Disclaimer: I don't own Lorien Legacies.

Hi guys!

Sorry I haven't updated this story in ages! I've the ideas but just not the time! :( and I have also been concentrating on my other story because thats the more popular one.

Thank you all sooooo much for your reviews :D I'm really glad you enjoy these one-shots because I love writing them :D please keep up with the reviews :D

This one-shot is inspired by Hunger Games. I was just reading the interview bit when I imagined the Garde getting one after they'd won the war and were famous. It's such a random idea but I thought I'd give it a go :)


Marina

Breathe in. Breathe out.

My heart is pounding and my breath coming in gasps. My hands are sweating like crazy, no matter how many times I dry them. My vision's funny, almost like I'm about to faint.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Five minutes.

Oh god, I can't do this! I can't go out there and pretend that I'm confident and funny and witty... I can't do this. I'm going to humiliate myself.

Five months ago, information about Lorien, Mogadore and the war were released to the public as an eye opener about the universe. Since then, us Loric have been seen as heroes and interviews, magazine shoots and all sorts have flooded in; we're basically celebrities. Then someone had this brilliant idea of having a live interview with all nine of us, one at a time.

Live. Interview... oh god.

I can feel my breathing pick up again and the horribly familiar feeling of failing comes over me. I want to make myself and the others proud but I find it hard enough to be confident in front of them at times, let alone in front of the whole world.

I stand up shakily and go over to the mirror, admiring the outfit; I might as well look nice if I'm going to embarrass myself. My hair's falling loose so I suppose I can cover my face enough if I want to. I'm wearing a floaty blue dress that goes to my knees and is nice enough I suppose. I won the battle not to wear heels. I would trip and embarrass myself before I'd even begun talking.

"Ok, sweetie, time to go" I turn in a panic to my temporary manager, who's looking after me for today. She smiles at me kindly as she takes my hand, leading me towards my doom.

"I don't think I can do this" I say, my voice high and squeaky. She laughs gently and shakes her head.

"The newbies always say that... but you'll be fine" she says as she leads me to a side room, the corridor leading me to the stage very close. "Here, you can watch your friends go first" she says, switching on a screen at the top.

I sit down on a nearby stage as the presenter riles the audience up with a short clip about the war. I feel tears of anger fill my eyes as I watch it; they're treating this war as though it's a film! I see actors and actresses playing us as we see some of the Cepans die... I have to turn away, sure I'll be sick.

It wasn't a film, it was real life.

"So, you ready to meet them?!" the presenter shouts into his microphone, making the audience of about a 1,000 cheer and deafening me. I can feel my thin control begin to crumble since I know there will be a much bigger audience watching this at home.

"First up, Number Two!" the presenter shouts and the crowd goes wild as the show begins.

Xxx

Right from the start, the others are amazing in their own way. They all have such different and complex personalities compared to me. Two was so shy and timid but since she's the youngest and looked so cute, she got away with it. After a while, she gained her confidence and managed to show her intelligent and kind side. The audience fell in love with her in seconds.

Three was funny and made a couple of jokes which cheered everyone up. He just had such a relaxed and cheerful personality that nobody really cared that his answers weren't that great compared to Two's. John was charming and got on amazingly with the presenter. I think they gave him extra time simply because of his dramatic love story and his great charisma.

Five was completely different. She didn't go out to please and didn't smile once. She gave short answers yet people were still fascinated by her. They loved her attitude which was so different from the others. I would do the same but I can't pull it off She just has these features that look tough and hard whilst I look innocent.

Six was funny but was clearly displayed as the badass one. She got along well with the guy but showed her intelligence, wittiness and fighting spirit. How can I follow her performance?

"Number Seven also known as Marina!"

That's my cue.

I walk out onto the stage, my legs shaking so badly. I enter the limelight and am blinded by the flashing lights of the studio and the cameras. I slowly walk forwards until I see the presenter, Mark White, smiling at me. I walk over there, overwhelmed by the audience, the noise... everything.

I sit down, everything a little fuzzy for me. I feel as though I'm in a different world where the sound is muted. Fortunately, everything starts coming back to me and I smile in relief.

I turn to Mark who looks at me expectantly. Oh god, he asked me a question!

"W-what?" I stutter, my cheeks flushing. The audience roars with laughter and I clench my hands together, not sure if they're being cruel or genuinely think I was funny.

