Interview
"Are you out of your mind?"
"I'm sorry! I was mad!"
"I think it's hilarious!"
"Oh, Bobby!"
"It's very 'Dean' of you," whispered the blonde next to him on the sofa.
Dean couldn't help but smile. "What did you do?" he asked her.
Jo snuggled down on the cushions. "Secret," she smiled coyly.
Dean let out a chuckle. "All righty then."
"When do the scores come on?" asked Jo as she looked at the adults in the room.
"Should be any minute now," Castiel answered. He and Becky had turned up about an hour ago, Meg having invited them to dinner.
The television blinked in front of the two teenagers and Balthazar Whippett's face appeared on the screen.
"Hello, hello, hello all!" the chirpy redhaired man announced. Balthazar Whippett had been the interviewer for the Hunger Games Tributes for the past 24 years, his first year having been when Bobby had competed in the Second Quarter Quell at the age of 16. "Welcome to the review board for the 74th Annual Hunger Games! For the next half hour, we will be discussing the amazing and not so amazing performances that our lovely tributes have put on for the Gamemakers. Some have stunned our judges and some haven't. But I can guarentee you that it is going to be an interesting show."
Dean rolled his eyes again.
"You know, if you keep rolling your eyes, they will get stuck that way," Jo whispered in his ear.
Dean began to roll his eyes for the second time and quickly stopped himself. "Shut up," he hissed. Jo just smiled.
"Now, why don't we begin?" Balthazar chirped happily.
As usual, the Careers scored the highest. Casey and Gordon scored two 9's apiece. Brady and Ruby each scored a 10. The girl from District 4 pulled a 9. It went down through the list, showing the difference in numbers. The young boy from 4 scored a 6. The girl, Rachel, from District 11 scored a 10. That was pretty surprising because District 11 never usually did very well in the scorings at the private sessions.
The little boy from Eleven, Rachel's counterpart, scored an 8 surprisingly. It was then when Dean finally learned his name. Ben Lilden.
Ben...he was only twelve years old.
It made Dean shiver thinking about if Sam had gone, there would have been two twelve year olds.
"You okay?" Jo whispered, noticing his ashen face.
He nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Jo didn't believe him for a second.
"And finally, we have reached District Twelve! District Twelve has proved themselves to be one of the best teams since the Second Quarter Quell when their very own Bobby Singer had won. We have the lovely Joanna Harvelle and the strapping Dean Winchester as tributes this year," announced Balthazar.
"Oooh, here we go!" chortled Meg excitedly. She cast a glare in Dean's direction. "At least I know Joanna will bring something good for us this year. Last year's tributes earned a 2 apiece."
Dean suddenly had the strong urge to throw something at her.
"And first up, we have Joanna Harvelle..." Balthazar began. Jo's headshot appeared on the screen, looking quite serene. It had been the first time either of them had seen themselves on television since the night of the tribute parade. "And Joanna has earned...a nine!"
Jo's jaw fell to the floor. "A nine?" she choked out.
Dean couldn't help but beam for her. "Congratulations!"
"I can't believe I got a nine..." her voice trailed off.
Meg clapped her hands together. "Wonderful!"
"And...now we have Dean Winchester. A seventeen year old boy who has already made a name for himself. He is hereby the 'Boy on Fire' in the eyes of the fans."
"Oh, who cares? Give us the score!" Bobby barked at the television.
"And Dean Winchester as earned an..." Balthazar glanced at his papers and then looked back to the camera, then quickly looked back down, rechecking the facts. "...eleven."
It was like the whole room had turned into a bunch of statues for a minute. Then Jo made the first noise.
"Oh...my...god..."
"An eleven?" Bobby yelped.
Meg continued to pat Dean on the shoulders, squealing happily. "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
An eleven...an eleven...
It couldn't be right. There had to be a mistake. There was no way he could have scored an eleven. Especially after nearly taking Gabriel's scalp off with his arrow. He had expected a zero or a one or a two but an eleven?
"Snap out of it, Dean. It's wonderful," said Jo.
"He's also going to earn some invitations from the Careers. Tiger, you're going to have some decisions to make," said Bobby. He took a swig from his flask.
"I'll never join the Careers," Dean spat angrily. "What kind of a person do you take me for?"
"Hell, I was offered that too in my Games," said Bobby.
"Did you take it?" asked Jo.
Bobby shook his head. "Nope."
That officially ended the conversation.
He stared at himself in the mirror.
Castiel had dressed him in a suit of jet black. He was black from head to toe, just like with the chariot costume. But at least he was a little bit more comfortable.
"Here are your shoes," said a voice from behind him. Dean glanced back to see Castiel holding a pair of leather boots with a small piece of metal sticking out from the heel.
"What's that?" he asked, gesturing to the metal piece.
"A little surprise," smirked Castiel, winking at him.
