"The Greatest Show"
A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter because I'm really focused on getting into the Games now and am speeding things up a bit (a lot). Still spent some good time on both Clyde and Blaze though, just mostly cut back on time that the rest of the tributes got. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy the second part of the interviews with our two angry boys.
Warning: Y'all know the drill. Vulgar language in Blaze's POV. He angry.
~Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for
Been searching in the dark, your sweat soaking through the floor
And buried in your bones there's an ache that you can't ignore
Taking your breath, stealing your mind
And all that was real is left behind~
Clyde Kaniff, 22, District Six
Afternoon, Wednesday, May 30th
On Stage, Flickerman Auditorium
This is the last thing that I want to be doing right now. Sitting in front of the entire nation, with the woman across from me trying to pry out every little private detail of my life. I don't even like to think about my past, so you can be damn sure that I won't be putting out my life story to the entire world. Atlas could try all he wanted to convince me otherwise, but none of that is ever coming out. Glancing over and seeing Rain waiting just off stage only serves to strengthen my resolve there.
"So Clyde, while we all know that you and your daughter Rain are sure to be inseparable in the Games, is there anyone else that you might have an alliance with?"
"No."
"Is that a certainty, or is there still some chance-"
"It's a certainty," I interrupt, not wanting to play along with this stupid Game and wanting nothing less than to just be done with this already. Maybe if I keep on giving her non-answers she'll give up and end it early.
I get no such luck though, the woman continuing to interrogate me, undeterred. "So, do you and Rain have a specific plan in mind for the Games, or are you just going to tackle your challenges as they come?"
"The plan is to stay alive," I say sharply.
She just laughs though, either having zero awareness or just being a really good actress. "That's a reasonable plan I suppose." She pauses for a moment, turning towards the screen and motioning for me to do the same. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, Clyde Kaniff of District Six with a score of. . . seven!"
There's a large applause for that, but I don't feel any happiness at that. The little kids from One got a nine and a ten, I'm not going to be sitting here proud of a seven. Then again, I don't give a shit either way, the Capitol can say judge our skills however they want, but there's nobody in this place that I wouldn't kill if it meant making sure Rain stays safe.
"That's quite the impressive score there," she says, but I don't share my thoughts with her, instead just grunting in response.
"Well, it's been a pleasure speaking with you Clyde, is there anything else you'd like to say to a loved one?"
I suck in a deep breathe, and look away from the audience for a moment to glance back off stage. Rain is standing right by the edge, excited grin as she barely shows any signs of nervousness, trying so hard to act brave even when she's scared. "There's only person I care about right now, and I won't be saying goodbye to her yet."
I flash the tiniest bit of a smile in Rain's direction as she beams back, and with that stand up, ignoring formalities as I brush past the interviewer and head off stage. All things considered, that interview didn't go awful. The woman had the common decency to at least not try to dig into my past, even if she was a bit pushy with getting answers. I tried to best to be at least a bit friendly as much as I didn't want to, at least for Rain's sake.
Atlas is waiting for me as soon as I reach backstage, and he nods in my direction, eyes still glued on the television screen. "Good job out there, they may not be flooding you with sponsors, but they see you as a contender." He glances away from the screen for a moment, his eyes a bit hazy for a moment as he continues. "Match up a strong tribute with an adorable one and they feel more confident putting their sponsorship money in on their favorite tribute- doesn't feel like a waste of money anymore." I can tell from the look in his eyes that he's not fully talking about us, and I think better of saying anything, allowing him to be alone with his thoughts. I don't doubt that over 20 or so years of doing this he's seen some shit, and I know damn well how frustrating someone trying to pretend they know what you've been through can be.
After a few moments he seems to snap out of it, back to his calm and composed self as he turns back to the television screen, myself joining him in waiting for Rain to come up on stage. "You know, there is one more way for you to win over some sponsors though, if you're willing."
"I don't think I am," I answer bluntly, not even glancing over at him.
