hi guys here's another update. if we can get this one up to 150 votes (completely do-able), i'll update again. also, i loved reading all the comments from last chapter because there were a lot so please bless me with that again. :)

qotc: which character do you think would be the first to die in the hunger games and why?

"Okay so there's a slight change in plans for tomorrow," Asa announces to Maya and I on Friday night when he enters the living room. Maya and I look up from our laptops and squint at him.

"What'd you do?" Maya questions suspiciously. I can tell she's wondering what he managed to get himself into that'll keep him from being home between the hours of 4PM and 10PM, which is when my little birthday celebration will be in its prime.

"I didn't do anything," he defends with a shake of his head. "But my parents did. My aunt's getting married this weekend and my brother's refusing to go to the wedding and they genuinely don't want him there either. But they won't let him stay home alone for the weekend so he has to come here."

"How old is he?" I ask innocently and immediately receive a disgusted glare.

"17, which is illegal," he announces and I wrinkle my nose right back at him.

"I was just asking to see if he was of babysitting age or something," I justify my question and Asa shakes his head.

"No, he's just bad," he confirms with a shake of his head. "So I might be late to the party because I have to go get him."

"Or you can just leave at 9 and be back by 1 so you can still help set up," Maya insists with a manipulative grin on her face.

"Or I can sleep in until noon and then leave when I feel like it and then get back when I feel like it," he figures, which earns a scoff from Maya.

"Yeah, that's not happening," she comments before turning to me. "So basically, no change of plans; Asa will still be around to set up and everything will run smoothly, except his brother will be here, too."

"Cool," I nod, feeling a little too satisfied that Asa will still be present. As much as I hate to admit it, the party will be boring without him.

Just as planned, Maya texts me when Asa leaves to go pick up his brother. I'm not even awake when the text comes through to my phone. However, I get up eventually and prepare for the day. I pick up Maya and together we go to to the grocery store and make a few last minute purchases. By the time we reach the apartment and start setting up, Asa's on his way back.

The front door opens just as Maya and I finish putting away the drinks we bought. I listen as Asa points out rooms to his brother. "Maya's room, the bathroom, my room," he lists as he trails closer to the kitchen. "You'll be sleeping on the couch."

"Alright," a low voice mumbles. His voice isn't as deep as Asa's but it sounds quite similar, which is a little off putting. Soon enough, Asa enters the kitchen with a spitting image of him in his wake. I stare in slight surprise. I know siblings look alike but wow, one of their parents must have really strong genes. I watch as he glances from Maya to me. "Hello."

"You already know Maya. That's Ivy," Asa briefly introduces before pointing to his brother. "Rowan."

"I thought you only lived with one girl," his brother comments as his gaze bounces between the two of us yet again. Asa manages to capture it by waving his hand in his face and starting towards the fridge.

"I do. Ivy practically lives here, though," the older brother comments sassily. "I'm still trying to figure out how long I have to ignore her to get her to go away."

I smile at Rowan, who is wearing an entertained grin on his face. "I hope you're nicer than your brother," I say and he gives me a slow nod.

"Yeah, I'm cooler, too," he insists, which gets a laugh from both me and Maya.

"Somehow, I don't doubt that," I confirm as I turn to Asa, who's watching the interaction with a bored look on his face. He eyes his brother for a second before his gaze narrows.

"Can you stop flirting with her?" Asa comments in slight disgust.

"Can you?" Rowan retorts with the same amused grin on his face.

Asa lets out a noisy sigh as he turns his attention back to the fridge. "You can put your stuff down in my room," he casually informs his brother, who nods and backtracks to Asa's bedroom.

I watch as Rowan pushes open the door. It's a little eerie how similarly they carry themselves. It's even creepier how much they look alike. Rowan's almost the same complexion as Asa and has the same slim build; he's just an inch or two shorter. His hair is styled in a familiar fashion except it's a bit little longer. Their features are mirrored save for the fact that Rowan still has some childish aspects to his face. Not to mention, he's smiled more in the last five minutes than I've seen Asa smile in my entire time knowing him.

