Disclaimer: I do not own this. If I did I would not put fans through such excruciating pain and everyone would live happily ever after in peace.

Chapter 1: Reaping Day

I wake up, sandwiched between Rory and Vick. Posy and my mother were in the dining room, on the twin cot in the corner. I get up and ready myself a bit, and as I start to head outside, little Posy stirs. "Going to see Katniss, Gale?" she asks drowsily.

"Yeah," and I pat her on her head.

"Come back soon, Ok?"she demands

"Of course, go back to sleep Posy, the sun's not even up."

"I'll try."

"Good girl," I say as I kiss her head. She looks tired, probably because she is worried. After all it is reaping day. The day when two tributes from each of the twelve districts get chosen to partake in the Hunger Games.

I try not to dwell too much on the reaping and grab my burlap bag. One that used to belong to my father, that is before he got blown to pieces. He was a coal miner, but his meager salary wasn't enough to live on. Instead, he would hunt. We would get more money from the skins, and eat the meat, and it would be just enough for our large family to get by on. After he passed away, I took over. I remembered all that he taught me, while we used to hunt together, before he left us.

Sometimes I wonder, whether the explosion was an accident. Maybe there was talk of revolting, a whisper or two, and the Capitol decided to bring down their hand. Then pass it off as a freak accident. I put these thoughts aside as I reach the clearing. Our clearing. Me and Katniss, meet up there so much (illegally) that it should be ours. At least we're lucky enough not to get killed. I scoot under the fence, and head through the forest, snatching a bow and some arrows from underneath a log where Katniss and I stash our weapons.

Before reaching the clearing, I see a squirrel and shoot it. I pick the arrow out of its stomach, not the eye like Katniss manages, and put it in my bag. I think of how the baker trades well for squirrels, whenever his witch of a wife isn't around, and head back to civilization, and into town. I reach the bakery and walk around to the back door where the baker waits for me, apparently expecting something. He probably noticed me through the window or something. I pull out the squirrel and place it on a ledge on the door. The baker nods and hands me a fresh, warm, and large loaf of bread that makes me salivate. Well, he is certainly generous today. I stuff it deep into my bag and save it to share with Katniss as I wave goodbye, and he calls out "Good luck!" and head back to the clearing and wait.

Katniss. She must be equally worried. Both me and her have never let our younger sibling take any tesserae (a grain and oil ration we get every month, if we decide to put our names in extra times in the lottery to be a contender for the games) and this is Prim's first reaping. I worry for Katniss, the love of my life. She probably thinks there's nothing between us, and I don't blame her. I've never been one to really display my feelings, so she is obviously out of the loop. A part of me thinks, hopes, that Katniss feels the same way. Sadly, she has told me she never wishes to marry and have children, children that would have their names slipped in to the drawing, and have to go fight to the death. I hate the Capitol. As punishment for the country Panem, trying to revolt against the Capitol, every year we must send two tributes from each of the twelve districts (there used to be thirteen but the Capitol decided to change that by blowing them off the map), one boy, one girl. You get entered into the reaping at age twelve, and you reach your final year at eighteen. This is my last year, and my name is in forty-two times. Each year you become older, the slips with your name become increased, then I take tesserae for the family. Forty-two. The odds aren't that much in my favor. Katniss will have her name in twenty times, and she is still only sixteen. I don't want her to be in any more of a risk. I would take a thousand tessera for her, to not be in any risk at all. Though, I feel that she would have a chance at living. A pretty good shot at winning. I haven't seen anyone else so beautiful with a bow. Or that beautiful for that matter. Many guys think the same way. Not in a way I'd appreciate. So naturally, I just shut them up and they keep their thoughts to themselves. When I'm around, at least. I wonder if Katniss is aware, as I am about other girls who apparently fawn over me, according to schoolmates. Though this isn't a topic you can just randomly get into. And we don't explore in that field. Katniss isn't like other girls. She doesn't gossip, or like anything material. Speaking of Katniss, she, breathtakingly beautiful, appears in the clearing, and smiles at the sight of me waiting, and sends my heart pounding into my chest. I remember after I first met her, it took a few months to get her to smile, when it took her a sentence to get one from me. "Hey Catnip," I greet her. The first time I met her, she had whispered her name and I thought she had said Catnip. Then this lynx had started to follow her, until it scared off too much game and Katniss ended up killing it. Not with too much guilt, because that coat had a pretty good price. So after that incident the name stuck. When I met her, I thought she was trying to steal game from my snares, something I am rather good at because of my father. I can't believe I actually accused Katniss of something so petty, but we were both going through a tough time. I had seen her about to touch a wire above a, what was it, a rabbit? Yes, so I had said, "That's dangerous." I think I shocked her, because she had jumped backwards a few feet with a scared expression. Then I had asked "What's your name?" going over and freeing the dead rabbit from the snare.

