AU in which Katniss and Haymitch are the same age and both get picked for the 50th Hunger games.
Come on take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Choose your last words,
This is the last time
Cause you and I
We were born to die
Born to die
Haymitch and I trudge through the grass, it's bright unnatural green reminding me of candy in the baker's shop, or maybe frosting on a cake. We gave up running a few hours ago, and now we walk, with no particular destination, in silence. We hadn't planned in this way, we'd spent most the time at the training center doing our own thing, I with my bows and arrows, him with his knives. We met when grabbing packs on the outskirts of the cornucopia gifts, most of the careers were too busy fighting at the heart of it all to notice us. We addressed each other warily, but in a split second with a nod of my head, we decided to trust each other. Even so, I always made sure if was behind him. I do not want a knife in my back.
We finally stop when the sun starts to set. The canons from the bloodbath still haven't gone off. Is it possible that it's still going on? It's plausible, with double the tributes. I haven't seen the other tributes from our district, and I wonder if they made it. They're both merchant kids, babied compared to me and Haymitch, and not that smart either. Haymitch on the other hand has proven to be smart, fast, and cunning. I wonder if he views me as a tag along or an actual ally.
The cannons going off brings me out of my thoughts. Haymitch is looking at me with this amused smirk on his face, and I realize I had been staring at him. I quickly turn away, feeling my cheeks grow hot under his gaze. He's quite attractive, all things considered. His curly black seam hair and gray eyes give an air of mystery that I have a hard time placing. He's made me so flustered I almost lose track of the canons. 18. Haymitch looks slightly pleased, while I just feel sick to my stomach. I busy myself with my pack for a while before haymitch speaks to me for the first time today. Maybe in my life.
"So, what's your name?" He asks, a little lazily, and a bit arrogantly too. I know his name, he's known for his looks in the school, plus I've had a few classes with him. We're the same year, even. I roll my eyes. Of course he doesn't know me. I keep to myself, he's bright, funny, and popular. He looks at me expectantly, and I sigh.
"Katniss. And you?" I might as well feign the same level of indifference. I didn't even notice him that much anyhow, just his looks. Any girl would do that.
"Haymitch." He obliges, giving that smirk of his again. I nod, and return to my pack. It's pretty decent, with enough food to last a few days, a filled water bottle, and purifying chemicals, plus a long blade which lies in the middle ground between knife and sword. Haymitch, on the other hand, made out with 5 knives, and a small bag of nuts and fruit, and an empty water bottle, but twice as many purifying chemicals as I.
"Looks as though the odds are in your favor." I comment, and haymitch only raises his eyebrows before responding.
"Our favor." His eyes meet mine, and it's my turn to look intrigued. "If you want." I'm surprised he's suggesting it, but it does make sense. Split the supplies, and we have reason not to turn on each other. Somewhat.
I nod in acceptance.
I have second watch. The sun is tingeing the horizon orange and pink, and dark circles lie beneath Haymitch's eyes. He sleeps soundly. I don't know how. I kept on waking up during the night, always convinced someone was going to attack me in my slumber. Even though I thrashed around a bit, Haymitch didn't notice, or at least pretended not to.
I keep on finding myself looking down at him. We're set up under a rock alcave, which protects us from attacks from behind. One of us sleeps behind, and the other keeps look out in the front. The nights aren't freezing, and therefore tolerable. However it makes it ideal for tribute hunting. We're constantly on the move. We haven't run into anybody yet, no close calls to speak of.
This will change soon. The game keepers will manufacture something to push us together, and force a fight.
Or maybe not. There's still a lot of tributes, but there also seems to be a steady flow of blood. 20 of us remain. 18 are my enemy. 19 sooner or later...I hope it doesn't come to that. I don't want it to come down to me and Haymitch.
Haymitch's eyelids snap open, and our eyes meet. I quickly tear mine away, and Haymitch clears his throat. Again my cheeks burn under his gaze.
"You aren't doing a very good job of keeping watch if all you do is stare at me." He laughs, and I can feel my neck begin to burn too.
"Uh, Sorry." I stutter out, and then I pretend there's something really interesting in the forest. Haymitch sits up next to me, closer than usual. My heart skips a beat.
We're forced into confrontation when we come to the realization everything in the arena is poisonous. I recognized a few berries from 12 (all debilitating or deadly), and we decided that we should be wary of all else in the arena. It became apparent this is the correct approach when we witnessed a tribute eat some animal she killed. Soon after, she began choking and foaming at the mouth, before falling to the ground. A canon followed soon after. The only thing we gained from her pack was another knife.
So far, I haven't caught sight of my signature weapon. I think of a career gripping it, hopefully inexpertly, and I feel like kicking myself. I should have looked for one. Of course, Haymitch is skilled with knives, but my accuracy is pale compared to his. He can take out an animal in one fell throw. I have to throw several knives to take down one of the small mutts.
Due to my ineptness, and the fact that everything here had the potential to be poison, we decided to raid the careers.
We stalk the edge of the clearing, watching the careers. They're feasting on all these delectable foods that we'd never even see at home. What irony.
