Hey everyone! This is a major AU, and it is about my Olympic dream being accomplished by the famous Katniss Everdeen! This is the story of her and her dream, but when a tragic event occurs, a certain somebody might just be her much needed prince-in-shining-track-sneakers. Enjoy! Positive and constructive feedback is always welcome!
-A Heart
Nervously, I glanced around the busy track. On my right was the stands, filled with hundreds, maybe thousands of spectators, here to judge every stride I took. On my left was my competitors, coaches, officials, and lots field event equipment. I adjusted my sweatband and peered down the curve on the track that I was about to run. With my eyes closed I took deep breathes and jogged in place, bringing my knees to my hands that laid, palms down, at my rib cage. My hands straightened my hip number, 3, on my red shorts, and I stepped into the lane, preparing to run the most important sprint of my life. I had 200 meters to give it everything I had in me. I was not about to waste three years of brutal training on a race that I was heavily underestimated in. As a pale skinned seventeen year old girl, I was nothing more a charity case to my extreme, real deal, mid-twenties competitors. But they haven't seen me run yet. They probably didn't even bother to watch my semi-finals win. Or to notice my 21.3 second time. No, I was not going to prove them right.
Let me back up first. My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old, but, you already knew that. I am from a tiny town in Massachusetts which is appropriately named Littleton. I grew up running which led me to many track programs. At one meet, the happened to be a baseball game going on on a field over. One of the coaches, a former Olympic gold metal winner in the 100 meter hurdles, was heading over after the game for some popcorn when the 200 took place. I was in the first heat, filled with, or so I've been told, the fastest runners. I was in lane three. He was walking by as I took off, quickly leaving my competitors in shame as I crossed the finish line a good five seconds before the second place finisher reached the line. Apparently, a 25.6 second finish is abnormally fast of a girl of my age, 14 at the time. David froze, 'seeing something so special', as he puts it, 'put me in pure shock, and reminded me of my Games. So extraordinary, so passionate, so talented.' He, after his emotional moment, raced over to me, telling me who he was (as if I didn't already know) and telling me that he wanted to be my coach, so I could someday experience the greatness of the Olympics. Me, being young and excited, agreed vigorously. So, after hours of yelling and convincing, my parents agreed. It was a year an two weeks before my dad died of heart attack. After that overwhelming day, I have run at least two miles a day, and sprinted six days a week. The track in Littleton is my home away from home.
Which leads me to now. The day I turned seventeen David informed that I was eligible with my time to compete at Olympic level. He had gotten me a spot at the first round of the trails. I would continue if I got at least third place in every race. When I reached finals, David cried when I finished my interview. He didn't speak for an hour just beamed at me, cried, and hugged everyone in sight. Later that night he told me that this is a dream come true for both of us, not just me. I cried too. If I finish in the top three today, I will go to London. I will be part of the U.S. Olympic 2012 Team. I will be known as one of the fastest women in the world. Which is why I must win today. Also, I don't lose. I just don't. Plain and simple. I won't allow it.
I did a couple of warm up kicks and then the starter tells us to take our places at our starting blocks. Crouched in position, I sprung up a little at his second command. The silence is deafening until I hear the gun. Adrenaline pumping, I started of in an easy sprint, catching speed as I bent across the curve. As soon I reach the 100 start, I took off in full sprint. I glanced to my sides and did a double take, almost stopping short when I saw no one is my peripheral vision. Suddenly panicked that they all finished without me seeing, leaving me in the dust, I sped up even more. Seeing the finish line almost underneath my feet, I practically dove, my feet flailing, arms sprawled outwards. I landed on my feet though, and turn to see the other races. To my surprise, most of them have just finished. So they didn't leave me behind. But I obviously didn't win either if they were right there. Feeling discouraged, I sit in my lane and put my head in between my bent legs. My left hand rests firmly on my stomach, encouraging my to take deep breathes to avoid painful cramps. The announcers deep voice came over the loud speaker and I, as well as my competitors looked up at the mega screen to see the finalists.
"Now let's give a round of applause to our 2012 Olympic team 200 meter dash finalists:
in third place, Johanna Mason! In second place, Madge Undersee! In first place with an put standing time of 21.84, Katniss Everdeen!"
