Chapter 2:

District One's Reapings

~~Satin's Point of View~~

"Satin? Baby, wake up," Ryan whispered into Satin's tiny ear. Her eyes fluttered open to find Ryan in front other. They were laying side by side in Satin's queen size bed. His deep blue eyes shone with contentment, and his jet-black locks of hair were in his eyes. There was a glittering diamond bracelet on her dainty wrist that she was twisting around with her other hand. She smiled at the memory of the night before. Easily one of the best nights of her life. Ryan had proposed to her with a beautiful diamond bracelet since it was a tradition in District One to propose with bracelets.

"Why? This is perfect," she mumbled. In the warmth of her fiancée's hold, she felt that life was perfect. He smiled, and took a lock of her auburn hair in his hand and wrapped it around his finger.

"Because today is the Reapings, and I know that you want to look your best," he said. That was true. Satin absolutely loved to look her best.

"Well, yeah. I do! Daddy bought me this brand new Schautre dress for this year, because it's my last Reaping. Do you want to see it?" she asked in a flirty voice.

"Babe, you know I do!" he said excitedly, running up to her and hugging her from behind. She squealed and escaped his hold, dashing for her gigantic walk-in closet. She stumbled around through the color-coded closet until she came to the purple section, which was the largest section. She shuffled through the lavender dresses, the lilac dresses, the violet dresses, until she finally came upon the red-violet section of dresses. The very first dress of this section was the dress that Satin planned on putting on. It was a beautiful fuchsia color. The dress was made out of pure silk and was bunched and gathered in certain spots to give it a ruffled look. The hem of the dress pooled around Satin's feet. The dress also had tiny crystals sewn into it so that whenever Satin moved, the dress glimmered and sparkled. Satin looked into the gigantic mirror on one of the closet walls and smiled. She thought she looked beautiful, and she still didn't even have any make-up on!

"Ry-Ry, I have it on! Come look at me!" she squealed excitedly.

"Oh my God! You look stunning, babe!" he said, and bent down to kiss her perfect, rose-petal lips. She smiled faintly and kissed him back, running her hands through his dark hair. She felt a yearning for more, and pulled him closer. The kiss became more desperate, more passionate. They stumbled backwards, until they fell onto her bed, where they broke apart at the sound of a disgusted younger sister.

"Like ew! You guys are disgusting! Get a room!" Satin's younger sister Silk screamed from the doorway. "I can't believe I just saw that! You guys are so gross!"

"Hey! We have a room, and you're not supposed to be in it!" Satin said, giggling. She got up, and pushed Silk out of the doorway. After Silk was gone, Satin ran back over to the bed.

"Pushy, are we, love?" Ryan said with a smirk on his tan face. Satin smiled, but punched him, hard, in the arm. "Baby, I was just kidding!" he said with his arms in the air in defeat. "Boy, do you pack a mean punch! I love you so much!"

She smiled in triumph. She had been practicing her self-defense skills since so many men had tried to jump her. Though she was only eighteen, and was very small, her body had matured very much, earning her a lot of glances at her chest from the disgusting boys in District One. She loved Ryan because he wasn't one of those people that only liked her for her body. He had actually gotten to know and love her.

"I love you, too, Ryan," she said as she tucked a piece of long hair behind her ear, a habit she did when she was happy.

"Okay, baby. I gotta go get dressed for the Reaping. I'll see you afterwards," he said, wiggling his eyebrows, suggesting something. She giggled at his silliness. Ryan walked up to her, bent down, and kissed her briefly.

"Bye!" she said as he walked out of her room. Satin walked to her white vanity and began applying her makeup.

About twenty minutes later, Silk walked into Satin's room. She came up and sat down next to her big sister.

"Thank God he left! You guys were getting pretty into it back there! When's your wedding supposed to be again? Am I going to be invited? Did you find your wedding dress yet? Who's going to be invited?" Silk blurted out, disrupting the silence, and making Satin, who was still applying her makeup, jump up.

"The wedding is supposed to be in five months. And yes, of course you're invited! No, I haven't found my wedding dress yet, but I already have a perfect image of it in my mind! I have no idea who's going to be invited yet. Ryan and I are going to figure that out in a little bit here." Satin answered every question of her very talkative little sister. Silk, who was 14, was very different from Satin. Silk always had so much energy. She was always hyper, and talked a lot. She had bright blonde hair that was shoulder length, and was very tall; she was taller than her sister. Satin was calm and laid back for the most part. Satin talked often, but only when spoken to. Satin had long brown hair and was very short and dainty.

