Peter Cooper

"Peter?" Peter turned around at Colin's voice. He'd just barely opened the door, and checked to see if Peter was ready for visitors. He'd expected his mother to come first to see him. Peter guessed Colin could see the puzzled look on his face.

"Uhh, you're mom said I could come in. You want me to get her instead." Peter jumped off the sofa.

"No. Stay. They won't let you come back in once you go." He hugged Colin tighter than ever, never wanting to let him slip away. He hadn't expected this, that he would be sad about going to the Games, but he was going to miss Colin so much.

"You fight hard out there, and make sure you come home to me." Colin kissed him. Now Peter really regretted his decision. He wanted to stay here, with Colin, and have a life together. But what kind of life would it be if neither of them were Victors? He had to convince himself that this was the right thing to do. Peter'd be rich, and they'd have a nice home together, and then Colin would win his Games, and they'd be one of those famous Victor Couples.

"I will be home sooner than you know. I promise." Peter kissed him back, on the forehead. Colin pulled him close, and they held each other until the Peacekeeper told Colin it was time to go.

"I'll send your mother in."

Peter waited a minute before his mother came through the doors. This wasn't a time for her to say goodbye, as she'd be with him in the Capitol. She had told him to use this time, away from the other tributes, mentors, and the cameras, to go over alliances. She sat down immediately.

"Only one other person can come home with you. Out of your district partners, who is the strongest?" She was all business.

"Well, Helena is the best of the girls, and I was the best from the guys."

"Who placed after you? Kai?" Peter wasn't surprised that she already knew the other tributes by name.

"Paxton."

"Whichever of them is stronger, that's who your ally should be. Remember, even though you're strong, you're the youngest guy from Two. You'll be the Underdog to the Capitol. Prove to them that your not. You need to become the leader of the District tributes to earn sponsor points."

"You'll be sending those sponsor…"

"Time's up, Mrs. Cooper. You need to leave." The Peacekeeper interrupted Peter's question.

"I'll see you on the train." Peter's mother left the room, and Peter sat there waiting for any other visitors. After a few minutes, Peter saw his friends, Kellan and Cleo. Other than Colin, they were his best friends.

"Come to say goodbye?" Asked Peter.

"Came to say good luck." Cleo smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Kellan patted him on the arm.

"Whoop some ass, Pete." Peter and Chloe laughed. Kellan was always good for a good laugh.

"No doubt."

Paxton Luke

Paxton was waiting to see if she'd show. Lorena was a coward, and he'd bet that she'd be banned from the Academy. They wouldn't give her a second chance. Anyone in Two who was associated with the Careers would shun her. Paxton wondered how her parents would react.

His own parents were the first to come see him. Unlike some of the other Careers, Paxton was the first of his family to join the Academy. His mother wasn't happy about it at first, but she had come around after a year of seeing him train.

"Where is she?" Paxton figured his mother would know who he meant by she. She nodded towards the door.

"Out in the hallway. She wants to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to her. If anyone, it should be that Capitol girl she goes to talk to. You know, apologize for signing the girl's death sentence. She won't survive in the arena!" Paxton was almost yelling, now.

"You feel sorry for the girl?" He mother was holding him by the arms.

"Well, yeah. She's not prepared for this like the rest of us are."

"Then protect her. Ally with her. Teach her. I'm a little angry with your cousin, too, but don't let this girl suffer because of it. Help her." Paxton didn't know what to say. With the rule change, it seemed stupid for Paxton to ally with someone so much weaker than himself. And he didn't know the girl.

"Why? It'd be smarter to ally with a Career."

"Do you have the confidence that you could win this alone?"

"Of course."

"Then make sure she lives until the end, keep her alive. We, parents of trained tributes…we know how to handle saying goodbye. We know it's coming. This girl is being ripped away from her family. She thinks she's going to die. Get her back to her family."

"Fine, but if she hinders me at all I'm dropping her."

"Fine, if you think she's hurting you, think of yourself. But if you can, help her come home." The Peacekeeper opened the door for Paxton's mother to leave.

"I love you, mom." He said as she let go.

"I love you, too."

The next person to come inside was Lorena. He was in no mood to see her, especially now that he was tied to the Capitol girl.

"You're mad." She said simply. No argument; she was accepting the anger.

"Of course I'm mad. You did what no Career is ever supposed to do. You had a chance to go to the Games, and you back out! There were five other girls vying for the spot, and you gave it away, pushed onto some girl who is probably crying her eyes out right now because she didn't want this. You'll be shunned by the Careers, by their families. You know this, right?"

"I figured it out when my dad told me not to come home. He said that I disgraced him in front of his friends. Paxton, I've lost everything already, but I knew that if I volunteered, I'd die. Other than that Galinda girl, I was the weakest of the eight of us. No way could even think about killing any of you guys. You're all my friends."

"Not anymore."

