It had taken Serena a long time to let go of Roman's hand after the ceremony. She had held tightly onto it the whole elevator ride, and he had held just as desperately as she did.

Now, sitting at the dining table of the fourth floor, Roman let his palm settle over Serena's hand under the table. It's comforting as Brooke makes a dry and unthoughtful remark which has made both the tributes flinch at the harshness. He gently curls his fingers around her soft skin before retreating his hand and going back to eating his food.

Finnick isn't at dinner and Mags only comments that he must still be attending business with President Snow. Serena is still unsure how she deciphered Mags' slurred and garbled words, but she's pleased she did. Settled around their table are the two tributes, Andonis, Brisa, Mags, Kai, Dyra and Brooke. Ford and Moorey are yet to make an appearance but the other mentors seem relieved at this despite the tributes' worries.

"And the best way to make it not so obvious that it's poisoned?" Roman asks Brooke, their mentor that is skilled in food knowledge. The woman looks as if she is edging into her 60s, but Serena knows she is exactly 20 years younger than their oldest mentor, Mags.

"Oh there's plenty of ways." Brooke waves her hand as she picks up her glass of red wine and sips it thoughtfully, trying to figure out which is the best way. "Leaving food by a fire that's still smoking is probably the best way. If you're trying to take down careers, your fire will draw them in and they're not exactly the best at sourcing their own food. You could make it look abandoned, so they think you've heard them and desperately ran off. They'll gather the food and head off to hunt you down, but you'll be two steps ahead of them."

"And any others?" Serena asks as she spoons the last of her chocolate mousse into her mouth.

"By dropping it." Kai enters the conversation and he looks relieved to have escaped Brisa and Andonis' chatter with Mags and Dyra.

"Surely that won't work, if you're running away from them, they're not going to stop and pick up your food." Roman tries, flawing Kai's idea.

"Not if you're smart about it." Brooke argues, draining her glass and letting the alcohol stain her lips a deep red. "If you are invited to the feast at the end of the ceremony, that's the best opportunity to drop food. Recently, the gamemakers have started giving tributes things they need, not food. Whilst picking up your package, you could skilfully drop something just as someone else tries to get their own. You could curse yourself and they'll know it's valuable."

"You did that, didn't you?" Serena questions Kai as he had initiated the idea. The girl had watched his tape numerous times as combat school ensured you knew every move of their existing victors.

"I wasn't successful, however." He says bluntly before looking between his two tributes. "When dealing with food in the arena, it's difficult to tell who has been feeding themselves and who hasn't. You can only pull it off if you're really smart, so don't try anything too complex, because the other tributes will see something is wrong."

Serena nods her head softly and let's her body slouch slightly in her chair. "Is that it for tonight?"

"Yes, it is." She's relieved and can't wait to get between the soft sheets of her bed later. But she knows strategies will be talked about in the evening with Dyra, but secretly, both tributes are hoping to avoid their eager mentor.

Serena is about to excuse herself when Finnick comes trudging into the room, frame hunched and exhausted. His hair is sticking up in all directions but it looks as if he's tried to flatten it somehow. When he catches her eye, she notices how tired he looks, eyes ashamed yet too fatigued to hide it. The girl isn't sure why he's in this state until she catches sight of his shirt, buttoned up but it's uneven and as if it's been done in a hurry with shaky hands. Then her eyes are drawn to the faint purple smudge of lipstick underneath his ear, which Finnick has obviously not noticed.

"Sorry I'm late, President Snow wouldn't let me leave." He says it with a guilty smile and slouches into the chair next to Serena, and his eyes meet hers.

"Oh, don't apologise Finnick! You have more important matters to deal with than dinner." Brisa says to assure the boy that looks drained of all energy. Finnick looks away from his female tribute and smiles gratefully at the escort.

An avox is about to place Finnick's dinner in front of him but he just waves the plate away, his throat bobbing as if he's going to be sick. Everyone else shrugs this off, as they could understand why being with the President of Panem can make you feel sick, but they aren't seated right next to the man who hasn't covered up his previous actions very well.

