Once the excitment died down and the mentors were out of sight, all the attention went on Treech. Coral and her pack, specifically seemed rather invested in him as they made their way back into the arena.
"What was that back there, huh?" Coral taunted as she shoved his shoulder, "Your little girlfrined come to visit you?"
"What's it to you?" Treech responded, clenching his jaw as the pack surrounded him.
"We're just trying to figure out what's so special about you for you to be recieving special treatment," chimed in Tanner, "Cause I'm not seeing anything."
"I haven't gotten any special treatment," Treech spat back, "She wasn't here for me."
"That's too bad," Coral retaliated, "Maybe if she were, she'd be able to save you."
With a laugh Coral jumped forward, lunging toward Treech with her trident. The boy from Seven ducked out of the way just in time, sliding on the ground near Bobbin's body. Frantically, Treech's eyes scanned the ground for something to defend himself, quickly landing on a bloody club.
"Come at me," Treech taunted, tightening his grip on the club as he faced the pack. With that, the group let out a scoff. Within a second, Tanner was jumping forward, swinging his sickle at Treech, the blade barely slicing Treech's arm before Treech swung the club, knocking Tanner to the ground with a grunt.
"Good one, Lumberjack," Coral teased as Mizzen went to go help Tanner, "Just not good enough."
Treech clenched his jaw at the nickname. It clearly wasn't as sweet coming from Coral.
"I think Tanner thinks differently," Treech spat back, swinging the club at Coral, missing the girl, but hitting her trident out of her hand. As the girl scurried to pick up the trident, Treech stepped forward, kicking Coral in the gut before taking off, not looking back the entire time he ran.
There was no way he'd be able to take all three of them with only this club, it would only be a matter of time before they overpowered him. He needed to hide.
Coral, clearly frustrated, let out a loud shriek.
"Just you wait, Lumberjack," Coral taunted, standing up with a loud stomp, "We may not have gotten you now, but your little lover won't be able to save you for much longer. Not with that wound of hers."
From his hiding spot, Treech loud out a slew of mumbled curses, gripping his arm as he leaned his head against the wall.
Surely, his wound would heal, but Vera, she looked rough. And Treech hadn't even gotten the chance to see what really happened. All he saw was a bloody Vera, passed out in her friend's arms before she was dragged into a car and out of his sight.
And yet he so desperately needed her to live. Not so that she could get him more sponsors or gifts. Because she was his reason for living. And without her, he wasn't sure he'd make it.
-
The next time Vera woke, she was laying on a hard surface as she felt something touching her stomach. She couldn't open her eyes, but she could pick up some of the conversation going on.
"What happened to her?" she heard someone speak. Dr. Gaul she thought, though she wasn't too sure.
"Took a knife in the stomach for Sejanus. She'll be alright, right?" Another voice spoke. This she could tell was Coryo. They must've been dropped off at Gaul's lab instead of the hospital. The Capitol didn't want another scandal. And sending two Capitol kids into the arena to save another would surely be a scandal.
The lady from before let out as loud scoff as Vera felt gloved hands tearing her shirt. Definetly Dr. Gaul, Vera thought.
"Of course she did. Always ready to sacrifice herself for those animals, this one," Dr. Gaul spat and if Vera could move right now, she'd probably get up from this table and punch Dr. Gaul herself. But, she couldn't, so she forced herself to listen more.
"What did you think of the tributes. Now that they tried to kill you and your friends," Dr. Gaul spoke, clicking her tongue as she ran something cold over Vera's wound, "Even your little friend here. After all the kindness she showed them."
They're angry, Vera thought. Could she really blame them for hating her?
"I think I underestimated how much they hate us," Coryo responded instead, making Dr. Gaul hum.
"And when your realized that, what was your response?" asked Dr. Gaul. And for a moment, Coryo didn't respond, but when he did, Vera felt her blood run cold.
"I wanted them dead. Every last one of them," muttered Coryo with an icy tone. And then, she felt the needle, jolting her eyes open as Dr. Gaul began to stitch her wound.
"I see your little friend is awake," Dr. Gaul sang with a knowing smirk. She must've known Vera had been hearing them all along. She planned this.
Coryo didn't seem to notice though, rushing to Vera's side as if she hadn't just heard him confess to wanting all the tributes dead.
Vera felt herself pull back from him slightly, looking up at her friend in disbelief as Dr. Gaul attempted to sew her wound.
"I need you to hold still, girl," Dr. Gaul warned, "Unless you want to continue to bleed out on my table."
"Where's Sejanus?" Vera muttered, voice hoarse from being silent for so long. Coryo only shook his head.
"At home with his parents. He's safe," Coryo mumbled, "But you needed help and I didn't know where else to go."
"How bad is it?" Vera asked, wincing at the needle prodding her side. This time, Dr. Gaul answered.
"A stab to your upper abdomen. You'll be in a lot of pain, but you'll live," Dr. Gaul announced, taking a flashlight to Vera's eyes, "Eyes look fine. But I'd like you to stay the night to make sure you don't hurt yourself further."
Immedietly, Vera's eyes flashed with terror, remembering Clemensia and all the terrible things Dr. Gaul had done. Frantically, Vera turned to Coryo, who clenched his jaw, pleading with him to say something.
"That won't be necessary," Coryo cut in, "I can watch over Vera and make sure she stays out of trouble."
Vera silently thanked her friend, momentarily forgetting about her fear of the boy. If she had to be stuck with one of them for the night, she'd much rather it be Coryo.
"Fine," Dr. Gaul muttered, venom dripping from her words, "It's your life not mine."
-
By the time Coryo and Vera had even reached the Snow's residence, Vera had already passed out again, clearly exhausted from the day before. It wasn't until the next morning that she had finally awoken and realized where she was.
Out of all the years Vera had known Coryo, she'd never actually been to the Snow residence. Of course, she'd always just assumed that it was because Coryo was a private person, but now, as she glanced around at the cracked walls and worn out furnature that maybe that wasn't the case after all.
"Coryo?" Vera called out as she climbed out of the bed, groaning slightly at the pain in her stomach, "Coryo?"
"Vera!" The boy called out, running in front of her to block her view. But, clearly, it was too late.
"What happened here?" asked Vera, "Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped."
"None of this is important right now, Vera," Coryo insisted, trying to escort her to a nicer looking part of the apartment.
"I thought we were friends," Vera muttered, glancing around the room, "I thought you trusted me."
"You're being ridicuouls, Vera. Of course I trust you. None of this matters," Coryo shot back, scoffing at her accusation.
Vera clenched her jaw at his dismissal, remembering what Treech had said. There's no point hiding anything if you trust someone.
And yet, somehow, she'd learned more about a stranger in the last few weeks than she had about her best friend all her life. Had Coryo really not trusted her? Why? She'd always told him everything.
"I don't see what's more important to talk about other than the fact that you've been hiding your entire life from your best friend," Vera spat, clearly annoyed now.
"How about the fact that you almost got yourself killed in that arena!" Coryo yelled, "First you risked your life for Sejanus, but going even further into the arena, Vera? For what? A boy?"
Vera scoffed at her friend's accusation.
"He's not just some boy, Coryo. He's my tribute and my-"
"Your what? Friend? Lover?" Coryo spat with a laugh, "This is too much, Vera. you're going too far."
"You're such a hypocrite, Coryo! I see what you do for Lucy Gray. Wiping her face, kissing her, giving her gifts. And yet when I do it, it's too much? What's the difference?" Vera shot back, eyes shaking as she yelled at her friend.
"You love him, Vera. You shouldn't love him," Coryo replied, clenching his jaw as he inched closer.
"And why's that? Because he's district? I don't care about that, Coryo. You know that," Vera insisted, bewildered by her friends words. Though maybe she shouldn't be. After hearing what Coryo had to say to Dr. Gaul today, it was clear he didn't feel the same way as Vera. At least not as much as she thought he did.
"Oh yeah? How's that gonna work out, huh? Even if he does win, which he won't, he'll go back to his life in District Seven. You'll never see each other again," Coryo spat with a vicious grin on his face, as if he hadn't just shattered his best friend's heart.
"You're being cruel," Vera mumbled, anger fizzling out and turning into pain. The boy in front of her didn't seem to care.
"No. I'm being honest. You need to wake up, Vera. It's never going to work out. Just focus on putting on a good show," replied the boy and for the first time, Vera felt as though she couldn't recognize him.
"Who are you?" Vera muttered, looking up at her friend in disbelief. This wasn't her Coryo. Her Coryo that always protected her on the playground and shared his toys. Her Coryo that she'd loved and relied on for so long. No, that Coryo didn't exist. At least not anymore.
The boy in front of her finally seemed to realize what he had done, standing up straighter and sighing.
"Look, Vera. I didn't mean to be so har-" he spoke, but Vera was having none of it. She should have seen this coming. His comments in class, his connection to Dr. Gaul, his charm that helped him get out of everything. Even Treech seemed to pick up on it before her.
"I'm leaving," said Vera, wiping the tears that had begun to fall down her face as she stumbled toward the door, pulling her arm away harshly as he tried to grab onto her. Quickly, Vera made her way out of the apartment, ignoring the loud shouts of her name and the stabbing pain in her stomach.
Vera wasn't sure how long her Coryo had been gone or if he ever even existed at all, but she was certain of one thing.
She wanted nothing to do with Coriolanus Snow.
-
a/n: yall WAR IS OVER !! there's still a bit to get through with their relationship, but at least she's somewhat noticing him for who he is,,,
sorry it's late guys!! some unexpected circumstances came up and I've been quite busy the past two days !!!
anyways, again thank you guys for reading and all your comments as always !! I really appreciate everything <3
have a good few days guys !!
love you guys,
hannah <3