The Hundredth Hunger Games (Clace Fanfic)

Chapter 12

HAZEL'S POV

I was sitting alone on the couch in front of the television and staring at the blank screen expressionlessly, thinking instead about how our outfits would be like. I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not hear some tentative footsteps behind me until a light hand tapped me on the shoulder.

I whipped around, woken out of my fantasies to see Clary standing behind the couch, her brilliant red hair framing her heart-shaped face.

"Hi Hazel..." she began, smiling at me easily. "I wanted to ask you about something."

I tried to hide my shock at this, because nobody really bothered talking to me. First it was Bob, and now it was Clary! Wow... This day seemed to be full of surprise.

"Yeah, sure," I said casually, patting the space on the sofa beside me. "Come and join me."

She hastily bounced onto the sofa beside me and grinned at me. I really envied Clary because she was always so straightforward and confident. I was sure that every guy in our district was hopelessly in love with her. That was no surprise because she was really fierce, and also pretty as well. "We were wondering-"

"Who's we?" I interrupted and immediately kicked myself mentally for this stupid statement. Who else could it be except-

"Jace," she answered, colour flooding her cheeks. "Jace and I were wondering whether you would like to be our ally in The Games."

I stared at her in disbelief, utterly speechless. Why would she want an ally, when she and Jace were already such excellent fighters, and such a good team? And, even if she did want an ally, why would she choose me out of everybody?!

Clary watched my expression anxiously and her face fell in disappointment. "Ohh," she said dejectedly, making a move to leave. "It's completely fine. I don't really mind... It was just-"

I shook my head wildly. "No! That's totally cool with me!" I assured breathlessly. "But I don't understand why..."

She looked at me in confusion, a frown creasing her forehead. "What don't you understand?"

I gestured despairingly to my oxygen tank, which was helping me to breathe as I had lung cancer. "I... You know..." I whispered, shaking my head.

She continued to look at me with a puzzled expression on her face but then she saw me looking sadly at my oxygen tank and her eyes widened. "You mean... You don't expect us to be allies with you because you have cancer..?" she realised slowly.

I gave a heavy sigh and muttered, "Well nobody else does."

Clary leaned back into the sofa and took a deep breath. For a moment, I thought that she might want to take back her decision. "Hazel... I'm not bothered about the fact that you have cancer," she started slowly. "I MEAN, it doesn't make me think you any less human. I know that you probably think that you're not as strong as other people, but personally, I think that you are even stronger."

I watched her in awe as she carried on speaking passionately. This was probably only the second time that somebody had ever been so nice to me.

"Hazel," she continued. "Although you might not be as strong physically... emotionally, you are stronger than anybody I know. I never told you how much I respected you... You know, after... Augustus."

"Gus," I whispered numbly, tears prickling my eyes. "I still miss him so much."

Then all of a sudden, the tears began to flow: slow at first, then getting faster and faster. All of the tension from the past few days and Gus' death engulfed me like an angry storm and sent coughs racking through my body.

Clary moved forwards and hugged me awkwardly, saying gently, "Hazel, you don't have to keep everything to yourself. You could've always spoken to me."

I wiped the tears furiously from my eyes, congratulating myself on how I had managed to bawl my eyes out when Clary had complimented me. Well done, Hazel Grace Lancaster.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, "I thought nobody wanted to talk to me, or even look at me."

"You're wrong," she spoke. "I have always admired your courage."

"So have I," I replied honestly, and then with a little hesitation, I asked. "So we're allies?"

"Not only allies," exclaimed Clary with a wide smile. "We're friends."

*****

Girly Chapter, I know.

BUT... Thank you for 290 reads.

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