not thinking (tippy)

[Alyssa :)]

"But, Mr. Head Gamemaker...What would all your friends say?"

Xavier didn't even want to think about what his friends would say. They would probably think something along the lines of "Well, that's a step down from Jess" or "What a disgrace!" Xavier certainly wasn’t going to admit this to Lansing, though. He ended up saying with a shrug, ”It doesn’t matter what they think. I will do whatever I want, and they can’t hold me back.”

In truth, the Capitol citizens probably wouldn’t notice because Lansing would look like a natural Capitol woman. However, those who did notice would probably spread the word, and eventually everyone would be in on it. They would all know about the high-ranking Gamemaker who’s bringing a poor girl around with him everywhere he goes, acting as though she’s one of them. It would take a while for them to accept it, especially since he is sought after by many notable women who would be offended that he chose some girl from the districts over them. Lansing may even be tracked down by a few women obsessed with the attractive Mr. Hayes. But Xavier knew this, and he wasn’t planning on letting anything bad happen to her if he could help it.

Back in the bar, Xavier was experiencing his heartbeat increase when he saw Lansing blush at his previous statement. He hadn’t really realized it was also a compliment until he saw the redness appear on her face. To him, her beauty was a fact, and it was strange to think it was really just an opinion. He only hoped she would realize that it’s true because he hated seeing gorgeous women doubt their own beauty. He had had enough experience with that with his wife.

"Everyone would know where I'm from. Wouldn't they make fun of me?"

Xavier just shook his head. He assured her, ”They might make fun of me a little, but not you.” To your face, that is, he added in his head. ”And don’t worry, I can handle a little teasing. He gave her a small smile. However, Xavier was starting to get impatient and he was really wishing that she would just agree to come. To get a final answer he asked, ”So what do you say? It would be very fun, and we could just go for…a week or so, and if you don’t like it you can come back. It’ll be good to get a small change of scenery for a while, don’t you think?” His eyes pleaded for her to agree.

[night]

”It doesn’t matter what they think. I will do whatever I want, and they can’t hold me back.”

Lansing grinned at Xavier. Although she felt rather uncomfortable in regards to leaving her lifelong home, District 10, she could admire his determination. If she, herself, had been raised in the Capitol and all that, she probably would be too embarrassed to bring a poor district girl whose single use was looking after cows, sheep, and goats into the Capitol. She took a sip of her beer. It couldn’t be so bad, the Capitol. It could be nice. To look at, at the very least.

”So what do you say? It would be very fun, and we could just go for…a week or so, and if you don’t like it you can come back. It’ll be good to get a small change of scenery for a while, don’t you think?”

Lansing raised her eyebrows. Small change of scenery? Walking on the streets of the Capitol would be like walking on the surface of an alien planet. But like she already decided, at the very least, it would be pretty to look at. And if she would be able to leave and come home if she didn’t like it, so there was really no reason for her no to go. No other district people, not besides the yearly tributes, ever got to see the shining Capitol in real life. Lansing frowned for a moment as she thought about what her mother and cousins and the animals she was responsible for would do if she left, even for awhile. ”I can't. I'm sorry.”

[/color] She said, shaking her head, ”Thank you. I just can't leave my mother- my family. And my job.”[/color]


ooc: i have no idea whats goin on
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[Alyssa :)]

Xavier felt his face fall when Lansing refused.  He turned to face the bar and took a drink of his beer, expression unreadable.  After a few quiet moments of this, he replied in a soft voice, "That's okay, I understand."  What you couldn't see in his deadpan face was that he was actually making plans on how to get Lansing to go with him, and they weren't very friendly plans.

"Well," he said as he finished his beer.  "I think I might be going now.  It was nice talking to you, and maybe I'll see you around?"  He got up, gave her an impulsive (and maybe a little alcohol-influenced) kiss on the cheek before leaving, not waiting for a reply.

