The sun was barely up when the alarm clock next to Haley's bed started going off. She reached over and hit the 'OFF' button before she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She yawned and stretched before she stood up and started to get ready. She found her running shoes and pulled her beautiful chocolate brown hair back into a ponytail and went downstairs after she found workout clothes. She drank a glass of fresh orange juice before she walked out of the house and started jogging immediately, soon passing through the gates of Victor's Village. The sun was just peeking above the buildings and houses of District One as she jogged through a lot of the district. She passed the Justice Hall, the outside market, and the school building before she started to run back. By the time she got to her house in Victor's village the sun was fully up and so was majority of the people in District one. She came into the house, barely out of breath, and was greeted by the smell of eggs meaning her mother was cooking breakfast.
"Hi mom" Haley smiled as she came into the kitchen. Her dad was reading the newspaper at the table, her mother was cooking and her younger sister was filing her nails, shaping them into perfect palettes.
"Hello Sweetheart" her mother said "how was your run?"
"Fantastic" Haley smiled and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge as her dad put the newspaper down.
"How far did you run?" he asked.
"5 miles" she smiled proudly and he nodded with a smile.
"That's my girl" he said and her sister, Ashley, scoffed.
"I don't understand" she said "you train for the Games but you have no desire to volunteer for them."
"Better safe than sorry" Haley shrugged.
"The chances of you getting Reaped and no one volunteering for you are like a hundred to one" Ashley said.
"There's still a chance" Haley said "and it keeps me in shape."
Ashley scoffed and went back to her nails as their mother set food down in front of each of them and at her spot.
"Now what will you do if you get Reaped Ashley?" their dad asked as he started to eat.
"I have people that will volunteer for me" Ashley shook her head and their father shook his.
"Good luck with that" Haley scoffed now and started to eat.
The family ate together until it was time for Haley to leave again.
"I'll see you all later" she smiled and grabbed her workout bag before she walked out of the house and to the training facility.
She walked in and went straight for the far wall where there were benches to put her bag on. She took off her jacket so she wouldn't get too hot in the facility.
"You're here!" Haley's best friend, Katelyn, came up to her. Katelyn has auburn hair cut into a pixie cut and striking green eyes, the two have been friends since they were little.
"I never miss training" Haley shook her head.
"I was worried for a sec because you normally get here like five minutes ago" Katelyn said.
"Do I?" Haley asked and looked at the clock.
"Yeah" Katelyn replied "I was worried because if you're not here then who am I supposed to look at Tyler with?"
"You always look at Tyler by yourself" Haley laughed.
"Yeah but-" all of a sudden Katelyn cut herself off and gasped "he's staring at you!"
"Who?" Haley asked and looked up.
"Mace!" Katelyn practically squealed.
"So?" Haley asked.
Sure enough Haley looked up to see a boy staring at her. She blushed and quickly looked down, only because she saw that he was wearing a muscle shirt that showed off every muscle of his.
Mace was the same age as Haley, 18, and was incredibly attractive with muscled arms, a sharp jaw line and a chiseled torso that was clearly visible through his shirt. He had blonde hair and blue eyes that every girl seemed to fall in love with.
She looked at him until he looked away. She couldn't deny that he was attractive but she's never been into him.
Across the room Mace chuckled and turned back to his station.
"That girl is something else" he smiled.
"She's hot" his friend, Tyler, mentioned.
"She's really hot" Mace agreed and threw a spear into a target dummy's head while a group of female admirers clapped.
Mace looked over at Haley, who was now locked in a mock fight with an instructor. She was thin and short, especially because Mace was considered tall, and she had beautiful dark brown hair that had curled naturally. Her chocolate brown eyes were focused on the instructor entirely as she fought against him. Mace watched her for a couple minutes, causing the group of girls that was oggling over him to glare at her.
He looked away and went back to his spear. He has had a crush on Haley since their first day together at the training facility about a year ago, before he had been training himself at home. She never acted like she took interest in him which made him like her even more because every other girl practically drooled over him.
He went back to training and threw another spear. The muscles in his arm flexed and the lights made his hair shine. He smiled proudly as he hit his mark exactly and glanced back at Haley to see if she was looking. To his dismay she was turned completely away from him, throwing knives into a target flawlessly. He smiled as he watched her throw the knives. She was so focused on the task she was doing and but she made it look easy. Mace looked away quickly and went back to training.
