The chapters have names now, wow, hello, that's exciting! Yes, from now on every chapter will have a name. Where did I get these exciting names from, you may ask (or not ask but you're going to find out anyway)? All the chapter names are quotes from my favourite movie ever, the title of which is a hint to something that is happening in the Games, so that's exciting. Some are quotes give away more than others, but if you know the movie they're all from, then congratulations, you get a round of applause and are my new best friend.

Anyway, this chapter is the first night in the Capitol for Districts 7-9, something I decided to do instead of train rides. I hope you enjoy, and I hope to have the next half with you in the coming few days.


First Night In The Capitol

District Seven- Florence (17) and Flynt (17)

Flynt was still in shock. The train ride from the District hadn't helped that feeling go away at all. His goodbyes had hardly been what he was expecting, and it hurt him to know he had no way of contacting Alder. No way to hear his explanation or sort things out. It was almost like that bridge had been burnt, forever, and now it was beyond salvageable. He sighed, flopping down on the bed so lovingly provided for him by the Capitol, and scanned the room he was sharing with his district partner for the first time. Room wasn't exactly the right word for it, it was almost three times as big as his whole house. There were two beds in the corner, a huge kitchen and living room and a balcony that provided a view of the whole of the Capitol, not that it was something he wanted to see very much of. Flynt glanced across at the girl on the other bed, trying so desperately to remember her name. They had spoken briefly on the train, both of them favouring sleeping to getting to know one another. Now he was in a very awkward situation- they were already past the stage of awkward introductions, so there was no way for him to ask her without seeming rude.

Flynt smiled at his problem, it felt nice to be worrying about something other than their inevitable death. It was something so normal and average, that for a second the boy had convinced himself that nothing was wrong or different from usual.

"Where does your name come from?" Flynt had thought it through, he had a plan, a smooth plan, he could make this work. "It's so pretty, I just wondered what it meant." He continued, forcing the girl to look up from the sketch pad balanced on her knee. The more Flynt thought about it, the more his plan seemed stupid, but it was something to take his mind off the failure that had been his last moments in District Seven, so he ran with it.

"I flourish." The nameless girl spoke quietly, meeting Flynt's eye for the first time. "My name means I flourish." She set the book down next to her feet, and lay backwards, resting her head on the bedpost. Flynt looked down, taking a look at what the girl had been drawing. It was a field, covered in flowers, with ten little people laying down upon it. She smiled, watching Flynt scan over it, and made a mental note to share it with him later. "What does your name mean? Flynt, isn't it?" She tucked her pencil behind her ear, stretching her legs out in front of her.

Well that couldn't have gone much worse, Flynt thought to himself. Not only was he no closer to learning the girls name, but she remembered his, if he asked now, he would look like an ass, and in this new world, he knew he needed all the allies he could get.

"I actually have no idea." He admitted. "I assume something rocky." Rocky, nice one Flynt, so much for being cool and smooth and making friends. He had never had this problem before this. He had a charm that could not be denied, but now, he was a mess. It wasn't that he fancied the girl, and even if he did, that wouldn't have caused him to be this awful at communicating, but the confusion of everything that was happening completely threw him off. "What are you drawing?" He asked, nodding towards the still open book, desperately trying to change the subject.

"My family, all ten of us. In my favourite place in the world." She smiled, handing the book to Flynt, struggling to stretch her arm across the gap in the bed's. "You know behind the little row of shops, there's that field, that massive field. There. With the daisies and daffodils and birds that sing all day and night." She laughed fondly, before her heart broke that she would never go there. Florence missed her family so deeply, all seven of her siblings that annoyed her more than anything but made her smile and love like there was no tomorrow. The little ones, who she had a duty to protect and care for, and the older ones who she could talk with for days. She missed her mother, her best friend in the world who she could trust with anything, and who always got her through situations that Florence saw no way out of and she longed for just ten minutes more with her, to help her see some sense in what was going on. But weirdly enough, she missed her dad most of all, a man who she had never been exactly close with, she missed just sitting there with him, and having to explain nothing and knowing that whatever happened, he loved her unconditionally, she regretted all the days she had wasted being annoyed or angry with him, days that now she could never get back.

