*2 years later*
"(Y/N)! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!"
"Leave me alone" I grumble, wanting to fall back asleep. I heard footsteps thud up the stairs and my bedroom door click open. "What do you want, Newt?"
I heard him chuckle before he plopped down on the bed beside me. "It's not what I want, it is was the Capitol wants"
I lift my head up and look at him before saying in a sickly sweet voice, "And what does the Capitol want?"
"For you to mentor the tributes." He shrugged.
"No."
"Please, (Y/n)."
"No."
"It's your turn! Last time I mentored the tributes!"
"And they died" I snorted. He gave a blank look. "Why cant Finnick do it?" I whined.
"Because he already has enough on his mind right now."
"What about Mags?" I question.
"Do you seriously want to give so much trouble to such a sweet old lady?"
"Are you talking about yourself, Newt?" I grin.
He had a look of disbelief on his face. "Excuse me?For a fact, this," he gestured to his entire body, "-is NOT an old lady, it is anything but an old lady."
I chuckle, "Whatever makes you sleep at night."
He smirks before lowering his voice, "You perfectly know well what makes you sleep at night."
My cheeks turned red as I blushed very hard. "Shut up, you nasty boy." I threw my pillow at him and he laughed at my embarrassment.
"Okay but seriously, will you become the mentor for this year?" He asked.
"Ugh fine. But you better be there in the Capitol with me. I dont want to bump into Snow by accident and have to deal with him alone"
"Deal."
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"I'm such a horrible mentor" I murmur, my head in my hands. Newt rubs my lower back in a soothing manner, trying to comfort me. Trying being the key word.
"It's not your fault." He says in a low voice.
"Of course it is! I'm the bleedin' mentor and I let the tributes die! On the first day!" I exclaimed. Newt let out a sigh. "They should've ran for the trees."
"But they were supposed to be with the careers.."
"Well the bloody careers killed them!" I snapped. "That Cato guy from 2.... along with his district partner.. Clo-" I cut myself off, my eyes widened with realization. "Stephanie's sister" I whispered.
"What?" Newt asked, eyes filled with confusion.
"Stephanie told me her sister's name was Clove... she is in the games this year!" I said. "What do you think I should do? Should I help her? For Steph?"
"I dunno (Y/n)... she isn't from our district. People back home would be furious that we let our tributes die and save another district's." He said. I frowned, torn between helping her and actually listening to Newt. "Love? C'mon, let's get out of here."
I nodded and stood up. "Can I just see Clove for one last time?"
"Sure." We made our way to the big hall where they broadcasted the games. It was night time and the careers were near the cornucopia by the lake. A girl, looking very much like Stephanie was sharpening her dagger, a grin on her face.
"Let's go home" I murmer after a while. Newt took my hand in his and the both of us made our way out of the room, not bothering to notice the girl from 12, sleeping on a tree, far away from the careers.
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"(Y/N)! Come down here for a moment!" Finnick called out, gaining my attention from the book I was reading.
"Alright!" I replied, placing the book beside my bed. I rolled out of bed and ran down the stairs to see Finnick, sitting in front of the television, a bowl of chips in his lap. "Geez, why don't you make yourself at home?" I asked with sarcasm.
With a smirk in reply, he nodded towards the screen, where an intense fight between 3 tributes was going on. Nothing much was visible, with the arena being dark, but I could make out a girl aiming an arrow at two boys on top of the cornucopia, the bulkier one using the other as a human shield. She released the arrow, hitting the bulky boy in the back of him palm, who lost his grip on the other tribute and fell down where many dog like mutations attacked him. With a shot of an arrow and the blast of the cannon, the boy did not move anymore. The mutts ran away towards the forests and day light broke out.
That is when we could see the tributes clearly. More so their districts. 12. The new rule that was introduced on the 5th day of the games was that if the two tributes from the same district were the last ones standing, then they both win. So, for the first time, there would be two winners.
Suddenly, as though in perfect timing, an announcement rang through the air. "The previous rule that stated that there can be two victors if the tributes are from the same district, has been revoked. Only one can be crowned victor."
I frowned. The boy looked up at the girl with sad eyes. He murmured something but the girl quickly walked towards him while shaking her head.
The two of them seemed to have a heated conversation, the boy determined to win. Suddenly, the dark haired girl reached into her pockets and pulled out some berries, specifically nightlocks.
My eyes widened as she dropped some into the his palm, both of their hands trembling.
I could see her mouth move as she counted down.
3.
2.
1.
"STOP!" a voice shouted through the arena, moments before their lips touched the berries. They lowered their hands, and now in a much calmer voice, Seneca Crane spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of the 74th annual hunger games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"
Peeta, the boy, let out a sigh of relief as Katniss hugged him. A hovercraft came to collect them. He held her hand and kissed the side of her head and the both of them climbed aboard and the craft left the arena. The screen went blank for a moment and the Capitol's symbol came up and the anthem was playing in the background.
