a tether to a normal life [lancelot/cameron]

H E A T H E R
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o o o

Ten days left.

Heather laid in bed, eyes trained on the ceiling. It had been ten whole days since she was Reaped, called up in front of the entire Seventh District to go out and bring honor back home. Ha. As if that was ever a possibility for a dainty wallflower from her upbringing. She had about as much a chance of winning as an Avox had of speaking. Unless scientists came up with some way for tongues to regenerate, she was stuck here awaiting inevitable death.

Having an alliance did help her odds, though. But from the way it looked, every Tribute was paired off, splintered into foursomes eating meals and eyeing competition together. She was no different. After their malfunction junction meeting in the elevator, the group had been magnetized. One of those "tragedy brings people together" situations, where alone they all stood very little chance against the likes of Career packs or bulky boys from Eleven. But together? Together was a wholly different story. Together the pen of this novel had a chance to be gripped in their own nervous hands, if only for an instant. They could not be counted out yet.

Daria, with her eyes like the ocean and her quaking curiosity. Rodrick, the pretty boy, his bountiful optimism. And Tyler.

Despite how inspiring Daria and Rodrick were, despite how much they cheered her up and made her hopeful for a possible future, despite being the very essence of hope itself, Heather couldn't help but focus on Tyler.

It had been a while, a long while, since Heather had allowed herself - or been allowed, for that matter - to get close to people her age. Her mother was constantly introducing her to older, more established individuals. For years she had been homeschooled in order to fully be the ultimate lady that Charlotte Tenley desired so much. Coming into this Training Center was like opening up the doors of an entirely new world for Heather. She was allowed freedom, she was allowed her own choices, and she was allowed chocolate. Charlotte had prohibited chocolate consumption for years, but here she wasn't under constraints. And chocolate was Heather's 5th True Love in Life.

But what she was most thankful for with her newly discovered freedom was the ability to have crushes that she could actually act on.

Before it had been restricted to men on magazine covers, faces she passed in the market. Nothing concrete. No one she could ever pursue. In the Capitol, if she saw a boy she liked, she had full reign to pounce like a starving lioness.

Yet she had not acted upon anything. Since that first sight of Tyler wrapped in his wires and donning his shiny pants, Heather had seen a flicker in his eye that quickened her heartbeat. It had been an instantaneous crush, and she had control over how it played out. But she had been too scared to say anything. Rejection days before one's birthday would be awfully upsetting, not to mention rejection when you may never get a chance for anything like this again was downright depressing.

Luckily for her, she didn't have to make the first move.

After an hour of ceiling staring and birthday contemplation, she stood up from her bed and went to make the walk to Tyler's floor, where she would build up the courage to knock on his door only to chicken out and run all the way back to her floor. This would be the third time that exact scenario played out. But this time, she hadn't made it to the hall when she spotted a letter being pushed through the door.

When she picked it up, her face lit up instantly. Smile spreading ear to ear, warmth spreading through her cheeks, Heather was over the moon.

Until she read the last word. Chilling. Were they going to watch the stars and talk about comic books? She shook her head, trying to disregard "chilling," and focus on "date." Sure, it was never explicitly stated as a date, but the word was used and that was enough for her. Heather skipped to the bathroom, grabbed a tube of lip gloss Narvila had left behind, and lathered it on. Maybe a bit excessive, but the picture would be crystal clear.

Up the elevator she went, and then up the stairs to the roof. As soon as she exited out into the night air, the stars overtook her. Something about the ongoing nightlife surrounding them made the stars even that much more impressive, and her grin never vanished as she headed to the northern edge.

o o o