Chapter 12

Paige’s POV

I walk across the familiar stage, alone this time. I hug the host, kind, friendly. I wave to the audience politely before sitting down in my chair.

I watch the pretty brown haired girl, mouth words to me from the sidelines. “Good luck,” “focus,” “you’re staring,” I snap back to reality at that last one and turn to the host.

“Are you ready for the second round?” He asks me.

“I am, I believe none of you are ready to see what I have to offer.” His head tilts to the side, confusion filling him, but he moves on.

He looks up at the prompter that’s displaying his questions. “How did Azzi react to finding out you’re still alive? Are you two still the best Hunger Games alliance, or should we be worried about a new duo?”

I chuckle at the question, “We are too in love to allow such things to damage our bond.”

He nods, thinking. “How about we bring Azzi out then?” I nod in response. That was the plan.

She walks out onto the stage, waving to the audience with her typical warm smile. Someone even tosses a jersey to her, and she signs it, handing it back to them. She walks over to me and sits perched on my lap. I wrap an arm around her waist and smile at the audience.

“Lovely outfit choice as usual, Azzi.” He says, admiring the outfit her stylist chose. He straightens up his posture, getting back to the questions. “What can we expect this time?”

Azzi answers, “Last time we let our faults and insecurities prevent us from reaching our full strength. No one is ready for us.” She says with confidence dripping from her voice.

Then I speak, “We are much more knowledgeable about these games now. We know what to expect while we are in there. And we have each other, that’s all that matters.”

The crowd makes that “aww” noise that echoes through the building, and the host looks unbothered and waits for the noise to end before continuing. “Now, Paige, last time you were on my stage, you told me, if it comes to it, you’ll die to let Azzi win. Do you have the same thoughts this time after seeing that Azzi was willing to kill you to win?” 

He’s trying to get a reaction out of me. Something to make a story out of. I almost fell for it.  Almost. 

I push down all feelings of anger I have and straighten my face, “Of course. Azzi made a difficult choice and went with the solution I begged her to pick. No grudges will be held, and no changes have been made to my mindset.” 

Surprisingly, I remain calm. I’m sure at some points it’s easy to tell he pissed me off. But I won’t give in. I’m better than that.

—

We lay in bed in our room. She’s cuddled into me while I scroll on my phone, her soft snores sometimes louder than the sound of the doomscroll. My body lies completely still, careful not to wake her. 

KK sits across the room from us, practicing some TikTok dance, which I told her she’s not allowed to be making a bunch of noise. If anyone wakes Azzi up, ruins this precious moment, they will not hear the end of it.

I’ve made so many mistakes these past couple of weeks, every time it seems like maybe, just maybe, she believes I won’t hurt her, I mess up again. 

The only good thing these last few days was the one lesson The Hunger Games taught me.

Blood is thicker than water. A phrase always said to imply you don’t abandon your family for random people you don’t share the same blood with. But the original meaning was, the family you shed blood for means more than the family you’re born to. 

Azzi and I have been to hell and back by now, for each other. 

That night. In the arena, the one where I faked my death just so she could have the medicine she needed. The night I almost gave up my entire future with her, just for any glimpse of her having her own. In that moment, all I should have thought about was how much I would miss her and how important it was. 

Yet all that crossed my mind was that first night. My sword piercing the guy attacking her, I celebrated mentally in that moment. Who wouldn’t? Nobody is going to be disappointed with successfully killing two birds with one stone.

But that moment, when I realized not only did it go straight through the boy, but also Azzi. That’s the only thing I could think about last night in the arena. It’s the only thing I’ve been able to think about since it happened. And now we are going back in? This time, I will not leave her side for even the tiniest moment.  Worst-case scenario, we send KK off on her own. 

Last time we were in there, we went in pissed at each other, but this time I won’t let that happen. I won’t have to give her a head start in the middle of her yelling at me because I won’t mess up. Not again. I’ve already perfectly planned it out. 

KK and her will take the bag under the rock. She doesn’t need a weapon since she has me to protect her. I’ll stay back and grab my sword while also figuring out which opponents are best to take out first. I’ll make sure we have a base to stay at for the first night, high up in the tree, and each night we will move somewhere, anywhere. 

As much as I hate to say it, KK has immunity, meaning if someone needs to be bait, then I’m willing to make her bait. I know just because she has immunity doesn’t mean someone won’t make mistakes in the dark, but better her than my girl. 

That’s so wrong of me to say. But it’s true. Azzi comes first. 

Azzi begins to stir against my chest, and she looks up, meeting my eyes, “What are you doing, P?” She sleepily mumbles.

My phone turns just enough so she can see TikTok open on the screen, and she nods, watching the videos along with me. 

She looks so beautiful right now, though completely sleepy. She is trying to force herself to stay awake, but of course, I don’t help. My fingers slowly and softly tug through the tangles in her hair, soothing her back to sleep. “P!” She shouts at me, irritated.

A laugh croaks through the air as I kiss her forehead and rest my hand on her back instead, “I’ll chill, promise.” 

KK seems to notice the ongoing cuteness and walks over to us. “If you two are gonna be all sappy, you’re gonna need your own room.” She complains, making me laugh once more.

My hand raises from Azzi’s back, my middle finger pointed at KK, making her roll her eyes and drag her feet away.  

The brown haired girl, still pressed against me, glares at me as I scroll past a video she was watching, so I scroll back up and hand her the phone. “I’ll be back, you watch your video.” 

Her eyebrow lifts high up, making me chuckle, “Where are you going?” She asks, not letting me go quite yet. 

My shoulders shift up and down as I gently guide her off of me, and I slide out of the bed while she continues watching my phone. 

The door to our room swings open, then gently shuts behind me as I jog down to the cafeteria to grab three plates of food.  As I step foot into the cafeteria, all eyes shift to me. 

Though the attention would get to most, it doesn’t get to me. I’m used to attention. My feet carry me into the lengthy line.

As I eventually near the end of the line, I grab three plates and set them gently on a metal tray, making a few people give me looks. 

Not sure what KK would want, I toss random things on her plate, and then I perfectly curate Azzi & I’s plates. 

Hers is filled to the brim with greens, while mine is the complete contrast. 

When I finally step foot back in my shared room, I’m quickly attacked by two hungry girls. They took their plates and scrambled off on their own. “You are eating at least one piece of broccoli, or you will eat some cottage cheese.” Swiftly, she takes my plate, placing it out of my reach.

Dramatically, I gasp as my feet carry me to collapse onto the bed next to her, digging my face into her neck. “Noooooooooo,” I whine. Though the oldest in the room, I’m definitely not the most mature.

She flips me onto my back and lifts the cottage cheese to my mouth, “Open.” She commands, and fuck, who am I to tell her no?

My mouth slowly and reluctantly parts as she shoves the spoon past my mouth, and I practically puke it up in that moment. She gives me a look that says ‘don’t even’ so I just silently chew – then swallow.  “You are so dramatic.” She mumbles against my lips as she leans in for a kiss, which I quickly return. Then, and only then, she hands me my food, allowing me to dig into the grease-filled plate.