Another Tribute

We spend the rest of the day in silence. Eli tries to talk to me when Ariella leaves to get some food, but I am not in the mood to talk to him.

"Come on Auden, I really want to explain."

"No Eli. I don't wanna hear it."

"Auden...I swear it's not what it seems."

"Yes, it is! I saw the look on your face when she kissed you. It's ok, Eli. Having a crush isn't the end of the world, I just wish you guys would have been honest about it!" I yell. He frowns deeply at me.

"Auden, I don't know what my expression was but...I know what I was thinking."

"Oh, and what was that?"

"I was thinking..."

"You know what, nevermind it's not important. You like Ariella, fine. I'm over it. As a matter of fact, I'm totally fine with it. You two make a cute couple," I say, giving him my best smile. He can tell it's fake, but he doesn't finish what he was going to say. We recontinue the earlier silence for another couple minutes, and then Ariella returns.

"So, are we still having a moment of silece or has Auden finally decided to get over it?" Ariella asks, sitting down next to Eli. He looks uncomfortable as she leans up against him.

"I'm over it, thanks for asking," I say, sitting up a little straighter.

"Well, now that that's taken care of, I could use a little TLC," she says, kissing Eli on the lips. When she releases him, there's a silence that you could cut with a knife. She looks at me and smiles.

"Hope this doesn't bug you...I mean, you and Nico were like this from what Eli said, right?" Ariella asks. Bringing up Nico make me feel like I'm going to vommit, and I'm pretty sure she knew it would happen too.

"Uh, sure," I say, leaving our secret hideaway to get some fresh air. As I sit in the cool night air, I calm myself. I hear Ariella and Eli talking to eachother, and it makes me curious. I bet they think I've gone into the woods or something! I move a bit closer to our hideout entrance, and I can hear their conversation clearly.

"Eli, she's a big girl. She can take care of herself!"

"Nico is a really sore spot for her, and it's not hard to see why."

"But it's over, and I bet she's more over it than you think."

"It's like when your first pet dies or your first funeral...you never really forget it."

"Eli, stop caring about her so much. All she's done is get us into trouble!"

"Not on purpose! And she saved us in the end."

"But we've got eachother now, Eli. We can leave. We don't need her!"

"But I made a promise, Ariella. And so did you!"

"This is the Hunger Games...broken promises are essential."

"So when are you planning on kicking me to the curb?" Eli asks, harshly.

"I won't do that to you Eli! You're my...uhm...guy?"

"Exactly. And Auden is our girl. And we won't leave her," he says forcefully.

"Fine. But this is not a closed conversation," Ariella mutters.

I feel like vommiting five times as much now than I did before.

"Auden, are you alright?" Eli asks, quietly exiting the hideout.

"Uhm..."

"Hey Auden, sorry about mentioning Nico. I really shouldn't have mentioned Nico after everything you went through with Nico," Ariella says, glaring at me. What's with this girl?

"Actually, I'm fine. I just needed some fresh air," I say calmly, hoping I come off that way. Ariella and Eli look suprised.

"Oh...it's just that I thought the mention of Nico upset you or something..." Ariella mutters to herself. But everyone could hear her.

"Not at all, I'm totally over it," I say as I re-enter the hideout because it's getting dark out. Ariella and Eli follow, and I can tell Eli doens't believe anything I said.

"Uh...I guess it's time to sleep," Eli says, grabbing a sleeping bag. Ariella and I follow suit, and we all fall asleep without saying another word.

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"Hello again, love," Nico says viciously. However, I don't feel afraid.

"Hello, Nico McGrady," I say with confidence. Nico looks suprised.

"Well, aren't we brave tonight."

"I guess I'm over you, Nico," I say with triumph. Finally free!

"I can still hurt you more than you can ever imagine!" Nico says, grasping a long knife that appeared out of nowhere.

"Try me," I say, standing my ground. Nico looks appalled for a split second, but then he regains composure.

"If you're not afraid of me hurting you, I can hurt you in other ways," Nico says, snapping his fingers. In a flash of light, Thisbe appears.

"How is she here?" I gasp, suddenly scared out of my wits.

"That's not important," Nico says grimly, knowing he's hit a sore spot.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" I scream, running towards her. Nico snaps his fingers again and she's laying on the ground, her hands and feet bound with rope.

"Auden...run...leave me..." Thisbe murmers. I look into her eyes for the first time in what feels like forever, and my heart breaks. The pain in them is inevitable.

"I'll never let him hurt you!" I say, turning towards Nico. But he quickly ruins this valient thought as he kicks me aside.

