Don't look him in the eye! [open]

The street cleared quickly, only a few people remained, but they were down at the other end of the street, to far away even to make out their faces. Fahrenheit sighed, and rolled his eyes upward watching the lazy clouds drift across the sky. Over the past few days the wind had gotten a bite to it. Winter was just around the corner.

He heard a small meow, and looked down. The cat was still there. It purred, and rubbed his head against Fahrenheit's leg, continuing to meow. He smiled slightly, and looked around to see if anyone was watching so he could bend down and pet him. Unfortunately, someone was. A girl was making her way toward him. Fahrenheit waited for her to go down one of the side streets to avoid him, but she didn’t, she continued on her course. For some reason this made him nervous. He cocked his head as she drew closer, confused as to what she could possibly want from him.

Finally, she was there right in front of him, blank expression and all. Actually speaking to him. It wasn't only that, that surprised him, it was what she said. Was that sarcasm? Did she actually think that being sarcastic with a Peacekeeper was a good idea? And what is with that expression? Did this girl have a death wish? Of course Fahrenheit would not punish her, but she didn't know that. What was she thinking?

All these thoughts raced through his head in a matter of seconds, as he silently studied her with his infamous pale blue eyes. He felt a smile tug at his lips, despite his efforts to quail the impulse. He found it immensely funny that she was the first person to come up and confront him. Out of all the burly coal miners in this District who shook at the mere sight of him, a frail looking girl had waltzed right up to him, seemingly unfazed. No one... no one has done that, even his fellow Peacekeepers were nervous around him. The smile he had been trying to stop, broke out and blossomed, one side pulling higher then the other, forming a crooked grin. His formidable face was transformed momentarily into something beautiful. Only his eyes stayed cold and distant. It lasted for a few seconds before he was able to pull his smile back and return its normal scowl. At least he was able to stop himself from throwing his head back and laughing.

"It’s my job to keep order." He said, not entirely hiding his amusement. He cocked one slim brow. "Does it not look orderly?" He swept his hand in a grand gesture indicating the empty street. “Looks to me I’m doing a fine job.” He said lightly, teasing her. What a brazen girl. he thought.

He was amazed he was actually having a conversation. He hadn’t exchanged words with someone since a Peacekeeper asked him what time it was last week. Normally he didn’t talk to anyone and kept to himself, biding his time until he figured out away to get his mother and sisters safe, and openly oppose the Capital. He only ever spoke regularly when at home, talking to his cats. Fahrenheit would be lying if he said that he wasn’t happy.

The girl applauded him, and answered with her own witty repartee. But she seemed friendlier this time around. He bent slightly at the waist, and dipped his head, bowing. Fahrenheit was amazed with the seemingly friendly banter that passed between them. It was as if they were friends, and this was a regular routine between them. But of course they weren’t, he was a Peacekeeper, and he didn’t even know her name.

Before he could formulate his own response, she changed the subject to his cat. He raised his eyebrows, surprised by the girl yet again. Seems like I’ll have to be quick on my feet with this one, he thought drily. He looked down at his feet were the cat was still rubbing against his legs, begging to be petted, stopping occasionally to look up at him and meow.

“Of course.” Fahrenheit nodded, giving his consent. “He is the only one of my cats that insists on following me around.” He let annoyance creep into his voice, but it was apparent that he had a lot of affection for the animal. After a slight hesitation, Fahrenheit knelt down and started scratching the cat’s head and neck. He thought it would be awkward if he remained standing while the strange girl knelt at his feet. “I don’t know about dogs, but cats are really great creatures. They are so inquisitive, and actually quite intelligent.” His face warmed as he spoke of his cats, he loved them terribly. A small smile twisted the corner of his mouth up. “But sometimes they can be silly, amusing beasts, and can warm the heart of even the coldest person.”

Jax was the newest addition to Fahrenheit’s family, and if he was being completely honest, Jax was his favorite. Jax had been found squatting behind a bush in front of Fahrenheit’s house about 4 months ago. Fahrenheit had found him wet, shaking, and scared, and immediately loved him. He took the cat into his house, like the so many strays before, and gave him some roasted quail and set him before a fire. Ever since, Jax had been permanently glued to Fahrenheit’s side, and under his care, Jax had become a very fat and lazy cat.

