Run, Run, Run Away | {Joule/Bolts}

[kap]

Like a fairytale

TAG: Chevi

NOTES: N/A

WORDS: 503

Reaping day was always super stressful for people, and for Joule, her first reaping had just passed. She had panicked all night and all day before, and luckily, was not picked. It's true, however, that she was still mentally and physically shaken after it was all done and over with. As people cleared out of the District Square after the reaping, Joule was meant to meet up with Bolts, but was so terrified that she took a detour. Instead of waiting for him, she ran in the other direction, sobbing and heading as far away from the District Square where the reaping took place as possible.

The Hunger Games were a terrifying thought for the twelve year old girl. She knew that if she went in, there was no doubt in her mind that she wouldn't make it. Running through the district, and eventually over to an open field near the edge of the district, Joule's red hair whipped around in the wind. Her lightly colored eyes were glistening with tears when she collapsed to the ground, now sitting with her face in her hands and sobbing profusely.

Had Bolts noticed that she was gone? Had he left to return to the house, or was he going to look for her? She realized just then how worried her protective older brother must have been. She promised to meet with him, so they weren't separated, but didn't carry out her end of the agreement they had made. She didn't know who was in the Games this time around, luckily. Although, she was still unable to calm down. Should she head home and look for Bolts? At this point, she wanted to, however, she felt too weak from the nerves and panic of the reaping, that at this point, she didn't believe that she could walk.

Lying back in the grass of the field, she tried to calm herself by looking up at the clouds in the clear, blue sky. After a little bit, her breathing slowed back to normal from what had been hyperventilating before. Her heartbeat was slowly returning to a normal pace, and she took a deep, calming breath. Closing her eyes, she began to doze off, still crying. The now sleeping girl's tears stained her face, and she lie there, in a light sleep, awaiting someone's approach.

As she drempt, the young girl saw frightening things in her dreams. She saw she and one of her brothers both being picked for the games. She saw them having to fight to the death. She even saw herself having to kill one of her own family members. This dream didn't wake her up, though, as she tossed and turned in her sleep. Seeing the young girl in the grass showed that she was in an obvious state of discomfort, yet for about 20 minutes, no one even gave her a second glance or tried to see if she was okay and offer to help her. Did anyone care? Would Bolts find her? Did he care?

ⒶⓀⒾ

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

Bolts had survived yet another Reaping.

The moment the names were drawn and announced, he felt like his insides melted into a puddle; he had bit his lips bloody, and his vision had fuzzy edges from the oncoming anxiety attack he barely managed to fight down. It was horrible, all of it; the waiting, the standing, the cheerful announcements, him not being able to stand next to his siblings, to hold their hands, to protect them and shield them from what was hanging over everyone's head. Relief left a bitter taste in his mouth as he watched two other people, two that he was not related to, walk away from the crowd and towards fame and almost certain death. 

Once the crowds dispersed, he looked around for Joule. It was her first Reaping, and she had been on edge for days; Bolts did everything to comfort her, and hide his own fears while doing so. It was not a very successful attempt. They were supposed to meet up right after it was over; but it took time for Bolts to fight his way through against the current of the crowd, from the older boys to the youngest girls, tripping over other siblings clinging to each other. He barely caught a glimpse of Joule's red hair as she bolted in the other direction.

"Joules! JOULES!"

She had probably panicked. No wonder; it seemed to run in the family. Bolts pushed through the crowd, but lost sight of his sister; once he turned a corner away from the Square, he stopped, leaning against a wall, and dry-heaved a couple of times.

Dammit to Hell. Damn the Reaping to freaking Hell.

It took him a long, long time to find her. He did not dare go home and ask the others to help; they had been through enough for one day, and all of them dealt with it in different ways. But that did not change the fact that by the time Bolts caught a glimpse of red hair in the grass of the fields, he was a wreck inside and out.

"Joules?..." he sat down next to her as she was consumed in a fitful sleep, and laid a hand on her forehead "Shhhh, it's okay. You're okay. I'm here. It's okay, we made it..."

We made it.
Until next year.

(389 words)

BY CHELSEY

[kap]

Like a fairytale

TAG: Chevi

NOTES: N/A

WORDS: 329

Joule awoke to her brother's kind voice and his gentle hand on her forehead. She woke up abruptly from her light slumber, and immediately saw Bolts. She didn't have to see him to know it was him though, as he was the only one who ever called her Joules. Wrapping her arms around him, she took him into a tight hug. One could tell that her body was still shaking, too. Her small tremors were still occurring when she released Bolts from the hug.

