(Katniss's POV)
We pull up into the parking lot of the laser tag place and I see Brogans eyes bulge from the rear view mirror.
"Oh wow! I love laser tag!" I chuckle at my sons excitement.
"Well we can't play if you don't get out of the car..." I tease and I hear Brogan unbuckle and exit the car before I even take out my keys. He patiently waits for me too get out and a smile forms on his face when I walk over to him.
"Race ya!" He shouts, and we laugh as we run to the door. We smile when we touch the door at the same time, I open the door and shove him in the building. We are greeted by an arcade with a desk at the center of it. I hand brogan five dollars and walk over to the desk to pay for the game. The explain the rules and I nod politely, though in my head I am giggling like a teenager out of excitement. She points to the door of the arena and I thank her. I grab Brogan from a race car game and her boyishly whoops. We walk in and I tell him the deal.
"Okay so the lady told me that we each take one of these things that have sensors on them so you know when you are hit, the suit will vibrate and your gun will be stunned for about five seconds before you can play again. The points for each team are show at the front and back walls of the area and are color coded for the two teams, red and blue." I look over and see he is barely listening to me. I smile and slip on the sensor over my chest.
"Oh and you only are hit if the laser gets you on your chest back, or shoulders, kay?"
"Got it, same team right?"
"Of course. Ready?" I ask with a sly smile that he returns.
"Ready."
We burst into the arena and are surrounded by the sound of laser guns shooting. I look in awe at the glow in the dark arena and am glad I am dressed in dark colors. We laugh at each other and run aimlessly looking for the opposing teams players. We split and I duck for cover as a red player dashes past me. Before her turns the corner I shoot him in the back and I laugh triumphantly as he groans. I grin as I hear Brogans laugh, but the smile fades when I run into a red player. The younger girl grins and I sigh, and spread my arms wide. She laughs and points her laser gun. At the last second I duck I shoot her in the chest and giggle as I run away. I was getting the hang of this.
Then I tripped. I stare at a boy decorated with the colors of the other team running towards me. I jump up and dash out of there but I can hear him behind me chasing me.
Suddenly I am back in the first arena, with the careers chasing me. I feel my skin go on fire as the careers laugh. I fall over something that isn't there and the world starts spinning. I am suddenly aware on the neon surrounding me as I come back to reality. I realize my suit vibrating and guess that that was probably where the weird burning sensation came from. I shake my head in anger. This is supposed to be a fun day for me and Brogan and I am having contorted flashbacks.
I look around find that I seem to be crouched behind at wall. I slowly get up and hope to find Brogan. I eventual come across him and he is surrounded by two girls, a blond on our team and a red head on the other team. They look his age, and I can tell from his face that he knows them and he is slightly blushing. It sounds hard to tell considering we are in the dark apart from the bright neon painted structures, but I guess as his mom I just know. I smile turn back around, not wanting to embarrass him in front of his school friends. I decide to leave the conversation for later and focus on gaining more points.
I her the buzz that sounds the end of the game and make my way to the door. I find Brogan waiting for me in the room just outside of the arena. I return the laser gun and sensor suit and we head out the door. As we make our way through the arcade Brogan talks non-stop about how much fun he had and I smile in response.
"Mom can we have my birthday party here?" He asks. I nod even though his birthday is almost nine months away. It is nearing Thanksgiving and his birthday is August 6th. Even though we have a while to enact my promise, he is unlikely to forget it given his current facial expression.
We hop in the car and I decide now is the time to tease him about those girls.
"So Brogan, I uh, I saw you talking to a few girls." Brogan turns deep pink.
"Oh uh, you saw that." He stammers. In this retrospect Brogan and Peeta are exactly alike.
"Hmm, oh my god is my son some sort of ladies man." I dramatically gasp and grin as he blushes an even darker pink.
N-no, not really. I uh, hm, I just, well I know them from school alright, that's it." He protests.
I chuckle and shake my head and focus my attention on the road.
"Mom, have you noticed something different about May?" I start to answer but he continues, "I mean it feels like I never see her any more, and when I do she barely says anything or looks at anyone. That's weird right?" I shrug, but his words seem to rip open a wound that might have started to heal.
(May's POV)
I hear the door creak open. Lars stands in the open door way. He wears a light jacket, cargo pants, construction boots, and a t-shirt. I blush as I take in his features. He smiles at me and steps into the house.
"Ali here yet?" He asks.
"No." He looks me up and down and chuckles. I visibly blush and become quite self-conscious.
"What?"
"Nice outfit." He chuckles, I look down casually and blush even more when I realize I hadn't even cared enough to dress in proper clothing. I don't know how I am not even a bit cold when I am dressed in an off shoulder crop top, a tank top, black shorts, and my sneakers for when I go somewhere and I can't find any other shoes. My loose high ponytail is a mess, and I pray to the gods I don't have yesterdays makeup smeared across my face.
"Sorry." I mumble, embarrassed. Lars shrugs and sits down next to me. The awkward silence is cringe worthy so I immediately perk up when Lars begins to speak.
"May, I've been meaning to talk to you about something..." Lars stammers and he scratches his ear.
