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So cute!! Will be incorporating them in my blog soon!

— blog theme: green

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STOP OMG THIS IS SO TRUE AND SO HEARTBREAKING AH

The moment Tigris tells Snow he looks like his father, my heart broke.

That's her Prim.

That's the child she took care of while being a child herself, stuck with an adult who couldn't care for them all that well. She tried so hard and sacrificed so much for the boy that despite all her love still turns into a monster.

Katniss's Prim dies, but Tigris' Prim destroys every part of the boy she raised, to the point she wants him dead and has nothing in her heart for him except absolute loathing.

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there was a moment when the people in the movie theatre and the capitol audience in the stands were laughing at the same things, having the same reactions to the games, to the deaths, to flickermans jokes, to the doctor's announcement...i wonder aren't we watching it for entertainment too

suzanne collins' books may exist in popular culture as "dystopian", but they have always been a meticulous and startlingly close social critique of our world. at what point does our own idolization of the movies and the books repeat that story? we watch just as the capitol audience does.

all dystopia eventually crosses a line from realistic futurism to current relevancy. how long will it take us to realize we've already crossed that line with these books? and the very people who need to realize this are the ones in that audience...real or fake, we're the same: consuming and consuming.

[smiski-collector]

thinking about how the hunger games were designed to prove that without society, order, government, someone to rule, we devolve into little more than animals, and how the games themselves prove over and over again that this is not true. We see it in every single game we witness.

Katniss placing flowers around Rue's body in the arena. Thresh sparing Katniss because she was kind to Rue, even though he was making it that much harder for himself to win.

Haymitch going back for Maysilee after hearing her scream even though their alliance had been broken. Haymitch holding her as she dies the same way Katniss did Rue.

Coral's "I can't have killed them all for nothing" when she realizes she's not going home. Lamina cutting down Marcus at great personal risk. And, my favorite moment in tbosas, Reaper collecting the bodies of his fellow tributes, his peers, even the ones who tried to kill him, into a pile. Taking the weapons from their hands. Closing their eyes and crossing their arms in the best approximation of a proper burial he can manage, covering them with the Capitol flag as a makeshift shroud.

The Games bring out the worst in people, yes. But despite the extreme circumstances, despite the exterior pressure of the Capitol, despite the fact that it could mean pain and heartbreak and death, it also shows that people have an enormous capacity for goodness. That even in a situation purposefully designed to make empathy impossible, people can't help but have it anyway.

Snow looks at the Games and all he can see is what's inside himself-- this pure animalistic drive to conquer and defeat. He kills and it feels good and he thinks that everyone else must feel that way too. He doesn't realize (maybe can't realize) that he is the exception, not the rule. He cannot see outside himself, outside his own warped perspective, to realize that the fact that people do show humanity in the games proves his entire worldview wrong.

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District 7's Tributes and Mentors during the Reaping for the 10th Hunger Games

—The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023)

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Moments in the Hunger Games that Dr. Gaul would hate

Dr. Gaul says that humans are naturally violent, and to prove her wrong, here are moments in the Hunger Games that show that they aren't.

-Lucy Gray comforting Jessup when he wasn't feeling well

-Lucy Gray crying and mourning when Dill died (Wovey in the book)

-Lucy Gray making sure Jessup ate despite her having the advantage if he didn't eat

-The first thing Lucy Gray doing in the arena was look for Jessup and run away with him so they could both have a chance at surviving, despite all the murder and chaos happening around them

-Lucy Gray comforting Jessup as he was dying

-Lucy Gray in general

-Jessup protecting Lucy Gray from the bats (rabid raccoons in the book)

-Reaper giving Lamina cloth and Lamina giving him food. Then Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner came and she warned him (in the book)

-Reaper collecting the bodies of the fallen tributes and covering them with the flag to give them proper respects

-Reaper warning Wovey when she was walking to the snakes

-Lamina killing Marcus. Ik it was still murder, but it was a mercy kill. She even comforted him before and stared at his body and curled up into the fetal position after

-Lamima has a lot of empathy in general and I love her so much and she's litterally just walking proof of Dr. Gaul's theory being wrong. Her name is litterally animal spelled backwards, which is what Dr. Gaul belived the tributes were. Violent animals

