Behind Those Violet Eyes ▸ Hunger Games

Chapter Twenty-Six: Cyra Merison

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Cyra's POV                            

I turned my head sharply as I heard the Careers' footsteps slowly fade in the distance.

"BACKING DOWN???" Gale shouted, followed by wild laughter.

I agreed. It was rather strange that the Careers had left so suddenly. Nothing usually stood between them and a good fight...

But that's when I smelt smoke again. Filling my nose so quickly, I felt as if I was being choked.

I turned quickly on my ankle to be faced with the biggest wall of fire I had ever seen. It made the one from earlier in the Games look like a tiny camp-out fire, used to cook marshmallows.

"Oh Sh–"

"We don't have TIME for you to start cussing... Let's move!" I shouted in his ear and dragged him away from the fire.

We ran faster and faster, until I felt the flames start to lap at my ankles and legs. The sudden heat catching me off guard, causing me to trip and fall on my face. Gale stood above me, and gripped my hand tightly as we continued to run through the thick woods.

I continued running, and I soon beloved we were out of the worst of the fire, when I felt the ground shake violently below me. Falling from the strong force of movement, I gripped the Earth tightly, and spotted a large ball of fire barreling towards us.

My eyes widened, and I quickly lept form the ground, but not fast enough, as the fire made in pact.

Hours past, and I awoke inside the cool comforts of the cave.

Am I dead? I questioned silently, as I sat up. Gale sat next to me, holding a bottle of some kind of cream. He was placing it on his arms. As I glanced at them, I realized the burns, stretching across his arms, leading through his neck and at the bottom of his face.

 "What happened?" I huffed as I glanced at him. Gale looked down at the cave floor, then back up to face me.

"When you fell I went back to get you...." he said with a faint smile, as he continued to put the cream on his arms.

Instead of responding the way I should have, I instead returned the act of kindness with a slap across the face.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" I shouted at him, tears drifting down my face, smearing the dirt and other extra grime from my face onto the arena floor.

Gale stared surprised at me.

"Why didn't you leave me behind?" I asked him, my voice clogging with tears dripping into my mouth.

I coughed, and my eyes widened as I waited for his response.

Gale huffed and shook his head, closing the top on the cream and setting it down beside him. "Because I love you."

I had been glancing at the floor, trying to clean my blood from my tattered clothes, but when he said that my head shot up, and my eyes met with his.

"What....?" I paused quietly and neared closer to him.

Gale shook his head quietly and laughed at the ground. "Sorry, it just.... slipped out."

I paused, glancing at my feet.  Me? Gale could have any girl in the entire world, and he would pick me? The freaky girl with the strange eyes and anger issues? And rule-following issues? And Capitol hating issues? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized Gale and I were so alike- it was scary.

"Gale I–"

"You don't have to lie, Cyra." Gale huffed as he began to walk out of the cave.

Lie? I thought to myself. I wasn't lying... Or, I wasn't GOING to lie....

"No, wait!" I shouted at Gale as he walked out of the cave and down to the small streak near it. I approached the stream with caution, as this is the spot where the Careers had found us earlier.

"What, Cyra?" Gale turned around, and I grabbed his shoulder, pulling him into a hug.

As I pulled away, I felt my eyes drift down to the ground. What are you doing? Is this real....?

Gale, with a surprised expression across his face, gave me a small smile and pushed his fingers into my hair, which we both realized was a big mistake as a clump of my hair fell to the ground.

"I didn't-" Gale laughs, his eyes widening like it was his fault.

I shook my head violently, and pulled my long braid over my shoulder. My hair was naturally black, but as I looked down at my hair, I realized that the bottom part of my hair was violently frizzy. And the shade of black that it was, wasn't natural. It looked dead. That's when I realized that it was. The fire.... The thought suddenly occurred to me. It had burned my hair.

As I pulled at the hair, clumps and clumps of it fell out and onto the ground. I remained clam, and knew what I had to do. Reaching for a knife in my belt, Gale back up as I pulled my braid over my shoulder. Tracing my fingers across my hair, I found the place where the discoloration ended. Breathing deeply, I took the knife in my hand, and with one quick pull the hair fell to the ground.

Breathing, I glanced down into the pond to see how poorly I had cut my hair. It wasn't a terrible cut, but my hair, that had once reached the middle of my back, was now reduced to just below my shoulders.

Gale walked back over and smiled softly.

He wasn't much older than me. I think he had just turned seventeen. That was two years. But wait.... What am I doing in the first place?  But then, at that moment, I realized exactly what I was doing.

Who had been there for me ever since these stupid Games started? Gale. Who had saved my life countless times? Gale. Who was there for me, when I was younger, when no one else was? Gale. Freaking. Hawthorne.

I glanced at the floor, and then back into those captivating grey eyes. "I.... love you too, Gale." I smiled. Those words tasted weird as they fell across my tongue.

Gale smiled at me and took my hand glancing at the floor.

"You don't have to lie to me, Cyra...If you don't feel anything-"

With that, I lept up and kissed Gale full on the mouth.

His eyes were wide in surprise, but after a moment, they slowly drifted close.

After a moment of silence following the kiss, I smirked and looked up in his direction. "Will that shut you up now?"

Gale smirked and leaned in closer again. He smiled and me and took my hands.

"Yes. Yes it will...." And with that, he leaned in and kissed me once more.

I finally understood him now.

This was the reason he had saved me.

This was the reason he had kept me as an alliance.

This was the reason he had talked to me all those years ago.

Because he loved me.

And I realized now that I loved him, too.