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8. the night before

Etta stares up at the television in her living room, watching the recaps of the interviews held earlier that night. Her father was away again, not a surprise. He had been almost doubling his time away from home since Arachne had died. Her mother had gone to bed not long ago, too tired to stay up any longer. Though it was after midnight, Etta couldn't fall asleep; she was too anxious about the events happening tomorrow. The start of the Games. There was no telling how it would go.

She took the remote and clicked off the interviews, pulling the blanket off the couch and draping it over her body. She took a couple deep breaths and almost dozed off, but the loud ringing of the telephone jolted her to awareness.

Etta groaned and sat up, walking over to the phone and picking it up. "Rivers residence, Odette speaking. Who's this?" she asked, wondering who could be calling so late.

"Etta!" a familiar voice exclaimed. Coriolanus Snow. Why could he possibly be calling? "I'm going to the arena again. I need to make sure it's safe... for Lucy Gray." he explained.

Etta frowned, furrowing her brows. "So, why are you calling me about that?" she mumbled slowly. Coriolanus hesitated for a few moments before replying. "Can you go with me, please?" he asked, desperation in his voice. "I can't go alone! It might be dangerous."

She rolled her eyes. "You're calling me after midnight to ask me to accompany you to the Capitol Arena? Why would I do that for you?"

"Please! You went with me on the truck, you must be willing to go with me to the arena. I'm visiting Lucy Gray at the zoo after, you can see your tribute too! Please go with me." he begged, trying to find any sort of reason to persuade her.

Etta pursed her lips. Seeing the arena after the bombing had it's pros. She could learn the new hiding spots, where to go if there's an emergency, etc. It was a good advantage for Treech to know beforehand as well.

And, well, maybe she'd just like to see Treech.

"Ugh. I honestly hate you so much for this, but fine. Only to get my tribute an advantage." she exasperates. Coriolanus huffs out a sigh of relief. "Okay, I'll come get you, see you in a couple minutes." he says, slamming down the phone.

Etta stares at the phone in disgust for a few seconds before placing it down. She put on her mother's coat, too tired to find hers, and put her fluffy pink earmuffs on. Even though it was summer, the Capitol usually became cold at night.

After a few moments, there's a sharp knock on her door. Etta swings it open with a scowl, glaring daggers at Coriolanus. "Could you at least try to be quieter? If my mother knows I'm sneaking out, I'll never hear the end of it!" she complains, storming out past the blonde boy, gesturing for him to shut the door. Coriolanus ignores her words, shutting the door with what sounds like even more force. "Oh, sorry." he apologizes, even though it's obviously half-hearted.

Etta whacks his arm and the two begin the long walk to the Capitol Arena. It's pretty much silent, besides the occasional throat clear by Coriolanus. Was he trying to start a conversation?

"How's it going? With... uh, your tribute and all." he asks, sounding a bit awkward. Etta tenses up slightly. It would usually be a normal question, but coming from him, it was strange. "It's going well. I'm presuming he'll do great in the Games." she replies shortly.

An uneasy look appears on Coriolanus's face at the mention of the Games. "Nervous for tomorrow?" Etta questions, feeling almost smug in a way. The blonde boy shoots her a look. "No." he retorts. She shrugs. "Okay, if you say so."

As they near the Capitol Arena, her stomach starts to churn uncomfortably. What if there's still somehow bombs? A trap? She pushes the thoughts aside and begins to walk in front of Coriolanus, who trailed behind her nervously. She decides she should be the brave, responsible one here, because that boy is utterly hopeless.

The gates come into view and Coriolanus lets out a series of curses as he realizes it's locked. Etta glares at him. "Calm down, would you?" she mutters, fiddling with her hair and pulling out a small hair pin, perfect for lock-picking. She inserts the pin into the lock, moving it around for a few moments until she hears it click, and the lock falls to the ground. "Easy. Let's go." she orders, carefully opening the gate.

The arena is much darker then it was when they had previously viewed it, so it's hard to see what's in front of her. Coriolanus clings close to her side, obviously scared. She hops over the turnstile quickly, flinching as a loud 'Enjoy the show!' rings out behind her. Coriolanus grimaces and shuffles toward her. "Idiot." she whispers, and the two head off into the center of the arena.