When he got outside, he immediately headed for the town's general store, hoping it would have what he needed.  He left the store successful: he had a small flask of chloroform and a threadbare rag in his pocket.  Now to set up his plan: he stood in the shadows of the alley between the bar and the next little building.  There he waited for Lansing to come out of the bar, when he would grab her and essentially kidnap her. He knew she would probably never forgive him, but she didn't know how much he needed her to go with him to the Capitol.

The truth was that he needed her there because if she didn't come, it would mean losing his one reminder of his wife, and he needed some connection to Jess in order to live.  If he lost that reminder, it would mean losing her all over again, and he might not survive his depression this time.  So, since she didn't agree nicely, he now had to resort to using force.  After he "kidnapped" Lansing, he was planning to leave for the Capitol immediately.  No need to stick around, right?  But for now he had to be patient and wait for the action to begin.

(ugh sorry this is bad but basically u just have to have her get out of the bar, then I was gonna have Xavier grab her and they could struggle a little before he uses the chloroform and then she can wake up and argue with him in the train on the way to the capitol and then SO MANY IDEAS she could stay with him for a while and then one of his workmates could try to um...do something to her cuz he thinks that thats what Xavier's using her for but Xavier catches him before he does anything to Lansing and then he could beat the coworker up and MY GOODNESS IM SORRY we dont have to do any of these ideas if u don't want to >.< also I can explain them more later XD)

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[night]

Lansing blushed deep red when Xavier kissed her cheek. She could smell the sickly sweet alcohol on his breath. She was unable to so much as say 'goodbye' as the Gamemaker left, leaving only an empty beer bottle in his wake. When he left, she noticed Landon Craft looking at her. His eyes were wide. Blank. Lansing couldn't tell if he was looking at her or just through her, but even so, she smiled at him, raising her bottle as if saying cheers and then taking a sip of her beer. He furrowed his brow in response. This, for some reason, upset Lansing, and she would have left the bar right away, if it hadn't been for a friendly greeting from a group of her cousin's friends. She talked to them for a while, absentmindedly swapping complaints over their jobs. Xavier, still, was the first thing on her mind. She felt terrible over turning him down - but somehow, she could only think about the butterflies he gave her.

It was about forty-five minutes until she left, putting on her jacket and swinging her leather satchel over her shoulder, walking out the door and calling, "I'll tell her,"

[/color] back to her cousins' friends, in response to their compliments of her mother's bread. She lingered outside the door for a moment, zipping up her jacket, and then she began the trek home. Lansing was almost past the darkened alley that had put shivers down her spine since she was young, when she felt a rough hand grab her arm. She screamed in surprise and protest, trying to pull away from the shadowy figure and throwing a punch with her other hand at what she thought was its head. It went on like this for about a minute: her punching and kicking wildly and still losing, before her assailant covered her mouth and nose with a damp cloth, and she felt her eyelids and limbs get heavy. She couldn't stay awake, no matter how hard she fought. She slumped back into the arms of her attacker, and let black waves of sleep wash over her.

ooc: OH MAN i wasn't sure of what to do so i just did that sorry it's bad oh man[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Alyssa :)]

Xavier waited and waited and waited outside that bar.  He had known he would be there for a while, he just hadn't anticipated it being this long.  He leaned against the building, watching the people passing by and realizing he was that creepy person everyone avoids when seen on the street.  It was strange knowing how it felt to be a criminal.  

Just when Xavier was beginning to wonder if he had missed her, he heard Lansing's voice as she exited the bar (finally).  Xavier huddled into the shadows, quickly pouring enough chloroform onto the rag to knock a woman of Lansing's build out, but not kill her.  Then, right when she was crossing in front of the opening to the alley, his hands shot out and grabbed her, one covering her mouth when she began to scream.  He struggled with her and took a punch to the face, which stung a little but didn't loosen his grip on her.  After awhile of fighting and trying to hold back her wild kicks and punches, he managed to get the chloroform to her nose, and he whispered in her ear, "Forgive me," before she slumped back against him.

