Jacob loved to run; he loved the feeling of the cold, wet air against his skin early in the morning when nobody else was awake. He had snuck out of his house, okay it wasn't technically sneaking if your parents didn't care whether you were there in the morning or not, but this was the perfect time of day for him. He splashed through a puddle, the mud landing in droplets on his tan legs, but he didn't care.

The sun was just now trying to break through the rain clouds in District Five, but it wasn't going to succeed, making this morning particularly dark. He ducked under a chain-link fence and continued his jog. He jogged over the rotting wood bridge that used to serve as a train trestle, until the new one was put in. He slowed to a stop when he came across a familiar shape standing in the center.

"Hayley." His said, smiling. He loved the way his heart sped up every time he saw her, how his chest squeezed at the thought of her because he missed her.

The girl with wavy auburn hair turned and smiled at him, her green eyes reflecting the dim light. "Jacob." Her long hair was whipping in the wind, which he thought made her even more beautiful.

He reached out and put his arms around her, pulling him tight against her. "I missed you so much." He murmured, tilting her chin up so he could kiss her. He pressed his lips to hers urgently. They parted for him and their tongues mingled. When they pulled apart she looked up at him, her face flushed, her breath short. "I missed you too."

He sat down on the slick wood of the trestle, letting his legs dangle over the canyon below. "I wish we didn't have to do this." He told her, kissing her fingers, which were clasped in his own.

"Sneak around?" She asked him, giving him a sideways glance.

"Yeah."

"My parents love you, Jacob. They know about us, it's your parents that wouldn't agree with this. You, the son of the mayor dating a ragtag girl from the slums of District Five. I think he'd have an aneurism."

Jacob sighed and ran his hands through his short, black hair and looked at her, grinning. "My dad would be perfectly fine with it—with us. My mom, on the other hand would have an aneurism. I don't even think she knows I'm into girls. She probably thinks I'm gay or something like that."

Hayley laughed, the sound was so familiar, so comforting. They had been dating for four months now and made an effort to see each other whenever they could. When she saw him looking at her she raised a brow, "What?"

"I love your laugh." He told her, cupping her face in his hands, making it seem small, very, very small. Their lips met once more in a tangle of fiery passion. His right hand moved and found the small of her back, sliding her closer to him. Soon, they were kneeling, facing each other on the trestle. His hand slid up the cool skin and back down, tracing a pattern.

He felt her nibble on his lip, causing heat to course through his body. He pulled her even closer, as tight as he possibly could. She was driving him insane! When she started to kiss his neck he came unglued.

He pulled her away from him gently. "We can't do this. Not here." He pretended that he didn't see the disappointment in her eyes. "Do I want to? Hell yes! But, it's Reaping Day, and I have to go to a stupid banquet afterwards, and your brother would definitely kill me if something happened to you and—"

She stopped his rushing words with a soft kiss. "It's okay." She told him. "I totally get it. It isn't a big deal." She stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I have to go and get ready for the reaping." She turned to walk away from him.

"Hales," He reached out and snagged her wrist, making her turn back to him. "You know I love you, right?"

She nodded, very obviously trying to blink back tears.

"When can we see each other again?"

"I don't know," She said, her voice thick. "I have to work all next week. Maybe sometime in the morning, like this? Or maybe at night, if you think you can sneak out."

He felt his heart sink at the thought of not seeing her for at least a week.

"Please," Her voice was full of hurt. "I have to go, Jacob."

He released her and watched as she sprinted away, behind a building, and out of sight. He ran another hand through his hair. "Girls are so confusing." He muttered before walking back toward his house.

The sky was a dismal shade of grey now, and it started to pour before he got halfway home. He decided that he should start to run, so he could get home before his mom had a fit. He jogged up the marble steps of the mansion and let the door shut behind him.

He shook his short hair, sending water all over the Avox at the door. "Whoops, sorry Micah."

The dark haired Avox stared after him with hazel eyes.

Jacob went to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, his chocolate eyes scanning for something to eat.

"Jacob Brahmani!" His mother's voice made him stiffen and turn around, rigidly. "Where have you been?! Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I was on a run, mom." He told her, a jug of orange juice clenched in his fist as he shut the fridge behind himself.

He saw her jaw tighten. She had long, dark brown hair, pulled back into a bun, and infuriated brown eyes. She was in a black dress, already for the reaping. "The reaping is in an hour! Hurry your scrawny behind up!"

Jacob almost chocked on his juice. "An hour?!"

"Did I stutter?"

"No ma'am!" He said quickly setting the glass down and sprinting up the stairs as fast as his long, slender legs would carry him.

"Matilda!" He called out. "Matilda!"

An Avox with curly blonde hair stepped around the corner, her head bowed respectfully.

"Did you lay out my reaping clothes, by chance?"

She nodded.

"Is Hahn out of bed and dressed?"

She nodded once more.

"Thanks!" He told her before ducking into his bedroom. He put on the chocolate colored shirt and black slacks, and the vest to match. He made sure the evidence of his morning endeavor was gone before he walked down the white-carpeted hall to Hahn's room.

"Hahn?" He asked knocking lightly on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Jacob pushed open Hahn's door to find the kid struggling with his tie. Jacob's family took Hahn in off the streets when he was ten. The boy was starving, sick, and blind. He and Jacob were both sixteen now. "You need help with that?" He asked the blonde with the unseeing eyes.

"Yeah." He admitted, turning to face Jacob, looking very fancy in his grey clothes that brought out the color in his sightless blue eyes.

Jacob's slender fingers skillfully maneuvered the tie so it fit Hahn just right. "There ya go, bud."

"You were out with that girl again. Weren't you?" Hahn asked.

Jacob stared at the blind kid, baffled. "What…how?"

"I smell strawberry on your breath. I'm assuming she wears strawberry lip-gloss. Am I right, or what?"

"Yeah. I bought it for her as a gift." Hahn and Jacob had been brothers for six years and it still baffled him how dead on Hahn's other senses were, like his sense of smell, and his hearing. "Dad is calling us." Hahn said, moving for the stairs.

"Oh, alright. I didn't hear him yell."

"He didn't. He told Matilda to come get us, but I don't see why she needs to come all of the way upstairs for us."

"Yeah." Jacob agreed.

It poured proverbial buckets at the Reaping. The Capitol Representative looked rather soggy and distraught. "The District Five tribute is, Hahn Brahmani!" She called out.

Jacob looked to Hahn startled, there was no way he could survive the games! He couldn't see for crying out loud. "I volunteer!" Jacob shouted, pulling Hahn back into the crowd. "I volunteer for him!"

He walked up to the stage and introduced himself, and told them that Hahn was his brother. His mind wasn't fully wrapped around the fact that he had just volunteered.