LOVELY

~ 1.13 ~

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'I want to hide the truth.
I want to shelter you.
But with the beast inside.
There's nowhere we can hide.'
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Lack of sleep and boredom began setting in for the group who had walked all night. As the sun began to rise, the forest floor beneath their feet gave way to solid rock. Despite feeling as if they had been wandering all night long, the Pack had no true way of knowing how long it had been since they had rested due to the Gamemakers messing with time. They hadn't long been on the flat surface of rock when Indiana's ears picked up the trickling sound of running water. Bending down, she saw that the rock was damp and mossy.

"There's a lake ahead. We should wash up, purify the water and fill up the canteens." Indiana advised the others.

Everyone, aside from Glimmer, agreed with the eldest girl. A large splash echoed throughout the arena and the Careers quickened their pace, hooting and hollering upon seeing the dark figure in the lake. Katniss Everdeen floated along in the water, terror sinking into her face when she heard Cato's cheerful yell. Dashing out of the water, the brunette hobbled away from the Careers, heartbeat increasing as she heard their thunderous footsteps following after. Due to the burnt skin on her leg, Katniss was only able to get so far before the pain became too much and she had to cease her running. The only option she had left was to scale one of the large trees – so that's what she did.

"You're mine now, Girl On Fire." Cato taunted as the Pack gathered around the base of her tree.

"Here, take this." Glimmer yanked the bow off Indiana when she realised it was the easiest way of getting to Twelve and passed it to Cato, who was becoming angrier with every one of Katniss' taunts.

Cato brushed it off, gesturing to the sword hanging from his back. Too stunned at the audacity of Glimmer taking her weapon, Indiana glared at the other blonde woman. Attempting to climb the tree, Cato swore when he slipped. Trying once more, the branch he was hanging from snapped and sent him tumbling to the ground. Yanking him up, Indiana subtly made sure he was okay.

"Move over, idiot." Glimmer muttered before trying to scale the tree herself.

Much to Indiana and Clove's amusement, she failed also. Opting to shoot an arrow at Katniss' head instead, Glimmer did more of a poor job at that than she did at the tree climbing.

"Give me that." Indiana hissed, yanking her bow out of Glimmer's hands. "Before you take someone's eye out."

"Let's just wait her out." Peeta reasoned, speaking for the first time since the Pack had allowed him to join them. "She's got to come down at some point."

"I hate to admit it but he's right."

Accepting Indiana's agreement as final, Cato ordered everyone to begin setting up camp beneath the tree. Cato and Clove went to collect some wood for a small fire whilst Indiana and Peeta kept guard, watching Katniss and the trees for sign of other enemies. Out of her peripheral, she noticed Peeta staring up at the girl hidden in the tree. As the sunlight began to dim, Peeta turned away but froze when he noticed the blue-eyed beauty watching him.

"Be careful, Peeta," she warned.

"Pardon?"

"If the others notice, they won't hesitate to kill you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Peeta said haughtily.

"Just heed my warning."

Turning away, Peeta muttered a grateful 'thank you' before continuing to sulk.

The pair from Two returned and once the fire was started, Indiana snuggled up the muscular boy for warmth and hid her smile when he wrapped his arms around her. She had attempted to strike up a conversation but had been shut down so quickly that she had decided to ignore both him and Glimmer completely.
Petty? Yes.
Did it make her feel better? Also yes.

"Cato." Indiana whispered in his ear.

"Yes?"

Leaning up to reach the side of his face, Indiana's tongue darted out and as she snuggled back in his side, the wind blew and Cato came to the realisation that his left ear was wet.

"I'm going to get you back for that." Cato growled, tickling her sides in revenge.

"Do you two mind?" Glimmer asked in disgust, walking past them and 'accidentally' kicking Indiana's ankle.

The blonde from One responded to the jealous act by tripping up the blonde from Four.

"Careful now, Glimmer. There's a lot of twigs and uneven floor, we don't want you falling and seriously injuring yourself."

Silence fell over the group as the Capitol anthem echoed throughout the entire arena but only one face appeared in the sky. Once again, Indiana was relieved to see that it didn't belong to Rue. She knew that the poor girl would die sooner or later but the idea of a girl that young being put in harm's way sickened her.

When the fire began dying down, the Pack settled down and attempted to catch some sleep. After all, they had been awake since the Games had started and this was the 'second night'. Lying on Cato's arm, Indiana realised sleep was futile for her so she sat back up and called out to the man who used to be her best friend.

He responded instantly.

"Do you hate me?"

"What? Of course not. I could never hate you," said Marvel, sincerely.

"Then why are you ignoring me? I need you." Indiana whimpered. "I always need you but now more than ever. And you're pushing me away."

"I'm so sorry. I thought it would make things easier. Come here."

Shuffling over to where Marvel's sleeping bag was, Indiana placed herself in his lap and hugged him tight.

"I just thought that if I made you hate me, it would be easier for you to get home."

"Marvy, I could never hate you." Indiana confessed, holding him close.

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Gazing down at the tangled blonde braids, Marvel decided it was now or never. If he didn't tell her now, he would never get the chance or courage to.

"Indie, I have to tell you something." Marvel whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

However, when he received no response, he glanced down and realised she had fallen asleep. Despite the mud and bloody cuts, she still looked as beautiful as ever. Chuckling at the fact that she had fallen asleep in his arms, Marvel carefully lied back down with Indiana still in his arms and drifted off to sleep.

Feeling the absence of the weight of another person on his arm, Cato shot up from his sleep in a panic. He was about to start yelling for Indiana when he noticed she was safe in Marvel's arms. On the one hand, he was pleased to see that Indiana had made up with her best friend because he had spent many nights talking about the pain he had caused Indiana. On the other hand, he couldn't help but glare at the man who had his girl in his arms, and debated the numerous ways he could break the arms touching her.

It was at that point that Cato realised that during their late night conversations, the teasing touches and the sparring matches, he had caught serious feelings for the beautiful but deadly girl from One.

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'Don't get too close.
It's dark inside.
It's where my demons hide.
It's where my demons hide.'
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