I don't see Damien all day. It seems that wherever Sienna and I go to train, he moves somewhere else with Clay. By the end of the day, I'm frustrated - if Damien is going to go out of his way to include me in his alliance, he should actually act like we're on a team together. Instead, it seems like he's just used this as an opportunity to appease Simon and dump me with Sienna.

At least Damien doesn't ignore me at dinner. He doesn't have much of a choice - if we didn't talk to one another Laurentia would be nagging us with annoying questions for an hour - but it still counts for something.

"What stations did you guys get through?" Damien asks, shoveling food from his plate into his mouth. At the end of the table, Laurentia makes a noise of disapproval at his table manners.

"We tried sparring a bit," I tell him, "but Sienna was horrible at it. I was fine, I guess. After that, we just tried to make snares and read through some plant guides."

Damien shows his approval with a nod. "If you two become experts at the plants and animals in there, Clay and I can work on our skills with the weapons," he suggests.

"Well, we're still a team," I remind my brother. "Tomorrow we should try sticking together more. If we can't work together in the Training Center we'll be in trouble in the Arena."

I see Damien hesitate, and I know why. If we can't work as a team, it doesn't matter much to him. He works great with Clay; it's me that's the problem. Still, he nods after a moment.

"Sure," he agrees. "We'll try that."

I turn to my food, serving myself some mashed potatoes from the middle of the table, but I don't even get to take a bite before Laurentia jumps back into her questioning.

"So, have you been scouting everyone out?" she asks, leaning over the table slightly. "Any cute boys, Luna?"

Laurentia says this with a twinkle in her eye, but I'm disturbed by how eager she is to ask me this. Laurentia must be in her thirties; why does she care about any of this trivial drama?

"Nobody cute," I comment blandly. I don't mention how hard it is to find someone attractive when you know you'll have to kill them.

"Nobody looks very strong," Damien says to appease Laurentia. "Except the Careers, obviously."

"And you've been getting along with your new friends?" Laurentia asks. Usually, Simon is the one to cut her questions off, but he's being interviewed for a Capitol broadcast tonight, so he's not here right now.

"They seem nice," I tell her, and I notice that Damien is watching me intently. "Sienna invited me up to the roof tonight."

Laurentia gasps. "Oh, Luna, that's wonderful!" she cheers. "You know, I say every year, it's much better to enter the Games with people you like by your side."

Damien rolls his eyes a bit. "It's better to go into the Games with people who like you by your side," he says, mostly to me. "That way they'll protect you."

I can see what he means - if I can get close to Sienna, maybe she'll protect us in the Arena. I don't like that perspective, though; Sienna and I are not friends by necessity, even though we started out that way. Throughout the day, we've become inseparable, and I feel like our relationship is more than just strategy now. I don't feel like either of us would just get close to the other for protection; in that respect, Laurentia's right. I've felt completely alone ever since the Reaping, and now that I have a true friend, I feel ten times more prepared for the Arena than before.

I have to wait for the sun to set before I go up to the roof - that's when Sienna said she'd be there. I told Laurentia that I would leave at eight o'clock, and I leave ten minutes early to avoid her nagging.

It takes me a few minutes to find the staircase without Laurentia's help - the suite is like a maze, and Laurentia seems to be the only one who knows how to navigate it. Sienna told me that the elevator doesn't reach the roof, so I'll have to climb the stairs if I want to go up there.

Finally, I reach the top of the stairs, gasping for air. I let myself catch my breath for a few moments before I step outside.

The first thing I hear when I step onto the roof is laughter. Someone is laughing nearby, and it only takes a moment for me to see that it's Sienna. She's sitting at the edge of the building with her feet dangling over the edge. Next to her sits a boy with fiery red hair; the only boys who I can think of who look like that are the two brothers from Nine.

Sure enough, the boy turns around. It's the older brother from Nine; he smiles at me as I approach.

"Oh, Luna!" Sienna says with a laugh. "This is Colby. We met up here last night."

