Perfect Illusion // [VT Teddy + Delilah]

The day Teddy Ursa's victory tour came to his home district, it was raining. Had been, all night, in fact. Storms weren't that unusual in Six, but this one had a ferocity usually reserved for the dead of winter. My sisters, on the bunk below and single bed across the room, slept right through the cracks of thunder. I gather I was expected to as well. So much for expectations, am I right? Instead I drifted between every flash of lightning, growing dark bags beneath my eyes and a tic in my upper lip.

Nevertheless I was the first one out of bed. I staked my claim to the shared bathroom against the complaints of my sisters; I'd learned in the last week that if I wasn't quick, there wouldn't be any cold water or clean wash cloths left. More things I should have already known.

A long, hot shower later and the door nearly broken in, I emerge looking like... someone else Whoever this new someone is. The brunette hair dye one of my sisters rubbed in is already fading back to the shocking white blonde. I pin back as many strands as I can find, trying to look more like my sisters, more like this family, more like... whoever I was before the coma.

While the rest of my family scrambles to prepare, I quietly slip out the backdoor. I don't know where they keep the umbrellas so I've just got my hoodie and sneakers. They're both soaked within minutes of the long walk to the District Center. Then, a few minutes later, I'm damp and cold clean through. It's a good adrenaline rush and I try to appreciate it for that. God is in the rain, after all.

Now where did that thought come from?

I queue up at the town square. Despite the weather, I am far from the only person waiting to see our very own victor. I shove my back against a brick building, the awning offering a scant amount of cover. Hours pass. The rain comes down in sheets. My family arrives. The winds gain strength, ripping umbrellas from cold hands. My family leaves. The train whistles as it pulls into the station. The wind buffets sideways, pressing me against wet brick. The square is nearly empty. The Peacekeepers form up, signaling the victor's arrival.

I slip into the alleyway, which howls for a moment with the force of the storm. Then, suddenly, it goes completely quiet and still.

So here I go to the eye of the storm,
just to feel your love.

"Here I go," I whisper. Blink. Teddy Ursa, with his handlers, is there. It's the fastest way to the Square and it's dry, almost warm. I step aside, let a pair of Peacekeepers pass. Then, I throw back my sodden hood, hair matted to my face. I don't know the names of my sisters or how old my mother is or the last class I took in school. "You ever think about how hello sounds like goodbye?" I ask, words that aren't my own - but so much closer to my heart than anything else in District Three.

I take a step towards Teddy Ursa, offering my hands to him.