*.*.*.*.*
Capitol of Panem
7:42 pm
Rory Hawthorne

I sat in the hovercraft, gripping the hand that belonged to the love of my life. I squeezed it tightly, making sure she couldn't get out of my grip, seeing as I had my arm wrapped around her shoulders quite tightly. Prim shuddered and sighed, again reminding me that it was pointless to be doing this; within the next half an hour they would give us the okay signal to go out. The militia: protect the medics. Medics: save the remaining children who survived the blast. I was a part of the militia, signing up to make sure Primrose got back safely. I was tall enough to pass for seventeen, and they didn't ID anyone, which was strange. Many of the young boys – including myself – were perfectly willing to fight against the Capitol, the fear they once had long gone. Ignoring Prim's obvious thoughts, I continued to give her hand a death grip, and eventually I gathered enough courage to look at her; I was terrified I would lose her tonight. I knew Gale was in charge of the bombs, so I knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure we were okay.
But I still felt uneasy.
Prim was staring back at me, and she smiled distantly, looking down at her lap. "What?" I asked her. "Oh, nothing. It's just that we were in this same position when... you know... you kissed me. When Katniss went into the Games. The Quarter Quell, I mean..." she drifted off. Oh, Katniss. She didn't know about us yet... "You mean, like this?" I asked, leaning in and pressing my lips to hers. They were warm and welcoming, sweet like the honey they put on toast back in 13. She laughed into the kiss, and I pulled away, pressing my forehead to hers. She looked at me for a moment before closing her eyes. I stared at her face, all of her features for what seemed like forever. She was perfect, at least to me – I remember Vick talking about how he learned in school that when you really liked somebody, your brain ignored all of their flaws, making them seem perfect. "I love you, Primrose Everdeen," I whispered before I had processes the words in my head. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me. "Well, I do," I said, pulling away. She grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me back, kissing me. I rested my hands on the small of her back, and pulled her into an embrace. We sat there for a while, thinking, before she pulled away and whispered "I love you too, Rory Hawthorne. You'll never know."
I grinned at her – I had never told my girlfriend I loved her. I kept it to myself, only telling Gale how I felt about her, and even then it was vague.
A voice came on over the loudspeaker, calling us by saying in a monotone voice, "District 13 volunteer army, please assemble at hovercraft exits." I pulled Prim to me, unable to let her go, the fear of losing her overwhelming me. I felt her put her head on my shoulder, and I pulled away. "Please be safe Primrose," I said. "I'll find you after, okay?" She nodded, saying "I love you, I love you, please don't get hurt, I love you I love you I love you Rory Hawthorne." I laughed at her, lifting her chin up to kiss her nose and say, "I love you more." She smiled weakly, and I stood up. I stood in formation with the others, and checked to see that my gun was loaded. Everything was good to go, and I glanced over to the medics, looking for Prim. She was going through her pack, a look of concentration already on her face.
I remembered that from all of those years in District 12; when toddlers were sick and she was creating a remedy, when coal miners came in after having a hard time breathing, when Gale was whipped and she was healing him. I had grown familiar with that face, and I had it memorized; seeing as we grew up together, I practically had her entire being memorized.
The doors opened, and she looked up. She mouthed something to me, and I gave her a thumbs up. We were supposed to station ourselves around the medics, making sure no civilians other than the children who were injured could get in or out.
I ran out, forcing myself to forget about Prim. I was here on a mission, and Primrose was not it, I told myself repeatedly. I stopped where I was supposed to, and held back screaming Capitol citizens trying to reach their children. Cries of agony, the smell of burning flesh, blood making the obnoxious blue concrete purple made me want to vomit. Someone punched me in the stomach, and I keeled over momentarily. Pulling myself up, I aimed the gun at the person and shot three times – open fire, protocol. Coughing, I stood up straight and glanced behind me, sick at the thought of having just killed someone. Something seemed out of place. But having had explosive parachutes come in just minutes before, everything was out of place. The feeling I had on the hovercraft returned, as I searched for Prim. I found her, kneeling over a whimpering body, not too far away. I turned away letting her do her job when it hit me – some of those bombes hadn't exploded, they were still in one piece. I looked up, checking the skies and seeing the hovercrafts that released the bombs.
And more were falling.
I screamed at Prim, but her attention was elsewhere. I ignored whatever she was looking at and screamed her name again. She looked up, and began to say something, but she was cut off by a bomb going off. She looked away, frightened, and I called her name one more time, finally gaining her attention, and the attention of my regiment. She looked at me, and I motioned for her to come to me. Her eyes becoming big, she glanced at her patient and got up, running in my direction. I dropped my gun and shoved the Capitol people down, my only priority getting my girlfriend behind me before more bombs went off. "Get down!" I heard others shouting, but Prim was so close, and I could tell she was running as fast as she could. "Get down!" they kept shouting at me, but I couldn't; Prim had to be with me. She was so close, only about ten yards away. But thirty feet can be all the difference, and with the luck we had, Prim tripped and fell forward. She looked up, her nose now bloody, and looked back.
For a moment, time stood still. She looked at me, holding my gaze, until she was swallowed in flames.

Capitol of Panem
8:22 pm
Rory Hawthorne

I remember running forward, towards her.
I remember screaming, yet not comprehending screams at that moment.
I remember holding her, the pavement still hot from the fire, her body, charred in places and bloody in others.
She was still alive, but barely, and she was crying, screaming in pain.
I wished to God that I could trade places with her, because the pain she was in might be more bearable than mine, but that thought wasn't fair to Prim. Her screams had weakened to a sob now, and she was in so much pain. I grabbed her hand and leaned over, pressing my head to her bloody chest. Why was it her? "Prim, stay with me. Please Prim. I love you, please don't leave me. I love you, I love you. Primrose, please!"
She squeezed my hand, getting my attention. Her lips quivering, she whispered, "Tell my sister it's not her fault."
She was dying. Oh my God, Primrose Everdeen, my girlfriend, the love of my life was dying, and she could still only think of Katniss. But still, that wasn't fair to Primrose.
I cried, harder than I've ever cried. I sobbed into her shirt, balling one hand into her charred shirt, my other gripping hers as we had done on the hovercraft. Her chest was rising and falling, getting slower by the second, and I heard her heart becoming quiet.
"I love you," she told me. "More than I've ever loved anyone."
"More than Buttercup?" I asked.
"Yeah," she barely sighed.
"I love you more, Primrose."
"Most."
She was weaker now, her voice barely audible.
"Prim?" I cried. Her chest slowly ceased to move, and I knew she was dead. I sat there for a moment, dropping my head on her chest; my hand holding her limp one. "Shit Prim, looks like you've gone and died on me, now." I whispered.
After an infinity, I sat up. I looked at her, and to me, she was still perfect; just a messed up version of the girl I loved. I leaned down and kissed her face – forehead, nose, lips, cheek. I wiped the wetness off her face, tears clinging to my thumbs where I wiped them off her cheeks.
I stood, staring at her.
Finally, I pressed three fingers to my lips, held them towards her, and shakily made my way through the chaos onto the hovercraft with my squadron, knowing they would collect and identify bodies later.