"I know that place." Flynt spoke after a while, taking in the pure perfection of the drawing. "I used to run there with my little sister and play football with balls of used sellotape all rolled up." He held on to the drawing, taking it in over and over again, desperately wishing he could go back to that field. When he was there last he had no idea that he would never go back.

"That was you?" She replied in a shriek, her voice high and excited. "I used to watch you guys for hours on end, you looked like you were having so much fun. Okay, that came out a lot creepier than I expected. But look.." Florence snatched the pad back from Flynt, desperately flicking through the pages. "I thought I recognised you. Here." She handed it back to the larger boy, and on the page was a drawing of Flynt and his sister playing football in the field. "I'm aware this doesn't make it any less creepy."

"Oh my God, it's so beautiful." Flynt traced the face of his sister, longing to hug her only once more. "You're so talented." He looked over the page once more, noticing something in the bottom corner. She had signed it. With her first name. He could cry with excitement. "Honestly, Felicity, it's so perfect."

"You can keep it if you want." Florence attempted to hold back the laughter. "But first you have to remember my name…" She followed Flynt's gaze to the bottom of the page, noticing that he had attempted to read her signature. "And also learn to read. It says Florence." She whispered the last bit, before falling backwards in a fit of laughter.

It was weird, but Flynt found himself laughing with her, and for a second it felt like everything might be okay.

District Eight- Cassia (23) and Arbor (22)

"Holy shit Cass." Arbor burst out, silently kicking himself for cursing. Before their breakup, and the reaping, and every possible thing that could have gone wrong, Cassia had hated his swearing. Every chance she got to pull him up on it she did, claiming that if he wanted to become respected in the district, he would have to change. They always smiled and laughed it off, but deep down, Arbor knew it was exactly how she felt. As much as he liked to believe their romance had been perfect, the more he thought about it, the more flaws he could find. Cassia was embarrassed by him, she always had been, and no matter how hard she tried to hide it, it was always there. She was a doctor, trained by the best to be the best and he cut down trees for a living, surviving paycheck to paycheck. He could never give her the life she wanted, or deserved.

"Language, Arbor." Cassia scolded, not missing a beat but smiling regardless and linking their arms. At first he was confused as to why she wasn't taken aback by the lavish interior of the Capitol hotel they were staying in, but then he remembered. For the last year and a half, this had been her life, the posh Capitol food, and posh Capitol parties and posh Capitol people. The slum of District Eight had probably felt like a different world. Arbor knew deep down that she was still the same Cassia that he had loved, but the front she put on now, the way she walked with so much confidence and superiority, he barely recognised her.

"All right, love birds." A gruff voice from behind prompted the pair to spin round, and Arbor could see the stern look on Cassia's face falter, maybe she wasn't as confident as he had thought. "Follow me." The man, who Arbor recognised to be the Peacekeeper that had taken them from the district, guided them from the foyer, towards a hotel room. Arbor just prayed it was one with two single beds.

He would have to wait longer to find out those answers, as the room that they entered was one resembling a banquet hall. A small table sat in the corner, with more food and drink than Arbor had ever seen in his life. "Holy Shit.." He muttered again, this time much quieter than the first, shooting a sly glance towards Cassia to check that she hadn't heard. He smiled, in the clear for the time being.

"Take a seat. I'm sure you too have a lot of catching up to do. So welcome to your first date." The Peacekeeper, who now supported a name tag, Maximus, spoke. He was emotionless, almost as if he was reading from a script. Arbor supposed he was, everything in this place was planned out, nothing was spontaneous, all calculated and controlled. He looked back up at Maximus, smiling at the look of disgust that covered his face. Maybe being a waiter for the newest tributes hadn't been in the job description…

The two followed instructions, not willing to upset things in the Capitol just yet, and settled down into their assigned seats, neither noticing the small camera hanging in the corner above them. Almost as soon as they had sat down, and Maximus had left them, their plates were being filled with piles and piles of food. Noise sprung from all directions, machines to poor gravy and dish up potatoes and bread. Bread that wasn't burnt or stale but fresh, totally perfect and unlike anything he had ever seen before. And to think, just a few short hours ago Arbor had been cursing the very existence of the Capitol.

