hunger games 1 on 1 rp ;) ((closed, but stalkers welcome))

Lukas smiled softly, and hugged her back. Mission accomplished. Julia was a smart girl; she was destined to win, and Lukas would carry her there if necessary. He opened his mouth to respond when suddenly Effie burst into the room. He scowled at her. Always ruining the good moments.

She clapped her hands excitedly. “There you two are! I have been looking for you everywhere!” Lukas doubted that statement, but decided to say nothing. “Now, come on, we wouldn’t want to miss dinner!” Effie’s smile was so wide that he was sure it hurt.

Julia jumped when Effie burst in. "Oh. Is dinner ready? now?" Julia asked. It hardly seemed a time to eat, but she remembered Lukas saying something about wanting food. She was used to eating at eight o'clock or later, whenever her father came home from the mines. She and her mother would work and when everyone was gathered around the dinner table after a long, hard day, they would eat. Her heart ached for her parents. She missed them so much already, and the Capitol wasn't even in sight.

Effie nodded vigorously. "Yes! Now, if you two will follow me right this way," The woman began to walk through the carts of the train, her heels clicking against the floor.

Lukas shrugged at Julia, and turned to follow Effie. His stomach grumbled, and he realized this morning had been the last time he ate. Before he left the cart, he bactracked, grabbing the pill bottle and stuffing it inconspicuously in his sweatshirt. Lukas hoped that Julia didn't remember he dodged her question. He didn't want to ruin the better mood she was in.

She waited for him when he stopped suddenly and went back. "What's that?" she asked, looking at his pocket, then to his face. He was keeping something from her. She knew it.

“It’s-It’s nothing,” Lukas lied, ears burning. Shit. Now she’s gonna investigate and find out you can’t talk to another person without your anxiety spiking, the voice snarled. Lukas pushed it back. Julia wouldn’t treat him badly about his social anxiety, right?

Julia glanced over her shoulder quickly to make sure Effie was far enough away. "Trust me, I can tell when someone is keeping something from me. Please tell me what's wrong, I want to help."

“I-“ Lukas bounced between the ideas of telling Julia and keeping it a secret. If he told her, she could go either way. Comfort him, to leave him. He thought she would lean towards the comfort one, since he just helped her, but he wasn’t sure. Lukas had experienced people switch between two, and it wasn’t a nice experience, that’s for sure. He sighed. “I’ll tell you after dinner, alright?”

She studied him for a minute. "Okay," she finally said and turned around again to follow Effie. She entered the dining car and observed it quickly. Food - more food than she'd ever seen in one room at a time - was piled on the table. Soft, cushiony chairs beckoned her and a chandelier dangled over the table, filling the whole room with a soft glow. She was in so much awe that she hardly even noticed the half-drunk man sitting at the head of the table.
"Come in, don't be shy," Haymitch prompted them.
(I can be Haymitch since you're Effie if you want.)

((That’s fine!))

Lukas trailed after Julia, twisting his hands anxiously. He hoped he hadn’t made her mad; it would be terrible if he upset his only ally in this damned game. Wait. You haven’t even asked her to be allies with you yet.

Once he entered the room, the piles of food caught his attention. Plate after plate was filled with the finest cooked food he had every seen. Lukas was basically drooling on the spot.

Julia approached the table. "You're Haymitch?" she asked, sitting down in the chair. The materials – she couldn't name them – felt incredibly soft, like if she touched them with her hands, they would melt beneath her fingertips.

He gestured to himself. "What do you think, sweetheart? I'm just here for the drinks." He swallowed a gulp of amber liquid. It's scent made Julia want to vomit. "Want some?" he asked, his words slurring a little together.

"N-No," she stammered. It clearly made her uncomfortable. Not even her parents drank, so she was completely at a loss for words. "I'm fine, thanks."

Lukas followed Julia and sat down beside her. The pillow, or whatever it was called, was softer than anything he had touched before. It almost felt like a crime; something as dirty as him touching something so pure and soft.

The scent of alcohol wafted up to his nose, and he almost puked. Lukas hated alcohol, despised it even. It made him remember his mom, wasting away in the local bar. The obviously half drunk Haymitch already was on Lukas’ nerves.

Julia shifted. "So, uh… How–" She tried to form words, but they dried up at her lips. She suddenly found herself not hungry.

Haymitch tilted his chin down and arched his eyebrows. "How what?"

Julia gave Lukas a helpless glance, her mind still trying to ask a simple question.

Lukas met Julia’s eyes, and gave her a comforting smile. Then he looked at Haymitch, the kindness gone from his eyes. “What she’s trying to say, is, how are we gonna win this thing?”

There was a little more edge to his voice than he intended, but he heard that you have to be on guard around Haymitch. That with one look at you, he knows all your secrets. Lukas obviously didn’t know if that was true or not, but it’s better to come prepared then not at all.

Julia looked back at Haymitch and nodded. She was already thankful for Lukas, though she wished that neither of them had been picked.

Haymitch refilled his glass. "Anxious, are we?" he asked, taking a drink.

