Thanks so much for sticking with me. I love all of you to bitsss~ ;u;

I realize that this fic has been very closely following the original book so far. Don't worry, it'll get way different soon!

The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

What if Gale, overtaken by the grief of seeing his oldest friend about to be swept into the monstrosity that is the Hunger Games, volunteered for Peeta and took his place?

Gale Hawthorne x Katniss Everdeen

The guilt refused to relinquish, even in sleep. It haunted my dreams, making images of the red-headed Avox and a starved, unreachable Prim intertwine with gory thoughts of the games. I pictured Gale beside me in a tree-filled arena, setting up snares in hopes of catching something to eat. I pictured the Careers breaking through the thickets with smiles as sharp as the blades twirling between their fingers, and I felt the strain in my vocal chords as I screamed for Gale to run, bolting up from my pillows.

I sat panting on the mattress, unconsciously wiping away the cold sweat that had collected on my forehead with a trembling hand. Dawn was just beginning to break through the windows, scattering gray light into the room.

I tried to calm my frantic breaths, shaking off the images of the Avox's tongueless mouth, Prim's skeletal figure, the Careers' knives, Gale's turned back.

I silently began to think of the imminent moment one of the District 12 tributes had to go, making my lips purse in unease. Even if we somehow became the final two, what would happen then?

With a sigh, I limply dragged myself out of bed and tiredly padded my way into the bathroom. If it came down to us being the final two, I would just have to act fast and be the first to die. It would be nice to have a quick and painless death, perhaps an arrow to the heart, and have Gale instantly become the victor. He would have no problem living without me. His winnings would be enough to support both of our families, and his good looks would find him a wife with ease. Maybe he would even make a family with her.

I swallowed hard, now cementing the choice in my brain. Gale Hawthorne will be the victor of the 74th Hunger Games, whether he liked it or not.

I thoughtlessly began poking at the buttons in the shower until water began pouring out of the shower head. It ended up being icy cold, but I decided not to adjust it. It would help me wake up and prepare for the first day of training.

I watched as foamy orange soaps gushed out and covered my sides before being lathered by a heavy-bristled brush. I worked some of the soap into my hair and rubbed my face clean of sleep before stepping out into the cold air, relieved to feel the warmth of the air dryers blow against me.

Once I was dried and moisturized with lotion, I wandered over to my closet only to find that an outfit had already been set out for me. Its simple design and intricate details led me to believe that it was one of Cinna's creations, made just for training. I worked myself into the tight, black leggings and the long-sleeved burgundy tunic, noting how the stitching in the tunic made my otherwise humble curves more prominent. I silently wondered if Cinna was aiming for a more provocative design with this, but dismissed the thought when I noticed how comfortable the light fabric was. I worked my hair into a long, simple braid down my back and peered into a nearby mirror.

I couldn't help but feel a rush of contentment. This was the first time since the morning of the reapings that I looked like myself. No flashy hair or dresses, no make-up, no flaming capes. Just me, looking like I was heading out to the woods to hunt.

I silently pulled on matching leather boots before heading out the door. It seemed too early for breakfast, but I headed towards the dining room anyway, only to find Gale sitting alone at the table already on his second plate of food. He looked up from his meal before flashing me an impish grin. "You're up early," he noted, taking a sip of water before continuing, "Sleep well?"

I immediately thought of all the dreams that haunted me last night, how I woke up screaming and gasping for breath. I pursed my lips before giving Gale a weak nod and seating myself in the chair next to him. A male Avox began preparing a plate of food in the corner of the room before setting it down in front of me, a look of frozen torment plastered on his fair face. I swallowed hard in an attempt to contain the feelings of guilt that bursted open in my chest every time an Avox appeared, absently picking a roll up off of the plate before hearing Gale let out a quiet groan. I gave him a curious sideways glance, and he responded by gesturing down at our clothes. "I feel kind of ridiculous. I didn't know we would be presented as twins, too."

My eyes quizzically lowered to his outfit, only to find that he was sporting a tunic that was the same color as mine and black, slim-fitting pants. I furrowed my brows, slightly bothered. "Wow. Cinna is really going all out."

Gale nodded, lowering his ashen eyes to the table. "At least we're not on fire this time."

Haymitch sluggishly walked into the room, mumbling a "good morning" to us before ambling over to the Avox and grabbing a plate from him. He filled it up with a healthy amount of rabbit stew before sitting across from Gale and I and giving us both a bored look. "Cute matching outfits," he muttered, swiping a roll off my plate and dipping it in his stew. He continued to speak before I could react. "Let's get down to business—training. I'm expecting to coach you both together, but I could do it separately if you want. Choose now."

