Here's the next chapter! There will be two more of these, then we'll be four chapters from the start of the Games! I hope you enjoy!
Training Part 1
Glint Cobalt, 18, D1 Male
So Lyla didn't actually hate me. That made one person. I still hadn't gotten over my parent's reaction to my sexuality. I wasn't planning on coming out then, but I was glad that I did. It showed how my parents truly felt about me. If they actually loved me, they wouldn't have freaked out like they did.
"Glint," Lyla said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her. She was staring, obviously concerned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, standing up.
"It's okay if you're not," she said softly.
"I am," I insisted, trying to convince myself of it. She looked up at me, obviously not believing me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I guess," she said. "I told Flash and Ruby last night after dinner. They said that they would contact the Peacekeepers."
"Well that's good, isn't it?" I asked, wondering why she didn't seem more excited.
"I mean, yeah, it's great, but I'm still worried. What if he's already done something to them? Or even worse, if he took them and the Peacekeepers can't find him."
"It's your first day of training!" Scarlet exclaimed, coming into the room. I turned my gaze away from Lyla and immediately glared at Scarlet.
"Are we needed now?" I snapped.
"No, but-"
"Then you don't need to be here," I said. Scarlet glared at me, clearly not used to being talked to like that. I took Lyla's hand and pulled her to my room. It was a suite, with a cozy sitting room in the middle, the bedroom off to the left, and the bathroom to the right. I sat down on the couch, and Lyla sat down next to me. She was grinning.
"You have to stop snapping at Scarlet."
"Ugh, but it's so hard not to," I complained. "She's actually the most annoying person I know."
"You must not know many people then," Lyla said. I glared at her. "I'm just kidding."
"No you're not," I said. "And you aren't wrong. I've never really had friends. Just acquaintances. Whenever I got too close with someone my parents would forbid me from seeing them. 'You'll have time to make friends after you win the Games.', they used to say."
"I'm so sorry," Lyla said. "That was supposed to just be some stupid joke."
"It's fine," I said. "I should be apologizing to you. I barely even know you, and I've just been constantly unloading everything onto you."
"I have been doing the same thing," Lyla said. "You know more than most of my friends back in District 1 knew."
"I do?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah," she said, sighing. "You're surprisingly easy to talk to. Whenever I saw you at the training center, or just in public, you always had this cold look on your face, like you hated everyone and everything. I've always hated you. For being so perfect. It might be because both of us could be dead in a week, but I do like talking to you."
"I like talking to you too," I said. "Right now, you're the only person I can be completely honest with."
"I wish you could be honest with others," Lyla said, looking up at me. Even though we were both sitting I was a good head taller than her. "I've been thinking."
"Oh?"
"If the other Careers are completely horrible, maybe we could form our own alliance? Just the two of us. Or maybe we could try to befriend some of the lower districts."
"Okay," I said. "But if we're not with the Careers, then we'll be their number one target."
Vita Castorum, 18, D2 Female
Julius was completely unbearable. He was always going on and on about how he was going to kill the District 1 tribute. We were in the elevator going down to the Training Room, and he was practically frothing at the mouth in excitement. He was jumping up and down, not able to contain his excitement.
"You aren't going to be able to kill him here," I reminded him. "And the District 1 tributes will be our allies, at least for a few days."
"I'll never work with them," Julius spat. "Not after what that district did to my brother."
"These are completely different people," I said, rolling my eyes. We had gone over this multiple times in the past day. I felt horrible for Ajax, having to deal with this dumbass constantly.
"Oh, I just can't wait to meet him," Julius said. "I think I'll threaten him once we're allowed to start. Let him know who he's dealing with."
"Oh will you please shut the fuck up!" I snapped. "The tributes from District 1 will be our allies, and you will not go around threatening them just for fun!"
The elevator opened, and I immediately stormed out. A trainer met me at the door and told me where I would have to stand. In between the District 1 male and Julius. I was glad they put me next to him because I didn't know what Julius would do to him when he saw him. I would have to keep them apart until the Games started.
I took my place next to him. He was deep in conversation with his partner. The tributes from the lower districts were still filing in, and I was sure that Julius was about to pounce on the District 1 male. I turned to him.
"Leave him alone," I hissed.
"I'm Glint, and this is Lyla," a deep voice said. It took me a second to realize he was talking to me. He was tall, with blond hair and blue eyes. He and the girl were two of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. The tributes from 1 always looked the same. The most beautiful people you'll see, but deadly as fuck. Either of them could kill without blinking. But so could I.
They would be my allies for a few days though, so I would be nice to them.
"Nice to meet you," I said, smiling. "I'm Vita, and this is Julius."
He looked up and started moving towards Glint, his hand slowly becoming a fist. I grabbed him and pulled him back. This was going to be a long day.
I was right. Whenever I looked away from Julius, he began moving towards Glint, and I had to drag him away. At least he got along with the tributes from 4, Kaiden and Maria. They had both been nice, and were tagging along with us to the different stations. At first, Glint and Lyla stayed with us, but after our lunch break, I noticed that they were staying away from us, and I even saw them talking to some of the lower districts.
"I don't think Glint and Lyla will be part of the Careers this year," Maria said.
"Good," Julius spat. "I wouldn't work with them."
We were sparring, so I kicked him in the shins while he was focused on Glint. He jumped back with a small yelp.
"Not so tough, huh?" I asked, taunting him. "Think about what Glint will do to you. He'll probably skin you or something. I look forward to that day."
Julius charged me, but I easily stepped out of his path. He ran straight into the trainer manning the station, knocking him over. The trainer brushed himself off, then dragged Julius away.
"What's his deal?" Kaiden asked.
"His brother was killed by the District 1 male a few years ago," I said. "He hasn't gotten over it, and all he's talked about since the reaping is killing Glint."
"He's going to have trouble doing that," Maria noted. "Have you seen Glint? He's amazing at everything he does. He's even befriended some of the tributes from the lower districts."
"I'm surprised they'll even talk to him," I said. "If I were them I'd be scared of him."
"They should be," Kaiden said. "Should we go over and see if they're going to be allying with us?"
"No," I said. "If they don't come to us, we shouldn't go to them."
"So it'll just be the four of us then?" Maria asked.
"The three of us," I said. "I can't stand Julius."
"I could kill him after the bloodbath," Kaiden suggested. "He wouldn't see it coming. Since he'll think he's allied with us."
I grinned, loving the idea. "That sounds like the perfect plan."
Thank you for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and tell me what you think by leaving a review.
Sponsor System: My sponsor system is pretty easy. All you have to do is answer a few questions, and for each one you get correct, you get ten points. I keep a tally of everyone's points on my profile page, and once the Games start, you can PM me with and item and who you want it to go to, and that tribute will get it in the next chapter!
Q1: What is Lyla's plan?
Q2: How do Julius and Vita get along?