Title: Forever Within Him
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Adrian Pucey
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 315
Summary: Adrian is finally going home.
Notes:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Writing Club - Crossover - Hunger Games
The TV Show Episode Monthly Competition: There's No Place Like Home: Write about someone coming home.
Adrian looked at the window. He was finally heading home. To District 10. It was almost unreal.
When his name was drawn to be a part of this year's Hunger Games, it was his worst nightmare coming true. It was the last year his name had to be in the reaping, and he was so close to never being scared about the possibility again.
And then it happened.
"Adrian Pucey!"
Adrian had been so still, afraid to breathe or move a muscle. He thought he had misheard. He had to have misheard.
His name was called again, and he was pushed from behind, forced to walk up to what he was sure would be his death.
Somehow, though, he miraculously survived. He was a victor. A champion. The winner of the Hunger Games.
He didn't feel much like a winner.
He had been forced to kill. Adrian had never been violent. No matter how many bad things happened to him, he tried to never resort to violence.
That all changed with a game that really wasn't a game. He killed. It had been to save himself because in the arena, it was either kill or be killed. He knew he didn't have a choice and none of the other tributes would have hesitated when it came to delivering the final blow.
He did what he had to do. There was no reason for him to feel guilty.
His eyes stared at familiar buildings as his home appeared.
He took a deep breath. There was absolutely no reason to feel guilty. But then why was his gut churning? Why were his hands clammy? Why was he sweating and breathing so heavily?
The Hunger Games, at least for this year, were over. He knew they weren't over in his mind, though. The horrors he saw, the acts he was forced to commit, would forever live within him.