Chapter One - Lost

"So talk to me I'll listen to your story

I've been around enough to know

That there's more than meets the eye" - Love and Luck, Jimmy Buffett

"Rae! Rae!" My eyes shoot open and I see Lola's face right in front of mine. She giggles at my reaction and I shove her off me. She lands on the floor with a loud thud before giggling again. I roll my eyes then laugh too. Lola suddenly goes silent and whispers, "What if I get reaped?" And I see her eyes brimming with tears. Pulling her close to me, I gently hum a simple tune, soothing her. She sobs into my hair and I let go of her.

Grabbing her tiny shoulders I look into her eyes and say, "Lola, you are in there once. Once. I promise that you will be safe." She sniffs and nods slowly then runs out of my room. I guess she is going to see our parents. I look over and see my brother still slumped in his bed, sleeping soundly. He suddenly snorts and sits up, wiping his hand across his face. He sees me and scowls, pulling his duvet over his head. "Love you too," I call out to him and he swears under his breath. Sighing, I get out of bed and go to the kitchen to get breakfast.

I should probably introduce you to myself. My name is Rae Larsan. I am currently 17 years old. I have two brothers called Randy (15) and Jamie (7) and a sister called Lola (12) and I live in District 4. We are in one of the poorer areas of our District. I share a room with all my siblings which is... tiring. Luckily, on the night of the reaping Jamie sleeps in our parents room, even though he is too young to be reaped. He is just scared of the idea of it I guess. At least I wasn't woken up by him at 5 in the morning as usual.

I go over to the wardrobe, which all my siblings share, and try to find a suitable dress. Skimming over the clothes, I spot my favourite dress. It is a palm tree green colour, perfectly complimenting my rich emerald green eyes. My eyes are somewhat of a rarity in this district. Most people have gentle greeny blue eyes but mine are a deep green. If you were to glance at me, my eyes would stand out the most. Most people will comment on them the first time they see me, they are so striking.

I grab the dress and open up a drawer and take some underwear, before heading off to the bathroom. Although I live with my siblings, I am still very self conscious and can't change in front of them. I slip off my nightgown and put on my underwear then pull the dress over my head. I look into the mirror, checking how I look. I am quite tall, I would say just above average for my age. I have long auburn wavy hair, reaching to my waist. My bronze tanned skin is slightly darker than usual, due to a day on the beach with my friends.

The dress compliments my curves and the colour really does match my eyes. I brush my hair out and leave it loose. I hate having my hair braided like everybody else, I love it to be free and to blow around in the gentle sea breeze. I hear a knock on the door. I sigh and open it. Lola skips in and gasps when she sees me. "You look amazing," she smiles and I blush. She looks jealously at my hair. Hers is braided in a short plait. I guess Mother is desperate for her to fit in better than when I was her age.

When I was younger I was so different to all the other girls, and still am. Unfortunately this caused me to be quite friendless and Mother hated the fact that I was so unpopular. She must be trying to get Lola to be like everybody else. I mumble "bitch," under my breathe and Lola seems to not have noticed, much to my relief. I kiss her head then hug her. She shoos me out of the bathroom and I head down the stairs, before rushing out of the front door. I hate being in my house. I go down the lane to the pier but on the way I am so engrossed in my own thoughts that I bump into someone.

"Oh sorry, didn't see you there," I mumble then look up into his eyes. Finnick Odair's eyes. "Don't worry, I wasn't really paying attention either," he replies with his winning smile. His cheeks are slightly flushed but I ignore it. We look at each other awkwardly for a second then head off in our own ways. He's probably going to the town hall to get ready for the reaping. I have never seen him close up properly but people weren't lying about him. He is pretty drop dead gorgeous. I shake the thoughts from my head then realise I have arrived at the pier. I sit on the edge and let my legs dangle in the clear water.

I stare into the waters and watch as the fish swim by, getting lost in my thoughts. After what seems like I hours I look behind me at the huge clock fastened on the side of a building. Shit, I'm late. I grab my sandals, not bothering to put them on then sprint towards the town square. I arrive to see everybody has already gathered. I quietly enter the 17 year old girl section, hoping to go unnoticed.

I have already missed the introduction so I don't have to endure that awful speech. I see my small group of friends in front of me but I'm too far away to communicate. Our escort this year seems to have changed. She looks fairly normal with minimal makeup. She seems alright, the last one was practically under millions of layers of makeup and wigs and weird clothes. She totters over to the first ball, her short nails struggling to catch onto a piece of paper. I hold my breath, the square goes quiet and the escort reads out in a clear voice, "Rae Larsan."

