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It was just a normal night for him. Billy Taupe has gone out drinking with his usual friends, much to Lucy Gray’s skepticism (she’d made it clear in the past that she thought his friends were a bit sketchy). The others, (Arlo, Lil, and a few of their other friends) had gone home pretty early, leaving Billy Taupe and Spruce there together with a bottle or two of white liquor.
That wasn’t too bad. While Billy Taupe got on great with the whole group, him and Spruce were best friends. Unfortunately, they were also terrible influences on each other, which is why they’d finished an absurd amount of liquor each.
Maybe that was because Billy Taupe felt he had to be able to match Spruce.
He wouldn’t be caught dead admitting it, but the fact that he was the youngest in their friend group bothered him. Everyone else was at least in their early twenties, and Billy Taupe wasn’t even 19 yet, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that the others looked at him like he was a child.
And a child without a proper income at that. All the others worked in the mines, which meant that, despite not having much money, they knew how much they could spend.
Billy Taupe had however much his portion of the Covey’s earnings was at any given time, and that was a very unpredictable amount, so when the rest of his friends were buying drinks and betting on card games, sometimes, he had to sit out and save his cash, which got him a lot of ribbing from the others. Well, that, and being Covey in general.
Just his luck to be the one thing lower than a coal miner.
Finishing the bottle of liquor he’d been drinking, Billy Taupe tried to shakily get to his feet. “Damn- that batch was really strong.” He muttered, trying not to lean on his crate. “Lucy Gray’s gonna be real pissed with me, I better get going-“
Spruce laughed. “She’s got you fully under her thumb! I can’t believe this.”
Billy Taupe shook his head and sat back down. “That just ain’t true! I love her, is all. She loves me.”
Spruce swigged from his bottle again and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, cause that’s the life you want.”
Billy Taupe swiped the bottle. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ll have y’know Lucy Gray is exactly what I want.”
Spruce tried to hide a smirk. “More like, she’s all you could get.”
“Excuse you!” Exclaimed Billy Taupe. “She’s entirely beguiled by my charms! I could have any girl in the District and I chose her, y’hear? I chose her.”
Spruce almost choked laughing. “As if! You aren’t half as charming as you think you are. If anything, your girl’s settling for you. Surprising, given that half the District’s had her.”
Billy Taupe felt anger flare and slid the bottle back across the table. “I’ll have you know she isn’t settling at all! The same thing would happen to any girl that I flirted with, they couldn’t resist me!”
“Oh yeah?” Laughed Spruce. “Someone like you couldn’t even attract one other girl. Face it. She’s only with you because after some of the men she’s been with, her standards are gone!”
“Does that include you?” Asked Billy Taupe, angrily.
“Nah,” chuckled Spruce. “Like I could afford that. Surprised you can.”
Billy Taupe felt the fury rise even more and threw the almost empty liquor bottle to the floor, where it smashed. “Don’t you fuckin’ dare. Don’t you even fuckin’ imply that. I charmed her with my own hard work.”
Spruce, entirely unfazed by the outburst, looked at him. “Prove it.”
“How?”
“Charm another girl, if you’re so good at it. I bet you’d never be able to keep two girls at once.”
Billy Taupe laughed incredulously. “I would too! And you know what? It could be someone from town and all!”
Spruce laughed. “Oh, I bet.” He said sarcastically. “No town girl is going to look twice at someone like you.”
“Would too.” Retorted Billy Taupe. “How much do you bet?”
~
It had seemed like any other Reaping day until the mayor read her name.
Billy Taupe felt all the air disappear from his lungs. He looked over at Lucy Gray and saw her fists clenched on the ruffles of her skirt. She was trembling.
This was the worst luck the Covey could’ve had. He wondered what the chances were, that out of the thousands of slips of paper in that bag, it was Lucy Gray’s name that got picked.
As his eyes swept the crowd, he caught sight of Mayfair, and she smirked at him. She’d rigged it, he realised. She wanted Lucy Gray out of the way so she could be with him.
It was his fault. It was all his fault.
He didn’t know what to think when Lucy Gray, who’d obviously been expecting this, went and dropped a snake down Mayfair’s dress.
It kinda felt deserved. Maybe he should just be thankful that he didn’t get a snake down his shirt too.
No-one talked on the way home. Least of all him.
He’d killed her.
For the sake of a stupid drunken bet, he’d killed her.
When they got home, he went straight to bed. His bed felt too big and empty without her curled up beside him. He closed his eyes.
In his dreams, they were happy. They were dancing together, while the other Covey played instruments.
When he woke up, it was the middle of the night. Everyone else was in bed. He left the house to get some air, and found himself buying some sketchy liquor from a seller who’s name he didn’t know. He wasn’t sober for the next few days.
When Tam Amber got the television working, they all crowded around it in time to see Lucy Gray singing.
“Of course she’s got her hands on a guitar.” Chuckled Clerk Carmine, despite the sad look in his eyes.
As he listened to the lyrics of Lucy Gray’s new song, Billy Taupe felt sick to his stomach. It was about him.
It was about how he’d betrayed her.
Slowly, the others got the message too, and by the end of the song, they were all staring at him.
“Do you wanna explain?” Asked Barb Azure, with an edge of steel in her voice.
“Not really?” He said, hearing how pathetic he sounded. Tam Amber folded his arms and stared at him.
“I think you should.”
“Look-“ said Billy Taupe, trying desperately to avoid the question. “It weren’t that big of a deal, I’m sure she’s just angry about it all and wanted to take it out on me, maybe for all we know it ain’t even about me-“
“What were the bet?” Maude Ivory’s high voice cut through his explanation. “She said that you lost a bet.”
Billy Taupe gulped. “Well now, lemme start with the fact I was very, very drunk-“
“Get to the point.” Barb Azure snapped.
He looked at the floor. “I made a bet that I couldn’t get two girls at the same time and I’m... I kinda... I guess I’m... I’m with Mayfair Lipp now, alright? Go ahead, kick me out! I was drunk anyways, so you can’t hold me to it!”
He looked to his brother for help. “Back me up here, CC! C’mon, you know I don’t think right when I’m drunk.”
Clerk Carmine just shrugged. “You dug yourself into this hole, I’m not gonna get you out.”
Barb Azure slumped back, head in her hands.
“Is she crying?” Whispered Billy Taupe. Maude Ivory shrugged in response.
Tam Amber was the first one to actually react. He nodded to Billy Taupe and said “Get your stuff.”
Billy Taupe felt his mouth drop open. “Wait, y’arent actually gonna kick me out, are ya? C’mon! Lucy Gray wouldn’t want you to do that.”
“Lucy Gray wouldn’t want you to cheat on her with Mayfair-fuckin’-Lipp neither!” Maude Ivory yelled, and for once, no-one reprimanded her for swearing. “Get out! You ain’t welcome here! You got her killed!” She wiped the tears from her eyes with a fist, glaring at him.
He got up and left without another word.
He wandered around the streets of District 12 aimlessly for a while, until it started raining.
His clothes dripping with rain, and his hair plastered to his face, Billy Taupe decided he had nothing to lose. He found himself at the Mayor’s house, throwing pebbles at Mayfair’s window, hoping she wasn’t asleep.
After the fifth pebble, she opened the window.
“I didn’t think I’d see you tonight! Where have you been? You haven’t been over for ages!” She extended the “a” in ages in complaint.
Billy Taupe almost smiled at her words.
“Look, the others kicked me out and I ain’t got nowhere to go. I know we have to sneak around your pa’s back, but could I stay with you?”
He called up to the window. Mayfair nodded happily and disappeared from the window. Barely a minute later, Billy Taupe heard the lock click and the back door opened. Mayfair grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs with her. “You have be out of here by 7, because papa gets up then, and he’d go ballistic at you if he knew you were here.”