"They want you to forget about the games." Cassia hissed across the table, despite there being no one else in the room. She was suspicious, her experience of the place reminding her that in the Capitol, no one was ever alone. "They want you to think it's all going to be like this, all luxuries, and that in a few days we're not going to be tossed into an arena and forced to murder each other."

Arbor wasn't an idiot. He knew it was exactly what they were doing and he knew that he was falling into their trap. But just for a few moments he wanted to believe that there was something truly good in his life, something not tainted by poverty, or loneliness or the Capitol.

"Can we pretend, Cassia, just for while, that all of this," He paused, waving his hands around the room. "Is for us, just for us? That there are no games or Capitol or even Districts, that there is us, and only us?"

Cassia smiled, for the first time in months, a real life smile. A smile that was caused by the only person that had ever made her feel special, and important, and that everything in her life was worth it. She nodded slowly, reaching across the table and grasping Arbor's hand. "Only us." She repeated. It may have been in the worst circumstances possible, but the fact that she had been reunited with Arbor made her feel like everything was okay. It was like she was falling for him all over again, yet she knew she wasn't. Cassia had never exactly fallen out of love with him and she knew she never would.

"So, Arbor." She picked up a potato, savouring every bite, thankful that she had gotten to experience food like this every day. Cassia looked across at her male counterpart, who still hadn't started eating, too stunned by all the choice. She smiled, watching the way his eyes darted across it. The Capitol food was more colourful than that of District Eight, Cassia recalled that being the first thing she had noticed. Everything back there had been an exciting shade of grey or brown, but here, Cassia couldn't even begin to describe the array of colours that presented themselves in front of her. "How have you been?" She eventually continued, pausing from eating to look up at the boy once more.

"Good, Cassia." God she loved it when he said her name. It felt wrong whenever anyone else said it, all she wanted to do was hear him repeat it over and over again, sending a surge of excitement and longing through her body. "Aside from the whole dead family and living in a shed thing." He shot her a cheeky smile, and Cassia felt her whole body tense. She had tried so hard to forget about him, the way he made her feel and the way she needed him to make her feel like she was worth something. "I've missed you though, the shed isn't the same without your dirty clothes on the floor."

Cassia paused for a second, locking eyes with Arbor before swiftly picking up a piece of broccoli and launching it across the table at him. "If you didn't keep taking my clothes off me we wouldn't have had that problem." She joked, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Oh, Cass, so mature. I would expect more from a world class doctor." Arbor retaliated, looking at the piece of bread in his hand, before throwing it at Cassia. "Now look what you made me do, I was so looking forward to eating that." He glanced down at his plate for a moment, searching for his next wave of ammunition. When he looked up next, Cassia was gone. His heart stopped for a moment, until he felt a stern hand on the back of his collar, pulling him up. He spun around frantically, ready to face the wrath of a Peacekeeper, but instead, his lips crashed with Cassia's and for a moment it was real. There were no games, no Capitol, no death sentence hanging over their heads. There was just a boy and a girl, so completely, madly and desperately in love.

District Nine- Lana (21) and Doug (17)

"What the hell?" Lana shouted, walking into their supposedly empty hotel room. She saw it more as a holding cell, it was only a temporary place before her execution was carried out in a few days. No one would ever see this place, they didn't televise this part of the games, and she would be dead before she had the chance to tell anyone about it, so why bother putting them in a nice lavish building. If it was to make the tributes hate the Capitol less, then it wasn't working. Especially as their room came with an added bonus of a random man.

"Uncle?" Doug spoke from behind the girl. He had been quiet the whole journey, barely uttering a word and whilst it had annoyed Lana at first, she slowly became thankful for the silence. But now, it was almost as if something had come to life in him, as he sprinted across the room, wrapping his arms around the man.

"Oh great, brilliant, fantastic. A family reunion." Lana sighed, under her breath, more hurt by the situation than anything. After she had failed to show for her reaping, an army of Peacekeepers had arrived at her house, snatching her away from her sobbing brother. She hadn't got to say goodbye or tell him that things would be okay. She was just taken, leaving the person she loved more than anything alone, crying uncontrollably, too weak to fight back or even get out of bed. Lana knew that even if she survived this, by some miracle, her brother would be dead by the time she made it home, taken by whichever disease had stolen his last few years. She was jealous there was no other word for it, jealous that this random boy had been given the chance to see his family again and she was left with images of her distraught brother that she could never forget.

