A/N: Alright, so here we go. Next chapter! It would really help me write faster if I were to get a few reviews. Please, guys; reviews just make my day. If you could really do that, I promise I will update faster! Anyway, away we go! Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to R & R!

-Ooo-

For the Love of the Game

Chapter 1

Katniss

Reaping day. That was the first thing Katniss Everdeen thought when she awoke that dreadful morning. She turned her head to the right to find her twin sister, Kyla, still lost in sleep with a small smile stretched across her face. It crossed Katniss' mind if she looked like that when she slept. Across the room, her younger sister, Prim, was cuddled up with their mother in the [only] other bed in their small household.

Katniss quickly changed into her hunting clothes, slid into her hunting boots, pulled her long dark hair into a ponytail (when was it not?), and slipped her fading forest green baseball cap onto her head before gently shaking her twin sister's body in order to wake her up, whilst not waking the others. Kyla's blue eyes - different, but yet, so similar at the same time to Katniss' – slowly opened and she lazily shook her head, letting Katniss know that she would not be joining her this frightening morning for an early hunt. Kyla slowly turned her body away from her sister, so that she was facing the wall.

Katniss sighed. Ever since her father's death, she knew that the twins had been steadily growing apart. They didn't rely on one another as much anymore, and would rarely hold decent conversations with each other. Katniss missed pulling pranks on all the annoying and rude kids at school, and knew deep down in her gut that Kyla did, too. They didn't know why, nor what, caused them to begin to split apart, but Katniss knew that nothing could permanently change the two forever. They were twins, after all.

As Katniss begrudgingly walked out the creaky front door of their small house, and passed the two leather gloves that were carelessly sitting on the small coffee table next to the door, she was pained with a thought. When was the last time the twins had actually thrown their baseball around together? Katniss promised herself that after today, maybe even today, she would make an effort to spend more time with her sister, and show her that she still truly cared for her, no matter what obstacle got in her way.

-OoO-

Kyla

Kyla had always known she was a strange child, especially when all the girls from town started to poke fun at her. Her older sister was always there to protect her, though and if she wasn't, there was always the unknown blonde boy from town that always came to save the day. Peeta. That was his name, though Kyla didn't know it. She always wondered why he protected her when Katniss wasn't around, but that wasn't important. She had better things to worry about than some blonde hair, blue eyed town boy who always stared at the two sisters.

Reaping morning, Kyla was awoken early by Katniss. She already knew the question her sister would ask and absentmindedly shook her head as her answer. No. But, truth be told, she kind of wanted to go on the early morning hunt with her sister, but what if they came across that other boy that was always out in the woods, as well. Gale. Kyla had seen the way he looked at her sister, and it made her uncomfortable when he was around the two of them.

On another note, Kyla was particularly frightened about the concept of today's reaping. The 75th Annual Hunger Games, otherwise known as the third Quarter Quell. At age seventeen now, Kyla knew the odds were certainly not in the sisters' favor, counting all the extra times they had entered their name due to tesserae. She did not know the twist to this year's games and expected to learn at the reaping itself.

Kyla lay on the bed she shared with Katniss for several more minutes before lazily rising from the bed, knowing that in no way would she be able to fall asleep again. She quickly changed herself into some comfortable clothing, pulled her hair into a tight ponytail, and slipped on her own fading blue baseball cap before making her way out the front door of the house.

Her mind didn't seem to know where she was going, but her feet seemed to. Soon, she found herself standing in the midst of the meadow, overlooking her quiet district, and in her hands, though she hadn't noticed before, were the twin's two leather gloves. She glanced down at them and then smiled knowingly. Hopefully, her sister would be back soon, so they could play a quick game of catch before the dreaded event known as the reaping.

Apparently, Kyla had been fallen asleep in the meadow because a few hours later, she awoke to her twin gently shaking her half-asleep body. The two gloves sat carelessly to her side, and she was using her right arm as a pillow. Katniss grinned at the sight of the two gloves, watched her game bag drop to the floor, and pulled her glove onto her right hand. There was another difference about the twins; Kyla was right handed while Katniss was left handed. They hadn't planned it like that. It kind of just… happened.

Kyla jumped to her feet at the sight of Katniss with her glove on and the baseball in her left hand. She gently tossed the ball into the air as she waited for Kyla to slip her own glove on to her hand.

Kyla was ecstatic. They were going to do it. They were finally going to play catch again after all this time. For about an hour or so, the twins did. They smiled, threw the ball back and forth, smiled, and smiled some more. And when they laughed, they looked like the happiest pair of twins in all of Panem. When it was time to go, the twins let out groans in synch and dragged themselves back to their house.

When they arrived, two tubs full of steaming hot water awaited them. While their sister, Prim, changed into her reaping clothes (hand me downs from the twins), the twins stripped down and each stepped into the tub of their choice and hurriedly cleaned themselves up. Two identical dresses awaited them when they stepped foot out of the tubs. The only difference, one was green, the other was blue. So mother did remember our favorite colors, thought Kyla. But she forgot the fact that the both of us despise dresses.

Once the twins had finished dressing and they had nimbly done each other's hair, they decided it was time to go. After briefly telling their mother that it was time, Prim, who was in a ruffled white blouse and skirt, took one of each of the twin's hands and held on tightly, as if for dear life, which in this case, it kind of was. When they arrived at the Town Square and had to disperse into sections, Kyla could tell Prim was fretful. Kyla and Katniss both comforted her, telling her it would be okay and that they'd see her soon. They promised. After a quick goodbye, the two quickly made their way to the section that was designated for the seventeen year old girls.

All was deathly quiet when several minutes later, Effie Trinket walked onstage. Kyla gripped Katniss' hand so tightly, she was afraid she would stop her sister's blood flow.

"Welcome, welcome, and happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor."

"Now then, today, President Snow has a very important announcement to make about the 75th Annual Hunger Games!" Effie concluded in her (more than) obnoxious Capitol accent.

On the stage screen, President Snow appeared alongside a young boy who held the box filled with the many Quarter Quell envelopes. President Snow read the two previous cards and then picked the crisp white envelope that held the fate of every citizen in Panem.

Kyla gripped her sister's hand even tighter.

President Snow then read, "As a reminder to the rebels that even brother turned against brother and sister turned against sister during the Dark Days, this year's tributes will be selected from the pool of each district's eligible sets of twin brothers and sisters."