The Jabberjay

Two Months Ago:

Drew's Birthday

"Happy birthday to you."

The singing continued, waking me up even more with every verse. Finally, by "Happy Birthday to Drew!" my eyes were flittering open.

And there he was, my boyfriend of two months, Oaklea, on his knees by my bed, with a cup cake and big smile.

Oaklea.

I didn't exactly smile much. I had lived in District Twelve for so long that the gloom had set in to me. When my mother died, I had too much work to think about smiling. Boys were off limits, thanks to my overprotective older brother. And working in my father's store dominated most of my time.

Well, until Drew Ilium got drawn in the Hunger Games.

The Games were a practice of the Capitol people. Well, all districts had to participate by sending one boy and one girl to fight in the Arena, but it was really the Capitol's game. They were the ones who made it. They are the ones who continue it. They're the ones who demand it. And they're the ones who enjoy it.

I used to feel sorry for the Capitol people. They had nothing else to do and were too dense and shallow to understand what was going on. I felt sorry for them like you feel sorry for a small child not understanding things. But, when I had been chosen to go into the Arena, I had seen that, while they were idiots, they still knew what was going on. And they were cheering for it!

I hadn't been in the Arena long, but I was already the second most wanted girl in Panem, second only to the Mockingjay herself, Katniss Everdee.

When I was in the Capitol, everyone had loved Drew Ilium, the Strong One. They loved the clothes my Stylist, Cinna, had made me. They loved the way I looked dark and dangerous. They loved the way I protected Robin, and they simply adored my alliance with Oaklea, thinking it'd be so dramatic when one of us had to kill each other. They wanted me to be victor, or Oaklea.

Everyone except for the Capitol's politicians and leaders. I had worn the expensive clothing that made girls scream to get one and boys to blush at having seen how great I looked in it. But, more importantly, I wore a sultry smile like I had a secret and no one would find it out until it was too late for them.

I hadn't had a secret, but, now that the Capitol looked back, it looked like I had been planning my fate in the Arena all along.

The Arena.

I had been in for less than hour, not even half an hour really, but the twenty-four of us made a statement.

It had been a plan that Districts Four, Six, and Three had started. These six people spent their training days convincing the others to join in. The only ones who were left alone was the Dream Team, which consisted of me, my old friend Robin, Oaklea, and his twin sister Skye. We all assumed that, since we were the crowd's favorite, they were putting a bounty on our heads.

When we got in the Arena, we all sprang into action. We swam to the shore, and I was ready to get to the Cornucopia with my allies and get out of the fighting. But no one was fighting. They all lined the shore, defiantly staring into the cameras. They all joined hands and shouted their District number as if to say that they were there to represent how their District felt.

I was the last one to join the Rebels, and the Capitol hated me for it.

If I had done as I was supposed to, as the Capitol had taught me, I wouldn't of joined that circle. I would have won and kept my promise to Alicia by keeping her son safe. And the Capitol would have gotten some sort of victory. While the rebels would have scored some big points with turning almost everyone on their side, the Capitol would get to show that the Capitol still wins. I would have been able to return to my beloved District Twelve, and I'd be kept alive because I had done as the Capitol wanted.

I was now on a hit list.

"What are you doing here, Oaklea, at…" I picked up the worn-out alarm clack that had seen its share of damage in the morning, "3:49 AM?"

"You said that you were born at 3:58, right?" Oaklea got down on his knees to look at me, and he sat a steaming cup of tea on my nightstand.

"Yeah."

"Well, I wanted to savor the last few minutes where I can say I'm older than you," Oaklea smiled as he pushed my hair out of my face.

"But it's morning. You know how I am in the morning," I complained, laughing a little bit.

"Which is why I brought some tea to wake you up," Oaklea motioned to the tea, "And a cupcake so you won't kill me."

"You made a cupcake?" I sat up in bed. I wasn't sure if I should be flattered that he had actually baked for me or horrified that I would now have to eat it.

"I'm not trying to kill you! Skye made it," I looked down at the pink cupcake.

"Thanks, Oaklea," I smiled as I took the cupcake, and Oaklea smiled as he climbed in bed beside me.

We hadn't really done anything. We both had an agreement that we wanted to wait until we were married, or at least not minors. Robin knew that, too. But, with my dad living three floors away and not being here to supervise, Robin was left in charge of the two of us.

Due to my awful nightmares, Oaklea would come in and hold me until I finally got back to sleep. And, whether he likes to admit it or not, he freaks out at night, and I help calm him down as well.

Robin honestly doesn't care about us sleeping in the same bed, but he has to pretend to for my dad's sake.

