*Six Months before the reapings*

Holly Dramamine's POV

Don't interfere. Even though I wanted to, I had to keep on telling myself that as I watched from my hiding place, a young boy of fifteen years old savagely fighting four other boys his own age. Each one of the boys that were fighting in front of me were full on careers, all of them physically strong and skilled at fighting. But the skill difference between those five boys were noticeable to me, all of them had injures of some kind on their body, they were all bloody and beat up, but the one boy called Gunner was beating them all.

Gunner was smaller then some of them, weaker then some of them, but he was more skilled at fighting then each one of them, and that's what made the difference in this fight I was watching from a safe distance and secret place that was nothing more then behind a building.

I watched as Gunner brutally beat down three of his classmates until they were unconscious before the fourth attacker started to run away in fright, scared of the disadvantage he was in now that three of his allies were beaten down by a superior fighter.

I didn't want to be seen, by anyone, so I stayed hidden as the tall boy ran past me. His face full of fear as he found out that him and his friends had picked a fight with the wrong person.

"That's right!" Gunner shouted at the bully running away from him "you better run! And you better not say anything about my brother again or you'll be hearing from me again!" Steel. That was why he was fighting those kids in the first place, those kids made fun of Steel, and Gunner didn't like that, so he picked a fight with them. Steel was also the reason I didn't want to be seen, Gunner knew where he was, well, I hoped he did, and when Gunner finds him, I was going to find him as well. Steel could almost never be found outside the victor's village, and when he was found, he couldn't be talked to, for various reasons. Not that I could talk to him at the victor's village anyway, he doesn't allow people in his home to see him, or even talk to him. He's a shut in in that home, and I didn't like it. I could have broken down his door, or broken into his home, but knowing Steel, that probebly wouldn't have been the best idea.

I needed to talk to him, I needed to express my feelings towards him in front of his face to show him how I really feel about him. He wasn't going to disappear off the face of the earth again, I was going to follow Gunner, and find out where Steel was before giving him a piece of my mind, and when that happens, it wasn't going to be pretty. At all. But the situation I was going to talk to him wasn't pretty to start with anyway.

I peeked around the base of the building I was hiding behind to see Gunner spitting out a thick stream of blood from his mouth before he turned around and started heading towards wherever he was going, I just hoped that he'd lead me to wherever Steel was. Gunner was my last hope on finding Steel out in the open. And alone at that. The only time I really saw Steel in the district was when he was surrounded by Capital citizens. When them around, I just can't run up to him and shout my feelings to him, the Capital wouldn't allow that. They didn't even allow me near him. I think they were under orders to keep me away. So it had to be here in the district, alone preferably, I didn't want to create a lot of drama with a crowd around. But if I had to do it in front of a crowd, so be it, its been long enough.

Gunner looked in my direction, but I could see that from the way his eyes were looking at, he wasn't looking at me, he was looking in the distance, probably towards that kid that was running away from him. Gunner's face calmed down a little from the pissed off expression he had been carrying while fighting the other boys before he turned around and started walking away from me.

Now was my chance, I was going to follow him, and not be seen by him. He'd lead me to Steel, and I could finally get a weight off my chest.

I followed Gunner through the district while also trying not to be seen by anyone. Kids were supposed to be at school, adults at work. It was past lunch time, so nobody but peacekeepers, peacekeepers in training, and merchants were supposed to be out in the street. Nobody was jobless and nobody was homeless, so you couldn't make up any excuse about being one of the two. The only people that don't work are the severely injured, and the victors, but even the victors had to do something. A talent as they called it. The Capital demanded that you have a talent to show them. It was stupid in my opinion, you entertain them in the arena, then you have to find a talent to entertain them with outside of hunger games season. Steel's talent was distilling liquor. At first I tired to get him to pick up a new talent, but the items on the list the Capital gave him, he wasn't very good at any of them, and the ability to slaughter people wasn't considered a talent.

I continued to follow Gunner until we got somewhere I didn't expect him to go to, the district cemetery. I was confused. What was he doing here? Was he here to see someone and pay respect? I looked farther up ahead to see that Gunner and I weren't the only ones here, there was another person ahead of us, and Gunner was heading in his direction. Who was that? Was Gunner going over to see him? But what I wondered most of all was, what are they doing here?

Questions filled my head as Gunner walked over to the guy with dirty clothes that looked like they hadn't been washed in a couple of weeks, maybe three. His hair was standing all over the place with what appeared to be grime. This guy was a mess. Didn't he know how to clean himself?

I watched Gunner approach the guy, who looked like he was paying respects to whoever was buried in front of him. Gunner didn't look so comfortable going up to the guy, I could tell from his delayed movements and the slight shake of his body. He was nervous, and that was coming from someone that beat up four kids earlier, some who were bigger and stronger then himself. Who'd scare him like that? That was what I was wondering.

Gunner got within five feet of the stranger before he nervously said

"Hey."

"What the hell do you want!" The stranger shouted angrily before turning around and throwing a fist at Gunner. The blow was fast, and I could see that it had some power behind it. I watched as Gunner just barley dodged the incoming blow, and reacted in fright. Gunner reacting in fright? That was strange, he'd usually show little to no fear towards anyone. This made me really curious about who this was.