He nodded. He’d dealt with Mayfair’s father before, and he knew that wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat. The Mayor was a very strict man who held a strong dislike for the Covey. He barely tolerated Billy Taupe coming into his house to teach Mayfair piano normally, so if he knew just what Mayfair and Billy Taupe had been up to, well, it wouldn’t end well for Billy Taupe.
The next few days were fairly uneventful for him. He settled into a routine. Get up at 6, get out of the house, spend his day doing nothing, get back late at night, spend the night with Mayfair.
The only minor blip in his plan happened when he accidentally called Mayfair “Lucy Gray” out of habit. She’d screamed at him, made him leave the house and threatened to report him.
Not wanting to start another fight, he left.
Once again, he found himself wandering around the Seam, undecided as to what to do. He wound up at the Hob, and realised his friends were probably in there, drinking, like they did most nights.
He hadn’t joined them since before the Reaping, feeling too guilty to want any social interaction, and why not admit it? He blamed Spruce for all this. He was the one who came up with that stupid bet in the first place.
Although, didn’t that mean that Billy Taupe should get should go and get what he was owed, now? And maybe a drink wouldn’t hurt either, and he could possibly even convince one of his friends to let him crash on their floor tonight, to avoid Mayfair’s ire.
The longer he could give her to cool down, the better.
He went inside, and immediately saw Spruce, Arlo and Lil all sitting together, sharing a couple of bottles of white liquor between them. Arlo waved him down when he saw him, and Billy Taupe strolled over to join them. “Hey, you want a drink?” Asked Arlo, holding up the closest bottle.
Suddenly aware of how exhausted he was, mentally, Billy Taupe nodded, and took the bottle, sitting down with them. Spruce raise an eyebrow,
“How’s things?“ He asked. “We’re still friends, right?“
Billy Taupe rolled his eyes back at him. “I think… You owe me quite a bit of money. Then we might be friends again.“
Spruce groaned. “Really?“
“Yes, really. I upheld my end of the bet, the least you can do is be a gentleman and pay up.“
Spruce snorted. “Like I’m a gentleman, huh?“ The others all laughed.
Lil, being Spruce’s sister, didn’t miss a beat insulting him.
“No, I think he misspoke, Spruce, I don’t know anyone less gentlemanly than you.”
“Please, you wouldn’t know a gentleman if it hit you in the face.“ Retorted Spruce. “I mean, you’re dating Arlo for fuck‘s sake.” Arlo, used to the lighthearted ribbing, sat back in his seat.
Lil curled her arm around his protectively. “Don’t be rude!“
Spruce cackled. “So you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?“
Billy Taupe started laughing, and for a moment, life felt almost normal. He could almost imagine nothing had even gone wrong. For a second.
Lil shook her head. “I’m just saying, I could do way worse.”
Arlo laughed quietly, and Spruce chuckled as he swigged from a bottle.
“Yeah, I suppose you could.” He muttered. “You could be with one of his lot.” He jerked a thumb in Billy Taupe’s direction.
“Hey!” Billy Taupe exclaimed. “Y’all are so mean to me, I ain’t got a clue why I still stick with you.”
“‘Ain’t got a clue.’” Quoted Spruce mockingly. “I swear your accent gets worse when you drink. Can’t even understand you sometimes.”
Billy Taupe, tired of the ridicule, clicked his fingers in Spruce‘s face. “Alright. Pay up.“ Spruce complained quietly and rummaged in his pocket, dropping a handful of coins onto the table. “That’s all I’ve got for now. Give me a few days, just until I get paid again and I’ll give you the rest.”
Billy Taupe rolled his eyes and scooped up all the coins, shoving them into his pocket. He took another sip of his liquor.
Spruce took a breath.
“I still don’t think it counts, personally, but I’ve been outvoted, so I’ll accept defeat gracefully. You sure know how to fleece a good man out of his money, Billy Taupe Clade.”
“That I do, although on this occasion I’d say I just fleeced a regular man.”
The others roared with laughter and Billy Taupe felt elated. They were all still good friends, after all.
They drank a few more rounds, until the world started lightly swimming. Billy Taupe turned to Arlo and Lil, who’d been all over each other all night. “Do y’all have a sofa or a comfy bit of floor that I could crash on, just for the night? Mayfair was in a stupid bad mood earlier and I don’t fancy getting my head bitten off tonight.”
Arlo started laughing. “Which head exactly?” He enquired, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Lil.
Billy Taupe groaned. “The one on my shoulders, you dense fuck. Now is really not the time.”
Arlo thought about it for a minute and nodded. “Yeah, alright. Lil was gonna come over, but I guess she can go and live at her own house for once.”
Lil rolled her eyes and stood up. “I can tell when I’m not wanted.”
She turned to her brother. “Come on, Spruce. Before you get too drunk to walk and we have to leave you here.” Spruce stood up and followed her with a sigh. Arlo got up too, and gestured got Billy Taupe to follow.
Arlo’s sofa wasn’t the most comfortable place Billy Taupe had ever slept, but he wondered if maybe he was just becoming soft. It was reasonable enough, and definitely better than outside.
He was awakened pretty early in the morning by Arlo getting ready for work.
“Breakfast?” Arlo asked, already making himself something.
Billy Taupe yawned and swung his legs off the sofa so he was sitting upright. “Sure, if you’ve got any.”
Arlo held up his bowl of porridge in response and started making a second one. He slid it across the table, causing Billy Taupe to stand up and cross to the kitchen to eat.
“Thanks.” He managed to say around a mouthful of porridge.
Arlo grinned and sat next to him. “You look like a starved man! Are the others not feeding you?”
Billy Taupe shook his head. “No, they kicked me out. Fending for myself these days.”
Arlo raised an eyebrow. “They must’ve been really pissed at you! Is it for the whole thing with your girl?”
“Yeah.” Billy Taupe muttered, scraping his spoon around the cereal bowl.
“They can’t blame you for her getting picked, surely?” Said Arlo, grabbing the empty bowl and taking it over to the sink. “The worst you did was maybe break her heart.”
It occurred to Billy Taupe that Arlo probably didn’t realise that Mayfair had a hand in Lucy Gray’s fate.
He decided to keep it that way.
“Yeah, I’m starting to think they just didn’t like me that much.”
Arlo sighed. “That’s crap, honestly. Now I see why you needed a place to sleep. Are you staying with Mayfair all the time now?”
Billy Taupe nodded. “Yeah, but her pa doesn’t know that.”
Arlo cackled and slapped him on the back. “Spruce’ll be proud of you, getting one over on the Mayor. You’re growing up, and into a right troublemaker.”
He sat back down. “Speaking of, I’ve got this plan that I could really use your help with. Me and a couple of the others have been setting this thing up in the mines-“
“I ain’t got no time for your harebrained schemes, Arlo. I’m at my wit’s end! And right now, I can’t risk-“
Arlo cut him off. “It’s not a risk! Look, with us down in the mines, we need someone who can keep a lookout-“
“Absolutely not.” Snapped Billy Taupe. “Do I look like a man who wants to get arrested? No. Because I don’t.”
“You won’t get arrested! And it’s not like you’ve not been there before. C’mon, I let you sleep here!”
“I’m not even talking about this. I don’t have the others to bail me out any more. I was on my last chance five chances ago! How’s it going to look for me, living with the Mayor’s daughter, spending the night in jail? Mayfair would kill me.”
Arlo rolled his eyes and stood up as the siren to call the miners blared. “Look, I’ve gotta run. Think about it, ok? If you change your mind, meet me or whoever I send at the mine entrance. We need your help.”
Billy Taupe sighed as he watched Arlo leave. He had no intention of helping his friend with his stupid plan to disrupt coal production.
“Oh, but this time, this time, it’ll work!“ He muttered, mockingly, as Arlo had said that about every plan he’d ever come up with. Billy Taupe poured himself another cup of coffee and luxuriated having Arlo’s house all to himself.
