Updated as of July 9th, 2022.
Welcome Back.
Here's a short little piece I've been planning well over two years now.
Let's do this.
ONTO THE STORY!
Disclaimer: Mashed potatoes are not delicious. They make me gag.
FLASHBACK TO THE LAST CHAPTER
The elevator doors opened and he released me, walking out onto his floor. He looked back over his shoulder.
"Deal?"
I paused.
"Deal."
And the doors slid shut.
I tossed and turned, a sticky layer of sweat coating my skin. Thrashing my arms and legs, I threw the covers off of me and onto the floor. I jerked upright, clutching my head as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. My ragged breathing seemed much louder compared to the quiet of the room. I shook my head. It was too goddamn early to be awake.
Scooting off of the sheets, I drug myself to the bathroom, not bothering to turn the lights on. I tore my sleeping clothes off, purposely trying to create rips before slinging them across the room. Not like they mattered anymore. Going to the sink, I pooled water in my hands and splashed my face. It didn't particularly help with the cold I felt all over, but it did partly get rid of the stickiness and that's all I could really ask for. I bent my head over the metal bowl, spitting a few times to get the taste of sleep out of my mouth.
After taking a cloth and wiping down the rest of my body, I headed back into the bedroom, going to the closet to get something to cover myself. Clipping on a supportive bra, my thoughts wandered to what time it could possibly be. My bets were on two o'clock. I wasn't rested enough for it to be any later.
Just as I was zipping up my pants, the door opened behind me. I jumped, spinning around to see who was there. It was a struggle considering how dark it was.
"...Aronn?" I whispered, not budging from my spot. The tall form nodded, or at least I assumed it did.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, forgetting that he wasn't allowed to answer. He stepped further into the room, making it slightly easier to see him. He beckoned me over to follow him, grunting softly. Hesitantly, I padded closer, taking a moment to consider just going back to bed. I dismissed the idea immediately. Practically anything would be better than dreaming. Even leaving with an Avox in the early hours of the morning despite not knowing where he was taking me. Maybe I just wasn't awake enough to make good decisions yet.
He led me to the stairway door, scanning the room behind us once before closing us in. It was darker than I remembered, so much so that I had to grab Aronn's arm in order to prevent falling face-first into a metal step. How smooth of you, Laurel. Nice going.
Wordlessly, Aronn took my hand, taking the lead once more as we made our ascent. I considered letting go out of pride, but the warm feel of his familiar hand made me dismiss the idea. It reminded me too much of our time spent together years ago. Like all the times he would drag me away from the fights that were more vicious in nature, determined to keep me at least a little innocent despite what I was growing up with. I hadn't realized just how much I missed him.
"Why are we going up here?" I murmured. If Aronn heard me, he didn't act like it.
I waited as he opened the way to the roof, the cool night air hitting me like a slap in the face. He nodded me ahead, his eyes falling to the floor. His hand never left the door. I paused.
"Aren't you coming with?" I asked, my voice hushed. He glanced up at that, all ready to shake his head in dissent when our eyes locked. Once I felt the firm hold of his hand in mine slacken, I frowned, refusing to let go.
"C'mon, Hothead. You know better than to leave a girl all by her lonesome," I sighed, batting my eyelashes and feeling like I was a little kid again. A spark went off in his bright eyes, a flash of crooked teeth the only smile I would get.
"Hurry it up, already. We've wasted enough time as is. You two can flirt later," came a gruff voice by the ledge, making me tense for only a moment.
"Haymitch?"
"The one and only. Now, get'cher asses over here. And close that door. Don't need any unnecessary company," Haymitch barked. Aronn did as he was told, dropping my hand completely as he strode over to my mentor. The wind chimes rang out frantically, the wind louder now than it had ever been before. Unease unfurled in my gut. The weirdness of the situation had finally hit me.
"What are we doing here, Haymitch?" I asked, my brow furrowed as I kept my distance. He was sitting down on the ledge, drink in hand. Only this time, I couldn't tell if it was alcohol or not. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot, dark bags hanging under them. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, despite it only having been less than a day since I saw him last.
Haymitch opened his mouth to say something, but one glance at my face was enough to make him reconsider. He rubbed a hand over his unshaven cheek, the stubble sounding rough against his callused palm.
"There's a lot you don't know, Laurel," he settled on saying, using my actual name for once. He gestured gently for me to come closer, and, despite the warning bells going off in my head, I did as he requested.
