"Anna, I'm leaving."
She stared into darkness and listened to the front door shut.
She'd been unable to sleep all night.
Her mind continued to wander to Gale, and what he had offered her. A hundred different scenarios played in her head.
Adding to the scenes was the reminder that tonight was the opening ceremonies.
Peeta.
His image flashed in contrast to Gale's.
The thought of seeing him up on stage made her stomach turn. She wasn't sure how she would take it.
But for right now, it was morning. And since she wasn't going to get sleep any time soon, she might as well get up.
She made herself a small breakfast with the strawberries Gale had brought and a slice of the bread the Mellarks had given them.
It was eerily quiet. Maybe she was just paranoid, but it was starting to make her uncomfortable.
She needed to get out of this house.
As she made her decision, she let out a heavy breath.
Of course, she would have to wait until the sun came up before she could leave.
So she cleaned up the table, and went back to her room to change her clothes.
…
Looking through her drawer, it dawned on Annalise that she truly was lucky. As lucky as a District 12 kid could be.
She was somewhat thankful for her father's past, and that he was smart enough to save his money before being sent to the dreadful District 12.
Sometimes she wondered how miserable he must have felt; coming from the rich and ridiculous Capitol, to the poor and probably most looked down upon district in Panem.
She rummaged through the pile until she found her favorite outfit.
A once white tank top with a thin black jacket to go over it, denim shorts, and black shoes that now had an absurdly unpronounceable name that she believed were called "flats" back in America. At least that's what she'd heard all the wannabe Capitol girls in school call them. Not that it or them mattered to her.
…
The sun had been up for perhaps a half hour by the time Annalise finally left the house.
She walked slowly and quietly through the town on her way to the Meadow.
Whenever she was outside of her home, she always felt as if she was disturbing the district. Like she didn't belong.
She'd felt this way even when she was a little kid. Until she and Peeta became closer.
She still felt out of place, but much less so when she was with him. She stopped caring what the children at school and other people in the district thought of her. In the end, she was after the same thing they were. Survival.
…
Taking in a breath of the outside air, Annalise kneeled down into the grass of the Meadow.
She hadn't been here much since she was a kid.
When she was ten, this was the place she would spend most of her time. With Peeta. She felt like she could still feel him here. Like there was a permanent connection between them here. While here, she was never alone. Peeta's presence was unquestionable.
A smile crossed her lips and she closed her eyes when she thought of that.
She longed to have him here with her. Safe.
Her eyes opened immediately as something suddenly blocked the sunlight that was on her face.
Her heart raced even faster when she saw Gale standing in front of her. They seemed to be running into each other a lot lately.
"What are you doing here?" He seemed genuinely confused.
"Just thinking." She replied quietly. "What brings you here?"
"I cut through here to get to the woods."
She nodded in response. She didn't understand how someone could be brave enough to go in there. Too many dangers were linked with it.
"Normally I'm here much earlier, though. Slept late today."
"I didn't sleep."
"I was up half the night. That's probably why I wasn't on time."
"Nervous about today?" Annalise asked.
"Somewhat. More distracted with how I'm going to feel seeing Katniss."
"Same. Well, Peeta."
Gale let out a muffled laugh. "I think I'm almost scared."
"Me too. This is the longest I've gone without seeing Peeta. And now I have to watch him be paraded through the Capitol like a puppet. Leading him to his death." She choked up at the end of her sentence.
Gale tightened his lips together and crouched next to her.
"I know what you mean, and it makes me sick. The whole thing is wrong. Peeta belongs here with you, Katniss belongs in the woods with me, and the rest of the tributes should be home with their families. No Games. No murders. No hurt."
The statement about Katniss made Annalise's nerves spike, but she ignored it.
"I hate them." She stated simply.
He nodded in agreement. "As do I."
"But there's nothing we can do."
This made Gale pause.
She looked at him, and concluded that he was thinking. Deeply.
"Not yet." He finally said.
"Not ever." Annalise wanted to say, but she kept it to herself. She knew it was near impossible to take the Capitol down. A rebellion brought them the Hunger Games. Who knew what they would do if the districts failed yet again in an attempt to overthrow them. She didn't want to know.
After a long silence, Gale stood up.
"I've got some hunting to do before the ceremonies."
"I think I'm just going to sit here for the next few hours. Stay safe."
Gale smirked playfully.
"I'll try to. I'm only going to be breaking about fifty laws."
"Well be wary of animals and such."
"Okay, 'Miss Overprotective'." He chuckled.
She punched his calf lightly.
"Don't make me wrestle you."
It was Annalise who let out a laugh this time. "I'd definitely beat you if you did."
"One day we'll have to find out." He proclaimed.
"That we will. Now stop letting me distract you. Go on, danger boy." She teased.
He smiled before turning to leave.
"Oh, wait," He stopped himself.
"How are you watching the ceremony?" He asked.
"I'll be going to the square. Any excuse to be out of the house."
