Chapter 4: The Start Of Something New

(A/N): I am so sorry for the late update! My majors are really really close, so don't expect updates any time soon either But trust me, after 15 November I will update as much as I can! Thanks for taking the time to read and review! Continue to do so, and follow if you haven't done so! Be sure to check out my other fanfic, the interactive Glee Project, and contribute characters as well :D x)

I made this chapter much much longer than before, due to my lonnnngggg absence. Take it as an apology for my late update! Hope it satisfies!

REPEAT: There will be a time span from 30 Nov to 9 Dec that I will be overseas, so no posting then! 15 October to 15 November will also have no chapter updates at all. My extremely important exams are in that time frame! Other times, I promise you guys I will post regularly :)

Oh, and to all the reviewers (surprisingly mainly guests) who keep asking for a Puckleberry story, chill and relax! This is a Puckleberry story! So sit back and enjoy the twists and turns of the plot! After all, one of the genres for this fic is romance, and the 2 main characters are Puck and Rachel! Now I won't reveal any more :)

Lastly, shout outs to Princesakarlita411 once again (And by the way Shelby is not Rachel's bio mum in this fic :B), thelookonyourface, Anouki90 and the guests for the reviews! Keep them coming!

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, nor do I own The Hunger Games. D:

How many minutes had passed since the train set off? Ten? Twenty? Puck couldn't care less. He was on his way to the Capitol to face a fate even worse than death – having to fight in the Hunger Games. Puck already started to miss District 12. His friends, his mother, basically everything. But truly the thought of being away from his mum and being so far away from home really took a toll on him. I'm just so far from where you are, I wanna go home! Puck screamed in his head, thinking only of his mum.

Sighing, he turned to look at Rachel. His gaze fixated at her, and he watched her every movement. From the quiet sobs to the insecure movements, he saw and heard everything. It was only after a minute or so that he realised he had been staring for way too long. Quickly averting his gaze, he looked at the mountains and hills that flashed by him out the window.

"I know you've been watching me," Rachel suddenly said in a quiet voice, giggling slightly when she saw the 'Oh my god you did?' face on Puck.

"Well, there's nothing better to look at here," Puck replied with a smirk.

"I take that as a compliment."

"You should, Rach. After all, you rarely receive compliments, right?" was Puck's spontaneous, light – hearted reply that made Rachel smile with glee.

"Oh, shut it, Noah." Rachel jokingly told him, adding stress to the name 'Noah'.

"Don't call me Noah, Berry! It's so uncool."

"That's why it fits you so damn well!" Rachel exclaimed, chuckling with a slight snort that made Puck laugh as well.

"Berry, Berry, Berry… Tsk tsk," was all Puck said before shifting his weight to face the window again.

Rachel followed suit, and an awkward silence followed after that. Both were completely absorbed in their own thoughts until the shrill sound of a whistle jolted them out of their thoughts just 30 seconds later. Snapping their heads up, they looked on in confusion as Berdenta stepped into the room they were in from her own.

Wait, had she already changed out of her clothes? In less than 30 minutes? How the heck was it even possible? Clad in a purple gown and a silver string that ran across her waist, she smiled at them like the Cheshire Cat. Her hair had been braided, and – wait wait wait, hold up, did her hair colour just change? Why was it a deep hue of blue now? So many questions like these raced through Rachel's mind as Berdenta took a seat next to her. Puck, on the other hand, just waved sarcastically and didn't even seem to notice her drastic change in appearance. Probably too focused on his fate, Rachel guessed, a slight pout forming on her face.

"Well hello, my dearies! Is the anticipation just killing you guys?" she asked, eyes glistening.

"No, someone else will soon," Rachel replied, making Berdenta frown a little.

"Well anyway, I forgot to mention that your mentor for the games, Shelby, is in the train with us. She'll be joining us in a little while to give some pointers and tips! So be ready to listen and learn!" she exclaimed.

And for the first time ever, Rachel and Puck actually paid attention to what Berdenta said. While Rachel focused on the fact that she was going to get survival tips, Puck however was more concerned that Shelby would be joining them soon. So she must have heard the news that he was in the Games. Would she be devastated? Maybe even scared? Whatever it was, he continued to mindlessly listen while Berdenta reminded that about stuff they already knew.

