(A/N) I'm sure crossovers with The Hunger Games have been done to death, but I thought Chloe and Beca have an excellent dynamic for the setting. I'm completely new to fanfiction, so feedback is much appreciated. Thanks.
The stage was a glorious place. Chloe liked the attention on her, adored it even. She had already flipped her hair several times beneath the brilliant lights that framed her face and made her skin seemingly glow, shimmering to the audience that watched with eyes wide. Everything was set perfectly—her lipstick, the glitter on her eyelids, the way her shoes hugged the heel of her foot, showing off her calves. And, God, her dress was amazing, tailored by Gail Abernathy-McKadden, one of the finest designers in the Capitol. It was long and blue, falling down to her ankles, but allowing a sexy window that reached her upper thigh. Chloe couldn't help but admire herself in the monitor during her interview, glancing at it after every sentence. She was a darling of the Capitol, the District 2 champion, and their soon-to-be victor. She was sure they all saw it: her charm, her potential.
"Anyone special back home?" Cesar said mid-interview, resting his chin on his hand and giving Chloe a toothy smile.
"No." she said with mock-shyness.
Cesar raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he said, "No man in the life of Chloe Beale?"
"No, Cesar, there isn't. And there will never be."
The crowd gave an audible 'aw!' which made Chloe want to smile, but she held back. She retained the part of the damsel on the stage, determined to control the emotions of her audience like a conductor leading an orchestra.
"Don't say that," Cesar said, "have confidence! You're an attractive young lady, I'm sure men fall all over you."
"It's true," she flashed a small smile, "but there's one problem, Cesar."
She waited before answering, pausing to give him time for a reaction. And, when he raised his eyebrows expectantly, she took her cue. She looked directly at the camera and said, "I'm gay."
A great gasp emerged from the crowd as if they were collectively a single person. Chloe saw the shock in their eyes, watching how they turned their heads to whisper at one another. Then, a few figures in the back stood up, clapping slowly, encouraging others to do the same. A gradual roar of applause began to overwhelm the stage, and the shock had dissolved into admiration and joy. The people of the Capitol smiled up at Chloe Beale as if saying 'it's all right, we're with you.' Cesar had been saying something to continue the interview, but all Chloe could register was the thousands of eyes shining back at her, hands still pounding away in support. She had done well, and they were now on her side.
After giving a bow and a twirl for the audience, Chloe was escorted backstage. She reached the glaring eyes of her fellow tributes, immediately dropping her corny grin and staring straight ahead. She felt like a queen, knowing that no one would be able to out due her. The crowds loved charisma, they loved drama, and they loved someone who stood out. Chloe knew that well enough, having watched the games since she was old enough to speak. With the interview under her belt, everything else was going to fall into place. She was going to win the games, and not a single set of envious eyes was going to stop her.
However, there was one tribute among the other twenty who dare not look at Chloe. The redhead slowed her march, glancing over at a girl in the corner. She was a little younger than Chloe, and very, very small. Chloe felt uneasy at the way the girl had her knees tucked into her chest; her hands clasped so tightly together that her skin was turning white around her fingertips. The sliding door opened with a click as Chloe exited the waiting room, moving to the lounge as the boy from District 3 took his turn. She sat at the bar, away from the tributes already drunk after their interview. She ran the tributes faces through her head, trying to place the shy girl in the waiting room. It was almost offensive—the way that girl didn't seem to have paid any attention to Chloe's interview. How could anyone peel their eyes away from her? It made her worry. If that girl wasn't impressed by her charm, surely there would be others outside, out in the Capitol, who didn't buy into her ruse either. Chloe couldn't risk it. She wanted—she needed every single eye on her. It was the only way to win.
"Excellent performance."
Chloe turned her head to the couches at the side of the lounge. A chubby boy from District 1 clapped slowly, stopping and taking a long gulp from his drink. Chloe narrowed her eyes. She knew he was called Bumper, though she couldn't remember if it was his real name, or just a title.
"Yours as well." she said, returning her eyes ahead.
"No, mine was pretty great. Yours was," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "phenomenal."
Chloe didn't answer, and instead took a sip of a martini glass with orange liquid in it that the bartender slid her way.
"We should team up. You, me, the rest of the Careers." Bumper said, moving over to Chloe and clumsily climbing into the seat next to her.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "I won't need any alliances." she said.
"With that attitude, you will." he dropped his phony 'rich-boy' tone, sounding more natural, and more intimidating. "Ms. Glitz and Glamour—you don't think you'll be the first one targeted? Anyone can spot that red hair on a head as big as yours from a mile away."
Chloe resisted the urge to drop her jaw at his sudden change in demeanor. She composed herself, looking directly into the brown eyes of the chubby boy. "Maybe I like being chased. It makes things easier."
She stood up, brushing her shoulder against Bumper's as she exited the lounge. She walked down the long corridor passing several televisions mounted onto the wall. The boy from District 4 was already up, speaking very quickly about something she couldn't understand, due to his heavy accent. The crowd seemed to be struggling as well, clapping awkwardly at pauses in the conversation.
Chloe didn't really know where she was going, but she was glad to be away from the other Careers for the moment. She wasn't great at retorts, and wasn't sure she could hold her own against further verbal onslaught by Bumper and his kind. She passed by the waiting room again, unable to stop herself from peering through the glass, eyes towards the corner of the room where the small girl had been. Except, now, the spot was empty, and she could not see the little brunette anywhere. She wandered further, twisting through what seemed to be an unending corridor. At last she came to a restroom, but stopped at its entrance when she heard voices around the bend further down.
"This is ridiculous!" said a girl's voice, "I can't do this!"
"Look, Beca, I know this is stupid, but it's important!" said a boy's voice.
Chloe crept closer to the end of the corridor, wracking her brain when she heard the name of the girl. Beca Mitchell, she recalled, District 10. She then remembered her face from the introduction of the other tributes, having laughed at how indifferent the girl had looked in her photo.
"You don't understand, it really doesn't matter. I'm not going to win anyway!"
Chloe straightened her shoulders, walking past as if she was casually strolling through the halls. "You know," she said, stopping between Beca and the boy, "you should show off some of that defiance. The people will love a rebel."
The pair stared at the redhead for a moment, then the boy opened his mouth. "Was any of that actually true," he said, "the stuff you said on stage?"
"Your name's Jesse, was it?" she said in a bubbly tone.
The boy nodded.
"All of it." She gave Beca a wink who immediately looked down at the floor, slightly flushed. Chloe continued her walk, smirking at the silence that followed behind her.
It was quiet in the training room. The lack of small talk seemed to put everyone on edge. It was probably normal for the tributes to be glancing over their shoulders at one another, their minds on alliances and displays of superiority over actual practice. However, the stagnant air made even Chloe uncomfortable. She knew she had to play her cards right. She had to both look intimidating and show the skills to back her up her image. Any sign of physical ineptitude, and she would have far worse to deal with in the arena than she could handle. She could tell, they all wanted to pick out the weaklings, weed out the ones that were easily preyed upon.
Chloe feared her own skills weren't up to snuff, that they couldn't match the ferociousness of the other Careers. She could take the tributes from among the lower districts, the ones not bred to be killing machines. But she wasn't the strongest, fastest, or probably even smartest among the Careers.
Something else crept up in the back of her mind, a strange sort of attentiveness towards the actions of one tribute in particular. It was Beca. For some reason, Chloe wanted the girl's eyes on her, wanted her to watch how her body moved as she threw knives perfectly at a target. She wanted Beca to see how the other tributes' eyes wouldn't leave her, how they all either wanted to ally with Chloe or they wanted her dead immediately. The feeling was inexplicable, and Chloe tried to shake it off because she could not be distracted by one small tribute! Yet, when she finally caught Beca's eyes on her, she couldn't help but approach the girl. She tried to convince herself she was just torturing her prey a bit, tenderizing it like a fine steak. It was all for the Games and nothing more…
"Do you want to go for a round in the combat room?" Chloe offered to Beca who had assumed her usual spot in the corner. "You look like you could use it."