"Oh! Okay! I'm SO excited for your wedding! This will be so fun!" Silk screeched excitedly. Satin smiled at Silk. "Wait." Silk suddenly stopped chattering and froze. "Your hair looks awful! I can't believe that I didn't notice that yet! My god- it looks like a freaking rat's nest!" Satin froze too. She had totally forgotten about her hair and spent way too much time on her makeup! Satin looked over at her iTablet and checked the time. It read 11:43 in swoopy print. The Reaping would start at 12:00. That meant that Satin only had 17 minutes to do her hair.

"Oh no!" Satin exclaimed. "Quick, I need my Emergency Hair-Do Kit!" She watched her loyal sister rush into the bathroom and then return with a shiny black box. Silk ran over to the vanity and threw open the box. She grabbed a curler, a hairbrush, and a bottle of mousse. Then Silk went to work on her sister's "rat nest" of hair.

…

At 11:57, Silk was done with Satin's hair. Satin had admired herself in the sparkling mirror, twirling around to see all angles of her hair. Her hair was in a beehive twirl on the back of her head. Silk had left out Satin's bangs and curled them to frame her slender face. She thought she looked beautiful.

The two girls rushed out the door, through the streets, and to the bridges. The Town's center was built in a lake. To access the center, you had to cross one of the four bridges, one on each side of the square. On each bridge was a dazzling gate made of crystal and silver, making the gates all look like the gateway to heaven. Once you reached the end of the bridge, and stepped onto land, you would immediately be surrounded by pink and white cherry blossom trees, fitting the bright and colorful clothing of the District One citizens. On that particular day, the center of the square was occupied with a drab and poorly built stage for the district escort, the mayor, and the past Victors.

After their fingers were pricked, and they were marked present at the Reaping, Silk and Satin split up to go to their age section. Once Satin got into her spot in her section, she found her friends Shine and Genevieve. Genevieve's long blond hair was in large princess curls, flowing around her back. She had on a revealing red dress and black stilettos. Her green eyes sparkled when she saw Satin arrive. Shine had on a deep blue gown with sequins sewn into it. Her black and blue highlighted hair was to her shoulders, her bangs simply held back by a beautiful bobby pin with a deep blue and black butterfly on it.

"You look amazing!" Shine and Genevieve exclaimed in unison. Satin smiled, and spun around for them.

"You girls look stunning as well, may I add!" Satin replied in her perfect Capital accent. She was about to continue when she was suddenly cut off by a high pitched Capital voice that Satin recognized as Geranium Goldenwood's.

"Hello and welcome, citizens of the glamorous District One! Can I get some noise?" Geranium said to the crowd. Her audience cheered in response, excited for the Reaping. "Ah, there we go! You guys rock! And now, I present you with your mayor, Mister Barry Johnson!" She backed off dramatically, and her hideous mustard-yellow wig slid off onto the stage. The audience cracked up, but suddenly fell silent as Mayor Barry loudly cleared his throat into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began in a stern voice, "welcome to the Reapings for the 32nd Annual Hunger Games. As you all know, the Hunger Games were started as a way to…" he continued on, but Satin blocked it out this year since she had already heard it numerous times throughout her lifetime. Thoughts of her wedding drifted into her mind as the mayor continued on. Then she remembered that she had not told Shine and Genevieve about Ryan's proposal the night before.

"Hey," Satin nudged Genevieve with her bony elbow. Genevieve looked over at her.

"What is it?" Genevieve asked in a hurried whisper.

"Ryan proposed to me last night! I forgot to tell you guys last night. Sorry," Satin whispered back.

"I understand. You two were having some fun!" Genevieve said, raising her blond eyebrows suggestively.

"Ew! No!" Satin squealed, earning her some disdainful looks from the devout Hunger Games fans around her. It wasn't that Satin didn't like the Hunger Games. No, it was definitely entertaining to see her fellow district mates to make it out on top. She just wasn't somebody who would be in the games. Unlike most citizens of her district, Satin hadn't ever trained for the Hunger Games.

