Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games

"Give it up for the star-crossed lovers from District 12!" Caesar cries. What is he talking about? They aren't lovers. She doesn't even know him, at least not well. The Panem anthem plays, and the TV goes black. I turn to Rory, who, after watching Gale walkout, is beginning to get up. He motions for me to follow him, and we walk out of the house. We see Gale, jogging away from the house. Towards the woods, I notice.

Rory must notice the same thing, because he says, " The woods,"

I nod. I'm not sure that we should be following him, but Rory seems set on it, so I follow him. We walk towards him, the uneven cobblestone road under our feet, green sprouting through the cracks. We let the distance between us grow farther, so he won't realize we are following him. As we make our way to the fence, I can't help but wonder how Gale is going to get through the games. If she gets hurt, it will destroy him. He's already falling apart, it seems. I don't know how I'm going to get through this either. We stop at the fence and Rory looks back at me, confused.

"How do we get through?" he asks. I search the fence line for the grass that Gale showed me the other day. I spot it a few feet away. It's not as nicely covered as it usually is, I notice.

"There," I answer. I bend down and move the grass, pushing it to the other side of the fence like Gale showed me. I inch my way under the fence, and turn around, motioning for Rory to do the same. Once he's through and I replace the grass, and we begin to walk through the woods, pausing every once in a while, listening and watching for signs of Gale. The woods are always so quiet, so peaceful. It's not long before we see him in the distance. He's sitting on the ground, messing with the grass. He hasn't seen us yet. We walk closer, careful not to make noise.

"Leave me alone, Rory," Gale says under his breath. He sounds exhausted. I'm not sure how he knows we're here, he hasn't even turned around.

"Gale," I call.

"Yes, Prim?"

"Can I came over there?" I ask. I'm sure he'll tell me to go away, but I try anyway. I don't want to leave him here alone.

"Alright," he says after a minute. I'm shocked, but I try to hide it. I walk over to where he is and sit down.

"Sorry," he says, "Rory, you can come over here," Slowly, Rory comes over and sits by me. We sit in silence for a few minutes. Usually, I would try to start a conversation, but I know we all just need silence and time to think.

"Prim," Gale begins, "I... I'm sorry,"

"What?" I say. I'm confused. What does he have to be sorry for? None of this is his fault.

"I shouldn't be acting like this, even you're holding together better," he says. I still don't know what he's talking about. It's okay for him to be upset. I don't blame him for it.

"I should have volunteered," he continues. Now, I understand where this is going. He feels guilty.

"No," I say. "Everyone needs you here."

"Nah, everyone needs her more," he says. He's scaring me now.

"I should have volunteered. Then, I could keep Katniss alive to come back to all of you. Now all she has is some freak, feigning his love for her. He's going to kill her. Earn her trust and then betray her. If he wins the game I will kill him, because him coming back will mean that she doesn't. If he doesn't keep her alive..." Gale says. He's scary when he's this mad. He rarely gets mad, but when he does, it's terrifying.

"No, Gale, you're not going to kill anyone and she wouldn't have wanted you to volunteer," I reassure him, "Your family needs you, she understands that. She couldn't handle seeing you die, even if it meant she won. You matter so much to her." I hope it was the right thing to say. I'm not sure, though. It's all true, anyway. He means so much to her. They kept each other alive after our dad's died. I wish I could do more to comfort him, but I can't lie, and even if I did it wouldn't be believable. I wish I could say that she will win, but I know it's unlikely, and thinking that, will make the matter worse. I can't imagine life without Katniss, but by expecting her to just come back, I am lying to myself.

"It's going to be okay," I say. I'm still not sure how to comfort him, but I hate to see anyone upset. He stares off into the distance, nodding his head.

"Well, we'll leave you here for a while," I tell him. I know he'll be alright on his own for a while. In fact, that's probably what's best for him. Streaks of pink and orange are beginning to fill the sky.

"Come home soon," Rory adds, "Preferably before dark." Gale looks up at him, gives him a small, pained smile, and nods. I follow Rory, who is already moving to leave. We walk for a few minutes in silence, down a well-worn path, before Rory stops and turns around.

"He loves her, doesn't he?" he asks. I just nod. He sits down on a fallen tree and props his head up with his hands. He looks exhausted. The tree is parallel to the grown and has begun to decompose. Little mushrooms are growing on the end. He shakes his head, his dark hair framing his face, and I sit down next to him. I wish I knew what to do. He looks up at puts his arm around me. I lean into his shoulder and close my eyes. I feel safer in his arms like nothing else matters at the moment; but like all the times since the reaping that I feel even a slight bit happy, I feel even more guilty. How can I smile, when soon my sister could die. I don't deserve to be happy when she is being forced into an arena. He hugs me tightly and I realize I have started to cry. I don't know what I'll do if Katniss dies. She means the world to me. She is my best friend. I don't think I could ever be happy if she was gone. It's my fault. It's my fault she is now in the games. If I hadn't gotten reaped, or if I wouldn't have hesitated to go up, she wouldn't have had time to volunteer. Then I would be at the hunger games and everyone would be better off.

"Prim, don't hold it all in," I hear Rory's voice, but it sounds distant. I wipe my eyes.

"It's okay," he says, "You don't have to pretend." I look up at him, his face is wrinkled with concern.

"Tell me," he asks. I know he just wants to help, but I feel angry with him all the same.

"She shouldn't have volunteered," I say, standing up. Suddenly, I am filled with anger and scream in frustration.

"I can't live without her," I whisper sinking down to sit on the wooded ground. I start crying, even more, when I see a bright green Katniss plant right next to me. He comes and sits next to me. What he does next shocks me. He hugs me into himself and plants a kiss on my forehead. I freeze up, shocked. Then we hear rushed footsteps, cutting through dead leaves, and startling the silence of the forest.

"Rory! Prim! Where are you?" I hear Gale scream. He squeezes my hand and pulls me up to my feet.

"Right here!" he calls to his brother. Gale comes rushing over.

"What's going on?" Gale asks, panting from running to us.

"What do you mean?" asks Rory. Gale turns to me.

"I heard you scream, are you hurt?" I now understand what Gale is talking about.

"Sorry, I.."

"She was just frustrated," Rory finishes.

"Oh, okay," Gale responds, "I thought you were hurt,"

"Let's go home," Gale says quietly.

As we walk towards the fence, I see the last streaks of color racing out of the sky. Gale moves the grass under the fence once more, and motions for me to go first. I crawl under the fence and am soon on the other side. I watch Rory crawl under next. Once he's under, he stands next to me, and we wait for Gale. As we walk home, I feel Rory grab my hand. I gently squeeze his hand and he does the same. His hands are strong but soft. I see Gale looking at us, out of the corner of his eye, but as soon as I look at him, he turns his head. I feel my face growing hot, and I know I'm blushing. We don't talk much, but I guess Rory and Gale just aren't very talkative. They think a lot, but they tend to keep to themselves. Soon, we reach my house. There is a bit of light coming through the window from our lamp. The light is enough to see Mom sitting on the couch, alone. Their family has already left. Rory squeezes my hand again and wraps me into a hug.

"It's going to be alright," he reassures me, "We are here for you," When he loosens his arms arm me I take a step towards Gale. I begin to say goodbye when he interrupts me.

"See ya," he says smiling. He gives me a quick hug. I know he doesn't like hugs, he's only doing it because it's me. He treats me like a little sister.

"Take care," he says, smiling. I turn the rusty doorknob and step inside the house. Stepping over to the window, I watch them walk home until they fade into the night.

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please review. I will have the next chapter up in no less than a week, but probably before.