District 6 Female: Alyssa (Lyss) Cameron

They'd paired me with the stupidest person in the Capitol! Not only that, they'd paired me with an ignorant guy, which, in my opinion, was worse, because when a guy is ignorant, nothing you can do will convince them that they're wrong.

"What do you want to do?" Chester asked me.

At least he asked me. Maybe I can convince him to take me down to the training room.

"How about we go to the training room?" I suggested.

"No, no, we won't do that! I know girls hate that kind of stuff. Let's go shopping instead. We can find you some of the dresses and stuff that women like to buy! You can use my money, of course. I know you don't have any, but I've got plenty, so you can use that. Let's go!"

If you wanted my opinion about what we were should to do, then why aren't you going do want I suggested? I thought.

Chester beamed me and started out of the room. I followed him, trying to get across to him that I wanted to train and hated shopping.

He ignored me and continued on. I had to spend the day with him, so I followed him through the crowded streets outside and kept my eyes glued to his mess of black hair as it moved through the crowd.

I hurried to catch up to him and had just pushed through to where he was waiting for me when I spotted someone selling weapons. I forgot how much I hated shopping and grabbed Chester's arm. "Over here!" I told him, pulling him through the crowd.

I immediately saw what I wanted. A beautiful knife and scabbard lay in front of me on the table. I picked it up and unsheathed the knife. I didn't know too much about weapons, even knives, but I knew good quality workmanship when I saw it.

Chester took the knife out of my hands and set it down on the table. "You don't want that, you're a girl."

I whirled to face him, angry suddenly, that he was trying to define me. "I chose what I want, not you!" I told him, jabbing a finger into his chest. "You may know what Capitol girls like, but you're an ignorant fool if you think that you can define who I am and what I like."

Behind me, the merchant selling the knives whistled, a pure, low note. "You got a feisty one, Chester. Is she a tribute?"

Chester had the grace to look embarrassed and nodded. "Yeah... she's from six."

"Really? I always liked district six myself. You've a good district, girl. What do you think of my knives?"

"They're beautiful," I said, ignoring Chester's look of amazement and focusing on the merchant. He seemed eager to talk about his wares, so I took the knife from Chester's frozen hands and pulled it out of its scabbard again. "Who makes your stuff?" I asked.

My finger traced the edge of the sharp blade. A line of blood appeared on it and I nodded absently. The merchant knew how to take care of his knives, certainly. None of them had a speck of rust or dirt on them and they all had sharp edges.

The one I was looking at was a long, curved blade with a jewel embedded in the pommel. It was like a short sword, but just a little too short to get there.

The merchant smiled at me. "The weapons come from the districts," he said.

Chester pulled at my arm, but I ignored him, picking up another blade.

He yanked me around forcefully. "Do you want to buy anything here, or are you just looking?" he asked.

I slapped his arm away, rubbing my own where he'd grabbed me. "I won't be able to use it in the arena anyway, so no, I'm not buying. Shut up and leave me alone," I snapped. I really did want it, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

I turned around and put the knife back down and smiled at the merchant. "Thank you," I told him. He grinned and nodded.

Leaning forward, he whispered, just loud enough for Chester to hear, "Watch out for Chester. He's hard to manage, that one."

I grinned. "I think I'll be fine if I can control the urge to smash his face in," I replied.

Chester pouted, but I just pushed past him and headed back toward the Capitol building. He could follow me if he liked, but I was going to the training room whether he did or not.

He did follow, eventually. He caught up to me as I entered the training room and tried to say something. I interrupted him. "Either shut up and watch, or go away." I said icily. I didn't want to listen to him telling me everything women should like or shouldn't like and I certainly didn't want him to distract me.

I went to the throwing knives table and grabbed a belt, strapping it around my waist and heading into the attack simulation area. There are seven of them. They come from mostly above you. Just concentrate and throw. Try for anywhere lethal and do your best to dodge their attacks as well. I recited as it started.

The first target came from my left side, darting toward me with a sword. I whipped a knife out and threw it, but I missed it and hit another target just as it appeared. You only have eight knives. Make them count.

The first target kept coming, but I stopped it with another knife, throwing it between the target's eyes. It dissolved and I was faced with three new targets. I focused, drawing into myself and leaving behind my background.

I aimed at the nearest target and threw. The knife slices through the area where the target's heart would be and it dissolved into nothing.

Another target appeared above me, an archer this time. I throw another knife at the second swordsman and as soon as it was out of my hand, I sent another one spinning after it. They both hit with varying success.

The targets dissolved, but I knew that the one nearest to me would still be coming if it were a real person. I frowned, taking out the archer and looking around. Where's the last one? I wondered.

The last target dropped down behind me, seeming to fall from the sky. I whirled and stabbed at it with my last knife, but it dodged and went for my throat. I let my feet slid out from under me and slip between the target's legs, swiping at them as I pass.

My knife hit, but the target seemed unfazed by this. I remembered this part. This was the one target that was inconsistent. It appeared anywhere it wanted to, dodged blows and fought like a normal person. Only lethal hits could dissolve it.

I shot up as the target turned around and stabbed toward it. The target blocked me with its own knives.

The target slipped his second knife out of the block and it darted toward me.

I jumped backwards and ducked as the target's second knife whizzed over my head. I straightened and jumped forward, tackling the target and trying to shove my knife into it, somewhere lethal.

The target blocked me and tried to hit me with one of its own blades. I pushed its hand back and slammed my fist into its nose. It seemed stunned and I took the opportunity, digging my knife into its chest.

I got up as the last target dissolved. Heaving a relieved sigh, I left the room.

Chester stared at me, completely amazed. I shot him a glare. "What?" I growled, wiping sweat off of my forehead and running my hand through my hair.

I thought about going back into the room to get the knives, but I decided not to. An Avox would pick up the knives in the room later. I felt bad about making them do it, but it was their job, and if they didn't have that job to do, they'd be given a more grueling task to take care of. They'd probably be glad of the easy work.

Chester finally recovered himself and looked back at the room I'd fought in. "You're really good at that," he said.

"Not as good as I could be. Nowhere near as good as I should be," I said, unbuckling my knife belt and setting it back where it belonged.

I should climb next. It should be challenge enough. I thought, looking at the climbing wall's shifting handholds.

"But you're amazing at it! Girls shouldn't be like that. You're supposed to like silks and dresses, not fighting and weapons!" Chester protested, and I realized what he was trying to say.

I stalked up to him and grabbed his collar angrily. "Stop trying to categorize me!" I growled. "I have to be like this, because in my district, only the strongest survive, and in the Hunger Games, it's the same way, so suck it up and live with it. I'm not changing just to impress you. I don't care what you think about me. If you're going to say something, make sure it isn't your idea of what I should be."

I walked away from him and headed toward the climbing wall. I watched it shifting, some handholds popping in and out of the wall, some moving back and forth or up and down and some staying stationary.

At the top, there was a bell. If you ring it, the wall will stop moving and you could climb down. There wasn't any climbing gear provided and nothing to catch you if you fell either. I guess if you can't climb all the way up, you haven't got any business trying to climb it at all.

I felt the floor. It was covered in a soft padding. Hopefully, anyone who fell off of the wall would be saved by the soft padding.

I grabbed hold of the first handhold and put my foot on another one. It started sliding away from my, but I grabbed onto a handhold headed upwards and it carried me away.

Just keep moving; don't stop or you'll fall. I told myself, continuing upwards.

My foot slipped off of a handhold as it was pulled into the wall and for a heart-stopping moment, I was hanging by my left hand. Then I found another handhold and latched onto it with my right hand and I found a foothold for my foot again.