He wondered about a bit, imagining the house was his own, pretending to dust and tidy. It would be nice, he thought, to have a house of his own.
Actually, it would be nice to have a house at all and not have to sleep at Mayfair’s or at one of his friend’s.
Partway through this musing, he remembered the talks he’d had with Lucy Gray on this topic. She hadn’t wanted to ever leave the Covey household, which he understood, but he’d promised her a bigger house for them all. One which would be right next to the meadow, so the kids could go and play there. (Although, Maude Ivory and CC would probably be grown up by then. Maybe the next generation.)
None of that would be happening now. Lucy Gray was dead and gone, and the rest of the Covey hated him.
Even his own little brother.
There would be a next generation of Covey, but he would never be welcome to meet them. Those realisations caused him to sink to the floor with his head in his hands and sob for the first time since the Reaping.
Billy Taupe liked to think he didn’t cry much, but today he was on the floor for at least an hour until the tears stopped, and longer after that, sitting in a haze, mourning his future, and family life, and her.
He was jolted back to reality by the blaring of the mine’s emergency alarm, which could be heard across the District. He was on his feet in a second, sprinting towards the mines to see what was going on, even though he knew what it must be.
He joined the crowd looking at the mine entrance.
“What happened?“ He asked no one in particular.
A jumble of voices responded. “Explosion, which-“ “rockfall caused by-“ “think it was intentional?“ “Lots of casualties, mostly-“
After a while, a lift came to the surface, and the crowd parted to allow the evacuated, shaken up miners out.
Billy Taupe spotted Lil first, the hood of her jacket pulled over her hair, her eyes desperately searching the crowd.
Next to her was Spruce, keeping his head down, holding Lil‘s arm as if to restrain his sister from sprinting into the crowd.
Billy Taupe realised why Lil looked as frightened as she did. It wasn’t due to the near death experience, it was because she couldn’t find Arlo. He turned to the person next to him in the crowd, a woman he knew by sight from trading at the Hob.
“Is this the first group to come up?“ He asked.
She pulled a face. “First group of miners, yes. Just after the explosion happened, a group of Peacekeepers went down and came back up, dragging someone out in cuffs, but I couldn’t tell who.“
Billy Taupe felt his heart sink into his feet. “The culprit, most likely.“ He muttered, walking off to follow Spruce and Lil.
He collared them in a side road. They both looked like they were in a bad way, Spruce was pale and shaking, and Lil had tear tracks down her cheeks, marking the coal dust covering her.
Billy Taupe had barely got within a yard of them, when Lil spotted him, wrestled an arm free, and slapped him hard across the face.
“Ow! What the fuck did I do?“ He asked indignantly.
“You should’ve been there as a lookout!”She yelled. “Arlo said he asked you, and you fucking refused! Now he’s been arrested, and it’s your fucking fault!“
He held up his hands in apology. “Alright, alright, Lil. I’m sorry. It’ll all be fine though. We’ll bail him out.“
Lil nodded gloomily “I hope so.“ As she wiped another tear from her eye, something told Billy Taupe that she didn’t quite believe that.
They parted ways after that. Billy Taupe started to make his way back to Mayfair’s, having not seen her for two days.
He was able to get into the mayors house during the day just twice a week, as Mayor Lipp still believed him to be Mayfair’s piano teacher. (Which he was, to a degree! He did try to teach her.)
He knocked on the front door, pulling his hair forward to try and hide the obvious slap mark he now had courtesy of Lil.
Mayfair’s mother opened the door and looked him up and down, evidently judging his scruffy appearance. Without a word, she turned and walked into the house, gesturing with a hand for him to follow. He stepped over the threshold, grateful to be out of the baking sun. Mrs Lipp called up the stairs “Mayfair! That… boy is here again.”
Billy Taupe shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t still look like a boy, did he? He was 18, a man! Actually, he was nearly 19!
Mayfair called down to just send him upstairs, so he nodded to Mrs Lipp and headed up the staircase. Mayfair was waiting in her room, wearing a white jacket over a blue dress that contrasted nicely with her red hair. Billy Taupe sighed. She was no Lucy Gray, but she was very pretty. Although she was very conniving.
It occurred to him that he should probably have a talk with her about what she’d done to Lucy Gray, but did he really want to fight with her more, and have to keep staying at Arlo’s? If Arlo would even let him come back, after Billy Taupe had refused to be the lookout and let him get arrested.
No, thought Billy Taupe, Lucy Gray’s issue could wait. Fighting with Mayfair over it now wouldn’t bring her back.
Instead, he just sat next to Mayfair on her bed and made an effort to look her in the eyes as he took her hands.
“Mayfair, I’m sorry. I know I screwed up, I- “
“You didn’t come home last night.” She cut his rambling apology off midway. He looked away.
“I stayed with a friend. Didn’t think you’d want to see me.”
She intertwined her fingers with his a little too tightly. “I missed you.”
She seemed more tense than usual. He decided she was probably still upset.
There was a beat of silence before she stood up, still holding onto his hands, and pulled him over to the bedroom door.
“Come on, we should at least pretend we’re practicing the piano.”
Billy Taupe resisted for a second. “Mayfair, wait. I was wondering if you heard anything about that mine explosion that happened earlier. I’m worried about a friend.”
He didn’t want to have this conversation out by the piano, in the openness of the house.
Mayfair nodded. “Oh yeah. Papa reckons they caught one of the people who did it, some miner? Killed like 2 Peacekeepers, and seriously injured a third one. No clue why. Papa’s been talking to the Commander. They say they’ll hang the culprit before the end of the month, and they’re on the lookout for his group. There’s no way he did it alone.”
Billy Taupe felt his stomach drop as far as his feet at that.
They’ll hang him
I’m sorry, Lil.
I’ve failed you both.
Over the next few days, he heard through the grapevine that the Covey were planning to start performing at the Hob again, and wondered how they were doing without a lead singer or an accordionist. Maybe Maude Ivory was singing now, he wondered, before reminding himself he didn’t care about any of them. Not even Maude Ivory. Not even Clerk Carmine. None of them.
While he was out on a walk through town, during the day, he thought he saw Lucy Gray at the end of the road. He shook his head. “Need to cut back on the liquor.” He muttered to himself. “She’s dead and gone.”
His walk often took him near the Covey house, which was much more often silent than not, now. Everyone must be upset about losing Lucy Gray, because there used to be singing heard from the house all the time.
The day after he thought he saw her, however, he passed by the house again, and heard music. It wasn’t a song he knew, which confused him. He knew all their songs, and with the only songwriter gone, he didn’t know where this one had come from.
He shrugged and left. Maybe one of the others had been able to write songs too, and kept it from him? Wouldn’t surprise him, any more, knowing how much they hated him. But it was none of his business, now.
His brain felt scrambled, between the Covey planning to perform again, and Mayfair, who kept on acting distant. He couldn’t even guess what he’d done, if he’d done something else wrong or if she was just angry for no reason.
He considered just apologising randomly and hoping it worked, but he thought that might drag him into more trouble, so he kept his mouth shut.
True to their word, the District officials did indeed hang Arlo on the next Friday.
Billy Taupe, unable to do anything, had to just stand in the crowd and watch one of oldest friends die choking on his words with a noose around his throat, and watch as Lil was hauled away by Peacekeepers for the crime of calling out for her lover.
Everyone around Billy Taupe seemed to die.
First, his parents, when he was young.
And then Lucy Gray, who he was sure must be dead by now.
And now Arlo, and most likely Lil too.
On Saturday, he asked Mayfair if she’d come with him to the Hob, to see what the Covey were up to. She agreed, tentatively.
When they got there, he bought some liquor from one of the vendors. Mayfair declined to drink, so he decided to drink her share too.
