I wish Enyo would kill that arrogant piece of shit from Four already. It would solve a lot of – hell, almost all of her current problems. The fucker deserved to die, anyway – he had killed not one, but two tributes in cold blood. She was meant to be the leader of the pack this year. She's the strongest tribute. She's meant to be in charge, not some fish-scented lunatic who likes murdering his allies.

Right now, everyone is asleep except Jason, who's on watch duty. He appears to be deep in thought, gazing at the flickering orange flames, prodding the logs now and then with his sword. Suddenly, as if making a decision, he jumps to his feet, and tip-toes over to where the kid from Eleven is sleeping, on the outskirts of camp. He obviously doesn't trust his allies enough to sleep near the fire. I don't blame him – considering the conflicts going on in the pack this year, I'm surprised he hasn't died yet.

Jason puts his hand over Eleven's mouth, and gently pokes the other boy in the arm. "Fern," he whispers.

Fern snorts awake, grabbing the dagger that had been resting beside him. His dark eyes are large and wild with fear before he realises it's Jason, and he lowers the dagger. "What is it, Jason?"

Over the last couple of days, the two of them have struck up an easy friendship, with Jason being apparently the only one Fern trusts, only sleeping when Jason is on watch. Dumb kid. He shouldn't trust anyone, especially not a boy from Two. "I need to talk to you," Jason says, his voice hushed. I frown. What's the kid planning?

"Okay," Fern says slowly. He looks Jason up and down, before returning his gaze to the ground.

Jason looks at him curiously for a moment. "What're you looking at?"

"Nothing," Fern says calmly. Even though he's the enemy, I have to admire the kid's bravery. Not many outer-district kids could act calm in an alliance of sharks, but maybe Fern's a shark too. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"My sister. Dahlia."

"Dahlia?" Jason says, going pale like the name means something to him.

"Yeah. Dahlia. She died."

"Oh," Jason says quietly. Kid looks like he's seen a ghost. I swing around to the search computer, where we can access records of every Games there's ever been. Keyword – Dahlia. I press enter – nine tribute profiles appear. Dammit, I don't want to go through each of them to find out why Jason's acting weird.

"What?"

"The 68th?" Ah, thanks Jason, you've saved me from two minutes of reading. I click on the profile that says '68'. Dahlia Molloy, fourteen years old. Cause of death – spear to heart, courtesy of Kevin Druis of District Two. Uh oh. Druis. As in, Jason Druis?

"Yeah… why?" Fern looks at Jason strangely, as if he can't quite work out what he's doing.

Jason won't look Fern in the eyes. It takes me a moment – but now I remember his brother. Big, tough kid, too arrogant for his own good. One of Brutus' boys. Don't say it, Jason, I beg him silently. Don't tell him. "I think… I think my brother is the one who killed her."

Fern narrows his eyes, and his body language immediately changes, like he's suddenly realising exactly who Jason is. "Kevin Druis. Fourth place. I remember him."

"Yeah," Jason says quietly.

They're both silent for a bit, staring off into the distance, faces solemn. For at least five minutes, the crackling of the fire is the only noise as both boys comprehend what they've just been talking about. "What are the chances?" Fern says quietly.

"The chances?"

"That we're here now, connected like this, in the same alliance, no less."

"I don't know."

The mood of the conversation has changed completely – it's fascinating to watch. It started off unfriendly, almost hostile – and now they're staring at each other with wide, shocked eyes, with something else underneath it all – sympathy? Understanding?

This can't happen. Jason can't just start simping over this kid just because their siblings were in the same Games. Oh god, Cashmere's going to find this hilarious, the bitch – three days in and my kid's already lost it. Of course, hers are both dead already, so I have that, at least, to hold over her head. Even though she and Gloss are out of the Game, they still have to stay here for the duration of the Games – however long that might be. They're too popular with the Capitol to go home – they have their duties to keep up. I'm popular too, but they don't love me as much as Cashmere – something I've always been grateful for.

"Why'd you come over here anyway?" Fern asks, crossing his arms. He's being defensive. He's realised that he let his guard down – and he doesn't want to let Jason see any more vulnerability, so he's put the mask of indifference back on.

This may not be totally on brand for me – and I would kill anyone who gave me shit about it – but I've developed an interest in human psychology. I tell Brutus and Nero it's so I can figure out how to defeat the enemy, but that's just so I don't seem like a total nerd. I like learning about how and why the brain breaks – the different ways people cope – how I can fix myself, put back together the puzzle pieces of my sanity. So far, it hasn't worked. But it's been useful in other ways.

Jason shrugs, trying to look indifferent. "Like I said. I wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Our alliance. It's a bit… tricky."

"Tricky, huh?" Fern says, raising an eyebrow. "That's an interesting way to put it."

"Alright, how about completely fucked up and a total death trap to all of us?"

Fern laughs quietly. "Yeah, that's better."

The two of them share a shy smile. Jason fidgets nervously with his bracelet, twisting it around and around his wrist. Grow some balls, kid! I want to yell at him. If he's going to fuck everything up over a boy, he'd at least better do it right. Otherwise I'll break into the arena and kill him myself. "Anyway. I uh, I think we should leave."

"Leave?" Fern asks. Oh. Oh no. This isn't – no, this isn't good. The Careers can't split up five days into the Games – only like ten other tributes have died, two since the Bloodbath! They're going to lose all their sponsors.

"Yeah. You, me and Andromache. Let's ditch Enyo and Brook."

Fern agrees almost immediately. "I can't say it's a terrible idea. When?"

"Tomorrow night, when I'm on guard and they're asleep."

"What if they wake up?"

"We fight our hardest."

Fern contemplates this for a moment, staring off into the dark, distant city. "They'll kill each other if we go."

"Good!"

"Don't you care about your partner?" Fern asks, looking at Jason curiously.

Jason narrows his eyes. "Of course I do. I trained with her for years. But it's her own fault this is happening – she should have been able to adjust to the alliance rather than bicker with Brook about everything."

Fern shrugs, looking amused at Jason's flustered excuses. "I guess I just thought Careers were more loyal."

"You saying I'm not loyal, Eleven?" Jason asks, stepping closer and puffing out his chest.

"Oh, calm down, Jason," Fern says, looking deeply into Jason's eyes. Their faces are so close – they look about three centimetres away from kissing. Idiots. Just fucking kiss already! What a pair of pussies. "Never said that."

"Good. Because I am loyal –"

"Yeah, sure," Fern said, but he's smirking and so is Jason. Shit, they really do like each other. This is not good.

Jason exhales, and steps back a bit, as if suddenly realising how close they are. "You should get some rest. We'll go tomorrow night."

Fern can't disguise the slight look of disappointment on his face. "You want me to take over watch?"

"Nah, I know you don't sleep when any of the others are on guard. Get some sleep now."

"Thanks," Fern whispers.

"No problem," Jason replies, and he's looking at Fern's lips.

Come on! Can't we get through one year without one of our tributes going crazy?

Struggled a bit with this chapter, hope it's okay.

We've gone back into lockdown :/ and I have to do online school again and it sucks and I hate it and I miss my friends uhghhbdhboqhhb but at least I can wear pyjamas all day and be with my dog. Yeah. Hope you're all well, stay safe and wear a fucking mask 3