"Not even for her?" He asks, Rain stepping out onto stage on cue, a shimmering black and blue dress that manages to look like rain drops falling in the night, the image of that night with Jane flooding into my mind before I can stop it. Ever since that night everything in my life has revolved around Rain, trying to make sure she stays safe. . . even on the too often occasions that I failed. The jitters in her leg are barely noticeable as she bounces across the stage now, a genuine smile worn proudly as she shyly says hello, that thick accent of hers coming in fully.
"What do you want me to do?"
He lets out a sigh, shaking his head. "You aren't going to like it."
"I know."
He pauses for a moment, glancing away from the television screen for a moment and looking me in the eyes, seemingly testing if I'm being truthful or not. After a long moment he nods his head and goes back to watching the interview. "You already know about the party tonight. Big formal dinner with the higher ups with reporters all over the place, and then a block party open to the entire Capitol. Lots of potential sponsors flooding the streets and trying to get to know the tributes so they know who to send their wads of cash to."
"Get to it already," I sigh, suppressing a smile as Rain animatedly begins to talk about her friends back home.
"Capitolites are horny little bastards, they eat up things like the 'tough guy with a warm heart' sort of angle. You want to be flooded in sponsors? Turn up the charm, get them to want you to be the one to leave the arena."
"But I don't want to be the one to leave the arena," I tell him sharply.
"I'm not going to argue with you about this," Atlas exasperates. "You either do it or you don't, but if you really want to give Rain the best chance to get out of that arena, you're not going to like everything you have to do."
I'm left to chew on that as the two of us fall silent, partially because of Atlas' words, but mostly because of Rain. The interviewer asked her about Amara, and it's hard to decide whether Rain or Atlas is the one less prepared for that question. While Rain stutters out a few words about how she was a great friend, even managing to flash a smile and play innocent about what really happened to her, Atlas just seems to freeze up, the only sign that he even heard anything being the slow clenching and unclenching of his fists.
Luckily, the interview lightens up a bit after that, with Rain quickly switching topics by bringing up Amara's slip up in her interview. "Oh my gosh, I died when she said that I liked Ryan."
"Pretty embarrassing, huh?" The woman laughs.
"He was sitting right next to me!" She exclaims, and the entire audience seems to roar in laughter, while Rain just shyly giggles, fiddling with her thumbs.
While I smile at the image, trying to ignore the problems and worries that tonight and tomorrow will bring, Atlas is unable to. "Clyde," he says suddenly, and there's more emotion coming from his voice than I think I've ever heard from him, his voice shaking slightly as he looks over to me with a mask of determination barely hiding the pain underneath it.
"Yeah?" I ask carefully.
"You need to. . . I just-" Atlas cuts himself off, letting in a deep breath as he shakes his head. "Listen. I- I was always the mentor that was able to put everything from the Games behind me. Caleb, Kyle, Brendon. . . all of them got worn down by the Games, and mentoring, and it's hard to blame them. Twenty-three years now I've been doing this, and in all that time I've brought back one lousy victor, and I failed her so horribly afterwards that she died of a morphine overdose within two years. But despite it all. . . I just left it behind. I tried my hardest to bring them home and when I inevitably failed to, I just forgot about it, and went back home to my family."
He pauses for a moment, glancing towards the screen for a moment and sucking a breath before continuing. "And then last year happened. I have a daughter, eight years old, sweetest kid you'll ever meet, and when for the first time I wasn't mentoring teenagers willing to kill. . . but a kid, it become a hell of a lot more real. When she. . ." he coughs into his fist. "when she died, I wasn't able to leave it back home this time. How could I, when every time I looked at my own daughter, ever time she laughed, or smiled, or cracked a joke, it was all just another reminder of the little girl just like her that I failed. A reminder of the father and mother that don't have that laughter in their life anymore. Every single day is another reminder of the kid who is dead because I wasn't able to save her. I can't handle going through that again. I need to bring someone home, somebody that I can see everyday and remember that all of this-" he motions around the room, "is worth something. That I'm worth something."
There's an explosion of applause from the stage as Rain ends her interview, and Atlas sighs, looking down to the ground. "I need you to make sure she wins, Clyde. I can't keep on going on like this, and if I have to see another kid die because I wasn't able to save her. . . if I have to live through another constant reminder of the blood on my hands. . . I don't know if I'll be around for another chance next year."
