Hannah paid, and they were one of the last groups to exit the restaurant, Jackson and Asher supporting Will on the way out. Helping a full-grown, remarkably powerful member of the Drazok Family walk was easier said than done. They would never admit it, but Jackson and Asher were close to breaking a sweat after only a few steps down the pathway.

"You know, I'm more than willing to help," Hannah offered.

"Guys, let her! She's a Drazok too, she could probably carry Will home herself," Maggie laughed.

"Yeah," Jackson huffed, adjusting Will's arm around his shoulder, "I'm sure she would love to carry him home," he smirked.

Hannah gasped, "You know I didn't mean it that way!" Her face was almost as red as her hair. Maggie stood there with her hands covering her mouth, surprised by the bluntness of the joke.

"Let's just go please," Asher panted, "he's ridiculously heavy."

"M'not heavy," Will protested, unable to lift his head up.

"You guys just had to make things weird," Hannah mumbled.

"C'mon," Jackson groaned, pulling Will and Asher and leading them down the path.

After successfully fishing Will's keys out of his pocket and hauling him through the door to his apartment, they left him on his bedroom floor. Jackson and Asher were too exhausted to lift him onto his bed, and Hannah was too flustered to volunteer her help again.

Originally being Capitol residents, Will and Hannah, lived in the same apartment building. Students from the Capitol have their own housing system which is associated with the school. People like Asher and Maggie, who originate from the village, or like Jackson from Class Two land, live elsewhere. After saying their goodbyes, the remainder of the group dispersed. Asher however was caught by Maggie on his way out of the complex.

"Walk me home, will you?" Maggie asked, pulling a small yellow umbrella out of her bag. It had begun to sprinkle once they got back to the path, the temperature dropping to a more comfortable level.

Asher nodded, taking the umbrella from her and opening it up. The two huddled underneath the small cover for shelter, Asher politely holding it closer to Maggie than himself. His left shoulder was gradually becoming drenched, and he cursed himself for not at least bringing a jacket.

"Do you think, if you didn't hate the Capitol so much or maybe considered yourself stronger, that you would have joined the program?" she asked after a moment.

Asher laughed, "Those are pretty different circumstances. Honestly, I have no idea. I try not to think about it," he shrugged.

"Why do you avoid the subject so much?" she asked, deliberately stepping around a large puddle that was beginning to form.

"Because there's no point in discussing it further. If I continued to dwell on it or talk about it with others, things get weird. I get anxious, and others become either awkward or frustrated with me. It's like they think I secretly despise them."

They passed over a small bridge, leading them towards a large white apartment building. Compared to the Capitol's student building, they lived in cardboard boxes. Those apartments had elegant glass doors and elevators that moved at the speed of light. Asher's brow furrowed as he remembered how many stairs he'd have to climb to get to his bed.

"Well, I suppose this is where I leave you," he said as they stepped under the overhang, sheltering them from the growing storm. He closed the umbrella and did his best to shake off most of the water.

"Thank you," she smiled, taking the umbrella back from him. "You should know you can talk about things like that with me anytime you want. I won't be awkward, and I certainly won't be angry. You and I grew up here, we know what it's like not being Capitol residents."

He nodded, "You're right. You guys have all been so occupied training, I guess I just forgot I could talk with you about this stuff."

"Asher," she hesitated, "if you think you won't survive the exam, does that mean you think I'll die?" she asked quietly.

He opened his mouth to answer but quickly closed it once again, uncertain of how to respond.

He and Maggie grew up together. They were village kids who were considerably weaker than most Capitol residents. However, Maggie decided to take a different path than Asher. After they all finished General School, Maggie continued on into Capitol Training while Asher left and took up a job.

Anyone can join the Capitol's schooling system. They have so many checkpoints in the academic program that all the weak people were easily weeded out, so it wasn't a misuse of time for them. It also gave the Class Three residents a sense of equality. Asher only ever thought of it as a people-pleasing trick on the Capitol's part.

Almost no one who was truly strong lingered in Class Three land willingly. If they felt they had a chance to leave, they took it. Maggie was doing just that, and Asher didn't think it was wrong of her to desire better for herself and in turn for her family, but he knew her family would rather have her here alive than dead.

"I'm sure you're more than capable," he said after a moment, "you've passed all of the checkpoints thus far, and you passed the written portion already. Why wouldn't the Trial be any different?"