"… And that's point number 8. Oh, and make sure to always eat twice a day, it builds up your-"

Berdenta's incessant noise pollution was abruptly cut off by the sound of a door opening. All three heads turned to look at the door to see Shelby Corcoran enter. Puck immediately stiffened at the sight of her. She wore a simple white dress, and her jet – black, wavy hair was let down. He gave a little smile when Shelby looked at him, only to be given a frown in return.

"Berdenta, would you mind if I talk to Noah over there for a second?" Shelby asked in a mellifluous, high – pitched voice. Puck gave a disapproving look as he heard the name Noah.

"Sure thing!" was Berdenta's reply, and Puck immediately sprang out of his chair, eager to get away from both Berdenta and her noise pollution.

"What's up?" Puck asked, trying to maintain a semblance of calm as Shelby ushered him into another room. It was dimly lit and there was a small bed in the middle.

"Puck… I… Well…"

Puck smiled slightly as she started using his preferred name. "It's okay, I understand. I'm coping pretty well with being reaped, considering I haven't even attempted suicide yet."

"Stop it, don't scare me like that! I just… You know what happened to your father. I don't want the same thing happening to you! You're like my own child Puck; I don't ever want to see anything bad happen to you!"

Puck groaned inwardly. Shelby was totally oblivious to his feelings for her – she just child-zoned him, if that was even possible. And it pained his heart just to hear about his father. Dammit, why did he have to be reaped? He wasn't even 12 to 18! Just because it was Panem's 100th birthday, the Capitol's President, President Figgins, had decided that anyone in the District, as long as they were above 12, could be reaped.

"Well then I guess you're going to have to train me well," Puck grinned. He had no idea when his optimism started to kick in, he was never one to look on the positive side of stuff. Maybe it was because it was Shelby he was talking to?

"Even still… What about…"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," was Puck's swift reply to Shelby's concern. He knew what she was going to ask about. Rachel. Giving a slight nod, Shelby ushered Puck back into the room he was in previously, following closely behind. Shutting the door behind them, they then sat beside each other, opposite to Rachel and Berdenta, who was emphasising to Rachel the importance of a weapon. You don't say.

"Well now, since everyone is here, I guess we can start. Shelby," Berdenta began, signalling to Shelby.

"Right… Well, first of all, I've got a few pointers for you guys. Take note of these. First of all, water sources are vital for you guys to survive. So make sure a lack of water doesn't kill you."

Both Rachel and Puck nodded in unison, remembering what their parents had told them earlier about drinking only safe water, and figuring out the arena patterns.

"Next… Check out the competition. Know your enemies. Know your friends. Please… Ally with the right tributes." A slight sense of discomfort in the tone of her voice went unnoticed by Rachel and Berdenta but not by Puck. He knew when she was uncomfortable.

"Make alliances with tributes that will not only help you, but be of use to you two. In my opinion, I think that you two should actually ally with more people. This way, your chances of survival when in a group battle against careers would increase ten folds! Just be careful as to who you befriend. You may never know their true intentions. And do bear in mind that your group members will eventually have to fight each other as the numbers decrease, so no revealing of your weaknesses."

A mental note was added right then to Rachel and Puck's minds. That might come in handy.

"Now, I want you guys to think about some stuff. Will you ally with each other?"

Rachel and Puck looked at each other. No words were needed, they knew what they wanted. "Of course," Puck smiled, as did Rachel. "We'll stay together till the end."

But the look on Shelby's face seemed dubious. "And then? What happens when it's just you two left? You can't be in the arena forever." Shelby's tone was harsh and straightforward.

"But…"

"This is why you need to really think about being an alliance. Would you want to fight each other to the death? Why do you think most tributes don't ally with their District partners? And even if they do, they're either not close with each other and don't mind killing each other later, or they're careers. You guys aren't careers. Neither are you guys strangers to each other. So I'll leave you guys to think about that later," Shelby lectured in a lighter tone. Puck sighed. This wasn't going to be easy at all.

