Eyes Never Lie - Tumblr Posts

To all the foolery that's been going on lately. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Less time online and more time in nature.

Eyes Never Lie

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Coriolanus Snow x b!woc capitol reader

(Contains spoilers for T.B.O.S.&S)

A.N: what the hell is a p.o.v anyways, it bounces from one character to another. I am not the best writer so if you see a spelling mistake/ typo I apologize, I’ll get better.

A.N 2.0 : this might get a part 2 because my mind got one idea, then another and I just RAN with it.

Word Count: 4.2k words (trust me, it was more)

———

When the both of you first met, it just so happened to be your first year at the academy. At the time, you were only acquainted to one person, a nice boy who, despite his riches, was very humble, and dare you say good looking: Sejanus Plinth. He had approached you, making civil conversation, and before long you both discovered the two of you had similar thoughts and opinions, particularly about the capitol.

That was when you first laid eyes on him. The tall blue eyed blonde boy. From the look on his face, anyone could tell he was a little nervous, hell everyone was a bit nervous to be here, being the first day and all. But flexing your hand every 5 seconds is a clear sign you’re about to pass out from fear. That was when you approached him, Sejanus not too far behind.

When he turned to you, his eyes widened a little, shocked someone was looking to make conversation with him. While his eyes went from in between Sejanus and yourself, yours stayed on his face. He kept a calm face, not showing a lot of expression, one free lesson growing up you had mastered.

Even though you were blessed to grow up in the capitol, you never much cared for the people, viewing the other districts almost like animals and not people infuriated you.

But you were good at hiding your expression behind your eyes, and this boy was good at it too. Too good. In fact, you couldn’t tell what he was thinking, “Odd, I can usually tell, even guess what people think.” Not him, not Coriolanus Snow, as he introduced himself. You knew of him, just not anything about him other than his family name.

As years went by, it became clear the 3 of you would be close friends, but your feelings for Coriolanus grew deeper than yours for Sejanus. You couldn’t see Sejanus as much as you could Coriolanus, so naturally you would have a deeper connection. The both of you even walked to school most of the time because you lived so close together.

Today you decided to add a couple of beads onto your braids this morning and walked out of the house. After walking a couple of blocks, you spotted Coriolanus just walking outside, and waving to you. “You’re up early.” You said, giving him a short hug which he returned. “I didn’t want to be late.” You rolled your eyes as he said that, “You’ve never been late to class, ever.”

He looked forward, a smirk on his face. “Can’t afford to be late.” He always answered. You looked up at him, his eyes never wavering from the road ahead. “You know why.” He then added, to which you nodded as a reply.

You discovered his true reasoning of why he strived to be top of the class by chance. He had gotten sick as he was walking home, having an uncontrollable coughing fit and fell out on the grass. You refused to let him walk home alone and that was the first time you had seen him so vulnerable. He almost looked embarrassed when you helped him in his home and to his room.

As you helped him out of his jacket, he slowly laid back. You went to get a towel to wipe the blanket of sweat off his forehead. As you came back, he caught your hand. “I’m sorry you had to see this.” He weakly said, returning your attention to him,” Go ahead, laugh at me.” I shook your head, “Why would I? You’re my friend.” You then took the towel and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“I may have been raised capitol, Coriolanus, but I was also raised with a soul. I’d do anything to survive and succeed in this life, who am I to judge you for doing the same thing?”

For a moment the only thing in the room was the sound of his breathing as his hand reached for your hand, and kissed it, before holding it firmly, never looking away from you. You looked in his eyes, and for the first time you could finally see what he was thinking, “Thank you”. You then nodded, not needing him to say a word as you stood up, and kissed his forehead, “Get some rest, Corio, you need it.” As you walked out of the home, you walked in silence.

You felt like a terrible friend, not knowing how much he was going through. But that wasn’t the only reason, your heart soared when his lips kissed your hand. Sure it might have been an innocent gesture, but the way he looked at you made your heart stop for a second. Sometimes you swear he did it on purpose.

During the last academy year, the closer you got to Coriolanus, the more you realized you truly loved him, and sometimes you thought he loved you back. The walks to the academy became slower and somehow his hand always found yours. At one point you had to run to get there on time, earning the both of you harsh stares from Dean Highbottom and smirks from Sejanus.

The both of you also agreed to study together whenever you could, even including Sejanus whenever he was free. There was no doubt in your mind that either you or Coriolanus would be top of the class, and receiving the Plinth Prize. And if you were the one who came out on top, you would give Coriolanus the funds he needed, whatever they would be.

While you two studies for the last test, he smiled when you rolled his eyes. “Alright smartass, you’re going to pass.” You said. Suddenly, he pulled you into his arms, and hugged you tightly.

You then felt his voice break, “Thank you.” He softly said. “You’re my friend, I’d help you with anything.” You said, looking up at him, a smile splitting your face. As you walked to class the next day & took the exam, he had a sly smirk on his face the whole day. Even at lunch he didn’t drop it. “Someone in a real good mood.” Sejanus said, nudging his shoulder. “Yeah, what’s got you in a good mood?” You teasingly asked. “You know.” He said, looking at you, the smirk turning into a smile, which all of your mirrored.

As the two of you walked back home he had a smile on his face again. Confidence. As he stayed close behind you, you stopped when you got to his doorstep. “So, here’s to winning the Plinth Prize tomorrow.” You said, giving him one last hug, which he returned. That was when you lifted your head to look up at him, but he was already looking down at you. Once again, you couldn’t read the thoughts behind his eyes, but you could make a good guess. He only had that similar look when it was just the two of you together: admiration.

“What is it?” You asked, a nervous chuckle leaving your mouth. He only shook his head, offered you a smile, finally releasing you from the embrace. “See you tomorrow, Calanthe.” He whispered before going inside. “One day I’ll look up what that name means.” You said to yourself, walking home.

The next day, graduation day. You woke up early to get your makeup on, slicking your edges back, and, to enhance your braids, added a gold charm in the middle. Afterwards you got dressed in the outfit Tigris made for your graduation. She insisted on it and told you she wouldn’t take no for an answer. As you walked to their home, you heard your name being called from behind you. Tigris was waving you down before hugging you excitedly. “Turn around for me!” She said, making you twirl as she admired her work.

As you waited, you saw Grandma’am clip a rose and walk out of her room. “Oh, dearie don’t you look gorgeous.” She said, smiling at you and opening her arms to you. You met her in the middle and gave her a light hug. “Not a gorgeous as you, Grandma’am.” You said, smiling at her kind words. She then walked forward and after an exchange of words, pinned the rose to his vest.

His eyes finally met yours, and then they took in your dress. He walked forward and kissed your hand, a now normal occurrence between the two of you. “Shall we?” He asked, before walking the both of you out the door. As the two of you walked to the academy, you could feel his eyes on you. “You look beautiful.” He said, giving you a smile, and making your heart soar once more.

“And you look dashing today.” You complimented, not missing the red tint on his cheeks. As you two walked up the stairs, his arm looped into yours. “Never missed a class, never been late.” He said to himself. “Corio, you got this.” You said, encouraging him, he offered you a small smile just as a new and familiar voice broke the moment.

“Why Coriolanus Snow.” You saw the small smirk grow on his face. “Clemie.” He said, offering him his other arm. “Hey girl.” She said, nodding to you, and getting a smile in return. “Two girls on your arm, must be your lucky day.” Clemmie teased and making Corio roll his eyes. As she continued to talk, your mind went to the graduation. You were getting more nervous than usual.

Something felt off today, and you didn’t like it.

You didn’t realize you had stayed in a trance until Sejanus walked up beside you, breaking the gaze. “Sejanus, you made it to the reaping for once.” “And you made it to graduation, Festus, we’re both shocked.” After hearing Sejanus’ quips, you went to sit down. You didn’t know why your nerves were acting up, but you couldn’t kick this feeling. “You ok?” You heard a voice ask, Sejanus was standing over you, concern in his eyes. “I’m just nervous about today.” You said, making him nod in response.

“Well, you may be right.” He said, sitting done next to you. That made the hair on the back on your neck stand up. And the look on his face didn’t help either. “What do you mean?” You asked, but getting no answer. Then as the rest of the students sat down, you saw why he was so silent. After it was announced there would be no more Plinth Prize, you looked at Coriolanus, who had a worried expression on his face.

However, when it was announced that the graduates would be mentors of the Hunger Games, that was when you froze, and your mind started to race.

There’s 25 graduates.

There are only 24 tributes.

Someone isn’t getting a tribute.

