Disclaimer: I own very little :D

Chapter Thirty-Two: Black and White Collide

"I'm going to give you my answer, but please….don't hit me," He said quietly as I watched him adjust himself on the side of the fountain.

Just as I was going to ask him what he meant, I felt his hand slide atop of mine before he pressed his lips against my own. I was absolutely speechless and had no clue what I was doing. The truth of the matter was that I'd never kissed anyone before…nor had I found anyone worthy of kissing, in all honesty.

But when Seneca pressed his lips against mine, I felt this warmness flooding my body. Any type of warmness was something I had not felt in a long time. To be painfully honest, the situation was both incredibly wonderful and incredibly awkward for when I opened my eyes and looked at Seneca, I was laughing for some odd reason.

He cocked a brow at me and before he could say anything, I responded," That's your answer?"

"Yes, that's my answer," He said slowly before I smirked wide.

"You know, Seneca, a kiss can mean absolutely anything. It's open to interpretation," I said, raising a brow at him.

I watched a smile grow on his face as he placed a hand on my cheek and came closer to my face once again, dropping his voice to a whisper, " Fine, then allow me to put into words."

"Savera Stone, from the moment I saw you on my television screen, I knew that you were different. There was just enough fear in your eyes to show that you were human, but just enough strength to prove that you were going to accept your fate. I was so sick of seeing terrified children shaking and climbing up those stairs to be presented to the world. But you see the best part is…you don't even grovel in the glory or the spotlight. Literally, you are just a normal person and it is for that reason that I am so incredibly intrigued by you," He whispered, his forehead pressed against my own.

Simply wishing to tease him further, I looked at him," So…that means we actually are dating? Just to clarify."

He leaned back and chuckled heartily for several seconds before shooting me a look," Yes, Savera. That's what it means."

"Perhaps, you should be more straightforward," I said, smirking at him.

"Or…perhaps you should be more creative," He fired back.

I scoffed at this," Seneca, I am a girl who in her free time, enjoys crafting machines that will never be good for anything other than to fill space, solving mathematical equations, solving puzzles, and fixing technology when the situation provides itself. In all of those things, there is little more than simply black and white."

He bit down on his lip," Then, my goal shall be to expose you to that 'little more' portion."

"It hardly exists," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Theoretically-"

"Ah, you see, you're only aiding me, really because theoretically, there is a part that exists. Because somewhere, the black and white must collide, correct? Somewhere, they make gray. Perhaps, Miss Stone, you have never experienced the gray area, but I would like to link it back to what I do here in the Capitol and what I intend to do. There's always an exception…even in math, puzzles…people."

And this was the thing about Seneca that intrigued me, he was incredibly clever. He enjoyed saying obscure things such as this that would make no sense if you didn't interpret them carefully. You see, I had a much more straightforward, cut-and-dry mindset. Some would argue that the maze took "creative thinking", but was it not more than just a puzzle to be solved?

"Perhaps, the issue is that I spend too much time in the black and white, while you spend too much time in the gray," I purposed, catching a glimpse of his striking blue eyes.

I feel embarrassed admitting this, but there was an incredible attraction factor to Seneca, as well. There were plenty of attractive people whom I had met in District Two, but he was strikingly different from them. His blue eyes and dark brown hair, that was slicked back that evening. I also noticed the beginnings of what appeared to be a beard. I said nothing on it for now, but would certainly ask later.

Regrettably, however, there was still a small part within me that didn't trust him. At the moment, that part was incredibly overshadowed by the rush of attraction that I was feeling for the first time.

"I believe you are correct," He said, I noticed his hand was still atop of mine. "With that being said, perhaps, we can aid each other to see what we've both been missing."

"Perhaps," I added slowly.

"Why don't we start now?" He asked, standing up and offering me his hand.

I narrowed my eyes before placing my hand in his," How do you-"

"The city's especially busy at this time of night. The media never officially rests in this city," He started as I slowly came to my feet, eyeing him carefully. "Why not give them a little show tonight and confirm their suspicions?"

I swallowed hard," Seneca, I don't know if I'm entirely comfortable with this."

"No one's necessarily comfortable with stepping out of their boundaries," He said, taking small steps toward the exit. "But, we'll just walk through and act like a couple, it'll be simple."

Perhaps some think it odd, but that did not sound particularly simple to me. I could tell he was feeling my glare as we walked, for a smirk was planted on his face that didn't seem to go away. Instead of being a complete downer, I tried to break up the silence as we exited the Crane family's garden.

"Are you growing a beard?" I asked, looking at the evident facial hair starting.

He chuckled," Yes, my stylist recommended it for something new."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I did know that fashion was something that even Seneca, a more laid-back citizen of the Capitol, took very seriously. Not wishing to offend, I kept my mouth shut, but I suppose he could sense my response by the small smile growing on my lips.

"You don't like it?" He asked finally as we traveled down the alley, going a different way than how we had come.

"As long as you don't do anything ridiculous with it," I added, remembering all the strange beards I had seen thus far in my experiences with the citizens of the Capitol.

He cut his eyes at me.

Before he could say anything, I defended myself," You're forcing me to go public with this thing…I can share my opinion on other issues. It's a learning process!"

"Fair enough," He answered, shaking his head all the way.