"He's 17," Asa reminds me when he notes my staring. I look at him with a wrinkled nose.

"I'm not checking him out," I hiss as my face turns a deep shade of red. "You guys just look so...similar."

"What are you talking about? No we don't," Asa denies without skipping a beat. I look to Maya, who is gaping at Asa.

"You're kidding, right?" she asks as she attempts to gauge his tone. There's not a single hint of sarcasm in it at all.

"We don't," Asa concludes with a shrug. "I don't see it."

Maya and I roll our eyes simultaneously as Asa heads to the living room with a bottle of water and a granola bar. His brother aimlessly returns to the kitchen as Maya and I start preparing for the party. I eye him for a second, feeling a little weird. He's like a walking Asa-knowledge book. He probably knows more about Asa than Maya does and he's right here at my disposal.

"What's there to eat around here?" he questions as he stands in the center of the kitchen.

"Look around," Maya encourages as she glances over her shoulder from the table. She's unloading the bags of chips she bought and tossing the unopened bags into bowls.

He reaches into the cabinet and gasps in delight when he sees something. His hand retracts with a granola bar. He ventures over the fridge and snags a water bottle. Maya and I look at each other as he slips out of the room and into the living room. "It's like having two Asa's here," she whispers to me and I give a slow nod.

"This should be fun," I mumble as I let out a hushed sigh.

+++

Aaliyah and Zack arrive around the same time and they navigate their way upstairs all by themselves. Asa looks up from the couch as they enter and their gazes immediately fall on his brother, who took the spot beside him. Zack nods at Rowan, who returns it quickly. Aaliyah stares in slight surprise and awe; she even gives me an impressed look.

"Wow, I didn't know you had a twin," Aaliyah comments to Asa when she gets over her shock.

Asa gives me an annoyed look before turning to Aaliyah. "He's not my twin," he announces in a rather calm voice. "He's my little brother."

"I'm not little," Rowan corrects him and Asa stares at him for a few seconds before glancing back at Aaliyah. I can tell he wants to tell Rowan to stop being embarrassing, even though the younger brother is just trying to make a point.

"He's 17, which is still illegal," Asa informs Aaliyah, whose eyebrows move up a bit.

"I'm turning 18 in, like, two months," Rowan rebuts matter-of-factly.

"Aaliyah is only 18," I remark as I look at my best friend, who blinks hard at me. Now I can tell that she wants to tell me to stop being embarrassing.

I feel Asa's gaze, which is slightly narrowed. "You're a senior?" Aaliyah asks as she drops on the couch beside Rowan. He offers her a nod as he falls into conversation with my friend. Asa continues to eye me as he gets up and walks towards the kitchen. I watch him from my relaxed position on the recliner and he slaps at my foot and nods at the kitchen. I heave myself up and follow behind him.

"Are you trying to set them up?" he whisper-yells and I offer him a short shrug.

"Do you care?" I question him and before he can say anything, I purse my lips. "Are you jealous?"

"What? About what?" he retorts in confusion as he glances over his shoulder.

"You...and Aaliyah," I awkwardly explain and his eyebrows tug together quickly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he questions before it clicks. "What? No!"

"Are you sure?" I tease him and he stumbles over his words. "Look at you, babbling like a crush-ridden baby."

"I don't like her," he informs me and I believe him. Otherwise, my feelings would be hurt right now. "I just don't need him finding a reason to come here."

"You seriously don't want him to come to this school?" I ask with slightly raised brows.

"No!" he retorts in complete exasperation. "My parents would make me live with him and look out for him."

"Well, I can't help it if they click," I mumble just as Aaliyah's light laughter travels to the kitchen. I smile awkwardly at him as he crosses his arms. "Sorry."

"What's up with you trying to set people up?" he grunts quietly and I offer him a slow shrug.

"I love helping people get into relationships," I reply back jokingly and he takes in my features with a squinted gaze.

"But you can't help yourself." My mouth opens slightly at this.

"I-I, well, I," I stumble and stutter like an idiot. "Who said I want a relationship?"