He seems completely breathless, and I have to just pause for a moment to soak everything in, all the emotion and truthfulness that this man just laid down at my feet- the responsibility that he's placing on my shoulders. I don't need any more reasons to make sure Rain wins, but. . . my thoughts go back to Atlas' suggestion earlier and I find myself with a new resolve. Rain needs to win, no matter what. I've already failed her at every turn of my entire life, from the moment that she entered my life that stormy night.
I won't allow myself to let her down again.
Blaze Colton, 21, District Twelve
Evening, Wednesday, May 30th
Stage Left, Flickerman Auditorium
So much fucking time waiting. Can't they just let us wait on our floor for the first two hours of this long-ass night? Because I'm really not interested in watching a bunch of dead kids walking stutter through their boring interviews with that annoying woman. I haven't had a choice though, dressed up in this uncomfortable tuxedo and stuck standing in a line behind my asshole district partner.
With nothing else to do, I've half paid attention to the interviews, mostly only tuning in one the ones that are at least somewhat interesting. It was a bit confusing to listen to Ephraim's ally, while I don't exactly like the guy, I thought higher of him than allying up with a silly ditz. Maybe he just wants some eye candy to keep him company in the Games, who knows, I'm not exactly going to put anything past an asshole that makes fun of little kids.
The girl spent her entire time raving about how amazing her fiance was, which was boring enough to listen to for five minutes on its own without her psycho district partner going on about how much he hates her and her family and how he was going to murder her in the arena. Like chill out dude. The District Eleven interviews managed to be even bigger shitshows thanks to the psychopath dude. Not that I'm too pissed off, the Capitol booed him so hard I won't be surprised if they blow him up on his pedestal.
Ephraim's interview is just now wrapping up, and while the crowd is fully sympathetic to him now, I'm not. He can go on for as long as he wants about his tragic family situation, or how he's fighting to get his girlfriend out of a toxic environment, whenever I see him the only image I can muster is of the first time I saw him, taunting my little sister, another one of the endless line of jackasses that try to put her down. He may have the Capitol fooled, but not me.
As my name is called up onto stage, I cling to that memory, feed off the rage that it fills my entire being with. My fists clench as I march out onto stage, heavy breaths as I hone in on that focal point, my anger just swelling up more and more with every moment until I'm right in front of the interviewer. She gives me an odd look as she keeps her distance from me, not quite seeming scared of me, but more just cautious. Not that she has anything to worry about. As much as I would love to punch in a Capitolites teeth to the back of her head, I'm saving that anger for the tributes. June is counting on me to come back home, and I won't let anything get in the way of that.
"Welcome Blaze, please, have a seat!" She greets cheerily, laughing humorlessly as she sits down opposite of me, not even bothering to go for a handshake.
"Whatever," I say, just barely having the restraint to use the same response as the One girl and just tell her to fuck right off. I have to get back home for June. That mantra runs through my mind on repeat, the only thing that can possibly calm me down the slightest bit.
She wastes no time jumping into the questioning the moment I sit down. "So Blaze, you've been causing quite the stir in the Capitol, already rising to become one of the favorites to take home the crown. Do you think you have what it takes to become Panem's next victor?"
What a stupid fucking question. That's what I want to say, but I manage to bite my tongue and not say that. Think of June. . . and besides, she's had to do twenty-three interviews in a row at this point, not really surprising she's out of good interview questions. Just more reason to make this night somehow not drag on so fucking long.
"Of course I do," I snort instead. "There isn't anyone here I'm scared of."
"Really? Those are bold words considering the high level of competition you have," she prods, and I again have to bite my tongue to stop myself from snapping out at her.
"I don't see any competition. All I see is a bunch of kids that have probably never been in an actual fight before in their life."
"And what about you? What experience do you have that puts you over the edge?" She asks with interest, leaning forward.
"I've been in a lot of fights, and I don't usually lose," I say harshly, the memory of Ephraim popping into my head again, that rage continuing to pump through my veins.
"Well, let's see if your training score can back up those claims, shall we? Blaze Colton, our final tribute of the night, with a score of. . . seven!" The audience lets out a roar at that, and while I'm mostly just pissed off at how those dumbass Gamemakers could possibly think that a thirteen-year-old girl is more dangerous in a fight than me, it's hard to stay mad when I remember that Ephraim got a six.
