Hey readers!

Sorry for not getting another chapter up sooner…(Marvel is consuming my liiiiiife) *clears throat* But anyway! Enough talk about how amazing Superhero's are, you're here for The Hunger Games! (which is also amazing)

So in this chapter I was going to cover the first day of training, but that didn't end up happening :P

I always end up doing that…this story is never going to end if I keep this up.

(Maybe I'll just have to make it a trilogy…)

Hope you all enjoy, and as always thank you for your support! (feel free to leave a review to let me know how you feel!)

Chapter Twenty-Four: It's Hell, isn't it?

I lie on my back, staring at the dim ceiling above me. I can feel my heart beating underneath my crossed hands, my index finger absent mindedly keeping time with the steady beat, tapping against my wrist.

I shift my legs slightly, finding a cool area of the silk sheets, and let out a sigh. The window to my right is set to an underwater scene, a coral reef idly swirling with life. Tranquil. Calm. Relaxing. Everything but how I'm feeling right now.

First day of training starts in a few short hours. I remember how brutal it was in the training hall, how competitive I felt while trying not to think of all the eyes watching me, feeling foolish and hopeless every time I failed at something.

How will Lisa and Ryder do? Will the other tributes harass them? The careers are sure to be more aggressive and more competitive since Trina and Vince are going to miss the first day of training. They'll feel like the career pack has something to prove.

Am I overthinking this? Probably. But then again, Ruby 'accidentally' threw a knife at my head. What if the careers feel threatened by Ryder? What if they harass poor little Lisa?

"Damn it." I mutter under my breath, reaching up and brushing the hair back off my forehead. Sleep. I should try to get a few hours before the day starts.

Yeah, like that's ever going to happen.

With a sigh, I pull the covers off and slide my feet to the floor. Might as well get up now, and find something to distract myself from agonizing over every little thing that could go wrong in the next twenty hours.

I pull an over-large sweatshirt on, and slip out into the hall. I stand outside my door for a moment, trying to decide where to go. The main room? A little too open and conspicuous. The lounge with a bar off to one side of it? …Nope, I shouldn't be near alcohol this early.

The roof.

As the doors slide open, and the cool breeze sweeps in to greet me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, letting the calm of early morning wash over me.

As I walk out into the garden, my serenity is broken by the sound of someone crying. I freeze, and listen closely.

After debating whether or not to leave, I finally decide to investigate, my protective older sister side getting the better of me.

I'm surprised when I stumble across the wiry form of Jasper, sitting with his back to the wall and his knees drawn up to his chest. His shaggy black hair is sticking up every which way, as if he'd been tossing and turning in his sleep. His slate gray eyes shimmer like twin pools of liquid stone as tears build in them and then escape down his already wet cheeks.

"Jasper?"

He jumps, taken by surprise. He quickly turns away from me and scrubs at his face. "What do you want, four?"

I shift on my feet slightly, my hands twitching nervously as I try and decide how to continue. I shouldn't be meddling with the careers, it could cause backlash for my own tributes.

"I…I want to make sure you're okay." Damn it heart. Brain had decided to leave.

He scoffed, and sniffed, still avoiding looking at me. "Sure. You just wanted to see it was me, then run off and tell your tributes that Jasper Cordwell is weak."

I walk over and slide down the wall next to him, casually resting my arms on my legs as I shrug. "That's not true."

He finally turns to look at me. "Yes it is. Everyone thinks that the careers are beyond anything as petty as emotion. We're not allowed to cry. Tears are weakness."

Even though he's younger than me by a few years, I feel as if we're the same age. We're around the same size, but it's more than that, because I see in his eyes what I see in all the mentor's eyes. What I see every time I look in the mirror.

"You're wrong. There's no shame in tears."

He sniffs again and wipes his face with the back of his sleeve. "Whatever. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"That you're scared? You feel hopeless and trapped but you can't show it, you have to be strong, show everyone that this doesn't faze you, be the tribute everyone expects, the person everyone wants you to be. Yeah…I don't get that at all."

He runs a hand through his erratic hair, and glances at me, a slightly confused expression on his face. "Why are you doing this?"

I shrug. "Honestly? I don't know. I shouldn't be, it's only going to make things more complicated for you, me, my tributes, your mentors and Queen."

He looks startled. "You…you knew our names. Queen and mine I mean."

I shrug. "I guess I'm too new to think of you as tributes. I just see you all as…"

"As what?"

I turn and meet his eyes. "As kids. Kids like me."

He thinks about this for a moment. "Riker and Ebony tell us to look at all the other tributes as targets, threats to be taken out." He shrugs. "The way they make it sound, it's like that's how all the mentors and tributes think. They make it sound…so simple. Just eliminate the threats."

"Do you have any family?"

He looks at me quickly. "I, uh…sort of."

I frown slightly. "Sort of?"

He crosses his arms defensively. "I've got an older brother, and both parents." He sub-consciously reaches up to rub at the scar on his cheek bone.

"Okay…"

He shifts slightly. "Things used to be okay. My sister though, she was reaped when I was still small. My parents loved her…so much. She was everything to them, their little princess." He sighs and rubs at the scar again. "After she died, mom took to morphling, dad to rum."

