CHAPTER ONE: Adonis' Birthday

     Adonis shivers against the cool night air of District One.

    The train station is quiet. He— along with a handful of peacekeepers— are the only ones here this late at night. He's grateful that there's no crowd to greet him when he arrives home after his Capitol exchanges: he's already overwhelmed enough as it is, and the idea of a screaming crowd would send him into overdrive.

"The car is-"

"I can walk," Adonis says, interrupting the peacekeeper.

The peacekeeper doesn't bother fighting him on it, so, Adonis picks up his bag from the ground, and exits the train station.

     The walk from the train station to the Victors Village is long. He has to wind up through the various market districts, and then through the mountain tunnel, but he likes it. It allows him to distract himself from whatever happened in the Capitol beforehand.

     He remembers being little, and taking the walk from his home to the training center. When he thinks back on it, it makes him feel as if he's a ghost. There isn't a moment that goes by where he doesn't want to scream at his younger self to not volunteer, to not fall for the trap that the Capitol has laid, to not give his life away.

     But it's too late for any of that.

     When he does reach the Victors Village, it's dark, spare one house: his own.

     He frowns, and balls his fists up in case he has to attack an intruder. With careful steps, he makes his way up the set of marble stairs that lead to the front door, and then walks inside. He expects to find a group of robbers, but instead, he finds his sister Alecto, along with Augustus and Ruby Braun.

Ruby is laughing as she applies frosting to a cake, and Alecto is dancing humorously while she sips her glass of wine.

"Adonis!" Augustus cheers. "We've been expecting you!"

"What's all this?" Adonis frowns, throwing his bag down and shutting the door behind him.

"Your birthday dinner, of course," Alecto beams, running over to throw her arms around him.

"My birthday?... oh, fuck," he groans, hugging her back.

"How did you manage to forget your own birthday?" Ruby smiles, walking up and pressing a kiss to Adonis' cheek.

"Well, when you're as busy as I am," he jokes.

Ruby rolls her eyes. "I'll have dinner ready in a half an hour. Go, shower," she tells him, patting his shoulder gently.

He nods graciously, before bounding up the stairway, and making his way into his bedroom. It's the largest room in the mansion. The walls are white, and the large windows that face the forest behind the mansion are covered in beige curtains. His bed has a green headboard and is fitted with a white duvet and several green blankets. The rest of the room is filled with gold and green accent decor and furniture, all of which is its own level of home.

Upon entering the room, he peels away his Capitol clothing, before fishing out a pair of grey joggers and a white t-shirt from his closet. Then, he walks into his bathroom (also large, and also equipped with green and gold accents), and turns on his shower.

He practically scrubs his skin raw as soon as he's inside of it. He cleans every single possible part of his body until his skin is bright red and angry. He's desperate to wash away the stains of the Capitol, despite knowing that they'll return over the next two days. When he finally does deem himself clean, he leaves the shower, and dries himself off with a fluffy green towel.

He finishes off with a simple coat of moisturizer and deodorant, before getting dressed and heading back downstairs.

     When he reaches the kitchen, Ruby has several plates of various food laid out on the island. "I've made you all of your favorites," she grins. "Now, what would you like to drink?"

     "A cocktail of your choosing," he winks.

     "Are you flirting with my wife?!" Augustus laughs from his stool at the island.

     "Unfortunately for her, I don't like women," he jokes in response.

Ruby giggles, and passes him a glass of red liquid.

As he takes a seat beside Augustus and sips from it, Alecto sits beside him on his other side. "So, are you excited for this year?" She asks.

     "I don't expect much will change," he shrugs as Ruby hands him a plate of food.

     "Oh, come on," Alecto hums.

     "Considering I've got an appointment tomorrow night, I really don't plan on my lifestyle having some sort of drastic change," he continues, shoving a forkful of food into his mouth.

"You already have to go back?" Alecto frowns.

"I always have to go back," he shrugs.

     "You can't just-" Ruby begins, but Adonis cuts her off.