-Bobbin letting Wovey sleep on his shoulder

-In the walk to the cart, Bobbin was holding Wovey's hand

-Lucy Gray letting Wovey hold her hand before the games

-Treech protecting Lamina when Brandy was killed from the bullet

-Reaper going out of his way to protect Dill. I could make an entire post on this alone. But like, in every scene with them together, he's always looking out for Dill. Even when he jumped at his Mentor, he was looking at Dill before to see how she was doing. Dill's death is what made him want to honor the other tributes deaths. I can only imagine how that made their friends and families feel at home, to see the person they loved getting the respect they could in such violent games

-During the bombing, Marcus ran back to go get Lucy Gray despite thst fact that his chances of dying there were very high

-Ik he wasn't part of the games, but Sejanus going to spread bread around Marcus's dead body (I love Sejanus sm and I better not see y'all thirst over Snow anymore)

-In the book, there was no bloodbath scene. Most tributes ran straight for the tunnels, while Coral, Tanner, and Reaper went to get weapons, but even Coral, who was known for being violent, ran. Only Reaper stayed

-Reaper apologizing for having to kill the tributes the night before, and promising to honor them

-In the book, Teslee was running from the snakes and Lucy Gray came out of the tunnels singing so the snakes would be distracted so Teslee would have time to escape

-Screaming and crying and throwing up because Reaper killed Teslee but brought her body over to the other bodies because it's really all he could give her

-In the book, Lucy Gray and Reaper were the last ones left, and they procrastinated on killing each other. Lucy Gray killed him by getting him to drink poisoned water, not by any violence. She even closed his eyes when she realized he had died.

This was just the 10th Hunger Games. Damn. Imma go on to the other ones now

-Instead of of breaking their alliance by killing each other, Maysilee just left Haymitch saying that she didn't want it to come down to the two of them

-Haymitch staying with Maysilee as she died

-When Annie's district partner died, she gained serious PTSD, which should be proof enough that naturally, HUMANS DONT LIKE VIOLENCE

-Katniss volunteering to protect Prim

-Thresh smiling at Rue when she managed to steal the knife from Cato (this is so sweet to me, I love the District 11 kids sm)

-Foxface not killing anyone (that Katniss knows of) and running away, proving thst people are just trying to survive and not be violent

-Foxface and Katniss bumping into each other but then running away. Especially Katniss, because she definitely had the advantage

-Peeta joining the careers to protect Katniss

-Peeta telling Katniss to run when the careers were hunting her

-This wasn't shown to the audience, but Katniss said that if her and Rue were the last 2 left, she'd let Rue win

-Katniss letting Rue cuddle under the sleeping bag so that she could stay warm

-Katniss mourning the death of Rue by leaving flowers over her body and then giving respects to District 11. She even cried and threw her spear when Rue died

-Clove and Cato's entire friendship (also, Clove smiling at Cato while they were on the plane)

-Thresh killing Clove purely because of what he thought she did to Rue, implying that he wanted to protect Rue. (I like to believe that he didn't make an alliance with Rue the dame reason Katniss didn't make an alliance with Peeta in the beginning; he didn't want it to come down to the two of them). Despite that, he was still heartbroken when she died

-Thresh sparing Katniss's life because she was friends with and protected Rue

-Clove calling for Cato when Thresh was threatening her, and Cato coming to help (in the book)

-Cato crying and begging Clove to get up when she was dying

-Katniss mercy killing Cato despite everything (in the movie)

-Katniss and Peeta not wanting to kill each other and deciding to eat the berries together instead

75th Hunger Games

Yes, ik the rebellion. But I'm still counting it.

