Courage, Compassion, and Capital

Chapter 16

Hazel (A/N: I guess there's no need for this anymore...)

After lounging around my room for what seems like HOURS, I finally hear a knock at the door. Maybe it's Peeta - no, we're not thinking about him - BEATRICE. YES. BEATRICE. I spring out of the chair I was sitting in, and open the door. To my dismay, Katniss stands there. My smile is wiped from my face.

She just sighs. "Listen, I know you want to do this as much as I do. Which is none. So if we could just get this over with, that would be great."

I'm surprised about her bluntness, but honestly, I'm not denying anything...

So I just shrug, "alrighty!"

She looks at me, annoyed. "Never say that again." 

"..Mkay.." Yeah, sure Katniss. That was totally going to be my catchphrase. 

~~~~~

Once we reach the end of the hallway, we make a left, then a right, then a left again. With Katniss' strides being very long, and in the meantime, mine were small and I had to half run-half jog to keep up with her. We reached a simple wooden door, with the gold plating of 'Alec' above it. I guess it's his room? 

Katniss knocks, and Alec opens the door. He looks around for a second, then notices me. Gosh, being short has its disadvantages. He smiles, his red hair standing out even more than usual. The freckles I noticed earlier are gone, although it may just be the lighting. Up close, I realize that he has some ear piercings, set with different colored stones. And his eyebrow scar, is slightly deeper than I thought it was. 

Katniss coughs, and I realize I'm supposed to say something. I wipe my hand on my pants which I changed into earlier, then stick out my hand. "Uh..hi..?" I say hesitantly. 

Alec reaches and shakes my hand. I hope sweat didn't collect from the seconds after I just wiped it off. He releases my hand, and I exhale in relief.

"Alec Owens, but I think you already know that. You must be..." he pauses for a second, "Hazel." 

I nod. "Nice to meet you." 

Alec smiles again, then turns to Katniss. "Thanks Kat, you can go now. We should be done in 2." 

Katniss grumbles, something about being called Kat, but then leaves. Once she rounds the corner, I relax a little bit, loosening the muscles I didn't know were tense. Alex must've noticed, because he just chuckles. "Hazel, want to come in?"

I nod, not knowing what to expect. He steps aside, and I walk into his room. It's surprisingly and wonderfully messy. There are clothes strewn all over the floor, plans on the walls, and his bed is unmade. It's perfect. I grin. 

"This is great!" I exclaim. 

He chuckles again. "I know, I've hassled the organizers of the train to not force people to clean my room. It's scary when it's clean."

I nod, remembering how I keep on trying to destroy my room, and failing. 

He claps his hands, startling me out of my daze. "OKAY HAZEL! LET'S GET STARTED!" He says.

I look around, confused. "Uhh, Alec?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Mhm?"

"There's...no room..." I say, hesitantly. I don't know what his reaction would be. 

"Oh, there is, don't worry," Alec says, smirking. 

I look at him, but then he walks over to his desk. He opens a drawer, and takes out a normal remote control, like the ones people used for televisions before the "war". He clicks a button, and the desk rotates. I peek, and there seems to be a giant room, full of everything you could imagine for fashion. 

Alec's smirk widens when he sees how awed I am. "You like it?" 

"DUH!" I exclaim, and walk towards the desk. Alec steps aside so I can enter first. 

The entire room is huge, with full length mirrors lining the walls. The room is a pleasant white, but more of an ivory, so the room doesn't assault your eyes. There are a couple lights here and there, but the room is well lit as it is. There is a chair in the center, with counters surrounding it, lined with tons of cans and sprays, and I spot a closet, which is slightly open. 

Alec sees where I'm looking, and immediately rushes in and closes the closet. He turns around, and winks. "You can't see that yet." 

A fresh wave of excitement hits me. "Wait...is that my outfit!?" 

He nods. "Yep! But first, we have to get you cleaned up!" He gestures to the chair. "Go ahead and sit down!" 

I reluctantly walk over, and plop down onto the chair. Alec grabs a can of something, and grins like a maniac. 

"Let's get started!" 

Oh boy...