Xavier didn't allow himself to get caught up in the feeling of her body against his.  Instead, he quickly picked her up and put her in the passenger seat of his car, which was easier said than done.  He refused to put her in the trunk though.  He couldn't bring himself to be that much like a criminal.

His plan unfolded quite nicely, and before long they were on a train heading for the Capitol.  It was actually quite easy to get past the Peacekeepers serving as train security, considering they were too starstruck by the Head Gamemaker showing up in their lowly district to notice how the "sleeping friend" that he was carrying was too out of it to merely be asleep.

Now Xavier was sitting in his private, first class cabin (not wanting any other passengers to notice Lansing).  He was seated on the bench opposite of the still-unconscious-woman, whom he had placed lying sideways on her bench.  He had already ordered food to be brought to the long, slim table in their private dining car located behind the one they were currently in.  Now he just had to wait for her to wake up, and he could explain everything over a tasty meal.  Maybe that would distract her from her anger that Xavier was currently worrying about.

[night]

Lansing opened her eyes slowly. They were still heavy and she could have easily slipped back into unconsciousness, but then she realized where she was. Really, she didn’t so much as realize where she was as she did she realized that she had no idea what she was doing not at home. She sat up with a start, simultaneously knocking the back of her head against the back of the wooden bench. Lansing was still drowsy, her limbs were still heavy, and once she sat up she found herself leaning forward, putting her forehead on her knees and placing her hands on the back of her throbbing head, right where she had hit it. ”Ow,”

[/color] She groaned, voice muffled.

A few minutes later, she looked up and across the car at Xavier, furrowing her brow like she wasn’t sure whether or not he was real. ”Where am…Where is this?”[/color] She asked, slurring her words only slightly because she was still out of it. Lansing lifted one hand and rubbed the back of her aching head again as she looked around the car again, but this time the window caught her eye. She stood up and rushed to the window, almost falling over the whole way. Quickly, she put two and two together. They were on a train, moving. Probably towards the Capitol. Lansing turned back to Xavier, falling backwards as she did, having to lean against the wall of the car to stand up. ”Take me home right now!”[/color] She demanded, ”You can’t…You can’t just take me from my district!”[/color] She let out a long, shaky breath in an attempt to calm herself down. It didn’t work. ”My mother needs me. You don’t understand.”[/color] At her own mention of her mother, and at the thought of her family, Lansing's eyes welled up with tears, though none of them fell.

Lansing was furious. Her full pink lips were pressed into a thin, hard line, brows furrowed at a sharp angle, narrowed pale green eyes fiery and, somehow, at the same time, incredibly hurt. On top of it all, she felt very, very stupid for ever so much as talking to Xavier, let alone liking him. Here, she had thought he could be a good person, maybe, but he treated her the same as all Capitol citizens treated district people: like less than a human being. Lansing had always hated the feeling of being disappointed. ”I am a person, you know.”[/color]She said, voice shaky, ”Not some plaything for the Head Gamemaker.”[/color] Lansing practically spat the words ‘plaything’ and ‘Gamemaker’, lip curling.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Alyssa :)]

Movement pulled Xavier’s gaze from the window of the train to the woman on the bench. He felt his heart race as his mind started processing all the things he would have to explain and how furious she would be while he did so. He watched as she slowly sat up, rubbing her head and groaning in a way that made him feel just the slightest bit of guilt. However, there wasn’t much room for guilt in a man who was so used to getting everything he wanted no matter how it affected others. And at the moment, he just knew that he had gotten what he wanted. Why feel guilty about that? But since Lansing was more important to him than the things he usually got, she did manage to extract a small bit of the feeling from him.

Xavier continued watching Lansing, waiting for her to put the pieces together and for the anger to start. He didn’t answer when she asked where they were; he wanted her to soak it in a little more first. Then she took him slightly by surprise when she jumped to her feet, which then brought him to his in order to catch her if she fell. However, his hands dropped to his sides and he winced when she turned and yelled at him to bring her home instead.