"Whoa!" Gunner shouted in surprise as he moved his body out of the way of the fist flying towards him. "It's me big brother! It's just me!" Big brother? What was he? And then I realized who that guy in front of him was, that guy was Steel, his older brother. But was that really Steel? He looked, awful. His normally beach blond hair was messy, and it had changed to a filthy brown and black colour, his skin had a beaten up look on it, and his skin was paler then it was before.

Even though I wanted to do nothing more the shout at Steel right now, seeing him like this made me want to cry. Made me want to run up to him and hug him. What had happened to him during the four months I had last seen him?

As the words went through Steel's head, I saw his eyes soften a little, but only a little. Even from where I was from, I could see the hate, misery, and lonesomeness in those dark green eyes of his. Steel, I'm sorry.

No. No I wasn't sorry you bastard. I hate you, I really do. All those things you've done to us. You deserve this.

Steel lowered his hands from his fighting stance as he looked at his younger brother.

"Sorry," Steel told him apolitically "I thought you were, someone else." Someone else being who Steel? Me? You never want to see me anymore. Your too ashamed to even face me now because of what I found out.

"It's ok," Gunner told him "I understand." Do you Gunner? Do you really?

Steel looked at his brother before asking

"What happened to your face?" Gunner gave out a shrug, like it wasn't anything too bad.

"Some kids were talking lies about you again," he told Steel "I couldn't take it anymore, so I beat them up." At the price of black and blue eyes, split lips, bleeding gums and cuts on your face.

"Like I give a damn about what those fucks think about me anymore." Steel harshly told his brother before raising his right hand and bringing a bottle of clear liquid to his lips. Steel was drinking? When did that happen? Sure Steel made liquor, but he didn't drink it, hell, he didn't even know what the hell the stuff he made tasted like.

"Drinking again!?" Gunner shouted at his brother. Again? How long has this been going on?

"Yeah!" Steel shouted as soon as he was done gulping down his liquid "what about it?" His words were kind of slurred, which told me he had consumed some amount of liquor.

"Your killing yourself with that stuff!"

"Like I ain't already!"

"What the fuck do you think started all this anyway!" Gunner shouted, and before Steel could even open his mouth Gunner answered for him. "You did! Your the one that started all this in the first place! You agreed to everything the Capital threw at you! So stop drinking that goddamned poision and pull yourself back together!" Gunner shouted before grabbing the bottle, ripping it out of Steel's grip, and threw it on the tombstone in front of him. The bottle exploded into thousands of pieces as glass and liquid splattered in every direction.

Before I knew it, I saw a lightning fast fist smash into Gunner's face before he fell down and hit the back of his head on a tombstone behind him with a loud thunk.

"You little-" Steel shouted at him in rage "you know how hard it is to make that!?"

Before I saw the events in front of me take place, I wanted to run up to Steel and give him a piece of my mind, but seeing the events unfold in front of me, I don't think it was a good idea. I wasn't afraid of Steel, but someone intoxicated with alcohol and rage, and someone with the strength and skills of Steel, it was a deadly combination.

"I know your still hurt over what Holly did and said to you!" Gunner shouted at his brother
"but-" His words were cut short by a sharp kick to the jaw.

"What the fuck do you know about that!" Steel shouted so loudly and so full of anger, that it seemed to scare off every bird in the cemetery. Birds from all over flew up simultaneously as their wings beat as one to get away from the noise that was Steel Redstone.

Steel thrust another kick at Gunner and hit him square in the jaw again. Blood flew out of Gunner's mouth as the boot hit his jaw. Steel reeled his leg back for another kick, but Gunner suddenly kicked him in the knee. I know Steel, and I was surprised to see him fall down like he did, he fell like rolling rocks going down a hill. Steel fell to the ground hard and held his knee like his brother had shattered it. Steel, his body damaged by the effects of his own product, it saddened me to see him like this. The Steel I knew, the Steel I... The Steel before could have taken that kick with little to no effort, but this Steel was on the ground in pain. Steel. You've gotten so far from what you were before.

The two brothers laid on the ground and groaned in pain for what seemed like forever, but I knew that it had only been several minutes, but sitting around doing nothing made time go by slowly. At last I heard Gunner say

"Big brother."

"Yeah?" Steel asked with absolutely no anger in his voice for some reason. It had all, surprisingly, fadded away.

"I'm sorry. About everything." Steel then let out a sigh that sounded like a cross between frustration, and relief.

"I know Gunner, I know. It's just that, I wanted to be a victor my entire life. And I did it, I won the Hunger Games. But now." A pause then came from Steel before he continued. "But now I see the price that victors pay for fame and fortune. I just." Another pause came. You just what Steel? "I just wish I could take it all back." Wish you could take it all back? Why Steel? You won the Hunger Games. Your rich. Your famous. Your loved. Your living the District Two dream. Why would you not what that? And what has happened to you since the last time I saw you three months ago?

"You thinking about that thing that got between Holly and you?" Gunner asked.