My eyes widened and I jumped up and down in excitement and pure happiness. I'm going to London. The second place finalist comes over to me, I think her name is Madge, and says something inaudible and hugs me. As a person, I am not very touchy. I will only hug very close friends, like Gale before he moved to Pennsylvania (I haven't hard from him since), or family, and I will only hold hands win my thirteen year old sister Prim. But with joy that could last a lifetime in me, I gave her a hug and half- cried half- whispered: "We'll do this together."
Together, the other two winners and I, walk, arms linked, to an announcer. Starting with Johanna, she asks, " Johanna, what does it feel like to make your third Olympic team in a race you've never done in the Olympic trails before?"
"Well, it feels as good as it ever does. The race doesn't matter, either way, it's a sense of achievement; but the journey isn't over yet." Johanna jogs away, leaving me and Madge.
"Madge. You are twenty five and this is your second trail but first team. What did you do differently in training that got you into three sprint races this year?"
"Nothing. I just now know what it feels like to lose; the disappointment, everything. I did not want to feel it again." She, too, leaves the area and the reporter turns to me.
"Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire."
"What?" I interrupted, confused about my nickname.
"Oh yes. Girl on Fire. You were moving so fast out there in your orange shirt and red shorts it looked as if you see on fire; hence the nickname."
"Oh..."
"So, Katniss Everdeen. Girl on Fire. Seventeen years old. Against all odds, you won with an outstanding time. What is this like for you?"
"It's a dream come true." I gave the reporter a nod and skipped away. I see David running towards me and I bury myself into his shoulder.
"You did it, sweetheart. You did it." I looked up at his face as we walked away. I must shower quickly and then meet the U.S. team. Trails ended with my race and I was nervous to meet my teammates, expecting them to be older than me by a good chunk. Planting a sloppy kiss on David's cheek, I ran over to my impatient parents who are standing in front of the locker room. I hugged my dad, taking his embrace in awaiting arms and smile at mother and kiss her cheek as well.
"I'll be back!" My voice echoed in the walls as I jogged over to my bag and swung it over my shoulder lazily.
"I'm done!" I yell as I put my long chestnut hair back up, this time in my infamous braid. My fingers make a snapping sound against the hair elastic as it wraps around the end of my braid. David walks around the corner of the stadium's hallway, keys jingling in hand.
"Alright, well, I'll drop you off on the field and then I'm going to go home to change. I'll be back to pick you up at the end of the meeting; six o'clock. Okay?"
"Sounds good!" We walk swiftly down the hallway and out the door, onto the track which surrounds the field. I immediately spot Madge, who is waving me over. I turn to David and give him a goodbye wave and jog over to my new friend.
"Hey Katniss! You are just in time! The track coach, Haymitch Abernathy is about to come out. Right now, just meet the oth-" She is cut off by me whirling around to find the source of a tap on my shoulder.
"Kaleniss?" Is what is heard when I recognize my attacker. My voice questions "Gale?", while his excitedly announces "Katniss!" My mouth is dropped and I am soon crushed in a bear hug which I give back, only with less force. I step back out of his tight grasp as soon I realize that I haven't seen my best friend in ten years, much less heard at all, no letters, phone calls, emails, nothing from him, and frown.
"You never called." I state plainly.
"I know, and I'm sorry." His face falls but quickly recovers and chance the subject. "So what are you doing here? And you are so young... You knew it was my dream to be in the Olympics, but I didn't know that you even did track or field."
"I'm here for the 200. I came in first with a 21.84, in front of Madge here." I gestured to the older girl behind me and saw a slight spark in Gale's eyes after he whistled at my time and looked at her. "Yeah, I started after you left, about a month after in fact. When I was fourteen I had a meet, and a baseball game.." I launch into a detailed explanation of how I came to be who I am today. "How about you? I mean, what is your event?"
"Oh, I'm doing the 400 meter hurdles. I came in second in the finals. I'm here with my friend from Wayne, P.A., Peeta." Hale turned around to wave over an athletic, tall blond haired an blue eyed boy that looked about my age. "He is your age, Catnip." Gale said, turning back to us, confirming my suspicions. I smiled at the memory of my nickname. When I was seven, I had been walking to school when a nine year brown headed boy jumped out at me. "What's your name?" He had asked. Still in shock, my voice cracked in a hushed whisper, and my voice sounded like I had said "Catnip." "Catnip, huh?" He had replied. "Well I'm Gale and-" That's where I had cut him off, sharply stated that my name was Katniss. Not Catnip. Katniss. K-A-T-N-I-S-S. Katniss. We had been best friends ever since,
Reluctantly, I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a soft voice say "Hi." I looked up to see the blond haired boy lolling a my intently.