"Go with me? We can both offer support. I know I'll most likely need it."
She looked at him with soft eyes. "Okay."
He nodded. "Meet me here at 5:30?"
"You got it."
He looked at her for a few more moments before walking towards the fence.
She studied him intently as he moved.
Her eyes remained on him until he slipped in and disappeared onto the other side of the fence.
…
Annalise was right on time as she approached the Meadow for a second time today.
She started to smile when she saw Gale there waiting for her.
"Aw, you beat me." She pretended to frown.
"Early bird."
"Ah. For the record, this doesn't change the fact that I would completely end you in a fight." She said with mock arrogance.
Gale smiled. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, sweetheart."
She wasn't sure why, but her heart jumped at the sound of that.
"Yeah, yeah. Shall we get going?"
"Probably." Gale agreed, and starting walking deeper into the Meadow.
"Come on, I know I shortcut." He waved for her to follow him.
She, however, was hesitant.
"Don't trust me?" He asked with a chuckle.
"It's not you I don't trust."
"Well trust me on this; we'll be fine."
She still didn't want to budge.
He raised an eyebrow and held out his hand.
She looked at it, then back at him.
Taking a breath, she took it, and let him lead her out of the Meadow.
After they passed a small area of trees, they came out on the other side, and happened to be right in front of the entrance to the Victor's Village.
"Whoa." She mumbled to herself.
She'd never really seen it before. The size of the entire place, and the houses themselves, astonished her.
Maybe it was the fact that only one person even lived there.
"Nice, huh?" Gale questioned as he started to walk again.
"I'll say." Annalise agreed. She was in awe.
Gale seemed amused at her shock.
Shouldn't she be used to big places like that? She did grow up in the richer part of District 12.
"I wonder what it's like inside." She said.
"Hm. I've never really thought about it. I'm sure Peeta will let you come over if he wins."
"The chances of you ending up in Katniss' house…" She stopped, and forced a gulp. "Are higher."
Gale looked at the ground solemnly. He let the subject drop.
They entered the square just minutes before the ceremony started.
"See, we would still be walking if we haven't cut through." Gale attempted to lighten the mood after their somber encounter in front of the village.
She half smiled back at him. "So we would. Wouldn't want to miss this."
They both looked up impatiently as the anthem of Panem began playing.
It seemed as though time was going agonizingly slow.
The anthem ended, and the District 1 tributes slowly moved through the City Circle and up to the Training Center.
Gradually, each district's tributes made their way to the Training Center.
Gale and Annalise took in a simultaneous breath as the District 11 tributes got out.
This was it…
As Peeta and Katniss' chariot came into view, Gale huffed in shock and Annalise's breath caught in her throat.
There they were.
Unlike the rest of the tributes, Peeta and Katniss stood close together. Hand in hand.
But even that wasn't what caught them so off guard.
Both of them were literally on fire.
Well, at least their clothes were.
Many emotions coursed through Annalise at that moment.
Shock. Fear. Anger. Sadness. Spite. Wonder.
She could only imagine what Gale was thinking.
She looked over at him, but his expression was just as bewildered as hers.
They watched on in astonishment until all 24 tributes disappeared into the Training Center.
The anthem played once more, and then the screens went black.
That was it.
They wouldn't see them again for a couple days; for the interviews the day before the Games.
The square was emptying relatively quickly.
Annalise stood silently next to Gale, who hadn't moved or even blinked since they were on the screen, and tried to keep her emotions in check.
"We should get going." She finally spoke once the square was mostly empty.
His eyes flickered to her face, then off into the distance, then back to her.
He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear it.
Without so much as a word, they left the square and, for the moment, pushed away every image they'd just taken in.
…
They walked together until they reached the intersection separating their respective sections of the district.
They stopped at the fork.
"See you tomorrow?" She asked nervously.
He nodded absentmindedly.
She put her hand on his arm. "Try to get some sleep."
He barely had time to respond before she was walking away.
…
The walk home was taking much longer than it should have.
Her mind was racing. She had so many questions that she wasn't sure would ever be answered.
A loud crunch under her foot distracted her long enough to forget about Peeta and Katniss.
She looked down, seeing that it was just a stick.
Next to it, though, was a bunch of scattered around pine straw.
She bent down and picked up a piece.
Twirling it in her hand, she got an idea.
She picked up a few more pieces and some extras before continuing on to her home.
…
When she opened the door, she found her father sleeping on the couch.
Careful not to wake him up, she quietly hummed to herself while she made dinner.
She ate her bowl of soup just as soundlessly.
She heated up some more for her father and set it at the table for him.
She walked over to the couch and gently shook him awake.
"Dinner's on the table." She whispered.
"Thanks, sweetie."
She nodded slightly in acknowledgement before heading towards her room.
…
Carefully placing the pine straw on her bedside table, she tucked herself into bed and shut off the light, desperately trying to get some sleep.
She'd need the energy tomorrow.