Song
"What was your favorite musical?"
Jo slightly inclined her head to look at her companion. "Excuse me?"
Dean was staring out into the night, his knees drawn up to his chest, the quiver with seven arrows left still strapped onto his back and his bow clenched in one hand.
"You had to have liked something before this hellish nightmare began," he whispered, still not looking at her. "Musical? Play? Book? Anything."
Jo took a deep breath while shaking her head in worry. "Um, I liked Cats."
He burst out laughing, startling her into silence. "Cats? Seriously?!"
"What's wrong with Cats? It happens to be one of the best musicals that ever graced this Earth!" She quickly shot back.
"It's a chick musical," Dean sighed.
"Well?"
"Well, I was thinking that maybe you went for something slightly more hip than a chick musical."
"What's more hip?" Jo asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Rock of Ages."
"Oh, please! Rock of Ages is a million years old! Nobody listens to that anymore! Kind of helps that it's been banned for years."
Dean shrugged his shoulders. "That's the Capitol for you. Takes away anything good in this world."
Jo's insides froze at Dean's words. She could almost see the Gamemakers quickly editing out those words, scrambling them and making them something else.
Dean got to his feet in a haste. He squirmed around and was facing Jo, wearing an expression that she had never, ever seen him wear before. Not even when his mother had died, not even when they were on the train and heading for the Capitol to their imminent doom.
"I mean, look at it. Ben's dead. District 1 killed him like he was a piece of meat on a freaking kabob. And you know the worst part, Jo? The worst part is that Gordon was aiming for me. He was coming for me! I tried to shoot him. I did. But Ben just...I didn't want to hit Ben. I thought I was going to hit Ben and-"
"Dean, stop!" Jo got to her feet as well, standing about two yards away from him. "Dean, you are making this so much harder on yourself. It wasn't your fault."
"How could you say that, Jo? How could you? After everything that has happened in this-" He threw his arms around. "This place, how could you say that?"
"What else do you want me to say?" she snapped. "Do you want me to blame you? Do you want me to let you blame yourself? Listen to me! This is not your fault! None of this is your fault!"
"Yes, it is! If I had just kept a better eye on him. If I hadn't fallen asleep that night, if I had just-"
"Ben is not Sam, okay?!" Jo leaned over and grabbed his arms. "He is not Sam. Sam is back in District 12, safe and sound."
"He may has well have been," Dean huffed. Hot tears were blurring his vision. "He may has well have been. Ben was a piece in these Games. He died like a piece on that chessboard. All because-"
"Dean, stop it!" Jo found herself lashing out. "Just stop, okay?" She let out a soft sigh and stepped closer to him. "None of this is your fault. None of it." Her voice was quieter. She took another cautious step.
"What am I supposed to do, Jo?"
Her heart broke at that minute. With those six little words, along with her name, that came out of his mouth, it just made her want to throw her arms around him and cry along with him.
Of course, she didn't do that.
With another heart shattering movement, Dean pawed at his throat. She heard the sounds of cord ripping and saw the amulet fly. He threw it with all his strength into the dirt, about fifteen yards away. Jo watched it for a second before slowly walking to the amulet and picking it up. Dean hadn't moved from where she had left him when she returned.
Taking a deep breath, she took cautious steps back to him.
He was breathing heavily and tears were slowly streaming down his face. Heartbreakingly quiet sobs were breaking from his throat and he was constantly trying to stop the flow of tears to no avail.
Jo lifted his big and callused hand up, pulling his palm towards the sky. And then she dropped the amulet back into it, closing his fingers over it.
"You keep fighting."
She felt tears burn her eyes and then she did something she knew that everyone back at the Capitol would just 'love'. She gently wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest.
"You keep fighting," she whispered again.
Dean's arms lifted and were around her in seconds, pulling her even tighter against him. The simple contact, didn't matter what it was, was probably the most comforting of all.
He slept fitfully that night, dreams encasing his rest. Images of dying children, blood, and knives flying through the air was enough to make him fly awake with a scream in his throat.
"Dean?"
"I'm okay," he murmured. "I'm all right."
Jo was outside the little cove that they had made for themselves, leaning against a tree with her sleeping bag draped over her legs. Her wide brown eyes were evident in the darkness and he could see the worry laced all over her lovely features.
She didn't answer but did turn back to the watch. He laid back down into the bed of grass, desperate to find some sort of peace in this hellish nightmare. Just a little escape would be fine for a few hours.
Suddenly, he heard something that made his head shoot up again.
It was so soft and so tender like that it was almost hard to believe that it was coming from her. But it was there.
"Any way you want it, that's the way you need it, any way you want it."
A few lines of the song 'Any Way You Want It' from Rock of Ages.
Dean chuckled quietly to himself before letting his head finally fall back into the crook of his arm.
Just a short little update of the aftermath of Ben's death. I just wanted to add a few tender moments between Dean and Jo because next chapter, it's all going to go to hell in a handbasket. :D
I know in the Hunger Games, I doubt it would be allowed for Dean and Jo to sing songs from Rock of Ages and Cats but this is my version and I can do anything I want! :D Heehee, just kidding. But to me, if Dean ever liked a musical, I think that he would like Rock of Ages. Jo is just so cat-like that hey, she might just like Cats. :P
Anyway, sorry so short. I hope you have enjoyed and don't forget to review!