(A/N): I looked at a bunch of fanfiction, but I've never really seen something like this. So I tried to see what it would be like if Peeta never loved Katniss, and it was the other way around. Yes, I know that there are stories like that, but I added something. What if Peeta was still a merchant and had a girlfriend, while Katniss loved Peeta and was still from the Seam? Hope you guys like it :)
The rare sun of District twelve shone through the widely opened windows of Katniss' room. Snuggled right next to her was Prim, her sister of whom she loves. She must've crawled in after a nightmare. Prim's nightmares were now regular occurrence; for this is her first reaping year. Every night, she sees a vision of her getting picked out by the bubbly Effie Trinket at the 74th annual hunger games reaping. It's no wonder that she's scared. The day that everybody has been dreading is today. The Reaping.
Just then, Prim shrieks. Katniss immediately woke up and shook her slightly to wake her from her frightening dream. Prim woke up with a cold sweat and stared at Katniss.
"It's me. She picked me," said Prim, scared.
"She's not going to pick you. Your name is only in there once," Katniss assured her immediately. The odds were definitely in Prim's favour. With one slips out of a thousand, even the luckiest man in the world won't be able to pick her from there.
"I have to go, I have to hunt," Katniss whispered to Prim.
"Wait, don't go," said Prim, holding her hand. "Can you sing to me?" asked Prim. Katniss hasn't sung for a long time. Not since the first day of her school when she sang the valley song in front of her class. Not since her father died. That's definitely it. When her father died, Katniss wouldn't sing for anything. It reminds her too much of her late father who died in the coal mines five years ago.
"Of course," Katniss responded and started to sing. "Deep in the meadow..." Katniss sang as Prim smiled, not her usual smile, but still a smile. When Katniss finished, she kissed Prim's forehead and hugged her before heading off into the forest to hunt.
So far she's caught three squirrels, two rabbits, and spotted a deer. Not her usual haul, but it will still feed her family. Katniss went through the forest and in the span of an hour; she has managed to catch two more squirrels, and a fat rabbit. Katniss was sitting by a meadow eating a few berries she's gathered, until her silence is broken by her hunting partner.
"Hey Catnip," said Gale.
"Hey," Katniss responded, uninterested.
"Hey look what I got," said Gale, pulling out a loaf of bread from his knapsack. Katniss was shocked. Sure she eats bread from her tesserae grain, but she has had barely enough money for a loaf of bread. She just usually trades it for squirrels.
"Is that bread? Real bread?" said Katniss, taking the bread and inhaling it.
"Better be, the baker was very generous today," said Gale.
"Here," said Katniss who was taking a package from her bag. "Prim wanted to give it, for the reaping"
"Thanks, c'mon, let's eat it," said Gale.
They ate in comfortable silence. The goat cheese just practically melts in their mouths together with the bread. Such delicacies, they can only afford with the reaping coming up. She doesn't even want to think about it. Her name's in there a lot of times, due to the fact that they lived in an impoverished country called Panem, and that they live in the poorest part of that country. A barren land called district twelve, where you can die easily die of hunger.
"How many times is your name in today?" Katniss asks Gale.
"Forty-two," Gale paused. "Well, technically, the odds aren't really in my favour. How about you?" Gale asked.
"Twenty, I guess the odds aren't really in our favour is it?" Katniss asked rhetorically.
They finished up the rest of the berries and the bread with goat cheese and scurried off to the un-electrified fence of district twelve. They shared the haul equally after checking out the snares, before Katniss went to the hob to trade.
"I think I'll trade these squirrels for Mr. Mellark," said Katniss looking at her two squirrels.
"Oh please," Gale scoffed. "You only want to see bread boy,"
"So what? Besides, I still need bread. Me, Prim, and mom ate the last of it yesterday," said Katniss defensively.
"I told you. Just quit your obsession with that boy. He has a girlfriend. Don't be one of those girls who're head over heels for a guy. He's not worth it," said Gale, annoyed as far as Katniss can tell.
