Molly and I went back to the Tribute Center, and now I felt like I had actually done my job, even if Molly had done it for me.

"Thank you a lot for getting some money for him." I said as we rode up in the elevator.

"Just doing my job." she shrugged.

"No, you're job was to take care of Irene, and now maybe John will last another day because of you." I pointed out. Molly smiled thankfully at me, but didn't say anything since the elevator doors opened up.

"How'd it go?" Mrs. Hudson asked.

"Fine, they should be sending it soon." Molly said, sitting on the couch. I sat on the empty couch, watching the screen in happy suspense. Soon the screen skipped over from the girl on the volcano, who had been wrestling a bird to try to eat it, but instead dropped it into the fire accidently, to John, who was walking among the dried bushes, pulling them up to start a fire or something. There was the metallic beeping sound, the arrival of a silver parachute. He looked up and I saw a smile break out on his face, he knew what it was. He caught it midair, dropping his bushes and looking around defensively. He unscrewed the top of the container and found the note first, although he looked seriously relived to see the bread underneath. He picked up the note and read it to himself, his smile widening and as he read.

"Thank you Sherlock, wherever you are, thank you so much!" he said happily, ripping a chunk off of the bread and stuffing it hungrily into his mouth. I smiled at him; it was almost like I could talk to him, although I knew he was far away from here in the arena of death.

"He should be thanking you Molly." I pointed out.

"Don't spoil the moment with that, he's fine, for now." Molly pointed out. John stuffed the bread in his backpack and pocketed the note with one last glance before then the camera switched to the Careers again.

"Isn't that just sweet?" Mrs. Hudson said with a smile. I stared at the TV, wishing beyond wishes that he'd just come back and talk to me, like he did that night, as if he was standing right next to me again. But he didn't, and the Careers were starting to fight again, their voices rough and dry. I almost felt bad for Irene, but she was screaming again, waving her dagger at the boy from two, who obviously didn't like that. I had to admire her courage, but I knew she was way out of her depth in a fight like that.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy it, but for now I am starved." Molly decided, looking at the table. The Avoxes were long gone, probably came when we were out, but the food smelled pretty good, so I joined them at the table and nibbled at a piece of garlic bread.

"You're happy." Mrs. Hudson guessed. I looked up at her with mild annoyance.

"How could you tell?" I asked obviously.

"You're eating." She pointed out.

"Oh my god really, I had no idea. Thank you for officially spoiling my almost good mood." I sighed.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, it's a good thing!"

"Oh just give it up." Molly groaned, one of the few comments that could be considered not saint like out of her mouth. From that point on, my garlic bread sat untouched on my plate. It showed John on screen a couple more times, but there wasn't anything going on. He was searching for a place to sleep, but had wandered so far off that the rocks had become smaller, like pebbles almost, so he was having trouble. Eventually he nestled down in some bushes, which I didn't really agree with, but under the cover of darkness their shadows would help conceal him. He didn't look golden, or even very healthy, but compared to a day ago he was looking a lot better. I tried not to let myself hope too much, if I have hope and he dies even more would crash down on top of me. We all migrated over to the living room, watching the TV and Mrs. Hudson trying, once again, to force us to drink hot chocolate. I took a couple of sips of mine, but I set it down, not very thirsty at the moment. I sighed, wishing I could curl up on this couch with John and just forget this miserable world around me. Now there was a fist fight among Irene and the boy, weapons on the ground but each of them going for blood. I don't know what it was about; they were probably all irritable because of the lack of water or something. She was actually doing a lot better than I thought she would, elbowing him in the neck, swinging her foot out and tripping him, but he was getting some good blows himself, kicking and punching her until her nose bled. The other Careers were just standing around watching, proof that none of them were actually friends; if one person lost use then it's a knife in the back apparently. They were cheering for their favorite, more of the guys cheering for the boy, but all of the girls cheering for Irene to slit his throat. Molly and Mrs. Hudson looked nervous, even I wanted Irene to win this fight; even though I particularly hated her I'd rather her live on than the boy. Eventually she got him in a headlock, but he managed to punch the side of her head, sending her sprawling to the ground. He grabbed a knife from the ground, hacking down at her, which she rolled to avoid and sent a kick right in his face. That only seemed to make him madder, and with a couple more swings and punches, she was too slow. The knife stuck itself in her stomach, and suddenly she didn't seem all that confident anymore, not as the ground around her started to pool with blood. Even I had to look away, and Molly and Mrs. Hudson were both grabbing at the tissues. I heard her cough, and someone next to her telling her that it would be okay. It was a girl, probably the girl from one. I stared at the floor, my heart hardening. Even if she was the most obnoxious, self-centered brat I've ever met, she didn't deserve a death like this. And it only proved that it could happen to anyone, like John, except he wouldn't have anyone by his side as he died. A cannon broke Molly and Mrs. Hudson to tears, stuffing tissues into their hands like they were gold and sniffling loudly. I didn't cry, I wasn't that attached to her, but her death definitely shook me up. Mrs. Hudson was trying to calm Molly down, but she was crying too, so it was actually quite pathetic. Caesar was talking about how you can never trust your allies, and that was maybe the one true thing he's said since the games start. I almost felt like I had to comfort the two, but then they'd send me to rehab anyway, just to make sure my brain hadn't been messed up. I could imagine this scene every time one of their tributes died, two times in a week every year the two of them were crying like babies, more proof that being a mentor was equal or worse to torture. The screen flipped as Irene's body was being picked up in the crane, about to be shipped off to the District; it was back to John, who was craning his neck to see where the cannon might have been from. I could tell he was nervous, for all he knew the death had been a couple of feet away and the Careers were on the hunt again. He pulled the slip of paper out of his pocket with one hand and ripped off a chunk of bread with the other, eating it thankfully and washing it down with a bit of water.