The careers eventually finish, and head in the opposite direction of us. There's 8 of them. There's 8 of the others, including me and Haymitch. I get dizzy when I think about it. Victory is close. But I'm still with Haymitch this late in the game. Goodbye will be awkward, and I may have to face him later…
I don't want to think about it. Instead I watch as the careers retreat into the forest at the base of the mountain. I wait a few minutes after I can't see them for good measure, and then I turn to Haymitch. Was he looking at me?
Haymitch smirks. I nod. We break into the clearing. They left their beefiest guy with a sword, and he's facing away from us. My tread's light and inaudible from years of hunting, and Haymitch is lithe and fast. Haymitch's knife goes whistling through the air and makes contact between the guy's shoulder blades. He falls, and I can hear a gurgled scream muffled by the grass. His shirt quickly gets soaked by blood, sending a wave of nausea over me. I turn my attention to the supplies.
We grab enough to last us a week, if we're conservative, and then book it out. It isn't until we're well into the forest when we stop. That's when the reality of what we just did hits us. We did it. We killed a tribute, but we got supplies. We did exactly what the Capitol wanted.
Still, I feel euphoric. I feel like I have a chance.
That's when I kiss Haymitch. He doesn't stop me.
We had to talk about it some time. There is no right time, however after we've eaten is when Haymitch speaks. I want to ignore it.
"What was that?" We've returned to our alcove. He's looking to the horizon, and I'm fiddling with a chicken bone in my hands.
"I don't know. I just… got caught up in the moment." I mumbled. "Sorry."
"It's okay." He doesn't hesitate. I wonder if this is a deal breaker, though. This has passed a whole other level of boundaries. I don't think I recall there ever being a tribute romance. Sure sex (and rape has been rumored, but never televised), but never just a simple kiss. Maybe they just don't show it. It doesn't make for a good show. We're supposed to be killing each other.
"I've never kissed anyone before that." I don't know why I blurt it out, but I do. I immediately blush. In my head, I was trying to justify it, but it just sounded awkward coming out. Luckily, Haymitch laughs.
"I could tell." He glances my way, and I bring myself to look at him. "No offense or anything. It wasn't bad! Just...sloppy." He teases, and my cheeks flush.
Every time Haymitch looks my way, my heart threatens to beat right out of my chest. I'm good at keeping a cool face though. I'm getting better at controlling my blushing, too.
This is getting out of control. No matter how much I want to ignore it, I have feelings for him. It's exactly what I don't need. It's unheard of.
I'm putting and end to it, as soon as I can.
A canon pulls me out of my thoughts. Haymitch's eyes snap to meet mine, and I frown. 10 of us left. Our alliance is getting dangerous. I don't want it to come down to the two of us. I really don't. The realization comes that this is the best time to leave. I can put my feelings behind me, and hope to win. If I don't, maybe Haymitch will. District 12 needs a victor. We haven't had one in a while.
Before I can open my mouth, Haymitch speaks my thoughts.
"We should split up." He states, and I'm about to agree when he speaks again. "But…"
"But?" I ask, incredulous. Why was he stalling? This needed to be done, and we both knew it.
"How about one last kiss. A better one. One you can remember me by." He winks, and my eyes widen. Is he serious?
"I...uh...n-no." I manage to get out. I need a clean break from this. So it doesn't haunt me until the end of my days. He looks disappointed. "I mean. I would like to, in any other circumstance, but…" Now it's my turn to trail off.
"It's not hurting anybody." He laughs. "I mean, come on. It's not like we have anything to lose. We might as well make the most of our time in here."
I guess my resolve wasn't as strong as I thought it was, because it sounds appealing. He isn't wrong. There's nothing to lose. What if I die? Would I want to die without...this experience?
Short answer is no. Long answer is far more complicated.
I walk up to Haymitch, and he gently lifts my face up to his, and gives me the most tender kiss I could imagine. We pull away, and look at eachother for a moment. Then we're kissing again, harder, angrier, and with an intensity I've never known myself capable of.
When we pull away, I give him a small smile, then turn to leave. I want to say something, like goodbye, but it doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem like there's anything right to say. No knife comes flying at my back.
I make it about 200 feet when I trip. It happens so fast I have no way to process it. One moment I was walking, the next I'm yanked into the air by a net set up by another tribute. How I missed it, I have no idea. I thought I was smarter than that.
Reality starts to set in. I'm stuck in a trap. A trap set by another tribute. This is where the hunger games ends for me.
No.
I let out a shrill scream. I catch a glimpse of a tribute I don't recognize heading towards me through the net. I scream louder, thrash, try to swing the trap, but it's an expertly made net. Probably District 4. Which meant a Career.
The tribute jabs his hand through the net with a knife, and though I try to avoid it, I can't.
There is a searing pain from my stomach, my vision blurs, and I gasp. I barely process the district 4 tribute falling to the ground. I figure cuts the net, and I slam into the ground.
"Shit." He exclaims, and I recognize the voice. Haymitch.
All I can taste is blood, All I can hear is a loud ringing. All I see is the blurred canopy of trees, but I still feel a certain happiness with Haymitch by my side. I close my eyes, willing the pain to quickly fade away. The last thing I feel is my body obliging.
A/N: Okay so I had published this before but this is a revise version that makes Katniss seem less like a ditzy girl. I don't know how to write a dying character, so please forgive me. Thank you for your encouraging words and I have a few other chapters hoarded, so I'll try to get them out soon :)
