10. Focus

Bane seemed to ease up a little more once back in the apartment, but I could tell he was still fuming. I didn't want his negative energy affecting me, so I tried to calm him down, but he moved away each time I tried to help him. Eventually, he shut himself up in his room. He was doing the same treatment I did yesterday.

So this was what it felt like.

I decided since Bane wouldn't sneak out of his room anytime soon, I would take a nap on the couch. I took a nap for what only seemed to be an hour before Ross woke me up, nearly scaring me to death. I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"Did you two fight again?" he asked. "He's locked himself in his room."

"Hmm? Oh, no, we didn't." I yawned, scratching my head. "There was a little incident in training today."

Ross groaned, dumping his head into the top of the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. "Would you like to tell me or should I hear it from him?"

"I'll tell you what I saw, because I doubt you'll have much luck getting a story out of Bane." I sat up, curling into the couch. Ross picked his head up, brown eyes looking stressed out. "The boy from Twelve was throwing weights and it accidentally slipped out of his grasp. Not whether that's true or not, I don't know. I didn't see it happen. Anyway, the weight flew into me, but it only hit my leg. Naturally, I made a scene, and Bane noticed." Ross shook his head. "There was no fight, but it was close to one." I sighed.

"I told him to focus on training and bonding with the pack!" Ross moaned.

"Oh, you should have heard him on the elevator ride up. He despises the boy; he wants him to be his first kill in the arena."

"That harsh of a grudge, huh?"

"Mhm. First, he snapped because he caught the boy looking, and now he nearly fought him because of a mishap in training." I scratched behind my ear. "I don't know what we're going to do about him, Ross. I really don't."

"I'm guessing he's not calmed down any?"

"No," I said flatly. "I've tried to help him, but he doesn't want me around him. That's why he shut himself up in his room."

"Give him time, he'll settle down. He did yesterday."

"That's because you talked to him. Maybe you could again later?" I looked up at him.

"I can try." There was a silence between us. "On a lighter note, did either of you find a plan for tomorrow?"

"I don't know about Bane, but I did," I said proudly.

"See, figuring out a plan in two days wasn't a sweat, now was it?"

"Oh shut up," I groaned. Ross snickered.

After Ross let me be, I took another, longer nap on the couch.

* * *

The aroma of food made me smile, and I was contemplating whether or not to get myself up to eat. The food shouldn't go to waste. Stretching, I realized I was lying on my stomach on the couch. The curtains were pulled, so I assumed I had slept into nightfall. Hell, I should have just slept through the night if I was getting up just now.

I pulled myself up, the food smelled so delicious I thought I was drooling. Wiping my mouth just in case, I stretched my legs as I walked to the kitchen. Half the food seemed to be gone already.

"Geez, everybody started without me," I complained, grabbing food. Ross was finishing eating, and Sienna just came out of the hallway, looking defeated. There was a full plate of food in her hand. I looked at her. "No luck?"

"No," she huffed, her shoulders slumped. She dragged herself to me, setting the full plate on the table. "Regina tried going in earlier to make him come out, but he wouldn't even let her in."

"Regina?"

"Bane's stylist."

"Oh." I had yet to actually meet her. "How come I wasn't woken up before?"

"You were sleeping; we didn't want to wake you." Sienna shrugged.

"That was considerate," I said. Ross went to go sit on the couch, turning the TV on. I tuned it as background noise as I ate. Sienna kept glancing to the hallway, as if she was praying Bane would just pop in. I'd admit, at times I did the same thing, but not as much. After a while, I became curious. "The food is delivered by Avoxes, right?"

"I'm surprised you know what they are," Sienna whispered. "But, yes. They try to not get noticed by us. They want to do their job extremely well. That's why you always see the food ready, they slip in and out silently."

Well, I would think they would. Avoxes had no tongue, rendering them—literally—speechless.

"Do you want to try and get him to come out?" Sienna asked after a few minutes. "He might listen to you."

"I don't know, he avoided me earlier," I said. "The door is just a simple lock, right?"

"I believe it is."

"Do you have a hairpin on you?"

"You're that determined?" She laughed.

"Somebody has to get him to come out eventually," I sighed. "So...the hairpin?"

Sienna popped off a hairpin, giving it to me. I took the food with me to Bane's room. I fiddled with the lock, and within two minutes, I got it. It sucked that this couldn't be a useful skill for the Games, using a hairpin. Maybe it could be if I wanted to poke someone's eye out.

Bane's room was dark; the only light that shone was from his window. That's where he stood. This was déjà vu for me, in a sense, only he was doing what I had done yesterday. I shut the door quietly behind me. I sat the plate down on his bed.

"You picked the lock?" he whispered.

"I don't give up easily when it comes to a locked door," I said. I took a few steps to him. "I thought you might be hungry."

"I'm not at the moment."

"You haven't eaten since lunch, Bane. Not eating makes some people cranky," I said carefully. "I brought some food just in case anyway." I sighed. "Look, I want an answer from you."

"Good luck getting it."

"Why wouldn't you let me help you earlier? Why did you just shut me out like that?" I demanded softly. I figured it was best to not get hostile with Bane, because I wasn't sure how he was feeling right now.

"I figured being alone was the best thing for me." He shrugged.

"You let the others help you, but not me. Why?"

He turned to sit on the windowsill, rested his head against the pane. "I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to be around you," he muttered.

"Okay...?" I sat on the end of his bed, waiting for an answer. "Were you afraid of something?"

"Yeah. I was afraid that...I would end up hurting you. I knew if I got mad and snapped, you wouldn't be able to do much about it."

"That's not true."

"Don't lie, Crystal. If you fought me, you wouldn't be able to win. I'm bigger and stronger than you."

