Wave ~ Hunger Games [1]

seventeen

+ nightmares +

I sat on the couch under the bright lights, a cup in my hand as I stared at the glass windows which showed the Capitol skyline, lights dancing on skyscrapers as I stared at them. I held a warm cup of tea in my hand, my legs curled up on the couch as I let out a small breath, taking a sip from my mug as I leaned into the couch a little bit more.

It was once again some ridiculous time of the morning, and even after the amount of work I had out in in the training centre today, I still wasn't tired enough to fall asleep here. I leaned forward, setting my cup on the coffee table as I stood up, my feet hitting the plush rug as I made my way back to my room, knowing that I should at least try to sleep at this point.

There was two hallways that sprung off of the living room, one of them being where my room and bathroom sat, and the other Ridley's, Mags and Talisa having rooms on the other side of the floor. I stood in between the two corridors, knowing that I should take the left back to my room, but for some reason I started walking to the other, throwing my hair over my shoulder as I stood outside of Ridley's room. I could hear small sobs coming from inside, causing me to scrunch my eyebrows as I pushed the button for the door to open up, revealing Ridley in his bed, tossing and turning as he cried out lightly.

"Ridley?" I said quietly, walking into the room as the door closed behind me, the boy not hearing me as I walked closer to his bed, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Ridley" I said once again, standing on the platform the bed was placed on as he jolted away, his eyes dancing around the room as I pulled my hand away from him, his eyes falling on me as he let out a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" I asked him as he sat up slowly, still shaking as he ran his hands through his hair, pushing himself further away from me as he quickly wiped his face. "What are you doing?" he asked me, his cheeks flushed and nose running as I shook my head at him, setting my hands on the bed. "I could hear you crying from the hall, are you okay?" I asked him as he propped up his knees, pushing the sheets off of him as he put his arms on his knees, looking down as he shook his head.

"I had a nightmare" he said to me quietly, causing me to hold up onto the bed without invitation, sitting on the the edge of the bed next to him. "It looked pretty bad, what was it about?" I asked him as he looked up at me, shaking his head as he leaned against his headboard, leaning his head back as he let out a deep sigh. "I think we both know" he said to me as I nodded my head at him, looking away as we sat in silent for a moment, neither of us saying anything.

"You knew Haf right?" I asked him, trying to change the subject as I looked over at him, Ridley nodding his head at me as he closed his eyes for a moment. "We were in the same class at school" Ridley told me as I nodded my head at him, lying back down as he pulled the sheets over his legs again. "I had never seen you are kind before" I said to Ridley who placed one hand behind his neck, staring at the ceiling.

"My sister was in your year, Lana Irving" he told me as a switch flipped in my head, causing me to nod my head at him, even though he wasn't looking at me. "Oh yeah, I thought your surname sounded familiar" I said to him as I crossed my legs, only ever having spoken to Lana twice at school as I wasn't really friends with her. "Do you have any other siblings?" I asked him as he nodded his head, looking over at me with a small hint of a smile.

"I have a baby brother, he's not even a year old" Ridley told me as he looked away from me once again, turning towards the large windows as he looked out of them, the curtains not being drawn closed, the lights of the Capitol visible. "You?" he asked me as I looked out the window as well, playing with my fingers in my lap. "I have three brothers, Kai, Haf and Zale" I told him, running my hand through my hair as it fell over my shoulders gently.

"Does your dad work on the boats?" I asked Ridley, not wanting to think about my brothers in fear that I might start crying once again. "He used to, he lost his job a few months ago" Ridley said to me quietly, not looking at me as I stared at him, not knowing what else to say. "I put my name in five extra times, for the grain and oil" he told me quietly, looking back over at me as I stared at him, biting on my bottom lip as I blinked a few times.

"We live in the Hovel" he told me, raising his eyebrows as I let out a small breath, nodding my head a little bit. The Hovel was the area of 4 which was the furthest away from all the coasts, meaning that the fishing was extremely sparse, the poorer families living there as work was very hard to come by. "Oh" I said to him, not knowing what else to say to him as he nodded his head at me, swallowing quickly as I looked down at my hands.

"When we were on the train you said you fished using a trident" he started, as I was confused on where he was going, nodding my head at him as he let out a deep breath. "Yeah" I answered before he spoke again, rubbing my lips together as my brow furrowed. "I've never touched a trident before, we use traps and nets" he continued, shaking his head lightly as I stared back at him, remaining silent. "I know they asked if you used a trident because it can easily become a weapon when you need to" he said, stopping abruptly, not wanting to say what he was thinking about, but I knew exactly what he meant. 

"But I don't have any weapon training" he breathed out, clearly scared about what that meant for him when it came to that arena. I didn't answer straight away, the only noise filling the room was the mingling of our breathing as we stared at each other.
"There's people who get through their games without having to kill, it's a game of survival" I said softly, still unsure on what to say, remembering the amount of people i had seen in my lifetime win from hiding away from everyone else.

"Says the one in the career pack" he scoffed lightly, sounding rather judgmental, looking away fro me as I didn't do anything for a moment, letting his comment sink in as I cleared my throat. "We should probably go to sleep" I said bluntly, rubbing my hands on my legs as I hopped off of the bed, causing him to sit up as he realised what he had said.

"Waverley" He stumbled, running his hand through his hair as I shook my head at him, turning around and stepping off of the platform. "We have training tomorrow" I replied, turning around as I made it to the door, walking quickly as i wanted to go back to my own room before he offended me again. "I didn't mean to offend you" He said to me, his face realising what he had said to me as I turned around, pressing the button as the door opened, smiling weakly at him.

"Goodnight Ridley"

——

A/N: So i'm really trying to establish some friendship between both Ridley and Waverley. Her big sister instincts are clearly kicking in when it comes to Ridley, so i wonder how that will effect her in the games eh?
Anyway, please vote and comment and i'll see you soon