"It's different because this time it's kill or be killed. No instructor will call off a fight if it seems to be going too poorly for one of the participants. They let it play out," she answered.

Asher didn't know what to say. It was the truth, the Trial was remarkably cruel, which was why he was staying out of it. Suddenly the drops of water falling from the overhang's edge became quite interesting.

"It's just, sometimes I question myself," she continued, playing with the hem of her shirt. "You make logical points for why you chose not to take part in all of this. You and I have grown up together, and we both know just how many of us actually make it through the Trial alive. It's always the Capitol people surviving, almost never us."

Asher felt horrible. He quickly pulled her towards him, hugged her tightly, and resting his chin on top of her brown curls.

"I'm so sorry, Maggie," he mumbled, "I never meant to make you question yourself. You've proved multiple times that you are more than capable. You should be proud of yourself!" he asserted, now holding her shoulders at arms length. His enthusiasm didn't seem to rub off on her.

"I know I am making this choice, that no one is forcing me. I know what I am getting into. Just tell me, if you thought I was making a huge mistake, you'd tell me, right?" she asked carefully, looking into his eyes for total honesty.

"Of course," Asher replied, withdrawing his hands and putting them in his front pockets once again. After a moment of what seemed like a staring contest, her tone finally changed to something more positive.

"All right then!" she grinned, clasping her hands together. "I guess I'll have to represent both of us next month!"

"I'm always rooting for you," he said as she opened the building's door.

"Root for us," she said looking back at him. "I'm going to prove that Class Three residents have what it takes, not just the Capitol," she smirked.

His heart sunk after the door shut behind her. He had wanted to be honest, but he just couldn't. He knew the truth of the situation, she had said it herself. More often than not, people like her didn't make it. It happened occasionally, sure, but it wasn't something he would ever bet on. He just didn't have it in him to tell her, to squash his childhood friend's dreams for the future. To make her doubt herself further was the last thing he needed to do if she was to go through with this.

Pushing his hands deeper into his pockets, he hung his head slightly to shield his face from the rain and began his trek home.

Moving with no hurry in his thoroughly soaked and mucky shoes, he made his way up the stairs to his apartment door. He immediately felt the weight of his fatigued legs. Lately, his exhaustion level had become almost unbearable. The lack of sleep due to his ever-increasing anxiety was taking a toll on his body. Right now he had too much on his mind and definitely wasn't eager to deal with his powerless apartment, so he continued beyond his door to stand against the nearby railing and stare out into the night.

His eyes scanned the ground below for anyone who was possibly up at this hour, but the streets were quiet. The sound of crickets chirping was the only sound other than the ocean, which he could hear off in the distance.

Inhaling the slight hint of seawater his eyes traveled up, eventually landing on a very distant collection of bright lights, some colored and blinking, others a solid off white hue. Towering buildings stood proud, collected together like a giant barrier.

He hung his head. What were his plans, truly? After everyone leaves, what will he do? He would be alone, continuing to work the same job, going about his same daily routine. There was a chance he would be able to make a few new friends in the future, but they wouldn't ever live up to Will and the others.

"What a way to live!"

Will's words resounding in his mind, Asher grit his teeth in frustration. This was the path he had chosen, there was no altering it.

He fixed daggers at the distant sight of the Capitol, lighting up the sky in all of its glory.

So what if there was a possibility he'd survive the Trial? What if, by chance, he could get out of here? He'd become stronger, happier, prosperous. He would still have his friends, his only family. Become bad-ass by operating with everyone in the Garrick, which was their ultimate goal. He suddenly felt like a child imagining being a superhero.

He dragged his hands through his soaked hair in exasperation. There was no point in looking at things differently now. He had waited too long. The Trial was too soon, not that he aspired to give it a shot. He wouldn't risk dying just to live among assholes who thought way too much of themselves. Who looked down on people like him.

The wind picked up suddenly, causing the trees to sway and the fragile metal stairs to squeak. A large helicopter swooped overhead, nearly invisible in the night, and heading with great momentum straight towards the Capitol. The nearly mesmerizing piece of machinery quickly became smaller as it distanced itself from the village, a Garrick flag hanging from its tail, rippling in the wind.

He grunted as he felt a headache coming on, massaging his temples as he watched the helicopter until it disappeared, leaving him scowling into the darkness.