Deleted Scenes: Don't Leave

Party Phase 2

-Lux Hastings, Head Gamemaker-

It felt like everything was going to shit in the Complex with the entrance of Miss Muramatsu. She seemed to be everywhere Lux was, while still having time to probe and bother his workers with questions about the technology they were using. She ran diagnostics on every single piece of equipment in the Complex. It was just a lucky thing that Lux was able to uninstall the software he had on there. He didn’t know much about computers, but it seemed to be her strong suit, which was more than worrisome. 

He had all of the code on a flash drive that he kept on him at all times, in a pouch sewn by Anakyn into the inside of his underwear. The literal last place Miss Muramatsu would want to look, surely. It was very uncomfortable, but it was such critical information. Of course they had a back-up, but if the President knew what they were doing, they would certainly be able to block the code for the future. They couldn’t be too secure at this point. And for the paranoid Head Gamemaker, he wanted to be one-hundred percent sure. And he almost always felt it, so he always knew it was safe.

If anything, the worst part about it all was that Lux had to tell his mother to not stitch his name into his underwear anymore.

But despite everything going to shit, being constantly watched and judged by his assistant and being completely unsure if he’s going to be able to actually save any other lives with her watching, Lux was able to let go of it, for at least a little while. He knew that he would certainly do the best that he could to help them, and while the likelihood was quickly fading, he could let go of it all for just one night. 

He didn’t eat dinner with Blossius: Aika had invited herself and Viola for the meal and while Blossius asked Lux if he wanted to join, it seemed he really didn’t care if he did or not. Plus, Lux wanted to be around Blossius as little as possible. It seemed that with the rumors and riots, he’d become much more ruthless than he had been in the past. 

Lux was walking down Main Street, the most charming smile he can possibly muster on his face. He was constantly being stopped by people that told him how much they loved his chariot twist and were excited to see the tributes in the Arena. He was asked questions about his creative process. It seemed that after years of designing exciting Arenas, he was finally starting to be respected by people. 

“Mr. Hastings, please look this way!” was something he’d been hearing all night from the press. Also, “Mr. Hastings, a quick interview, please!” He had given numerous interviews through the night, and made sure he looked as good as he could when he knew people were taking pictures of him, but he was getting pretty tired of it. It was exhausting, and he was being absolutely hounded.

He was definitely an introvert, but other than the draining interviews, he was feeling pretty good. He even danced with Piccolo a little bit, to the pop music that was being performed. Pop music! Who would have thought that this old man could dance like he did? Not well, but with heart. With more heart than someone his age should have had, probably. 

He was like the host of the party, considering the President retired to his quarters for the night. Everyone wanted to talk to him, take pictures of him and be seen with him. He was responsible for the fun everyone was having.

Lux walked past a group of kids dancing together. He smiled at the fun they were having, listening to the music. He gave the oldest of the kids a smile and a wave.

“Mr. Hastings, sir!” the child- not child, teenager, called out.

Lux turned around, his ears perked as he approached the small group. “Are you having fun?” he asked them all, smiling a little bit. The kids all affirmed, which made Lux grin. He was glad they had this opportunity to let loose a little bit.

“I just wanted to tell you sir, that you are so inspiring.”

Lux’s face softened at the admiration in the young boy’s eyes. “Thanks,” he said. “You can do anything you set your mind to, if you work hard for it.”

The boy smiled and looked down at his feet. “We’re orphans,” he said, frowning. “We can’t really amount to much. Let alone… A Head Gamemaker like you. I could never do that.”

Looking at the children, who were wearing mismatched clothes with hair slightly greasy, a hollow look on their faces… Now he could see. Lux suddenly frowned. He had heard rumors about the kind of environment in the homes, and they weren’t good ones.

“Well, whoever told you that is wrong. You can do whatever you want.” He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t let yourself fall short. What’s your name?”

“Lester Gilmour.” He gave a weary smile.

Lux considered for a moment.

“Where are you being raised Lester?”

The boy’s face went red. “Three Oaks,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.

Three Oaks.

Lux pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and a pen from his shirt pocket. He scribbled down a name and a phone number.

“Take this,” he said. “Hold onto it.”

He was a young man, only seventeen or eighteen. He had plenty of potential. Lux was going to pay his way through his own alma mater. It would work perfectly.

“Th-Thank you! I- I can’t-“

Lux smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

The teen was speechless. Lux smiled and turned to walk away when he felt a firm tug on the bottom of his T-shirt.