As the lights dimmed, he took a seat near the back of the room so the others wouldn’t see him. Holding Mayfair’s hand, because she insisted, he watched as Maude Ivory ran onto the stage. It felt wrong to watch from the crowd, rather than being crammed into the little room backstage, sneaking a kiss onto Lucy Gray’s cheek as they grabbed their instruments. Mayfair’s nails were too long, digging into his palm. He missed holding Lucy Gray’s hands, her nails were always trimmed so she didn’t damage her guitar.
When all four of the remaining Covey were on the stage, Billy Taupe held his breath, wondering what was going to happen. However, Maude Ivory wasn’t done talking yet. She leaned into the microphone, gave a conspiratorial grin and held her arm out to the stage entrance. “An’ now, fresh from her engagement in the Capitol, the one and only Lucy Gray Baird!”
The crowd cheered.
Billy Taupe thought he was going to faint.
Mayfair was gripping his hand tightly enough he thought she was going to cut off all his circulation.
They exchanged a glance, Billy Taupe asking one question without speaking.
“How is she back?”
Even as Lucy Gray took centre stage and greeted the crowd, taking a bottle of liquor from a Peacekeeper in the front row, Billy Taupe stared at her.
Easily holding a conversation with effortless jokes, segueing right into a song, she was playing the crowd just like she used to.
Just like she played him.
Under the noise of the Covey’s first song, he looked at Mayfair. “How’d she survive?” He whispered. He wasn’t even sure what he felt. He had felt terrible when he thought Lucy Gray was dead, but now that she wasn’t, he decided he wouldn’t be running back and begging her to forgive him any time soon. Not that that would’ve worked. Lucy Gray could hold a grudge, alright.
Mayfair nodded, tight lipped. “Yeah, she won. I’ve gotta say, I didn’t really expect that. Wasn’t sure how to tell you.”
“You weren’t sure how to tell me?” He asked incredulously.
She shrugged. “I was hoping they weren’t gonna send her back, if I’m honest. Leave her in the Capitol to rot.”
They didn’t speak for the rest of the performance, except for a point where Mayfair decided to compromise her personal morals and grab the half-empty liquor bottle from Billy Taupe’s hand and attempt to down the remainder.
“You sure you can handle that stuff?”
“I’ll be fine, how strong can it-“ she broke off her sentence for a coughing fit as the liquor hit the back of her throat.
Billy Taupe rolled his eyes and started on the second bottle instead.
As the show finished up, Maude Ivory went around the crowd with her basket, and Billy Taupe realised he didn’t know how he was going to hide from her when she reached their row.
Thankfully for him, she didn’t, as she was preoccupied by someone a couple of rows in front, and then she ran straight back to talk to Lucy Gray, who stared out into the crowd with an undisguised grin on her face.
She promised the crowd one more song, all the while looking at the person (Billy Taupe assumed it was a man) that Maude Ivory had talked to.
Billy Taupe knew that she used to look at him like that.
She loved that man.
She’d moved on.
He looked at Mayfair only to see that she was already looking at him.
“Did she find a new boyfriend already?” Mayfair whispered.
Billy Taupe nodded. “She always did move quick when she wanted to.”
“What a slut.” She muttered quietly.
In the past, Billy Taupe would’ve wanted to stand up for Lucy Gray, but, looking at her now, singing softly onstage, glowing with happiness, he decided she didn’t deserve his defence, actually.
As the song ended, and people started clearing out for the night, Billy Taupe stood up from his crate and grabbed Mayfair’s hand, leading her towards where the Covey were standing. A man clearing up the crates got in his way and Billy Taupe shoved him to the side, not caring about the man’s yell of “Watch it! Are you drunk or just stupid?”
He was neither, he thought to himself. He felt perfectly sober and he wasn’t stupid, the man was just in the way.
As he walked closer, he saw the rest of the Covey had already spotted him, gathering in around Lucy Gray as if to protect her. He would have laughed if this hadn’t been a serious situation. He wasn’t going to hurt her, for everything’s sake. He wasn’t that kind of man, he told himself.
Maude Ivory stood directly in front of Lucy Gray, looking for all the world like she wanted to attack him.
“You get out of here, Billy Taupe. None of us want you anymore.” She snapped.
Billy Taupe raised an eyebrow. “Less want than need, Maude Ivory.”
“Don’t need you either. Go on and get. And take your weasel girl with you.”
Billy Taupe reached behind him and squeezed Mayfair’s hand for assurance.
“You’re all sounding thin. You’re sounding thin.”
He had to admit, they’d sounded fine, but he just wanted to hit where it hurt, and he knew that was their music.
“We can do without you, Billy Taupe. You made your choice. Now leave us be.” Barb Azure glared at him. He saw Tam Amber nod, out of the corner of his eye.
Billy Taupe glanced to the one member of the Covey who hadn’t yet made his allegiance known. His little brother.
“Is that how you feel, CC?” He paused, and at Clerk Carmine’s lack of response, he continued. “You can come with me. We’d do alright, we two.”
Clerk Carmine didn’t move. Billy Taupe felt anger rising in his veins. “All right, then. Don’t need you. Never needed any of you anyway. Never will. Always did better on my own.”
He felt a Peacekeeper put their hand on his shoulder. “Come on, now, show’s over.”
Billy Taupe instinctively shoved the Peacekeeper, and instantly realised that was a bad idea as more Peacekeepers started to close in on him. Luckily for him, someone hit the light switch, and he took advantage of the darkness to sprint out of the stage door, although he took a punch to the nose as he ran.
Holding the hem of his shirt to his nose to staunch the bleeding, he made his way to the Mayor’s house, keeping away from the main roads to avoid any Peacekeepers that might’ve been around. He hid in the bushes by the wall at the Mayor’s, waiting for Mayfair to return.
Sure enough, a small group of Peacekeepers walked up to the gate with Mayfair in tow. He caught a few words of their conversation as she ran into the house. “Should we tell her parents?”
He backed further against the wall, hoping not to be noticed by the Peacekeepers. He didn’t feel like spending the night in jail, really.
As he moved his arm, he knocked his accordion, which made a small noise.
He looked over at the Peacekeepers, who were now leaving, and saw one of them staring at him.
At least it was dark so he couldn’t be seen.
Mayfair’s bedroom light switched on.
For a second, Billy Taupe and the Peacekeeper locked eyes, and then the Peacekeeper looked away.
Billy Taupe breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Mayfair close the window and draw the blinds, making the bushes dark once more. He turned away and walked over to the back door, waiting for Mayfair to let him in.
He and Mayfair had a long discussion (and little else) that night. About how Lucy Gray had survived, about her suspected new boyfriend, about what they were going to do now. Billy Taupe suggested joining his friends in the idea of going North, something they had been talking about for a while. Mayfair shot that down, stating that she couldn’t bear to live without the comfort of the District. Billy Taupe was annoyed by that. Where was her sense of adventure, he wondered.
The next day, he went to talk to Spruce and tell him that he (well, Mayfair) had problems with the idea of running away. Spruce, his best friend, understood, especially as nothing was concrete yet. He also told him that they were going to try to get information to Lil, who’d been in jail since Arlo’s hanging. Billy Taupe considered declining to help in favour of focusing on his own problems, but agreed to keep his eyes and ears open.
After having a filling breakfast of absolutely nothing, he went to go and get the rest of his stuff from the Covey, as he’d only taken his accordion and the clothes he’d been wearing.
Barb Azure slammed the door in his face, but threw his extra clothes and his books out the window. Around there, he found Maude Ivory cracking nuts (he wondered if they were the ones he helped pick last year.) And a Peacekeeper who he recognised as one of the group that had walked Mayfair home last night. Not the one that had seen him. This one had dark hair, the other one was blonde.
When Maude Ivory spotted him, she tugged on the Peacekeeper’s sleeve and pointed to the door. The Peacekeeper whispered something to her, and she nodded and ran inside.
“Hello.”
Billy Taupe stared suspiciously. He didn’t trust Peacekeepers as a species, so he wasn’t keen on the fact this one was talking to him.
