Tick Tock (Hailey/Me/Open)

Will sat quietly on the beach, an ancient pocket watch clasped in her hand. It ticked irregularly.
Tick...tock. Tick-tock.
The noise was comforting in its way, giving her something to focus on besides the echoing failure in her head.
Tick...tock. Tick-tock.
How could this have happened? She had taken every precaution. She had signed up for tesserae. She had trained for months - years! And it was all for nothing.
"Hey, Death," she said, her voice an angry hiss. "I thought we had a deal, my friend. I thought you were going to get me out of this? What happened there, eh?"
Tick...tock. Tick-tock.
"How dare you set me up to fail like that? How dare you? I worked so hard - I waited so long!"
Tick...tock. Tccck--.
Will glanced down. She was clutching the watch so hard that her knuckles had turned white; the fragile metal casing itself was slightly dented where it had been unable to withstand her grip. Slowly, she released it and its gentle rhythm returned.
Tick...tock. Tick-tock. Tick...tock. Tick-tock.
Suddenly, she heard something behind her and spun. "Who's there?"

The Games were here again, so soon. Another two kids of District 4 would be sacrificed for the Capitol's horrid greed. They didn't consider the fact that 322 kids had already died in these Games. The fact that those kids, which included her big brother, Sam, were never going to get to live their lives and grow up. It was absolutely a shame, Hailey thought, as she kicked at the ground. The reaping had come again, and they were going to pay for rebelling all those years ago. The Capitol just wouldn't let go of the grudge that the districts had dared rebel. They had lost anyway,so what was the Capitol's deal? Hailey set a brisk pace as she walked down the crowded streets. She was headed to a place that was quiet, where she could just meditate in her thoughts for a little while. She needed some time to herself without the distraction of her family or friends.

Hailey began slightly shoving the people who were shoving her as she tried to walk past them. Everyone was in a horrible mood today, not surprisingly. She gave a slight sigh and headed to the only uncrowded place in the district- the beach. With all the traffic back in town, she doubted it would be that crowded there. She could only hope, though. With her luck, this would be the day some fool decided to get all of his friends together and party. Doubt, with the mood all around, but not impossible. There were always idiots like that everyday. Some of them were drunks; others were just stupid; some just were taking a break from their usual lives. Whatever the case, they all annoyed her.

A slight wind was in the air, cooling the usually humid weather. The sun was shining, and there was not a single cloud in the air. It was ironic how much the weather contrasted with her mood. It was like this occasionally. When she was happy, it rained. When she was uppset or mad, the sun was shining crazily. It was really odd, to be honest. Weather was just not supposed to be like that. She reached the beach and slipped off her shoes. There was no sense in getting sand in them. It would be a pain to walk in them later if they were sandy. Hailey looked up to look at the water, and that's when she saw that she wasn't alone on this beach. She began to walk over to the person, curious as to who they were. The person spun around and asked who was there. Hailey jumped slightly and threw up her hands as a sign of innocence, just in case. "Hailey Summers. And who are you?"

Will raked a hand through her dyed-scarlet hair. She was suddenly, painfully aware of the fact that her eyes were reddened from holding back tears and scrubbed at them roughly. "Me? I'm just another poor sot that the Capitol ruined." She laughed sardonically. "Bloody bones, but that applies to all of us. I'm Will Kaoknur, very nice to meet you, Hailey Summers." She glanced at the glaring sun, feeling the warmth on her face. Too hot, too bright, too cheerful when her world was falling like this.
"Reaping's over for another year," she remarked casually, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. From her experience, the general populace reacted poorly to her obsession with the Games, thinking she wanted the glory. But what glory was there in death? How could bloodshed be seen as something great?

Hailey's thoughts waundered to the reaping as she waited for the girl to respond. She had been waiting with the other fifteen year olds, praying her name wouldn't be called, when as soon as it had begun, the girl's reaping was over. A girl named Lyric Sage, who Hailey had heard of but had never really talked to. The girl was 18, so she was way outside of that age group. She tended to hang out with the kids her age and maybe the ones a year or two older. The boy called had been Al Meer, who once again, she had heard of but never really talked to. She was loud and not really shy, but boys his age rarely really took notice of her. They tended to go for girls their age for some strange reason.

Hailey had been so relieved, for her family's sake. She doubted that they could stand another death. Sam dying had been total agony. Her dying would've been torture. It would've been made worse by the fact that she fed the family. Her dad earned money through his job, of course, but it was easier for her to fish and for him to spend that money on other things they needed. They needed so much, because they were one of the poorer families in the district. An idea sprung to mind. Maybe if she won the Games, she could win a lot of money for her family. Her parents would never approve, but she could do it in secret. There were always people who could train her. She could volunteer next year. She dismissed the thought fr a moment, but it stayed in the back of her mind, ready to come out later.

The girl spoke, and Hailey nodded sympathetically, wondering what exactly the girl had meant by that. The girl introduced herself as bloody bones and then Will Kaoknur. Emily replied"Nice to meet you, too." Will remarked that the reaping was over for another year. It wasn't really surprising taht this topic had come up. The reaping was one of the biggest topics to talk about in town right now. Hailey answered,"Thank god, I gotta say. If I was picked, my family wouldn't be able to deal with it." Hailey shut her mouth immediately. She didn't often tell people that; this time she had just blurted it right out.

Will's mind wandered a little - it was hard to focus on talking to someone after so long. She pondered the tributes that had been chosen. What makes them better than me? Why wasn't I picked? The girl was older than Will, yes, but not nearly so strong or fast, she'd bet. It was bitter, so bitter to have what she desired most held before her tantalizingly, then see it stolen away. But now Hailey seemed ready to speak and Will forced her attention back to the other girl.
She listened cautiously to Hailey as she spoke, noticing that the girl seemed nervous about her response, as if she hadn't intended to say as much. "Hmm, yes, I think I might know how you feel... I used to be so worried about the reaping myself. Now, though... now I almost wish I'd volunteered."

((Oh gog, I am so sorry about how late this is, I got distracted big time.))