     "I can't stop, Ruby. The moment I refuse is the moment Snow comes around, and you all mysteriously die. I'd rather be sold off a few times each week than lose all of you," he snaps.

     The room goes silent.

     "Happy birthday, Adonis," Alecto whispers after some time.

-

The following afternoon, Adonis ends up on a train to the Capitol, curled up in a red blanket as he sips from a glass of clear liquor and cranberry juice.

"Don't you look charming?" Silver, his escort, laughs as he enters the train car.

     "Ha-ha," Adonis snorts, rolling his eyes.

     "So, tonight you've got a new client," Silver says, taking a seat beside Adonis. "His name is... well, you... already know him."

     "That's either a good thing or a bad thing, Silver. Come on, break the news," Adonis groans.

     "He's... he's Seneca Crane," Silver sighs.

     "As in the head gamemaker?" Adonis mumbles.

     "Unfortunately," Silver nods.

     "Oh, fuck me..." Adonis whines, throwing his head back against the couch. "That's what I'm supposed to do now? Spend my nights being fucked by the same people who punished me in the arena? That's really excellent for my psyche, you know."

     "Just a few more years of this, Adonis," Silver smiles. "Then you're free."

"I won't be free until I'm old and there's someone else to do my job," Adonis comments.

"I'm sorry, Adonis," Silver frowns. "I can't imagine how it feels."

     "Yeah, well, it doesn't feel great," Adonis scoffs.

     "You're strong, Adonis. You've always been strong. Ever since you volunteered, I've known you to be strong. Not just in a District One career way. You've been unspeakably kind, empathetic, and morally good. You will survive this, because you have it in you to survive. One day you won't have to do it anymore, and everything will be worth it. I promise you that," Silver says, taking Adonis' hands in his own.

     Truthfully, Adonis doesn't know what to say.

-

     "Thank you," Adonis mumbles upon getting out of the towncar that's taken him from the train station to Seneca's building.

The driver nods, and Adonis begins to walk towards the doors of the massive apartment building. When he walks inside, he tells the doorman, "Adonis Merritt for Seneca Crane."

"Floor 36," the doorman nods.

"Thanks," Adonis murmurs, before walking to the elevator and climbing inside. He presses the 36 button, and clenches his teeth as the elevator rises rapidly.

When the doors open, Adonis is greeted by a mess of red and black decor. It's a typical Capitol penthouse: covered in various fabrics and colors that really don't seem to mesh with one another. Seneca seems to have an affinity for crystal decor as well, seeing as the entrance hall is littered with enormous ugly crystal vases.

"Hello?" He says awkwardly.

An avox suddenly walks towards him, and silently takes his bag and coat. She motions toward a set of doors, and he nods appreciatively. "Thanks," he smiles.

He nervously steps through the set of doors, and is soon greeted by Seneca, who's drinking from a crystal glass on his couch. "Adonis!" He cheers. "Come, sit," he beckons, patting his knee.

Adonis gulps, but nevertheless takes a seat on Seneca's knee. "They call you the killer, hm?" Seneca hums. "Unfortunately I didn't get to work on your games, but they were... fantastic. Twelve kills, it's impressive, really."

"Thank you," Adonis nods.

"So, what is it you like, hm," Seneca continues.

"Whatever you like," Adonis whispers.

     "Oh, I don't think that's true," Seneca hums, reaching up to grip Adonis' chin.

     Adonis is desperate to run away from the penthouse and never return. Seneca's grip on him is sickening. This is a man whose job is to kill children in a barbaric game. Even worse is that he works with the same people who fought to kill Adonis himself.

"I'd like for you to do whatever you'd like, Seneca," Adonis mumbles.

     "Good," Seneca smirks, and it makes Adonis' blood run cold.

notes—
yeah so... first chapter

i want to cry for adonis he doesn't deserve any of this and next chapter is even more heartbreaking. i've got a few chapters pre-written and i can tell you now that you should get your tissues ready