He gave him a brief nod and went to pick up his stuff.
The Peacekeeper was still sitting on the ground. Billy Taupe wondered what the chances were, that this Peacekeeper had been at the Hob yesterday and was here today. With sudden clarity, he realised the Peacekeeper might be Lucy Gray’s new man. Why else would he be here?
Overcome with sudden curiosity, he decided he would talk to him, actually.
“So, what’re you doing?”
“Shelling these nuts, if Maude Ivory has any say in what I do.” The Peacekeeper chuckled. He obviously cared about the kid. Maude Ivory had that effect, Billy Taupe thought. People liked her.
“You’d best keep your nose to the grindstone then, she’s a hard taskmaster.” He said, lightly, as he extended a hand. “I’m Billy Taupe Clade, by the way.”
The Peacekeeper stood up and shook his hand, a little over enthusiastically. “Sejanus Plinth.”
“So, Sejanus Plinth, why are you here, at my old house, at this late hour of the morning?”
Billy Taupe kept the slight banter they had going, but asked a more pertinent question.
“Um... I’m just here with my friend, because after the fight at the Hob, Peacekeepers have to stay in twos.”
Billy Taupe looked around. “Is your friend invisible?”
Sejanus laughed. “No, he went to go and find Lucy Gray. Apparently she’s in the meadow or something. I don’t really know, Maude Ivory dragged me off as soon as I got here.”
So Lucy Gray still went and worked on her songs in the meadow. Interesting. Everything Sejanus had to say seemed interesting.
“Nice accent. Capitol?”
Sejanus bristled, and Billy Taupe could tell he’d said the wrong thing this time.
“Sorry. Was that insulting to ask?”
Sejanus just shook his head. “Nope. I’m not from the Capitol, though, I’m from 2.”
It occurred to Billy Taupe that Sejanus, being a Peacekeeper and all, could be a fount of useful information, actually. And he seemed like someone with a keen eye for justice, and seemed to have strong opinions about the Capitol.
So, Billy Taupe told him the truth about Lil being locked up, and asked if, as a Peacekeeper, Sejanus knew any way she could be contacted. This culminated in Sejanus drawing a map of the Peacekeeper’s base in the dirt with a stick, explaining where everything was, and Billy Taupe attempting to commit it to memory.
“I’m bad at directions.” He muttered. Sejanus laughed. “It’s easy when you get to know it, really. How would your friend get information to her, anyway?”
Billy Taupe scratched a pathway through Sejanus’s map. “This way here would probably be the obvious answer. Especially with a helpful man on the inside like you.”
They bounced ideas off each other back and forth for a while. Well, Billy Taupe came up with the ideas, and Sejanus told him why they wouldn’t work. Most of the ideas seemed unnecessary and risky, and they hadn’t really got much figured out when Sejanus jumped to his feet. Billy Taupe scuffed the picture to obscurity as a pair of shadows fell on them both.
He turned, and saw Lucy Gray standing there with her hand on her hip, looking as pretty as ever, despite her plain dress. Her other hand was holding that of the blonde Peacekeeper that Billy Taupe had seen last night.
“Well, look who’s decided to talk to me.” He grinned incredulously. Honestly, he’d been expecting the silent treatment from her forever, after she avoided talking to him at the Hob.
She turned her eyes from him and focused on Sejanus instead. “Sejanus, Maude Ivory’s all bent out of shape about you bailing on those nuts.”
Sejanus nodded, giving a guilty side glance to his Peacekeeper friend. “Yes, I’ve been shirking my duties.” He held his hand out for Billy Taupe to shake. He did.
“Nice meeting you.” This guy had some serious manners for a Peacekeeper.
“Sure, you, too. You can find me around the Hob some days, if you want to talk more.” He didn’t want to outright state that they hadn’t finished their discussion. Sejanus would get the hint.
“I’ll keep it in mind.” He said, walking off to the house to go and attend to Maude Ivory.
Lucy Gray looked to Billy Taupe, dropping the Peacekeeper’s hand. He looked back at her.
“Go away, Billy Taupe. And don’t come back.”
He laughed at the way she was trying to sound threatening. Sure, she could be kinda scary when she wanted to be, but this wasn’t really it. “Or what, Lucy Gray? You’ll sic your Peacekeepers on me?”
That was probably the likely outcome, he thought. He’d barely even considered the fact that this blonde Peacekeeper was, presumably, Lucy Gray’s new man. Now he thought about it, Billy Taupe kind of recognised him. From the television broadcast. That meant that this Peacekeeper, at least, must be from the Capitol. Odd.
“If need be.” Lucy Gray said.
Billy Taupe looked the blonde man up and down. He must be a pretty new Peacekeeper if he was from the Capitol, and he was probably not trained up yet. Probably thought he was better than all of them, too.
“Seem like a pretty tame pair.”
“You don’t get it. There’s no walking this back.” Lucy Gray snapped, staring him in the eyes.
“Like all the times before,” her eyes seemed to say. “Like every time I forgave you.”
He didn’t understand why she was pissed at him. At Mayfair, sure. But him? He’d had nothing to do with it, really. He was a victim of circumstance.
“You know I didn’t try and kill you.” His words came out a bit more angry than he’d really meant them.
“I know you’re still running with the girl that did. Hear you’ve made yourself right at home at the Mayor’s.” She pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
This was ridiculous, really. Where else would he have gone, when her precious family were the ones who’d kicked him out!
“And who sent me over there in the first place, I wonder? Makes me sick how you’re playing the kids. Poor Lucy Gray. Poor lamb.” He challenged her. He was slightly surprised that her fancy Peacekeeper man hadn’t stepped in to defend her honour.
Lucy Gray seemed taken aback by his mention of the kids. “They’re not stupid, they want you gone too.” She hissed, nodding her head at him and adjusting her posture.
Out of instinct he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in.
“Where, exactly, am I supposed to go?”
Where else but the mayor’s. She really was going round in circles with this argument.
The Peacekeeper took a breath and may have been about to say something, when Lucy Gray took matters into her own hands, and bit Billy Taupe’s hand. He made an embarrassingly high pitched noise and let go instantly.
She’d really gone off the rails.
Her Peacekeeper stepped up beside her, glaring at Billy Taupe.
“Doesn’t look like you’re so lonely yourself. This your fancy man from the Capitol? Chased all this way after you? He’s got a few surprises waiting for him.” She knew what he meant, give or take. He wasn’t going to lay it all out in front of the new man. He could find out for himself.
“I already know all about you.” Stated the Peacekeeper, officiously.
Billy Taupe was sure he didn’t. Well, maybe he thought he did. But really he’d only know whatever lies Lucy Gray had been feeding him.
“Me? I’m the rosebud in that dung heap.” Billy Taupe laughed. The Peacekeeper glared at him.
“Why don’t you go, like she asked?” He snapped.
“Fine.” He said, kneeling to pick up his clothes and stack the books under one arm. “You’ll learn. You’ll learn soon enough.”
He started to walk off. He gave it a couple weeks at most until her new man found out the things she’d done. Her fancy new man. From the Capitol. He couldn’t quite believe it.
And he thought he’d done well getting with a girl from town.
Mayfair wasn’t keen on the fact he came back with a bundle of his own stuff to put in her house, but she seemed a lot happier when she realised that meant he’d actually be able to look neat sometimes again, as he had been slowly getting messier.
Over the week, he talked to Spruce again, trying desperately to formulate a plan for getting Lil out of jail. Even with his new insider knowledge of the Peacekeeper base, thanks to Sejanus, Billy Taupe couldn’t think up a plan that didn’t at least involve shooting a few guards, and that meant that if they got caught, they’d be dead.
To be fair, breaking a rebel out of prison was probably a hanging offence either way.
It really annoyed Billy Taupe that Mayfair wouldn’t even help him with his plans. Here he was, drowning in guilt, desperately thinking through idea after idea, and she’d just laugh and say that Lil shouldn’t have gotten caught.
