The Odds | NCT DREAM

Chapter 7

"Those are both good scores." Taeyong said, clapping his hands.

"Shh, I want to hear the rest." Jade quickly said as Renjun appeared on the screen.

"From District 2, Huang Renjun with a score of 11."

"He's a good one." Jaehyun commented. Eleven was very high, probably the highest of all the tributes.

"Kang Bora with a score of 8."

"Zhong Chenle with a score of 7."

"Lee Donghyuck with a score of 9."

"Jin Hyewon with a score of 8."

The Careers had all scored high.

"Park Jisung with a score of 3." Jade winced, feeling bad for the boy.

"He won't last long." Jeno whispered to her.

"Na Jaemin with a score of 10." Jade's eyes widened. She made a mental note to avoid Jaemin.

"That's higher than I expected." Jade heard Taeyong mumble.

"From District 12, Lee Mark with a score of 11." The room went silent, the only noise being from the television as Doyoung continued to annouce the last tribute before the screen went dark.

"Two elevens." Jaehyun muttered to no one in particular. An eleven was rare, but two of them? That was even rarer.

"They were all high." Taeyong noted. It was true, out of the twenty-three tributes, ten of them scored above eight, two of them being elevens and three of them being tens. Their two older brothers turned to face them.

Johnny turned on the screen, watching the bets being made and rapidly changing

Lee Jeno: 5-1
Jung Jadelyn: 5-1

Huang Renjun: 3-1
Kang Bora: 10-1

Zhong Chenle: 35-1

It quickly changed.

Zhong Chenle: 30-1

Lee Donghyuck: 7-1
Jin Hyewon: 15-1

Park Jisung: 60-1

Na Jaemin: 15-1

Jaemin's was changing fast.

Na Jaemin: 12-1
Na Jaemin: 11-1
Na Jaemin: 10-1

Mark's was probably the fastest.

Lee Mark: 70-1
Lee Mark: 60-1
Lee Mark: 50-1
Lee Mark: 40-1
Lee Mark: 30-1
Lee Mark: 25-1

Jade gulped. The Careers had good bets but the others were quickly catching up. She was impressed by Renjun though, it seemed that most people expected him to be the next victor.

If he wins, you die. Jade shook the thought out of her head. It was too soon to be thinking about her own death. She turned her attention to Jaehyun and Taeyong, who had began to give them concerned looks.

"You two need to make sure the Career pack takes down the any of your enemies as soon as possible, you understand?" Taeyong told them. Jade and Jeno nodded their heads.

"Good, let's talk about your stories for the interviews then." Jaehyun said, quickly changing the topic.

...

"How did you get an eleven?" Jade asked Renjun as they sat in their seats on the balcony.

"I don't know, maybe it was the crossbow." Renjun confessed. Jade slowly nodded.

"You're a Capitol favourite." Jade said with a chuckle, a hint of sadness in her voice. Renjun noticed this a quickly grabbed her chin, turning her head so that she faced him.

"They just like tributes that have a story, something different. To them, I'm an emotionless killer. The gamemakers probably gave me a high score just to keep my image." Renjun told her as he slid his hand back down to his side.

"Are you going with that image for the interviews tomorrow?" Jade asked him. Renjun nodded.

"I'll be keeping it as long as I can. We all need as much help from the sponsors for as long as we can." Renjun told her. "What's your story?"

"I'm not sure yet to be honest." Jade admitted. Jaehyun had suggested being an attractive female which would help her gain the attention of the Capitol's males but Jade wasn't sure if that was exactly what she wanted her image to be.

"Just go with the flow. Come up with it while you're up there, it might be funner that way." Renjun said with wink. Jade couldn't help but smile at his words.

"The games are so soon." Jade said as the thought came into her head.

"Yeah, the interviews are always the night before the games and that's already tomorrow." Renjun said.

"Tomorrow night, we'll all be friends and when we wake up, we'll have to kill each other." Jade pointed out. Renjun nodded.

"That's what makes us entertaining. They let us train together, get to know each other, then make us fight until there's only one survivor." Renjun stated. Jade leaned forward on the railing.

"We're just pawns in their game." Jade said softly as she stared into the night. For years, Jade had been waiting for this moment, for the opportunity to be part of the Hunger Games. She was trained to kill without batting an eye. But now that she was here, she didn't want it anymore. She had grown attached to some of the tributes, and was scared of losing them.

The Careers had become part of her family. Haechan was hilarious. She couldn't help but laugh at his dumb jokes that he made just to piss Renjun off. Jeno and her had became buddies, overcoming the differences they had at the academy, working together to survive instead. Jade has spent most of the time with the three boys, but Bora and Hyewon were both nice to her as well, helping Jade fix her hair when needed. Last but not least, Renjun, the emotionless boy that laughed and smiled whenever they had their late night talks. All of that would be gone once they all stepped foot into the arena.

The thought of the interviews, sponsors, and the games made Jade's stomach clench.

"I feel sick." Jade said as she held her stomach. Renjun looked at her with concern before pulling her chair closer to his.

"Don't think too much about it, alright? Just don't think and do whatever you want." Renjun told her as he wrapped an arm around her, softly patting her shoulder. Jade took the time to close her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I just wish time could stop." Jade admitted. A small chuckle escaped Renjun's lips.

"I do too but we all know that time doesn't stop for anyone." Renjun told her.

Once again, Renjun's words just had to be right.

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JAEMIN HAS BLUE HAIR OM- wait he always had blue hair, didn't he