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They visited Silco first, I don’t know why. They apparently had a problem with the Peacekeepers just getting in to see us and Felicia was a bit roughed up when they came to me, blood still leaking from her nose but she didn’t acknowledge it. It was just another thing that we didn’t talk about for years. We talked about strategy, all the ways that we could survive this. Felicia was clearly already plotting, talking about what past Arenas had been and what this year might be. She was talking about something with desserts if I remember correctly and while she couldn’t be more wrong, she was passionate enough that I still believed in what she was saying. She gave me tips about how to get water, apparently she had read about it in one of those books she was always reading. I don’t remember much else about what those strategies we discussed were but I remember fully believing anything that she said. Maybe it was just how convincing she was but really, I think that I was just desperate to believe in anything.

Connol, usually more talkative than Felicia when the pair were nervous, was the one who stayed silent, as if he was taking it all in. I should have had more reaction but instead, I just watched in silence, listening as Felicia discussed strategies. I wasn’t even thinking about how I would have to have Silco die if I wanted to live; instead I thought of nothing. I just stared at the ground, vaguely nodding along to whatever Felicia was saying with my eyes nearly glazed over. It hadn’t hit me what was about to happen, I didn’t know how terrible it would be.

“We’ll see you on the other side,” Felicia said before she left, squeezing my knee. Connol glanced at her and she stuck out her tongue at them, something that seemed far less childish and more playful at the time.

“Felicia, we need to leave. The hour’s almost up,” he said, pointing to the Peacekeepers leering outside the door, not quite forcing their way in yet but only a minute or two from doing so.

“Let me say goodbye,” she said before leaning down to hug me tight. She whispered into my ear, “You’re going to do great, Vander. Fuck, just… Just come back home to me, okay? Both of you have to come home to me.”

“I will, Felicia,” I said and suddenly, I looked at her and frowned. I shouldn’t be promising anything, especially when I knew so deep down that I wanted it to be Silco who came back. Yet promise her I did and she smiled, pulling her hair back. It had come loose from its usual braid at some point, she had a habit of running her fingers nervously through her hair and the Peacekeepers violence surely didn’t help.

“Felicia,” Connol said, sending me one last empathetic look. I know he didn’t mean to be rude, he was just prioritizing Felicia instead of the dead man. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices like that in life. It didn’t make it hurt less but even then I understood that he was betting and even preparing for my death.

Chapters: 11/11 Fandom: Heartstrings (Webcomic) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ro Cambria/Isidora Velasco, Dante & Isidora Velasco, Sage & Ro Characters: Ro Cambria, Isidora Velasco, Dante, Carina, Sage, Autumn - Character Additional Tags: Both of them are stupid idiots, Outing, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Everything is a song title at this point, they are both assholes my god Summary: