Lost

The walk to the train was an embarrassing one for me. Reporters with their camera were swarming us and I tried to keep my head down, to show that I hadn't been crying. But anyone could tell that I had been, why else would I be hiding my face? Riley had reached over and pulled me closer to him which made me look up at him and give him a thankful smile. Unfortunately, that only made the swarm go crazy and I quickly ducked my head again and stayed that way until we were safe in the train.

Once the doors were closed, the train pulled off immediately. I let out a sigh of relief, happy to be away from all of the people that had surrounded. Riley's arm was still around my shoulders, but I didn't mind it. It oddly made me feel a little more safe. I looked around the train in awe. It was quite fancy, chandliers hanging down over comfortable looking chairs and mahogany tables. They led me towards my bedroom and it was absolutely beautiful. My fingers moved over the expensive comforter before looking over to the dresser. I pulled out some pajamas, before going towards the bathroom. I pulled myself out of my dress from the Reaping and took off Madilyn's necklace. I looked at it for a moment, before letting out a sigh and setting it down on the counter. I stepped into the shower and turned it on before letting myself relax slightly under the warm water.

I don't know how long I stayed under that water, probably forty five minutes, but I finally washed off my body and hair, before stepping out of the shower. I dried off with a towel that was next to the shower, before pulling on the pajamas that I had laid out. I put back on the necklace and let out a sigh, before laying down in the bed. It didn't take my body long to relax completely and I fell into the world of my dreams.

"Faye?" I heard, waking me slightly from my slumber. I didn't answer, I didn't even open my eyes. I just wanted to be left alone until we got to the Capitol.. but I wouldn't be that lucky, "Faye, get up," I heard the exasperated voice, shaking me slightly. I let out a groan of defiance, but I reluctantly opened my eyes to see Riley staring down at me. I rose my eyebrows at him, before sitting up and letting out a yawn.

I saw him roll his eyes, before he pushed a little at my shoulder, "It's time for dinner. Get dressed."

"I don't want to go," I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

He let out a sigh and sat down on the edge of my bed, "I'm not any more happy about this than you are, but we have to make the best of it while we can.. We have to think of strategies and figure out how to get sponsors.." He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair, something he did often, "This is the first time we're going to see Kat and Derek, this is our time to discuss all of this."

"We know our strategy, Ri. We're sticking together," I said, shrugging my shoulders. That made him laugh a bit and he shook his head.

"That's not a strategy. That's just something we're going to do.. We're going to protect each other," I nodded at this, "But we have to have a good plan on staying alive once we get into the arena.. They can help us with that."

"Do you really think we have a shot?" I asked in a quiet tone, biting down on my lip after I had asked that.

"I think.. We might have a shot, if we practice good enough." I nodded my head, before getting out of my bed and shooing him out of my room. I pulled back on my dress from the Reaping, before running a brush through my hair and walking out of the door. When I walked into the room, the first person I laid eyes on was Kat. She was the winner of the games two years after my brother, making District ten very proud to have two victors in just two years. Now, she helped mentor with my brother.

I sat down across from her, beside my brother, and filled my plate with the stew that they had put out for us. I didn't say anything to her, and she didn't say anything to me, though I could feel her eyes looking me over. Finally, my eyes shot up to hers, before a took a bite of the stew. The flavor exploded in my mouth and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

"So..." I heard Derek say, and I could just see him biting down on his bottom lip.

"We need to talk about what we're going to do.. The images you want us to portray, how to get sponsors, what to do when we get into the arena," I said, finally speaking and looking over to my brother. I knew that he would be the one to help me out the most and not Kat.

I saw a smile come to my brothers face and he nodded, "Yes, and we will discuss that soon. Besides, I think you two have already made a show since the Reaping," He said, his eyes moving to Riley's for a moment, before settling back on mine.

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"He means me hugging you after they called my name, and my grabbing you when we came to the train," I heard Riley mumble, before he took another bite of food.

"Frankly, I think it's great. The lovers called out to fight against each other in the arena.. It'll make for a great show!" Winnie exclaimed, clapping her hands together. That nearly made me choke on the stew I had just put in my mouth. Lovers?! What was she getting at?

"No. There isn't anything like that between us!" I cried out, my eyes wide as I looked over at Riley. Had that been his idea? For the world to think that we were lovers?

"Maybe not, but it's a good angle," Derek said, in his soft voice that was telling me not to overreact.

"He's right. We'll have the sponsors eating out of our hands," Kat finally spoke up, but I wasn't having any of it! I promised myself that I would stay true to myself, so that meant I wasn't going to pretend that Riley was my boyfriend.

"No! That's the end of it!" I said, shaking my head, "We're friends.. Good friends, that's it. And if they ask me about Riley in my interview, that's what I'm going to say. End of discussion."

After that, no one said anything. I looked over at Riley and I couldn't tell, but it seemed like he was a bit hurt. I took another bite of my stew, before standing up and throwing my spoon down, "I'm full," I mumbled, before going back to my room. I slammed the door and threw myself on the bed, before grabbing my pillow and screaming into it.

Not even a day into all of this and here I was, going insane already. I heard a knock on my door and I let out a groan before yelling out, "Go away!" But instead of them listening to me, they opened the door and sat down on the edge of my bed. I felt a hand on my back and turned to see who it was. It was Derek. I let out a huff and laid my head back down on my pillow.

"If it makes you feel better, we're not going with that angle. You two don't have to be like that, it's alright," he said, in a soft voice, "I know what your image is going to be through out this process."

That's when I turned back to look at him. I had my eyebrows raised in curiosity and motioned for him to continue talking. He let out a sigh before continuing, "It's going to be.. yourself. You're already sweet, strong, intelligent.. and you've let your vulnerability show. We're going to keep it that way. No facades, no roles to be played."

I let that sink in for a bit, before smiling and launching myself at him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so scared I was going to be made into some seductive demon or something! Thank you!" Then, I sat back down on my bed and let out a sigh.

"Get some sleep, baby sister.. It's going to be a long day when we get to the Capitol."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I put back on the pajamas I had on earlier and laid down in bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

I woke up to Winnie's sugary sweet voice yelling, "Get up! It's a big day! It's a huge day!" I let out a groan, before staring at the ceiling. And so it starts.. I got out of bed and ran a brush through my dark brown hair, my hair landing in its natural waves before pulling back on my dress from the Reaping. It was the best I've got and I didn't want to wear Capitol clothing. I walked out into the room that held breakfast and quickly ate a biscuit with grape jelly smeared on it. About ten minutes later, Riley came out and did the same.

"Are you ready for today?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Not even close.. Are you?" He shook his head at me and I let out a sigh, before looking out the window. I saw the huge buildings come into view and all of the different colors of the Capitol citizens, and I raced to the window. Riley was quick to follow, "It's.. amazing," I breathed out, my eyes open wide in awe. Then, I noticed Riley smiling and waving at the crowd that was greeting us. So, I followed.

"Get ready.. because this only the beginning," He muttered to me through his smile.