68th Hunger Games// Y/n

5

PARADE

"You look beautiful" Petunia coos and Agnes, my designer, adjusts the gold crown on my head. My hair is in artificial curls, the ends wet. My dress moves like water and looks like it. My make-up is done very natural, almost none at all. 'Natural beauty' As Anges calls me. Beckett walks in and I have to admit he's gorgeous in his water suit. We look amazing. I hug him, anger disappearing.
"Not mad anymore?" He asks with a smile
"Don't push it" I threaten and he laughs
"You're not scary" I smile and he helps me onto the chariot.
"You two look perfect" Agnes exclaims, and whispers something to Petunia whose joyous mood dampens.

"Thank you" I nod and he pats my hand before leaving, his work done.

"Smile and wave, you two want sponsors" Finnick says, leaning on my side of the chariot.

"Will do" Beckett says and I smile.
"Good luck" he says and walks off. I grip the side of the chariot, I get a whiff of strawberries and I know it's the shampoo my prep team used on me.
"Nervous?" Beckett asks and I look at him

"How can you tell?" I ask with a forced laugh. He puts his arm around me and gives me a side hug. We get glares from the other tributes. I shove his arm off me
"They'll love you" Beck says, aware of the looks we're getting. Our chariot lurches and we roll into the parade. I grin and start waving, roses are thrown at me and I feel a tap on my shoulder. Beckett holds a rose out for me and an enticing smile "They'll love it" He whispers. I take the rose and the stadium erupts in cheers. I continue to wave to people and they cheer, blow kisses and throw roses at me. A real smile appears, they love us.

TRAINING
"Ready?" Beck asks and I look around. District one and two stand in the centre talking, maybe we can align with them.
"Yes" I say and walk in. The boy from two waves us over and we walk towards the typical career pack.
"What's your skill?" He asks me and I cross my arms, he's at least five inches taller than me.
"What isn't her skill?" Beckett says "That's the better question" he adds
"Here's the deal, we want to align with you two but we need to see some sort of skill" The girl from one says and I nod
"What do you want to see?" I ask and she grins. She directs me to the knife throwing, perfect, I'm good at this. I grab five and throw the first one, it hurdles into the bullseye on a dummy. I throw three more, fast and they find their targets. I throw the last one leading it with a spin.
"Lets see what you got" I challenge and she raises her eyebrows in amusement. She throws her knives, three out of five find their targets. "Hm" I say and walk away. The boy from one is strong and good with a sword, same for the one from two. The girl from two is good with a bow and arrow, the girl from one sorta lacks in everything. Easy to kill off.

"So what do you say?" The boy from two says, holding out his hand. I shake it, his hand is cold and rough.
"I'm Sapphire" The girl from one says
"Y/n" I nod and she glares at me. I learn that the tributes from one, Sapphire and Chase are also training partners. Tributes from two, Hazel and Xander are complete strangers to each other. I move to the survival stations, and it turns out I can make a decent fire and Beckett is a whiz at finding edible berries and roots. After the first few hours, it's lunch time. I sit at a table by myself and Chase sits next to me

"So what's your story?" he asks with a smile, he's not a bad looking guy. I'd say attractive if I weren't in the arena, he has light brown hair and green eyes. Deep dimples when he smiles, and freckles all over his face, he has softer features, almost boyish but somehow mature.
"My story?" I ask with a smile
"Yeah" He says, how am I supposed to kill him if I know him?
"Well, I didn't volunteer but I wanted to for the longest time" I admit and he looks confused
"How come you didn't?" He asks
"I didn't want to leave my brother and sister" I say and he looks at me sadly
"How old are they?"
"Five and eight, god I miss them" I laugh sadly and he places a hand on my shoulder
"I left my brother and sister behind as well" He says and I nod
"I'm sorry" I hold the hand on my shoulder
"But I wanted in, so it's a different story" He says, snapping out of the sadness.
"You're still leaving people you love" I shrug and he takes his hand off me.
"Yeah" he nods and we eat in silence occasionally talk about the other tributes, easier targets and somehow those are easier conversations.