"Alright!" screeched Geranium into the microphone. "Now it's time for the girl tribute!" The crowd cheered, and she stumbled over to the glass bowl in her six inch stilettos. She waved her tan hand around in the bowl, and pulled out a slip of folded paper. She teetered back over to the microphone, opened up the slip of paper, and read the name of the girl into the microphone.

"Satin Vital!"

~~Genist's Point of View~~

Genist heard the name and vaguely remembered her from school. But it was only vaguely because Genist had dropped out of school to train with his father for the Games. She wasn't in the main clique at school though, so he didn't know her very well. He knew that she was eighteen years old, as old as he was, and that she was very kind. So he was surprised when nobody volunteered for her. But he was glad that nobody volunteered for her, because she would be a very easy kill for him.

Genist watched her walk swiftly and gracefully up to the stage with a faint smile on her tiny, rose-petal lips. She looked calm and collected, even though he knew that she wasn't at all prepared for what was to face her soon. She was pretty, but he would kill her anyway. Maybe he would play with her in the arena, then destroy her. He smiled as he imagined her gruesome death, her writhing in a pool of blood.

His father had taught him at a young age to be ruthless. At the age of three, Genist had already been able to hit a bull's eye with an ax from twenty feet away. When Genist was seven, his father had chopped off his pinkie finger because Genist couldn't get a good grip on his spear. Being a Victor, Genist's father knew all of the secrets of the arena. He had killed thirteen tributes when he himself was thirteen years old. He was the youngest Victor in District One.

"And now for the boys!" Geranium yelled, pulling Genist out of his bloody thoughts. He watched as she walked over to the glass bowl that had his name in it six times. She immediately pulled out a slip of paper and came back to the microphone. "And this year's lucky male tribute is… Marbl-" Geranium was about to finish, but Genist cut her off.

"I VOLUNTEER!" Genist yelled. "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" He ran up on stage effortlessly and stood next to Satin, the other tribute. He towered over her by about fourteen inches, as he was 6' 3" and she was 5' 1". She looked up at him with terror in her huge green eyes, and he looked down at her, smiling. She began trembling as he shook his head, thinking of how easy a kill she was going to be.

"Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause to your District One tributes for the Thirty-Second Annual Hunger Games, Genist and Satin!" The entire district exploded into cheers as Genist pumped his fists. He knew he would win. He absolutely knew he would win.

~~Satin's Point of View~~

Geranium announced Satin and Genist as the district tributes and made them shake hands. Satin shook his hand and noticed something unusual. He pulled away from the tight handshake, and wiggled his fingers. Satin was confused until she noticed that he was showing her something. She realized that the unusual thing was that he had no pinkie finger. She looked at him in horror, and he just smiled.

Three Peacekeepers came onto the stage to take the two into the Justice Building to meet with family and friends. Satin was lead away from Genist, and she let out a sigh of relief. She had a bad feeling about him. Though his blue eyes and sandy blond hair seemed friendly, he had a dark and scary side that Satin could feel. Satin shuffled her feet across the shiny hardwood floors of the Justice Building until they came up to a doorway. The Peacekeepers shoved her into the room, then walked away, snorting.

"Little girl's got a sweet ass on there," one of the Peacekeepers said. Satin could only hear them because they hadn't shut the door all the way. Satin was disgusted with them, but she didn't have the energy to go out there and confront them. She was shocked about the fact that she had been Reaped, and very scared about having to go into the arena with a gigantic guy like Genist.

"Ma'am, you have visitors," the other Peacekeeper said as the door opened wider. Satin's father, mother, and sister came in, each one embracing her. After they all stopped hugging, Satin sat in a velvet couch that was across from another couch. Her family sat across from her. They all sat in silence for a few moments until Satin's father broke the silence.

"You will win. You have to win, okay? I'm sorry we didn't train you. I don't want to lose you, honey. I love you so much," he said in a serious tone. Her father had always been a no nonsense man, even in emotional situations.

She didn't reply with words. She only nodded her head slowly, finally letting a tear slide down her cheek. She had tried to remain silent, calm, and strong on stage where the cameras could see her, but she didn't think that these rooms would be taped, so she let her emotions out. Even if only for a little while.

"Satin?" Silk asked shyly, probably for the first in her entire life.

"Yes, Silk?" Satin said back.