Going from district to district, started to guess who had a good chance at winning. Your heart broke when one girl, Dill, was pulled out. You stared to wonder if she had been voted so she could die in the arena. When it got to the district 12 female tribute, it was down to you and Coriolanus. His hand found yours and held it tightly, but you didn’t know who was holding on tighter.

“The runt girl from district twelve, she belongs to Coriolanus Snow.”

And that was when you knew he was the one holding on to you. He squeezed your hand so hard you almost thought he broke it.

The tribute: Lucy Gray, was wearing a colorful dress with a corset top. You had to admit, she was beautiful, and so was her dress. You watched as she put a snake on a girls dress, making you smirk. “I love her already” you thought to yourself. But then your mind suddenly came back to reality, you didn’t have a tribute. What did I do wrong? Did I pass? Did I fail?

The only thing that broke your trance was a voice singing, then another. You saw Lucy Gray stand up, and continue to sing by herself. “YOU CAN KISS MY ASS!” She then screamed. As the rest of the people laughed at her, you and Coriolanus shared a look: I like her.

As the laughter started to die down, one voice spoke up. “If you didn’t receive a tribute, report to Dr. Gaul.” Highbottom’s voice spoke up, and then it was silent. All eyes turned toward you, and it made you want to curl up in a ball and die. Sejanus’ hand found yours, giving you a silent squeeze of encouragement, and Coriolanus’ did the same. You then walked towards the woman, a small smile gracing her face.

“Let’s have a talk, child.” She said, her hand finding your back, leading you away from the hall. You were only able to catch a small glimpse of Coriolanus’ worried expression as you went down the hallway. She started to hum a tune while she led you to her lab. You had never been here, but you always wanted to get a peek. “Guess I got my wish.”

“I’ve been watching you, dear, for a long time.” She said, going further into the room. “Almost the top of your class, but you could never quite get that edge.” Dr. Gaul said, pinching her fingers together. “Why am I here?” You asked, finally finding your voice. Dr. Gaul then raised her eyebrows, and then let out a dark chuckle. “Let me ask you: What do you crave most in this world?”

You sighed, “To survive and thrive in this world.” She nodded, “Good answer.” She said, smiling. “You and your friend, Coriolanus, you two are good friends. Bonds like that build trust, those bonds can help you live as much as they can destroy you.” Dr. Gaul said, going to one of her glass cases in her lab. You didn’t know what the hell was in it, and frankly, you didn’t want to know. “I’ve known President Ravinstill for a long time, and we both live well, and thrive.” She said, putting her hand on your shoulder before looking down at you.

“I see myself in you, child. You thirst for survival, but to thrive you need to reach for power,” that was when she gave you a deadpanned look, “that’s why I pulled you from the games.” Your eyes widened at the realization, and she smiled once more. “You don’t need the Plinth Prize when you got mommy and daddy’s money. Why settle for a housewife when you have the brains of game maker.”

You almost shouted when she finished, “Game maker?” You said, to which she nodded. “You’ve always been a curious child, a strong appetency for knowledge.” Dr. Gaul said, putting her gloved hand under your chin. “You want a look behind the curtain? You wanna know how the puppeteer makes the strings? You need to join the magic show.”

You thought about your options, but you knew this opportunity wouldn’t come around twice. Almost like she knew your answer, Dr. Gaul then took you hand, and led you deeper into her lab.

After talking for hours, you knocked on Coriolanus’ door and it immediately opened to a shocked Tigris. “Where’s Corio?” You asked, after hugging her. It didn’t take long for him to come around the corner and hugged you tightly. “What happened? Did you get hurt?” He asked, but you stopped his hand as he examined your face. “I’m okay. Dr. Gaul just pulled from the competition.” You calmly said, and immediately regretted it, the faces of Tigris and Coriolanus going from worry to shock. “Why?” He asked.

She told me she’d be mentoring me from now on. I’ll be studying under her from now on, as well as continuing my classes.” His eyebrows rose before hugging her again. “That’s great news.” He said, but then I hugged him tighter. “For a moment, I thought my life was done for.” He nodded, and then looked you deep in the eyes. “We will get through this. I promise you.” You left a few minutes later, but before you got down the street, Coriolanus caught you “Hey!” He shouted, making you turn around. He was running towards you, holding out a wrapped cloth.

“I meant to give you this at the graduation, but you were pulled away.” He said. You unwrapped it, and smiled when you saw the flower charm. You smiled and held it tightly. “I meant to get a charm for this one day.” You said, looking up at him. “Guess I beat you to it.” He said, before returning the smile. “Meet me at the train tomorrow. I have a plan on how to get in Lucy Gray’s good graces.” You nodded and went home afterwards.

The next morning you got up early and put your uniform on before walking to the station, where Coriolanus was already talking to Lucy Gray, who saw you walking up to them. “Another mentor?” She suddenly said, turning towards you, pointing a white rose in your direction, obviously a gift from Coriolanus. Smart.

That was when he turned to you, and put an arm around you. “This is Lucy Gray. Lucy Gray, this is my closest friend.” He said, and you gave her a smile. “Another rebel?” She said, looking at you. “If it fits,” you said, shrugging, before leaning closer to her. “ loved the stunt you pulled with the snake by the way.” You added, making her smirk.

The moment was cut short when a peacekeeper nudged her and the male tribute towards a vehicle. “It was lovely to meet you two.” She said, before being led away to the back of a van. You then saw his eyes go to the van, and then it clicked in your head. “Corio, don’t.” You said, but it was too late. He was running toward the van, and you were following close behind him. It finally registered what you just did when he slammed the door behind him and felt the van move, going wherever it was going.

And now here you two were.

In a vehicle.

Full of tributes who were looking at the two of you like lions to lambs. Corio put you beside him, putting you closer to the tribute from 2 and the wall. “Hi.” He said, his voice sounding weak. “You in the wrong cage pretty boy, pretty girl?” The tribute Realer asked, tilting his head to look at you. “This cage is delightful.” He said, and then Reaper went towards Corio, pinning him to the back. You yelped when you were then surrounded by the tributes. “Shit.” You thought.

Somewhere between the exchange between Corio and the other tributes, you felt the truck come to a sudden stop, getting everyone’s attention. That was when you felt the truck start to tilt forward, everyone started to slide down. In one swoop you reached for Lucy’s hand as she reached for yours as Coriolanus wrapped one arm around your waist and your free arm around his shoulders. The three of you were able to hang on to each other as the other tributes began to slide down and out of the van. The three of you followed suit after the harness broke, sending you all tumbling out of the truck.

Lucy slid down first, with you and Corio falling out last. He was able to wrap both of his arms around you before everyone let out groans and curses from falling on rocks. When you were able to look up, you realized exactly where you were: The Capitol Zoo. And if fate couldn’t make it any better, Lucky Flickerman was in front of the pen, with his entourage of cameramen. “You gotta be kidding me.” You said, groaning and leaving you head down, only to be met with a blue shirt.

As you lifted your head, you were face to face with Coriolanus, who, somehow, had managed to keep his hold on you when everyone tumbled out of the van. “You ok?” You asked, to which he nodded. “Yes. Are you ok?” He asked, and you nodded in response. His eyes went to your necklace and the rose charm attached to it, a smile blooming on his face. His hand touched it, “You put it on.” He said in a soft tone & a tender look in his eyes.

As you both smiled at each other, you felt one hand go to your cheek and to then the other to your waist. The rest of Panem melted away as his breath hit your face. You forgot about being in the capitol, being Gaul’s student, and the tributes around you as you looked in between his eyes and his lips. “Calanthe.” He whispered, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper. That was until the voice of Flickerman broke the moment. “Are those academy students?” He said, and the both of you looked up to see the camera pointed directly at you.

“You guys ok?” Lucy asked, walking up to the both of you. “Yeah, you?” You asked, getting off of Corio and helping him up. The three of you looked around, and sighed. That’s when you began to brainstorm: how could you get out of this without getting expelled? “We gotta get them to love her.” You said to yourself. You then brought your necklace to the front of your shirt before unbuttoning the top button, making the rose charm more visible. “We give them what they want: a performance.” You then walked to Lucy and began to smooth out her hair while Corio broke the white rose and tucked it behind her ear.

He then put her hand out for Lucy to take, which she accepted. He then turned and opened his arm towards you, making you raise your eyebrows. “Trust me.” He whispered, and Lucy nodded towards his arm, and that’s how you found yourself being next to him as he presented Lucy to a pair of children at the cage.