"Like what?" I muttered, eyes on the two of them. Aronn stood off to the side, his head bent as if he were just being an attentive servant. But, his eyes were bright and alert and staring right at me. "...Haymitch?"
"Kid," Haymitch started, stopping as he shoulders sagged. "There's something that's been in the works for a long time. Longer than you've been alive. It's taken a lot of people to get to this point, and a lot of time. But it's gettin' pretty damn close."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, an ominous shift in the air making it feel ten degrees cooler. Haymitch paused again, looking hard into my eyes. His jaw clenched.
"The Revolution, brat. I'm talking about the Revolution."
Warmth rushed through my chest for only a second before cold panic froze my veins, my heart pumping fast. That was a dangerous word to say back in District 12, let alone in the Capitol.
"You can't talk like that here, Haymitch," I warned, eyes flicking around briefly to look for cameras. "You know there are eyes everywhere."
Haymitch nodded, sipping from his bottle like he couldn't care less. I looked to Aronn, but apparently the floor was much more interesting. How long had he known?
"Laurel, I need you to be ready for anything out there. The arena can be unpredictable. Especially if the Gamemakers decide you all aren't entertaining enough. But I'll be here, and I'll be doing my damnedest to keep you alive, kid. I need you to help me out. Just survive somehow, alright?"
His voice sounded raw. He looked like he had aged twenty years in the past five minutes. But his eyes were burning with a fever, turning them into a melted silver as they bored into mine. Imploring me to agree.
"I'll...be...help...ing," croaked Aronn, his mouth barely moving and his head bowed toward the ground. Discreetly, I pinched my arm. Nope. This was actually happening.
"What about Emery?" I heard myself say, surprising even to my own ears. Wasn't my brain supposed to filter what my mouth said before I opened it?
Instead of answering, the middle-aged man jerked to his feet, coming at me faster than I anticipated he could. He grabbed me by my shoulders, his fingers digging in as he gave me a hard shake.
"I need you to come out alive at all costs. You need to realize how much is at stake here, Laurel," he said quickly, pinning me with his gaze. I swallowed hard, my brain scrambling to figure out what he was implying.
"Haymitch, do you mean-"
"Avox. Take our lovely little tribute here back to her room. She'll need to be well-rested for the day ahead of her," he interrupted, dropping his arms to his sides. Aronn nodded, moving from his position to usher me back the way we'd come. Haymitch picked up his drink from where he'd left it on the ledge and gulped a big part of it down, turning his back to us as he looked over the city.
I stayed lost in thought the short trip back, subconsciously refusing to let Aronn touch me as we stepped down the stairs. Haymitch wasn't the first person I'd heard talk about the Revolution. Gale could go on for hours about it if Katniss would let him when we hunted. The only thing it did out there was scare away potential game, much to my annoyance. And the word wasn't exactly a stranger in the Hob either. I'd never let myself consider it a real possibility. The Capitol had too much control to let something like that fester for so long unchecked. Did they even know? They had to- they had eyes everywhere and ears everywhere else. Right?
We were back in my room before I knew it, my skin feeling clammy as I came back to myself. Childish fears from the past leeched into my thoughts, tainting them black and heavy. My hand reached back and wrapped around Aronn's wrist.
"Would you please stay until I fall back asleep? My nerves are getting to me," I bit out, playing it up a bit for the electronic eyes that were monitoring the room.
I half expected the redheaded boy to ignore me and go back to do whatever it was he was supposed to be doing at this ungodly time. Even though we were probably gone no longer than fifteen minutes, I felt overcome with fatigue. And even though I wouldn't admit it to myself, all I wanted at the moment was to be held and told everything would be okay. I wanted my mother. I wanted her to smooth my hair down my back and whisper in my ear, telling me to be brave. To be strong. To be the tough little girl she knew I was. If Aronn saw the tears in my eyes, he had the decency not to mention it.
He gently removed my hand from his wrist, the rejection stinging more than I thought it would. Pursing my lips, I refused to let him know how much it had meant to me and stalked toward the bed, just then remembering I no longer had covers. Cursing under my breath, I turned around to retrieve them, stopping just in time to barely miss bumping into Aronn. He held up the duvet and cocked his brow.
