versace on the floor | titus + chester

C H E S T E R .

Sitting on the ground with his knees drawn to his chest, Chester never said a word. Eyes locked on the grass as the roaring of the waterfall echoed through the background. Death surrounded him, it called his name, but every time he was close to toppling over to the other side, a miracle happened. Somehow he was alive, still fighting, still kicking despite all that had happened. Every now and then, Chester shifted his gaze from the spot on the ground, to the eyes of his brother before quickly turning away.

It was the part of the games he dread the most.

With only eight tributes left, he knew what had to happen, and right now all he thought of was the easiest way to say goodbye. It hadn't been easy, not when Rhetoric died day two, or even when Rory died just a couple days ago.

But this it was different.

Teddy was alive, and they had to split up before they were forced to stab one another in the back.

A heavy sigh left exited his chest entering the air around him. Surviving came down to this. For so long, Chester had a friend in a place where friendship didn't exist, and the relationships were one he'd hold onto forever. It meant the world knowing people had his back, but what did he do for them?

He watched his district partner kill Rhetoric.

He watched Cam strike Rory down.

And now he was leaving Teddy behind.

Perhaps one last night, this was all they could spend together. A last chance to make up any lose ends, to make amends before saying goodbye. But as the drops of rain fell from the sky, Chester couldn't bring himself to move. Only two faces lit up the night sky. Hero, one he didn't know, and Cam. He watched Titus crush her skull the same way he crushed Aline's. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but it had to happen.

That leaves eight of us.

Seven more had to die, and to realize he was this close to home hit him hard. Maybe his purpose was to win, to prove that it could be done, yet year after year survivors proved they have what it took to win. Was Chester up to par to become victor of this game, or would he fall victim like so many have. Two thirds of the tributes have fell victim to the games, and knowing that he was here, at this very point didn't make any difference.

Sorrow filled eyes locked on Teddy's as the night grew stronger. Sleep was needed, but right now was the perfect time for him to leave. Just pack up his stuff and move on before Teddy even woke. It was the best option to avoid saying goodbye at all. It was final, and truthfully, he never wanted to see Teddy again unless his face lit up the night sky because it meant he wouldn't have to hurt him. Teddy taught him more than he could ever repay, and Chester didn't want to leave anyone in debt.

Slowly he stretched out on the ground and tried to relax despite the echoing sound of the waterfall and the rain falling from the sky.

When morning came, Teddy was wrapped around him. Guilt sat sourly in his stomach because he didn't want this to end, but all good things had to. Even when Teddy pushed his face into his neck, Chester didn't move. Eyes locked somewhere in the distance as the rain cleaned away the dirt and blood caked against his face, but it wasn't something he wished for because his shaggy hair stuck to his cheeks.

Yet he didn't move as words carefully fell from his tongue -

"Don't take this in the wrong way, but I truly hope I don't have to see you again because I don't want to hurt you." Just thinking of the idea crushed him. Hurting Dandy took a piece of him with him. She was nothing more than a delicate flower waiting for someone to pick it from the ground, and Chester had been the one to do so. The rush of rain roared louder as silence devoured him, and Chester finally locked his gaze on the eyes of his friend. Hurting him was the last thing he wanted, however, in this place only one could survive. Only one would make it out of this alive, and they couldn't stay together anymore. It was a risk, and Chester wasn't about to take it.

Soon, Teddy broke the silence, and it hurt. Every word echoed through his mind over and over again;

"I don't want to see you again. Stay safe, big guy."

The world was a cruel place. It destroyed anything that shed an ounce of light, and right now Chester was stuck at a complete loss of words.

He came into the arena to prove a point, not to make a friendship that would only last a short time.

"One of us needs to make it home, and that's all I hope for now."

Fighting alone was hard, but fighting together they were strong, and maybe that was the motivation Teddy needed to carry himself forward when nobody had his back anymore. For this reason, Chester never wanted to see him again. Betraying the one who cared for him, the one who held him up when he was weak, it was something he didn't want to do, and running into Teddy would cause him to hesitate and probably die.

Teddy nodded before speaking, and Chester felt himself crumbling.

"I guess this is goodbye, hopefully. Thanks for helping me survive, don't forget me Chester."

