TW: SEXUAL ASSAULT
Louis Staker - District 11 Male - Age 18
"Ryan!" Louis called out, "I don't think you understand."
"I understand perfectly." The mayor's son said from across the corn fields, "You fucking raped me."
"You were enjoying it!"
"I was drunk and you know it."
"But I love you!"
"I'm straight Louis," Ryan grunted, "Get over it!"
Louis knew that Ryan definitely wasn't straight the night before. People always were their true selves when they were drunk, and drunk Ryan was gay Ryan. Sure he slurred his words a bit when they were fucking, but that just made it more fun. Louis could tell Ryan was into him, he was just too afraid to do it sober, yet everybody had a problem with what he did, even his best friends.
"Louis," His best friend Zachariah said when Louis recounted the events to him at lunch, "You totally raped him."
"I don't get it." Louis sighed, "He was clearly enjoying it."
"He was clearly drunk." His other best friend Lydia said.
"I still don't see the problem." Louis was adamant.
"Well that's on you dude." Zachariah said.
If Louis had thought that he raped Ryan, he would have admitted so, but he didn't see the issue in what he had done, honestly.
"You're not mad at me right?" Louis questioned.
"Lord no. I'm just disappointed and worried." Lydia said.
"Do you think he told his dad?" Zachariah asked.
"Of course he fucking told his dad," Lydia exclaimed, "He's probably going to get everybody to vote for Louis tomorrow."
Fuck. The next day was the reaping and Louis had completely forgotten about it. If he'd remembered, he would have waited until after to finally make a move on Ryan. Fucking dumbass.
"Shit," Louis grunted, "You're right."
Louis had had a huge crush on Ryan for as long as he could remember. Ever since he saw the boy, three years younger than him, on a chariot with his father, overlooking the corn fields as Louis and his friends worked, he was addicted. Ryan was Louis' drug, cliche as it might be, and once he had a hit, Louis was gone. Ryan was only 12 when Louis first saw him, but he could tell that they'd be something special. Louis spent all his time chasing after Ryan until he had memorized his daily schedule like it was the back of his hand. They had only interacted in person a few times, but everything changed when Louis and his friends somehow managed to sneak into the mayor's garden party.
"We've never really had the chance to talk," Louis said as he first approached Ryan that fateful evening, "I'm Louis."
"I'm Ryan," he whispered, clearly shy.
"I know."
"What?"
"You're the mayor's son."
"Right."
The tension was undeniable, and Louis was ecstatic to make a move.
"Can I get you something to drink?" He asked.
"I'd love a soda." Ryan said.
Louis did not get Ryan a soda, but instead a glass of whisky made from the grain farmed in District 11.
"Sorry," Louis said, handing Ryan the drink, "This was all I could find."
"Does it have alcohol?" Ryan asked.
"I have no idea," Louis chucked, knowing damn well it had plenty, "Maybe?"
Ryan took a sip of the drink, and then chugged it all down.
"This is amazing!"
From then on, Ryan was gone. Louis gave him a second drink, and then a third and a forth.
"Hey Ryan!" Louis knew he had to be bold, "Do you want to hook up or something? I think you're so handsome."
Ryan said something incomprehensible as by that point, he was slurring all his words, but Louis took it as a yes and asked Ryan to lead him to his bedroom. Ryan complied, so clearly he wanted this too. As soon as they got into the bedroom, Louis pinned Ryan against the wall and started kissing him, and guess what? Ryan kissed back. Things escalated and they escalated quickly, and before Louis knew it, they were both naked and Louis was touching Ryan everywhere, and enjoying his screams of delight. Louis was completely sober throughout this, and he loved every last minute of it, until he woke up the next morning, naked in Ryan's bed.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ryan said when he awoke, he looked so stunning naked.
"We had sex last night!" Louis exclaimed, it was the best way to phrase the events that had occurred.
"Get out." Ryan yelled, "You fucking raped me."
"I don't understand?"
"I was drunk and you raped me. Get out."
"You had so much fun."