"I'm sorry I ran off. I was just... so shaken up and scared. I don't want to go to the reaping again. I don't want to see who's going to die, and I don't want to have to watch them die. I don't want you or me or anyone else going into those games. I'm sorry. I just got really scared." she said apologetically, rushing to get out her words as her voice shook.

When Joule was nervous or scared, she often would speak quickly with a frightened tone in her voice, like she was just then. She enveloped her brother in a hug again, crying into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." she said, her voice muffled by the hug. Her tears were wetting her brothers shirt, and one could tell how upset she was by the redness of her face and watery eyes when she pulled away once more. Not entirely certain why she felt the need to apologize, she did so multiple times, regardless. Perhaps it was because of the guilt she felt about not telling him where she was running off to after the reaping, and leaving him to worry. Joule often felt a lot of guilt when people did something for her, so it wasn't much different for her to feel guilt for her not doing what she promised, which in this case, happened to be waiting for Bolts after the reaping. How long would she feel guilty about that for? She wasn't entirely certain.

ⒶⓀⒾ

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

Joules woke up, and threw herself into his arms. It was welcome, the hug and the warmth, and even as he hugged her tightly for comfort, Bolts felt his own anxiety ebbing away. He had found her. She was okay.
Well, mostly okay.

>>"I'm sorry I ran off. I was just... so shaken up and scared. I don't want to go to the reaping again. I don't want to see who's going to die, and I don't want to have to watch them die. I don't want you or me or anyone else going into those games. I'm sorry. I just got really scared... I'm sorry."

"Shhhh..." he muttered, petting her hair and letting her cry into his shoulder. She was upset, and he did not blame her. He still remembered his first Reaping clearly, just like he remembered all the others after, but the first one had definitely been the worst. He hid away to cry it out at the time, and so did Joules, or at least she tried.
The difference was, he was here to help her.

"It's okay, Joules, it's over. We're okay. It's okay to be scared. I'm..." he took a deep breath "... I was scared too. It's a scary thing."

That was an understatement, but he said it because it served a purpose. The Reaping, in his mind, was a bottomless black pit of terror and desperation. He was not sure what he would have done if he or one of his siblings got Reaped. He did not like to think about it.

"First time is always the worst." he muttered, petting her hair and keeping her enveloped in a hug "You'll be okay. We're all gonna be okay."

He left the rest without comment. People never talked against the Games, even people who, like Bolts, had been wrecked by them from the start. He might have punched a wall had he been alone, or broken some useless parts, but in front of Joules, he could not behave like that. She was distressed enough without getting ideas of badmouthing the Games in public. 

"The Games are the Games, Joules." he sighed "We'll watch them together. You can hide under my hoodie for the scary parts. Okay?..."

It sounded pitiful, even to him.

(315 words)

BY CHELSEY

[kap]

Like a fairytale

TAG: Chevi

NOTES: N/A

WORDS: 314

Bolts's presence was extremely comforting for the young girl. His words soothed her as he stroked her hair, and she began to calm down, her shaking stopping and her breathing returning to a normal rate once more. She hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go this time. Eventually, however, she had to.

"Thank you, Bolts." through the tears in her eyes. Her throat felt like it had a lump in it, and that lump wouldn't go away.


"First time is always the worst." came her brother's kind and calming voice, "You'll be okay. We're all gonna be okay."

"The Games are the Games, Joules." he tried to comfort her. "We'll watch them together. You can hide under my hoodie for the scary parts. Okay?..."

Joule knew, though, that Bolts hated the Games, too. He couldn't let her know that in public, however, as that wouldn't go over well if the Peacekeepers heard it. She had heard about incidents like that happening in the past to other people, getting in trouble with Peacekeepers for badmouthing the Hunger Games or the Capitol itself. Joule wouldn't want that to happen to them, so she knew not to say exactly what she was thinking just then.

Releasing from the hug, Joule had calmed down significantly. Deciding to speak up again, she asked Bolts a question.

"How do you get through it? It's so scary, the Reaping. I don't know if I'd be able to make it through the next one." she inquired. Having no idea what his response may be, she hoped it wasn't something too difficult that he had to do in order to get through the yearly reaping. Despite their district having won the previous games, she wasn't confident that she would ever be able to. Not everyone is the same. Therefore, not everyone has the same skill level and not everyone will make it as far as one another in the Games.

ⒶⓀⒾ

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

>>"Thank you, Bolts."


They understood each other without words. Joules was clever enough not to pursue the subject. Bolts hugged his little sister and swayed slowly, kissing her on the forehead. His mother used to do that with him too when he was little, before Dad died. It was a comforting gesture, both for him and for Joule.
She finally pulled back and wiped her tears. Bolts smiled at her, although the smile was a little shaky. She was going to be fine. She was a little girl, a girl who was scared, but she would grow up to be stronger. He wanted to make sure of that.