I diverted my wide eyes to Finnick who looked at me with a sort of look that said 'what the hell is gonna happen now?'
"Finnick, tell me everything about Katniss Everdeen. Who she was and how she played the game right until she pulled those berries out."
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"The tributes from our district never mentioned anything about the ones from 12." I mumble.
"She apparently got 11 in her assessment scores." Newt said, who was pacing around the living room. Finnick meanwhile was fuming.
"She released an arrow at the Capitol." He said with gritted teeth. "And she expected to walk away freely? They are going to kill her entire family!"
I winced at his wordings and voice. "She volunteered for her sister. There is no chance they are gonna kill her family. They will be a bloody rebellion."
"Well then they are going to target someone else now, maybe their whole district. And that boy, Peeta. 'Star-crossed lovers'. Do you think that's true?"
"I think it's bullsh*t" I said, annoyed at Katniss Everdeen. "Peeta may be head over heels for her, but she is putting up an act and Snow probably sees through it."
Annie, who was oblivious to what was going on, stood behind me and started to braid my hair. I smiled at her, for her innocence that her eyes carried.
"But why on earth would she pull out those berries?" Newt said, his eyes filled with worry and a bit of anger. "What if the Capitol decides to scr*w your life somehow?" He said looking directly at me. "For using berries to kill the careers?"
I looked down at my feet without a reply. Annie kept looking between Finnick, Newt and I, a confused look on her face. "Well she used the berries to save Peeta and herself right? So that they can spend their time with each other. Why would the Capitol not want that?" She said casually.
Newt's eyes widened with realization and he exclaimed, "That's it! If the Capitol believes that Everdeen pulled those berries out because she loves Peeta, then they wouldn't accuse her of going against the Capitol!"
"But she doesn't love him. Like (Y/n) said, it's all an act." Finnick said.
"She should pretend to love him if she knows what is best for her." Newt muttered.
"She already is." I said and pointed towards the television screen, where Caesar Flickerman sat on one of the posh Capitol couches with Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.
Katniss was speaking in a monotonous manner, about how much she was grateful to the Capitol for giving her a chance with Peeta. I cringed at the fake display of romance going on.
"Well anyway," Newt said. "Let's take our minds out of this matter and relax for a while. Finn, do you have to go to the Capitol?"
"I don't think so, Snow would have other plans right now." He gestured towards the screen. "His plate must be full."
"Perfect."
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"Miss Everdeen and Mr Mellark ! District 4 welcomes you once again!" Our mayor announced after Katniss and Peeta finished their speeches. Being victors, we stood on the stage in front of the statue, in the district centre. As soon as they got off the stage and went into the hall, I pulled Katniss, by her elbow into the room where the tributes get to see their families one last time.
"What are you doing!? Let go of me!" She exclaimed.
"Shush! Dont shout! They'll get to know we are here!" I replied in a low voice before locking the door. "Listen, I need to know exactly what Snow did after you pulled those berries out."
"And why should I tell you that? I've already had enough of people telling me that the berries were a bad move." She snapped.
"That's cause they were. You need to tell me everything, because I have a feeling that Snow is going to do whatever it takes to hurt you, and I really really hope it doesn't include any of the previous victors."
"Snow threatened to kill a- a friend of mine back home," she mumbled, grudgingly. "Said I needed to convince him that I am in love with Peeta."
"You aren't doing a bloody good job at it." I shrugged.
"Gee thanks." She said sarcastically. "He said that I needed to convince everyone that the reason I pulled those berries out was because I couldn't live without Peeta, not because I wanted to defy the Capitol."
"There are many fights and rallies going on you know? In district 8 and a little in 4 too. You need to do something bizarre to get his attention. Like get married." I said.
She frowned and looked down at her heels, "I just don't want to hurt anyone more. I'm tired of doing so."
"I understand, but you are in a tight spot right now and you need to be careful, or else a lot of people will get hurt." She nodded and I gave a small sad smile. "See you around." I said and walked out of the room. I walked down the corridor towards the exit when I bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed and turned around to find Peeta standing there, rubbing his shoulder.
"No no, it's my fault. I should've seen where I was going. You're (Y/n) right?"
"Yeah," I shrugged.
"You played your games really well, taught me quite a bit."
"Eh. It was mostly luck." I said truthfully. "But I'm glad I was of help!"
"Have you seen Katniss? I've been looking for her..."
"Yeah, she went down that corridor" I said, pointing towards the path that I just came from.
"Thanks! It was good to meet you (Y/n)"
"Good to meet you too, Peeta" I said, with a warm smile. I walked out of the hall and towards the Victor's village.
He is a sweet lad. It's sad that he got dragged into this mess.
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