Etta tilts her head up; parts of the roof are blown open, and the rubble litters the ground everywhere. A fallen pillar, makes new use as a safe spot, if you can climb it. She runs her fingertips along the pillar, noting the jagged texture and foot holds. Treech is from 7, he must be able to climb.

"Etta!" Coriolanus calls, and Etta turns her head to see him on top of a pile of rubble. She rolls her eyes and jogs over. "What are you doing up there? You're going to fall!" she scolds. Sometimes it sounds like lecturing a toddler when talking to him. The boy shakes his head. "I'm fine, come up here!" he says, extending a hand for her to take. She hesitantly takes it and lets him pull her up. He gestures towards an air duct, and creaks it open. It's quite small inside, but a good hiding spot. "What, are you gonna tell your songbird to stay in here the whole time? I don't think she'll do too well out in the open." she teases, though it sounded quite backhanded.

Coriolanus shakes his head. "Maybe. Even if she was in the open she'd be fine, your lumberjack couldn't catch her anyways. She's far too fast." he replies, using any chance to boast about Lucy Gray. "Treech is from the lumber district, I know he's a good runner." she shoots back, her tone defensive. Coriolanus shrugs. "We'll see." he narrows his eyes, looking past her shoulder. "Looks like the floor got blown open? Come on." he says, sliding down the pile of rubble.

She follows him towards a large hole in the ground, leaning to what seems to be underground tunnels. "It's a whole maze down here..." he mutters. Etta nods and inspects further, wandering more into the tunnels. There's doors scattered around, but they're locked. Maybe someone could kick them in? She's about to try her luck when Coriolanus stops her. "That's not a good idea, let's go back."

Etta sighs. "You're just scared. Let's go, I wanna talk with my tribute." she tugs his arm and he follows. "Jump over the turnstiles this time." she says sternly.

Once they're out of the arena, Etta immediately begins walking in the direction of the zoo, but Coriolanus cuts her off. "Wait. I need to go back home first. Dr. Gaul is making me write that proposal."

"What? You're telling me this now?" she groans. "It'll be quick, I swear!" he promises, and bolts off back in the direction of his apartment.

Etta watches him run off and purses her lips, sinking down to the ground and hugging her knees to her chest. Stupid boy. she thinks.

About ten minutes have gone by and he has still not returned. She begins to anxiously braid and unbraid small sections of her hair, another habit she had been doing for as long as she could remember.

Another ten minutes go by. She huffs out a breath and stands up, starting to walk to the zoo herself when Coriolanus appears out of nowhere. "Oh, finally, you're back." she turns back around, noticing how fidgety he looks. Is he hiding something? "What happened? Do you have something?" she asks, narrowing her eyes and walking closer to him.

Coriolanus's eyes widen. "No, I don't know what you're talking about." he replies, sounding a bit panicked besides trying his best to act calm. He tries to smoothly shove something into his pocket, but it doesn't work. "You have something. Give it to me, I want to know." Etta extends her hand out and Coriolanus glares at her. "It's nothing, you couldn't possibly want it."

Etta puts a hand on her hip, keeping the other extended. "Did I stutter?"

He stared at her for a few long moments before turning around. "Let's just go to the zoo, it's really not a big deal." he shrugs, and begins walking.

She dashes in front of him. "I'll spread a rumor about you. It'll get to Highbottom, and boom, there goes any chance of the prize."

Coriolanus runs a hand through his blond curls, debating whether the prize or the secret was more important. He settled on the prize. "I'm so sick of you." he murmurs, digging out a makeup compact from his pocket and holding it out for her to see. Etta frowns. "Why is a simple compact such a secret?..." she asks, glancing up at him.

"It's not. You were just making me nervous with all of your bossing around." he snaps.

Etta smirks. "Oops, didn't know you were so sensitive. Anyways, what's with the compact? Is it for Lucy Gray?"

Coriolanus is quick to reply. "So what if it is?"

"Are you in love with her or something? First you brought her a rose, now a makeup compact?" she asks, hoping to get any sort of gossip to tell Persephone and Livia... and maybe Dean Highbottom if it came to it.

"No! I'm just being a good mentor. What exactly have you brought for Treech?" he retorts.

"Nothing. I don't need to bring him little gifts and trinkets for him to actually like me, unlike you. Let's just go to the zoo, it's almost two in the morning." she rolls her eyes and walks past him. He scoffs and stalks after her.

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At the sight of Lucy Gray huddled close to Jessup, Coriolanus goes sprinting towards the bars, calling her name. Why must he be so loud?

