District Eleven:

Reapings:

Twyla Cherry (16)- D11 Female:

I ripped another cherry off the bush. I threw it into the basket by my feet and glared up at the person standing beside me. The man was in charge of this area of plants, and he'd assigned me the job of picking berries, instead of the job I wanted.

I looked towards the people in the trees, picking the mangoes and apples. I didn't even care how high up it was, I knew that's where I wanted to be. Instead, I was stuck here, picking these stupid berried while the in-charge stood over me, monitoring my every move to prevent me from running to the trees.

"Twyla, grumbling and groaning isn't going to get you that job. This is your job, and if you don't want to lose it like you did your countless others, you'll shut up and continue working." He ordered. His gaze softened. "Look, it's only your third day on this job. Try to get accustomed, okay? You're pretty hardworking, but don't let your attitude ruin it for you." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "Sweet-talk isn't going to get you anywhere, sir. You and I both know I am fit for the job I wanted, and I don't know why you insist on keeping me here!" I could feel my volume rising. A little voice at the back of my head told me to stop, it told me that this guy was my senior and that I could get kicked out of the job for this, but I ignored it.

"Twyla…" His tone was one of warning, "Need I remind you I'm your boss?"

I laughed. "Boss, yeah, totally. You'll keep a bunch of nitwits on the job I wanted instead of me. Some boss you are," I scoffed. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"That's it, Twyla, your job is over for today. You'll come back tomorrow and by then I hope you'll have learned how to speak to your seniors. I'm giving you another chance, so don't repeat this," He told me, turning on his heels. I groaned and stomped my foot.

"Hey, Twyla, you okay?" I heard one of the other workers ask me. I glared at him. "Am I lying on the floor unconscious? Am I bleeding in buckets? No? Then I must be okay, which shows absolutely no need for you to be asking this question," I snapped. The boy reeled back, surprised at my cut-throat response.

"Woah, okay, take it easy. I was just concerned," he held up his hands in surrender. I shrugged. "Well, don't be. I don't know you, and therefore you should neither care nor be concerned about me. And if you're looking to make friends, then back the hell up."

The guy seemed to be shocked into silence, and I took the opportunity to make a getaway. I didn't bother bringing the cherries back to the main office. Someone else would do that. For now, I was pissed off enough to punch anyone who tried to cross paths with me.

The walk till the locker where I kept my clothes was filled with silence. I could see the looks people were giving me. The creepy, angry girl. That's what they called me. I knew what they said behind my back, and I didn't even try to stop it. Why would I? I could care less about what they had to say. So, instead of trying to stop the rumors, I ignored them. If someone so much as looked at me, they'd be treated to a glare.

A girl was leaning against my locker when I reached. I could tell she had just arrived, from the spotlessness of her uniform. Usually after work we all were sweaty and covered in dirt. Hers was free of all that.

"Excuse you, but that's my locker," I said curtly. The girl smiled brightly up at me. "Sorry! It's just, I'm new here, and I just got here, so I was a little confused, and-"

"You know," I cut her off, "I would count how many craps I give to what you're saying on my fingers, but you can't count a negative value."

The girl opened her mouth, then closed it, seeming confused as to how to react. I rolled my eyes. "Let me spell it out for you. I… don't… care… There. You got that? Now please move, and let me go home, because I have to get to the Reapings, and I'd rather not have my butt whooped because some girl was too cheerful."

The girl hesitantly moved away from my locker, and I grabbed my clothes and headed to the bathroom. It took me less than a few minutes to change into my regular clothes, and I threw my uniform into the locker once I was out. I could feel the cold looks of people on my back as I headed out, but I didn't let it get to me. If I spent all my time on people who bothered me, then I'd be wasting it.

Yes, I wasn't exactly a people-person. In fact, I disliked people in general. One never knew who to trust. The people outside Eleven usually regarded Eleven as a well-knit district, but only the ones inside Eleven knew how it really was. If one can be betrayed by their own family, one can be betrayed by anyone.