Colby flashes me another cocky smile, and I do my best to return it. Inside, though, I'm unsettled. My friendship with Sienna could mean the difference between life and death; why is this boy here?

"We've got our own little club up here now," Sienna says with a laugh, leaning into Colby as he wraps one of his arms around her. "The late-night crew!"

I sit next to Sienna, letting my legs swing over the edge of the roof. The city lights twinkle below us as the bustling Capitol prepares for the night; we're so high up that the people on the streets below look like ants. There's something incredibly peaceful about this rooftop spot - we're so high up that the sounds of the street can't reach us. The wind rustles past us, blowing my short hair back and rustling the plants of the small rooftop garden behind us.

"I think I remember you," Colby says, glancing over Sienna's shoulder to look at me. "Your brother tried to pull a stunt at the parade, right?"

"That's the one," I say mildly. "I wasn't impressed, as you can imagine."

"I was," Colby says with a laugh. "It was awesome. The Careers were totally pissed about it, too."

"Good," Sienna says with fire in her eyes. "You know, isn't it so stupid that they just have everything handed to them? They feel entitled, like they deserve everything in this place. I'm sorry, but we're people too, right? It's just annoying that they don't even think we stand a chance."

Colby pulls Sienna closer. "They shouldn't feel that way," he says. "If they were entitled to win the Games, they'd win every year. Somehow, they don't, though. We'll find a way."

We'll find a way. Alarm bells ring in my head. Why is Colby talking like that - is he trying to worm his way into our alliance? Sienna isn't making any indication that she's opposed to the idea, and that makes me even more nervous.

"You're right," I try to jump in. "Someone needs to show them that we're not just gonna let them kill us off."

"Well, I don't know about me or Luna," Sienna says with a sigh. "But you could have a shot, Colby. Or our brothers, maybe."

"Not my brother," Colby laughs.

A door creaks behind us, and another boy steps out. He's almost identical to Colby, but he must be a few years younger. He's definitely less intimidating than Colby is, that's for sure.

"Speak of my brother," Colby says, rolling his eyes.

"Colby, you need to come and sleep," Colby's brother calls as he walks across the roof toward us. "Mallory's pissed that you're up so late. We have to be up early tomorrow for Training."

"Go to bed, Casper," Colby says, annoyed. "And tell Mallory she can come up here and get me herself if she feels like getting thrown off a roof."

I recoil at Colby's response, but Sienna just laughs. Casper shakes his head, turning back towards the door, and I make a split-second decision.

"Hold up," I call, and Casper turns back around. He glances at me, confused, as I rise to my feet.

"I'm feeling tired," I say apologetically, glancing down at Sienna and Colby. There's clearly no point in me staying here - Sienna is more interested in talking to Colby than she is in spending time with me. "I'm going to get some rest."

"Sleep well," Sienna calls. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Casper opens the door for me, and I can hear Sienna laughing again as the door closes behind us.

"I'm sick of them," Casper grumbles as he follows me down the stairs. "They were up here last night, too. All night. I barely have time to even see my brother."

I'm thrown off by this, but I don't let it show on my face. Why did Sienna not tell me that she was up here last night with Colby, and what else could she be hiding from me?

"Well, you both train together, right?" I ask.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter when he's making eyes at her all day," Casper sighs. "Colby's stronger than me, and he knows that. Without him, I'm screwed. I don't think he realizes that only one person can survive the Games. The two of them are just going to get hurt in the end when the time comes for one of them to go."

"That's true," I mutter. "I don't want Sienna to get hurt, either."

"Whatever," Casper says with a shrug. "I can't stop him from doing what he wants, clearly. If he wants to go with her in the Arena, I'll have to try and go with them."

I want so badly to comfort Casper; maybe it's the people-pleaser in me. I want to make a deal with him because he seems like a sweet kid. He could come with us if he wants to; if Sienna leaves me, could Casper take her place? I know I shouldn't do that, though. Hopefully, if I can leave everything alone, it'll work itself out. One thing is for certain, though: if Sienna decides to ditch me for Colby, she'll be writing my death certificate for me.