Hello everyone! Here is Chapter 4! I'd just like to give a big thanks to britmck, who has helped me throughout and given me, great ideas and suggestions. Check out their profile! Here it is and sorry it has taken forever AGAIN. Homework has not been easy on me these days. I do not own the wonderfully written Hunger Games all credit goes to Suzanne Collins.

Laina's POV

The ride to the train is very awkward. The only person talking is Effie, who is completely oblivious to the fact that nobody is listening or willing to join in on her ridiculous conversation.

I am just upset so I just decide to be quiet and attempt to not cry in front of them. Gale, however, is seems to be just plain angry.

"I do hope we arrive soon that our train leaves on time!" Effie complains, hinting to the driver of our carriage.

"If we're off schedule I'll just have to rewrite the whole thing overnight!" She complains with a sigh.

"And what a shame that would be." I hear Gale mutter under his breath.

I attempt a small laugh but it comes out as more of a choke.

It is silent for several moments before Effie speaks again. Only this time, it's not to herself.

"I just love your dress Laina! The white embroidery is just beautiful! And that color pink is just so lovely!"

She barely even takes a breath as she speaks.

"Thanks." I say as my cheeks flush in surprise.

She stares at me for several more moments before I realize she is expecting me to give more information.

"My mother is a Seamstress. I help her repair clothes often, but she's always been more of the one that makes clothes. The process can be very complicated. She made this for me just last year as a gift, this type of fabric is very expensive in our district." I explain, wondering if I've said too much.

Which is exactly why I didn't want to wear it! I remind myself bitterly. The people from the Seam already think town people are snobs, why prove their point by wearing a dress that probably costs twice the money they get?

I couldn't have resisted the gift though, my mother had been so happy giving it to me I couldn't crush her happiness by refusing to wear it.

"It's just beautiful. Oh, I can just tell you will love the Capitol!" Effie claps with enthusiasm.

Gale scoffs from the other side of the carriage.

He must hate me, or he at least thinks I'm some sort of townie brat.

Anyways, I decide not comment on what Effie has said. I already know what my opinion is on the Capitol. I've always hated them. They are the horrid taste of cruelty.

I despise everything about them.

To their expensive rich foods, their hugely decorated homes, the insane contraptions they call fashion… I hate all of it.

I look over and see Effie silently smoothing out the wrinkles in her bright purple skirt with a scowl and I realize I have forgotten to be polite and compliment the poor woman back.

I know that she is annoying and way too bubbly but I don't think she really realizes what's going on around her sometimes. She's too wrapped up in her own little world to even comprehend that life is really difficult for others.

"I love the color of your skirt! The bow really ties the whole color scheme together too." I tell her as I stare at the huge frilly bow plastered on top of her colorful wig.

"Isn't it just stunning? When I saw it I just knew it would go perfectly with this!" Effie rambles on as her eyes light up.

I look over just in time to see Gale roll his eyes at her in annoyance. Or is he rolling them at me?

I must sound so stupid to him.

Not that I'm surprised. I didn't exactly expect Gale Hawthorne to be nice to me anyways. He doesn't like the idea of town people. I think he knows his anger towards us is misdirected though. It's the Capitol we all want dead.

"Finally!" Effie sings as we get to the station.

We arrive and walk to the door of the train to be greeted by District twelve's favorite victor.

Haymitch Albernathy.

When we greet him he's drunk. Then again the only times I've seen him were when he was drunk so I don't really know the difference.

"Decided to show up fashionably late Princess?" Haymitch slurs at Effie.

"I'll have you know that we arrived perfectly on time!" Effie protests.

"And don't call me that!" She adds in a high-pitched voice.

Haymitch just laughs at her weak comeback.

With that, Effie pushes past him and leads us up the steps that enter us into the train.

Wow.

That's all I can think as we enter. Though it's a pretty small space they have made it just as modern and elegant. For a minute I have to remind myself that I hate everything about the Capitol, but its just so stunning.

I stare in awe at the beautifully carved tables and the shimmery chandeliers that hang from the ceiling. How does all of this fit into one train?

After Gale and I are finished gaping at the sight, Effie offers us plush seats by a window.

Soon Haymitch follows us inside and is sitting at a table, drinking.

"Well I have some organizing to do so why don't you all enjoy yourselves?" Says Effie.

Just as she's about to leave she speaks once more.

