Chapter 4

Five years had passed; Blake was now ten. Glenn had now figured out what The Hunger Games was, he had already experienced his first reaping. He had never been so nervous in his entire life. They started offering training classes for students, to prepare them for the games. He had watched the games for the first time last year. Glenn signed up for the classes as soon as he watched it.

Clay was still friends with Finnick, they had both forgotten about the silly game they had played when Finnick first came to the Grey residents. Blake however, had never forgotten. She was compelled to learn more. She listened to every conversation closely, hoping for information. When Glenn went to his first reaping, Blake and Clay were forced to stay home. Blake became frustrated. Why couldn't she watch the reaping? She had too many questions to ask.

One day Blake and Finnick had gone to a pond they discovered with Clay. Since she was ten, her parents said she had to be with one of the boys if she was gonna go there. Clay had to stay behind and work on homework he didn't finish. Once they got there, Blake had taken her brunette messy hair out of its high messy bun. She slipped off her long red skirt, white shirt, and shoes and placed them under the tree near them. This left her in her one piece swimsuit. She dove into the pond. She popped up her head to see Finnick about to jump in. Blake swiftly swam out of the way before Finnick was able to jump in on top of her. He came out of the water pouting.

"I was trying to scare you! Now I'm gonna get you!" He chased her in the pond, Blake squealed a few times when he got close to her. She giggled when he finally caught her. He picked her up in a bridal style. She could feel his cold wet bare chest, she felt nervous around him more often. He tossed her into the cold water, bringing her back to reality. She got back up and then started to splash him. They had a water fight until they were both out of breath. Blake got out of the water and layed in the grass. Finnick soon joined her, laying next to her. She started to hum a tune. She didn't know the tune, she just felt like humming.

"What are you humming?" He asked.

"I don't know, I just felt like it," Blake sighed. She thought about how close she was laying next to Finnick, and how every girl in her grade would kill to be this close. Even though she liked him, she would never admit it. Their friendship was too important.

"Do you think Clay finished his homework?" Finnick asked.

"No, He probably hasn't even started it. He waits till the last minute to finish things" she scoffed.

Finnick agreed with her. He slipped back on his clothes and tried to dry his hair by shaking it around like a wet dog. He ended up getting water on Blake's face in the process.

"What was that for?" she gasped as she was putting on my shoes, the last item Blake needed to put on.

"What was what?" he smirked. He knew exactly what he did.

"You're gonna get it!" she jumped up and chased him to town, all the way to his house. Blake was out of breath; her hands were on her thighs, panting intently.

"You alright?" he asked me, making sure Blake recovered.

"Yeah I'm fine, see you tomorrow!" she waved goodbye as she walked down the street to her home. She never realized how much I liked him till that day. When Blake walked inside, she saw Glenn bawling his eyes out. She knew what was coming, the reaping was just around the corner. Glenn had a difficult time the first year. This time, he's more trained. If he gets chosen, he'll at least have a chance at survival.

Blake woke up the next morning to waves crashing on the rocks. It wasn't a good sound this time, she knew what day it was. It was reaping day. Glenn was dressed in a white button up shirt with a blue tie, the same one he wore last year. Yet again, they were forced to stay home. Finnick came over to help with the boredom. Any minute now, they will be home. They watched tv for a bit, but it didn't calm their nerves. Finnick sat between them; he was holding on to both of their hands. He rubbed the back of Blake's hand with his smooth thumb. Blake tried to relax, nothing was working. She knew Glenn would be safe, but didn't believe herself. All of a sudden, the door to the house opened. She heard their parents enter the house with a thankful looking boy.

"You didn't get picked!" Blake gave him a big hug; holding on tight, just to be safe. Another safe and successful year for the Grey family. Blake was worried about next year. Clay, Finnick, and Glenn are all going to be in the reaping. She tried to flush the future out of her head and tried to focus on the present. She was glad their family wasn't torn apart.

The thought of the three boys in the reaping scared Blake. The smell of the beach hypnotized her, it distracted her mind. After Finnick had left, Blake went down to the beach. She dug her toes into the moist wet sand. She closed her eyes, watching the color pigments in the darkness. She loved the feeling of the sun and wind against her skin. She could smell the ocean, she mourned for the scent every day at school.

"Blake! It's time for dinner!" she could hear one of her brother's calls in the distance. She slowly lifted herself off the dirty sand, and she brushed off the remaining particles on her dress. Blake skipped into the house, with sand falling off her as she entered the house.