"It's not an obsession. I just never got to thank him for the bread. Remember before? I told you, I can't stop owing him," said Katniss. "It's always the first one that's hard to repay, and that bread saved me, Prim, and my mother's lives. Gale."
"Well, there's plenty of fish in the sea. I see your name in the bathroom stalls in school a lot. There are plenty of other guys in school," Gale paused and continued. "I need to go. I have to prepare for the reaping. Wear something pretty? okay," said Gale as he walked off. Katniss shook her head at the thought. Wear something pretty? She's never worn anything pretty ever since that first day of school.
Katniss walked through the hob trading a few rabbits and a squirrel for some cloth, salt, and oil. The cloth was for the patches on her clothes, the salt for some iodine in their systems, and oil for cooking their dirt-poor meals. She walked to the back of the bakery to see Mr. Mellark and his son drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. Good. There's no witch in sight. Katniss knocked lightly on the door, when it opened she saw the clear-blue eyes of Peeta Mellark. Peeta saw Katniss and turned his head.
"Dad, Katniss is here," said Peeta as he walked away. She wished he didn't look away. She wished that he just stayed there. Mr. Mellark went to see Katniss at the back and looked at her.
"Yes Katniss, how many would you trade?" Mr. Mellark's voice was clear and gentle.
"About five," said Katniss proudly. She doesn't usually catch this much. Only about three a day.
"Wow, impressive," he said. "Peeta," he said turning his attention to the boy. "Get me five loaves of bread from the counter,"
"Okay dad, but I got to meet Christine before the reaping," Peeta said as he took the loaves, and gave them to his father. Katniss felt her heart sink. Christine is his girlfriend. She's really pretty with her black hair, brown-eyes, and slender figure. Plus, she's from the merchants, so she had a huge chance that Peeta will like her. And he did, and in the process, hurting Katniss.
"Here you go, Katniss," Mr. Mellark said exchanging the bread for the squirrels. "Good luck later," he said as he walked through the door. Katniss walked through the edge of Seam, the poor part of District twelve, to her home, where she saw Prim wearing a beautiful blue dress, and her hair in a braid. Katniss smiled at the sight of her sister. She loves her more than anything in the world. She's the only reason Katniss hunts illegally, and struggles to live.
"You look beautiful, little duck," said Katniss as she walked to her sister. Prim was still nervous of the reaping. Who could blame her? It's her first year. You'll always be nervous.
"I'm scared," Prim admitted to her sister. Katniss hugged Prim.
"Don't be. Your name's only in there once. They're not going to pick you," Katniss assured her.
"I've got your bath ready," Katniss stood up and turned around to see her mother.
"Thanks," said Katniss as she went to the bath. Katniss never really had a good relationship with her mother. She was never close to her as Prim was, even as a child. When her father died, it seemed like her mother went along with him. She was never the same. She let Katniss and Prim to die on their own, but luckily they survived, when Katniss started to hunt. After Katniss took a bath, she looked at her dress that was laid out in front of her. It was a beautiful and extravagant blue dress that her mother used to wear when she was a merchant. Katniss wore it and went down to see her sister, still, with a scared emotion. Katniss walked to her sister and hugged her with Prim snuggling her head under Katniss' chin.
"Don't be scared, they won't pick you," Katniss repeated like a mantra. It started to feel like a mantra. She reminded Prim that she won't get pick, that there's a million to one, she's only twelve, stuff like that until she finally calmed down enough to eat their breakfast of bread with a spread of goat cheese.
