Disclaimer:I do not own the Hunger Games. I only own my few original characters and ideas. All else belongs to Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Trilogy.

Chapter 1

(Madge POV)

I pull a lace trimmed handkerchief from my pocket and blot the beads of sweat from my face. Between the heat from the sun and building anxiety of reaping day, I'm practically melting into a puddle right here in the town square. I hate this. Hate how the Capitol toys with us like this every year. The fear and uncertainty in the air is so thick it's palpable. It's like this every year. Every single year.

I wring my hands together and try to listen to Effie Trinket giving her welcome speech. Ha, a welcome speech. How's that for a cherry on top of all the cruelty that is Reaping Day. Every year, same enthusiastic Effie. Same ridiculous speech. Complete with a video about the dangers of Capitol opposition. And every year they herd all of us here like cattle and force it upon us while we wait to see if the odds are in fact in our favor this reaping year.

I stiffen a little as Effie's hand swishes around in the giant glass bowl. Her fingers sifting through the hundreds of slips of paper. Not mine. Please not mine. I silently pray to myself. It's the same prayer every girl here is silently praying at this very moment. Odds are it won't be mine. I don't have very many slips in there. But even one slip is enough to fill my stomach with anxiety.

"Primrose Everdeen"

I cringe. My breath catches in my throat. That wasn't my name so I should be relieved but I'm not. Not sweet Prim. Not her. She's too young. Too innocent. She'll never survive the games. My thoughts are swirling as I try to make sense of why this poor girl should have to be reaped and then suddenly there's commotion. Shouting. Peacekeepers rushing towards someone. Who? I can't see through the crowd. As I crane my neck to see, I hear a voice shout out.

"I volunteer! I volunteer!"

It's Katniss. Prim's sister. And she just did the unthinkable. She just took Prim's place. That never happens. No one expected it. It's allowed. The Capitol allows for volunteers. But it just never happens. Not here, not in District 12.

I watch in horror as she slowly climbs the steps up to the stage. Effie cackles on about how exciting it is to get a volunteer but I tune her out. All I can do is watch and try to hold it together. Katniss was my friend. Well, sort of my friend. She's so protective of her little sister that in a way I suppose it isn't a surprise that she's volunteered. What else would she do?

As the commotion dies down I'm drawn back to attention as Effie fishes another slip out of the bowl. And even though it's a boy's name this time, my stomach still flip flops in the instant before she reads the name into the microphone.

"Peeta Mellark."

Again my heart sinks and I cringe. Not kindhearted Peeta. He's so gentle and quiet. I don't know him well but I do know him. And I know that he too will never survive the games. He doesn't strike me as a fighter.

The rest of the Reaping ceremony blurs passed as I try to think of what I want my last words with Katniss to be. After the ceremony, they always have a brief hour of visitation for friends and family to say goodbye to the tributes. I'll go and talk to her. I have too. But what do I say? Do I wish her luck? Do I hug her? And how will she be? What could she possibly be feeling right now?

As soon as we're dismissed, I quickly make my way to the third floor of the Justice Building where they hold the tribute's visitations. Right away, without asking, I can tell which line is forming for Peeta and which is for Katniss. Peeta's from town and is very well liked and so lots of friends are already waiting outside his door. Katniss, well, she's a different story. While most everyone knows of her, very few actually know her. Her only family is her mother and her little sister Prim. As for friends, well, there's just Gale Hawthorne. He's her best friend. I don't see him though. Surely he'll come and say goodbye, right?

I nod at the peacekeeper stationed outside her door and he opens it, allowing me entry. I go in and the door quickly shuts behind me with a thud.

"Katniss?" I timidly call out. She's here. Standing over at the window, facing out.

"You didn't have to come." She mumbles.

"I wanted to. I needed to tell you how brave you are." I explain. I still have no clue what to say to her right now but brave seems like a good thing to say.

"Brave?" She echos as she turns and looks at me.

"Yes. You did a very admirable and brave thing today." I say again.

She laughs. A delirious kind of laugh. Perhaps an exasperated one. "I certainly feel anything but brave." She admits.

"I want you to take this with you. As your token." I tell her as I pull my pin from my dress. It's a gold mockingjay pin that once belonged to my Aunt. I doubt Katniss owns any sort of valuable that could be a token she could bring into the arena with her. Maybe giving her mine will allow her some sort of comfort.

"Madge, I can't take that." She says shaking her head.

"It'll help remind you of home." I tell her, ignoring her protest as I reach over and pin it to the thin, pale blue fabric of her dress. I don't know what else to say and I don't want to monopolize all her time so I quickly lean over and embrace her in a light hug. Normally, I'd never hug her but in this moment, it just felt right. And then I leave before either of us can speak another word. Tears sting hot in the corners of my eyes as I hurry from the room. I don't look back. I can't let myself do that, it would hurt too much.

