A/N: It's only been three weeks! I'm very proud of myself. Anyway, enjoy this chapter! I have a newer tribute that I just had submitted a week ago maybe? Idk, it's summer now. Oh! It's summer now, and so that means that I'll be able to update more frequently. Hopefully. I'll aim for every two weeks. Let me know when you want me to update! (please be reasonable)

Hallie Newton, 17, District 5

"Hallie! Hallie, come down here please!"

Hallie Newton sighed and looked up from her sewing. She was almost done, but still needed to finish the hemline and sew the buttons. God, she hated buttons.

"Coming Mom!"

Hallie carefully slid the needle partially into the fabric so that no one would get hurt. Being the third of seven generally makes you think about things like that.

Hallie put away the dress shirt she was sewing and walked down the stairs of the tiny, two-story house she shared with her parents and three younger sisters. (Her brothers had already moved out)

She found her mom in the kitchen, making dinner.

"Hallie, there you are. Can you help me peel the potatoes for the stew tonight?" Hallie's mother, Felicity Newton, turned from the stovetop, where she was stirring the stew.

In the Newton household, stew was the kind of meal that could last for three days, just squeaking by until market day, where the Newtons could find the most food for the lowest prices. Stew was also just the random pieces of stuff from the last week, making it a weekly meal. It was no one's favorite, but at least it kept them from starving.

"Yes Mom, is there anything else that you need me to do?" Hallie inquired, while turning to the small sink to peel the potatoes.

Felicity paused for a moment, thinking.

"No, I think you're fine. Remember, your brothers are coming over for dinner tonight, so I'll need you to go remind them in about an hour. You know how they get, all caught up in their work and such."

"Yes Mom."

Hallie quickly finished peeling the potatoes, and then took them to the cutting board, which was surprisingly not covered in stuff, to chop them up.

"Oh, Hallie, you're a lifesaver. I completely forgot about cutting them, if you weren't here I probably would have put them in whole, and you know how that went last time." Felicity chuckled.

Hallie grimaced, remembering the last time her mom forgot to cut the potatoes. Felicity had absentmindedly peeled the potatoes and then dumped them, whole, into the pot. At dinner that night, they had to pick around the potatoes, if they had any, because only the outside had gotten cooked.

She chopped the potatoes quickly and efficiently, and then dropped them into the bubbling pot.

"Smells good Mom, I'll be down once I finish the dress shirt for the mayor."

Hallie gave her mother a peck on the cheek, and then went back upstairs.

Hallie sewed as quickly as she could without messing up the shirt and having to start over. That had happened once when she was 12, right before the Reaping. She had gotten so nervous the week leading up to it, she had accidentally stitched a sad face into the dress she was sewing. She didn't even know how she did it. It just happened. What also happened was that she had to completely start over.

As soon as she was done with the shirt, she raced downstairs.

"Mom, I'm picking the girls up from aftercare!" she called as she put on her shoes.

"Ok Hallie! Remember to drop the shirt off at the shop on your way! And don't forget to swing by the forge on your way back to grab your brothers." Felicity yelled back.

"Ok Mom!"

"Oh! And remind your father to be home by six for dinner!"

"Ok Mom, love you, bye!"

Hallie made her way to her parents' boutique to drop off the shirt and remind her dad to come home for dinner. The boutique was on the rich side of 5, with customers including the Mayor, victor Marisol Turbine, and a bunch of other Victors too. Some Capitolites even came in to get "quaint" District fashions. They were easy to spot. Hallie mostly worked in the back room, sewing, but sometimes she came out to the shop area to serve the customers. There was never anyone from the lower end of 5, for they always made their own clothes. The poorer people didn't have enough money to buy pre-made clothes. Neither did Hallie's family. Even though they worked in the merchant sector, they were by no means rich. A while ago, some Capitolite insulted them, and business was never the same. Now they were just squeaking by money wise.

Once, Hallie got to be a maid for a rich Capitol family. They were obnoxious and demanding, but in their house was where Hallie learned her love for designing. She would see the wife's closet, and get so many ideas of things to design and create. Her dream is to be a designer, something that is highly unlikely in 5.

When Hallie got to the boutique, the little bell on the door jingled.

"Hello, this is the Newton Boutique, how may I help y-" the words cut off as soon as Hallie's father, Harry, saw who it was.

