Truce ~ Hunger Games FanFiction

C H A P T E R 3

  It didn't take long for us to be taken off the train, brought into some room and stripped of our clothes and put in hospital gowns. They washed me down and did my hair. Plucked my brows and waxed my entire body. It was surely an experience and definitely hurt a bit. I was soon put into a completely different room, laying on that table still. I almost fell asleep before I heard footsteps come in. I sat up a there was a black man. He was dressed way less extravagantly compared to everyone else I've seen so far. His clothes were all black and the most out there thing was his gold eyeshadow and ear piercings.

"I'm Cinna." He introduced, shaking my hand.

"Beatrix." I responded.

"Trust me, I know who you are," He gave a smirk, "I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm here to help you in any way that I can."

"You can help me first by getting me out of here." I joked.

"If I could, I would, hun. Sadly, it's not that easy but if you need anything else to be helped with?" I shook my head, "So tonight, is the tribute parade. They take you out and show you off to the world."

"So you're here to make me look like...one of them?" I questioned. I never watched the Hunger Games. I just heard bits about it from kids at school and from what Peeta told me.

"No, never. I'm here to help you make an impression. Usually, they dress people in clothes from their districts."

"And I'm guessing you don't want to dress me like a coal miner?" I raised a brow.

"Exactly. That's boring and overdone. I want to give them something they're going to remember. Did they explain anything about how to get sponsors?"

"A little."

"Well this, Beatrix, is going to help you get sponsors." Cinna placed a hand on my shoulder.

~~~

Cinna lead me out and seeing all of the other tributes made me a bit nervous but I shook it off. I couldn't let these people know I was scared. He pointed out where our chariot was and told me he'd be right over. I saw Peeta standing over there and sped up a bit more, my heels clicking loudly. I got over and gave him a tight hug which he returned.

"I'm nervous." I murmured.

"Don't be." He reassured me, staring at me for a moment before his eyes ran down my body.

"What?" I questioned, "Does it look bad?"

"No...it's nothing." He laughed, glancing away.

"Seriously, what?" I furrowed my brows.

"It's just that you look amazing and I haven't seen you in a dress since we were kids." He explained and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Thank you..." I looked down at my shoes to hide my red cheeks.

"Peeta, did Portia tell you the plan with the costumes?" Cinna asked as he walked up so I quickly looked back up and over to him.

"Yeah, you're setting us on fire, right? Is it safe?" Peeta responded.

"This is safe, I promise. This isn't real fire, these suits are built so you won't feel a thing." Cinna explained to both of us.

"Looks pretty real to me." Peeta said looking at the stick in Cinna's hand which burned with a flame.

"That's the idea," Cinna said and then looked over at me, holding up the burning stick, "Ready? Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." I told him. Cinna lit both of us up and we boarded the chariot, waiting for our turn to go out. It took a while considering that we were the 12th District. As soon as we got into view of the people, they went crazy and their screams were loud and wild. The number of people watching us was insane. I had never seen this many people in my entire life. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat and I swallowed hard.

"Are you scared?" Peeta asked.

"I'm fine." I lied, giving a big smile and he smiled right back. I looked around, keeping my fake smile on for the crowd and waving a bit. I felt Peeta softly interlace his fingers with mine. I looked over to him, tilting my head.

"The crowd'll love it." He told me and I just laughed at him which made him laugh. I took our hands and raised them high in the air.

"And they'll love this more." I spoke cheekily.

"Anything else we can do?" He joked.

"We could kiss." I narrowed my eyes with a smirk and we both began laughing again, totally forgetting where we were and why we were here. With our hands still raised, we looked around at the crowd. If we were being honest, my nerves had calmed down with joking around with Peeta. The chariots soon pulled to a halt and President Snow waved down at us and everyone watching.

"Welcome. Welcome. Tributes, we welcome you. We salute the courage and your sacrifice," He greeted and the crowd went wild. Peeta and I shared a concerned look, smiles not on our faces any longer, "And we wish you happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" The chariots soon started to move again and we went into the building that stood before us. We eventually pulled to a stop again. Cinna and Portia and their helpers walked up to us quickly.

"That was amazing." Cinna complimented.

"We are all anybody's going to be talking about!" Effie cheered with a bright smile on her face. Somehow, I felt it was a bad thing that everyone was going to be talking about us.

"So brave." Haymitch spoke sarcastically.

"Be careful. With how much you drink, you might not want to be near an open flame." I perked an eyebrow, sucking my teeth.

"You should be careful. With how much..." His voice trailed off as his gaze moved behind me. I looked back to see a blonde kid with wicked muscles staring at me. I looked back to Haymitch, confused and concerned and waiting for a response, "Let's, uh, let's go upstairs." He said while still staring at the kid.

"So, each of the districts get their own floor and because you're from 12, you get the penthouse," Effie told us as we made our way to the elevator. It was a very quick elevator ride, only seconds to get to the top. 

Wow, another update. I know I've been cutting off in weird areas but I'm not trying to make the chapters super duper long! BUUUUT (to repeat myself again) I hope you like the story so far and hopefully I might get two chapters out this week... We'll see kiddos.