I stopped in my tracks as Granger's memory came flooding back to me. I could feel my eyes grow moist, despite my willing them not to. I missed him. I missed his red hair, his sweet smile, the way he would giggle at the smallest of things I did.

I missed my little brother.

The sound of footsteps drove me quick out of my reverie. I perked up, listening carefully around me. I was in a small alleyway of sorts, if I could call this that, and everyone knew what kind of people lurked in alleyways. I stifled another groan. I really didn't want to be dealing with this crap on Reaping Day. I hated taking this road to my house, but I was in a hurry and decided against my better judgment to take this shortcut. I guess I was going to be late anyway.

I turned around in the direction of the footsteps to be greeted by two boys, walking my way. They seemed to be unsteady on their feet, and I really didn't want to know what they'd been ingesting. They seemed to be a few years older than me, and lanky. One of them offered me a crooked grin.

"Well, well, looks like we have a pretty lady over here. Say, sweetheart, you cant be carryin' around that bag with nothin' in it, can ya'?" his voice was raspy, and his words slurred together slightly. I narrowed y eyes at him and gave him my hardest glare. He must've figured I wasn't a helpless damsel, for he slowed down his movement towards me.

"I'll say this once," I warned, "Eff off. I'm seriously not in the mood for any of this crap, so leave me the hell alone."

The second one laughed, his voice almost as terrible as his state. "Oooh, feisty. I s'pose we'll have a bit of fun getting that bag from ya', eh? See, honey, in a district like Eleven, we gotta strike up every little amount of money we can get," He explained. They were barely two feet from me now, and I clenched my fist, tightening my grip around my bag. I wasn't carrying much, of course, but I didn't want to lose anything to two nutcases in an alleyway.

"So, sweetheart, let me just…" The first of the two reached out towards my bag. His eyes were away from my face, and towards the item he wanted, and I took that as my cue.

I lashed out with my free hand and grabbed his wrist, snapping it back with full force. I could almost feel his wrist sprain, maybe even break, and he cried out in agony. His friend was too surprised to react, and I took the chance to knock his feet out from under him. The guy could barely stand as it was, and with my force, he went down easy. His head hit the ground and his eyes rolled back into his head as he passed out cold.

His friend had recovered from the shock and apparently hadn't learnt his lesson. He came at me, swinging his fist in a very helpless and unsteady way. He was both slow and dazed, so I managed to duck easily. I jabbed my elbow into his back, and he fell forward. He managed barely to steady himself, but when he turned around, I knocked the air out of him with a well-placed kick. He fell to the ground, beside his companion. I glared at his form.

"Don't call me sweetheart," I spat.

I turned and took off, running as fast as I could. I wasn't going to be late for the Reapings, certainly not because of two idiots.

My house wasn't too much of a distance from the alleyway, and I reached my doorstep pretty fast. I rang the bell continuously, even though I knew Mum hated this.

"Twyla, how many times do I have to-"

"No time, Mum!" I called back as I rushed into the house when she finally managed to open the door. I could hear her say something after my retreating form, but I ignored her. I almost always did. I flew into my room and shoved close the door. I needed to get ready fast. It wasn't that I cared too much about my appearance, but this was one day when almost everyone looked their best, and I didn't want to stand out like an odd rat. Why everyone tried to look their best, I didn't know. True, they'd be broadcasting us on national television, but if you weren't reaped, no one would bother looking at you. And even if you were Reaped, being from District Eleven, The Capitol and everyone else would probably be pondering how you would die mercilessly at the hands of a psychotic career.

I shook those thoughts out of my head as I opened my closet. Granted, I didn't have many fancy dresses seeing y lack of enthusiasm when it came to such things, but I knew the dress I would wear for today. I pulled out my dark red blouse and a black flared miniskirt. I quickly threw them on and turned to the mirror to do up my hair. My mother had insisted yesterday that I wear my hair in a bun, and even though I sincerely didn't care, I decided a bun wouldn't go too bad with this outfit.

I pulled my dark red hair into a tight bun at the back of my head. My light complexion brought out the blue in my eyes, which also went well with my hair color. I wasn't gorgeous, of course, but I looked average. I was of an average height and build too, if I had to say so myself.

