Turn around (JB, Bolts/Joule)

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

Bolts had once been punched in the stomach by an older kid at school. He was small and scrawny back then, with a mop of red curls, the perfect target for any bully in sight; the other guy was older, large for his age, and had fists like hammers, or so it seemed anyway. When he jammed one of them right under Bolts' sternum, there was a moment of pause, almost complete stillness: All the air left his lungs, his feet left the ground, and everything went a smooth, comforting black.
And then he fell down and everything hurt for days.

Bolts was still in that moment of stillness as he waited in the Justice Building to see his family. Everything outside was gone, and he could barely tell if he was sitting or standing, or floating mid-air; he was just waiting for the impact and the blinding pain, knowing that eventually he would have to fight some air back into his lungs, and keep breathing. 

Mother cried. She cried a lot, she cried more than when Father died, and a small, detached, analytical part of Bolts' brain guessed it was because Father was already dead when she mourned him, and he was still alive. It was strange, being mourned face to face.
Bolts hugged his mother and his siblings, still suspended in shock, waiting for the blow to connect and the pain to kick in. And then they all stepped back, and Mother ushered the little ones out of the room, and then there was Joule, and there was the pain.

Bolts hunched forward as his stomach folded in on itself, and reached out to hug his sister one last time.

BY CHELSEY

[djed carnelian . d8m [kap]]

~Joule Spark~ Don't leave me, dear brother When Bolts's name boomed across District Three, Joule could feel genuine fear and despair bubbling up inside of her. She got a foul taste in her mouth and almost felt as if she were going to pass out then and there. Bolts getting picked for the Games meant the very likely possibility of him never coming back home. Would this be her very last time seeing him, in the tall Justice Building of District Three, giving her goodbyes before the Games? Justice Building. Hmph. What a stupid name. There's no 'justice' in taking my brother away from me. He can't leave us like this! I can't lose him! I'm not ready! He's always protected me and I can't just let him go. she thought to herself as she was allowed into the Justice Building. Their mother and other siblings had already said goodbye to Bolts, but Joule wanted her own time to just she and her brother for their goodbyes. As soon as she got in there, she was embraced in a hug by Bolts, and she began sobbing. "You can't leave, Bolts! I love you! You can't just leave us! I don't want you to go! You need to win. I don't want this to be the last time I see you!" the young girl sobbed into her older brother's arms. She didn't know what to do in that moment, devastated by the possibility of her brother leaving her and never coming back. She wanted him to win so she could see him again, but the thought of him having to kill people to come home was terrifying. She didn't know what to think in that moment, and simply continued crying, words spilling out of her and into her brother's ears. "Why'd they have to pick you? It's not fair! It shouldn't have been you!" she continued. She almost said that it should have been her instead, but she knew that wasn't the right thing to say to her brother who was likely already just as terrified about the whole thing as she was, if not more. The girl was shaking, not sure what to do and not wanting to let her brother go. In her mind, she began to pray to Ripred. Don't let him die. Please, don't let him leave us. I can't lose him. Not like we lost dad. It's not fair! I can't let him go. He needs to stay here with all of us. Would her prayers be answered? She hoped with all of her heart and her mind that they would. She couldn't just let go.

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

Joule was shaking and crying, and Bolts held her tightly, feeling her cling to him like everything else was ending. Everything else was ending, at least for the two of them, and Bolts felt a pang of panic as he realized he did not know how to let her go.

>>"You can't leave, Bolts! I love you! You can't just leave us! I don't want you to go! You need to win. I don't want this to be the last time I see you!" 


"Shhh" he reached up one hand to pat her hair, the other one still holding her. Words were spilling out and Bolts felt he was already dying from each one of them. All he wanted was to protect her, and now she was safe, and in pain anyway.
Not fair.

>>"Why'd they have to pick you? It's not fair! It shouldn't have been you!"

"Shhh" he said again, aware that there were Peacekeepers just outside the room. Ironically, their presence was what jolted Bolts out of his frozen panic. Joule did not need to be heard saying things like that "Shhh Joules, it's okay."

He finally pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers, speaking softly so that no one else could hear.

"Joules, don't watch" he said, hurrying to get all the words out before she had to go "Promise me you won't watch. Everyone else will, Mom, and the others... I can't do this if I know you are watching."

The knowledge that she was watching him turn from brother to tribute, being assigned numbers, doing the things tributes did, and then fighting, and maybe killing, or maybe (most likely) being killed... he did not want that feeling to follow him into the arena.

"Please. Promise."

BY CHELSEY

[djed carnelian . d8m [kap]]

