Love comes in all shades | Coriolanus Snow x OC |

16. Let the game begin

Coriolanus hated every single minute that he spent in the hospital. It happened in the worst moment possible. He was forced to be on a bed rest for the rest of the days that he was supposed to use to help Lucy Gray survive in the arena. Instead, he had to entrust that mission to Elise who was kind enough to offer her help. What would he do without her? Or without Tigris who was taking care of the house during his absence? Or without Lysistrata who was kind enough to convince her parents to take a look at him and make sure that he was provided with the best medical care? Or even without Sejanus who brought delicious and filling meals made by his mother?

Thanks to them he accepted the notion that he was lucky in at least one aspect of his life. Sure, if he could choose he would rather put himself in a position which didn't require depending on anyone's help. It was nice nonetheless, though. Especially on Elise's part. When she visited him...oh. He would never forget the look she had in her eyes - a mix of relief and affection. She looked alive for the first time since Arachne died. Thankfully, he thought as he was getting impatient lately, wondering how long it would take her to come back to her old, bright self and asking himself how long he was willing to wait for that to happen. Luckily, it was all behind him now. She acted like she used to again. The only difference now, that he was happy to notice, was that her intentions were easier to read for him. It was clear that she liked him more than just a friend. He could feel that with each kiss she was willing to give or ask for, the effort that she put into them and how eagerly she submitted to his tongue pushing against his lips, demanding access to explore her mouth. All those make outs made him hazy and red and oh so ready and desperate for more. He could only hope that she felt exactly the same and thus wouldn't make him wait any longer and just let him make her belong to him.

He wasn't sure how exactly others would know that she became his, but he would find a way to let them know. In a classy, not in-their-face, obvious way. He could only imagine that she would act differently around him after that would happen. That she would be even closer to him and that others would come to a conclusion that this had to be a reason for that. He would never act like Felix, though. He couldn't wait to tell other boys from school about his conquests and told them everything in the locker room. "I tell you guys she was like," Felix stopped to moan suggestively and Coriolanus remembered how he cringed at the moment. "You should all just do it. It's not scary," he added confidently as he put on his exercise shirt. Coriolanus could swear that he was pushing his chest out more than usual, as if proud of himself, as if he thought that he was better than everyone else just because a random girl was either stupid or generous enough to let him explore her body.

"Literally no one said that, Felix," Pup Harrington scoffed, but that didn't stop their classmate from prolonging this already forced conversation: "You just need to find a girl that's willing enough to put out," he shrugged nonchalantly. It was so obvious that he was trying to pose as an expert, except no one was foolish enough to fall for that.

"Just because you don't hear us talk about it, doesn't mean that we've never been with someone," Festus laughed at him and a few other guys joined him, including Coriolanus, even though he wasn't part of that club yet. But just because he's never been in between a woman's thighs didn't mean that he wanted to be left out or let go of the opportunity to make Felix the center of a joke. That was also the moment when he realized that he wouldn't talk about it so blatantly, feeling like that was too private of a matter to go about it constantly like Ravinstill did. But he would want them to know that he had her. That he claimed her. That she was his and he did something that others could only wish to do. And he would utterly enjoy the look of envy in their eyes whenever they'd see them together.

As for now, he had other things to worry about than a moment of what was already decided. He and Elise would be a couple, if they weren't one already. His mind kept fixating on that, even though other matters also needed his attention. The fact that he was on a bed rest didn't help his case and part of him felt like he was forced to be there. He felt like someone wanted him to miss out on tribute-mentor meetings and school on purpose. And that someone was dean Highbottom. His hatred for him was so deep-rooted that it wouldn't surprise him. Nothing would, actually. If he had learned anything in life it was that people's intentions were mostly impure and vile and so he was acting accordingly, adjusting his own behavior to others'. That's what would make him survive in the end.