Train Rides

District Two

Julian Arum could not stop smiling at how easy it had been.

He was on board to the Capitol, where his dreams could finally come true. He was going to win the Games and become immortal for the people of Panem, his name engraved in their memory forever. What could possibly go wrong with such a plan? Absolutely nothing. Nobody could stop him from winning that coveted title.

"I'm going to stop everyone who crosses my path," Venus muttered, and Julian almost laughed out. It was as if she had read his mind.

"How'll you do that?"

"How do you stop someone in the Games?" Venus counter-questioned almost absently, twirling her hair as she lied down on the floor of the train, a very soft pillow under her head.

Julian knew it was a rhetoric question, but in spite of himself his mind wandered to the 'only way to stop someone in the Game'. They had to be killed.

And Julian didn't want to think about that, not when he was so happy about having his chance, even if he cheated for it to happen. He would figure out something, some solution, to get involved in as little killing as possible. For now though, he was determined not to enter that mental space. He wanted to enjoy his happiness, and he wasn't going to let his District Partner ruin it. Why was she in his room anyway? Lying on the floor, using his pillow. She had not actually said much, and had refused to budge out either. She just stayed there, on the floor, twirling her hair.

"What do we do now, Julian?" she asked, sitting up abruptly.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked cautiously. He had heard that Venus was weird, and had seen enough to know it was true. But right now, the person sitting before him was quite different.

"I don't know. Our mentors will meet us tomorrow, we have the entire day to ourselves."

"It's night already Venus."

The girl looked up at him with a bored expression. What did he think, that she didn't know what time it was? Well, if she were being honest, she really didn't know what time it was, but she wasn't telling Julian that.

The truth was that she was hungry and couldn't wait for supper, and she needed a distraction. Venus needed to eat a lot even on regular days, and today she was a mildly happy day, so obviously she was in an even greater need of food.

As her fingers fumbled with her strands of hair, she took in the person sitting on the bed. He had tried to make sure she wouldn't enter his room, saying he needed rest. Of course, Venus knew he was talking rubbish. He wasn't going to rest, he was going to celebrate the success of his little stunt, and Venus had hoped that she could witness some happy little dance. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Julian had been silent, so silent that Venus had taken to thinking about her time in the Games. She had not even realised that she had spoken up that she was going to stop other tributes, and when Julian replied, she thought that she heard his voice in her head. Apparently, that wasn't the case.

"What do you want?" Julian asked in exasperation. He just wanted her to leave already.

"I want food," she replied candidly, "I'm hungry."

"Well I have nothing edible with me right now."

"I know. That's why I was thinking if you could dance for me."

"If I-what?!"

"Yeah, a nice little dance. Doesn't have to perfect or polished. Just, you know, throw your arms here and there and sway your body, and you'll be a dancer."

"Get out."

"Come on! I'll dance with you!"

"Get out Venus."

"Why?" she whined, looking at him quizzically. Why was he so worked up? wasn't dancing good for your health? It also was a way to express happiness, which Venus was sure Julian was brimming with.

"Because this is outrageous! And don't even say it was a joke. I'm not your friend that you'll joke with me."

"I wasn't joking. I was just hoping the dance would distract me from my hunger, and we could also celebrate the fact that you're going to the Games in the process. But if you don't like it, just say so. I'm not forcing anyone to do something they don't like."

And there she did it again. Julian pursed his lips as he contemplated on her words. How cunningly she had had mentioned that they celebrate his tribute status. It was almost as if she was threatening him that she would reveal his secret to the people who mattered, that he had sedated the chosen volunteer and tied him up inside a closet. Julian wondered how Venus managed to look so innocent and was so cunning at the same time. He had to keep his eye out for her in the arena.

And there he goes again, Venus thought, his eyes have that lost look. She wondered what he was thinking now. Was he waiting for her to apologise? Did he dislike dancing so much that he was hurt?

Or was he trying to size her up regarding the Games?

And suddenly, Julian's handsome face broke into a wide smile. He jumped off the bed, grabbed Venus' hands, yanking them off her hair, and pulled her up to her feet.

"Come on let's dance," he said.

"What?" she asked, bewildered. What was he trying to do? Win her over for the Games so that she doesn't hurt him? She didn't plan on hurting him anyway. She was sure of one thing; his passion for dancing had definitely not been awoken so suddenly.

"Yeah. And then let's go to the kitchen. I'm sure we can find something for you to eat."

District Three

Bina couldn't stop herself from trembling.

How could this be happening? She had put on a brave face earlier, probably because she was still in shock. But now, as the train sped through the country, her shock had turned into numbness, which in turn transformed to a tremble. She was so confident about her own death that she couldn't think how Ridge was able to eat so normally. She couldn't touch her supper at all, and thankfully Alexa, their mentor, didn't poke her about it.

