Chapter Text
Jay Gatsby hated waking up early on Reaping Day. It meant being unable to get back to sleep, leaving the house early, walking through the still streets of District 9, and wondering whose children he would have to mentor this year. Of course, he knew that he would never have to set foot in the arena again, but that didn’t make his situation any better. He’d always feel responsible when the tributes from his district died. And they always died. In the thirteen-odd years since he had won, no tribute from District 9 had become a victor.
Well. Except for her.
Jay opened the gate back into Victor’s Village and was about to head back into his house when he saw someone leaving the house next to his. There were only two occupied houses in Victor’s Village- one belonging to him, and the other to Daisy Fay. She had won her games two years after he had, making them the two surviving victors in the district- she had also won her games without killing a single person. She and Jay had been mentoring the District 9 tributes ever since her win. When she returned from her Games, the two of them had struck up a friendship, being the only two victors. However, over the years, Jay had definitely been feeling…other things that went further than friendship. But every time those thoughts came up, he tried his best to forget them. Daisy saw him as a friend. Why would he want to ruin that?
“Jay!” Daisy smiled as she spotted him. Although she had clearly tried to cover it, Jay could see dark circles under her eyes.
“Good morning, Daisy. Couldn’t sleep either?” Jay’s head suddenly felt very light, and he realised he didn’t know what to do with his hands anymore. He settled for fiddling with the buttons of his white suit as he awkwardly stood in front of her.
“Not really. Tonight…it was worse than usual, though.”
“The Reaping?”
“Of a sort. I have…a cousin. He told me he’s taken a lot of tessarae this year to provide for his family. I’m- I’m just worried for him. That’s all.”
Jay tried not to show his surprise. He’d never heard of Daisy’s cousin before. He didn’t have any family in the district, and sometimes he thought that was a good thing. He’d heard rumours, when he was at the Capitol for the Games, that the relatives of surviving victors were somehow more likely to get reaped. He decided not to tell Daisy that.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said in his most confident tone. “A lot of children take tesserae. Besides, what are the odds?” However, deep down, he knew that the odds were certainly not in favour of Daisy and her cousin. Despite that, Daisy looked reassured. “Thank you, Jay. That’s…helpful to hear.”
“No-” Jay found his voice suddenly didn’t work. He tried again. “No problem. We still have a few hours before we’re required to be in the town square. Would you care for some tea?”
“Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you.”
The two victors stepped inside Jay’s house.
***
Later that day, Jay and Daisy stood on a platform in front of the Justice Building. Jay could see Daisy anxiously scanning the crowd of assembled children, and guessed she was looking for her cousin. Without meaning to, he reached out and took her hand, regretting it instantly when she flinched. He started to withdraw his hand before Daisy caught it and held on. They stared straight ahead, not trusting themselves to look at each other. Jay kept his gaze locked on the back of the town square and the endless fields of wheat beyond them as the Peacekeepers finally entered the town with the Capitol escort, Gilda Grey.
“Happy Hunger Games!” the woman bubbled excitedly into a microphone. “And may the odds be ever in your favour!”
Jay started to zone out as Gilda went on to deliver her annual speech, starting with reminders of the Dark Days and the Capitol anthem, and ending with more promises of what fun things had been planned to celebrate the start of the seventh decade of Hunger Games. His eyes started to wander through the crowd in front of him, as they always did. He tried to spot Daisy’s cousin, but couldn’t see anyone who looked like her. It was ironic, he thought, that although District 9 was one of the largest districts in Panem, it was also one of the least populated. Which meant more work for everyone who lived there to produce the vast amounts of grain and bread that the rest of the country needed.
Jay was jarred back into reality by Gilda announcing that the time had come to pick the names of the tributes. He shot a look at Daisy. She was standing with her eyes closed- and was still holding his hand.
Gilda stepped up to the first glass bowl. “Ladies first!”
She rummaged around in the bowl, for forever, it seemed, before deciding on a slip of paper, and all Jay could think about was how terrified the twelve-year-olds at the front of the crowd seemed…
“Jordan Baker!”
Immediately, everyone's heads turned to the back of the crowd to watch a girl walk out into the aisle. She had short ginger hair, pale skin and green eyes, which remained fixed on the ground as she continued to walk towards the platform. Jay noticed that her white dress was embroidered with bright green and yellow flowers around the hems. Jordan arrived at the stage, flanked by two Peacekeepers, and stood there with her arms crossed, staring out at the audience. Jay thought he saw a hint of defiance in her eyes- or maybe it was simply fear.
Now Gilda was reaching for the boy's name. Jay saw Daisy take a deep breath as she unfolded the slip of paper and read it aloud. “Nick Carraway!”
At first, Jay thought Daisy would be relieved. Then he heard her gasp. He turned to her. “Daisy? Is he your…” Daisy nodded limply, turning away from him and withdrawing her hand, covering her face. Jay tried not to feel hurt as he watched Nick start onto the aisle. No wonder Jay had been confused- he looked nothing like Daisy. Short, dark, curly hair, light brown skin, brown eyes. Jay thought he could see a little bit of similarity in their eyes and face shapes, but that was where the similarity ended. Nick’s eyes briefly flickered to Daisy before he lowered them and came to stand next to Jordan. Gilda started up her spiel again. Jay ignored her and turned to Daisy, who had seemingly collected herself and was now staring straight into the distance. Jay tried to offer her a reassuring smile, but she didn’t see it.
“...and what wonderful games we’ll have this year!” Gilda finished before the Capitol anthem played again. She went over to Jordan and Nick, motioning for them to shake hands. Nick smiled nervously at Jordan, she gave him a cool once-over. Then, as the anthem shut off, the Peacekeepers ushered the group into the Justice Building, closing the metal doors behind them.