It Almost Worked

1. For The First Time

Lucy walked backward on a grass path, facing Andrew and Raven as the three talked. For the first time in years, they were smiling and laughing. But if they knew how fast that moment was gonna end, they would do anything to stay longer.

"Ma, what are they doing?" Andrew asks Raven, pointing to a crowd of people. "Maybe another announcement for the games." Lucy had stopped walking and joined the crowd, Andrew followed behind her while Raven crossed her arms and listened. They all saw snow on the big screen, or in other words, Lucy's and Andrews 'father' on the screen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 75th year of The Hunger Games. And it was written in the charter of The Games that every 25 years, there would be a Quarter Quell to keep fresh for each new generation the memory of those who died in the uprising against The Capitol. Each Quarter Quell is distinguished by Games of a special significance. And now, on this the 75th anniversary of our defeat of the rebellion, we celebrate the 3rd Quarter Quell as a reminder that even the strongest among them can not overcome the power of The Capitol On this Quarter Quell Games, the male and female tributes are to be reaped from the existing pool of victors in each district." While the rest of the crowd was cheering, Andrews face dropped, Lucy stepped away from the crowd, and Raven covered her mouth.

Even if Snow kept talking, the three weren't listening anymore. Lucy started to walk over to the woods, "Lucy, hey, come on, Lucy, please." Raven tried to stop her by grabbing her arm, but Lucy pushed her away and walked off. Andrew held back tears, and instead of Raven going to stop Lucy, she made an attempt to comfort Andrew.

Lucy ran through the woods, and the branches left small cuts on her body. She didn't really know where she was going, just somewhere, just to get out. Eventually, she stopped and just broke down in tears. She didn't know why, and even if she did, she couldn't explain it. She just needed to.

She leaned against a tree before sitting down and trying to calm down. Lucy never really liked her dad after she found out what he did to her and her mom. She definitely didn't like him after what she had just heard. But why would he do that? He knows Andrew is the only male Victor in district 10 and that Lucy would volunteer for her mom, besides, he promised her she would get to live the rest of her life in peace if she won.

She couldn't lose people again. Not like the people she lost last time. Lots of people might think, "She's Snows kid, she'll make it out alive," but they all know it's just bullshit. Snow was never there for her. The only people actually there for her were Andrew, Raven, and Finnick. That was probably the only good thing about this. She would get to see Finnick again.

Lucy managed to calm herself down, wiping the tears out of her eyes. She rested the back of her head on the tree. She knew she couldn't let people see her like this. They'd go nuts. Lucy stood back up, balancing herself before starting to walk again as if nothing had happened. But she knew where she was going this time.

After about twenty minutes, Lucy stepped through the front door and was quickly greeted with a hug from Raven. "Where were you? You can't run off like that, especially after what just happened!" Lucy nods. "I know. I'm sorry, ma." Raven pulls away from the hug and examines Lucy. "Jesus, you have cuts all over you. Come on, let's get you fixed up, and then you can sleep."

Sleep.

How could she just sleep after that? Hearing her father on the screen just made her want to kill him, punch him, anything. Anything to get him to stop. So how could she just "sleep"?

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Lucy, Raven, and Andrew stood on the stage. Lucy and Raven on one side of Rainbow, Andrew on the other. Andrew liked Rainbow. Yeah, she calls the names, but she was nice to them. Maybe Rainbow felt bad for them. She certainly felt bad right now, at least.