"Did you watch the Reapings?" Alexa asked, her voice so devoid of emotion, Bina couldn't even call it indifferent.

Yes, she had watched the Reapings, and she had noted their reactions, but she was so overwhelmed that she couldn't really make any interpretations from them. Across from her, Ridge nodded.

"Anything you noticed?"

Ridge sighed. "The boy from Five looks crazy to me, to be honest."

"Because he volunteered?"

"Yeah."

"Then what do you think of the Nine girl?"

"Well, I think she must have some good reason. Maybe she needs the money. Or maybe something else. She looked that way anyway."

Bina sighed inaudibly. What was Alexa trying to achieve? Bina knew she just needed time right now. Time to process everything, and hopefully in the morning she would be ready to strategise, plan or whatever else she was supposed to do.

Ridge was aware he had no time.

Right now, although he acted all calm, the boy was dying from inside. He wanted to curl up and cry, he was missing his family, and only he knew how hard it was to breathe. But Ridge had to hold himself together, if he wanted to get out – alive – from this place. He could trust no one. Not the Capitol, not the citizens, not the mentor, not his District Partner.

He couldn't really believe that both of them had been chosen for the Games. Hadn't he met her just a few days ago, mesmerised by her beauty? He was, in all honesty, still a bit distracted, but he couldn't keep doing it. He had to focus and for that he had to lie to himself that everything was okay. That he was okay.

And so, he listened to Alexa, responding as calmly as he could, fighting back tears. Ridge was sure he was dealing with this better than Bina was, and despite himself he was worried for her. Maybe he should talk to her later?

Look out for yourself Ridge! Only for yourself!

"Do you both want to train together, or separately?" Alexa asked.

Both the tributes agreed that this question should have been asked first, but they didn't voice out this opinion. Ridge looked into Bina's eyes, but she didn't even spare him a glance. Oh well.

"I'm okay with either," Ridge replied, before proceeding to sip his orange juice. He really wanted to train together, just so both he and Bina were on the same page, but he wanted Bina to make the final decision. That would tell him a little more about her than what he knew already. But would she say anything? She had been silent the whole day.

"I'd like to train separately," she answered, speaking her first words ever since she boarded the train. Ridge noticed in surprise that she wasn't trembling anymore, instead she had a very slight smile on her pretty face.

"Oh!" Alexa exclaimed, surprised at the change in behaviour as well, "Well, uh, alright. I'll see you both tomorrow then. Ridge, meet me in the morning just after breakfast. Bina, we'll talk just after lunch. Cool?"

"Yeah," they both answered, and suddenly their eyes were locked on each other.

Bina wouldn't have snapped out of her numbness had it not been for Ridge trying to make her decide how they were to train. She knew enough about people to know this was done to study her, and for a moment she couldn't even believe that her District Partner, the sweet boy who had seemed so nice was already plotting. But who was she kidding? Hadn't he paid attention to Alexa, to the Reapings, to almost everything, since the beginning? But if this was how it was… she had to play along.

And now, she had started eating her supper too, aware that she was being watched by the other tribute. If he could remain calm, she could too. No matter how she felt right now, how much she missed home. She had to get back to them.

Neither of them even noticed when Alexa had finished eating and had walked away into her own chamber. They kept eating, until their eyes locked again.

"How're you feeling?" Ridge asked.

"Not the best. You?"

"Same."

With that, he set his spoon down and looked at her squarely in the face. To Bina's surprise, tears started rolling down his cheeks as he averted his eyes. His shoulders were shaking as he cried silently, and in just the next instance the tears stopped, although his face was very red and eyes were puffy.

She didn't know why or how it happened, but her hand grasped his and squeezed it gently, holding it. Ridge smiled, feeling better after crying, and squeezed her hand back.

"It's just strange that we both got Reaped days after meeting," he laughed.

"Well, yes. It's really strange."

And Ridge was the one now holding her hand, after she had eaten. Bina was a little taken-aback, but she didn't brush him off. They didn't let go of each other's hand even as they stood up.

Look out for yourself Ridge! What are you doing?

Bina, he's probably trying to manipulate you.

But she was not taking it well. Maybe she still isn't. I just can't leave her.

But those tears were real, the pain was real. Maybe he really isn't taking things as well as I think he is.

Their rooms were in front of each other's. They stopped. Ridge was reluctant to let go of her hand. But that's what he did, gently releasing it.

"Good night Bina," he whispered.

"You too, Ridge."

District Seven

Monroe had heard that Julius Adrian had been a good and caring mentor, but he had been replaced by this weirdo Gaztro, another trainer at the Training Centre in the Capitol. He had talked a lot, but nothing that could interest her, and there was something about him that Monroe couldn't even bring herself to say a flirtatious line. For one, he licked his plate, quite literally, and that disgusted Monroe.

