summertimes close (c.s x oc)

three

all of the tributes had been rounded up and handcuffed. summer wasn't sure where she'd be going but it'd been a long journey. next thing they knew, they had been led into a fancy building with 24 desks and two chairs on either side. they had all been unwillingly brought to their seats. coriolanus approached summer.
"how are you?"
"i'm so hungry," she moaned, "barely anyone even came. even though i delivered a phenomenal speech!"
coriolanus chuckled, hiding his reaction as not to be rude.
"well, i think i can help with that," he responded as he pulled out some bread pudding that tigris had made prior to that day. summer's eyes were glazed with tears.
"no.. you don't like it do you. i'm sorry, i can get you something else." coriolanus' face spread with worry.
"thank you so much corio. you dont even understand." despite the tear dripping down her face, she quickly scarfed the food down.
coriolanus wished he could hold her, wipe her tears and tell her all will be well. but he knew he couldn't lie to her. this is going to be difficult. however, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped away her tears.
"why are we here?" she asked, trying to pull herself together.
"i just need to ask a couple questions about your family, is that alright?"
"shoot."
these questions were typical, standard. name, district, address, date of birth, hair and eye color, disabilities (if applicable), height, weight, recent or past injuries. until these questions got serious, painful, personal.
"what's your family like?" he asked, in the most gentle way possible.
"me and my sister, and my mom when she feels like stepping up." summer said seriously.
coriolanus moved on quickly, trying not to be touchy.
"married? divorced?" he joked, knowing she probably wouldn't be. but oftentimes, young girls in these districts married early.
"are you asking for yourself?" summer winked, "maybe after the games, you and i.."
red swept over his face again, "i don't know about that summer, you could do a lot better than me."
"i see what you're doing here. you just want to put me down gently." she joked in response.
coriolanus cleared his throat, fumbling with his papers and looking away.
"before the games begin, you get an interview. you should talk about your sister and how important it is that you're there for her. people will feel sorry for you. you have time to draft what you'll say and memorize it in time for the interview." he advised.
"my sister's really the only family i've got. my mothers barely around enough to acknowledge. what's the deal with your family?"
"just my grandma'am and my cousin, tigris."
"what about your parents?"
"i don't really miss my father.. but i miss my mother," he stopped. she's getting too close.
summer took the handkerchief and put it back into coriolanus' bag, and was pulled away, she blew a kiss goodbye at him.
back in the zoo the tributes go. summer began to think about her chance of survival. very low. summer was already a dead girl, no matter what coriolanus tried to do to change that. she tried to sleep it off but was woken up by children throwing pebbles at her.
"hey, there," she tried to say with whatever kindness she could muster up. "where are your parents? it really isn't polite to throw pebbles at me. look at my face, i need my beauty sleep." this just led them to throwing another pebble and running off.
"having trouble?" coriolanus appeared, bearing food.
"what if we'd met somewhere else? under different circumstances?"
"i feel like we could've been friends. but you're awfully intimidating, s." he responded, smiling at her.
"and why would that be?"
coriolanus looked at her, and then fixed his hair. she was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. even in a zoo. to his surprise, their conversation was interrupted by a little girl holding out an apple to summer.
"is this for me?" she questioned to which she was given a nod in answer.
"you are just the sweetest, this looks to be the nicest apple." summer said with a smile.
the cameras all captured as summer took a bite from the apple. seeing the performance, other mentors followed.
"your friend over there is testing her luck." she said.
"oh, arachne is no friend of mine. she's one of the most wretched people i've ever had the displeasure of meeting."
arachne was teasing her tribute, holding out a sandwich to brandy before quickly yanking it away. she had enough and quickly reached for the knife on the ground, slicing open arachne's neck and snatching the sandwich. coriolanus' first reaction was to grab summer's hand and tell her she will be okay, but he knew it'd be best to stay strong in moments like those. instead, he knelt down to arachne as she gripped his shirt. she was a lost cause. panic swept over everyone. summer wasn't worried for herself, but more for coriolanus. she saw right through him, she knew he was terrified despite the brave face he put on. they were going backwards. how was the public supposed to trust the tributes now?