Not Just A Game

Chapter 32

My eyes mirror Dustin's, a thick film of confusion coating them. How could everything get so complicated in less than an hour?

After it told him about the strange conversation in the hall that I overheard before evaluations, neither of us has known what to say.

I'm the first to turn my head away and stare out at the empty lobby, usually packed with sponsors waiting to speak with the mentors. The silence is overwhelming, forcing me to think about everything I've heard.

"We should go back to the penthouse. Harley will be coming out soon and we don't want to drag her into this without thinking everything through first." Dustin suggests.

I give a small nod, still lost in my thoughts.

He stands, and pulls me up with him. I notice his hands are clammy, as if he's nervous about something.

"Everything okay?" I ask, concern etched into my voice.

He gives a shrug, "Well with what you just told me, I'm just confused, and on top of that we have to worry about scores..."

I squeeze his hand reassuringly, "It'll be fine. How'd it go in there anyways?"

He responds, "I thought it went okay, but we'll see, right?"

I give him a nod.

I press the up arrow on the little screen outside the elevator. It glows yellow, and the metal doors slide open.

We walk inside together before releasing hands while he presses the #12 button on the screen and the elevator rises gently.

We're quiet the entire ride up to the penthouse, but not because we're ignoring each other. We're just thinking.

The doors slide open once more with a 'bing' indicating we've arrived at the suite.

The doors slide open to reveal Elsie, Dakota, and Griffin waiting anxiously for our arrival.

Dakota looks really nervous, probably because of what happened with me last time.

Elsie looks like she's on the edge of hysteria. She's bobbing around biting the tips of her bright green nails. I catch her eyes and she looks at me questioningly.

I shake my head no, answering her unspoken question and stand next to Griffin.

He looks fine, just anxious to hear results.

I was wrong.

"Hey, how'd it go?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "I had to use spears. They didn't have any flint and steel anywhere in the facility, so I was forced to use my second choice weapon."

Oh shieza. It's my fault.

I swallow the lump in my throat ad decide to just explain.

"I'm sorry Griffin I-." I begin.

He interrupts, "Wait... why are you apologizing?"

I hold up one finger, indicating for him to wait a moment.

"Remember my evaluation when I.... messed up?"

I wait for him to nod. He does.

"Well I used flint and steel to light my knife on fire.."

His face turns grim, then disappointment settles in its place, but I sigh of relief when I see no anger in his eyes.

"So that's why they didn't have it. They didn't want a repeat of what happened before." he says to me, as well as himself.

I just nod, unable to really say anything.

"Why would you do that? What were you thinking? You knew your little "mess up" would have conciquences." He whispers, anger rising in his tone.

Somehow his whispering is more threatening than if he were yelling at me, and it makes me scared.

"I'm sorry, I just... I wasn't thinking. And I just wanted to..." I trail off, feeling disappointed in myself for doing anything that could jeopardize the safety of my alliance.

Griffin knows this.

As mad at me as he is, he's still my best friend. Even though we haven't talked a lot since the reapings, neither of us can pretend the last few years never happened.

"Hey, Ivy." he says softly, testing the waters.

I look up at him, the heated anger in my head slowing and pushed into my pocket for when I really need it.

His eyes show regret, but the tips of his ears still glow red like they always do when he's mad.

"Yeah?" I say, an edginess still etched into my voice.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that. I'm just really nervous about, well- just about everything right now. I never should have went off on you and I'm-"

I interrupt him, "No, no, it was my fault. I should've been more careful. I'm sorry.

"Hey, should we just call it a truce?" Griffin asks.

I nod, giving him a small smile, and he holds out a hand, which I accept. We shake on our agreement.

"See you at dinner, okay?" he asks.

I nod, and turn into my bedroom, which has come to feel like home lately. I've been in this room for the past month, and it has a homely feel, even though I deeply miss the old cottage back in District 12.

My heart sinks at the thought of my family back home, probably sitting over a small portion of bread that Sadie must have provided from the bakery. I wonder how they are, all by themselves. It's just my father and Belle. I can almost see them, gathered around the small projector that the Capitol provides. It only turns on when there is a score showing, tribute interviews, and the dreaded arena footage.

I hope they really believe I can make it out alive. I hope they have faith in me, that I'll really make it back to them, and we can live out the rest of our long lives in the comfort of the Victor's Village, all while bringing a bit of needed supplies to the people of District 12.

I can almost see that future, even with all the odds against me.

Because this isn't just about me anymore. It's about my family, and my District, and Dustin, Griffin, and Harley. It's about saving everyone, keeping them alive.

It's not just a game anymore.

It never was.

I just wish I would've seen it sooner.

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Author's Note

Mwahahahaha. *that was evil laughter*

Short chapter, but I haven't updated in a few days, so here it is! I would've made a longer chapter, but I have a random excuse and here it is: I've been staying up really really late every night (like, 4-5 am late) and waking up at noon, which is really unhealthy, so I'm trying to go to bed earlier and I didn't have time to update, because obviously, the only time I can update is late at night (I don't know why I always put it off until it's time to sleep).

Soo, on another note, thank y'all so much for helping to get me to 570+ reads! That's like the size of my entire grade, so thank y'all! Can we make it to 600+?

Please vote and comment what you thought, or any suggestions are always helpful!

Sorry for the long a/n.

Xoxo, IronAbbs