Chapter 15

Molly's POV (District 3)

We eat dinner in silence as always; Sherlock doesn't talk when he's thinking. Saying that… Sometimes he does, but not to anyone. Not to me.

But however stale the conversation is, the food is delicious. A creamy, spicy chicken sauce and rice… it's gorgeous. I haven't had food like this since… Well, I haven't had food like this.

Sherlock, however, is barely picking at it. He's staring at the wall and occasionally shaking his head as if dismissing something important. Maybe he is? I mean, God knows what goes on in his funny little head.

"Shut up." He mutters and I jump.

"I didn't say anything." I mumble, but I don't think he even hears me. I look down and finish my meal in silence, trying not to make eye contact with him. I love him to bits, but I don't think he knows I exist sometimes. Setting down my cutlery, and wiping my mouth, I stare up at him.

"I'm going out to the roof." I tell him, but receive no response. Sighing, I stand and take the lift up to the roof. We may all have our own apartments, but the roof is common territory, as is the training room. I would go down there, as the architecture was interesting, if it wasn't frequented by careers. I don't need their jabs. Clarisse is bad enough and she'd from seven.

The lift shoots smoothly up and I try not to think too hard about Sherlock as it does so. The doors open and I am greeted by a sudden burst of wind which makes me smile. It's nice after having been cooped up inside all day.

I can see the Lightwood twins from six out of the corner of my eye, sitting and looking out of the Capitol, talking in hushed voices, but I decide to ignore them knowing their arrogance and beauty will not compliment my mousy shyness. There are some tributes at the end of the roof, sat in a small circle, talking amongst themselves. I decide to go and say hello, which is oddly brave of me. But unless Sherlock has a change of heart in the space of the next few days, I may as well have no alliance. Last time I checked you had to know they were there to work with them.

Sat down is Hermione and Sam from 8, Ron from 5, Teresa from 12, and Luffy from 11. It's possibly the oddest group of tributes so far. I wonder fleetingly why they're all sat together but decide to dismiss those thoughts. I have to socialise.

"Hi." I mumble, staring down at them. They look up and I try to make my own deductions about them, the way I know Sherlock would. Sam and Hermione are grim faced. They seem like the leadership types, but that's all I can tell. Ron from five looks kind of confused. I've already decide I kind of like him; he looks dependable, you know the sort of person you can trust. Although of course you can't really trust anyone in the arena; the games don't work like that. Teresa… Well what can I say. I'm attracted to her, and I've never swung that way before. She's beautiful. Her stylist is an idiot if he does anything to try and downplay that, because her face alone will fetch sponsors. Then there's Luffy, who's grinning like an idiot. I don't know why he smiles all the time, I really don't. It's all I can do to focus on what the games hold in store, and he seems to be either completely oblivious, or really, really confident. I kind of like that quality though. He's cheerful even in the worst of times.

"Hello. Molly, isn't it?" Hermione asks and I nod.

"Can I sit?" I ask and she shrugs.

"If you want." Sam invites and I carefully sit down with them, Ron scooting over to make room.

"We were talking about the careers." Teresa tells me. "What they were gonna do." I nod.

"I don't think they're all gonna stick together actually." Hermione muses. "I overheard the tall one from two… I think he wants people to call him the Doctor? But anyway, I heard him talking to Clara from his district about not siding with the other careers. He said it would be boring." She informs us and I try to think. Who would a guy like that side with?

"I get the feeling Clarisse is gonna try and join them. Maybe that Hook guy from her district too." Teresa says, miming the guy from seven with the hook hand. "Do you think they'll allow him that in the arena?" She asks us and I shake my head.

"No. It's a weapon." I dismiss, my voice squeaking a little. I'm bad at talking to groups of people, especially ones I don't really know.

"But what about John from nine? He has a cane, right?" Asks Ron, worriedly.

"I guess you could club someone to death with it, if you were really determined…" Sam mutters. "But he doesn't seem like the type."

"The games change people." Luffy reminds him, still grinning. It doesn't even look forced. He just looks constantly happy, and to be honest, it's reassuring. Even if what he said wasn't particularly friendly, he seems like the type.

"And then there's the boy from your District, Molly." Teresa pipes up. "He seems to know what he's doing… Do you think he'll ally with the careers? I bet they'll want him." She asks and I shake my head.

"Sherlock isn't like that. He doesn't like being around people… Not even me." I murmur and Teresa pats my back.

"I know how you feel." She replies and we all stare at her.

"Yes, but let's be honest," Ron begins, incredulous. "That Moriarty kid? He's bloody terrifying." He counters and she laughs.

"Yes, I suppose so… We're all kind of used to it in twelve." She smiles, almost reminiscent. I don't think I could ever get used to that.

"What do we think about the Alice girl, from one?" Asks Hermione. There's a collective shrug.

"I'm not sure she's even on the same planet as us, to be perfectly honest." Luffy laughs and I smile nervously at him. He has a point… I caught her eye at lunch, but I don't think she even saw me. Which makes both her and Sherlock ignorant of my presence. Maybe I can get through the games if I just act like myself all the time. People seem to ignore me anyway; it shouldn't make much difference.

"So were you guys going to make an alliance?" I decide to ask them, carefully saying 'you.' I can't presume at this stage. Hermione shoots Sam a careful look.

"Maybe." She tells me. Luffy grins and nudges me.

"Maybe we'll even let you in." He says, laughing. Hermione and Sam shoot him warning looks and I blush.

"You don't have to. It's fine." I mumble. I see Hermione sigh out of the corner of my eye and I know she feels bd. It's alright though. I'm used to this kind of thing; it's nice enough that they're letting me talk to them now.

"Well maybe we will." She relents and Sam rolls his eyes. "We'll see."

"What's wrong with her joining it?" Asks Luffy, and Teresa nods with him. Sam sighs.

"You're going to make me answer that?" He asks, tiredly. Luffy nods, still grinning.

"Yeah. Look at her. She's smart. She noticed that there weren't any mines didn't she?" He asks pointedly, and Teresa nods. Sam and Hermione exchange glances.

"I don't have a problem with it. Since you're all asking." Ron points out, slightly moodily and Hermione smiles at him.

"I don't want to cause any trouble." I blurt, not wanting them to argue.

Luffy shakes his head, and I notice properly that he's still wearing his straw hat. I presume they wear them a lot in district 11, what with the sun and the grasses to make them with. Teresa and he, maybe even Ron, seem to be alright about me joining. I was right about Sam and Hermione having leadership though, because if I'm going to join this alliance, I'm clearly going to need their OK.

"We'll see in the morning, alright?" Hermione compromises, and that's good enough for me.

The rest of the evening is spent talking about the games and what the arena could possibly be. And to my great surprise, it's nice. I enjoy talking to the others, with Hermione's rationality, Sam's experience, Luffy's reassurance, Ron's humour, and Teresa's hopeful nature. Even with the prospect of the games hanging over us, it's a far sight better than sitting opposite Sherlock in the living room as he ignores me for another couple of hours.

I smile.

AND IT'S ANOTHER UPDATE! WOOO! I didn't expect to get another one done today, but tah-dah! I hope you're all enjoying this, as much as I'm enjoying writing it :) Again, let me know if there's a character you want a focus on, or something you'd like to suggest about the arena/interviews/other details to do with the games. Please review, as it means the world to me, and follows/favourites are MUCH APPRECIATED. SERIOUSLY. Also, have I done the characters properly? Is there something about a character you think is missing? Please let me know!

Thanks for reading (you're all fantastic),

Lucy XXX