"Ah, someone's a little nervous. I asked what you like most about Earth" he says. I don't know what to say so I simply reply with the first thing that comes to mind.

"The food" I reply, my voice higher than usual. Everyone bursts out laughing again and I'm pretty sure my face is still red. I wish Eight were here... everything would be so much better.

"The food, huh. So what's your favourite?" Mark asks me. Great, I'm stuck.

"Chinese takeaway" I reply, again saying the first thing that came to mind. There's more laughter from the audience and I sigh in relief. Mark grins and nods; judging by his mind, he thinks i'm sweet. That's better than stupid and clumsy.

"What's it like now the war's over?" he asks me, grinning at me. I shrug and sigh, knowing I need to talk a bit more.

"Weird. It's strange to not have a cause that we have to risk our lives for... it's weird being able to relax all the time" I admit. Mark nods and smiles at me. My heart is still pounding and my voice is shaking with nerves. Also, I think my face is a permanent red.

"But you must be enjoying yourself in Chicago..." he says. I nod and shrug.

"Yeah it's great" I say, not sure what else to say. Fortunately, he's a professional and moves me on.

"A lot different from your upbringing. For those who don't know, Marina grew up in an orphanage which also passed as a convent in Spain" he says. There's a smattering of noises of sympathy from the audience and I can't help but smile.

"What was it like?" he asks. I bite my lip and look down, not sure what to say.

"Well, it was... a lot different from the others' upbringing" I say diplomatically. Mark nods but continues me on, despite my discomfort.

"Why was it different?" he asks. I sigh and look away, biting my lip.

"My Cepan gave up on Lorien. I didn't train, didn't hone my legacies, didn't know anything about my planet, didn't even know where my Chest was" I say unwillingly. Mark nods slowly.

"So, you were affectively abandoned" he says. I hesitate and then nod very slowly.

"We're also told the punishments were very harsh..." he says kindly, although I see a light in his eyes; he wants me to say more. He's annoyed by my short answers and is trying to frustrate me into saying more.

"Um, yes, I suppose... I don't really want to talk about it" I say firmly. I will not talk about being paddled on live television.

"Of course... now about Number Eight" he says, grinning at me as wolf-whistles come from the audience.

"Was it love at first sight?" Mark asks, leaning forward and grinning at me. He looks as though you can trust him but I don't for some reason. Maybe it's the strange gleam in his eyes.

"Not really" I say blushing. I carry on though; I'd rather ramble on about Eight rather than the orphanage and Adelina. "I sort of liked him but he was the first Loric guy I'd met" I say. Mark laughs as well as the audience. Apparently, they love a good romance.

"But you met Nine and John and realised that you really did like Eight?" Mark asks. I laugh and shrug, still nervous as hell.

"I'm not sure to be honest. I can't really remember. I think that if I'd met Eight last or first, I still would have liked him" I admit. There's a loud "aw" from the audience and I blush, clenching my hands together. This is horrible!

"Shall we get him out to see what he says?" Mark asks the audience. There's a huge cheer and I open my mouth to protest, but then shut it again. Getting Eight out will help my confidence issue.

Hopefully.

"Number Eight, everyone!" Mark yells. I look away, praying that this will be over soon. I just want to go home and sleep, preferably with Eight next to me.

Eight walks onto the stage, grinning happily and waving at the audience. They love his show of confidence and cheer even louder. I shift a little but don't get up and giving him a cringe-worthy kiss in front of everyone, despite that being what they want.

"So, Eight!" Mark calls, as Eight sits on the big sofa next to me. I shift over a little and reach out, taking a hold of his hand. He grins reassuringly at me, squeezing my hand.

"Hey" he whispers quietly. I smile and relax, already feeling so much better now he's here. Mark smiles at us but there's definitely something off about him.

Or maybe I don't trust easily anymore.

"So, Eight. Was it love at first sight for you?" Mark asks. Both Eight and I blush as we meet each others' eyes.

This can't get any worse.

Xxx

I step off stage, sort of in a trance. I survived. I didn't trip. I didn't embarrass myself. I didn't trip.

I'm barely aware of Six barrelling into me and hugging me, saying I did such a great job. I'm only a little aware of the glass pressed into my hands and of the presenter continuing to interview Eight. I zone in, finally relaxing.

