POV District 12 Zalnys En'beli

I woke up to a knock on my door. I sat up, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "Who is it? Adoss?" The door pushed open, and I was surprised at who I saw. It wasn't Adoss, it was her mentor, Katniss Mellark. I moved to get out of bed, assuming she was coming to wake me up. But instead she walked in silently and sat down in a chair in the corner of the room, so I stayed sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hi Katniss...where's Peeta?" She was playing with her finger nails, though she kept her eyes on me.

"Still asleep," She responded, her voice rough. She was either sick or she had been having a rough day - though I wouldn't blame her for the latter. Every year both her and her husband were forced to leave their children behind so she can personally get to know the people that would be dying. I quickly shoved the thought out of my mind. Because whenever I thought about that, I would soon think about how Adoss and I would probably be one of them.

"I don't mean to be rude," I hesitated for a second, biting my lip before I continued, "but why are you here?"

She didn't smile. "I needed to talk to you, and since I am not really your mentor, this is the only opportunity I could find," She explained.

I nodded, though my fingers were digging into the side of the bed and pursed my lips together. "What about?" I finally asked after several moments of tense silence.

She didn't respond right away. She was tapping her foot, like she was pondering it. Put when she stopped, she had a determined look on her face, and leaned forward. "I needed to talk to you about this star-crossed lover's bit."

I grinded my teeth, looking away from her and out the window. I brushed my tangled black hair out of my eyes, staying silent for about a minute. When I finally turned back, I could see the affect my expression had on her, "It's not a bit."

"Zalnys," She groaned. "I don't mean to be rude either, but there is no way the two of you will win like this. President Lotus is too smart to fall into the same trap President Snow did."

I shook my head as soon as she started speaking. "You don't get it," I growled. I slipped down onto the floor, and she immediately stood up too. "Its not a bit. We're really together, we didn't make this up for the Games for anything." I locked my eyes with hers, walking towards her. "We're not trying to go back together - we're not trying to go back at all."

"But-"

"Now we haven't said it," I cut her off. "But I think we'd both rather die than go home alone. I know I would, and apparently I'm more 'ok' with this Hunger Games deal than her, so, don't waste your words on me." I had made it clear to her what I meant. I kept my eyes on her as she turned and walked slowly out, defeated. Once the door closed behind her, my hands formed into fists and I turned and slammed my foot and fist into the wall. They stung, and I had dented the wood on the inside of the metal wall. Grinding my teeth the entire time, I got ready for breakfast in the dining car. But I slipped down the hallway the opposite way, and into Adoss's room.

She jerked awake as the door slide open, and I stood frozen there while her look of horror slowly faded. "We're not even in the games yet," I commented, holding my hands behind my back as I crept in. Her hair was tangled around her head, and I could see her shaking all of the sheets. She didn't say anything, and I slipped over the board at the foot of the bed. "You can calm down until we are, you know." I looked over my shoulder at her, and she was slowly shaking her head.

"N-no," She protested, propping herself up. I turned back to the door, biting my lip and kicking my feet through the air. In all honesty, I didn't know how she felt about going home. I didn't want to. All I had there would be my parents, and I had never been extremely close to them. She had her parents, her brothers, her dog. I had never seen a tighter family bond. My thoughts drifted to old Boar. I could see him sitting at the door to her bedroom, or out back where she always would feed him when her brothers came back with food from either the Black Market or out in the woods. Sitting there, waiting for her. Wondering where she was, or where she went. Wondering why she left him there.

I turned back to her. "You go get ready. I'll wait for you here, we can go to breakfast together." She looked like she wanted to say more, but after a few moments she just moved her messy brown hair out of her face and got up. She grabbed a random bunch of clothes out of one of the drawers and hustled to the bathroom. I looked after her once the door had closed, biting harder into my lip. What if she did want to go home?

The door opened, and I jerked around to be Peeta standing in the doorway. He took a glance around the room before his eyes rested on me again. "Adoss?" He asked, looking at me with an expression that made him look more concerned than curious. Did he think I let her jump out a window or drown herself in the sink?

"Shower," I replied, narrowing my eyes at him. I wondered if he was the one to put up Katniss to what she said to me. I knew she would've had some concerns about it, but she doesn't seem like the kind of person to get involved with things. He nodded, giving another quick scope of the room before disappearing into the hallway, the door hissing to a close behind him. I glared after him for a while, until the thought hit me. What if he or Katniss had the same talk with Adoss?

POV District 7 Aleas Chemore

I had a pillow pulled over my head. The sheets were tossed wildly over the bed, with the covers only covering my back, waist, and left leg. The knocking on my door became more frantic, and I sunk my fingers into the pillow more, pulling in tighter onto the back of my head and pushing my face into the mattress. "Aleas?" It was very easy to identify Belm's Capitol accent. "Aleas! Aleas, answer me!" He shouted, pounding harder on the door.