"So you are the famous Katniss Everdeen." I must of shown my confusion on my face, because he was quick to continue, "I'm Peeta Mellark. You are all that everyone's been talking about. You and your fantastic time. Congratulations, by the way." I smiled and nodded in understanding.
"It's nice to meet you Peeta. What is your event?"
"Well, I'm actually doing two. The 100 and the javelin."
"Wow. How long have you known Gale? I don't know if he told you, but Gale and I were best friends before he moved away, even though he is two years older than me."
"Yes, he talks about you all the time." I glance at Gale, who gives me a sheepish grin. "I met him a few days after he moved to Wayne. We have become really close." He leans in, as if to tell me a secret. He speaks in a hushed tone when he says, "In fact, I know him so well that I can tell that he really likes Miss Madge over there." I smirk and glance at the two, who were talking softly. I turn back to Peeta who is grinning at me, his blue eyes lit up.
"So... I guess we will be together from now on. I mean, training and doing things in London. Maybe we can even get a flight from somewhere in the middle between Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Madge, well I think she is from The Bronx, so she could meet us too. If you want to, of course." I state uncomfortably. I didn't want this boy that I felt to drawn towards to think that I was a control freak. Fortunately, his smile somehow widened.
"Yes! That sounds like a great id-," Before he could finish his thought, Peeta was cut of by a sharp whistle that pierced the air. We all turned forwards the direction of the sound to see a large figure that could only be described as the Haymitch Abernathy.
"Oi! I know this is exciting and blah, blah, blah, but do you hip people ever shut up?" Haymitch growled at the sea of athletes. There was a small murmur of amusement and I smirked, glancing at Peeta who grinned at me. "So," He started his speech. "This is how I am going to help you get ready. I've talked to your trainers, who agreed that you will only practice with them on Mondays, Tusedays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This leaves me with Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. On my days, we will do team building exercises, since, yes, we are all in this together for the U.S., are we not?" Haymitch looked at us expectantly and we nodded eagerly. "Fantastic. We will also race men verse women to help both genders. I know that man and women run and perform differently, but it will help prepare you for whatever crazy tricks Zimbabwe and Poland have come up with these Games. We will also do yoga, with help from my assistant coach Effie Trinket." He waved a hand at a tall woman with bright pink hair, and well, pink everything. We all mumbled lame 'hello's to the fashionable female and turned back to our strict leader. "From now on, no one will drink anything alcoholic. No more McDonald's, either, but I hope none of your were in the first place, too. We are team. No one is better than the next one. You will act like a team member or I can easily get that disappointed fourth place finisher a chance at London. Got it, team?" Haymitch questioned and we all called out a chorus of harmonious 'Yes!'s, 'Yup!'s, and 'Mmm hmm!'s.
"Now go have a carb and calorie filled meal with your newly found friends and a good nights rest, because remember, tomorrow is Sunday!" He called in a sing-sony voice as we departed.
"Do you all want to grab a bite at Vixen's, down the road. It's really good. We went there the last Olympic trails, after my fourth place finish." Madge told Peeta, Gale, and I. I shrugged and glanced at the guys, who nodded encouragingly. "Perfect!"
Peeta held me arm, keeping me from walking right up front with Gale and Madge, who were heavy in conversation.
"Do you want to get dinner with me tomorrow after practice?" He asked and I blushed and smiled.
"I'd love to. Let me just check in with David, he's my trainer, tonight to see what met running schedule is. I have a twenty mile in the next day or two, so I just have to make sure it's not tomorrow night. I'll call you later or in the morning to let you know if we need a rain check or not."
"Okay. What's your number?" After I gave him my number and he recited his, we took off towards our friends who were waiting impatiently by the car.
"Okay, so I can go?" I question David for the third time, making sure that I was free for dinner tomorrow night. I had had such an amazing time tonight that I literally begged David to change my training schedule for my twenty miler to Monday.
"Yes! God, Kat. Just call the boy before I tape that mouth of yours shut!"
"You know you love me!" I shot back with an evil grin. I mumbled an incoherent 'good night' after giving my loving trainer a peck on the cheek and walking into my hotel room. Quickly, I found Peeta's number and was waiting impatiently for his sweet voice to come through.
"Hey, Katniss."
"Hi Peeta! So David said that my long run is scheduled for Monday, so I can do dinner!" I tried desperately to say my lie as casual as possible, but I know that it came out excited and chirpy.