"I'm sorry."

He shakes his head, letting out a bitter chuckle. "Mike, my big brother, he used to try and protect me, take the brunt of the beatings." Jasper ground his teeth together. "Then he started to throw the punches. Blamed me for everything."

He sniffed and let out a heavy sigh. "Truth is, if I hadn't been reaped, I probably would have volunteered. I figure, if I win, maybe they'd…" He shrugged. "Maybe things would be different."

I put my hand gently on his shoulder. "I am so sorry."

He gives me the smallest of smiles. "It's okay."

After a moment of silence, he clears his throat. "Can I ask you something?"

I nod.

"After…after your brother died, what kept you going? Why were you driven to win?"

I don't answer for a moment then finally I take a deep breath. "The truth is, I wasn't. I was going to let myself die, give someone else the chance at going home. But at the same time, I knew that I had to get home…for him, and the rest of my family." I turn to look at him again. "I had a reason to fight."

He nods. "Do your tributes have a reason to fight?"

"Everyone has a reason to fight."

"Yeah, well not all of them are good reasons."

I smile. "True. But in the arena, it's not a game, its survival, everyone tries to survive. I guess that's what they count on, our basic instinct to fight back."

"It's hell, isn't it?"

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "What?"

He shrugs. "I don't mean the arena, everyone knows it's hell in there, I mean winning. Being a victor is hell, isn't it?"

I frown slightly. "Why…why would you say that?"

"It's obvious…if you look. One of the main reasons I'm up here is because I couldn't listen to it anymore."

"Listen to what?"

He looks at me. "The screams. If you're not dead asleep when Riker and Ebony go to bed, you won't fall asleep. It's awful…listening to them screaming, crying sometimes. The sound, it hits you in the soul. Just so…broken."

I'm too stunned to say anything, so I remain silent.

"You can see it in all the victor's eyes, if you really look." He glances at me for a moment. "Then there are the rumors, late nights with the Capitolites. The wild parties ending in tabloid scandals." He looks at me with a wry smile. "I'm guessing that's not completely voluntary on the victor's side."

I glance around the rooftop, almost afraid someone is eavesdropping. "I…" I give him a small smile. "You're very clever."

He smiles slightly, a genuine smile. "I know."

I laugh quietly. "Humble too, I see."

The humor is soon gone, and the heavy silence soon returns to the rooftop. After a few minutes of listening to the wind chimes, Jasper says quietly. "Is it worth winning?"

I shake my head. "I don't know."

He nods. "I should probably head back down before everyone else wakes up."

I stand up. "Yeah…me too."

He hesitates for a moment, as if debating whether or not to say something. Finally he just nods. "Thanks."

"For?"

He shrugs. "For…being there." With that, he turns and hurries to the elevator.

After a few more minutes on the rooftop, I head down to our floor and head to the kitchen where I order a big breakfast, then I go to my room to get dressed.

I select a pair of comfortable, stretch-style jeans and a soft purple top, and have just stripped down to my bra and underwear when the door to my bathroom opens.

I whirl around, clutching the shirt defensively.

Dash is standing in the doorway, his hair still dripping onto his damp shoulders and chest, one hand still on the doorknob, the other resting on the towel wrapped around his waist.

We both stare at each other for a few long seconds. Then he motions behind him, stammering an explanation. "The- uh- the…shower, in my room, it's- um- well- not…working…" He clears his throat and runs his fingers through his damp hair. "Well this is awkward." He mutters, diverting his gaze from my half clothed form, to the wall.

I bite my lip as color floods his cheeks, and quickly pull the shirt on. "Couldn't you get a servant to come fix your shower?" I ask as I hurriedly pull my jeans on as well.

"I…uh- didn't want to wake anyone. And you weren't in your room so I- um- I didn't think you would mind if I…borrowed your…shower."

Now fully dressed, I turn back to face him as I fluff my hair slightly. "You can look now."

He hesitates for a moment then glances back at me. "You don't mind…do you?"

I laugh at his embarrassed expression, and shake my head. "No, I don't mind at all, although, maybe next time you should bring your clothes into the bathroom with you."

His cheeks turn from pink to red, and he secures the towel more firmly around his hips. "Hopefully there won't have to be a next time."

I walk over to the nightstand and retrieve a hair band, pulling my hair up into a pony-tail as I say. "You know, I think you've seen me naked more times than Felix has."

Dash coughs nervously. "I've never seen you naked."

I wave my hand dismissively. "Practically naked, whatever, if you want to be technical about it, Felix technically has never seen me completely naked either."

"Okay! I did not need to know that." He shakes his head and walks toward the door. "You know, you tend to overshare sometimes."

I laugh and follow him to the door. "I do not! I thought we agreed to not keep secrets from each other?"

He pauses and turns around in the doorway. "Well, some things are better left…private. Let's not talk about this…ever."

I giggle as he turns and disappears in his room. "Fine, mister bashful. Since when did he get shy?" I mutter to myself as I head to the dining room.