I see that Katniss now has a small line waiting. Mrs. Everdeen and Prim. The Hawthorne family, minus Gale. I nod in their direction and fight to hold back my tears as I hurry passed them. I wonder where Gale is? He's her closest friend. He can't let her leave without saying goodbye. He just can't do that to her. I glance up at the clock that hangs above the marble staircase. There's still time. He could still make it.

I look over at Peeta's line. It's still long. Looks as if he's in with his family now. It's terrible to imagine what they all must be feeling right now. I decide not to wait in Peeta's line since he still has so many waiting and since time is so limited as it is. He and I weren't close, just town acquaintances. The proper thing to do would be to allow his actual friends the time they need with him.

As I make my way down the staircase I pass Gale. Our eyes meet but only for a moment. We don't speak but that isn't unexpected. He and I aren't friendly with one another. I've never really understood what his reasons were, but he's always seemed annoyed by my presence. On the few occasions he has spoken to me, it was for business transactions only. He and Katniss, they both helped provide for their families by trading and selling things they hunted or collected out in the woods beyond the district fence. Occasionally, that would include selling things to my family at my backdoor. Aside from that, he's only ever made a handful of chiding remarks which I chose to ignore. I watch as he makes his way up to the visitation and then loose sight of him. At least he came to say goodbye to her, I think to myself.

Out of the Justice Building, I make my way towards home. My father, being the Mayor, our house is situated up on a hill, overlooking the town square. It's the largest, most elaborate home in all the district. It's also the loneliest, though I can't imagine many others view it that way. No, I think that's mostly just my opinion. With my father's responsibilities, he's never around. I usually only see him in passing or at events. My mother, well, she's there but she's very ill and has been bedridden most all of my life. Most days, she's so ill that I can't even go into her room and see her. On her really good days, which are far and few between, I sit in a chair by her bedside while she rests. The only others in my house are employees. A housekeeper, Glennis, who handles the cleaning and the cooking as well as a groundskeeper, Charlie, who maintains the property and gardens. Both of them are perfectly kind to me but they don't make up for the family I often wish I had.

The other regular visitors in our house are citizens of the Capitol, here on business or for events such as this afternoon's reaping. And given the choice, I'd much prefer to be lonely than have any of them as company. There awful. Every one of them, just plain awful. But, I never have the choice. And when they're here, I must always be a shining example of a District 12 citizen. Always. That means pretending I care about the Capitol. Acting as if I'm interested in what these visitors have to say or want to do. I dread each and every visit. I pause on the path that leads up to my house. I honestly can't handle the thought of being around any Capitol people right now. And they're likely watching other reapings on the viewing box in our front parlor which I can't deal with at the moment. Not when people I care about are preparing to head into an arena where they'll be forced to fight for their very lives. But where else can I disappear to?

I spin on my heel and head back towards town. Shopping is all I can think of. I don't feel like shopping but it at least gives me an excuse to be out of the house. If anyone questions where I've been, I can always say something stupid like I wanted a new outfit to celebrate our districts very first volunteer. It's absurd that anyone would ever do that but Capitol people tend to be very materialistic so I'm certain they'd believe it.

I make my way over to the small row of shops in town. 12 isn't a large district and and it most certainly isn't a wealthy one. We only have the minimums here. One shoe store. One clothing store. One jewelry store. One bakery. One grocery store. All of them small with very little selection. Being a district of little wealth, stores here struggle to stay open as most people cannot afford much beyond necessities. I however, am an exception. I have plenty of money at my disposal. And that constantly leaves me racked with guilt. It seems so unfair that I should have excess when so many in our district have nothing. Especially when I think about how little those who live in the Seam have.

I enter the clothing store and the bell on the door jingles, announcing my entry. Alice appears from the back of the shop. She's in my grade in school though I wouldn't consider her a friend. Just another town acquaintance. Her family owns the clothing shop and she often works the afternoons.

"Hello Madge, what can I help you find today?" She asks as she approaches me.

I notice her eyes are a little red, as if she's been crying. Perhaps over Peeta. I know all the shop owners are close with each other so it's likely they were friends. I don't feel as if I know her well enough to ask or mention it though so instead I just plaster on a smile. "Just browsing. Have you gotten anything new in since I was here last?" I ask as I run my fingers over the fabric of a dress.

"These dresses came yesterday. The blue would be pretty for you." She answers as she walks over to a rack and holds up a blue floral sundress.

I browse the racks, making small talk with Alice as I shop. Not truly being in a mood to shop, I don't really see anything I want to buy. I don't want to go home empty handed though, just in case my absence was noticed so I end up buying a few new dresses. Even though I didn't really want or need the dresses, it makes me feel good to purchase them since I know it helps keep the shop open if they're making money.

