Found this old Story written three years ago.. If it sucks, just know i've improved GREATLY
Chapter One
The sun rises with the smell of warm bread in our downstairs bakery in district 12. The warmth comforted me in my younger ages but at seven-teen I can't wait to get my own shop at twenty. Just three more years. I reminded myself. I get out of bed and walk to the mirror. My blue eyes looked dilated from the early sun and my blond, short hair looked golden. But the thing that stood out the most was my artificial leg. I still remember how I got it. Actually it was only a year ago.
The Hunger Games were towards the middle and Cato a boy that I had teamed up with, had betrayed me and sliced a huge gash in my left thigh with his sword. I hobbled along a river but then couldn't go any longer and found a place to rest. I was pretty sure I was coming close to death when Katniss, now only my friend thanks to another story, saved my life. I remember her callings for me. I would have screamed out to her to come to where I was, but I didn't have the strength to talk let alone yell. She eventually found me, cleaned me up, and did her best to tend to my wound, but it still was a severe injury. We ended up staying together in a dim, cold cave and eventually won the Hunger Games. We did have a thing going on, not too big just a lot of kissing and acting like we were in love, But I found out that Haymitch, our mentor, had told her to act so we'd get more sponsors. I, however, never had to act. I really was in love with Katniss. I mean, who wouldn't? Her brown hair, always in a long beautiful braid and her grey eyes that sparkles in the sun, and beautifully reflects the moon. Then came the hovercraft. I was taken under surgery, but they couldn't save my wounded leg. They gave me an artificial one and to this day, it works pretty well.
"Peeta, come down right now! Your father needs you to flower the bread! And take some to that survivor, Katniss!" orders my mother outside my room. I dart to my closet and get on my finest, yet casual, clothes and clean my hair and teeth. I open the door, run downstairs and flower the bread, fast, but neatly. I get a loaf of bread, but when my mom isn't looking I grab a second one. I rush outside and the spring sun greets my face. I walk to the seam and knock on Katniss' door. Sadly her mother opens the door. I hand her the bread and am about to turn around when I say.
"May I speak to Katniss?" Her mother smiles and goes inside. I hear her soft voice call for Katniss and she comes to the door.
"Hello, Peeta. Long time no see." She says hollowly.
"Hey. I just wanted to say good luck." I say smiling.
"For what?" she replies. My smile turns into a serious face and I can feel my shoulders drop.
"The reaping, it's today." I say. The reaping is where two teenagers from each district get sent into the Hunger Games. This would be our first year mentoring the next Games generation. I soon feel guilty because I wasn't the politest person with her.
"Oh. Thank you. Good luck to you too," She says. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go now." She puts her lips to my ear and whispers. "I have to go hunting with…" her voice trails off. Now my face is glum and she gives me a sly smile and grabs my hand. She pulls me out to the field. When I think we are going to stop she pulls me up to the fence. My eyes grow wide with fear when she darts under the wire.
"What are you doing? You could get killed." I snap at her. Her smile grows wider and she says.
"Then we will get killed together." And with that she shoves me down and drags me under the fence. She grabs my arms and helps me up. I thought she didn't want to be around me! I think. But she pulls me into the woods and we walk like ten yards further and she sits down. I sit by her. She pulls something out of her jacket. It's one of my loaves of bread. "What? Can't two friends illegally eat together?" she laughs.
"I guess. But I thought we weren't seeing each other. You know, after the train and all?" I say my face dropping of expression. I guess my face turned green because she is leaning over to feel my forehead. She leans back and her face is serious.
"You don't look good," she says sliding over next to me and wrapping her jacket around me. "And the train. I was being selfish and I am really sorry. But I've been thinking…" Her voice trails off.
"Thinking about what?" I ask. She looks at me and brushes my hair out of my eyes. She looks down.
"Well, us. And I know it's really too late and I really owe this to you but. I've been thinking and I started, you know, falling for you too." She says. I blush and stare at the grass. We sit there in silence. Finally I hear faint yelling on the other side of the fence. My mother was yelling at Katniss' mom and was wondering where I was.
"Uh Oh, I have to go!" I laugh. I stand up but she stands up with me. She doesn't let go of me and intertwines our fingers.
"Do you still feel the same way?" she asks. I don't have time to answer so I pull her in and impulsively kiss her. After about seven seconds I pull away and try to let go of her hand. But she links arms with me. "We'll go together. She'll spare you if I say I was showing you Prim's goat. Alright?" she explains. We go under the fence and walk up to my mother.
"Peeta! Where were you? It's almost time for the reaping!" she yells.
"Sorry, ma'am, it's my fault. I was showing him Prim's goat." Katniss says boldly.