"Nice try, sweetie, but that's not how the game is played," Nico says, grabbing Thisbe's beautiful long hair in his grasp. I realize that I can feel it, as if he was pulling my hair too. Before I can ask what he's doing, Nico chops off her angelic blonde locks.

"Stop Nico!" I yell, but it's too late. He stabs her in the back, and as she screams in agony, I find myself doing the same. I'm not bleeding like Thisbe, but I feel like I am. Even though I can't see it, I can feel red hot blood drain out of me. As Nico continues his torture, Thisbe and I scream out in protest.

It's no use though, and Thisbe and I both end up in a puddle of blood...hers real and mine imaginary.

"Once again, you've lost," Nico says, laughing as he stands over me.

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"Ssshhh..." Eli says as he strokes my hair as he gently holds my head in his lap. I'm sobbing profusely.

"Eli, what happened?" I ask, even though I already know.

"You've been screaming bloody murder for the past five minutes," Ariella answers, even though I didn't ask her. She glares at me with a cold, hard stare.

"Auden, was it about..." Eli asks, refering to the dream.

"Yes," I say before he can repeat the evil name that's been said all too much lately. I continue to sob in his lap, and for a couple minutes it's ok for me to just cry.

But then Ariella comes back to reality.

"Come on, we really need to sleep," she says, getting in her sleeping bag.

"I don't want to sleep," I whimper rather pathetically as I sit up.

"We really should sleep," Eli says, getting up and back into his own sleeping bag. I feel more scared than ever as I crawl back into mine. I close my eyes and start to drift into nightmares, when I feel a strong hand intertwine with mine.

"Eli?" I whisper into the darkness. A squeeze to my hand suddenly makes me feel fearless.

"Yeah," he whispers back.

"Thanks," I whisper to him, wishing I could say more but not knowing the words. He seems to want to say something, but he doesn't. So, I fall alseep and dream of my parents, warmly welcoming me home.

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"This is absolutely rediculous!" I hear a shrill voice say. I open my eyes and find myself staring into Eli's shirted chest. Eli's arms are around me, kind of like a hug. I can tell the voice woke up Eli too, because he shifts and lets go of me.

"Huh?" he says groggily. I look up and see that the shrill voice is coming from Ariella. Hmm...I kind of forgot about her.

"Don't act all innocent! I see you too practically glued together!" she says, glaring.

"Ariella, it's just because of Auden's dream..." Eli says, trailing off.

"Is it, Eli. Is it really?" she says with a knowing voice. Eli looks flabbergasted.

"Ariella, lay off. He was just being nice. This was all an accident," I say to her. She slaps me across the face, hard. I cradle my cheek in my hand, shocked.

"This is the real world, not some fantasy Auden! People don't just grope eachother because of some stupid dreams!" Ariella says, growing angrier by the second.

"We weren't groping!" I respond, now just as mad as Ariella.

"Ariella...you slapped her," Eli says, sounding confused.

"That's right, Eli. And you know what this means? It's time to choose. Me or her. Make the decision," Ariella demands.

"But Ariella..."

"Oh, but before you choose, think about this," Ariella says, kissing him with all the passion she's got. Eli doesn't respond, and as she pulls away she knows it.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Ariella," Eli says, looking at her with a mix of remorse and fury. Ariella looks more angry than I've ever seen her.

"This isn't the last you've seen of me, bitch," she says, looking at me square in the eyes. And it scares the crap out of me. Eli remains silent as she leaves, but gets up as soon as she's out.

"Auden, we can't stay here," he says, stuffing the three sleeping bags, the rest of our supplies, two knives, and a small bow with arrows in the large backpack he obtained.

"Why not?" I ask stupidly. I know why. Ariella will want revenge for us breaking the allies bond.

"Come on," he says softly, taking my hand. I don't object as he pulls me through the forest. When we stumble upon a random cave entrace concealed by bushes, Eli parts the plants so I can go in. We both enter and sit down on the cave floor. Eli takes the sleeping bags out of his pack and settles in.

"Eli, what just happened?" I ask, still in shock.

"Ariella is gone, and we're gonna have to watch closely for her," he says.

"Eli, you chose me. But why, after everything that's happened?"

"Because when she slapped you...and some things I talked about with her...she would have ended up stabbing both of us in the back."

"But I thought you...liked her," I say shyly. Eli sighs.

"It's very complicated," he replies.

"I've got time," I tell him. He looks at me and nods.

"Alright, I'll tell you our story," Eli says, looking as if he wishes this moment never came.