"Don't make me call my father in here."
Louis left immediately after that. He didn't know how well Mayor Thomas took to homosexuality but he did know that he was fucking pissed at Ryan. How the hell could he pleasure him in the evening then hate him in the morning. After remembering the whole voting thing, Louis knew one thing, that he had to get revenge on Ryan, and that meant voting for him. He wrote Ryan's name on the ballot, and wrote the name of his sister Gemma, as he knew there was no chance she'd be reaped and he had to put somebody's name down.
As Louis sat in his seat and waited for the reaping to begin, he had an epiphany. Maybe winning the Hunger Games would impress Ryan, and maybe then he'd be honest about the feelings he so clearly had. It was foolproof! All Louis had to do was win, and he was certainly capable of doing so. He'd worked in the fields his whole life, and he had the physical strength it took to be a Victor. Piece of cake. Ryan would finally be his.
Tulip Everly - District 11 Female - Age 18
"I can't believe the mayors son is gay!" Tulip told her best friend and partner in crime Trink the morning before the reapings.
"How the hell do you know that," Trink said.
Tulip took a recording device out of her bra, "Because of this."
"Smart." Trink said, "But how does that relate to him being gay."
"I went to the mayor's party last night, well I snuck in, in hopes I'd get some juicy gossip, and I heard a boy ask Ryan, that's the mayor's son, if they could have sex, and then they went into the house."
"Oooooh," Trink gasped, "What should we do with that information."
"Blackmail the mayor. Duh."
"Do you think he has something against gay people?"
"No idea. But he's up for reelection soon, and having a gay son can't be good for his campaign."
"Ok so then what do we do?"
"Bring the tape to his office and ask for money."
Tulip had spent the past few months finding information about the uppers in District 11 and it had proved to be a financial blessing. Trink's father was practically a wizard with technology, and he had created a series of recording devices which allowed Tulip to gather knowledge on practically everybody. It was simple. She'd get information on somebody, tell them what she knew, and then demand payment on the promise she wouldn't let the information get out. She typically was able to make a ton of money doing this, and then she paid 45% to Tulip and her family, as they provided her with the equipment. It was an odd job, but it put food on the table, and Tulip's parents were grateful because of it.
"How did you get this money?" Her father asked when she came home from her first job.
She explained the process to them and they were completely on board, even letting Tulip quit her plantation job to dedicate herself to a life of crime. All was well until she arrived at the mayor's office to deliver the news about Ryan. She had never tried to blackmail the mayor before now, but she had sort of become desperate for money, since her parents were becoming too old to work. The mayor had open hours to meet with residents in the afternoon, and that's when Tulip made her move and showed him the tapes.
"What am I supposed to do about this?" He asked.
"I assume you don't want this information getting out." Tulip said.
"I don't mind honestly." The mayor chuckled, "Ryan can love who he wants."
Well that wasn't supposed to happen, and now the mayor knew what Tulip had done, and she had no reward to show for it.
"Should I just leave then?" Tulip asked.
"You wish," The mayor grunted, "I think I'm going to have you arrested."
That was fair, but it didn't mean she wouldn't attempt to explain herself. She told the mayor about her family, and how they needed the money, and how her intentions were good throughout the whole experience.
"Oh I know all of that," He said once she was finished explaining, "Trink told me."
"She what?" Tulip was confused. Why would Trink tell him?
"She works for me you know."
"Huh?"
"Did you really think she'd trust a random person with all her father's equipment."
"I thought she was just being nice."
"She does this for me all the time. She finds somebody desperate, tells them about blackmailing, and then eventually she gets them to blackmail me. It's my way of seeing who is and isn't loyal to our District."
Tulip was furious. How could Trink do this? She was just as cruel as those fancy people she'd gathered all of that information on.
"What's my sentence?" Tulip asked.
"I decided not to arrest you."
"Why? I mean thank you, but why?"
"Trink has told the district about what you did."
"So? I don't care about reputation."
"You should. The reaping is tomorrow."
