*EDITED🩷🩶

Alex was perfectly content doing the chores all alone, but for whatever reason Paisley and Zander chose to stick close to him. So as he fed the horses Paisley sat on a stable door, while Zander sat on a bail of hay.

"Do you think mom comes to watch the reapings?" Zander asked and Paisley froze slightly before Alex answered.

"Mom is always watching." Alex stated firmly as Paisley nodded.

"Yeah you idiot, don't say such stupid things." Paisley scolded a teasing smile on her face.

"Hey!" Zander called towards the older two who didn't seem to take him serious. "I'm not an idiot." He pouted slightly making Paisley laugh.

"Yeah right! You pouted when you said that." She stated matter of factly shifting on the gate.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

As the two bickered Alex rolled his eyes smiling while listening to their bickering. The one thing you could always count on from Zander was no nerves on reaping day. The youngest of the Laurson family was by far the angriest, although Paisley easily challenged him for that title.

As it died down Alex glanced over his shoulder to see his brother looking at the ground, hat tipped down, the same trait Paisley used. "I'm being serious." He spoke quietly, almost like he was scared to bring it up.

Paisley smiling sadly at him before hopping down. "So are we." She stated before pulling his hat off and head forward to kiss his forehead. "I'm getting ready." She spoke waving her hand over her shoulder as she continued out of the barn, Alex sighed at his sister before looking to his little brother.

"Mom's always watching us, making sure we're all okay. That's what you do when you still have loved ones on this earth." He ruffled his hair before a sudden thought dawned on him. "We better get ready as well."

                    ————————————

Paisley looked at herself through the small mirror in the bathroom. Her white dress fit her perfectly, which wasn't something most kids in the districts had. Her family had had its fair share of hard times, but they were never bad off for protein and food.

Her dress reached right above her knees and it fit her snugly in her arms. Not too snug to be too small but not too loose to be too big. It was perfect to her anyways. She had on her cowgirl boots, seeing as she had to ride into the town for the reaping.

Her hair lay on her mid back as she hadn't had her hair done or anything of the sort since her mother passed two years ago. Her father didn't know how to do her hair, her brother hadn't learned and Paisley just had no desire to learn it. Wild and free was how she liked to dress and live. She took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes.

She wouldn't get picked.

Alex wouldn't get picked.

Zander wouldn't get picked.

They'd all come home.

She opened her eyes only to find her brother standing behind in the mirror. "We're all gonna be fine Pay." She smiled as she stood and turned around, letting out a shaky breath she sighed.

"I know. I just don't like changing things up on a day like today." She stated walking past him in the doorway and to the stairs. She knew he was following her as Zander and Andrew were already out front waiting for them. She paused as she gripped the railing to look at her brother. "I'm just...terrified." She spoke as Alex wrapped his arms around her from behind. Letting his baby sister lean into him for support.

"I know." He spoke softly kissing the side of her head. "We'll make it through. Just as we always had." Paisley nodded before a thought popped into her head.

"Alex." He hummed in acknowledgment allowing her to continue. "If I-" She lost her voice so she swallowed hard before speaking once more. "If I get reaped don't volunteer." She felt him stiffen so she pulled her shoulders back, to mask it all, play tough. "It's your last year, Only one us will walk out and I don't wanna have to kill you."

She spoke a slight joking at the end. She was promising him if she was to get reaped, she would be the last one standing. She would be the one walking out. He knew that's how she meant it, so as he let her go he laughed.

"Yeah, whatever. Think I'd let you take me out?" He joked nudging her to get walking down the stairs, she caught herself before she actually fell though. Turning back to glare at her brother. "I promise, I won't volunteer." He paused behind her as she gripped the railing tighter. "As long as you promise not to go before me. No big brother should have to watch his little sister die."

She smiled as she nodded. "I promise." She hopped down the last three stairs as she turned to look at her brother. "Now we mustn't be late." She spoke opening the door to see her father speaking with Zander who laughed. "What would mother say?" She heard Alex laugh as he started down the stairs.

"Being late is wishin bad luck."

"Certainly."

However as Paisley bounded forward swinging her hands to reach her horse Coffee, Alex looked back to the house once more. The nagging feeling in his bones on how this could be his very last time looking at the house.

————————————

The atmosphere of the town square was filled with anxiousness and sadness. As it was every year but something about this year felt oddly different, she had tied up Coffee in the same place she did every year. She walked alongside her brother as she has every year, she split apart from her brothers as she did every year, pricked her finger the same way, stood in line in between the same two girls, found her brothers standing in between the same two people as every year.

She exchanged nods with Alex as she did every year, the silent promise that everything would be okay. You would think that she would be more anxious for next year, the year when the traditions would break, because Alex would have to stand with their father, he wouldn't be able to find Paisley in the crowd. He wouldn't be able to nod to her to tell her everything would be okay. However it wasn't next year she worried about.

It was today.

Right now.

In this moment.

A new escort had been assigned for district ten, it was her first year ever being an escort and she looked young. More than young, she looked almost normal, if it hadn't been for her dress and makeup Paisley would've thought that she was just a normal person.

"Welcome! Welcome! To the 69th hunger games!" Paisley found Alex's eyes once more as he rolled his eyes making her put her hands over her mouth to muffle her laughs.

The girls next to her had soft smiles, Paisley was always this outlet for other people to be at ease. It was a trait that she had gotten from her mother. Paisley mocked the escort to Alex who laughed lightly and shook his head. They had both always ignored that part, they hated it.

It was just a video about how the capitol decided to how to kill the less fortunate people. Paisley looked to the sky, the summer sky shinning brightly making her smile.

Her and her brothers could ride their horses around the farm once they get back. Really settle down. The soft smile on her face never left her features as she looked down to mask it. She had finally settled her nerves and unease about the day.

Everything would be okay.

"Now as always, we will start with our ladies." Paisley noticed a scuffing on her boots and a frown settled on her face. How had it even gotten there? Her mother had always chastised her for having scuffed boots, even for pairing her cowboy boots with her dress. Always declared that she ride into town with Alex on reaping days. As a lady should never act not lady like.

"Our female tribute for District 10 will be...." There was a pause as the rustling of paper was heard.

First year escorts always put it off. Well that or they were just inexperienced about how to send people off to their death, were they nervous because it was their first time? Or was it simply the fact that it was a new job?

Paisley couldn't fathom the thought of doing her job nervously. She already knew how to do everything on their ranch, she already knew she wanted to have the ranch. She did know it was most likely that Alex would get it and she would get married off to some guy.

She hoped he had a ranch.

She wouldn't mind helping on it.

She'd probably even run it better than him.

"Paisley Laurson." Her breath got caught in her throat as she glared down at her boots, the scuffed mess and how unlady like she must look.

She thought back to all the nights she stayed up late watching the games with Alex, they knew they needed to watch them incase something like this had happened and she asked him what he would've done. The memory being bright and fresh in her mind.

It took her all of two seconds to pull herself together.

She'd cry later.

She'd grieve later.

She'd write everything she wanted to say to anyone later.

When she was alone.

It's what Alex would do. He had already told her.

"I would give them the image of a career. Someone strong, admirable, they think it's more of a show. Watch us for entertainment. As hard as it would be I would do my very best to be the perfect character for them."

"Paisley, Dear?" The escort of whom she hadn't paid attention to the name of called for her, so she did the very thing Alex would do. She played a character.

She took a breath.

She straightened out her shoulders.

She looked up.

She smiled the paisley smile everyone knew.

She would be a career.

-1722 WORDS!

I LOVE YOU GUYS THANK YOU FOR READING😭

Its like 3:30 in the morning I work at 4 in a different city 40 minutes away😂💀 And I'm PROOF READING MY CHAPTERS😂 ON TOP OF NEEDING A SHOWER AND FOLDING CLOTHES AND FINISHING LAUNDRY AND GOING TO WALMART TO BUY THE PAPER BACK COPY OF A BOOK BECAUSE IT HAS EXCLUSIVE LETTERS FROM THE MALE LEAD THE HARD COVER DIDN'T HAVE
You're welcome for the small little rant of how genuinely unhealthy and problematic my sleeping habits are