A/N: Sorry about the delay, I love you guys and thanks for all reviews. College is crazy and I've been suffering a hangover this weekend only to be out drinking last night -.- me so clever. Anyhoo thanks once more to the gorgous Lotte whom I adore and I love y'all xxx
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Watching Blaine gaze out onto the city was somewhat entertaining. Kurt even smiled gently as Blaine's hungry eyes drank in the grandeur of the buildings speeding by. After some minutes Carole and a not so pale Sugar joined them. Kurt smiled gently towards Sugar and he motioned to the window.
She took a step forward and gazed out of the glass. Even her eyes widened.
"Wow..." She said in little more than a whisper and Kurt stood in beside Blaine, glancing to the huge buildings. They passed a long tower that was almost entirely covered by a huge poster. It had an aqua blue background and most of the image was half a face. Kurt's face. His eyes were highlighted with silver eyeliner and he had glitter on his cheek but other than that it was Kurt, no enhancements or anything Capitol like. He was smirking, cocky, exactly as they loved him now that he had grown and he was no longer the 'cute' little boy who won the Hunger Games.
"They love you." Blaine said in a whisper that was so low Kurt couldn't even tell what tone of voice he was using. Resentment? Indifference? He wanted to know, he wanted him to care. The young man was fully aware how selfish he was being but it didn't change how he felt.
"They love anything that can keep them entertained for five minutes." He said in a whisper, gazing to the young man. Blaine looked back to him and smiled gently. Kurt's stomach dropped and his heart beat faster in his chest. Instantly he knew what role he would have to coax Blaine into through interviews.
Heart breaker.
Not that it would take very much for him to pull that off.
Kurt looked at Sugar, wondering if Carole would convince her to play the scared little girl. Though he was sure that the girl from last year won with the same strategy. Kurt considered what he knew of Sugar's normal personality and honestly it was a lot like the girl Brittany from District 1.
But Kurt trusted Carole and he knew she'd do all she could to keep this girl alive. She moved closer and rested her hands on the young woman's shoulders.
"Let's get you ready." she said softly and lead Sugar away. By now, Blaine has pressed his hand to the glass as Kurt glanced over to him. He just stood beside him in silence for some seconds.
"When we get there...I want you to smile...like a smirk." He said to the older boy who turned to face him.
"Just a smile?" Kurt nodded.
"Just a smile...We need an angle to play you with. We need to appeal to the people in the Districts and I want to play on your strengths." A small laugh escaped Blaine.
"So you think I'm cocky?" Kurt smiled, gazing out the window.
"No. I don't. But I do know that every single one of them out there is going to eat you up." Kurt didn't want to blatantly tell him he was beautiful. He didn't want Blaine to know that he had noticed this. "I want you to break every single one of their hearts. Make them want you." Kurt wasn't looking to the other boy but he felt him tense.
"How do I do that?" He questioned and Kurt smiled.
"Remember when we were kids...everyone loved you."
"They loved you too." He defended and Kurt chuckled.
"Only because I was with you...Blaine, one smile from you and all these people will lose their mind. You just need to...stay desirable..." That shouldn't be a problem for Blaine. Kurt knew that. He began to question whether he should have told Blaine about this. It probably would have been easier to just tell him to be himself and not worry him about such details. If he was overly aware of being 'himself', he could become someone else entirely. Still he wanted to keep him informed.
"The train is slowing." Blaine noticed, glancing to Kurt. "What do I do?"
"Smile and be yourself." He nodded, swallowing loudly as he gazed out of the window. The train had been going through a long tunnel for the last minute or so and finally it came out the other end. Blaine took a step back. Hundreds, no, thousands of Capitol inhabitants were waiting. His breathing began to speed up and he shook his head.
"I can't do this Kurt." Unexpectedly, the younger man stretched out his hand and gripped Blaine's tightly. For a moment they looked to one another and he nodded.
"You can...you'll be amazing." He reassured him and Blaine just nodded dumbly, like he wanted to believe him.
"Y-yeah.."
Minutes later and both men had met up with Sugar, Carole and William. The eldest smiled and moved close to Kurt, touching his backside. Kurt tensed but forced a smile, his hand on Blaine's shoulder.
