I Play To Win

Since You've Been Gone

Alison looked through the window of the train. The view becoming more and more familiar as she got closer to home. But even though the images she saw were familiar, it looked almost foreign to her eyes. The past few weeks did changed her. But she still couldn't believe she was going home. She had kept her promise and she was coming back. It was almost like a dream, though she felt it was almost like a nightmare at the same time.

Now that she had survived the games that made her a victor. Therefore, that made her a mentor. Which means every year for now on she would have to come back to the capitol, instruct other kids how to survive inside the arena and probably watch countless of those children die. But before that, of course, there was the Victory Tour, something that she was completely not ready to go. But she guessed no one ever really was.

And those were just the nightmares she had to deal while she was awake.

Yes, since she got out of the arena she had been having these nightmares that were even worse than being inside the arena or any consequence that came after.

She sometimes would see the last minutes she lived inside the arena over and over again. Noel would haunt her dreams every night, his face deformed by the knife and he would ask how could have Alison let him die, and all that Alison could do was stand there without moving a muscle just repeating how sorry she was. Those weren't the worst ones though. Now and then she saw Emily's face instead of Noel's. And those were the times were she woke up crying.

Alison shook off those thoughts when she realized that the train had stopped in the station of district 12.

She tried to focus on the thought that she was home now. Back to her family and friends and Emily. Emily was there. Alison had to hold herself together now. She was close to hold Emily in her arms again. And she was close to start the happy ending she had promised Emily.

Alison walked to the door waiting for it to finally open so she could be with the ones she loved again. And one more time it all felt really surreal to her. The last thing she said to herself before the doors opened was to stay cool and not to seem desperate when she finally had Emily in her arms.

Of course, all those thoughts vanished from her head in the minute the doors opened and the first face she saw was Emily's down by the platform. She hadn't even noticed her parents standing in the platform just by the side of the door. They pressed Alison into a hug and cried of happiness. Not that Alison didn't appreciated the gesture, but her family just didn't expressed much their feelings, that's why Alison felt a little awkward with all of it, but glad at the same time.

She had to hold herself not to jump out of that platform into Emily's arms. For one second her thoughts were all over the place before Alison remembered that before doing anything else she had to smile and pose for the damn cameras that were everywhere.

She did so for a couple of minutes that felt more like one hour. She didn't tore her eyes from Emily even for just one second. The brunette had a smile on her face and she seemed calm, though Alison knew she must've been just as anxious as she was.

When she was finally done and couldn't help it any longer, she jumped out of the platform and ran towards Emily, she saw the smile on her face grow wider – just as hers must have – when she finally felt the brunette in her arms again.

Alison breathed relieved as she finally felt home and the world started to dissolve around them. Alison buried her face in Emily's hair, feeling her scent. She felt the tears behind her eyes.

"God, I have missed you so much!" Alison breathed on Emily's ear.

"I have missed you so much too." Emily muffled a half laugh-half cry.