"Well I wouldn't be able to. And it's kill or be killed, and you guys all have that mentality. You'll do whatever it takes. I couldn't handle that responsibility!"

"Well then you should have left the Academy when you realized this. Now get out." Paxton shoved Lorena to the door and closed it behind her.

Elle Lester

"Shantelle!" Elle's mother was the first into her holding room. She was crying, but so was Elle, so it didn't make a difference. In over forty years, all District Two had sent were Careers, and when Elle had been Reaped the Career chickened out.

"Mom, I'm scared." Elle pulled herself into her mother's lap, not even bothering to stop herself from crying.

"I'm scared, too. Your father's scared. But try. Just try to win. We love you, Elle."

"I love you guys too. Who's going to tell Royce?" Elle couldn't help but think of her brother and his perfectly happy life I the Capitol. Would she get to see him when she was there?

"I'll take care of that. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll let you see him." Elle was shaking. She didn't like letting this side of her show, but she'd deal with that when she was in the arena. Right now, no one else was around, so she could cry. Their conversation had been quick, so Elle took advantage of the minute and a half they had left to just sit there and cry. When the Peacekeeper came in, Elle's mother resisted, holding onto her until she was pulled away and forced through the door.

Elle's father wasn't crying. He stood there, but Elle could see that he was fighting it back. She was his only daughter. Daddy's little girl, and she was leaving him, and for good, most likely.

"There is some girl waiting for you in the hallway. She said her name was Lorena. Come here, Shantelle." He didn't need to ask twice. Elle ran into him and hugged him tight. He lifted her off her feet, and it reminded Elle of when she was younger, when he would spin her around. She didn't want this moment to end.

"I love you, dad." They just stood there, hugging, until the Peacekeeper knocked on the door. As Elle's dad left, the girl she figured to be Lorena came inside.

"Who are you", asked Elle, suddenly putting on her brave face. She didn't want this stranger knowing how scared she was.

"I'm Lorena. My cousin is Paxton, one of the male tributes this year." Elle remembered him, the really tall one that looked scary. "I'm also the person who was supposed to volunteer for you."

That set Elle off. She charged the girl, angry.

"You bitch!" She couldn't get a punch in, though, because the girl darted off to the side and grabbed Ell by the arm, twisting it around her back. It was painful.

"It's not smart to attack me, Lester. I came to apologize, and to tell you something. My aunt, Paxton's mother, told him to ally with you. So play nice." She released Elle's arm, and Elle fell away.

"That move can break a man's arm, you it if you need to. They'll be distracted long enough for you to either run or take them out."

"This is your fault. I'm in this because of you!"

"No, you're in this because your name was picked. I was just too afraid to save you. If you want to blame someone, blame Renaldo. He's the one that Reaped you. Goodbye, Shantelle." Lorena left the room, leaving Elle alone.

Luna Snyder

Luna knew she'd been given on of the actual holding rooms for tributes. It had the District emblem on the walls, and the furniture was beautiful, like she'd heard past victors describe it. She wondered if this meant she was one of the favorite tributes. She knew Peter would be a favorite, as the son of two past victors. She was the top of the girls, so she deserved the best holding room, right?

The first people to come in were Luna's parents. They sat down couch opposite her, and her mother was smiling.

"I see you're happy," said Luna. She was glad that her parents were so accepting about her being a Career.

"I'm… We're so proud of you. I mean, they must've had hard choices, but being chosen for the Quell, that's such a high honor." Luna smiled. Her mother was truly happy. She understood this honor. Luna knew that her mothers, both adoptive and biological, had been friends in the Career Academy. Neither made it to the games, but when Luna's biological parents died, she was quickly adopted. Kora and Langdon were her parents, too. They were her family, and she'd do them proud.

"Win. Make your district proud, Luna," said her father. She hugged him tightly. When the Peacekeeper finally came in, Kalia, Luna's sister, was with him. Her parents left, and Kalia stayed to talk.

"So?" Luna asked. Kalia would know what she meant. As if she knew this would come up ahead of time, Kalia pulled a slip of paper from her pocket.

"I got accepted. I'm showing mom and dad tonight at dinner. I'm just sorry you won't be there to celebrate." Luna looked over Kalia's acceptance letter to the Career Academy. Her favorite trainer, Cameron, signed it. He was the one who accepted her.

"Then we'll just have to celebrate again when I get back. In our new home."

"I like the sound of that. Good luck, Lu."

"Thanks Kalia. You do well in training, alright? I want you ready and able to beat me in a fight when I come home. Make sure to tell that to Cameron." Kalia laughed.

The Peacekeeper knocked on the door. Kalia looked back at Luna quickly before she left.

"Molly said she couldn't make it. She said to tell you good luck."

"Thanks, Kalia. Love you."

"Love you, too, Luna."

I may or may not be able to post the D3 chapter today. If not today then tomorrow. I promise.

Don't forget to vote in the tribute poll on my profile. Who are the favourite two tributes from District One?