"Blaine Anderson."
That was his name, he thought she'd just read out his name. But his is panic left him unable to move as the seconds passed and the whispering around him got louder. A boy beside him, nudged his side sharply, pulling him from the daze he'd sunk into. He was still motionless, terrified of the thought of actually moving forward, of this nightmare turning out to nothing but that. His dreams had conjured up this moment so many times before each one getting more and more nightmarish but every time they had proven to be simply that, a nightmare. Blaine realised that he was not going to be able to pinch himself and once again find himself safely in his bed, he was going to have to step up and face the arena.
It felt like hours had gone by since his name had been called but the reality was that it had been mere seconds. Taking a deep breathe to steady his pounding heart, Blaine pushed his way through the crowds of people, people he had grown up with and cared for, forging a path to the stage.
Darcy Cogan stood with her arm outstretched, beckoning him to the centre of the stage where the young female tribute stood waiting, tears glistening in the sun as they slowly made their way down her pale face. Her name was Ariella or something, Blaine hadnt really bothered to listen when she'd been called up. He'd been to busy messing around with his friends, confident that he'd be fine for another year. His cocky smile faltered as he turned to look at the girl, a girl he recognised as a family friend, no more than twelve years old.
Their hands grasped one another quickly, her soft, delicate fingers falling limply to her side. Darcy spoke cheerily once more, addressing the crowd of stony facd onlookers before handing the mic to the mayor. His low voice easily passed over Blaine's ears.
The anthem started a last time before he and Ariella were escorted into the Justice building to await visitors who wished to say a final goodbye.
To say the room Blaine was taken to was large would be an understatement. The room was bigger than his whole house, and he was pretty certain that the furniture cost more that the entire district earned in a year. Large windows stretched from the floor to the ceiling, each with deep red curtains framing them. A huge mirror hung on the wall opposite the door, reflecting Blaine as he made his way cautiously into the room. He considered removing his shoes to avoid soiling the thick golden coloured carpet that covered the whole room.
Once confident that the young man in front of them was not going to try and escape, the peacekeeper who had been following Blaine left to collect any visitors waiting.
Blaine removed his jacket and walked over to the mirror, checking his appearance. He smoothed down the loose curls that were coming out of the neatly applied gel, before straightening his bow tie and smiling bravely into the mirror.
"You can do this Blaine, plenty of people have won and gone on to live normal lives. Maybe this will be the year the victor doesn't actually kill anyone. Your family need you to come home. Kurt needs you to come home." His voice cracked at the end of his little pep talk to himself, but he furiously blinked back the tears, determined not to cry.
The woman standing in the doorway placed a hand over her mouth in an attempt to cover her bitter sob, alerting him to the presence of his visitors. Blaine spun on his heel in time to see the mass of curly hair that was his sister come hurtling across the room into his arms.
"Hey little one," Blaine said softly, bending his knees to look the four year old in the eyes. "Dont cry Tera, you need to be strong for gran. You're going to help her with the cleaning and the shopping ok?" he realised that these tasks would be difficult for a four year old to accomplish by herself, but Tera stood up straighter, hazel eyes brimmed with unshed tears but a determined look on her young face as she silently accepted the responsibility.
Blaine forced a smile, glancing at his grandmothers anxious expression, "I'll try to win." it wasn't much but it was all he could promise.
All to soon, the peacekeepers were back to escort him out of the building to a car that would be taking them to the train station. Blaine had never been in a car, his parents had never been able to afford one and following their deaths and his resultant move into the village with his grandmother they had never needed one.
Ariella slid into the seat beside him, smiling weakly before a fresh wave of tears engulfed her and she sobbed into her hands. Darcy sat in the front, chatting nine-to-the-dozen about anything and everything. He didn't pay attention, catching little bits of conversation. He blinked in surprise at the mention of Kurt's name but chose to push it to the back of his mind, instead using the time to consider his plan of action and how he would use his looks to his advantage. He'd promised to try to win and dispite his lack of training, he wasn't prepared to go down without a fight.
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