I look through the crowds of teenagers, desperate for a volunteer. Everybody is quiet, a few people mumbling to themselves, probably about how they think I will do. I keep holding my breath as I walk through to the stage. I can hear a whimper coming from the 12 year old section. Lola. I keep my head up high and try to ignore her strangled sobs. As I slowly climb up the steps, I sense Peacekeepers come up behind me, to ensure I don't flee. The escort smiles at me and shakes my hand. I face the crowds before me and try not to cry.

I put on a mask of proudness, that I get to fight for the honour of my district, but inside I am a wreck. My thoughts are all muddled and I feel my face going hot as everybodies eyes are trained on me. The escort goes to the other ball and calls out, "Benjamin Baynes," in her steady voice. I see a young boy, 13 at the most come up to the stage. I feel as if my heart rips in two. So young. I don't even know him but I hate the Capitol for making him fight. I wonder why nobody has volunteered today. Perhaps its the fact that last year our two tributes both died within five minutes of the games starting. I gulp. That's probably my own fate.

I shake hands with the boy then look over at our mentors. I see Finnick Odair and Chris Cooke, two previous victors. I make eye contact with Finnick for a brief second and he looks worried. I sigh as the Peacekeepers force me into the town hall, escorting me to a room where I can say my last goodbyes. The moment I enter I let the tears fall, letting go of my couldn't care less act. My family rush in and my parents hold me tightly, trying to be brave in front of their children. Jamie gives me a sloppy kiss on the cheek and tells me he will keep Lola away from my stuff until I get back. I cry even more, poor little Jamie doesn't understand that I might not come back. Lola just cries and cries and doesn't say anything.

When their time is up Randy suddenly comes up to me and hugs me whispering, "I love you Rae, please don't go." I hug him back and reassure him I will be alright. That was the first time I hugged my brother since he was 10. He hates me. Well he acts like it anyway. I call out that I love them all then they leave. I stand there, almost expecting another visitor but nobody comes. Not even my friends. I feel so betrayed by them all. I guess they didn't like me. I cry even more and the Peacekeepers come to take me to the train. I wipe my wet eyes and try to act brave again but fail miserably.

When I arrive on the train I am greeted by Finnick and Chris. Benjamin follows me with a terrified expression on his young face. I completely ignore everyone and fiddle with my hair, making little braids and just swirling it around my fingers. I can hear the others talking but I don't tune in. "Rae?" I hear a voice say and I sigh then look up. Chris clears his throat. "I will be mentoring Benjamin and Finnick will be your mentor," he states and I nod to show that I was listening. Chris looks a bit pissed at how ignorant I am being but doesn't comment on it.

I suddenly feel the tears dripping down my cheeks before I can stop them. I am going to die. Chris and Finnick exchange a look and the escort comes over with a mothering expression. "What's wrong Rae?" She questions me and I take a deep breath then blurt out, "I am going to go into an arena with children that want to kill me and I will either die or I will have to kill people myself and I don't want to kill people because I will be permanently scarred and I will hate myself and then my life will fall apart and I wish I would have died in the first place!"

The room is silent. The escort looks surprised, Chris looks understanding, Finnick looks like he has tensed up and Benjamin is crying. I put my head in my hands and take a shaky breath out. She puts her hand gently on my shoulder then says, "We are here to help you win Rae, but you don't have to kill anyone." I look up into her hazel eyes and nod my head again in acceptance. Everybody seems to be uncomfortable so I get up and walk to my room. I stuff my head into the pillow and try to cry but the tears won't come anymore. All I feel is hatred towards the Capitol for putting me through this horror. I hear a knock on the door and a muffled voice shouts, "Dinner is ready!" I stomp over to the door and slam it open. I hear a cry of pain and see someone fall to the floor. "Shit Finnick are you alright?" I gasp as he gets up. "Mind your fucking language," he growls.

I laugh then reply, "Mind your own fucking language," and I see a glint of amusement in his eyes. We walk over to the table and my eyes widen at the sight of all the steaming hot delicacies. I sit down and take a plateful of food. I don't take too much though. Over the years of watching the games I have realised that the people in them are given lots and lots to eat before the games so when they are starving in the arena, it is harder for them. Therefore I take an small portion and eat it slowly and carefully. Benjamin is eating like a pig and when Finnick looks over at me he raises his eyebrows. I am probably the first tribute that has paced theirselves when eating and not eaten as much food as possible.

