Hi guys, new update for you! This chapter is about 500 words shorter than usually, purely because I have something cool and longer lined up for these two in the train rides, hope you enjoy this in the mean time, though.

Maximus

Even from across the square he could see the girl shaking. After working seventeen games, Max had developed quite an eye for picking out the tributes after their names had been called. Some cried, some laughed, but his absolute favourites, were ones like this girl, so unsure of what she had to do, that she just stood there.

He loved the way people around her didn't dare to breath, the way they moved out of her way, leaving her in an empty circle, giving her room to walk towards the stage, although she had no plans of doing so. He loved it most, though, because it was his time to step in.

For countless hours a week, Maximus and the other Peacekeepers just strolled the streets of the district. Most nights, there were no disturbances, and those that existed, could be ended with just a stern warning. Almost all the people in this district had no fight left in them, the Capitol had won, they had accepted that, and those that were ready to uprise, didn't have enough physical strength to stand up straight, let alone make their voices heard. So, his nights were boring. But once a year, the reapings came around, and they made the boring life so so worth it.

Max didn't miss a beat, it was a race between Peacekeepers to be the first to reach the tribute, a stupid rule that they had come up with years before he had even started in the security field. Whoever made contact with the tribute first, got to be their personal chaperone for the week, got to drag them to the stage, and force them to smile, and make them the poster child for the Hunger Games. They got to take them on the train to the Capitol, guard them in the chariot rides, before the Capitol swooped in and took control. Only once before had Maximus succeeded in being the first, but he was more than ready for his luck to change this year.

He dove forward, snatching the tributes arm for the grasp of another Peacekeeper, the mask shielding his identity from Max, and holding tight, determined to not let go as she struggled from his grip. Letting out a long breath, the man couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his achievement, looking down on the girl that he so easily towered over.

"There's no point struggling, honey, it's all over." He snarled, thankful for the mask hiding the twisted grin on his face. The adrenaline coursed through his veins, fueling his every move, as he forced the tribute to the stage, noticing how she still hadn't cried, she was calm and calculated, but nervous as hell, the constant shaking of her arm acting as a tribute to that. Maximus smiled at the escort as he stood next to her. He hadn't bothered to learn her name, it was pointless after all. The escorts represented everything he hated about the Capitol. They had no minds of their own, they were told what to do and what to think and how to act, they were supposed to represent the unfaltering perfections of the Capitol, something Max knew first hand was a lie. They were fake, so fake, and their pure existence infuriated Maximus to his very core. Their smiles, the way they did absolutely nothing for the tributes but believed the Capitol owed them the world, and worst of all, the shit they gave the Peacekeepers. Escorts treated people like him as if they were dogs, mutts put there for the sole purpose of serving them, treating them worse than they would treat the very scum of District 12. Max knew he deserved better, his life was dedicated to saving people and keeping them safe, at the very least he deserved a thank you from the people Capitol had put under his protection.

But he didn't act out, this year of all years Maximus would stay in line. He had a tribute unders his protection, a tribute in the Quarter Quell, and whilst this girl may not stand a chance at making it back alive, he was well aware of just how many people would kill to be in his position. Instead, he plastered on a fake smile of his own, mirroring that perfectly of the escort's, the sarcasm and contemptment shielded from the audience by his mask.

His eyes scanned the field as the second reaping bowl was wheeled out, noticing how the other Peacekeepers all seemed to be on edge. They looked like desperate vultures. Had he been the same before? He couldn't help but laugh at the way they lent forward on the balls of their feet, ready to run as if their lives depended on it. Max didn't have to worry about that for another year now, all he had to think about was what lucky colleague would be joining him on the stage.

The wait was over quicker than he had thought.

"Arbor Skove."

Max didn't see the race between Peacekeepers, he had no idea who had won, he couldn't focus on that. All he could focus on was the way the tribute in front of him broke down, sinking to a ball on the ground. He grasped her shoulders before she made it, pulling her back up to a straight posture. It was for himself, mostly, he knew that shit he would get if even one second of this day was out of line. But it was also for the girl. If he let her break down, she would look weak and too controlled by emotions, and if previous games were anything to go by, the other tributes would write her off in an instant. If this girl wanted any shot in the games, she needed to look strong, gain respect. She needed people to want her on their side, and this was the only way to go about it.

He thought over their names again, trying to work out why the girl had had such a reaction. Their surnames were different, they couldn't be siblings, and from the direction the boy approached the stage from, they were standing nowhere near each other, not friends then. It was a puzzle that Max had to solve, this year just got a whole lot more exciting.

Another reaping was over, and all too soon, the regularities of normal life would resume for Maximus and the other Peacekeepers. At least this year he was involved in the actual games, even if it only was for a few days. At least this year he could avoid the dull clean up routines, the clearing of the square, the combating of small spur of the moment riots, that would die down in a few hours if they were left alone. At least this year he had a responsibility, and a chance to escape his world for a little while.

