Chapter Text
“That …thing… is not Wyatt.” Louella deadpanned. Maysilee and Not Wyatt were standing in the doorway, Not Wyatt staying incredibly close to her. They knew that, everyone in that room knew that. It was clearer than day that this body double was not Wyatt. “Of course I am, I am Wyatt Callow, from District 12.” Not Wyatt smiled, his smile becoming more forced by the minute. “Sure you are honey, how about we get you something to eat?” Mags said, guiding Not Wyatt into the apartment kitchen. Maysilee watched as Not Wyatt followed Mags into the kitchen, then Wiress telling them to follow suit. “Im not calling it Wyatt.” Louella said, glaring at Not Wyatt as he waited patiently for the food Mags was preparing. Haymitch looked at Not Wyatt, like he was trying to study the body double’s ways and mannerisms. “How about Wy Wy for short? I don’t think I’m all too comfortable with calling it Wyatt.” Haymitch suggested. They all nodded in agreement. “Alright. Wy Wy is.” Maysilee sighed, unable to break her eyes for Not Wyatt.
The three tributes, plus the body double, and the two mentors sat around the table, eating pieces of bread and soup. “Wyatt—“Wiress was cut off by Louella, mouth stuffed with bread. “Its Wy Wy!” She said muffled. “Oh. Alright.” Wiress said, stepping closer to Wy Wy. He looked at the District 3 mentor with a look in his eyes, like he had remembered her, even if they have never met before. Maysilee watched Wy Wy carefully as Wiress walked towards him, holding a basket of bread with small pieces of chocolate in them. “Wy Wy, would you like to try some sweet bread?” Wiress asked, eyes full with sincerity. Chocolate was a luxury in District 12, even for the Town kids. It was only imported once every two months to the Sweet Shop, and when it came, it sold out fast. Maysilee recalled a memory of some elementary boys had started a fight in the shop over the last chocolate bar. Wy Wy stared at the bread longingly, like he was trying to remember something. “It’s alright, you can eat it.” Mags said, handing him a small piece of the chocolate bread.
Then out of nowhere, Wy Wy burst into tears, then falling over out of his chair. Maysilee, Haymitch, and Louella shot up, watching him crawl into the corner kitchen, curling on him self. He hugged his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth, his chest heaving and the sounds of sobs echoing through the apartment. “Wy Wy!” Maysilee cried out, rushing towards him, but Mags held her back with her arms. “Give him some space, he needs some time—“
“M-maysilee..”
Wy Wy’s hoarse voice broke through Mags’s voice. Mags looked at Maysilee, confused, but ultimately let her go to him. Wy Wy reached his arms out to Maysilee like a small child in need of his mother. She got on her knees and hugged, his arms wrapping around her tightly. Maysilee gently shushed him as he cried into her shoulder, a wave of heartbreak suddenly running over her. This boy was probably beaten and tortured to be the way he is now. Do the people in the Capitol feel no sympathy? Are they all brainwashed? Or are they all just as stupid as their outfits. “What just happened?!” Haymitch cried out, watching from behind the table, Louella holding his arm for safety. “It was the bread. Who ever Wy Wy was before being… highjacked… he must’ve been from my district, District 3.” Wiress said while looking at the highjacked boy who sat there crying “This bread is a treat that’s made for kids back home, the only way he would know that if he was from there.” Maysilee half listen to Wiress explanation on why Wy Wy just bursted out crying. Maysilee wiped away Wy Wy’s tears with her thumbs, telling him that he was safe now. Even though he surely wasn’t.
—
That night Maysilee, Haymitch, and Louella sat on the couch, while Wy Wy sat in-front of Maysilee, his head in her lap. They watched the clips of the Tribute Parade, watching themselves wave and smile for the cameras, only for three of them to make it out alive. Maysilee watched Wyatt carefully, his stoic face, those stormy gray eyes, the lips she used to kiss senseless under a warm summer night…oh how she longed to be with him again. Maysilee watched it intensely before it cut out to Caesar Flickerman, talking about the parade, not even daring to even mention that someone had died.
