| " T R A I N I N G . " |

___♔___

When I left Triton, a sweep of sadness washed over me. Not only that, but I felt worse after I got back. I was in my room with the door locked when he came to my living quarters, begging me to talk to him, or at least come out of my room.

Ignoring him was terrible. I know I should team up with him, but I can't. I don't want to start liking him, then watch him die in the arena. Well, if he does die.

I don't want it to happen the other way around either. I know it wouldn't be good for him to watch me die, especially if he likes me.

I let out a loud sigh as I hear Triton and Paul knock on my door, once again. I get out of my bed, and get my pajamas. Taking a shower will definitely get my mind off of the situation at hand.

So that's what I do.

I relax instantly as the hot water hits my back. But almost too quickly, the water goes cold. I groan, and get out, looking at my wrinkled hands. I look at the clock, and see that I've been in the shower for around an hour and a half. Wow, I think that's a new record.

I let out a yawn, and lay down on my bed, and stare at the ceiling. While listening to the eknocks and voices outside of my door, I let sleep take me over.

___♕___

I let out a groan as the light of the sun finally hits me through the curtains on my window. I was hoping I would get more sleep, but there is no stopping the sun from shining. If there is, I haven't found out about it yet . . .

I put my second training outfit on, and open my door. I scream when someone falls onto my floor. Triton. He sits up, and rubs his eyes. This idiot has been outside of my door all night. There are dark circles under his eyes, and he looks exhausted.

"Triton, what the hell? What are you doing here?" I yell.

"I waited for you to come out of your room last night. But unfortunately, you didn't come out, so I stayed here." He replies, then yawns as he stands.

"You idiot! Why would you wait out there all night for me?" I groan.

"Stop screaming. And I stayed so I could talk to you. Which reminds me, I'm s-" He starts, but I cut him off.

"Gosh, just get some sleep, stupid. I forgive you." I say, and push him towards my bed.

"Really?" He asks excitedly. I roll my eyes.

"Yes, now for to sleep. I'll wake you up when training starts, and you can eat on the way there." I say. He smiles, and jumps onto the bed. He smirks at me, and pats the spot next to him. "Sleep with me." He says, and winks. I scoff.

"As if." I say.

"Awww, c'mon." He whines.

"No, now go to sleep." I say, crossing my eyes.

"I won't sleep unless you're next to me." He says, pouting. He's so cute when he pouts. I mentally slap myself.

"Whatever." I say closing the door. Then I stand next to the bed. He shakes his head at me, and his smirk gets wider. I furrow my eyebrows, but before I can guess what he's about to do, Triton grabs my waist, and pulls me onto the bed. He takes my shoes off of my feet, then pulls my back into his chest. I squirm, trying to get out of his iron grip. But I fail, miserably.

"Triton, let go." I whine.

"No can do, princess. Just go to sleep." He whispers against my ear. I shiver at the contact, and he chuckles. But I listen, and in a few minutes, I fall asleep.

Again.

___♕___

The next time I wake up, I feel a warm breath against my neck. Triton. He has his arm locked around my waist, and his legs are entangled with mine. I've got to admit, this is comfortable. I look at the clock. I scream and jump up, and Triton's grip is released off of me, resulting in me landing on the floor. Triton is off the bed in a second, helping me up.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I just heard you scream," He says, helping me up from the floor. I look at him, and notice that the dark circles are gone from under his eyes. I pull myself from my thoughts just as he begins to talk again.

"Why did you scream anyway?" He asks.

"Because we're an hour late to training." I respond.

"Doesn't matter. We already know how to use any weapon." He shrugs, me nodding along with his words.

"C'mon, lets go," I sigh, pulling my shoes on. Triton is already wearing his training outfit from yesterday, and I already had mine on from this morning.

We head down the elevator, and into the training room. When we walk in, I instantly spot Bane. He has a furious expression when he looks at Triton, stepping over to us immediately. When he gets beside of us, he slams Triton to the wall. The both of them are the same size, so Triton doesn't seem too intimidated.

"What the hell were you doing with her?" Bane questions darkly, his jaw clenching.

"We just slept together, chill dude." Triton says casually, then his eyes widen when he realizes what it sounds like.

"You WHAT?" Bane booms, all of the tributes are staring at us.

"Bane stop. We didn't sleep together, we just slept in the same bed. Gosh, just chill, okay?" I pull him from Triton, putting relaxing hand on his arm in hopes that he would calm down.

"Just calm down." I say softly as he nods in response. "Triton, I think you should go."

"What? Why?" Triton asks, exasperation clear on his face.

"Because I don't think you're calming Bane down. Please." I beg. He sighs, but nods, kissing me on the forehead before walking away.

And that sets Bane over the edge.

"Don't you dare fucking touch her! You're first oh my kill list Hall, and I promise that!" Bane yells as Triton walks away, ignoring his every word.

"Bane, it's okay." I state. "Lets go train."

He hesitates, but follows. I take him to the spears, which are his weapon of choice, and hand him one. He takes it, and immediately throws it into the throat of the dummy. My eyes widen. Triton rolls his eyes, leaving the training room. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath, before exhaling.

"What's wrong?" A familiar voice asks. I turn to see Seth looking at me with a confused expression.

I open my mouth to say something, but Bane interrupts me. "Triton has been flirting with her. He's just using her so they can be allies in the games. Then when she turns her back, he'll rip her throat out." Bane snaps. My jaw drops.

"Bane! What the hell is wrong with you?" I growl.

"What? We all know it's the truth." He says softly, and looks at the floor as my gaze turns scolding.

"Just go hang out with the careers. I'm sure they'll want you over there. I'm going with Seth." I glare, and turn to Seth once again.

"Lets go." I say, looking up at him. He nods, and follows me to the edible foods station. Once I sit down, Seth takes the seat next to me, glancing at my angered expression.

"What's really going on?" He asks.

"I don't know. Bane and Triton are constantly fighting, and I don't know why. The glares, the threats, it all confuses me. I mean why would they fight like that? They're both careers."

"I think I know the reason they're fighting." Seth replies.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because they like you. I mean, isn't it obvious? They're always looking at you. I can tell they do. They're just not admitting it to you. There scared that they'll lose you in the games. Trust me, they'll tell you soon enough."

"Oh."

"Shouldn't you be happy? Practically every girl here is drooling over the both of them. You're considered lucky that they like you. It is a dream of Grace's that she would get to date one of them. But you. You got both of them." He says with a chuckle.

"I don't want that, though. I don't want them to like me. They'll get attached. Then, when I die in the arena, it'll hurt them."

"You're not going to die in the arena. I actually think that you'll be the one to win. You're strong enough." He says. I shake my head.

"Physically, but not mentally. I don't want to see any of these people die. Not even Leane. And that's pretty bad." I murmer. "I guess I just don't want to face the facts that this has to happen. It happened to Hollon, and it almost killed me when he died. Hopefully this time, I'll die with him."

"I heard about Hollon. I'm really sorry about that, he didn't deserve to die." Seth says, placing his has over mine. I'm surprised at first, but I flip my hand, and lock my fingers with him. He smiles, and I return it.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me." I say, letting a tear fall from my eye. He wipes it away.

I lay my head on his shoulder, and watch Lily in hand-to-hand combat. I close my eyes, and smile again. For the first time here, I actually feel fine.

No fights. No stress. No worrying. It's perfect. It's almost peaceful. And I almost feel like it's gone. But maybe I'm wrong.

The pain- I don't feel it any more.

Would Seth have anything to do with that?

_______