"Yeah," Steel said with pain in his voice "and that's only one of them." Prostitution Steel. That's what got between us. And your telling me there's more? Just what are you really doing? Not only did you sell your body to the Capital whores, your also doing other things for them. What are they Steel? How could you do this to me? To Sophie?

"Why do they even want you?" Gunner said with a hint of laughter in his voice "I mean, it's you." Gunner was probably saying that as a joke, but Steel wasn't laughing, in fact, he looked angry at the what his younger brother had said to him. Gunner got the hint and stopped laughing.

"I'm a victor." Steel told him simply. "And there are Capital girls that like bad boys of such."

"Do you even know what some people call you?" Gunner asked wondering if he even knew what some of the people called him during the victory interviews.

"A monster?" Steel asked him. "Yeah, I know that already." Well, that's how some of the tribute families felt about him, I mean, he did kill their kids, and he killed more then half. Thirteen tributes. Steel Redstone A.K.A the monster from District Two. He was more then a killer in the arena, he was a monster, and I won't deny that. But everyone thinks that District Two is filled with people like him. Well, we're not all that bad, it's just our reputation that makes everyone else think we're all psychopaths and cold blooded killers. "Whatever I am, it doesn't seem to make a difference to them." Because they love you for being a victor, for your looks, that's all they love you for?

"Don't you have any say in this?" Gunner asked his brother "I mean, why do you do it? Sell your body to crazy twelve year old fangirls or weird twenty something year old Capital girls? Or worse?" Yeah, my thoughts exactly, why do you do that you bastard!? You love the attention they give you don't you! That's why you went to the Capital so much on those so called meetings. You love those Capital girls more then you love me don't you. More then Sophie as well. Especially Sophie, your own flesh and blood. You choose them over us. Why!? Why them instead of us!?

"Because you'd all be in danger." I heard Steel answer. What? His answer caught me by surprise. In danger?

"What?" Gunner asked as soon as I was finished my thought. Gunner sounded as confused as I did. Did he not know that as well?

"If don't do what they want," Steel explained "I'll be putting everyone in danger. Mom, dad, you, Holly, Sophie, all my friends who remain, they'll all be killed. Or worse." What? Was this why he wouldn't see me? Maybe it wasn't about the fight, maybe the reason he left me so quickly after our fight, was because of this. Oh god, I'm terrible.

"If that's why, why didn't you tell Holly?" I think I know the reason.

"Because they didn't want me to tell." Steel explained "I tried to keep it a secret, but secrets don't last forever." Steel took in a deep breath. "All those trips to the Capital must have set something off." Yeah, those train rides did make me think, but I never thought that you were forced to go.

"Well, when I became victor, they won't ever want me." Gunner told Steel. I knew it was the wrong thing to say to Steel, but Gunner learned it the hard way, because Steel quickly got to his feet, grabbed his brother by the hair, and dragged him over to the tombstone in front of him and smashed his face into the stone. Gunner shouted out in pain before Steel shouted

"Don't you ever talk about being a victor!" Steel shouted angrily at his brother while still holding tightly onto his hair "ever!"

This was normal for Steel, even before the games. Steel had mood swings, one moment he could be happy, another angry, this made him kind of unpredictable.

"But-" Gunner started, but a face full of tombstone silenced his sentence.

"No buts!" Steel shouted at him "You want to end up like me!? Look at me before you answer that question! Look at my current situation! Look at who I lost!"

Gunner was a big kid. Fifteen years old, almost as big as his older brother, and a career. But Steel was sixteen, still the older brother, and a victor. And he was losing his mind. It made me sad seeing him like this. He was acting like a violent animal, he wasn't violent before, but he sure was now. "Don't volunteer! You got that!"

"Yes!" Gunner shouted in fear as blood ran down his face.

"Swear on her grave that you won't!"

"I swear on Shiva Alder's grave that I won't volunteer!" Shiva Alder, she was his friend as well. Shiva had two choices six months ago, volunteer, or die by the hands of her psychotic parents. She choose volunteering. When the final when the final eight came, the District One and Four careers decided to take out Steel and Shiva, they succeeded in killing Shiva, but not Steel.

"Good!" Steel shouted before tossing his brother away from the bloody tombstone. Gunner feel flat on his chest with a groan while holding his face in pain.

Steel, your insane. You need help.

I regret all I've said and thought about you. Now that I know what's been going on and how you've tried to hide it all from us.

I started to stand up, but I heard something that I didn't want to hear, the sounds of car horns honking and the excited cries of Capital citizens. Oh why did they have to show up now? I continued to duck behind my hiding place as I watched our escort, Steel's prep team, and camera crews run up the cemetery towards Steel. They were here for him, to get him ready for the victory tour. "Let's get this over with." I heard Steel say before walking away from his wounded brother.

I watched Steel come closer and closer to my hiding spot, and I didn't dare move in case he saw me. I really wanted to talk to him now, to say how sorry I was to him and that I still loved him. But now wasn't a good time. Not with all those Capital citizens around. "Sorry Gunner, but I had to get my point across to you." I heard him say quietly as he past my hiding spot.

"What was that?" A Capital lady asked.

"Nothing." Steel answered.

Steel got into the red car that was waiting for him, and just like that, he was gone.