The voice echoed inside Katniss' mind: "And the boy representing District 12 for the Quarter Quell is Peeta Mellark".
This time Katniss fell to the ground. This time she couldn't cope with it. This time there was no going back. Her entire body was shaking, and a voice inside her head kept shouting that everything was over. There was no one left for her. No one that she cared about. She was all alone now, and all she could do the next couple of weeks was to watch her sister and Peeta getting killed. She was ready to give in.
A man behind her helped her up and got her on her feet, while her friend from school, Madge, ran to her and tried to steady her. Madge kept talking to her, but she heard nothing. All she did was look towards Peeta, who was now stepping out of his line. He turned around and looked directly at her. He smiled at her and moved his lips. Even though Katniss was all fuzzy and confused, she recognized the words: he said "I love you". He smiled a wide smile, telling her not to worry about him, before turning towards Effie and entering the stage.
With Madge's hand on her shoulder, her eyes followed Peeta as he moved onto the stage, and he bowed in front of the cheering audience. He smiled his charming smile to everyone, and everyone returned it. Then he turned towards Prim, who was standing on the other side of Effie. Compared to them, Prim looked like a small doll, who would easily break. Peeta walked past Effie and knelt in front of Prim and embraced her. In his arms Prim loosened up and hugged him back. Her tiny body finally found some sort of consolation, which she desperately needed. Peeta knew that and held her for several seconds. He whispered something to her, and when he finally let her go, they both had tears in their eyes, but they were smiling. Peeta grabbed her hand, and together they walked to the edge of the stage and held up their hands. Everybody started cheering and shouting, already worshipping these two new contenders.
Effie separated them after a while and took the microphone in her hand.
"Primrose Everdeen. How do you feel right now? Proud?", Effie asked, and quickly she responded herself: "Of course you are, darling. You are making your whole District proud. Prim seemed confused, but Effie changed the focus to Peeta. He was standing confidently smiling at her and then the crowd.
"Peeta Mellark. And how do you feel?", she asked, and before she was able to answer herself again, he grabbed the microphone. Now it was Effie who looked bewildered.
"You see, Effie, I'm fine. And I am proud to be reaped alongside Prim", he said and all eyes were on Katniss' little sister. She felt shy, and it showed.
"Do you know Primrose well?", Effie then asked. Peeta looked out over the crowd in Katniss' direction before moving the microphone to his mouth:
"Yes, I do. We are great friends. Actually our families know each other well", he answered and looked directly at Katniss, who still felt dizzy.
"Oh", was all Effie said, when Peeta spoke again:
"I know what Prim is made of. I know how strong she is. I feel scared already". He looked at Prim, who loved the praise. It instantly made her brave, and she walked towards him and placed herself next to him. He smiled at her and took her hand again. She felt even braver and took the microphone:
"Yes, and Peeta is the best person, I know. So don't worry, District 12, here are your winners", she almost shouted like giving the whole district a pep talk. That got everybody cheering even louder, and Katniss woke up. She couldn't believe how Peeta was able to make her sister so confident and strong, but suddenly she felt better. She felt a bit of hope inside her. Peeta had given her that hope, and she wanted to hold onto that.
Katniss tried to pull herself together after the Reaping, because now she had two people to say goodbye to. Normally people only had to cry their hearts out together with one contestant, but Katniss had to do it twice. Together with her mother, she was allowed to meet Prim one last time. She was waiting inside an empty, old room, and Katniss and her mother was brought to the room by armed guards. The doors opened, and they found Prim sitting at a table with her head in her hands. She barely noticed having company. Katniss kept in the background, while her mother approached Prim. If Prim needed a shoulder to cry on, her mother definitely offered the best. She was good at consoling. Prim got up, but she almost fell like a dead body, but her mother caught her. She rocked her steadily in her arms, and Prim seemed to relax in her embrace. Katniss still tried to figure out what to say. Her mother spoke softly to Prim, and after a while Prim stopped crying. Her mother pulled away, and Katniss approached Prim cautiously. She sat down on a chair across from her.
"Hey, little bird", Katniss said, stroking her cheek.
"I will try to be strong", Prim then said. It hurt Katniss deep in her heart, because she knew that Prim was unable to be strong enough to survive. And it was not in Prim's nature to be strong and brave. She was kind and sweet, and that was her charm. It was her personality. Katniss couldn't help to think about all the things she had done in order to keep Prim away from situations like this one. She felt she had failed.
"I know you will be strong", Katniss replied and hugged her briefly. Just knowing that this would probably be the last time she was ever to hug her and feel her in her arms broke her heart.
"Listen to me now. Stay close to Peeta, okay? He will help you. I promise", Katniss said, looking straight into Prim's eyes to make sure she understood. Prim nodded.
"Okay, you promise me this?", she asked to be completely sure.
"Yes, I promise", Prim whispered, and Katniss hugged her again before the guards entered and took Prim away. Before leaving the room, Prim turned around and looked at Katniss:
"You are the best sister, I could ever have had", she then said and tried to smile. Katniss held back her tears until Prim was gone, but then she broke down again. She cried like a baby, but her mother wisely stayed away. She knew that Katniss wanted to deal with it alone.
"I'll be at home", she only said, giving her daughter a pat on her back. Katniss did not reply, but cried a little longer before putting on a brave face. Now she had to face Peeta.
Katniss got up and met the guards in the hallway. Without a word they opened up another door to a room next to the other, and there Peeta was standing by the wall.
"This room really needs colours", he said before approaching her. He wasn't crying at all but seemed to be brave and cool.
"Did you say goodbye to your parents?", Katniss asked politely. He moved closer to her and put his hand on her hair. She wished he wouldn't touch her, but she didn't want to say it.
"Yes, my father was here. He gave me a handshake and left", Peeta answered. It made Katniss feel like crying again, and she was unable to hide it.
"Don't cry", he whispered and wiped the tears away.
"We don't have much time", Katniss then said. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but she didn't know how.
"I know. I just want you to know that I love you very much, Katniss Everdeen, and yes, I will protect Prim in every way I can. You don't even have to ask me to do that", he said, looking into her eyes. She was glad he said that. She felt like a bad person standing here asking him to protect her sister and giving his life for her. She did not want to contemplate the thought that she actually did not want him to come back alive. If she wanted Prim to survive, then Peeta had to die. This thought was too much for her, so she ignored it over and over again.
"Thank you Peeta", she whispered and touched the collar of his shirt. She placed her palms on his chest and then her head. He kissed the top of her head and caressed her back.
"I don't know how, but somehow everything will be alright Katniss. I know it will", he said, but nothing could console her. She looked up at him:
"Aren't you afraid, Peeta?", she asked. He smiled at her:
"No, I'm not. I've made my peace with it. And I will fight to get Prim back to you", he responded.
"Oh, Peeta...", she started but he stopped her by putting a finger on her lips.
"I just want to do this one last time", he then said, moved his finger and put his lips close to hers. Then he kissed her softly, closing his eyes and taking it all in. Katniss kissed him back, but it hurt her so much. The kiss was lovely and made her all soft on the inside, but it ended, when the guards entered and grabbed Peeta. He managed to turn around and look at Katniss:
"I will always love you. Don't forget me", he said before disappearing. She needed a couple of seconds to understand his words. Then she fell to the ground screaming and crying her heart out.