"Katniss," she said, without much volume.

"Well, Catnip, stealing's punishable by death, or hadn't you heard?" I asked, also wondering why on earth would you name a child Catnip, like ridiculous Capitol and District 1 (jewelry district, each district has a primary economy) names.

"Katniss," she repeated more confidently. "And I wasn't stealing it. I just wanted to look at your snare. Mine never catch anything."

I still glared at her, not completely trusting her words. "So where'd you get the squirrel?" I demanded.

"I shot it." She took a bow off her shoulder. It was one of her smaller ones. She was still practicing I guess. After a while of knowing her we traded information, and she gave me a bow, precious to her, and it was made by her father. The bow interested me so I ask, "Can I see that?" She passes it saying. "Just remember, stealing's punishable by death."

That drew out a smile, from what I guess was a hostile look on my face. She was still like a stone, but I had seen her eyes soften. Then we began hunting together, and slowly our friendship had developed. Also, things got better. Posy was born, and my mother got a job, washing clothes, and we weren't like the many other cases in 12. Many people dropped dead from starvation. Another reason why I hate the Capitol, who just pins some false reason to the cause. The Capitol who tortures us, watches us die for pleasure. The Capitol who starves us, and refuses to help us. If only, if only people were more brave. If we were all brave enough to fight back. Isn't freedom worth some losses? Just because we lost once, it doesn't mean we're entirely hopeless. We have to try. But, I know people won't do it. They don't want things to get any worse, if possible. So I just want to run, far away, with my family and with Katniss. And then the two of us could be something more, where there would be no Games, no Capitol, just us... I push these all aside and revert to Katniss. "Look what I shot," I offer the loaf of bread with an arrow stuck in it (presentation never hurts), and she laughs. She takes it and takes the smell in, closing her eyes.

"Mm, still warm," she says. "What did it cost you?"

"Just a squirrel. Think the old man was feeling sentimental this morning," I reply. "Even wished me luck."

"Well, we all feel a little closer today, don't we?" she says. "Prim left us a cheese." I see the treat and I feel my face brighten up.

"Thank you, Prim. We'll have a real feast."I say then I slip into a Capitol accent and mimic Effie Trinket, the psychotically happy-go-lucky woman who arrives once a year to read out the names at the reaping, and escorts the tributes. "I almost forgot! Happy Hunger Games!" I snatch a couple of blackberries from the bushes that surround us. "And may the odds —" I throw a berry to Katniss, who deftly catches it in her mouth.

She finishes,"— be ever in your favor!" We chuckle, and temporarily try to make the mood light, as we prepare a little meal.

Then I blurt out,"We could do it, you know,"

"What?" she asks.

"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it," I respond. "If we didn't have so many kids," I add, before it gets too awkward. They're not actually our kids, but we treat them as such. Plus our mothers.

"I never want to have kids," she reminds me. Is she implying that she won't risk anything with me? Because of what it could lead to?

"I might. If I didn't live here," I say, suggesting my earlier thoughts. If I did it would be with her. A young Katniss, wouldn't that be a sight to see again?

"But you do," she says clearly ticked, reminding me where we are.

"Forget it," I growl back. Obviously, she won't see it my way. There's no reasoning with Katniss. She is one of the most stubbornest people I have ever met.

"What do you want to do?" she asks, over that discussion.

"Let's fish at the lake. We can leave our poles and gather in the woods. Get something nice for tonight," I decide. Besides it will be pleasant, just the two of us for a while. I'm in a complete of emotions right now. At the same time with dread coursing through me, for Katniss, I am still happy. Happy to be with her, but also miffed with myself, for voicing my thoughts aloud. I sigh, and she raises her eyebrows at me. I just shake my head. We end up with an abundance of greens, fish and strawberries, that we can sell to Mayor Undersee. He has quite a fondness for them, so he's a regular customer, and another reason why me and Katniss haven't been killed. We first stop at the Hob, our black market, and trade some fish for supplies. And some greens for paraffin, from Greasy Sae, a woman who sells soup.

