OH MY GOSH. It is what you all have been waiting for…THE SEQUEL! YAY, right? Haha! I got many so many lovely reviews for the end of Cracking a Stone Heart! Make me proud of my sequel, alright? If you aren't sure of something, tell me! Love it? TELL ME. Any of your crazy thoughts, I welcome them into my psychotic brain. Yes, you read that correctly. I fully admit I am psychotic. You have to be crazy to be creative though…right? Haha! Well, like I said previously. Tell me your thoughts, and I'll tell you mine. Remember I don't require reviews, but I strongly recommend them. It's like confidence shots for me. (: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CRACKING A STONE HEART, DON'T YOU DARE READ THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE FIRST. Jumping Over Stones is also going to change between a few different POV's, mainly so you know what is also going on around Katniss and Peeta. Alright, without further notice, Jumping Over Stones Chapter One.
It's been exactly a month since Gale told me my fate. A month since I had to tell Peeta we're going into hell. A month since I had to accept that one of us, or both, will die in the next arena. A month since Prim and Mother had to hear that their last family member and her boyfriend were going into hell in a short few months. School is starting soon, but Peeta and I looked into early graduation. You take double the classes starting next week, and basically can graduate in three more months. If we take on full time jobs early excluding the mines, we can drop out of public school if we do home schooling. After sitting down and discussing, we decide to go into home schooling. Prim will walk home with Rory as long as she checks in at the bakery to let us know she is safe.
Madge has heard the news also about the upcoming Quell. While the summer lasts we have meetings in safe spots with Gale and Haymitch. I'm headed with Peeta to the safe spot right now for our meeting.
"Katniss?" Peeta asks quietly. He's been much quieter and contained since the news.
"Yes Peeta?"
"What are we going to do if one of us dies? I can't lose you; I refuse to leave without you." I can hear his voice struggling to stay steady.
I decide being strong is the only way to go right now. "I don't know. I feel the same way. I swear I will try my damndest to get us both out in one piece."
"Catnip! Peeta! It's about time you got here! Haymitch and I were beginning to think you were skipping." He winks at the end, signaling his sarcasm. I flip him my finger, Peeta chuckling at our childish acts.
"What are we doing today?" I ask when we reach them.
"Today, we start laying out a training plan. If the career districts get to start in academies when they are little, we're training like them too." Haymitch grumbles, taking a swig of his flask.
"We're going to start with archery and snares today. You both okay with what you are wearing?" Gale asks apprehensively. I snort in response, and he rolls his eyes. "That was meant more towards dough boy." Gale has taken pride in nick naming Peeta the dough boy.
"I'm fine Tarzan." Peeta retorts. They glare at each other for a few seconds, and then grin widely. For some reason, they became pretty good friends. After me not straggling around in the middle like a sappy love triangle they bonded easily.
"Let's head out then." Haymitch interrupts then starts walking to the fence behind Gale's home. There is a small patch of loose chain link there luckily. We all slide under quietly, and head out. Gale has stashed two bows and sheaths here for emergencies or just to get out. After he first came back, most of his time was spent with Madge and in the woods also. As soon as the bows are in our grasp Gale leads us to a small archery range he must have made.
"Long days." He grumbles under his breath, and I notch an arrow. With perfect aim, I hit the bulls eye. Gale follows suit, hitting dead on also.
"Well? You ready Peeta?" He nods, and I hand him the bow. I grab an arrow and hand it to him too. "Notch it like this." I murmur, guiding his hands. Gale is in the back talking to Haymitch quietly. "Now pull back. You elbow should be like this." I guide his arms and body into the correct shooting position. "Let go." I say quietly, and he hits off to the right of the bulls eye slightly. "Nice! Let's see if you can do it on your own now."
I turn to see Haymitch and Gale snickering at our actions. "What?" My voice snaps, making them grin even more.
Gale speaks up, "Had that been Madge and I, it wouldn't have ended there for sexiness…" I glare at him, and Peeta looks back warily.
"Shut the fuck up." Peeta mumbles under his breath, releasing another arrow. The only difference is this time he hits dead on. I gape at him with Gale, and Haymitch snorts.
"I knew he would get it soon. Alright, let's get you two onto snares."
We start training roughly every day, pushing ourselves to the limit. Mom puts us on special diets, Prim teaches us everything about medical care, Gale teaches extra tricks with snares, and Haymitch pushes us in every way possible. He breaks down different strategies for the Games. Madge slips us any papers she can get about what is going on. When September comes, Prim and the kids start school. Peeta and I work full time in the bakery, and pull in more customers than ever. With Mr. Mellark adjusting the pricings again so even the Seam families can afford a dessert like cookies more than once in an extremely rare moment. We aren't taught much, because frankly neither of our parents expects us to. We are taught enough to pass the tests we must meet standards of at the end of this year. Early December arrives before we know it with Gale's Victory Tour. We all gather at his home to watch the mandatory viewing of some important updates one day.