"I'll give you some privacy, I guess." Lana sulked off, walking to the balcony, which was almost as large as the apartment she had just left. She took a deep breath, taking in the fresh Capitol air, oblivious to the man standing in the corner. It wasn't until he cleared his throat that she spun round, balling her hands into fists. "Are you kidding me?" She spat, staring down the smaller man. "Was it two for one on creepy men who stand in hotel rooms waiting for people who have just been told they're going to die?" Lana let herself relax, this man was small, and unthreatening and she knew that if it came down to it, she could take him. She shook her head, walking over to the edge of the balcony and gripping onto the railing until her knuckles were white.

"Sorry." The man looked shocked, as if he had been hiding and Lana had blown his cover. "I'm just waiting for Todd, we'll be gone in," He paused to glance down at his watch. "Two minutes and eighteen seconds."

"Whatever." Lana waved him off, resigned to the fact that she would not be getting the peace and quiet she longed for any time soon.

The scene in the living room was very different. Todd cradled his nephew, pulling the boy close to his chest, willing him not to cry. Doug was doing his very best, but the man that had brought him up was standing in the Capitol with him, a man he thought he would never get to say goodbye too. He had a million questions, who had brought him here, how had he been allowed to do this, how long did they have? But every time his uncle silenced him, claiming that all that mattered was that they were together.

"If I die.." Doug spoke timidly, not ready to admit to himself that this was the most likely outcome. "Who will take over the business?" All his teenage life Doug had been preparing, working hard and pushing himself further than he ever thought he could, to take over from his uncle, take on the family mechanic business. He longed to make his uncle proud, he had given Doug so much, taken him in when no one else had stepped forward, it was only right that he gave something back. The games had taken that from him, stolen his only chance to help out the family that had given him worth again.

"Oh Doug." Todd shook his head, he hated how strong the duty Doug had was. It hadn't been his intention to pressure his boy into following in his footsteps, but when he had shown an interest in the business, of course he had pushed him into pursuing it, it was a win win. Doug was doing something he loved and Todd was sure his company was in safe hands. But now, when this should have been a time to tell each other how much they mattered, this was all Doug could think about, and Todd felt so guilty for making his nephew's life so dominated by mechanics. "Doug, you don't have to worry about that at all. You have to worry about getting through this, and doing the best you can. Whatever happens, we'll all be so proud of you. We love you whatever, okay?" Todd could see the man that had brought him here emerging from the balcony, and he knew it was already time to leave. He still wasn't entirely sure if Clem could be trusted, but he did know that he had risked his job and life to get Todd here, and for that he was thankful. "I love you so much. Stay strong, Doug. You have to make friends and allies and rely on them, but not too much, trust them, but be ready to betray. You come first, Doug, you put yourself first." Todd was frantic, throwing out advice and thoughts he usually wouldn't live by, but he was desperate to give his nephew something he could use in the new circumstances.

"I love you." He repeated again, hugging Doug as the timer on the man's watch sounded.

"Thank you for everything, for helping me when no one else would." Doug cried into his uncle's chest, as the older man began to walk away.

"Time's up, Todd, we need to leave right now, the Peacekeepers are coming to deliver dinner." Clem shouted, tugging on the mechanic's shoulder. "Todd you promised me, come on."

Eventually the pair separated, and Clem and Todd could leave, sobs still escaping Doug.

"Oh Doug," Lana emerged from the balcony, her sense to protect the man taking over. "Come on, let's get you a cup of tea." It was the only thing she could think of, obviously she had never been in a situation like this before. And at the end of the day, everyone knows that tea fixes everything.


This was longer than I intended it to be, I was only going to write 750 words per district but that didn't happen... I hope reading this brought you a bit of joy in the currently dark world we are living in, and you are staying safe and smiling despite everything. As always, thank you for all your reviews and love, I appreciate it so greatly.

Until next time,

Alice xxx