Battle Scars

Chapter 24: The Usual Game

Chapter 24: The Usual Game

Chapter twenty four: The Usual Game
I parkoured it over to the other side of the ravine, where I had noticed an opening in the rocks earlier. At the time, I had thought nothing of it, but now I had an idea of what might be at the bottom. I crawled in, and after my eyes had adjusted to the darkness I could dimly see a flickering light far ahead. I half climbed, half slid down further into the hole, until I was close enough to see the lava bubbling below. It gave off an eerily beautiful light in the cave, and I wondered if this lava spring fed the lava river around the corn. The air was pretty humid, but at least it was nice and warm. If it started snowing again we could hide down here until it passed. Although Mitch would have trouble getting out again until his leg healed.
I clambered back up the slope without a great deal of difficulty, and parkoured it back to where Mitch was examining his cuts and bruises on a sunny rock by the water. I reported my findings to him. "At least if we're cold we can warm up down there," I said. "But we're boiling hot at the moment, so we kinda need somewhere cool until the weather stops being bipolar." He frowned a little.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that," he replied. It was silent for a few seconds whilst we puzzled over the issue.
"Why don't we just wait here until we're ready to move on," said Mitch, finally. "If we hear them coming we can just jump back in the water, and press up against the wall of the ravine. They won't see us that way."
"Unless they jump in themselves," I reminded him. "But that's a good idea."
"Well we are running out of options," Mitch replied. "But I don't think they'll jump in. They'll at least wait until they're sure it's worth their time and effort. If they think we're just going to die down here anyway they won't bother to come down and finish us off."
"Sounds like a good plan," I smiled. "Meanwhile, I don't know about you but I'd like some sleep."
He nodded in agreement.
"One of us should stay awake though," he added. "We don't want any unwanted visitors." I immediately volunteered.
"You need to sleep more than me, if your leg doesn't get better we're not going anywhere." Mitch sighed, and smiled at me.
"You're still worried, aren't you. Abby I told you you don't need to be afraid of me, I won't kill you in your sleep." I sighed, knowing he was right. I nodded.
"I know. But you do need sleep, Mitch. I'll keep watch." He nodded.
"Thanks," he smiled.
"It's no trouble," I replied. I sat down on the warm, sunny rock beside him, and reached out for a handful of sand to keep my hands occupied whilst I was on guard. I felt Mitch's eyes on me, and turned to see he was still sitting on the rock, watching me. I raised an eyebrow.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" I asked, failing to hide a smile.
"In a moment," he replied calmly. He was looking at something on my face. He reached out, and traced a finger over the scar that had formed where he had hit me with an arrow at the start of the games. I felt a shock run over my skin when he touched it, bringing unwanted feelings to the surface that I had been trying to burry for some time.
"That was my arrow wasn't it," he said, breaking the silence. I nodded wordlessly.
"I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's fine, you had no choice," I comforted him. He had hurt me, but his intentions are what mattered to me. Not the fact that I now had a white line on my face to commemorate the occasion. Looking into his eyes, I realised he was genuinely sorry that he had hurt me, even upset by it.
We seemed to realise at the same time that we were staring at each other, and we both looked away awkwardly. But I knew Mitch deserved more than just an acceptance of his apology. He deserved one himself.
"Mitch, I...I'm sorry I didn't trust you when I should have," I said finally, looking up at him again to meet his gaze. "We might have at least avoided being stuck in a ravine."
"Abby don't blame this on yourself," he replied, his hazel eyes boring holes in mine. "I did say a lot of stupid things too, and I don't blame you for not trusting me." He took my hand. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is you trust me now, right?" I nodded, and suddenly realised the close proximity of our faces. I lost myself in his eyes, and we were quiet, both playing our usual game of trying to understand the other's thoughts. His hand cupped my cheek with the scar on, drawing my face closer and brushing his lips with mine. The unknown alerted every sensor in my body, and I felt every touch, and caught each slight movement in this intimate moment more than I ever had before. And suddenly, his soft lips were moulded perfectly over mine. I wrapped an arm around him, sliding my hand up his neck and into his short, brown hair.
It was a few moments before I remembered that this was my first kiss, and I broke apart in surprise, gazing up into his face. He looked at me questioningly, resting his forehead on mine. Our lips were almost touching, but not quite.
"Don't you trust me?" He teased, smirking, his lips brushing mine ever so slightly. I pulled him closer to me, returning his smile.
"I trust you," I whispered, and this time I meant it. His expression registered pure, and undiluted happiness, and wrapping his arms around my torso, he pulled me closer to him and kissed me again, passionately. When we finally pulled away, my expression of happiness matched his. And I realised it was emotions like this that would eventually defeat the Soviet, and put an end to this pain.
"Mitch you really need to sleep," I said, looking up at him. "I'll watch to see if anyone comes." He nodded, and pressed his lips to mine one last time. I felt his lips curve into a soft smile, causing me to smile too. Eventually, he pulled away, and dragged himself over to lie on the soft dirt and go to sleep. I sat by him on the rock, and relaxed. I drew pictures in the dirt, occasionally singing softly to myself. Every now and again I turned to watch Mitch sleep, and puzzle over my feelings for him. Because falling in love with another tribute could end in the worst kind of heartbreak. At that time, I wasn't sure if I cared or not.

a/N: sorry I took so long to update this story! As you can probably imagine, this was the hardest chapter to write. So yeah... I'm over it now so I'll do my best to continue as normal with the updates! Please comment if you like it and favourite it! It means the world to me, it really does:):):)

And by the way...
The start of this chapter totally just gave meaning to everyone's favourite Vikk quote...
"On a scale of cave to cave, how cave is cave?"
Hehe you're welcome :P