The Hunger Games: The Untold Story of Annette Snow

Chapter 3~DigiBox

Ana's POV

I was sitting in the DigiBox when Mayer found me. The dark curls of his were plastered to his head as though he had been outside in another storm, and the sweet smell of rain clung to him like a clean perfume. He looked around the room, taking in the enormous screens that covered the walls with wide eyes.

"What is this place, Ana? It looks like some spaceship or something!" I grinned, my excitement uncontainable. I stood up, brushing off my pants and motioned for Mayer to come closer. He did, and I held out a small, metal box which he eyed nervously.

"You're not trying to kill me or something, right? Cause every encounter I've ever had with a metal box didn't end well and you have crazy eyes." I laughed, and pressed it into his hands.

"Just open it, you big baby!" He did, frowning as he saw the pair of contacts resting on the polished surface. Confusion flitted across his face as he looked up at me, eyes squinting.

"What are you waiting for? Put them in!" Mayer did so, blinking furiously as they settled in.

"So...what are they for exactly? Turning my eyes a different color? X-ray vision?" He asked mischiviously. I shoved his arm, hard enough to make him laugh.

"No, dummy. Just wait and see," I told him as I popped my own into place. They felt thick and heavy for just a second before the discomfort vanished. Picking up my controller, I tapped in the master code that unlocked the DigiBox's wonders.

"My God, Ana. This is...incredible." He said breathlessly as the black screens disappeared around us and an emerald forest came to life. The clean sent of pine wafted luxuriously on the air and it felt like we were really walking on the soft grass instead of cold glass. I hate to brag about myself but yah, it was pretty friggin awesome.

"Welcome to the world of the DigiBox. You can go anywhere, anytime, just as long as you focus solely on that specific place and time. Not bad for a pilot run, right?" Mayer didn't seem to be listening. He was crouched by the silvery river, dipping his fingers into the rushing water. I walked over to him, and he looked up at me with bright eyes.

"Hey Ana?"

"Yah?"

"How real is this place?"

"Pretty real, and that's because I visited it once with Snow before-" I let out a peal of laughter as Mayer splashed me with frigid water.

"Real enough so that you can feel that?" He yelled as he whipped more at me.

"Oh, you are so going to pay for that!" I yelled at him, cupping the clear liquid in my hands and throwing it at him. The droplets clung to his hair, eyelashes, jawline, sparkling like tiny diamonds. Soon we were both drenched, though the chill of the water had worn off.

Exausted from laughing so hard and running away from well-aimed and icy missiles, we both flopped down on the grassy banks and looked at the sun. In this world, it was huge, much larger than it could ever be back at home. Pink, gold, orange and ruby streaked across the sky and the clouds had darkened to shade of purple that was best described as plum. Everything felt perfect until I looked over and saw Mayer's expression. His mouth was pulled over to the left side of his face, eyebrows slanted. This was the something's up and we really need to talk look, and it almost always meant that he had a long, well-thought out speech ready to go. I sighed, turning towards him so we were face to face.

"Okay, Mayer. What is it?" The light from the setting sun caught his eyes, transforming the deep blue into a strange, intoxicating shade of greenish-blue with hints of gold and violet...I snapped myself out of it as he started.

"Ana, I've been thinking lately," He took my hand in his own and I felt the electric current from before begin to tingle in my fingers. Warmth had begun to spread from my hands to my wrists, slowly creeping up my arms in a balmy haze.

"Yah?" I asked in a small voice.

"There's something you need to know. Something you deserve to know. I don't know how to tell you but...here goes nothing." Okay there were literally sparks buzzing around my palms, but Mayer's gaze had immobilized me.

"I'm really not sure you should be dating Jaxton Grieves." The words tumbled out his mouth in a hurried, nervous rush. I yanked my hand from his own, irritation blossoming like a poisonous flower in my chest. The warmth disappeared and the electricity snapped across my fingers in angry bolts. The cozy, sweet feeling that had been turning my insides to mush vanished, quickly being replaced with a defensive, cold sensation that seemed to burn my gut like venom.

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked sharply. The panicked look flashed across Mayer's eyes, which suddenly looked flat and dead to me. No other person, ever, could make him this nervous and trust me, I used that power when it was needed. Or when he deserved it. They usually came hand in hand, so it worked out pretty well for me. Less so for him.

"I'm just saying that Jaxon isn't really...what he seems." I stood up, feeling the charge begin to grow. My hands were growing hot, so warm that when I clenched them into fists, my fingers began to glow.

"Mayer, three things. One; Jax is an incredible guy. He's funny and smart and he knows how to act in public," Mayer flinched at the reference to his last time in the open with me. It had been at some enaugral ball, celebrating the new Vice President. The most recent of suitors had left in a hurry the day before, claiming he had recently taken ill and needed to rest. In a state of panic, I asked Mayer to accompany me (as a friend) and he accepted. Upon arriving there, however, he proceeded to get drunk off the champagne in a matter of minutes. The rest of the time was split equally between hitting on the other girls there and downing more drinks. Snow had been furious and it had taken weeks before he allowed Mayer back into the Palace. Even now, when I looked into his deep blue eyes, I could still see how bad he felt about it, how embarresed he was. I turned, not able to concentrate on my words when he stared at me.

"Two; Snow approves of him. He thinks Jax is a great match for me, and, more importantly, he doesn't resent every moment we spend together." I was of course referring the war between Mayer and my grandfather. To Snow, Mayer was just another pesky friend to deal with, another accident waiting for the media to pick up like a juicy fruit. Just one more thing he had to keep under inspection, an extra hole in my security. Through Mayer's eyes, my old grandfather was a pretentious, cold-hearted monster so cruel he was just shy of the devil himself.

"Finally, three; he has one of the most brilliant minds I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Jax is a genius by every account of the word, and he's been a terrific help to Deryn in the war against the rebels. He risked his neck going to District 12 just to gather information for the Army Counsil. When I'm President, I am going to need smart friends, people who I can trust. If Jax and I one day got married, I know he would be able make me see flaws in plans I otherwise wouldn't. Issues that the others are too afraid to confront me about." Mayer took a deep breath, rising as he did so. Standing, he was just a few inches taller than me, but I had to look up to see his expression.

"Ana, please. I wouldn't be telling you this unless I really thought you needed to hear this. A relationship with Jaxton is only going to result in you getting hurt, and I don't want to see you get your heart broken." I pursed my lips, looking into his deep eyes. Something about seemed honest, and behind that, there was a protectiveness that I couldn't explain.

"So what?" I shrugged to emphasize my point. "Maybe I don't want a crazy relationship for once. Maybe I just want a guy who's going to show up for press conferences and birthdays and be responsible. For once I want simple and that is what this is going to be." I exhaled and looked away, my heart pounding after the little speech. "I think we should leave." I said sadly. What had started out as a fun outing had ended as one of our biggest fights. Mayer nodded, and I tapped in the exit code. We watched as the DigiBox reappeared, the vibrant pixles of green fading away to black.

I could feel Mayer's gaze on me but I looked away. Something in me knew I couldn't look into his eyes and stay mad at him but for now I needed to keep my distance.

Sorry about the short chapter but I promise you guys will love the next one...