Another year another reaping. Bellona figured she would be used to it by the 10th time around, but even now, she dreaded the wretched day.

To be fair, having to watch helplessly as your friends from home die is not the easiest thing to do. Usually, the Plinths opt not to show up for Reaping Day, for obvious reasons. But this year, Bellona and Sejanus were specifically requested to attend.

And by requested, she meant forced. Apparently, this was part of a final assignment by the Academy before they graduated. Something about mentoring? Bellona wasn't really listening when it was explained.

So, she decided to get herself extra ready today as her own form of protest -- grabbing onto some blue eye shadow as she painted her face in a way to surely draw attention. Bellona liked doing this sometimes. It often pissed off the people of the Capitol without her actually saying anything to get herself or her family in trouble. 

And it meant she could stand out in a crowd. Something she liked to do.

As soon as she was done getting ready, she quickly sat down at the breakfast table, grabbing some blackberry pie.

"Pie for breakfast, Bell? And what's with that makeup? It looks ridiculous," Father commented as he stared up from his food at the girl.

"I think she looks stunning," Ma complimented, sending Bellona a sweet smile. Bellona smiled back gratefully.

"Don't worry, Father. This gets all the boy's attention," Bellona joked, sending her 'father' an innocent smile. This only seemed to unsettle him.

"You need to be careful, Bell. Find a nice boy. Like Festus Creed or Coriolanus Snow," her father advised. But, Bellona couldn't tell if he was more concerned about her or his reputation.

"Ugh. No, not Festus Creed. Anyone but that idiot. He gets on my nerves," Bellona complained with a groan. Festus Creed was the worst person to exist. Bellona was sure of that.

"Be nice to that boy, Bell. Who knows, maybe you'll even end up liking him," Ma innocently suggested, causing Bellona and Sejanus to burst into laughter.

"Not likely," Sejanus muttered as he cleared his throat, earning a glare from Father.

"Don't be rude, Sejanus. At least Bellona is out there socializing. She knows how to fit in. Maybe you should be taking advice from her," Father commented, sending a stern look Sejanus's way before turning back to his breakfast.

Bellona turned toward Sejanus with an eye roll, mimicking their father as Ma and Sejanus watched. Sejanus erupted in laughter as Ma lightly hit Bellona, whispering for her to knock it off, and causing Father to look up from his plate.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing Father!"

-

As soon as Bellona entered the hall, her eyes landed on Festus, who was currently talking with Arachne Crane, Coriolanus Snow, and Felix Ravinstill. And of course, Lysistrata Vickers.

Bellona let out an exaggerated sigh as she noticed her best friend standing with Festus, happily listening as the group talked. Bellona really had some terrible luck. 

Hesitantly, the girl made her way over to the group, only to instantly regret it when she heard Festus speak.

"Did you see his mother's outfit? Sorry his Ma."

Why was he talking about Sejanus? Out of everyone, Festus was one of the only ones who wasn't terrible to Sejanus. Though, Bellona hated to admit that he'd ever done anything good. So why was he doing it now?

Bellona cleared her throat as she made her way to the center of the group, sending everyone a fake smile before making her way over to Festus.

"Festus Creed, what a lovely tie," Bellona complimented as she lightly grazed the tie, causing Festus to stiffen for a second, clearly confused by her actions. 

"Too bad it's wasted on a hideous face like yours," Bellona taunted as she quickly gripped the tie, pulling him down slightly. Festus let out a grunt but had no time to react before Bellona made her way away from the group, taking Lyssie with her.

Quickly, Festus followed behind her, not letting her get the final word.

"Bellona, I'm surprised to see you here. You never come to the reapings," Festus teased as he made his way next to her. Bellona rolled her eyes with a chuckle as she turned to face him.

"My presence was requested seeing as I am a part of the top 24 students. You know, I'm surprised to see you here, Creed. Seeing as you're clearly incompetent," Bellona taunted back, sending him a sly smile. Festus did not seem fazed by her dig though, only laughing as he looked at her.

"You know, Bellona. I find that hard to believe seeing as I'm your only real competition," Festus replied with a smug look on his face. 