Looking down, he saw a tiny girl, only three or four. She was thin and pale, with freckles and bright ginger hair, the top of which was obscured by the fuzzy hat with polar bear ears that she wore on her head.  She was dressed in a yellow dress with frills, black Mary Janes, and knee-high, bright green and black striped socks. 

“Hello sir,” she said. 

Lux immediately felt awkward looking down at her. “Um… Hello.” 

“I’m Alice. I’m four.” 

Lux went down on his knees to be her height. “Hi Alice. I’m Lux. Do you like being four?”

“I like it,” she said, nodding. “You’re old,” she said. “I bet you’re, like, fifty!” 

Lux laughed at that. “I’m not quite fifty yet. I’m thirty-one.”

“Hm.” She nodded. “Well, you’re old, but it’s okay, you’re still fun!” 

Lux laughed a little bit. “How do you know i’m fun?” he asked. 

“Your hair is fun!” 

“Would you like to feel it?” he asked, and she immediately beamed with excitement and gave him a nod. Lux put his head down so that she could reach out and touch his hair. Alice was not shy about this, burying her hands in it and shaking them across his head. 

“So soft!” she said, sounding quite pleased. 

Lux laughed a little bit. “Thanks,” he said. “I do my best to keep it that way.” 

“You’re like a little kitty cat!” 

Lux smiled. “Do you like kitty cats?” he asked her. 

“Oh yes!” she said. “They’re my favorite animals!” 

“Not bears?” Lux asked, reaching over and flicking one of the ears on her hat. He noticed that the hair was mangled and dirty. This probably hadn’t been washed since she started wearing it… 

“Oh bears! Those are actually my favorites!” she said, grabbing the pom poms that were connected to her hat and hanging down by her face and tugging the hat down further on her head with a giggle. 

“Have you ever seen a real bear at the zoo?” he asked. 

Alice shook her head. “No, only in books from the library!” she said. 

“Do you like to read?” 

“Mmm… I can’t read. But I like it when Lester or Ash or Zach reads to me! They read me books about polar bears and about, um, about a lady that likes to cook things I think. And about little pigs and gingerbread, and about kids that don’t have Mommies and Daddies, like me. And a whole bunch of other stuff too!” she said, bouncing on her feet and swaying a little bit to the music. 

Lux frowned. She was surely a smart cookie. 

“Does your orphanage mom ever read to you?” he asked. 

Alice’s face immediately scrunched up. “Oh, no,” she said. “She doesn’t like the books I like.” 

Lux frowned. Why wouldn’t an orphanage parent read to their young children? She was clearly a bright little girl, but she would never reach her full potential living like this… 

“Well, it’s nice that you have friends that read to you.” 

Alice nodded. “Oh yes!” she said, spirits clearly lifted. Lux smiled at the joy in her eyes. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Miss Alice, but I must be going now.” Lux stood up. 

“Wait!” she said, clearly upset. “You can’t go!” she said. “You’re my Dad now!” 

Lux blinked, shocked. “What?!” he asked. 

“Alice!” Lester said, his voice scolding. The little girl ran over and tightly hugged Lux’s leg.

“Don’t go!” she said. Lux frowned looking at her desperate little face. He never meant to make her think he was going to adopt her like this… After all, he’d wrapped himself up in rebellion now, there was hardly a way he could parent a young daughter! Let alone… He wasn’t prepared for a child at this point in his life at all! He couldn’t be a father. It would be a disaster!

“You have to let go,” Lester told her harshly, pulling her off of Lux. 

“I don’t want to go!” she said, sniffling and rubbing her elbows. 

“I’m so sorry about this,” Lester said, holding tightly onto Alice’s hand, who was sniffling and wiping her nose on her arm. “She’ll be okay if you just go.” 

Lux frowned. “Does she always do this?” he asked. 

Lester frowned and shook his head. “It’s alright, though,” he said. “You’re a busy man. She’ll be just fine.” 

Lux nodded, but he couldn’t make himself walk away looking into her eyes. She was probably so scared… 

Just walk away. You can’t be a parent, and someone will come soon to pick her up that will be able to help her much more than you can.

Lux started to walk away, trying to ignore the sounds of her crying. Maaaaybe if she’s not adopted in a year, I can go back and see then. Yeah, then I can actually decide if this is what I want with my life. 

