I own nothing but the plot. Characters belong to Suzanne Collins.
– Chapter One –
I wake up with the warmth of a body next to me. I turn over to find Prim, my younger sister, cuddled into my side. I brushed the hair away from her face and slowly make my way out of the bed. I slipped on my Dad's old hunting jacket and left the room.
Outside, the air was cold and I pulled the jacket tighter around me. I made my way to the meadow, where the fence to the woods was weakest, and I made my way through. I pulled one of my Dad's old bows and my game bag from a hallow tree a mile or two into my trek.
I was about to get a great shot at a deer when a stick creaked, scaring him off. I sighed turning around and look up at the culprit of the noise. Peeta is standing there with a rabbit hanging by a rope. I smiled and walked closer, slinging my bow across my back.
"Where was it?" I asked taking a good look at it.
"Down by the creek," he says tying the rope to his belt loop.
"It'll make a good stew after the reaping," I say as we walk farther into the woods. He agrees, and tells me we should look for some more.
"We should get some berries and sell them to the mayor, he always buys good strawberries," he says as we near the patch by the small lake my father took me to as a small child.
We gather the berries in a bucket I have stored in my game bag and add a few fish to the days hunting total. As we make our way back to our spot, we check Peeta's traps and get a few birds along the way. The traps are empty, but we have enough as it is to trade for a few good items.
When we make it to our spot, Peeta adds the rabbit into my game bag and we sit down. Our spot is really just a rock overhang, but it's ours nonetheless. I turned around for a minute to situate everything in the game bag and when I turn back around there was a fresh loaf of bread in my face.
"What did you trade for this?" I asked enthusiastically splitting it in half.
"Well, I think the baker was felling pretty kind today anyway and his wife wasn't there, so I got it for a squirrel," he said biting into his half. I bit into my own, and let the warmth flow through me. The bread was still soft and warm and I wished this moment would last longer.
Peeta and I sat quietly while we ate our breakfast and the world was stilled around us. He turned to me just as I was finishing up and looked into my eyes. "Are you nervous?"
He was asking about the Reaping. Every year the Capitol, the ruler of our nation, picks a boy and a girl, from the ages of 12-18, from each from one of the twelve districts, and forces them into the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are a televised fight to the death. This year is the 74th annual Hunger Games, and the first time Prim's name has been entered. Her name's only in there once, but it can't help but make me scared.
I looked back at Peeta and nodded, "Peeta, I'm so scared. Her name's only in there once, the odds are in her favor, but I'm so scared. She's only twelve, Peeta, she doesn't know how to defend herself…"
"Kaniss, look at me. Prim is going to be fine, you hear me," he said, his bright blue eyes staring into mine. I took a deep breath and nodded, looking off into the distance. I felt Peeta's arm wrap around my waist and I leaned my head onto his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head as I thought.
Peeta and I are, I guess you could say dating. We have been for a while now, but we've known each other for a long time. Our dads both died in a mining accident when we were eleven. I had never really talked to Peeta until after the medal ceremonies, when I saw him in the woods.
My Dad had taught me how to hunt with a bow before he died, and it wasn't until we were going to literally starve to death that I went out in the woods. We saw each other there as he was making traps and I had just landed a nice sized bird. It was there; that we decided to help each other and we began splitting the game we caught.
Splitting the game made everything easier. We could each provide for both of our families, and we could sell everything extra we caught. Luckily, Peacekeepers, who are supposed to stop us from hunting, buy our game. Also, the people in Town buy a few things here and there, like the baker and the mayor. It also helped, that Peeta was good at making traps. He taught me a few simple ones and I taught him the basics of shooting a bow.
"We could leave you know," Peeta said turning to me.
"And go where?"
"Into the woods, we could take both of our families."
"Can you see Prim and my mother out here? They would find us anyway," I said looking him square in the eyes, reminding him of the people that had us trapped here in the first place.
"I guess you're right. It was a stupid thought really," he said looking back out at the tree line.
We sat there a few more minutes processing what he had suggested before Peeta sighed and I felt him move away from me and start standing up. "Well, we better get to the Hob before it gets too late and we can't sell anything."
"All right, lets get going," I said gathering up our things.
