I Call On My Angels {Jory/Oliver JB}

There are some things in life that may make any individual feel like they should just give up on it all, stop fighting, and let things play out how they're going at the time, even if they'll have a terrible impact on them and they still have a chance of changing it if they didn't just give up. Being reaped for the Hunger Games, torn away from your family, friends and loved ones is quite likely to be one of these particular things, making the person chosen want to just throw their hands in the air and let the Games take them, not making an effort to return home because they don't think that they're any bit capable of doing so. The thing is, I won't let the fact that I'm going into the Hunger Games do that to me.

If the Capitol thinks they have you pinned and weak, they'll take advantage of that, and make your struggle in the Hunger Games all that much worse. Then, you're even more likely to have your death be a guaranteed one as soon as you set foot in whatever wretched arena they have waiting for you when you arrive there. Your death would be much more painful- much more terrible and unbearable both to experience and watch- if they think they can get away with torturing you in such a way.

I wasn't pinned down, though, and I wasn't weak. No, I may not be the physically strongest individual in District Eight. Well, surely I wasn't. I knew that much for certain. When it came to my mental and emotional strength, however, I like to think that I'm one of the people who has more of that. I may not be very confident in myself very often, but I'm still not going to give up easily. As I sit in this room, waiting for what has the potential (although not guarantee) of being final goodbyes, I tell myself that I'm strong. If I give up now, the Capitol will use me as a play toy and a method of showing those that care about me that I'm worthless and that they should have saved me.

They shouldn't have saved me, though. I told Jory not to save me, and I made my brothers promise the same. If I am to be chosen for the Games, I am the one to fight, and that's exactly what happened, and exactly what the result would be. I would be the one fighting in the Games, because I was the one selected to do so. There was a reason it was me and not someone else, so I'd be fighting no matter what happened in that arena to try to stop me from doing so.

~

When Jory entered the room, I immediately rose to my feet and embraced him in a hug, my arms wrapped tightly around him. It took me a moment or two before I was actually prepared to let go. There were tears forming in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. Instead, I took Jory's hand in mine and gave a loving smile, wanting to be able to show him how much I care about him.

"Jory, thank you," I said to him to begin. "Thank you for not putting your life in danger to save me. You need to be here, for yourself, for your brother, and for everyone else who loves you, okay?" I looked at him gently. "I know it can be hard to hear, but you have to let me go into these Games and fight.

"The scariest part is letting go, but the steps that led me to you will lead me back." I told him this, hoping he understood.

"I'm not afraid to fight to get back to you, so that's just what I'll do." I squeezed his hand. Then, I remembered something. Jory had told me that, when he was eleven years old, the year before he was eligible for the reaping, he'd made two bracelets using buttons from his sister Cecilia's collection. He'd made one for himself, should he ever be chosen for the Games, and one for someone else- someone at home that he loved. Surely, however, it had to be in his mind that it might not be him who was chosen. It might be someone else, and he might be the one at home who kept a bracelet while someone else took the other.

"Do you have those bracelets?" I asked him. Surely, he'd know what I was talking about. "Maybe if I had one, it could help you remember that I'm fighting to come back to you. We could each wear one, all the time. Would that help?"

"I love you, Jory Brontz. We're only letting go for now. I'll be back for you if there's anything I can do about it."