A/N: So guess what! SHIRLEY (AKA THE BEST TWIN EVER) WROTE SOMETHING WITH ME! We decided to do something of a fanfiction game between the two of us. We created three prompts, gave ourselves five days, and then wrote some stories! At the end of the week, we shared our writing! I thought that it would be super fun to put them up here for all of you to see!
So here's prompt number one. If this gets some response, then I'll put up the other two!
Prompt One: Katniss was not reaped for the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games. Two years later, this is her last reaping.
Katniss's Last Reaping by Biffy-
Katniss puts on her reaping clothes one last time. It has a certain sort of finality to it, doing those buttons up for the final time. If she doesn't get reaped today, then she'll never have to put this dress on ever again. She'll never have to clothe herself in worry and stand in that line, praying for certain names not to be called…
If only that were true. If only it was the last time.
But it'll just keep going on forever and ever. Prim will be in the reaping for four more years, and by that time, Vick and Rory will both be in the reaping, and Posy won't be far behind them— It's no wonder Gale still worries even though he's been out of the reaping for two years.
Katniss shakes her head, trying to clear away those thoughts. There's no pointing in worrying about that all right now. Worry is wasteful. She just needs to focus on putting on a confident smile so that Prim doesn't know she's scared out of her mind. Although, at fourteen, Prim knows a lot more than Katniss gives her credit for (she's not the little girl she used to be).
Mrs. Everdeen finishes pinning up Prim's braided hairstyle, and the house falls into a tense silence.
Katniss's clears her throat and smiles slightly. "Ready to go?"
Prim nods.
/
The Hawthornes and the Everdeens meet up in the square. Rory is the only Hawthorne in the reaping, but it still worries Katniss. It's not like Gale would ever allow Rory to take out extra tesserae, but the fact that his name is in the bowl at all scares the breath out of Katniss.
Once the Everdeens get close enough, Katniss locks her eyes on Gale's. It's almost too painful to look at him when his eyes light up with a certain sort of fear. She knows these reapings get to him. She knows he feels helpless, but at least she's glad he's out of the reaping. If Gale was still in the reaping, Katniss would be a million times more terrified.
Gale buries Katniss in a tight hug the second she's within arm's length. With his strong arms around her, she feels safer than she has in a long time. She pulls her arms free from within their embrace and returns his hug by wrapping her arms around his back. He kisses her temple and then lowers his lips to her ear.
"How many times are you in today?" he asks, his voice pained.
Katniss bites her lip. "Would it be better if I—"
"I'd rather know," Gale says in a hard voice. "I don't want to guess."
Katniss lets out a long-held breath and sets her head against his chest, where she can hear his steady heartbeat. "Thirty-seven."
Gale's whole body tenses. (It gets to him, see). "And Prim?"
"Only three," Katniss replies. She tips her head back so she can smile up at him. "Did you honestly think I'd let her take more tesserae?"
Gale's worry breaks a little at her smile, and he rolls his eyes. "Of course not."
Effie Trinket's voice sounds throughout the whole square, effectively cutting off all conversations, splintering thoughts into a million shards. "Would everyone please proceed to their rightful positions, thank you!" she chirps, and Katniss can feel her smile through the speakers.
Gale's arms tighten around her for a second, like he never wants to let her go, but then he moves his hands to her shoulders. "Please don't get picked today," he says.
Katniss tries to grin back, but it comes up half-hearted. "I won't."
/
Gale keeps looking at her down there in that line, and it makes him feel hollow inside. Of course, there's an unquantifiable amount of worry for Prim and Rory, but they're at a distance from the stage (back there, they seem safe, out of reach). Katniss is looking straight up at the reaping bowl, staring down a nightmare. Gale remembers that at his last reaping he could practically read the names on the slips of paper that swam in the bowl. He could see the shimmer of glitter on Effie Trinket's talons.
It would feel better if he was standing in line with her. He might feel a little less helpless.
There's so much riding on this reaping. In fact, Gale's entire future rides on this reaping. It's a sort of unspoken rule that no couples go into the reaping together (just in case). It just seems impractical that you should leave the possibility of your girlfriend or boyfriend getting reaped up to chance. It would be kinder for both parties involved if you would just wait to get together until after a name has been pulled from the reaping ball, but that unspoken rule always gets broken. And people always get their hearts smashed.