”I’m sorry, Lansing,” Xavier replied calmly. ”But I can’t do that.” He continued to listen to her, looking unruffled and serene. ”And as for your mother, I can arrange for some workers to be sent to her. Or some money. Whatever you want, I can do it.”

Xavier almost visibly shrunk as Lansing glared at him with her piercing green eyes that were more frightening than beautiful at the moment. Worse than the anger, though, was the betrayal. He could see in her eyes that she felt it, and it made him really realize how long it would take for her to forgive him for this.

”I am a person, you know. Not some plaything for the Head Gamemaker.”

Now it was Xavier’s turn to be angry. He took a step towards her, looking down at her from his seven-inch height advantage. ”Don’t ever think that that’s all you are to me,” he hissed. He turned from her and leaned against the wall as he looked out the window, calming himself. ”You are not just a ‘plaything.’ I brought you here because I wanted your company. Because I needed your company.” One corner of Xavier’s mouth pulled up a little at his next thought. ”And since you weren’t being cooperative, you forced me to resort to this. Hiding in shadows, using chloroform, they were all new to me but you made me do it. If only you had just agreed to come with me in the first place.” He shook his head and clicked his tongue, chuckling a little bit as well. He was quite the arrogant man, laughing at his own smart alec comments.

Xavier turned to look at Lansing’s reaction before walking across the car to the door leading to the dining cabin. ”I think this will all be better if we discuss it over a bite to eat, don’t you think?” he asked before opening the door and holding it open so she would be able to see all the fantastic and expensive furniture and things that were inside, not to mention the table full of gourmet food. He was trying to lure her in, hoping she would agree to eating some dinner. He thought it might be easier to explain if she was distracted by some food while he talked.

[night]

”I’m sorry, Lansing, but I can’t do that. And as for your mother, I can arrange for some workers to be sent to her. Or some money. Whatever you want, I can do it.”

Lansing’s eyebrows shot up, she sucked in a breath of air like she was shocked. She was absolutely stunned that he could be so cavalier about her kidnapping – the kidnapping he, himself, performed! She opened her mouth, about to say that yes, he could bring her back home if he could manage to bring her to the Capitol in the first place. But then Xavier mentioned that he could send workers or money or anything Lansing wanted to her mother. Her lips pressed together, and she thought for a moment. Maybe, if something good at all could come out of this, her mother could be better off. Enough food to keep her at a normal, healthy weight would be a vast improvement to the way she was living now. ”Do you promise?” She asked, eyeing him cautiously, although right now, a promise from Xavier was worth less than nothing to her. ”I want to – I mean, I want to be able to talk to her.”

[/color] Lansing said. Her mother wasn’t her only family, but did happen to be the family she was closest to. She was a tough woman who had raised Lansing all on her own. ”I’m practically all she has.”[/color]

”Don’t ever think that that’s all you are to me.”

Lansing shrunk against the wall, pale green eyes growing wide and fearful at Xavier’s rapid rise in anger. All of the things that Xavier could do to hurt her at that exact moment suddenly ran across her mind. He was much bigger and older than she, and had already succeeded in bringing her here. Fear paralyzed her, and she felt a shiver go down her spine, the blood drain from her face. She placed one of her hands over her mouth, ”Oh,”[/color] She whimpered, a few tears actually falling from her wide, terrified eyes. As Xavier turned away from her and continued speaking, Lansing tried hard to fully regain her composure, and although she successfully stopped all her tears from falling, she remained shaky and scared.