"Very impressive!' She exclaims. "I don't think many are going to be doubting your fighting ability then, will they?"
"For their own sake they better not," I threaten.
"Well Blaze, while there's nobody that's going to be doubting you have the skills to win, I think everybody is dying to know what it is you have that's motivating you to get home?"
"I have more reason to get home than anybody else here does," I say bluntly. The idea of sitting here and telling the Capitol about June makes me sick to my stomach, but at the same time, a part of me wants to let the whole world know just how amazing she is. And let the world know just how shitty people like Ephraim are for putting her down at every step of her life.
"And what would that be?" She asks, and the entire auditorium seems to be entirely silent, all waiting for my answer.
As much as I despise all the people out in front of me, and want to just shut them out and not let them get the satisfaction of getting the story that they want, more than anything else I just want what's best for June. She still has that writing competition from school, they choose just one person to get to come to the Capitol, if I let everyone know she's the reason I'm fighting to win, maybe they'll let her be the one. Even if it takes me swallowing my anger at the assholes that took Ace from us, and are trying to take me from June now, if it has even the slightest chance of helping her I'll do it in a heartbeat. Her before me, and me before everyone else. Always.
"My sister, June," I finally answer. "She's the smartest, bravest kid ever, and she's going to do amazing things with her life, with or without me, I know it. I just want to be able to be around to with her for it all though, and I'm not going to let anybody here stop me from it."
The crowd lets out a mixture of cheers and sympathetic cooing at that, and it takes everything in me to not show the disgust I feel towards everyone here. We're not even human to them, just characters in their Games. They pretend that they feel sorry for us, but our problems aren't even real to them.
"Well, I'm sure that she's glad to have such a caring big brother to look out for her," she says, doing that same sympathetic voice that just brings me closer to overflowing with anger. "Is there anything else you'd like to say to your loved ones back home?"
"No, because anything I want to say, I'll be there to say in person."
She laughs shortly at that, and goes to say something but I don't give her the chance, quickly marching off stage now that my time is up and I'm allowed to get the hell out of here. The woman just shakes it off and starts to give her final speech to the crowd which I quickly tune out, pushing through the curtains, glad to see that Ephraim and my useless mentor are both gone. Looks like she's done trying to even hide who her favorite is.
Rose is here waiting for me instead, my escort flashing me a thumbs up as soon as she sees me. "Good interview Blaze," she says, knowing by now to keep the conversations with me short, thankfully. As far as Capitolites go she isn't half bad, gets on my nerve less than Tristan and Ephraim do anyways.
"You ready for the rest of the night?" She asks.
The reminder comes down on me like a ton of bricks, a groan escaping me involuntarily as I remember that my night isn't even close to over. "Fuck."
"Yeah, It's sure to be a blast," she quips sarcastically, hitting the button to call the elevator.
"Because this night wasn't already long enough," I murmur to myself.
She snorts at that, the two of us stepping into the open elevator doors. "Tell me about it."
A/N: Again, short chapter, I know. I'm already a bit behind in posting this though and really just have a lot of motivation to get to the Games right now. We got just our two party chapters up ahead, then one final mentor check-in before we're in the Games! Can't believe we're already almost there! Hope that you guys enjoyed our final interview chapter, and I'll be seeing you next chapter with part 1 of the party- as we visit McKenna, Ephraim, Sigma, and Rain! Maybe one of the mentors too, I dunno. We'll see how long it gets :P
Trivia(1 point): Favorite interview this chapter?
Trivia(1 point): Who are you most looking forward to seeing interact at the party?
Final Training Scores(since I didn't get around to mentioning all of them):
0- Sigma, Levi
1- Rain
2- Juno, Bluebell, Unity
3- Rachel, Cyril
4- Peeka, Bailey
5- Cedric
6- Ephraim, Nicholas, Lex, Frazier
7- Blaze, Malcolm, Clyde, Clara
8-
9- Merrium, Hailey
10- Prestige, McKenna
11-
12- Rex