"Oh, Hallie, it's just you." he said.

"Just me?" Hallie asked, pretending to be offended, "Why, I am the most important one here!" she said, laughing.

Her father laughed with her. "Ok then, it's Hallie, the budding designer and savior of us all!" he joked.

Hallie laughed with him. "I have the mayor's new shirt done and ready for you. I don't know why he needs one, he has about a thousand copies of the same one!"

"Well, you know Mayor Carson. Never wears the same suit twice!" her father joked.

Hallie giggled. "Also, Mom wanted me to tell you to be home by six. I'm stopping by the school to pick up the girls and passing by the forge to get the boys, so all you need to do is remember to come home. You can do that, can't you?" she asked him. She wasn't serious though. Her relationship with her dad was full of jokes and laughter, while her mom was more get things done and then have fun after. Her dad had fun while working, which sometimes was less than helpful. But, she loved him.

She checked the clock on the wall of the shop.

"Oh shoot, I gotta go get the girls. There's the shirt, be home by six! Love you!" she called as she raced out the door.

Hallie walked as fast as she could to get to the District school. Her sisters were outside the front doors, waiting for her.

"Where were you, Hallie? We've been waiting for like five minutes!" Hallie's youngest sister, Aria, exclaimed.

"No Aria, we just came out here." 13-year-old Mercy said.

"Mercy, we didn't just come out here, we've been waiting for a couple minutes." 10-year-old Penny argued, "Besides Aria, five minutes isn't a long time."

"Yes it is!"

"We only came out here a minute ago."

"But…"

"Stop it!" Aria yelled.

Hallie laughed at their bickering.

"Come on girls. I know I'm late, but we have to go and get Ralphie and Dillon from the forge."

At that, the three younger girls perked right up. They loved their older brothers. They skipped to the forge, with Hallie on their heels.

Yara Pritchard, 18, District 2

"And for our female tribute this year, we have Yara Pritchard!" the announcer yelled.

Yara Pritchard was stunned. She did not see that coming. Sure, she had been training extra hard at the Career Academy this past year, and she entered her name to become a tribute, but she never thought that she would actually get chosen.

"Ms. Pritchard? Ms. Pritchard, are you here?"

Yara unfroze and made her way to the stage. Volunteer choosings were incredibly popular in Two, because they were the District with the best tributes, and they won the most. Almost the entire district was there.

"Hello, District Two! My name is Yara Pritchard and I am incredibly honored to bring District Two to victory. I will win as honorably as all of our previous Victors, and I am so honored to be mentored by the newest Victor." Yara finished with a smile. She was incredibly good at public speaking and working a crowd. You had to be, when you performed with the most prestigious circus in Two. That was another reason she never thought she'd win. The Academy went through thorough background checks for each potential volunteer, and she knew that they could never have missed the fact that she was a sword swallower. For a circus.

Without noticing, she had drifted into a daze, and was startled out of it by the crowd cheering for her. She was used to cheering, but never for the most anticipated event of the year. The circus never had half of the turnout that the volunteer choosing had. Therefore, the cheering was much louder than she had anticipated.

As someone else moved up to the microphone, Yara automatically stepped back without noticing who it was. After a closer look, she saw that it was Athena Victor. Her new mentor.

"Hello, citizens of District Two," Athena said softly.

A voice from behind Yara whisper-yelled, "Speak up!"

Athena continued, albeit a bit louder.

"I am honored to have won the Hunger Games last year, and I am honored to be Yara's mentor this year. Yara has some… unusual skills that might help her in the Capitol, which is why she was ultimately the one chosen this year. I cannot wait to help lead our District to victory this coming year, making District Two the district with the only wins so far since the Second Rebellion. Thank you."

Athena stepped back from the microphone as the crowd cheered.

The head of the Academy stepped forward.

"Many thanks to all of you who came to watch the choosing of the volunteers. Thank you to the volunteers themselves, who have bravely chosen to lead District Two to victory once again. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Good night."

Yara and the male volunteer were ushered off the stage to receive their instructions. The male volunteer was sulking. Yara, being a polite person, took the chance to introduce herself.

"Yara Pritchard. Pleasure to meet you."

"Canis Adolpha. Wish I could say the same."

