Chapter 1
I wake up with a smile bright on my face, for I see Luca Hawthorne tapping on my window. I throw on my hunting clothes as quickly as I can. Then, I do as always, and run to the other bedroom, where my brother, Rye, sleeps. I shake him, and he wakes with a jolt. As I run out of the room, I hear him yell, "What's your hurry, Willow?!" I'm in such a hurry, I just take the time to respond, "Luca!" "Ugh, him again," I hear him grown.
As I'm darting out the door, my father stops me. "Where do you think you're going, young lady?" he asks, clutching to my grandfather's leather jacket. "Um...to see...L...Luca," I respond in a quiet whisper. He thinks I'm too young for a boyfriend. "Let her go, Peeta. Let her live her life," my mom tells him. "But she's too young." "She's 15. That's one year younger than we were." "Fine, Katniss. You win. You can go, this time, but be back in time to prepare for the reaping," he tells me.
I think about how many times my name is in. 12, 13, 14, 15, I think, 4 times. I hope that's not enough. Then, I think about Rye. He's 12. He's in once. I scream inside. I dart out the door, crying, and fall into Luca's arms. "What's wrong, Will?" he asks.
He calls me Will because when we met my hair was in my hat and I sort of looked like a dude. He asked what my name was and I spoke it so quietly he only heard the beginning. He said, "Nice to meet you, Will. Then, I took off my hat and said, "It's Willow." He ran up and kissed me and then said," well, nice to meet you, Willow." I was so stunned by his sudden, yet amazing kiss when we had only met ten minutes earlier, but I was too shocked to stop him when he kissed me again. We were in the woods at the time, and I was confused because no one is supposed to be out there. When he introduced himself as Luca Hawthorne, Gale Hawthorne's son, it all made since. That was a year ago and now I'm madly in love.
"I'm scared for Rye," I reply, my head on his chest. "He'll be fine. He's only in once," he replies, soothingly. "Remember Prim?! She was only in once! It was enough!" I scream through sobs. "He'll be okay. I'll make sure of it." He tells me, in a promising tone. "How?" I ask in a soft whisper, as I lift my head and stare into his crystal blue eyes. "I'll volunteer." He says, mocking a Superman pose. I chuckle a little as I say, "Thanks. Everything you do makes me fall further in love with you.' I hear the Warning Bell for the reaping and say "Gotta go! Promised Dad!" "See you later, Will." "Bye," I say, looking back as if I'd never see him again. Who knew I might not? Wait! I'm getting ahead of myself. Anywho...
As I arrive back home, I see my Dad standing in the doorway. "Where were you, young lady?" he asks. "I was hunting!" I lie faster than Mom could defend me. "Well, go get ready!" he tells me. I come out 15 minutes later wearing the same dress Mom wore when she volunteered, even though I have much nicer, Capitol dresses, designed by Cinna, of course. My long, wavy, dirty blonde hair flows behind me. My mother tells me I look great and I look to my dad "What do you think?" "I think you look beautiful, sweetheart," he tells me. "We should get going," my mom tells us. "Rye! Come on!" I yell. "Let's roll," he says. We all chuckle as we walk out the door. If only we know what was to come.
We walk up to the registration and I'm fifth in line; Rye's in forth. He winces, as the old lady pricks his finger. I move up and she pricks mine. I still wince after 3 years. I walk to my place and stand. They play the same old video and Effie mouths every word, as usual. "Ladies first!" she says, more happily than I think she should. As she sees the name, a single tear rolls down her cheek. This is the first time I've ever seen her...not happy. Then, I know why. "Willow Mellark."