Lucas Claren
District 1 Male
46 HG
"Do you trust me?"
Lucas Claren's question hung in the air like an uncomfortable stench. His district partner, Brighton Heywood, looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Please repeat your question."
Lucas sighed.
"I asked, do you trust me?"
Brighton looked at Lucas for a long and uncomfortable moment. Her green eyes pierced into him, boring holes into his very soul. Then, she slowly shook her head.
Brighton was always… Well, Lucas supposed blunt was a word that could be used (stick in the mud was more like it), but damn, that hurt a lot more than it should have.
Lucas put on his fakest smirk and leaned back a bit. "Well, that's fair. I… Yeah, this is the Hunger Games."
Artemis, who sat across the campfire, groaned and stood up. "Nope. I'm going to take inventory."
Once she was gone, Brighton turned her head away from Lucas and stared right into the fire. "I cannot trust you. Maybe at home, I could have, but not here."
Lucas's fake smirk fell. "That's definitely fair. Well, I trust you."
"You're a fool."
"Maybe, but this fool is going to win the Hunger Games."
"And that's exactly why I can't trust you."
Lucas sighed and decided to let the topic drop, but not before getting the last word in. "Look, I trust you not to slit my throat in my sleep, okay? I…can trust you not to do that, right?"
Brighton looked up once more and her eyes narrowed. "Such a thing would be dishonorable. So, yes, I suppose you can trust me not to do that."
"Well, I won't slit your throat in your sleep either!"
"For your sake, I would hope not."
Lucas chuckled and shook his head. "I'll take it."
Brighton, to her credit, gave Lucas a small, amused smile. "Okay, Lucas."
"You're right. I was a fool to trust you."
v. Do you trust me?
If you recall a certain line from a previous chapter, you know what Lucas's fate was going to be. Lucas was an idiot, but he's a fun idiot. I haven't decided yet if Brighton will get a chapter here, but if not, she'll appear on Survivors at some point.