The only thought that came to mind is if anyone else would hear him. I knew Cidet and our mentors, Kykuta Radnd and Ony Seon, had already gone to the dining card. The thick metal casings and rushing winds of the train probably hid his screaming. I pressed my forehead further into the mattress, pulling my chin up so I could breath in the tiny space left under my chest. I was panting - I hadn't realized how long I had kept myself under the pillow, and I could see my curly blond hair blowing from my breath, tickling my lips and cheeks.

"Aleas, please!" He shouted again. It came to mind, but never as an option - actually getting up and answering the door. I strained my neck to look at the clock sitting on the bedside table. It was really late, for getting to breakfast on time. I turned my head back, letting out a sigh of relief when some of the tension in my back released. I could feel my shirt pulled up around my chest, and I had a soft grey jacket on that I had found in the drawers. The sleeves were pulled up to my shoulders, and the back of my jacket was sitting above the sheets. It felt like the denim pants I had dug out of the back were starting to get tighter and tighter. I had slept in the same clothes all night, and I had no intention of changing them, even for the Opening Ceremony that was looming over my shoulders as we edged closer and closer towards the Capitol.

I could hear the door slide open, and my breath got caught in my throat as silence suddenly gripped the air except for the extremely soft sound of the land rushing by. He must've opened it by accident. My hands had turned to fists, pressing into the soft pillow as I had it pulled even tight down on my head. My shoulders had started shaking from the pressure I had put myself under, trying to lift up against my own strength so I could breath the warm, used air trapped between the mattress and my torso. I made a strangled choking noise as I tried to release the oxygen caught in a knot below my chin.

His pounding feet instantly flew at me, and as soon as I collapsed my breathing cave, hands clasped around my wrists. Belm wretched me up, and I had to twist my legs around to keep him from breaking my spine. The hood on my jacket was flung over my head, my golden hair spilled out, tangled in my tank top straps and the hood. my breath was coming fast, from the sudden attack. I slowly opened my eyes, which I had closed tightly, to focus my eyes on his painted, Capitol face. His bright blue eyes were almost blinding, and his black hair was wrapped around his face. His shoulders caught my attention, vibrating gently against the brown cabinets behind him.

"What?" I breathed, my eyes narrowing at him. He looked from me to the bed, and the pillow that had been flung aside. I had made an impression into the sheets, and the only un-dented spot was where I had made an air pocket. I looked past him in the mirror, and I could see the red marks on my neck from where I had pressed my chin into my skin.

"I thought..." He mumbled, searching my face as he stumbled over his words. "you were trying to..."

"To what?" I snapped, yanking my hands back from him. His hands fell onto the edge of the bed, and he leaned forward to steady himself. I fell back, feeling like he was menacingly looming over me.

"Trying to kill yourself," He admitted, looking away from me. He looked ashamed almost. He had a loose-fitting grey-stripped white shirt. I had anticipated to see him wearing some sort of jacket, but judging by the state of his hair, and how one eye was blackened with make-up and the other wasn't, he had decided to attend to me before he had finished getting ready.

I narrowed my eyes at him again, looking over him. I pursed my lips, propping myself up a bit like I was trying to slip away from him, though my legs were trapped in a tourniquet of bed sheets. My hair and hood obscured my view, but I could see him through the jungle and cave my face was hiding in. "Why do you care?" I snarled at him.

"Well," His voice sounded strangled, and he let out a shaky breath. "I'll admit to being a typical Capitol-ite - I actually feel for the tributes."

"How is that true!" I screamed, instantly shooting up so I got close to his face. "Do you realize we don't just leave the TV show and return to our lives somewhere else where all the loosing tributes live, right? We actually die!" I was breathing heavily in his face, shifting some of the hair on his face. I had lowered my chin to give him a menacing stare, my jaw hanging open like I was baring my teeth at him. "That means we're dead. Dead," I repeated, grinding my teeth together while I added on.

He nodded, wordless for a moment. "I know."

"This is only you're third year," I huffed at him, falling back onto my elbows again. "Even the escorts that have been doing this for twenty years don't completely acknowledge that we're gong to die."

Belm didn't respond at first, leaning back from the bed and standing wobbly on his feet. He just watched me, studying me like I was an unknown animal. Trying to determine my intentions. Trying to predict my next move. Trying to understand what I saw compared to what he saw. I shifted my feet, pulling back and sitting up again. I slouched over a bit, moving my gaze from him down at my feet as I gently started untangling them. "I've never been on to follow others." I glanced up at him when he finally spoke. His eyes were gentle now, but their bright color still held my gaze intensely. It was a bit terrifying. "I'm going to finish getting ready. I can meet you outside your door once you are too."

He turned and walked back to the door. His fists were clenched, and I saw black boots tied all the way up to his knees, the end of the boots hidden by the fluffly cuffs on his pants. His pants were a pale denim, showing every muscle in his legs, and I wondered how he could bend his knees. The end had fluffy white boa-like strips banded around, which was a little bit more than eccentric in my eyes. My family didn't even have a duster that looked like that. "Get ready for what?" I called after him right before he left. He turned back, his lips pressed together, frustrated. I smiled a bit as the door closed behind him.

