I'm standing with the children in the roped off sections that I'm all too familiar with when my eyes meet Gale's. It's our last year. It's our last reaping. I think to myself as I bite my lip and nod my head at him. He gives me a small smile and I start to smile back when I feel a hand grasp my wrist. I see Primrose Everdeen, a girl I could consider my little sister to my left of me, fear in her eyes. I glance back in the crowd, looking for Katniss. She and Gale had gone hunting this morning while I vouched to help ready Vick and Rory for the Reaping, so she was probably in one of the back rows. I look towards the crowd gathered around the ropes, finding Hazelle and my aunt quickly.
It's my last year of participating in the Reaping, and I'm shaking with fear that my name will be called. My stomach turns even more at the idea of one of my friends' names being called. Gale's birthday is almost two months after mine, and Katniss is only 16, she still has years left until she was free.
I'm shaken from my thoughts when Prim's grip on my wrist tightens and I see that Effie Trinket has stepped onto the platform; a sign that the names are to be called soon. I lace my fingers with hers for comfort, praying silently that no one I know gets called. But, in District 12, it's hard not to know someone.
I scanned the crowd quickly, hoping to spot my own brothers as well as my parents. They've come to visit me several times in the first few years I spent with Delphi, mostly for my birthdays, but they've found many excuses to avoid showing their faces in the Seam since one particularly unpleasant visit. I turned to look at my aunt standing with Hazelle and she gives me a slight smile; she's relieved that I'm almost free from the daunting grips of the Hunger Games.
When Effie begins talking, I can't help but roll my eyes. I barely listen to the same speech she gives every year about the games, but tune in when she announces, "Ladies first!" As she approaches the bowl, my gut twists. Something about this reaping seems extra terrifying, as if something this year is going to go much worse than I expected.
My face turns a ghostly white and I almost faint when I hear Prim's name echo through the square.
Everything is moving too quickly when the peacekeepers approach the place Prim and I are standing. The only word I can think of is no. I yell it several times as she's pulled away from me, towards the platform. An idea comes to my mind, but apparently that same idea came to Katniss's mind because before I knew it, Katniss was replacing Prim's spot next to the peacekeepers. Prim is crying now, yelling for Katniss and I push through the crowd just before Gale does to pull her into my arms and back behind the ropes. I can't help but let a few tears slip from my own eyes as I watch Katniss on the stage.
I barely hear when Peeta Mellark's name is called for the male tribute, I'm too busy trying to figure out how the hell we're supposed to get out of this mess. Katniss is good with a bow and arrow, she's good at hunting and setting traps and she's quiet, but holy shit Katniss is going to the Hunger Games and how are we supposed to react if she never makes it out?
My mind is in a fog when the crowd disperses, and Prim leads me to the building where we are supposed to say our goodbyes. I still can't get a grip when Gale approaches me, a blank stare on my face as I think about the possibility that this may be the last time I get to see one of my best friends in person.
He places both of his hands gently on my cheeks, trying to call me back to reality, but I can only shake my head and grab onto his wrists, searching for an anchor to the real world. That's when I hear someone clear their throat behind me, and I freeze. I turn to find my brothers, Adrian and Hagan standing with my parents. My father has never approved of my friendship with Gale, or really anyone in the Seam, and he's made it very obvious. The peacekeepers come to take Prim and her mother to visit Katniss first, and I turn to my siblings.
Both of the twins throw themselves at me, nearly knocking me over, and they giggle loudly and the noise I make after having the wind knocked out of me.
"How are you boys? You're getting quite big!" I hug each of them back, and kneel down to their level to speak with them. They begin talking animatedly at the same time, about the house and their new linens- a big deal to the boys that stain them almost immediately- and after a few moments my parents clear their throats and tell the boys it's time to go. My mother and father send tense smiles my way before they go, but I stay straight faced.
When they're gone, I turn back to Gale with tears in my eyes. He pulls my head to his chest as I let tears run down my cheeks; I think he may be crying, too. Katniss and Gale are two of my closest friends, and we could be losing Katniss.
A few minutes later, Prim and her mother are led back to us by peacekeepers, and Gale is taken to say his goodbye. We aren't allowed to go together, since we're not family.
When it's my turn to say goodbye, Katniss doesn't waste any time.
"Don't worry about me, Val. My mother, she's going to need your help. She can't shut down again, and Prim-," I cut her off, pulling her into a tight hug before talking again, my voice shaking with tears.
"You can do this, Katniss. You know how to hunt, you can survive. You can come back, Katniss, please come back." I'm crying again by the time I'm done, and she pulls back to look at me again.
"I promise I'll try, but I need you to take care of them until I get back. Take care of Gale. Promise me, Valeria." She looks me in the eyes, and I can't disagree.
"I promise."
Alright well this is the second chapter, there's a bit more Gale/OC showing up, but it might confuse you a bit. There'll be a chapter after this one that goes back in time like the first chapter did, but I'm not sure if I did another one after that or if I just moved forward. I confuse myself sometimes, as well. Like usual let me know if you see any errors in the plot or grammatical, spelling, etc. I'll try to get the next chapter up this time next week, but my classes will have started up again by then and I have no clue how crazy I'll be going. Shoot me a message if you're anxiously waiting, I have to check my emails daily so I'll hop right on it! See ya then!