You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~

Ori needed fresh air. It was mandatory, considering how long she'd spent in front of the living room television, eyes glued to Leon's battle for life. When he sang, she sang along, though she didn't entirely know the words. He'll correct me when he gets back, when we sing for the crowds, she'd always think, even as the battle wore on and her friend got weaker and weaker. It wasn't good for her to keep watching, as Rob had said, so she'd gone outside to please her sister.

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_mvamesSNoY1rids08o7_r1_250

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_mvamesSNoY1rids08o7_r1_250

Salsa wrapped around her neck, Ori went down the steps slowly, watching the snake's tongue flicker in and out. Televisions were everywhere, but she didn't look, at leas not until she was a good five yards from the steps of the mayor's home. It was about that point that a grunt of pain rang out through the square, from each screen in every direction. Ori couldn't help herself - she looked.
Leon's chest, deeply impaled, bubbled crimson on every side of her. But he would be okay, right? Leon couldn't die this close to the end, could he? She'd only just come out for a quick breather, he had to hold on at least until - She watched as his knees buckled beneath him, and "Come on, just one step. Please, if you can-" Ori's words fell away as Leon's met her ears. It felt as if he was speaking directly to her as the cameras panned towards his face. His beaten, broken face that barely looked like the joyful guy she'd known in the district.
When the first pitch reached her, Ori could barely choke back the tears.
"When Rome's in ruins...we are the Lions...free of the coliseums..." she went along with him, note for note, as he fought to give the world one last song. A wince crossed her face at the sight of his blood, but he continued, and so did she, "."In poison places...we are anti-venom...we're the beginning, of the end - keep going, Leon, you've got it - Tonight...the foxes hunt the hounds...and it's all over now...before it has begun...we've already won..." The tears fell as Leon's did - seeing them finally broke Ori's last hope. She'd never see him again, hear his voice next to hers in the middle of town, never again feel his joy as the crowd raged and tips filled the guitar case. "We are...wild...we are like, Young Volcanoes...we are, wild...americana...exotica...do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby yeah..." She felt her own knees buckle as the boy fell to his side. It couldn't end this way, not with him so drenched in his own blood.

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_inline_njexps9aAN1rm9p0k

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_inline_njexps9aAN1rm9p0k

"Come on make it easy...say I never mattered...run it up...the flag pole... - Just one more line, Leon - We will teach - No, No, don't say that." He was giving up. He couldn't, she wouldn't allow it. If any fight had to be fought, this was it, and - and he was crying, dying right in front of her, and all she could think of was how he shouldn't give up on a song? And now she was crying, full tears and unable to speak crying, on her knees in the middle of the square, five yards from her house, God knows how many miles away from the boy she was crying over, and now he was apologizing to her, and she just couldn't take it. "Don't apologize, what are you even apologizing for? What does that even mean Leon - Leon, no you can't -" The cannon shot rang throughout the entire square, and Ori's mouth closed.
She stared, uncomprehending, as the cameras slowly panned away from Leon's face, to the battle that was now in its final stage. The tears stopped, still glittering on her cheeks. The girl stood, faced the crowd in the square.
And she began to sing.
"We will teach you ... how to make boys next door ... Out of assholes ... Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds and it's all over now before it has begun ... And we've already won! We are~ wild, we are like young volcanoes! We are~ wild! Americana, exotica! Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby? Yeah~" Her voice increased in tempo and volume, and tears came again by the true chorus, choking her so that the final repetition was muted, as if she'd suddenly decided to sing to herself.

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_mvamesSNoY1rids08o8_r1_250

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_mvamesSNoY1rids08o8_r1_250

For a moment, the girl stood there, unable to speak, until she again sunk to her knees, and cried again. Maybe Leon had been right - Fireworks that went off too soon.[/color]

Christian sat with his parents in their living room, watching intently as Leon's battle raged on. He had been fighting for what seemed like days now, and honestly, Christian wasn't sure how he had held on for so long. The fight continued for too long and he was starting to get a little hopeful now. But, as soon as his hope came back he pressed it down. He had to expect the worst...so he could be prepared for what happened. He sighed and looked at his parents and said, "Hey, I'm gonna go for a walk...I'll be back soon..." His parents just nodded, their eyes glued to the screen. Christian bit his lip and stood, grabbing his jacket and walked out into the night.

