"Excuse me. Yes, you sir. In the red. Who are you and why are you in there with them?" the voice rang out again, this time directed to the posh blonde boy in the corner.

Juniper watched as the boy tensed, looking around as he searched for a way out. So she was right. He wasn't meant to be here.

The rainbow girl next to him, gripped his arm tightly, giving him something that could only be words of encouragement before walking to the fence and perching herself in front of two children.

"Hi. How do you do? My name's Coriolanus Snow. And this is my tribute, Lucy Gray Baird from District 12," the posh boy greeted, introducing the children to her as he held onto the rainbow girl's hand.

The children stayed silent, but had a faint smile on their face.

"Hi there," the girl, Lucy Gray, spoke with a chuckle, leaning down to the children's level, "What's your name?"

Juniper couldn't help but stare as she watched the little boy hold onto his sister's hand as he spoke to the rainbow girl, remembering how Willow used to do the same for her when she was still around. Maybe in a few days, she'll do it again. When they're finally united.

"My names Pontius," said the little boy, keeping his sister close. Juniper watched as the camera inched closer, picking up their conversation.

"Well it's nice to meet you," Lucy Gray replied with a smile as she gesutred to the little girl, "Is this your sister?"

The little boy nodded as the young girl stepped forward.

"That's Venus. She's only four," the boy replied as the girl clutched his hand. Juniper bit the inside of her cheek at the exchange, heart aching as she thought of Willow.

"Well I think four's a very smart age to be," Lucy Gray answered, letting the girl get closer.

"Where'd you find that snake?" asked the little girl, smile beaming. Snake? So Lucy Gray must've been more sneaky than Juniper thought.

"Oh well he found me," Lucy Gray corrected, "Must've been a music lover. My singing calmed him right down."

The little girl continued to beamed as she looked behind Lucy Gray, noticing Juniper a few feet back.

Juniper smiled softly before turning her attention back to Lucy Gray.

"And who might you be?" Lucy Gray asked, smiling as she greeted the host. Lepidus Malmsey. Juniper would sometimes see him on television when her ma forced her to watch. She didn't particularly know much about the man, only that he was rather young for a reportor and seemed to lack experience.

Nevertheless, the Capitol must've liked him seeing as they intrusted him with interviewing the tributes. Or maybe it was a punishment.

"Lepidus. Lepidus Malmsey," the reporter greeted, smiling as he held out the mic for Lucy Gray to talk, "But more importantly, who are you, Lucy from District 12?"

Lucy Gray let out another laugh before correcting the man.

"It's Lucy Gray. like the color," the girl replied, causing Lepidus to nod. Though it was obvious he didn't really care.

"Do you know my mentor?" Lucy Gray added, directing the attention to the posh boy, "Says his names Coriolanus Snow and clearly I got the cake with the cream cause nobody else has even bothered to show up."

Lepidus's eyes narrowed at that, eyeing the posh boy, Coriolanus, before pointing the microphone at him.

"So the Gamemakers did tell you to jump into the cage with them then?" Lepidus asked, causing the boy to let out a fake laugh. Juniper rolled her eyes as she saw through his terrible charm.

"They didn't tell me not to," said the boy, coming up with his own narrative on the spot, "They just told us it was a mentors job to introduce our tributes to the citizens of Panem."

Yeah right, Juniper thought. There was no way anybody was buying that.

"And so you chose to jump in the cage with them?" Lepidus asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well I just thought that if Lucy Gray was brave enough to be here, then why shouldn't I be to?" the boy replied with a smirk. Juniper rolled her eyes as she heard Treech scoff next to her.

"He's so full of shit," Treech muttered, glaring at the blonde boy.

"Well the citizens seem to love it," Juniper mumbled back, glancing at the crowd as they fauned at the boy. Minus Lepidus, whose gaze seemed to be focused on the two Peacekeepers entering the encapture.

"Well, it seems your time with the tributes has come to an end. Looks like you're about to be whisked away," Lepidus announced just as two Peacekeepers grabbed onto the boy's arms. Lucy Gray said one last thing to her mentor before being dragged away by who Juniper assumed to be her district partner.

"Thank god that show's over," Treech grumbled out, watching as the boy got taken away. Juniper laughed at his bitterness, finding ammusment in his annoyance with the blonde boy.

Juniper's laugh, however, seemed to grab the attention of the crowd.

"Hey, you! The unlucky girl from Seven! Why don't you introduce yourself?" Lepidus called out, calling out for Juniper as she covered her mouth from laughing. Instantly, her smile deflated but was quickly replaced with a fake one.

Finished with their one performance and now they want another? Fitting. Oh well. Maybe she'll get some food out of this exchange.

Treech, however, did not seem to be as sure of the exchange, hand gripping onto her arm as he held her back. But Juniper just brushed the dirt off his shoulder with a sincere smile before making her way toward the fence.

"Lepidus Malmsey. How interesting it is to finally meet you," Juniper greeting, letting out a slight venom in her words as she greeted the man. Lepidus, however, didn't seem to notice, laughing happily as he pointed eyed the girl.