Boldly, Beca looked up at the older girl, locking eyes. It was then that Chloe wished she'd gone about her business instead of approaching the girl, because something in her stomach didn't feel right. Maybe Chloe was feeling pity. Beca was so small and weak, so unfit for the games. An image flashed through Chloe's mind, the picture of the brunette on the ground, her stomach ripped open and blood pouring from her nose, flowing over the side of her jaw like lava. Chloe felt sick from the thought, worried that her knees would suddenly give out.
"No thanks." Beca said bluntly, breaking Chloe from her daydream and allowing her to regain her composure.
"You know," Chloe leaned against the wall, "you really should make some friends here. The more friends, the fewer enemies, right?"
Beca didn't answer, and her eyes returned to their cold, motionless state.
"She's fine," said Jesse, who approached with a metal bat slung over his shoulder, "she's got me."
Chloe sized him up with her eyes, looking down from his sneakers up to his broad shoulders. He was pretty average—in both size and appearance. He held a serious expression as he glared at the redhead, but something about his face made Chloe want to laugh and try some clever retort. She, however, resisted, and left the two of them alone. As soon as she left, though, she heard their voices behind her.
"Stop doing that." Beca said lowly.
"Doing what?"
"Stop trying to protect me!"
Jesse scoffed. "I'm trying to protect you because you won't protect yourself."
"I'm not even worth it."
Chloe's heart dropped. How could she be so certain—so goddamn certain—that she had no chance? Sure, the little brunette probably couldn't fight, but Chloe knew that wasn't what the games were all about. Hell, she herself was mediocre in a fight. But that wasn't stopping her. It infuriated her, the way Beca didn't even want to try. And yet, it was concerning. Part of Chloe wanted to turn around, take the girl's hand and tell her she could do this.
But, of course, Chloe couldn't afford to show such weakness. She already had the other tributes wrapped around her finger. Nothing was going to stop her from winning the games, right?
"Get the memo." Bumper said, twirling a spear with his right hand while fixing his glance on Chloe.
"What?" said Chloe.
"She's not into you."
Chloe glanced over her shoulder at Beca who still seemed to be arguing with Jesse. She turned back to Bumper and frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Bumper simply laughed, swinging the spear threateningly in front of Chloe, coming within an inch or two of her stomach. She flinched, taking a step backwards before narrowing her eyes at him.
"Show me what you've got, 2." he said.
Chloe eyed the metal rack to her right. She picked up a spear from the middle, frowning at its weight. It was heavier than she expected, and difficult to balance with one hand. She slid her right hand closer to the head, placing her other hand further down, and pointed the spear at Bumper, who continued to twirl his menacingly. He lashed out suddenly towards her head, a smug grin forming on his face. Chloe instinctively ducked away, unable to help but notice the other tributes gathering around—though she was certain Beca was still in her corner. Chloe took a step back, glaring at Bumper, and he swung again.
"Come on," he said in a near shout, "do something."
He swung again, this time meeting Chloe's spear which she held straight out in front of her. Her elbows buckled under the power of his hit, and with a quick movement she pushed his spear away, swinging at his torso and barely missing. He faked her out, jabbing to the side like a snake warning its prey, then swung in a wide arc from the opposite direction. Chloe blocked again, nearly afraid the spear would be cut in half from the sheer force of his blows. She looked down at Bumper's feet, noticing he didn't move them very much. He was putting a lot of weight on his heels, keeping his feet in place whenever he swung.
Chloe smirked. Simple, she thought. Bumper swung high—Chloe could hear the rush of wind past her ear as she ducked down, and with a wide sweep, her spear came in contact with the side of his right leg, causing him to topple onto his back and land with a weight that rattled the rack nearby.
Bumper grabbed his leg, a gash appearing from his ankle up to his knee. "Fuck!" he shouted loudly before noticing Chloe hovering over him, the pointy end of the spear at his chest.
Chloe gave him a sweet smile and dropped her spear to his side. She spun around, her red hair flying gracefully over her shoulder, and began walking. She felt proud, more confident even, that maybe the other tributes weren't as tough as she made them out to be. However, a weird anger returned. She felt it invade her stomach as she passed Beca. The girl was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and her arms tight across her chest. The girl was sleeping—sleeping while Chloe showed off how goddamn good she was in a fight! Chloe shook her head, her smile fading into a frown as she left the room.