"Oh and you two, your rooms are down that hallway. So feel free to just freshen up before dinner tonight!" She includes with a bright smile.

We are all silent in return as she turns and leaves.

I clear my throat to ease the silence just before I speak.

"So, Haymitch…" I begin as he turns his head to look at me, drink in hand.

"Can we discuss our-?" But before I can finish he rudely interrupts me.

"Whoa! We nearly just got here… Your so eager." He spits out.

"Well things do start tomorrow, we might want to figure out our strategies before-" Again I am interrupted.

"Listen sweetheart, I have no obligation to help either of you. "

"So your not even going to try to help us?! Isn't that your job?!" Gale asks angrily as he stands up from his chair.

"What's your name?" Haymitch asks; his eyes narrowed at Gale. His completely random question leaves us both dumbfounded, but then I have too remember that he is drunk.

"Gale."

Haymitch bursts into laughter. Gale looks at me for an explanation; but I give him a look that says I have no clue.

"Like a woman's name?" He roars with drunken laughter.

After this realization, Gale's blood boils and he clenches his fists, waiting any moment to strike.

"I once knew someone named Gale…. And she wore red lipstick and pencil skirts!" Haymitch is shaking hard from laughing.

"He's just drunk." I point out to Gale, trying to ease his anger. Or maybe this is just how he always acts…

Haymitch laughs even harder when he sees the look on Gale's face.

"Why do you have to make everything sound better than it is? You wouldn't know anything about bad... town girl." He shoots at me angrily. The name he refers to me to hurts but I just tell myself that he is upset.

I know that his mood has nothing to do with what Haymitch has said, he's more angry that nobody here is taking this seriously. And I know exactly how he feels.

"I'm going to my room." Gale says flatly, after I don't respond.

I watch him go down the hallway and out of sight. Haymitch is still in hysterics behind me. Pathetic.

I want to go talk to Gale, but I know he hates me, so what's the point? And why wouldn't he, all I do is talk about how easy of a life I have compared to his.

So instead, I too end up heading to my room; leaving a drunken man behind.

I open the door to my room and sit down slowly on the bed to observe my surroundings.

The room isn't as elaborate as I thought it would be, and I like it because it's less Capitol-like.

There's just a simple wooden dresser across from my bed with designs carved onto the knobs and a rounded mirror sitting above it, just high enough for me to see my reflection. I look over and also notice a small red armchair in the corner of the room.

Feeling to dressy, I pull of my dress and search the dresser for something decent to wear.

I quickly funnel through the clothes and decide on a simple white blouse and a pair of jeans.

To occupy myself, I play with my waist-long hair and put it into two long fishtail braids. With a sigh I sit back down on the bed and stare blankly at my reflection. My thoughts overwhelm me quickly after having tried to relax for the last few hours.

Why is Gale so mean to me? Does he think I look down on him like a rich snob would? He won't even mind when I die. In fact, he might even be happy about it! I wish I could just change his mind about me. I wish I could get everyone to like me!

I must have been in my room for a long time crying because suddenly I hear a loud knock on my door that makes me jump.

"Dinnertime!" Effie's voice belts with enthusiasm.

I wait until I hear the sound of her large heels parading away to get up and head towards the dining room.

When I arrive I am disappointed to see that Gale is nowhere in sight. Then again, I really shouldn't care. But for some odd reason, I do.

Effie sits up straight at the end of the table and I take a seat to the right of her.

I have the urge to run back to my room to avoid any conversation but I find myself glued to the seat when I smell the rich foods from the other room. I've never had Capitol food, but I know that even just the smell of it can draw you from miles away.

I hear footsteps and quickly turn my attention to the doorway, disappointed to see Haymitch stagger in.

He grunts but eventually takes the seat across from Effie at the other side of the marble table.

We all sit awkwardly for a couple of seconds but then a servant dressed in all red with fiery red hair to match silently sets the food on the table.

"Thank you." I say politely to the boy.

The boy's eyes widen a bit in fear but he only curtly nods. My eyes press down in confusion as he walks away without a word.

Haymitch and Effie are both staring at me with concern.

"What?" I ask worriedly.

"You shouldn't acknowledge them at all unless you are instructing something." Effie tells me without any further explanation.

"Why?" I ask stupidly before I can stop myself.

"He is an avox. It means that they're tongues have been removed as a punishment for a crime and they all now serve the Capitol as servants and cannot be spoken to at all." Haymitch explains in complete honesty and with no emotion in his voice.

