Paxton Luke, Victor

Paxton sat on the sofa in the main room of the tribute apartment, trying to avoid the gazes of his mentors and the stylists. Elle was beside him, her hands locked in his. They were airing the interviews, and Renaldo had brought them out to watch. Paxton knew Elle was going to be a wreck if she managed to sit through the whole thing. She had barely been able to contain herself during the actual interview, but now, with no cameras on them, he wasn't expecting her to be as strong.

He watched as they showed the Reapings. Had he really had such an arrogance to him that day, when he'd been more concerned about Lorena than Elle's safety? He almost didn't recognize himself. Then again, Elle had changed as well. He watched as her name was called. She looked around, and then realized there would be no one to save her. She was so much stronger now, but watching this was bringing her back, forcing her relive the worst moments of her life, and Paxton hated it.

Next was the Tribute Parade. This wasn't as bad. Nothing bad with this part. Finneon made comments about their outfits, the flowing robes they'd worn while arriving at the City Circle for the first time. Paxton heard a muffled cry from his left, and glanced over to see Anastasia standing behind the far side of the sofa. She was seeing Peter, happy and alive, when he and Paxton had still been friends. Luke got up and took Anastasia away.

Now it was onto the Games. Paxton gripped Elle's hands tighter. He saw as Finneon showed his performance in the Bloodbath, when he'd taken out two of the tributes from District Four. Behind them, on the corner of the screen, two tally marks appeared by Paxton's name. They were counting his kills. Leon. Lunara. Fiona. Star. Sloan. None of the names meant anything to him, though they should. Because of him, those I've families no longer had a child coming back to them. He was a murderer. He noticed how annoyed he looked as Finneon congratulated him on each victory.

Elle's réaction had been different. She'd simply looked shocked, as if she was about to burst into tears. They counted her kills as well. Rachel. Aaron. Ronan. Damien. Peter. Two of them had had Victors for parents, and two of those Victors were in this very room, probably glaring daggers at Elle from behind the sofa. Finneon made sure to mention the brilliant fight that Peter had given in the end, and then they showed how he'd died. Elle was hit with his knife before she released the arrow. Her grip had been shaky. Paxton could tell she'd been aiming for somewhere on his face, but instead she'd gotten him in the neck.

That's when Elle started to cry. Paxton tried holding her close to him, to comfort her, but instead she pulled away and ran from the room. Not wanting to deal with the mentors alone, he followed her.

"You okay?" he asked, sitting down with her on the bed.

"Do I look okay? How am I going to do this? We have to go home with them. I can't be in the same room as Ana and Robert, knowing that it's my fault that their son is dead. And you'd said something about his boyfriend. We're going to be forced into going to the Academy. His boyfriend will be there, and I killed Peter! We have to go to every District. How will I survive Seven, when we have to have dinner with the Mayor and the Victors. That girl's dad will be there. I don't know how to do this, Paxton!" Her head was in his chest. He could feel the fabric of his shirt soaking up her tears.

"I'm going to help you. We'll get through this together. I'll always be here. I promise."

So, I thought you guys might want to see the stats they showed at the interview. Here are the Tribute Kill Stats.

District One

Cubic: 6

Alpha: 2

Star: 1

Shine: 1

Luxe: 3

Cassio: 2

District Two

Helena: 1

Luna: 1

Elle: 5

Kai: 1

Peter: 11

Paxton: 5

District Three

Emmia: 1

Aaron: 2

Tinkra: 1

Guier: 1

District Four

Ember: 3

Ruben: 5

Thalassa: 4

Ronan: 3

District Five

Fiona: 3

Zane: 2

Gustin: 1

District Six

Kieran: 1

Kariette: 1

District Seven

Reyes: 1

Rachel: 1

Alaine: 1

District Eight

Carsander: 2

District Nine

Damien: 4

Galvin: 1

Bren: 1

Sloan: 1

District Ten

Valeria: 1

District Eleven

Macen: 1

District Twelve

Haden: 1

Lawson: 1

Mutts/Arena Traps: 13

Here you go guys. I'm not too good at writing interviews, so I tried doing the interview chapter this way instead, so they're watching the interview when it airs on TV. One or two more chapters, to wrap up the story, and we're done. :)

Remember that you can still submit tributes. Look on my profile for the form and guidelines. PM forms ONLY, please. If your tribute doesn't appear on the list after a few days, it means I've decided not to go with them. I want the best of the best, to keep the story realistic and interesting.