A/N: hey there! I'm just wanna thank all my reviewers!
You are wonderful and amazing and defiantly the only reason I wrote this so quickly… virtual chocolate cookies and hugs for all of you!
I wanna thank my B.F.F first since she read this even though she is a Peeta/Katniss (eew! I know, right?)
and now I'm starting a tradition, my first reviewer gets a chapter dedicate to him,so this chapter is for cloud-lover26 your review made me so happy!
It all started with 4 words
'I volunteer'
I know its two words, but, if you say it twice…
My name is Katniss, I'm the girl on fire, I'm the mockingjay, I'm a rebel…
This is my story.
'"Primrose Everdeen" said Effie trinket, I tried to move and yell and cry, but I was frozen, the brown wood stage getting so far from me, like I'm being pulled back, suddenly I see a TV screen, and Prim is there, someone is behind her, I try to worn her but she can't hear me, I watch him throw the spear, it's all so slow, the wind is not blowing, and the spear sticks in my little sister's flesh, he kills her, but when I look down, I see, I'm the one who killed her.
"Katniss Everdeen is the 74th hunger games winner!" says a voice and I look at the dead Prim and see that I killed her.
"You killed me Katniss, it's your fault" she whispers at me, and then I walk home, I see Gale, and my mom, and Hazelle, and even little Posy and Rory, they all walk away from me.
"You killed Prim" Gale accuses me.
"But I didn't mean too" I cry.
"It doesn't matter, you did" my mother said.
"I'm sorry"
"I hate you Katniss! You are mean!" Posy yells at me.
"We all hate you" Gale simply says and I see the entire district is there, yelling at me, throwing stones my direction, even my father is there…'
"No!" I whisper as I sit up and breathe heavily, I look at my mother's bed, Prim is there, she is not dead, it was just a dream, she was not reaped.
But she might be.
Both her and Posy are twelve now, they both have only one entree, no tesserae, Gale and I couldn't allow that to happen…
Gale!
I was supposed to meet him at the woods, he is probably already waiting!
I quickly get dressed, and just when I'm about to leave our old little house I see something on the dining table, it has a note on it, so I open that first.
'Katniss
Here is some cheese for you and Gale
I love you!
Prim'
That's what Prims little-twelve-year-old's hand writing says, I smile at that and look at her.
"Love you too" I whisper at her and run out of the house, I look at the seam, it's old and dusty, just like always, I can picture it with my eyes closed, all the houses looking exactly the same in the light of the rising sun, I turn back and run to the fence, I listen to the fence, and when I don't hear the buzzing, I quickly crawl under it.
I grab my bow and arrow and head towards our rock, it's the perfect place to be since when you are there, you are completely isolated, it's like the capitol can't touch us when we are there, we are free.
I try to walk as quietly as I can, to surprise Gale, who sits on our rock and looks deep in thoughts, which is very quiet, but not quite enough for Gale, I step on a tiny little branch and I can almost feel the smirk on his face.
"Catnip" he says without turning around and I can't hold back a laughter, he called me that when we first met since I spoke so quietly, even Gale, with his super-hearing couldn't hear correctly.
"Gale" I smile at him, but then I remember it's Prim's and Posy's first reaping and the smile on my lips die, I try to quickly paste it back on, even though I know he will never buy it, when he moves to the side to give me more space to sit next to him, I knew I was right.
Dammit.
I don't even bother wearing that fake smile anymore, Gale is the one person I can be true too, I'm not going to lie to him about anything.
"What's wrong?" he closed me in his hug and I immediately felt better, like his arms can protect me from the truth, I wrap my arms around his neck, sinking into his protection even further.
"It's their first reaping" i finally sighs into his shirts collar, I choke back the tears and I hope he doesn't notice.
"catnip, you listen to me" he pulls away from me and I am tossed back into the vicious reality, I have no one to protect me, he looks into my eyes, his eyes are beautiful, grey and amazing, he continues speaking "each of them has only one entry, worry about yourself, they will never get picked, the odds are at their favor" he said, very convincingly I might add, without me intending, I'm starting to smile.
"I guess you are right" I roll my eyes and punch him playfully.
"Hey, guess what I shot" he smiles as he reaches his game bag, I frown in confusion, but when he pulls out a bread with an arrow stuck in it, I start laughing, and he joins me.
"What did you pay for it?" I asked the bread looked so delicious and warm.
"Just a squirrel, the old man was feeling generous today, I guess" he smiled as he took the larger half, but I didn't say anything, it got me thinking about that tiny little note.
