𝚂𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚗 | 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝙾𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 1

<Y/N's POV>

We sat in a room in the Justice Hall waiting for our family and friends to come in to say goodbye. Usually the boys and girls would be in different rooms and have alone time with their family but since we're family, Liam and I were sitting next to each other in these flimsy chairs. Well, I was sitting. Liam was pacing back and forth until the door opened.

Liam snaps his head up and walks right into mama's arms. Hugging her tight. Daddy walks up to me and hugs me tight as well. Lifting me up from the chair. At this point I couldn't hold back and started crying. Gripping onto his shirt that smelled like salt water. No matter how any times his clothes were washed he always smelled like the ocean. It was comforting. "Daddy, I'm scared." I manage to say in between my sobs. He holds me tighter and I feel him tremble. "It's okay baby, you're gonna be okay. Follow what Liam says and you'll be okay." He says, stroking my hair.

 Mom and dad switch spots. Her grabbing me in a bone crushing hug while my dad does the same to Liam. Mom wasn't making any coherent words due to her crying. She was just babbling. "Liam you have to protect (Y/n), do you understand? Don't let anything happen to your little sister." Daddy says to Liam. That caught my attention. I snapped my head to them, seeing him hold Liam by the shoulders. "What? No! Liam should focus on himself. He needs to live!" I say getting out of moms grasps. "No, it's your brothers job to take care of you. If it were Thomas here, he would've been told the same thing." Daddy says looking at me. 

"But-" I start but get cut off. "No it's okay. He's right. It's our job to protect you and I intend to do that." Liam says. "Time is up." A peace keeper interrupts. "No- No! Wait please!" Mama yells. The peace keeper grabs her arm to start dragging her out. "Wait!" She snatches something out of her hair before putting it in my hand. "You're allowed one thing in the arena from your district! Take it!" She manages to shout before the door shuts once again. I quickly shove it into my pocket before I even had the chance to look at it.

We were then ushered onto the train to start heading to the capital. 

Liam and I walk down the corridor before reaching a large room with a big table filled with all kinds of food, from savory to sweet. Many of which I don't recognize. Our mentors were there already and seated along with Stella. Mags and- Finnick. I don't look at any of them and continue to look at the food on the table. "Come and eat. This is all for you. It's one of the many perks you get for being chosen." Stella says in an odd accent. I had heard it once before in an old film. I think they called it a Transatlantic accent. 

I sit and begin to pick at all the food. Loading my plate up with all the different foods that caught my attention. While I was busy stuffing my face, Liam got straight to the point. "So, how do we do it? How do we survive?" He asks. Obviously, Finnick is the one who answers him but I don't listen. I zone out and thought of my own strategy. I'm making sure Liam gets out of there, and I'll make sure to do whatever I can to make that happen. I know he reassured mom and dad he would protect me but I saw that look on his face when dad asked him to do so. He was hurt. This wasn't just standing up against bullies. This was putting his life on the line for mine. 

I was cutting into a meat of sorts and that's when my hand slips. The knife grazes my left hand and cuts me. I hear a gasp but I keep staring at my hand. And that's when it hits me. How I was gonna make sure not to drag Liam down. Liam was a strong fighter and I knew it. While Thomas was the cool and collected one, Liam was a bit more of a hot head and would constantly get into fights in school for the dumbest reasons. But he always won, and if he had to contain that just to protect me, he's going to end up dead. 

Someone gently grabs my hand and begins to clean the area and put a bandaid on it. While it wasn't a big cut it still needed to be covered in order to heal. I look up and see that Mags was the one who grabbed my hand. I gently smile at her but keep quiet.