Wyatt is—was— oh so smart, incredibly intelligent in all fields. Back in school, Maysilee was always astounded how quickly he finished the work. They only had a few classes together, on account of Wyatt being older than her and skipping a grade. But he always was the smartest in the class, even smarter than some of the teachers. Maysilee’s mind flickered back into a small memory of when she had History with him. How flawlessly he corrected the teacher, Mrs. Bellingham, about when Snow came to power. Mrs. Bellingham, forever prideful, checked the history book, only to find that Wyatt was correct. Mrs. Bellingham sent him to the principal’s office just for being right, and Maysilee, who always stood for what she believed in, called her out. And then they were both waiting outside Principal Harrison’s office. Wyatt had given her a quiet thank you before going inside Principal’s Harrison’s office. Maysilee had honestly forgotten about the interaction, being too caught up in her own anger to even think about him.
“Thats not what happened at all. They cut the feed!” Louella cried out, pointing at the tv. Maysilee knew it wasn’t true, Snow had told her himself that the feed didn’t cut because a game maker from Two couldn’t turn it off. They had edited the footage to play it off like nothing had happened, as if millions hadn’t seen the disaster play out live. Maysilee was a furious at the Capitol. Actually, what Maysilee was feeling could not be described in a word, it was so many things at once that she couldn’t even begin to describe it. She watched as Louella and Haymitch complained about the Capitol, knowing that they didn’t know the real truth.
“They didn’t cut the feed.” Maysilee said, eyes unmoving from the screen.
“Are you dumb? Did you just see what was on the T.V.? They obviously didn’t want anyone to know about this.” Louella snapped. Maysilee looked at Louella, brows furrowed. “How would you even know? It’s not like you just had not so friendly meeting with Snow.” Maysilee snarked, not even realizing what just came out of her mouth. “What.” Haymitch said, slowly turning his head towards Maysilee, and Mags and Wiress shot up straight from where they were sitting, Louella’s jaw was practically to the floor as she put her hands on her head. Wy Wy flinched at the name of Snow, but then resumed laying his head in Maysilee’s lap, playing with her golden blonde hair. “Uhhh…” Maysilee quickly shut her mouth. Curse her and her mouth going faster than her brain. “President Snow visited me while I was at a place called Heavensbee Mansion. It was…” Maysilee trailed off, she didn’t know how to describe it. How could you describe it? The sadistic president of Panem came to you, told you how everyone in Panem saw your revolutionary stunt. And he brought you a body double of your boyfriend, and told you that he had control over her death? How do you possibly explain that. She tried, she really did, but she couldn’t say much of anything, there were cameras watching her every move.
“So he threw up blood and then presented Wy Wy to you?” Haymitch asked, eyes looking at Wy Wy playing with Maysilee’s hair. “Yeah.” Maysilee replied, her eyes were blank. She had purposely left out the part where she spilt the milk all over the floor. “Thats just downright disgusting.” Louella deadpanned, playing with one of her dark brown braids. Louella’s big gray eyes scanned the room for camera’s, but not finding any, she was probably about to pull a Maysilee, a flip off the camera’s that watched their every move. “Tell me about it. It was so gross, there was blood—“
“Pretty.”
Wy Wy whispered the word into the air. He was still examining and playing with Maysilee’s golden locks of hair. Maysilee looked down at him, his icy gray eyes peaking through his dark lashes. She gazed at his brownish black hair, it was shaggy like Wyatt’s, but not exactly like his. Wyatt only let him or his mom cut his hair, and sometimes Maysilee, but even then, he rarely let her do it. Wyatt was closer to his mother than anyone else in his family. He felt like she actually understood how it felt to not want to be associated with the Booker Boys. But as soon as Wy Wy hit the screen that would be broadcasted to all of Panem, Maysilee was sure that Mrs. Callow would know that wasn’t her baby boy.
The position that they were in reminded Maysilee of moment her and Wyatt shared earlier before this fateful summer. They were sitting in a patch of primrose, Wyatt’s head on Maysilee’s lap as the pointed out the stars they had saw that evening. It was a quiet late spring night, the wind was warm and the was temperature getting warmer too. Maysilee smiled at the memory, wanting to be stuck in it forever.
“Pretty.” Wyatt had whispered to her, playing with her golden hair, his stormy gray eyes flickering between her face and her hair. She had a small braid in her hair that had flowers sticking out of it, courtesy of Wyatt and his love for finding flowers to give to his candy girl. Maysilee gazed down lovingly and smiled at him, shaggy black hair framing his face. Maysilee ran her pale fingers through his hair, her index finger slightly getting caught by a tangle. She gently pulled her hand out and placed it on Wyatt’s cheek that was becoming warm to the touch. “Thanks, gorgeous.” Maysilee smirked at him. Before he could even respond to her, she leaned down and kissed his chapped lips with a smile. She broke the kiss, before going back to running her hands through his hair. Wyatt’s mind blanks his face turning beet red as he tried to stammer out a response.
