Ariabella: The Tribute Who Danced (A Hunger Games Fanfic) Book 1

22.

Ariabella's POV:

My alliance is at our camp, when suddenly we hear footsteps. We turn and see Rylie coming. She's all torn up and bloody. Suddenly she turns into a mutt. The mutt that killed her. She starts chasing us as a mutt and we turn and run. We all get to the beach, where it's a dead end. I have the choice to either go up the ladder and leave my friends to die, or die with my friends.

____

I jolt awake and scream.

"Shhhh, it's ok, go back to sleep," a soft voice says. Then I remember I'm with Grayson.

I snuggle closer to Grayson, and he strokes the hair near my ear.

"Everything will be ok as long as I'm here," I hear Grayson whisper as I fall into a dreamless sleep.

____

"Wake up you two, we're gonna be there soon, you need to look nice," Grace says as I wake up.

Grayson gets up and stretches but I just yawn and lay there.

"I don't want to get up," I complain.

"Come on, we're almost there," Grayson says.

I stare at him.

"Fine, get on my back," Grayson says with a smile.

"Yay," I say excitedly and I jump on his back. He carries me over to my room and drops me onto my bed then gives me a quick kiss then leaves.

I go over to the closet and look through the dresses. I eventually decide on a lavender one with a few ruffles on the bottom and a black ribbon around the waist. I brush out my hair and pin a few pieces on my left side back. Then I slip on a pair of black sandals and head out.

"Good, you got out here just in time, we're about to pull into the train station," Grace says.

We pull into the station and I can hear everybody outside cheering. We step in front of the door.

"You ready?" Grayson asks.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I answer. Grayson takes my hand and as our fingers interlace, the doors open.

The crowd starts cheering and we step out. I put on a huge smile and wave.

Grayson raises our hands and everybody cheers louder. My eyes scan the crowd and I find my mother holding little Adam, and Avia and Aaron are waving like crazy. I smile at them.

Eventually the crowd goes away and I run to my family while Grayson goes to his.

"Mom," I cry and run into my mother's arms.

"Aww, my baby girl, I missed you so much. You gave me quite a scare when I thought you died," my mom says.

"I missed you too mom, and you can thank dad for that one," I say without thinking.

"We'll talk about your father later. For now, let's talk about that boyfriend of yours," my mother says.

"Mom, I know I'm only 16..." I start but my mom interrupts me.

"No, Aria, I'm not yelling at you, I'm just surprised it took you this long to get a boyfriend," my mom says with a laugh.

"I missed you so much!!" Avia yells. I pick her up and hug her tight.

"Let's go meet that boyfriend of yours," my mother says and we walk towards where Grayson is talking to his family.

"Oh, mom, Emilia, this is my girlfriend Ariabella," Grayson says.

"Hello Ariabella, it's so nice to meet you, I'm Quinn," Grayson's mom says and gives me a small hug.

"Hi Ariabella," Grayson's sister, Emilia, says to me.

"Mom, this is Grayson," I say.

"Nice to meet you Grayson, I'm Ashlyn," my mother says.

"You too. You're a lovely boy," my mother says.

"We should probably get to our new houses," I say and turn towards our old house to get my stuff.

____

My mother doesn't want to move to the victors village with me, since she doesn't want to leave the house we all grew up in. I talked to Grayson and his mom and sister aren't going to move either since their father was buried at their house.

So I guess I get a whole house to myself.

My mom walks me to my new house and helps me move in.

"Are you sure you don't want to move in? I have plenty of room," I say to my mom.

"I'm sure," my mother says and kisses my forehead.

"Bye mom, I'll visit a lot, and you can come visit too," I say.

"Bye, good luck," my mother says then heads towards our old house.

____

I'm still in the games, sitting with Grayson. He gives me a kiss and then suddenly turns into Avian. I scream and try to run, but I get caught in the same net Willow got caught in. I struggle to get free, but it's no use.

____

I wake up sweaty and shaking. Its 2am. Suddenly I wish my mom and siblings were here to talk to. Then I remember something.

I get out of bed and slip on a robe over my tshirt, not worrying about my legs since I'm wearing pants. I go down the stairs and slip on a pair of shoes at the front door.

I open the door and slip out into the cool evening air. I hurry across the pathway to Grayson's house, which is across from mine.

I knock on the door, hoping he'll hear.

After about a minute, the door opens, and there stands a very tired looking Grayson.

"Nightmare?" Grayson asks.

I nod.

"C'mon," Grayson says and takes my shaky hand. I take off my slippers and robe at the front door. Grayson leads me up to his room.

Grayson leads me over to his bed and pulls the covers over me. He then crawls under the covers next to me and puts an arm over my still shaking body.

I fall asleep, hoping for no more nightmares.

____

I wake up and notice it's about 4am. I suddenly notice that Grayson is sweating, and is mumbling something.

"Grayson, wake up, Grayson!!" I whisper and sit up.

Grayson jolts awake and looks at me with tears in his eyes. He quickly leans over and kisses me before wrapping his arms tightly around me.

"You were dead. You were dead and I couldn't save you," Grayson whispers.

I hug him back tightly and lay my head on his shoulder.

"It's ok, I'm here, and I'm alive," I whisper. Grayson pulls back from the hug and lays back down. I lay back down and he puts his arm around me once more.

I drift off to a dreamless sleep, which at this point, is the best thing ever.