The Living Games
A/N Hey, peoples! I thought today would be a great day for the guys and the gals to hangout together, you know, two pairs who could possibly become couples in the future. Well, on already is a couple, but you get my drift. Gosh, I've never even said that before. What's happening to me!? I don't really know where I'm going to go with Josh and Arianna, Jarianna. Ooh, I love their ship names. Jarianna, Zubrey. They might not become a couple, Idrk. But I just looooove writing Zubrey scenes! Yes, I know she's only 14, but it's just so fun. The feels hit, and I hate when the moment ends. So this is kind of like the calm before the storm, so look out for that storm that's sure to hit our favorite girl soon! Ah, don't you just love making characters suffer? It always turns out well in the end, but the journey is so fun to create. But reading about them is a whole 'nother story. Toodle oo!
Oh, btw, there's some information in this chapter that, when I choose to reveal it, will shock you. like, kill you. he he, oh, the mystery. I found a way to do it after all. Zane just can't get away from victors, can he. *wink*
I just realized you probably understood none of that. Oh. Well, sorry!
Oh! And today is the anniversary of me joining this site! It's officially been one year, yay! I'd like to thank my mom, my dad, my sister, Just kidding! But seriously, I love you guys! Enjoy!
Chapter Ten: Hangout day
Aubrey woke up in a room with the sun shining through the big windows. She rolled over to get off of her hay bed on the floor, but was surprised to find she wasn't on the floor.
She rolled off the edge of the bed and hit the ground with a thud!
"What in the name . . . ?"
Yesterday came flashing back to her. The meadow. Her sister coming home. Talking about Shine. She then remembered that they had moved into a new house. She got up and brushed herself off. The clock beside her bed read 11:08.
She had no idea how she slept that long. She was an early riser, so she was usually up way earlier. Mostly because she was used to waking up for school, but school was canceled that day because of the Victor that came home, a.k.a, her sister.
Aubrey saw a light under the bathroom door, and knew Arianna was in there.
She went downstairs smiling, and saw her mother cooking something on the stove.
"Mornin' ma," she said.
Her mother nodded towards her, and Cady smiled a big, bright smile at her.
She sat down at the table and made small talk as she waited for Arianna to come down. When she did, her face looked like she was doing fine, but Aubrey saw right through it. Her smile was forced, and her eyes held a bit of fear.
"Nightmares?" Aubrey whispered in her ear as she sat down next to her. Her sister told her about them, and even described some of them.
"No. Just a few unwanted images. Sleeping next to you helped a bit. They aren't as bad as some of the other Victors' since they were in there for weeks longer than me," she whispered back.
Aubrey nodded her head and dug into her breakfast.
After finishing, she went upstairs and got ready in a way she never had before. She had the best brush, and the best clothes she could ever possibly ask for. She decided to go with blue jean shorts, with a grey sleeveless top. Where the armpit of it was, it drooped down to show the sides of her black bra.
She brushed her barely over the shoulder length hair, and threw on a white fake pearl bracelet. After a few minutes of deciding, she put on some Capitol designer lip gloss.
She put on some white sandals and re-brushed her hair for no reason.
When Arianna came up the stairs, she immediately went to the closet, and came out in white high-waisted shorts, a black crop top that showed just a little bit of her stomach, and some black knee-high boots.
"Wow . . ." Aubrey whispered. She looked beautiful, with her long, blonde hair in a braid, and tossed onto her shoulder.
"So," Arianna said, ignoring her sister's words. "What are we doing today?"
"I, um, planned on seeing Zane today. I wanted you to meet him properly."
"Okay. Where to?"
"That's for me to know, and you to find out. Come on!" She grabbed her hand and pulled her down the stairs.
"We're going out!" she yelled to her mom
"Okay! Stay out of trouble and—"
She pulled the door closed before her mother could finish, still gripping a giggling Arianna's hand.
They ran to Town, avoiding desperate people and ignoring the stares. Aubrey saw Zane up ahead, right by where she wanted to go. She was about to call out to him, when a voice behind her yelled, "BOO!"
