Hey guys, sorry I took so long to update. I've been far busier than I thought I would be! Anyways, this chapter's a little bit longer, so that should help. Enjoy!


If I owned the Hunger Games, Peeta would have married me, not Katniss


My head is spinning.

No, I think, no, no, no. I can't do this.

But I have to. I have to save my little sister. I would never, ever, subject her to this fate. The fate I have brought upon myself.

Katniss is just standing there staring at me, her gray eyes wide and expressive; the rest of her face stony and cold. I know she must be reading everything I am feeling on my face. I've never been very good at hiding emotions. I study her face as well, trying to read her feelings. It's much harder than reading my own, so I allow myself to simply observe her appearance. She's pretty, but a bit childish looking. She's slender, but not the near-see-through of the children in the Seam. Her dress is a bit faded, but a soft green that almost fits her. Prim is left with our mother's hand-me-downs from when she lived in the nicer part of town. They never fit her quite right.

Suddenly a very drunk man sprints onstage, as if he realizes that he was meant to be there a while ago. And he promptly falls off. I catch him before he can land face-first in the audience, but I'm a bit small, and he's rather heavy, and we both end up in a tangled heap on the stage. I stand up and get a good look at the crumpled man next to me. I recognize him, I realize. He's Haymitch Abernathy. Our mentor.

Oh, great. I get sentenced to certain death and get a drunken sod for a mentor. What a perfect day.

Effie stands there, disgusted, until two peacekeepers help Haymitch to his feet. Then, she simply says, "Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the District 12 tributes!"

The peacekeepers release their grip on Haymitch, who staggers quietly offstage, and we are led inside to the Justice Building. It's surprisingly pretty, despite the fact that it appears to be slowly crumbling. I've been inside it once before. After my father died in a mining accident and we were honored, as one of the families of those in the explosion. I had done everything I could to make my mother smile again after. It took time and effort, and even now, years later, there are still days when she reverts to shell-mode. But I can't imagine what would have happened to her without me. What will happen to her once I am gone? I can't let myself think about it, and I soon don't have to, for they are pushing us into an elevator. I have ridden an elevator once before- the same time I was in the Justice Building once before. It is a strange sensation, although not necessarily an unpleasant one. I am pondering the mechanics of the elevator as I hear a strange little whimper from the other corner.

It is Katniss, gripping the rusted railing as though her life depended on it, wincing at every little creak. The poor girl is terrified, and I walk the two steps over to her to comfort her.

"It's okay," I say, "it's just and elevator. It's perfectly safe."

She blinks, and as if to spite me, the elevator stops mid-floor with a particularly loud clang.

Katniss stares me defiantly in the face and spits out, "Perfectly safe?"

I can tell she isn't the first person I would like to be stuck in an elevator. But, seeing as we are stuck together anyway, I take a deep breath and respond, "It should be up and running again soon." I try to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I really don't, though.

We wait there for a long time. I'm pacing the few steps across the elevator allows, and Katniss is curled up in the corner. I hear the ticking of her watch, and count the minutes.

1

2

3

4

5

I reach 10 by the time the elevator lets out a loud crash and a whir and begins to ascend again. Somehow I have found myself seated next to Katniss, my hand brushing hers. I pull away quickly, before she notices.

The peacekeepers are waiting to escort us off to the rooms where we will say our final goodbyes to our parents. They must have taken a different elevator, one that didn't break down. Our arms are grabbed roughly, and we're shoved into separate rooms, just across the hall from one another. I think I hear Katniss banging on her locked door, but that may have just been the blood rushing through my head.

I slump against a wall and take a good look at the room. It has bookshelves up to the ceiling, but they're mostly empty, or full of books that are falling apart. There is a threadbare carpet that was clearly pretty once, and the two chairs are worn to the point of cracking. I perch awkwardly on one of them, afraid it's going to break out from under me, when the door is pushed open and my mother enters with Prim.

I run up and hug them as tightly as possible—more so, because I will probably never see them again. My shoulder feels wet, and I see Prim crying. My mother is foggy-eyed; she has checked back into her own private reality, one in which Dad and I are both still alive and present.

"Momma," I clutch her arm. "Momma, it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine. Madge's family can help you when you need it. But you can't leave Prim alone, alright? I love you so much, Momma. Please help her, for me." A tear snakes down my mother's face as she plants a kiss on my head.

"I love you, too, Peeta. You're a strong, courageous, wonderful boy," she says.

Prim grabs me next, and I kneel to look her in the eyes. They are coated in a thick veil of tears; tears that I know are matched in my own eyes. I am crying almost as hard as my little sister. She clings to me, sobbing silently. Finally, she catches her breath and chokes out, "Peeta, don't go. Don't go, Peeta!"

"Prim, I have no choice. It's the only thing I can do."

She shakes her head, "I can go instead. You're more needed by the district. Everyone likes you."

"And everyone loves you, Prim. You are not going to die for me. I won't allow it."

"I won't either, Peeta," she sees the steely determination on my face and adds quietly, "just try to win."

"I promise."

The Peacekeeper comes in to let my family know that their time to say goodbye is up. It is the last time that I will see them, and I memorize their faces one last time, the silhouettes of their bodies in the doorframe. I imagine them painted in vivid colors—blues and violets, a warm golden hue for their hair. Suddenly, the scene is no longer pure sadness, but there is a spark of hope as well.

Madge enters next. Our goodbye is much quieter. We just sit and hug for the next three minutes, and she slips me the roll of linen. "I think you'll need this," she says, and promises to take care of Prim. And then she's gone. Her face has been added to the portrait of my family. It is a portrait of all of those whom I have lost.

I sit quietly, waiting to be escorted to the train to the Capitol, but I have another visitor. It's Gale, the mayor's son. He's a friend of mine, and seems to understand the artistic way in which my mind works. Most people don't. They think I should remain focused on survival, but Gale and I both see things differently.

"Good luck," he says, and hands me the watch he had been wearing. It is a beautiful thing, with a sturdy strap and considerably shiny back. The interesting part of it was the fact that the watch has no numbers. Its face is dominated by a large golden mockingjay. "Wear this, and remember your district."

I just stare at him, awestruck, before he slips away. His face has been added do my portrait.

I have one final visitor. Mr. Everdeen, the baker, steps into the room.

"I wanted to wish you good luck, and say goodbye. It felt like the right thing to do," he says.

"Thank you," I reply.

"You're a good kid, Peeta. What you did out there was brave. Braver than anything I could ever do." He's a kind, gentle man with smile lines around his eyes. Right now his face is warm, but serious. More serious than I could have imagined. He holds out a bag of cookies. "These are for you. I want you to know that you have the support of the district."

I accept the bag. Cookies. Watches. Linen. I am getting all sorts of gifts today. Mr. Everdeen is escorted out, and I am left with one more face in my picture.

The peacekeepers come in after me, and I am led alongside Katniss in a car to the train station. It is the second time I have been in a car. The first was the same day as the elevator, the day of my father's memorial.

I stare out the window as the district watches us, rushes to say goodbye. Every single one of their faces is added to my picture.

By the time we reach the train, a shiny black monolith above the bleak skyline, the painting is already overcrowded. And we haven't even made it to the Capitol yet.


Yep. A longish one. It was going to be longer, but I'm tire (sorry guys!) and this seemed like a decent ending spot.

Tell me what you guys think (personally, I enjoyed sticking them in an elevator)

so, Review! Review! Review!