Hey everyone, this is the next update to the story. Some questions are about to be answered, but more questions will be raised!!! This kind of explains Prims volunteering...

Ugh... have you ever heard of Hayfever?? I have it and it really affects me during the summer :( Its so annoying! My eyes are always itchy.... ugh!! I'M BLIND!!!

WOW!! THANKS SO MUCH to all who reviewed!!! I have 66 reviews now and I have to say I really didn't think I would even get fifty so I am so grateful for all those who faithfully review every chapter and to the new reviewers, hopefully you'll come back! I love you guys x

Ok, so the usual... Please review! Also if you have any ideas to what you think should happen let me know...!

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Chapter Eight - Prim.

Katniss kissed the top of my head briefly but held on to me. Peeta was waiting for her. He smiled at me and I returned it genuinely. The square was overflowing as it usually was this time of the year and I registered the angry stares that were focused on Katniss as if this were all her fault. An uncharacteristic anger simmered beneath the surface of my cool gaze and I wanted to scream at the people who blamed the girl who was going to lead them into a free future. She hadn't been sleeping well lately and I knew that she blamed herself for all of this.

It's ok Katniss, I wanted to whisper, I'm going to fix everything. I'm going to make everything alright again... But she couldn't know.

Not untill it was too late.

"Katniss," I said quickly "You have to go." Just do it. Quickly. Like pulling off a plaster. Maybe if it happens fast, it won't hurt as much.

She smiled reassuringly "I'll see you in a few minutes."

And I nodded with a fake smile lighting up my features. I was never good at lying but she was too preoccupied with all of her duties to notice how my smile didn't reach my eyes and how my bottom lip was trembling dangerously. That was good. The plan depended on her ignorance.

She held onto me for another minute, as though prolonging the moment as long as she could and I loved her so much for that, but the pain that was tearing me up inside was threatening to cause me to burst out with all of my secrets and I just wanted her to go before I gave it all away.

"Go," I rolled my eyes and laughed.

She smiled, nodding and let go, retreating to the stage where she took her seat beside Peeta and Haymitch.

I turned away from her and it was relief to not have to keep up that smile. I felt like I was dying inside. So much could go wrong and I had just gotten Katniss back.

I didn't want to lose her again.

Tears came so easy to me, but I had to keep them in. I had to keep up the pretence.

The fear was like a cold hand sliding slowly down my back, shocking and painful. Survival of the fittest? The strongest? The quickest? The smartest? Every year it was different. Who would the odds favour this year? Kill or be killed, that's what they said. What if I die? What if I kill? What if I'm not ready? What if this is a mistake? What if-

NO! I shook my head fiercly, trying to delay those thoughts untill I couldn't turn back. I made my way swiftly over to my section, the thirteen year olds roped off area. I smiled in rememberance of my birthday, a month earlier. Katniss had had Peeta bake me a beautiful cake and Gale had caught us a feast. We had all celebrated on the boulder in the clearing and it was the best birthday I could remember. I promised myself I would hold onto that memory... in the arena.

I looked up and met his eyes almost immediatly. Gale. His strong presence made me feel safe in the midst off all that danger. Are you sure about this? His eyes spoke to me. Are we doing the right thing?
I nodded almost violently, but he still looked dissatisfied.

I knew I was causing him pain too, by going through with this. I saw him glance subtly at Katniss and I knew that this would destroy their relationship if she ever found out. Someone else I was hurting.
But I had to do it. It was the only way.

I remembered that night, all those months ago, when this had started.

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I stumbled through the underbush, almost running to keep up with her. Katniss moved with purpose, no hesitation, no fear. The forest felt scary to me, but I had to talk to her and she had run off so suddenly that I followed her. She stopped suddenly and then dissapeared through a thicket of trees. I frowned and jogged up to where she had vanished. A thin shaft of light sliced through the thick green trees and I slid a hand through first, before sliding through myself.

I was standing in a clearing and at the far side, I saw Katniss and Gale sitting on a large boulder that overlooked the valley. It was magical. Gale? I was suprised to see him there, but then again, it was the forest. This was his domain, his area of expertise.

I hurried over to where they were sitting, and started to call out, but I stopped dead when I got close enough and saw that Katniss was crying. Big tears slid down her face and she looked away from Gale in shame. I froze on the spot, one arm still hanging in the air from when I had been about to call out to them.

No. No, this was wrong. My brave, strong, fearless Katniss didn't cry. This wasn't her. She was too strong for that. But I couldn't deny what was right in front of my eyes, even though it filled them with dread. The world truly was a terrible place if it had made my sister cry.

No... No... NO.

Katniss couldn't break. If she wasn't strong enough to face the world, then I was a lost cause. She was what kept me going.

I hunkered down onto my knees and shuffled forward, taking refuge behind a cluster of berry bushes. Lying down flat, I created a small hole in a bush to peer through and slid forward untill I was so close to them that I could hear what they were saying.