I moved faster now and so did the wall. The farther up I got, the faster the handholds moved. Eventually, I had to move at breakneck pace just to avoid being yanked up by the handholds. It was impossible to ride their movements anymore and several times, a handhold that had looked safe was pulled into the wall and pushed back out again, smashing into my side as I recovered and headed up again.

After what seemed like forever, I made it to the top and rung the little bell.

Everything stopped. It seemed strangely easy on the way down. Without the moving handholds, the climbing wall felt ordinary, like a cliff face that I was climbing down.

I jumped the last few feet to the ground and wiped my sweaty hands on my trousers. I probably haven't done anything to impress either Chester or the gamemakers. I thought. Do I care? I pondered that for a moment. No, I didn't. Not really.

I pushed my hair into a ponytail and tied it back with the hair tie I always kept on my wrist. Now what? I looked around. There was a lot I could do, but I didn't get a chance to decide, because two girls walked in.

One of them I recognized as Phoebe, but I didn't remember the other girl.

Behind them were two others, both also girls, both quite obviously from the Capitol.

"Phoebe," I called her over, pushing a button on the side of the climbing wall to get it started again.

She grinned and came over, pushing her brown hair out of her face. "Hey, Lyss," she said.

I'd met Phoebe when I first got here and we'd become allies, eventually. Neither of us wanted to trust the other, but we both decided it would be beneficial if we allied anyway.

The girl next to her smiled and examined the climbing wall. "You make it all the way up?" she asked me.

I cocked my head and nodded. "Yeah. Have you?"

"Once. I'm Destiny." She stuck out her hand and I took it. "Alyssa, but most people just call me Lyss."

"Phoebe said we'd probably find you here. She wanted me to meet you, said we have a lot in common." Destiny watched me, her brown eyes soft and interested.

Phoebe grinned. "I told her you'd be here. I wasn't sure at first, when I heard what Chester was like from my Capitol citizen, but I figured you'd rein him in easy enough. I figured you would make it here eventually."

From behind her, Chester huffed. "I'm right here, you know," he complained.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Shut up."

Destiny grinned. "At least he listens to you. Verina won't listen to me and she can get to be a pain. Honestly, though, she isn't as bad as some of the people other tributes were paired with. I don't care about impressing her though. I think that it's a dumb idea to have us spend a day with people we hate and try to impress them."

"Tell that to the gamemakers. I'm sure Keegan will love being told him and the others are stupid," I said, laughing.

"I don't care what they think. They can be mad at me all they want. They're already doing their best to kill me by putting me in the games. I'll take whatever they throw at me. They can't do any more damage than what's already been done."

Phoebe shook her head. "Don't be too sure. They have complete control of the arena we're going into, so if I were you, I'd watch what you do to annoy them. Besides, you didn't come here to chat. We're here to train, and you had a question for Lyss."

I cocked my head. "What question?"

"I allied with Phoebe, and I want to know if you'll be willing to ally with me."

I thought hard about that. Destiny was really good with her hand strikers and she was a genius when it came to hand-to-hand combat. She'd be a great asset for the team. "Sure. Welcome to the team." I agreed.

Destiny looked back at the climbing wall. "Race you to the top!"

"You're going to lose," I warned her.

She ignored me and started climbing. Grinning, I started up after her.

***

District 7 Female: Natalie Pitchford

I was getting ready to go down to the training room. I really needed to practise majority of my skills. I kept thinking about what I have that can help me. Each and every time I came up empty. Absolutely empty. I pulled on the Lycra training costume and headed down. I walked down the bare corridors and my imagination flew away about how I could make this look a little more inviting, I mean the people of the Capitol dress with colours pouring out of there skin so why can't it be the same in here?

"Watch where you're walking 7." A guy said. I stopped just before reaching him and ultimately we were face-to-face.

"Maybe you should have been watching were you're going?" I retorted.

"Is that all you have?" He asked looking at me smugly.

"Dammit. It is. I'm Natalie." I said. I stood back a step and held out my hand.

He took it hesitantly, but gave a firm shake.

"Hunter. By the way, there are Capitol Citizens in there. We need sponsors so a piece of advice is to try and make then like you. Make them think you can win, even if you are doubting yourself." I nodded and smiled at him as he walked away from me. I took a deep breathe and walked into the room. I could see all of the other tributes talking to people who you know don't belong here. I carefully strode over to the corner were I intended on working on my fighting skills.

"Natalie Pitchfork?" Someone asked. I turned around and there stood a woman that had light blonde hair, almost grey and was wearing a corset top and trousers with a train that was attached to her waist.

"Uh.. Its Pitchford" I say emphasising the end of my name.

"Yeah, yeah same difference. Now take my coat."She held out a piece of fabric and then let go. I watched it as it fell and then looked at the woman. "You were meant to catch that, 7".

"Oh sorry, I didn't realise I was here to be your slave. I having training to do so If you wish you can leave. It makes no odds to me." I said and shrugged, still leaving her coat on the floor. I turned around and placed gloves over my hands, getting into a stance.

"What are you doing? This trip is about me. All of this is about me!" She shouted.

I took a punch at the bag and then another when it swung back. I looked left slightly to find the jacket still on the floor and the citizen was looking at her self in the mirror. Egotistical much? I continued to punch the bag and then went onto do some push ups and sit ups. She paid no attention to me but she paid attention to some of the other tributes, I mean they were giving her the attention she wanted. I scoffed and got back to work.

Half an hour later, I started to grow tired. I looked around the room and found that the other tributes were showing off there particular skill. I was averagely intelligent but my hobby used to be chess. I loved playing it.

"Fancy a game?" I asked the horrible woman I had meet earlier.

" Hmm, alright. I'll do you a deal. If you win I will support you. If I win then I will support the career pack and make your life a living hell. Deal?" She held put her hand fighting a smirk.

I firmly took it and sat down choosing black. The woman went first seeing as white always goes first, moving a pawn out. I reflected her moves. We both eventually had a strong defense around our Kings. She had one piece more of my but I had managed to keep both my knights as they were my favourite pieces. I moved then out in turn and eventually surrounded her King.

"Check" I said calmly. One move and she can be in check mate I thought. She moved her king to the left and I then place my queen on the nearest square I could without getting taken.

"Check mate" I said and stood up

"Good game. You put up a good fight! I thought you were going to win." I held out my hand and she looked at it disgracefully.

"I was supposed to win. Not you! I am the best at chess!" She squealed.

"Remember to keep your side of the deal!" I winked and walked away.

***

District 8 Female: Phoebe Beckham

Phoebe leaned against the waiting room wall impatiently. She was wearing a brown, skirt and a sparkly green halter top with flat sandals. Her hair was French braided back and a plastic pearl necklace hung on her neck. She wasn't too enthusiastic about the sparkles as they goteverywhere, but she put up with it.

Phoebe was usually very patient and calm, but this meant sponsor or no sponsor. And they're late. Whoever "they" are.

Each tribute was assigned to a Capitol citizen to walk around with for the day. This was supposed to impress the Game Makers? What did this have anything to do with how a tribute performed in the arena?

Most of the other tributes had gone except for three other girls and a guy. Phoebe noticed him as Casper, the guy from nine. His district mate, Destiny was also there. She was sitting with another girl, Alyssa. They were both silent, but they seemed relatively at ease with each other.

Phoebe needed a chair and she didn't want to sit alone by herself. Sitting by Casper would be incredibly inappropriate, and sitting next to Anika, the other girl, wasn't exactly desirable for Phoebe. Shyly, she walked over to Destiny and Alyssa.