He pointed out that if they did get Lil out, they’d have to be leaving the District after, or they’d have the entire Peacekeeping force after them.
Mayfair, once again, didn’t care. She didn’t want him to leave, but she refused to leave the District with them, despite Billy Taupe promising that he’d take care of her. Too used to her life of luxury here, he supposed.
Lucy Gray would’ve come with them, he thought, once. She would’ve understood. He realised the guilt in his heart wasn’t just for letting Arlo die and Lil get captured, wasn’t just for abandoning Mayfair. It wasn’t even just guilt. It was a pain eating his heart from the inside because he missed Lucy Gray.
He’d thought he was over her, that she would never take him back, that it was all in the past. But remembering the last time they’d interacted, there had been a moment or two when she’d looked at him the way she used to. Before her gaze hardened over, as though she had to remind herself to hate him.
No, maybe all was not lost. Maybe he still had a chance.
On Saturday morning, he headed to the meadow. His feet crunched on the hailstones that had fallen overnight as he trudged the long way from the town centre, where Mayfair lived, all the way to the Seam, and further out.
Sure enough, Lucy Gray was there. Scribbling in a notebook, her guitar lying on the floor next to her.
She was whispering to herself, just like she used to, trying desperately to find words that would rhyme.
“Daisy… why do I do this to myself? Faisy, laisy… lazy? No, can’t make that complimentary. Kaisy? Baisy? None of those are words!”
Billy Taupe took a wide circle around, so as not to startle her. “How about crazy?” He suggested.
Lucy Gray still jumped upon hearing his voice.
“I thought I said I don’t want to see you. What do you think you’re doing here?”
He shrugged, and sat down in the damp grass so as not to tower over her.
“Helping you with lyrics again, apparently.”He joked.
She slammed her song notebook shut. “You know well enough that I want nothin’ to do with you. Get on back to town, I’m sure your girlfriend misses you.”
The venom in her voice at the mention of Mayfair was evident.
Billy Taupe sighed. “Look, Lucy Gray. Let me say my piece. I promise, you just have to listen to me for like fifteen minutes and then I’ll be out of your hair. Forever, if you want. Please.”
He didn’t have a prepared speech, or even bullet points. He was just saying whatever he could think of to get her to listen, to start with.
“Fine.” She folded her legs under her skirt. “I’m listening.”
“Lucy Gray, I’m sorry. I truly am. I never meant for any of this to happen, and I never meant for you to get hurt.”
She glared at him and quickly interrupted. “But I got hurt. You’ll never know what kinda damage you’ve managed to do to me. The extent of stuff I had to do to survive. I had to kill people, Billy Taupe. That changes a person.”
He looked down at the wet grass, soaking into his clothes where he was sitting. “I can’t imagine. I’m sorry for that, Lucy Gray.”
He wasn’t able to make eye contact with her.
“I’m about a hundred percent sure that any justification I can give you won’t make it alright to you, but I need to explain it anyways, just to get it off my chest.”
He took a deep breath. “I was never serious about her. It was a stupid drunken bet with my friends that went too far and I was in too deep to stop, but Mayfair never meant anything. She was just there. I was never gonna take it this far, Lucy Gray, it was just supposed to be until Spruce paid up. I was already planning what I was gonna buy for you with the money. A new dress, all fancy. All sorts of things. I was gonna spoil you rotten, but she had to get jealous and fuck it all up.”
Lucy Gray was now the one avoiding eye contact. He carried on. “You remember when we were talking about what we wanted in the future, and we were gonna have a big house for us and the others? I may not have been able to afford that, but I really wanted to have us living a bit better. I wanted to bring home sweets for the kids, sweets that I’d bought and not stolen. To be able to come home and see you, my love, to bring you presents and kiss you. I-“
He cut himself off because he felt a tear starting to build up at the edge of his left eye. He wiped it away, and then realised it would probably have had more of an impact on Lucy Gray if he’d let it run down his face. Ah well, it was too late to reconsider that.
“Are you safe here, now?” He asked, quietly, reaching to take her hand. She didn’t stop him.
“Mayfair hasn’t tried to hurt you any more, has she?”
Lucy Gray shook her head. “I think I’m safe. I hope. She don’t make eye contact with me when I see her. Reckon we’re both scared of each other now.”
He gently stroked his thumb on the back of her hand the way he used to when he needed to remind her that he was here, if she got upset.
“And that Peacekeeper man? He’s not hurting you?”
She squeezed his hand. “No. I don’t think he has any bad intentions. He came from the Capitol to find me, and he’s the one who saved me back there. I didn’t expect to see him round here, but apparently he got himself into trouble back home.”
Billy Taupe sighed. If Lucy Gray was happy with her new man, there was no chance she’d come back to him. She was, of course, infinitely more moral than he was, and even emotionally, incredibly faithful.
“Just… I just want you to know that I’m leaving. Me and Spruce are going to find a way to break Lil out of jail, and when we do, we’ll have to run. Up north, like we used to joke about.”
“Right.” Said Lucy Gray, pulling her hand out of his.
“If… Lucy Gray. If you need to, you can run with us. I mean it, alright? I know I can’t offer you anything, but I swear I’d keep you safe. Think on it, for me. Meet us at the tree, I’ll tell you before we go.”
He got up and left before he had to hear her turn him down.
That evening, there was another performance at the Hob, which was the perfect cover for the remainder of their little rebel group to meet. Billy Taupe had suggested the back room where the Covey normally got ready, because as soon as they were onstage, it would be empty and no-one would be looking in there for any reason.
Spruce was already there when Billy Taupe arrived, and Sejanus showed up not too long after. This time, Billy Taupe had brought a pencil and paper he’d borrowed from Mayfair’s house. Sejanus easily sketched out the map again so that Spruce could see.
“So there’s always guards?” Asked Spruce. Sejanus nodded.
“Yeah, out here, with guns, and there’s some in there as well, but they aren’t armed.”
“So all we need to do is get past the outside ones, with some weapons ourselves.” Interjected Billy Taupe.
Sejanus bit his lip. “Maybe? How are you even going to get into the complex? You know they always have guards on the gate, and they don’t allow visitors.”
Spruce clicked his fingers, as an idea must’ve just sprung into his head.
“We aren’t. You are.”
Sejanus looked completely nonplussed.
“I’m… what?”
Spruce pointed to the map. “You’re going to get Lil out. We’ll wait on the outside. There’s a rusted bit of fence out here, near the generator. Get Lil out of her cell and round here, I’ll open the fence, and we can run for the woods.”
Billy Taupe had never seen Spruce so focused. He almost didn’t seem like the same man who was his best friend, as though there were two seperate Spruces, the serious rebel and the drunk idiot.
“Wait, how’s Sejanus gonna get Lil out?” He interjected. “I feel like we’re glossing over that bit of the plan a tad bit.”
Spruce bit his lip. “I don’t know… now would be the time for a master plan, Capitol boy.”
Sejanus glared at him. “I’m not from the Capitol. I’m from 2, no matter what my accent says.”
Spruce just shrugged. “Y’all sound the same from out there. You’re gonna be from nowhere soon as we can get out of here.”
“How often do the guards change?” Asked Billy Taupe, desperately trying to diffuse the tension. He needed Spruce in a good mood, because he had a question that may as well be insubordination.
“Every four hours.” Said Sejanus.
“Ok…” Muttered Spruce, lost in thought. “Think you could knock them out?”
Sejanus shook his head. “Nuh-uh. They’re wearing helmets, and they’re in pairs.”
“I dunno… we could get ‘em drunk?” Suggested Billy Taupe, mainly as a joke.
Sejanus’s eyebrows raised. “Wait, I think you’ve got it! I have some medicine from the Capitol that knocks you out like a light, it wouldn’t even do any lasting damage to them.”