Katniss was no longer crying. She was strong and sure once again. "Good," she was saying "Because I need to ask you something."

I wondered briefly if I had walked in on a private moment between her and Gale, before dissmissing it with the image of Peeta in my mind.

My jacket snagged on a sharp point sticking out from the limbs of the bush and when I pulled at it, the body of the bush shook noticeably

I winced and ducked as Katniss's head swooped in my direction. I held my breath, cursing myself for not just making my presence known from the beginning. I heard Gale ask her what it was and after a terrifying moment, she said it was nothing. I sighed in relief.

It was a while before I was brave enough to peek up again, but my head snapped up unwillingly when I heard Katniss mention District 13. I frowned and concentrated on what they were saying. For a few minutes, I was stumped. Why were they being so vague? How was anyone else listening supposed to understand what they were talking about? And then I suddenly understood.

And I wished that I didn't.

"I think I have a plan," Katniss whispered. A plan for a rebellion, I understood. I swallowed nervously, a feeling of dread filling me up from the pit of my stomach.

She glanced around again, but this time I didn't duck and she didn't notice me. Then in a hushed voice, she told him all of the plans she had been formulating in her head and my mouth felt dry as I tried to wrap my head around it all.

I wanted to jump up and scream at her to stop it but it was too late then to tell her I had followed her. I had just gotten her back. How could she even think about something like that? How could she risk her life again, after only barely escaping death so recently? Did she not think about how this would effect me? I felt a sour bitterness swell in the back of me throat.

And then she said something that sparked my interest and frowning, I scooched closer to the boulder to listen. After listening carefully to that part of her plan, something began to happen.

A plan formed in my mind.

Dangerous, yes. Crazy, yes. Difficult, definetly. But worth it? Maybe... just maybe it would be.

I lay in my spot as they talked some more and argued with myself over the reasons why I should do this. But then again, Katniss would be out risking her life, why shouldn't I do the same?

Then they were hugging and Katniss was saying goodbye. I held my breath and closed my eyes, trying to become invisible as she walked away from the boulder, not four feet from me. I looked up and saw that Gale was still there, smiling after her.

Then he blew out a long breath and turned to leave.

"Now or never," I whispered to myself and I stood up swiftly and climbed onto the boulder.

"Katniss, what-" Gale started to say as he turned around, but stopped abruptly when he saw me standing there somewhat dishevelled.

He frowned, "What are you doing here?"

"I followed Katniss," I said simply and he raised his eyebrows as he considered that statement. Sighing, he sat back down and I walked over to sit beside him.

"Katniss will be furoius when she finds out," he pointed out.

"I know."

"I'm going to have to bring you back and tell her where you were," he continued.

"I know."

"You know, you are more like your sister than I give you credit for," he chuckled, but continued softly "So, you heard everything".

"Yes," I took a breath and then just said it before I could change my mind "And I think I can help."

"Prim-" he exclaimed disaprovingly.

"Wait!" I begged "Just listen. I heard Katniss telling you all her plans and how she wished there was something she could do in time to stop the next hunger games. I heard her say she wished she could put someone in the games who would rebel and unite the tributes against the gamemakers. But we both know Katniss would never put anyone through that."

"Of course she-" Gale was frowning.

"I want to do it," I finished frantically, cutting him off "I want to volunteer."

There was a dead beat of silence where he stared at me in disbelief and then he let out a sharp bark of laughter.

"Prim-"

"NO!" I shouted, startling him "I am serious. I can do this."

He shook his head angrily "What you're saying is ridiculous, Prim."

"It's not," I insisted "Not if you don't factor your feelings for Katniss into the equation. If you didn't know me, if I were just another person willing to put my life on the line for the greater good, you'd see that this could work. That it could save so many lives!"

"You're too young," he argued quietly.

"Not to help," I snapped "I want to help. I need to play my part in this, Gale. And besides, who do you know that can unite people better than me. I'm perfect for this, I'm easy to trust."

He opened his mouth again to say something else, then stopped and reconsidered.

"Please, Gale," I whispered. Don't talk me out of something I haven't talked myself into yet, I added in my head.

"Katniss would never allow it," he spoke quietly.

"Katniss doesn't have to know," I retorted and he stared at me unwaveringly as he mulled it over in his head.

"Gale," I whispered after a few minutes, using something he had once said against him "There is no victory without sacrifice."

Silence.

And then he nodded.

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I spent the remaining short months leading up to the games in secret training with Gale. Of course, Katniss could never find out. He often brought me over to his house, to practice in his back garden,
whenever Katniss was busy with Rebellion details.

"Arm straight, elbow lower," he'd instructed quietly as I warily aimed an arrow at a target he had set up.

I nodded shakily and sent the arrow flying, but it hit much lower than the bullseye that I was supposed to be hitting.