I exhaled, satisfied with my appearance and opened the door, only to be greeted by my mother. She stood in front of my father, and both had the we're-going-to-give-you-a-lecture-you-probably-don't-want-to-hear look on their faces. I groaned yet again.

"Twyla, we just want to say… this is your second last year. And just…" My mother sighed. My father managed a small smile, which I met with a glare of mine.

"We just want to say, it'll be fine for you. And that we love you. You don't have anything to worry abou-"

"Oh yeah?" I cut him off. "I don't have anything to worry about? I beg to differ, really. I have just as much of a chance as anyone else in this district and I know I've taken out tessarae. And what, are you telling me you love me because you're thinking you might miss your chance if I got Reaped?" I could feel my volume rising with each syllable. My father got a pained look on his face.

"Don't say anything, Dad. Just don't. I don't know what you're trying to do, but if you're trying to say a proper goodbye in case I get reaped and die because you don't want to miss your chance like you did with Granger, you're wasting your time," I could feel my throat choke up at the mention of Granger.

I didn't wait for them to say anything. I didn't want to walk with them all the way till the Reaping square, so I pushed past them and ran to the door, throwing it open and letting the cool air greet my face. I stomped outside, not wanting to face anyone at the moment, and started walking towards where the Reapings would be held, not being able to let go of the strange churning feeling in my stomach.

Caz Rigby(18)- D11 Male:

"Hey Caz, careful with those man, we have to place them well," Grist yelled out to me as I gently lowered the peaches one by one into the crates. I smiled up at him.

"Relax Grist, if I didn't know how to do this, I wouldn't be in this job, for so long," I assured him. These peaches were going to be delivered to some big-shot's place in the Capitol, so we had to place them carefully and as well as possible, and in such a way that not even the ones at the bottom would get spoilt before it reached there.

Grist grinned back at me. "Sorry man, you know I get a little nervous around this stuff," he explained. I nodded and went back to leading the box. I knew I had to be careful. When this box would go for a final inspection, it needed to be flawless. I would get a good amount of money for this, but it needed to be perfect.

Well, obviously, y idea of a good amount of money was probably negligible to the richer people, but I was happy with even a slight increase in wage. The job I had was kind of strange, simply loading the boxes, but since the Capitolites were so particular about the arrangement, they needed someone to do this well.

I stood up, the last of the crates arranged. I carefully put the lid on the box and walked over to where John and Grist stood, waiting for me. "Finished early, yeah?" I asked, patting John's back. They laughed. "Yeah, not all of us have the job of beautifying a box of peaches for the crazy Capitol people," John answered.

I laughed, knowing they were correct. "Hey, it pays good money, so I don't really care," I justified. John's face turned serious, as he asked the question I was dreading.

"Everything okay, right?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah, don't worry. We're doing good," I told him. It wasn't exactly a lie. We were doing well. We weren't starving to death, and we hadn't fallen into any sort of trouble with anyone, so I considered us in a better state than a lot of others in Eleven.

"Hey, have you guys seen Carmelita?" I asked, turning towards them. Grist grinned at John cheekily, earning a playful roll of my eyes. "She's over in that café." Grist answered. I nodded, eager to see her. I turned on my heels and went the other way, wanting to meet Carmelita before the Reapings.

I pushed open the door to the café and walked in, spotting her at the side. I smiled and began walking over to her, when I stopped in my tracks.

"Caz!" She exclaimed, sounding both relieved and happy to see me. She ran over to me, away from the two young Peacekeepers who were trying in vain to get her attention. I bit back a sigh. This was becoming a regular routine nowadays, and I honestly didn't know how much longer I could keep my cool.

I didn't even know the two men who walked over to us. They had their helmets off, but their uniform on. Smirks decorated their faces, both directed towards Carmelita.

"Damn, Rigby, do you even know what a prize you've gotten yourself? I mean, hell, she's a frickin' beauty, if I say so. And I don't say that for everyone," One of them commented.