Outside, I see the sun is just beginning to set. That means I probably need to get home for dinner. Anytime the Capitol guests are here, we have fancy dinners in their honor, at which, my presence is required, not optional.

I sigh and begin heading home. I figure if I can slip in the back entrance and use the service stairs, I can slip into my room unnoticed and buy myself a little more alone time before dinner. And I'm right, I slip in completely unbeknownst to any of the guests I hear laughing and making a ruckus in the front of the house.

Alone in the privacy of my room, I lie down on my bed and close my eyes. Don't go crying just yet Madge. No excuse in the world is going to make up for red eyes. And red eyes scream of rebellion. Nope, I can't cry yet. Right now I have to be pretty and pleasing and nothing short of being a Capitol supporter.

I let out yet another sigh and sulk over to my closet. May as well make myself look presentable. I change into a fresh dress and reapply all the makeup I sweated off earlier and run a brush through my hair. A sprits of perfume and I suppose I'm all set. One deep breath and I head back downstairs, this time using the phony smile I've been playing all my life.

"There she is! We were wondering where you'd disappeared to after the ceremony!" An annoying Capitol woman with orange colored hair muses loudly as I enter the dining room.

"Oh I didn't go far. Just needed to fix myself up a bit is all." I reply as I take my seat at the table.

"Well, I'm just dying to know what you think about all the excitement today." She continues as she takes the seat next to me.

"Excitement?" I ask, not sure I understand.

"Your very first volunteer of course! Don't you find it thrilling?"

Of course that's what she meant! I should've know that without asking. I'm slipping with my pretending, I've got to do better. "Oh that? Yes of course. Who would've ever expected that to happen?" I answer in mock wonderment.

"It'll be the talk of the whole games. Everyone will be watching to see how this girl does! I must say though, she's terribly frail looking. I hope she doesn't disappoint us all being all talk and no game."

"Oh I think she might surprise you. She may be thin but I think her spirit's pretty tough." I comment as I push my food around my plate.

"Do you know her?" Another Capitol woman asks leaning in, suddenly joining our conversation.

I'm not sure which serves me better. For me to know her or not know her. I should've thought about this already. Simple. Go with a simple answer. "She's the same grade as me in school." I tell them, hoping that will be satisfying enough for their curiosity. It isn't that I don't want to admit friendship with her, I just really don't want to have to answer questions about her. If they find out we were sort of friends, in any capacity, they'll latch onto it and I'll have to spend the rest of the evening answering question after question about her. And I don't think I can handle that.

Luckily, that is enough to satisfy them for now. I try to keep my mouth full of food through the rest of the dinner, talking only when absolutely necessary. Mostly I just chew and nod a lot. After what feels like a lifetime, finally they head to the parlor for after dinner drinks and I can excuse myself to bed.

Upstairs in my room, I peel off the itchy cocktail dress and slip into my nightgown. Out on my balcony, I sit in my rocking chair and pull my knees up to my chest as I stare out over the quiet of the town. The stage is still up, as is the viewing screen. It's only been a few hours but already, it feels like the reaping was a lifetime ago. Katniss is on the train now, headed straight for the Capitol. I wonder what they'll do to her in the Capitol. Every year they makeover the tributes before presenting them to all the districts. She'll hate that. Being waxed and bleached. Picked at and painted up. I almost laugh to myself thinking about it. Katniss never was a girly girl.

I sit out there, alone with my thoughts for hours until I finally feel exhausted enough to sleep. As I finally get up to go in and go to bed, my eyes catch sight of something I hadn't noticed earlier. I move closer to the railing of the balcony and squint trying to make it come into focus. And when it does, I'm a little shocked. Over on the steps of the stage, sits Gale Hawthorne. He's just sitting there. All alone, staring off into nowhere. My heart aches a little for him, knowing he must really be hurting. He must be missing her terribly already if he's sitting there like that. He isn't one to linger around town. It's known to everyone how he and Katniss were best friends. Some people even assumed there was more than friendship there. Considered them to be a couple. That part wasn't true though. While most girls, admittedly myself included, find Gale to be incredibly attractive, I think Katniss always saw him as the older brother type. She really never seemed to talk about romance at all but she had voiced annoyance at all the speculating about her relationship with Gale. And then there were all the rumors about Gale having lots of girlfriends. Lots of girls had stories about making out with him or more. If Katniss really was his girlfriend, she'd never stand for that. She'd never be with a guy who was with a different girl every night. She just wouldn't.

I wonder how he's going to handle losing her? And how he'll handle having to watch it out on the viewing screen in front of everyone. If I was as close to her as he is, I'm not sure I'd be able to watch without falling completely apart.

Suddenly, he stands and looks right towards my house. I step back into the shadows. Had he seen me staring at him? Did he know I was watching? I slip back inside my room and pray that he didn't. It's late and dark, surely he didn't.