ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO SUZANNE COLLINS. If you`re kind of confused of what this story is about then read Someone Unexpected first because this is the sequel to that story, other than that enjoy! (:
"You`re leaving already?" I ask my dad and he turns around to look at me.
"Well, yeah, you know I need to work sweetie. I need to make the money to keep us alive."
I go over to him and wrap myself around his leg, "please don`t go dad."
He laughs and pats my head, "I have to go Katniss, but don`t worry I`ll bring you some candy when I get back home."
"Promise you won`t be late?" I stick my pinky out and my dad does the same.
"I promise," he wraps his pinky around mines and kisses my forehead.
I let go of his leg and he leaves. I stay at the front of the door and wait for him to get back. I don`t leave but I do fall asleep on the floor and wait.
When I wake up the house is full of people and they`re all crying. I am no longer in front of the door waiting for my dad but instead I`m on a couch and my mother is next to me crying like I`ve never seen her before. I sit up and ask my mom what`s happening.
"Oh Katniss," she wipes some tears with a tissue and blows her nose, "your father…he`s…he`s…dead. He was killed by and explosion in the mines."
At first I cry but then I begin to scream because I know he`s never coming back. I want to go back in time somehow and save my dad from the explosion but I know I can`t which makes me feel helpless. Everyone in the house is looking at me but I ignore them. I go outside into the night and into the woods where I can be by myself. I don`t want to see or talk to anyone and I wrap my arms around myself but something grabs my attention. Fire. The trees in the woods are falling down and the fire`s getting bigger and eating up more trees. I run to get back home but the fence I climb to take me over to the woods is now charged with electricity. I look back at the fire and begin to cough. The fire`s getting closer to me but once I look back again the fire has surrounded me and I can`t escape.
My eyes flutter open and I am breathing heavily. Sweat is drenched on my forehead and I wipe it off with the back of my hand. I had a horrible nightmare of my father`s death but was awoken by someone knocking on the door. I immediately get off the bed and head down stairs to see who it is. I carefully open the door and almost gasp at who`s standing there. It was President Snow. Why is he here? What does he want? Am I in trouble? All these questions fly through my mind quickly but I try to look as if President Snow coming to my house wasn`t a big deal.
I noticed President Snow came alone and had no security guards or anything guarding him, which was peculiar because he was in fact the president. "Is something wrong?"
President Snow just walks in without me inviting him to come inside and takes off his coat. "It seems that we have a slight problem." He places his coat in the back of a chair which angers me because this wasn`t his home.
"What problem?" I say a little too harsh.
President Snow shakes his head and shrugs, "A problem having to do with The Hunger Games."
My palms begin to sweat because I know where this was heading. Before Gale and me won The 74th Annual Hunger Games we refused to kill each other when we were the last two tributes left because it was just the wrong thing to do. Even though we were forced to kill each other we still refused to do so until they announced that we were the two winners of The 74th Annual Hunger Games (which was a very big deal because that`s never happened before). Now Gale and me were living with our families in the Victor`s Village using the money they`d given us when we won The Hunger Games to keep us alive. Of course we were in trouble. There was only supposed to be one winner for The Hunger Games and there were two, which I know angered President Snow a lot.
I take a chair and sit down and President Snow does the same. "I don`t like what you did in The Hunger Games, Miss Everdeen," he begins, "not one bit."
"Don`t call me Miss Everdeen," I say in such a low voice but President Snow ignores what I said.
"You see, there is only supposed to be one winner not two, just like always, and I`m not sure what made you think you can change things."
"I really don`t see what`s the big deal." President Snow wets his puffy red lips and opens his mouth to say something but someone opens the door. Who could it be now?
It was Gale and he looked like he`d come from the woods. He smiled at me, "Hey Catnip guess what I just-"
Gale is stopped in mid sentence when he realizes President Snow is sitting across from me, his back to Gale. President Snow turns to look at him and gives him a fake smile. "Oh, just the person we were missing."
Gale looks between President Snow and me with a question on his face but he closes the door, goes over to us and pulls out a chair to sit next to me.
"Why are you here?" I can`t tell if that question was meant to be taken rudely or not.
"I am here to inform the two of you that I am not amused with your little act," President Snow begins.
"What act?" Gale asks.
"In The Hunger Games. Remember? You two had to pretend to love each other-"
"It wasn`t pretend," Gale interrupts.
"Call it whatever you want but I know what you two did was just a way for both of you to win The Hunger Games which is not acceptable."
"Well, no one stopped us," I say.
"Yes…that was a mistake, and a huge one that was because I would`ve killed you if I would`ve been able to."
That was it. I stood up from my chair to strangle him or harm him in any way but Gale who grabbed me before I could lay a finger on President Snow stopped me. "Let go of me!" I struggled to escape Gale`s grip on me and President Snow laughed.
"You can`t harm me. Lay a finger on me and you`ll see what`ll happen next."
Finally I calm down and Gale lets go of me. If Gale weren`t here to stop me I would`ve killed this man but instead I sit down.
"Why is it that four months after we`ve won The Hunger Game you tell us this?"
"Being a president and all, I hardly have time to visit many people but now that I`ve got some spare time to come here I can discuss this."
"Well, ok, now that you`ve told us this what else do you want from us?" I say through clenched teeth.
"Miss. Everdeen, do you realize what you did in the arena shows an act of rebellion?" I arched an eyebrow. How does not wanting to kill someone you love an act of rebellion?
"An act of rebellion is serious. It shows that you are going against the Capitol and if you`re going against the Capitol then you are risking to be hanged."
"Hanged?" I place a hand on my neck and rub it. Hanged? I myself didn`t even understand how was doing this a rebellion in the first place.
"Yes, hanged, publicly so that everyone can see that this is no joke and won`t do it as well." President Snow goes on, "In order to avoid more of these problems I want the two of you to stop showing any kind of rebellion and continue on with the act so that no one will suspect what you two are trying to pull off."
"It`s not an act," I say, "and we`re not trying to pull off anything."
"One chance," President Snow says, "I`ll give the two of you only one chance to make things right and if you don`t I`ll kill the people you most love." A threat. President Snow was threatening us…could he even do that?
President Snow stands up, takes his coat and leaves. Once he`s left I take the coffee table in my house and throw it against the wall. It breaks but I don`t stop there. I grab a vase but before I can throw it against the wall Gale grabs my wrist and takes the vase away from me. I scream and cry at the same time and Gale pulls me into a hug. I cry in his shoulder and he rubs my back. "It`ll be okay…don`t worry," he keeps on whispering that in my ear but I still keep on crying. It was too much. I had too much pressure on me and now President Snow`s here threatening to kill the people I love if I mess things up.
Gale pulls away from the hug and tips my chin up, "let`s just forget any of this ever happened and go swimming in the lake, okay?"
I nod and Gale wipes some of my tears away. He kisses me, "you look so much more prettier when you`re not crying," I smile at him but President Snow`s words keep echoing in my head. One chance.
I only had one chance.
First chapters are boring but it`ll get good! Just keep on reading & review!