CHAPTER XXXI. THE NIGHT BEFORE

"Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting."

-Khaled Hosseini

ALARICO DE ORO (18) - DISTRICT 9 MALE

It was the night before Alarico was entering the arena, and he had just successfully charmed the Capitolites so it was safe to say that he was feeling pretty good about himself. Lucky Flickerman didn't really ask him any questions that were too rich in meaning, but Alarico was okay with that, since it meant he got to talk about himself, which was somewhat his favorite topic, though he did enjoy talking about Mijito and Atticus. He was able to talk about them when he was talking about himself though, so it was an overall huge win. He spent his free day with his friends, brothers even at this point, just sort of walking about the Capitol like they owned the place, but he especially spent a lot of time talking to Edison and making sure he was okay since the day before was clearly a stressful time for him.

Alarico honestly felt horrible, not expecting Edison's persistent tardiness to be due to the fact he was being abused. He assumed it was sleeping in too late, and whenever Edison said he was talking to his Mentor, Alarico assumed it was about the Hunger Games, since that would make sense after all. Nothing really made any sense to Alarico, like how the fact that Pascal was murdered, rightfully so since he did a horrible thing meant that neither Edison nor his District Partner would get to have a Mentor in the arena. Apparently Pascal wasn't a good Mentor anyways, even without all his pervertedness, hence Edison saying he was lucky that he had an alliance that could protect him, and he even felt bad for his District Partner, even though she insisted on being alone.

"I just wanted to say dude," Alarico patted Edison on the back as they boarded the elevator so they could go to their rooms after the interview, "I am so ridiculously proud of you."

"You've said that a lot, Alarico," Edison cracked a slight but broken smile, "I honestly wasn't too afraid of my interview. The Private Session was the hard part."

During his interview, Lucky asked Edison a few questions about Pascal, mainly if Edison felt bad that he had died, to which he responded, "Nobody deserves to die of course, but I can't feel any sympathy for somebody who abused me tirelessly."

Alarico and Challis both thought it was a pretty good response, high fiving each other backstage, proud of their friend for absolutely killing it.

"He's just proud," Challis nodded his head in agreement with Alarico, "We both are."

"I appreciate the two of you," Edison pulled them into a light hug as the elevator arrived at the Tribute's floor, "Whatever happens tomorrow, it's seriously been a district pleasure to know you are."

Right, tomorrow, the oh-so-dreaded day that Alarico had been trying to ignore ever since he met Edison and Challis. They had the typical bloodbath strategy of trying to grab at least a few bags before running away and hopefully finding each other, but Alarico feared they'd never find each other. He knew the careers were vicious, and they had been that night on the rooftop when they chased them off so they could probably do the naughty. They hadn't interacted since, but Alarico was deeply afraid that they'd find and kill him in the arena. He was afraid of all and any casualties since he had stupidly rushed into such a close friendship with the boys, and he didn't know if he would be able to cope if he lost any of them.

"Are we going to do anything tonight?" Challis asked when they got off the elevator, hoping they would go on yet another adventure.

"Honestly, I think we should get some sleep before tomorrow," Alarico said, hating that he sounded like a bit of a buzzkill, but knowing he was making the right decision.

"I have to agree with Alarico," Edison smiled, patting Challis on the shoulder, "We'll still all see each other tomorrow."

"Yes we will," Challis gave in, "It'll be in different circumstances for sure, but I'll be seeing you guys no matter what."

They said their goodbyes, they were somewhat bittersweet this time since it would be their last goodbyes before they were in the fight of their lives, and Alarico couldn't help but be petrified that he'd never see them again. He walked into his room, and was about to put on his pajamas and shut his eyes in safety for one final time when he heard a knock on the door.

"Hello?" He opened the door to see the boy from 11 awkwardly standing there.

"Hi, Alarico?" He was clearly freaking the hell out, "I'm Pith, District 11."

"Yes, Alarico," The District 9 boy was deeply confused, "Can I ask why you're here?"

"I just have to say something," Pith wiped his ashy brown hands on his pants.

"Do tell then," Alarico gave him an odd look, wishing he hadn't opened up the door so he could go to sleep.