"Can I sit with you?" She asked. Alyssa looked up and smiled with a nod. Phoebe smiled back and sat next to her. "Do you know why they're not here?" She asked, looking at the both of them. Alyssa shrugged and leaned on the chair arm.

"I hope it's not a regular trait." She said.

"You would think these people would be more punctual." Destiny added. Phoebe nodded in agreement. There was some silence between them before Phoebe got the courage to say something.

"Have you allied?" She asked.

"Yeah, just us and Dayshia. We're on a mutual understanding that we can't exactly be friends." Alyssa answered with a little disappointment in her voice. Destiny looked suspiciously at Phoebe.

"Why?" Destiny questioned. Phoebe shifted in her seat.

"I've only allied with my district mate. I guess I was wondering if you could help me out too." She asked. She felt more like she was begging. Alyssa looked at her with sympathy.

"What can you do?" Destiny asked. She probably meant well, but it didn't come off right. Phoebe felt a little bad and almost decided to take back her request.

"What are you good at?" Alyssa rephrased the question for Destiny.

"I can do well with hand-to-hand combat." Phoebe said. Destiny nodded, in thought. "I just want to make sure I don't die out there alone. I'm almost sure I won't make it, but I'll try my best." Phoebe reassured them. Alyssa placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You won't die alone." She said. Destiny smiled and had a look of belief

"You can join us for good."

"Or for dead." Alyssa frowned into space, dropping the mood.

Phoebe didn't say anything. She would have, but suddenly the door swung open and a tall man in a sky blue suit and a brown bow-tie burst in.

"Uh, Phoebe Beckham?" He asked. Phoebe stood up immediately. He looked her over and a grin came to his face. For a moment, Phoebe thought it was almost a smirk, but that quickly went away. His deep, hazel eyes shined down on her as a wisp of curly copper hair fell across his eyebrow. "Hello." He said. He backed away from the door and gestured for her to go through.

Phoebe took a nervous glance at her allies before going ahead through the door. The guy shut the door behind her and happily offered her his arm. Phoebe looked suspiciously at him.

"I must ask, do you speak?" He asked, slowly leading her forwards. Phoebe realized her lack of manners and forced herself to hide a blush.

"Do you have a name?" She asked back, feeling a little feisty. He laughed.

"I am Markus Fortford. A very repetitive last name, I know. I've been plagued since birth. I don't think I would mind it if you called me 'Mark' though." Markus grinned. He had a very handsome face, and a wide, hearty smile. He was very nice for being a Capitol man. She was expecting someone a little more... difficult. But she wasn't about to underestimate him. He looked smart and judging from his witty dialogue and fancy dress, he was used to woman-kind.

"You don't think you won't mind? Does that mean if I say it wrong you might not like it?" Phoebe decided to give him a taste of her playful attitude. She hoped he didn't think she was flirting. She wasn't flirting. Was she?

"Perhaps... if you said it once I might be able to tell." Markus stopped walking and expected her to say it. For a second she thought he was joking.

"Mark." Phoebe said simply. Her doe eyes looked curiously up at him. She had never met anyone like this.

"Ah, it's okay." He grinned devilishly as he opened the main doors for her. She shot him an annoyed look before stepping through. "You should lighten up a bit. Today is a big day, full of who knows what. Having a bright outlook on it would make it seem a lot less like a task." His smooth words melted her temper.

"My task is to impress. So far the only impression I've given is a first one." She said.

"Well, it's a start. I say we should just go out and enjoy ourselves. Would you like some ice-cream?" Markus offered. Phoebe's mouth dropped.

"Ice-cream?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Haven't you had any before?" He led her out into the plaza.

"Well yes, but, only a few times." She admitted. Markus was surprised by this.

"What do they give you in those districts?" He said jokingly. Phoebe looked down to her sandals.

"Not much." She whispered. She wasn't sure if he heard her or not, but he didn't say anything for once. When she looked at him she caught a thoughtfully stern look on his face. For just a second his smile was turns upside down and his lips sunk into a frown. His confused eyes blinked and he shook himself out of his thought, plastering a nervous, lopsided smile on his face.

"We must get you some ice-cream!" Markus willfully decided.

They approached an outside ice-cream parlor and looked over the menu. There were so many flavors. Phoebe wasn't sure at all what to get.

"What would you like?" Markus asked.

"Uh, I..." Phoebe's voice faded into an over-whelmed stupor. Markus rolled his eyes and turned to the microphone on a machine that sat on the counter. There were no people inside. It was all machinery and computers. You could see into the shop that let you watch how your ice-cream was made and put together. Phoebe watched absent-mindedly in awe.

"I would like to order a hard-serve blueberry with white sprinkles and a chocolate waffle cone." Markus spoke easily to the computer. The computer clicked and in an automated woman's voice it spoke back.

"Is that all?" It asked.

"No. Uh," Markus turned to Phoebe and took a quick glance of her from head to toe, "I would also like a hard-serve mint chocolate chip with shredded coconut and a caramel sugar cone." Phoebe looked down at herself wondering why he looked at her like that.

When they received their cones from the machine, she realized why.

"Do you always eat like you dress?" She giggled as Markus paid the machine by swiping a card. Markus nodded.

"Most of the time. Of course, we can splurge, but that's why it's always good to wear different clothes every day." He said as they walked along the street.

"You never wear the same thing again?" The thought never occurred to Phoebe.

"Pretty much. You don't do that?" Phoebe gave him a 'duh' look.

"We couldn't afford to do that for even a week!" She exclaimed. Markus mumbled something under his breath. It sounded a lot like "that's district thinking".

They talked little as they made their way randomly around the city. When they were nearly done with their ice-cream, Phoebe noticed a coin on the ground. She stopped to squat down and pick it up.

"What are you doing?" Markus asked. Phoebe noticed a hint of irritation in his voice.

"It's a shiny new coin." She answered simply.

"Just leave it, the sweepers will get it." He said.

"I think I'll keep it. If anything, it'll be a little charm." Phoebe watched it reflect the late morning sun.

"That's district thinking." He mumbled again. She ignored him and stood back up, bumping into a large man. She gasped as ice-cream splattered all over his expensive looking black suit. Phoebe looked up at him. Fumes seemed to erupt from his ears.

"Watch where you're going, sugarplum!" His voice was deep and menacing. "Do you know how much this cost!?" He shouted.

"Hey, you know it was just an accident. Just dye it again; you know they do that for cheap." Markus said casually and calmly. How did he do it?

"You can't just use any dye on this! If you're with the little lady, you're going to pay!" The man grabbed Markus' shirt and jacket with both hands. Markus raised his arms in defense.

"Well, uh, hey, I, uh, have a King Credit card with me, right here." Markus didn't hide his fear, now. The man let go.

"Yeah? Well let's see it." He urged. As Markus reached into his pocket, he leaned over to Phoebe.

"Run." He whispered.

"What?" She asked stupidly.

"Run!" Markus grabbed her arm and took off running. Phoebe could hear the man roar in anger.

Markus was tall with long legs that made for quick, wide strides. Phoebe, on the other hand, was puffing and practically being dragged behind him. Phoebe looked over her shoulder to see the man was coming after them. As they turned into another street, she noticed bright scarves and blankets for sale on a kiosk.

Skidding to a stop, she yanked on Markus' sleeve and pulled him over, wrapping a bright red scarf around his neck and a black blanket over her head and shoulders. When the man couldn't see them anymore, he stomped his foot like a two year-old and ran off, fuming like a bonfire.

"Phoebe, I don't think red is my color." Markus unwrapped the scarf and put it back on the rack. Phoebe sighed and pulled the blanket off her head.

"Your hair is red." She said returning the blanket. Markus frowned comically.

