Disclaimer: Although I write amazingly, these books in the glass case aren't mine. They belong to Suzanne Collins.
A/N- Reasons for taking forever? Whenever I wrote something, Gregor was too depressed. I had to make him sort of normal, so… yeah. Also, if you're confused about how old everyone is, look below.
Luxa-16
Gregor-16
Henry-20
Does that clear things up? I think Henry was supposed to be ABOUT 16 in GtO, but I made him 15…
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Chapter One
Gregor sat on his bed after a feast of chicken and rice. It was the end of the month, and his mom had decided to use the rest of their money. It wasn't much, but since tomorrow was a new month, they didn't have to worry about spending too much. It was an awesome thing to the sixteen-year-old. The only thing that made it a bit depressing was the fact that he felt horrible when remembering the last time he had stuffed his face like that.
It was in the Underland. Once he thought of the place, memories came rushing back. The prophecies swam through his mind…Turn and turn and turn again…White water runs red…When the Warrior has been killed… He pushed them back, though. He had spent the last four years forgetting, and he wasn't about to spend the next four remembering. Because that was painful. It was more painful than Boots growing up, and insisting she be called Maggie. Or Lizzie starting to have panic attacks again.
So Gregor concentrated on digesting his dinner. Honestly, there was no point to it. The human body digests food whether you want it to or not, whether you try to or not. He was simply trying to think of other things again…It wasn't hard.
He only had to go as far as school. At first, he hadn't done well. There was a noticeable drop in performance. But after discussing the issue with his parents, he managed to keep on top of things by making a schedule. Band, track, school, fencing. By being organized, he got everything done. He even had free time where he didn't have to watch his sisters. Sometimes he went to Central Park, far away from the dark place he had called home for a few months, and practiced with his fencing sword for half an hour or so.
Bottom line was, he was changed-- for the better. People liked him, and didn't ask about the odd scars on his legs. They had faded some, so they looked more like scratches or something. That was seriously good. The only thing he couldn't do now was go to a pool or something because of the scars on his chest. But he was content with life, something little like that wouldn't ruin it.
He was shocked out of his trance by a knock on the wall next to his 'room.' His parents had hung curtains up, and when they were closed, everyone knocked on the wall to get his attention. Gregor was fine with it.
"Yeah?" he called. Maggie- or Boots, depending on how long ago you had seen her- was standing on the edge of his bed, looking up at him. She was seven now, and much taller, more mature, and looking basically what Lizzie had looked like, besides the fact that she still had curly hair.
"Hey. Mom was looking for you; she said she needs help with the dishes. Lizzie's doing homework, and I'm supposed to be doing the laundry. But I'm not because I didn't feel like it. Don't tell." With that, she left. Gregor was extremely happy she had forgotten completely about the Underland, because he was sure she would have gone to the place if she remembered.
Maggie was the only one that went to the laundry room still of the kids in the Lance family. Their mother still didn't trust Gregor and Lizzie to go down after all these years. It was kind of sad, actually. Neither had any intentions of traveling back down to the sullen place. While it held a few good memories, the majority were bad. Gregor was glad life had brought him up from his dreams, and back to reality. He found it was nicer to act normal, if not actually being it.
Gregor shook his head, then got up and calmly strolled over to the sink. His mother was lying on the couch, tired. She called out that she wasn't feeling well, so she needed him to clean stuff up. The teen shrugged and did as he was told.
Later, the family was going out to get a movie at a cheap rental place. Gregor didn't care what they watched, so he stayed at home. Lizzie also decided she didn't care. The two were sitting on the coach, making jokes and laughing. Although Lizzie had a few more friends then four years ago, none of them were very great companions. She didn't get to laugh a lot with them. It was a tad bit depressing, actually. But they had lots of fun together, even with Maggie. So things were fine.
Well, fine until something bad happened. Bad, as in, reminders of a place Gregor spent forgetting. Something bad like what was happening right now.
It started when they noticed the laundry basket by the door. Lizzie frowned, as did Gregor. They remembered Maggie doing the laundry. Unless she had been slacking…that would be a problem. Especially if they're mom found out. The only thing to do would be to wash the clothes themselves. The looked at each other, then shrugged.
"Here, you take that end and I'll take this one." Gregor indicated to the opposite side of what he was bending over to get. He had to walk backwards, but that wasn't a problem since the elevator was working.
Lizzie sullenly agreed. A few moments ago, she had been giggling. Well, not now. The small reminder of the Underland was enough to ensure that.
The teen and the pre-teen slowly brought the heavy bin towards the elevator, where they waited for a while, then hopped into it, thankful it was empty so they didn't have to squish in.
A few minutes later, a bell rang and the two jumped off. Gregor took the bin the rest of the way, and Lizzie set everything up.
Gregor began to wonder why his mother had been so worried about them going to the laundry room. The only disappointing thing that happened was that Lizzie's spirits dampened considerably.
Now that he thought about Lizzie, he looked for her. She was nervously walking around the area, not knowing where she was actually heading. She wouldn't like to know either.
Gregor tried to get her attention. He did. She stopped right in front of the grate. He was motioning for her to come back to him, when it happened.
A tail wrapped around her leg, and she went down screaming.
HHHHHHA/N- Was that good, my readers? Please, tell me. As in, REVIEW! Yes, I'm a bit of a freak. Get over it, please.