Wrong Place, Right Time - Cato Hadley x OC

Chapter 2: The Train

After testing out multiple soaps in my long shower, I got dried and ready for dinner. I settled on a soft pink sweater; it's a bit large for me, so it hangs off comfortably. I put on a loose pair of blue trousers to go with it.

My conversation with Wade in the hallway is in my mind on a loop. Why would he say that to me? I know we're not together anymore; my only intention was to loosen our tension. Clearly, he had other ideas.

My thoughts were interrupted by the very boy on my mind knocking on my door. 

"Hey, hurry up, would you?" He shouts. "Finnick wants to go over the reapings before midnight."

I roll my eyes at his gross exaggeration. "I'm just walking out," I call back, patience with him dwindling. 

Quickly, I step back into the bathroom to be sure I look acceptable, although I'm not certain who I want to impress. 

I pad out of my room in the softest slippers I've ever seen. Someone could tell me they were made of bunny fur, and I'd believe them. I find everyone seated in the living area in front of the television. Next to Finnick, on the couch, seems like the best option, so I sit there. Apple is, I'm assuming, dressed down, yet her bright blue outfit is more outrageous than anything I've seen in District Four. She mumbles a "hi" and unpauses the television, ready for Wade and I to start sizing up our competitors, starting with District One.

The first thing I notice about the girl who volunteers is how gorgeous she is. The standard of beauty. Not what the Capitol considers beauty to be, but true raw beauty. Her long blonde curls fall down her back as she proudly takes the stage. Once up there, she announces her name, Glimmer, a pretty name for a pretty girl. 

The boy from One is also a volunteer. He's tall, yet not as built as you'd expect someone preparing his whole life for a fight to the death to be. The grin he gives the camera on his way to the front gives me the impression there's not much going on behind those eyes. 

District Two is very different. The girl, another volunteer, is smaller than the last girl, but the dangerous look in her eye tells me not to underestimate her. Her presence takes up much more than what can't be more than a 5'2 frame. Much like the others, when she gets to the stage, she smirks, showing me she's proud to be here.

That's the main difference between District Four and the other Career Districts. They wait longingly for the games, desperate to prove themselves worthy to the Capitol and bring pride to their Districts. Here in Four, some of us like to watch the games. We know the morality underneath is wrong, but we also know we can't change it. Why not enjoy what we can?

My stomach somersaults when the boy from Two volunteers. He's just as tall as the boy from One but has to be almost double his size. His cold blue eyes look into the camera, and I can't help but look away. He's wearing a blue button-up to go with his gaze. As soon as he's up there, I know. I have to know him, as an ally. Of course.

The rest of the reapings were uneventful until we reached the outer Districts. My heart broke when the girl from Eleven was chosen. Not only was she one of the youngest, she had to have been the smallest. It seemed like a lifetime it took her to walk to the stage from the back. The whole time she was walking, I was mentally screaming. Why isn't anyone volunteering? I thought. I know they have no training, but someone older has to save her. No one did. 

The boy from her District made up for the size she lacked. He had to have been at least a foot and a half taller than her, and the physical labour their District relies on is made very obvious, the size of his arm almost being the same as her entire body. 

Another twelve-year-old is picked from Twelve. I wasn't sure I could take watching her go to the stage, but screaming behind her froze my mind. Her older sister, 16, volunteered, taking her place in the death sentence.