"Never mind that… Here's what's next. What image are you going to portray to the public?" was Shelby's next question.

"Huh?" the blur-block that was Puck asked, not understanding her question.

"What I mean is, will you be known to the public as 'The Brave Guy' or 'The Strategic Girl' or anything of the matter? Do bear in mind that you both acted very confident in front of the cameras during the reapings, so no using the Cassandra July strategy." Shelby answered, clarifying his doubt.

"What's the Cassandra July strategy?" Rachel inquired curiously.

Shelby turned to her and continued. "July was a 14 year old tribute who was reaped for the 53rd Hunger Games. She maintained a timid, cowardly image in front of everyone and made it seem like she was the weakest. She even scored a 2 for the assessment with sponsors, the lowest ever recorded. She also had the lowest odds to win, 4017/1! But when the Games started… She turned into a cold hearted, vicious killing machine. She just went into a rampage, showing expertise with bows and arrows, and wiped out most of the tributes in just 4 days! Her deception and cunning totally caused her to win those Games."

"I've heard about those Games… Quite a while back," Puck nodded.

"So, you guys will have to think about what image you'll reflect during your interview with Caesar Flickerman. Will you be courageous? Or confident? Maybe even strategic? It's up to you, but I'd say go for the one you can best associate with. That way you'll be able to answer Caesar's questions swiftly and well. That'll attract sponsors."

Puck shortlisted two in his mind already: The 'dumb but strong' one and the 'hider'. Oh yeah, he could definitely associate to both. Rachel thought about one that she wanted to use since she boarded the train – The 'mysterious' one. She thought she could seem mysterious in front of the public, as if she had another side to her that they'd have to wait to find out about.

"Any ideas?" Berdenta asked after a silence of 10 seconds.

"I think I'll go with the 'brutal close combat one'," Puck responded.

"I'll go with being mysterious," Rachel contributed as well, a smile forming on her face as she thought about the smart choice she made.

"Alright, those sound good!" Shelby gave an approving look. "Right… We'll be reaching the Capitol in about 45 minutes. In the meantime…"

Shelby then rushed into her room and back out, carrying out a TV set and CD. "I want you guys to learn about the competition." She said, settling the TV down on the table. "We may not know who the tributes are yet… But we know who the mentors are. Each District can only have one mentor to support them, and they've already registered their names with the Capitol. I am one of them, and because I'm from District 12 I got to see all the mentors' names above mine when I went to register my name. Needless to say, I've researched about all of them and compiled their strategies and highlights during the Games into this CD," she coyly smiled, waving the CD in her hand.

"It's about 30 minutes in length. Observe," she reminded Rachel and Puck before slipping the CD into the TV compartment.

First up was District 1's oldest mentor, Sue Sylvester, who volunteered for the 34th Hunger Games. She was vicious from the start, scaring Rachel. She had made that fact about herself very clear from her interview, where she stated she would avenge her older, Down's syndrome sister Jean, who was killed at the Cornucopia during the 33rd Hunger Games. Being a career, she seemed to enjoy killing the other tributes with her expert use of throwing knives. Rachel shuddered as she watched the same young blonde drive a knife straight through a female tribute's abdomen, making it protrude out from the other side. Gore to the max, gosh.

Next was Roz Washington, the youngest mentor from District 2. She was also as vicious as Sue, and competed in the 63rd Hunger Games. Yep, she's definitely the career tribute that was responsible for poisoning all available water sources in the arena, Puck and Rachel recalled. Sneaky.

District 3's mentor who was reaped for the 60th Hunger Games seemed like a pushover, her name being April Rhodes. She just hid in the bushes and treetops until she was in the final 2, and accidentally stabbed her final opponent (a career) when she threw her only weapon, a knife, into the air in fear when she saw him approaching her. Of course it would land smack in the middle of his throat when he looked up to the sky.

