Finches P.O.V.

Eve and I lived like that for five years, stealing food and gathering plants by using the book on plants to that I had taken from my parents' house identify the edible ones.

Life was never very easy-not with the constant threat of starvation or being caught by Peacekeepers-but at the very least, I had Eve by my side.

Until the Reaping Day of our fifteenth year, that is.

xXx

Eve and I made our way to the Justice Building, wearing our best clothes. Our best clothes were stolen dresses that were too small for us and starting to rip, because we had them since we were thirteen. My dress was white with faded blue flowers on it and Eve's was black with a white trim that was starting to turn brown. I had tied my hair in a tight bun while Eve's hair tumbled down her back.

I nervously fingered the hem of my dress, as we made our way to the other fifteen year olds, praying that I wouldn't get picked for the Games.

Millie Shine, our district's escort walked onto the stage. Millie had purple skin, mint green curly hair that was obviously a wig and unnaturally long eyelashes with glitter on them. She had on a tight mint green dress on, to match her hair. Most of our district despised her because she was so perky all the time and showed no sympathy towards the people of the districts. She just lived in her own world like most of the other Capitol citizens.

She read the Treaty of Treason to the crowd, going over the history of the Hunger Games with the same speech as has been read every other year.

Eve and I, standing next to each other in the section separated for fifteen year old girls, imitated Millie, who was still reciting the Treaty in her usual weird way. We were both messing around, but both of us knew that we were scared out of our minds.

After she finished, Eve and I gave each other a small smile, bound together by secret looks and a shared history. Eve was my life-my entire life.

"Alright, ladies first!" Millie announced, plunging her hand into the bowl meant for the females and digging around for a name.

When I looked at Eve for a brief look, she seemed like she was going to faint, going pale in the face and trembling.

Millie finally picked up a slip of paper and opened it.

"Eve Johanson!" she cried.

Eve's eyes got wide and her knees looked like they were about to buckle. I couldn't understand what was going on or why Eve was panicking.

And then it hit me, the words sinking in as Peacekeepers moved towards where we stood.

Eve, the girl who cried whenever she stepped on a bug; Eve, my best friend, my true family, the girl who helped me stay alive for the past five years, was going to get herself killed by a blood thirsty career.

Before I knew what I was doing, not even thinking about possible consequences, I screamed, "I VOLUNTEER!"

Eve turned around, her eyes going, if possible, even wider and yelled "NO! FINCH! DON'T DO THAT! I CAN'T LET YOU! I WON'T LET YOU!"

"No, Eve, I'm going to do this for you," I said, trying to stay calm as I was escorted to the stage. Eve is breaking down behind me, but I continue forward, knowing that if I look back, I, too, will collapse and become unable to finish my journey to the stage.

"NO, NO, NO!" screamed Eve, even while the Peacekeepers picked her up and carried her away as she struggled against their grip.

Eve was shouting nonsense, tears streaming down her cheeks, and it broke my heart to know that I was the one responsible for her tears. I didn't want to die, but more importantly, I couldn't allow Eve, the closest thing I had to a true family, to die.

I walked up to the stage, everyone's eyes on me. It felt like the eyes of all of Panem were on me as I climbed up the stairs. I was shaking forcefully, but Millie only smiled at me, like mental break downs were a common occurrence in the Capitol.

"What's your name?" asked Millie. Her voice remained bubbly and cheerful, even as I swiped at the tears that were dripping onto my Reaping outfit.

"I'm Finch Greenspace," I reply quietly, recalling the last name that I had all but abandoned nearly five years ago.

"Now, who was that you volunteered for?" she asked me. "A good friend, I would assume, yes? Or possible a family member?"

"That is Eve, and she is my best friend. Eve is my only friend, and she's practically my sister. I would do anything to keep her safe." I said, trying to hide the quaver in my voice.

"Aw, that's sweet," said Millie, but I got the feeling she didn't really mean it, already focused on the next step in her job as an escort. "Now let's have a round of applause for Finch!"

Nobody cheered. The faces of my district stared back at me in stony silence, and the only noise was Eve in the back, still sobbing loudly.