A Victor's Ally - The 73rd Hunger Games (Fanfiction)

two

I looked to Luke for an indication of what we should do next, but he once again avoided my eyes, looking away from me and out the window. After a moment of awkward silence, I huffed and exited the train car, wishing I had a door to slam to express my anger. It took me a few minutes before I was able to find my room on the train, marked by a door that read "D9F", which I assumed stood for District 9 Female. I yanked open the door, taken aback by the intricate decorating. I flopped down face first onto the lilac sheets, relieved to have time to myself.

What was Luke's problem? I knew that he would have a hard time being a mentor, but you'd think he would suck it up long enough to keep his best friend alive. He hadn't spoken a word to me since I was reaped, and although it had barely been an hour, he wasn't even acting as a mentor, let alone a best friend. He didn't even acknowledge that he knew me before the reaping, but that was expected. When he came back from the Capital, he wouldn't be seen with me in public anymore. We always hung out far off in the fields or the forest, away from the town and prying eyes.

The door slowly slid open, and I squeezed my eyes shut tight, conflicted about whether I wished it was Luke or not. I opened my eyes, surprised to see that the person who entered was not Luke, but Atlas.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise, pulling myself off the bed. I stood in front of him, slightly intimidated by his giant frame. I might not be weak, but I was definitely lacking in the height department.

He took a step closer, the same creepy smirk displayed on his face. "I was thinking that we could-"

"If you're going to ask about an alliance, then I don't have an answer for you yet. We haven't discussed strategy with our mentors yet." I cut him off and shuffled backwards, not liking the closeness.

Atlas let out a hollow laugh, taking yet another step closer. "Come on, Julesy. You know our mentors aren't going to do shit for us. Barrick is a drunk, and Luke is a big joke. And I wasn't talking about an alliance."

"How exactly is he a joke?" I questioned, choosing to ignore the stupid nickname he gave me. I crossed my arms and gave him what I hoped was an intimidating glare.

"Please, he won out of pure luck. Me, on the other hand, well I'm different." He inched forward, the sleazy grin growing on his face. "I plan to hunt every single one of these kids down, one by one. Yourself included." He spoke lowly, taking another step forward.

I took a final step backwards, only to be met by the wall. Atlas pressed me fully against the wall, his hands on either side of my shoulders. I turned my head to the side, avoiding his eyes. Normally I'd knee him in the balls, but he was really creeping me out and I wasn't sure if that would be a good idea.

"It's a shame, really. We could have some fun." He leaned in closer, his hot breath on my face making me shiver. "You're pretty hot. But you won't be after I put a knife in your throat."

A noise came from the doorway, and I looked past Atlas to find Luke, his body looking big and awkward in comparison to the smaller size of the door frame.

"What's going on here?" His eyes narrowed and his voice came out harsher than usual.

Atlas stepped away from me with his hands up, the sadistic smile never leaving his face. "We were just discussing strategy." He winked at me, and I glowered in response.

"Get out of here, Lennox. Hilda is looking for you." Luke stepped into the room, his hands balled tightly at his sides. The room I thought was so large at first suddenly seemed a lot smaller.

"Right. You're the boss, bro." Atlas passed Luke on the way out, purposefully knocking shoulders with him a bit harder than necessary. The tension between Atlas and Luke was clear, probably having to do with the fact that Luke had won last year at the age of seventeen, making them the same age. Or, because Atlas was just psychotic.

A moment of silent passed before I finally moved from my position against the wall to the more comfortable bed, causing a wrinkle in the silky sheets.

"I can handle myself, you know. I didn't need your help.

Luke let out a humorless laugh, knowing as well as I do that my words were indeed true. Since we were younger, I had quite a reputation for roughing up some of the tougher boys our age. He stayed at his place by the entry way, shuffling his body so he leaned against the side of the doorframe. The messy-haired boy made no move to speak, which only added fuel to my fire.

"What do you have to say for yourself, huh?" I stood up suddenly, my body tense. "You ignored me on the train and at the Reaping- which, by the way, would have been nice if you came to see me after, considering it was the one time I needed you the most." Luke opened his mouth to speak, but I held up my hand.

"I'm not done. You come waltzing in here, acting like you're some sort of hero, and then just stand there as if you're waiting for me to bow down to you. Well sorry victor, but it's not happening." I crossed my arms, slightly out of breath from my mini-rant.

Luke glared back at me, put-off by my reaction. "You think this is easy for me? I went through hell in that arena, and there is absolutely no one I can talk to about it. My parents have become obsessed with the fame, my younger brother seems scared of me, and you just...wouldn't understand." He ran his hand through his dark hair, and I noticed that he was wearing it longer than he used to.

"And now, now that you're a tribute, I feel useless, despite however much power everyone seems to think I have. I couldn't stop you from being reaped, and there's nothing I can say or do that will make much difference in the arena."

I stood as still as a statue for a moment, my jaw set and hands curled into fists at my side.

"You don't think I can win." I said in a quiet voice, directing all of my anger at the boy in front of me. Luke stayed quiet, holding my gaze.

"You don't think I can win, do you?" I stressed, stepping close to him and planting a finger on his chest. He tensed for a moment, and although he had almost a foot on my height wise, he seemed scared of me.

He let out a loud sigh and finally entered the room, running his hand through his hair again. "No Jules, that's not what I meant." His voice changed from angry to tired, almost broken.

"Then what did you mean?" I wasn't about to let him off the hook that easy. "Look, you know just as well as everyone else on this train that I have very little chance of coming out of this alive. The least you can do is act like my mentor, let alone my best friend, and support me."

Luke's heavy footsteps seemed magnified in the small room- he never was very graceful- as he trudged over to me and placed both hands on the sides of my shoulders. "Listen to me."

"No, you listen to me!" I stomped my foot.

"Juliet. Listen to me."

I finally quieted down. Luke rarely used my full name, and that alone made me shut my mouth.

"I know I've been ignoring you, but it's for your own good." Luke glanced from left to right and lowered his voice an octave, as if someone was eavesdropping. "If they find out that I have any attachments to you what so ever, they'll use you against me."

"For what?" I questioned loudly, earning a 'shh' from Luke. My curiosity got the best of me, and I waited patiently for him to continue.

"The arena is dangerous enough, but you're also at the mercy of the Game makers, and they would sick some mutt on you in a heartbeat if I refused to comply to their demands."

"What demands?" I asked quietly, no longer mad. After all, he was just looking out for me.

His eyes turned cold again and he stepped away from me, putting on an indifferent facial expression to hide the broken one I saw a minute ago. "Don't worry about it. All you need to know is that I am doing everything I can for you, even if it seems like I'm not."

Luke headed for door, pausing once to turn back around. "Look, I'm sorry okay? Stay away from Atlas, also. I have a bad feeling about him." His voice softened a bit and he exited the room, but not before I saw a mix of worry, fear, and desperation in his eyes.

Maybe this whole situation would be better if I hadn't ever met Luke before. Going in the arena, I could almost handle that. But I knew from experience that it would tear him up on the inside to watch his childhood friend kill or be killed. And knowing that I would be hurting him regardless of the outcome, well, that hurt me too.