You weren’t only shocked of how he fell into the role of a mentor, but how Lucy played her part as a tribute. She had a smile on her face when she talked to the children, and a calm expression when Flickerman approached and interviewed her. You couldn’t help but smile as she talked about her dress and where she was from. The Covey sounded like it was a homely group of people. You couldn’t help but picture how the nature of district 12 looked.

That was when Lucky Flickerman turned towards you. “And who might this lovely lady be? Are you also her mentor?” He asked, the camera’s filling the microphone as it was put in front of you. An innocent smile grew on your face as you shifted your tone into a kind voice, while still having a serious edge to it. “No sir, I’m taking courses from Dr. Gaul instead of being a mentor in the games. I’m here to support my dear friend, Coriolanus Snow.” You said, smiling up at him, which he responded by squeezing you closer to him. “You both seem pretty close for dear friends. How long have you known each other?” Flickerman asked, moving the microphone to Coriolanus.

“Since the first day we went to the academy. She approached me, and we’ve been close ever since. I’ve never known a more intelligent and alluring woman.” He said, and your eyes did a double take at his choice of words. Before you could answer, peacekeepers walked in and escorted you out of the cage. “I’ll come back later.” You said to Lucy Gray, holding her hand for a moment before you were taken away, Corio coming out a minute later. As the both of you walked back to class, you kept looking up at Coriolanus.

“On a scale of one to expelled, how fucked do you think we are?” You asked, making him chuckle. “He wanted us to make them spectacles, he never said how we had to do it.” He said, nudging your shoulder, making you huff out a short laugh. You then took his hand and gripped it tight, which he reciprocated. “To survive and thrive.” You said, walking closer to the classroom. “We will survive these games,” Coriolanus softly said, before stopping you, and making you look up at him. “I promise you.”

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

Eyes Never Lie: Part II

gif made by thorinsbeard

Coriolanus Snow x b!woc reader

(Contains spoilers for T. B . O. S. A. S.)

summary: Being friends with Coriolanus for a long time lets you what drives him to succeed and survive. You've also gained the insight to guess how he's feeling or what he's about to say just by the expression on his face. But only things that you could never decipher were the thoughts behind his eyes.

A.N: Part 2 is here!

word count: 5.4k

divider made by firefly-graphics

Turns out you were right. As soon as the both of you walked in, Dean Highbottom threatened to expel Coriolanus. They got into an exchange. “And then you, little miss. You’re not even in the competition, what were you doing there?” He asked, turning towards you. “Helping a friend, is it a crime?” You shot back, meeting his stare. That was when Senjaus jumped in, “They didn’t show those people anything they didn’t already know.”

“I don’t need your help, Sejanus.” Coriolanus whispered while you gave him a “thank you.” “That the tributes are human beings, just like us. That’s why nobody wants to watch the games—because people know, deep down, that winning a war ten years ago doesn’t justify starving people’s children, taking away their freedoms, their rights.” You could see Dean Highbottom roll his eyes while your mouth almost fell open. He’s never sounded this passionate before. Let alone so serious.

That was when an all too familiar voice interrupted the moment. “Snow and his rose fell down in the cage. It fell down in the cage but it landed….” She dragged out, looking between you and Coriolanus “On stage.” The both of you said in unison. “You’re good at Games. Maybe one day, you’ll be a Gamemaker like me.”

“If the games continue at all.” Dean Highbottom cut in. “Oh, they’ll continue. With performances like young Mr. Snow’s and my pupil’s in that zoo.” She said a smile that could only be described as sinister. “But I came here to ask your star mentor and my student a question: What are the hunger games for?”

You and Coriolanus shared a look but he spoke up first, “They’re to punish the districts for their uprising, to commemorate the end of the war-.” “Commemorate the dull, dull, dull.” She said, interrupting him and slightly poking fun at him.

“Punishment can take myriad forms. Why not drop bombs, cancel food shipments, stage executions?” Dr. Gaul then looked to you, “And you, my student, what are the hunger games for? Shit. After a moment, you sighed, “A reminder, a way of saying you should never undermine the strength of the capitol, as well as the power.” She nodded her head, a nod of approval.

“Why Games?” Sejanus chipped in. “Here we go.” you thought. “Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves whether or not they’re right in the first place?” Sejanus asked. “You have a problem with my games?” Dr Gaul asked, a small smirk growing on her face.

“Some of those kids were two years old when the war ended. The oldest of them were only eight. The Capitol is supposed to be everyone’s government now. It is supposed to protect all of us. I don’t see how making children fight each other to the death is protecting anyone.” Sejanus said.

That was when you drowned everyone out for a minute. Between the back and forth of Sejanus, Dr. Gaul’s crazy ass, High-as-a-kite Bottom staring all 3 of you down and Arachne side-eyeing you and Coriolanus, you were five seconds away from dropping out when Corio’s voice caught your attention.

“Maybe we should be viewing those tributes as human beings,” He said, looking at Dr. Gaul, “I mean, you saw those kids in the zoo, they just, they just wanted to get to know Lucy Gray.” He had a point. The children had a genuine interest in Lucy. “If she could interest a child, imagine what she could attract from the Capitol.” You thought.

“If we need people to watch, we should be letting them get closer to the tributes before the games, to make the stakes personal.”

He had a good point, as he usually did.

“Who will watch the Games if they care what happens to the tributes?” Dr. Gaul asked, a blank face on her face but an amused edge in her voice. “Everyone.” You said, chipping in, standing up and facing Dr. Gaul alongside Coriolanus. “If they thought the tribute they cared about had a chance of winning. People need someone to root for and someone to root against.” You said, giving a quick look to Corio to see if he wanted you to continue, which he did.

“We need them to invest. And if we bend a few Capitol laws, we could even have them place bets.” You avoided Sejanus’ stare as you took a breath before continuing, “I know Lucy Gray may not win in the arena, but if you give her a chance, I would bet the Plinth Prize that she can win people’s attention.” You said, giving a Quick Look to your classmates just as Dr. Gaul gave an approving look to the both of you. “I’d like you to write up a proposal of these thoughts tonight, Mr. Snow.” Dr Gaul said, giving him the stamp of approval.

“Wait. You mean you might use his ideas?” Clemensia asked. “If it’ll help the ratings, why not.” Dr. Gaul said, a smirk on her face. “Coriolanus and I are class partners, Dr. Gaul. We do all of our assignments together.” She said, standing up. “Way to make me feel loved, Clemmie.” You thought since you 3 worked together on multiple occasions. Dr. Gaul then let out one of her signature chuckles before looking between her, Corio, and one glance at you, “It’ll be an interesting test.” And then she left the room.

After class it was lunch, and you couldn’t leave the classroom fast enough. As you grabbed your tray, the thought of Lucy passed your mind. Do they even feed the tributes? You thought. Before anyone could see you, you wrapped your lunch in a napkin, grabbed an extra water bottle, and walked out of the academy, set for the zoo. You wove between other Capitol citizens as you approached the bars, you immediately spotted the color dress of Lucy and called out to her. Her head immediately turned and began to walk towards you, Jessup not too far behind her.

“What brings you here, again?” She asked as you uncovered the napkin and sat down. You passed it to her through the bar. “Lunch.” Lucy sat down and you saw another tribute stand behind her, “This here is Jessup Diggs.” You nodded to him, but he only stared blankly back. As she took the food, she handed some to Jessup, who soon walked away. You decided to not speak up about the bite on his neck as Lucy talked up before you had the chance to open your mouth.

“You know, you’re an odd one, curious even. Ya don’t have a tribute but here every day.” Lucy Gray said, taking a bite of the sandwich you gave her, making you hum. “We all have assignments, I just got one different from everyone else.” “Why you, may I ask?” She asked with a smile on her face, making you chuckle. “I’ll tell you later.” You joked, making her smirk.

“So, Calanthe, how’d you end up without a tribute?” She asked again, making your head snap up. “What’s you call me?” You asked, making her shrug. “Calanthe, that’s your name, ain’t it?” She asked, making you shake your head. “It’s just a nickname Coriolanus gave me one day.” Making her raise an eyebrow. “Hmmm.” She hummed, taking another bite.

“So, that song you sang, did you make it up on the spot, or did you have it memorized?” You asked, making her nod. “Back home I’m a performer in the Covey, it’s one of my favorites. Hell of a place too, singing ‘n dancing,” she said before looking up at you, “come and swing by, have a drink and a dance one day, sing your little heart out too.” You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “You play too?” You asked, her nodding in response. “I play the strings,” She joked, “What about you?” “I can play a bit of a tune.” You shrugged, “I guess I can carry a note as well.” “Anyone can sing, try it.”She said. “Not me. I’m not the best.” You said, shaking you head. “And sing a spell.” Lucy said, scooting closer to the bars and looking at you, a clear sign she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

So you put your water bottle down and started singing.