"Gentlemen, Carmelita is my girlfriend, and I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about her as though she was an object," I stated firmly. Carmelita pulled herself closer to my side, and I wrapped my arm around her waist.

I hated it when these men said such vile things about her. She deserved to be treated with respect. Not just her, any woman did. And these people just talked about them as though they were trophies or objects.

The one who had spoken chuckled. "Well, if she can get herself away from you for even a little while, she's free to come to us…" they sneered, reaching out and running a hand down her shoulder.

I reached out and grabbed his wrist in a firm hold. He eyed me, eyebrows raised, wondering if I'd fight him. I couldn't deny I was fighting the urge to do exactly that. This man had no right to touch her, regardless of his position. He smirked at me, knowing that if I fought him here and now, I'd be thrown into prison for offense, and Carmelita wouldn't any longer have me.

I could feel Carmelita take my other hand in a tight grasp, telling me through her actions to keep my cool. Her touch sent a warm, calming feeling through me, and my vision cleared of the red I had been seeing. I exhaled softly.

I smiled and let go of his hand, pushing it back slightly, so he was away from my girlfriend. I let out a forced chuckle. "Well, it was nice talking to you. I hope the service was good, wouldn't want this nice little place to get a bad name, would we?" I added a small wink for good measure. "Now, Carmelita, shouldn't we be going? I told my family I'd be home before the Reapings, and I'd say we've found ourselves to be sufficiently late."

Carmelita smiled at me as I nodded at the Peacekeepers, who seemed a little confused by this turn of events. Without waiting for them to get over their shock, the two of us headed out as fast as we could. I wasn't lying when I had said I needed to get home before the Reapings.

My house wasn't far from the café, and we walked in silence, hands clasped tightly together. I was growing increasingly accustomed to the previous situation, which wasn't a good thing. Many people in the district eyed Carmelita, and I found myself extremely lucky to have her as my partner.

I loved her with all my heart, and I knew it was reciprocated. I wasn't jealous of the other men trying to get her attention, because I knew she loved me. I was worried, because I didn't want anything to happen to her if I wasn't there.

There was no denying she was gorgeous. Dark skin, full lips, and ageless features, with luscious dark hair cascading down her back. But I didn't love her for her looks. I loved her for her personality. She was supportive and kind. She didn't see the fact that I had to support an entire family on my own, and she didn't seem to mind the fact that she wasn't the only priority in my life. She always gave me courage when I needed it most, and she understood my situation.

My front door appeared in front of us, and Carmelita raised her hand to knock. Within minutes, the door was unlocked by my little sister, Charzie. I smiled kindly at her as I ruffled her hair. She had on a sweet-looking dress, and I knew she was putting on a brave face. But she had to be scared, this was only her second Reaping. She saw Carmelita behind me and beamed.

"Hi Carmelita! You look amazing!" She commented, looking at her dress. Carmelita laughed and kissed her forehead. "Well, someone's got to keep up with you, don't they? You look beautiful," She said, cueing a blush from my sister.

I turned to go to my room, nodding at my parents, who were having their breakfast. They smiled up at me through worried glances, but I shot them a reassuring grin.

I found myself in my room, and took out what I wanted to wear for the Reapings. Carmelita waited outside as I quickly changed into a dark brown shirt, which was slightly tight, and rolled it up to the elbows. I slipped into a pair of corduroy pants and opened the door for her to step in.

She smiled at my outfit. "You look classy," She commented. I shrugged as I picked up a comb to brush my curly brown hair back. My hair went with my light brown skin color and dark eyes. Carmelita took the brush from me as she started brushing my hair back.

"Only five more years, then we can have all of this of our own," I told her softly, "We could have our own little family."

She nodded. "I know, Caz. I'm waiting eagerly for that day too."

I sighed. "I wish you didn't have to. But…" I paused, closing my eyes, "I have my family to take care of, and I can't abandon them. I have to wait until Charzie is safe from the Games, before I pursue any of my dreams. Because until then, the entire responsibility rests on my shoulders as the oldest child."

