(A/N: Hey readers! Remember when I told you that this story would be on hiatus? Well, let's just say that I wanted to update one more chapter for you guys. So here it is.)

(Second A/N: I haven't read the books in ages so my characters might be a bit OOC, sorry about that. One more thing, I don't want to do all the dressing up and things, which will take too long. I hope you don't mind.)

Chapter 3: Arriving at the Capital

Point of View:

Isabel Conley

Days on the train were dull; all Jonathan and I did were eat, talk, and sleep. But still, the anxiety was killing me, if I would come out of the arena alive or dead. I lied down on my bed, staring at the ceiling, remembering the times when my mom embarrassed me, all the times my sister and I fought each other, and the times that I spent with my friends. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door. Wondering who it was, I called, "Come in." The door slid open and a man entered my tiny room. He wore a clean, white button-down shirt with a tie and a black suit with dress pants. He must've been one of the workers on the train.

"What is it?" I asked curiously, sitting up.

"We will be arriving at the Capital tomorrow afternoon," the man answered. "It would be best if you start packing your bags now." He bowed and left the room. Arriving at the Capital meant I would be in the arena soon. My anxiety grew more and my heart beat loudly. I lied back down and tried to calm down. Another knock on my door was heard and Jonathan came in. He came by my bed and sat next to me.

"Did you hear the news?" he asked. I nodded, "I'm a bit scared." Jon nodded in agreement, "But as long as we stick together, we'll be fine." I wasn't so sure about that; I was only a gardener. I would probably be deadweight to him.

"Well, I'll be going now, good night," Jonathan said, standing up.

"Night," I muttered, but I knew this was far from being a good night.

XXX

The next morning, I did my daily routine: take a nice, warm shower, eat my food, brush my teeth, and et cetera. I got out my suitcase, opened my closet, and started to pack my clothes. In the back of the cabinet, I saw my bow and knife. I took out the knife and stared at it, it was the gift from Gary.

"Hey Isabel, did you go back to sleep again?" a voice called from outside the door. It was obviously Jonathan.

"You know, I'm not that lazy," I replied, quickly stuffing my bow and knife in my pack. Jonathan opened my door as I zipped up the pack.

"Oh, you really think so? Then can you explain what sleeping for twenty three hours is?" Jonathan gave me a smirk. I walked up to him and punched his stomach playfully. He doubled over and moaned in pain, clutching his stomach.

"Could you repeat that?" I asked with a smile. Jonathan stood back up and grinned at me, "Wow, you punch hard."

"Yeah, I have muscles. That's Something you don't have," I replied, smiling. Jonathan muttered, "What did I do to you?"

"Call me lazy, that's what you did," I answered, glancing at the clock. It read twelve o' clock.

"Hey Jon, didn't they say we were to be dropped off at the Capital in the afternoon?" I asked. My question was answered with a stop from the train. I heard screeching from metal grinding against metal. A train worker came to our room and said, "Get your things, we're at the Capital." I grabbed my suitcase as Jonathan ran to his room to get his things. We both stepped down from the train as we saw a grand building, several hundred stories high. Citizens of Panem stood beside the train, cheering and clapping. As we were walking, Jonathan insisted on carrying my suitcase, which I had agreed for him to do. Behind us were Peeta, his blond hair flowing in the wind. He was waving at the crowd, smiling his brilliant smile which would make any girl faint. Beside Peeta was Katniss, who was holding his hand. She, too, was waving and blowing kisses to the crowd, and each guy raised their hands to catch one. Even Haymitch, an old, grumpy man who was the total opposite of sober, was smiling. Some of the people in the crowd yelled out some words, but because all the cheering and clapping, I couldn't make any words out. Katniss whispered in my ear, "I think they want you to kiss Jonathan." I looked surprised, "What? I'm not doing that."

"Come on, do it for the people," Katniss urged me, giving me a smile. I sighed, and nodded to do it. Katniss looked pleased and continued to blow kisses. My heart was thumping, sending vibrations throughout my entire body. I looked at Katniss as she beckoned me to kiss Jon. I took a deep breath and suddenly, I wrapped my arms around Jonathan's neck and kissed him on the lips. The crowd roared with happiness and clapped louder. Jonathan looked surprised at first, but then wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. We kissed for about ten seconds until I broke away, blushing a bright pink. Katniss nodded in approval and Peeta smiled at me. I took a glance at Jonathan, who was also blushing slightly. We quickly put aside the incident and soon had reached the double doors of the Capital building. Two doormen swung open the doors and bowed as we walked in. I had gasped at the sight; the interior of the building was amazing; expensive leather couches surrounding a glass table, a tiger rug under the table, rare paintings on the walls, and decorated vases with beautiful flowers. There were glass stairs leading to the upper floors and elevators that could hold just about anything. The other tributes were walking around, exploring the entire building. Through the crowd of the tributes, I saw a Capital worker. The man was tall, skinny, and had crazy make up on his face. He spotted us in front of the door and began to walk towards us.

"Hello my friends, I am Jay Culligan," Jay greeted us. "Are you the tributes from District 12?" We all nodded.

"All right, follow me, I will show you to your rooms," Jay ordered. We started to walk down a long corridor with doors on both side. The left side had the odd numbers and the right side had the even numbers. Jay told each of us what room we were staying in and handed us the keys. With a goodbye and a bow, Jay went up the elevator and disappeared. Katniss and Peeta went off together, holding hands. Haymitch immediately fell asleep, leaving Jonathan and me alone.

"So want to check out the place?" Jonathan asked. I shrugged, "I got nothing better to do." So the two of us explored almost all the floors, with the food we obtained from the cafeteria. After several hours of hanging out with Jonathan, we went back to the first floor and to our rooms. It was almost nine o' clock and it was almost time for everyone to go to bed.

"Today was fun, hanging out with you and stuff," I said. Jonathan nodded in agreement, "Yeah, hey I'm going to sleep now, good night." Jonathan yawned, obviously tired from all the walking. I gave him a hug and buried my head in his chest, murmuring, "Night." He hugged me back, resting his chin on the top of my head. We stayed in that position for some time until the intercom blared, "All tributes are to go to their rooms now."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Jonathan said, opening the door for me. I nodded, "See you." I mustered up enough courage to kiss him on the cheek, making both of us blush slightly. I walked into the moonlit bedroom as he shut the door. I slipped my clothes off and got changed into my nightgown. I fell onto my bed and as soon as I closed my eyes, I fell into a deep sleep.

(A/N: Hey! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to continue and make the tributes go into the arena, but this chapter would be like ten pages long. Anyway, I can't update anytime soon because I'm going to be out of town but I promise you, I will update once I get back. All right, peace.)

-SOAx