"Well Sherlock, I know you must be watching now. I don't know who died, but my heart goes out to their family." John said. I smiled, he was so considerate and sweet, the exact opposite of me. If I were in his position I'd be saying how great it is to have one more dead. "I've made it this far, I guess we should be thankful for that, a couple of days closer to maybe being back with you." He sighed. I felt their teary eyes watching me again, but I ignored them and tried not to blush. "By the way, thank you, again, you, Molly, and Mrs. Hudson, I can tell you've been out there fighting for me while the worst thing I've fought was dehydration. I guess I shouldn't be complaining though, I won that one." he sighed, looking up to the sky and into the starry night. "I miss you so much, all of you, I imagine this whole Hunger Games thing had been hard on all of us, especially you." I wanted to talk to him, to say something other than a small, encouraging note in the bread. I wanted to hold his hand and watch the stars next to him, rolled together with his head on my chest. "I guess I should shut up now, but I'm thinking about you Sherlock, and if I don't make it out of here, I guess I should just say I agree. I hope you know what I'm saying, because this is live TV and probably everyone I've ever known is watching, so that's all I'll say about that. See you all later, I hope." He ended. I stared at the screen, as if trying to comprehend whether or not I heard that correctly. He agreed, agreed about what I could only guess, but my best guess was that he had just said, in his own way, that he loved me too. He agreed on our love. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. He agreed, we could be together.

"What does he mean by that?" Mrs. Hudson asked curiously. I stared at him, the screen still showing as he clutched the necklace charm in his hand and curled into a ball.

"He agrees." I muttered, as if trying to except it myself. Molly dabbed at her eyes more with the tissue, her makeup running down her face in war paint like streaks. "He loves me too." I said with more confidence. Even through the sadness throughout the last twenty minutes, both of them had smiles on their faces now.

"Of course he does Sherlock, that's no surprise." Molly assured. It was to me, it was a complete miracle to me, I was a cold, heartless, jerk who's first ever crush actually loved him back. At first I thought that kiss was just because he was so terrified of death, but it actually did mean something. Why did he have to be in that arena, why now, why him? Out of everyone Mrs. Hudson could've picked fate decided to bring us together just to tear me apart as I watched him get torn apart by some Career's sword. I didn't know whether I should leave the room or stay and watch him more, just to make sure he didn't say anything more. After while of watching the mountain girl struggle to find any bit of food I decided he was done talking for the night, but I just sipped my now cold hot chocolate and think about what could've been.

That night I didn't even bother with the drugs because I didn't bother going to sleep. These were crucial days in the games, the Careers were back out but now they were more focused on trying to find water than tributes and the volcano was starting to look very threatening. There was now footage on it, how close to the top it was and Caesar talking about how he was worried about it. I wondered when he ever slept, because he still sounded as energetic as he had in the interview, but if I'm right he's been up for three straight days and nights. Not that I haven't gone longer than that. I sat cross legged on my bed, the lights off but the bed still made up by the Avoxes, the TV was the only source of light, flashing colorful shadows on the walls. John was still asleep, not shown much, but every time he showed up on the screen I felt like he was almost beside me. He looked so peaceful, to peaceful if you ask me. You shouldn't be getting good night sleeps in the arena; you should be alert and ready to bash anyone's head open on a second's notice. Right now I thought the volcano could explode and John would barely stir. He agreed. I guess he's had some time to think on it in the arena, not that he had anything important to think about, like his life or anything, but I wasn't complaining at all.

"He loved me." I muttered to myself, so quiet that I could barely hear but just the fact that it rolled off of my tongue made it true. I sighed, wishing I could just walk out my door and go into his room, lie on the chair and feel him fall asleep next to me. But I knew if I walked in there all I would find was the room sanitized and ready for next year's potential tribute. That room wouldn't be used, as soon as John got out of that arena he would be crowned victor that night and then shipped off on the train immediately after. Then again, that was if he actually did get out. The rest of the night consisted of the Careers walking around and trying to find water, but still no luck. Part of me wished they would find some, just a little bit, enough for one person and have everyone kill each other over it until the last one lives, getting the water. That would make it a whole lot easier for John to manage. The only way I knew the sun came up was when I saw the faintest slit of sunlight between my thick curtains, meaning I'd be expected to come out or they'd come knocking. I got up, surprised that I actually felt drowsy and sluggish. I was getting too used to sleep; I had to get in the habit of not sleeping because there if John didn't survive I could never face the nightmares. I grabbed my robe and tied it around myself before wandering back out to the living room, where I found, to my surprise; Molly was the only one up.