Hey guys, this is my first fan fiction ever, so I'm not the most experienced writer. I have been reading fan fictions for a while, and I was really drawn to the Hunger Games. I'm definitely team Gale, but it's hard to find a good galeniss fan fiction. There was one that I liked, but the author stopped writing. So this is basically, the fan fiction that I have been unable to find. I hope you enjoy. Please review to let me know how I'm doing. I'm open to suggestions, so anything you want to see in the story, just let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks.

Chapter 1

I awaken just as the sun is making its appearance. I get up at this time practically every morning though, so by now my body won't let me sleep past dawn. I don't really mind though. In fact, dawn is probably my favorite time of day. Everyone is asleep and momentarily distracted from the constant unease that comes along with life in the Seam. It's as if for just a moment you can forget, but even this is short lived. It's reaping day.

My current situation of being the sole provider for my family even when I'm still a child myself is not uncommon here. I'm 16 years old. I took on the responsibility of my family when I was only 12 after my father was killed in a mining accident. It was rough at first, but luckily before he died, my father taught me how to hunt in the woods outlying the district. This is another reason that I enjoy early mornings. Hunting.

By now, I'm dressed in my hunting clothes and headed out of my house but not before grabbing some cheese that my sister, Prim, has left for me. Prim is 12 years old, so this is her first reaping. To say I am worried is an understatement. Every moment for the past two weeks has been filled with worry for my sister. She will only have one slip out of thousands, but that is way too much for me. To even think about my baby sister's name being pulled to participate in the nationally televised fight to the death called the Hunger Games is painful.

I'm startled out of my thoughts when I reach the fence. I listen for the hum to signify that the fence is turned on, but as always it's dead silent. Hunting is technically illegal and this fence is here to keep poachers out of the woods, but law enforcement is not the strictest here in District 12.

I reach the log where my bow is hidden, and see that Gale's bow is already gone. Gale is my best friend and hunting partner. Our fathers were both killed in the same mining accident, making us both as the eldest child the sole providers for our families. I remember when I first saw him in the woods.

I had never seen anyone else in the woods before, let alone a boy my age. I knew his father was killed in the same accident as mine, so I assumed his purpose in the woods was the same as mine. At first I was angry that someone was taking away game that could have been mine. I decided to ignore him, and I guess he did too. We spent a week hunting, barely acknowledging each other's presence. During that time I noticed that he never had a weapon with him, so I found it strange when I would see him leave the woods with a belt of squirrels and rabbits. Sometimes when I was watching him, he would climb high tree or run fast or turn so that the kills on his belt were in my line of sight. One day, we both happened to be picking berries in the same clearing, keeping a safe thirty feet apart at all times. I suddenly felt a pair of eyes on me and I noticed that everything had gone silent. I turned towards the boy to see him looking right at me, or well past me. I followed his eyes to a doe grazing a shrub about twenty yards away. It was the first deer I saw since my father died. I had never taken one down by myself before. I turned back to the boy, and we locked eyes. He nodded his head towards the doe, and I nodded back at him. I then strung my bow and aimed. When I hit my target, it started to run off by it didn't get far before it collapsed. The boy slit its throat, and we both stood there staring at the dead animal.

"Nice shot" the boy breathed.

"Thank you" I said, turning to face him. "I'm Katniss."

"Gale," he returned.

"That's a lot of meat." I said.

"I know."

We both looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Once we calmed down, we decided to share the deer, so we each grabbed an end and headed back towards the fence. On the way, we talked about hunting and how rich we were going to be. I found out he used snares to hunt and like me learned it from his father. He seemed interested in my bow and especially interested in the spare bow I mentioned. Once we made it back under the fence where we headed to the Hob, a sort of marketplace. As soon as we entered carrying a seventy pound doe, the room collectively gasped. Gale smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back. In fact, I was smiling for the rest of the day. After making fifteen coins each, Gale walked me home.

"I had fun today." He said.

"Me too."

"See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Goodnight Katniss."

"Goodnight Gale."

From then on, we were partners. We met up every morning, and would leave together every night. I ended up giving Gale my spare bow, but he taught me some basic snares in return. We would split all the kills at the end of the day. Within a month, he was my best friend.

I feel comfortable around Gale, like I can truly be myself. Around him I am Katniss, not the provider or the girl whose dad died or even the hunter girl. Gale is two years older than I am, so rumors quickly spread about us dating and doing more than hunting in the woods. There's never been anything romantic between us. We're friends, that's all. Besides, Gale would never like someone like me. I'm more of the loner type who sticks to herself because she is too busy and has more important things to do like keeping her family alive. I'm not really into all the things the other girls my age are, I don't really care what I look like. I wear my hair in the same single braid every day without any makeup because it is way too expensive and I wouldn't know the first thing to do with it anyways. Gale, on the other hand, is one of the more popular boys in school. I hear how the girls at school talk about him, and from what they have said, Gale has reciprocated. He has a few close friends, Thom, Brandt, and Shane, but other than that he keeps to himself, or as far as I know. We don't see each other at school often except on the walk to and from school. When he walks me home, some of the girls will glare at me. It doesn't really bother me because Gale isn't my boyfriend. To me, Gale is my best friend, the boy I met in the woods, my hunting partner. And now, when I see him sitting at our spot, waiting for me, I can't imagine him not being in my life.

"Hey Katniss."