There's Nothing Left to Fight For [tori & marisa]

Carter Langston
seventeen . single . district 3

A glance at the lanky boy walking down the street in district three could have told you a lot about him. Carter kept his face to the ground and his hands shoved in the pockets of his dark wash jeans. They were one of his old pairs and the right side was ripped at the knee. He watched his feet carry him forward, his once white tennis shoes now a light brown from the dirt that flew up as he walked. The street was unusually empty, lacking any signs of the peacekeepers that normally roamed them. Maybe there was a meeting.

The store where Fiona worked was still open, but her shift was almost over and he thought he'd stop by and they could hang out after. It had been a few days since he'd last seen her with everything that had been going on at home. Sophie had turned twelve just last month which made her eligible for the Hunger Games. That had thrown his family into a wreck since Sophie was handicapped and she seemed to be getting worse. His parents had been worried and brought her to the doctor a day ago. The doctor had told the family that when she hit her head when she's was five, the coma she was placed under did more than prevented her from moving her legs ever again.

They were only just finding it out because they needed Sophie to be older to even beable to tell. But the damage to her head was mildly severe. It almost effected her memory, which explained why she'd been forgetting so much in the last years. Carter didn't think it was a big think at first. He thought, okay she'll forget where's she's put stuff. But no. The doctor explained that is was more intense than that. If the condition got worse, she would start forgetting important things. Things like who Carter was or how to speak. And it was all his fault.

The blond had fresh cuts on his face, hands and arms. It was from when he had run. He'd been so upset that he just ran. But that was really all he remembered. Carter was pretty sure Lang had had control during that time. Most of the cuts had healed a little, but some still lingered. He wiped his face on his white t-shirt before entering the store. As he walked over to the counter where Fiona was reading a magazine, he ruffled his now lengthy hair. There were a few boys in the store that looked suspious, but he didn't waste time worrying about it.

Carter pulled the magazine down from Fiona's face and returned her smile. "Hey, what's up, kid?" Her voice was soft and bell-like; he could listen to it for hours. Carter didn't talk much with a lot of people, but it was easy to talk to Fiona. A lot of times he did't even need to talk because she talked enough for the both of them. And he liked listening to her speak. She was always so enthusiastic about everything.

He gestured around the store and pulled a few coins out of his left pocket. "What would you recommend for hungry fellow?" Carter forgot about his problems at home for the moment and concentrated on the time he was spending with his best friend right now.

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Carter Langston
seventeen . single . district 3

Fiona didn't have time to reply before the door to the store opened again and in walked the girl who took over her shift. Was it three o'clock already? Carter had timed his visit perfectly. Maybe he had walked here slower then he thought. There had been a lot on his mind. The girl took Fiona's smock and they exchanged an awkward 'hello'. Carter smiled politely and nodded at the girl as Fiona grabbed his wrist with her soft hand and led him towards the back of the store.

The boys who had been in the back earlier were now three aisles done and looking at more chocolate even though it seemed that they had more than enough already in their hands. fiona let go of his wrist and as soon as she did, he wanted nothing more than for her to grab it again. She pointed at some apple strudels on the shelf and chattered on about how she recommended those because her mother made them. Carter watched her as she chattered on. Her hands moving to convey her emotions, her soft (or so he imagined they were) lips mouthing words and her eyes tinkling as she spoke. "What do you think?"

He looked at the strudels. To be honest, he had never had one before. Pysten had said she was going to make him some once, but she never did. "I think that sounds perfect." He smiled at her and looked back at the pastries. "I mean, I've never actually had one though so I can't comment on how they taste. But I guess I will find out. They can't be too bad if your mother made them."

When Carter looked back at her, Fiona was staring at him with a dazzed expression. Her eyes got really wide and she quickly apologise for not listening. Carter chuckled and rolled his eyes a bit. She was suddenly attacking him with question upon question, none that he wanted to answer because they were all related to where he had been the last few days. He wasn't sure where to start. Should I tell her? She was looking up at him with that twinkle in her eye and that innocent smile of her face. Maybe not.