"You don't have to say anything back," Pith started, nervously blinking, "But I've been sort of observing you throughout our time here, and I have a crush on you, and I know you're three years older than me and this is the Hunger Games and there's no way in hell this is going to work out, but I just had to let you know before I go in tomorrow."

"I also have a boyfriend," Alarico laughed, deciding to take the boy's borderline creepy remarks as a compliment, "But thank you for telling me, I guess. Best of luck tomorrow."

"You too," The boy extended his arm for a handshake and Alarico decided to fully hug him, making Pith smile.

Alarico shut the door again, not really having the brainpower to process what had happened, and trying his best to go to sleep since he knew that he'd never sleep so comfortably again for the rest of his life. Tomorrow would be hard, and Alarico was certain he'd be ready eventually, he just needed to mentally cope with the fact there was a chance he'd never see Edison or Challis again.

ARES KRISHNAN (17) - DISTRICT 5 FEMALE

Post interview, Ares Krishnan was on a bit of a high. She had a tough act to follow, Clancy charming everyone, herself included with his wacky ideas, but she managed to rise to the occasion, talking about the simple pleasures in her life such as her friends and food, and briefly mentioning her alliance and how truly lucky she was to have them. Camber was an adorable kid, though Ares feared for his survival, and Clancy was, well he was Clancy. They disagreed less and less throughout the week and it almost felt unnatural for Ares to not be clawing at his throat constantly, but in a way it also felt nice. She felt borderline at ease with him, especially when Camber was serving as mediator to their bickering.

"I think we should all go to bed early," Camber announced as they exited the elevator, once again asserting his role as the paternal figure in the alliance, "We have a crazy day tomorrow."

"That's a really good idea!" Ares exclaimed, Clancy shockingly nodding his head in agreement, "I know I'll see you all tomorrow anyways."

Clancy she knew she'd be seeing when they did their light rummage of the Cornucopia, since he was quick much like her, but Camber Ares wasn't so sure about. She spent a longer time saying goodbye to him that night, a sinking feeling inside her core that it would be the last time she saw the kid, Clancy catching her drift and following suit.

"Camber, my dear," She tried to address him with formality, "I know I'll see you tomorrow, and no matter what happens, know that I'm here for you."

He gave her a hug though Ares wasn't sure if he knew what she was implying, yet the moment was overall bittersweet.

"See you around, asshole," She said goodbye to Clancy the same way she usually did, since she had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she saw him.

She went to her bed and tried to close her eyes, but she realized that her heart was racing. It was probably because she was nervous, though Ares didn't want to admit that that was the case. The more time she spent in the Capitol awaiting the time where they'd all enter the arena, the more her nervousness heightened, and it had seemingly reached its peak.

"Fuck, I guess I'm not sleeping," Ares sighed to herself after half an hour of rolling around in her bed, no successful results to her quest for slumber. She figured Clancy would still be awake though, since it seemed like that kid almost never slept, so she decided that perhaps she could talk to him, maybe tighten up some of their strategy plans, hoping that would calm her nerves to some extent.

"You up?" Ares walked across the hallway, lightly tapping on Clancy's door, noticing that the lights were on inside.

"Ares?" He opened the door, his hair in a messy ponytail and his toothbrush in his mouth, probably because he was brushing his teeth. He looked oddly handsome, "What do you want?"

"Can we just talk or something?" Ares realized her idea to talk to him was somewhat stupid and that he probably thought she was once again annoying, "I'm nervous for tomorrow."

"I guess," Clancy widened the door, letting Ares walk in before him, "After you."

Clancy's room was a bit of a mess, pieces of paper all over the ground with abstract drawings on them, "What exactly are these?"

"Drawings of what I think the arena could look like," He beamed, picking up one of the drawings and showed it to her. It looked like some sort of rocket ship, and not at all like an arena, but that was a typical Clancy move.

"You're weird," She laughed, holding the drawing in her hand.

"Hey there," Clancy suddenly grew a stern look on his face, "You don't get to come into my home and tell me I'm weird. What about tomorrow's plan makes you nervous?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Ares put her head to the ground.

"Then why are you even here?" He seemed frustrated with her. Fuck.

"I guess I just wanted somebody to talk to!" She replied, matching his increasing volume.

"Then why couldn't you fucking talk to Camber!" Yup, Clancy was indeed angry.

