clean her own wound. She grits her teeth as the alcohol cleanses the cut and I'm about make fun of the wincing but it's obvious her injury is worse than mine. She places a bandage over it and offers me her extra one but I shake my head. I never use bandages. It looks weak.
It's only about 20 minutes until we are all forced back in the arena and a new game starts. There are only 10 of us competing so on Game days we usually get through 4 rounds easily. If you're not injured horribly, then you're expected to participate in all four. This is our last one.
I walk down the steps with Glimmer and decide to use daggers this round and she keeps her knife. We all have our methods and usually Glimmer's is to lay low until someone pursues her or she's just the last one standing. Annoying, really but she's such a teacher's pet, none of our coaches insult her for it.
The loud alarm goes off to signify the beginning of this round and I watch as Glimmer darts quickly out of the initial fighting. I easily kill two quickly, throwing my (unfortunately) blunt daggers at them and hit both in the neck, still managing to draw some blood. The males, one older than me and one younger curse at me before heading up to the observation deck. Hell if I'm killed early in this round again, especially by Glimmer. Some of the work is done for me though, because I spy two more Tributes head up toward the observation deck. And I send another up after them by grabbing his own sword and pretend cutting off his neck.
I'm taking a moment to catch my breath. We're already half an hour into this round when I see the other girl in our group leaving our small arena. Apparently she was killed by Glimmer, because the blonde is wiping her blade of the small amount of blood on her pants.
Our eyes meet for a moment and that's all it takes for us to implement our plan. Since for so long we were the youngest competing, Glimmer and I figured out to team up to eliminate the other competition until we were the last two standing. Then we would fight and I always won. Still do always win. She goes in front of the Tribute and distracts them with easy, but consuming fighting and I come up from behind to kill them off. It's simple and hilarious because none of the other Tributes figure it out we're doing it until they feel my knife pressing into their back and my voice muttering quietly "dead."
We do this to two guys and I'm coming up from behind the last one as Glimmer occupies him. I'm about to press my knife into his back when he suddenly curses and walks off, and I realize Glimmer killed him before I had a chance. I'm about to yell at her for fucking up the plan when the blade of her tiny dagger drags across my stomach.
"Whoops," she says and she's smiling, blood from some injury smeared on her cheek.
I'm screaming at her all the way in to the hallway after we've been dismissed. That's not how our agreement works and she knows it. The other Tributes walk past us, telling me to calm down. But they don't get it. I trust Glimmer to do what I tell her to. I'm the one who wins when we team up and she should be glad I let her live as long as I do. She's been completely out of line today and she knows it.
"Get off it, Marvel," she says, walking slightly in front of me. "We'll have another Games next week. You can kill me then."
"Fucking look at me when I'm talking to you," I say as I grip her arm tightly and pull her backward. I've easily pinned her lithe frame to the wall, with only my hand against her shoulder. "You don't do that."
"But I did," she says and her smile is still gracing her features as her hand reaches up to brush her fingertips along my jawline.
I hate when she does this. She knows exactly what she's doing, too. She gets me worked up, angry, furious with her and then she touches me like that. She has dimples and her long lashes around her eyes make her look completely innocent even though she knows how to kill someone about a million different ways.
"You follow my orders when we team up, Rossum," I address her and she rolls her eyes when I use her last name.
"It's not like I hurt you," she says in her purring voice that echoes in my mind after conversations with her.
"You're a dumb bitch," I reply because for her to indicate I would allow her to cut me twice in one day is absurd.
Her fingers are still brushing along my jaw and then down my neck, her eyes trained on my lips. This is what she does after nearly every one of our mock Game days. Ever since she realized she was gorgeous, which was at about age 14. If someone else doesn't anger me immensely during the Games, she'll do it herself and then when I try to lecture her she'll blink at me, touch me, coerce me until all of my rage is channeled into touching her.
I've kept her pinned to the wall but my hands have moved to her waist, gripping tightly, harshly keeping her from being able to push her hips against mine like she enjoys doing. Her hands are loose though, one of them running through my hair, pulling at it slightly and her other arm is wrapped around my neck, keeping me against her. I lick at her bottom lip, my tongue swiping to gain access to her mouth. When I'm granted permission to taste her, I almost let out a groan because her sweet taste is intoxicating on its own, but now it's mingled with the blood from my lip and something about it is unparalleled.
I have my knee pressed between her legs and something about the way she is moving against it tells me it's not accidental. I move it away from her though, just to hear the quiet whimper against my lips that comes from her. She's broken our kiss in annoyance and is trying to push me off of her, but I slam her back roughly against the wall and slide my hand under her cotton shirt, gripping onto her smooth skin and she obediently accepts a new string of forceful kisses. This continues until we here a door open near us and I grab onto her wrist, pulling her down the hall to walk her home.
