He had never ventured even remotely close to the edge of District Six, him being situated nice and snug in the heart of one of the largest districts in all of Panem. Though he would continually think about getting up and running away to escape the misery that McKinley caused him, he wouldn’t dare try and venture outside the barbed-wire, electric fences the Capitol installed around all of the Districts. As he stood there on the train, looking out into the abyss, Kurt’s mind drifted back to the chilling story of his friend Sally.

In third grade, Kurt was friends with one of the nicest and most genuine girls in his school, Sally. Not best friends, but he talked to her every once and a while. About halfway through the year, she suddenly vanished; never showing up to school and never being spotted around town. Kurt just thought she had gone on a long vacation. Then, about a month later, the principal of Kurt’s elementary school came on the loud speaker, quite broken-up and emotional, and told the school that Sally had been kidnapped one day while she was walking to the school bus and it wasn’t until last night that they were able to find her body, dumped in the river, left to be taken away by the current. Kurt was saddened by the news. He would have just sadly believed the unfortunate situation about his dear friend Sally until he heard his parents gossiping that night.

“How’d they really do it, Burt? I know you know.”

“Elizabeth, sweetie, if I knew anything I would tell you but I—“

“Bullshit!” yelled Elizabeth, startling herself and Burt. She took a deep breath to regain her composure and started whispering again. They were trying not to take Kurt up. That was unsuccessful.

Kurt had heard the loud screech of his mother. He wandered out of bed to the top of the staircase to see what his parents were arguing over. His stomach was in knots. He always hated when his parents fought.

“That’s bullshit, Burt. Sally’s dad worked at the shop and I dam well know you two are best friends. I saw him at that little girl’s funeral today and I god-damn know that a father should be traumatized by the situation and not a complete, stoic-fuck!”

Kurt had never heard his mother curse like that. In fact, it was the only time in Kurt’s recollection that he remembers her saying even one curse word, let alone five of them.

”Alright, alright, alright! You’re right.” Burt said, giving into his wife, somewhat terrified at her ghastly and demonic tone. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want Ronny to get in trouble (Ronny was Sally’s dad’s name). He and Sharon were doing just fine and then one night, he came home and they were both gone. There was a note on the fridge that said to come meet them in thirteen. Ronny couldn’t believe it. Sharon just up and took Sally without even telling him, trying to force him to come to thirteen with her so that he could still see his daughter.”

“Oh my god, Burt, that’s horrible!”

“Yeah...well they got to the edge of the border. About thirty paces into twelve, they got their heads blown to smithereens. A couple of keepers had seen them and were suspicious of their odd pattern through the woods so they followed them all the way to the border. The minute they were about to cross under the barbed wire fence, they yelled for them to stop but Sharon just grabbed Sally and started running, trying to see if they could out run the guards. Unfortunately, she didn’t know about those weapons they carry. It’s a shame, especially for that poor girl.”

Elizabeth’s hands were clasped around her mouth, trying to hold back her emotions, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Ronny had a couple of the keepers barge into his house, interrogate him, searched the whole house for signs that he was planning on runnin’ too. Luckily, he had left that note at my shop. Next day…I found it lying on the ground. I asked him about it…he just froze and started ballin’. Couldn’t imagine losing a kid to the Capitol.”

Kurt recapitulated his father’s words as he came back from his trance.
“Couldn’t imagine losing a kid to the Capitol.”

A whistle and a whoosh later, and he noticed a fence, the train had just finished passing through. It was huge, steel, and there was a low, buzzing mixed with an ominously dark guard tower to the left. All painted in gray and black, Kurt knew they had just exited District Six. Goodbye, he thought, as he quietly waved the fence goodbye. The train rounded a large corner into a long and narrow tunnel. The slimness of the tunnel, mixed with the speed and reverberations of the train’s wheels along the steel tracks made it defining.

Kurt hurried inside to find Mercedes still on the same couch, with the same position, and the same, depressing expression all across her face.

“Hey” Kurt said, waving to her, trying to get her to talk to him. “How are you?”

“Leave me alone,” snapped Mercedes. “I don’t wanna talk right now, Kurt.”
“Hey-whaa?! Mercedes, what’s wrong?”

“Kurt, not now” Mercedes said, shaking her head. “I don’t wanna t-tt-aa-lllllkkkkk.” Mercedes started to sob.

Oh great, two cry babies. Hip-hip for team twelve…

Kurt walked over and started rubbing her back.

“You know…you can tell me anything. We’ve been friends forever. Just because of these games doesn’t mean we both have to play by their rules. We don’t have to dessert each other. I’ll never do that to you, you know that.”

Kurt continued rubbing while Mercedes got her sobs under check. She sat-up and looked Kurt in the eye, still kind of hysterical.

“It-s not that! It’s my parents!” Mercedes piped.

“I know. I miss mine too. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance you won’t-”

“Kurt! Please! That’s not it, either! Just leave me alone!”

“Hey! Don’t yell at me. Just tell me what it is! I’m here for you! I’ll get it!”

Mercedes started shaking her head. “No…no, haha, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. You see, Kurt, because you WONT get it. Because you know why? You know why you’ll never understand, KURT?!”