After eating I am not full but not hungry. I go back to my room. I change into some pyjamas then sit and read a book from the hundreds available in the bookshelves. I read a history book about what the world was like before the nuclear war destroyed it and Panem was created. The book describes it as being awful but I don't believe a word of it. The Capitol edits all the books so they probably did that to make sure the Districts don't want to go back to the ways of the old world, with countries and states and different Political systems. It rambles on about how superior we are to the people of the past then the moment it starts talking about The Hunger Games I snap it shut and throw it across the room. It is pitch black outside so I decide to go to sleep. I close my eyes and drift into a world where I can be safe with my family, and not worry about the hunger games.

A shout wakes me up. It is still dark. I hear more shouting and yelling then silence. I try to ignore the feeling of fear course through me then go back to sleep.

I wake up again from the sunlight streaming in through the window. I quickly change into some jeans and a tight pale blue shirt. They fit me perfectly. How strange. I walk out of my room and into the main area. "We're just passing District 1," Finnick comments as I sit on a chair. I look across at him and he seems tired. His voice sounds a little hoarse as if he had been yelling a lot. Somebody was yelling last night. Was it him? I decide to ask, "Were you shouting last night?" Finnick turns towards me abruptly and I see a flash of fear in his usually calm eyes. He doesn't reply. I look down at the floor awkwardly. "Yes," he whispers. I look back over at him. "S-sorry that I asked you, it was rude," I stutter and he smiles sadly.

"Don't worry about it," he says then he stares out of the window, his eyes going vacant. Benjamin comes in and his eyes are puffy. It's pretty obvious that he has been crying. He walks shyly over to me and sits in the chair beside mine. I don't know what to say to him so I simply smile reassuringly. He gasps then rushes over to the window as we see the Capitol looming into view. It is beautiful. Absolutely amazing. When he sees the people waving to him he squeals then runs off where they can't see him. However, I run towards the window and wave back, smiling and blowing kisses to them. The train is supposed to be soundproof but they are so loud I can hear their excited yelling.

I look behind me and Finnick has disappeared. He probably hates the attention. When we arrive Benjamin and I are stuffed into a car with the escort, who I recently learned was named Anja and we set off to the area we will be staying in. Upon arrival we get into a glass elevator and are zoomed up to floor 4. I enter the room and try to not wrinkle my nose in disgust. It is so... clean and perfect and bright. It doesn't feel homely at all. To me it feels like a jail cell, and I am trapped. After a quick tour I am sent off to get beautified.

It was an awful experience. I was lying naked on a table with three multicoloured self obsessed people ridded me of all my hair apart from my head and eyebrows. They then obsessed over my bitten nails, glueing little bits on and to make it worse, andnfinally they did my makeup and styled my hair. Throughout the whole time they were all giggling and chatting to each other as if completely oblivious to the fact that they were looking at a naked girl and ripping out her body hair. After the whole ordeal was over they told me that my stylist was coming to 'inspect' their work. Urgh.

When my stylist arrives I just gape at her. She looks like.. well a Tiger. "Hello my name is Tigress and I am your stylist," she says softly. I actually quite like her. She walks around me silently, as if inspecting prey. She claps her hands together then opens up a wardrobe. Inside is a beautiful long dress. It is covered in tiny gems and when it moves around they look just like waves. The dress looks like the sea. I feel a pang inside me when I think of the ocean. Home. I miss home. I put on the dress and stare at my reflection.

I gawp at my hair. It is a deep blue. They must have used some sort of dye on it. They have curled it so it cascades down my shoulders. My eyes are surrounded by blue and green gems and there are blue and green swirls painted all over my skin. When the dress is on me I look like a sea Queen. Wait, no, I am the sea. Tigress has turned me into the ocean. And I look like a completely different person. I just keep staring at the girl in the reflection, how she looks nothing like the girl I am used to. I look fearless, I look mysterious. I look... drop dead gorgeous. Just like Finnick. Oh God. Did I just think that? I push the thoughts out of my mind and thankfully my makeup stopped my ferocious blush from showing.

