"Aria. Aria! Wake up!"

I fluttered my tired eyes open, pushing myself up in my bed. I used the back of my hand to brush some of the sweat-covered hair off of my forehead. Aimlessly, I rubbed at my eyes, the bags under them growing with each restless night.

"What was it this time?" A gentle voice asked, making me look up at the boy before me. His messy brown hair was hanging loosely around his face, his green eyes shining in the morning sun coming through the window.

"I told you to stop using that key to get inside." I mumbled hoarsely, bringing my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. He sighed, staring down at me from his standing position. "Really, Aria? This again?"

I pushed myself up and out of bed, walking past him towards the bathroom. "You have grease on your face, Zander." I mumbled, before shutting the bathroom door to him groaning.

I turned on the shower, before looking at myself in the mirror. My long blonde hair had long since lost its luster, and now laid limply down my back. I was thinner than before, my skin also more pale then it had been previously.

My face was barely recognizable to me. Dark bags were under my eyes from the almost complete lack of rest over the past months. My lips were dry and cracked, and the freckles dusted across my nose and cheeks were virtually invisible with the pale tone of my skin.

I looked like a different person.

You are a different person.

I shook my head, climbing in the shower and turning it on with ease, the panel controlling it no longer a foreign contraption to me. I showered quickly, before climbing out and drying off with a towel.

I entered my room, slipping on the cloths Zander put out on my bed for me. This had become sort of a routine, lately. Zander would come over and wake me up, lie out some cloths, and then make up some stupid excuse as to why he was there in the first place.

We both knew why he was actually here though.

To make sure I haven't gone completely off the deep end.

Or killed myself.

Either or.

I slowly made my way down the stairs, now dressed in a loose white t-shirt and some beige shorts ending at my knees. I ran a hand through my damp hair, sitting down on one of the stools in the kitchen, Zander rummaging through my fridge.

"Hungry?" He asked in a chipper tone, looking over at me with a lopsided smile.

"Am I ever hungry?" I asked in a bored tone, yawning and placing my elbows on the counters, before resting my chin in my hands. He sent me a look, before pulling out some eggs and other things, cooking away.

"You need to eat more, Aria. Or you're going to wither away." He commented, looking over his shoulder at me, before turning back to the stove.

Maybe I want to wither away.

I kept my comment to myself, sighing before speaking again. "Why are you here anyway?"

He turned around towards me, shrugging. "Officially, I'm fixing your fridge."

I glanced over at my fridge, which was working absolutely fine. I dragged my eyes back over to Zander, speaking. "And unofficially?"

He shifted his gaze away from me, back to the eggs, saying, " I wanted to make sure you were alright. I mean, with tomorrow and everything."

I took in Zander's appearance as he spoke softly. He was wearing a pair of tattered pants and a grease stained work shirt, a pair of heavy-duty boots on his feet. His green eyes were shining, per their usual, his tan skin making them pop.

Zander worked as the handy man for the Victors Village, although, he mainly hung around my house. At first it was annoying, as you would imagine it would be. I wanted to be left alone.

But he had grown on me, although I would never admit that to him. In the past months, he's been basically the only person I've spoken too; my only remaining form of comfort.

The only thing keeping me from insanity, most likely.

"I'm fine." I said stiffly, taking one of the plates from him and handing him a fork for his. I shoveled a small bite in my mouth, him watching to make sure I ate at least half of it before he started in on his. " That's convincing, Ar."

I sent him a look, before saying "I'm fine, Zander. As fine as I'm going to be."

He sighed at this, but didn't respond, going back to eating. After a few moments, he spoke up again. He never did like silence, much to my dismay at times.

"Have you heard anything about your dad?"

I glanced over at one of the pictures of him on the wall, his stern face holding a very rare smile. " Nothing." I replied softly, looking back at him and taking a short breath, before taking his empty plate over to the sink, tossing out the remaining contents from mine.

"I can do those." He said, moving to stand. I glared at him, saying, "I'm perfectly capable of washing my own dishes, Zander. Go sit or something." He smirked at my attitude, before walking off into the living room.

I sighed, quickly washing the dishes, my mind wandering a bit about tomorrow.

Six months have moved by so quickly.

In truth, I was dreading tomorrow. Sure, here I wasn't exactly living life to the fullest, but I had Zander to keep me sane. I had the fleeting chance that my dad was going to walk through that door one day soon.

On the victory tour, I'll have nothing, other than pretty cloths and vibrant capitol escorts and stylists. And then of course, there was Cato.

Cato.

The person I've been completely shoving out of my mind for the past six months.

I bit my lip, turning off the tap and leaning against the counter, my head pointed down towards the floor. I wasn't sure I could handle seeing Cato, let alone handle the glares and cold comments he was sure to send my way.

Don't forget the fake relationship you've forced him into.

I groaned, resisting the urge to scream, instead gripping the counter so hard my knuckles turned white and grew numb, the edge of the counter slicing into the skin of my palm.

I can't do this.

"Aria. Stop." I heard Zander say behind me, resting his hands over mine, trying to pull them away from the counter. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I can't do this." I mumbled softly, tears threatening to spill from my eyes and onto the perfect tiled floor.

"Aria, look at me. Come on, Ar." Zander said, peeling me off the sink and around to face him. I clenched the fabric of his shirt in my hands, resting my forehead against his shoulder. "I can't. I can't." I repeated, my voice cracking as the tears started to fall.

He sighed, wrapping an around my waist to pull me closer into him, his other hand stroking my hair. "You'll be fine, Aria. It's only a few weeks. Besides, you'll have Cato with you."

Cato.

I almost wanted to laugh at how ironic that statement really was. I didn't have Cato; not even in the weakest of terms. His words still rang out in my mind from that day on the train.

Some girl.

I didn't respond to him, sniffling a bit to try and relax myself. Zander pulled back a bit, grabbing my face in his worn, calloused hands. He pecked a kiss on my forehead, smiling softly. " Can I get a smile?"

I glared at him, saying, "Stop."

"I'm not letting you go until you smile, Arianna Reynolds." He said defiantly, a playful glint on his handsome face. I rolled my eyes, smiling weakly nonetheless. He smiled triumphantly, releasing me and ushering me out towards the front door.

"Where are we going?" I asked, slipping on my plain sandals by the door, looking up at him.

"You're gonna help me fix Beetee's stove." He said, grabbing my hand and tugging me outside and down the road. I rolled my eyes, but gripped his hand back, following him.

Enjoy this, Aria.

Because tomorrow, this all ends.

[-]

Hello Readers New and Old :D

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of " Middle of Nowhere", even if it is really mostly a set up chapter! The next one will be a bit more exciting, trust me

So it seems our dear Aria is falling apart! What do you guys think of Zander? And how do you think Aria will react to seeing Cato again? Tell me in your review!

Let's get this story off right with lots of reviews, guys :D

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See you guys in Chapter Two(:

-Becca(: