Waiting for the end (Open)

Noelle quickly glanced at the boy who had come up beside her. For a moment their eyes met, and Noelle's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know why; maybe it was merely the fact that someone had decided to look at her. Yeah, she knew she wasn't too hard to miss with her bright red hair, but still, she hadn't found herself looking into too many eyes in the past few days. She avoided people's eyes, and they avoided hers. Most tributes didn’t want to look into each other’s eyes, knowing that sometime later, that same person could end up dead because of the tribute’s own accord.

Though, somehow this boy must have been brave, to look into the eyes of one of his twenty-three targets; or maybe it was shamelessness. His eyes flickered to the instructor, and Noelle realized she was overanalyzing. She turned her head back to the instructor, trying to focus, but it was hard not to acknowledge the presence of the boy next to her. She snuck a few glances at him; he looked young compared to many of the other tributes—possibly about her age, maybe a bit older. His hair was a shade of dark brown, his skin had an olive tone, and his eyes—which Noelle still remembered from the few seconds she had been looking into them—were a deep, mysterious dark brown. It was almost as though he had a certain charm to him, something that caught Noelle and clung to her. She couldn’t place a finger on the word, but she wanted to say something to this boy. She opened her mouth a little ways and turned her head towards the boy, finally breaking the silence between them. “I’m Noelle. District Seven,” she said, awkwardly interrupting the instructor. Her face turned a bit red when she realized this. She wondered if this boy was at all interested in even talking to her in the first place; maybe he wanted to mind his own business. Although, he seemed and looked friendly enough. Noelle put her hand out for the boy to shake. She was curious, wondering who this boy was; did his personality reflect his looks? Or was he different than Noelle was expecting? Noelle gave a slight smile, hoping he would accept her handshake.

Noelle watched as Dice tried to tie the tourniquet around the dummy's leg. She couldn't help laughing along with the instructor as the leg snapped off. The instructor then began talking to Dice about what he did wrong. Noelle managed to successfully tie the tourniquet around her dummy...without snapping off the leg at least. She took a few steps towards Dice. "District 6, huh? Well that's hard to believe," she said jokingly.

Noelle wondered what talents Dice DID have. Maybe he would be a good ally...or maybe not. She wondered if she should ask him about it--then again, that would sound silly. In fact, Noelle didn't actually care if her allies were talented in killing or whatnot. All she needed was trust; all she needed was company. She was already accepting death. It didn't really matter, as long as she didn't have to go through this all alone.

Though, something scared Noelle. What if, once she did enter the arena, she did turn monstrous? What if she did turn into a killing machine? She put a hand to her necklace again, remembering Ruby. She listened for Ruby's voice inside her head; she listened to the voices of all the dead tributes. Only one tribute won; the rest of them ended up dead. What was the point of trying if, even if you did win, remorse then becomes your primary emotion? Noelle tried to wipe the thoughts away; she hadn't realized she had just zoned out for quite a while, and the instructor was trying to get her attention. She returned to training, and listened as the instructor commented on her work.

She began to try a few other things at the first aid station, and soon an awkward silence settled between Noelle and Dice. She opened her mouth a bit, searching for conversation. There wasn't really much to talk about, considering in only a day or two, they would be forced to kill each other. Though, unless she got on his good side...maybe he would at least spare her. Noelle couldn't help but remember how much she wanted an ally: someone to be with in these games, in the last few moments of her life. She shook the thought away and directed her attention back on Dice. "Been thinking about the games much?" Noelle suddenly felt like she wanted to slap herself. What a stupid question. Of course, everyone's thinking about the games! What a stupid stupid question! She shook it off, hoping that Dice wouldn't think it was as ridiculous of a question as she did.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Noelle muttered in reply. "I think I'm one of the youngest girl tributes..." Noelle wondered if she would last very long in the arena. The thought of death didn't scare her though; maybe it would be better to just die a quick death in the bloodbath...let it be all over then. "They all look so...experienced. I don't know how I'm going to be able to..."

Noelle cut herself off, when she realized what she was saying. I don't know how I'm going to be able to fight them. No, she told herself. She shouldn't think about fighting them at all...she didn't want to fight them so....she wouldn't. She couldn't let the temptation of winning overwhelm her while she was in that arena.

Noelle turned her attention back to the instructor as he talked about fatal wounds. She had a hard time concentrating though, while Dice was next to her. She realized that some charm of his had still caught her. She was tempted to talk to him, to get to know him better, though she didn't really know why. "So do you have any allies yet?" She asked out of nowhere. She wasn't necessarily asking to be allies with him, but maybe he would somehow catch the hint. Curiosity took over. It was possible that he already had other allies...maybe they were trying to spread out and get the best of the different training stations, or maybe he was as alone as Noelle was.

Though, Noelle couldn't help but think of the fact that maybe Dice wasn't what he seemed. Even if she did end up joining him in the arena, or if she didn't, what if he turned on her? What if she put her trust in someone that didn't deserve it? She scanned Dice's face, trying to read him. He seemed concentrated, determined, and well-minded, from the looks of him. Noelle shrugged and looked back at the instructor. If he did end up turning on her, killing her, sometime in the games, it didn't really matter, did it? This was the end, and there was nothing Noelle could do about it. She had so many words left...that were still lying in the back of her mind, unsaid, but she would just have to let go of them. Death was coming her way and she knew it. She looked back at Dice, still waiting for his answer.