Maysilee laughs as she takes a primrose flower, and places it in his hair. “Y-you’re pretty g-gorgeous too.” Wyatt blabbered out, his tongue tripping over his own words. He couldn’t believe that he, a Booker Boy, the shyest Booker Boy at that, could have gotten together with the most beautiful girl in all of Twelve, hell, in all of Panem. Nobody in Panem could ever compare to his beautiful, gorgeous, elegant girlfriend. Her golden blonde locks that framed her face, and those icy blue eyes that stared into his soul. Oh how he loved this girl. Wyatt calmed down as Maysilee hummed a tune to herself, messing with his hair. “You’re very gorgeous, ethereal, and just…” Wyatt trailed off, not being able to think of the right word to call Maysilee, his sweet and sour candy girl.
“Just…” Wyatt just stared at Maysilee intensely, his eyes filled with love. He couldn’t look away from her. She was an angel, a sight for sore eyes, he was her everything. Maysilee was his moon, his stars, his sun, his universe. She had graced the earth with her beauty, and yet out of all the people in this world, she chose him as her boy. She was his world, and he would do anything, Anything, to protect Maysilee Grace Donner from danger.
“Pretty.” Wyatt said, sitting up from where he laid. He sat in front of Maysilee, staring at the one he loved most in the entirety of the world. He could stare at her all day if she let him, Wyatt would do anything Maysilee told him to do. He had been whipped into shape by her, to listen to her every beck and call. And Wyatt was more than happy to take care of whatever she needed. Maysilee needed help carrying boxes in? Done. She needed help on her hair? No problem. If she needed anything, anything at all, she would go to him. Wyatt leaned in and kissed his ethereal girl, never wanting the moment to pass. Wyatt cradled her face, deepening the sweet kiss. Maysilee wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer into her, she needed him closer. Wyatt broke the kiss, to much of Maysilee’s dismay, but quickly pulled her on-top of him as he laid back down into the patch of primrose. The blonde Town girl giggled as she brought her hands to caress his face, her fingers outlining his sharp jaw.
“I love you Maysilee.”
Oh how she loved it when he said that
“I love you too, Wyatt.
Maysilee suddenly snapped back into reality, she was in bed, lying on her back. She doesn’t really recall how she got there, but she definitely knew that it was later into the night. When she tried to raise up to get a glasses of water to clear her head, she felt a large stop her from moving. It was Wy Wy, snuggled up next to her, practically pinning her down to the bed with the one arm. “Wy Wy—“ Maysilee was interrupted by a small groan coming from the floor, it was little Louella, sleeping next to a very awake Haymitch. And she’s guessing he had noticed she had woken up, cause he said to her “He’s been cuddled up to you for the past 2 hours, and he hasn’t let you go.” Even in the darkness of the room, she could tell Haymitch was playing with his flint striker. “Even when it was your turn to take watch, he wouldn’t budge. Wy Wy almost punched me when I tried to wake you.” Haymitch shrugged, looking at Maysilee and Wy Wy. It was endearing to think that Wy Wy, who was programmed to believe she was his girlfriend, had form of care in him. Maysilee has been seeing all night, from the way he stayed close, to the way he looked at Haymitch if he deemed he had gotten too close to her. Or when he called her…pretty…early that night, or right now, he’s protecting her from what he deems a threat. But was Haymitch a threat? No, not even his wildest dreams.
Maysilee sighed, turning to face Wy Wy as she did so. “Ah, no wonder I feel caged.” Maysilee snickered, eliciting a small laugh from Haymitch. Maysilee wriggled her hand free from underneath’s Wy Wy’s arm and placed it on his face, giving him a small kiss on his forehead. But not as a romantic gesture, but as a promise kiss. A promise that she will protect him no matter what. He had been trying to protect her and stay close to her as soon as they left the Heavensbee mansion, and she was forever grateful. Maysilee looked at him, sleeping peacefully, as he held her close. She whispered something to him, something he won’t probably even know she said:
“I will protect you, Wy Wy. if it’s the last thing I do.”