As Xavier informed her that it was, in fact, her own fault that he had to resort to knocking her out and kidnapping her, though, Lansing grew angry again. The whirlwind of emotions she was feeling kept her shaky and unsteady, though. ”I didn’t make you do anything.”[/color] She said, quietly at first, but as she continued speaking, her voice grew in volume. ”No one made you do anything. It was you, Xavier – you are the one who decided to take me from my home and my life just because that’s what you happened to want at the time.”[/color] Lansing hissed, each word sounding angrier and sharper than the last. Her lips parted in an infuriated sort of shock when he clicked his tongue and chuckled. Her brow furrowed, as if she had no idea how he could possible find the humor in this, how he could possibly have the nerve to laugh at this. She wanted to scream but she couldn’t think of any words that would describe exactly how insulted and furious she was, so she just glowered at Xavier, instead, lip slightly curled in her rage.

”I think this will all be better if we discuss it over a bite to eat, don’t you think?”

The sight of the food (better food than she could have ever hoped to have in district 10), suddenly reminded Lansing that she hadn’t eaten all day. She’d skipped breakfast because she had woken up late, and she never had lunch, and Xavier had taken her before she had gotten home. She looked to the food and back at Xavier, holding her stomach. She was starving, but also didn’t want to accept anything from Xavier. In the end, her hunger won out, and she skulked her way into the dining car, slowly, so she could look at all the beautiful things the car was filled with. Her eyes wandered from the floor to the ceiling, drinking in everything. ”This doesn’t change anything,”[/color] She said matter-of-factly, shooting a glare now that Xavier was now safely on the far side of the table, pointing at the table like it wasn’t chock full of the finest food in existence. Lansing, by nature, was a sweet and caring girl, but when she was wronged, she was a notorious grudge-holder. She simply didn’t forget.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Alyssa :)]

Xavier saw the reaction on Lansing's face when he mentioned helping her mother, and he knew immediately that that would be his wild card later on.  If he promised to help her mother, she would probably do anything for him.  And despite what Lansing may think, Xavier was the kind of man who kept his word, and he would follow through and help her mom.

"I promise," he replied with a smile.  When she mentioned wanting to communicate with her mom, he immediately thought about hologram ing her, but quickly realized she probably didn't have one.  That would mean they would have to use the old fashioned way of communication.  "Well, you could always send a letter with the workers," he suggested.

Lansing's visible fear of him and the tears that fell down her face when he made that fierce command caused him to regret being so harsh.  But as he turned away, the feeling vanished because he knew he needed to stress how important that statement was.  This way, he knew she wouldn't forget.

”No one made you do anything. It was you, Xavier – you are the one who decided to take me from my home and my life just because that’s what you happened to want at the time.”

Xavier smirked, amusement in his eyes as he watched her while she spoke.  "You're right," he began.  "I was the one who decided to kidnap you, but if you would've just agreed to come, I wouldn't have had to do that.  You see--" he leaned forward slightly to stress the statement, "everything just works out better if you do what I say."  Xavier leaned back against the wall again, the smirk returning to his lips, especially when he saw her glare at him in return.

After he suggested they go to the dining car, he grinned when he saw that Lansing was taking the bait.  Her eyes were glowing at the sight of the food and by the way she was holding her stomach, he knew she wouldn't be able to resist.  He couldn't help but let out a loud laugh as they sat down and she said, ”This doesn’t change anything."  Based on the way she was practically eating the food with her eyes, Xavier thought it would probably work in his favor at least a little bit.

As he chewed some hot beef-and-potato stew, he examined Lansing, pondering how to begin.  He decided to start with explaining why he needed her here, and he would get to the complications of what she would do here later.  "So.  You already know about how much I miss my wife," he began, his voice getting a little more serious and sad at the mention of Jess.  "And you already know that I think you look an awful lot like her.  But the part I didn't tell you was that because you act like her and look like her and just generally remind me of her, I have kind of made you my...link to her.  My only link to her.  And if I don't have that link, I will lose everything all over again.  So...since it was time for me to come back home and I needed you with me in order to survive...I offered nicely to bring you to the Capitol--you didn't accept--I kidnapped you--and here we are."  Xavier took a drink of some alcoholic beverage and leaned back against his chair, seemingly tired after the speech.  Now it was Lansing's turn.