You come home late, fall on your cot.

You smell like something that money bought.

We don’t have cash, or so you say.

So where did you get it and how’d you pay?

Lucy then gave you a small clap, making you flip her the bird. “You know, you make the Capitol people look good.” “Oh, don’t think that.” You said, whispering the last part to her. “ right, you’re special.” Lucy said, looking at you. “Really, and what makes me so special,” You asked. “Hmmm, I’ll tell you later,” Lucy said, repeating the answer you said earlier, making the both of you laugh.

After a moment, you looked at Lucy, analyzing her. “You’re not like they say.” You said. This made her raise an eyebrow, “And what do they say about me, since they know everything?” Lucy asked, taking a drink from the water. “Some say you’re insane, others say you’re a wildcard, even a clown.”

You said, adding the snide remark Arachne made. “And what do you think I am?” She asked you. “I haven’t found out yet, you’re officially my second mystery person sweetheart.” You stated a playful grin on your face.

“Who took the number one spot from me?” Lucy asked looking at you for a brief moment before they wandered behind you, looking at Coriolanus approaching the both of you. “That guy.” You said, nodding to Corio. He came forward with his napkin of lunch and offered it to Lucy, who then offered half of it to Jessup. “I’m not hungry.” He said. “You think I can’t hear your stomach grumbling Jessup Diggs?” She asked, giving him a sharp look. As he took it and gave the both of you a long stare, he turned and walked away, letting Corio see the bite on his neck.

“What happened to his neck?” He asked, looking between you and Lucy. “A bat bite. The first night on the train, he didn’t sleep a wink the whole journey ’cause he was keeping the bats off me, so I would get some rest.” She answered, her words trailing off when all 3 of you turned to watch Arachne taunt her tribute with a drink. “One thing I learned in 12 is that hunger is a weapon. Your friend over there sure knows it.” She said, keeping her eyes on her. “She’s not my friend, she’s poison with perfect teeth.” Coriolanus said, making you snicker.

For a moment you looked around at the tributes, zoning out of their conversation. You learned this skill during the war, drowning out the sound of the outside world to stay inside the peaceful silence of your head. It’s how you stayed sane as a child. With the sound of bombs and the agonizing wails from the dying and tortured outside, your mother taught you how to drown out the noise. You were successful, most of the time. But sometimes the screams would cut themselves short, reason unbeknownst to you. Sometimes you used it when your parents would nag, or when Dean Highbottom got on your last nerve.

Somewhere in between drowning out the noise, someone grabbed your hand, snapping you out of your haze. “You’re doing it again,” Coriolanus whispered, looking up at you now. When the hell did they sit down? “Sorry.” You said, apologizing to both of them. “Your friend here was just telling me how he ate a whole jar of paste during the war.” Lucy said a small grin on her face. She then turned to the young tribute, Wovey.

“That little one. She’s so sweet. So young.

Something about her reminds me of my cousin Maude Ivory.” She said, a sorrowful tone in her voice, “I can’t stand to think of them without me like this.” She said, talking about her family. “I’m sorry.” Coriolanus whispered in response. For a moment, all three of you sat in silence before Lucy broke it. “You two seem like good people.” She said, looking between the two of you. “Sure would’ve been nice to meet under different circumstances.” She said, a smile visible on her face.

“One of your shows maybe.” You said, her nodding in response. “Yeah. We could have had a drink. A dance or two. Like we had all the time in the world.” She said, smiling at the two of you. At that moment, Arachne’s scream cut through the air, making your head snap to hers. Her tribute had her by the neck as she took the bottle, smashed it, and stabbed it into her neck. Without thinking you ran towards her while others recoiled and even ran. “Oh no, no, no, no.” You said to yourself, trying to stay calm.

As you pressed your hand to the wound on her neck, the blood slowly seeped through as she grabbed your shirt in vain, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” You whispered, trying to give her some comfort, before you yelled again, “Medic! Someone help her, please!” That was when Coriolanus ran beside you and also tried to help you. “Somebody help us, please!” Coriolanus yelled before you saw peacekeepers approaching. For a second you thought they were there to help Arachne, but instead, they aimed and fired at her tribute. You felt Coriolanus cover you as you covered Arachne.

You knew they were aiming at her tribute, when they fired you knew she was dead. As you kept your head ducked, you saw the blood from Arachne’s neck and her tributes mixed on the ground, almost making you puke at the sight.

The rest of the world seemed to fade away as your mind began to flood with the screams of Arachne, the screams from the war, it hit you light a freight train. And it wouldn’t stop. You finally looked at your hands to see nothing but red, deep red. If you didn’t know any better, your hands matched your uniform, your bloody hands.

You were suddenly pulled back, in a firm but gentle manner, but as you snapped out of your trance, you realized it was a peacekeeper. That was when the world exploded with more screams, this time of the people in the zoo. People screaming in horror, seeing a murder in front of their eyes. In between the chaos, you were able to see the medics carry Arachne away on a stretcher, and away from her crime scene. Suddenly, someone shook you, making you scream, taking you out of your shock.

A woman was looking at your hands, asking if the blood was yours. After she realized it wasn’t, she put a towel in your hand and walked away from you. That was when you finally got another look at your hands, the blood had dried in those few moments, now dark. The sound of Arachne’s final breath and the blood burbling came back to you, audible over the distant screams of the Capitol citizens.

Suddenly, a hand reached for your face and made you look up. You were met with the worried look of Coriolanus, and for the first time, you were able to open your mouth. “I couldn’t save her.” You whispered. “I know, I’m sorry.” He said, beginning to walk you down the main path out of the park. You threw one last look over your shoulder, finding Lucy looking down at the ground, and refusing to tear her eyes away.

The two of you are soon joined by Festus and Sejanus as all of you are ushered out of the zoo. Clemensia soon joined the party, giving you a soft look before waking beside you. Sejanus’ hand reached for yours, but you yanked it away, remembering you still had blood on it. As you all passed a water fountain, you froze. Not saying a word, you walked up to it, and let the water run over your hands, the red slowly pooling around the drain as you washed it away.

The scarlet stained the clear and clean water, now tainted by the blood of Arachne, slain by her starving tribute. At that moment another person joined you, Sejanus. He had the towel the woman gave you. Except his hands were clean, why was he here? He let the towel hit the water and brought it to your face, dabbing it to your left cheek. When he pulled the towel back, small dots of red were on the fabric. He then used the dry portion of the towel to dry your hands before leading you back to the group.

As they got close to Coriolanus’ residence, you turned to him, seeing him starting to tear up, and you held his hand. “Do you think Dr. Gaul will still want the proposal?” Clemensia asked, breaking the silence. “I doubt it.” You answered, her nodding in response. You saw the tears brimming her face, knowing she didn’t want to think about it tonight, especially with the death of Arachne. As the rest of them walked on, you walked Coriolanus up to the penthouse. You told Sejanus to tell your parents you were staying over for a while, and he understood.

Grandma’am jumped as soon as she saw the two of you, fretting and almost in a panic. You consoled her as you saw Coriolanus walk to the shower. As you finally let her go back to picking a dress for her funeral, you heard Coriolanus call your name. When you walked into his room, he was in one of his father’s robes, and writing the proposal. “I thought you weren’t gonna work on it, Clemensia isn’t here.” You said. “I just want to take my mind off of the mess today. You need to as well.” He said, holding your hand before kissing it, offering you a bit of comfort.

You then sat on his bed and sighed, holding your head in your hands. “Okay, I’ll do my best.” You said, taking a deep breath and looking at the ground. For the first 20 minutes, the both of you didn’t say a word, but you kept your eyes on the ceiling, having laid back on the bed, lounging. As you attempted to silence the memory of the blood bubbling from Arachne’s throat, her scream would cut through your memory. When you tried to shut that sound out, the smell of her blood on your hands came to your senses. It was a never-ending sparring match, and you were losing every round.

“You got any ideas you want to add to this?” He suddenly asked, not looking up from the paper. That freed you from your thoughts, and you looked towards him only for him to do the same action. It took a while for your mind to come up with several ideas to propose. After a minute or two, you spoke up, “Food and water for the tributes, they’re in there to fight to the death, but they don’t need to starve while they’re at it.” You said, remembering how Lucy ate her food earlier today. “Meanwhile people throw away most of their food in the Capitol.” You thought.