"Yeah, I was with Sophie for her birthday. Everything is okay, I was just busy. You know how birthdays are. But, uh, I said the strudel sounds great. How much is it exactly?" He looked at the couple of coins in his hand wondering if he would have enough. "This is really all I have." He held them out to her and chuckled. There was something different about fiona today, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it was the fact she had touched him with out freaking out? Or the way she was looking at him? No, it had to be something else. "Is that a new blouse?"

~~~~~

Carter Langston
seventeen . single . district 3

Fiona quickly offered to pay for the rest and then commented on her blouse. Apparently it wasn't new. Old in fact. It did sort of look a bit used now that he looked at it again. It had been stupid of him to ask if it was new. She turned on her heel and walked straight up to the Kylie (the girl behind the register) and handed her the money. After she paid for it, she turned and walked out paying little attention to Carter. "Bye, Mrs. Levan!" He called out to Fiona's mother before he exited. It was just enough to let her know they were leaving and he was out of the store before she could reply.

They didn't seem to be walking anywhere in particuler, Fiona was just walking straight and munching on the sturdel. He chuckled as he watched to eat completely forgetful as to reason they had bought it in the first place. Well, she did pay for it afterall. Only a few seconds later did Fiona realize she was eating the pastry intended to satisfy Carter's hunger. She quicky handed it over in a frenzied apologyand he laughes as he took it out of her hands. "It's okay, Fiona. You were enjoying it." Carter took a small bite.

It truely was better than he had expected that it was going to be. Flavour erupted into his mouth. Her mother had definitely cooked them today. Before he realized it, he'd already eaten three-fourths of it. He nodded at Fiona's question before swallowing so he could respond. "Yeah, it's really great. Loads better than I expected." Fiona was suggesting they go to the park. she looked like an excited toddler as she spoke about things that Carter would have extremely boring if he was going to do them with anyone else. "Yeah, that sounds really nice. we shouldn't go to the park though, I know a nicer place. Come on."

He handed Fiona the rest of the strudel so that she could eat it and he took a right and started on his way. It took about 10 minutes to walk there but the silence between them was comfortable. Fiona was eating and thinking to herself and Carter was wondering if it was really a good idea to bring her to the waterfall. It was his place afterall. Full or good and horrible memories. Before they arrived, he turned to her and looked into her eyes. His voice was soft. "I'm going to grab your hand, okay? Nothing is going to happen, but I want you to close your eyes and trust me. It's going to be a good surprise. I'm not going to let anything happen, okay?" He waited a moment to make sure she understood before her took her hand into his and began to lead her up the hill.

Whether or not she really kept her eyes closed on the way up, he didn't know, but when they got to the top he made sure she knew she could open them. "Okay, now." He left go of her hand so she didn't freak out about having to hold it so long. He knew physical contact really bothered her sometimes, though he didn't understand why. The few from the hill was as pretty as always. There was the tree with the swing. The small river that cut through hill and become a small waterfall that let out into a pool below. Flowers were in full bloom and everything just seemed peaceful.

Carter took a seat on the ground next to where Fiona was standing. "How's this? It's my place. I come here to think and everything. But it can be yours now too." He smiled up at her in a friendly manner. Maybe he would never need to tell her about Lang because her was always at ease when she was with him. Maybe she never needed to know the things that had occured not far for where she was sitting. It would on hurt her fragile being anyway. "Do you like it?"

ooc: tired tori = shit posts

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Carter Langston
seventeen . single . district 3

Carter grinned at her comment. He was glad that she seemed to like it. Her eyes widened as she looked around and suddenly she was flying towards. Him Carter couldn't help the laugh that escaped his mouth as his eyes opened wide in fear. The redhead was charging straight at him. Her arms were around his neck and she had hit him in the chin, but he was laughing. For someone who didn't like being touched, she sure could be intimidating and overaffectionate. After a moment she drew back and squeaked out an apology because she wasn't used to giving hugs. "I can tell." He teased her.

She took a seat next to him and ending up reshifting to a lying position. "How did you find this place?" Carter looked back at her and then spun around and laid down next to her feet so that they were parallel, but not face to face. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. The blond looked up at the cloud formations above trying to not to think about how they had found it. It had been an accident. Lang's fault. Carter had only been eight. To be honest, he didn't even remember what had upset him so bad. But somehow Lang had taken control. Lang. The name was still unfamiliar since he had only just learned about his other half a little more than seven months ago.

Lang had brought him here. He didn't know why. Carter had woken up curled under the tree in the middle of a storm, scared to death. He hadn't known where he was or how he had gotten there. Worst of all, he had no memory of the last several hours. There was a dead squirrel lying by him that looked like it had been beaten up and stepped on. A small search party found him an hour later. That was how he had found the place. He'd come back right after that expecting it to be harsh and nightmarish like he remembered. It wasn't the little boy took a liking to it. He made his father build the swing so he and Sophie could play here.

Cloud formations. There wasn't anything special about them, but maybe it would be easier to side track from his thoughts if they tried to find some. He pointed toward the sky. "That one kind of looks like a pig or something. You know, if the pig didn't have a tail- Erm.. Or a head either, actually. Maybe it just looks like an oval then..." Carter bit his lip and scrunched his face in concentration. Maybe he wasn't very imaginative. "I stumbled upon this place when I was little. I made my dad build the swing so that Sophie and I could play here. That was when Sophie could walk."

It was true enough. At least it wasn't a lie. The last thing Carter wanted to do was lie to Fiona. The innocent girl that she was. The innocence that he loved. It had he so childlike. So full of energy, always optimistic and able to look up into the sky and see dragons and lions and butterflies, instead of just clouds. Carter tried again. "Well, that one sort of resembles a, uh, lima bean? I guess. If you cock your head."

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