[night]

Lansing pursed her lips at Xavier’s suggestion that she write a letter, looking down at the floor of the train car. Her eyebrows knit together and she frowned in a sad kind of way. She would, of course, write to her mother, explaining where she was and that she was okay (she hoped). She just wished that it wasn’t necessary and that she wasn’t currently discussing how she would maintain contact with her mother with her kidnapper while she was in the Capitol. Being kidnapped.

”Everything just works out better if you do what I say.”

Lansing grimaced, almost like she was in pain. She didn’t like the way he smirked at her. He had yelled that he didn’t think of her as a plaything, but he was certainly treating her like one. She now hated that she had so liked Xavier in the past weeks, hated that she hadn’t been able to see past his charming, charismatic demeanor or his looks or the glamour he had because he was from the Capitol. She grew angry, almost red in the face, but pursed her lips together and said nothing

She glared when he loudly laughed at her, still keeping her mouth shut. But she couldn’t let his little speech past without saying anything. First she got very, very angry, because she knew shouldn’t be reduced to a memory or a link to his dead wife. Lansing was her own human being, separate from her. It infuriated Lansing, how casually Xavier spoke of the entire ordeal. ”Yeah. Here we are.”

[/color] She said dryly, shooting daggers at Xavier with her eyes. She angrily took a bite of her food, chewing furiously. ”So I’m just supposed to sit around and let you pretend I’m your dead wife?”[/b] She asked this nonchalantly, but hissed her last two words. She knew this might insult Xavier, who she knew was rather volatile, but she felt much safer and more bold on the opposite side of the table.

Lansing then looked down, at the table filled with food she didn't even know the names of. She looked over all the dishes near her, the plates and bowls she could fill up in front of her, and the silverware she would use. It was all beautiful, and nice. Better than nice. Grand. For a moment, she was rather excited at the aspect of eating food of such high quality. But then Lansing found herself incredibly overwhelmed. She didn't belong here. She didn't know what foods these were. She didn't know why they needed so many different types of forks. She wanted one plate, with a chunk of unsalted, cheap-cut meat and a single slice of bread. She wanted to be in her too-cold or too-hot house. She wanted to wake up in the morning and go to work, to watch all of the cows slowly gather around and follow her curiously as she walked through the field, gently moo-ing. Her face crumpled. She covered her eyes with her hands, pressing too hard on them so she could see stars. "I want to go home."[/color] Lansing's voice was muffled behind her palms, and her voice shrunk into a weak, sad whimper. She was hungry. She was tired. She was scared.

ooc: sorry this is bad and took so long [/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Alyssa :)]

”Everything just works out better if you do what I say.”

Xavier noticed Lansing's face go red at his statement.  He didn't know what she was so angry about--in his mind, the words were cold hard fact.  He had no idea that she was really angry at herself for liking him back in District 10 because she thought his kindness was all an act.  What she didn't know was that it wasn't an act, and that it was a real side of him...it just didn't come out that often.  It got to be practically nonexistent when he didn't get what he wanted which, in this case, had been Lansing.

”Yeah. Here we are.”

Xavier pretended not to notice the daggers Lansing was shooting at him with her eyes. "By the way," he began. "If it makes you feel any better, you gave me quite the punch back there. See?" Xavier gestured toward his cheekbone, which was swelling up a bit and was gaining a bit of purple color. He expected it to get much darker later, but he wasn't upset at all because he knew he had kind of deserved it. Instead of being angry, he just pleasantly sipped some water and ate his stew.  However, he stopped chewing when he heard her next question.

”So I’m just supposed to sit around and let you pretend I’m your dead wife?”