“I was thinking the same thing, but how?” He asked, turning completely towards you now. “Well peacekeepers won’t do it, even though they have guns the tributes could sneak up on them.” You said, making Coriolanus scoff at the thought. Then the idea struck in both of your minds, “Drones.” Your voices mixed, making you crack a smile and a laugh for the first time since you left the zoo. Coriolanus was looking at you, a soft look on his face and a smile to match it.

“What?” You asked, leaning on your arm to look back at him. “It’s nothing.” He said, the smile never leaving his face. “If it’s on your mind, it’s something to me.” You responded, urging him to answer your question. “This reminds me of our study sessions.” He said, his grin getting bigger at the memory. Over the next hour, you and Corio bounced ideas off of each other, something veering off-topic to debate if the idea would be too much of a hassle to add on such short notice. He then gave you the proposal to read over, being his final check before he was done.

“Looks perfect to me.” You said and then took a pencil, checking for spelling mistakes. “Welp, you missed dotting one I, other than that, you’re good.” You said, holding the paper down and correcting the mistake. When you turned around, you didn’t realize he had taken the robe off and stood at the door. “Can I walk you home?” He asked. You shook your head, “I’ll be fine, Coriolanus.” You said, sliding past him. He then held your arm before making you look up at him.

“Don’t lie to me.” He whispered in a firmer tone. “I’m walking you home, whether you like it or not.” Most of the walk was in silence, but you kept a firm hold on his hand, a silent comfort for the bout of you. As you got to your doorstep, you finally broke down completely. You leaned on the door and let the tears fall. You hit your hand on the wooden door several times, hard. “Damn you Arachne.” You sobbed, hitting your hand on the door once more.

Coriolanus hand then turned you away from the door and into his chest before wrapping around you. One of his hands held your head while the other rubbed your back. You heard him whisper words of comfort to you, but they sounded distant, the memory of her scream weakening the sound of his words. Only the sound of the door opening made you snap out of it. “Thank god you’re alright.” Your mother said, looking at the two of you. You felt Coriolanus kiss the top of your head before letting your mother hug you, looking over you.

You were led into the house while your father closed the door, sharing a look with Coriolanus before walking back to you. “Those damn animals, all of them.” He said in a pissed tone. “I’m just glad you and Coriolanus tried to help that poor girl.” Your mother said, caressing your head and your braids. What? Your head slowly raised to hers, “How did you know? Has word spread that fast?” You asked, looking to your mother and then your father. “They even showed some of the footage. You looked like a real hero, darling.” He said, nodding to the TV, catching the end of the segment.

While you did have a scared look on your face, you could see the serious look in your eyes, holding the wound while Coriolanus looked like he had next to no fear on his face at all. “A hero?” You said, scoffing at his choice of words. “Herod save people, Father. Arachne Crane is dead.” You said, moving out of your mother’s hands and going up to your room. As you showered, the water reminded you of the sound her blood made while bubbling out of her neck, your tears mixing with the water hitting your skin.

You barely got sleep that night, the endless nightmare of the zoo haunting you every time you got a minute of sleep. The next time you woke up, you stayed up, refusing to go back to sleep, no matter how exhausted you felt. You took the quickest shower of your life, made yourself eat breakfast, ignored the stares of your parents, and walked to school. You didn’t even try and wait for Corio, you just walked past his residence and straight to the academy.

When you got there, it didn’t get better. An assembly, and tried to stay in the back. “Calanthe.” Coriolanus whispered, finally finding you. “Hey.” You said in a hushed tone. “Why didn’t you walk with me today?” He asked, a worried look in his eyes. “Didn’t get much sleep, I decided to head out early today.” You answered, keeping your eyes on the podium. He nodded a look of understanding in his eyes. Before he could say anything else, a voice in the microphone interrupted him.

“Good morning, students.” A woman said one you recognized. Satyria Click, the communications professor. You heard her speaking, but your mind began to wander off, the lack of sleep making you drowsy. You leaned on Coriolanus's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around you, keeping you secure so you wouldn’t fall. You didn’t realize you had drifted off when he shook you, and your eyes snapped open. “Assembly’s over.” He whispered as you straightened up. After covering up a yawn, you offered him a thank you and stood up.

“Excuse me, Dr. Gaul is requesting your presence.” Someone in a lab uniform said, standing right beside Coriolanus. You gave his hand a brief squeeze before following the woman. You followed the woman into the lab but didn’t see Dr. Gaul. “Mysterious as always, making her presence known.” You thought.

“Yes, yes, yes. The innocent spring flower has tasted her first kiss of death.” Her voice spoke, echoing through the room. She then walked from behind the other portion of the lab and made an appearance. She had a blank look on her face. “While your classmates mentor their tributes, you will assist me here, learning everything I will teach you.” She said, holding her hands open. You slowly walked forward then followed her past her desk to a large cylinder of snakes.

“My newest batch of children.” She said, nodding at the colorful collage of snakes. You got closer, watching the snakes move and the color with them. “Pretty.” You commented before looking up at her and following her up the stairs. You then looked down at the open compartment of the cylinder and saw 3 pieces of paper. As you looked closer, you noticed it was the paper Coriolanus wrote up last night. “While I was reading the proposal Mr. Snow and Ms. Dovecote wrote, it slipped from my hands. Would you mind retrieving one of the papers for me?” She asked, an unrecognizable look on her face.

You slowly reached down, the snakes moving around your hand. Slowly you were able to get one of the pages in between your fingers just as one snake wrapped around your left arm. As you came up, he rested around your arm as you handed one of the papers to Dr. Gaul. She had a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face, “Good job, little flower.” She said, taking the paper from you. The snake soon wrapped around your neck, and soon around your right arm, moving around your collarbone. “Call them in.” You heard Dr. Gaul say. You then lowered the snake back into the cylinder and tried to get the other papers out.

“Leave them, you’ve done enough for the moment.” She said her signature dark grin on her face. “Sweet little things, those snakes.” You said, closing the hatch back up. “Sweet and deadly.” She said, making you freeze. Deadly? She then turned away from you as you heard new sets of footprints come into the lab. “Mr. Snow, Ms. Dovecote, come and see my new babies.” She said and walked back towards you. You stayed still as they approached you, Coriolanus giving you a confused look, to which you shrugged.

“Is there a point to the color?” Clemensia asked. “There’s a point to everything, Ms. Dovecote, or to nothing at all. Which brings me neatly to your proposal: which one of you actually wrote it?” She asked, leaning her arm on the lid.

Oh shit, she knew.

You shared a brief look between the two of them, a longer look was given to Coriolanus, egging him on to talk. Before he had a chance to speak a full sentence, Clemensia spoke up, “I was inspired by Coriolanus yesterday, of course. His little betting idea. But the sponsorships and the gifts in the arena, those were all mine.” “You bitch” you thought to yourself, your mouth falling open at her lie. “Clemmie?” You softly spoke, looking at her. Dr. Gaul ignored you as she stopped twirling her hair and her raised arm fell.

“So it’s your sweaty handwriting on that page?” She asked, all while Clemmie only smiled at her. “Very impressive, Ms. Dovecote,” Dr. Gaul said, only for her tone to change, “Unfortunately, my assistant mistook it for trash this morning and lined the shelf of this very terrarium with it.” She said as she opened the hatch, letting them see the snakes. “So, please, Ms. Dovecote, retrieve it for us, won’t you? So we might all consider your inspired ideas.” Dr. Gaul asked, a playful tone on the edge of her voice.

She then reached down and picked up a snake, “Don’t worry, my little predators are perfectly docile with those they can trust.” She let the snake wrap around her hand as she continued to talk, “So if they’re used to your scent, if you’ve handled their food, for example, or if they’ve inhaled the sweat of your palm on a page, they’ll leave you alone.”

She then let her hand go towards your arm that was on the lid and let the snake wrap around your arm and hand before taking it back and lowering it into the terrarium. “A new scent, however,” she said, a dramatic tone in her voice as she sighed and turned to Clemensia, “you’d be on your own, little girl.” “Retrieve it.” She demanded, she said in a sharper voice. You all could see the scared look on her face as she slowly lowered her hand down into the terrarium. “Clemmie.” Coriolanus warned, trying to get her to stop. As her hand got lower, you knew the inevitable was coming, and soon it did.

Clemensia suddenly ripped her hand from the terrarium as she screamed, a snake at the end of her hand. “Clem!” You shouted as you tried to reach for her, Coriolanus doing the same, but Dr. Gaul stopped the both of you as she hit the floor, the snake slithering away. Her scream echoed around the room soon followed by her gasp for air, a new sound to haunt your thoughts being born in front of you.

