The Celebrity Hunger Games

Chapter 15: "Look After Her"

District 3

Niall Horan’s p.o.v

I couldn’t even look at Miley after she volunteered. What was she doing? I went straight into the side room, ignoring her calls after me. I anxiously waited for my parents and my brother to come and see me. So many people volunteered for these Games, why did I have to come from the district where no one wanted to compete?

Suddenly my parents came in. My mother was crying but my dad looked happy. “Why are you smiling like that?” I asked him nervously. “I’ve always wanted one of my children to win the Games” he said. This was when I understood. My brother Greg was now too old to compete, so all of my father’s hopes for winning the Games lied with me. “I might not win dad” I said, honestly believing that I wouldn’t. He shook his head. “The winning doesn’t matter, I’ll be proud of you either way” he said. I rolled my eyes. “Losing means death” I reminded him. There was silence. “Then make sure you don’t lose” he said, as if this was the easiest thing in the world.

My brother Greg came to see me next. He hadn’t lived at home in a long time, so I hadn’t seen him in months before I saw him today at the reapings. “How are you?” he asked me. I resented this question, how else could I be feeling? I had just been entered for a competition in which the odds of me winning means 23 people dying. People that I didn’t even know and would certainly never see again after the Games, no matter who won. When I thought about this and realised that Miley, the person I loved most in the world, was one of the other 23 people, I instantly felt sick. “I’m nervous” I said. He pulled me into a hug, his familiar smell making me feel slightly dizzy. “You’ll be fine” he said. I shook my head. “You don’t know that, you can’t know that” I said. “You have a good chance. You’ve always been a fighter” he said. I didn’t see how this was true, I had never had to fight for everything, it wasn’t even hard to get the Tesserae, although the fact that I had meant that I was now competing. “Just believe in yourself, you’ll be fine” he said. And because he said this, he gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, I could be.

My next guest was an unexpected visitor. At first when he came into the room I didn’t recognise him. Then I looked properly. He was Miley’s father. His eyes were red, as if he had just been crying. I guessed he had just come from Miley’s room. “Only one of you can win, I understand that” he said, before even saying hello. I nodded, not feeling as if I should speak in case I interrupted him. “I know that you and my daughter may not have the highest chance to win. You may not die first, but that doesn’t mean you’ll win” he continued. This took away all the faith that Greg had given to me. “I just have one request” he said, looking seriously at me.” Yes?” I asked him softly, my voice less than a whisper. “Look after her. Look after my daughter” he said. And I promised that I would.

Miley Cyrus’ p.o.v

Niall wouldn’t look at me as we both left the stage. I didn’t know why he was so upset. My father had told me that we would be together, so wasn’t this the obvious solution? I wanted to talk to him, wanted to ask him if I had done the wrong thing. “Niall!” I called loudly. He either didn’t hear me, or he was pretending not to hear me because he was angry. I didn’t know what to do. Did he still love me?

I waited in the little side room for my parents to say goodbye. People hardly ever acknowledged this. The fact that this time was for our loved-ones to say goodbye. Because once the Games started, 23 of us would never see our loved-ones again. My mum came into the room first. I didn’t know why my dad didn’t come with her. “Why did you do that?” she asked me. I sensed sadness or disappointment coming from her, but I couldn’t stop smiling. “Dad said that Niall and I were meant to be together, I think this was his plan” I said, honestly believing that what I was saying was true. My mum looked down and took a deep breath. “Your dad is not a fortune teller. Half the time, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about” she said. I dismissed her thoughts. “That’s not true. Every year he says that I won’t be picked, and I never have been” I said. “You’ve never had more than 9 slips. There are so many eligible girls in this district; the odds are always in your favour. That’s all” she said. I was stunned. Then my father walked in. “You lied to me” I said. He looked confused. “What do you mean?” he asked me. “You made me think that you knew what was happening when really, all it was, was a couple of lucky guesses” I said. He looked hurt. “I never lied to you. I never actually said I could tell the future” he said. To be honest, he never actually had. “You mislead me” I said. “Miley, I love you. You’re my daughter. I just wanted you to be happy” he said, putting his arms around me. “I volunteered because of what you said” I whispered into his jacket. “No honey, you volunteered because you didn’t want to leave Niall” he said. Which was true, I loved him. “He loves you, a lot” he said. I shuddered, thinking about whether or not that was true. “I love him” I said. “I know” he said softly.

When everyone had left I knocked on Niall’s door. “I love you” I said softly from the doorway. He came up to me quickly and kissed me. “I love you too” he said. “I’m sorry I did this” I said to him. He took a deep breath. “Well, maybe your dad was right. Maybe this was the plan all along” he said. I hoped he was right.

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