carry it with you | beck + ky

k y .

"We could be born to anything and now,
What you have done is terrible
And now you, and now you
Now you carry it with you"

Attempt number two.

Ky stared at himself in the mirror, the dusting of freckles across his nose and blue eyes staring back at him completely foreign. Bambi stood behind him and gathered the long black strands of the wig she'd insisted he wear into a bundle before letting it cascade over his shoulders again. Ky had to admit, anyone taking a quick glance at him wouldn't bother looking twice; he'd blend in a lot better out there.

"You sure this is going to work?" he asked the District One stylist uncertainly.

He wasn't used to having bangs.

Ky shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his black bomber once again. Things were a lot different now that the games were. The whole building was celebrating for the reigning victor. Beck Hailsham, a boy from Four. He was only a year old than Ky, which made him the same age that his father had been when he died. He was curious, to say the least.

Opal was gone, either summoned somewhere or off to see Katelyn. He liked that for her, they'd made a promise to each other to try and be happy and she finally was getting somewhere with it. It also made it easier for him to sneak out again.

It was almost easier than last time, everyone was in a whirlwind about Beck. How they could lose a fresh victor, Ky didn't know. He didn't really know Beck, had only seen him on the screens this week, but he felt that he already liked him a little. He knew how it felt to want to just slip away, he could understand that. His mom had told him that the first step towards friendship was being able to understand another person and taking chances so Ky had been trying lately to put his feet in other people's shoes. He found it awkward and clunky but hopefully he'd get better at it.

Today, he was on a mission. There were still two places he wanted to see before they had to leave for One. Sure, he was directly disobeying an order from his mom but all he had to do was make it there and back without being noticed. It couldn't be too hard, even though Teddy had explained to him that he was sort of famous, Ky still didn't believe it. He probably never would.

Bambi had put him in something that she called 'Street Fashion' for his outing, which consisted of oversized layers, white sneakers and a black chest bag that he had filled with some necessities. She'd told him that he looked 'ambiguous' and he wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. Still, it had worked. No one gave him a second look. He was sure that he looked ridiculous but at least he was free.

This time, he didn't stop to look in any store windows and tried his best to stay out of people's way. Teddy couldn't be there every time to protect him, the odds of someone coming to his rescue again were slim. He had to be careful. Ky walked deeper down style street, realizing for the first time that he wasn't exactly sure how to get to where he was going and he had no way of figuring it out. He didn't even have any money on him.

He hadn't thought of that.

Ky stood in front of a crossroads, a small alley cutting off the main street lined with doors. It didn't look as busy, but he could see chairs and a table set up at the far end. A café? At least someone there might tell him where to go. He looked over his shoulder and then walked towards it, the shops down this little alley mainly closed for the festivities. Paper streamers hung forlornly in the wind, waving gently at him as he walked.

A little bell jingled above his head when he entered and Ky was slightly surprised to see that the café wasn't a building at all, just a back courtyard dotted with tables, chairs and large canopies to keep out too much of the sun. It was a quiet, gentle place. He stood still for a moment, taking it all in. Greenery grew among the tables and along the pathways. Various trees sheltered the courtyard from the outside world and he could hear the sound of running water. For all of the stark technology that Ky had come accustomed to in the Capitol, this place was obviously a labour of love.

He walked quietly through it. There was so much to see that he almost didn't spot Beck Hailsham sat in the back corner of the lot with a large umbrella to block out the sun.

Was the Capitol really that small?

Ky stopped and wondered what he should do. A hand went to the bag resting against his chest and he closed it over the zipper. He'd been carrying a small gift for the victor for a few days and had still been working up the courage to approach him. There'd always been so many people around, he hadn't been able to.

He faltered. Obviously Beck had come out here to be left alone but then he thought about what his mom had said, how if he wanted to make friends, he needed to take chances. If there was anyone who needed a friend right now, it'd be Beck, right?

Ky walked over to the small table and sat down across from the Victor. He stared at him for a moment, realizing that he was supposed to have asked if he could sit.

"Hi," he said.