I glanced from the blanket to his face, gears turning to figure out what he meant. Once I did, he didn't even have time to blink before I was wrapping my arms around him. Giving him a firm squeeze, I let go and hopped onto the bed, scooting over to the far side and waiting. He slowly spread the comforter across the bed and sat down on the edge, pulling his shoes and jacket off carefully. I pulled the covers up to my chin, never taking my eyes off his back.
Aronn laid down beside me on top of the blanket, putting his hands behind his head as he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. Taking that as my cue, I rolled closer and rested my cheek against his chest. His arm came down to loosely lay against my side and I was transported back in time. He was smaller, scrawnier. And so was I. And we were bruised and dirty and cold. And I didn't know why he chose me to tuck under his arm out of all the other kids. I was nothing special. Not then. Not now.
His thumb brushed under my eyes, stopping the tears before they landed on his shirt. My lips wobbled as I struggled to hold in my sobs. I tilted my head up so that my mouth was closer to his ear, my hand curling up into a fist where it rested on his ribs.
"I'm sorry I didn't save you," I choked, voice cracking as I buried my face in his neck. "I'm sorry I didn't even try."
He said nothing, but the stiffening of his body was all I needed to understand. I was just about to start untangling myself and send him on his way when he threaded his hand into my hair, gently pulling me back so that I could look at him. His golden green eyes glinted in the low light, looking pained as they stared hard at mine. We both knew what would have happened if I had tried. The Eyes in the Sky were not merciful to those found where they were not supposed to be. I pressed my forehead to his and closed my eyes, willing away the tears before I could embarrass myself further.
"Someday," I murmured, "I want you to tell me about her. Who she was. How you met. Everything. Don't be leaving out any details, Hot Head. Got it?"
Gradually, I opened my eyes to find his still watching me. He swallowed hard and nodded, the movement no more than just a twitch of the neck. I pressed my palm against the hand in my hair, working delicately to get it out as I moved back to my original position at his side. I didn't know if there would be a someday. For all I knew I could be dead hours from now. But that wasn't something I needed to think was a possibility. Because I wasn't going to give in. I wouldn't allow myself to be another Bloodbath tribute. And apparently Haymitch wouldn't let me either.
Sleep began to meddle with my senses, making it harder and harder to focus on the heartbeat below my ear and the person it belonged to. A sudden thought hit me and came tumbling out of my mouth before I could think it through.
"Did you think I thought that the milk was poisoned?" I mumbled, words getting harder to properly enunciate. "Is that why you were so surprised I asked you to drink first?"
His body rocked with silent laughter, or at least I thought it did. I wasn't sure if he answered me or not, and soon enough I didn't care.
~OoOoO~
"...prep team...almost here..."
"...just make sure she's up..."
I yawned, rubbing my eyes blearily as I attempted to sit up only to find I couldn't. I paused, remembering what had happened only a few hours before not as quickly as I'd like to admit. Aronn was still asleep, and I felt my face soften as I looked into his.
So he hadn't left. My mouth quirked up at the side. Figures.
The door to the room slid open and I jerked my gaze up. Blue locked on grey. I flushed.
"Emery, move! I need to say my-" Effie hesitated, her jaw slackening. Her expression changed to a knowing, almost perverted one that had me bristling.
"Finally she takes my advice! Good choice, my dear. Good choice," she praised, making me feel sick.
Aronn froze below me. About damn time he woke up.
"No, Effie. It wasn't anything like that-"
"No matter, my dear. Just...clean yourself up a bit and make it quick! Your prep team will be here any minute to get started!" She laughed, tottering away. I locked eyes with Emery, a need to defend myself rising.
Without another glance at Aronn, Emery turned, the door closing behind him.
"What a way to start the day," I sighed.
A/N: WHOOP. Another chapter down, and another chapter closer to the Games.
Speaking of that. Guess what's going down next chapter? THAT'S RIGHT, PEASANTS. GAME TIME. THERE'S GONNA BE BLOOD. AND DEATH. AND GORE.
I'm sure it'll be a great time that all families will be able to enjoy.
Having said that, what are you guys' thoughts on everything that went down this chapter? Let me know in a review! Got a question? Just shoot me a PM. I'll answer as soon as I can!
Thanks to all the Silent Watchers who have joined us and the Vocalists that continue to keep me going. Virtual cookies all around!
By the way. Completely unrelated, but I've been watching copious amounts of The X-Files recently. And I am obsessed.
Okay, that's all!
Love you guys!
Bye~