For the next two days everything is sort of mellow, Keanan spaces out a lot when we talk to him, and I hear him talking in his sleep when I'm awake at night. His talking always has something to do with Jace. I don't think he knows I've heard him, but I know he remembers those dreams because when he wakes up he usually rushes down to the beach to sit there and stare and the water again.
My wound is getting better, it still hurts, but I am able to stand up, but Nick still won't let me walk anywhere without his assistance, not that I mind or anything. We are just all kind of antsy; there haven't been any deaths recently.
Me and Nick don't showcase our romance that much because I think he feels the same way about the cameras, but we do find each other staring at one another occasionally and I'll smile and Nick will do his famous wink and it feels just as good as being in his arms.
The three of us are all sitting outside of the tent; I'm sitting on a big rock that sits right by the water. It's much like the one at our old camp. My feet dangle from the rock, I'm swinging my legs slightly and my toes gently touch the water. Nick is sitting in the sand behind me with his knees up to his chest. Keanan is fishing of course. We don't need any more fish; I think Keanan just fishes because it keeps his mind off of Jace, Nick and I don't say anything about it to him though. Yesterday we got a parachute from Annie, Keanan's mentor. I think it was a gift to him from his sponsors to tell him how sorry everyone feels for him for Jace's death. It was a full meal, enough for me and Nick too.
I am staring at Keanan who so intensely is looking into the water waiting for a fish. It's interesting watching him fish. I wonder how he can have that much patience to just stand there with a spear and hope a fish will come near him eventually. He looks like a professional fisherman, with his pants rolled up to him knees.
"Do you know how to swim?" Keanan sees me looking at him. I nod my head
"Yes," I say simply. "My mom took me to this place out of District 12 when I was younger." Keanan nods and I look back down and my toes tracing circles in the water, if it wasn't for my injury I would be swimming now. I kind of miss it, the way the water just surrounds your body, it's a pretty good feeling.
I look back behind me to see Nick still sitting quietly but he has his eyes on me. Once again I smile at him and he smiles back. I turn my head again before I am tempted to run over to him and kiss him.
So that's how the past days have been, uneventful.
Later that night Keanan is sleeping, he sleeps so much better after he tires himself from fishing all day long, though I'm sure visions of Jace still haunt his mind. I'm sitting in the tent just playing with the laces on my shoe when Nick comes in.
"Hey, come sit with me." He pulls his hand out and I smile
"I stand up myself you know." I say as I realize it still hurts, and I'll probably make a fool out of myself and start bleeding again. I stand up and Nick keeps asking me if I'm ok. I say I'm fine which is true, because surprisingly it doesn't hurt much.
When we get a perfect spot in the sand we sit down and just sit, we don't talk or even look at each other. My head is leaning on Nick though. He is playing with little pebbles in the sand. My mind is running through everything, I'm not sure why every thought is coming into my head now when it could have been lingering over my brain all day long.
"What's on your mind? It looks like you're thinking too much." He says softly. Of course he is right. I am thinking too much. I 'm thinking of Jace and Keanan, I'm thinking of mom and dad, I'm thinking about Haymitch and Will. But the though is taking over my mind completely is Nick. How much I want to kiss him, and how we could never be together and how I am kidding myself.
"Too much." I don't take my eyes off the ground because if I look into his mesmerizing eyes I might collapse and tell him everything my mind is holding and I know the cameras are on us right now.
"You know, you're very hard to read Hailey." I'm not sure what he means by this, "I mean I know what's on your mind, that's obvious, but I just can't figure out…" I look up at him to see him staring at my face. "I just can't figure out what you're thinking about me." I smile at him because it's always nice to see a side of Nick that isn't too confident.
"What do you mean?" I ask him, he smiles back at me.
"Basically what I'm saying is would you mind if I kissed you right now." I can't help but laugh at him as he is staring at me with a big confident smile. Of course I wouldn't mind, I've been practically begging you to kiss me again. "So… is that a no?"
Then for the first time I reach up and press my lips to Nick's. It's the first time I kissed him first, he was the one left surprised this time. When I pull away his eyes open quickly and the gray color is sparking, he looks so shocked and happy.
"So what you said in the training center, you're taking it back?" I can't tell if he is trying to be his confident self or if he really wants to know. I think about what I said, 'in less than a week both of us could be dead, I can't do this, sorry.'
"Well I still think it's completely true." I say getting serious for a moment, "But honestly I don't really care anymore." He smiles immediately at my answer and he is pulling me into a kiss that is so wonderful I feel like I'm flying. I am leaning on his chest and he feels so warm. I never want to let go.
After we cuddle for a long time, we decide to go back to the tent and go to sleep. Since the cameras probably have a hard time getting a view of us in the tent Nick and I decide to continue cuddling and lay down next to each other.
It's actually quite warm tonight so I take off my hunting jacket and rest it next to me on the floor.
I think it is something about being in Nick's arms that make me have this wonderful dream. It starts off so real, I am walking out of my room back in District 12. I go down stairs and see mom and dad, who look so happy just sitting together on the couch.
I walk out of the house and I am walking to the bakery. When I get there I look in the windows of the bakery to see Will happily singing to a song sweeping the floor. I don't walk in the bakery; instead I walk to the house across from it, Nick's house. I see Gale who also looks happy, but Nick rushes out of the house to me and pulls me in his arms for a warm hug. Then we start walking towards the woods, were going hunting together. This is a dream, not a nightmare. I can't remember the last time I had a dream that didn't wake me up screaming or crying. There is nothing wrong with this dream and I am enjoying it.
The dream is cut short with yelling.
"Hailey! Hailey!" I feel someone shaking my shoulders. "Hailey wake up!" it's Nick's voice.
My eyes shoot open and I see Keanan franticly grabbing our weapons and Nick looking into my eyes. "The careers and the District 5 tribute are attacking our camp!" Nick is yelling and my eyes are still hazy from just waking up, but then an arrow shoots through the tent and just missing my hand, goes right through my backpack and I wake up right away. I gasp and stand up immediately.
Nick, Keanan, and I run out of the tent and dash for the forest with just our weapons in our hands.