Author's Note: So, I had this idea and I wrote it. I think I'm going to make more since people seem to like it. The title is taken from the song Jerome by Lykke Li. My beta for this story is Sebchel on tumblr. If you don't know her, you should.


Somehow it was that time of year again. It was the night before the reaping and the streets of District Ten were empty. Stiles had confiscated one of his father's liquor bottles for Scott and himself before leading them both into the abandon house at the end of their block. They situated themselves in what used to be a kitchen and started passing the bottle back and forth. Thirty minutes passed before either one of them spoke.

"So I guess we should say our goodbyes." Scott started.

"Don't talk like that," Stiles tried to stop him. "You do this every year."

"We can't be stupid enough to think it can't happen to us."

"One of us can be," Stiles muttered, earning himself a smack upside the head. "If anything we should be worried about Danny."

"I don't even want to think about that." Scott sighed before scrubbing a hand down his face.

If there was ever a kid to worry about, it was Danny. Being the oldest of five and living in a single parent home, everyone knew the number of tesseras he's taken outweighs every other kid in District Ten. It didn't help that he was the nicest teenager in all of Panem.

"Maybe…maybe you should volunteer if he gets chosen." Stiles suggested.

"What?"

"Just, with your super wolf powers, you could actually win. Danny, he's strong, but we he doesn't have…his family can't lose him." Stiles tried to reason. Scott knew he was right, even if he didn't want to admit it. "I mean, Derek Hale won, and he's a wolf too, right?"

"But he's been a wolf since birth. I'm just an accident."

"An accident that can save a life." Stiles almost yelled. Scot shut up and look at his best friend in the eye before hanging his head.

"Can we stop talking about this?" Scott asked meekly.

"What else are we supposed to talk about?" Stiles asked, hopping from the counter. "How nice the weathers been? How you can't get drunk? Because I would like to complain about how I might die a virgin. Again." Stiles argued before downing the rest of the liquor.

"I think we should get home. We need all the rest we can get."

"Since when did you start making sense?" Stiles smiled. Scott rolled his eyes before jumping off the counter and pushing Stiles out of the kitchen. When Stiles opened the front door he stopped, suddenly causing Scott to run into him.

"Dude-"

"Shhh," Stiles silenced him. Stiles took a few steps out of the house, leaving room for Scott to stand next to him.

Scott smelled him before he saw him, but once he followed his nose he noticed Derek standing across the street, watching them. Stiles smiled stupidly and gave a small wave. Scott shoved him, making him roll his eyes before starting on his way home. Derek watched the pair go on their way before heading to his own empty home.


The next morning the Stilinski home was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Even though his father knew he took his liquor the night before, he didn't bring it up. They ate breakfast in silence and tip toed around each other until an hour before the reaping. His father found him in his room, pacing back and forth, his reaping outfit laid out on his bed.

"Knock, knock," his father announced. Stiles jumped slightly before turning around. At the sight of his father he stood up straight, trying to put his brave face on. "You okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Stiles asks like he really has no idea. His father glared at him. "Oh what, you mean the reaping? Pfftt. I'm not worried about that." In reality Stiles wasn't worried about himself. In reality he was worried about his father. Worried that if his father lost one more person he would lose his reason to live. His father took a couple steps into the room.

"It's okay to be scared," his father barely got out. "I know I was."

"I'm fine dad, really." Stiles tried to reassure him. His dad nodded his head before looking down. They stood in silence for a minute.

"I love you, ya know?"

"I know. I love you too." Stiles told him earnestly. His father swallowed the lump in his throat before gathering Stiles in his arms. Without hesitation Stiles hugged him back, tighter than he ever had before.


No one in District Ten hated the reaping more than Derek Hale. It was the reason he became a killer at too young of an age. It was the reason he couldn't sleep without hearing screams. It was the reason his family was killed. No, none of the kids in District Ten could hate the reaping more than Derek.

He sat on the stage and watched as the teenagers filled in the town square. His many sleepless nights had given him time to study up on the kids he could potentially be sending into slaughter. The girl that stood out this year was Allison Argent. To be honest she's stood out the past three years. Even though it was illegal to train your children, the Argent family had never really cared for that rule. She had actual strengths that she could use in the arena. The girl he was worried about was Lydia Martin. She was brilliant, smarter than all of the kids in her district put together. She was beautiful too, and in Panem that meant she could go far. Derek could see her in the sitting in a position of power one day. Maybe she could even put a stop to these useless games.

The boy that stood out this year was Jackson Whittmore. He was strong and stupid. It was obvious he wasn't scared to be chosen. In fact, he would be disappointed if his name wasn't called. He wanted to win badly, not to bring pride to his district, but to bring fame to himself. Danny Mahealani was always one to worry about. The thought of turning Danny into a werewolf had crossed Derek's mind, but he figured it would be better if Danny could make it to nineteen without being cursed. He was sure that if anything ever happened to Danny he'd probably donate money to his family every month. And then of course, there was always…no. Derek couldn't even think about him being chosen. If the capitol even thought there was a link between Derek and him, he would be chosen in a second. If they had proof the two were actually connected they would kill him before Derek could do anything to protect him. So no, Derek would keep those thoughts and feelings to himself. He had already gotten quite good at that.

After a while all of the children had been packed into their places and it was time to start. First up, the girls. Adrian Harris was a rude, impatient man, and Derek had no idea how he'd gotten his position, but there he was, picking a random name out of a big glass bowl. He calls the name Eric Reyes. Derek remembers seeing her name in his research. She had a number of health problems and as soon as she realized she was the one who'd been chosen she started having a seizure. The peacekeepers immediately pick her up and carry her inside the justice building instead of taking her on stage. Derek knew she was already dead.

Next were the boys. Derek held his breath as Harris walked to the other side of the stage, just as he had done for the past three years. Harris soon called out Danny Mahealani, and instead of letting out a breath of relief he let out a sigh of disappointment. He looked into the sea of teenage boys to find Danny, but his eyes got caught on Stiles. Stiles was moving through the pack of boys to Scott McCall. Suddenly their conversation from last night comes to his mind.

"Maybe…maybe you should volunteer if he gets chosen."

Suddenly Derek's heart started to race. He sees Stiles say something to Scott, but instead of replying Scott looked across the yard to Allison Argent. Suddenly he caught the scent of fear, but not from Danny, from Jackson. He soon found Jackson, standing completely still with wide eyes staring at his best friend being led to the stage. Maybe Jackson would volunteer. Derek hoped Jackson would volunteer. That's when he heard the voice.

"I volunteer!"

Derek's heart stopped at the sound. He knew that voice. He had dreams about that voice. He dreaded that voice. He had tried so hard to protect that voice from being thrown into the arena. His eyes followed the voice.

"I volunteer as tribute!" Stiles yelled as he made his way through the crowd.


Author's Note: More?