"It's auburn!" He protested.

"It's red." Phoebe laughed mockingly. "Where to next?"

"I have an idea." Markus said with a twinkle in his eye.

"What?" Phoebe surprised herself with being excited. Who knows that would happen to her next? Somehow that seemed inviting. Maybe it was just different from knowing that soon she'll be put in a place where murder was a normal, acceptable, and good thing.

***

"Let's go on this one!" Markus said. Phoebe looked at its towering height and impossible speed.

"No." She frowned.

"Oh come on, I took you to a theme park with roller coasters. What's the point of coming here if you won't ride in one?" Phoebe's stomach was still a little upset from the spinning cups. It was mid-afternoon now and they had wandered around the park, seeing and doing different, unimportant things. As they talked, Markus seemed to loosen up and become less of a debonair.

"Is it possible to fall out?" She asked, frightened. Markus laughed.

"No, that's district thinking." Markus didn't bother mumbling it to himself anymore; it just came out like a normal thing to say.

"Would you stop saying that?" Phoebe was a little annoyed now.

"Only if you ride with me." Markus bartered. Phoebe looked at him, and then at the ride, and then back.

"... No." She decided.

"You're just scared."

"Yes I'm scared!" Phoebe's cheeks flared up. Just as she was going to say another thing, she caught a glimpse of the mad ice-cream man. "Let's go!" She pulled Markus into the last seats on the ride and ducked.

"Well, you're changeable!" He said alarmed.

"Get down!" She hissed, pointing at the man who had seen them. The coaster straps wrapped around their torsos and pulled them back against the cart. With a horn blow, the coaster shot off onto the track. Both yelled and screamed in surprise and excitement. In the middle of the ride it slowed down and started to climb a ramp.

She was on the verge of getting sick. Just as they reached the top, Phoebe shut her eyes and prepare for the worst. With a startling jolt, the ride stopped. She opened her eyes and looked over at Markus. "Is this supposed to happen?" She asked. The look of terror on his face answered her question.

There was a 'clunk' and the coaster fell backwards and stopped with another jolt.

"This doesn't happen." Markus tried to console himself and defend the ride all at the same time. "This really never happens." He could barely finish his sentence before they fell back a little bit again.

Phoebe looked around them. There were steps and a railing.

"Get out." Phoebe said as she unbuckled her straps.

"What?" Markus was breathing heavily and was gripping his thighs.

"There are steps, get out." Phoebe said hurriedly, jumping out of the cart and onto the metal stair.

"That's district thinking." He said almost robotically.

"Markus!" Phoebe shouted sternly. He paused before quickly unclipping his strap and standing up. Phoebe held out her hand, but suddenly the coaster fell back again. "Markus!" She almost fell with them, but she grabbed hold of the railing. Markus was slammed against the seats in the cart when it stopped. He scrambled to his feet and leaped onto the stairs. The other people got the same idea and started piling out on either side.

The cart randomly fell a couple more times before everyone was able to get out, but no one was hurt. Phoebe met Markus lower down on the steps.

"I think I like 'Markus' better than 'Mark'." He admitted teasingly.

At the bottom there were people watching. In the small confusion, Phoebe was grabbed her by her upper arms. She tried to pull away but when she looked up she saw the man who chased them.

"You owe me." He sneered. Phoebe's temper rose and fire erupted in her soul. She stomped on his foot and he howled, but his grip only tightened. Out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe saw the quick hand Markus slam into the man's face. Phoebe was shocked and froze even when she was released.

"Come, on!" Markus wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away. They ran and hid in a strange round metal tube that was a little shorter than Phoebe. The two giggled a bit as they sat down inside. "That was a nice toe sandwich you made back there." Markus complimented.

"That was a nice raspberry punch you served." Phoebe said mimicking him.

"Yeah," Markus frowned and flexed his hand, "I might regret it a little." Phoebe took it and looked at it.

"Oh, I think if you put some ice on it, it won't swell up as bad. You'll have to be careful though for a couple of days." She said.

"How do you know so much?" He asked.

"I've had plenty of those kinds of bruises on my hands and arms. Comes with training." Phoebe hit her fist against the flat of her hand.

"Training?" Markus curiously cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, hand-to-hand." She replied.

"You really need that down there? For a girl like you? That's district thinking." Markus grinned.

"Hey, I went on the ride!" Phoebe whined.

"Okay, okay. But what about my questions?" Phoebe sighed and playing with the fabric on her skirt.

"Well, it's handy... especially for a girl like me. My only defense is my hands. I would have decked the guy myself if you hadn't." She said quietly.

"Maybe I should have let you." Markus said with regret.

"Ha, yeah. I wouldn't have learned without my father. He was mostly preparing me for the Games. After my mom died in them, he taught me what would have saved her life." Phoebe looked up at him. He no longer wore his designated grin. It was sad like when she had caught it that morning. He looked back at her with something more than pity.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"I wish I could hear that from the whole Capitol. I'm not the first. I don't know what you know about the districts. The districts certainly don't know much about the Capitol. If they told you it's nice... it's not." Phoebe confessed.

"How did you get into all this... the Games?" He specified.

"I volunteered." She said calmly.

"You did?!" He asked as if it was unfathomable.

"Can I trust you with a secret?" Phoebe clutched her skirt.

"I have a trustworthy heart and a bad memory. Go on." Markus made her smile a little.

"The girl who was drawn is just one year older than I. Only a few days before the reaping she came to me not knowing where else to go. She told me she was pregnant. Her parents had disowned her and she was too afraid to tell the father. She considered an abortion but I convinced her not to. My mother was her age when got pregnant with me. My mom gave me a chance, so I thought her baby deserved one too. I volunteered because no one else stood up for her. Baby or no baby." Neither one said anything else for a while. There was just too much to think about.

"It's getting to the curfew." Markus said just as the sun was going down. He wore neither grin nor frown. Phoebe nodded and they crawled out, making their way towards her building. When they got inside it was pretty dark and all the lights were on.

"You know," Markus cleared his throat, "When I first met you I thought I was going to end up hating you. You were witty, but dull." He chuckled at himself. "I was so stupid. We've been taught that you aren't people. But you are real with feelings and a family. I guess I couldn't expect anything more from a nice teenage girl who is about to be put into a box for murder. How can I hate you? How could I any more hate my fifteen year-old niece? You put a lot of things in perspective for me. Thank you, Phoebe." Markus smiled softly.

"You are welcome. I have to confess that I thought you were going to be a shallow womanizer." She said.

"I can't say I'm not." He made Phoebe laugh.

"Well, I had a great day." She said.

"Me too. I'll be rooting for you out there." Markus pumped his fist.

"Don't bet on me." Phoebe giggled. He shrugged.

"I might." Phoebe went up to him and stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "H-hey, what was that for?" He turned red. Phoebe shrugged as she backed away.

"A good luck charm?" She smiled and started to walk to her room.

"Goodbye!" He waved as she opened the door to leave. She turned and waved back.

"Goodbye." And in that moment she realized as he hesitantly left the building, she realized she would never see him again. It was strange how she had come to trust a weird Capitol man in the period of a day. But he was a good man and she would remember his grin in the arena. A tear escaped her eye as she watched his blue back disappear around the corner as she gazed through the crack in the door.

Goodbye.

***

District 9 Female: Destiny Muriala

"So I guess we're partners for the day." Verina said, twirling a long lock of her blonde hair around her finger and pouting. "I was hoping for a boy this time."

I rolled my eyes. "Well I may not be a boy, but I'm as good as close as you'll get and you can't switch with anyone else, so live with it."

Verina's lip stuck out more. "Fine, at least we can do something fun for the day, though. Boys always want to do the boring stuff. What if I showed you around the Capitol?"

Eager to get out of the stuffy room, I nodded. "Fine, let's go." I heaved a sigh as I said it. It was going to be a long day.

"Great, what should we do first? Oh, Oh! What if we went to the clothes museum? It has all of the styles Capitol citizens have worn since the Districts and the Capitol were created. I love it there! The clothing is absolutely gorgeous and the gift shop sells only clothes! We'll have so much fun!" She squealed with delight, forgetting all about her dissatisfaction with my gender.

"Yeah, fun," I said. "Because that's how I'd describe looking at clothes all day."

Verina, surprising, catches the sarcasm in my voice and all of the enthusiasm drains out of her. "You don't like clothes?"

"I like breakfast, and I haven't had any." I raised an eyebrow pointedly.

"Oh! Okay, we'll get breakfast and then go to the museum!" Immediately, she was all happy and enthusiastic again.

"Right, so where do we go eat?" I asked when we got outside. I looked around me at the scenery.

The warm breeze brushed over my bare skin and I smiled a little, glad that I'd opted for the jet black tank top in my drawers instead of the grey short sleeved shirt.

People crowded the streets, pushing around each other to get to the various shopping booths. I sighed and my stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten yet. "Where are we going to eat?"

"Eat? What do you...? Oh, right, eat..." Verina paused and frowned. "Um... I don't know, the first place we see, I guess," she said finally.

I rubbed my forehead. All of the noise from the streets, added to the fact that I was supposed to impress this... this absent-minded fluff head, was giving me a headache. I caught up to Verina and pointed to what looked like a breakfast restaurant. "How about there?" I asked.

"What do you need there?" Verina asked, studying the sign.

"Let me see here... oh yeah, food."

"Oh, yes, right... sorry, I was thinking about something else. I do that sometimes and it's... look, a squirrel!"

No wonder they chose you to spend a day with the tributes. They clearly picked all of the most annoying people for this

I entered the building and Verina got us a two person table. I sat down and stared at the menu. Nothing on it looked even vaguely familiar. Eventually, I decided to order the one thing on the menu that didn't look poisonous.

The waiter came over and asked for our orders and I tapped Verina's arm. "Verina, he wants to know what you want."

"Mmmhm." She murmured, her eyes fixed on a magazine she got from who-knows-where.

I yanked the newspaper out of her hands and she started. "What?"

"He wants your order. Stop being rude and answer him," I hissed.

"Oh, right, of course. It's just, they have a new fashion line-up and the dresses are gorgeous. I simply must have..."

I clamped a hand to her mouth to stop the flow of words. "Just tell him what you want," I said, glaring at her.

"Right... of course. I'll take the pancakes with blueberry syrup and a platter of bacon," Verina told the waiter.

I relaxed into the chair. "I'll take your egg breakfast please, without the other weird stuff you put on it. Just salt and pepper."

The waiter frowned at me, but wrote down the order and soon came back with the food.

The eggs were delicious, cooked to the perfect balance between hard yokes and soft yokes. The salt and pepper was sprinkled on just enough to make it taste perfect. I shoveled it down and eyed the bacon left on Verina's unfinished platter.

"Why don't you finish?" I asked her. "You shouldn't waste food like that."

"In the Capitol, food is plentiful, so throwing away a few slices of bacon isn't wasting food." Verina answered.

"What's bacon made out of?" I questioned, still examining the platter.

"Pig meat. It's really good. You can have mine, if you like."

It was probably the kindest thing Verina had ever said to me, so I tried a piece. It was the best thing I'd ever tasted. It was crispy, but practically melted in my mouth when I bit down on it.

I ate the last three pieces as fast as I could shove it into my mouth. When I was done, I looked mournfully at the empty plate. "Do you eat that kind of food all the time here?" I asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, of course." Verina muttered absently, still reading her magazine.

I rolled my eyes. She probably hadn't even understood what I was asking her. Oh well. Maybe she forgot about the museum too. I hoped she had. If I had to spend my day in a clothes museum, I'd go crazy.

"We should go. I want to see the scenery around here," I said, praying that Verina wouldn't mention the museum again.

"Yes! I'll show you the president's statue. He's so handsome!" Verina fluttered her unnaturally long eyelashes and sighed girlishly.

"He'd behead you if you did anything to annoy you," I deadpanned.

"I like a man who isn't afraid to show leadership."

"It isn't leadership, its tyranny." I muttered, getting up to leave.

Verina raised an eyebrow. "Don't let him hear you say that."

"Does he look like he's around right now? And I don't want to go see his statue either. It's conceited and stupid of him to make one in the first place." I walked past her and she quickly put her magazine back and followed me.

"So if you don't want to go to the statue then where do you want to... Oh my goodness! Look at that dress! It's beautiful! I have to get one."

I groaned. She honestly was this close to being taken out. I could imagine it easily. I'd grab her from behind and slam my fist into her nose. While she was howling and crying like a baby, I'd punch her again, harder in the arm. Maybe pull it behind her back and break it. Then I'd stab downwards with the little dinner knife I'd slipped into my boot...

A voice interrupted my fantasy. "Hey, aren't you Destiny from district nine?"

I turned. A younger looking girl, maybe my age, was standing there, her head cocked to the side, a grin on her face. I nodded. "Yeah... you're Phoebe, right?"

"Yup," she said with a grin. Her wavy brown hair blew into her face and she brushed it off the side. "I've been watching you and I was wondering if you wanted to ally, maybe."

I looked around, wondering if Verina was still around to interrupt at the worst moment possible. She was still in the dress shop, probably bartering for the dress.

"I don't know. How would it help both of us?" I was aware how strange of a question it was, but I didn't care much. I was going to choose my allies carefully in these Games. Maybe even ally with the people I didn't like much, that way it'd be easier to betray them and they wouldn't have any chance of getting close to me. I wasn't going to lose another friend.

"Um... I can fight pretty well and I could help you, and you know stuff I don't... how to survive on your own, things you could help me improve too. And you're good at fighting, so..." she trailed of and bit her lip.

I liked her, honestly. She had an honest face and she looked as though she genuinely wanted to ally with me for reasons other than just to use me. Maybe she saw something in me that I couldn't see in myself. "I guess..." I conceded.

"Great!" Phoebe cheered up, her smile lighting up the sky.

I noticed that no one was behind her, but I didn't get a chance to ask her about it, because Verina came out of the store with the dress in tow (at the worst moment possible. Typical.) "It fits me perfectly!" She gushed, smiling from ear to ear.

I heaved a sigh. "This is Verina. Verina, this is Phoebe," I said.

"You absolutely must see this dress, Phoebe!" Verina said, just as if she'd known Phoebe all along.

Phoebe looked at me with a puzzled look. "Just roll with it," I whispered. "Otherwise, you'll end up punching her."

Verina quickly forgot about the dress anyway, on sighting what she thought of as a 'handsome' man. In her own typical way, she completely lost sight of what she was doing.

My fantasy came to the front of my mind again and I almost tried it, but Phoebe interrupted me. "Hey, I'm allied with another girl, Alyssa, from district six. You'd probably like her, since she's a lot like you. You want to go find her and ask her about an alliance?"

"I guess. What about your capitol citizen? Where is he?"

Phoebe nodded to a guy in a pink shirt with a mop of blonde hair. He was at a food booth, probably buying himself a snack. "He offered to get me something too, but I told him not to. We had a huge breakfast at one of the restaurants here and I'm stuffed."