We made the trek back to the fence, and checked all the traps again and stored my bow in the log. At the fence, we made sure it wasn't live for almost the first time ever and climbed through. The streets of District 12 were completely empty. Not a soul insight because everyone was busy preparing for the Reaping, which would take place in just a few hours.
At the Hob, District Twelve's black market, people were lined up trying to get their hands on what they needed and selling what they didn't. Peeta and I sold half of the fish to Greasy Sea, an older woman who keeps a food stand in the Hob, and sold a pint of the berries to Cray, the head Peacekeeper. Peeta and I each got a bowl of stew from Sea's and sat down behind her stand talking quietly.
"Peeta?'
"Hm?" he asked around a mouth full of soup.
"How many times is your name in there?"
"Don't worry about me Katniss, I'll be fine."
"Just answer me Peeta how many times is your name in there?"
"Forty-two," he said in response looking down at his soup.
I sighed reaching over and pushing the hair back from his eyes. He caught my hand in his as I was going to drop it, and kissed the palm of my hand.
"I'll be fine Kat."
"I know." We ate the rest of our meal in silence until it was time for us to head down to the Mayor's house to deliver the berries. The Town, where the Mayor lives along with the people who own a business, is a better place to live than in the rest of the district. Here, things are cleaner and well maintained. The Seam, where Peeta and I live, is full of coal dust and sickness. But here, people have the money to go to the apothecary and get the medicine they need, most of the time.
The Town and the Seam are made up of two completely different people as well. People in the Seam, have olive toned skin, dark hair, and grey eyes, typically. Peeta, Prim, and my mother are some of the exceptions, they look like people from the Town: blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.
The Mayor's daughter, Madge, opened the door. Madge was a nice girl, and I occasionally do school projects with her when no one else I reason is in my class.
"Hi, Katniss, hi, Peeta," she said opening the door farther.
"Hey, Madge, is your dad around?" Peeta said with a flourish that made you think he had lived in Town his whole life.
"Yeah, just a minute, he's busy getting ready for the Reaping. Just wait here, he'll be right down with you," she said turning around.
Mayor Undersee was down with us shortly just as Madge said he would be. "Hello, how can I help you today?"
"Well, we have some fresh strawberries, if you're interested," I said pulling the bucket up in front of me.
"Yes, I'll take them all if that's all right with you," he said handing us a fair amount of money for the berries.
"Thank-you," Peeta and I both said turning to leave.
"See you both at the Reaping," he said closing the door tight behind him.
Peeta and I made the walk back to the Seam in a silence as we thought of what was going to be happening in just a few hours. The Reaping is a required event that everyone in the District attends. The only way you get out of it is if you're near death.
My house came up before us before I knew it, and Peeta walked me to the front door. He set my game bag down by the front door, before wrapping me in his arms. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. He smelt like a fresh breeze and the woods surrounding our District. I could feel his strong arms wrapped around me, and I felt safe and warm, making me never want to leave.
Peeta pulled away from me and took my face in his hands. "Katniss, everything is going to be fine. I feel like a broken record saying that over and over, but you just have to trust me."
"I do, but nothing anyone says is going to make me less afraid than I am now," I said looking into his eyes.
"I love you," Peeta says lowering his lips down to mine.
"I love you too," I say meeting his lips with mine. I pull away when I hear movement from within my house, and know it's Prim watching us from the window. Peeta and I share a look, both knowing what's happening inside, and share a quiet laugh before the front door opens.
Prim rushes out, wrapping Peeta in a hug as he lifts her up into his arms. "How are you little duck?" he says using the nickname I came up with when she was little.
She looks at me and answers in her sweet voice, "Well, I'm nervous," she says looking down to the coal dust covered ground.
Peeta lifts her face up like he often does with mine, and looks her straight in the eye, "Prim, everything will be fine." He kisses her forehead before setting her back down on the ground.
"Well, we'll see you in the square," I say herding Prim in the door after grabbing my game bag.
"Bye, Kat," he says turning away before I shut the door.
A/N: As you can see, Katniss and Peeta are a lot different in my story. I did this with purpose, because it drove me nuts that Katniss could be so mean. So, please don't tell me that they are out of character; I want them that way. Also, I am trying to make these chapters longer than the chapters in my other story, so Updates are going to be farther apart. Maybe two or three times a month, although, it could be more. I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this. Please, leave a review and tell me what I can fix so I can be a better writer!