Aloha!

So as promised here is a chapter post haste! I would have posted earlier, but the weather today has been BEAUTIFUL! (For once) and so I didn't want to waste the lovely day. (oh, and I went to Starbucks with my sis for a couple of hours) :D

FYI the iced Hazelnut late is amazing!

Anyway! Back on point. How did you guys like last chapter? I know I left you hanging, bwahahah! So another reason to post sooner is not to keep you in suspense any longer :)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! It was lovely, and for those of you who didn't...well you know who you are.

So please keep up the reviews! And for those of you that didn't please do!

Chapter Fourteen: Friends?

I'm laying on the soft, warm sand, with the sun on my face and the sound of the waves in my ears. I have my eyes closed, and I can feel the sun rays soaking into my tan skin. I let out a happy sigh, and slowly run my fingers through the sand. I hear a chuckle.

"What are you sighing about?"

I answer with my eyes still closed.

"I'm happy, that's why. Being at the beach on a day like this, with you. Life is just good."

I hear the deep chuckle again, and the sand shifts beside me. I turn my head to the side and open my eyes, Felix is laying on his side facing me, his head propped up on one elbow. He has that perfect grin on his face. I can't help smiling back.

"What are you staring at?"

He answers quietly, his voice rumbling deep in his chest.

"The most beautiful girl in the world."

I blush and flick some sand in his face with a grin.

"Yeah right you flirt."

He laughs and half sits up, and begins to tickle my exposed stomach. I squeal and squirm under him and try to wriggle free, but he's relentless and I'm at his mercy for a little over a minute. He pauses, placing a hand on either side of my head, hovering a few inches above me.

"Some girls just can't take a compliment."

He says with a shake of his head. I get my legs under him and shove him off of me and over to the side as I say.

"You were just teasing and you know it!"

As he falls to the side, he grabs my wrist and pulls me along with him. I squeal as I'm flipped over and land sprawled across his bare chest. We both lay there for a minute, panting slightly, our eyes locked together.

"I wasn't teasing you."

He says in a low voice, as he slides his hand lightly down my shoulder and back.

"You're so beautiful. How did I get so lucky?"

I smile and lightly brush my fingers against his chest and give him a kiss. After a moment I pull away and cross my arms on his chest.

"I'm the lucky one."

He smiles and runs his hand through my hair.

"We're both lucky."

I lay my head on his chest and close my eyes, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. I rise and fall as he takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh. He wraps his arms around my waist and shoulders and holds me close. We lay like that for a long time, just enjoying the feeling of being together.

A sharp pain in my torso slowly brings me back to reality. For a moment I'm confused. I can't feel the sun...and it's cold. After a few moments, I try to move slightly, stopping immediately as the pain grows worse. Another few moments, and I open my eyes.

I'm staring at...rock. Suddenly the memories flood back and I wonder for a moment if I'm dead. But I can't be...because my insides still hurt.

"Ah, the lady hath awaken."

A strange voice echoes in the cave, and I struggle to sit up, my hand searching the cave floor for a weapon.

"Oh I wouldn't try to sit up if I were you."
Pain shoots through me and I fall back with a groan. I hear the stranger walk across the cave towards me as they say.

"I told you not to move, well now you know why."

I lie helpless as a face comes into view. To my surprise, it's Milo, the male tribute from District three. He pushes his round spectacles up the bridge of his nose and looks me over.

"Well you seem to be doing much better, although I'm going to have to check your wounds in a minute."

I stare at him confused, and shift slightly on the floor. I realize now that I'm laying on the sleeping bag.

"What..."

I trail off, my voice is hoarse and dry. Milo crouches beside me and slides his arm under my shoulders, he gently lifts my upper body, and slides a bundle under the sleeping bag, creating something for me to lean against. Now in a sitting position, he hands me a canteen.

"Here, drink some water."

I hesitate for a moment, and he looks amused.

"You really think I would waste something as precious as poison when I could have just stabbed you?"

I relent, and take a long drink from the canteen. He takes it from me and sets it down beside him. I watch him with wary eyes, and he looks back thoughtfully.

"Where's Will?"

I ask quietly, my tone bordering on dangerous. He smiles slightly and nods his head towards the cave entrance.

"Outside, he's either gather firewood or fishing."

I narrow my eyes.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

He shrugs and stands up.

"Well, you either believe me or you don't, that's your business."

I sit up a little straighter and wince.

"Oh right, I need to check your wounds."

Milo crouches back down next to me, and reaches for my stomach. I slide away from him and lower my voice dangerously.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

He pauses and says slowly.
"I need to check your wounds, and change your bandages."

"What?"

He motions to my stomach and says.

"See for yourself."

I stare at him until he sighs and shakes his head.

"For goodness sakes Mags, it's your stomach, I'm not asking you to take your shirt off. Sheesh."

I roll my eyes at him and slowly lift the hem of my shirt. Where the dark bruises, burns and cuts are on my stomach, is wrapped in a clean white bandage.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was horrible pain...and something was beeping."

Milo rummages through a small pack and pulls out a fresh roll of bandages.