"I love you. And I really want you to win. Promise me that you'll win. I know that you told Daddy that you would, but I need you to promise me. Because then I can count in you to return. Can I count on you?" Satin sighed. She didn't want to lie to Silk, but she didn't want to say the truth because the truth was what would finally make it all true. It would break the shell of shock that was around her, and reality would come bursting through to her. The reality that she would die. But she thought that that was probably going to be the last time that she said to Silk, so she went with her lie.

"Yes. You can count on me to return." Silk smiled, relieved.

"I knew I could!" Silk hugged Satin tightly.

"I love you, too. I guess all of the things I planned on saying have been said, right?" said Satin's mother. Satin nodded and hugged her one more time. They pulled away, and Satin noticed that her mother was silently crying.

"I love all of you. I need you to go on the same without me, and stay strong. For me, okay?" Satin asked her family. They all nodded somberly.

"I'm sorry, but your visiting time here is up," said the first Peacekeeper. The family got up and shuffled out of the room, the Peacekeeper slamming the heavy door shut behind him fully this time. A minute later, he returned with Genevieve and Shine. The three girls hugged and cried for the whole three minutes they were allowed. All of the words that needed to be said were said through their actions. The Peacekeeper shoved the sniffling girls out of the door and slammed the door again. Satin sat down and put her head in her hands. She had pretended to cry when she was with her friends, but now she really was crying. She cried and cried, her feeling of calmness totally gone now. Satin then heard the heavy door open and looked up to see who was coming in. With her blurry eyes wiped off, she saw that it was Ryan standing in the doorway. She suddenly felt hopeful and happy.

He walked over to her, and gathered her in an embrace that was so heartfelt, so filled with love, that Satin began crying all over again. He just held the nape of her neck gently, and stood hugging her, swaying back and forth. She pulled back a little bit, and looked at him through blurry vision. Ryan put both of his hands on the nape of her clammy neck, trying to calm her down.

"Baby, shhh… You're going to be okay. You're going to live through this. You're going to make it through this. I believe in you. I love you," he said as he pulled her face closer to his, so that their foreheads were touching.

"I love you too," she replied simply, and leaned her head forward to meet lips with him. Their lips met, and the kiss was soft and sweet. It was of goodbyes and I love you's, of things that would never be said and things that had already been said. It was purely a kiss of love. No lust, or yearning. Only love.

And in that moment, if only for a moment, Satin felt that she would be just fine.

~~Genist's Point of View~~

The Peacekeepers led Genist into a room at the end of a long hallway. They shoved him into the room, and left without a word. Not that he wanted to hear anything. He waited on the plush velvet couch for somebody to come visit him. He knew that his father would come in, but didn't know why he hadn't come in already.

Then, the door opened and Genist was met by his father. He came in, sat down across from Genist, and waited. He waited a minute before speaking.

"Good job, son. You remember all of what I taught you, right? The three s's: show no mercy, staying will mean paying, and scare them all off. You'll want to have people scared of you. Then you'll run the Career pack. And you must be that part, understand? Boy, you've been training for this for your entire life! Just follow the three s's, and you'll be fine," his father said. Genist nodded his head because he knew he would win. He had trained his entire life, and his district partner was a weakling.

"I'm out. Win. I will see you soon," his father said as he left the room.

Genist waited for other visitors, and found that he had none. Which was absolutely fine with him. He didn't do well with people anyway.

A/N: So, if you guys didn't already know, FanFiction has been taking off all SYOT's and SYOC's because it violates a rule about interactive stories. Well, they took mine off! So here is my new reposted version that begins with District One. Also, if you disagree with FanFicton's murdering of amazing stories, go to demigodgirl1000's profile and PM her to sign the petition!

If you have any questions regarding anything having to do with this whole SYOT dealio, please PM me. I can also let you know how many points you have if you want to know right then and there, otherwise, the points are posted on my profile.

Shout-outs:

Thank you Katy-kat15 for sending in Satin. Review and let me know how well I portrayed her!

Thank you to The Peacekeeper sending in Genist. Review and let me know what you think of him! Also, I didn't write about him as much as I did for Satin because I wanted him to be a little mysterious, so please don't kill me!

Thank you to everyone who sent in a tribute as well! You guys rock! All of those tribute slots filled up in literally two days! Two days!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story (when it was still up) and my other stories! Thank you again!