“You asked about the colors, Ms. Dovecote?” She asked, looking down at her in disgust. “I want my enemies to see a rainbow of destruction engulfing the world.” She said as someone injected Clemmie with something as she was dragged away by peacekeepers. You didn’t realize you were following her before Dr. Gaul pulled you across her body, practically shoving you into Coriolanus. “I’m not above using spectacle to create a little terror. A strategy your classmates here articulated very well in their proposal.” She said, turning towards the both of you.

“They’re good, your suggestions. I’m going to recommend my team implement as many as possible tomorrow.” She said, looking between the two of you, but got no response. “What?” She asked. “Will she die?” Coriolanus asked, looking at her as he wrapped an arm around your stomach in a protective manner. “The pleasure in breaking ground in one’s research is one gets to find out.” She said in a nonchalant voice. Your eyes began to water, “Clemmie might die” you thought. “You better keep Ms. Dovecote’s fate between us. I don’t think her mother would be happy to learn how she caught this sudden… flu.” Dr. Gaul said, shrugging at the thought.

She then spoke up before either of you had a chance to protest, “Now run along, both of you. You have an arena to promote and it’s time for my milk and crackers.” She said, dismissing the both of you before turning away. Coriolanus led you out of the lab as you wiped your eyes. “I, I didn’t know about the snakes.” You said, your voice cracking. “I know, goddamnit.” He sighed, rubbing your side. “That's two,” You said, looking up at him, “That’s two friends we’ve lost in 24 hours.”

“We don’t know if she’ll die.” Coriolanus said, looking down into your eyes. “We don’t know if she’ll be alright either. Those aren’t garden snakes, Corio, they’re Gaul’s, they’re deadly!” You shouted, snapping at him. You then took a deep breath, “I’m sorry. I’m just getting tired of these games.” You said. “Which ones? Dr. Gaul’s or the hunger games?” He asked. “All of it.” You said, then turned your head to the lab and then back to him. “You go on back to class.” You said, squaring your shoulders and going towards the closest hospital, and he was close behind you. When you ran in, you were immediately met with the screams of Clemensia. You tried to see her, but the doctors wouldn’t let either of you see her.

You finally left when her parents arrived, running inside not even realizing you two were passing. You only had one more thought as Coriolanus took you in his arms once more: how many more friends would you lose to these games?

Eyes Never Lie: Part IV

gif made by nowadays

summary: Being friends with Coriolanus for a long time lets you what drives him to succeed and survive. You've also gained the insight to guess how he's feeling or what he's about to say just by the expression on his face. But only things that you could never decipher were the thoughts behind his eyes.

A.N: I’m not dead! Had a health emergency so that's why this is late (don't hate me), but part 4 is finally here!

word count: 4.9k

divider made by firefly-graphics

Felix Ravinstill was dead.

You went by the hospital to check on him, only to hear his ventilator sound off the time of his death, sunrise on the last day of the 11th Hunger Games. You watched from a distance as his mother and father held themselves as they cried over the loss of their son, and you walked away, saddened by the death of a friend; the death toll of dead or scarred friends now rising to 3.

These were friends you had known since childhood, people you had grown up together with, people who are now dead and scarred, lives forever changed in the blink of an eye. You were walking out of the room when you were suddenly pushed into a bathroom. Your hand grabbed the sleeve of the person and pulled them off of you. You were met with yellow eyes, black hair, and a long turtleneck shirt. Your mouth fell open as you recognized the person who pulled you into the room.

“Clemmie?” you whispered and wrapped your arms around her. She hugged you back as you let a tear fall. “Why won't you visit me?” she asked, her tone having an angry edge to it. “Gaul told us you had an infectious flu.” You said, looking at her sickly appearance. “She's a liar, that snake changed me. I haven't gotten anyone sick.” she seethed, and you noticed she would hiss as her tongue would twitch with her body. Her eyes then scanned you, “You need to stay away from her, she's gonna get you killed, she already wants me dead.”

She then added to her sentence, “Don’t let her poison get to you, she wants us to be like her test!” Clemensia started to hiss as she held your arms, prompting the hospital staff to open the door, catching you two. One of them grabbed, holding one of her arms tight as another did the same.

“Watch! Her games are gonna get us all a free ticket to the next life!” Clemensia yelled before a staffer pricked her with a needle, and she went limp. Before she was dragged into another room, her shirt rode up, revealing the bottom of her torso, and a batch of scales festering in the middle.

The walk to the academy made your mind race. Your thoughts drifted to Lucy Gray, who was hopefully still alive. She has a low chance of making it out alive, that you knew. She could charm a crowd bit when it came to physical strength… yeah. Walking into the lab, you made yourself a promise: If there was any way you could help her in the games, rules be damned, you would do it. Gual was already waiting for you.

“take it you know about Ravinstill’s son?” She asked, to which you nodded in response. “Death, a certain subject you’ve become friends with these last few days.” Dr. Gaul said before leading you to a stack of cages, starting a long day of learning about her creations and how they were made.

You caught glimpses of the games, only seeing the death of Lucy’s fellow tribute, Jessup, another innocent life claimed by the games. While you were writing in your notepad, you heard a scream on the screen that broke your focus. Reaper was holding Dill in his arms, blood streaming out of her nose. She was dead. “Her illness finally took over.” you said to yourself, noticing Gaul’s eyes glued to the screen, a curious look on her face. In a turn of events, starts to line the dead tributes up in a line. This broke your focus, making you look at what he was doing.

The most shocking part came when he tore the capitol flag down from the arena, making you stand up. As he laid the flag over the fallen tributes, Sejanus’ words came into your mind. They didn't deserve this. In the corner of your eye, you saw Dr. Gaul go to a desk in front of a camera. “Start the broadcast.” She said to one of her other assistants. Reaper's words were soon cut off by Dr. Gaul.

“Capitol citizens, I’m afraid I must interrupt our Games to announce a tragic loss, one that affects us all. Felix Ravinstill, son of our beloved president, has this morning succumbed to his injuries sustained in the rebel bombing.” A few of the lab assistants gasped at the news as you turned towards Gaul, watching her break the news to Panem.

“Out there in the districts, they will be celebrating this young boy’s death as a triumph. I will not allow my Games to give our enemy such a victory. I swear to you, here and now, before the sun goes down tonight, a rainbow of destruction will engulf our arena. Even if it means there’s to be no victor in these Games.” And with that, she cut the feed.

Your mouth fell open, “You did that to cut the tribute off.” She looked at you with a cold stare, “Just one more rebel to kill.” You saw the lab assistants start to cage up the snakes, and you watched the colorful creatures of death go into a cylinder and be pushed outside, you turned and saw Coriolanus walking towards you. He was looking between you and the tank, a concerned look on his face.

He was holding his handkerchief in his hand and put it in your hand. “It holds her scent, please.” Coriolanus begged. The memory of Dr. Gaul making you retrieve the paper came back to you: the snakes didn't bite you, so they won't harm Lucy Gray. You nodded and walked to the tank, sliding it between the slot in just as it was lifted off. He gave you a grateful smile as he walked off. You walked out and saw Dr. Gaul with her back turned to you, laughing to herself, “Go watch the finale, my rose,” she said, now turning to you, “Say your silent goodbyes to your friend.”

You speedwalked into the room, finding Tigris, and sat next to her. She gripped your hand as your eyes were glued to the screen, praying the handkerchief trick worked. You watched as the youngest tribute, Wovey, walked towards the tank, not knowing it would be the last thing she saw. Soon the snakes broke the tank, and covered Wovey, charging towards the tributes.

“Not candy! Down goes Wovey.” Lucky Flickerman said and continued to announce the death of all the tributes until it all got to Lucy. You looked between the screen and Coriolanus. The snakes weren’t charging towards her, now slowly creeping. “It worked.” You said to yourself, letting out a sigh of relief. “She’s won, let her out.” Corio said. “Afraid that’s not your call to make, Mr. Snow.” Lucky Flickerman said and nodded to Dr. Gaul.

You suddenly heard Lucy start to sing, trying to calm the snakes. The way her voice took the room over, you could only imagine what her voice was doing to the other viewers. Between the snakes wrapping around her dress and her powerful voice, tears started to form in your eyes. By the end of her song, you could only hear the sound of her humming and your breath. Coriolanus now turned to Dr. Gaul, “Dr. Gaul, please, get her out.” He shouted. Tigris and you shared a brief look before you both yelled “Get her out!”