And Gale could get his heart smashed today, too, because Katniss isn't just his girlfriend. She's his whole universe. He needs her.
If she were to get reaped, he'd lose his mind. He might die in the Hunger Games as well, even though he's in no danger of getting reaped.
He needs her.
/
"Ladies first," Effie Trinket says in a fake, pleasant voice.
She makes her way over to the bowl with all the girls' names in it, and the clicking of her heels is almost deafening. She plunges her hand into the sea of names, swirls her hand around for the drama of it, and plucks a slip from within the depths.
Smiling, she makes her way back over the microphone.
Gale holds his breath. Katniss is holding hers, too.
"The female tribute is…" Effie says. She unfolds the paper. "Kat—"
Gale's world folds in on itself, tumbling, crashing, collapsing. Everything goes dark around the edges, and he starts to unravel. Katniss sways on the spot (it's visible).
"—ianna Blackburn."
Relief. Gale's breath comes out hard, and he can sees Katniss's shoulders relax from all the way in the back of the crowd.
So close. Too close.
/
"The male tribute is…" Effie says. It happens exactly as the girl's reaping did. "Markus Riddles."
Gale searches for Rory's face in the crowd. (It feels safe again.)
/
Miners get the day of the reaping off, something that Gale is thankful for. The idea behind it is that if your kid gets reaped and you're not working, you have to watch them walk on stage after their name gets killed, and then you head to the train station to watch them get sucked away at 200 mph. If the miners still had to work, the Capitol might miss out on some of the emotional pain.
They thrive on it. (Thrive on putting the Districts down, anyway)
If your kid dies in the Hunger Games, then you also get the day off when their body gets carted back to the District. (Again, they thrive on your pain).
Anyway, Gale's thankful to be able to hole himself up in his home and watch his siblings act like children. Everyone feels better after the reapings over, because, for a second, the threat of the Hunger Games is missing. Sure, it'll be back as fast as the sun rises tomorrow, but for now, they can be happy children.
Gale's mind is consumed by something, though. He keeps thinking about how his heart almost stopped beating when he thought Katniss's name was going to be read. He keeps thinking about how dark it got and how hopeless everything felt. He keeps thinking about how incredibly close it all was.
That's what drives him out of the house. It's a hot, sticky summer evening—one where the air hangs heavy in the air like a tangible fog. It's also silent. There's no one out but Gale. Everyone else is shut up in their homes, shutters drawn shut against the Capitol.
Gale wouldn't have left his house either, but he just keeps thinking about losing her, and it hurts too much.
/
Katniss thinks of two possibilities for who could be at the door. Peacekeepers or Gale.
Luckily it's Gale.
With a tremor of relief, Katniss immediately slips outside to meet him on the beaten-up, sagging porch. She's hardly got the door shut before Gale pulls her against his chest and hugs her so tightly she can hardly breathe. She holds him as hard as she possibly can as well, thinking about how she could have lost him (lost everything) today. She never wants to let him go. She never wants to have a last embrace.
"Gale," she breathes softly, her voice muffled against his shirt.
"It was too close today," Gale whispers back after a second. "Too close."
"I know," Katniss replies in a heavy voice. "But nothing happened. I'm here now."
"I just keep thinking…" Gale says quietly. "I keep thinking about how easily they can take things away, you know. They'd probably have loved for you to get reaped so that they could see just how heartbroken it would make the two of us. It's just a show to them, but for us—"
"I know, Gale, I know," Katniss says, silencing him as panic starts to set in inside of her. "I don't want to think about that right now. I just… We're both out of the reaping now, and for a whole year we can be safe, right?"
"But there are so many other ways that they kill us, Katniss," Gale says.
"And what's the point of worrying about that?" she replies swiftly. "Worrying about it and trying to prepare for it isn't going to soften the blow any if I were to lose you! I can't even think about how messed up I'd be. You're practically my life, Gale! I don't want to sit here and imagine all the ways the Capitol can take you away from me."