And he has tried to put a stop to it.

Which is why I smiled when Oaklea wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close.

"Looks like you're almost done with how bad this year has been," he stroked my hair.

"Yeah," I licked some icing from the cupcake, which was also pink.

"I know. I mean, look at your luck. You didn't have a boyfriend all Sophomore year!"

I began to laugh.

"I mean, I thought Capitol girls were too flashy and hated it, and they're even more flashy in their teens. But I still dated at least once," Oaklea kissed the top of my head, still continuing the joke.

"How do you know I never dated?"

"You almost passed out when I first kissed you."

"Because only a little while before, I was supposed to kill you! And you were a pretty good kisser considering you could barely walk."

"Okay then, have you ever dated other than me?"

"I had a much older brother, who was insanely strong and intimating. I only dated one guy really."

"Who?"

I bit my lip.

"Peeta's brother."

Oaklea's eyes widened, and he looked at me.

"The one who is in my boxing class? The one I'm friends with?"

I hesitated.

"He was the only one who wasn't scared of my brother really. And I always saw him."

"Buh-but you're still friends? And he never brought it up!" Oaklea complained, shocked.

"Well, we dated for five months two years ago. We didn't talk for about six months, and, when we saw each other again, we were just friends again," I shrugged, making him stir. And he stared at the ceiling for a while, and I tried to break him out of it, "But who is this ex of yours? I've never heard of her," I snuggled up closer to him.

"Well, no one really sticks out. Sometimes it was just kissing in the supply closet, or summer flings in District Four, or two-date-max for the crazy capitol girls. No one really compared to Drew Ilium, the Strong One. Everyone says I'm the luckiest guy in District Thirteen," he smiled, and I propped myself up on his chest.

"Do you think you're the luckiest guy in District Thirteen?"

"In the world, Drew," he caressed my face, and I leaned down to kiss him, even if it was a little cheesy.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Oaklea's watch began to beep.

"3:56, Drew."

I smiled as I reached for my alarm clock and the cup of tea that Oaklea had brought.

I leaned into him as we held the clock, waiting for the clock to reach the right time.

3:57

Oaklea kissed the top of my head.

"You'll finally be old enough to go into battle, you know."

I had been waiting to go on the front lines, like Katniss, because I knew that I was expected to. Skye and Robin, not so much. But I felt like a disappointment not to be there.

And I knew that I had been a big reason that the Capitol had tightened its icy grip.

I didn't want others to die for it without even being there.

"I'm going to go, Oaklea. You can't stop me now."

"I know," Oaklea worriedly rubbed my arm, worrie

And then the clock ticked again.

"Happy birthday, Drew," he kissed the side of my head, and I smiled to myself.

"And now to go back to sleep," I slid back under the covers, and Oaklea didn't even have to be asked to stay.

When we slept in the same bed, we never needed both sides. Usually, we met in the middle, where we curled around each other and fell asleep. But we took one side of the bed today, and I smiled at Oaklea's warmth.

"I love you, Drew," he whispered, his breath hot on my neck.

"I love you, too, Oaklea."

This was probably the first time I had ever really said it.

I left it implied every day, and I said "You're crazy. I love you, but you're crazy," a lot. But I never just sat down and said "I love you, Oaklea."

Well, until now.

Oaklea gently pried my clenched hands open. He took one, but he placed something in the other one. I turned it over in my palm for a minute or two before bringing it from under the covers to look at it.

"Happy birthday, Drew," he smiled as he kissed my neck, and I looked at the bracelet and gasped.

The cuff bracelet I now held had been his token in the Hunger Games. It was from his mom as a birthday present, and he had always held it dear to him.

"Your bracelet?"

"Your bracelet," he sat up, and I turned around to kiss him, which shocked him for a minute. But he quickly caught on and gave me what was probably the best kiss of my life.

Today

I twirled my bracelet around, staring at the Oaklea engraved in the leather.

My eyes watering, I looked up to the screens.

The Control Room was sort of restricted for these meetings.

Katniss, Peeta, me, Robin, Gale, the Tributes from District Two, the girl Tribute from District Four, Haymitch, and the four District Thirteen people.

I thought it was ironic that there happened to be thirteen of us. It was something Oaklea would have laughed at.

But, if he was still here, it would have been fourteen.

"What do you think, Drew?" Peeta asked me, as if I had been listening to the last hour of mindless babble. Or it was mindless babble to me.

"What?" I turned to look at the table of twelve.

Peeta and Haymitch looked between each other, as if deciding who would get to tell me.

