(Inspired by Wake Me Up by Ed Sheeran)

'Cause maybe your loveable,
and maybe your my snowflake,
and your eyes turn from green to grey,
in the winter I'll hold you in a cold place.
And you should never cut your hair,
'cause I love the way you flick it off your shoulder,
And you will never know, just how beautiful you are to me,
but maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up.
~

The Reaping is tomorrow and yet it was a beautiful day. Days like that are rare in District 12 and people should be out enjoying it but they can't. All anyone can do is hold their children close and pray for survival. The blinding sun was burning my back but I didn't take any notice of it. I was with Katniss, I was oblivious to everything going on around me. When I'm with Katniss the whole world just fades away. She is my best friend. Katniss Everdeen is the reason my family and I are still alive. If it wasn't for her, I would have given up hunting a while ago. We were sat in a field behind Katniss's house, staring at the fence that imprisoned us and our families. The grass was so long we could have stayed there forever and no one would have found us.
"Gale?" She turned her head and looked at me with her deep brown eyes. My Dad used to say that you could tell a lot about a person by their eyes. What they've been through, who they are. But if you stared into Katniss's eyes, you would get lost. She seems so rough and cold on the outside but she would do anything for the ones she loves. absolutely anything.
"Yeah?" I keep my head facing the electric fence. Today is one of those rare days where the fence is actually lit therefore making it near impossible to escape beneath it and hunt in the woods on the opposite side.
"Do you think there's life beyond this fence? Do you think there are more people out there?" She lifts her head back and looks into the sky. Here in District 12 you never see a blue sky. It's always grey from the coal and smoke but today we have the luxury of seeing the golden sun. I let myself fall back into the towering grass.
" I defiantly believe we aren't the only ones on this planet." Katniss sits up and hugs her knees. She buries her head into her arms and lets out a long ,exaggerated sigh. I have heard this sigh before. I can tell that wasn't the answer she was looking for.
"You know what I mean. Do you think there's anyone left in district 13? Maybe the collapse of the district is just a conspiracy. Maybe there's something out there." She looked up again and focused on a rabbit sniffing by a bush, full of joy and complete stupidity as it didn't notice the pain that lived all around it.
"Maybe ..." I knew what she meant. We don't know for definite because we havent seen district 13 with our own eyes. All we have to go on is recordings by the Capitol. The Capitol shouldn't be trusted. It was a fact.
"How have we been so lucky?" Katniss was still hugging her knees like they would fall off if she let go.
"Lucky?" I laughed. "How have we been lucky? Katniss is we didn't risk our lives everyday by hunting ,we would die of starvation."
" No. I mean... we've never been reaped even though each year our names have been added more and more times into that stupid bowl. I'm in there 20 times tomorrow, Gale. What if I don't make it back?" I didn't say anything so instead I gently placed my hand on to Katniss's back and waited for her to shove it off. When she didn't, I started to slowly rub her back. Katniss suddenly jolted her head. She turned around. "Gale. What about Prim? Tomorrow is her first Reaping." A look of horror washed over face. I sat up and pulled my hand away from her back.
"Listen to me Catnip," she let a tiny smile crawl on to her face " Prim is not going to be Reaped. You hear me, her name is NOT going to be picked." I pulled Katniss into my arms and hugged her tight. I sneaked a quick kiss on her forehead then rested my chin on her head.

Katniss and I were still sat there in the lap of luxury an hour later, looking up at the clear sky. I hadn't been so relaxed in a long time. Katniss had her eyes closed but I wasn't sure if she was asleep. Maybe she was thinking. She looked so elegant, completely unable of shooting small woodland animals every single day. I turned on to my side and leaned on to my elbow. I stared past Katniss at the fence that caged us like wild animals. I focused on a squirrel behind the wiring. No one was around. It was just me and Katniss. I could aim for that squirrel and no one would stop me. I would slowly and carefully put my arm under the electric fence and grab it before anyone caught me.
"Don't even think about it ,Gale." The voice dragged me back to reality. Katniss still had her eyes shut but it was defiantly her who spoke. "I know what your thinking, mate, and you're not shooting that squirrel. Too much to gamble." Katniss opened her eyes and sat up. That girl must have eyes in the side her head. She always knows what I'm thinking. "Gale?"
"Yes, Catnip?"
"What do I do about Prim?" She stared into my eyes and waited for me to answer.
"Well...if she does get picked, what will you do?" I chewed on my lip, scared of the answer I knew would draw from her lips.
"I would do it for her." I could suddenly taste warm metal, blood. Although I knew she couldn't let Prim into the Games, part of me wished she wouldn't volunteer." I would go into the Games. I keep my family alive, I can't let them down now." A single tear strolled down her face but she quickly wiped it away. I leaned over so that our noses were touching.
"And if you do that...you know that I will right here waiting to give you a 'welcome home' hug." I brushed my lips over nose. Katniss looked at me, her eyes filling up with tears that Katniss wont let fall. She leaned into me, wanting me to kiss her soft lips...
"KATNISS!"

"KATNISS!" It called again, a gentle but longing voice crying out to her sister. Katniss dropped her head and drew a deep breath.
"Yes, Prim?" Prim came running towards us , her brown dress flying over the elongated grass. Katniss stood and hugged her sister tight when she reached us. I dragged myself up to my normal height and stood beside Katniss.
"Lady's rope got loose. Someone told me that Greasy Sae found her. Can you come with me to pick her up?" Katniss glanced at me ,apologetic.
"Yeah...come on then." She took a few steps then looked over her shoulder, her braid falling over her shoulder and resting on her back."Are you coming too, Gale?"
"Uh...no,I had better go and tell my mother about the food absence." I forced a smile, then took off in the opposite direction.

~
'Cause maybe your loveable,
and maybe your my snowflake,
and your eyes turn from green to grey,
in the winter I'll hold you in a cold place.
And you should never cut your hair,
'cause I love the way you flick it off your shoulder,
And you will never know, just how beautiful you are to me,
but maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up.