Once I head the faint sound of the door to his room closing, I shifted my legs and was relieved to be released from them. There were red marks on my arms and ankles from the bed sheets, and my nails were chipped and broken. I slipped to the ground, and I didn't even bother looking in the mirror. It barely passed my mind that if I could hear Belm's door, he could probably hear mine. But it didn't stop me from leaving. I wasn't even wearing shoes, and my hood was still in my face. As soon as the door closed behind me, I realized I had absolutely no plan.

I leaned back against the door, bent at an awkward angle. I didn't really know why I was actually waiting for Belm. But I didn't want to give Cidet the satisfaction of me walking in alone, while he sat scheming with Kykuta and Ony. I wondered what they were saying. Would he be telling Kykuta to try and screw me over? He could simply be trying to win over the mentors, so they'd give him any sponsor gifts we were receive. Though they would probably be wasted on me. My neck got sore, bending against the door as I looked at the bottom of the wall in front of me.

I craned my neck to the side when I heard the door slide open to the left of me, at the very far end of the car. When he turned towards me, to head to the dining cart, his eyes fell on me and he looked a bit surprised. He must've heard the door and assumed I had gone on without him. His black hair was curled up, like a bird. Now both of his eyes were outlined with black makeup, as if his eyes needed any more emphasis. He had put on a jacket, like I had predicted. It was a shiny black leather, with small, matching leather wing-like decorations bouncing off his shoulders.

"Hello," He chimed, coming to a stop beside me. His face was sullen, more tired-looking than it had when he had about ten minutes ago. I nodded to him, reluctantly pushing myself off the door, my arms crossed over my chest. I followed beside him, my chin lowered with my eyes to the floor. I caught Belm glancing at me, and I followed his gaze silently to my bare feet trudging across the short-cut red carpet. He kind of smelled like pine trees, and when I blinked my eyes closed, I almost felt like I was home. That I was shuffling through the grass, not the carpet on a train. I was rather disappointed when I opened my eyes back to my nightmare.

I glanced over at him. He wasn't a whole lot taller than me, and though it looked like he had really long legs. Something caught my eye on the side of his face, and I turned my head gently to peer at him through my hair. He had black earrings - in the shape of a horse. They looked like they were solid gems, though of course I wouldn't know what they would actually be. A District 1 fifteen-year-old girl probably would. A District 7 one would probably only be able to tell what kinds of woods things were.

Once we reached the door to the dining car, I grabbed Belm's hand and stopped. He stopped just in front of me, turning to look at my hand that was clamping down more and more, and up to my face, though I was looking straight past him at the door. He turned away from me, peering through the window. He then ducked down when he turned back to me, out of view from the window in the door. He wrenched his hand away, though his expression was still gentle. He pulled my hood down, and couldn't hold back a face as he looked at my hair.

I bit my lip, glancing away from his eyes. He instantly looked like he was filled to the brim with shame, softly pulling the jacket hood up over my head again. He then tucked my hair to the sides of my face. "Looking innocent can work for you," He mumbled, studying me. That comment took me aback. I knew I would be told how to act - at the Opening Ceremony, during training, at the interviews with Archimedes Teal - but I never thought I'd have to act a certain way to appeal to my own kin.

Belm turned back to the door, glancing at me for a moment when he took my hand again. I had to check to see if he had done it out of kindness, or to make sure I didn't run away. But I couldn't see his face, so I couldn't tell. I could feel his hand shift up with his shoulders as he took a deep breath in, and I took a look at him. "What?" He asked, catching my eyes.

I shrugged. "I'm just afraid you're going to fly away."

He made a face at me. "Like you should be the one giving fashion advice." As the door shifted open and we walked into the dining cart, I wondered which one of us would look the weirdest. Belm, in his strange sense of style, or me in the same clothes I had worn since yesterday evening, with no shoes and a messy hair contained by a jacket hood. And as soon as we did come in, hand in hand, Cidet locked dark green eyes on me like he was looking through a gun sight. Belm had to pull me forward again, setting me down in a chair beside him. I kept my head down, my hands in my lap, my broken nails digging into my palms.

As Belm picked up the conversation with Kykuta and Ony that Cidet had dropped once we entered, and he tried to get me to speak up, they all continued to dig into their breakfast. I didn't even touch my silverware, looking down at my foot blankly. I caught Belm with a glare at one point, where he kept glancing at my plate to see if I was eating. When he met my gaze, he quickly turned his dyed eyes away. But I didn't brake my glare until I traded it from him to Cidet, who was staring right back at me. I couldn't read his face. He was looking at me with both confusion, curiosity, and frustration. I was expecting hatred, which I had mistaken for so long.

"Well," Kykuta's voice suddenly decided to catch my attention. "We have the Opening Ceremony tonight. You're going to meet with your stylists and prep teams today. Now this may be difficult for the two of you," She eyed Cidet, and once again I wondered what the two of them had learned about him during the time I was hiding under my pillow. "But mark my words, it will be better for everyone if you don't fight them."