Kurt shook his head, terrified.

“Because at least your parents…at least your parents love you enough to say goodbye!”

Mercedes started to cry again.

“At least your parents love you! You see, yours came all the way down to the station to say goodbye. Hug you, kiss you, and tell you how much they love you. Maybe even give the best advice they could. Mine didn’t. I walked into that room, hoping that I could say bye to my momma one last time, but she wasn’t there. It was just a big ol’ dark room, Kurt.”

Kurt’s heart sunk as he pondered what that must have felt like; to already have been subjected to the stress and anxiety of the games, let alone the thoughts and reality about the little time left with one’s parents and siblings. He couldn’t imagine being rushed down to the station, paparazzi all around him, trying to get even the smallest of quotes about how he feels when all he really wants are his friends and family. His normal life of hating the world but thankful for being alive. He wouldn’t have known how to deal with his situation, had he walked into room 24 and all there being an empty room, with its hideously done shades of black and brown. His heart went out to Mercedes.

“Wanna know the best part, Kurt? I walked in there and sat on the chairs, trying not to cry because my momma always taught me that when the going gets tough, you don’t give up. You keep your head up high, and strut what you have. That’s what happened all the way through middle school, when girls like Quinn and Santana would point out my obesity in front of the whole gym class when we were getting changed. It sucked, but I always kept my head up. Then, today, this one day, I wanted to let go of all of that. I wanted to lean into my momma’s shoulders and cry a little before she wiped away my tears and told me that she loved me and that everything is gonna be alright. So then I heard a knock at the door,”

Mercedes got up and went to the end of the train car, mocking what had just happened to her in room 23. She pretended to open the door, as though someone were outside.

“I heard the knock and I thought that that was my momma. That she was just running late. I felt relieved and started to beat myself up, thinking that my parents would just dessert me. So I opened the door, ready to fling my arms around her when all there was was a peacekeeper. I was devastated, but still hoping he was gonna tell me where my parents were when he just gave me this...”

Mercedes fiddled around with her pocket until she managed to take out a tiny, yellow sheet of paper that she had folded. She unfolded it and gave it to Kurt. Kurt took it and let his eyes focus a little before he read it. The note was small, and very short, and read:

Dear Mercedes,

Your father and I couldn’t make it to the station. We couldn’t handle saying goodbye to you. We couldn’t handle trying to lie to you, saying that you would be home soon enough, back at the dinner table around everyone that loves you. We just couldn’t handle that. Be smart, baby girl.

All my love,

Momma

Kurt’s heart, once again, continued to sink farther and farther. He she was, ready to be loved and have some support when all she got was this abandoned note, saying how her parents couldn’t handle it. Kurt re-read the note, to make sure his eyes and brain didn’t deceive him and sadly, they didn’t.

Mercedes started to heavily sob as she tried to wipe away her tears.
“Oh my god, Mercedes, come here!!”

Kurt jumped up and gave her possibly one of the biggest teady-bear style hugs that could have ever been seen. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as possible, and put her head on his shoulder.

“You, my girl, need to know a few things. First, that that was totally—and I mean it—totally not cool! Your parents should have been there for you; not the other way around. This may be a bit too soon, but if that was what they would do to you if they actually came to the station, then who needs em’.”

Mercedes chuckled a little, starting to control her sobs.

“You also need to know who the strongest person in these games is. Do you know who that is?” Kurt said, pushing himself a little bit away from her so that he could stare at her straight in the eyes. “Do you know who that is, Mercedes?”

“Sue?” Mercedes said quietly.

“Sue may be strong but she’s no match for you. You, Mercedes, are the strongest. Teams are going to underestimate your abilities because of your size when they don’t stop for a second and think about your charisma, not to mention, feistiness. And if anyone as so much comes close to your weave…”

Mercedes was laughing now.

“See? I know you too well. I know that what your parents did was low and uncalled for and it just sucks, but you can’t let that get you down. Not in a time like this. You have too much going for you, for you to win. Don’t let them get you down, okay?”

Mercedes smiled and nodded. Kurt always knew how to make her happy again.

“Besides, we need your strength and confidence to help me, otherwise, THEN we’re truly screwed.”

“Kurt…thank-you. You really are awesome.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Kurt joked.

“You’re right. I’m not gonna let others get me down! And why you thinking that you ain’t strong?! Boy, you are tough as bricks, I’ll tell you that. You put up with all those bullies back at school, this ain’t nothin’ new.”

Kurt nodded. But then he thought back about his situation with Blaine.

Toughness can only go so far until a beautiful hobbit comes knocking on your door.

“Yeah, Mercedes, we’re gonna need to get all of our worries out now so that we’re ready. Is there anything else I should know about, not to sound demanding, because if not, then I have something oh-so-big to tell you.”

Mercedes shook her head,” No, nothing. What’s up with you?”

Kurt nodded, and started his tale. “Well, ya see…remember how there was never anyone on the market for me? How are school was just a bunch of homophobes or closet gays?”

Mercedes nodded, yes.

