Aw, poor Katniss. Poor Prim. Poor everyone. *free sympathetic hugs* I DON'T OWN! THIS BELONGS TO SUZANNE COLLINS! I'm paranoid, so I'm just going to write that at the top of them all.


"Yeah, yeah," I tease. Rory and I have been having a discussion about how long we've been together- he keeps saying that it's one month today, because that's when we went on our first 'date', but I'm adamant that it's well over three months because that's when we first kissed.

"Don't forget," he smiles, "Today's the day!"

Today is the day that I decided to broach the idea of having a boyfriend to my mother. I don't know what possessed me to think this was a good idea, but after I told Rory he wouldn't let me forget it until I said something. On my walk home, I try to figure out what to say, and act out different scenarios in my head. Most of them end with a no, or a good heavens no! I enter the house, take a deep breath and find my mother in the living room.

"Mother?" I swallow hard and sit down. "H-how would you feel at the idea of me having a boyfriend?" She peers at me over the top of her reading glasses.

"Primrose, are you being serious?"

"Er...yes?" I don't know what to say.

"Good heavens no! You're far too young! I don't even approve of Katniss' relationship, you know that, and she's four years older than you."

"I know...I just w-wondered. In case, you know," You hear anything. I cough quickly to cover my thoughts. "In case...anything were to happen,"

"Primrose, is there something you're trying to tell me?" She asks accusingly.

"Er...no." I say. I back out of the room and head out the door. "I'm just going for a little walk," I call to her. I leave the house and bump straight into Peeta, who is standing on the doorstep with his hand in a bandage.

"Hey, Prim," he says.

"Hey, Peeta," I reply, looking past his shoulder at the wall where Rory always waits for me. I search for him as he promised he would be there today.

"I don't suppose you've got time to re-do this?" He asks me, holding up his hand and showing me the trailing end of the cotton. All this training is really putting a demand on our supplies, but I nod anyway. Then he holds up the plate he's holding in the other hand. "I brought food." I weaken at the sight of maple and pecan pastries and say,

"Yeah, sure. Come in,"

He sits patiently while I wrap his hand, and we talk a little about their training. He asks me about school. I ask about the bakery. It's like this with Peeta sometimes. I think he likes me, and I like him, but I also think he wishes that I were the older Everdeen sister.

"There," I say. "Done."

"Thanks, Prim. You're really good at all this healing stuff." He smiles at me, and I know it's genuine.

I laugh. "It's nothing. See you later."

- o -

"Dear Jiminy, my best friend stole my idea for a tie-dye party and now I have no themes for mine, what should I do? Please help!" Rory can't stop laughing at this one. "What the hell is tie-dye anyway?"

I shrug.

We're sitting on the bed in my room, waiting to be called for dinner. It's the last opportunity we have for a meal before the reaping, so I'm surprised Katniss can even bear to do this, but it was actually her request.

"Dear Jiminy, URGENT PROBLEM! Prom is coming up and my boyfriend and I are going together, obviously. But he recently changed his colour scheme, which means I have to, and it clashes with my skin colour! HELP!"

He's reading one of Madge's magazines that I found in Katniss' room and is laughing at the silly Capitol problems. "Are you ticklish?"

I'm caught off guard by his question. "Me? No..." He glances up and catches my smile. Chuckling, he tosses the magazine aside and starts to tickle me, until I surrender as a giggling, shrieking wreck to his warm embrace. Hazelle sticks her head round the door and says,

"What on earth is going on?"

"He was tickling me!"

"Rory!"

"What?" he asks defensively.

She shakes her head. "I don't know, you two! Dinner will be in about ten minutes." After I'm sure I've heard her soft tread retreat to the ground floor, Rory turns to me and says,

"So, where were we?"

"Here," I whisper, moving closer and wrapping my arms around him. He hugs me tightly around my waist and I know that I want this feeling to last forever. It doesn't, of course, but I soon find amusement playing with his hair. I find it particularly funny when I plait it.

"Look at you, little girl," I tease, giggling. "You look so pretty!"

"No more than you do," he replies, as he bows his head to kiss me.

- o -

"Ladies first!" The pink rimmed face that haunts my dreams screeches," Primrose Everdeen!"

Katniss scoffs. "Did you really think I'd volunteer, little baby? Come on Prim, show them what you're made of! Oh yeah! That's nothing! Baby!" Now Haymitch is laughing too. "Baby! Baby! Baby!" they chant.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

"I'll concentrate on the boy, this year. No point in trying to save worthless little cowards like you," he sneers.

"Baby! Baby!"

Then Effie appears again. "Ladies first! Primrose Everdeen!" Everdeen! Everdeen! Ever-

I scream myself awake. Calm down Prim. Only a dream.

I slip across the hallway to the bathroom and splash my face with water. The icy water awakens me, and I remember my fear. It's reaping day. I'm not even allowed to stay home, I have to go to school. Mother's writing me a note to leave early though, so I guess that's something.

The day passes quickly. I'm despondent on the walk to school, only murmuring occasional answers. It seems nobody knows. Or cares. At lunch, everyone is talking, talking, talking. At me. To me. To everyone else. Talking. Talking. Then the bell rings and I walk numbly home, trying not to think of what's about to happen and thinking only of it. I watch but don't see, until Effie appears with her stupid wig, though it's gold this year, not pink. Her hand scrabbles around in the ball for a while, then she grabs the slip with Katniss' name on and reads the inevitable. I think it must be the only time that she's only had one slip with her name on in the reaping. Katniss climbs the steps and I fight my desire to cling on to her again as I did last year. I need to be strong for her. I'll tell her in a moment. I'll talk to her. Peeta volunteers and takes his place on the stage. They finish up the affair and then walk towards the Justice Building. I run after Katniss, calling her name and I'm just near enough for her to hear when an arm appears out of nowhere, knocking me to the ground.

"What are you doing?" I scream at my assailant. "Katniss! What the hell do you think you're doing? I need to see her! That's my sister! I need to see her!"

He just smiles coldly at me, a toothy, sly grin.

"What are you doing? I need to see her!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. New procedure."

I step right up close in his face. He's only short, so we're nearly the same height.

"Let. Me. See. Her."

"Sorry, no can do, Missy,"

"Let me see her!"

"Primrose! Come on," Mother says. "You're making a scene."

"Making a scene? They've taken her! I'm never going to see her again and all you care about is making a scene?" I scream at her. I'm furious right now. I could punch something.

"Of course I care about her, but this isn't helping anyone. Rory, help her see sense," she pleads.

"Come on Prim." Unfortunately for Rory, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Rory, move. Now."

"No. Come on, Prim, let's just go home." He touches my arm. I crack.

But not in the way I thought I would. All the anger, the fury, the injustice that had built up so rapidly inside me just dissipates and I fall to the floor, shaking and wracked with uncontrollable sobs. "They didn't let me see her," I cry. "I need to see her! I need to see her!" I just manage one last word before I cross the line into hysteria and sink down into unconsciousness. "Katniss!"


Ooh, psycho Prim. This was so much fun to write! But in the end, she just can't be mad. She's too nice.