Hurricane • F. Odair

thirteen » serial kiss-ass

A L T H E A

   She went directly to the elevator and ascended to her floor. Thatcher and Logan were waiting on the couch, Paprika pacing by the door. The woman smiled brightly, but the action didn't reach her green eyes.
   "How did it go?" Pap asked.
   That was truly a good question. Instead of answering her, Althea merely kissed Pap's cheek and turned her gaze to Thatcher.
   "I'm going to take a nap," she said before walk-in to her room.
   She heard him scramble to his feet. "She means we are going to take a nap." He hustled after her, past her, and launched himself into her bed before she'd even passed through the room's threshold.
   At home, there were three trees in the center of Victor's Village. The trees formed a perfect triangle and were the ideal distance for a hammock. Althea had provided the fabric and rope while Thatcher begged his mom to make them. Mrs. Golsbane didn't resist at all, and the two teenagers napped in the shade of those trees every day, every summer. The hammocks had finally worn through last summer, but the duo just brought out blankets. After nearly nine years of napping together, the thought of sleeping next to him didn't faze her.
   Kicking off her shoes, she crossed her arms at his sprawled position. "Move your fat ass," she ordered, but he only pretended to snore. Rolling her eyes, she shoved him, earning a grunt, but he scooted over. Althea climbed on top of the covers next to him. Both of them laid on their stomachs, but kept their faces towards one another.
   Althea closed her eyes, almost asleep when Thatcher spoke.
   "Althea, I need you to know something," he murmured. She merely hummed, eyes still closed. "You know how Willow likes women?" Althea frowned briefly, wondering where this was going. Willow had come out when she was sixteen, which was why it was a shock to everyone when the youngest Hawkforge announced that she was pregnant.
   "What about it?"
   Thatcher took a deep breath. "The baby is mine." The words shot out his mouth faster than gunshots. Althea's eyes popped open, stunned. Before she could speak, he jumped to defend himself and explain. "She told me that she always wanted a baby and I was the only man she trusted enough."
   Wait a second.
   A disgusted look crossed her face. "You two...?" He knew what she meant. The mere thought of the two of them together in that way made her want to puke.
   "No! We went to the clinic." He looked terrified of her response. She searched his eyes. How she had been even remotely frightened of him two nights ago was beyond her. She could understand why Willow trusted him with this.
   Plus, they would make gorgeous children.
  "Welcome to the family, I guess," she whispered and closed her eyes again. "I already knew she was gonna be adorable, but this just proves it."
   "You're not mad?"
   "I will be if you don't let me take my nap."
  It was silent for a moment. "Love you, Al."
   "Love you too, Thatch."

«•»

   "Wake up, heathens!" Laguna's cheery voice jolted the victors from their slumber. There was a loud thud as Thatcher hit the floor, followed by a pained groan.
   "Clumsy, much?" Althea yawned, the tease distorted slightly. As she put her shoes back on, her hair tumbled over her shoulders and partially blocked her vision. The hair tie must've been in the bed somewhere.
   "Fuck off, Hawkforge," he grumbled, pushing himself off the floor.
   "Watch your language, Thatcher Golsbane. They're announcing the scores soon," Laguna explained before leaving, the click click click of her heels fading softly.
Thatcher and Althea made their way into the living room. Chap and Logan were seated on the couch, Paprika on the loveseat. Laguna day next to the female stylist and Thatcher took the reclining chair. Although there was space between her father and Chap, Althea chose to sit on the floor in front of Paprika. The stylist immediately began massaging Althea's scalp with her golden fingernails.
Before anyone could say a word, the screen came to life. The Careers had predictably high scores. Althea frowned at the four given to Mags, but she couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at Finnick's ten.
"District Five. Thatcher Golsbane. Eight."
All eyes snapped to the male victor. He had gotten a ten in his first games, and there was no way he had lost any of his power or skill in the years since. An eight? Seriously?
He shrugged as if it didn't bother him at all. "I'm surprised honestly. I had an five minute staring contest with myself in the mirror, did my best impression of every victor in fifteen seconds each, and yodeled until they asked me to leave." Althea just stared at him in awe.
"A true icon and revolutionary," Paprika approves. Her fingers stilled when Althea's name was announced.
"District Five. Althea Hawkforge."
Althea held her breath.
"Twelve."
Laguna gasped wildly and Paprika's hands mussed up her hair. Althea was dumbfounded, to say the least.
"How did you manage that?" Logan asked. She understood his surprise all too well, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him that she had executed nine dummies with his dead wife's name painted on their chests.
"I did something that will probably get me into some trouble," she said sheepishly. The other tributes scored decently, but Katniss and Peeta made history when both snatched a twelve each. They were the only three tributes with twelves, and that made them even bigger targets than they already were.
"I'd like to change my strategy." Thatcher drew the attention away from her slyly. Sending him a small and grateful glance, she leaned back into Pap's hands, prompting the woman to continue massaging. They had begun this Althea's second year when she had awful migraines due to the stress of mentoring for the first time.
Logan raised a fluffy white eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Thatcher turned himself sideways in the chair. "While I'm still going to talk about Cassia, I'm just going to be a serial kiss-ass."
Althea gagged.
"If you believe that's best, go ahead." Logan agreed. He turned to face Althea. Her eyes were closed as Paprika scratched her scalp gently.
"Well, I don't know if it's best, but it's what I want to do. I'd rather not tell off the Capitol and lose all my sponsors."
Logan ignored his response. "And you, Althea?"
She opened one eye. "No love story, just my niece."
His eyes held a solemn hue that made her want to be five again — curled up with Elizabeth, Blaze, and her father as snow fell outside. "Okay. Go get ready."

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed some spicy new information here! Next chapter is the interviews!!