How can I be Mean? (Lamina x Female oc)

Last Peaceful Day(Ch 10)

            The morning of the last day before the game finds Vale waking up in Lamina's embrace. The warmth of Lamina's body against hers makes Vale's heart race and her cheeks flush with heat. She lies still for a moment, trying to make sense of her conflicting emotions towards Lamina. After some time, she slowly untangles herself from her friend's arms, already missing the comforting touch of Lamina's skin on hers. She looks around to see Treech and Mizzen talking nearby.

            Vale clears her throat and greets the two of them. "Good morning."

            Mizzen responds with a quizzical expression on his face. Vale looks between the two of them, feeling self-conscious. "Your face is still bright red," Mizzen observes. Vale feels her face turn even redder as she covers it with her hands.

             "I'm just feeling a little overheated," she stammers, hoping to brush off their concern. The three sit there for a while talking about their lives in the Districts.

            After a while, the tributes start hearing a strange wheezing noise coming from a nearby tribute. The tribute is Hy, from District 5. He is grabbing his chest and coughing every few seconds. The noise gets louder by the minute. All the tributes who were asleep are now awake, looking for the source of the noise. His District partner goes over to him to help but screams when she reaches him. Vale looks closely at the boy and notices that his lips are turning blue. She knows it's an asthma attack because she has seen it once back in District 4. 

            "What's wrong with him?" asks Mizzen. Vale puts her arm around the young boy. She knows that, at this point, without medical help, he wouldn't make it much longer.  

            She leans closer to Mizzen, "It's going to be okay, Little Cap." The two walk to another part of the enclosure. There is silence between them until Lamina joins. A few of the Tributes try banging on the door to get Hy medical help. Their screams echoed off the enclosure walls. Despite the commotion, all the peacekeepers have done is tell them to be quiet.

            After a while, Hy's condition deteriorates, and soon, his wheezing becomes worse, and his body becomes limp. Some tributes surround him, helpless, knowing that there is nothing they can do to ease his suffering.

            A small group sits beside him, talking to him, hoping to ease his pain. But after a while, they realize that he has died. The enclosure falls silent for a while. An hour later the peacekeepers arrive and take away the boy's body. 

_________________________________

            The atmosphere in the enclosure has been heavy and lifeless since the earlier events. Vale is sitting with Mizzen in the corner of the enclosure. Lamina, who had been keeping them company, left a while ago. Mizzen is sitting hunched, staring at his hands that lay lifeless on his lap. Vale is lost in her thoughts, pondering how she hasn't been there enough for the boy.

            Breaking the silence, Vale gently addresses Mizzen, calling him "Little Cap." Mizzen's head quickly rises, and he looks at Vale with a blank expression. She asks, "Talk to me about what you are thinking." His eyes reflect the pain and fear that he has been trying to hide.

            "I...," he stutters. "I'm scared of dying. I'm mostly terrified of the pain." 

            Vale sat in silence for a moment, unsure of how to respond to the situation. She put her arm around the young boy to comfort him and assured him, "You are going to be fine, I will take care of you." They both sat quietly, not knowing what to do next.

            Mizzen, looking at her with a worried expression, said, "You have to worry about yourself, not me. Vale, you have a chance. Promise me you will worry about yourself, not me."

            Vale quickly responded, "I will take care of myself, but I'm also going to protect you."

            "I wish all of us could go home," Mizzen mumbled under his breath, his eyes filling with tears for the first time.

            Vale pulled him closer, trying to calm him down, and whispered into his ear, "Me too."

_________________________________

A/N: Hey! This isn't the best chapter that I have done. I was not feeling this chapter and just wanted to get to the arena chapters. The games finally start in the next chapter! I'm excited about the madness and the sadness. There will be really sad parts. I'm going to try and post the next chapter soon. I have a busy week with school so I don't know when it will be done. 

Anyway, I hope you have a good night/day! 😊