Carmelita lifted my head. "Caz, why are you saying this? I will wait for you. You know I will. I know you want to wait until Charzie's last Reapings are over, and even if it takes ten more years, I will wait. All I want is a family of my with you, but I know how much your parents and siblings mean to you. I have my own parents and siblings. But we have each other. And it doesn't matter how long we have to wait as long as we do."

I smiled and leaned in to softly kiss her. I pulled away moments later as I remembered we were getting late for the Reapings.

I headed out of the room to find my family waiting for us. Bran was holding Charzie's hand tightly, and y parents were standing behind them. I once again found myself smiling at them in a way that I hoped assured them nothing bad would happen to them.

The walk till the Reapings was silent , except Bran's feeble attempts at a joke. I decided as an older brother, I should support him a little, and I aided him as much as I could, forcing a laugh even if the joke was incredibly lame.

It didn't take us long to find our way into our sections. My finger throbbed a little from where the lady had taken my blood, but now, the escort took my attention away from that. Radiance looked stranger and stranger with each passing year. Last year her theme had been a butterfly, and this year, she seemed to be some sort of bird, with giant pink wings and a feathery pink dress. I didn't pay much attention to her appearance, though, just held my breath as she walked over to the girls' bowl. I prayed that the name she took wasn't Carmelita's or Charzie's.

It wasn't.

"Twyla Cherry!"

It only took a moment before a girl shoved her way out of the sixteen year old section. Her entire demeanor was angry. Her pale skin and piercing blue eyes made anyone within a five yard radius take a step back. Even Radiance didn't offer her the mic when she glared at her. the escort just silently made her way over to the boys' bowl.

"Um, Caz Rigby!"

I froze. A cry escaped my lips before I could do anything, as the crowd around me parted as though I was suddenly something untouchable. Their eyes didn't see a human anymore. They saw a corpse.

A thousand thoughts flooded my mind as I tried stepping out. I fought to keep the tears at bay. How could this happen!? I had a whole life ahead of me, a family I needed to take care of, and a family I wanted to build. I looked to see Carmelita standing shell-shocked in the crowd as I made my way up the stairs, and the tears threatened to flow again. It was with difficulty that I composed myself. I constantly reminded myself that I had to look strong, at least for the sake of my family.

I simply shook my head when Radiance offered to hand me the microphone, and turned to shake the hands of my district partner. Her grip and her gaze were both cold as ice, her eyes boring into me with the glare she gave. I avoided her as much as possible as I found myself being ushered to the waiting room.

My family was the first to visit me. My mother came in crying as she flung her arms around my neck. My father too had tears in his eyes and so did Bran, as they both comforted Mother and Charzie.

"Oh my gosh, how could this happen!?" My mother wailed, clutching me close, as tightly as she could.

"Caz, I'm… I-" Bran seemed to be at a loss of words, but I cut him off. I pulled myself away from my mother and grabbed him by the shoulders. I fought back my own tears as I looked right into his eyes.

"Bran listen to me. If I don't come back," I was broken off as Mother let out another wail, collapsing into my father's arms, "If I don't come back, you have to promise me to help Father. You'll be the oldest child then, and you have to take care of Charzie and Mum," I hated burdening his fifteen-year-old self with such a task, but I needed to take care of my responsibilities before I became emotional. Bran seemed to be in a turmoil of emotions, but he managed a nod.

"Caz, you have to try to come back to us! You can't give up!" Charzie exclaimed, hugging me tightly. Bran joined her, probably our of his initial shock. I gripped my little siblings tightly, hoping this wasn't the last time I held them.

"I will. I promise I'll try. But in order to come back I need to know you guys are safe. And you're my courage. So you need to be brave for me, okay? Be brave for me," I repeated, smiling at them as best as I could.

I embraced my parents once again. "Not just them, Mum, Dad. I can't have you guys breaking down either," I said, my voice wavering. I wiped away the tears I hadn't known had fallen, feeling a little humiliated that I had tears running down my cheeks while the younger girl who had been Reaped with me had on an expressionless face when her name had been called.

It seemed like moments later that the Peacekeeper barged in, yelling in our faces that our time was up. I barely had time for another hug before they had to shuffle out.

