Tom Holland Imagines

The Mentor//T.H.

Since this is a Hunger Games AU it has quite a few more warnings than usual: Mentions of death, death, violence, angst, swearing, talks about prostitution, description of serious injuries. 

Things were always quiet that early in the morning. It was the only time of day you had to escape to the outskirts of the district and have a moment to think. There wasn't much to think about anyways, not that early in the morning at least. You were still so tired that your thoughts didn't have much clarity, but that always changed the morning of the annual reaping.

You were only a kid and didn't have to worry about being a tribute, at least not for two years, but your older brother, Luke, did. It was his fifth year and he had gotten lucky so far. His name was in at least forty five of those slips of paper from the many occasions he had signed up for tesserae.

Your family was one of the poorest in the district and your brother had always been the one to pay for the consequences of your unfortunate economic situation. You could tell your parents were guilty for putting so much pressure over his frail shoulders.

That was why, ever since Luke turned twelve, the morning of the reaping, your house was eerily silent and everyone was on edge. Your parents never slept during the night before, your brother tried to keep himself as collected as possible for their sake, but you knew how scared he really was.

He had been up all night talking to you and you had tried to keep him at ease so he could sleep for at least a few hours. You had left the house once you noticed he had drifted off to sleep.

Still, as you sat there in complete silence, plucking grass from the floor, you couldn't help but feel scared for your brother in case he was the one to get picked. Amongst the many things he had said, Luke had made sure to tell you how much he loved you. It scared you to think about how terrified he sounded as he spoke.

"What are you thinking about?" Someone spoke behind you before taking a seat next to you on the wet grass. You turned to look at Tom, an older boy from school you had talked to about three times.

You noticed a lot of his face was covered in dirt, as if he had just taken a mud bath. He scratched some of the dirt from his nose and cheeks before grabbing a handful of water from the nearby pond and washing it all away.

"Just... I don't know. Don't wanna be home right now," You said honestly and he plopped down next to you once again.

"Tell me about it," Tom sighed. It was the first year his name was going to be in the crystal bowl. His parents had four mouths to feed and not enough money which forced him to sign up for tesserae just like your brother had and it increased the possibilities of his name being drawn out, "My mom's so scared she cannot look me in the eyes without bursting into tears."

You stayed quiet for a few seconds before asking a question with an obvious answer, "It's your first year, isn't it?" Tom nodded. He didn't seem as upset as many of the twelve year olds you had seen on your way to the pond. Considering how many times his family had almost starved to death, you guessed he wasn't afraid of escaping hell only to enter another.

Before any of you could say much, you stood up and cleaned the dirt from your jeans as best as you could, "Guess I'll see you later. Good luck."

Tom could only nod, "Same for your brother."

-

You walked to the place where the reaping was going to be held, Luke right next to you while your hand was wrapped around his in a tight grip. He had to let you go and line up eventually. You stood next to your parents on the very back of the crowd as you waited for your brother's faith to be determined.