I couldn’t contain my awe as I perused the stacks of titles on the shelves. Pulling one on ancient history, I gasped in delight as I realized the books were filled with actual information. I had assumed they would just be props, but in retrospect it only made sense for the Game Makers to go all out.

Unwilling to put the book down, I tucked it in my ‘belt’ for safe keeping, before pulling Angus from the spot that I’d left him. The store seemed safe enough and a decent place to set up camp, but I was a bit worried about how exposed we were. 

Together we started moving the cases of books, forming something of a maze of paths to get to our spot, making sure to include a few emergency exit routes. The bookcases were heavy, but not impossible to move with Angus’ help, and after rearranging the books on the shelves to allow me to see the door and windows, I was feeling a lot better.

After gathering a stack of books ranging in subject from physics to biology and chemistry, to history and war strategy. I even found The Art of War, funnily enough. Settling into one of the plush arm chairs, I pulled out my stashed book and flipped to the first page of The World Before Panem: A Comprehensive History About The Dark Times which of course had a title that was basically as long as a novel because lets be real here.

Angus remained quiet in his own chair and I was surprised to see him with a book of his own. I could easily see it was a simple children's book with more pictures than words, but I didn’t comment on it. Honestly, I was surprised he could even read. I was sure he’d be illiterate. 

Keeping one eye on my surroundings because I wasn’t about to assume nothing was going to attack, I began reading. The book talked about countries, governments, and economics. Riots, revolutions and wars. It was everything I could have wanted and so much more. 

The more I read, the more I learned how much my mother had it wrong. There was so much more than she could ever understand. The complexities of the fall of the countries before Panem was formed. We’d always been taught about the disasters and wars, but none of our books went into the logistics of it.

Glancing up to make sure Angus was still occupied, I finally started relaxing a bit into my chair. I wouldn’t have imagined something so wonderful would be found in a shopping mall, and wondered if these were the typed of books you might actually find. I vowed to myself that, when I got out of here, I would visit every single bookstore in Panem. After all, what better prize could there be?

My ears were on high alert, and after every page, I would look up and scan the vicinity once more, but it didn’t seem like anything was going to attack any time soon. 

Half a date. Josh still wasn't entirely sure what had possessed him to come up with that idea. He supposed it was down to the fact he didn't want to risk a chance of Chloe slipping through his fingertips because he'd made such a mess of things. Let's make this outing into a date halfway through, because hey, why the hell not?! No, he wasn't going to screw this up because of some stupid drama a friend had created, he wouldn't let that happen. It was time to start a new chapter of his life, move on with things, and enjoy every moment. This was better though, this was a real date, finally a follow up to the second one. A little more formal, but he didn't want to go crazy and make her feel uncomfortable. In the end, after ringing around for reservations (a nightmare to get on a Saturday night), he finally found one that had opened up at Nobu Berkeley Street, and decided to go for it.

Grabbing a shower and changing into something suitable for dinner, he paused briefly while passing one of the mirrors in his room. Frowning at his reflection, he whipped his shirt back off again, deciding for the first time all week to actually bother shaving. He had time, he wasn't going to be late, might as well make some effort if he could.

As soon as he was ready, he grabbed his car keys, and then headed out so he could pick Chloe up. Taking the car would at least guarantee he couldn't drink too much. He'd been doing better, but sometimes it was too easy to get carried away. He arrived at Chloe's place in good time, making his way up to her apartment and knocking gently on the door. He was getting a little too used to this drive now, to the exact way to get into her building and her floor, but it was nice to become familiar with someone new. Waiting, he idly ran a hand through his hair, pulling his iPhone from his pocket and checking his reflection in the glass. Hearing footsteps though, he was quick to pocket it again, flashing Chloe a bright smile when she appeared on the otherside of the door. "Hey," he said softly. "Ready to go?"

Addison inhaled deeply as the the captain informed the passengers that they were preparing for take off. Her fingers gravitated towards her mouth as she bit the edges of her nails, something she hadn't done since she was a child. She could feel her body begin to fall back into the seat as the plane slowly began to lift from the the ground. Quickly her hands took refuge from her mouth, finding a new resting place on the arm rests at her side. Addison's eyes closed as she tried to think of something, anything, other than being on a plane. Addison had never been a fan of irony, finding it more a slap across the face rather then funny, but this was certainly ironic. Being on plane, flying to watch your best friend be taken off life support, from injuries sustained in a plane crash? No, this most certainly was irony.