Outlaster- A Hunger Games Tale

Chapter 5- Pity

 After the introduction ceremony, the tributes were all sent to bed. They had a full day of training ahead of them.

When morning came, Districts 1-6 were sent to be fitted for their attire for the interviews with Caesar Flickerman. The rest of the districts were left to mingle with the others. Q'uira was very intrigued by the other contestants - she wanted to meet them all and wish them all the best.

"Hi!" Q'uira called as she approached the District 11 tributes.

"And you are?" Jean rolled her eyes.

"I'm Q'uira Meyers," she said, holding her hand out for the two to shake.

"My name is Reva," the other tribute put in, cutting off Jean. They shook Q'uira's hand vigorously.

"Oh, hey!" Q'uira replied, a bit confused about the two's strange relationship. They began to chat. Meanwhile, Maxtess made his way over to Jay to ask about his progress.

"Wassup, my guy!" Maxtess patted the shorter boy on the shoulder, "Did you pop the question to a certain lady?"

"Hey, Max. Not yet... I mean, I told her she looked nice, at least," Jay responded.

"Not bad, not bad! How did she respond?" Max scratched his chin.

"Well, she didn't... really say anything." Jay tried to think back to what had happened when he complimented Q'uira.

"Describe what she did!" Max looked enthusiastically at Jay.

"Well, she just stood there for a bit. Then she put her hair behind her ear and smiled," he described.

"Were her cheeks pink?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I guess... Why?" Jay asked, confused.

"She likes you, dude! She was obviously flirting. The hair thing - that's a common move, and the blush..." he looked at Jay, eyes narrowed. "It's just common sense! Go ask her out right now!"

"No!" Jay retorted, eyes wide.

"Why not?" he inquired, tilting his head.

"I'm just... waiting for the right time." Jay pointed at the people Q'uira was talking to.

"Now is the perfect time, dude." Max quickly pushed Jay into the small group, and Jay smacked into Q'uira's side.

"Oh!" Q'uira laughed, falling into Reva. The three were all piled on each other, laughing their heads off. Jean stood off to the side and glared at them.

"I am so sorry," Jay said with a chuckle as he rolled off the stack of fallen tributes.

"I'm dying!" Reva was almost in tears from laughing.

"Heyyy, what's good?" Maxtess had joined the conversation, holding his hand out for a very annoyed Jean to shake.

"No." The tall girl got up and walked out the door.

"Oooookay then." He turned to Reva, who proudly shook his hand. Then he casually turned to Q'uira, who looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Aren't you the guy that pushed us?" Q'uira said, glancing at him.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that," Max replied, an apologetic expression on his face.

"No, no, you're good. I was just wondering why you would push Jay into me and then casually stroll in," Q'uira laughed.

"Well, I don't think... I just do," Maxtess explained. Jay shook his head and laughed softly at the boy.

"You're a mess," Jay concluded.

"Who's a mess?" Alaya Cezar had quietly appeared next to the small group.

"Maxtess," Q'uira responded, brushing off her attire.

"You got that right. He's extremely childish." Alaya looked at Q'uira and smirked. "Alaya Cezar," she said, holding her hand out.

"Q'uira Meyers," the other girl shook Alaya's hand and put on a smile.

"Are you two dating?" Alaya pointed to Jay and Q'uira, causing an awkward pause of silence.

"No," Jay told her, hesitating slightly. Q'uira's smile fell. She tried to hide her disappointment, but she was too bothered - she had to find a distraction. She tried to devise a quick escape plan.

"Oh..." Alaya said after a few moments. Jay, Alaya, and Reva began a new conversation. Q'uira took the chance to slip away to the tributes of District 12: Paul and Maliery.

"Hi, I'm Q'uira," she said, sitting down next to them.

"Maliery Windom! This is-"

"Paul. My name is Paul." The boy put his hand out reluctantly. She smiled and they shook.

"It's nice to meet you," Q'uira began, still smiling.

"You too!" Maliery looked over to the nearby table of fresh food. "I'm gonna get some food." She told the two, leaving them alone. Paul, who looked as if he was going to drop dead from tiredness, noticed Q'uira's gaze lingering on Jay.

"Oh, I see you have a crush," he said slyly.

"What-" she flinched and looked at him. "No, I don't... I'm just studying the tributes."

"Uh-huh," Paul responded mockingly.

"Fine. Maybe I do like Jay. No big deal." Q'uira looked up at him defiantly.

"Does he like you back?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know," she sighed, leaning her head against the back of the chair.

"Well, you're never gonna know if you don't go for it!" He looked at the girl, trying to encourage her. She looked at him with a small smirk - his little pep talk seemed to have helped.

"Do it!" Paul smiled, and they both started to laugh.

"So, what's your story?" Q'uira inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"I have to win." Paul slouched in his chair. His face suddenly became much sadder.

"Why?" She lowered her eyebrows, concerned.

"I just... I've always wanted it. For the past ten years of my life, I've been training so hard. When I was picked, my parents were so proud. If I don't win, I feel like I would be letting them down, and not only that - I would have been doing all this for nothing."

"Do you want to win?" Q'uira asked.

"I don't know anymore. I guess at this point I just feel like I have to. Even if it means killing Maliery..." he frowned deeper. It looked like he might tear up.

"Oh..." Q'uira could almost feel his emotions, and it caused her to take pity on him. However, before she could try to cheer him up, the officiator came in to speak with the tributes.

"Districts 7-12, you are now ready to be fitted for your interviews! Please report to your rooms," the officiator announced.

"Well, I'll see you around," Paul said, turning to Q'uira.

"Yeah, you too," she replied, getting up. "Also, I know what you have going on is tough. Just... try to make the right decision in the end. I know it won't do much, but I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but I don't take pity."