I was useless compared to Katniss, I knew that, but he said he had a plan and that it didn't matter for now.

"You only need one good hit," he'd explained "One perfect shot is all it will take." Though that didn't make much sense to me at the time.

We both knew that the six months we had were not nearly enough, and they slid by too quickly. They were the hardest months of my life; Gale had to be extra hard on me as we had limited time, but I knew that if I even complained once, he would give up on the plan, so I stayed quiet and gritted my teeth.

Gale also taught me various survival skills that he considered essential:

Hand to hand combat, which I was terrible at. My small size meant that I had little weight on my side and could be easily tossed about.

Knife throwing, which I did get lucky at sometimes, so that was something.

Various hunting snares and techniques and some cool stuff like how to light a fire with limited resources and such.

Edible and dangerous plants knowledge. He often took me walking in the woods and got me to identify which was which amoung the wildlife.

I thought I was quite good at running and climbing but he insisted it wasn't good enough and made me run three miles a day to keep my fitness up. This made me tired a lot at first and I was terrified that Katniss would be suspicious but she was so busy at the time, that it didn't occur to her that something was amiss. It was ok, though. I knew she loved me.

I just hoped that she still loved me after she found out.

Though we didn't need to hunt in our District anymore because of the royalties Katniss brought home when she won the games, Gale still hunted regularly, as I suspected Katniss did too, and he brought me with him most of the time. That was the hardest of the training. I tried to explain to him that I was a healer, not a killer. But he told me that it was extreemly important that I get used to thinking like a hunter, to seeing death, because even if I suceeded, I couldn't save everyone.

I tried to digest this, but it was hard to swallow it in the first place. Mostly, I just watched him hunt, mimicking his light tread and his silent movements. He was scarily quiet when he wanted to be,
so much so that he almost dissapeared into the background. But he started to make me hunt after a while... to kill helpless animals for nothing but experience.

I never cried in front of him, I waited untill I got home to do that.

It was just so hard to think like a hunter, like a killer. To be objective, cold, emotionless. But I tried my best in front of him, reminding myself that I talked him into this, not the other way around. But,
to myself, silently, I promised that no matter what happened, I would not lose my emotion, I would lose who I was.

One day, Reed appeared at my house and asked Katniss if I could sleep over at his. I told her that we had become good friends and she consented. But really I knew it was Gale that wanted me. And that night, we slept in the woods with nothing but a coat to use as a small blanket and whatever resources the forest had to offer.

The second time, he'd made me stay alone. He didn't tell me until the next day, that he had slept nearby just in case. He had wanted to see if I could survive alone.

The time flew by, and I was sure I was ready but Gale wished we had had another month at least.

I was tired of all the lying and the secrets, so when the day finally rolled around, I almost felt relieved.

That was a first.

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And the moment had finally come.

I stared up at the small girl that Effie had called to the stage, where she stood trembling in fear, and I realised that I was no longer that girl. I wasn't the same Prim that was called onto the stage last time. I wasn't weak or immature or useless like before and maybe I was still scared, but that didn't mean that I couldn't do this.

Effie called for volunteers.

I was Primrose Everdeen. Sister of Katniss Everdeen, Victor. Girl on Fire. And I could do this. I could fight.

So with my heart in my socks and shaking knees, I called out as steadily as I could "I volunteer!"

Shocked silence... as people in the audience realised who had called out. Cries and whispers and murmered objections buzzed in the air.

But Effie said "I'm sorry. Who was that?"

I almost groaned out loud. It was hard enough to do the first time, but she was going to make me call out again.

Keeping my gaze off of the stage, I sucked in a deep breath and stepped out into the view of everyone present. More whispers.

I saw Gale nod painfully and I tilted my head in recognition.

"Primrose Everdeen," I called out clearly "I volunteer as tribute."

A wave of emotion washed across the crowd and I told myself that was good, it would help me in the games.

Then, bracing myself, I lifted my head and looked squarly at the stage. Katniss was going to be furious. I met Peetas gaze first, and it took me a moment to see that his distressed expression wasn't for me.

Frowning, I shifted my gaze slightly to the right, to Katniss.

I had thought she would be angry or sad or even frozen in shock.

But no.

It was even worse than that.

My gaze faltered on the place where she should have been sitting.

She was gone.

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Once again, thanks so much for reading and I hope you liked it enough to bother reviewing!

So there is a second part to this chapter because it was getting too long haha an I'm working on it now so I will be posting it soon!

I just bought a CHERUB book: The Recruit, as recommended by a few people, it looks good....

Also the new Darren Shan book Dark Calling (DS ROCKS), and Untamed + Hunted, the new House of Night books....

Ok, I spend waaaaay too much money on books... I can't help it! Besides, I was in my favourite bookshop, Chapters, in Dublin!! Ah heaven....