[ wow look here

i'm actually kinda sad bc tuesday i'm gonna be home by myself for who knows how long and ?? after working with the two demon children i just rlly need some family time even if my family is in the other room and we don't talk lmao

ten more drafts before i gotta start deleting them outta this book lmao, that means there's 21 things y'all haven't seen and probably won't wow

i changed one word in the lines leading up to the last flashback in the last part for clarity bc it was a little bit confusing lol

stay safe,
lew. ]

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Bailey's heart won't stop racing as he stands beside the chariot for his district. His mentor's hand weighs on his shoulder, which helps ground him. "Grace, I don't wanna be here."

"I know, B. I don't want you to be here, either," she says softly. It's so hard, watching your younger sibling go through the same thing you did.

He turns around and hugs her, tears falling and soaking into the fabric of her shirt. He's sobbing, and it breaks her heart.

"You said you wouldn't let this happen," Bailey mumbled through his tears, unable to see but a blurry outline of the boy in front of him. "You promised, Declan."

"That was literally three years ago! I only agreed so you'd kiss me," the other boy told him. "I wasn't actually gonna give my life for yours!"

"Then why not tell me you weren't gonna go through with it?"

"I figured you'd be fucking smart enough to know that nobody would die for you!"

"I hate you! You're the worst person I've ever met and I hate you more than anything!"

Grace kisses the top of his head and smooths his curls down. "Stay here, okay? I need to go talk with District Twelve. I'll be right back. Stay here and wait for Ollie."

The other tribute from his district is with her stylist still, putting finishing touches on the fiber optic wires that light up like circuitry. Bailey picks at the fabric of his own suit, pulling in a deep breath to stave off the crying. He nods, and his mentor leaves.

Before he can spiral down memory lane again, a girl comes up to him. She's short, but her hair is teased up and colored to resemble a flame. "Hey, I was told to come talk to you. I'm Chase, from Twelve. And I already know who you are."

"Hi," he greets shyly, holding his hand up to his mouth. He wants to chew on the sleeve of his suit like he does on his jackets at home, but doesn't want to risk messing up the light-show. So, he resorts to chewing on his thumb.

"You're so quiet," she marvels, "It's adorable. You're gonna get sponsors for sure."

He shakes his head slightly. "Did you watch the Reaping? The guy from Two volunteered to be with his girlfriend, and the guy from Eleven volunteered to save his brother. No one's gonna sponsor the crying little boy whose boyfriend broke a promise."

She goes silent. He starts to backtrack, a blubbering mess of half formed syllables before she laughs softly and rests her delicate hand on his arm. "Don't. I've had a fair share of girlfriends. A secret for a secret, y'know?"

Her hands tangled in the other's slightly curled hair, lips locked together in one last show of affection. When Chase's lips moved towards her throat, the other girl spoke.

"I'll... I'll gather up as much spare money we have... Send it to someone in the Capitol and help you out..."

Chase lifted her head. "No. You won't, because you need to keep it. I'll be fine, sweetheart. Don't worry about me. I'll be back before you know it."

Across the floor, the male tribute from District Four has nothing better to do than antagonize everyone else he comes across. He's in a shitty mood, so of course it's going to transfer outward.

He comes across the boy from One, which brings him to a screeching halt. The boy is pretty, delicate, and regal all at once, and Ezra can't help staring.

"I want to be allies." The words leave his mouth before he can stop them. Does he really want to be allies, or does he just want to shove this boy up against the nearest surface and—

"You'll have to have your mentor speak with my mentor about that." And then nothing else is said. The guy doesn't offer his name, he just continues to ignore Ezra.

Ezra doesn't know if that pisses him off or intrigues him. But he'd stop at nothing to get this guy on his side now.

"What skills do you have?" The mentor asked, sitting down on the couch beside Ezra.

Ezra didn't speak for a good minute or two, instead sizing up the former victor next to him. Bronze skin, well-defined muscles— it's no wonder this man still has most of the Capitol's hearts in his hands.

"Obviously fishing and using a trident, making nets, all that good shit our district is known for," he replied, stretching out a bit. "But I've practiced in my own time, swords and knives and strength training."

"How good do you consider yourself?"

"Nobody else stands a chance."

The countdown begins, tributes and mentors scrambling to get into place and give last minute tidbits of advice.

District One is sent out with no further instruction. Two ignores the mentor, Logan with his arm around Ruby's waist and her head on his shoulder. Three is seen as weak already, Bailey chewing nervously on his thumb and the girl chastising him the entire time.

Ezra ignores the girl from his district and everyone else, eyes trained ahead where the president and other officials wait. Z and the boy from her district remain stock still.

The boy from Six, Marcus, looks around, unable to drag his eyes away from the oddities that are the citizens of the Capitol. The guy from Seven, Alex, manages to look like he isn't completely mortified in his tree outfit. Eight's male tribute, Harry, stands with his arms crossed, looking unamused and angry with what's happening.

Maureen, the girl from Nine, clings to her district partner's hand like a lifeline. District Ten's male, Cody, has a dark sort of smile on his face. Lewis seems to shrink in on himself from all the eyes staring down at him. And Chase basks in the attention, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd.

———————

[ lmao in ezra's flashback the mentor is meant to be finnick just saying

after this we move on!! i might skip directly to the games, idk yet!! ]