>>"How do you get through it? It's so scary, the Reaping. I don't know if I'd be able to make it through the next one." 

"You will" Bolts promised, at a loss of ideas of what to tell her "People just... do. It is scary, but..."

What was he supposed to do? Say it was over fast? It really wasn't, it always felt like an eternity, and the Capitol liked to drag it out into a whole long, torturous celebration. 

"I know it makes you feel bad, but the Reaping is just... show. There are so many people in the District, the chances of you being picked... or any of us being picked... are actually very, very little."

Even as he said it, it felt bitter again. He knew that she worried, just like he did, about all of her Reaping age siblings, not just her own safety. She probably also felt bad whoever did get Reaped. They all did. Survivor's guilt.
But there was a tiny bit of comfort in the fact that even all the Sparks together did not amount to much. Mathematically.

Mathematics was not a very warm and comforting subject. 

"I mostly just... stand there and count the minutes" he admitted "They have a very precise air time. You can tell when it is going to be over. It's just... a lot of waiting. You think of what you do after." he rested his forehead against hers "We can do anything you want. Hm? We get this day off anyway. What you want to do?"

(339 words)

BY CHELSEY

[kap]

Like a fairytale

TAG: Chevi

NOTES: N/A

WORDS: 333

When Joule listened to what Bolts had to say, she tried to let it comfort her. Though, it seemed like Bolts wasn't sure how to comfort his younger sister with words. Luckily, his kindness was able to comfort her instead. She tried not to think about the fact that Bolts said he just tried to get through it. He didn't seem to have a strategy, to Joule's disappointment. Regardless, Joule was glad to hear a change of subject. Bolts mentioned that they had the day off, too, which Joule had almost entirely forgotten.

When he asked her what she want to do, she had to think for a moment. What could she do that would take her mind off of the innocent tributes who were being taken to the Capitol? The innocent tributes, who had nothing that could spare them, were being sent to a death match, and at least one of them would die. Joule shouldn't have been thinking about that, though. She needed to clear her mind of all negative and frightening thoughts.

Soon thereafter, Joule had an idea.

"We could play a game." the small girl suggested to her older brother. She had an idea that she hoped would be fun enough for Bolts, and that he would be willing to play. It had been a while since she had gotten to play a game of any sort with her older siblings. The game she was hoping to play involved chasing each other around, and trying to catch one another. Wait a minute, wasn't that just tag? Regardless, it was what Joule wanted to do. She hoped he'd be up for it, as it would be the best way for her to keep her mind off of things.

Why was it that Joule was such a nervous wreck when she couldn't distract herself with other things? She wasn't sure. She always got nervous over little things, but something bigger like the reaping was not a surprise to send her into a panic.

ⒶⓀⒾ

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

Keep your head down, keep standing, try not to get a panic attack, and hope and pray and wish that someone else goes off to die instead of you, or your loved ones.
Because someone will. Someone always has to. One boy, one girl. Just not you. Anyone but you.
Anyone but Joule.

Bolts sighed and ruffled Joule's hair. She was a bundle of nerves just like he was, and he knew that some of it would never go away, even with age. He doudted that his anxiety would evaporate once he was past Reaping age, once all his siblings were past Reaping age. It was only made worse by him not being able to volunteer for his sisters... And if he ever had children...

He swallowed down the bubbling anxiety, and turned back to his sister. She was shaken, but making a heroic effort to take her mind off the thoughts they both knew they were sharing. It was not easy, never easy, to keep one's anxious mind from racing. But once she suggested they play a game, Bolts smile anyway. A different kind of racing may be able to help.

"Well, I've already chased you once today" he said with a small smile, letting go of her "So... you're it."

With that, he rolled to the site and took a leaping start, running away from her sister to start a chase.

(233 words)

BY CHELSEY

[kap]

Like a fairytale

TAG: Chevi

NOTES: N/A

WORDS: 327

Joule was rather excited when Bolts agreed to play her game of tag. He immediately called her as 'it' and began to run. Laughing, the young girl began to chase after him. Surely, this could get her mind off of the troubles that have been going on not only in her life, but the whole of Panem. A lot of the time, it would be very difficult for her to distract herself from such things. It was even more difficult to forget about the bad things when she was on her own. Luckily, she was with Bolts this time.

Bolts was her comfort and release. He was there for her when she was upset, and when she was having trouble. He always knew how to calm her down, and he was especially good at it, given the day's circumstances with the reaping and all. Joule liked being around him whenever she could be, as it kept her in a good mood most of the time.

