Aria: Capitol
I am nervous about the games tomorrow; I also barely ate any of the food on my plate. I bite my lip as I twiddle with my fingers.
"Aria…" Mike says worriedly. I glance up at his face etched with concern.
"I'm scared, Mike." I whisper. He nods in agreement and sits down next to me, pulling me into a hug.
"Me too, Aria." I sigh, as if hopeless. "What about allys?" I murmur.
"We have Emily." Mike whispers back. I think Mike finally cooled down enough to make up with Emily. I'm glad they got that minor fight out of the way and are friends again. Suddenly, Katniss runs into the room, breathless.
"Aria? Mike?" I stand up and walk over to her.
"Yes, Katniss?" I ask her. She looks jittery and crazy eyed. "Is something… wrong, Katniss?" Her eyes flitter towards Mike then back to me.
"Emily is hurt. She was attacked in the hallway earlier today but she is recovering in the hospital." She says in a hushed voice. I put a hand to my mouth in an effort to stay quiet.
"I have to see her." I say quickly. I slip past Katniss and dash out into the hallway and to the elevator.
"Aria, wait!" She calls after me, her footsteps echoing mine. Before I can even reach the elevator, a Peacekeeper spies me running feverishly.
"Hey, you!" He shouts, his voice low and threatening. He mumbles something gruff into his earpiece. I squeak under my breath and quicken my pace. The Peacekeeper begins to run after me. I turn an unexpected corner but there is another Peacekeeper waiting for me. I am cornered. I squeal as I fling myself towards the wall. I slip and fall to the ground hard on my knees. The two Peacekeepers each seize one of my wrists and yank me up to my feet before I can escape. I yelp as jolts of pain shoot up my arms. Breathless Katniss finally rounds the corner, spying me. She struts towards the Peacekeepers as they struggle to keep me up on my feet.
"What do you think you are doing with her?" She says harshly to the first Peacekeeper. He clears his throat.
"She has been demonstrating suspicious behavior, Miss."
"She was being escorted by me." She replies.
"A- I"
"Do you know who I am?" She asks, getting up into his face.
Of course they do. I want to say. You are the famous Katniss Everdeen.
I try to wriggle out of their grasp again, only breaking free of one of the two men.
"Get her!" The Peacekeeper shouts at the other.
"Release her at once!" Katniss growls. "Do I need to report this to the President?" She taunts. The man purses his lips before speaking again. He knows that since she was almost a part of the rebellion, she has the power.
"Let her go."
"But-" He starts.
"Let her go!" He booms, still facing Katniss. His iron grip releases my wrist and I run. Run past Katniss and back to the living area where Mike is. Tears begin to stream down my face. All because Emily is injured and Peacekeepers almost caught me. Mike turns to me when I run into the room without breath.
"Come on, Mike." I whisper, running up to him and grabbing his hand. "Let's go to the rooftop." I beg. He sees my distress and nods. I suppose it's better than remaining here where the Capitol can hear our every word, see our every action. We sprint through the hallway hand in hand, careful to go around Peacekeepers. After we got around them we slipped unnoticed into the elevator and I stabbed the button twelve. The doors slide closed and I dance giddily next to Mike.
"Aria… are you okay?" I turn to face him, frowning. "You just look really pale…" He murmurs. I suck in a shaky breath.
"I'm fine. I am just stressed about… leaving for tomorrow."Technically it's not a total lie. He nods in agreement.
"Me too." The door opens and I pull Mike to the small hidden staircase at the end of the hall. Emily told me about it during training one day. She said that we should go to there sometime. But now we probably won't be able to go together anymore. Mike goes first and he pushes the trap door upward. I climb up after him and gasp at the sight, fragrant flowers, the tinkly wind chime, and the slight warm breeze.
"It's beautiful up here." I breathe. Mike chuckles.
"That isn't how I would describe it but it's good enough." I lightly punch his arm. I almost feel like all my troubles melted away when we first entered. I walk over and kneel at the edge of the roof. I sigh, gazing at the brightly lit buildings and I faintly hear the citizens annual partying below me. I rest my elbows on the edge of the concrete railing.
