ᴡɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ ɢᴀᴍᴇ •ꜰ.ᴏᴅᴀɪʀ•

ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟꜰ

you would think after trying to survive in the arena and being very fatigued, sleep would come easy. but after me and I said goodnight I couldn't get one wink of sleep. I lay there, terrified to close my eyes for a second because when I did the horrible images made an appearance, the lifeless faces. I could hear Fitz was awake as well, maybe he felt the same as I did, scared. this makes me even more uneasy, knowing that after all these years he still couldn't get past the horrors of his games and that I won't be able to either. I finally pull myself out of the luxurious bed, this was my last night in the capitol, after my last interview with Caesar tomorrow I will go back home to Stiles and my mom.

I walk out of my room and see Fitz stumbling to the couch with a bottle of rum in his hands, he is drunk. maybe that's what he did to pass the time, drink until he got so drunk he passed out. I clear my throat announcing my presence in the room before making my way to the couch and sitting beside him.

"so, you can't sleep?" he says looking at the velvet rug in front of the couch while taking a drink from his bottle.

"no, and let me guess, you can't either" I point to the bottle that is almost empty in his hands, he holds it up in an offering way to which I accept and take a sip from the bottle.

"They don't go away." he speaks back up, "the prep team, the games, the interviews, the nightmares"

"how did we get so unlucky" I scoff while laughing after a long moment of quiet, already feeling buzzed. "I mean, last month I was at home minding my business and now I am a victor, no, a pawn"

"I used to ask the same thing," Fitz chuckled slightly, "but then time passed and I realized that there was nothing I could do about it, we are just pawns after all."

after that we fell silent again, fitz finally passed out after consuming the rest of the bottle. I turn the TV on to pass the time, still not leaving his side. all the channels were about the games and my victory, Fitz was in the spotlight as well, showing footage of his games. I look over to the man beside me and up to the TV that's showing the younger version of him arriving at the tribute parade, he is in a dark velvet suit, his chest out. he looked different, instead of a beard he had a babyface. they show his arena, mountains, and no flat area. they showed his final fight at the top of the mountain, his district partner tried to push him off the edge, but he ended up stabbing her in the shoulder and slinging her off the side. once they flash the screen back to my games I quickly turn the TV back off. I look at Fitz again before throwing a blanket over him and walking back to my room.

I end up sitting on the window, still not able to sleep. I look at the dead city underneath, everyone was long asleep by now. their worst worry is what outfit they will wear tomorrow. I watch the sun rise slowly drowning out the subtle light coming from the buildings. I start to feel regret about not sleeping, my eyes are heavy. once the sun fully rises, I finally make my way to bed, feeling more comfortable now that there is light. my eyes start to force themselves close, I try to fight it at first but I finally give in.

"time to get up, my dear!" Concordia chirps through the door pulling me from the very short slumber. somehow when she enters the room I simultaneously get a headache.

"go away," I mutter while lying still.

"Verena, we need to get you ready for the interview." she starts to pull the covers off of me.

"no, leave me here." I protest as she takes the covers and pillows off my bed.

"see you in the dining room for breakfast shortly" she claps before walking out of my room, she has been super escort after I won my games, soaking in all of the attention. after I have no covers or pillows, I get up and put a sweater on. I don't bother to get dressed since after breakfast they will drag me into the prep room anyway. I sit at the breakfast table in the same spot I have sat, I look across and see the empty seat in front of me. drake isn't here anymore, he's dead and buried. the empty seat haunts me, it's not a surprise that this chair would be empty. the real surprise is that I am here to look at the empty chair.