❛ 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬- 𝘵𝘩𝘨

CHAPTER 10

The next morning, Arya got up and glanced at herself in the morning.

The thought of having to make herself look presentable to go mentor seemed daunting, especially because she had gotten no sleep last night, and looked horrible.

Still, nevertheless, she got a shower, threw on a black crop top with spaghetti straps, jeans, and a black choker. She ran her fingers through her wet hair, and brushed it into tight, dutch braids.

She dabbed some concealer on, and walked down to the breakfast hall. Johanna, Blight, and Colton were already there, so Arya sat down. She grabbed a chocolate croissant and picked it apart on her plate, only eating the crust.

However, she urged Johanna to eat as much as she could because she wasn't sure how many sponsors they'd have. Colton did the same with Blight, but he'd seemed to have completely lost his nerve, his hands shaking so hard that it made his whole body shake.

Johanna suddenly stood up and walked away from the table, so Arya followed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Johanna's icy voice snapped back.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question."

Arya walked over, and put an arm around Johanna's shoulders. "You can always talk to me, you know."

"Yeah. It's just that I couldn't bear to sit near Blight's constant shaking anymore. It's pathetic."

Arya sighed. "I feel bad for him... are you going to ally with him in the arena?"

Johanna shrugged. "We'll see what happens." Arya sighed and put her head on Johanna's shoulder. The two of them stayed like that until Johanna had to get into the aircraft.

Arya followed her into the tube room.

This was it. This was the last time she would see her until after the games were over. She walked over to Johanna and hugged her close.

Johanna was a few inches taller than Arya, so her head rested on her chest. She could feel Johanna's heart, and it was racing, even though her outside appearance was calm.

"You've got this. You can win. I believe in you, Johanna. Please win this. For me. I can't have you die, Johanna, I can't!" Arya let the words roll out of her mouth. Some of the stuff she had just ranted hadn't even registered as worries until she spewed it out.

Arya began to shake, so Johanna held her closer. "Hey, it's okay. I can win this. I'm going to win this, for you..."

Arya nodded, then the two of them broke out of the hug. Arya brushed away a couple of tears that she hadn't realized that she shed, and Johanna stepped into the tube as the 15 second warning message flashed.

And before the tube began to rise, Johanna brought up a hand and placed it against the glass. And Arya brought one up to match it, so the two girls were touching hands one last time- until after the games.