"It really is beautiful." I say dreamily. Mike sits down next to me and nods, listening to the quiet raging music down in the city. If the force field wasn't there everything in the streets would be much louder. Mike sits up straighter and peers around.
"Did you hear that?" He whispers so softly I barely heard him. I rest my hands in my lap as I glance around the rooftop.
"No…" I reply just as quietly. Then I hear it, the faint rustle in the small rooftop garden. I cautiously stand up and Mike follows as we edge towards the garden slowly and quietly. Mike touches my elbow and I look over my shoulder to find him putting a finger to his lips. I turn back around and tiptoe to the wind chimes. I peer into the garden and don't see a thing. Carefully, I release the hook from the overhanging vine.
"What are you doing?" Mike whisper-yells at me. I ignore him as I try to locate the rustle in the flowers once again. When I finally hear it, I raise the wind chimes up in the air. Mike grabs my hand midair and pulls it behind my back.
"Stop it, Mike!" I hiss. I wrench my arm out of his grasp and the wind chimes jingle loudly. Suddenly, before I can logically think, or stop myself, I chuck the tinkly object into the garden. I cringe as Mike's hand slaps the back of my head and I turn and punch him in the chest. I hear a girl's scream amongst the flowers and they begin the rustle again. The girl from District Four sticks her head out of the bush, looking frightened. Hanna. I sigh in relief, glad that it wasn't a Peacekeeper or something. I don't even remember if I talked to her previously. But, of course, before I can even open my mouth, Mike steps in. He slides right in front of me and takes her hand, kissing it.
"Hey, Sexual." He says smoothly. I scrunch my nose at him; I guess he is over the fact that she was seeing her Mentor. Hanna blushes at his attempt to seem… wanted. Then a guy comes trudging through out of the garden, rubbing his head. He seems tired and completely oblivious to Mike as he tries to woo Hanna. Then I realize I've seen him somewhere. My eyes travel from Hanna to the boy. My eyes widen as I recognize him; Finnick Odair. Hanna's Mentor.
"Uhm… Mike…" I say, poking his arm. He turns to look at me, finally noticing Finnick. Mike quickly drops Hanna's hand as if it was on fire. His mouth creates a small 'o' as he tries to change the subject.
"Hanna, do you want to come sit with us?" Hanna shrugs, uninterested.
"Sure." Mike and I both sit down at the edge of the roof again. I peer over my shoulder to see Hanna embracing Finnick. My cheeks redden and I look back down at the partying Capitol citizens. I sigh and lean my elbows against the concrete ledge.
"Hey, Spencer." Mike says suddenly. I look back and see the girl. Of course Mike immediately recognizes her because he has flirted with pretty much every tribute girl.
"Hi." Spencer nervously waves back.
"What are you doing up here?" I ask her. She rubs her arms.
"I was just exploring, trying to calm down a bit." I give her a friendly smile.
"This is a good place to stay and relax." I say. She inhales the scent of flowers.
"It smells so fragrant up here." Spencer comments. I nod as she joins us. Then Hanna and Finnick sit down beside each other, Finnick's arm around Hanna. I sigh and lean back.
"You know, we could all be allys. Like, watch each others' backs and fight for each other." Mike nods, grinning. I roll my eyes. He just wants the girls on his team so he can put the moves on them. Despite Mike, Hanna smiles.
"It sounds like a good idea, Aria." I frown, but then remember that almost everyone knows my name from my bow and arrow demonstration. I look at Spencer expectantly but she just looks distant, like she is in another world.
"Spencer…" I say softly.
"I can't." She blurts, covering her mouth. "I made a deal with Toby."
"From Five?" Hanna questions. I see her face redden and she nestles herself farther into Finnick's hold.
"Yeah, he offered to help me." I scrunch my nose.
"How do you know he isn't lying?" I say.
"I trust him." Spencer defends. I put my hands up.
"I was just asking." I glance over at Hanna, her face shows discomfort in Finnick's arms. "Well I guess it's settled then. Hanna, Mike, Em, and I are all on a team." Spencer starts to get up but I stop her. "You can always change your mind, Spencer."