-Peeta volunteering to avoid having Haymitch go to the games

-Mags volunteering for Annie

-The female morphling (who I headcanoned as her name being Chassis) sacrificing herself to save Peeta

-Peeta staying to comfort Chassis and talking about how pretty the sky was

-Chassis and Autus (male morphling) teaching Katniss how to camouflage, despite her not knowing about the rebellion, and for all they know, she could try and kill them. But they still wanted to save everyone, so they kept Katniss alive

-MAGS. Mags is the best

-Finnick staying with and protecting Mags despite her chances of surviving being very low

-Katniss keeping Finnick alive, despite not knowing about the rebellion

-Peeta staying to comfort Katniss and Finnick during the jabberjay attacks

[smiski-collector]

“omg I love that show!” yeah me too it makes up 34% of my core personality. unfortunately i can’t discuss it in public without having a meltdown

[smiski-collector]

they were roommates your honor

take good care of him senior

[smiski-collector]

21 | she/her | student by day, smiski by night

about me

masterlist

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the ballad of songbirds and snakes why are you running series (treech x lamina, treech x reader)

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why are you running prologue

[smiski-collector]

she/her/hers 

INFP-T (hmu if you’re one too pookie ;D)

Over 18 so the stuff I repost will not always be PG-13 friendly 

Started writing for Treech and Lamina 

I am part of multiple fandoms: genshin, honkai, star rail, the ballad of songbirds and snakes, hunger games, howl’s moving castle, solo-leveling, yu yu hakusho, inuyasha, etc [might make a separate post for this lol, too many to list] 

Oh yea i am in college btw, hopefully making it to graduation in one piece

[smiski-collector]

why are you running (away from me)

pairings: Lamina x Treech (past), Treech X Reader warnings: self-sabotage reader, pining feelings, ghosting

prologue

When Lamina and Treech broke up in second year of college, it was a shell shock for everyone that knew them including you, mostly because you attended high school with them. And also because you knew they were officially dating in sophomore year of high school but definitely had feelings for much longer than that. People on their level of closeness do not develop feelings out of nowhere after all. 

However, you mused, people changed because their breakup was something you did not expect at all. You had a feeling it was going to happen of course, from when Coral would invite you to hang out with the Pack, consisting of herself, Treech, and Tanner as well as mutuals. Her eyes would flicker between Treech and Lamina before going back to you, smiling sheepishly. You had smiled back, hopefully in a comforting manner, being understanding.  

When Lamina left, “To Sweden,” you overheard her saying sweetly, eagerly, “The art program I applied to accepted me and I am leaving early to get used to the environment before I start,” something changed in Treech. You saw it in the science classes you had with him, watching him from a distance. His eyes were sometimes red, voice quieter, and bags darker. 

You felt pity for the guy but did not dare to overstep to help him. He never snapped at you, was always cordial or friendly but that did not mean you could reach out to him about the very obvious breakup. It is a boundary that was clear to everyone that would drift close to the topic. Even his friends that knew the both of them did not push on the topic.  

You only had the chance to bring up Lamina to Treech in your third year at a party hosted by Coriolanus Snow, having been invited by Lucy Gray. She was a social butterfly, having befriended nearly everyone with her chirpy presence, positive energy, and beautiful voice. Their relationship is something you did not want to dissect, as they had been on and off ever since they met at a mixer hosted by Snow’s co-ed fraternity in their freshman year. 

Treech had been at the party, dragged by Coral and Tanner he said, to avoid being miserable that Friday night and begin the process of moving on. You were endeared by his sleepy demeanor, flushed cheeks, and an openness that you would not have normally been privy to. 

He put his face into his palms, bent over his knees, voice muffled as he asked, “But how could I move on when it feels like I would be losing such a big part of myself.” 

“It is not my place to agree or disagree with them,” you say to him, “But I know Coral and from seeing her tough love for her friends, I think it is good to give it a shot. And you wouldn’t be losing yourself, you would be closing one chapter of your life.” 

Treech went quiet after that and nodded off, slumping over on a couch. His head curved dangerously close to your shoulder and you stayed by his side, scooting over to provide distance once he was steadied, and content on pondering life quietly, sipping on your own beverage. Coral eventually came over having spotted a passed out Treech, Tanner following closely behind with a red party cup in hand. They were panting and it was obvious Treech somehow managed to lose them in the party, causing panic to ensue. 

Tanner giggled, poking Treech’s face,  “Sorry about him,” he eventually said, “He doesn’t usually drink at parties, something about not being able to experience it fully.” Coral snorted in agreeance, shaking her head in fondness? Or maybe it was exasperated. 