The smell reached Julia and this time she actually gagged. She cupped a hand over her mouth quickly and looked down.

The drunken man sniffed. "Can't hold your liquor, can ya sweetheart?"

Lukas froze, his hands beginning to shake. He had enough sense to glare at Haymitch. God, if he says one more thing about me…

He turned to Julia, gently placing a hand on her arm. “Are you alright?” he asked softly. The poor girl looked like she was going to get sick.

She looked at him, eyes wide. "I think I'm going to throw up," she said quietly. Her stomach wrenched due to the smell and she stood up suddenly, running from the train car. Great first impression, huh, Julia… She found some kind of metal can a few cars down and threw up into it. She pulled her hair back and knotted it behind her head, breathing heavily. The smell of her own puke made her throw up again. How can I win the Hunger Games if I can't even make it to the Capitol without throwing up?

Lukas stood up, watching her run from the car. As soon as she left his sight, he turned to Haymitch, glaring. "Thanks for that, Haymitch." he snarled, weaving as much venom into his voice as possible. Lukas started after Julia, thoughts racing in his head. Why would he do that, knowing Julia's reaction to the smell? What kind of mentor is he?

He caught a glance of her, hunched over a trash can. Taking her hair from her hand and holding it back, he comfortingly ran a hand up and down her back. "You okay?" he asked softly.

Julia gasped before realizing that it was only Lukas. She sighed and relaxed. "Yeah. The smell just… I couldn't stand it. I'm sorry," she said weakly. "What am I supposed to do when I get in the arena? I can't even contain myself at the smell of liquor. I'm not going to win at all and where will my parents be?" She felt an intense pang in her heart as she mentioned her parents. She closed her eyes tightly, still breathing heavily. "I miss them so much already."

"Hey, hey," Lukas soothed. "There's not going to be any liquor in the arena, and it's alright if you're getting a little sick from it." He noticed her breathing, and ran his hand in circles on her back. "You're going to win, and I'll carry you to the finish line if I have to. For your parents, and for your sisters," He hoped his words were comforting her. Lukas never thought he was good at calming people down, since he's never had any experience until now.

"You don't have to do that. You barely know me," Julia pointed out. "All you know is that I'm an unfortunate girl who was picked for the Hunger Games after she'd already lost her three oldest sisters in the Games." She made herself sound pitiful so that Lukas would realize how low she'd come and would just walk away, realizing that she was a hopeless case. A sudden thought hit her. "What if someone in the arena finds out and gets liquor from a sponsor and makes me throw up and kills me?" she asked fearfully, her mind going to absolute worst case scenario, like always.

"Well, you barely know me, yet you comforted me when my anxiety spiked," Lukas said gently, shooting a small smile. He didn't want to upset her even further. "And no one's going to find about the alcohol, I doubt that Haymitch and Effie are going to sell out their own tribute." He laughed a little, but his face turned serious.

"But really, Julia, listen. Your three sisters don't define how well you're going to do in the Hunger Games. And all you have to do is take that bad luck, and turn it around for you. Use it to your advantage. Win."

"You have anxiety? Is that why you freaked out at the Reaping?" she asked quietly. The burning in her throat from the vomit beginning to die down and her breathing returned to normal as well. He was better than he knew at calming people down.

"Uh, yeah, I do," Lukas said softly, almost afraid of the words he was speaking. "I just couldn't stand everyone looking at me. It felt like I was burning alive." There was a faraway look in his eyes, remembering the times his anxiety rose too high. Something about being looked at freaked Lukas out; he didn't like to be picked apart and pulled into pieces.

Julia knew the feeling. Every day after the reapings, people would stare at her as she walked through the Hob. Whispers bounced off of her constantly.

"Did you see her? The girl who got reaped: That's her sister." Mothers would usher their children away and say, "Stay away from her. She's bad luck." And it was true: She was. At this point, even Julia believed it. Who else could possibly be so unfortunate?

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" she asked, moving the trash can away so she didn't throw up again.

"I, uh, it depends," Lukas said, rubbing the back of his head. "In big crowds I get nervous, or when a lot of people are looking at me." He felt uncomfortable talking about his anxiety, this evident as he shifted his feet.

"We can talk about something else if you like," she suggested, observantly noticing his uneasy stance. "Perhaps we should rejoin Haymitch?"

“Please,” Lukas was grateful that Julia noticed his nervousness. People usually kept on talking, whether they noticed his discomfort or not. “And we can join Haymitch.” he added, stomach rumbling as if on cue. Lukas turned red. Really stomach, right now?

Julia looked at him kindly. "If you're that hungry, we really should be getting back," she said, standing up shakily. Between the kneeling and vomiting, she was mildly light headed.

Lukas grew concerned as he saw her slightly trembling. "Do you need help, or do you got it?" His hands were placed out before him, in case Julia suddenly decided to crash.

She tried to take a step, but her whole body felt too light and she tumbled forward, into Lukas's arms. She gasped and tried to stand again, this time succeeding. "I might need… a little help," she admitted. Her vision blurred for the briefest moment, but she managed to blink it away.