I shifted so that they could explain without having to come stand by me in the corner of the room.

I hadn't been in at the desk in over a month now. I had a great seat, but it was the empty seat beside me that made it uncomfortable.

"A group to look for Soldier Wells," Boggs was the first one to speak, "If you consent it, I can get it ready by tomorrow."

I didn't respond for a long time.

"Will she still have time for these meetings?" Coin asked.

I knew I wasn't very helpful these days, but I used to be. Maybe it was even just for looks, being the back-up Mockingjay. If anything ever happened to Katniss, I was the District Twelve girl to take her place. And I was also something attractive to put in Propos.

"Of course," Boggs quickly nodded, and Coin gave her consent for me to join.

And then I realized that they were all staring at me.

I haven't given my decision yet. I thought I did. They acted like I did.

But I had been like this for the last two months, thinking things that didn't happen. I was like Annie, I couldn't seem to stay grounded to this earth. There was really no reason to, not anymore.

No one would trust me to do things.

I couldn't be in battle. I couldn't make decisions. My teaching privileges were restricted to once a week instead of everyday, and I had lost my students where it mattered what I taught them. I was included in the videos, mainly because I was better at being scripted than Katniss. But my videos were usually showing me teaching the younger kids or such.

Katniss got all of the important messages.

My fingers brushed over the imprint of the bracelet as I thought about that day, that awful day that made this become my life.

I had known what I was getting into when I suited up in the Cinna-designed and got ready to go to battle in District Four. Oaklea wouldn't let me go without him, and I had let him. He had been in before, so what would be different that time?

I can still feel how the air conditioner kept me freezing, but the warmth from Oaklea holding my hand made me flushed. Cinna's outfit still fit me perfectly, keeping up the Coal Dust feel we had started with together.

As we sat in the Hovercraft, we talked like we always did. Our subjects varied from how Skye had teared up on my birthday the day before because it wouldn't be long until her daughter would be turning seventeen, though she was only six months pregnant, to talking about what was waiting in District Four for us.

When we got to the battlefield, we took our orders.

Katniss went to the hospital, and I went with her, mainly to help out the small staff. Suddenly-

I cringed to stop the memory.

"I'm in. I want Oaklea back."

As they went on to talk about the preparations, debating which office I should get, I could tell I was dismissed from the conversation, and I let myself think back the memory, though it made me shake trying to block out the pain.

-The Capitol's army marched back in. This was the perfect time to have a bomb, but they didn't have anyone in the sky, which meant they were here for hostages.

Katniss was quickly taken out. I was important, but not as much as her. I was given more leeway, and I was running with them, protecting my Mockingjay, when the shots rang out. I was unlucky enough to get a shot in my arm from a fast-running Capitol soldier who was in front of the others, and I smiled to myself as I took out my gun.

I had been good with aim for a long time, just not with Archery. But I had taken a special liking to guns. For months, I had been taught how to use one, and I was just waiting to try it out. And who better to take the shot than a Capitol Soldier who didn't know what he just started?

I hesitated before my first kill, and I had to remind myself of all of those that they had killed before me until I could finally take aim of my gun.

Including how they had tried to kill my older sister, who was the sweetest girl in the district.

I told them to run on, and I took my shots. Then I ran out of ammo, with the last two soldiers who had come after me grinning as they took aim. I started to run to the first shelter I could find, and I ran faster as a first shot fired.

But it was firing the wrong way, the wrong direction. I didn't look back.

I didn't even think of Oaklea. When I got shelter, I found more ammo on my suit and I loaded up. I climbed a fishing market, and I took aim for the guards. More had gathered, and I had knocked three off before they figured out where I was. They put down their guns and pointed towards a flock of Peacekeepers with one single guy in the middle.

My guy.

I killed the three remaining guards the second they picked up their guns so I could say that they were at least armed. I ran to the flock of Peacekeepers taking Oaklea.

I didn't know what I had planned, if I had anything planned. But I had to try something. I was running and searching for some sort of bomb, something I could set off to get some soldiers away from Oaklea. Some way to even get him a weapon. Something!

But I was pulled back by a strong nurse, who had worked with me in the Hospital, because she knew a rescue mission would be fatal, and she injected a shot in my arm before I could fight back.

When I woke up, I was in my room, with the shades drawn over the fake windows. Robin was sharpening a dagger at the foot of the bed but quickly ditched that pastime to talk to me, to ask me how I was feeling and all.

And to tell me that Oaklea hadn't made it out.

But that news was nothing compared to the news I got two weeks later.

He was alive and being held personally by the person I hate most in this world.

President Snow.