It was a simple promise, something he could carry for the rest of his life. Never would he forget about those who journeyed with him. Rhetoric, Rory, Dandy, Lorenza, Wendell, Adelaide, and everyone else in this horrible place. he may not have had a personal relationship with many of them, but those were the names of people who stood in his way, and a few who helped him - Teddy was right there carrying him. The weight was equal, and now it was becoming too much to bear.

"I'll never forget you, Teddy, for as long as I live."

I promise.

"I wouldn't forget you either, now you better leave before I start making this a cheesy and emotional moment."

He chuckled for a moment, yet his heart was bleeding. It hurt knowing this was goodbye. Knowing he may never see his friend again. Knowing that this was as far as they would go together. A heavy sigh left his chest as he turned to walk away, yet his feet wouldn't move. They were rooted in place. Inhaling sharply, he turned one last time and smiled. This was it. Teddy waved;

Before he could stop himself, Chester turned and walked away leaving Teddy behind for what he hoped was forever.

Hobbling along, using the cane to help him stand, Chester trudged for what felt like forever, but soon the sound of the water crashing against whatever was beneath it vanished, and trees grew before his eyes. Leaves rustled from the rain, delivery words flew around, and every now and then he could see a koala hanging from a limb. It was almost too peaceful, the calm before the war raged on.

The rushing of air filled his ears -

Crunch!

It took every ounce of strength remaining inside to stop the scream from echoing through the forest. Grimacing, and clenching his teeth he turned, eyes wide as tears pooled in the corners. Fractures legs wasn't enough to hold him down, but the collar bone moved with every breath he took. Biting his lip, his gaze turned towards the cane barely holding himself up. Whatever it was just barely missed his head, and Chester wasn't going to wait and find out if it would smash his skull or not.

"Have you come to crush my skull?" A toothy grin twisted across his face, but soon it vanished leaving his face like a blank canvas, emotions locked away - now wasn't the time for small talk.

Hoisting the cane into the air, he turned, eyes locked on the prey standing insight. He didn't know much about Titus other than sharing a meal and watching him crush the skull of Aline and Cam; it was a miracle his was still fully attached.

Snarling, Chester lowered his gaze. Someone would die here, and he prayed it wasn't him.

C H E S T E R .

He stood in place, feet glued to the ground, watching as Titus' arm landed with a thud. Blood erupted from open vessels spraying across the ground. Green turned red, and Chester knew it was only the beginning. It was just a matter of time before the world fell apart. From the beginning, they called for his head, begging for someone to bring it them on a swivel, and yet he was alive and mostly well fighting for another day. His stomach flipped before tying itself into knots - if anything had been inside, he was positive it would've been on the ground in front of him covering the limb

He took a breath, trying to hold himself together. Trying to remain calm - it wasn't as bad as the blood spewing from Dandy's neck a couple days ago when his knife craved through it. No, but Titus was alive, still fighting, still capable of wielding a weapon, but with one hand, it had to have been harder and much more challenging.

The dinner was a peace offering if only for the time being, but right now peace wasn't offered because one would die. One would fall victim to the games while the other moved on. Six days he lived like this, and Chester was tired of fighting. Tired of running. Death lingered around every corner, and he wondered when it would call his name.

Not that he wanted to die, but maybe it would give him the rest he deserved.

"You're welcome."

But it wasn't good enough.

Not now when they were fighting to the death. It was something stupid, something Chester wished didn't exist. Yet he stood in place pivoting around using the cane as leverage.

Speaking hurt.

Breathing hurt.

His entire body ached, and he wanted nothing more than to fall over;

No, I can't give up. I won't give up.

He had so much left to prove otherwise this would've all been for nothing. His family said he was a mistake, and Chester wanted to prove them wrong, he wanted to keep them all alive -

"Yeah, so few, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid." It was pointless, small talk wasn't for the people. It wasn't for this moment, but why not learn about him. "But I can't just give up and die."

He missed Teddy, he missed being at home in the comforts of his own bed. Volunteering had been something he regretted, but maybe it was worth it. Home was so close, yet so far away.

A violent roar erupted from his lips blocking out the crunch of another broken bone. Tears threatened to roll down the side of his face, but he coughed and blinked them away.

Broken legs didn't hold him down, neither would the newly broken bones - it only made him stronger.

Standing his ground, he pivoted once more and inhaled the deepest breath a broken collar bone allowed.

C H E S T E R .

It should've been him when Rhetoric died, when Rory died. It should've been him burning in the fire, but right now he was alive because people saved him. Because of these people, Chester managed to survive, but now that he was alone, he wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't holding onto anything.