Well crap. Tulip was clearly done for. All she wanted to do was feed her family, and now she was suddenly in a death match.
"I told you that Trink was no good for you." Her mother said when she told her the news.
"But you liked it when I made money!"
"I did." She admitted, "But I was always suspicious of her."
"Well thanks for not telling me."
"I did tell you." She said, "But you didn't listen."
Tulip's mother was right. She had been given quite a few warnings about Trink and how it was weird she trusted her so fast, yet Tulip neglected to listen. It was her own fault that she had been so foolish, but she didn't think it would lead to her demise. Sure she was strong or whatever, but that meant nothing in an arena of trained killers.
The whole debacle did make voting easy for Tulip. She obviously voted for Trink, and her younger brother Eric, just out of principle. She was notably nervous when she sat down in her seat, but she knew there was no going back now.
Ashby Reynolds - District 11 Mentor
"They're going to be different this year," Ashby turned to Io, the District 11 escort.
"What do you mean Ash?" She was confused.
District 11 Tributes were always one of two things; somebody frail and shy who honestly deserved better, or somebody insanely strong who would scare the crap out of everybody else but die like everybody always did. At 16, Ashby was the former and when she won the 20th Hunger Games because she could use a hoe, due to her farming experience at home, nobody was more surprised than she was.
"They're just going to be scarier I fear." Ashby said.
The typical District 11 Tributes also reflected the District's diversity as a whole, both in race and in thought, and there were many people in District 11 who were honestly horrible people, mainly a side effect of the poverty everybody lived in.
"They're kids." Io said, "They can't be too scary."
"My leg was sawed off by a 13-year-old," Ashby looked down at the mechanical leg she received from the Capitol after being axed by the boy from District 7 in the finale of her games.
"That's true." Io admitted, "But they won't hurt you at least."
"At least not physically that is."
The Games had taken a heavy toll on Ashby and she was afraid of, well most things nowadays. She'd see a deer and get reminded of one of the mutts in the arena and shrivel up in fear and the same was the case for most other animals, so she spent most of her time indoors. She tried her best to be a good mentor, because she really did not want to be reminded of the games year after year, but District 11 could never get it together.
"They're both 18 so maybe they have a chance?" Io tried her best to be optimistic, "I know how much you loathe doing this."
"Loathe would be putting it lightly," Ashby sighed, "But it's not like I can do anything about it."
Louis Staker - District 11 Male
"Do you have any idea why you got reaped," Louis' mother asked in the train station.
"No idea Mom," Louis said, "I guess people don't like me."
Louis didn't want to tell his parents about the Ryan incident. Not because it would be outing himself as gay, as he was 90% sure they knew but just didn't want to talk about it, but because he thought they would be judgemental about the supposed raping. Nobody wants to tell their parents about their sex life.
"Well I think you're wonderful!" His father said, "And I hope that you can win this."
"I hope so too dad."
Louis' sisters Gemma and Charlize remained quiet for the most part.
"Are you going to die?" Charlize, who was twelve finally asked.
"I certainly hope not!" Louis chuckled.
Tulip Everly - District 11 Female
"We're allowed to be mad at her right?" Tulip's mother asked her father, "We don't have a source of income anymore because she trusted the wrong people."
"Not right now honey," Her father said, "Besides she's right in front of us."
"Hi guys!" Tulip awkwardly waved.
"I'm not mad at you, don't worry." Tulip's mother said.
"Because we know you'll win!" Her dad said.
"Sure I will." Tulip grunted.
"Not with that attitude you won't!" Her mom said.
"Right because the Hunger Games is about attitude," Tulip exclaimed.
"You want sponsors don't you?" Her father said.
"Yes, yes I do."
"Well it wouldn't hurt for you to smile."
Thank you for reading Chapter 13! Only one reaping remains DUN DUN DUN! District 10 will be out tomorrow. Thanks to SetFiresJust2WatchThemBurn for Louis, and MissBooklover for Tulip! Be sure to read and review every chapter if you want to be in the contest for a sponsor item to your tribute.