"Well in that case, okay. But, Peeta, we must go!" mother says. I let go of Katniss' hand and let my mother drag me to my room. My father is waiting for me with a blue suit. I change into it and clean my teeth and hair. I then head to the square where the other children twelve to eight-teen stand waiting for their fate. I find Katniss and stand next to her on the big stage. But she doesn't notice me. She is looking off stage at a boy with brown hair and grey eyes. I realize its Gale and quickly say.
"Is that my competition?" she whips around and laughs. By the time we stop it's time for the tributes to be drawn. Effie draws a name out of the girl's bowl and my heart skips a beat when she says who it is.
"Chloe Frank!" says Effie overly enthusiastic. She was 12 and I used to teach her some cake decorating. Effie draws a name and announces it. "Ryan Greenly!" this time it's Katniss's turn. She leans over to me and whispers.
"That's the boy that Prim would invite over to help with Lady." Lady is Prim's goat. Ryan was also a twelve year old. For some reason I felt as if district 12 would yet again not have a victor this year. I look over and Katniss has a hint of sadness on her face, also understanding that the odds for district 12 winning were not in our favor. The ceremony concludes, and with the time that the tributes are saying their goodbyes Katniss and I head off for the train.
We get in the car and Katniss's wrist muscles tighten getting a firm grip on the armrests. I assume it was because of the memories of our last games and getting in this same car driving to meet our death. Effie hums all the way to the train station and Haymitch sighs heavily. I can tell he is annoyed at her humming, which is slightly off key. To block out the noise I focus on my journal filled with sketches. I flip past the page with the song that I wrote after the first games on it, but not before Katniss sees it. "What's that?" she asks.
I hand her the journal. "It's just a song I wrote. It's from one of my favorite memories of the Games. It calmed me down in the arena-the memory." I say looking down at the ground. Katniss picks up the tune and starts singing softly.
I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go,
When all those shadows almost killed your light,
I remember you said "don't leave me here alone",
But all that's dead and gone and past tonight,
Just close your eyes,
The sun is going down,
You'll be alright,
No one can hurt you now,
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe and sound.
She stops and looks at the paper closely. At the bottom a drawing is done of her by me. She smiles and glances up at the trees. It's not until she does this that I know why she is smiling. The picture is her singing and the mockingjays silent picking up her tune. I open my mouth to speak but we arrive at the train station with Effie's tight schedule and we were shooed into our compartments. I sit on the bed and realize I left my journal in the protection of Katniss. I jump off the bed and run to her room. I knock on her door and she opens it. She must have changed once she got here because now she is wearing is a green tank top and the blue jeans provided by the capitol. She smiles at me and takes my hand. With one move I'm sitting in one of the two chairs. She pulls the second one up beside me and sits.
"I like your song. I remember all of that too. It tells the story well." She says. But the expression on her face falls to exhaustion and pain. Tears swell in her eyes. Before the first one makes an appearance on her cheek I pull her off her chair and sit her in my lap. I wrap my arms around her. "I'm scared. I can't afford to go through anything that has to do with the games again." She sobs. I pull her even closer. I want to whisper something in her ear, but I'm afraid I'd start to cry. So we sit there silently until a tear escapes on my face. She wipes it off and rests her head on my chest. We sit until Haymitch barges in as drunk as ever. I make no effort to try and deny what he sees. He looks at us eyes wide.
"What's going on? I've never seen that before!" he yells. I shake my head and he thumps to the ground vomiting. I sigh and get up. Katniss helps me get him into the bath I am drawing. I strip him of his clothes. Katniss winces and goes to lie down. I scrub the vomit off of him and he seems to enjoy the comfort. I leave him to soak and go to tend Katniss. I sit on her bed and she looks at me with a soft smile on her face.
"Are you okay?" I ask. She nods. "There's no need to be scared. We just have to mentor them send them off and the rest of the stay is at the training center's hotel. I promise." She seems comforted by this. We jolt and start rolling out of the station. Haymitch starts coughing and I go into the bathroom. He seems to no longer be drunk.
"Hey! Get me out!" he yells. I help him dry and get dressed. He sits in the chair Katniss and I sat in. I sit back on the bed with Katniss curled up on it. She sits up and looks at Haymitch carefully listening. "Congratulations mentors. You are going to teach the tributes how to be as good as you. Or at least close. So my advice is to think of the worst moment of your experience in the arena. Then think of what you did to get out of the situation and survive. Then you tell them. That's all you need to do. Let Effie and I take care of the rest. Be at every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Oh, I almost forgot. You two have another interview together!" I look at Katniss, but she isn't listening. She's unconscious.