And I'm BACK! So I got like 5 reviews on the last chappie! Yayz! And here's more! (BTW – if anyone was wondering, Kyli and Lyssa are not in the top 10… So that means they're already supposed to be dead… Um… Let's pretend they already died… Whoops)

Just to let you know, I'm going to be working on NaNoWriMo this month, so don't expect another update until early December… Sorry about that!

Remember: I am NOT Suzanne Collins.

Storm's POV

We're in our makeshift camp now. Aster's not speaking. Being all depressed again. Oh gosh, here we go. Again. I think I might go insane this time. Having no one to talk to all day long gets depressing. And then where would we be?

Alright, I should probably start a conversation. So what do I do? I ask the first thing that pops into my head.

"Hey, why are you so afraid of Titan?" Right as I say it, I know that was not a good question choice. She turns to me, her eyes wide.

"Well…" she begins.

"You don't have to answer," I rush, mentally smacking myself for saying it in the first place.

"It's fine. You should know, seeing as it will probably end up affecting you, too." Great. Aster continues.

"He's had it out for me for about a year now… I guess I should have seen it coming… You see, David, Titan, Riegan, me, and this other guy were all best friends in the 8th grade. We were the misfit group, so we made ourselves cool. You know middle school. Always the popularity ladder."

"Well anyway, in 9th grade a couple of things changed. First of all, we were on the bottom again. Second, our group had kinda split up over the summer. And then the big problem was that with all the guys growing so much over the summer, their egos also grew. And that left poor little ole me to fend for myself first day of school."

"So I was at my locker, trying to get it open, cuz that's always a major problem of mine. Opening lockers." Aster sighs and grins ruefully, as if remembering the exact thoughts that ran through her head. "Anyway, these really big seniors decided to pick on the girl they'd heard so much about from their new tough freshman buddy Titan. So they started in on me. So I saw Titan, Riegan, and the other guy all join in and start laughing at me."

"So David never did?" I ask, quickly putting my thought to words.

"David never did. He was the fast thinker that got me out of there. But we had been best friends since we were 5. The others just came later. And I knew I saw some familiar glint in Titan's eye. And so when I got home, I started thinking about it. And I figured out that… Well… You know…" She waves a hand in the air and lets me fill the rest in.

"So what happened with Riegan and the other guy?" I ask eagerly. I guess I'm really getting into the story here.

"Riegan, I knew he felt genuinely sorry. The other guy, he became Titan's new crony and I never heard of him again. I was the lone outcast. David had a popular new girlfriend, so I didn't bother him." Aster looks away, her eyes registering the pain and sorrow that the memory brought.

"You still didn't answer my question."

"Oh, right. Um. I've never really thought about it." She looks back at me. Her eyebrows knit together and suddenly, a light bulb goes off and she looks away again.

"I guess I know that if he ever tried to… ya know… DO that… to me… I know I'd never be able to stop him. And I know he's going to try it. He's stupid, but he knows that one of us has to die. He won't let his chance go to waste."

Pain, confusion, hatred, regret, worry, anxiety, embarrassment, and a bunch of other emotions I can't name flood her eyes before she remembers that we're on live TV. Her eyes dull rapidly and she grins a tiny rueful grin. I grin back at her and open my arms. She scoots closer and buries her head into my shirt. I in turn bury my nose in her hair, which, after all this time, still smells pretty decent.

After a second, I realize she's not crying. She's breathing deeply, calming her stress. That's good. Alright, after 10 minutes, I think she's okay.

Aster stands up, and I take that as my cue to go back to normal. So I do. I go into the cave and start preparing for the night to come. Soon I hear her clear, high voice singing a song that I know very well. My mother loves that song.

Santa Fe? Are you there?

Do you swear you won't forget me.

If I found you would you let me come and stay?

I ain't gettin' any younger.

And before my dying day

I want space!

Not just air!

They can laugh in my face,

I don't care!

Save a place!

I'll be there.

I join her for the last bit.

So that's what they call a family.

Ain't ya glad ya ain't that way?

Ain't ya glad ya got a dream called Santa Fe?

Aster looks at me with a questioning look. "You know that song?" she laughs.

"It's one of my mom's favorites. The Newsies. Gosh. I thought it was a lame movie." At this, she hits me.

"Was not!" she retorts. "It's one of my favorites, too!" She smiles and rolls her eyes.

****NEXT DAY******

Storm's POV

"They're not gonna let us live much longer." That's what I wake up to. Joy. The hunger games. We're back to reality. Why can't she be a tad more optimistic?

Titan's POV (oh, yes. Evil POVs)

"We need an example," I tell Finn. "I want this rabble they've roused to see what would happen to those who would dare to…" I lose the word I was looking for, so I raise my fists and improvise. "Eeeeee…." Finn nods and we go about setting plans.

CLIFFY! Not really. Like I said. NaNoWriMo comes first… I'm determined to get a good start, seeing as this is my first year. So I've been planning.

TRIVIA: Who said this line? And what movie did it come from? "I want an example. I want this rabble he's roused to see what happens to those who would dare to eeeee." First person to get it right gets a kumquat. Oh yeah.