You smile back at him, waving your red solo cup as you spoke, “It’s all good, I figured he needed someone to talk to.” You may have been a stranger to him and he might not even remember that he spoke to you at all, but you are glad that he at least got some of his worries off of his chest. 

The next day, Treech treated you normally, distantly or so you thought. Because the following day, it was Treech that invited you to hang out instead of Coral. He wanted to get to know you better, he said. You gradually went from hanging out with the Pack, playing music, going to cafes, to hanging out with Treech alone. 

Treech seemed to like your presence and you were not one to ignore your friend’s needs. So when Treech would call you in the middle of the night sobbing about Lamina, you would oblige, listening to his woes and regrets of the relationship. These calls became a regular occurence, expanding to video calls in the middle of the night, not always about Lamina, and you loathe to admit it but you were beginning to develop a crush on him. You couldn’t help it. 

Soon enough, instead of Lamina and Treech, it was you and Treech, with a weekly schedule of going to each other’s place to play board games (“sore loser” he called you teasingly) or to study for the science classes you shared as pre-med tracks. You were shocked when you found out Treech was pre-med but he said it was what his older brother, Cypress, did so he just made time for music. 

By this point, you thought that maybe Treech had moved on. It had been about a year and half since Lamina left and you had entertained the idea of asking him but didn’t dare to bring it up, knowing their history. 

Nothing could have hurt you more than the lack of explanation when Treech stopped texting when he would come over. You felt used. 

You could not hold it against him because you knew Treech did not hurt people on purpose. He just couldn’t help it because Lamina returned from Sweden, she was his comfort, what he was used to. He does still try to include you in his life, a bit differently than before but you were still there. 

You try not to let out an irritated sigh at a cafe table, it was rare to hang out in person with Treech after all. But he continued talking about Lamina, how he thinks he has a chance back with her and you just have to interrupt – “Wellllll, I guess I won’t be seeing you for a while?” 

Your question wasn’t really one, it was a statement and it was confirmed with Treech staring at you with apologetic eyes, an awkward smile on his lips. You try to smile at him but it must come out as a grimace because he is quick to make it up to you. 

“We can hang out next week?” 

Treech stopped all calls after that day. Part of you thinks it is because you made your crush on him too obvious but it can’t be since he still texted to make sure you were still down to hang out. You agreed but changed the location to the school courtyard. It would be empty at this time of the school year but still open to students that were on-campus or needed the space. 

When Treech saw you waiting for him, his face adorned a grin, jogging to reach you. He closed the distance and in a surprising move, wrapped his arms around you in a hug. It was brief but the warmth stayed and you looked up at him in question. He blushed slightly, realizing it must have been out of character for him, “It is my way of saying sorry for ditching you recently.” 

You smile at him endearingly, showing that you accept but giving him a hug of your own. He accepted gratefully wrapping his arms around you before he breaks away from you so he can make his way deeper in the school courtyard. You are receptive to his every word, offering earnest advice when you can, and really taking in today with him. Silence falls upon the two of you every now and then but it is comfortable and not overbearing. You two sit down on a high point of the courtyard, able to see the sunset from where you are and take in the scenery. 

“Hey YN,” Treech starts, “Thanks for being there.” 

It was hard for me were words that went unsaid but you heard it all the same. You shift from one palm to another, kicking up a knee and resting your arm there. 

Eyes still on the sunset that casted a golden light on both of you, you responded, “Yeah… no problem.” 

It was only after a few minutes that you started something you regret a little bit, you didn’t want him to know yet, “Treech?” He hummed in acknowledgement, turning slightly to face you. 

“Thanks for being my friend.” 

There was silence from him and you turn to finally face him, eyes sparkling, with tears or because of the sunlight you do not know. But Treech smiles and returns the statement softly and fondly. 

The rest of the week goes by as normal and everything seems to settle down in senior year. Lamina and Treech, while not back together, are still hanging out with each other everyday, like nothing has changed. If anything, things have drastically improved the two of them and they are happier than ever, although you still see a hopeful gleam in Treech’s eyes when you pass by them with brief yet pleasant exchanges. 