I remember standing at the top of a flight of stairs, overlooking an outdoor plaza in the Capitol, where Seneca claimed we would be going to. I remember standing there with his hand laced in my own. No one was paying much attention to us yet, but they certainly would in a matter of minutes.

"Seneca, isn't this a little strange? Just days ago they saw you with another woman at a banquet and us supposedly at odds with one another," I tried quickly weaving myself out of this mess.

He laughed," Not as strange as some stories they've seen before, Savera. Trust me, when it comes to romance, this city is pretty obscure."

I figured that it wouldn't hurt to try once more.

"How do I know that you don't still care about Vibia? Just hours ago, you were defending her, Seneca," I shot back, really not wishing to make a fool of myself like this.

He sighed, obviously trying to keep his cool before looking at me," Savera, you have my word that Vibia is simply a temperamental friend of the family. Now, the actions on both sides were uncalled for, but there was no way we could prevent them. If it's of any comfort you, she asked me to the banquet."

"She asked you to a banquet that you were-" I started to ask, but he simply shook his head as his eyes drifted behind me.

"Here they come, follow my lead, alright?" He whispered quickly, but I wasn't as quick to follow him. He stared at me and groaned slightly. "Savera, please, we can talk about this later, but I don't think you want to cause more of a scene by arguing with me here, publicly."

I was only slightly irritated that he posed an excellent point. Therefore, I grasped his hand a little tighter, purposely putting some of my anger into his hand, before placing a smile on my face as we strolled down the stairs. It was amusing, really, how I went from being allured by Seneca to being annoyed by him. Though, I knew that my botherance with him was simply my own insecurities. I would be sure to make it up to him for this.

"Why don't we talk about it now?" I asked, my tone slightly irritated though I made sure that it looked as though I was smiling and having a grand ol' time.

We noticed a fellow with a camera coming closer to us and other citizens were starting to talk.

Seneca was smiling from ear-to-ear, as well, as he lifted my hand, still interlocked in his, to his lips, a perfect pose. As I laughed, he muttered to me," We're supposed to look like we're enamored with one another."

"We are," I answered, batting my eyelashes at him playfully. "We can have a conversation at the same time. They'll never know the difference."

We continued strolling through the plaza, drawing more attention to ourselves as we walked farther.

"Why would she invite you to a banquet that is yours to attend?" I asked quietly, as we continued the show.

"She's been rather fond of me for quite some time. I never specifically told her to leave me alone, but seeing as her father is also a Gamemaker and very close with my family…there is no need to offend her," He whispered in my ear, very seriously.

"It appears as though you told me that a little too late," I answered, still smirking.

"Eh, her pride's only hurt now. But when these pictures come out," He paused for a minute as a camera flashed. I felt his arm looped around my waist as I inhaled sharply, surprised as he whispered very quietly. "Trust me."

"I don't know how to-" I started, but he cut me off as he placed a hand on the side of my face and kissed me with much more passion than before. Once again, I was very inexperienced in this department and had absolutely no idea what to do. Find this to be awkward, I placed a hand on his waist.

He pressed his forehead against my own, laughing all the while. Again, I found that they were probably loving this as he mumbled to me," We'll work on that."

I rolled my eyes before pulling away, laughing all the while," Why did I agree to this?"

There were just enough people to create the scene that we wished, but few enough to where we had no problem weaseling our way out. After we were out of the public eye, I slipped my hand out of Seneca's before looking at him with an aghast look on my face. He laughed at this.

"Seriously, no more sappy stuff on camera for awhile, alright?" I asked, placing a hand on my hip, as he raised a brow.

"Fine, Savera. Really, I only did it because I knew that we would get some attention from the media. These people love this type of thing," He explained, as we started walking back closer toward my apartment complex.

"I understand that, but seeing as I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing…why don't we give them a taste of something different? Leave them wanting more next time?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders.

"Sounds as though someone is starting to think outside the box," He commented.

"Eh, or I'm just creatively covering my insecurities," I added, chuckling at his speculation.

"Either way, we'll give it a try," He smiled and with more small talk, a few more steps; we were back in front of the place that I called home.

I knew that it was much later than I intended to be out, but the city around was still bustling with busy people and vehicles speeding by. With another awkward silence, I met Seneca's bright blue eyes once more before sticking out my hand.

"You're really going to shake my hand goodnight?" He asked, raising a brow as he fought back hysterical laughter.

"Yes. I told you that I'm terribly uncomfortable with the other," I explained, still offering my hand. "There aren't any cameras here and seeing as I've yet to fully know you…I'd say a handshake is quite proper."

Clearly dissatisfied but still being good-natured about it, he shook my hand before nodding at me and saying," Goodnight, Savera."

"Goodnight, Seneca," I returned the gesture, smiling at him as I took a step back.

He stood there for several seconds, watching as I back-stepped to the door of the apartment complex. With one last smirk, I entered the building before nearly skipping to my apartment.

The happiness certainly wasn't long-lived at all for when I arrived at my apartment and unlocked the door, I was presented with a rather frightening surprise. Upon sight of this, I nearly screamed and ran out of my apartment, but I knew this would be most unprofessional. Being particularly careful, I swallowed my fear and took several steps into the apartment.

President Snow was seated at the end of my dining room table.

A/N: Oooo, slightly creepy, huh? Let me know what you think and thanks for reading! :D