Yara frowned for a split second, and then decided to keep making conversation. Or at least trying to.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Three reasons. One: I'm probably going to have to kill you, or the other way around. Two: I don't really want to be here. Three: The crowd loved you and hated me. Or at least, they weren't very enthusiastic about me. Either way, you're the favorite this year." he said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I'm a circus performer. I kind of have to be good at entertaining a crowd."

"Oh?" he asked, skeptical, "And what do you do in the 'circus'?"

Yara decided that she didn't really like Canis Adolpha. Nevertheless, she responded as politely as she could, doing her best to keep the disdain out of her tone, something Canis had obviously not bothered to do.

"I'm a sword swallower." she said, and left it at that as she walked away.

She came to a door. It was a rather imposing door, and she assumed that it led to the Head's office.

She knocked two times.

"Is this Canis or Yara?" a voice from inside said.

"Yara." she responded, "May I come in?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Mind the door, it's rather heavy."

Yara entered the room. The door was heavy. Luckily, she was strong.

"Yara, thank you so much for applying. District Two needs your showmanship, seeing as our last Victor was rather… introverted. A man who says he's your boyfriend is in the other room, and I expect your parents will be along shortly."

"Thank you." Yara said, as she didn't know what else to say.

"Oh, no need to thank me. You got here all on your own. The door is right there, and I will let you know when your parents have arrived."

Yara nodded, as she didn't know what else to do, and stepped into the room.

The first thing she noticed was her boyfriend, Kieran Stone, down on one knee. The second thing was that he had an open ring box in his hand.

The realization hit her just as Kieran started speaking.

"Yara, I've loved you since I first saw you, and I consider myself so lucky to call myself your boyfriend. Will you do me the absolute honor to marry me?"

Yara was speechless. "Yes! Oh God, yes! I love you Kieran!"

Kieran beamed, and Yara was sure that her face mirrored his. He slid the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand, and then took her in his arms and kissed her. She kissed him back, winding her fingers through his hair as he did the same.

They stayed like that until Yara was gasping for breath. Then she looked to admire the ring on her hand. It was a simple silver band with a blue sapphire in the middle, and to her it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Kieran sat down on the couch in the middle of the room, and Yara joined him.

"It was the first one I saw, and I knew that it was perfect for you." he said, noticing where her gaze was pulled, "I'm glad you like it."

"Oh, I love it. I know what I'm going to be taking as a token in the arena!" she beamed.

Their happy moment, however, was ruined by Yara's parents barging in.

"Oh, Yara, we're so happy for you!" her mother, Gretchen Pritchard, exclaimed.

"I suppose that you did alright, despite the fact that you joined that circus." her father, Dustin admitted grudgingly. Yara and her father had not gotten along well once he learned about her career choice. Especially because it wasn't something he approved of. But Yara was 18, and could make her own choices.

"Oh! Yara, what is that on your left hand?"

Yara and Kieran exchanged a glance.

"Well…" she started, "I'm engaged."

A/N: I love cliffhangers. Idk if you guys care when I do cliffhangers but I'm doing them anyway. I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you thought of Hallie and Yara. Hallie was created by wandering princess, and Yara was created by District 9 Tribute. Thank you to both of you! I loved creating your characters. Leave a review to let me know what you thought! I live for your reviews. Bobisawesome123, thanks for FaceTiming me when I'm writing and helping me through writers block. And also for going to the library. All. The. Time. Also, finally got the Folk of the Air Trilogy! I'm rereading it now. Ah, the sweetness of enemies to lovers. To anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about, go read the Cruel Prince. It's really good. Now onto the questions!

1. Who was your favorite, Yara or Hallie? Why?

2. What would you do if you lived in the Capitol for a week?

3. What would you do if your sibling got reaped? Why?

Bye for now! I'm going to update in Annabeth's Eyes before I update this again, so it might be like a month until my next update! Website is slowly being put together, sponsor stuff is coming next!

Also, before I forget: I need all tributes and escorts, and preferably mentors soon. I plan on having 2-3 more chapters until the Reaping, so I need those in. Stylists can wait a bit, but I need the tributes and escorts more. If you guys could get those in, that'd be great. Let's say, August 30th? I might change it, so just get them in ASAP. Thanks!

-Annabeth