Xavier swallowed and set down his spoon, not liking her emphasis on "dead wife" at all.  He breathed in deeply and looked across the table at his captive.  "I expect you to do as you're told.  You will live with me at my house,  and maybe even come with me to work.  I just need you to be by my side.  Sound simple enough?"  His voice wasn't at all friendly--she had pushed him past friendliness.  Now he was just upset because she wasn't behaving as nicely as he had hoped.  Of course, she had just been kidnapped and taken from her home, but that didn't seem to occur to Xavier.

"I want to go home."

His hard, unkind expression softened immediately into a concerned, sympathetic one as he heard Lansing say this.  He couldn't help but feel sad that he had brought unhappiness upon this woman.  Yes, he felt bad, but that didn't mean he would let her go home.

"I'm sorry," said Xavier softly.  "But you don't understand how badly I need you here.  If you left me...if I didn't have you...there's just no way I could survive that."  And he was telling the truth.  If Lansing left him, he would probably be dead by dawn.

(OMGOMGOMG I JUST HAD AN IDEA I PM YOU EEEEK also sorry this post sucks >.<)

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[night]

Lansing leaned forward to examine the bruising on Xavier's face, frowning deeply as she did. It suddenly struck her that she didnt feel bad in the slightest, and her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh. she breathed, and without thinking she lifted one hand and pressed it gently against the bruise on his face. Then her expression hardened and she began to pull her hand away, but before she did, she poked the bruise just hard enough to sting. "I'm not sorry." She growled, sitting back in her seat and angrily taking a bite of her stew.

At Xavier's next words, Lansing frowned, but it then struck her that maybe if she acted as if she were going to comply, he would let his guard down and she could find a way to escape. So she stood up and slowly wandered to Xaviers side of the table, "I suppose that doesn't sound so bad." She murmured thoughtfully, taking the seat next to him but scooting her chair so close their shoulders and thighs were touching. "What are the Capitol parties like? Tell me." she spoke slowly and enunciated each syllable with care, taking a slow drink of water, keeping her eyes soft and set on Xavier. If there was one thing Lansing was, it was a brilliant liar, even if she rarely practiced that particular skill.

She ignored Xavier's last statements, mostly because sue doubted any of it was true.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Alyssa :)]

Xavier’s eyes pulled away from his food and studied Lansing as she softly touched his face. Love wound itself into his gaze. The way Lansing just lost herself in her thoughts, like she was now as she took in his bruised face, was one of the things he loved about her. It wasn’t so different from the way Jess used to get lost in thought.

The moment abruptly ended when Lansing switched back to all-hate mode, saying she wasn’t sorry and pressing painfully into his bruise. He guessed this side of her was saved just for Capitolists, Peacekeepers, and other people she considered jerks, and he was sorry that he fell into one of those categories. He frowned and put a hand up to his cheek, gently touching the tender skin with his cold fingers to make it stop stinging. ”I see,” he began. ”Well I’m glad you enjoyed making me your punching bag. Just remember I still won the match.” Xavier ended the statement with a wink.

His smirk quickly disappeared, and a look of surprise and slight suspicion took its place when Lansing got up and started walking around the table. His eyes followed her, widening when she sat down right next to him. Like, right next to him. He shifted uncomfortably--not because of her closeness (he could get used to that), but because he knew she was purposefully trying to distract him by sitting with their legs and shoulders touching. And he couldn’t help but fall into her trap. When she agreed to do what he had said, it didn’t even occur to Xavier that she might be plotting something. He was much too distracted to think much of anything at the moment.

"What are the Capitol parties like? Tell me."

Xavier had stopped eating by now, instead turning his attention to Lansing. ”Well…” he said, not sure how to begin. He rested his arm by his side, which in turn resulted in him touching her thigh. He quickly pulled it over to rest on his own leg, but not before an extremely strange feeling shot through him. Then, he was thrown into a flashback.