Soon the room started to fill with the refrain “Let her out” while looking at Dr. Gaul. She raised her hand, silencing the students who waiting for her answer. With a pointed look at you, she turned to a person next to her and said, “Let her out.” You didn't even hear Flickerman’s words as you hugged Tigris and she held you. Your classmates began to walk towards Coriolanus while you stayed by Tigris. “The games are as I predicted!” Lucky Flickerman shouted, tearing up his paper and releasing doves from his hands.

Amateur magician my ass.

Eventually, he broke through the crowd and found you two in the middle of the group, Tigris coming up and holding him first. After a moment, he came to you and you enveloped him into a hug. “You did it.” you whispered to him, feeling his hands squeeze you. The games were over, Coriolanus had won, and all would be well.

That afternoon, you were finishing up writing down notes of formulas Dr. Gaul assigned to you when Dean Highbottom walked in, “I assume your friend is ecstatic he won the games, as he should be.” You turned to him, taking in his tone of speech. “I find it strange, this relationship between you and Snow,” he said, “coming so close while only meeting in the Academy even though you both grew up close together, did you not?” You nodded in response, “We had mutual friends, we knew about each other, but didn't cross paths until the first day.”

“It’s been nice seeing you two help each other as best you could these years,” Highbottom said, “but I’m afraid it's come to an end, dear one.” For a second you couldn't speak, but you leaned forward. “It appears your friend slipped his songbird a compact mirror full of rat poison, assisting the kills of that sickly tribute as well as another,” Dean Highbottom said, making your blood run cold, “And a handkerchief with his father’s initials was found in the bottom of the snake bin, saving his tributes life in the end.”

You covered your mouth and cursed, “Goddamit Coryo.” you whispered to yourself, but you pulled yourself together. “So now what happens to the prize, who wins?” you asked, looking him in the eyes. “Well, as I said, cheating will be punished. Being a peacekeeper will be one suited for him I assume. As for the winner of the Hunger Games, I'm still deciding on that one.” he said, standing beside you. “In some ways, I say the viewers for having a show. In other ways, I say his songbird is a winner, she gets to live after all. But I would also say you as well.” Highbottom stated.

Now you were confused, “How do I win?” He shrugged, “You got the experience of the games, up close and personal. You, a capitol student, are now an apprentice to the Gamemaker of the Hunger Games, a survivor of a capitol bombing, and top of your class, why aren't you anything but a victor of these games?” Dean Highbottom asked. “Come on, you didn't think the public forgot your little act in the zoo already, apprentice? You made a little name for yourself without even realizing it,” He chuckled as he looked up at you, “I congratulate you.”

“For what?” you asked, looking at him. “Surviving Snow, and his games.” Highbottom said, looking past you and at Dr. Gaul who entered the room. “Why would I have to survive him?” you asked, but he shook his head. “Later, apprentice, your teacher calls.” he said, and walked out the same way he came. Dr. Gaul approached while carrying a clipboard, a teasing smirk on her face, “Death’s resounding bell tolls once more, the number of friends lost rises to four.” She then looked up, “One last thing, the snakes are getting a bit much for the rest of my assistants, help them out for me.”

You had gotten used to her random “side quest” as you called them, so you went out of the door, missing the cold and hard stare she gave you. When you approached the arena, you looked for the rest of the people.

Why was the arena empty?

That was when you heard it, the slither of snakes coming from all corners of the arena. “No…” you said to yourself, seeing snakes come from all the crevices of the arenas. You let out a scream and backed into a barrier. You began to climb the debris, ironically ending up in the same area Lucy Gray did. As the snakes wrapped around your legs, you held your breath, knowing it would be your last. You kneeled on the ground, letting your last moments of life looking at the sunset. Surprisingly, they only wrapped around your body but made no effort to harm you.

You kneeled there and watched as they swarmed your body, making a rainbow blanket over your body. For some reason, you laughed at the revelation of the handkerchief not only saving Lucy Gray but you as well. “I had a feeling my theory was correct.” You heard the voice of Dr. Gaul say. You looked at the camera pointing at you and sighed, “You knew I helped?” “I had a hunch, little rose, and I’m usually right about a lot of things.” She chuckled. “So now what, you gonna turn me over to Highbottom, turn me into an Avox?” You seethed, now having a rush of anger. “And let the newest gem of Panem go to waste, I’m not that cruel. The fact loverboy is going to the districts as a peacekeeper is punishment enough for you.” Dr. Gaul chuckled.

“No child, you shall go to 12, have a little vacation away from home.” She said as you slowly stood up, the snakes still all around you. “And do what, just stay there spinning the story to have me a permanent resident for cheating?” You shouted, looking at the camera. “No, you shall adapt. Pack a simple bag.” Dr. Gaul said, “And you shall see how blessed you were to prosper and grow in the Capitol, not in the districts like the snake you saved.” And fine the camera’s red light turned off. You sighed and slowly walked out of the arena, the snakes, surprisingly letting you move. You walked home as if you were marching in a funeral procession.

You hit the bed cried yourself to sleep, and packed your bag in the morning. Dr. Gaul made up the perfect fabricated story to your parents, and you didn’t protest, the fear of her ratting you out shutting you up. You got dressed, put your jacket on and you were on a train to the districts that early morning. The train ride might as well have been one to hell. With each tree going past you was only a reminder of being far away from home. You held your necklace in your hand, watching the greenery of the land pass you by.

When the train stopped, your face contoured into one of emptiness, the reality of your situation setting in. You were alone. No parents to vouch for you. No Sejanus to make you laugh and comfort you. No Coriolanus, you had to stop thinking about his situation to keep yourself from crying. As you held your bag tightly a dressed officer walked forward. “Gual’s student?” He asked you, to which you nodded in reply. “Welcome to District 12, this way.” He helped you into the back of a vehicle and sat in front of you.

“You’ll be shadowing and assisting the scientist in the laboratory. You have the freedom to explore, you’ll be here for a while.” He said, watching the coal miners pass you all by. “What is there to do?” You asked, looking at the buildings. The officer nodded, “There’s the Hob, group that calls themselves the Covey performs there.” Your eyes met his at the mention of “covey.” Lucy Gray was covey, so she would be here. “When do they perform?” you asked.

“I'm not sure, but hopefully soon.” he said as the car stopped in front of a building. You were coached throughout the day about the jabberjays, as well as what they were made for. Only in the late afternoon did you finally catch a break. Your hands ached from the pecks and bites of the jabberjays. You walked through the streets, hands in your pocket, taking in District 12. Birds were flying around, peacekeepers walking the streets, and someone calling your name.

Wait…

You froze and turned around, seeing a blonde girl looking at you, behind her was Lucy Gray. She immediately ran towards you and enveloped you in a hug. “You’re here,” She said, looking you up and down, “Why are you here?” “Gaul figured out I helped Coriolanus cheat during the games.” You said, and she came to a realization. “The snakes, that was you?” Lucy Gray asked, you nodded “yes.” She then hugged you once more, tighter this time than the last. You hugged her back as she asked, “What happened to Coriolanus?” Your breath hitched, and then you let it out, “He has to serve as a peacekeeper for his wrongdoings.” Her hands rubbed your shoulders, “How long does he have to serve?” You shook your head, trying not to cry, “I don’t know.” Your voice came out weak, your emotion taking over your voice.

“I’m so sorry-.” “Lucy Gray!” A voice yelled. Her expression immediately fell. “Piss off Billy!” The blonde girl who was with Lucy yelled. “Nobody’s talking to you, Ivory!” Billy yelled at the girl. “This was Maude Ivory” you realized, slowly breaking out of your trance. “Why don't you go torture another poor girl.” You shouted. Now his gaze turned to you.

“And who might you be?” Billy asked, looking you up and down. Well, shit. You didn't want people to find out you'd been sent here, lord knows how the district feels about the capitol. So you put on your best smile and sarcastic tone, “Calanthe Hemlock, and I'm so glad to meet such a waste of air like yourself.” Billy purses his lips before looking at Lucy again, “This conversation ain't over.” You three watched as he walked off before Maude Ivory looked at you, “Calanthe Hemlock huh? Where’d that name come from?” She asked. “The name “Calanthe” came from a close friend.” you explained, not missing the sorrowful look Lucy gave you. “Hemlock is one of my favorite shades of green.” You said and leaned on the building close to you.

“How long will you be here?” Lucy Gray asked, looking you in your eyes, Maude Ivory following the same movement. “I don’t know, could be weeks, could be months.” You said. Her face slows turned into a smile as she looked at Maude Ivory. “What’s that face for?” You asked. “This hell is gonna turn into a vacation.” Lucy said, sliding her arm on your back and walking you deeper into town. “You won’t have to live in your Capitol dollhouse, you can just be you.” Lucy Gray said, holding your hand and squeezing it. “Calanthe Hemlock, resident of District 12. No one knows your name, or your past, all they know is that you’re my friend.” She said.