"I can help you," he insists with a growing smirk.

"What?" I question in slight surprise. Is he making a move on me? I don't mind; I just want to be on the same page.

"Zack," Asa starts, filling my chest with slight disappointment, "is right out there. I can work wonders."

He attempts to slip around me but I turn with him and grab his arm, which is surprisingly muscular. "No, you don't," I bark in an attempt to stop him. He glances from me to my grip on his arm, which I don't bother to release. "I don't like him."

"Did I ask?" he retorts with furrowed brows.

"You can't hook me up with someone I don't like," I inform him in a low voice. "That's not how all of this works."

"You liked him when you were drunk," he reminds me and I can only gape in response.

"Asa!" I hiss. "Don't you dare."

"Did I hear the word 'dare?'" he questions with widening eyes. His hand curves slightly behind his ear as he perks up a bit. He looks merry at the fact that I'm struggling to get him to stop.

"I'll tell Aaliyah that you want to take her on a date," I whisper back and he scoffs.

"That would work if I wasn't an asshole. I just wouldn't show up to the date. Or I'd shut down the idea altogether in front of everyone, which would make you out to be the asshole for spreading the lie in the first place," he replies with an unbothered expression on his lips. He seems satisfied as I grasp for straws at another threat.

I open and close my mouth a few times. I grit my teeth together and stare at him, watching as his eyes drop to my mouth. I feign a sweet smile and tilt my head up at him. "Please don't," I request and he gets a kick out of my forced manners.

"Because you asked so nicely," he confirms. "Now get off of me."

I release his arm and give him one last threatening look before staring back towards the living room. I return to my seat on the recliner and Asa appears to find that his housemate took his place on the couch. Zack has taken up residence on the arm of the sofa beside her. As I look to Aaliyah, who is deep in conversation with Rowan, I feel Maya's curious gaze on me. I simply avert my gaze to avoid a potential conversation. I settle back in the recliner and feel slight surprise when Asa comes and rests his arms on the back of it.

"So..." Maya trails, seeing as our presence caused an awkward silence to ensue.

"So?" I propose, wondering what the topic of discussion was before.

Conversation eventually picks up when Zack brings up a decent enough topic. Soon enough, Asa joins me on the recliner, propping himself up on the arm of it to listen in. It's mostly carried by Maya, Zack, and I. Aaliyah speaks up occasionally and Rowan, like his brother, mostly just listens.

Soon enough, the discussion dies down a bit and Maya proposes we play a game.

"What game?" Asa asks skeptically after everyone gives a weak shrug. A wide grin falls onto her face and she looks around hopefully.

"Truth or dare?" Maya suggests, which gets a loud groan from me and Asa. This is her way of pitting us against each other. She's vocalized her desire to do so previously.

"Ivy's really good at this game," Aaliyah pipes with a mischievous chuckle. I glare at her and shake my head.

"So is Asa!" Rowan concludes with an excited nod. "Hey Asa, remember that one time you-?"

"No," Asa dismisses him curtly.

"What'd he do?" I wonder with raised brows.

"Don't say it," Asa threatens his brother, who looks between me and Asa with a contemplative grin on his face.

"He-," Rowan starts but Asa shifts forward threateningly. Rowan looks as though he's going to give up, which causes Asa to relax. In one breath, the younger brother exclaims: "he stuck his arm as deep in the toilet bowl as he could get it to go!"

"Ew!" I immediately gasp as I look at Asa in revulsion. Everyone starts groaning words of repulsion and laughing wildly while he sits there with an irate expression written on his face.

"You really do every dare," Aaliyah concludes as she looks at Asa.

"Which arm was it?" I whisper to him as he sits cross armed beside. He doesn't even risk a glance at me as he glares at his brother.

"Let's get started," Asa blurts quickly, which makes my stomach shift a bit. This isn't going to go well. His gaze doesn't break from his brother. "We're playing with the same rules as at home."

"Which are?" Maya wonders as her curious and hesitant gaze bounces between Asa and Rowan.