The screen lights up with a blasting Panem anthem. President Snow and his puffy blood red lips greet our eyes. "Good evening Panem. As you all know, Mr. Hawthorne's tour is tomorrow. We have decided to give him a…small gift. On his tour Ms. Madge Undersee is allowed to accompany Gale on his wonderful tour. The last night of his tour here in the Capitol will hold special news about the upcoming Quell. Thank you, and may the odds be ever, in your favor." The emblem lights up the screen, blasting the anthem loudly. After its final notes ring out the screen flips to blackness once again. I glance at Prim and Mom. Right then, I decide that all of us should be prepared also. "I think it's time for you to train too Prim." Mother nods in agreement, and she sighs.
"I understand. I'll start tomorrow." Prim says quietly. We all go to bed quietly; enjoying what is left of our peaceful days.
When the sun breaks through the dirty window, I slip out of bed. It's Saturday, which means a short morning shift starting in ten minutes and training the rest of the day. I pull on my khakis and a baggy red shirt. One of Peeta's sweatshirts that I stole from him hangs on the door knob. I slip that on too, breathing in his trademark scent of cinnamon and cheese.
Prim sleeps with a small smile on her face, the blankets pulled taut around her growing frame. I smile slightly, and head to the bakery. The air is chilled with the frost, biting my nose like mice nibble on cheese. My shoes crunch the brittle ground, filling the eerily quiet air with soft snaps. The wind blows lightly turning my cheeks a rosy red. The smells of fresh cheese buns fill my nose before I see the bakery. I slip into the bakery, the door ringing merrily.
"Morning Kitty Kat." Rye purrs and I grimace. He has taken it upon himself to create every possible annoying nick name for me. "Peeta is still upstairs, he won't get up. Dad is in the back." I nod, and head for the stairs that lead up to the second floor.
Peeta's room is the second door on the left. I put my ear against the door, listening for any sounds. Silence is my response, so I quietly open the door. Only golden curls stick out of the comforter from his head. I smile slightly, and head over to the bed. "Wake up sleepy head." I sit right on the edge, and pull back the comforters. His eyes squint up, revealing only slivers of his cerulean blue eyes. He groans at me, and I laugh. When he closes them again, I lean in and kiss his lips lightly. He doesn't respond at first, but then his move to mine slowly. I laugh and pull away.
"That's a nice way to wake up." He says with a chuckle. I smile, and pull him up into a sitting position.
"Enjoy it. We don't have many more days to have that." I say back quietly, and his face falls slightly. I know that there is a rebellion, but it isn't that big. One of us, or both, will die in the arena. It's impossible to fish us both out safely. Peeta's hands shuffle around his bed, and he rolls towards the small nightstand. The drawer creaks open, and he reaches in to grab a small grey velvet box. I look at him questioningly while he pulls himself out of bed. He gets onto his knee lightly, looking me straight in the eye the whole time. A small gasp escapes my lips, and his words echo through the quiet room.
"Katniss Dahlia Everdeen. I know our days are limited together, and I also know we are only 16. You turn 17 next week, and I follow a few days after. We are going into the Third Quarter Quell. But enough about what is to come. I've loved you since we were five. Clad in a red plaid dress and two braids with perfect pleats. The day I threw you bread, I'll never regret. Even the day we were assigned as project partners. The best day out of them all though was the day you said you loved me. Make this day another memorable one by giving me the extraordinary honor of having your hand in marriage?" His cerulean blue eyes twinkle with hope, and mine flood with tears. We don't have much time left together, so I agree to what I swore I would never do.
"Yes." I choke out, and he wraps me into a huge hug. He kisses me with a new passion, and holds me tightly. "I love you Peeta."
"I love you too Katniss." He pulls the ring out of the box, and slips it onto my left hand delicately. I finally look at the ring, to see a small emerald nestled in a tangle of silver. On the front of the ring, a piece of silver runs across the bottom of the emerald. In careful handwriting, the word Always is cut in nice font. "It was my great grandmother's. My dad never gave it to Violetta because he always meant to give it to your mom. My great grandma had it when she was living, which was before the big uprising and the formation of Panem. I got the scripture added to it though."
"It's perfect." I whisper, and kiss him again lightly.
Rye's voice echoes loudly, "get your asses down here! Katpiss you were supposed to wake him up, not f-pfkfng." Clearly Mr. Mellark covered Rye's fat mouth to prevent what he was going to say next. I grin at Peeta, and we walk down stairs after he changes.
Mr. Mellark is out front, Rye working in the back with dough up to his elbows. Peeta pulls me to the front of the shop, and lifts my hand up to his dad. "Oh my gosh. Congratulations son!" He claps Peeta on the back, and pulls us both into a hug. "I'm proud of you guys. You deserve to be happy." Rye comes out, catching sight of my ring. His face lights up with a grin, and I return it proudly.
Our time may be a ticking time bomb, but happiness can still be found in this hell.
Sorry it took so long. School is crazy, since it is ending soon. Like literally I need to get my shit together and turn in all my missing work that I have due to laziness. Someone smack me?(; REVIEW GUYS.! I want to see how many of you have come back and if you like the story. So you know I don't require reviews for updates, but 15-20 for this chapter would be awesome. Review!(: