DEIMOS LASNER



I suppose I would be a normal seventeen year old, except for the fact that I'm one of the main providers for a group of kids that, including me, are homeless. Still, it's better than life was with my parents. I will admit, though, that life on the streets of District 7 is tough.

I heard you crying loud,
all the way across town
You've been searching for that someone,
And it's me out on the prowl
As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself

I OPENED MY EYES

Some say I'm handsome, but that's all personal opinion. I guess I don't look too bad, what with my dark brown hair, hazel eyes and semi-muscular form. But since I've heard tell of my good looks, I suppose I should share the details.

Many people like my eyes. They are an almost chocolate brown colour, more commonly referred to as hazel. At times a green-gray tint may appear in them, depending on the lighting. It adds to the character, people have told me. My mother once told me that my dark hair and eyebrows accent my eyes well. My hair is so dark it's almost black, but lighter brown highlights are strewn without it. In the light the highlights don't really stand out, but instead all of my hair becomes a touch lighter. My eyebrows are mostly the same, though they don't have any highlights. My nose is a little big, though most people look past that fact, or don't even notice it at all. I personally couldn't care less what my nose looked like, it's not as if I could change it anyways. I will never have enough money.

My mouth is nice, I suppose, being a decent size for my face. My lips are a little thin, but I was lucky enough to have good teeth. It's hard not to have good teeth when you can't afford sweets. There is rough stubble on my chin and the lower parts of my cheeks. I don't have enough money to buy a razor and shave, not that I would anyways. Food comes before vanity. My chin is slightly square and my cheek bones are somewhat flat. I look a little older than I normally would because of the combination of my face shape and the lack of shaving. If I end up growing an actual beard I may buy a razor, but that won't happen for a while.

Well, don't get lonely now
And dry your whining eyes
I'm just roaming for the moment
Sleazin' my back yard so don't get so uptight
You been thinking about ditching me

AND LOOKED UP AT THE RAIN,

My neck is of a decent thickness and length, though maybe it could be a little longer. My shoulders are broad, but not extremely. I have put on muscle from my work chopping wood, so they have a good amount of muscle on them. My whole body does, in truth. My arms are more muscled than my legs though, from the wood cutting and the hauling of log pieces. I'm not crazy muscled though, and I wouldn't compare to a career, but if I did get picked for the Games I suppose I would have a chance.

I stand at a height of about 6'1", most of my height being my legs. As I have said, they are pretty well muscled, but I still don't have much stamina for running. They work just fine for walking though, and I have well enough balance. I usually cover them with blue jeans, though they are very faded and very worn. My shoes are also very worn, but in a little better shape than my jeans. They are black lace-up runners and they serve their purpose. I have a couple of different shirts, though they are all short sleeved and light material. They also have wear on them, but are in the best condition compared to the rest of my clothing, being the newest things I own. If I wear a jacket, it's a black leather jacket that is almost gray from use. It works well despite that, and keeps me warm when I need it.

No time to search the world around
Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around

AND IT DRIPPED IN MY HEAD

I suppose I'm a leader, though I never opted for the position. Everyone looks up to me, or so people say. But I don't lead, I just try to keep the others out of harms way, I try to protect them. Maybe my attempts turn out to look like leading, but it's all a fluke. Though, I will say that I don't mind being in charge, I don't despise the position or anything. The others are all like children to me, my children in the ragtag group that has now become our family. As much as I love to care for them all, it is a lot of responsibility and I am glad that there is someone else to share the weight that rests on my shoulders.

My helper's name is Alta, and I am glad in more than one what that she is in our group. She's so strong, especially in the face of the others' fears. I try to help her when she has a panic attack from one of her fears, but I don't know what to do most of the time. I feel like a big, clumsy idiot around her. Whenever she's around I know I can protect the others, because she's with me. I really like her, more than just as a friend or a brother or anything like that. I just don't know how to tell her, every time I'm about to something comes up. Or falls down.

Rain. It's my biggest weakness. I hate rain, it's wet and it's cold and ugh. I can't stand rain, or having water drop on my head. I can swim, being wet isn't the problem, unless it's my head getting wet. Saying that I hate water would most certainly be an overstatement. I merely have something I once heard was called 'Ombrophobia'. As soon as I feel water, or any liquid, on my head I fall apart. If I thought I was bad around Alta, it's nothing compared to what happens when I get wet. I kinda huddle up and run around semi-blindly and I whine. I make the weirdest noises when I get wet, but I can't help it. I squeak and squeal and sound like a puppy that's been left outside. Sometimes I lose my bearings altogether and just fall to my knees and sit there whining. I shame myself whenever it rains, but thankfully the others understand. I think.

I heard it all before
So don't knock down my door
I'm a loser and a user so I don't need no accuser
To try and flag me down because I know you're right

AND FLOWED DOWN INTO MY BRAIN,

I guess I'm lucky that that is my only fear, seeing as some of the others have multiple fears. Lucas, Alta and April all have three phobias each; Blaire, Sabrina and Jaden have two each, and Derikk, Beatie and I are the "lucky ones" with only one. Our phobias are the reasons why we found each other, though how we managed it was still a mystery to me. April is the youngest, being only twelve, and she is the most dependent of the group. No one punishes her, or tries to change her. It's something we've all kind of agreed on; we are who we are. I carry her sometimes, when she's having a bad day or if something scares her. At times she even curls up beside me at night, or sleeps in my arms as I carry her. Some may say I pay too much special attention to her, but I will argue that it is what she needs. I am the leader of the group, and I am there to support the others. Besides, April is so delicate, sometimes I think of her as a baby bird. She just needs someone to teach her to fly, and I want to be that person.

At times I have to bail out the group, find some way to escape the trouble we are almost constantly in. It seems like every time I turn around someone is trying to hurt us, or take us away to some mental hospital. Why can't people just understand that we are different, but we are not insane and we would just rather be left alone? Alta says that they act the way they do because they don't know what it's like to have a mortal fear of something, rational or irrational. I have to agree with her on that.

Secretly, I am a criminal. Nothing big, but I am a pickpocket, and not too bad of one. If we are ever in desperate need of money I might go out and steal something. I know it's wrong, but I only do it when I have to. I have my parents to thank for that skill.

So go do what you like
Make sure you do it wise
You may find out that your self-doubt
Means nothing was ever there
You can't go forcing something if it's just not right

AND ALL THAT I HEAR AS I LIE IN MY BED

For a while, my parents thought everything would be alright. I was born a bouncing baby boy, cute as a button and happy all the time. Sadly, as I grew up I became more and more curious about things my parents couldn't, or didn't want to explain. I also seemed to be a bit of a troublemaker. But they ignored that, for a time. We were a normal family with a normal life, a normal house, normal jobs. Normal. Until the day when it all started to change.

I was about six or seven and I had gotten into the pantry to get some food because I was hungry. I took a slice of bread, carefully shut the door and went to sit at the table. That was a mistake, because my mother entered as I was halfway done the food. She had become furious and yelled at me. I cowered in front of her; she had never gotten this angry at me before, even when I had done worse things than feed myself. I had mumbled and muttered about it being only a slice of bread, and that I was hungry. She had yelled that I was an unruly child, and that something had to be done. And something was definitely done.

She had grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me outside, still clutching my bread in one hand and trying to eat it so it wouldn't go to waste. I managed to stuff about half of what was left in my mouth before she brought out a bucket and filled it with water, all the while holding me so I couldn't run. I wasn't going to run, I didn't know what was going on. Once the bucket was full, she pushed me to stand before it, then to kneel. I turned to look at her, to ask what was going on, but she put both hands behind my neck and pushed my head under the water. She would hold me there until I couldn't hold my breath, and then let me up to breathe. As soon as I had caught me breath, it was back under the water for a second time. This happened two more times.

It was from then on that whenever I did something wrong I would have my head forced underwater between three and eight times. The worse the behaviour, the more times my head would be dunked. If we were out, shopping or at someone else's place, she or my dad would throw water in my eyes or use a hose to do so. I've never gotten over the fear of water that grew from that. It's why I hate having water on my head now.

No time to search the world around
Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around

IS THE SLISHITY-SLOSH OF THE RAIN IN MY HEAD.

Eventually, I became sick of being nearly drowned by my parents every time I did something they didn't like, even if it was minor. I ran away, left the house I had always called home, even if I had now started to call in a prison. I ran as far as I could from that accursed place, using money I had stolen from my parents to buy things when I needed. What my parents hadn't learned was that I had become a pickpocket, stealing from mainly them though I did occasionally take from others in the street. I always claimed I had found the money on the ground if I was caught. I was only twelve at that time, and since I had disappeared after my first reaping I was always in danger of being reaped. Fortunately, my parents never found out that I was still alive. They now think I've been dead for five years, kidnapped and killed by someone or something.

But I was never kidnapped, and I was never killed. I wandered the streets for three years, until I came across a large abandoned building. I had checked to see if it really was abandoned, which it was, and then I began squatting there. Eventually, I fixed up the house a bit, little by little, until it was decently livable again. I now had a proper bed, and running water because thankfully the water had never been cut off to this house. I thought myself pretty well prepared. Until I had to care for more than myself in this house that barely supported me.

I still don't fully understand how our group came to form, but all I know is it did. I had been out looking for something to buy or, in case of need, to steal. I saw someone out of the corner of my eyes, cowering helplessly with her back to a wall. I searched for the reason why, confused. Many people looked at her, some like she was crazy, some like she was bewitched. I was obviously the only one who would help. Going over to her I had continued to look for what was scaring her. It was then that the idea of her having a phobia like I did came to mind. Taking that into account, I realized that she was blocking her gaze, as if to shield her face. I looked towards that direction to see from what. It turned out to be a clock hanging on a street vender's cart. She was like me, and maybe we could help each other.

Alta was the first, than came a boy named Lucas. Soon there were seven more, making us a little group of ten. Each one of us has a phobia, some more than others. But we're a family now, or as close to a family as we could be. We're all each other has now.

No time to search the world around
Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around

OTHER

Part of the Phobias plot

FC: Chester See

Lyrics: When I Come Around by Green Day

Words
54 - Introduction
567 - Appearance
761 - Personality
936 - History
2318 - Total

When I come around
When I come around
When I come around

odair