You had grown closer with Coral during your last year, her presence reminds you of a friend that you would be reuniting with soon enough. Her tough love evokes fond memories in you and allows you to be more open with her. 

On graduation day, Treech had been hoping to catch a glimpse of you, wanting to thank you again for raising his spirits when it felt like no one really could. His texts to you went unread and calls unanswered but he understood. Everyone was getting ready to enter the next phase of their lives and preparations had to be made. 

He didn’t have anything to worry about, at least that is what he thought until you failed to walk across the stage to grab your diploma, a tradition that he knew was important to you being the first to have a college degree in your family. He still did not allow himself to panic, he could always talk to you after graduation since he knew where you were. He did not see Coral’s eyes flicker to him and his phone at the post-graduation dinner between friends.

[smiski-collector]

That twitter trend thing

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why are you running (away from me)

pairings: Lamina x Treech (past), Treech X Reader warnings: self-sabotage reader, pining feelings, ghosting

prologue

When Lamina and Treech broke up in second year of college, it was a shell shock for everyone that knew them including you, mostly because you attended high school with them. And also because you knew they were officially dating in sophomore year of high school but definitely had feelings for much longer than that. People on their level of closeness do not develop feelings out of nowhere after all. 

However, you mused, people changed because their breakup was something you did not expect at all. You had a feeling it was going to happen of course, from when Coral would invite you to hang out with the Pack, consisting of herself, Treech, and Tanner as well as mutuals. Her eyes would flicker between Treech and Lamina before going back to you, smiling sheepishly. You had smiled back, hopefully in a comforting manner, being understanding.  

When Lamina left, “To Sweden,” you overheard her saying sweetly, eagerly, “The art program I applied to accepted me and I am leaving early to get used to the environment before I start,” something changed in Treech. You saw it in the science classes you had with him, watching him from a distance. His eyes were sometimes red, voice quieter, and bags darker. 

You felt pity for the guy but did not dare to overstep to help him. He never snapped at you, was always cordial or friendly but that did not mean you could reach out to him about the very obvious breakup. It is a boundary that was clear to everyone that would drift close to the topic. Even his friends that knew the both of them did not push on the topic.  

You only had the chance to bring up Lamina to Treech in your third year at a party hosted by Coriolanus Snow, having been invited by Lucy Gray. She was a social butterfly, having befriended nearly everyone with her chirpy presence, positive energy, and beautiful voice. Their relationship is something you did not want to dissect, as they had been on and off ever since they met at a mixer hosted by Snow’s co-ed fraternity in their freshman year. 

Treech had been at the party, dragged by Coral and Tanner he said, to avoid being miserable that Friday night and begin the process of moving on. You were endeared by his sleepy demeanor, flushed cheeks, and an openness that you would not have normally been privy to. 

He put his face into his palms, bent over his knees, voice muffled as he asked, “But how could I move on when it feels like I would be losing such a big part of myself.” 

“It is not my place to agree or disagree with them,” you say to him, “But I know Coral and from seeing her tough love for her friends, I think it is good to give it a shot. And you wouldn’t be losing yourself, you would be closing one chapter of your life.” 

Treech went quiet after that and nodded off, slumping over on a couch. His head curved dangerously close to your shoulder and you stayed by his side, scooting over to provide distance once he was steadied, and content on pondering life quietly, sipping on your own beverage. Coral eventually came over having spotted a passed out Treech, Tanner following closely behind with a red party cup in hand. They were panting and it was obvious Treech somehow managed to lose them in the party, causing panic to ensue. 

Tanner giggled, poking Treech’s face,  “Sorry about him,” he eventually said, “He doesn’t usually drink at parties, something about not being able to experience it fully.” Coral snorted in agreeance, shaking her head in fondness? Or maybe it was exasperated. 

You smile back at him, waving your red solo cup as you spoke, “It’s all good, I figured he needed someone to talk to.” You may have been a stranger to him and he might not even remember that he spoke to you at all, but you are glad that he at least got some of his worries off of his chest. 