Then Puck gasped. It was District 4's mentor. Holly Holiday. THAT'S HER, he thought to himself in alarm. THE ONE WHO WON THE 58th HUNGER GAMES IN WHICH DAD DIED. Puck looked on, completely absorbed, as she vanquished foe after foe. Puck couldn't help but smile a little as he watched young , 19 year old Holly burn his father's 30 year old murderer in a trap. He totally deserved it. But what Puck hadn't noticed at that time was the anger Holly had for that tribute. Anger that Puck didn't know was caused because of his father's death. But he'd find out soon enough. He silently thanked Holly in his mind, unaware that Shelby was watching his every move as the CD showcased Holly's abilities. Rachel simply looked on, engrossed in learning new tactics.

District 5 and 6's mentors, Artie Abrams and Shannon Beiste respectively, weren't anything special to Rachel and Puck. Artie had competed in the 65th Hunger Games, just 2 years back, and was already chosen to be mentor as the other last remaining mentor from District 5 had died due to old age. Artie won his games by using the arena traps to his advantage, making his final opponent from District 7 fall into a ditch that was soon flooded with water. Beiste was reaped for the 48th Hunger Games, and simply relied on her brute strength to coast her way through. A smart choice, Rachel thought to herself, before looking at her tiny stature and realising just how fragile she was.

District 7's Cassandra July, as mentioned by Shelby earlier, was reaped for the 53rd Hunger Games. Puck and Rachel couldn't help but look on in awe as Cassandra maintained such a cowardly behaviour. How on Earth could she even manage that? The moment the games started, she took control of the Cornucopia, even managing to kill 3 career tributes! Rachel shuddered at her malice while Puck simply grunted.

As they continued to watch, Puck and Rachel didn't seem to notice anything special about District 8, 9 or 10's mentors that made them stand out. Sandy Ryerson from District 8 was reaped for the 45th Hunger Games, Carl Howell from District 9 was reaped for the 56th Hunger Games, and Emma Pillsbury from District 10 was reaped for the 51st Hunger Games. All three had won their Games by hiding – except for when District 9's Carl came out of hiding and eliminated the rest of the competition by himself, single – handedly, when it was down to the final 7. Emma and Sandy simply hid until the arena killed off the other remaining tributes. Lady Luck must have been smiling down on them for them to even be able to survive the Games.

Finally, District 11's mentor caught Rachel's attention. His name was Will Schuester, and he was reaped for the 46th Hunger Games. He seemed to be a kind hearted, good willed man. Apparently his strategy to success was forming alliances, something Puck and Rachel had been pondering about doing as well. Rachel looked on in sympathy as Will bawled beside his District partner just after she died. Shelby must have purposely added this in, Puck thought to himself, to let us know that having alliances isn't always going to be easy.

Rachel smiled as she watched Will take on his last opponent. He was such a kind soul that he wouldn't even finish off his last obstacle, even the one that had killed his District partner. Instead, he indirectly killed him by pushing him into a mud – filled area near the spawn point for muttations. While Rachel had found that a sign of kindness, Puck instead viewed it as weakness. If it were him, he would have clobbered that last guy. No one would get away if they hurt Rachel, Puck thought to himself. He knew it himself, Rachel was just a ball of joy to have around. Even just a day without her would be like a year without rain.

Finally, the video came to an end. "Did you guys get any valuable information…?" Shelby asked, looking at the two teenagers inquisitively.

"Sure did!"

"Got lots of thinking to do."

"Great! Well then, we're approaching the Capitol in 5 minutes. Think about strategies and alliances, okay? I'm going back to my room first, see you in 5!" was Shelby's parting words before heading back to her room.

"Same here, I'll need to freshen up!" Berdenta squealed in delight. "My home city, y'know?!"

Puck and Rachel both groaned in response. She was so thick skinned. Finally, once Shelby and Berdenta were completely out of sight, Rachel and Puck locked eyes. They shared a look of confidence, a look of fear and a look of reassurance at the same time. And it was only just the start. The start of something new.

So how was this chapter? Review and give me feedback, thanks! If you really like it, share with your friends! :D

Oh and check out my other fic as well, in case you haven't! It's an interactive fanfictional Glee Project Competition. I would really appreciate it if you contribute contenders as well for me to start the fic!

Also, I included song lyrics from 3 different songs in this chapter! Tell me if you spotted them! :D