Serena stands suddenly, her blood feeling like it's about to boil at the sight of Finnick Odair. And to think earlier, he had complimented Serena and slithered his way into her heart, making the naive girl believe that maybe he could be telling her the truth.

"At least try to cover it up." She grumbles without hesitation, without thought. She doesn't need to think before she speaks, her disgust would be noticed without words anyway. "Disgusting." She says finally and walks out the room without looking back to see Brisa's mortified expression and Finnick's pained eyes.

When Serena next communicates with someone else on the District 4 floor, it's Roman. He knocks softly on her bedroom door and pokes his head in without waiting for an answer from her. She's lead on her bed, gazing up at the ceiling with an arm placed behind her head.

"Mind if I join?" His voice echoes against the empty walls of her room. She murmurs something that Roman takes as a yes, then he walks in and shuts the door quietly behind him. He walks over to her bed and doesn't hesitate to lie next to Serena, turning his head so that he faces her. However, the girl just continues to stare up. "You like him." It's simple but effective.

"No, I don't. And even if I wanted to, it'd be dangerous." She doesn't turn to look at Roman, but she can feel his eyes burning into her.

"Well, coming from someone who is head over heels for that man," He says, causing Serena to let out a light laugh and turn to her friend with a smile. Friend; it's a scary thought. "The way you act around him says otherwise."

"And how do I act?" She asks after looking back at the ceiling with a straight face. Serena isn't sure why she's encouraging the conversation but something inside her wants to know, truly, how she feels about Finnick.

"You don't notice, but you steal glances at him when you don't think anyone is watching. And when you're in public, all you do is find a way to argue with him. You're trying to show everyone you don't care, but I have a feeling you act differently when you're alone." Roman's insightfulness shocks the girl and her eyebrows crease as the words sink in. He's right but it doesn't necessarily prove she likes Finnick. Right now, she has no room inside her to even consider feeling anything similar to love.

"Can I ask you something?" Serena suddenly asks, wanting to change the topic. Instead of looking at Roman, she turns her whole body so he knows he has her full attention.

"It depends." He copies her and spins his body to face her.

"Why did you volunteer?"

Roman's attention falters as his eyes hesitate and look out the window behind her. When he finally reaches her eyes again, he gives a pained smile. "We're incredibly lucky in District 4," He starts. "No one ever goes hungry, the majority of children are trained into killers. But because everything is so perfect, it turns the best people into arrogant being's that only care about themselves.

"My older brother, Adrian, never volunteered for the games. To my parents, it was a disgrace. My parents haven't spoken to him since his last reaping, after all the encouraging they had given him that morning hadn't worked." Roman finds interest in the silk sheets they both lie on, and fiddles with the fabric between his fingers. "My parents warned me that they would treat me the same if I never volunteered. I decided I'd much prefer to die in the arena than know my parents will never love me fully. Although, I now know if I do make it out, I'll never look at them the same as I did before."

"The higher districts are always jealous of our wealth, but I'd far rather prefer love than food." Serena simply explains, moving one of her hands over Roman's that are still running his fingers across the fabric. He looks up at her gratefully. "I'm gonna make sure you get home safely."

"No, you're going to go home, Serena. You've heard my story, death is better than that." He shakes his head softly and clamps his fingers around hers.

"But death would be better for me, too." Serena's voice cracks slightly as the dreaded words slip from her tongue. She was going to try to win, but now all she wants to do is risk her life for the boy lying beside her so he can get back to his family. At least he has someone.

"What about your family?"

"There's no one left that I love." The words sound so empty that Roman struggles to come up with something comforting. How do you spread warmth into someone's life if they've only ever experienced the cool slaps of reality?

"That's why you volunteered." He mumbles the fact so carefully as to not shatter the true meaning of Serena's actions. To everyone else, she's just another career hungry for fame and blood, but to Roman, she's a broken girl that has opened her death door early. She'd much rather the hunger games than go another day alone.

Serena shuffles closer to Roman and is relieved when he wraps a strong arm around her shoulders and let's her lean her head against his chest. He squeezes her tightly, letting her know she's not alone. And unfortunately, Serena allows herself to feel safe in someone's arms.

word count: 1785
note: big oof, Serena's always making tea