Title: In the Beginning
Rating: M
Summary: In the very first Hunger Games tournament, the first 24 are completely unaware of what they are about to be thrown into, and 2 very different boys from 2 very different districts find themselves falling amongst it all.
Word Count: 1,360
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, it's characters and ideas or any Glee characters.
Author's Note: Okay, I have changed my plan slightly (planning ahead is a good thing :D) and have decided on 20 chapters, not 15. I came up with the list of characters you see, then came up with great ways for them to die :3 I'M SO AWFUL, I'M GOING TO SOB WHEN I'M WRITING THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS. /cough. Anyway, the next 5 chapters, including this one, are the prep before the Games, so indeed look forward to Chapter 9: The First Canon :D but for now, read this ;P
~o.O.o~
Chapter 3: The First Designer
The Capitol is huge.
Like, massively huge.
Me and Grace are just staring out the window of the train, gaping.
Because it's just huge!
When the people of the Capitol first spot us, there's an uproar.
They're all pointing and waving, grinning at us like we're some sorts of animals in cages for them to leer at as they please.
Which, I suppose, we are.
Grace shies away from the window, hiding behind me and peering out at all the people –if you can really call them that.
Ivett is a very toned-down representative of the Capitol, now that we're having a proper look at the inhabitants.
There are people with even bright hair and clothes than her, some with giant hoop-skirts, others with pads on their shoulders that rise well above their bee-hived hairstyles.
One woman has dyed her hair rainbow, and it's somehow been braided into the shape of a rainbow on the back of her head.
I shake my head in disbelief, but find myself waving at them all anyway.
Ivett finally guides us away and towards the doors of the train and I notice that it is slowing.
When it's finally at a stop, she door whooshes open and we step out into the light, before quickly being ushered into a nearby building.
And once inside, we're almost immediately wrenched away into separate rooms.
A group of strangers gathers around me, two women and one man.
The first woman has yellow-tinted skin with long, straight peach-coloured hair pulled back into a high ponytail, a thick fringe just covering her eyebrows.
Her eyes are amber and above them is a blend of warm-colours for eye shadow, her eyelids painted orange and lashes painted yellow.
Her bright red lipstick stands out phenomenally, and almost draws away from the tattoos crawling up her face.
Black vines have been tattooed from just below her eyes, down her neck all the way to her wrists.
She's wearing a short dress, the skirt of which resembles a giant lemon-coloured balloon, and the shoulders of the dress are set as high as her ears.
He tiny feet are covered by a pair of little ballet flats, each covered in peach-coloured lace.
The other woman has dark mahogany brown skin and gold hair cropped close to her head, the fringe almost covering her striking ice-blue eyes, which are surrounded by gold feathers.
Above her fake-eyelashes, I can see eye shadow the same shade of gold as her hair, and her eyeliner and lipstick appear to be the same.
She's wearing a low-cut gold shirt, with sleeves that billow out over her hands, and a pair of flaring, bronze pants.
The man is extremely tanned, but his skin is sparkling.
His hair is an intense green, reaching his shoulders, yet the fringe has been spiked up, looking like a flamboyant green crown.
He's wearing a sparkling metallic green suit, which is very well tailored.
Well, obviously.
This is the Capitol.
His lime coloured eyes are raking over me and finally he smirks.
"So you must be Blaine. Wonderful. I'm Jem, and this is Irva-" the peach-haired woman "-and Hylie-" the dark-skinned woman "welcome to the Capitol, Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour,"
His smirk widens, and I'm feeling more than a little nervous in his presence.
"Now, we're you're stylists, and it's basically our job to make sure you look… presentable, so that people will like you. And I am certainly looking forward to making such a handsome young man such as yourself achieve this,"
Hylie rolls her icy eyes at Jem.
"Alright, Jem, the kid gets it. Down boy,"
Jem huffs at her, but takes a step back.
"Look Sugar, we're just here to get you cleaned up for the boss, so then she can work with something a bit, well… easier to work with,"
As she said this, Irva lifted a hand to my hair and pulled at one of the curly locks.
I frown at her slightly, but nod anyway.
Little do I know, I'm in for several hours of torture.
~o.O.o~
Three and a half hours, two showers, one excruciating chest waxing and a haircut later, I'm sitting alone on a bed waiting for 'the boss to come take care of the rest'.
Naked.
I'm shifting nervously, trying to think of the best way to cover myself up when I hear a voice.
"No need to do that around me, Sweetheart, I won't bite,"
My head snaps up.
A tall woman with navy, spangled robes is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and giving me a small smile.
Her blue-black hair is slightly wavy and falls to her tail bone, a single silver streak an inch behind her hairline, above her left eye.
Her long, slightly curved fingernails have painted stars on them, with moons on the thumbs.
She's wearing silver eyeliner and lipstick, and fake eyelashes with tiny jewels on the tips, almost resembling stars as they glitter in the light of the fluorescent bulb on the ceiling.
Her midnight blue eyes are glinting slightly as she continues to smile at me, and I blush, looking down and away.
"Sorry if that trio of crazies scared ya, Doll, but they don't mean any real harm either. I'm Morganna, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you, are Blaine Anderson,"
I nod, glancing up at her, and she pushes herself off the doorframe, taking three strides before she's right in front of me.
"Now, I'm assuming you don't know who I am?"
I scrunch my face up.
"You're… Morganna?"
She lets out a laugh, and it sounds almost like the old wind chimes at the front of his house, whenever a soft breeze blew them together.
"No no no, well, yes, but that's not what I meant, Doll. I'm the Head Stylist for District Twelve, and designer of yours and little Gracie's outfits for tonight,"
My eyes widen slightly.
"Oh. Uhm, cool,"
Morganna smirks.
"Yes well, you'll think it's more than cool once you actually see the outfits I've prepared. You see, some of the other Designers are lazy, and ridiculously unimaginative. You'll see what I mean tonight… But me? Oh, no. I love to make impressions, and when I do, they have to be big,"
I give a tiny gulp.
Not entirely sure if I want to make a 'big impression'.
It might get me killed really early on.
And as much as I know I am going to die, I would like to not be the first.
"Don't worry, Doll, it's nothing too drastic like fake flames or anything. See, when I said the other Designers are unimaginative, it's because tonight, each of your outfits has to reflect on whatever District you're from. Say, for example… District Four! Because their trade is Fishing, they're probably going to come out dressed in fishnets and carrying sticks,"
I grimace at the image.
"That wouldn't look too great,"
"Precisely! Now, because you're district is coal mining, I got to thinking… if you and poor Gracie went out dressed as miners, it'd be completely drab and no-one would look twice at you. So, I thought to myself, forget the miners and focus on the coal! Now, Blainey, tell me; what does coal make?"
I only had to think for a few seconds.
This is stuff we got taught years ago.
"Diamonds,"
Morganna's smug smile is somewhat comforting.
"Precisely! Now, with your outfit, I had to put a lot into consideration as well; I couldn't just march you out with a bunch of crystals glued to your naked body-"
"Oh thank god you're not doing that!"
Morganna grins at me again before continuing.
"So, I went searching through all my materials until I finally found… the one,"
I grinned at the excited look on her face.
"You know, if you turn out to be not a great designer, Morganna, you could certainly take up a career in acting,"
Morganna laughs again.
"Oh, sweetie, you're kind. But trust me, you're going to love this,"
I smile, slightly challengingly.
"Alright then Morganna, show me what you've got,"
~o.O.o~