Training lasted for the rest of the day and Mace went over to his bag and hung it on his shoulder as he grabbed a workout towel to wipe the sweat off. Haley said goodbye to her friend as she walked out, passing Mace.
He smiled as he watched her leave before he sighed and started his walk home. His walk home was a lot longer than Haley's because he didn't live in the rich part of District 1. He and his family lived in the poorest part of the district called The Gloom. He walked past boarded up shops, raggedy looking houses and children playing the dirt. He walked to the last house on the street and rolled his eyes when he heard yelling inside the small, worn down house. He took a breath and opened the door just in time to see his stepdad shove his mother towards a wall.
"Hey!" Mace snapped and came forward to push him against the wall. Mace could smell the alcohol lingering on this man's breath and it only made him angrier "you don't touch my mother like that!"
"Get your hands off of me before I call the peacekeepers again" his step dad said and shoved Mace away from him. The thing was that Mace was a lot taller and stronger but his step father was violent after he drank to much. Mace backed off but stayed between his mother and step dad.
"Touch my mother like that again and I'LL call the peacekeepers" Mace spat.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that in MY house!" his step dad yelled and got up in Mace's face again "this is my house and I'll do whatever I want."
"It doesn't give you a right to abuse my mother!" he spat and that sent a wave of anger through his step dad. He lashed out and hit Mace hard, causing him to stumble back a little.
"Jason!" his mother yelled when she watched Mace get hit.
"Get out!" his step dad yelled at Mace "get out of my fucking house! I will not have a kid talk back to me and still live under MY roof eating the food that MY money paid for! Get out!"
Mace glared at him and turned back around. He grabbed his jacket as he walked out the door, his face stinging a little. He walked into the outside market to give his step dad time to calm down before he went back to his mother. Mace hated it at his house and would do anything to get out. He kicked a rock on the street until someone ran into him. He caught them before they both could fall.
"I am so sorry!" she said and Mace realized it was Haley. She wasn't in workout clothes right now but instead a pretty sundress and she was shopping.
"No it was totally my fault" he shook his head and smiled a dazzling smile at her.
"Hey I know you!" she said "we're in training together!"
"Yeah" he nodded and let go of her arms from when he held her to prevent her from falling.
"It's nice to- what happened to your face?" her beautiful face contorted into a frown and Mace decided right there that he didn't like it when she frowned.
"Oh" he shook his head "it's nothing.'
Haley shook her head.
"It looks like you were hit" she said. She hardly knew this boy, but it looked as though someone hurt him and that's not okay.
"Just..." Mace looked at her and the soft look she was giving him made him want to tell her "my step dad hit me. That's all."
"that's all?!" Haley asked and shook her head.
"There's nothing i can do" Mace shook his head "I can't file child abuse because I'm not a minor anymore."
"What are you going to do then?" Haley asked.
"Dunno" Mace shrugged "I was going to stay away until he calmed down enough but I don't know when that'll be."
"Well I'm sure you don't want to be out here alone" Haley inquired.
"Ah no" Mace shook his head and Haley smiled softly.
"Then I'll stay with you until you want to go back home" she said and started to walk next to him, holding a bag of fruits and vegetables.
"Oh" Mace said in shock "thank you."
"Mhm" Haley smiled and together they started to walk through the market. Haley found out that he had not eaten yet so she got him something to eat and they walked and talked until the streetlights came on and it was dark out.
"Well I think he should be calm by now" Mace said "and I should really be getting home to my mom."
"Okay" Haley smiled "I'll see you later then. Bye Mace." She turned to start walking home and Mace watched her walking in the dark.
"...Wait" he called to her and she turned as he jogged up to her "let me walk you home. It's pretty dark and who knows who what kind of people are waiting."
"How noble of you" she smiled, a little relieved because she had never walked home this far this late.
He smiled and took his spot next to her again as he started to walk her home. As they walked they passed a group of teenage, rich-looking, boys who all whistled at Haley. Haley scoffed but kept her head down as Mace glared at them and moved closer to Haley. As they passed the group the boys watched them but didn't try anything because of how big Mace was compared to them. Haley let out a breath of relief when they passed and they were safe in Victor's Village. Mace walked Haley all the way up to her door.
"Now I'll see you later" he smiled and nodded his head to her before he walked away to start the long trip home.
"Goodbye Mace" Haley smiled as she watched him go, hoping to see him tomorrow at the Reaping.