"You can only choose truth twice in a row. Then if you refuse to do a dare, you're given another one. If you refuse that one, you get slapped in the face...hard," Rowan explains and I stare in slight horror.

"That doesn't apply to you guys. Just him," Asa concurs as he eyes his brother, who looks full of regret.

We start the game and it's awkwardly tense. Asa keeps trying to get his brother but the cards aren't in his favor. Every dare he dishes out to everyone else is weak, as are the truths. It's unsettling. It eventually starts to get boring but none of us want to propose the idea of quitting because it'll probably result in a full on brawl between the two brothers. It isn't until we're a half hour in that Asa manages to get his brother. "Truth or dare?" Asa asks him with a flat look on his face.

"Truth," his brother decides and Asa blinks a few times.

"Is it true that you used to-?" Asa starts but his brother cuts him off.

"Fine, dare," Rowan changes and before I can even wonder what he was going to ask, Asa blurts out a rather grotesque dare.

"I dare you to lick the bathroom floor from the door to the tub," Asa proposes and everyone's face wrinkles at the thought of having to bear witness to that. His brother stares at him and it's clear that he's trying to gauge what his next dare will be if he refuses.

"No," he declines hesitantly. We're all on the edges of our seats as we look between the two brothers, who watch each other pointedly.

"I dare you to lick beneath the toilet seat," Asa announces and I audibly gag. "Or let me slap you in the face three times."

Rowan purses his lips before getting up. Asa rises to his feet to watch, as does everyone else except for me. I hear Aaliyah dry heaving a few seconds after the sound of the toilet seat clanking around greets my ears. Asa sits back and relaxes on the recliner, feeling satisfied with himself. I turn to look at him and he holds out his phone to me, where I see a very clear thumbnail of his brother's face up close and personal with the toilet.

"You're a monster," I mutter as I look from his phone to him and he shrugs.

"He shouldn't have embarrassed me and I'd have gone easy on him," Asa explains before turning his attention back to everyone else.

The game continues and his brother eventually returns, having washed his mouth with mouthwash so much that it's red. Faster than I would've liked, Rowan gets Asa and I feel my heart fall to my stomach. Just watching these two play is giving me anxiety. I have a feeling they're going to break out into a fight at some point judging by the tension in the room. Thankfully Asa's annoyance isn't directed at me or else I'd have quit long ago. In fact, I wouldn't even have gotten involved in the damn game to begin with. Better yet, I wouldn't have even mentioned the toilet bowl from the start.

"Dare," Asa concludes before his brother can even propose the question. Everyone sits on the edge of their seats, eager to watch Asa eat something gross in repentance for his brother's burnt tongue. Rowan's eyes search the room for the grossest item he can find. I watch his gaze fall to the floor before assessing the rack of shoes against the wall. He even eyes an umbrella before his gaze greets Asa's again.

"I dare you to kiss Ivy," his brother challenges and my eyes widen substantially. Asa is silent for a second and I keep my gaze locked on the floor, not wanting to give off any signs of eagerness or discouragement.

"No," Asa answers, which makes my chest ache a bit. Is kissing me really worse than shoving your hand down a toilet bowl? Wordlessly, Asa gets up from his spot beside me and walks to his bedroom.

"You're quitting?" his brother calls out in a satisfied manner. "I get to slap you, then."

"Try to slap me, Rowan. I dare you," Asa threatens as he opens and closes his bedroom door. Rowan grins widely at me and I repress the urge to call him an idiot. It doesn't seem to click in his mind that he just made things awkward between me and Asa. Either that or he genuinely just doesn't care.

"You're smiling like you didn't just make out with the toilet seat," Aaliyah acknowledges and he shrugs.

"I got him to quit a game of truth or dare," Rowan restates his achievement. "It's never been done before."

"Alright, toilet seat lips," Aaliyah nods as Maya gets up.

"So...who wants more pizza?" she wonders awkwardly and Zack gets up cheerfully. No one else seems to notice how much that little action took a blow out of my self-esteem. Deciding not to think about it too much, I get up and follow them into the kitchen, figuring a slice of pizza won't hurt.