Hello again! Another little chapter for you! This chapter is mainly working as a link from the last chapter to our next one so it isn't the most detailed. But as usual, hope you enjoy! X

Ch10. Meet the Tributes

Disorientated, I ran to the room in which Daniel was saying his last goodbyes to his family – pushing people in my path out of the way just to get to him.

I must have pushed past Finnick at some point, because I hear my name being called from behind. I didn't react, didn't look back. Only focusing on making my way to Daniel.

Turning a corner, I saw Daniel's parents leaving a room in tears and closing the door behind them. I sprinted to it without a second thought but Peacekeepers restricted me after I started pounding on the door.

"NO! You've got to let me see him! Let me go," I yelled as I tried to wriggle free from their grasp. "Daniel!"

"Escort Miss O'Dair to the train station please. She may speak to her tribute then." said a large Peacekeeper, removing his helmet to reveal his cold glare.

I was lifted from the ground and hauled into one of the cars to take me to the station, where I was to wait on the train until Finnick, Mags, Tillie and the tributes arrived.

I toyed with the two reaping slips in my hands. Daniel isn't supposed to be a tribute. This isn't meant to happen. He should be safe.

The question is this, why did Tillie call out his name?

Somehow, no matter how much Daniel and I kept our feelings to ourselves, the Capitol had found out about his importance to me. Snow had found a weak spot in me. My Achilles heel. Snow knows that to hurt me, hurting my family wouldn't be enough. He'd already tried that on Finnick, then he used Annie against him. Just like he's using Daniel against myself.

The door of the train opened, and Finnick climbed on and walked over to me. Mags seemed to have diverted Daniel and Kelly in the opposite direction.

"What on earth were you thinking, Nike? You can't just make a scene like that! I know he's your boyfriend or whatever, but you can't give them a reason to hurt you anymore than they have already." This was the first time – ever – that Finnick had raised his voice towards me. Even if he only raised it just a little bit, it still hit me hard.

"He is the reason to hurt me, Finn. This is just Annie all over again." I hold out the slips in my hand, showing them to Finnick. "I found these after the reaping. Tillie was told to call out his name if he wasn't reaped."

Finnick took me into his arms suddenly, swaying me gently. "We'll get through this, Nike. We will, I promise."

Finnick and I went in the direction Mags, Kelly and Daniel went in. Let the mentoring begin.

"So, how does this thing work?" Kelly questioned quite rudely. Sitting back in her chair, she raised an eyebrow and stared at me intimidatingly.

"Well, we'll go to the Capitol, you'll be shown off at the tribute parade and while you train, it's our job to go out and get you Sponsors." I answered, trying to remain calm. I could picture her wanting to hit my face with a chair the way she looked at me.

"And more Sponsors mean a better chance?" Daniel asked giving a warm smile, although he knew that answer already.

I smiled back and nodded my head in reply. I let Finnick take the lead from then on. It was obvious I had no clue how to mentor.

Once Finnick had finished talking, he let them go to their cart to settle for an hour before we watched the other reapings.

Now I had to talk to Daniel alone. Getting up, I made my way to his room and knocked lightly on the door.

One… Two…

Daniel opened the door and smiled at me in relief, letting me in. Once he'd closed the door behind him, my arms wrapped around him, my face burying itself into the crook of his neck. We broke apart for a moment and Daniel placed his hands at either side of my face, caressing it with his thumbs.

"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." I said, over and over, beginning to pace the length of his room before landing at the end of the bed.

"What are you talking about? It is not your fault I was reaped."

"Oh, Daniel. But it is. They didn't pick your slip. It was fixed. A set up a hoax. A ruse. What else can you call it?"

"Confusing, maybe?"

"They found out about you. About us. We weren't careful enough and now they're using you to get to me. So this is my fault, and even you can't deny it."

He took my hands in his, gently placing a kiss on each. "We don't need to talk about whose fault it is. What has happened has happened, and right now, I'm just glad to be with you."

Together we lay down on the bed in each other's embrace, treasuring the presence of the other. Not talking, just breathing in harmony to the other's breaths, counting down to when Finnick would knock on the door disrupting our peace to watch the unfortunate souls who were reaped.

As the train sped towards the Capitol, I sat on the sofa, close next to Daniel and Kelly sitting distantly at the end of the sofa. Finnick switched on the large television screen to watch the reaping recaps.

The golden Capitol symbol appeared on the screen before showing a menu of available TV listings. Finn scrolled down until he found what he was looking for.

District 1 was first to be shown. A beautiful blonde named Glimmer and a tall boy, Marvel.

Then came District 2. Selected to compete was a medium heighted girl named Clove, with dark hair, and didn't look to be older than myself. Also selected was a large boy, who went by the name of Cato. It didn't surprise me that either of them were thrilled, they were Careers – they lived to compete in the games.

Watching my District's reaping was strange. Just like it was last year when I was the tribute, it felt weird seeing myself on a screen. Looking at the screen, watching the earlier events of today, I got a better look at Kelly's face once her name was called. Furrowed brows and an irritated expression.

Then I saw my face once Daniel's name was called. You could see me at the right hand side of the screen, and upon hearing his name, my face was contorted with confusion and dread.

From Districts 5 to 10, nothing was specifically memorable. But when it came to District 11, a twelve year old girl, Rue, was reaped. "Why is no one volunteering for her?" I thought out loud, gaining a cold look from Kelly.

Another twelve year old girl is reaped in District 12. My mind flashes back to when I was in 12 for the Victory tour. The blonde girl with pigtails. I'm brought back when I hear shrieks coming from the television.

"I volunteer!" shouts a brunette, trying to push past Peacekeepers. "I volunteer as tribute!"

As the camera's shifted closer on her, I recognised her as the girl with the cold eyes who raised the little blonde to see over the crowd.

There was silence around the room as everyone's eye were glued onto the girl. A volunteer from a poorer District was rare. Even rarer for District 12, this had to be the first time ever, that anyone had volunteered.

Something told me that these games were going to be interesting.