False Faces // Atlas + Clem {JB}

His words stung me quite hard. To him, I was selfish, and apparently, I’d barely noticed him. What did he know? I’d paid attention to all of my family members. We may not have been close, but that didn’t mean I barely noticed him. I still cared about him, whether he believed it or not. Then again, with the attitude he had while we sat there in the Justice Building, should I care about him? Should I care if he died, since he didn’t seem to care if I fell apart?

He was a cocky son of a bitch, too. He said he had all of Panem to introduce himself to, acting like they’d actually care about another Shim in the Games. To many of the people of Panem, the Shims were just another batch of kids lined up to die. We were another family that was waiting to fall apart at the will of President Snow and the Gamemakers. Then again, that really was what we were. That wasn’t a lie. Our family wasn’t as strong as we might like to think, and really, anyone who put themselves forward for the Games from our family was just filling out a request form for death to come sweep them away.

“You’re acting like a rotten little brat. Whether or not you want to believe it, I’ve cared about every Shim to ever be a part of our family. I haven’t just ignored you. I haven’t, as you say, barely noticed you. I actually cared, up until now. Now I don’t think I do care what happens to you,” I said, pausing for a moment. “You know what? Have fun in that arena. If you come out alive, maybe I’ll go back to caring like I did before.”

My fists were clenched tightly as I said these words. My eyes were narrowed at the boy before me, and I almost wished I could just reach out and punch him. Of course, that would just get the Peacekeepers to take me away much more swiftly than they were already going to, and likely would result in some punishment for me as a result of my actions. I didn’t want Hayk or the others to see me getting punished.

I may have always been well-behaved at home, but my family knew of my anger. They knew how much it hurt me when they went into the Games. Regardless, they kept doing so. Cal had volunteered, and now Atlas did, too. They didn’t care if it made me rage. They didn’t care if it made me want to die. I swear, if another Shim puts themselves forward for those Games voluntarily, I may just die, whether or not it’s by choice.

What if I had been the one who volunteered? How would that make Hayk feel? How would the others feel? What would they do if I died? Would they care? It could have been me in these Games, rather than that Ella Tracy girl, but no. I actually cared enough about my family not to abandon them. At least, I cared about them all other than Atlas. Now, I didn’t care what happened to the boy across from me. He could die, and perhaps I’d attend his funeral, but there wouldn’t be much mourning from me. I didn’t expect him to come out alive at this point. The boy was going to die, and it wasn’t my fault.

---

575 words
OOC: I'll add the table later. It doesn't seem to want to work at the moment.