"She's dead, Rory."
That's when my whole world falls apart.
We meet in the meadow. I am already here when she comes. Her hair, bright as sunshine, is in a sophisticated braid, similar to that of her sister's.
Her face breaks into a grin when she sees me, and I can't help but smile in return.
Ever since Katniss went into the Games, Prim and I have met up here every day after school. After just a few days of secret meetings, she had grown on me. After two weeks, I couldn't bear the thought of being without her. And now, I am beginning to think that I am falling in love with her.
Perhaps you think that with her being barely thirteen, and me just over fourteen, we do not know what love is. Perhaps you think us too young to understand what love's true meaning is, or what it feels like to be in love. But whenever I see Prim, my heart almost bursts with happiness. I'd do anything she asked of me. If that isn't love, then what is?
She sits next to me, twirling a stray lock of hair around her finger. I watch, mesmerized.
I truly believe that Prim is an angel. Her perfect, innocent look; her pure, kind soul; her kindred spirit makes me wonder what she ever did to deserve such a life. A Seam life.
She speaks animatedly to me, but I barely pay any attention. I am too busy watching her perfect, plump lips move as she talks.
And I can't help myself when I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me. She doesn't resist me, but snuggles closer.
And we sit like this for ages. Time seems to stop altogether when I am with her. Nothing matters but her. She is all I care for.
Almost a year passes. Prim and I have been secretly seeing each other for quite awhile now, about six months I believe?
Our meetings in the Meadow continue. We kiss for a long time. It's never enough for either of us, and we both leave filled with even more longing than we contained when we first arrived.
I now have no doubt. I am in love with Primrose Everdeen. Everything she does enchants me. She is heavenly. I love everything about her.
We are in the Meadow when District 12 is bombed. I pull her along, beyond the District 12 fence. Tears drip down her cheeks as she watches her home be destroyed. I kiss away the tears, cradling her and playing with her hair, telling her that everything will be okay. I know that it's not true, that nothing will be okay, but I'm so desperate that I'll say anything to help her.
I stay with her until Gale and Mrs. Everdeen come. Prim gives me a pained look as she stumbles away with her mother. Gale just tugs me away with him, and with each step I take away from Prim, I feel my heart constrict.
Once in District 13, Prim and I barely see each other. We meet secretly in closets for a quick kiss or soothing word, but nothing more. It kills me inside not to see her, and I know it takes a toll on her too. She looks older, more sallow. I'm sure my appearance is similar.
After Gale and Katniss go off to war, Prim and I spend more time together. We curl up, watching the television together, desperately searching for any news of our siblings, any progress in the war.
Prim and I are now tied together, not only with a desperate need for each other, but for our families too.
And before I know it, Prim has been assigned to play medic to the soldiers. She tells me that District 13 is shipping her off to the Capitol.
Before she leaves, she comes to see me. Tears fill her eyes, and mine as well. I hug her, kissing her lips desperately.
"I love you, Rory," she tells me between kisses. I smile against her lips.
"I love you too, Prim."
Our tears mix together, slipping down our faces.
Far too soon, she tells me her plane is due to leave.
I nod and tell her how much I love her. "Come back to me, Prim."
She smiles through her tears. "Of course. I love you."
And then she is gone. I curl up in a corner, releasing all of my pent-up emotions through my sobs.
'She will come back,' I remind myself. 'She promised.'
Falling. The only sensation I feel is falling.
I collapse to the ground, unable to move. To speak. To feel.
My Prim is gone.
My Prim, my everything.
I try to tell myself that Gale is lying, that it's not true, but I know in my heart it is.
I go into a manic rage, throwing things and screaming. I want to calm down, but I cannot stop. Gale watches silently, and when I am done, he sits next to me and hugs me.
"It's gonna be okay, Rory," he tells me.
But it's not. It will never be okay, because Prim broke her promise. She's never coming back to me.
She'll never come back.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Oh my gosh, I am literally sobbing. I SHIP IT SO HARD, OKAY?
SHOUTOUT TO MAH BESTIE, CAPPEDPEN.
Primrose Everdeen - Willow Shields.
Rory Hawthorne - Colin Ford.