hang in the d a r k | thundy

The one big question that Yaa Valarro's mother always asked her when she walked out the door each morning was a simple one:

"What are you going to do with your life?"

And Yaa would just laugh, and stare back at her mother with mirror green eyes, and she would leave.

Not that it mattered much, she told herself. What was there to do? They were born into their occupations, not given a choice. Sometimes she asked herself what she would do, or what she might choose, given her chronic bad attitude and wacky sense of style. Perhaps design capitol clothing, or be a Games stylist, or parade around the Capitol like a doll with makeup and silky dresses and a question mark in all the newspapers. Who is Yaa Valarro? She liked that question much better.

Nevertheless, right then, as her mother scolded her on the way out the door, she was just a District Seven girl - and a particularly unskilled one. She couldn't wield an axe, or deal with paper-making, or even sell items in her parents' shop. One reason was that nobody liked her, and the other was that nobody on earth would trust her with a weapon.

Either way, she wasn't fazed by her mother's morning routine. She never was. She just walked down the block a bit and decided that today was a day for doing nothing, as they all seemed to be.

And her perfect do-nothing spot was behind her parents' store, right by the donut shop where the smell and heat of baking sweets created a warm atmosphere apart from the cold. But when she turned the corner, however, someone was already there.

She maybe recognized his face (one of those nerdy types that actually gives a damn?) but a name escaped her. Not that she cared much. She assessed him like he was some sort of criminal, all calm and cool-like.

"Uh. Excuse me?"

Yaa wasn't quite sure what this strange boy was doing in her perfect do-nothing place, staring at the bricks or whatever the hell he was there for. The space was cramped as is, and she half-hoped that he would get up and leave. Sometimes she had that effect on people. It only took a word or two, maybe by the ugly tone to her voice or the annoyed look in her eyes, but they didn't tend to stick around.

Not this time.

Now he was a worse criminal in her eyes, standing there all nonchalant like he wasn't invading her perfect do-nothing place. He just scooted over like an asshole, like she would join him and have a nice chat or something. Ha.

"Don't you have some place to be?" she asked, eyebrows raised and mouth drawn into a frown.

Now, she could understand if the boy stood up for himself. The people of District Seven were a peculiarly tough bunch, and she could get why they might scream obscenities at her for having such a piss-poor attitude. But when people, especially teenagers who weren't known for their impulse control, backed down? Fuck, she wasn't sure whether to celebrate or to be skeptical.

Either way, he was taking precious moments away from her do-nothing time. Not that her do-nothing time was of any importance, because it wasn't. She could feel the unhappiness oozing into her brain every time she sat and ruminate about her problems, but somehow she couldn't stop. Plus, the donuts smelled delicious and it was somehow happier to be miserable in a warm back alley, alone, than in a school where she did not belong.

This boy was a wonderful distraction, so he couldn't leave quite yet. Or had she already scared him off? Oh, she thought, he must think I'm a lunatic.

Despite the sheer oddity of the situation, she didn't care. Her lips twitched up in a small smile - a change of heart.

"How about I buy you a donut, lonely stranger?"

Mmm, nothing like fresh victory in the form of a jelly-filled donut.

She didn't wait for him to move before she turned around and strode into the shop. There wasn't a single bit of money in any of her pockets, but he didn't have to know that. She only smiled, though he couldn't see, and bobbed her head as she walked up to the counter, which was empty. The owners were probably in the back, watching something to do with the Hunger Games. If she were in school right then, she would probably be watching it too.

Thankfully, there wasn't a bell or anything attached to the door, and it shut with only a tiny thump. She wasn't even sure if the boy followed her, but she didn't look back. Her eyes darted around the assortment of donuts, then shifted towards the lonely stranger. Well, she thought of him as a lonely stranger. He was clearly awkward, and with awkwardness comes a lack of friends. Well, sometimes. Or was she just making him feel nervous? They had known each other for all of a minute, after all.

"Try to be quiet," she whispered, looking back at him for a moment. Stealthily, she tiptoed behind the counter and turned towards him with a sly grin.

"Take your pick."

Oh, what a girlll, Yaa thought. Her smile wavered as she saw the expression on his face shift. Or, well, maybe it hadn't changed at all. If she had a chronic bad attitude, he had a case of the borings. She couldn't even get much a smile out of him, the worry wart.

"It's only a bad idea if I'm caught. Plus, what do you care? You could just be a random guy waiting in line after the lunatic girl," she whispered, lowering her head towards the pastries.

As she expected - a jelly-filled doughnut, right there in the middle. She could hear movement in the back, but she was sure that the shop-owners didn't have anything in the way of security cameras. For one, it's not easy to take away a mass of doughnuts without ruining them all. Plus, who cares? They're made in large batches anyway. One or two missing wouldn't kill anybody.

She picked up a chocolate doughnut for him, and carefully plucked her jelly-filled breakfast into her hands and rushed out the door, tugging on the boy's sleeve as she went.

Her smile faltered as he asked his question, but came back, teasing as ever. She turned away from him and nestled herself back in the alleyway, below a window to the kitchen where the heat was best. The day was chilly at best, even if she had remembered a coat for once in her life.

"You're very wishy-washy, always ending your sentences in questions. Just pick," she said, raising her eyebrows at him. How scared could he really be? For one, the stuttering was not at all attractive, and he also could use a little confidence. Poor kid. Then again, she wasn't exactly making the situation easy for him.

"What's your name, lonely stranger?" Yaa asked, lifting her chin up a smidgen out of habit while she held the doughnuts towards him. "And what will it be? Chocolate or jelly-filled? It's not that difficult to choose."

Yaa watched as he took the chocolate doughnut from her hand and took a bite. She didn't tear into hers yet, because she saw herself as a polite listener at best and also didn't like the idea of talking and eating at the same time. Capitolites never did such things - or so she assumed. She could be glamorous and famous or even just a normal girl there, but she would not, for one second, be caught talking with her mouth full of food. Hell, she could act bitchy and strut around all she wanted, but she would not be a slob.

"Cedric?" she asked, lifting her head up and looking at the sky for a second. "Sounds almost like a Capitol name - sophisticated. Nothing like here." She lowered her head and stared at her shoes, slightly disgusted at the mud that she found there. But no bother - she met his eyes again and smiled, but her attention quickly turned towards the doughnut in her hand. Suddenly she was disgusted by it too, so she flung it at the nearest dumpster. Her throw missed, and some of the jelly splattered in the dirt.

"Whoops," she laughed, turning towards him. "I'm Yaa. I haven't seen you before. Why I haven't I seen you before?"