Etta stops at the bars, holding them in her hands as she gently calls out Treech's name. He's leaning back on the rock, Lamina at his side. He stirs, blinking his eyes open and looking around, spotting her. "Capitol?" he mutters, sleepily brushing off his jacket and making his way over to her. "Isn't it a bit past your curfew?"

"No, it's fine, listen. The bombs, they changed so much in the arena." she whispers. "Part of the floor is blown open, it leads to underground tunnels, me and Coriolanus tried it. Go there if you ever need safety or shade if it's too hot." she explains.

Treech nods. "I've got it. You'll be watching me when I'm in there, right?" his voice grows quieter, looking down towards the ground.

Etta smiles reassuringly. "Yeah. I'll be watching you, and I know you'll do great." she slips her hand through the bars, intertwining her fingers with his. Treech gives her hand a gentle squeeze, leaning closer. "I'll miss you, you know that?" he grins.

"I know. I'll miss you too... we'll see each other again though, trust me." she says, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles as she glances over at Coriolanus and Lucy Gray. They're extremely close together, and he seems to be whispering something in her ear as he pulls out the compact from his pocket. Etta narrows her eyes, eyeing them suspiciously. Treech follows her gaze, looking almost worried. "What's he doing?" he asks, his confusion mirroring Etta's.

"I'm not sure. He told me it was a gift for her, but why would she need makeup in the arena? I find it odd." she replies, taking in a shaky breath.

Treech shakes his head and looks to her. "Well, he's mentally challenged." Etta laughs quietly, looking up at him with a slight blush on her face. He stares straight back at her, emotion filling his gaze. "Hey, Etta?"

She tilts her head, confused with the use of her actual name; he never did that. "Yes?"

He furrows his brows, taking in a breath. "Just in case I die in there... tomorrow, or the upcoming days... uh, I just wanted to let you know that I'm really grateful for you helping me, bringing me food, all of it. Uh, yeah.. and I love you for it. I love you." he stutters, ending the sentence with a flustered face.

Etta can feel her face heat up at his words, and she glances towards Coriolanus to make sure he wasn't listening. No, he was too busy kissing Lucy Gray. Ick. If this were a good time to do it, she would tell Lucy Gray to run away from that boy and never come back.

She looks back at Treech, her surprised expression melting into a smile. "Of course... and, um, I love you too." she admits. Her mind is telling her this is a horrible idea; she was Capitol, he was District, and they couldn't love each other. Her heart told her otherwise.

Treech's flustered grin shifted back to his usual smirk, reaching out through the bars to wrap his arm around her shoulder. Etta leans into his touch, tilting her head to the side to rest it on his shoulder the best she could through the bars. The two sit in comfortable silence, enjoying what they hoped weren't their last few minutes of being with each other until Coriolanus calls for her. "Etta, we need to leave. I'm tired." he whines like a child.

She locks eyes with Treech and fights back the urges to cry, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before standing up and walking away with Coriolanus. He stares longingly after her, then retreats back to the rock with an upset expression.

A week ago, she wouldn't believe how much has changed since then and now, how attached she's grown to him, and while she would still not like to admit it, how much she's really started to be head over heels for him.

Please don't let this be the last time she sees him.

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HEY GUYS!!! bro, this was such a dumb, boring chapter but i have not been feeling any motivation to write lately but i still did anyways. i reallllyyy want to start writing my mizzen book more, but i promised myself i'd finish writing this chapter before writing it. BUT YAYYY, NOW ITS DONEEEE! also, the next chapter after this will be the start of the games, i am so nervous but SO excited to write ittttt! its gonna probs take a while to come out though because school is starting back up, sorry guyss...

i am so not ready for school on monday, winter break was so fun and relaxing. still can't believe it's 2025! my friend cora is coming over tomorrow, and we're gonna binge watch all the hunger games movies, except mockingjay 1 and 2 because i never liked them. SO EXCITED, I'M GONNA CONVINCE HER WHY MIZZEN AND TREECH ARE SO CUTE!!!

anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was just some filler stuff and other little (or big..) things that have to do with the plot later on. i love you guys SOOOOOOOO much, thank you for reading! you should totally vote if you haven't too! <3 LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUU!

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- julia!! (ettarivers), december 24th - january 3rd 2025

- published; january 3rd 2025