"Aren't we all" I said bitterly, and suddenly he stopped smiling
"Catnip..." he sighed and I smiled apologetically, although I still couldn't get my mind of it.
"I'm sorry" i said and then my eyes lit with a smile, as I remembered Prim's cheese, his eyebrows narrowed in confusion, like he always does.
"We have a present from Prim" i explained and handed it to him, I almost laughed at his reaction to the cheese, but I could also understand it.
"thank you Prim, now we will be eating like kings and queens" I don't know what kind of old-world accent he was trying to do, but he failed miserably, we laughed real hard at this and then we started eating, doing imitation of the capitol accent, he is suspiciously good at doing Effie's high pitched weird voice, I mean, he is a man, and he sounds like a girl!
That's weird!
When I noticed our time was done we got out through the hall in the fence, and at the square we said goodbye.
"Bye Gale" I said and he waved at me, I started turning around when he said something.
"Catnip" he smiled "wear something nice" I don't know why, it was kind of surprising, but I shrugged it off and left to my home.
When I reached home I saw Prim wearing my first reaping outfit, she looked so sweet and tiny inside it, like a little ceramic fairy, but without the wings.
"Katniss, your dress is on your bed" my mother says from the kitchen, first I go there and give her the animals we hunted, then I go, the dress is so beautiful, it is soft and blue, spaghetti sleeves, tight around the waist and floating around my legs, with matching shoes, I quickly dress up, I'm not comfortable in dresses usually, but this one felt as if it was made especially for me.
"You look beautiful" Prim tells me when I walk into the room, and my mother smiles at me.
"Thank you" I say self-consciously and blush, I wonder if Gale will like this dress.
Why did I just think that?
Why should Gale notice the dress?
That's nonsense, I'm probably just tired because of the nightmare.
We walk to the reaping and I start to worry again, but this time about myself.
I have 22 entries this year, the odds are not at my favor.
And Gale, he has 54 entries, we both are in a bad situation.
When we get to the square Effie starts with her usual nonsense, I don't even bother listening until she gets to the girl tribute.
'please don't let it be me or Prim, please' I pray in my heart.
My prayers were answered.
It's not me.
It's not Prim.
But it's not good too.
"Posy Hawthorne" I heard Effie's voice say and I looked at Gale's little sisters going upstage, I can't move, I can't think, I have to do something, but what can I do?
"No" I hear Gale yelling, shoving everyone out of his way, I try to catch his eyes, but he just grabs her, not letting her move.
"Let me go, Gale" I hear her saying, the choked tears are very obvious, he tells her something and I reach a decision.
"I volunteer" I step up and say in the most confident voice I could manage, trying to hide my sudden urge to cry, my beating heart and my frightened feeling.
I feel like the entire world around me is on a very low volume on TV, and also in slow motion, everyone looks at me as I come upstage, I can distantly hear Prim yelling from behind and Gale murmuring a thank you, while holding both our sister's away, I just nod, I can hear the crowd whispering, but I just feel, disconnected, like it's happening in some other world.
"What's your name?" Effie asked me and I took a deep breathe.
"Katniss Everdeen" I say, as proudly as I can, I look at the crowd and I see the baker's son crying, what his name? Peeta?
"And to our boy tribute" Effie says, she goes to the glass ball and take the note.
"Rory Hawthorne! Two hawthorns a day…" Effie started to talk capitol nonsense but I stopped listening, I felt the blood draining from my face as I saw Rory coming up on stage, the crowd is shocked, I look at Gale, he looks stone faces, I try to catch his look, to promise him I'll bring Rory home, but he is looking at his brother, and his brother is looking on him, and suddenly it hit's me, he is going to volunteer for him, he sprinted forward and said the two words I was both afraid and relieved to hear.
"I volunteer" Effie looked at him with a fake smile, he just glares at her as he pushes a shouting Rory down the stairs, to his crying mother.
"You must be these two's brother" she said and Gale nods, I can see the tear he can't hide, choked down in his throat, I can see behind his mask how afraid he is, and it's unbearable for me, he was always the braver one.
"What's your name?" she asks, surprised by the big amount of volunteers today.
"Gale, Gale Hawthorne" he said in a stone face and a hard voice.
"Gale" I can't manage not to let his name escape my throat, he looks at me and I understand, we both stand proud and brave, I know one of us is not going to return.
A/N: sorry for writing the same thing on different pov, just saying, it's only this specific part- the reaping, that it was important to me, mostly it will be in gale pov, and nothing that's returning like this two time reaping!
It was only important to me for reaping days.