"That's awesome! Training ends at five, so do want me to pick you up at seven? Do you like Thai? 'Cause I know a really good place down the road, Ta Ra Rin. I went the with my parents when we cam ego Oregon in the summer of '07, and-"
"Peeta! You're rambling. Seven sounds perfect. I love Thai, it's my favorite cuisine. Ta Ra Tin, or whatever you said is fine." I can hear him breath out in relief. Someone is nervous. "Are you okay? You sound anxious and nervous."
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just the stress of the games, I guess." He is a really bad list, but I can tell that I should just let it go.
"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Do you need a ride?"
"Nah, I'm good. Thanks, though. Good night Kat."
"Night, Peeta." Ending the conversation with a contented sigh, I climb into bed for a dreamless sleep.
"All righty gang! Today we will go into co-Ed groups made up of, and as I list off your event go stand with your teammates. People with a track event and a field event will have to pick. Same with doubles or whatever. 'Kay, here we go. One hundred and two hundred to the two hundred start. Four hundred and eight hundred to the start line. Fifteen hundr..." His bored voice slowly drowned put as I walked over to my favored race's starting line. I glanced to my side and saw Madge, Peeta, Johanna, and seven other people who's names I don't know.
"Hey Katniss. So, are we running both the two hundred and the one hundred?" I shrugged then nodded, not trusting my voice, as if it might spit out 'Your hair is very cute today!' which it very well might, because Peeta's hair was in fact flipped to the side in an adorable manner. Just on cue, though, Haymitch's annoying voice rang in our ears.
"Alright! Start with the two hundred and then the one hundred. Same heats. First will be Katniss, Finnick, and Peeta. Second is Annie, Madge, Dominick, and Joseph. Third is Johanna, Matt, Nina, and Sieter." I raised my eyebrows at Peeta playfully and he mouthes 'Oh, it's on.'
"Finnick," he whispers, "is the winner of the one hundred. That means we are racing the actual two hundrerer. Fantastic. Note the sarcasm." I smirked and jumped on my toes, warming up again. We had just done a series of stretches together, but it never is a bad thing to continue them. I step into the my superstitious lane, three. I glance at Peeta and Finnick and wait for Haymitch's first command. Everyone else is watching the races so there is no intersecting races. From behind my starting block, I hear the 'ready' and step onto the block, muscles tense. 'Set' comes next and I take my hands off of the ground. The gun fires and I ease myself down the track. Around the curve, the 150 mark, I pump my arms a little more. When my feet pass the 100 start I sprint as fast as my body will go. I have a lot to prove, racing two men. Women are so underestimated in track and I am going to change that. Seconds pass, and I find myself throwing my body across the finishing line, arms thrown back, feet flying behind me. I quickly stand up, not wanting to show any weakness even if it is just tiredness.
"Katniss! God, girl! You really have a chance at the gold! That time was faster then yesterday's qualifying time! 21.79! You almost are one of the fastest in the world!" I blush at Haymitch's amazement and glance at Peeta and Finnick's flushed faces who are gaping at me."And boys! You just got beat by a seventeen year old female! Pick it up! Finnick, 22.30. Peeta, 22.41." I scowl at Haymitch's sexist comment but quickly recover when I realize that I beat both males by more 0.50 seconds.
"Wow Kat. Nice race." I look over at Peeta, who is bent over but smirking up at me. I grin back.
"Thanks. I want to see you in the one hundred. Still one of my better races." He winks at me and I feel my stomach drop. Pull yourself together, Kat. It's just Peeta. I look down to hide my red cheeks and turn to the track to see the next race. It was very close, but not as fast as ours.
"Mellark! Odiar! Everdeen! You can head over to the one hundred. Do some warm ups or something. Just get out of my sight!" I smile slightly a Haymitch's outburst and walk over to the boys, hands on hips, talking large, rhythmic breaths.
"We better get over there before Haymitch has a heart attack." Finnick jokes but I stiffen slightly. Peeta, who is standing behind me, notices my change in stance, and puts a hand on my shoulder and massages slightly. I glance back and give a small smile to say 'thank you'. He gives a short nod and puts pressure on my back, wanting me to start moving. Finnick, who has been oblivious to our whole exchange is blabbering on about some girl who's name I caught started with an 'A', I silently laugh to myself and then jog over to the side of the one hundred. Soon, all of the two hundred races were finished. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the track, about to run my first one hundred since my dad had died, it was his favorite.