The next day, Treech treated you normally, distantly or so you thought. Because the following day, it was Treech that invited you to hang out instead of Coral. He wanted to get to know you better, he said. You gradually went from hanging out with the Pack, playing music, going to cafes, to hanging out with Treech alone. 

Treech seemed to like your presence and you were not one to ignore your friend’s needs. So when Treech would call you in the middle of the night sobbing about Lamina, you would oblige, listening to his woes and regrets of the relationship. These calls became a regular occurence, expanding to video calls in the middle of the night, not always about Lamina, and you loathe to admit it but you were beginning to develop a crush on him. You couldn’t help it. 

Soon enough, instead of Lamina and Treech, it was you and Treech, with a weekly schedule of going to each other’s place to play board games (“sore loser” he called you teasingly) or to study for the science classes you shared as pre-med tracks. You were shocked when you found out Treech was pre-med but he said it was what his older brother, Cypress, did so he just made time for music. 

By this point, you thought that maybe Treech had moved on. It had been about a year and half since Lamina left and you had entertained the idea of asking him but didn’t dare to bring it up, knowing their history. 

Nothing could have hurt you more than the lack of explanation when Treech stopped texting when he would come over. You felt used. 

You could not hold it against him because you knew Treech did not hurt people on purpose. He just couldn’t help it because Lamina returned from Sweden, she was his comfort, what he was used to. He does still try to include you in his life, a bit differently than before but you were still there. 

You try not to let out an irritated sigh at a cafe table, it was rare to hang out in person with Treech after all. But he continued talking about Lamina, how he thinks he has a chance back with her and you just have to interrupt – “Wellllll, I guess I won’t be seeing you for a while?” 

Your question wasn’t really one, it was a statement and it was confirmed with Treech staring at you with apologetic eyes, an awkward smile on his lips. You try to smile at him but it must come out as a grimace because he is quick to make it up to you. 

“We can hang out next week?” 

Treech stopped all calls after that day. Part of you thinks it is because you made your crush on him too obvious but it can’t be since he still texted to make sure you were still down to hang out. You agreed but changed the location to the school courtyard. It would be empty at this time of the school year but still open to students that were on-campus or needed the space. 

When Treech saw you waiting for him, his face adorned a grin, jogging to reach you. He closed the distance and in a surprising move, wrapped his arms around you in a hug. It was brief but the warmth stayed and you looked up at him in question. He blushed slightly, realizing it must have been out of character for him, “It is my way of saying sorry for ditching you recently.” 

You smile at him endearingly, showing that you accept but giving him a hug of your own. He accepted gratefully wrapping his arms around you before he breaks away from you so he can make his way deeper in the school courtyard. You are receptive to his every word, offering earnest advice when you can, and really taking in today with him. Silence falls upon the two of you every now and then but it is comfortable and not overbearing. You two sit down on a high point of the courtyard, able to see the sunset from where you are and take in the scenery. 

“Hey YN,” Treech starts, “Thanks for being there.” 

It was hard for me were words that went unsaid but you heard it all the same. You shift from one palm to another, kicking up a knee and resting your arm there. 

Eyes still on the sunset that casted a golden light on both of you, you responded, “Yeah… no problem.” 

It was only after a few minutes that you started something you regret a little bit, you didn’t want him to know yet, “Treech?” He hummed in acknowledgement, turning slightly to face you. 

“Thanks for being my friend.” 

There was silence from him and you turn to finally face him, eyes sparkling, with tears or because of the sunlight you do not know. But Treech smiles and returns the statement softly and fondly. 

The rest of the week goes by as normal and everything seems to settle down in senior year. Lamina and Treech, while not back together, are still hanging out with each other everyday, like nothing has changed. If anything, things have drastically improved the two of them and they are happier than ever, although you still see a hopeful gleam in Treech’s eyes when you pass by them with brief yet pleasant exchanges. 

You had grown closer with Coral during your last year, her presence reminds you of a friend that you would be reuniting with soon enough. Her tough love evokes fond memories in you and allows you to be more open with her. 

On graduation day, Treech had been hoping to catch a glimpse of you, wanting to thank you again for raising his spirits when it felt like no one really could. His texts to you went unread and calls unanswered but he understood. Everyone was getting ready to enter the next phase of their lives and preparations had to be made. 