***

Xavier was sitting at a similar table, only this wasn’t on a train…it was in a house. His old house. The one he had lived in with Jess. His wife was sitting next to him with their thighs touching, just as Lansing had been in present time. His hand rested on her leg. She smiled up at him, talking about how excited she was for some party that was being thrown in their small neighborhood. Her tone turned serious as she insisted these suburban parties were much better than anything in the twisted main city. They lived in the outskirts of the Capitol, and this was back before he was a Gamemaker. Back when they both disliked the Games and the way their government treated the Districts.

Their conversation eventually turned towards the Games themselves, and Jess shook her head in disgust as she talked about the people who ran the whole thing. “Who would take a job like that? A job that killed children?” Xavier shrugged before responding, ”They must not be in their right minds.” And he meant every word. Little did he know that later in life, he wouldn’t be in his right mind, and he would take the job the two of them were discussing right now.

Eager to get off the unhappy subject, Xavier pulled Jess onto his lap and started talking about how much time they had before this party, and he drew her into a kiss. Then the flashback crumbled apart.

***

Xavier gasped, thrown back into real time, with a different woman beside him. He had turned very pale, and his hands shook as he grasped the table and stood up. It was rare that his subconscious let him think about how much Jess would disapprove of him having this job and how warped his mind was becoming. It was definitely the first time his subconscious had let him see it in a flashback. Xavier trembled as he tried to get a grip on reality, of what was happening at this moment. Lansing had asked him a question…what was it? He didn’t know, and he probably wouldn’t be able to answer it anyway. He decided it was best to escape.

”I’m sorry,” he managed to say. ”I…I just had a flashback, and I need to leave. Ask an Avox to show you to your room, I hope it’s okay…and comfortable…and...I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, he shakily made his way to the door.

(okayyy so….i think I got a wee bit carried away hehheh. I was just suddenly like HEY IT WOULD BE CRAZY IF HE HAD A FLASHBACK and then…this happened. Sorry X( I was thinking this way we can get to the Lansing-leaving plan faster C: everyone could go to bed, and then in the morning Xavier would wake up and SHE’S GONE ya know? Ugghh idk I just feel like I kinda messed things up with this flashback thing….if you want I can delete it :) )

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[night]

"I see. Well I’m glad you enjoyed making me your punching bag. Just remember I still won the match.”

Lansing shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest, but chose not to reply to him. She wanted to. She wanted to yell at Xavier. In fact, it was almost difficult for her to stay silent. But she managed. Only because she pressed a glass of water to her lips and sipped. Her pale green eyes wandered as she did. She saw another door, a window amongst the beautiful things that had so distracted her moments ago. She tried hard to mask the fact that she was searching for a way out. Xavier had won the match so far, but Lansing would be the victor in the end if she could help it.

"”I…I just had a flashback, and I need to leave. Ask an Avox to show you to your room, I hope it’s okay…and comfortable…and...I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lansing's eyebrows shot up and her lips parted in surprise as she watched Xavier grow flustered, stammer a few words, and then get up to leave. But she didn't protest. Once he left, she stood up and began to poke about the car, continuing to eat her stew as she did. She peeked through the window in the door opposite the one they had entered through, and saw no one on the other side. She let herself out, tip-toed through the hallway. Through windows of doors she could see brightly-dressed people sitting, conversing, sleeping during their train ride. The hair on the back of Lansing's neck rose when she saw a car full of Peacekeepers, and she ducked for what she thought was the nearest supply closet - instead, Lansing found herself in a brightly lit train car. Outside she saw nothing but trees and a river, all passing by in a blur. She locked the door behind her, deciding that since the car was empty of both furniture and people, no one would come in and she could just let Xavier think she had, somehow, left the train, when in fact she would just hide and wait until the train made its rounds again, returning to district 10.

It struck her that things could go wrong, that the train may never go back and that she would be terribly unsafe in the Capitol without Xavier, but she breathed deeply, sat down in the middle of the floor, and continued to spoon hot stew into her mouth. "Be home soon..."

[/color] She accidentally murmured her own thoughts, and though speaking them aloud was an accident, she still sounded terribly unsure of herself. [/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]