Cassia and Arbor

"Cassia Zimmerman. Now there's a name I never thought I would hear again." Arbor noticed the girl beside him shivering, shrugging off his jacket and laying it across her shoulders, as they walked side by side into the Justice Building. He may have been from the poorer side of the district, but the one thing his job did provide him with was clothing, he was their star lumberjack, spending all his days in the forest, there was no way they could lose him to an illness.

He kept smiling, despite every fibre in his body wanting to sob. Not for him, he had nothing here to live for, but for Cassia. She didn't deserve this, not by any stretch. She was too good for these games, this life, this world, and he felt helpless at the fact that there was nothing he could do to change that.

"Not exactly the perfect setting for a reunion though, is it?" Cassia smiled weakly, pulling Arbor into a hug. Being together just felt so natural, and whilst they both knew that in the long run it wouldn't be useful, they found solace in the fact that they weren't taking this thing on all alone. "The worst fucking fate in the world, right?" She let out a defeated laugh, the heavy footsteps of Peacekeepers behind them prompting the pair to walk forwards.

"Yeah." Arbor agreed, bowing his head, not able to look at the girl for one second longer. "Or perhaps the universe just knows how much I need you."

Flashback

Her hands danced across his skin, sending pulses of electricity shooting through his body. He hated it, how childish and intoxicated he became whenever she was around him, but he wouldn't change it for the world. He needed her, more than he had ever needed anyone in his life before. The thought scared him more than he dared to admit. His family had left him, he knew exactly what it was like to be all alone, and in an instant, she could leave him too, taking him closer to rock bottom than he ever had been before.

"I love you Arbor, never forget that. You mean everything to me. Wherever I am, all I'll be doing is loving you." Her hands gravitated upwards, burying themselves in his hair, and he let out a gasp as she pulled down on it lightly. Their lips met, and as cliche as Arbor knew it was, every kiss still felt like the first, his pulse racing with a sense of nervousness and giddy excitement, and he couldn't think about anything other than the feel of being with someone he cared about so deeply.

"God, Cassia, why have you got to be so perfect?" He smiled against her lips, another piece of him being given completely to her. It made him feel so nauseous how much he needed her, it was sick that he didn't know how to act when she wasn't around, he didn't feel complete without being in her presence. "You saved me more than you will ever know." He moved his hand up her shirt, playing with the strap of her bra, until suddenly, Cassia pulled away. Arbor's breath stopped, he felt so guilty, all he wanted to do was make her feel loved and comfortable, they had done it before so many times, he felt his hand tremble at the thought of what was to come.

"Arbor." Cassia grasped both of his hands in her own, leading him to the sofa. "Before we do this, there's something I need to tell you. They want me, it's time, I leave next week." Arbor had always known this day was coming, no matter how much both of them tried to pretend it wasn't. It seemed like a good idea at the time, getting into a relationship that would inevitably end, but that future seemed to far away, it was possible to imagine that it didn't exist at all. Cassia was one of the best medical proteges the district had ever seen, it was almost her destiny to be called on for training by the Capitol. They both knew that one day she would leave and most likely never return, but until this moment, all the good memories they shared had almost made it worth it. Now, Arbor wasn't so sure, maybe he should have just called it off from the start, not let himself fall so deep and hard. What they had was only temporary, although there was no doubt in his mind that what they both felt would last forever.

"We can make it work." He was pleading now, cupping Cassia's face in his hands, ignoring the desperate tears that cascaded down his face and threatened never to stop. "We love each other enough to make this work." His worst fears were coming true, he was alone again, and this time, not only was he losing the love of his life, but the very fibre of his being. Arbor knew that from this day forward, his ability to love was lost. He couldn't let anyone in anymore, they all just left. They left him alone, and Arbor wasn't sure how much more of that he could take.

"Listen to me, I know it might seem like we can, but we can't." Cassia was determined to make him see that their future together was one that just didn't exist, no matter how much the thought and the situation hurt her. "I can't just expect you to put your whole life on hold, whilst I'm out there living mine. I won't do that to you."

He wanted to tell her that without her, he had no life, that without her, his reason for getting out of bed in the morning was non-existent, that without her, even just the thought of spending another day on this planet felt pointless. But he didn't. That was possessive and desperate and it would destroy Cassia even more, the last thing he wanted to do. It had always been her dream to train with the Capitol and help people all through Panem, there was no way he could take that away from her.

And so he just smiled, and nodded, and kissed her on the cheek, and thought about just how he would survive, when the only world he had known had just been destroyed.

Annnnddd we are back! Now 2/3 of the way through the reapings, the start of exciting games stuff is in sight! So, any tributes that you are loving, hating, wanting to die within the first three minutes, or any possible victors you can see? The last one is especially useful because I'm still torn between about six tributes that I think could make really good victors...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I just wanted to let you know that I am going on holiday, so this is the last update for at least a week. As always, thank you for your support and reviews and just all round brilliant-ness!

Until next time,

Alice xx