Then we go to the Mayor's house and are greeted by Madge, the daughter, who I think is a friend of Katniss's. She is one of the more privileged in District 12, and she is wearing a really expensive looking dress, and I comment, "Pretty dress."

Madge gives me a 'really' look. Her mouth is in a line, but then smiles. "Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?" Yeah right. Her. Go to the Capitol, the girl who probably didn't even have to think about signing up for tesserae. I bet she never even missed a meal."You won't be going to the Capitol," I say, with a hostile tone. I spot a little round gold pin that gleams on her dress. Could keep a family easily going for months. "What can you have? Five entries? I had six when I was just twelve years old."

"That's not her fault," Katniss intervenes.

"No, it's no one's fault. Just the way it is," I state. Madge's face has fallen. She hands Katniss the money for the strawberries. "Good luck, Katniss." Not you Gale. Huh.

"You, too," Katniss replies, and the Madge disappears behind the door. We walk to the Seam without saying anything. I shouldn't have been like that to Madge. After all, she hasn't done anything. This is all the Capitol's fault. They make the poor resent the rich. They want to keep us from unity. They want us to feel separated and weak. So we won't have enough power to overcome them. It's to the Capitol's advantage to have us divided among ourselves. We divide our goods and head home.

"See you in the square," she says.

"Wear something pretty," I say still put out. I bet Katniss is internally rolling her eyes at me, as I fume, but can I help it?

I go home and see Posy waiting in the doorway. "Hey Pose, what's up," I try to say cheerfully. She seems to sense my restlessness and comes up and hugs me, around my legs and I pick her up. "I'll be fine," I say, trying to comfort her. What would my family do without me? I'm the one who hunts. Who puts food on the table. I haven't had much time to teach Rory, and all right, maybe I enjoy being alone with Katniss. Who would feed little Posy, Vick, and Rory? My mother's small earnings could never keep the family running. Me and Katniss have this pact that, if one of us have to be in the Games, then we would help the other family running. Katniss's family could not survive without her either. Her mother had slipped into a state of extreme depression after the death of Katniss's father. And we have tried to take Prim hunting before. It was disastrous. Prim started to tear up when Katniss shot something, and started going on about saying maybe they could save the animal. So we are our family's lifeline. My mother hands me an old shirt of my fathers, and some old khaki slacks. I throw them in disgust. I don't want to look nice to the Capitol. They'll see me as is, as what is their fault. My mother gives me a reproachful look, that sends me on a guilt trip. All right then, I'll take one of my father's possessions with me. At least I'd have a piece of him with me, and my mother smiles as I slip into the bathroom, outfit in hand.

As I begin to set off to the square, my brothers and Posy give me a hug, along with my mother. I give them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," I say. "I'm looking forward to dinner too much to go to the Capitol." I nod and pry Posy off of me, kiss her and my mother, and make my way on over to the square. I hope I am right. The odd's aren't that much in my favor. I take my place among the other eighteen-year old boys, and my eyes hunt for the sight of Katniss. Meanwhile, the mayor gives the same speech about how we rebelled, blah blah blah, how we owe the Capitol, and must take our punishment."It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," says the mayor. Then he reads the list of past District 12 victors. In the seventy-three games in total, we have had only two victors. With only one that is still alive, Haymitch Abernathy, a middle-aged mumbles something and falls into a chair. Of course he is completely incoherent. The crowd respectfully applauds, but Haymitch is out of it and tries to give Effie Trinket an enormous hug, which she fights off. The mayor has a stressed expression.

He tries to regain respect by introducing Effie Trinket, the cheery woman.

Effie Trinket goes to the podium and exclaims, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" Her pink wig seems as if about to fall off, saying how honored she is, and all that, but obviously she just wants a promotion. I finally find Katniss's face and my mouth turns up a bit, hers does too but then she seems too remember where we are and her face falls. distressing me again. As usual, Effie says,"Ladies first," and picks up a glass ball with all of the girl's names, and she fishes around for a name. Not Katniss, not Katniss, please not Katniss, I think. Ah. Its not Katniss, and I sigh in relief. But wait. What- impossible. Thousands of slips and with only one slip, it's... it's. Damn it. Primrose Everdeen. I see Katniss's frantic expression as she yells out, "Prim! Prim!" As she moves, the crowd steps aside for her, and she grasps Prim and puts her behind her. She loves Prim more than anything. Which means that-

Haha, left you hanging a bit, Sorta. Hope you liked it and please review.