"Well, we heard your little brother screaming and crying, so it wasn't hard to find you. When we did, I quickly got the story from Will on what had happened. He was so hysterical that he hadn't noticed the sponsor gift. I discovered it had some very expensive capitol medicine in it, medicine for internal injuries."

I frown.

"Internal injuries?"

He nods.

"Apparently, when Will fell on the cliff and his full weight yanked against you, it caused several of your organs to rupture. You didn't feel the effects until later, then there came the bleeding out of the mouth and extreme pain."

I shudder as I remember and quickly ask.

"So what did you do?"

He shrugs.

"I had to slit you open, insert the medicine and stitch you back up."

I stare at him.

"You preformed surgery?"

He thinks for a moment.

"I guess you could call it that. It was quite simple with the medicine, you just pour a little into the incision and stitch it back up. The medicine works amazingly fast to heal the damage. You should be up and about by tomorrow."

I think for a long moment.
"Why did you help me? You could have just let me die...one less till you're home right?"

He tilts his head on one side, thinking for a minute before answering.

"Well, the way I see it is. If you or Will found one of us hurt or in trouble...you would help us."

I frown in confusion.

"Us?"

He nods.

"Rosa and I, my district partner."

I nod.

"So you've been working together?"

He smiles.

"We're cousins, family sticks together right? Through thick and thin."

I smile.
"Cousins?"

Then the smile fades from my lips, and I stare at the ground.

"Yeah...I get it. At least we're not siblings."

I nod slowly. Knowing that both of them must die if I am going to keep my promise to Will and get him out.

"So are you going to let me change your bandages or what? I have been doing it for a while now."
I look around.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Five days."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Five days? So we've been in the arena for a week?"

He nods. A question enters my mind, a question that I don't want to ask, but I do anyway.

"How...how many of us are there now?"

He begins to change my bandages as he says.

"Thirteen. There haven't been any more deaths since you've been unconscious."

That's unusual for there to be no deaths in five days. The remaining tributes must be doing some entertaining or exciting things to keep the capitol at bay. I guess my whole situation provided a good bit of drama, not knowing if I was going to die, the sudden appearance of Milo and Rosa, their willingness to help.

"There you go, all patched up. Here take this.

He hands me a small pill and the canteen.
"Don't worry, it's just a little morphling tablet. I thought you'd want to go outside and get some fresh air, this should get rid of the pain."

I take the tablet, and almost instantly the pain goes away. Milo helps me to my feet, and assists in getting me out into the open air. I take a deep breath and look around in the growing twilight.

"Thank you."

I turn to Milo and give him a smile.

"For everything."

He shrugs and returns my smile.
"Like I said, you would have done the same."
Suddenly I hear a happy shout, and Will runs up and almost knocks me over. He hugs me around my ribs, careful not to touch my wounds.

"Mags! You're alright!"

He's crying and laughing at the same time. I laugh and hold him tightly.

"I'm sorry for scaring you buddy."

He starts just crying now and shaking his head.

"Mags I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

I pull him back so I can see his face.

"What ever on earth for?"

He sniffs and drops his head.

"It's my fault you got hurt...if I hadn't have fallen you-"

I cut him off and kiss his cheek, then pull him into my arms and hold him tightly.

"Oh be quiet silly, it's not your fault."
He sniffles and wipes his eyes.

"I'm just glad you're alright."
I kiss the top of his head.

"Me too."

Rosa appears a moment later with a large catch of fish, she gives me a shy smile and looks at me with her brilliant green eyes.

"Glad to see you up and about. Feeling better?"

I smile.

"Yes thank you. You two saved my life."

She pushes her mass of curls out of her face and says quietly.

"Well, you would have done the same."

They set about preparing dinner, insisting that I sit out and relax. Will plops down beside me presently and leans his head against my shoulder.

"There haven't been any more deaths since you got hurt."

I nod.
"Milo told me. Who was it that died? I passed out before the anthem..."

Will sighs and says quietly.

"Steven, the boy from District eight."

I nod slowly.

There are the careers, the tributes from District seven and ten, Lola, Will, Rosa, Milo and I left. Thirteen tributes.

"Dinner is ready! Milo calls cheerfully, flicking his shaggy brown hair out of his face and grinning at us.

"Come on while it's still hot."

Will and I look at each other and smile, then we get up and join them at the campfire.

That was the first night I felt like I wasn't in the arena, the first night that felt like Will and I were just having a camp out with some friends. Milo turns out to be very funny, he cracks jokes and makes sarcastic comments throughout the evening. Rosa is shy, but she opens up a little after a while, especially around Milo. I find myself growing fond of both of them, and scold myself for doing so, but I can't help it. They're both so friendly and easy-going. Will has grown attached to them too, I can tell. I don't know what we're going to do, but for now I don't care. I'm just happy to be alright, happy for once not to feel a sense of impending doom.

Rosa and Will take the first watch, Milo offering to take the next watch, giving me the easiest and shortest watch. I protest at first, but Milo just says that once I'm fully healed, I'll be taking the longest watches. This settles things, and I quickly fall asleep.

That night I dream of the ocean and home.