THE HUNGER GAMES

A - Chapter 3

"Hello again, my dear Panemians," Mr. O'Hare began.

"Panemians...?" Joey whispered. Pacey shook his head, just as puzzled as Joey about the president's word choice.

"I know this is all rather rushed, but trust me, it'll all be worth it," the short man went on, smoothing out his satin suit. His setup was exclusively white, so it was a tad bit startling when an orange blob poked itself into frame.

"What the..." Pacey began.

"Is that..."

"VECTOR! OH YEAH," the blob revealed itself to be a part of Vector's extravagant outfit. He had opted out of his usual ill-fitting sweatsuit and exchanged it for a velvet unitard, which was equally as disturbing to look at.

"Ah, yes. Another great surprise: Vector, the man you all know and love, will be joining us for our final Hunger Games! Let's hear it for Vector, folks!"

Crickets. Pacey and Joey were stunned.

"Jack, Dougie, Andie, Jen! Get down here, you've gotta get a load of this," Pacey yelled to his roommates. They all rushed to the TV immediately, followed by a crash from a nearby window.

"Did somebody say my name?" Dawson Leery said, holding back tears from the broken glass.

"Um, no, nobody said anything even remotely close..." Joey raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, that's embarrassing," Dawson said as he awkwardly laughed.

"Yeah, it is," Pacey smirked.

"Oh my gosh, is that Vector?" Andie interrupted, jaw on the floor as she gazed at the TV.

"Yeah! Can you believe it?" Joey scoffed.

"...let the reaping begin!" Vector chimed in. "We'll begin with District 1..."

The gang tensed up. They were in District 4, meaning their reaping would commence relatively soon.

"From District 1, our very first tribute... Alina Starkov!"

"Hey, I read a book about her!" Doug exclaimed, holding up his new copy of Shadow and Bone.

"Of course you did, Dougie," Pacey rolled his eyes.

"It's a good book..." Doug frowned.

"Now, our second tribute... oh, wait, hold on," Vector said. Mr. O'Hare was frantically tapping his shoulder and gesturing towards his earpiece. Vector leaned over, slightly annoyed, and let the president whisper something in his ear.

"Well, folks, I believe we have a volunteer already!" Vector announced. "What's his name again? Cardigan?"

"Kirigan," Mr. O'Hare smiled glossily. "General Kirigan. Otherwise known as... the Darkling."

"I READ ABOUT HIM TOO!!!" Doug erupted in excitement.

"WOULD YOU PLEASE CALM YOURSELF, DOUGLAS?" Pacey snarled.

"Jeez, Pace, no need to lash out like that," Dawson remarked.

"Why are you still here?" Joey asked.

"Let's all calm down here, guys..." Andie said nervously, but she was drowned out by the argument.

"I'm here because I love you, Joey! Can't you see that? Ow!" Dawson burst into tears and Joey couldn't tell if it was because of his overwhelming emotions or the fact that a piece of glass was still stuck in his behind.

"Pacey loves me, Dawson! You're just a creep!"

"You tell him, sister!" Jack chimed in.

"Guys..." Andie tried again.

"Pacey doesn't know you the way I know you!" Dawson yelled, standing from the floor.

Jen retreated back upstairs. She was tired of their shenanigans.

"Yeah, cause I'm not a total possessive psycho creep who tries too hard to be deep!" Pacey said, raising his fist.

"Guys!" Andie screamed at the top of her lungs. Even O'Hare and Vector paused at the sound.

"They're announcing the District 4 tributes," she huffed.

"Okay, I don't know about you, Aloysius, but I'm getting tired of picking these names individually. So..." Vector reached into the bowl and grabbed five ballets. Of course, these ballots were all picked meticulously, but O'Hare and Vector didn't want people to catch on to their little scheme.

"AHEM! From District 4, we have Pacey Witter, Joey Potter, Jack McPhee, Andie McPhee, Doug McPhee, and, finally... Dawson Leery."