The Hunger Games | Rilaya

The End

"It's the Capitol. They didn't like our stunt with the berries." I explain.

"What? What are you talking about?" She says.

"It was too rebellious. Shawn gave me a heads up about it so I didn't accidentally make it worse." I say.

"Wait, Shawn. Why didn't you tell me?" She frowns, now turning her attention to our mentor.

"Because you're good with your words. You have the audience eating right out of your hands without even trying. Telling you would've only made you nervous and would've harmed more than helped for your case." Shawn says.

"Maya, on the other hand," He continues, making me groan. "She needed to work on her people skills, as I'm sure we've all noticed. I couldn't have her saying something that only added fuel to the fire."

"Well, I am the 'girl on fire' for a reason." I mutter back.

Shawn pauses and takes a long, hard look at us. "You two are good for each other. I'll see you back in District 12." And with those final words, he leaves us be.

"Are you mad that you didn't know?" I ask Riley.

She shakes her head. "No, Shawn was right. Telling me would've only turned me into a nervous wreck." She takes one look around at the scenery in front of us, although there wasn't too much to look at. Then, her eyes flicker back to me. "What do we do now?"

I give her a quick kiss before pulling back and responding. "We go home."

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful. By the time the train rolls into the station, I'm ridden with nerves, the anticipation killing me. Riley and I stand together, watching through the windows as long stretches of empty plains turn into the grimy, coal stained surface of District 12.

A sense of familiarity rolls over me when the train fully stops. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Riley extend her hand. I take it, holding on tightly. Together, we step outside.

We're immediately bombarded with flashing cameras, a mix of different voices asking us questions. I turn them away, searching the crowd. When my eyes find what I'm looking for, I release Riley's hand and run towards Prim, scooping her up and twirling her around.

"Maya!" She squeals in surprise, giggling. The sound was like music to my ears.

"How's my little duck?" I ask, setting her down.

"Better now that you're here." She replies honestly. I smile and ruffle her hair.

"Maya." Another voice says, making me look up.

"Mom." I say back, unsure of how to act around her.

She doesn't say anything else. Instead, she wraps me in a hug, softly crying. And despite the lack of physical words between us, something had definitely changed for the better in our relationship.

When I pull back, I grin at the last person standing before me. "Huckleberry."

"Shortstack." He replies smoothly. "Would you believe me if I said I missed you?"

"Don't go all soft on me now." I scoff back. Nonetheless, I give him a quick hug.

"Don't you have someone to introduce us to?" Lucas asks when we break apart, staring behind me.

I turn around to see Riley talking with her parents. She occasionally glances back at me, smiling when we make eye contact. I gesture for her to come over and she obliges. I take her hand once again and lead her over to my mother, Prim, and Lucas.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Riley." I introduced her, even though it was kind of pointless.

Like clockwork, Prim starts to gush about how cute the two of us were. My mother just shakes her head at my sister's antics and smiles warmly at Riley.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Riley. You can call me Katy." She says, extending her hand.

Riley shakes her hand eagerly. "Thank you, Katy."

"I'm gonna take Prim home and pack our stuff. We'll meet you in the Victor's Village." My mother says to me. I wave her and Prim goodbye, then turn to see Riley and Lucas apprehensively looking at each other.

"Hi, Lucas. It's nice to finally meet you." Riley says, putting her hand out and extending an olive branch.

Lucas stares at it for a second before a slow smile spreads on his face. He pushes her hand away and hugs her, much to my surprise. He was never one for physical contact with people he hardly knew.

"Thank you for taking care of her." He says softly.

"Of course." Riley says with wide eyes, not expecting the hug either.

I caught up with Lucas real quick, asking him how life in District 12 was while I was gone. After promising to go hunting with me later (just for old times sake, it's not like we needed the food anymore), he leaves as well. Then, it's just Riley and I.

"You know, it's a big world out there." She says.

"Yeah, but it's ours now." I say, reaching over and reconnecting our hands.

With no other words necessary, we begin the journey to our new home together, ready to start the rest of our lives.

Well there ya go guys, I finally came back to finish this story. I hated how I didn't end it properly so I churned out the rest of the chapters real quick in the span of a couple weeks haha. As far as Superstar goes, that story is never gonna be finished lmao. I might make one last chapter just listing what would have happened in the book but other than that my career as a rilaya writer is over. It's been quite a ride yall, thanks for everything.