~Joule Spark~ Don't leave me, dear brother "Shhh" Bolts said, trying to calm his younger sister. "Shhh" he did it again. Joule's body gradually started calming down from the shaking. Her brother had a way of calming her down quite quickly. She'd miss that if she didn't have it anymore. He was always there for her, and she didn't want that to go away. The young girl tried her best to calm down, and her brother moved from the hug to their foreheads touching so that they could speak to one another. He spoke in a whisper, and Joule gathered that he probably didn't want the Peacekeepers outside the door to hear what he was saying. She hadn't thought about that in her panic. Perhaps she shouldn't have allowed her panicking to be so easily heard by the men that were no doubt outside the door, listening. "Joules, don't watch" he told her. His voice seemed rush, and this made Joule more aware that their time was running out. She had to keep her panic inside, though. She couldn't let it out like she did when she first arrived in the Justice Building with her brother. "Promise me you won't watch. Everyone else will, Mom, and the others... I can't do this if I know you are watching." her older brother said. This took Joule by surprise. He didn't want her to watch? She was almost certain that if she didn't watch, she'd be more nervous, not knowing what was going on. She did know, however, that her siblings and mother would be watching- Bolts said so. That meant that they'd probably be talking about it, and definitely crying if something went wrong. Joule would know if something happened, but for Bolts, she wouldn't watch it. Joule nodded, slowly at first. "I promise. Bolts, I won't watch it." she whispered back to him. She kept her voice low like her brother had, knowing that she shouldn't let the Peacekeepers hear what she was saying. "You can do it. You're strong, Bolts." she whispered again. "I love you, and I know you can do this." In that moment, it almost sounded as if Joule were the one reassuring him. Although, she knew that he was really the one reassuring her. She would be destroyed if something happened to Bolts. She knew she would be, but she had to try to stay strong. He could do this, right? He was strong. He could win this.

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

>>"I promise. Bolts, I won't watch it."



He sighed, hugging her again. Technically, everyone was required to tune in for the Games; but people have learned long ago that as long as the screens were on, no one could really control whether someone tuned out or not. He used to do that with Joule, wrapped up in blankets in front of the small screed he'd rigged up, and covering her face in his shoulder when the things happening in the arena were too much to see. He just hoped that she would do it this time, turn away, or hide, and not see... whatever it was that awaited him.

>>"You can do it. You're strong, Bolts. I love you, and I know you can do this."


She sounded desperate; the same kind of pleading tone he had in his own head when he willed the universe not to send Joule into the Games.
There were two kinds of people in the Reaping: Those who knew they would fight tooth and nail from the slim chance of victory, and those who heard their name called out as a death sentence. Bolts had always been the latter; the idea that he might be the one victor out of twenty-four tributes had never even entered his mind. 

"I love you too Joules" he muttered against her shoulder "I'll try. I promise I'll try."

That was all he could do, really; from this point on, it was give up and curl up in a ball, or move forward and try.

"You'll be okay" he said, hurrying up again as time was slipping away. His eyes were burning, but he'd cry later. For now, he held her by the shoulders as he pulled away "You'll be all right, Joules. Be smart, okay? Don't run."

She had run away after the last Reaping, even though she did not know any of the tributes. Bolts did not want her to do that again. He would not be there to catch her. 

BY CHELSEY

[djed carnelian . d8m [kap]]

~Joule Spark~ Don't leave me, dear brother Bolts gave Joule another hug, and she hugged him in return. "I love you too Joules" he told her, "I'll try. I promise I'll try." Joule was trying so hard in that moment to hold back tears. She hugged him tightly, wishing she didn't have to let go. "You'll be okay" he tried to assure her, "You'll be all right, Joules. Be smart, okay? Don't run." She new exactly what he meant when he said that. At the last reaping, she ran away from the area when it ended. She was terrified for the people who had been picked, even though it wasn't anyone she knew, and ran off, having to be caught by Bolts. He had found her, and she was in panic. Joule knew that she couldn't do that this time, though. If she did, he wouldn't be there to find her. She didn't want him to leave for the Games, but there was nothing she could do about it. Joule nodded in reply to her older brother. "I won't." she promised. When the two separated from the hug, Joule took something from her pocket. It was the little LED light that had been a part of the remote control firefly Bolts made her for her birthday as an early gift before the reaping. Handing it to him, she looked up, into his eyes. "Can you take this with you?" the girl asked. "It's part of the firefly. I flew it too far out of range and it crashed..." she explained to him. She wanted him to take it with him, since it was part of something he had given to her. The little light had meaning to Joule. It had been like a promise when Bolts gave it to her. It was like a way of saying that things will be okay, if you have this to guide your way. The young girl hoped her brother would take it as his token. He could use it as a way to remember his family and all of District Three if he got into a situation of losing hope, and Joule didn't want him to forget about those who cared for him. Or course, it was Bolts. How would he forget his family that he always did so much for?

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

>>"I won't." 


He needed to hear that. He needed to hear that she would not watch, and that she would not run. He needed that to be the last thing he heard from her, even if she caved later, even if she ran, even if she watched. He would not know once the train left District Three, he wouldn't know what she was doing, maybe never again. So he needed her word to cling to, so that he could imagine her safe and protected and brave.

>>"Can you take this with you? It's part of the firefly. I flew it too far out of range and it crashed..."

Bolts looked down at the tiny green LED light on his palm. It was a part of Joule's birthday gift... for the birthday they would not spend together. Suddenly he was glad he had that idea the week before, to celebrate with her, just in case the worst thing happened. And it did. She would celebrate without him, and he would... Have a birthday in the arena, if he was lucky to live that long. The thought made him laugh a little, although there was more surprise in it than joy.

"Thank you, Joules." he said softly, kissing his sister on the forehead before he let her go. The Peacekeepers opened the door again. "I love you. Be smart. Be safe."

And then she was gone. Bolts wrapped his fingers around the LED light, wondering if he could fix it so that it would light up again.

He was about to go very, very far out of range, and there was a good chance he would crash. 

BY CHELSEY