I shrugged. "The Capitol is big. Where would we find Alyssa?" I asked, glancing at Verina, who was still exclaiming over her 'beautiful' dress. In reality, it was ugly and gaudy. Whoever had made it should be fired.

Phoebe looked back at the Capitol building. "With the guy she's got, I don't know if she'd be able to get him over there, but if she could rein him in, she'd definitely have gone to the training room. She spends all of her extra hours in there."

I raised an eyebrow. She's certainly dedicated to winning. I wonder which of us will go for the other first, if it comes to that.

"Let's go then. From what you've said about her, she probably has managed to get her citizen down to the training room, whether he wanted to go or not." I smiled a little. If she was like me, then it had probably just been a matter of yelling at the guy and then walking away.

Verina choose that moment to protest, suddenly remembering her plans for the day. "What about the clothing museum?" she piped up.

"You said we were doing that, not me, and I'm not spending my day looking at clothes. Do I look like that kind of person?"

Verina cringed. "Okay..." she squeaked.

I resisted the urge to grin. Verina may be absent minded, but she at least she understood a flat out no when she heard one.

"Okay, let's go. Your citizen can catch up to us later." I looked back at him. He was coming over to us, so I figured he was done snacking.

Phoebe smiled. "We should trying slipping away from him. It'd be funny..."

I shook my head. "Not right now. I want to meet Alyssa."

***

We entered the training room and looked around. There was only one person there, a girl with silky brown hair that went slightly past her shoulders.

She was near the climbing wall, which was still. I took that to mean that she'd made it all the way up. I'd only done it once, so I knew how hard it was. If you could make it up that, you could make it up anything.

"Phoebe," Alyssa called her over, pushing a button on the side of the climbing wall to get it started again.

She grinned and came over, pushing her brown hair out of her face. "Hey, Lyss," she said.

I smiled and examined the climbing wall. "You make it all the way up?" I asked Alyssa.

She cocked her head and nodded. "Yeah. Have you?"

"Once. I'm Destiny." I stuck out my hand and Alyssa took it. "Alyssa, but most people just call me Lyss."

"Phoebe said we'd probably find you here. She wanted me to meet you, said we have a lot in common." I watched her, interested to see what Lyss' reply would be.

Phoebe grinned. "I told her you'd be here. I wasn't sure at first, when I heard what Chester was like from my Capitol citizen, but I figured you'd rein him in easy enough. I figured you would make it here eventually."

From behind me, Chester huffed. "I'm right here, you know," he complained.

Lyss raised an eyebrow at him. "Shut up."

I grinned. "At least he listens to you. Verina won't listen to me and she can get to be a pain. Honestly, though, she probably isn't as bad as some of the people other tributes were paired with. I don't care about impressing her though. I think that it's a dumb idea to have us spend a day with people we hate and try to impress them."

"Tell that to the gamemakers. I'm sure Keegan will love being told him and the others are stupid," Lyss said, laughing.

"I don't care what they think. They can be mad at me all they want. They're already doing their best to kill me by putting me in the games. I'll take whatever they throw at me. They can't do any more damage than what's already been done."

Phoebe shook her head. "Don't be too sure. They have complete control of the arena we're going into, so if I were you, I'd watch what you do to annoy them. Besides, you didn't come here to chat. We're here to train, and you had a question for Lyss."

Lyss cocked her head. "What question?"

"I allied with Phoebe, and I want to know if you'll be willing to ally with me."

Lyss seemed to think hard about that. I knew I was really good with her hand strikers and I was also really good at hand-to-hand combat, so from that aspect, I was probably a really good asset for the team. I could almost see the gears turning in her head as she thought about this. "Sure. Welcome to the team," she agreed.

I looked back at the climbing wall. "Race you to the top!"

"You're going to lose," Lyss warned me.

Oh no I won't. I thought, grabbing my first handhold. Grinning, Lyss started up after me.

***

District 10 Female: Noura Katalin

The train ride felt like it would never end.

Noura sat on the chairs with a certain level of impatience. Her legs were crossed, the one below constantly shaking, causing her entire body to quake with slight force. Her neck craned left, so she could watch the passing atmosphere. The nation before her, just outside the windows, felt like a perfected painting; it was a landscape of dreams, of looming nightmare.

She sighed heavily. It was unlike Noura to adorn such a disposition of defeat and exhaustion, but she did it anyway. There was no one to impress in the train car. The mentor, an escort, and her rather attractive district partner all circled the table, topped with cakes, drinks, and anything with sugar.

The clouds in the sky slowed their pace, just as the train came to a halt. It was time for Noura to accept her fate and rise into the Capitol. A door across their shared room slid open, and the youthful mentor stood briskly. His black hair hadn't yet begun its grey phase, and his muscles were still defined from his training.

"Where do we go from here?" Noura asked him when they both stood at the open door. Dan had jumped out of the door, followed by the woman with many hues of pink in her hair.

"I don't know. I was informed to let you go, somethin' new this year." He was gruff. Intense. Tainted. Noura couldn't think of anything to say. Always the one to carry a conversation, she was stumped by this unknown territory.

There was a Capitol citizen standing outside the train, a piece of cardboard in his hands and a blue hat on his head. He was tall, a little pale, and Noura could see how deeply brown his eyes were from where she was standing. Those weren't what drew her to the man, however. Her name stamped the square he was holding. His thumb picked at the corners nervously and his eyes averted her eyes when she stared at him in confusion.

Her feet weighed greatly into the stone-laden floor. She could already feel herself getting less and less energetic, with half of her personality left behind, in district ten. As she neared the man, she noticed him to be fairly attractive and young. He looked into her eyes and quickly looked away, flushing.

Introverted... Great.

"N-Noura Katalin?" He asked, coughing to mask his stutter.

"That's me, I guess," she said to him. She came to a stop right by him, while he was staring at the floor intensely. She looked left and right, seeing Dan with a girl about his age. She was a clear citizen like the man before her, but she had no cardboard sign, but she held a smile.

"Let's uh, walk?" He meant to state; he meant to direct the two of them, but it came out as a question. She sensed hatred, and so did he.

She nodded, annoyed. A bubbling sense of irritation sprouted in her chest, but she didn't know its origin. She simply, immediately, did not like him.

"What would you like to do today?" He asked Noura fifteen minutes later. They had stretched out their legs across an entire sector of the Capitol, lush with actors, writers, and models. It was obvious she didn't belong, and the spritely citizens made sure she knew it. Every person that walked by stared at her like she was an alien, an outcast.

"I don't know..." Noura replied truthfully.

"Come on! There's gotta be something." He traced his hand across the building, while Noura stared at the streets. They both felt indifferent towards one another at this point, with Noura leaning towards disgust.

"I've never been to the Capitol. I don't even know what we could do."

"Oh." She looked at him with raised eyebrows, like he should know what to say next. "What?"

"What can we do?" She asked, not even bothering to conceal her frustration. She had spoken loudly, and she felt bad when his eyes widened. He coughed, standing tall and trying to speak. He couldn't look Noura in the eyes and say something to her at once.

"Well. I had an audition, but I had to cancel because of you." If he hadn't been the type of person he was, Noura was sure he would've spat his words. Instead, they were simply laced with defeat, but more so, resentment.

"You're an actor?" She was honestly interested, but surprised.

"Trying to be, yes," he said, continuing his walk forward.

"You can still audition. I can, like, wait outside or something." She pursed her lips at a lady who frowned upon her. She was a short person, and Noura was tempted to shove her, so she would trip over her own heels. She had never met an actor before, considering anyone from ten who was on TV, ended up dead.

"Doubtful. You'd have to wait inside."

"Why?"

"Because you'd run away," he chuckled. Noura hadn't thought about it when she offered, but it was probably true. She would do anything to get away from him.