And as much as Bellona hated to admit it, he was right. Coriolanus had always had the number one spot and there was no way that would ever change. So, there became a race to see who would be number two. For years, it'd been a constant battle between Festus and Bellona --  making Bellona hate him that much more.

"Whatever you say. You're still an imbecile in my eyes," Bellona replied, beginning to walk away again, dragging Lyssie with her.

When Festus was finally out of her sight, Bellona let out a loud grunt, causing Lyssie to laugh.

"He's such an idiot. I don't understand how you can be friends with someone like that," Bellona muttered as she tried to shake off the annoyance.

"Come on, Bell, he's not that bad. What has he truly ever done to you?" Lyssie argued with a laugh. Bellona only rolled her eyes.

"Tease me incessantly, call me Bellona, make fun of my Ma," Bellona explained, each one getting louder as she tried to emphasize her dislike for him.

"He only did that to fit in with Arachne and Felix, you know he doesn't actually mean that," Lyssie explained as she eyed her friend, "And what's wrong with calling you your first name?"

"Only my Father calls me that when I'm in trouble. It's weird," Bellona whined, shivering at the name. Lyssie shook her head again playfully, wrapping an arm around Bellona as she escorted her to their seats.

"I think he just likes to get a rise out of you," Lyssie teased, wiggling her eyebrows, "Who knows, maybe you'll see he's not that bad."

"Never in a million years."

-

Turned out, that when Dean Highbottom mentioned mentoring, he meant mentoring one of the 24 tributes. 

Great, Bellona thought. Now she not only had to watch, she also had to participate. She only hoped that she didn't see anyone she knew.

Bellona's luck seemed to get even worse when Festus took a seat next to her, sending her a smirk as he noticed her grimace. This is going to be a long day.

"District One."

Bellona tried her best to zone out, ignoring the names that were called for the first district as she waited anxiously to see who had been reaped from District 2.

Please don't be anyone she knew.

"District Two boy. How fitting. He goes to Sejanus Plinth," Highbottom called out with a hint of amusement. Bellona's eyes immediately went to Sejanus's face, who stared forward angrily. 

Poor Sejanus. This must've been Father's doing.

Bellona then took the opportunity to look up, regretting it almost immediately. Marcus. 

Bellona hadn't known Marcus too well back in Two, but from what she could remember, he was always kind and thoughtful. And it killed her slightly to see someone she knew standing again on that stage.

Things only got worse when it came to the District 2 girl. Strangely, Bellona didn't hear her name called out for the announcement, but what she did notice, made her heart shatter.

Sabyn. Bellona had been friends with her back in Two before the war had brought her to the Capitol. Sabyn was a year younger than the rest of them, but she'd always lived in Bellona's neighborhood, integrating her into Bellona's circle.

No. This couldn't be happening. This must be some sort of sick joke.

Bellona let out a small gasp as she squeezed her eyes shut, lowering her head as she tried to stop any angry tears from coming out. Lyssie quickly grabbed onto her hand for comfort, but Bellona still refused to look up. 

Even Festus seemed surprised by her reaction, pausing slightly as he glanced at her, only turning away when he heard her name called.

"District 4 boy. Bellona Plinth."

Instantly, Bellona turned her attention to the screen, noticing the a young boy standing on the stage. The boy looked no older than 14 and was clearly frightened. That poor boy, Bellona thought. How was she going to be able to protect him? She only hoped that his fishing skills would come in handy.

Bellona continued to stare up at the boy for a while, only stopping when she heard Highbottom chuckle. 

"Well isn't this funny? District 4 girl. Festus Creed."

"You've got to be kidding me."

-

a/n: hi guys !! welcome to the first official chapter !! I hope you enjoy this fic,,, Bellona's a  bit different than Vera so hopefully you enjoy how wild she can be (if you're coming from my treech fic)

thank you guys so much for reading !! I really appreciate all the support, especially since festus is super underrated and not as well known <3  I'm also kind of really excited to write a rivals to lovers fic,,, the dialogue is so fun lol so I hope you enjoy that

can't wait to see you next update !!

love you guys,

hannah <3