About forty five minutes had passed since the beginning of the interviews. Balthazar had been taking his time with all of the tributes, spending the most time with Districts 1, 2, and a girl from 5. Dean stood in the back, watching the girl from District 5. She had dark red hair and big wide golden brown eyes. She resembled a fox so much but he could tell that she had that certain fire.
After Foxfire was done with her interview, Balthazar continued on with his interviews. He reached District 11 and Ben came out first, dressed in a smooth white suit that made him look much older than he was. When Balthazar asked him questions, he answered with short replies, telling the interview master and also the audience that he was just in this to stay alive, not to kill anyone. Dean couldn't help but wince when he heard that small boy talking.
Rachel came next. Dean was amazed at how simply stoic that girl was. Strong and silent. But he knew that this girl was going to be one to beat in the Games. Balthazar spent five minutes trying to coax anything out of her, asking about her score in her private training session and what she had done. She remained tight lipped and answered his other questions with just a few words.
Finally, it was his turn.
"Wait until my signal before you do that," said Castiel as he gestured towards Dean's shoes.
Dean nodded. "Okay," he murmured.
"Knock 'em dead, Dean," whispered Jo before he disappeared through the curtain.
"And here we have someone who has definitely clarified himself as a worthy competitor…Dean Winchester!"
Dean slowly walked out onto the stage. He could see Castiel taking his place in the center of the audience, in perfect viewing so he could catch the signal.
"Well, hello there Dean!" Balthazar greeted cheerfully. His blond spiky hair stuck out all over head giving in the slight appearance of a cowbell. "How are you this evening?"
"Huh?" In truth, Dean hadn't heard a word that the man had said. The audience chuckled lightly.
"I think someone is a little nervous," smiled Balthazar. "How are you?"
"Oh! I'm all right," he mumbled. His stomach was jumping around so much he felt the strong urge to vomit.
"So tell me, what did you say to your little brother when you said goodbye to him after volunteering to take his place?" asked Balthazar.
Sam.
The mention of the reason why he was here quickly snapped him back to reality.
Turning his dark green eyes back to the brown ones of the interviewer, he stared deep, trying to make him understand.
"I told him that I would win."
The questions dwindled by. Balthazar asked him about the eleven he had earned and Dean clammed up, knowing what kind of havoc the Gamemakers would wreak on him in the arena if he blabbed. He could feel Castiel's eyes on him from the audience, knowing that the time would be coming up soon.
"So, one last question. Tell us about that amazing costume that you and your fellow tribute Joanna Harvelle wore at the tribute parade. That fire…was it real?"
Dean shook his head. He saw Castiel's slight nod and knew it was time. "No, it wasn't. But it sure looked real. I was so scared that I was going to burn to death until it actually lit up. I'm actually wearing the flames now. Would you like to see?"
The audience started to titter in excitement. Balthazar sat back. "Is it safe?" he asked.
Dean nodded. "I assure you, it's perfectly safe."
"Well go ahead, Fire Boy."
Funny how he nicknamed the girl from District 5 'Foxfire' and he was the one being called 'Fire Boy'.
Pulling himself off of the sofa, he took his place in the center of the stage. He pushed his right toe down into the hardwood and a blast of flames erupted from his heels, stretching up to his thighs and encasing him in the pleasant warmth. He moved off to the side in a slightly graceful movement, allowing the several different colors ripple around him.
The audience was going crazy. They were so loud that Dean could barely hear Balthazar hollering into his microphone.
"Dean Winchester, the Boy on Fire!"
"So, Joanna-"
"Call me Jo. I hate Joanna."
"Okay, Jo. Can you tell us anything about the beautiful nine that you earned in your private sessions?"
"All I can say is that I walked in there expecting to do something and I wound up doing something totally different," said the petite blonde.
Jo looked beautiful, dressed in a dark brown wrap around dress that brought out just how perfect her eyes were. She wore a bright gold chain around her throat that ended with a large gold pendant that was the shape of a mockingjay. Her dark blond tresses were piled on top of her head in soft curls.
Dean then gave himself a mental slap for checking out his soon to be enemy.
"Now, Jo, let me ask you. Is there anyone special at home?" said Balthazar.
Jo glanced down at her hand that was resting against her thigh. "There is someone that I've liked ever since I was little."
"Who's that?"
"Well…I don't even think he knew I was alive until I was chosen as tribute," she said quietly.
"Well, Jo…" Balthazar leaned closer to her. "Let me tell you this. You go out there and you win this thing, and he'll just have to notice you even more."
"I don't think that's possible, Balthazar," said Jo, finally bringing her eyes up to meet his.
"And why not?"
"Because the boy in the rain came here with me."
Hoo-ha! Finally!
Yes, it's still similar to Hunger Games. But I always had this intended, especially that Dean was taking the place of Katniss and Jo was taking the place of Peeta.
I do hope that you enjoyed. Reviews are immensely loved. I am in dire need of feedback for this story. Even if you hate it, go ahead and review! I am so desperate. :D
Next chapter will be the aftermath of the interview and then Dean and Jo being released into the arena.