"You were amazing!" Six says, leading me to sit down as she can tell I'm overwhelmed.

"Was I?" I ask, gulping down my drink. It's alcohol, champagne to celebrate. I grin as I lean back into the pillows of the sofa.

"Yeah! You were totally cute, missing the question..." she trails off with a grin. "You were great" she says. I grin and pretend to wipe my brow.

"Phew! I was terrified" I say. Six nods and gulps her own drink.

"So was I... thank god it's over" she says. I look at her in confusion.

"You looked so confident and in control though" I say. She grins and shrugs.

"It was all a ruse... I was so scared inwardly" I laugh, literally on a high as I look at a small screen as Eight begins his own interview.

He'll be absolutely fine.

Xxx

"That was terrible!" Eight groans as he teleports around the room, his face scrunched up in annoyance and embarrassment.

"It wasn't too bad" I say diplomatically, not sure what to say. He looks at me exasperated.

"Marina, I ended up naked on stage!" he yells. I can't help but laugh and crawl forwards on the bed so I'm in front of him.

"Ok, first of all, they asked you to shape shift and secondly, it wasn't your fault that your shape shifting went wrong from nerves" I soothe, running my hands up and down his arms. He shrugs, looking too tense for my liking.

"Oh yeah, well look at these" he shoves his phone on me, his twitter account filled with tweets. I look closer at the comment he's looking at.

I thought you were supposed to imagine the audience naked to combat fear, not do it yourself...

I giggle a little and Eight scowls, snatching his phone away. I bite my lip as he punches a wall, furious with the way things have turned out.

"Hey, Eight" I try and get his attention but he ignores me. I sigh and get up, going over to him. I wrap my arms around his waist, leaning my head on his back.

"You were amazing with your reaction though" I say, thinking of the way he dealt with it. He had simply acted as though it was completely normal and soon had the audience in fits of laughter. He had been a natural.

"I can't show my face again" he groans, moving out of my arms and flopping on the bed. I bite my lip and grab his phone that he left on the desk.

"The comments can't all be bad..." I say, scrolling through them. I laugh at one and he looks up, curious despite himself.

"What does it say?" he asks. I grin and then read it out to him.

"Guys... I think the real problem here is that he's TAKEN! Damn, Seven and her luck!" I giggle as I go over to him and sit on his lap.

"They're right, I am very lucky" I say, kissing his cheek as we read more. Eight begins to grin, his ego being boosted by the many comments about his good body. His cheeks are still pink though and I know it will take a while before he chills out completely.

"Anyway, people can be mean sometimes... it's just their nature. And look, they were mean about others as well" I say, showing him a couple criticising Nine and Five. I look closer and see another one, my blood running cold.

Seven is about as interesting as dirt. Honestly don't understand the appeal about her; she's useless and pathetic.

I bite my lip as I read the harsh comment; that really hurts. I try and continue down but Eight senses the change in me and scrolls back, reading the tweet himself. His face whitens in anger and he wraps his arms tighter around me.

"They're the pathetic ones... as if they'd survive a war like you did" he says, nuzzling his face in my neck. I smile as he kisses me there, a smile appearing automatically.

"It doesn't matter... none of it matters" I say, switching the phone off. "There were so many more nice messages than horrible ones" I say, smiling at Eight and brushing some of his hair back. He shrugs and sighs, playing with my hair.

"I know, we did the damn interview and now we can relax" he says. I giggle and press my face close to his, kissing his cheek.

"Maybe they'll ask you to do naked shoots now" I suggest. He laughs and lightly kisses me on the nose.

"You want me to?" he asks, grinning wickedly. I shake my head quickly.

"Nope, you're all mine" I say. He laughs again and nods, kissing my cheek this time.

"Well, if you insist" he says, lowering his lips to mine. We kiss, our intensity picking up until we're both gasping for breath and wanting to get much closer than we are.

"By the way, the same goes for you. No naked photo shoots" he warns, grinning at me. I roll my eyes as I pull him towards the bed.

"If you insist" I say, using his earlier words.


So yeah, I hope you liked this slightly different one-shot :)

Next one-shot: It's NIne and Five's anniversary but someone might have forgotten and the other really isn't forgiving...

Please review!