𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗮 ♛ ꜱᴇᴊᴀɴᴜꜱ ᴘʟɪɴᴛʜ

♛𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻♛

The slight breeze atop the apartment building would have been relaxing if Aurelia wasn't so nervous that she felt like she would fall.  The familiar layout of the city below her, lights twinkling like fallen stars, seemed so different for once.  She came up to the rooftop countless times with her brother and cousin after the war ended, even by herself, but never like this.

He's not coming, the horrible voice whispered to her. Why would you ask him to? That was stupid, you're stupid, and you misread everything. He doesn't like you like that, he doesn't like you at all-

"Shut UP!" Aurelia screamed, all the noise lost in the wind.  For once, perhaps the first time, the voice obeyed.  Her throat was still hoarse from the smoke of the bombs, and just those two words set her into a bout of coughing.  Had the bombing only been yesterday?  So much, too much had happened in the past forty-eight hours, and the next forty-eight were likely going to be the same.  

She stopped coughing as a bell somewhere tolled eleven.  Aurelia sat on the edge of the wall with her feet dangling off the side of the building, the golden hair she was named for blowing around her face just like it did in the movies.  A creak came from the fire escape stairs and the blonde only had to tilt her head slightly in that direction to know that it was Sejanus.  She turned back to the city, surveying it as if she didn't already know where every building in the skyline rose and fell.

"Lia?" The boy said, just audible over the gusts of wind.  She turned back to him, smiling and jerking her head to usher him over.  He understood, coming to stand behind her.

"Isn't that sort of dangerous?" He joked, but Aurelia sensed real concern behind his tone.  

"If I survived it when I was nine, I think I'll be okay now," she laughed, trying to tame the hair that was quickly turning from gently windswept to unruly.

"Feels like it was yesterday, huh?" Sejanus remarked.  "Right after I moved here."

"And even so, it was almost ten years ago..." Aurelia muttered, wistfully.

The conversation paused for a moment, silence hanging in the air, before being blown away by Sejanus laughing.  "Are you really sure thats safe? You aren't scared?"

Aurelia sighed deeply.  "After the past few days, I realized there are much better things to be scared of.  There's a boy our age sitting in the zoo right now, scared out of his mind because of what's going to happen tomorrow, but he won't let anyone know.  There's a family back in District Twelve right now who are scared out of their minds for him, because they know exactly what they might see tomorrow.  I don't think I'm allowed to be afraid of heights after that."

"You'll go crazy comparing your life to theirs.  It's not your fault you were born here."

"I can't help feeling guilty."

Sejanus grinned at her.  "I think you're the only Capitol-born person who thinks that."

The girl didn't reply, just gazed off into the horizon once again.

"You really want to get him home, huh?" Sejanus smiled.

Aurelia pushed her hair back, gently placing her hands over her face for a moment.  "He's such a good person.  It's just so unfortunate, all of this is so unfair.  And I hate that it took meeting Jessup to really see that for the first time."

"Aurelia, look at me.  That's.  Not.  Your.  Fault.  It's just the way we were raised."  Sejanus sat down next to her, his back to the Capitol.  The blonde turned, pulling her legs over so they were on the rooftop instead of in the open air, her shoulder brushing with his..