Gale let out a short snicker. "Would star-crossed lovers really get coached separately?"

"If one of the lovers had a secret skill they didn't want the other to know about," Haymitch replied without missing a beat.

I had to laugh at this. "It's too late for that, Gale and I already know everything about each other."

Haymitch raised his eyebrows at me before taking a large bite of his stew. "All right then. I'll coach you together."

I felt a sort of relief at the thought of training with Gale. Him watching my back and me watching his, just like it always was in the woods. Of course, this time we would be training to kill people instead of simply hunting to feed our families. The relief vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Now, give me an idea of what you two can do," Haymitch smirked to himself, his eyes flashing to my silverware, "I already know you're handy with a knife, Katniss."

Gale's face brightened up. "If you think she's good with a knife, you should see her with a bow. She's brilliant, never fails to miss the eyes of whatever she's aiming at."

I felt my cheeks warm up, immediately feeling uncomfortable with Gale talking me up like that.

"You're that good?" Haymitch asked, looking at me unbelievingly.

I stiffened in my seat. "Gale's better. Not only that, but he can catch absolutely anything that moves in one of his snares."

Gale let out a breathy chuckle. "Please. I'm not anywhere near as good as her with a bow." He furrowed his eyebrows, looking deep in thought before replying. "She knows practically every edible and medicinal plant there is."

I frowned at my plate, wondering why Gale was putting so much effort into making me appear more skillful than I really was. I gave him a skeptical look before determinedly saying, "He's good with hand-to-hand combat. He can knock a person out with one punch if he wanted to." I gulped, silently comparing my scrawny body to the Careers' muscular, well-fed builds. "I probably wouldn't stand a chance against any of the other tributes if I ended up getting attacked."

Gale let out an exasperated sigh, shooting me an embittered look. "Stop moping. Are you really the same Katniss that challenged a black bear a year ago?"

I was instantly silenced. I quietly recalled the event, where I was out hunting with Gale and spotted a bee hive, and foolishly convinced myself that I was stealthy enough to sneak it away from a bear. It ended in me being chased by it, and once it had lost our trail, Gale couldn't stop laughing.

Haymitch cut in with a loud, forced cough. "Yes, yes. All this mutual flattery is very cute. I'm squealing over here," he said in a bored tone, scraping the remaining bits of his stew from his plate and stuffing it in his mouth. "Are there any other skills I should know about?"

I let out a quiet sigh, exchanging a look with Gale before continuing. "He's inhumanely quiet. He can sneak up on practically anything."

Gale pursed his lips. "Katniss can climb trees like they're nothing, and can balance herself on weak, thin branches without even blinking an eye," he made sure that my eyes had found his face before giving me an apologetic grin, "She does have her flaws, though. One of them is that she refuses to accept any compliments."

I felt a smirk play on my lips. "I could say the same for you."

Haymitch cleared his throat, getting our attention once again. "You two are like a bickering old couple," he said with a groan.

I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat for a moment at the word couple.

"Getting back to business, I want you two to steer clear of all the stations you're skilled at. Try to learn something new in group training. Throw a spear, swing a mace, build a fire, paint some pretty pictures—"

"Paint pictures?" Gale's voice was leery.

"I mean camouflage," Haymitch said the word in a mocking, flowery tone, "Not very useful in the arena, but they never fail to have a station every year." He sighed before continuing. "Never reveal how much you can actually do in front of the other tributes. Make intentional mistakes, appear mediocre. Save showing what you're best at for your private lessons. Understood?"

Gale and I nodded hesitantly.

"Now, one last thing. Be all over each other," Haymitch said in an indifferent tone, making me cringe. "I'm not exaggerating. Make it convincing, never leave each other's side."

I felt Gale stiffen beside me. "You know, it's pretty difficult to be touchy-feely with someone when you're busy swinging a mace."

Haymitch glared at him. "No smartass remarks. New rule." He stood up from his chair before fishing out a flask from his pocket and taking a long pull on it. He gave us both a wave of dismissal before turning on his heel and heading for the door. "Meet Effie by the elevator at ten," he called over his shoulder.

I let out a long sigh before tentatively peering at Gale out the corner of my eye. He was already looking at me, his head resting in his hand.

"So, do you really think I'm all that amazing?" He flashed me a playful grin, his eyebrows raising.

I flinched at his words, feeling my cheeks get hot. "Don't make me regret talking you up," I mumbled, standing up from my chair and attempting to hide my face from him.

I heard Gale let out a quiet sigh. "I was kidding, Catnip," he scooted out his chair before standing up and gingerly stepping towards me, "Sorry."

I didn't have enough self-control to ignore him. My body seemed to move on its own as I turned on my heel to face him, soon finding myself gazing into his silver eyes. He must have spotted my blush, since his apologetic expression was quickly replaced with a mischievous one.

"Of course, everything I said about you was true," he muttered, experimentally inching his face closer to mine, "Even though you still have room for improvement."

My pulse quickened to a frightening rate before I immediately turned my face away from his, clumsily backing up and putting space between us. "You don't have to act right now," I swallowed hard in an attempt to steady my shaking voice, "There's no one here to watch."

Gale's face immediately fell at my words. "Is that really all this is to you? An act?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, surprised by the amount of disappointment in his voice. I thought back to all the times we were alone in the woods, words unneeded as we zipped through the trees. We would know where the other was aiming and what the other was planning to do almost by instinct. My heart would speed up at times when I was particularly close to him, but I had always blamed that on the adrenaline of hunting.

That was all I ever really needed. I never expected any feelings to develop, or for our friendship to escalate into anything more.

I let my eyes find the floor as my hands clenched into stiff fists at my sides. "What else would it be?"

A flash of hurt appeared behind Gale's eyes for a split moment before he gulped, regaining his composure. "Good point," he sighed, forcing a smile as he stepped toward me, "I'm going. Don't be late for training." He brushed a gentle hand across my cheek before casually walking out of the dining room.

I stood still for a moment, still feeling the warmth of Gale's hand tingle on my cheek. I waited until the echo of his footsteps stopped before stalking back to my room and closing the door behind me.

I knew that I had made the right choice by not giving in back in the dining room, so why did I feel so empty? I sat down on the bed with a groan, becoming frustrated with Gale for making things so difficult.

Of course it was all an act, and Gale was just too good at it. There were moments where he actually had me believing that his advances were sincere, and it frightened me.

I gulped, thinking back to all the girls I heard whispering and giggling to themselves around school about him. It was just recently that it had started to bother me, as if Gale was my possession. And in a way, he was.

Before meeting each other, we were just two lost, fatherless children with the heavy responsibility of providing for our families. We no longer were alone the day that we crossed paths in the woods. Having a partner, someone who understood what it felt like to have the responsibility of keeping food on the table, was like the doorway to both sustenance and sanity, and we were each other's key.

Gale was mine. And I was his. Anything else was unthinkable.

At least for now. Until he became the victor of the Hunger Games and found himself a pretty wife to live the rest of his life with.

This thought made my chest ache, and I attempted to soothe it with deep sighs. I glanced at the digital clock on the screen by my closet and found that it was almost ten, causing me to reluctantly make my way over to the bathroom before splashing my face with water and smoothing my hair back into a tidier braid. The aching feeling in my chest was soon replaced with nervousness as I headed out my door and towards the elevator, thinking about meeting the other tributes and seeing what they were capable of.

I thought that I would be on time, but the sight of Gale waiting beside a very impatient looking Effie by the elevator told me otherwise.

"I told you to not be late," Gale said jokingly as Effie prodded the down button on the panel beside the elevator.

"We're not exactly late, but it's traditional to show up early for these kinds of things," Effie murmured, her pencil-thin eyebrows creasing together in frustration, "We're going to end up showing up at 10 on the dot. How embarrassing."

The training rooms were below ground level, but the swift elevator had us down there in less than a minute. Effie shot Gale an expectant look, causing him to wrap a strong arm around my waist before the doors opened, revealing a giant gymnasium filled with various weapons and obstacle courses. Although it wasn't 10 yet, we were the last to arrive. Effie must have noticed because I heard her let out a theatrical sigh before shoving us out of the elevator and quickly closing the doors behind us.

The other tributes were gathered in a large, rigid circle surrounding a tall woman who I assumed to be the head trainer. Gale's grip around me tightened as he led the way over to the circle. Remembering Haymitch's demands back in the dining room, I tentatively leaned into his side, making sure the other tributes could see.

A light-haired, male Avox stopped us in our tracks before pinning cloth squares adorned with the number 12 on both of our backs. As he did this, I did a quick assessment. Gale and I were the only two dressed alike.

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling the tense atmosphere weigh down on me. It seemed like every one of the tributes' eyes were on Gale and I as we joined the circle, never breaking our half-embrace.

