Through the Eyes. (The Hunger Games fanfiction)

Chapter 6

On the day of the Interviews, my nerves are at an all time high. Last night, I hung out with Elian until it was curfew, and then we said goodbye and he pecked me on the cheek. The heat is still in my cheeks, 30 minutes into the Interviews.

I stand in front of the body length mirror, spinning in a circle, watching my dress fill in around me.

"You look gorgeous, darling." Ronal says, standing behind me.

The dress is a dark navy, that stretches all the way to the floor, with cut out sleeved and heels that match perfectly.

"A few final touches," He says and takes two prices of my curled hair, twists them, and pins them to the back of my head.

"There, now you're perfect." Ronal says and takes a step back, marveling at his work.

"Not quite," Trachea says from the door was and I turn towards her. She pulls something from her pocket and orders me to turn around. She puts a necklace around my neck and straps it. I hold it in my hand and examine it. It's the one my dad gave me, with the tree.

"I found it on your night stand this morning. Figured it was important." Trachea says.

"Thank you." I smile and hug her.

"20 minutes till curtain." Omar says, sticking his head in.

I pick up my dress to help me walk and follow Omar to the entrance of the stage, where the other tributes are lined up, ready for their interviews. I walk past Elian, and try not to be obvious; but I can't help but marvel at how handsome he looks. I turn away quickly when I feel Trachea's eyes on me, but in my peripheral vision I can see him staring. I line up behind Theca and watch as Asher stands behind me.

"Wow," He says. I turn to look at him. He looks great. "You look good."

"You clean up nicely yourself." I say and turn back around. The television screen in front of the line allows us to see what's happening on the stage. Loan Foreseen is there now, introducing Iris, who confidently makes her way across the stage and sits down. She's sarcastic and witty the whole time, and the crowd loves her. Which is surprising, because I can't stand her. After she's done, Theca goes up and brags about how he's going to win, and no body is going to stop him. I roll my eyes.

"Just remember Ariston," Asher says in my ear, "don't let them know about the second alliance. Just go up there and act like a career." He says and I nod. Loan introduces me once Theca is finished, and I begin making my way proudly on the stage. As soon as the lights hit my body, the crowd looses it and cheers widely. I beam into the crowd and sit down, shaking Loan's hand once they settle down.

"Beautiful night, isn't it Miss Ariston?" He says. I nod and smile.

"It is indeed."

"Now Ariston I want to hop right in here and get the juicy details of why you volunteered. And I think I can speak for all of Panem on that note." He says and gestures to the crowd. They cheer again.

"Well Loan, I had always dreamed of going in the Games and making my district proud. The day before the reaping, I was training and was doing amazing, like always," I giggle and the crowd laughs along with me. "and I just had this tiny voice say, 'Volunteer! Volunteer!' It drove me crazy!" I say and the crowd laughs again. It wasn't exactly the truth, but I know if I told that the head trainer would get in trouble. I think I'm doing a pretty good job at this.

"So Ariston, you have talents with multiple weapons, and apparently tiny voices in your head. But do you think it's enough to win the games?"

"I know it's enough!" I smile and the crowd cheers again.

"There were pretty high scores during training this year, are there any people you should be worried about?" Loan asks.

"I think people should be worried about me!" I laugh and the crowd joins in.

"I'll tell you one thing Loan, in all my years of watching the games, this year will be the most exciting, gruesome game yet, and you know why? Because I will put on a show for all of you!" I say and point at the crowd, give them a wink and then a smile. They go crazy.

"Thank you Ariston. Ariston Mallow everybody!" Loan says and I walk off stage, trying to scrape the smile off my face.

"Great job sweetheart!" Trachea says and hugs me. I look over to Elian and see him shaking his head, avoiding eye contact. I furrow my brow and try to look him in the eyes, but he won't look at me.

Asher's interview went as just as good as mine did, maybe even better. The whole time, girls were screaming after every word he said. He was just as confident and cocky, maybe even more. His game was defiantly raised, since I had a higher score than him.

He comes off and Trachea hugs him as well. I try to look at Elian again, but he's in a deep conversation with Misty. She laughs and puts his hand on his chest. I feel anger rise in my body. A loose piece of hair falls from her braid and he tucks it behind her ear quickly, rubbing her cheek in the process. I want to be sick.

"Can we just go up to the room?" I ask, my eyes closed and face squinted, interrupting whatever conversation they were having.

"Are you feeling alright dear?" Trachea asks, feeling my forehead.

"No I'm not, can we just go?" I say and they nod, leading me to the apartment. Once I'm inside I rush to my room and slam the door behind me, stripping out of my dress and putting on the pajamas they gave me. I crawl into the bed and want to cry, but there's no emotion. Nothing. Just a blankness.

I hear a small knock on my door and Asher comes into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I don't feel good, go away." I snap, my voice muffled by the blankets.

"That's a flat-out lie." Asher snickers.

I sit up. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what you see in District 5."

"What are you talking about?" I ask, trying to his the emotion in my voice.

"I saw you looking at him today. And then I saw what he did to that girl, and how you looked when he was doing it."

I stayed silent, and sat with my knees to my chest, staring at the carpet.

"It took everything in me not to punch him."

"Why would you punch him?" I ask, looking up at Asher. He changed and he's now in a t-shirt and pajama pants. His hair is ruffled. He actually looks kinda cute.

"Cause if he doesn't see how much better you are than the girl from his district, then I thought some sense had to be knocked in him." He laughs. I smile.

"I should go talk to him, shouldn't I? You know, confront him about it?" I ask. Asher's face drops.

"Yeah, I mean, if that's what you want to do."

"Okay then, I'm going to talk to him." I say and stand up.

It wasn't until I was in the elevator until I realized that Asher Tristan likes me.