A shadow fell across him, and he looked up to see yet another young girl had showed up. What was with today? Why was everyone deciding that he no longer scared them?! He wasn’t complaining really, but he had no interaction with any of the civilians of District 12 for almost a year, and all of a sudden he was being swarmed by girls. Fahrenheit was worried for a second, but then the new arrival said she just wanted to pass and he relaxed.

He scooped up the cat and straightened, towering over all who were present. He pressed himself against a house so the young lady could pass, not bothering to worry about what was in her arms and were she got it. “Go ahead.” He said gruffly, looking down at Jax. He didn’t mean for it to come out so rough, but he had been surprised by her appearance and had not fully recovered. Today was an extremely weird day for Fahrenheit. He was not used to being taken by surprise every few seconds; he had always rallied on the monotony of life in District 12. And he certainly wasn’t used to all these girls coming up to him. He was cradled the cat with one arm, and scratching his chin with the other. The cat was shedding all over him, but he didn’t mind. It was inevitable if you had cats, so he was used to it.

Fahrenheit furrowed his brows, and his frown deepened as the new comer, Alexa, stayed and asked about his cat. He looked over at Chloe questioningly, wondering if the two knew each other, and that’s why Alexa decided to stay and chat. Before, he could even answer Alexa’s question though, the girl turned around and faced Chloe. He couldn’t see her face so he had no clue what passed between the girls, but something had to have happened, because out of no where Chloe started to excuse herself. He narrowed his eyes, and looked between the girls, wondering what the hell just happened.

He was just about to ask, when a flash of movement caught his eye down the road. What he saw nearly stopped his heart, which is stupid because he had no reason to fear another Peacekeeper. Fahrenheit recognized the other Peacekeeper immediately. He could not recall his name, but Fahrenheit could picture perfectly the Peacekeeper’s boisterous behavior. He was one of the ones that was either too brave, or too stupid to be intimidated by Fahrenheit. Fahrenheit was guessing the latter. The man’s uniform was off-white, clearly not having been washed in weeks, and very ruffled. Fahrenheit could just imagine the stink that rolled off of him.

Fahrenheit realized that he was still holding Jax, and quickly dropped him. Jax landed neatly on his feet, but still sent a look of indignation at Fahrenheit before strutting away. Fahrenheit quickly decided the best method in dealing with the other guy, and protect the girls from him. That’s when he finally noted what Alexa held in her hands; fabric from the black market. He knew it wasn’t really her fault, but still he sent her an annoyed look. “Please just follow along.” He whispered to them.

Finally the unnamed Peacekeeper made it to them, looking slightly dazed, possibly from being drunk. “FOSTER!!” The man said, holding his arms out, as if to draw Fahrenheit into a hug. “Whatca doin’ buddy?” He went and stood next to him, throwing and arm around his shoulders like they had been friends since childhood. The smell that Fahrenheit had speculated at, was way worse then he thought. It took immense will power not to step away from the man.

Fahrenheit adopted the man’s lazy grin, and slurred speech, knowing intimidation wasn’t going to work. “Nothin’ man.” He said easily.
“Nothin’?” The man scoffed. “You don’ have ta lie to me.” He was unsteady, and kept putting his weight on Fahrenheit. “It’s clear what you are doin here.” He threw a lustful looked over the two girls. He reached out and put a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, stopping her from leaving. “Were ya goin girlie, the fun has just arrived.”

Fahrenheit widened his eyes, and stared intently at Chloe, trying to urge her to just remain silent, and not fight him. He laughed a little too loud. “Aw, don’ be teasin’ the girl…bud.” Fahrenheit paused a little too long, but the man didn’t seem to notice. “I finally got her to agree to come home with me.” He hated saying it, but it was necessary to get the idiot to leave. “Both of them.” He added, making himself sound giddy.

The man’s face fell. “Can’t you share?”