I meet Aeolus in the market. We both agree that I don't get out enough, so on Sunday I traipse down our tall hill and towards town. 

He is chatting with a shopkeeper when I find him, supposedly a friend from school. She gives me a strange look that I ignore, looping my arm through Aeolus's.

"Hey," I say, with a smile that he returns. 

"Daphne, hey! This is Altalune's friend from school, Pearl." He gestures towards the girl. 

I give her a small, shy smile. She's pretty, short blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail at the top of her head, small strands of hair released around the sides of her tan face, dotted with freckles. 

"Hi, nice to meet you," she says, but her smile doesn't feel quite as sincere. 

"Nice to meet you too," I agree. There is a long, awkward pause, and then Aeolus migrates his hand towards mine, giving it one short squeeze. 

"We're gonna go look at the other booths," he decrees, and I nod in agreement as he leads me off elsewhere. 

"That was awkward," he whispers in my ear, and even though his tone is nowhere near condescending or annoyed, I still frown a little bit. 

"Yeah, sorry."

He shrugs. "Nah, not your fault. She was being kinda weird. I don't really know her, anyways, she hangs with Loony more."

Another nod, and that feels like all I can do right now, so I decide to force through the feeling and speak. "How's school been?"

He thinks. "Oh, that's right, I forgot you haven't been back. It's been good, I guess. Pretty much the same."

"Yeah, makes sense," I agree, and suddenly wonder if I have been missed. 

It's not like I ever had many friends, but still, I was there every single day--not to mention being on national news, Panem's most important person for a few days, obviously excluding President Snow. Wouldn't someone miss me?

"You're a grade above me, right?" I clarify. He looks down, meeting my gaze. Both of the twins are taller than me, being technically the same height, but while Altalune keeps her posture straight and respectable, Aeolus is more prone to slouching, so when he stands right next to me, my eyeline is usually somewhere around his chin. 

And God, those eyes. Those teal eyes. 

I look away. He speaks.

"Yeah, I guess so. You were a year older than Apollo, right?"

"Yeah."

"So you're exactly in-between us," he says, with a slight smile. I nod. His hand is warm in mine. 

"What do you think would happen, y'know, if Apollo was still here?" Aeolus asks carefully, and I raise my eyebrows, startled. 

It's never really been a question for me, because it was always one or the other. From the moment I first learned his name, I knew that one of us was going to die, if not both. 

"Well, I don't think we'd be friends," I say bluntly, and Aeolus looks away, wounded in one way or another. 

"Yeah, probably not," he agrees, and he sounds so unbothered by my sentence that I wonder if it's something else that's nagging him. 

But he doesn't give me the option to ask, turning instead and putting on a bright smile. "Wanna go play some of the games?"

I return his smile, because what else am I to do? "Yeah, sure!"

He loops his elbow through mine, our hands disconnecting. When I reach up to brush a hair out of my face I find that my hand is cold and clammy, and wonder if maybe that's why he let go of it. 

It's a chilly day today, and although we don't get snow here, we do get rain, and most of all, clouds. Those are what line the sky today, building up a gray foggy haze that does nothing to bring up my spirits. 

Aeolus counteracts that though, with his optimistic attitude and willingness to have fun. Yet another reason to be his friend. They seem to be building up faster than I can count them. 

"How's Altalune doing?" I ask him as he attempts to throw a small ball into an even smaller hole, a game I assume is probably rigged, based on how many times he's missing. 

Aeolus looks over to meet my gaze, a flash of annoyance on his expression before he looks away again, twisting his face in mock-concentration. "Oh, Loony's doing fine. The same, pretty much."

I nod, wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt at warmth. This market is outdoors, and although I made the smart choice to wear long sleeves and pants, my shirt isn't nearly thick enough for this kind of weather. 

"You cold?" he asks, not even looking up from his game. I startle, dropping my hands to my sides, wondering how he noticed. 

"No, I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

He raises his eyebrows at me, and then shoots again. This time he makes it in, the display behind it flashing red and making a ding ding sound. 

Aeolus pumps his fist, flashing me a bright, toothy smile, and goes to collect his prize. The woman running the stand, who now seems pretty disgruntled, reluctantly hands him a teddy bear, which he takes gladly. 

With two long strides, he lands right before me, and promptly pushes the teddy bear into my arms. 

"For me?"

"All yours," he agrees, his signature smile not yet faded. I feel the urge to make him happy again, to keep it that way forever. To be the one keeping it that way forever. 

"Aw, thanks," I say, hugging the bear to my chest. "She's adorable."

"What'll you name her?" he implores, looking down at me with an expression I can't explain. 

"Hm, I don't know." I think on it. 

An idea pops into my head, one I'm sure he'll like, with his sense of humor. "Daphlus! It's both of our names, see?"

He laughs and looks away, cheeks red from the cold, the blush mirrored in mine. "I like that."

There is a stand selling apple cider not far away, and we sip cups of warm cider, blowing on it to cool it down just a bit. 

"Wanna go back to my house?" Aeolus offers, and I agree, mainly out of curiosity. I've never been to his house--and maybe Altalune would be there, willing to give me an explanation on her recent absence from my life. 

"Is Altalune home?" I ask, as we approach the front door. I've walked past this house hundreds of times, always with a vague idea of the people who lived there, but never standing next to one of its residents. 

He shakes his head, and I frown. "No, I don't think so."

I'm curious as to where she might be if not here, but decide not to probe. 

He gives me a quick tour of the house, glossing over some bits, opening a few doors and leaving others closed. Eventually we land in his room, still sipping our cider, now snacking on pretzels he found in the pantry. 

Aeolus's room is large, mainly in height: it's probably twice the height of mine, even though our houses are probably about the same size. He has a chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, bookcases lining the walls. His bed stands in the corner, pressed up against the wall beside his dresser. 

It is ornate and elegant, as I am used to, but unlike my own living quarters, it feels lived-in. Aeolus has put up photos of friends, family, and idols along the walls and bookshelves. There is a guitar in the corner, another on display right above that. A small chair has an indent in the pillow where I can tell he usually sits. 

I sit next to the chair and lean against the wall, not wanting to steal the prime seating spot from him the way Altalune once did me. He chooses instead to sit beside me, ignoring the chair altogether. 

"You didn't want the good seat?" I ask, in-between bites of pretzel--I hadn't realized how starving I was. 

"Nah, the better one's down here," he responds, and I feel like there is something that should come after that sentence, a continuation that would mean a whole lot more. 

But there is nothing. We stay silent. 

When I glance over, I find him looking at me, cheeks still red from the cold even though we've been inside for a while now. 

I look away. He does too, I think. 

"Daphne, I've been meaning to ask you," he starts, and I look back, intrigued. 

"Yeah?"

"I just..." he pauses, head turned toward the door, where there is the sound of footsteps approaching down the hallway. 

There is a quick rap on the door, and without waiting for a response, a man barges in, freezing in place when he notices me.

It's Angler Theodoros. The man who Mayor Gallopetal denies committed treason. 

His expression forms into a glare, aimed straight at me.