"Because I wanted to talk to y–" Clancy cut her off with a kiss.

It was weird, kissing Clancy, especially since the last and only person she had kissed was literally her high school biology teacher, but somehow it felt right, even if she was certain he was only kissing her so she would shut the fuck up. If that was what he was going for, it was definitely working.

"I hope that was alright," For the first time in Ares' observations, Clancy Dietrich seemed nervous, even speechless.

"It was fine," Ares smiled, stupidly close to Clancy's big blue eyes, "It was nice, actually. I liked it."

She decided to return the favour and kiss Clancy back, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling at his little ponytail. He seemed to like it as much as she did as she pressed her against the wall and whispered in her ear, "What the fuck is happening?"

"Shut up. I like it," Ares continued to kiss him, somewhat marveled by the way their lips could move in unison, even though they had never danced before. It was miles better than any of the kisses she'd had with Dowlette before, and those were some great kisses. It was stupid of her to be kissing him like this and she knew it. There was barely twelve hours before she'd be in a situation that could eventually result in the two of them dying, but Ares just kept thinking stupid teenager thoughts.

"What now?" Clancy finally pulled away, "Do you still want to talk to me?"

"Yeah I guess," Ares laughed, tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear, "But maybe we could talk about something else?"

MORGAN BARROW (13) - DISTRICT 12 MALE

Perhaps it was somewhat nerve wracking that Morgan found the second-coming of his mother to be a sixteen year old girl, but he lived in a world where children were sent to die every year so maybe this wasn't the weirdest thing. Piper was oddly a beacon of hope for him, helping him with his survival skills even though they were mediocre, and telling him when things were and weren't bad ideas. The best part of being allies with Piper though, is that Morgan could tell that she loved him just as much as he did. She was always so extremely kind, and he and Alabastor did get in fights at times, but she was always perfectly capable of breaking them up.

"Thank you for sticking with us," Morgan smiled, holding Piper's hand as they returned from their interviews, "I know we got some horrible scores but I really appreciate you being on our team in spite of them."

Horrible scores were a bit of an understatement, Morgan and Alabastor being some of the worst of all the Tributes, and Piper definitely doing way better than the two of them. Morgan had definitely been a bit afraid that she would leave them, since she had been talking to the girl from 9 a significant amount of time, but Piper said that Saffron was just a friend. Piper said she wouldn't leave them for her and that it was a promise. While Morgan had learned not to trust promises a while back, somehow a promise from Piper meant way more than promises from the kids back home in 12. He knew Piper would protect him and Alabastor, and that her high score was a blessing in that sense. While Morgan was upset when the interviewer asked her why she was allying with the two of them, her answer didn't disappoint him and he was glad he could remind her of home.

"Stop being so obsessed with her," Alabastor teased him, "It's always Piper this, Piper that. I bet you have a crush on her!"

"I do not!" Morgan gawked, hitting him in the shoulder, "Piper just… she reminds me of my mother."

"I do?" Piper turned around, a confused and worried look on her face, "Alabastor, be nice by the way."

"Well, not one hundred percent," Morgan could tell that Piper didn't like his comment about how she felt like a mother to him, "But it's just been a long time since I've had a girl to look up to, and you're that, so I appreciate it."

"Thank you then," Piper gave him a weird smile, "You already know this but you remind me of my sister."

"Thanks." Morgan could tell the interaction was on the verge of becoming painfully awkward, "Maybe we should do something together again before tomorrow."

While the thought of never seeing Piper or Alabastor again certainly lived in Morgan's head, he was trying to avoid it at all costs, and he thought maybe the trio doing one last activity would erase it.

"We need to sleep!" Alabastor boomed, "We'll all see eachother again. I don't know why you're so nervous."

"You can sleep if you want then," Morgan tried to compromise with the kid. Alabastor was sort of like an annoying little brother to him, but Morgan felt he kept the family dynamic of their alliance all the more realistic.

"Okay then," Alabastor rolled his eyes before storming off, "I'll see you guys."

"I'm worried about him," Morgan admitted to Piper, who was just sort of standing there, probably trying and struggling to interpret the situation.

"He'll be fine," Piper said, patting Morgan on the head, "He's probably nervous just like us, he just doesn't know how to express it."

