Silver Lining (Hunger Games Fanfic) (#Wattys 2017)

Present: Information

I turned around. I was right. It was Katniss Everdeen standing behind me. 

"Why are you here?" she asked me.

"I want to talk to you about what happened in the 74th games." I repeated.

"You can't make me talk," Katniss said while looking at the ground.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because it hurts me! I can't do anything to stop it! I was forced to watch tributes die in two consecutive Hunger Games! I had to sit there and find out what happened to my home and my friends. They were killed! I had to travel across Panem and watch my squad die right in front of me! I had to watch my sister as she was murdered! do you have any idea what it's like to watch your sister as she's murdered?" she screamed.

"Actually, I do. You watched it as well. Clove." As I said that, the tears started to fall again. I didn't want to wait for her to respond. She deserved to stand there and think about what she just heard. I ran away from that spot, this time towards The Line. I completely forgot that I needed to meet Ronny!

Katniss started to chase after me. I didn't turn back, I only heard her footsteps behind me. Luckily, I was faster. The academy trained me in sprinting ever since I could stand on my own. I could outrun a muttation even if I had twisted my ankle.

"Stop!" she yelled at me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not. I didn't have time to debate with myself. I just kept running. I watched the clouds above me. I still didn't see a silver lining. 

I kept running until I had crossed The Line back into 12. I couldn't hear Katniss behind me, so I decided to walk to the train station and look for Ronny. 

The walk to the train station didn't take long, but I didn't see Ronny when I got there. I kept looking around. I waited for almost two hours until I noticed a piece of paper under the bench that was being weighted down by a rock. I picked it up and started reading.

     Silver,

I'm writing this while we're on the train to 12. I didn't appreciate you talking about my emotions. What made you think you had that right? My emotions are my emotions. 

I know we've been friends ever since we started training together. I know we needed to have a good relationship if we were going into the arena together. Now that the Rebellion is over, we are not going into the arena together. We don't need to have a friendship. I don't want to have a friendship.

You are the kind of person who tries to understand everybody. You learn everything you can about people so you can try to imagine what they're thinking. I don't want you to know what I'm thinking.

I know you've had some kind of crush on me, but I've only been pretending to tolerate you. I can't handle being around someone who's trying to get inside my head. My thoughts are my thoughts and you have no right to access them.

I think it would be best if we ended our 'friendship' as soon as possible.

I'm not coming back.

                                                                Ronny

I didn't like this new information. 

I cried. It seemed to me like I had done nothing but cry ever since I lost my sister. My life was nothing but tears. I needed to find some way to rebuild my life or else I would die. I needed to find some way to get money so I could get food so I wouldn't starve to death. I needed help, but I didn't know who could help me.

That was when I heard the footsteps. 

They were coming towards me and they sounded exactly like Katniss's footsteps.

I was right.

"So, Clove's sister is here and she's crying," Katniss said to me. She had a sympathetic smile on her face as she walked towards me. She saw that I had been crying.

"What just happened?" she asked me.

"I lost everyone. I lost my sisters and I lost my parents and I lost my aunt and I lost my uncle. Now, I've just lost my last friend. I'm alone," I said to her before I started to walk away. Katniss grabbed my arm and pulled me toward her. She took one look at me and hugged me. 

I didn't know what was happening.