"Marry me," Gale says immediately, the words falling out of his lips, unchecked and uncontrolled.
Katniss's jaw drops.
"I love you so much, and you're out of the reaping now, and I just can't wait any longer and—"
"Yes."
"Yes?" Gale smiles a real smile.
"Of course, Gale!" Katniss practically shouts (it echoes around the silence). "I'd marry you in a heartbeat!"
Gale pulled Katniss back against him for a long kiss, and, for a couple of seconds, he forgot completely about reapings. About the Capitol. About evil in general.
For a second, there was only Katniss.
Prompt One Shirley-style {Gale's pov}:
"Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"
By the look on her face, I can tell I've surprised her. She was not expecting this. She drops her bow on the ground and covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes transfixed on the gold band in my hand. For a few seconds, she just stares at it like she can't believe it's there.
And then finally, resolutely, she nods.
I feel a smile creeping onto my face. "Is that a yes?"
"Yes." She nods frantically. "Yes. Yes, Gale, I will marry you." An uncharacteristic smile creeps onto her face, and she holds out her hand. As I put the ring on her finger, I can't stop myself from laughing. "What?" she asks.
"I was honestly expecting a 'no,'" I say. "Or maybe an 'I'll think about it, Gale.'"
"Gale!" she shrieks, smacking my arm. "How could I say no?" She presses her lips against mine and tangles her fingers in my hair. I wrap my arms around her and lift her off the ground. She laughs against my lips. "I love you, Gale."
"I love you, Katniss."
Katniss Hawthorne. I like the sound of that. I know she's spent practically her entire life convincing herself that she would never marry, and I know I never imagined myself marrying her, but somehow we got here. Somehow, we worked our way into each other's hearts.
Katniss pulls away slightly. "I have to go." Somehow we've ended up on the forest floor. My jacket's been cast aside. Her braid is completely undone.
"Why?" I whisper, pressing my lips against hers again.
"I have to go," she insists with a laugh. "The reaping's probably about to start." She kisses my cheek and pries herself out of my grasp. "I'll see you in a bit."
I wait until she's disappeared into the trees before I get up and follow her.
My mom's been eyeing since I stepped into my house. I had to stand outside for a few seconds to compose myself and stifle my smile. You're not supposed to be happy on reaping day. And I'm not generally happy on a normal day anyway.
The second I stepped inside she swooped down on me like a hawk and hasn't left me alone even now that we've left the house.
I figured Katniss and I should be telling our families together, so I can't just blurt out that I asked her to marry me. Besides, you're not supposed to be happy on reaping day. Especially when your fourteen-year-old brother is in the bowl way more than he should be and it's your twelve-year-old brother's first year.
I find Katniss is the mob of reaping-age children in seconds. She's in the front this year- it's her last reaping after all. I wish I could find any happiness in this, but I know it will just never end. Prim and Rory won't be out for another four years. Vick will be in for another six. By that point, it will almost be Posy's turn. Really, by that point, Katniss and I might be dreading our own children's twelfth
She throws her arms around my neck, not even bothering to conceal her wide smile. I can feel the cold strip of metal on her finger as it brushes the back of my neck.
"Have you told anyone?" I whisper in her ear.
She shakes her head. "Not yet. You?"
"No. After the reaping?" I suggest.
She nods, her smile growing again.
Up on stage, Effie Trinket announces that the reaping will be beginning soon.
Katniss throws her arms around me again. "I've never been happier in my life," she whispers.
"Me either."
She releases me and hurries off towards her spot in line. I join my mom and Posy back behind the ocean of terrified children. My mom looks sick with worry. I search for Vick and Rory in the crowd of boys. I find Katniss and Prim with all the girls.
My stomach clenches with worry, and I silently pray that they all get out safe even though I know everyone else in the square is doing the same.
"And this year's female tribute is…..Katniss Everdeen."
A/N: There you go- one prompt, two different ways! If you found any grammar mistakes or you found these to be slightly rough and unedited, that's because five days did not allot time for rereading and editing! haha... Anyway, if this one gets a lot of response, then I'll put up the other two! They're pretty entertaining, I must say!