Ouch, harsh. I resisted the urge to throw a snide comment at him for that. Bane was, once again, vulnerable. It was wrong to take hits on someone who was vulnerable. Of course, that rule wouldn't apply to the Hunger Games.

"But not faster," I said lightly. "I could have contained you."

"How?" he pressed.

"I don't know, but I would have if that happened." I shrugged. "I want to tackle another issue."

"I'm telling you, I saw what happened. It was no accident, what he did." Bane's voice became hard. He lost his vulnerability in five seconds flat.

"Bane, I don't think it was intentional," I said cautiously, sucking in a breath. "Maybe this was a bad thing to bring up. It's my fault."

"It's not. You're curious."

"But curiosity killed the cat. Ever heard that saying?"

"I have," Bane admitted.

"Do you think you'll be okay?"

"I don't know," he sighed.

"Focus on tomorrow," I suggested.

"What time is it, anyway?" he asked.

"Don't know, probably late—late enough for me to get to bed." I rose and headed for the door. "I hope you eat all that, I don't want that to have flies and mold around it."

"I'll eat it, don't worry. And, Crystal—thanks."

"For what?" I snorted.

"For being here for me."

"Oh...you're welcome," I said awkwardly, leaving his room before things could get even more awkward. I wasn't doing this because of me or him; I did it because I needed him to focus. For now, he needed to stay on track until the Games, and then he could go after whoever he wanted to when the gong sounded.

Ross was leaning against my door when I slipped out of Bane's room.

"Did you hear anything?" I asked him.

"A little bit," he mused.

"I'm worried about him; I think he's going to become obsessed with the boy from Twelve."

"I think he already is, Crystal."

"Well, whether he is right now or not, it's not a healthy obsession."

"I thought you didn't care about him?"

"I do only because we're pack mates," I said thickly. "Once we make it to the final six, all bets are off."

"You're determined to win this, aren't you?"

"My father didn't train me up for nothing."

"See, this is the kind of spirit I want to see! Bane is capable of it, but he gets hooked on the wrong goals." Ross sighed. "I'll work with him on it. For now, I want you to focus on yourself, Crystal. When it comes to Bane's issues, I'll step in and get him on the right path."

"I'm okay with that," I said. "I don't feel like having to act like a therapist every time he needs to vent. You're our mentor, you take care of him. Now, can I get into my room?"

"Of course." Ross stepped aside.

I shut the door, not locking it this time. I didn't feel there was going to be a need to do that

* * *

I was up before anybody else the next morning. Hell, I was up before the sun even came up—I realized this when I pulled up the blinds on my window.

I snuck out of my bedroom, not wanting to wake up anybody. I pulled away the curtains to see the Capitol just before dawn. It wasn't entirely pitch black, I could see the sun faintly change the sky into a beautiful mixture of reds, pinks, and a shade of purple. I never watched many sunrises or sunsets, but I knew that both were sights to stay up for.

I kept the volume on the TV low just for an extra cautionary measure. My stomach growled, but I knew the Avoxes wouldn't be up this early to give me food. On the screen, the Capitol was showing a rarity: the 74th Hunger Games, or as I knew it as, the year the Games spared two tributes instead of one. You would think that since Katniss and Peeta had begun the start of a rebellion against the Capitol that they wouldn't show their Games. I guess it was a reminder how the revolution died.

I wondered if there would be a tribute or two who sought out to try and accomplish what the victors of the 74th Hunger Games couldn't. Good luck to them if they want to try, they'd need all the luck they can get. Ever since the fall of the second rebellion, things had become more harsh with districts, mainly increasing Peacekeeper population in each district and providing each with one of the most strict Head Peacekeepers imaginable.

Yes, it's easy to see that rebellion had long term consequences.

The sun was fully up, but it was still early when the 74th Hunger Games finally went off. This was the kind of Hunger Games people wanted to watch! It would have definitely have been good to take notes on, with the most obvious note: never try and make the Capitol angry by trying to start a rebellion. Starting one was no intention of mine going into the 107th Games. There would be only one victor this year.

The Avoxes were sneaky once again, because there was an array of food sprawled across the counter. I could even smell fresh coffee. I wasn't one for coffee, not unless I had something in it to make it taste better. I nearly overflowed my mug and took my time sipping.

Bane was the first to come out of the hallway. I would never be able to tell if he had bed head, because his hair was regularly messed up.

"Made breakfast this morning?" he teased. Bane was definitely sounding like himself this morning.

"Funny," I mumbled into my coffee. "It was delivered behind my back while I was watching TV."

"Are you okay?" He started munching on some toast. "You've got bags under your eyes."

"I do?" I touched tentatively under my eyes.

"Did you not sleep well last night?"

"I thought I got enough sleep, I slept like a baby."

"You're anxious about today, aren't you?"

"I settled down when I got into bed, though," I whined.

"Do you think coffee is the best thing for you?" Bane asked me carefully. "You could either be hyper in the next half hour or crash."

"Well, we won't know until that half hour comes, right?" I teased.

Sienna came stumbling out of the hall next, looking completely exhausted, and I had no idea why. She stole my coffee from me without realizing it, but I let it go. I wasn't sure how evil she could be when she was tired, and I wasn't willing to find out anytime soon.

When Ross came out for breakfast, he ate quickly and pulled Bane aside to talk to him. While Sienna was fighting to stay awake, I got myself clean and changed. I put my hair up in a high ponytail since I felt good this morning. Maybe the Gamemakers would give me a point or two for being committed and excited about today. I doubt it.

Sienna had passed out on the couch just as Ross was telling Bane and I to focus. He wished us luck.

Feeling too excited—and a little nervous—I fell in-step beside Bane once again as we headed for the elevators.