Scream [A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Fanfic]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟹

- LOCATION: DISTRICT 12 -

"Lucian Gray Baird"

Y/N watched as the boy named Lucian Gray Baird made his way towards the stage. He didn't seem frightened. Not in the slightest. Even from where she stood in the crowd, Y/N could see the smirk pulling at the boy's lips as he slowly made his way to the aisle that separated the ranks of girls and boys. His eyes trailed the length of the aisle as he started walking forward, arms swinging a little at his sides, almost as if he were bored of the games already. As his eyes scanned the lines of girls his eyes met Y/N's. And while his swagger and his smirk showed no surprise, his eyes betrayed his shock at seeing her standing amongst the crowd. He didn't recognise her. But his eyes drifted away a second later and Y/N watched as one of his arms disappeared behind his back.

Just before he reached the stage, he took a step to the right. A girl in a bright blue dress stood in front of him, smirking as her eyes remained on the ground. She didn't even have time to react before Lucian Gray pulled back the neck of her dress and dropped a thin snake down the back. The boy smirked as the girl started shrieking and continued his way towards the stage.

"My daughter!" The Mayor cried. "Help her!" He stepped around the microphone as he ordered the Peacekeepers to assist his daughter. None of them moved any more than turning to see why the girl was screaming. He continued shouting for the Peacekeepers to help the girl as she fell to the ground, screaming as the snake slithered and squirmed beneath her dress. By the time the Peacekeepers had gotten to her, the snake had slithered free and had disappeared down a crack in the cement.

Y/N breathed a silent sigh of relief as the Peacekeepers helped the girl to her feet.

Y/N turned her gaze away from the scene as Lucian Gray stepped up on stage, only to be met with the Mayor's fist. He fell on the stage with a groan and Y/N flinched, fighting the urge to go and help the boy. Thankfully, a Peacekeeper stepped forward to pull the Mayor away. The mayor was escorted away as Lucian Gray lay on the ground, trying to gather his strength. Another Peacekeeper stepped forward to help the boy up, but before he could, Lucian Gray held out his hand to stop him.

"Just give me a minute," he muttered, his hand shaking ever so slightly as he tried to compose himself.

"You can't take my past, you can't take my history. You could take my pa, but his name's a mystery."

Tears came to Y/N's eyes as she noticed the small blonde girl singing in the crowd. It had been so long since she had heard someone sing.

"Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keepin'." Now Lucian Gray started to sing. He pushed himself up and turned towards the crowd. "Nothing you can take was ever worth keepin'." He got to his feet. "Can't take my charm. Can't take my humour. Can't take my wealth, 'cause it's just a rumour." He paused for a moment and turned towards the microphone. "Nothing you can take was ever worth keepin'."

His voice echoed around the grounds and Y/N felt her heart swell at his words. For a moment, it felt as though she was back in 13, listening to her mother singing to her as she gently caressed her hair. Her hair had still been h/c then. One of her hands made its way into her hair and tugged on one of her crystal curls. She wished for her h/c locks. She wished that she could hear her mother singing once more. Her head dropped as her tears continued to fall, watering the ground beneath her feet. She wished that she could sing.

"You can't take my sass. You can't take my talkin'." Lucian Gray paused for a moment before shouting, "You can kiss my ass!" He dropped the microphone to the stage and gave the district a low bow, the smirk now returned to his lips. He stepped back and one of the Peacekeepers took him by the arm and pulled him back from the microphone as the Mayor was brought back out.