He didn’t have anything to worry about, at least that is what he thought until you failed to walk across the stage to grab your diploma, a tradition that he knew was important to you being the first to have a college degree in your family. He still did not allow himself to panic, he could always talk to you after graduation since he knew where you were. He did not see Coral’s eyes flicker to him and his phone at the post-graduation dinner between friends.

[smiski-collector]

why are you running

pairings: Lamina x Treech (past), Treech X Reader warnings: self-sabotage reader, pining feelings, ghosting

prologue

When Lamina and Treech broke up in second year of college, it was a shell shock for everyone that knew them including you, mostly because you attended high school with them. And also because you knew they were officially dating in sophomore year of high school but definitely had feelings for much longer than that. People on their level of closeness do not develop feelings out of nowhere after all. 

However, you mused, people changed because their breakup was something you did not expect at all. You had a feeling it was going to happen of course, from when Coral would invite you to hang out with the Pack, consisting of herself, Treech, and Tanner as well as mutuals. Her eyes would flicker between Treech and Lamina before going back to you, smiling sheepishly. You had smiled back, hopefully in a comforting manner, being understanding.  

When Lamina left, “To Sweden,” you overheard her saying sweetly, eagerly, “The art program I applied to accepted me and I am leaving early to get used to the environment before I start,” something changed in Treech. You saw it in the science classes you had with him, watching him from a distance. His eyes were sometimes red, voice quieter, and bags darker. 

You felt pity for the guy but did not dare to overstep to help him. He never snapped at you, was always cordial or friendly but that did not mean you could reach out to him about the very obvious breakup. It is a boundary that was clear to everyone that would drift close to the topic. Even his friends that knew the both of them did not push on the topic.  

You only had the chance to bring up Lamina to Treech in your third year at a party hosted by Coriolanus Snow, having been invited by Lucy Gray. She was a social butterfly, having befriended nearly everyone with her chirpy presence, positive energy, and beautiful voice. Their relationship is something you did not want to dissect, as they had been on and off ever since they met at a mixer hosted by Snow’s co-ed fraternity in their freshman year. 

Treech had been at the party, dragged by Coral and Tanner he said, to avoid being miserable that Friday night and begin the process of moving on. You were endeared by his sleepy demeanor, flushed cheeks, and an openness that you would not have normally been privy to. 

He put his face into his palms, bent over his knees, voice muffled as he asked, “But how could I move on when it feels like I would be losing such a big part of myself.” 

“It is not my place to agree or disagree with them,” you say to him, “But I know Coral and from seeing her tough love for her friends, I think it is good to give it a shot. And you wouldn’t be losing yourself, you would be closing one chapter of your life.” 

Treech went quiet after that and nodded off, slumping over on a couch. His head curved dangerously close to your shoulder and you stayed by his side, scooting over to provide distance once he was steadied, and content on pondering life quietly, sipping on your own beverage. Coral eventually came over having spotted a passed out Treech, Tanner following closely behind with a red party cup in hand. They were panting and it was obvious Treech somehow managed to lose them in the party, causing panic to ensue. 

Tanner giggled, poking Treech’s face,  “Sorry about him,” he eventually said, “He doesn’t usually drink at parties, something about not being able to experience it fully.” Coral snorted in agreeance, shaking her head in fondness? Or maybe it was exasperated. 

You smile back at him, waving your red solo cup as you spoke, “It’s all good, I figured he needed someone to talk to.” You may have been a stranger to him and he might not even remember that he spoke to you at all, but you are glad that he at least got some of his worries off of his chest. 

The next day, Treech treated you normally, distantly or so you thought. Because the following day, it was Treech that invited you to hang out instead of Coral. He wanted to get to know you better, he said. You gradually went from hanging out with the Pack, playing music, going to cafes, to hanging out with Treech alone. 

Treech seemed to like your presence and you were not one to ignore your friend’s needs. So when Treech would call you in the middle of the night sobbing about Lamina, you would oblige, listening to his woes and regrets of the relationship. These calls became a regular occurence, expanding to video calls in the middle of the night, not always about Lamina, and you loathe to admit it but you were beginning to develop a crush on him. You couldn’t help it. 