"So you know me then?" the man asked, quite happy that one of the tributes had recognized him.

If he wasn't going to recognize her sarcasm, then she should at least play it up for some attention.

"Well of course," Juniper replied, tilting her head to the side as stared up at the man, "My ma and I watch you all the time on the news."

"Well isn't that just sweet," Lepidus answered with a wide grin, "And what's your name, sweetheart?"

"Juniper DuBois. But you can call me Juni. All my friends do anyways."

From behind her, Juniper could feel the glare Treech was sending her, but she tried her best to ignore it.

"Well aren't you just a charmer?" Lepidus asked, smiling as he scanned her from head to toe, "What's a girl like you doing in the games?"

Juniper let her nostrils flare before replying.

"Not really my choice," said Juniper, a bitterness in her mouth that she covered up with another grin. Lepidus, recognizing his mistake, lets out a cough.

"Well I guess not. Such a shame a beautiful face like yours wasted away in the districts," Lepidus muttered with an exaggerated sigh. A comment meant to be a compliment to her beauty that only made her want to reach through the bars and strangle the man.

But thankfully, the universe seemed to be listening to her pleas this time, sending the little girl her way.

"Is it true your sister was in the games too?" the little girl cut in, allowing Juniper to relax. Instantly, the girl from Seven turned her attention to the pair, leaning down toward the little girl.

"A few years ago, yes. Her name was Willow," Juniper confirmed, hiding her bitterness toward Willow's death behind a smile. Why should they get to know about Willow when they were the reason for her death?

"Did she really volunteer for you?" the boy added, a look of admiration on his face. Juniper chuckled at that, though she hoped nobody noticed it was one out of anger rather than amusment.

"She did. Back when I was a little older than you," Juniper answered, watching ffomr the corner of her eye as the camera zoomed in on them.

The little boy, however, seemed unfazed by the cameras.

"I'd volunteer for Venus if I had to," the boy insisted, standing up taller as he looked at his little sister. And while the boy didn't mean to cause any harm, Juniper couldn't help but feel bitter.

Must be easy imagining yourself volunteering when you'd never have to actually do it.

Nonetheless, she laughed, giving the performance of a lifetime as she looked at the little boy.

"Well good thing you don't have to worry about that," Juniper corrected, biting the inside of her cheek as she tried to stop the bitterness from spilling out.

As much as she was annoyed by the ignorance of the child, she didn't think flipping out on him would do her any good now.

"Is that your boyfriend?" the little girl asked, interrupting the conversation again. Juniper furrowed her brows before following the girl's finger, leading right to Treech, who already seemed to be listening to the conversation a few feet away.

Juniper laughed, eyeing her friend for a moment before turning back to the little girl.

"Treech?" asked Juniper, causing the little girl to nod, "He's my friend. Why do you ask?"

The little girl blushed, hiding behind her hands as the boy spoke for her.

"She thinks he's cute," the boy blurted out, causing Juniper to laugh again. Leave it to Treech to make a four year old fall for him.

Still, Juniper played into the girl's crush, finding joy in talking about Treech.

"He sure is, isn't he? Used to get all the girls back home," Juniper teased, causing the little girl's eyes to light up, "Would you like to meet him?"

Instantly, the little girl nodded, causing even her brother to laugh. Juniper smiled as she turned around, beckoning her friend over. Treech eyed his friend for a moment before making his way over, leaning down to the little girl's height.

"How are you doing, little gem?" Treech greeted, tilting his hat as the little girl giggled.

"I'm Venus," the little girl replied instead, starstruck by Treech's presence. Treech let out a laugh as he glanced happily at Juniper for a moment.

"I heard," Treech admitted with an amused smile, "You've got a pretty name."

The little girl blushed again, hiding her face in her hands at his compliment. The crowd let out a sigh at that, enamoured by Treech's charm.

"Do you know how to use an axe?" asked the little boy, taking the opportunity to finally ask Treech a question.

"Sure do. You know, Juniper, here's not too bad with one herself," Treech replied, directing his attention toward Juniper again. The girl from Seven lightly shoved her friend's shoulder as she noticed the little boy beam in excitement.

And as Juniper continued to watch the exchange between her friend and the siblings, she couldn't help but feel a flutter in her chest.

The kids seemed to adore him and Juniper was quite sure that Treech would make an amazing father one day. One that would give his children nothing but happiness, just like hers had a long time ago.

But then, she remembered the games and she instantly felt the flutter dissolve into sadness. Treech could still be a father if he won the games.

But Juniper wanted to be there to see it.

Only, that wouldn't be possible.

-

a/n:

well... it was cute for a moment!! also sorry the plots moving slow yall,,, I've got a lot of detail to add early on andthen hopefully it'll pick up

also,,, idk why but I've been hating my writing sm lately </33 I'm sorry if this chapter is terrible and boring

but as always thank you for reading and supporting me. I love yall sm,,, it means sm to me you don't even know.

love you guys,

hannah <33