I am horrified at the truth in his words but attempt to hide it by pushing around the food on my plate with my fork.

What sort of things could they have done that resulted in a punishment like that?

"Where's Gale?" I quickly ask. Only to be interrupted by a small chuckle that comes from the other side of the table.

"He's coming. I think he's just a bit irritated about something." Effie hints, shooting daggers at Haymitch. So I guess she must have overheard…

"Somebody looking for me?" Gale asks as he walks through the door and takes a seat across from me, leaving Haymitch with two empty chairs on both sides of him.

"Well look who decided to finally show up…" Haymitch sneers sarcastically.

The table begins to drift back to solitary silence but Effie quickly tries to reel back a conversation.

"We'll be watching the recaps of the reaping's tonight." She tells us as if we cared.

Haymitch coughs before adding to what she has said.

"It gives you a good look at what you'll be competing with. You might want to pay attention because it can help you in figuring out a strategy."

Gale and I stare at him in disbelief. This is the first time he has ever said something that is actually useful and isn't sarcastic or stupid.

"What about alliances?" I ask to get as much information as I can out of him while he is in a helpful mood.

"Those aren't important right now. You'll have a chance to figure all that out during the training sessions with your fellow tributes. But you'd probably be better off on your own. What's important right now is that you figure out what kind of an impression you want to give."

I nod, soaking in every bit of information that he has given me. I even see Gale take a look of interest at his words of advice.

"How do you like the food?" Effie asks excitedly.

"It's very good." I manage to get out, while Gale says nothing. I bet he is biting his tongue, I think with a smirk.

Though neither of us admits it, but we are practically scarfing down the richly delicious food on our plates, unable to stop. It has such an extraordinary taste that it electrifies my taste buds.

When I cannot fill my stomach any longer I sit back in my chair and see that Gale is doing the same. I'm satisfied until I begin to get a stomachache. Stupid Capitol food.

"Well the reapings will be on in about 10 minutes, shall we go take a seat by the television?" Effie asks formally.

We say nothing but answer by reluctantly getting up from our chairs and following her.

Haymitch plops down on a round white chair and Gale sits on the sofa, leaving no room for me to sit anywhere. Hoping he'll eventually notice, I stand awkwardly and stare at the TV screen hoping to look occupied.

Unfortunately Effie doesn't notice either, for she is fiddling with the remote.

It's Haymitch who saves me from my misery.

"Make room for the poor girl, Hawthorne! Should we make you sit on the floor like a real gentleman?" He prompts forcefully yet with abundant sarcasm.

Gale's head snaps, as if he has come out of an unending trance.

"Wh-what?" He says as he looks over at me, as if I had magically appeared. Then he realizes I've been standing the entire time.

"Wouldn't hurt the privileged girl." He mutters as he gives me a dirty look. My heart sinks but I chose to forgive him, as I always do.

And with that Gale quietly scoots over, nothing further said, which I am gladly appreciative of yet disappointed at the lack of conversation.

There is just something so interesting about Gale Hawthorne. I hadn't realized it till now but I suddenly want to know what is going through his head like I can practically predict like everyone else. I've always been so good at reading people but why is it so hard to predict any words or reactions that come from him?

I feel compelled to figure him out; it's like a challenge. I know he hates me, so how come I can't just hate him back?

He leaves me wondering whether or not he actually didn't notice me or didn't want me to be there so he ignored me. He does seem upset by something though… I mean, besides the obvious fact that we are about to be in a fight to the death. That's not what seems to be puzzling him.

Suddenly music begins to play on the television and Caesar walks in showing off his bright blue hair he dyes a different color for every games.

He is smiling as bright as ever when he begins his introduction but quickly starts showing the footage.

They start off with District 1 as always and a beautiful blonde in a tight dress volunteers confidently, strutting up the stage while waving and blowing kisses to the ecstatic crowd, mostly made up men. I'm sure that this is the exact angle she is going for. She looks like all she wants to do is steal the show from everyone else but at least she does not appear to be very violent and intimidating like most of the Careers that volunteer. Her name turns out to be Glimmer, and it fits perfectly with her looks.

I make sure to pay attention well to the Careers, since they will be the biggest threat in the arena. I notice that the boy from 1 is confident like most Careers, but he doesn't seem to have anything special about him.