It is awful lonely up there in that apartment… 

Lux didn’t even hit the corn dog stand before he turned around and hurried back. This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, he thought. But he saw how she looked at him and couldn’t stand the thought of her living like that anymore… This was going to totally screw over all of his plans. Lester looked shocked to see him again, probably as shocked as Lux felt at himself. Where was she even going to sleep?! He would have time after the Games ended to redo his apartment a little. It wasn’t like he didn’t have the money to do it after all… 

“I want to treat Alice to a trip to the candy shop,” he said. There was really no going back. 

“Oh, Mr. Hastings, you really don’t have to!” Lester said, biting his lip when the little girl came running back to him and hugged his legs as tight as she could. 

“You came back!” she said. “I knew you would!” 

“I wasn’t gone for very long,” Lux said, feeling like a total idiot. This was a whole child he was committing to. Years and years of commitment. But maybe this was what he needed in his life. But also, this was crazy!

“Can I go!?” she asked Lester, putting her hands on her hips. “You have to let me, he’s my Dad now.” 

“Alice… I-” 

“I’m also the Head Gamemaker, so I’m just going to veto you if you say no,” Lux said. 

“Yeeeeah! You hear him?” Alice asked sassily. 

“Alright,” Lester said. “But she has to come back to the orphanage at the end of the night, or else...” 

“I’ll bring her back here by eleven,” Lux said quickly. “You have my word.”

“Alright,” Lester said. “I guess you can go then.” 

“Ready to go?” Lux asked Alice, who jumped and clapped her hands. 

“Carry meeee!” she said, clinging onto his leg. 

Lux realized that he’d never actually carried a child before. God. What was he thinking? He was going to get this girl killed. 

Lux decided on the safest way to carry her and got down so she could get up on his back, which she did without any problems. Her hands were on his shoulders and her legs were tightly around his torso. He supported her legs with his hands and walked towards the candy store. Alice was squealing with glee on top of him. 

“I’m Queen of the World!” she squealed. “Faster Horsey!” 

Lux picked up to a trot, confident because she didn’t fall off yet. 

“Mr. Hastings! Look this way!” people were shouting. 

“Sorry, I’m not Mr. Hastings, right now I’m Horsey,” he said, speeding past them, Alice squealing and holding on tightly. When he got to the candy store, he was a little disappointed that it had to end so soon. He crouched down and let her climb off of his back. 

“You’re fun,” she said, giggling. “You’re a good Dad.” 

Lux laughed a little at that, slightly uncomfortable. What was he going to do for this girl? He wanted to tell her that he would be back for her, but he couldn’t even do that. 

“You can pick one thing,” he said. “Whatever you want.” 

Alice gave a nod, and started to look around the store. She had a very diligent way of going about it, and Lux was curious about how her mind worked. 

“What are you doing here?” Lux turned around at the voice. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked Trap- no, Theodore. 

“Somehow, I became the babysitter,” he said, gesturing to the Cubanola Combo and their friends running through the store. Clef was showing Trixie his favorite candy, and they started a whole-hearted debate about the best kind of chocolate. “Who are you babysitting?” he asked. 

Why did it have to be Trap? 

“Just some kids I picked up,” he said, laughing nervously as Alice came over to him and tugged lightly on his shirt again. 

“I want this one,” she said, holding up a small bag of golden coins. “Can I have it Daddy?” 

Trap’s eyebrows shot up at that. “I’m sorry, Daddy?” Trap asked. 

“This is my new Dad,” Alice said, tugging on Lux’s pant leg. 

“Well then, you can call me Uncle-” he paused for just a moment- “Theodore!” 

“Teddy!” Cadence called from across the room. 

“How does she always know?!” Trap asked, rolling his eyes. 

Lux smirked. “Yeah, that’s Uncle Teddy,” he said. 

Trap mouthed a word to him, and Lux knew what it was: Buttwad.  

“Hi Uncle Teddy!” Alice smiled. “I’m Alice. You’re very shiny. It hurts my eyes.” 

“And Uncle Teddy isn’t going to tell anybody about this encounter,” Lux said. “Or else I’m going to give him a very bad time.” He gave “Uncle Teddy” a big hug and whispered in his ear, “I kept you in this world, but I will take you out of it.” 

“Let’s get you checked out,” Lux said, taking Alice to the cashier but only after picking up a bag of chocolate-covered cherries for himself. 

When they were ready to go, Alice jumped back onto his back, much more confidently. 

You’re getting in deep, he thought to himself. 

But maybe fatherhood, like Gamemaking, was an acquired skill. It just took a couple guidebooks, creativity, and a lot of practice. 

And that was something Lux could pull off… 

Probably.