She was glad supper was over, and that her District Partner had graciously decided to let her into his room. He even let her lie down in his bed, but to her dismay, he himself settled down in a chair, not even bothering to look at her.

"How're you dealing with this?" Monroe asked. She didn't allow herself to think about the Games with respect to herself. She couldn't, not now when she had to deal with it. No, she would focus on Arbor, who was flicking through a business magazine. She didn't understand whether he could actually understand what was written in it, and why it was in the tribute room to begin with, but she was getting annoyed now due to lack of response.

"Are you deaf or something?" she demanded. Usually Monroe wasn't someone who got annoyed easily, but there was something about Arbor that made her tick. She remembered how he had smiled in the Reapings. A lot of tributes pretended to smile in order to come across as brave or grateful, but if one looked closely, the fear and sadness and shock would be there. Arbor, however, had smiled as if he was amused, and had continued to smile that way during their meeting with Gaztro, and even now.

Arbor was trying to control his laughter so hard, he could hardly absorb what he was reading. Monroe was amusing. She had turned up at his door in shortest clothes possible, and entered the room with a wink that conveyed a lot of things, but the boy chose to be oblivious to her attempts at getting him. In fact, he found it so funny that he thought about playing along just for the sake of it. But he was too cool for this nonsense, so he returned to his magazine.

It wasn't as if Monroe wasn't pretty, but right now, he thought of her as petty. The poor girl was in denial, which would probably make her death easier for her.

"Can you hear me?"

The boy looked up at the girl, who was sitting in a weird pose, possibly trying to attract him. it was so stupid that he burst out laughing. For a second, Monroe was confused as to what was so funny about her words, but when she noticed that he was laughing at her, she quickly sat up properly, face turning the colour of beetroot at the embarrassment.

"I don't know about deaf," the boy continued, "But I'm definitely not blind."

And with that, he started chuckling again.

"Enough!" Monroe exclaimed, "Who do you think you are?! Laughing at me!"

"I never said I was laughing at you."

"Who else is there for you to laugh at?"

"I never said I'm laughing at someone or something. You assume things, ma'am."

While Monroe fumed in rage at the audacity of this boy, this very proper-looking handsome boy, a thought crossed her mind. Maybe he had gone bonkers at the thought of his inevitable death. That must be it.

"You don't have to be afraid."

"What?" he asked, puzzled.

"I'll look out for you. Maybe you'll make it to the top ten."

As Arbor understood what she was trying to say, that amused smile crept back on his face. So, she would protect him? That was a kind offer, maybe he could do the same for her. Most likely they would both be dead anyway, and it didn't matter whether you died second or twenty-second, you were dead regardless.

It was a lot to deal with.

But Arbor had never truly…valued his life. It wasn't as if he was upset being alive, that he wanted to die, but losing his life wouldn't mean much to him anyway. After all, one couldn't really miss anything after dying, could they? It was amusing, however, the manner his possible death was presented to him.

"What are you smiling at?" Monroe asked.

The boy was annoying her now, with that stupid smile. He was weirder than Gaztro, and suddenly she was feeling a little afraid. What if he was insane? A psychopath? Murderer, maybe? She didn't really know him, and right now she felt stupid to have approached him like this. Monroe got up quickly and started for the door, but a strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, and soon she was in Arbor's very tight embrace. His hand stroked her hair and she could feel his heartbeat. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to get away. What was happening?

"I'm not feeling well," he whispered as his hand rested on her mid-back, "This is a lot to take in and I-I'm sorry for being so strange towards you. I know you must be as disturbed as I am."

She let him speak, because it was only now that he sounded so genuine, and without even realising it, she was hugging him back. She didn't know this person, but he was from home.

The two held on to each other, running their hands in each other's hair. Arbor gently released himself from the embrace, and to Monroe's surprise, gave her a peck on the cheek. He stepped back after whispering 'good luck' in her ear, and Monroe turned around and left the room, blushing hard. This was the first time she was speechless, and maybe she had thought wrongly about the boy. He seemed decent and genuine when he had embraced her. She could still feel the warmth of the hug, because it was probably the best hug she'd had, as if received from a friend.

Arbor closed the door and locked it, the amused smile back on his face. Maybe his stunning District Partner needed that hug, and maybe she felt better. He was glad about it as he wasn't exactly against her. She was nice, maybe, and he had no intention of hurting her. If telling her that he was scared too gave her any comfort, despite his words being a lie, he was glad. It was also good that he might have manipulated her a little bit, which could be beneficial later.

Chuckling quietly to himself, he put out the lights, ready to go to sleep.

Hello guys, long time no see. How're you all doing? Things are hectic, so it took me a long while to get this out, but it's finally here. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Has your opinion changed on anyone in this chapter?

Also, the poll is still open on my profile, so if you haven't voted, please do so.

Have a great day!

PS: I've missed you all a lot.