Teddy was somewhere out in the middle of the arena fighting, and the cannon may have been his. The only way to know for sure was to watch the anthem if he survived through it.

But right now he didn't focus on that.

Surviving was the key.

Bone after bone crunched beneath the weight of the world. Despite having one hand, the kid was stronger, faster, smarter. It didn't make a difference, and Chester was making all the mistakes in the world. Maybe mother and father were right in calling him the worthless mistake. He volunteered to prove a point, to show them they were wrong, and right now he wasn't succeeding. If anything, he was making himself a fool just like he did inside the training center.

But it didn't matter here.

Not when his life was slowly slipping away.

It hurt. Every part of his body screamed in pain.

A scream bellowed from somewhere deep inside, and Chester wanted to run away, to make himself look like even more of a coward than he already was. Killing made no difference. It didn't make people strong or weak.

Maybe he had just got lucky.

Maybe he was stupid.

But he was there because he volunteered.

And Titus asked about it.

Why did I come here to die?

For the longest time, the question lingered in the back of his mind, and yet no answer felt right. It wasn't correct. It didn't matter now that he volunteered. He was there.

Dying.

The bat tore through his sternum, and Chester cried out in pain. Tears rolled down the side of his face, and he couldn't hide them. Mother and father stood with death itself laughing at him.

"I volunteered to prove I wasn't just another stupid mistake."

But he was wrong. Chester was a mistake, and volunteering only proved it. Everything he had ever worked for came crashing down - why did it matter?

"And keep fighting. Don't give up. Never."

Each breath hurt. His stomach ached. His bones were on fire, but right now he was losing the will to fight. The will to live. The will to carry on when nothing else mattered. He was a broken being, a toddler locked away in the midst of the darkness. People laughed, people taunted him, but it was nothing new.

"I wouldn't expect any different."

The world spun without him, the ground teetered, and Chester was about to fall over, but he refused to surrender. He refused to give up. Quitting wasn't in his nature - I would've died so long ago had I just laid down and did nothing.

There was only one thing he knew, and that was survival.

He only hoped and prayed it would come into play now when he needed it the most only time would tell if was truly a mistake, but it wasn't on his side.

C H E S T E R .

What was the purpose? Why throw himself in harms way? He was safe, but Chester went and ruined it all by saying a simple phrase, one that would haunt his last few moments of life. It was a mistake to come here in the first place, but he had so much to prove. So much to live for. Some much he wanted to see outside this place. A chance to make a difference, to carry himself further than he ever imagined possible, but all those wants were slipping away in the blink of an eye.

He underestimated the power of those involved. Everyone left alive wanted to survive, and Chester couldn't blame them.

Yet he stood, listening, fighting back tears he worked hard to prevent. Nobody was a mistake, nobody deserved to carry that title, but it was one that Chester heard all his life until his parents were rotting in the ground.

But maybe, just maybe, Titus was right. The only person he had to prove himself to was himself. All his life he sought approval from people, he made mistakes, Chester was the one who turned his life upside with the help of those he thought he loved.

He didn't understand, but Teddy showed him love. Teddy cared for him even when nobody else would've.

But it didn't stop Chester from walking away from Teddy when he needed him the most.

Together they were strong, but right now Chester was weak. He was fading quickly. Black dots flashed before his eyes, and it made it impossible to see, and that was when it hit him.

He stumbled around before toppling over to the ground landing almost face first. His heart leaped into the back of throat and he couldn't breathe. Death wasn't supposed to feel like this, but he hadn't died and wasn't sure what it felt like. Dandy died quick, but Rhetoric, Rory, and Lorenza all suffered. They felt the pain, and Chester only imagined this was what they felt.

The cane nearly slipped from his grasp as he tried tightening his grip, he had to hold on. He had to keep himself alive. Giving up wasn't an option, but the tether was slowly unwinding.

Every hair stood on end, and he knew it was coming, he knew he was about to die, but he wanted to stand.

"Please, I have to stand. I can't die on the ground like this. Please help me stand. It's important."

Only a fool begged, but right now Chester didn't care. His heart was shattered, bleeding, just by him begging.Only a coward ever begged. Any time he begged at home, it was punished, but this was different. It was important to him. If he was going to die, he would stand on his own two feet.

"Please."

It was all he had left.

He wanted to die a man, not a coward trying to crawl away.