Soon enough, instead of Lamina and Treech, it was you and Treech, with a weekly schedule of going to each other’s place to play board games (“sore loser” he called you teasingly) or to study for the science classes you shared as pre-med tracks. You were shocked when you found out Treech was pre-med but he said it was what his older brother, Cypress, did so he just made time for music. 

By this point, you thought that maybe Treech had moved on. It had been about a year and half since Lamina left and you had entertained the idea of asking him but didn’t dare to bring it up, knowing their history. 

Nothing could have hurt you more than the lack of explanation when Treech stopped texting when he would come over. You felt used. 

You could not hold it against him because you knew Treech did not hurt people on purpose. He just couldn’t help it because Lamina returned from Sweden, she was his comfort, what he was used to. He does still try to include you in his life, a bit differently than before but you were still there. 

You try not to let out an irritated sigh at a cafe table, it was rare to hang out in person with Treech after all. But he continued talking about Lamina, how he thinks he has a chance back with her and you just have to interrupt – “Wellllll, I guess I won’t be seeing you for a while?” 

Your question wasn’t really one, it was a statement and it was confirmed with Treech staring at you with apologetic eyes, an awkward smile on his lips. You try to smile at him but it must come out as a grimace because he is quick to make it up to you. 

“We can hang out next week?” 

Treech stopped all calls after that day. Part of you thinks it is because you made your crush on him too obvious but it can’t be since he still texted to make sure you were still down to hang out. You agreed but changed the location to the school courtyard. It would be empty at this time of the school year but still open to students that were on-campus or needed the space. 

When Treech saw you waiting for him, his face adorned a grin, jogging to reach you. He closed the distance and in a surprising move, wrapped his arms around you in a hug. It was brief but the warmth stayed and you looked up at him in question. He blushed slightly, realizing it must have been out of character for him, “It is my way of saying sorry for ditching you recently.” 

You smile at him endearingly, showing that you accept but giving him a hug of your own. He accepted gratefully wrapping his arms around you before he breaks away from you so he can make his way deeper in the school courtyard. You are receptive to his every word, offering earnest advice when you can, and really taking in today with him. Silence falls upon the two of you every now and then but it is comfortable and not overbearing. You two sit down on a high point of the courtyard, able to see the sunset from where you are and take in the scenery. 

“Hey YN,” Treech starts, “Thanks for being there.” 

It was hard for me were words that went unsaid but you heard it all the same. You shift from one palm to another, kicking up a knee and resting your arm there. 

Eyes still on the sunset that casted a golden light on both of you, you responded, “Yeah… no problem.” 

It was only after a few minutes that you started something you regret a little bit, you didn’t want him to know yet, “Treech?” He hummed in acknowledgement, turning slightly to face you. 

“Thanks for being my friend.” 

There was silence from him and you turn to finally face him, eyes sparkling, with tears or because of the sunlight you do not know. But Treech smiles and returns the statement softly and fondly. 

The rest of the week goes by as normal and everything seems to settle down in senior year. Lamina and Treech, while not back together, are still hanging out with each other everyday, like nothing has changed. If anything, things have drastically improved the two of them and they are happier than ever, although you still see a hopeful gleam in Treech’s eyes when you pass by them with brief yet pleasant exchanges. 

You had grown closer with Coral during your last year, her presence reminds you of a friend that you would be reuniting with soon enough. Her tough love evokes fond memories in you and allows you to be more open with her. 

On graduation day, Treech had been hoping to catch a glimpse of you, wanting to thank you again for raising his spirits when it felt like no one really could. His texts to you went unread and calls unanswered but he understood. Everyone was getting ready to enter the next phase of their lives and preparations had to be made. 

He didn’t have anything to worry about, at least that is what he thought until you failed to walk across the stage to grab your diploma, a tradition that he knew was important to you being the first to have a college degree in your family. He still did not allow himself to panic, he could always talk to you after graduation since he knew where you were. He did not see Coral’s eyes flicker to him and his phone at the post-graduation dinner between friends.