"What's your name?" She asked out of nowhere, her legs sore from their mile walk. She still didn't know if he had a destination in mind, but she was following him.

"Thyst. Sister's name is Ame. Our parents are pretentious, even for someone in the Capitol." His hand still traced the walls to his right, and his left hand began to tap at his side repeatedly. His idiosyncrasies became every single one of Noura's pet peeves.

"Makes sense. Now I know where you get it from," she joked. Well, it was a strong attempt at joking, but she believed in what she said. Her words came out as rude and he looked taken aback.

"I-I don't know who you think you- you are, but-"

"Oh, save the stutter for you audition." Noura held her hand up to silence him, amused at how rude she was really being. Never once has her sass become this much of a weapon. Maybe it could be her new weapon of choice in the Games.

"Fine," he muttered, raspy. He was out of breath, exhausted. He stepped ahead and sped up, leaving Noura behind.

His low sense of sarcasm and abrasiveness shocked her. It was different than when she was with Thom, back home. With her boyfriend, Noura could even find herself acting like Thyst. Small, responsive, and like someone who would never stand up for themselves.

"Oh, come on, Noura. Live a little!"

"I have work to do tomorrow morning. I don't have time for this."

Noura couldn't see past the bridge of her nose, but she felt Thom grab her arm and pull her. Her feet dragged against the rocky ground, almost making her fall.

"Thom!"

"Where are you going?" She called after Thyst, not worrying about the looks on several of the surrounding faces.

"Audition. It's more important to me."

She sighed, putting her hand to her forehead in subtle desperation. There was nothing she could do but follow Thyst to his audition. She'd rather be bored and annoyed than lost and, well, only lost.

"I'm not doing this for you," she said to him between breaths when she caught up.

"Interesting."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Noura half-yelled into the black air. Thom was laughing heavily alongside two other people she didn't know. Their laughs sounded familiar, but too foreign, so she couldn't quite pinpoint them.

"Because you need to let go! Have fun!"

"I don't need any fun. I need sleep," she said, trying to rip her arm away from his grasp. He tightened his hand around her wrists, beginning to bruise them. "Let go of me!"

"Why are you coming?" Thyst turned a corner, causing Noura to stop on her heels and turn as well. She felt rushed, unable to keep up with his speed.

"I've got nowhere else to go."

'So... I'm your back-up plan?" He asked sheepishly, eyeing her from ahead and adding a small skip to his step. His hand continued their nervous tap against his legs, but his stutter had seemingly come and gone.

"Technically, I'm your only plan," Noura pointed out.

"Shut up."

"Oh, shut up and come on!"

"Thom!" She tried one more time to get through to him. He didn't even acknowledge her that time, resulting in her staring into darkness.

She stopped fighting.

Noura was actually smiling. Smiling. And because of Thyst nonetheless. The theater he had led her too was large. Obviously, considering the Capitol's budget, it was bigger than most of any district ten buildings; the Justice Building being the only structure outsizing it. The walls were lined with glimmering silver and fading teal. The aesthetic gave off an old marine feel, and Noura couldn't help but feel nostalgic walking in.

Why was she smiling? Well, Thyst turned out to be an amazing actor, in more than one way. Thyst had made her sit in one of the last seats, in the very back of the audience. He performed two monologues, the origins of the pieces unknown to her. Someone named after a shaking spear? She wouldn't know.

"Thank you," someone sitting on a long table, just in front of the stage, said. She scribbled down some notes. "Do you have a comedic piece as well?"

She rolled her eyes. Snob, Noura thought. They don't need to see it! They obviously like him!

She sat back to laugh, watching that nervous man command the stage.

"Noura, I do not like him," her mom said the next morning. She shrugged as she got ready to work, yawns taking over half the time, distracting her.

"Well, I do. Deal with it," she said, snarky. Her boots slid on roughly, almost making her fall over into her dresser. Her mother had to catch her from falling.

"You're tired. Sleep in," she told her daughter, frustrated at Thom rather than Noura.

"I'm fine, mom. I have work to do."

"It can be done later."

Noura listened, rubbing her face in contempt and laying back in her bed. She sat back to sleep, dreaming of that awful boy who commanded her heart. She was self-destructive, and she clung onto Thom because he was the only one there.

~

Sitting across from her at some restaurant table, Thyst looked at her ashamedly, like he had done an awful job. Of course, it was quite the opposite, and Noura was looking at him differently. He took a sip of his water, avoiding her gaze again and rubbing his palms against his knees.

"You were good," Noura finally said. Thyst's face reddened at her stiff words, sensing her to be lying. When he realized the compliment was pure, he smiled. "I thought you were going to suck."

He laughed impulsively, choking on his straw. "Really? Why?" He set down his cup, not really wanting to know.

"Because I didn't like you."

"You knew me for a good hour, and you deemed me as untalented?" He rhetorically asked, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. She was giggling slightly.

"Don't act like you loved me. You hated me just as much," she argued, her elbows propped onto the tablecloth. He shrugged, agreeing.

"So, we are on the same page? We both hated each other?" He asked, halting the motion of skin against pants. His breath went from heavy to light. Her heart went from slow to alight.

"Yep. Agreed. The hate was mutual." She stuck out her hand, which he questioned at first. He understood and shook it firmly. Deal. "I never really had a reason to hate you. I just thought you were this nervous, introverted man."

"I am a nervous person, comes with the acting gig. I'm not some introverted emo boy from district twelve, you know..."

They both chuckled softly, and her mind erased Thom completely.

Except, for one word, one question.

Why?

***

District 11 Female: Dayshia Kelly

Back at District Eleven, Dayshia Kelly was called many names. They were...not nice.

They called her a brat, a snob, a self-conceited bitch with nothing in her brain but fluff.

She had spent countless nights crying, burying her sweaty, tear-stained face in her pillow, hoping that no one saw her in that one moment of weakness. Outside, she was indifferent. Dayshia shrugged away the insults pelted at her daily. Her one goal in life was to prove that she was better than all the bullies, who were so blind they didn't notice how amazing Dayshia Kelly was. No one ever saw through her indifferent façade.

But here, she didn't need it.

When the train carrying both her and her district partner rolled to a stop at the Capitol, Dayshia had been amazed. She was expecting more insults, more eye-rolling, more pointed fingers. What she got were crowds of screaming Capitolians would were frantically waving at her, chanting her name, pushing each other to catch just a glimpse of the legendary Dayshia Kelly.

Here, everyone knew who she really was. They saw that Dayshia was one of a kind, a unique beauty that would never be replaced.

They loved her.

So you can imagine Dayshia's surprise when she was paired up with Evelina Lang, a Capitol woman with curly red and yellow hair and sharp green eyes, who turned up her nose at the mention of Dayshia's name. It was the tributes first day in the Capitol, and Dayshia had been excited when her District escort, Xavier, had told her that she was going to be paired up with a Capitolian and they were going to show her around the magnificent city. Dayshia had spent hours looking for the right outfit in her new vast closet, even skipping breakfast to make herself look presentable. She had finally decided on a simple black miniskirt with a silver belt that was about an inch away of being a swimsuit, complete with some hot pink lipstick.

Slut, they would call her, if she wore this back at home.

Dayshia had shuddered before taking several deep breaths to calm herself. This was not home. No one was here to yell at her, to scream, to shake their heads in disappointment. Here everyone loved her, admired her, wanted to be her.

But not Evelina Lang.

As the others tributes filed out of the oval-shaped room with their assigned guide, Dayshia looked up at the woman. Evelina had not made eye contact with her since they had been assigned, and was now busy inspecting her long, claw-like, orange nails. A few minutes passed in awkward silence before Dayshia got bored. She coughed, hoping that she didn't come off as rude, to get the woman's attention. Evelina paid no mind.

