The Celebrity Hunger Games

Chapter 18: "It's Not Your Fault"

District 6

Jay McGuiness’ p.o.v

I couldn’t help feel that I deserved this. As much as people said it wasn’t, I knew it was my fault that Max had died. I tried to keep looking towards the future, but when you had caused your best friend’s death, it would take a lot to forget it. I wasn’t planning on winning the Hunger Games. I wasn’t as good a fighter as Max and I hadn’t really had to hunt. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that I could do what Max hadn’t. That I could win. But dying would be the way that I would repay Max for what I had done.

My brothers, Luke and Tom, came to visit me first. “Where’s mum and dad?” I asked them. “Mum was too upset, she didn’t want you to see her crying” Luke said. I felt instantly bad when he said that, I didn’t think about the impact on my family when I volunteered. “Why did you do it?” Tom asked me. I shrugged, not wanting to admit that the reason I volunteered was because I didn’t volunteer last time, and Max had died as a result. “I told you already, Max’s death wasn’t your fault” Luke said. “This has nothing to do with Max” I lied. Luke and Tom looked at each other sceptically, neither of them saying anything. Then they both hugged me. “Win this” Tom whispered. I nodded. “I’m serious. Come back to the District as the winner” Tom said. I nodded and said I would. Ignoring that I had already ruled this out. I couldn’t win, it was impossible.

I was just about to leave the room when it opened suddenly and Siva Kaneswaran came in. “Um, hi” I said, gesturing for him to sit down. “I wanted to know why you did it” he said. I shrugged. “Please tell me, I want to know” he said. “I just thought that it was the right thing to do” I said. We were both silent for a moment. “I knew your friend, Max” he said. This information surprised me. “Not well, but I knew of him. I left school as my little brother was starting. He said Max looked out for him. I had always wanted to thank him, but he died before I had the chance” he said. I shrugged, not knowing what to say, not wanting to talk about Max. “Volunteering isn’t going to bring him back” he said. “I’m not volunteering for him” I lied again, but Siva shook his head. “You are. But you shouldn’t be. I should be here, not you” he said. “Did you come here to tell me that?” I asked. “I came here to thank you” he said. “For volunteering for you?” I questioned him. “For saving me from death” he said, just as the peacekeepers came to take him away.

Taylor Swift’s p.o.v

I twirled my father’s wedding ring around as I waited for my parents to come in. My parents had taught me to hunt, and even though I had never needed to use my hunting knowledge, I could never forget it. District 6 were not the least wealthy district, but we weren’t the richest either. My parents were well respected and my family had lived in the district for generations. Not everybody knew about us, but the people that did liked us and looked out for us. But I wasn’t naïve enough to think that the Hunger Games would be like this. The Games was every man (or woman) for themselves. I would not have a safety blanket or someone to turn to in the Games. It would just be me. And I didn’t know if I could handle that.

My parents were not crying. They looked strangely prepared for this. “You can hunt” my dad said to me. I rolled my eyes. “I know I can hunt. The Hunger Games has nothing to do with hunting. I need to learn to survive” I said. My dad nodded. “For some people, hunting is how they survive” he said. I knew he was talking about the poorer districts. It was no secret that the other districts had to fight for their food. “Everyone else is going to be so much more prepared than me” I said, thinking about how the beginning districts had their wealth and the last districts had their hunting abilities and they knew how to survive. Being from the middle district gave me no advantages. “You just have to believe in yourself” my mother said. I nodded. “I do believe in myself” I lied, not wanting them to know that I had no faith in myself. Then they left, and I felt more alone than I ever had.

I left the room and saw the other tribute heading towards the train. “Hey, wait!” I called to him. He turned around and spotted me running towards him. “I’m Taylor Swift” I said to him, shaking his hand. “I’m Jay, Jay McGuiness” he said, still not smiling. “I always wanted to apologise” I said quickly. He looked down at me, confused. “Apologise?” he asked. “Your friend died. I always wanted to say sorry. You guys were obviously really close and you changed when he died” I said, trying not to upset him. “You noticed me?” he asked me. I rolled my eyes. “I notice everything” I said, causing him to laugh. The first time I had ever seen him smile. “He was my best friend” he said. “So you volunteered for him” I stated. It wasn’t a question, I knew that no sane person would volunteer for these Games for no reason. He hesitated, then he smiled slightly and nodded. “You don’t smile very often” I said. He shrugged. “I haven’t had much to smile about in the last year” he said. I nodded, knowing that if I was in his position, I wouldn’t be smiling either. “So, are you trying to win for Max?” I asked him. He shrugged, losing the brief smile that he had had. “I’m sorry” I said, knowing that I had upset him. “Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault” he said. “Still, I’ll try not to upset you for at least an hour” I joked. He laughed, and walked towards the train. I followed him, ignoring what we were walking towards. The Hunger Games.