"Are you nervous?" Morgan asked her, previously in belief that she was fearless.

"Afraid is a better word," She sighed, sitting down on the ground. Why was she afraid? If anybody was to be afraid it should be him since he was somewhat of the runt of the litter. Piper had no reason to be anything close to afraid.

"Why are you scared?" Morgan needed to know the answer, "If not allying with Al and I would make you more confident in your safety, I understand."

"It's not that," Piper insisted, "You kids are great. I just worry about my family and if they'll be fine if or when I'm gone."

Family. Morgan had certainly been worrying about his as well. At the young age of 13, he was somewhat of a breadwinner, and his father would probably be so lost without him that he wouldn't be able to work for at least a little bit. What if that made them homeless? What if Morgan's whole family became homeless because society apparently hated him and thought he didn't matter, even if they didn't directly say that, Morgan knew that they meant it which was almost worse than outright saying it.

"I worry about mine too," Morgan tried to hold back the tears in his eyes that were starting to form, "But at least there will be one less mouth to feed."

"Don't say that," Piper snapped at him.

"But it's true," Morgan sighed, sitting down next to Piper and resting his head on her shoulder as she put her arm around him. He felt safe like that, even if it was for a moment. Piper was warm and she made Morgan feel important, and he sure needed to feel important in that moment.

"Well you should try to think more positive," She whispered into his ear, "You'll only make it if you think you can."

Morgan closed his eyes and searched his head for positive thoughts about the outcome of the Hunger Games yet even though he looked as hard as he possibly could, he simply couldn't find a timeline that had him alive in it.

EROS FORTUNA (18) - DISTRICT 1 MALE

Eros was somewhat nervous as he woke up Fila and Moira in the middle of the night, inviting them into his hotel room. He told them earlier that he wanted to talk to them when nobody was around, as he had an idea that he thought could help them, but he was too nervous to spit it out when they were alone all day, and he couldn't do it during the interviews. It was a dangerous idea for sure, an idea that Eros knew could easily backfire on him, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't, and Eros had the tendency to trust his gut a bit too much.

Before they went to bed, Moira and Fila gave Eros permission to knock on their doors at 3am, as they all agreed they should get some sleep before the pseudo business meeting, but Eros was too nervous to sleep before it.

He took a deep breath before knocking carefully on Fila's door, Moira already behind him since she was smart enough to have set an alarm on her clock, "Fila, It's Eros and Moira."

"I didn't forget," Eros heard her light voice through the door a few minutes later, "Let's go."

The trio krept across the hallway into Eros' room, locking the door behind them and all sitting down on the couch. He could feel his heart beating out of his chest, and he was still afraid to speak in anything louder than a whisper in case people could hear him, even if he didn't think it would be the case.

"What exactly did you want to talk to us about?" Eros could tell that Moira was a bit unhappy about having to wake up early, "This better be important."

Oh it was so fucking important, they just didn't know it yet, "I promise, it is."

"Okay well," Eros took a deep breath, "It's about Lana."

Lana Lotus, the girl from 4 had been driving Eros crazy for the whole week. It wasn't just that she was weird, which she was, but she was even scary. She treated Kingston like he was her slave, hence why he wasn't here at this meeting, and she had a particularly off relationship with Bell as well. Eros accidentally walked in on them hatefully doing the dirty at some point while poor Kingston was playing solitaire in the corner. It was a deeply uncomfortable situation, though it wasn't what led him off Lana. He mainly didn't like how full of hate she seemed to be and he knew all the nice words she said during her interview were nothing more than a facade. Moira and Fila were genuine friends, Eros was sure of it, but Lana Lotus seemed like she was a monster.

"Please tell me you don't like her either," Moira finally spoke, careful to keep her voice a gentle whisper.

"Please?" Fila echoed her, twitching her eyebrows as she deeply stared at her District Partner.

"Oh heavens no!" Eros giggled, "I'm so glad you're on the same page as me."

Of course they were, and he was silly to think they wouldn't be. When they hung out together they would occasionally talk about Kingston and Bell, but Lana was never mentioned and he was right in the sense it was because they all shared the same opinion.

"What does this have to do with Lana?" Moira was eager to get the show on the road.