They walked to the reaping square and walked towards the girl's line. Katniss assured Prim that she won't get hurt, they'll only take a small amount of blood and that's it. When they got through the girl's line, they went to their specific age groups. Katniss lead Prim to hers as Katniss went to her circle of sixteen year old girls. Even in the reaping, their district is divided into two. The Seam people and the Merchant people. They were quiet and solemn because they know deep in their hearts that one them in that square is leaving them for good. Katniss looked around and saw Gale at the eighteen year olds who gave a her a reassuring nod, in which she reciprocates. She looks around more and settles her eyes on the blue-eyed boy, with blond hair talking to his group of friends. Katniss was interrupted by her thoughts when the flamboyant Effie Trinket walked up the stage with her silly pink wig and overly-extravagant make-up.
"Welcome, welcome," Effie says like it's a holiday. "To select a young man and woman, for the nobility of representing district twelve, for the 74th annual hunger games," Effie continues. "But, before we start, We have a short video for you, right from the Capitol," says Effie gesturing her hand to the screen. It's the usual stuff. How the rebellion started, how the hunger games were initialized, how they were 'protecting' us. It's all a load of bull. Everyone can see that the Capitol oppressed us. Everyone's just scared to rebel in fear of dying. Katniss was interrupted from her thoughts by Effie Trinket who looked as if she's memorized the video like the back of her hand. When the video finished, she started.
"Now, let's start, with the girls," said Effie as she walked towards the reaping ball. Not me or Prim. Not me or Prim. Katniss repeats in her head like a mantra. Effie got a slip and walked to the mic. Not me or Prim. Not me or Prim. That's when she spoke in a clear, shrilly voice, the name I have never wanted to hear.
"Primrose Everdeen," said Effie. Katniss looked at Prim, who became as pale as a ghost. It can't be. Her name's only in there once. She's only twelve. Those thoughts rang in her head. She can't believe it. And without even noticing it, she's walking towards the stage. She ran in the middle to get to her sister, when she was restrained by the peacekeepers.
"Prim!" Katniss shouted gathering the attention of Prim. She looked at Katniss who was trying to fight of the guards, and before she knows it, there are two words that are suicidal in the reaping.
"I volunteer!" Katniss exclaimed as the guards let go of her. She immediately ran to Prim and hugged her.
"Well, District twelve has a volunteer!" said Effie in her shrill voice. "Now c'mon now," she said gesturing for Katniss to walk through the stage. Katniss tried to go, but Prim restrained her.
"Katniss don't go!" said Prim, who was pleading and crying.
"Prim, let go," said Katniss firmly, not wanting to seem weak. Just then, Katniss felt a weight lifted off of her torso. Katniss looked behind her to see Gale.
"Go ahead, Catnip" said Gale as he pulled Prim to her mother. Katniss walked up to the stage and was warmly 'welcomed' by Effie Trinket. Katniss saw as the people of district twelve placed their three fingers into their lips and held them out to her. It's a sign of respect district twelve gave.
"Hey hey! Look at this one," said a drunken Haymitch Abernathy, the only living victor left in District twelve. He place an arm on her shoulder and spoke up. "I like this one. She has a lot of..." He pauses, thinking of the right words. "Spunk. More than you," he pointed at Effie. "And especially more than you!" He shouted and pointed at the camera before throwing up and falling down the stage, only to be escorted by the peacekeepers somewhere else.
"Now, now, for the boys," said Effie, acting like nothing happened, as she walked frivolously towards the boy's bowl. Not Peeta or Gale. Not Peeta or Gale. She said to herself as a mantra as Effie walked towards the mic, opening the slip of paper.
"Peeta Mellark," said Effie. Katniss mentally kicked herself. Why is it that whenever she says that, something bad happens? Katniss thought. Why did the person she loved have to go there? It breaks her heart. She guesses that the odds are never really in her favour. Peeta walked up the stage as pale as an apparition. The mayor then walked up to say the Treaty of Treason and all of that junk and Effie told me and Peeta to shake hands. Until we are escorted to the Justice building to say goodbye to our families. I can't believe it, Katniss thought. She's going to go to the hunger games with the man she loves.
(A/N): That concludes Chapter 1, sorry if it's a bit short-ish. Hope you like it Please review :)