『 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡 』𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Never Say Goodbye

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At first you don't quite grasp what was happening until you felt someone yank you towards the stage. You can hear yelling and screaming behind you and you try to keep your head held high. 

" It seems we have our very first volunteer!" Effie claps excitedly as you make you way onto the stage. " What's your name dear?" she asks as she sets her gloved hand on your shoulder. 

" Y/n L/n." You reply, your voice sounding raspier than usual. From fright you suspect. You volunteered, yes, but that doesn't meant you ever wanted to be in The Games. You did this entirely for Prim. Trying to hide your fear you stare straight in front of you, you don't dare look at Katniss or Prim - you couldn't bare to see their faces right now. 

Effie's voice interrupts your thoughts, " And now for the boys! " she says and fishes in the bowl for a boy tribute. You stare ahead as you wait for the name to be read aloud, your heart still thumping inside your chest. What if Gale is picked? You glance towards him and immediately make direct eye contact. His face is emotionless and you feel a lump in your throat form but you quickly swallow it down. You can't cry - not here, not now. 

" Peeta Mellark!" 

You immediately recognize the name and sigh. Out of all the other boys Effie picks the bakers boy? Just my luck... 

You owe him your life however. He tossed you a loaf of bread when you and your aunt were struggling to survive. That bread gave you enough strength until you got back onto your feet. That , nonetheless, makes it lot harder knowing you will likely have to end up killing him in The Games. 

You hadn't noticed him climb up on the stage beside you until Effie once again breaks your train of thought, " And now you must shake hands." She smiled brightly. 

You turned to face the boy and held out your hand, he took it and nodded at you silently. You didn't do anything in response, quickly releasing his hand and letting your arms fall to your sides. You don't want to get too close, you don't want to have to hesitate when it comes to killing him during the games - even if you found killing someone for sport absolutely horrid. 

Effie clasps her hands together as she introduces her ' two lovely tributes ' and claps heartedly, but she's the only one. You gaze at the crowd of people in front of you, solemn faces staring back at you. You glance at Katniss and watch as she raises her three middle fingers, bringing them to her lips and then raising it in the air. Soon, everyone is holding up their fingers and you can only stand there and hope they know just how grateful you are. 

After the reaping, you and Peeta are ushered off the stage and into two separate rooms. You pace the room as you wait for your family and friends to come and bid farewell. You watch the door carefully as if waiting for it to jump out at you - it startles you when it opened and you came face to face with your Aunt. 

The two of you stare at one another until she brakes the silence with a strangled sob and rushes towards you, she embraces you tightly and you return the embrace with just as much intensity. She cries into your shoulder and you rub her back soothingly - whilst also trying not to cry yourself. You have to stay strong for the both of you. 

" You are so brave Y/n, I know you can do this." She tells you as she takes your face in between her two cold hands, staring into your eyes. You nodded and she whispered, " you will make it." 

The peacekeepers re-entered the room and escorted your Aunt out, " I love you!" she calls as the doors shut. You sigh and rub your hand down your face.

Suddenly the door opened again and Katniss and Prim enter the room. Prim is already crying and throws herself into your arms. " It should have been me, " Katniss sniffs. You look up from the small girl and at Katniss, you shake your head and smile slightly, " I'm not gonna die in there, I promise you." You tell her and she wipes a stray tear that falls from her eye. 

" I'm going to win this thing, and I will come home." You say and Prim looks up at you. 

" You shouldn't have done that Y/n, what if you die? It's going to be all my fault." Prim cries and you kneel down and look her in the eyes. 

" None of this is your fault, Prim. It's the Capitol's. And I'm not going to die." You tell her and watch as a small tear falls from her glossy eyes. She nods and you smile, kissing her forehead and pulling her into a tight hug. 

Prim pulls away and Katniss takes her place, wrapping her arms securely around you. " I'll see you soon, " she smiles as the doors open once again and the peacekeepers come to bring Katniss and Prim away. You laugh slightly as your eyes sting, watching them go. Prim waves as the door close and you're once again left alone to wallow in your fear.  

You sit down onto the plush chair sitting in the corner of the room, willing yourself to keep it together. Nearly five minutes pass and you begin to think that no one else is coming - until the door is pushed open and someone enters the room. 

You immediately stand from your seat when you see who it is. " Gale." You mutter and slowly walk towards him. You stand in front of him and search his face for any emotion at all, but you don't find anything but stone cold stares. 

" If you're waiting for me to say goodbye then you can forget it." Gale speaks finally. You shake your head and pull him into a hug, your arms around his waist. He barely had time to hug you back before you pulled away. He opted to setting his hands on your shoulders. 

" Because you volunteered, they're going to expect you to win." He tells you seriously, his face still showing barely any emotion. " You're going to be a target." 

You nod in understanding and look away from his face and gaze at the floor, you have never been this scared in your entire life - you just hope you're masking it well. After all, half The Hunger Games is a putting on a show, every smile and wave is all just a facade. 

" Look at me Y/n." Gale demands and you quickly bring your eyes back to his. " You get your hands on a set of knives and you can beat them all, It's just like hunting." He says, his expression softening for just a moment. 

You shake your head, " No Gale, This is nothing like hunting. They're people , Gale, people."  You couldn't imagine calling it hunting, it messed with something deep inside of you. " This is murder Gale." You hiss, your voice falling back into it's raspy state. 

" Plus they're armed, a rabbit doesn't shoot arrows at you." You say somewhat sarcastically, you shake your head again. Gale huffed, " The point is Y/n, you know what you're doing. You have experience," He concludes.

The peacekeepers are back too soon and Gale asks for more time, but they refuse. Gale would never let a peacekeeper drag him away, he had too much pride for that - so he began to walk away on his own.  You begin to panic, latching onto his hand, " Take care of my aunt for me," You plead as your hand slips from his. 

" I promise. Remember, just get your hands on a set of knives." Gale promises as the doors slam harshly in your face. 

You stare at the shut doors, your breath becoming uneven and shaky. You take a deep breath to pull yourself together, " I can do this. " You reassured yourself.  All you wanted right now was to be in the forest with Gale and Katniss, none of you in harm's way. You can't help but wonder what it would be like to actually win The Games. You would be able to provide for your Aunt and your friends, along with their families as well. 

You put on a strong face as the peacekeepers come to take you away to the train station, knowing that there are plenty of people out there who want nothing more than to see you break down. You won't let that happen.  

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