"What's up?"
"Well it's just that all three of us have been real good friends for a long time, you know, me you and Ali. We' e all gotten to know each other really well, I guess. I wanted to know If you..."
My heart swells with possibility and hope. Could this really be happening, am I about to be asked out by the hottest boy at school, by one of my best friends, by the boy who has held my heart since I met him. Is he really about to ask me out?
"...would be okay if I asked Ali to go out with me?"
Nope.
I put on my best smile and try to act excited for him.
"OH MY GOD! YOU LIKE ALI!" You gotta admit, I'm pretty convincing. Lars blushes and I squeeze his hand.
"Yeah..."
"Lars, I'm so happy for you! That is just-" I stutter, my acting starting to crack. "wonderful..."
"Thanks, I've liked her for a while now, and I just wanted your opinion." I smile slightly and sigh.
"Oh Lars, you don't need to worry about me, I'm your friends, and it is your life. Are you gonna talk to her soon?"
"Yeah." Lars says, running his fingers through his hair. "I plan on taking her to the movies tomorrow."
"That's great." My voice cracks and I try to cover it with a cough. But Lars sees through it.
"What is it?" I shrug.
"May, what is it?" I am startled for a second. His voice is slow and firm, nothing like the Lars I have become so familiar with.
"I'm fine." I say calmly, in an attempt to end this particular conversation.
"May, are you still upset?"
"About what?"
"About your, uh, parents, well you know..." He mumbles.
"Actually Lars, that isn't exactly wh-" I start before I am interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open. We turn in time to watch Ali burst in with an adorable smile on her face.
"Hey guys!" She says as she runs towards us, her blond ponytail swaying behind her. Ali plops down next to me and her smile starts to fade away as she notices the atmosphere that fills the house.
"Everything...okay?" Ali asks warily.
"Yep." I answer dismissively. "Shall we start?" I ask and my friends nod slowly. I make my way up to the projector and start up the tape.
The first thing we see is my mom crying. I am not kidding. That gets to me. We see Rue's lifeless body on the grass. My mom get up and starts to place flowers around Rue, then all of a sudden the scene changes to the two careers that are left. Both from district 2 if I remember correctly. They have set up camp close to a lake and are sitting by their fire. The girl leans against a tree and throws a knife into an unsuspecting birds eye. The boy sits on a log near the fire sharpening a sword.
"Cato," The girl starts, "tomorrow who do you think we should hunt first?" And the boy, Cato, groans frustrated.
"Haven't we gone over this Clove. That girl, Katniss, we go after her. She is the biggest "threat"," He says threat with air quotes, "out there. Then Thresh, then that redhead from 5. Then all we have to do is find loverboy, slit his throat, and then, then it's just us..." Cato finishes quietly. And for a single moment I might even feel even the smallest fraction of sorry for the guy. But barely, I mean come on, he tried to kill my dad. They sit in silence and The scene changes and we see that boy Thresh skinning a snake by his own fire. Nothing very interesting by the capitol's standards, so the scene changes once again. Now we see my mom once again weeping. Then all of a sudden the announcers voice booms in the arena. My mothers head snaps up and all of us listen closely to the announcement.
She can save him, my mother. In the Hunger Games, my mother can save him. A rule change. Two can win. Okay I need to calm down for a second. The announcer said that two tributes can come out victors if the come from the same district.
"Peeta!" My mom yells, and her eyes widen in shock after she realizes what she has just done. She covers her mouth but w both know that if she doesn't get on the move now she could be killed by Cato and Clove, who most likely both want to leave too. My mom just stands there for a while, thinking maybe, and I am half tempted to shout at the screen, "RUN ALREADY! JUST GO!", but I don't soon my mom looks up, a smile on her face. I can tell this is a genuine smile, even though all the others were forced, at least to me.
The footage cuts to morning so we can assume that nothing very interesting happens. The first thing we see is my mom trekking threw the woods with her arrows. Her arrows...still weird to think about. I wonder why she never told me she could shoot a bow and arrow. Wherever, that really isn't the most important thing right now. She finds the stream and begins to walk along it and I wonder ways she is choosing to follow it. Whatever maybe I should just watch without trying to analyze everything. Soon enough my mom comes across large rocks and her expression changes. She looks like she is about to give up when she spots something. I gasp when the camera shows what she has seen. A small patch of dried blood is smeared across one of the rocks. I visible tense up and I feel a comforting hand rub circles along my back. I turn my head and see Ali shoot me a sympathetic smile.
Soon enough we all hear it, "You here to finish me off, sweetheart?" My mom whirls around, her confusion matching our own. My dad's voice, though small and weak, rings in my ears. "Well, don't step on me." My mom looks down and jumps when she sees something below her. The camera pans down and the rest of us are able to see my dad's distinct blue eyes and sad white smile.
''jeez, May is your dad really that good at art?" Lars asks with wide eyes. I smile and nod with pride. My parents: Strong, talented, beautiful, survivors. I have never felt so conflicted as I do right now. I try to shake off the feeling and turn my attention back to the screen