The District two girl and boy are intimidating, they both are cocky and I'm almost positive they know a million different ways to kill a person. I only catch the name of the shouting boy, Cato. I can't remember the name of the short dark-haired girl who smiles deviously, but I definitely don't forget her.

I don't pay close attention but when District four shows up I quickly turn my attention to the screen again, since sometimes the tributes from there join with the Careers, since they are a richer district.

The girl who is called looks about the age of seventeen and shows no reaction to her name being called. She doesn't occur to be extremely dangerous, so I quickly forget her.

Then a boy is called.

The boy called looks up at the stage in surprise, but hurriedly starts to make his way forward. Judging by looks, I'd say he is about the age of fifteen but he is very skinny and tall so it's hard to tell.

I don't pay attention to any of the other tributes until it get's to district eight, and a small girl around the age of fourteen catches my attention.

She has short chocolate brown hair that is only a bit longer than her chin and she is very tan. Her eyes were a striking color of green and she composes herself better than even some of the older tributes did.

In a way she reminds me of my brother, the way she keeps composure of herself so easily and the look in her eyes remind me so much of how I miss Lukki.

It's coming closer to twelve for they are already showing the reaping of District eleven. A short girl that is surely the youngest of reaping age is called and the whole crowd murmurs unhappily, no one is ever happy when a young one is called, it's not fair that they fight against others twice their size and age.

Her fellow tribute is a large eighteen-year-old named Thresh that nobody could miss. He is not a Career but he looks even bigger than Cato. I make sure to make note of him as a potential threat.

Finally comes District twelve, last as usual.

I make my way to the stage first and notice that I didn't even try to look composed. I look very frightened as I walk up to the stage and you can almost see the tears in my eyes.

Surely now I will just be remembered as a weakling, who couldn't handle it.

Unlike heroic Gale, who volunteers bravely for his brother and shows no signs of fear or emotions.

It ends with Caesar wrapping up with some comments about the tributes this year, mainly talking about the Careers but he also talks about Gale and how we almost never get a volunteer from an outline District.

Then the program ends and goes back to some sort of silly Capitol show that its citizens must like to watch.

I stare at the screen and play through the images of the other tributes in my head, making sure to remember. But all I can think about is the fact that there are so many young kids in this and will surely die.

"This year has some of the greatest opponents I've seen in years." Haymitch comments, pulling down our spirits.

He doesn't mean this badly, I know that he is only trying to help us by being completely honest but it still doesn't make me feel better.

Fighting back tears, I simply get up and walk to my room. Once I'm in the safety of my room however, I burst into tears.

Gale's POV

"You know, you are just so encouraging." I sarcastically shoot at Haymitch after Laina leaves the room.

Unfortunately, he is right about really good tributes this year. I hadn't even considered alliances before but the guy from eleven doesn't look to bad to side with.

All the Careers this year look as prepared as usual. I want to slit the girl from one's throat because she's so annoying. Guess I picked the right time to be in the Hunger Games.

Having Laina out of the room reminds me of how I accidentally ignored her. I didn't actually intend to do it on purpose, I was just still reflecting on what Katniss had said to me before I left.

"Remember, you can hunt; you can swim, and you know how to set traps and use a bow and arrow."

Maybe she was right, I might possibly have more of a chance than most of the others.

I have to say though; I didn't feel sorry for ignoring her. Since I might have to watching her die soon, I don't really want to make friends.

Why does she seem so open to being friends? It doesn't make since. I'm so rude to her, but she doesn't even try to defend herself.

"What about you? All you've done today is bash at a girl you don't even know." He says defensively.

Okay I'll admit; I have been pretty harsh with her. Maybe taking my anger out on her has just made it easier to ignore the sadness I have. It's not fair. I hate to admit it, but Haymitch is right. I barely even know Laina.

She's just so freaking cute! Wait, where did that come from?

However, I refuse to give Haymitch the satisfaction of being right so I discreetly excuse myself and head towards the hallway.

I stand by her door, debating whether to knock or not. Just give a quick apology, and act like nothing happened. I repeat to myself in my head.

Until I suddenly hear a huge sob coming from the other side of the door that continues with quiet crying.

Crap. I really hope I was not part of the cause in her emotions.

Feeling like a stalker, I quickly decide against knocking and retire to my room for the night.

I can't sleep and all I can think about is how I heard her sobbing and that I was most likely part of the reason why.

Why do I have to be so damn heartless?