As you watched the sunset over the trees your face slowly broke out into a smile. Calanthe Hemlock just stepped into the streets of District 12, and she was gonna have the time of her life while she had the time. The first week you still had your walls up, nervous about being alone in a new environment for the first time. By the second week, you were hanging out with Lucy every day, and by the third week, you almost forgot your birth-given name.

When Lucy Gray & Maude Ivory introduced you to their family in the Covey several weeks later, you wouldn't lie and say you were nervous. Those nerves were soon soothed by their kindness and acceptance of you. Turns out that risking your entire future for a friend ends up giving you more of them. They walked you through the woods until they came to a lake, and all rushed to jump in, all except Lucy Gray, who was watching you.

“What's wrong, Calanthe?” she asked. “I haven’t gone swimming in a while.” you said as you took your dress off. Lucy smiled softly, “Jump in or I'll shove you in myself.” She was gone in a second, jumping over the dock and into the waters. You sighed, “When in 12.” You said to yourself and ran down the dock, jumped up, and let the water cover you.

When the water ran out of your ears, The cheers of the covey filled them, chanting your name. You spent the afternoon swimming. When you all took a break, Luxy sat beside you in the grass. “I never got the chance to ask you, now did they find out you helped me?” Lucy Gray asked.

For a second, you were back in the area, the snakes slithering up your body and over your throat. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath before speaking. “Dr. Gaul, the game maker, told me I was helping the other lab assistants gather the snakes out of the arena. When I walked in I was the only one there, and the snakes swarmed me a minute later.”

Lucy Gray’s mouth fell open and closed before finally closing completely, “You know she’s an absolute nutjob right?” You nodded in response, looking out at the water. “Well, stand up. You're going out tonight.” Lucy said, grabbing your hands, and making you stand. “Where are we going?” you asked, letting her walk you down the trail. “You, Hemlock, are joining us in the Hob tonight.” Maude Ivory said, looking up at you.

You scoffed, “I didn't know I was the guest of honor.” “We’re playing tonight,” Barb Azure said, looking back at you, “and you’re dancing tonight.” You laughed, “I don’t have a choice, do I?” You asked, already knowing the answer. “Nope, now go on and kill some time, we’ll be looking out for ya.” Tam Amber said, giving you a playful wink as they walked ahead of you.

When the night was setting you took a quick shower and changed into a dress you packed and walked to the Hob. The dance was already in full swing, boots stomping on the floor and loud chatter filling the air.

A smile found its way upon your face, the change of scene is a complete 180 of the dancing you were used to, yet somehow more entertaining to see. Soon you were pulled into a dance, losing track of time and the worries being capitol fell away.

When the music stopped, you found yourself in the front, looking up at Maude Ivory. “Is it hot in here?” she yelled, you and the crowd yelling “yeah” in response. “Cause we’re plannin’ on heating it up a bet more. The one, the only, Lucy Gray Baird!” she shouted, and Lucy Gray came onto the stage. As she gave her small speech, she was given a bottle, you caught her gaze and she smiled.

“Everybody!” Lucy Gray suddenly yelled, to which the crowd responded, “Yeah!” “I'd like to give a special shoutout to my dear friend, someone who pioneered for my victory throughout the games. My dear friend Clanathe Hemlock!” She yelled, pulling you up on stage, the applause and whistles drowning out your nervous giggles. “Safe to say she's happy I survived.” Lucy Gray said, letting you back down. “Now, how about a song, huh?” Lucy Gray asked, and the music queued her in.

As soon as she started singing, you recognized the lyrics. It was the same song she sang at the reaping, but it sounded a whole lot better with the band. You then noticed she froze up on a lyrics and stopped dancing to follow her gaze, but you couldn't see who she was looking at. You did manage to see the smirk she gave shot you. That was when Billy waste of air Taupe broke through the crowd.

You turned and saw Billy Taupe shove a peacekeeper before getting shoved on his ass. You covered your mouth to laugh but that hand shot out to keep yourself between him and Lucy Gray. “Leave the girl alone, Taupe!” you yelled. His eyes met yours and all of a sudden you felt his hand slap the hell out of you, sending you back onto the stage.

The slap damn near knocked you out, but you got back up just in time to see a peacekeeper with blonde hair rush towards him, shouting “Don’t touch her.” You stood up and looked at the peacekeepers, and your eyes filled with tears as you recognized his eyes. Coriolanus was the one knocking the hell out of Billy Taupe. “Coryo stop!” you heard another familiar voice yell. “Nah get off me!” Coriolanus yelled, getting dragged away by Sejnaus. Why are you here? You watched Coriolanus look you in the eyes as your face broke into the biggest smile you ever smiled in your life.

You turned to Lucy Gray as she smiled back at you, “Well look who's here.” “You saw him when you stopped singing.” you said, putting two and two together. Her hand went to your cheek and sighed, ”Try and clean that up some, ‘Lanthe, don't want this on your record.” You rolled your eyes, “Shut up, before I make you my next test subject.” You joked. “Ya love me too much to do that.” Lucy Gray yelled as you walked away. “Unfortunately!” you shouted back, blowing her a kiss as you walked back to your barracks.

The next day the slap mark went down, but it still stung like hell. Pulling on your long sleeved dress and boots, you walked to the lunch hall. You heard from the other trainees you had the day off and immediately went to find Lucy. When you walked through town, you heard your name being called and saw Sejanus running towards you. You wrapped your arms around him and let out a laugh, “What are you doing here!” “Once I found out where Coryo was going, I followed close behind. I wasn't expecting you to be here.” Sejanus said.

Your hand ran over his hair, and you pouted. “I’m gonna miss your hair.” You said, making him chuckle. “Coriolanus was looking for you earlier,” Sejanus said, making your eyes widen. His eyes took in your expression, and he smiled softly. “You don't know how loved you are, Calanthe.” He said, smoothing out your hair before sighing. “It's nice to get away from the capitol, isn't it?” you asked, Sejanus nodding “yes” in response.

His gaze soon went behind you, and he rubbed your shoulders, “I gotta go, I’ll catch up with you later.” Sejanus gave you a short smile and then walked off. You sighed, wondering who he went to talk to as you walked around. The grass hitting the skirt of your dress. You saw a familiar figure walking through the grass and your heart jumped. Before you knew it, you broke out in a run towards him. “Coryo!” you yelled, a smile breaking your face open.

He turned and mirrored your smile, walking towards you as well. You opened your arms to bring him into a hug, which he was pulled into the second you got to him. His arms held you to his chest, so close you could almost hear his heartbeat. For the first few minutes, neither of you said a word. It wasn't until he broke the silence, “Why are you here?” Coriolanis asked. “Gaul found out I helped you, and I was sent to 12 the next day.” You saw his face flash from anger to confusion to worry.

“Your parents don't know the truth, do they?” He asked, making you shake your head “No”. Coriolanus then sighed, “It's nice to know you're here.” His eyes went to yours, to your lips, to your necklace, and then right back to your lips. “No capitol. Dr. Gaul can't control us.” He whispered, leaning towards you. His nose brushed yours, making you stand still. “We’re free, Calanthe, for once.” Coriolanus added.

You had gotten used to being called by that name, but nothing could ever beat the name coming from his lips. You hadn't realized how close he was to your face until his breath hit your lips. Looking up at him, your hands found the back of his head, and then his cheek, before resting on it. He closed his eyes for a second, soaking in the comfort of your touch. “When I was on the train, I almost wanted them to shoot me.” he said, now opening his eyes. “Why, Coryo?” you asked.

“I’d rather go through the games as a tribute than stay away from you.” He whispered, making a tear fall down your face. His hand came to wipe it away with his thumb, but his hand remained on your face. You didn't know when, but the moment changed with a soft gust of wind. Like magnets, your lips found each other in a passionate kiss. Bottled-up emotions come forth to be put into the moment. His hands went down to your waist pulling you to him and holding you there.

You wrapped one arm around his neck and one on his cheek deepening the kiss, making him chuckle. He didn't verbally respond, but he kept kissing you like he would never see you again, and you weren’t complaining. All memories of the games, you being sent to 12 faded away with every second of his kisses. This was all that mattered now.

Coriolanus Snow was here. Dr. Gaul and her meddlesome ways weren't. And right now you were kissing the boy you loved in a field of flowers; what more could you want? If Dr. Gaul wanted you to adapt, you would do as she asked: After you lived a little.