Wilted Roses ; The Hunger Games

III. competition

"WHAT THE HELL were you thinking?" He scolds, Rose thought it was a tad funny how the first time they've spoken in five years was him yelling at her. She didn't even notice how a small smile tugged on her lips at the thought.

"Who knows, maybe I just wanted an excuse to talk to you." Rose crosses her arms over her chest, her voice slightly trembled with her words no matter how much she tried to stay strong in front of him.

"This isn't funny." He lectures, though they haven't spoken to each other in many years he still seemed horrified for her which Rose simply didn't understand.

"What else was I supposed to do? Let Willow go into the games? She wouldn't last a day!" Rose spat, stepping closer to him. The thought sent a shudder down her spine, she could just picture Willow stepping off of her platform, instantly getting an axe to the head or something. Watching her face go up into the sky as they announce the dead tributes.

A silence falls over them, for once it looks as if he doesn't know what to say.

🐚🐚🐚

As Rose boards the train, she stares off into the window, her last words to her family still hanging on her lips. Next to her was her district partner, a nervous expression on his face as he stares into the coffee table, an illusion of fish swimming through the glass captivating him.

"Why the long faces?" Finnick walks through the doors, though neither of his new tributes gave him a single glance. He crossed his arms and leaned his body against the wall instead of sitting on the lush couch opposite of Connor.

"Look, im your mentor which means it's up to me to turn you into victors. I cant do that if you don't even look at me." He states simply, Rose caves in and turns her attention to the boy, regretting it instantly as guilt strung through her. She wasn't exactly sure what she was guilty about, she just felt it.

She then locks eyes with Connor, his big blue eyes lined with tears. She tried to look away but she couldn't, neither could he. Rose bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from crumbling to tears, when she looked at him she could only imagine how he was going to die. She could only hope it happened quick.

She wanted to apologize to him, to apologize nobody volunteered for him, to apologize his name was even in the bowl in the first place. Rose parted her lips for a moment before closing them again, knowing nothing she could say would make this situation right.

"I went to school with her, you know." Connor speaks up. "With Willow. She was in my class, never spoke much but she was cool." He continues with a small nod of the head, Rose looks down for a moment. Of course he knew her. Now the both of them would never see her again.

Rose gives him a sad smile in replacement of a response because honestly, she didn't know how she would respond to that. She wanted to hug him, tell him everything would be alright like she did just this morning with Willow, but she knew she couldn't.

They sat there in silence, usually tributes would be much more talkative around this time, asking questions, getting to know each other. But Rose didn't see a point in creating a bond with anybody here, especially not Connor who she would have to watch die— or even worse— kill him herself.

She was waiting for someone to bring up strategy so she could listen along, she hated starting conversations with strangers.
It used to come to her so easily, but ever since Clover nobody wanted to talk to her— except Finnick, but that only lasted for so long.