I already knew who the next visitor was.

Carmelita came in wiping furiously at her eyes. She threw her arms around my neck and pulled me into a deep kiss. I didn't want to let go of her, but she pulled away after a while. Her cheeks were moist, and I knew she was holding back a torrent of tears for my sake.

She took off her own golden necklace, and hung it around my neck. I peered at it, looking at the beautiful golden star dangling from it. She looked into my eyes. "Caz, when you're in the arena, this'll remind you of me. I want you to look up at the stars above, and know that I'm looking at those same stars, waiting for you to come home."

I felt a tear run down my cheek as I pulled her into a tight hug. She whispered her next words into my ear.

"I'll wait forever if I have to, but I will wait for you to return to me."

Twyla Cherry(16)- D11 Female:

I kicked the chair as hard as I could. I cried out in pain as my foot made contact with the wood, which only made me more frustrated. I felt like screaming, but that would be taken as a freakin' 'act of offense' for these stupid Capitolites.

I was beyond angry that I had to go into the Games. I wasn't about to sob. I was about to tan someone's butt with a tree branch. That someone being a capitolite, perhaps.

I wasn't looking forward to the goodbyes. I really wasn't. The last people I wanted to meet right now were my parents. I was seething, and they weren't doing anything to help me.

As If on cue, door was opened to let my parents in. I bit back a cry of anger.

"Oh, Twyla!" My mother sobbed as she ran in. She pulled me into a hug, crushing my ribs in the process. I tried squirming out of it, but she was stronger. Se sobbed into my shoulder.

"We can't lose you too! Not after Granger!" She cried.

That snapped me out of it.

"Don't you dare say his name!" I burst out. She stepped back, startled by my sudden yell. My father looked pained. "Twyla, please, don't-"

"NO!" I screamed. I could feel my resolve breaking. My eyes saw red. "You don't deserve to say his name."

"Twyla, this is hard for us. We'd can't lose anothr child!" My father pleaded. "You can't give up on us!"

"Lose them!?" I laughed bitterly, "Dad, you didnt lose Granger. You freaking killed him!"

"Twyla, it was an accident, your father was at no fault. We've discussed this!" My mother countered. I snorted. "Oh, yeah, Accident. You werent there, Mom! You were never there! I saw what happened! He could've saved Granger, and he didn't!"

The knock on the door by the Peacekeeper told us our time was almost over. I was glad for That. I really wasn't enjoying this one bit. Both my parents had tears in their eyes. Without a warning, my father pulled me close, into a tight hug. Momentarily, I lost focus because of surprise. I found the sense of fatherly love for a moment, but Granger's face in front of my eyes drove that out, and pushed the anger in. My father, however, pulled away before I could push him away. He didn't say anything, just ushered my sobbing mother away, his cheeks stained with tears.

I breathed in and out, trying to straighten out my mind. My former best friend came in next, but all she did was say a few encouraging words and tell me chess things like she would miss me. I barely paid her any attention and after a while, she just gave me a small side way hug and left.

I couldn't let any emotion get the best of me now. I had to win this thing. I was no stranger to death. I had seen someone die in front of me when I was a child. I just now had to watch twenty four others die in front of me as well.

I just hoped I could pull through it all.

~. ~. ~.

A/N: Here I am again with yet another super late update! I really would've updated earlier, but my laptop conked off again, and for the last few days, I havent been too well. I was really weak and I decided I needed a break. I apologize again for the late update, but I really hope to update sooner!

Anyways, I hope this chapter was good! Like I said, I'm really not good with romance, but with a little help from my friends I tried my best. I quite love both those characters because they contrast each other so well. Thanks to Red Roses1000 and TranscendentElvenRanger for Twyla and Caz!

How was the chapter? Did you like these two? What Do you think will ne the district partner interaction? How do you think these guys'll fair in the Games?

Lemme know your thoughts! Thank you so much to whoever has reviewed! We're almost done with the Reapings! I'll try to get the next chap up asap!

Until next time then,

Wizard.