A Line In The Sand || The Bachelorette Finale!

It was easy for Ben to decide on a family member that he wanted to put in front of the camera, it was easy because she volunteered straight away. There was no breaking the bond between Ben and his little sister; after all they only had each other and their mother throughout the earliest years of their lives while the other older three were groomed to be little prodigies of their father. A bizarre family tradition kept him apart from his older siblings, even some of his cousins had to endure it.The first three children must follow into their father’s careers, which is why many of the Duarte family have at least four children, the outcast always being left behind to fend for themselves. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before Ben was blessed with his little sister, a play mate to help him through thick and thin.

Burrowed into a little room, a swarm surrounded Ben, working on his appearance. Ben insisted that they needn’t over do themselves on him, he’d rather not look overly too glammed up like every other Capitol citizen. Fighting his cause, he was able to agree on a smart yet casual outfit. Once the herd of stylists exited from the closet sized room, he looked at himself in the tall rising mirror. They’d dressed him in a blue collared shirt, the first two buttons un-done at the top, a dark jacket and trousers accompanied the shirt. Retrieving a tissue, he tackled the glitter that painted his face, trying to minimise the product that they had coated him in. No longer looking like a pompous doll, he stepped out of the room in search for his sister.

They would be the last to be met by Katelyn, which somewhat had its advantages as he was able to watch the others live on the televisions. He wasn’t surprised that the former gamemaker had gotten this far, he did add to the entertainment of the show with his controversies and what not. Ben found it funny how his known victor lover was involved in the family meeting; Glamour must want to basket all the victors for himself …well it’s one way to stay in the spotlight. Ben hadn’t met Bay before but she seemed more of an ideal match for Katelyn than him, she was more of her age than he was…

Bursting out of her own room, Ben’s sister finally greeted him for the first time today. The stylists as expected matched both of their outfits, Ben’s sister wearing a dark blue dress to match his shirt. Ben grinned in greeting, giving his sister a hug. ”Ahh so they’ve matched us both then.” He said, while turning back to the television set. The meeting with Bay’s mother began; Katelyn would soon be here to meet his sister.

”Yes, I am surprised they didn’t put you in a dress too.” His sister replied with a giggle, joining Ben at the television set. His sister was never a fond lover of dresses and skirts, even at the age of twenty-nine she preferred to wear shorts and trousers, when most women of her age in the Capitol were usually seen in extravagant dresses. She once turned up to one of Ben’s dinner parties at his restaurant wearing a suit. She never seemed to care for the opinion of others and it was something that Ben loved about her. ”She really is pretty Katelyn, that disgrace called Glamour Kinkade will get nowhere near her. I am sure you’ll win her Ben, I’ll work my wonders on her.” She gently punched him in the shoulder, her ivories showing as she grinned. Ben replied with just a smile, hoping his boisterous sister wouldn’t over do the meeting.

His sister had persuaded the producers to hold the meeting at her own apartment, she was eager to share her rooftop vegetable patch to Katelyn, somehow hoping to get some tips. Ben had wanted to escape from the topic of food, seeing as it was the centre of most of his dates with Katelyn but it was hard to fight his sister’s plans.

”Ten minutes and she’ll be here.” One of the crew announced as they all hurried to make sure the lighting was set up. Ben’s sister was already out on the balcony, making sure all of her home grown food looked television ready. Ben went out to see what she was doing and was slightly horrified to see her bent down in the soil of one of the large containers wearing her dress. He knew if one of the stylists saw her, they would be traumatized. Shaking his head with a smile, he lead her back into the apartment, preparing them both for Katelyn’s arrival.

The cameras began to roll before Katelyn stepped through the door and at the cue; Ben introduced his sister to Katelyn and to the rest of Panem. ”It’s great to see you Katelyn,” He said while giving her hand a slight peck before turning to his sister. ”I’d like you to meet my little sister, Viola...” Before Ben was able to continue with the introduction, Viola pushed passed him to Katelyn. ”Oh it is so wonderful to finally meet you, Ben has said so much about your little televised dates with each other and wow, that dress suits you so perfectly. I wish my stylist was as good as yours.” Looking down at her own dress, Viola quickly re-acknowledged Katelyn, taking her by the hand and leading her out to her little haven. Ben hurried behind them like a lost puppy, the cameras followed suit.

”Here is where I grow most of my food, Ben refuses to use any of it in his restaurant. Says he’d rather have produce sourced from the District, rather give his money to them than get the free stuffs from me.” When Viola lost herself in the inspection of her weirdly purple carrots, Ben snuck the opportunity to speak to Katelyn, his voice low. ”I bet you’ll be happy when this is all over, time to finally rest and return home…”

Ben forgot about Viola’s presence as soon as Katelyn began to speak, even the crew that surrounded them on the balcony were pushed to the back of his mind. The whole idea of the reality show didn’t exist as his ears fixed on Katelyn’s words. Quickly the show was growing to an end and soon Katelyn will pick her victor and that will be the end of it. The scheduling of the show had slowly become exhausting for him, even in the short space of time, Ben couldn’t even possibly think of how much energy it must have sucked out of Katelyn. After all, she did have more dates than him to attend to and had that Tinsleton breathing down her neck every minute of the day.

He can’t believe how she has been capable of doing this show while having all the other responsibilities to deal with, the show really shouldn’t have been scheduled around the time of the games although he believes a victor’s only down time is when the games are over and it really would have intruded her own personal time. Can Ben put himself up to intruding her own time? Was it really possible to keep a relationship up with all the obstacles? This is a reality show, does reality really have to happen? As long as the viewers are pleased with the result, in doubt quickly they will forget about it and turn to something else to entertain themselves with. He can really see the strain that this whole process has put on Katelyn and being a part of the show, he seems slightly responsible for it.

Glancing to the crew, Ben slyly covered the microphone that was pinned to his outfit, moving his lips close to Katelyn’s ear. ”Just because it says in the show’s description that you have to pick a lover at the end of it, doesn’t mean you have to oblige.” As soon as those words crawled from his lips, he knew he may have put his neck on the line, quite possibly shattered his reputation. The whole point of the show was to hook a victor up with a Capitolite, the viewers wouldn’t be entertained by the prospect of that not being the result. Something inside him told him to correct himself although a stronger power fought through. ”You deserve someone in Eleven that you can truly relate too but for the sake of the show…”

Ben removes his hand from the microphone, taking Katelyn’s hands in his own. ”You need someone to help you through the struggle of the days when you’re here in the Capitol, even if it’s just a couple of days of the year. Someone that isn’t involved in the games…”

Shuffling began to erupt in the crew as the minutes counted down for their date and at the motion, Viola returned to Katelyn to wish her good-bye. ”It’s been great meeting you Katelyn, if you ever want something from the garden; you’re more than welcome to come back here.”

Stepping inside the apartment, Ben turns to Katelyn, his final words before the next rose ceremony before the absolute finale. ” Do what your heart is telling you Katelyn, sometimes the mind can be too blurred in heavy decisions.”