She screamed, turned around, and punched whoever was behind her on instinct.
"AH! What the hell?! Son of a—"
"Josh!" Aubrey screamed when she saw him on the ground. He was holding his right eye, and grimacing.
She smirked.
"Why'd you punch me?"
"Sorry, instinct," she said, but she didn't sound or look sorry at all.
"Whatever."
"What are you doing here, anyway?"
He stood up and brushed himself off. "I'm here with your boyfriend. He told me to come with him. Didn't tell me why, though. Just mentioned "getting a social life" and "seeing the sun"."
Aubrey looked at Arianna, and saw her holding back a blush.
"Mhmm, I know you don't see the sun much."
She pulled him by his arm and led him over to Zane.
"Was this your idea?" she asked as he engulfed her in a hug.
"Yeah. I thought they could use it."
He hid his face under her hair, and kissed her neck, leaving the skin he touched tingling. He kissed that spot of hers she liked, right below her jawline, and she bit back a moan.
"Zane!" she hissed. "Not in front of everyone!"
He let go of her and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. But you owe me a full exploration of your neck later."
She smirked and said, "Whatever you want." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, or tried to, but he held her for a bit longer.
"Is that lip gloss?" he asked, smacking his lips when he let go.
Aubrey blushed. She had forgotten about it.
"Yeah. Designer."
He raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes, turning to see her sister talking with Josh.
After clearing her throat, they were off to the meadow.
"Oh, you wanted us to be here," Arianna said, gasping as she saw its beauty.
"Pretty, right?" She said smirking.
They sat down across from each other, Aubrey and Zane on one side, Arianna and Josh on the other.
"So, how's it been here while I was gone?" Arianna asked the group.
The three of them exchanged glances.
"Uhh . . ."
"Well . . ."
"About that . . ."
Arianna raised an eyebrow. "Spill."
"Aubrey turned into a badass!" Josh yelled.
"Josh!" she and Zane yelled at the same time.
"What, you know it's true."
"What do you mean?" Arianna asked, confused.
"She kicked this girl's ass like three times, and then she beat up a guy!"
"You WHAT!?"
Aubrey cleared her throat calmly. "She provoked me."
"You sent her to the apothecary."
"You WHAT?!"
"She just needed a bit of talking to."
"She couldn't get up off the floor, and we had to carry her to the nurse," Zane chipped in.
"WHAT!"
"It was a crazy time okay? To sum it up, Payton got on my nerves, so I beat her up, Bronc got on my nerves too, so I beat him up, and mom is okay with Seam people now!"
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah. She said she only didn't like them because she didn't was us to be poor or something."
"That . . . explains a lot."
"I know, right?"
"Okay . . . away from the craziness, how long have you two been together?"
Aubrey looked at Zane, who was looking at her.
"Umm . . ." she exchanged a look with Zane. "About two and a half weeks, I guess."
Arianna squealed.
"Oh, you guys are just too cute!"
Aubrey and Zane exchanged glances again.
"Okay . . ."
"How many times have you kissed? Have you ever given her a hickey? Where's the spot she likes most? Oh, have you guys made out for more than three min—"
"ARIANNA!" Aubrey yelled.
"What?" she asked innocently.
Aubrey sighed. "I lost count, yes, that's none of your business, and yes." She glared at her sister.
"Squeeee!" Did she forget to mention her sister was totally obsessed with people's relationships? Because she was.
Aubrey remembered something she had wanted to ask Zane.
"Hey, who's in your family again? The one you live with."
Zane looked thoughtful for a minute.
"Well, let's see, there's my mom, my step dad—"
"He's from the Seam?"
Zane snorted.