Now very irritated, Dayshia straightened up to her full height and tapped Evelina's elbow, "Should we go, Miss Lang?" Dayshia asked sarcastically, putting emphasis on the woman's last name.

Evelina's reaction was not what Dayshia had expected. She whirled around, green eyes flashing with anger and hatred, her red-and-yellow hair puffing out so that she looked like a clown. Angrily, Evelina raised up her hand as if to strike Dayshia and the eighteen-year-old flinched automatically, waiting for the blow.

It never came.

Meekly, Dayshia looked up and saw that Evelina had dropped her arm to her side, breathing heavily as if she had just run a marathon. She pushed several stray curls out of her face before staring-or, glaring-at Dayshia.

"We'll leave when I say so," the woman stated, her voice crisp and cold like ice. Her emerald eyes trialed down to Dayshia's black miniskirt and her nose wrinkled in disgust, an action that Dayshia knew all too well. Evelina turned away and started inspecting her nails again but muttered something under her breath which sounded suspiciously like a certain five-letter-word that started with 'w'.

Dayshia's cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson, and her brown eyes darkened with rage. Mentally cursing Evelina in her mind, Dayshia stormed away to a fluffy grey couch and sat down, crossing one leg over another as she waited. She was pretty sure that they weren't going to go view the Capitol. Out of the corner of her eye Dayshia saw Evelina give her a sideways glance, as if surprised that Dayshia had left her side. Dayshia sneered at her inwardly, 'You think that I was going to stay there beside you while you keep ignoring me? Uh-uh, no way, Lang.'

The clock ticked, it's rhythmic beat smoothing Dayshia a little. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Ten minutes passed without a word exchanged between the guide and the tribute. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Another ten minutes few by in silence. Tick, tock, tick--

"Are you coming, or not?" the overbearing voice of Evelina snapped Dayshia out of her angry stupor. Dayshia looked up, hoping that A) her hair looked nice and B) that Evelina wasn't going to yell at her again. Evelina loomed over her, her bony hands placed on her hips. Dayshia blinked twice but standing up, stumbling on her six-inch silver buckle heels. Evelina snorted and for the millionth time since she had arrived at the Capitol, Dayshia wished she didn't live in District Eleven.

Fate must've gotten confused, Dayshia thought as Evelina led her out of the room, careful not to touch Dayshia in any way. I was obviously born for stardom, yet I get placed in one of the rattiest Districts ever and get forced to fight in a game to the death.

Dayshia shrugged to herself as Evelina turned another corner, the woman's slender legs and brisk pace making her walk faster than Dayshia. The girl scowled before jogging slightly to catch up. Evelina was obviously trying to irk her, and it was working tremendously well. Dayshia had a strong urge to punch Evelina's face.

But if you do that, everyone would hate you, Day. Don't worry. There's always gotta be a bad apple in the barrel, right?

"Right," Dayshia mumbled to herself, ignoring the queer look that Evelina gave her. Evelina was just a bad apple in a barrel full of good ones. It was just bad luck that Dayshia had gotten assigned with a bad apple.

Well, my luck has been absolutely amazing so far! Dayshia thought sarcastically, First I get born into a poor District, my mother dies, I get bullied for no reason every day, I work my ass off everyday, I get reaped into The Hunger Games, and then I get stuck with a bad apple guide who hates me. Yippee.

Through her angry thoughts Dayshia didn't even realize that Evelina had led her to a huge balcony, which overlooked the entire Capitol. Dayshia inhaled sharply, surprised at the sudden beautiful view. The gleaming sunlight sparkled off the roofs of various Capitol buildings, giving the appearance that the entire city was bathed in glitter. It hurt Dayshia's eyes and she squinted, but still, the view was breathtaking.

"Best view in the entire Capitol, right here," Evelina commented dryly, still inspecting her nails. As Dayshia watched her, she thought she saw Evelina's green eyes flick towards her quickly, then back to her orange nails, "You're welcome."

"I-I don't know what to say," Dayshia stammered, suddenly flustered. Evelina had gone from hating Dayshia's mere presence to showing her a beautiful view of the city. Talk about mood swings.

Maybe she wants to make up for the way she treated you?

Dayshia giggled slightly at how ridiculous her own notion sounded. Bitch, please. Evelina hates my guts. For no reason. The woman was probably trying to trip her up somehow. Dayshia smiled broadly at Evelina, who looked confused at why Dayshia was giggling. You're not gonna trip me up, Lang. I'm Dayshia Kelly. I'm too smart for that.

I'm too smart to fall for anything.

With that, Dayshia tossed her wavy brown locks over her shoulders and sashayed past Evelina, swaying her hips for dramatic effect.

"Where should we go next?" Dayshia asked in a sugary tone, winking flirtatiously at the older woman. Evelina immediately blushed, her pale cheeks turning almost as red as her hair. She mumbled something Dayshia didn't catch under her breath before walking briskly past the smirking tribute, pushing open the glass door and walking down the hallway that led to an elevator. Dayshia followed, pleased at the reaction she had caused.

Day, what are you doing?

Dayshia stopped mid-step, pondering the thought that had just surfaced. What was she doing? What did she hope to gain from flirting openly with Evelina? She wasn't a lesbian-far from it, so what was she doing?

For the first time in her life, Dayshia Kelly had no answer.

"Are you coming?" the slightly flustered voice of Evelina called from down the hallway, "I want to show you the Four Season Gardens. It's not far from here. Wonderful place."

Dayshia nodded her head, before realizing that Evelina probably couldn't see her. She tried to answer back, but her voice stuck in her throat. She swallowed forcibly, and tried again, but no sound came.

Sunlight bounced off the sleek, polished granite railings of the balcony and Dayshia glanced at her reflection. Her perfect reflection, to be exact. Dayshia's sun-kissed tan skin complimented her hot pink lipstick amazingly. Her hair hung in loose curls, flowing down in waves past her shoulders. The black miniskirt hugged every curve on her flawless body. She was beautiful. She had to be. She was Dayshia Kelly.

"You're beautiful, Dayshia," the girl whispered to her reflection in the granite railing, "You are..."

Her words sounded hollow, like she was trying to convince herself.

Why? Why do you feel ugly? Why did you flirt with Evelina? Why, Dayshia? Why?

What do you wish to gain?

Dayshia licked her lips, the artificial taste of peaches overwhelming her. The sun suddenly felt too hot, her skirt suddenly felt too short. Dayshia yanked down the helm, and noticed that her hands were shaking.

And then she realized the answer to her own question.

"Maybe, it's because I have nothing left to lose," Dayshia whispered, staring at the beautiful landscape of the Capitol below her. In any other time, this would've made her feel powerful. Free. She was on top of the world. But now, she could feel a new feeling rising up in her stomach, eating away all the pride and reassurance that she was gorgeous.

Insecure.

Dayshia felt insecure.

And that made her weak.

She failed her goal-to prove to everyone on this Earth that Dayshia was better than anyone.

Stupid, self-conceited, brat, slut, whore.

The taunting voices resurfaced from her memory, coming back to taunt her, to hurt her more than ever. Evelina had caused this reaction. She was the first person in the Capitol that hated Dayshia. And now Dayshia was suffering once more, because of her.

A solitary tear slipped down her cheek and her lower lip wavered. Sniffing, Dayshia straightened up. You are Dayshia Kelly. You are better than everyone else.

But even as she thought it, she knew it was a lie.

***

District 12 Female: Heather Xaria Quire

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