"Make 'em love you." He whispered and the doors opened onto the grandeur of the Capitol and they were greeted with cheers from thousands of people.
...
Hours later and Kurt found himself talking to someone who had become somewhat of an old friend of his. Alexander. Blaine would be his third tribute to dress. He was still considered relatively new but he had done well. Particularly because he did not work alone. It was unusual but Kurt worked hand in hand with Alexander. In fact, the young sensation had designed the outfits for this year tributes.
"Ceena was not happy with you helping out." Alexander chuckled, sipping on his water. "But he allowed it." Kurt liked Alexander, they got along well. Both had a keen interest in fashion and Alexander was down to earth, at least as far as people from the Capitol were concerned.
"It will be appreciated once we..." He heard some doors opening and he turned around, viewing Blaine walking in with simply a towel wrapped around his hips. His chest and legs had been erased completely of hair and every blemish was gone. Any red marks from electrical burns were faded and his hair was a mess of curls. His eyes somehow glowed, like they had been glossed or something, but that could have possibly been tears. Kurt wasn't sure. All he knew was Blaine was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen.
Blaine walked in with four people surrounding him. Three women and one man named Detri who was practically fawning over how gorgeous and wonderful this man was. All four of them were gushing over how they never had such a perfect tribute to work with in their entire career. Blaine was blushing, trying to be humble and polite. He was so sweet, kind. Kurt could have used his genuine and humble nature to his advantage but he wouldn't.
Even though the people of the Capitol would love him, Kurt wished to keep this side of Blaine for himself. At least himself and a few others.
"Kurt, you're here." He said in surprise and Kurt was unsure if the young man was annoyed with him for being here or not. He smiled but it seemed a little too polite. Alexander walked forward and introduced himself with a smile, indicating to a podium in which he was to be dressed. Kurt almost couldn't stop himself from requesting that Blaine stay dressed in just the towel. He managed to however and just smiled. The young man, so barely dressed like this, was just another side of Blaine he wanted to keep to himself. He didn't care about the prep team, it may as well have been just him and Blaine.
Blaine stood between the team as they darted around him and he smiled to Alexander.
"So may I ask what one of the best designers in Panem has planned for my ceremony outfit." Kurt smiled, realising that Blaine was buttering them up. Probably trying to practise on the team as to how he should react on front of the Capitol. Even Alexander's grin grew wide as he approached the young man with the perfect smile.
"I believe you may in fact thank Panem's own songbird for your outfit." He replied, taking some extra measurements as Blaine glanced to Kurt in surprise. The young man just smiled weakly but nodded. To his surprise, Blaine's prep team pulled off his towel with no warning. Leaving the poor young man completely bare.
Just before Blaine could suddenly cover himself, Kurt couldn't help but look. His very first thought was that he was thankful Blaine's team didn't leave him completely hairless. Although the waxed chest and legs were just to go with his outfit.
"I-I erm.." Kurt began to grow flustered and blushed as he realised what he had just seen. "I shall...allow you to work your magic Alexander." And with that he was gone.
...
Some time later Kurt found himself sitting in the Mentor stands. He gazed to the circle where the tributes would be parading, hoping it all fell into place. Carole sat beside him minutes later and touched his hand.
"I saw the outfits. Fabulous work Kurt." He smiled nervously as Finnick Odair sat on the other side of him. They exchanged friendly hello's and even discussed their tributes. Finnick was mentoring a boy by the name of Noah Puckerman who he said was one of the strongest swimmers he had come across in recent years. There was also a smaller girl by the name of Tina who he admitted he didn't know too much about. Kurt didn't want to give anything away about Blaine so he simply referred to him as the heart breaker.
"Looks like our boys have something to compete with before the games." Finnick chuckled and Kurt bit his lip. Did this mean that the Noah boy was playing the heart breaker route as well? His stomach twisted and he hoped not.
Evening approached and as the lights went down the doors opened. District 1 came out first of course, the two beautiful blondes wearing no clothes, but their bodies were bedazzled in brilliant jewels. They each wore crowns which Kurt found a little obnoxious. Like they were predicting victory already. He saw the girl wave excitedly, even blow kisses and the boy just waved.