"I think we should all be prepared for something dangerous to happen," Eros felt shivers up his spine as he spoke, "Lana seems the type to slowly kill us all off. She already has Kingston around her finger, and I don't even know what the situation with her and Bell is, but I could see her killing them and then us."

"You really think?" Fila seemed afraid, even though it was so likely that she was thinking the exact same thing.

"It makes sense," Moira admitted, "What are we supposed to do then?"

"We have to kill her first," The two gasped and rightfully so. The Career Pack traditionally all stuck together until there were few people left, so they'd be breaking that precedent, but Eros had a feeling Lana would break it anyways and they wanted to be prepared just incase, "We'll wait a few days of course, but I think we should be slowly hiding our supplies away so that we can eventually make a run for it."

"Oh," Fila was sweating, "That makes a lot of sense, I'm just nervous. Do you really think we can all take her."

"She'll probably go after Kingston and Bell first," Moira whispered, "Since I don't think the three of them could all agree to kill us, and then we'll be the only three left and we'll be able to kill her."

"I like those odds," Fila admitted, "I'm in."

"So am I," Moira shook Eros hand, "I don't know if this is extremly stupid of us or not, but I think it has the potential to be something wonderful."

"I'm glad you're with me here," Eros chuckled, reaching out to hug the girls, "I was honestly worried that you'd all say you love Lana and then get her to kill me."

"What's there to love?" Fila laughed, "Of course we agree with you."

"I'm glad I met you guys and we all agree or whatever, but I need to sleep," Moira started to rub her eyes, "We have shit to fuck up in the morning."

"That's true," Eros agreed with her, "I should probably sleep as well."

He walked the girls back to their room like a good gentleman and then headed over to his bed, thinking over the intricacies of his plan once again. It seemed simple… almost too simple. But maybe simple was good in times like these.

LIVIA SNOW (33) - FIRST LADY OF PANEM

Livia had no idea how painful and insufferable her marriage with Coryo would be during the time of the Hunger Games. She knew they were his pride and joy, something she accepted when marrying him, but she thought that him now being president would allow him to leave it in the past, but nope, Coryo was as addicted as ever. He was slowly inviting all the older Victors to their house, speaking to them about what he called "secret ideas," and when Livia asked him what he meant, he simply said he was finding new ways to ingrain the Games into Panem's rich culture, which was certainly promising, Livia just wanted to know more.

"Are you sure you can't tell me what's so exciting?" She lied next to her husband on the night before the games, "I just want to be included."

"You'll know in due time," He laughed, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "It may be a while, but eventually you'll know."

"Will I like it?" Livia questioned him, "Please say you're not having them killed and you orchestrated the murder of the guy from 3."

Livia had mixed feelings on the murder of Pascal Packard. On one hand, she thought the things he was alleged to have done were heinous, but on the other, Victors were promised that they wouldn't be brutally murdered, and she was ashamed that the country had broken that promise for him.

"I think you will," Coryo smiled, pleased he finally knew something that she didn't, "And no, it's not that. That was a coincidence that actually put a skewer on my plans."

That dialogue only made her more confused, but she did know that her husband was a relatively confusing man. She had to always remind herself that when she married him, she signed up for expecting the unexpected.

"That only makes me more intrigued," She begged him, trying to stroke his thigh to see if maybe that would finally make him budge, "You have got to tell me!"

"No I don't," He turned away and closed his eyes, "Goodnight Livia."

"Goodnight Coryo," She left his bed and went to the other room which was where she slept, Lucien fast asleep for once in his crib. Yes, that was yet another of the many oddities of their marriage, but Livia thought it was actually a good thing and it made him less prone to arguing with her.

They were a mess, and Livia made the difficult decision to embrace it, since she too was a bit nervous for the Games. Clemmie and Lys were already doing a marvelous job with all the pre-Games festivities, and she could only imagine how deeply her husband would flip out if the Games themselves were better than any of his. Maybe that was the meaning of his plan, since it would certainly be like him to do whatever it took to remain relevant, since apparently being the present wasn't enough for him.

She went over to Lucien's crib, stroking his soft face. It was amazing how deeply innocent he looked. He had no idea what his family was like, or what the world he lived in contained, and Livia was fascinated by it, "Whatever you become when you're older, don't you dare become your father."