When we are sent off to the chariot room my mind is racing. I look around at everybody else and they are staring at me. They look jealous. They should be. I look Magnificent. Just saying. In the darkness of the room, I notice that I am glowing slightly. When I look at the wall next to me it looks like light reflecting off water. Tigress has literally made light reflect off me like it does on water. "Thankyou," I say quietly. I actually have a chance now. I look across at Benjamin and he gives me a nervous smile. The chariot suddenly jolts forward and I realise the music has started. When we leave the tunnel the crowds go crazy. They are chanting my name, going crazy as I wave to them, blow them kisses and give them my best smiles.

When we reach the end the other tributes are glaring at me even more. It is obvious we stole the limelight. Finnick, Chris, Anja, Tigress and Benjamin's stylist come to greet us as we get off the Chariot. Finnick stares at me. I raise my eyebrows and he goes slightly red. Did I just make the famous Finnick Odair blush? Everbody gushes at how amazing we looked and then we all go to the elevator back to level 4. As I arrive I kick off my shoes and rush into my room. I am desperate to get out of this dress, no matter how beautiful it is. I want to get into some casual clothes.

I strip off then step into the shower. I stare at all the buttons. I press some random ones and thankfully I have a disaster-free soak. When I get out I dry my hair and notice all the blue has disappeared. Going through the wardrobe, I grab some shorts and a pale pink t-shirt. I slip them on and wander into the lounge. Everybody is already there. With only one place left, I sink into the couch right between Tigress and Finnick. Tigress smiles at me and I smile back. She is genuinely nice, not just some person paid to make clothes for me, she actually seems to care. We watch the recaps of the opening ceremony then go and eat supper.

Again, I only eat a small portion and eat it slowly. Again, Finnick raises his eyebrows. I simply stick my tongue out at him. He winks at me and I pout at him. We keep making silly gestures at each other until we have both finished eating. Everybody starts talking about topics I don't care about so I zone out for a bit. "RAE!?" Anja screeches at me and I jump. "You cannot keep daydreaming, this is important, you have to listen," she says harshly and I groan. They are talking about skills. "Do you have any skills Rae?" Chris pipes up.

"Hm? Oh um yeah kinda," I mumble. "What kind of skills?" He continues with an irritated sigh. "I'm ok with tridents," I admit with a mischievous grin. I don't tell them my real skill though. Even though District 7 deals with trees, axes are my thing. It is strange, I admit, but my father is a lumberjack back at home. He cuts down palm trees for a special wood. Palm trees aren't found in 7. Ever since I was 8 I have helped him with his work, and he trained me to fight with them as well, in case I was ever reaped. Well luckily he did that because otherwise I would be screwed. I didn't want to say it in front of everyone, in case Benjamin lets slip but I will tell Finnick, seeing as he is my mentor and all.

After supper I go back to my room but I am too scared to sleep. Now I am in the Captiol, the games are becoming a reality. I am going to die. Or be horribly scarred for the rest of my life but there's no major difference. Kind of. I give up then go out of my room to find somewhere to go. I find a door to an outside balcony. Perfect. I sit out there in my pyjamas, thinking about what will happen. I hide behind some tall plants and start crying, certain that there will be no cameras trained on me. "Rae?" I hear someone call. I quickly wipe my tears away and reply, "over here," with the calmest voice I can muster. Finnick walks towards me. "I saw you go out," he admits.

I move up a little so he can sit down next to me. He sits down then says, "Couldn't sleep?" I nod and wipe my eyes again. "Me either," he whispers. "When did you win your games? Three years ago?" I enquire. "Yeah, when I was 14. Youngest ever. I'm 17 now though," he replies. We are silent for a few minutes then he asks, "What are your real skills? It's not tridents, I can tell by the way you said it." I shrug and tell him, "Axes. I know it's weird but my Father taught me." He smirks. "What?" I growl. "It was funny at supper," he laughs and I laugh with him. "Yeah," I smile. I feel tears brimming in my eyes when I start thinking about Father. Finnick looks across at me then says, "You miss home don't you." I give him a watery smile, "Yes," I whisper gently. I sigh longingly at the memories with my family. Finnick brushes his hand against mine and then I grasp it, intertwining our fingers. I rest my head on his shoulder as we wordlessly stare out into the beautiful night view of the Capitol.

End Of Chapter One
And that is it! The first chapter of the first story. Thank you so much for reading and please leave a review telling me what you think.

I am aiming for this fanfiction to go into three separate stories. One taking place in Rae's first Hunger Games, the second one taking place in the Quarter Quell and the final one taking place in District 13 with the Rebellion.