He walked away from his home, no idea where he was headed. He could only think about what Leon had been saying, about what the others had said about him. He had gone insane...maybe a little, yeah. Though music had always helped Leon through pain...and himself for that matter. It's how he was able to kill a quarter of the tributes during the bloodbath. Christian shuddered at the thought and continued on. He just looked at his shoes, not wanting to know exactly where he was going.

After a while, he began to hear sounds of fighting. He shut his eyes, not wanting to look. He had looked for too long...he couldn't do it anymore. But he refused to cover his ears. He had to hear what happened. But the next noise made his eyes open wide and he slowly looked up. And what he saw made him fall to his knees. The boy from ten ripped his knife out of Leon and he watched as his brother, the boy he grew up with, fell to the ground. "No...no Leon, you can't go...stand up bro please..." But he knew Leon wouldn't be able to. And as the camera panned to his face, and he heard Leon speak, he wanted to think that the words were meant for him...but something in his voice told him otherwise. And as soon as Leon began to sing, Christian mouthed the lyrics along with him. But then he felt the first tears falling and he shut his eyes tight and covered his ears, but he kept mouthing the lyrics. He walked along the streets more, not wanting to look up. He didn't want to but...he realized that Leon would want him to. Right? He slowly looked back at the screens, uncovering his ears and heard Leon coughing up blood. But Leon sang another line and Christian joined in. "Come on make it easy...say i never mattered...run it up...the flag pole..." Christian was prepared to continue, but Leon stopped. He couldn't go on any longer. Christian balled his fists and kept walking, shutting his eyes again. He had to keep moving...he had to. He heard her mentioning that girl he liked and then he mentioned him and he looked up. "The song...of course...you got it bro..." He knew Leon couldn't hear him but he said it anyway.

Christian wiped his eyes as he continued, not watching where he was going, refusing to look up. He had lost track of where he was, but he knew that he couldn't stop. After a few more seconds of walking, he heard singing...and it sounded familiar. As he continued, he realized it was the song...but Leon had never finished it. Curious as to who was singing, he followed the sound of the voice, now looking up, but did his best to avoid looking at a TV. After continuing his search for a bit, he found a girl standing, singing in the square. After she finished she fell to the ground, crying. Immediately he knew who she was. Christian knew only one girl that meant a lot to Leon...so it would make sense that this was her, right? She fit his descriptions...but what the hell would he say? 'Oh, hey, I'm that guy's brother. Lets be sad together!' That was stupid...but he had to say something, right? Cause now he was just staring at her...so, he swallowed nervously and said, "Um...hey...are you uh...are you Ori?" God, he was bad with words...but what else was he supposed to say?

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_inline_njextoeglf1rm9p0k

Ori heard voices all around her as people continued on with their lives, so she almost didn't notice when one of them addressed her directly. But then she heard her name, and instinctively looked up. "Leon?" the boy's name slipped from her mouth before she really had a good look at the person in front of her. It wasn't Leon - couldn't be even if she hadn't just witnessed him coughing up the remainder of his life. He looked older, with ... was that an attempt at facial hair? "Sorry, sorry - Yeah, I'm Ori, how did you..." she made an attempt at wiping the tears from her cheeks, then stood up so the guy wasn't looking down at her, "You're ... you're his brother, aren't you?" Ori hadn't even realized the connection before she'd said it, but now it made perfect sense - how else would they look so similar?

The girl immediately looked up at him when he said her name, but she didn't say his. The name she said almost made him flinch, but he managed not to. He was about to say his actual name when she began speaking and he gave her some time. She asked if he was Leon's brother and Christian nodded saying, "Yeah, that's me...I'm guessing he had mentioned me before? He used to talk about you all the time." He attempted to smile lightly, but it was pretty obviously forced. He looked around at the passing crowd, most of them minding their own business while also trying to watch the Games, but he knew they weren't nearly as interesting now. Everyone's hopes of having another victor for the district died with Leon this year. Now it was just two strangers fighting to the death that no one really cared about here.

You and I were fire, fire, fireworks ~ That went off too soon ~ Tumblr_nfmdroHTVC1rids08o1_250

"Really? he-" It brought a smile to her lips, to think that Leon had talked about her so much, when really they hadn't done much but sing in the square a few times. And then her smile fell away, as she reminded herself that it didn't matter now, now that he... "Yeah, he always mentioned you, every song it was 'my brother and I found this' or 'My brother wrote this one' ... but, uh, I don't think he ever mentioned your name," She wiped another tear away, and forced another smile, seeing that the guy in front of her was also struggling to seem okay.