They were greeted with screams and cheers, as was District 2 but Kurt couldn't even remember what they wore. He was too anxious about the arrival of his own tributes. Carole gave him a confident smile and suddenly a loud clap of thunder sounded and a bright flash lit up the entire arena. People were gasping, some even screamed. It was like a lightening flash but there was no sigh of it anywhere other than the arena. It took a moment for people to realise the flash came from the rather hi-tech chariot riding out the doors. Kurt grinned.
The chariot had a somewhat rustic charm, despite how new and polished it was. It was ivory with golden pillars and vines wrapped along it. The horses pulling it were a matching cream, their mains white but they were laced with golden flakes and strands and even they were styled to give the impression they were standing on end. Somewhat electrified.
Standing on the carriage was Blaine and Sugar. Both dressed simply, at least in contrast to most of the other contestants.
Kurt had been going through his history books. Technology depended on electricity and he had always had a fascination with an age old race known as the Greeks. He had heard of Zeus, one of their gods who was known for his armoury of thunderbolts. If there was a storm in the sky he was angered. He had been fascinated and poured over images of the god for so long. Designing the outfit that Blaine was to wear.
His waxed chest was mostly on display due to the toga he was wearing. It tied on his right shoulder, falling loosely over his bodice. It extended to his knees. The fabric was a cream colour not unlike his chariot but it was special. It was similar to Kurt's jacket from the reaping, giving the impression of almost being lived with electricity. If one was to look close enough it was almost like the sparks were jumping off his body. He wore golden sandals with straps extending up along his calves, just like the golden vines on the chariot. His hair was still curled but somehow retained its shape. Looking natural and yet the curls didn't move, gelled in place. There was flecks of gold in it like the horses and around his head rested a wreath of golden leaves. Kurt understood this had been more of a roman thing but it looked rather good. He had gauntlets on either hands. Kurt noticed something he hadn't authorised.
He wasn't waxed, he was painted but not like the people of the Capitol who dyed themselves all types of silly colours. The paint was clear but glossy, although Kurt could vividly see movement, almost like bolts of electricity swimming over his body. It was like the boy was himself the entity of power. Everything down to his expression was perfect. He had on a small smile, not cocky but proud. He appeared so confident and cool yet his eyes expressed a sort of oblivion that Kurt knew would drive the people of the Capitol crazy with need. It wasn't as if he was above them like Finnick acted and probably suggested his tribute act too. It was like they had a chance but try as they might the young man would never notice them out of sheer oblivion.
"Perfect..." He couldn't hide his admiration for how his old friend looked, riding out in style. Sugar looked lovely too. Her toga covering over her entire body, maintaining her modesty. It extended down to her ankles and her hair was tied back, slightly backcombed to give it more of a static appearance. She was the same from Blaine other than those differences.
Both looked glorious and Kurt couldn't have felt more proud.
He could hear some of the mentors whispering to one another as the crowd went wild. Finnick's tributes in their mermaid costumes went practically unseen, as did most of the other tributes. In fact, Blaine and Sugar's most competition was probably One, due to how their chariot lit up, sparkling off the jewels.
"I heard that Panem's songbird was responsible for the designs of Three." Finnick said, smiling gently to Kurt. "They are spectacular." Kurt smiled modestly and nodded in appreciation.
"Thank you Finnick." He said, gazing across to Garnet and Sapphie, the District 1 mentors. Their smile was clearly false and played out as they grinned to him, but he smiled back and inclined his head.
"They look spectacular." He informed them and Sapphie chuckled.
"I know." She whispered, pushing her golden hair over her shoulder.
The chariots rode around the arena, the cheer loudest from wherever either One or Three passed by. Two were normally the favorites but their Terminator styled outfits weren't necessarily going down a treat.
Kurt just smiled, his eyes never leaving that perfect smile from Blaine when he came on the screen. He tried to block out the voice in his head, telling him that he was leading the boy to the slaughter. Right now, he gained hope by how much they all loved him.
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A/N: Hope ye enjoyed it xx thanks for reviews, btw wish me luck tomorrow. I'm auditioning for our college's version of Grease as the angel x3 love ye xxx