Chasing after her older brother, Joule's fiery red hair streamed behind her as she was running for the second time that day. She had a smile on her face this time, however, and she was slowly gaining on Bolts, hoping to catch up to him. Her heartrate and breathing was at the pace of someone doing a full workout, as she worked herself very hard to run fast enough to catch the much bigger and taller person she was chasing. Finally, she caught up to him, out of breath, and managed to tag him, then trying to run off the best she could, only to trip when she was about twenty feet away. She sat there when she hit the ground, for a moment thinking she was going to cry. Then, however, she ended up laughing. Unsure as to why she was laughing at first, she then figured it was because of the ridiculousness of how much effort she was putting into this game.

ⒶⓀⒾ

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

Bolts ran, and as much as his heart was pumping and his legs were working, he could feel tension flowing out of his body. Running was a free act, something that he could lose himself in; running without aim or destination, just for the sole purpose of running as hard as he could. He could not run away from anything just as he could not really run towards a goal for now; but just running, with his sister giggling breathlessly behind him, definitely helped clear his head. He slowed his pace just enough to not leave Joule too far behind, but he had no intention of letting her catch him easily. 

She did tag him, eventually, and Bolts paused for a moment, catching his breath and huffing in mock protest as she turned on her heel and ran. She was flushed, and movin fast across the field; Bolts sighed and ran after her. He would have an easier time catching her, having longer legs and more muscle, but it was all good, their games of tag tended to end in chaos and giggles anyway. 

"Hey!"

He could see Joule trip and fall, and for a moment he felt a shock of worry that she would hurt herself. They did not need any more stress for one day, and he certainly did not want to take her sister home hurt, or worse, to a doctor. Doctors were overwhelmed on Reaping days anyway.

Bolts skidded to a halt next to his sister, who was... laughing? Dropping to one knee, he looked her over to make sure she was not hurt.

"That's not how you play tag, Joules" he sighed, ruffling her hair "You're too easy to catch when you sit around like that. Everything okay?"

(293 words)

BY CHELSEY

[kap]

Like a fairytale

TAG: Chevi

NOTES: Excuse the short post.

WORDS: 242

Joule's brother seemed immediately worried about her when she fell, until he realized that she was... laughing. Uncontrollably laughing, at that. Bolts had come to Joule's side for the second time that day. He insisted that that wasn't how she was supposed to play tag, sitting on the ground. Bolts then asked if she was okay, and ruffled her hair.

"Yup! I'm okay!" laughed Joule, "I'm not a baby, though, so you don't need to mess with my hair." said Joule, sticking her tongue out at her brother who had hair just as bright red as her own.

"Should we head home? questioned the young girl. She thought that would be a good idea, especially so that her family didn't begin to wonder what happened to her. "I don't want everyone else to get worried about us." Joule explained.

She stood up from the ground and was ready to go if Bolts decided that was what they were going to do just then. She thought about the fact that all of her family was safe, including her, and that meant that they'd be able to have another happy dinner tonight in their busy household. There were always members of her family at home, doing something, whether it be the younger ones running around, or the older ones picking up around the house and helping out their mother. She never wanted to have to leave that, and she was glad that she didn't have to today.

ⒶⓀⒾ

[Chevi]

BOLTS SPARK

DISTRICT THREE

>>"Yup! I'm okay!... I'm not a baby, though, so you don't need to mess with my hair."


"Well, tough luck" Bolts grinned, tugging gently on her braid. He did not like to boast about it, but with so many female siblings, he did know how to braid. That, in his book, entitled him for any amount of hair messing. That was just the way being a big brother worked. 
(That, and the occasional sneak-bows and pins in his own hair whenever they found him asleep)

She was okay, though. Okay from the fall, and okay from the Reaping. Frazzled and shaken, but at least for today, she was okay. Bolts sighed, and ran his fingers through his own hair.

>>"Should we head home? I don't want everyone else to get worried about us."

"Yeah, let's" he nodded, standing up and pulling her up too by the hand. The others were probably worried about them, and Joule, while a sensitive and sweet soul, was not the only one of the siblings who might have needed comforting. Bolts knew that Mom was probably still upset from the day's events as well, having seen her children line up for the Reaping. 

Bolts kept a hold of Joule's hand as they started on their way home. She was a bit old for that now, but for the day, the rules were off. Touch was comforting, being connected to someone, someone alive and tangible and there. He smiled down at her sister, and while the smile was tired, it was also genuine.

"You did well, Joules. Today's kind of a weird day, but tomorrow will be better, I promise..."

(243 words)

BY CHELSEY