“Why would we care about doing lasting damage?” Chuckled Spruce.
Sejanus sighed. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right to hurt them if we don’t have to. Besides, if it all goes wrong, I’d rather not have murdered two Peacekeepers.”
Billy Taupe groaned. “If it all goes wrong at this point, we’ll hang either way. If you’re scared of that, you should probably bail.”
Sejanus shook his head. “I know what I’m getting into. We’ve gotta do this. It’s right.”
Spruce tapped his finger on the map to get their attention again. “Right. Sejanus can get past the guards, you figure out how you’re giving them the medicine. Then what? There’s internal guards.”
Sejanus nodded. “I was imagining taking one of the outside guard’s guns. Hold them up at gunpoint and force them into one of the cells. There’s a soundproof one that we use for… well, anyways. I’d get the keys, get Lil out, and we run straight for the fence.”
Spruce nodded. “That’s good. From there, circle round the outskirts of the District, and head to the woods. Billy Taupe, you said there’s a cabin we could hole up in to plan from there?”
“Yeah, by a lake, about 2 hours northwest. It’s too close to the District to stay there long term but we can definitely set ourselves up there… I’ve actually got one more thing to ask.”
Spruce raised an eyebrow. “What? The plan feels pretty bulletproof.”
Billy Taupe took a breath. “It’s not about the plan. It’s about my girl. I’m bringing her.” ‘If she’ll come’ he added mentally.
Spruce groaned. “Really, man?”
“Yep. She won’t cause trouble, she’ll stick with me, but I’m not leaving her here.”
“Fine, if you must… wait, which girl- never mind. I don’t care. Just don’t get us caught.”
Billy Taupe almost laughed at Spruce trying to question which girl he intended to bring. As if Mayfair would ever leave the District.
“We’ll need weapons to go up north, right?” Said Sejanus. “For hunting, and self defence?”
The others nodded. “Absolutely.” Said Spruce.
Sejanus looked up nervously. “I can get us some, if you can find someone who’ll sell them. I… have some cash stockpiled.”
Spruce grinned. “Great. If we meet here again next Saturday, I’ll have someone bring us supplies and everything, and you can pay then.”
Billy Taupe found the rest of the week a very confusing time. He felt like he was being pulled in every direction at once. He was still sleeping at Mayfair’s, but he spent most of his time thinking about Lucy Gray. Or the rebel plan.
He didn’t understand how two months ago, everything had been perfect. Sure, him and Lucy Gray had been on the rocks again, but their relationship had always been off-and-on.
Now he didn’t know what to do. Every night he’d get back and smile and act like he still liked Mayfair (had he ever liked Mayfair?) so he’d be allowed to sleep at her house.
He spent his days wandering about the District, thinking, like he had done when he thought Lucy Gray was dead. At least this time he was doing it sober.
It felt like he was betraying Mayfair, to leave her high and dry in the District like that. But now he was committed to leaving with the rest of the rebels.
And with Lucy Gray.
Perfect, loyal, intelligent, alive Lucy Gray.
Honestly, just because he wanted her back didn’t mean he had a clue what he felt for her.
Should he be proud of her for coming back against all the odds?
Should he hate her for ruining what little he had and getting him kicked out of the family home?
Should he love her because honestly, she was the only person who’d ever let him?
The only other thing he really did was take over the piano every time Mayfair was supposed to have a lesson, as he realised he wasn’t going to get to play again when he went up North. He was going to take his accordion, of course, and he was sure Lucy Gray would bring her guitar, so they could still play together, but the idea he might never see a piano again was bizarre.
On Friday night, he was very antsy. Despite Mayfair’s pleas, he didn’t want to go to bed, he just kept pacing around and around her room. He knew that the next day’s rebel meeting may well be the last one before they’d take off for North, which meant they had to get everything planned.
He vaguely explained this to Mayfair in between her attempts to convince him to come to bed, and surprisingly, she offered to come along.
“Uhm… no. I don’t think that’s a good idea, babe.”
He sank down onto one of the fancy chairs in her room. “My friends don’t really trust people, and with you being the Mayor’s daughter… I just want you to stay safe, okay?”
Mayfair, sitting up in her bed, pouted. “Oh, your big serious rebel friends think they’re too good to deal with me? What if I did want to come when you leave?”
Billy Taupe sighed and rested his head on his hand. “That’d be different, and then I’d have to ask them. I’m just saying, I don’t think they’ll want more people knowing about this than already do! I mean, I probably shouldn’t have told you at all. Just stay here, okay? I’ll come back after we’re done and tell you everything, I swear.”
Maybe, in his heart, the reason he wanted her to stay was less about his friends not trusting her, and more to do with the fact that he was planning to bring Lucy Gray along.
If one of the others let that slip to Mayfair, he’d probably get slapped. Or something worse.
Eventually, he realised the only way he’d be able to go without Mayfair deciding to come along would require a bit of lying. White lies, he decided. It was for Mayfair’s own good that he wasn’t letting her come along.
“May, babe, can I be honest with ya? I’m not convinced I’m gonna go with the others. I don’t wanna leave you here. That’s why I don’t want you coming to the meetings. I’m going to help them, but if I pull out now, I don’t want any of them being angry with you.”
He lay down on the bed, and Mayfair elected to ignore the fact he hadn’t taken his shoes off.
“Really?” She asked quietly, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“Really.” He replied, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer.
“I love you, Mayfair. I swear, I’ll tell you everything when I get back, if you just stay home.”
Billy Taupe got to the Hob a bit late on Saturday, as he’d stopped for a drink beforehand. He slipped into the main warehouse while the Covey were already playing. Something new he didn’t know the chords to. Downbeat and melancholy, or whatever. He listened to about a verse before he headed off to the room out the back.
It was probably about him anyway, and he didn’t care to listen.
In the back room, he found Spruce sitting and chatting with a lady he vaguely recognised from trading at the Hob, although her name escaped him.
No sign of Sejanus yet, which was probably a good thing, as it at least meant that Billy Taupe wasn’t horrendously late.
He waved to Spruce, and then turned to the burlap sack on the floor. “What’ve we got here?”
“Weapons.” Replied the lady, stiffly. “Apparently we’re all waiting on your friend with the money.”
Billy Taupe nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be here soon. Probably just trying to get away from his friends.”
True enough, not five minutes later, Sejanus turned up, his cheeks flushed as though he’d been trying to get there on time. “Hey, guys, I’ve got an idea- oh, hello.”
Obviously taken aback by the lady being there, Sejanus cut himself off mid sentence, glancing at her, then to Spruce, then Billy Taupe, the bag of weapons, and then back to the lady.
The lady sighed through her teeth. “Pay up.” She muttered, tersely. Sejanus started digging through his pocket to find the cash, and the lady rolled her eyes and let him do that. “Alright, that should be everything you wanted.” She said, nodding to the bag. “Three shotguns, a rifle. Threw in a couple extras for you too, and some knives.”
Sejanus, having finally found his money, started counting out notes. Spruce stood up and made his way over to the bag, picking up one of the shotguns and weighing it in his hands. He pulled a couple of shotgun shells out and loaded it.
“Feels alright.” He said, admiring the weapon. “Thank you.”
The lady nodded, taking her money, and left without another word. Spruce wandered over to close the door behind her, and Billy Taupe crouched down by the bag, waving Sejanus over too. “Come look at this rifle. This is like what y’all Peacekeepers use, right?”
Sejanus ran his finger across the barrel of the rifle. “Yeah. That reminds me, now that it’s just us, I think I know when we can pull this plan off. Next weekend, the Commander, of the Peacekeepers, you know, it’s his birthday, and apparently there’s going to be a party at the base. I’ve been thinking I’ll put the medicine in some sweets or something, and everyone will be so distracted I doubt they’d notice the guards being knocked out. It could be the perfect opportunity!”
Spruce nodded from the shadows. “I like the way you think.”