"Of course. Anyway, I have Josh, and our other brother, who would be . . . 9 now, I think. My mom kicked him out of the house and now he lives in the foster home. My mom kicked him out because he looked like a Merchant, with his blonde hair and blue eyes, and my mother hates Merchants. She wouldn't take our pleas, and now there is no way to find him. It's been years since I've last seen him. Wish I could've helped him, but I know there was nothing I could've done. Umm, anyway, my stepfather's last name is Vison (ugh)—but I still use my real dad's last name."
Aubrey was shocked. She had known about his family, but she didn't know about his other brother.
"Hey . . . Arianna? Can I talk to you for a second?" Josh asked nervously, interrupting Aubrey's thoughts.
"Sure?" she asked more than said.
She jumped up and the walked away.
"Guess it's just you and me," Aubrey said, letting the last subject go.
"Yeah. And you just happen to owe me an exploration."
Aubrey rolled her eyes at him, but didn't complain. Why would she?
She turned to him and straddled his waist, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pushing his back on the ground so she was lying on top of him.
He started with a long, passionate kiss that left her breathless and gasping for air. He flipped them over, hovering over her, and moved on to her neck, placing soft kisses that made her want to melt, and shudder with each one. He reached the bottom of her ear, kissing so softly she shivered hard. He nibbled on her earlobe and pulled on it gently, making her moan, and she didn't try and hold it back. She could feel Zane smiling against her face.
"Oh, shut up."
Zane laughed against her skin, and she shivered again.
He moved back down her neck, until he reached her collarbone, placing one last soft kiss that made her want to ask him not to stop. He kissed her so gently, it was as if he was afraid to hurt her. They were such soft kisses that she couldn't help but long for another one. He did kiss her on the lips again, so she was happy with that.
He kissed her deeply, and she was pretty sure she was just a puddle by the time he pulled away and got off of her.
"They're coming back," he said in a breathless, husky tone that jabbed her in the heart and she just had to kiss him again.
"Let them see us. I don't give a—"
"Gosh, Aubrey. You curse like a sailor. You know how awkward it would be if they caught us like this."
"Ugh, fine," she said as she took a seat beside him, and laced their fingers together.
"Have a nice . . . talk?" Aubrey asked when they reached them, trying to get her feelings under control.
"Yeah . . . have a nice . . . whatever you two did?" Arianna asked, blushing.
"Oh, um, we just . . . talked too." Aubrey stuttered.
"Mhmm. Is that why your faces are flushed, hair a little tangled, and lips a bit swollen? Looks to me like you've been busy," Josh said.
"Shut the f—"
"It's none of your business," Zane said, glaring at Aubrey, stopping what she was about to say.
They both rolled their eyes.
"Whatever. Wanna play a game?"
For the next few hours, the all played games, ran around, yelled at each other, teased one another, and they each blushed at least five times. When they finally stopped, it was around five, according to Zane's watch.
Arianna and Josh said goodbye to each other.
"I'm gonna miss you," Aubrey said, her voice muffled against Zane's chest.
"I'm gonna miss you, too."
"Promise you won't have too much fun without me?" she asked.
"Promise."
He hugged her for a bit more, finally letting go after a minute.
He kissed her on the tip of her nose.
"I think I've fallen for you," he whispered, for her ears only.
She smiled. "I think I have too," she said, without missing a beat.
He kissed her sweetly on the lips, keeping it short.
"See you tomorrow?" he asked.
"See you tomorrow," she said.
She turned and saw Arianna hugging Josh, and when they broke apart, the four headed their separate ways.
"So," Aubrey asked, on their way home. "What did Josh want to talk about?"
"He wanted . . . He told me he liked me, but only as a friend. He told me that he was asexual, and something might've been there if he wasn't. He didn't want to lead me on, and let me think something could happen when nothing would. It sounds mean, but I really appreciated it. He made some joke about pineapples, then he turned around and saw you and Zane making out, and said he'd better go ruin the moment," she said, giggling.
Aubrey blushed. "He interrupted that moment? Why, that little—"
"Aubrey, calm down. It was nothing serious, anyway."
Aubrey sighed and they continued their walk home in comfortable silence, both thinking about one of two brothers.