𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳ 𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 - 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐮

⇛ 𝐂𝐇. 𝟑𝟏

"my neck hurts." jeno groaned, rolling his head to the side as he rubbed the back of his neck. "i shouldn't have slept on mark's shoulder like that."

"same. my back hurts so much and it's all jaemin's fault." jisung complained.

"not." jaemin said.

"yes, it is."

"isn't."

"you—"

"you all looked so cute last night sleeping and then you open your mouths and i remember why my drinking is a problem." yuta muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"sorry."

"alright. everyone listen." taeyong called out, urging them to form a circle. "you've only got todays and tomorrows speeches and then that's it. try to make a big impression for these two days. really emphasise on the friendship and that you can't live without each other."

"keep talking about how much you're dreading for this tour to be over. at the moment, your speeches sound too monotone. bring up the enthusiasm. this is district two and one." doyoung said then turned to the youngest. "chenle, jisung, i'm sure you know how to act here, correct?"

"i guess..." jisung mumbled.

"good. take lead of the speeches. the people love you the most." taeyong patted his back. "it begins in a few minutes."

when the mentors left to talk somewhere else, the eight visibly relaxed. they felt tenser around them because their mentors had become stricter in their expectations as it got closer to the big day in the capitol.

"is it weird that i feel remorse for the girl tribute...?" jihyun asked in a hushed voice. "i mean she tortured me and tried to kill me. if she succeeded, would she be on this tour at my district feeling guilty?"

"it's not weird at all. it just shows your human." mark said. "maybe she wouldn't feel guilty but inside, she'd know for sure that it was wrong and it would eat away at her."

"yeah..." she muttered, staring at him with such admiration on her face. she admired mark. she looked up to him. he was the perfect person.

"is everyone ready then?" jeno asked.

"poor jisung is shaking like crazy." renjun said, holding up the youngers hand.

"i can't help it..."

"i'll speak first." chenle told him, patting his back. "relax."

"hands." mark said, holding his hand out and the seven followed, placing theirs on top.

"let's get it!" they yelled, throwing their hands up.

♆

"ji, stop shaking. it's over now." jeno told jisung, pushing him by the shoulders towards the train.

"it's not like i'm doing this on purpose." he argued, grabbing his right hand. he frowned, letting go. "it won't stop."

"here." jihyun took his hand. she grinned, holding their entwined hands up. "it's stopped now."

"he's blushing. he's blushing so much." haechan teased, him and chenle poking the boys back.

"enough!" jisung snapped, going to hit them, but jihyun pulled him onto the train by the hand.

"jisung, you need to relax a bit. you're so on edge lately."

"tomorrow is my district. i cannot relax! remember how scared you were?" he exclaimed, nearly walking into the wall. "i can't even walk straight."