“Well, I thought that after the reaping there wasn’t a chance that I would meet anyone ever, seeing as we only had three weeks left…”

Mercedes ears perked up. She somewhat liked where this was going.

“…well, I kind of was seeing somebody up until the games…”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!!” Mercedes screamed, jumping on Kurt and hugging him. She was so excited for him. Kurt knew she would be; maybe not to this extreme.

“Boy, I knew this would happen to you, someday!! I told you, didn’t I tell you?! AHH! Okay, okay—sorry--you gotta tell me though! Tell me about him! What’s he like?! Features?! How’d he take you being in the games?!” she said, bouncing all over the couch in happiness. If only Kurt felt the same.

Kurt’s smile for Mercedes’s excitement quickly faded into sorrow. His eyes sparkled a little from the tears he was holding back. A few managed to escape but he quickly wiped them out of the way.

“Uhm, yeah about that. How you feel if I told you that….the guy I met?...that guy actually turned out to be Blaine?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the next hour, Kurt unveiled his tale of him being sad, of how his parents let him drop out of school for the past three weeks; of how he went to get coffee and bumped into a stranger that lent him some clothes because he spilled coffee on himself; about how the stranger was all cute, dapper, polite, and handsome; about how he asked to go on a date with them; about how they kissed and got lost in each other’s worlds for a little when they kissed; about the Asian family in the bathroom and their date in the fields on the outskirts of the airport; about how Blaine called him his chameleon and he his Meeko.

All the while, Mercedes sat with Kurt in disbelief. She was excited and dancing around when Kurt told her about their date and the kiss and how cute Blaine acted. At the same time, she couldn’t believe that this guy, Blaine Anderson, the cutest most adorable human being known to ever have walked the face of the Earth, was really this mischievous, conniving, bastard that both she and Kurt saw on stage, at McKinley just a few hours ago.

“I…I’m literally speechless! I’m so happy for you, but at the same time, I really…are you sure they’re the same person?”

“Pretty positive. The chances of their being two Blaine Andersons from District Six who looked identical in height, eyes, hair, face, and body complexion are….impossible. Believe me, I’ve thought about that for a while.” Kurt laughed, shaking his head as well in disbelief.

“Is that why you turned so pale at the end of the ceremonies?” Mercedes asked.

Kurt nodded.

“That makes a lot more sense; I mean, I just assumed you were nervous and scared about the actual day and leaving like I was. But this…this makes a lot more sense.”

“The weird thing in all of this is that I should be furious; mad, but most of all, heartbroken, but something in me tells me I shouldn’t; something in me thinks that I like him still and, most oddly, that he likes me.”

“What do you mean? You said it yourself—he was manipulating you to make you fall in love, like Sue wanted, so that when she introduced him as her fearless partner, that you would be devastated and crushed and weak.”

“I did say that, and I was all of those things for a little bit but then I had this weird dream when we were driving to the train station. I fell asleep and entered this like…alternate universe. We were in this old fashion brick building and it was pouring. I don’t remember much, but he was there. And were arguing over what he did and the games and it all felt so-so…real?”

“Kurt, I’m really happy for you..but are you sure you’re not just making it up in your head? This is the first guy that you’ve ever truly liked and he has liked you back and are you sure you’re not just making this up because you don’t want to belief that what you had wasn’t real?”

Kurt shook his head. “I could be making this all up in my head, I really could be, but I can’t explain this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach I get. Like…remember that time I actually liked Finn?”

Mercedes laughed. “Yeah…that turned out differently than planned.”

Kurt laughed too. The thought of him even remotely liking Finn Hudson in the slightest of Romantic ways still baffles him today.

“When Finn acknowledged he didn’t like me, I felt this pit of rage and I never wanted to talk to him again. With Blaine…it’s different. Maybe it’s because he never said he never liked me, to me, but I just don’t have that same feeling of anger and hurt that Finn gave me, which I’ll admit I rightfully deserved.”

“What’s your weird feeling then, Kurt?”

“I don’t know…just when I was in my dream with him, it felt so real that, this may sound completely psychotic to you, but I think it is real.”

“Well what happened then?!”

“He…he admitted he still liked me and that he’s doing this under blackmail…he’s only being Sue’s partner because she threatened to do something to him if he didn’t. He said he had this…this “debt” to her?”

“What debt?!”

“I don’t know.”

“What was she blackmailing him over?!”

“Again, I don’t know. All I know is that that feeling feels more real than him actually being a devilish bastar-“

Their conversation was interrupted when a swoosh from the forward door diverted their attention away from their conversation to the peculiarly dressed woman in pink. She had curly, white hair, a mask of white powder that hid her true face, and bright pink lips from heavy amounts of lipstick. She wore black heals and her dress was that of a geometric catastrophe. Nonetheless, her odd appearance was welcomed.

“Hello, darlings, you must be Kurt and you must be Mercedes,” she said pointing to the both of them.

They nodded.

“Wonderful to meet you, I just wanted to let you know that we are about to pass a marvelous lake that offers a breath taking view from your rooms. Come, come along!”

“Wait! And who might you be?” Kurt stopped and shouted before she left the car.

The lady was surprised, and turned around.

“Why, I am Effie; Effie Trinket.”