A Part to Play // Hunger Games

20 // A Spark of Hope

"His photo has the sex appeal of a police line up of homeless guys who had been caught urinating in public" - How to be Famous (KateLorraine)

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TW: reference to nightmares, murder, and guts (I guess) 

Aria was not happy. The Hunger Games were going strong, being even more brutal than she remembered. The Capitol's twisted mindset interfering with all of the attempts made by the young girl to try and have somewhat of a normal time.

Her friends were gloomy all the time, ever growing bags underneath their eyes, and she wondered if every year was like that. If the answer was positive, that'd be just another thing to dread. The list of horrible things was only growing, seeming to take peoples' good moods and throw them out of the window.

The girl was scared. She didn't know what to do to help the people she'd grown to love and it terrified her. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.

"Morning Finn." The youngest Victor called, catching up to her bronze-haired friend, smiling welcomingly.

"Oh, hey Ari. What's up?" The young man asked, a tired expression permanently attached to his face, making the girl's smile falter for a second before she recomposed herself. 

It was scary how much Finnick Odair had changed during those past few days, and she was constantly trying her very best to cheer him up. She had to be strong. She had to be the one to encourage those who were mentoring. The girl did wish she could help the tributes, but she needed to stabilize their mentors first.

"I'm good, thanks." She replied calmly, looking from side to side to check for Capitol cameras or spies, she didn't really know what she was looking for if the girl were to be honest. It was merely a side-effect. The Games had left her paranoid, looking for cameras anywhere she went. Her smile faltered as the youngest Victor recalled the numerous weeks she spent in completely paranoid hiding, but she quickly shrugged it off and switched to a more serious expression.

"When was the last time you actually slept Finn?" The girl asked, concerned for her friend's safety, her voice expressing that.

"A few days ago, I guess. Not really sure." Came his reply. At least the young man was honest, and that was a start. She was glad he trusted her enough to not lie to the young girl's face.

"You have to sleep. How are you going to be of any use for your tribute if you're too tired to even process what's happening?" The girl argued, trying to convince the man the best way she could. 

The Victor knew he wouldn't even give her suggestion the light of day if she told him it was for himself. He was way too selfless for that, she just had to make him realize that he'd be better off taking care of himself. If it had to be under the pretense of being for someone else's sake, she'd take it.

"Please Finnick. You have to take care of yourself. I'm serious." The girl told him, pleading expression on her face, and left, checking for cameras again.

The youngest Victor sighed, but knew she'd done her best for now. Next target: Johanna. Josh would be too hard to convince at the moment and she wasn't in the mood to argue with her friend about his own safety, deciding to just push it aside and let future her deal with him.

Would the young girl regret that decision later on? Yeah, probably. But at the moment, she simply couldn't be bothered.

***

Johanna was pacing around her room. It wasn't like she didn't want to sleep, she just couldn't. The nineteen year old couldn't close her eyes for more than an hour at a time before being plagued by nightmares and memories of the people she had killed.