The head trainer grabbed everyone's attention with a couple loud claps before immediately beginning to explain the training schedule in a gruff voice. Experts would always be present at each of the stations, ready to help us if we asked. We would be free to use all of the equipment and travel from station to station, per our mentor's instructions. Some of the areas taught survival skills, but most of them dealt with fighting techniques. The head trainer spent a long time stressing how it was strictly forbidden to partake in any combative exercise with another tribute, and that we would need assistants to observe if we wanted to practice with a partner. She began to list all the skill stations, pointing around the room enthusiastically as she did.

I couldn't help but tune out her voice as I studied the other tributes. It was the first time we were all gathered on level ground in simple clothes, giving me a chance to examine their features clearly. I began to silently panic as I realized that most of them probably had at least eighty pounds on me. The Careers looked especially intimidating with their bright, eager faces and fresh muscles. One girl from District 2 with dark hair and a sharp smile kept eyeing Gale from across the circle, setting me on edge.

The head trainer released us with another loud clap, and the Careers instantly set off and began handling the deadliest-looking weapons in the gym with ease. I watched as a male with a stocky build from District 11 threw a spear with great force in one of the areas, piercing a dummy right through the forehead. I began to unconsciously tremble.

"Hey," Gale nudged me in the arm, making me jump, "Want to do some knot-tying first?"

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves before letting out a short chuckle, lowering my voice to just above a whisper. "You cheater. Didn't Haymitch tell us to avoid stations we're skilled at?"

Gale smirked, replying with a whisper. "He also told us to make intentional mistakes. Besides, all the other stations are crowded." He unwrapped his arm from my waist and proceeded to gently grab my hand as we headed to the empty station. I got the feeling that the knot-tying class wasn't exactly the hot spot of the gym, but that didn't stop the District 2 girl from stalking over once Gale had taken a seat there. The District 2 boy exasperatedly followed after her before they began to settle themselves into the fire-building station next to us.

The knot-tying trainer eagerly handed Gale and I thin pieces of rope, obviously glad to have students. He looked Gale straight in the face before asking, "Are you a beginner?"

Gale stifled a short laugh before exchanging a look with me. "Sure am."

I spent the next twenty minutes or so watching Gale entertain the trainer with his mediocre-looking snares, intentionally knotting it too tight in some places and too loose in others. Since I had no talent to mask, I freely knotted the snares to the best of my ability. The trainer was in the middle of showing us how to make a simple trap that would leave a competitor dangling by one leg from a tree when almost rabid laughter coming from the District 2 tributes next to us caught my attention. I curiously began listening to their almost inaudible voices.

"Say we take out Lover Boy first," the male mumbled, struggling to ignite the logs in front of him with two sticks, "make the girl watch."

The female let out a piercing shriek of laughter. "It's a shame that we have to kill such a pretty face. Don't you think so, Cato?" She continued to eye Gale, making me almost rip the rope I was working on in half.

The male named Cato's eyes lit up. "He looks pretty useful, actually. Maybe he can join the Careers this year."

A smile played on the girl's lips before she set down the flint she had in her hands and wiped her hands on her knees. "All we need to do is get the girl out of the way. She really bothers me, anyway."

Cato's features twisted into a sadistic grin before he raised his voice significantly. "I just can't wait to cut 12 up into little pieces. Hear her beg for mercy under my blade."

Gale must have heard. I directed my attention to him just in time to see him throw the rope he was working on to the ground before taking long strides toward them, violently grabbing Cato by the collar and bringing him up to eye level.

"Why don't you target one of your Career buddies instead?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

I hurriedly made my way over to Gale, grabbing his forearm. "Don't."

He ignored me, causing Cato to raise his eyebrows uninterestedly at him before talking in an almost bored tone. "Clove, do me a favor and punch Lover Boy in the neck for me."

"That gorgeous neck of his?" She let out a scoff, not even trying to hide her ogling eyes. "Not a chance."

Gale sneered. "Some team mate you have, there."

"Like you're one to talk," Cato spat, beginning to thrash out of Gale's grip, "You just have a useless, scrawny girl by your side. She probably won't even make it through the bloodbath!"

By this time, we had gotten the attention of several assistants and trainers. They made their way over to us, hollering, "District 12! District 2! No combative partners!"

Gale clenched his jaw before throwing Cato to the ground and turning on his heel. He ignored the frustrated shouts from the trainers as he grabbed my arm, leading me away from Cato and Clove. I could tell that he was too blinded by his fury to recognize what was going on around him with a clear head, so he probably didn't hear what Cato mumbled from the ground right before we stormed away.

But I did.

It was a simple statement, said in a normal tone of voice, but the way his words were cemented with such confidence sent shivers down my spine. He had turned to Clove before hissing it, and she nodded her head in agreement without hesitation.

"They're the first ones we kill."

Thanks so much for reading! Please Review!