Billy Taupe kept rooting through the weapons in the bag. “You’re right. A distraction would be a great idea, I’d say.”
Just then, they heard a quiet footstep at the door, and Spruce raised his shotgun. Even as the shadow of a person walked slowly towards them, raising their hands. Just before they reached the pool of light spread by the lamp, more footsteps, less sneaky ones, followed.
The second set of footsteps obviously belonged to Lucy Gray, as Billy Taupe recognised her laughter, as she grabbed the shoulders of the other person and spoke. “Hey! Saw you slip out. Barb Azure said if you-“
She cut herself off, evidently noticing Spruce.
“Inside.” Said Spruce, indicating with his head, not taking his finger off the trigger. He kicked the cinder block away from the door and closed it properly.
As Lucy Gray and the other person, her Peacekeeper boyfriend, reached the pool of light, Sejanus jumped to his feet, ready to talk.
“No, it’s alright, Spruce. He’s with me. They’re both with me.”
Spruce, following behind the two newcomers, pursed his lips. “Thought we agreed this was between us.”
Sejanus shifted guiltily. “He’s like my brother.” He claimed. “He’ll cover for me when we run. Buy us more time.”
The Peacekeeper nodded.
Spruce used the end of his gun to point towards Lucy Gray. “What about this one?”
Billy Taupe stood up from where he’d been crouched. As if Spruce didn’t know Lucy Gray.
“I told you about her.” He said, nonchalantly. “She’s going north with us. She’s my girl.”
Billy Taupe noticed an almost imperceptible expression pass through Lucy Gray’s eyes for a second, and she released her grip on the Peacekeeper’s arm. “If you’ll take me.” She said lightly, her on-stage persona coming back quickly, like it did when she was nervous.
Spruce looked between Lucy Gray and her Peacekeeper. “You two aren’t together?” He asked, suspiciously.
Billy Taupe bit his lip, hoping that the Peacekeeper wasn’t going to ruin this with (understandable) jealousy. Lucy Gray smiled disarmingly. “He’s seeing my cousin. Barb Azure. She sent me to tell him where to meet up tonight is all.”
Billy Taupe laughed a little bit in his head. To him, that lie was so obvious it didn’t even take off, but Spruce would have no way of knowing that Barb Azure didn’t go for men, so it worked. The Peacekeeper, obviously understanding what Lucy Gray was doing, nodded. “That’s right.”
For a very tense minute, Spruce thought about it, before he shrugged and lowered his gun. “I guess you’ll be company for Lil.” He said.
Billy Taupe felt a little bit of anger start to build up. Company for Lil, indeed. As if Lucy Gray wouldn’t be way more than just that. Sure, Lucy Gray and Lil did get on alright, but that wasn’t the point. Lucy Gray would be an asset. Company for Lil. He almost laughed.
In the other corner, the Peacekeeper had been talking to Spruce about the weapons. Billy Taupe tuned back into their conversation with an apologetic glance at Lucy Gray.
“-about. Be helpful if you could get us some more of that from the base.” Spruce said, directing himself at Sejanus. It was probably about ammunition. They didn’t have much, Billy Taupe knew.
From where he was standing, Sejanus furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. “Maybe. We don’t really have access to the armoury. But I can look around.”
“Sure. Stock up.” A voice echoed from the other end of the shed, and Billy Taupe’s head whipped around instantly, recognising the voice before he could even see its owner. Mayfair. A chill of dread hit him. This couldn’t possibly end well. There were so many reasons he’d told her to stay home.
“Who’s there?” Yelled Spruce, moving his finger back to the trigger of his gun.
“Guns, ammo. You can’t make more of that, can you? Up north?”
Billy Taupe could hear the mockery in her voice. Mentally, he was pleading with her to stop. To leave. To get out of here before this could all go horribly wrong.
The Peacekeeper looked like he’d figured out who it was. “It’s Mayfair Lipp, the mayor’s daughter.” He said, answering Spruce’s question.
Lucy Gray muttered something under her breath that Billy Taupe couldn’t quite hear, but he was sure it was very uncomplimentary.
Mayfair moved a little closer, swaying from side to side as she walked. “Always keep that last bullet somewhere safe. So as you can blow your brains out before they catch you.” There was a noticeable giggle in her voice, mocking the seriousness of the rebel meeting.
Billy Taupe was very aware of Spruce holding the gun with his finger on the trigger. If he got trigger happy (which seemed more and more likely, with the way he’d been acting lately), someone could get seriously hurt, or they could be discovered, or killed, and it could screw up all their plans.
“Get home.” He snapped, turning to Mayfair. “I’ll explain this later. It’s not how it sounded.”
He was trying to sound tough, but his voice wavered a little bit.
Please, Mayfair. Please don’t do this. Don’t get involved. Go home. Forget what you heard .
“No, no. Come in and join us, Mayfair.” Spruce lowered his gun, keeping it by his side. “We’ve got no quarrel with you. You can’t choose your pa.”
Sejanus, obviously nervous, tried to smile. “We won’t hurt you.” He reassured.
Mayfair laughed, confident in the safety that came with her status as the mayor’s daughter.
“Course you won’t.”
Spruce tensed up and turned to Billy Taupe. “What’s going on?” He asked. Billy Taupe inferred that to mean ‘What does she mean by that?’
“Nothing. She’s just talking.” He replied, trying to reassure Spruce. If Mayfair could go home and keep her mouth shut, everything would still work out okay.
“She won’t do anything.”
Maybe a little incensed by that, Mayfair smirked, slowly backing into the shadow. “That’s me. All talk, no action. Right, Lucy Gray?”
Billy Taupe flinched. That was a low blow, even coming from Mayfair. And she wasn’t even done.
“How’d you enjoy the Capitol, by the way?” Mayfair asked, quirking an eyebrow.
In his periphery, Billy Taupe saw Lucy Gray’s eyes widen as she processed what Mayfair had just said.
In the shadow, the door creaked. Mayfair must’ve reached it.
Instantly, reacting to the noise, Spruce raised his gun to fire after her. Billy Taupe immediately knocked the gun downwards, ignoring the betrayed look his (once?) best friend gave him. As if he’d just let him shoot at his girl like that.
From the other side of the room, Lucy Gray’s Peacekeeper picked up the rifle from the bag of weapons and fired it. Mayfair cried out and Billy Taupe heard her fall to the floor.
“Mayfair!” He yelled, throwing himself across the room to her. He reached to try and hold her, his hands slipped on the blood that was staining her blue dress red. He could tell she was dead before he was even able to touch her.
He jumped to his feet, looking at Lucy Gray and her goddamn Peacekeeper, standing there under the light. “What’d you do?!”
It was Lucy Gray’s fault. It was all Lucy Gray’s fault. She came back alive when she wasn’t supposed to. She wandered in here and interrupted their meeting. Honestly, Billy Taupe wouldn’t have been surprised if it turned out that she’d been the one to tell her stupid obedient Peacekeeper to shoot Mayfair too.
Lucy Gray had always had it out for Mayfair, and by extension, him.
He couldn’t believe he’d ever wanted to run away with her. She was the reason Mayfair was dead, the reason they’d all be hanged as soon as the Peacekeepers and the Mayor found out. It was all her fault.
The Peacekeeper pushed Lucy Gray towards the door. “Go back! Get onstage. That’s your alibi. Go!”
Almost unbidden, Billy Taupe’s feet carried him towards Lucy Gray. He couldn’t let her get away. She couldn’t get away with this. If they were all going to get hanged for this, she’d better come too, it was all her fault.
“Oh, no. If I swing, she’s swinging with me!” He yelled, trying to grab at her and stop her leaving.
He realised at some point he’d taken his eyes off of Spruce, who was still armed.
Oh well.
It wasn’t like his best friend would do anything to him. Not now.
The last thing Billy Taupe registered was the ear-splitting sound of a shotgun firing.